private TAKE BACK THE NIGHT;; robinheart

[Moonbeam]

Moonbeam can't help but think of the gathering, the fact that ThunderClan had been missing - which meant Gentlestorm had been missing - and the news that yellowcough was within the forest once more, rearing it's ugly head not in SkyClan this time but within WindClan. The gathered cats had been assured that those in attendance from the moor-dwelling clan were those amongst the healthy and though she believed Sunstar and Wolfsong - they wouldn't spread the illness so maliciously, no cat would - she knew that there was always the chance of illness, always the chance of injury, and her paws were beginning to become too full to work it alone. If she were to go back to ThunderClan to train there - if they were fine that was, if the clan hadn't died from some mysterious happenings - then she would want capable paws to be here for when she returned at night, reassurance that if someone were to get sick or injured while she was gone or simply collecting herbs that there would be someone to back her up. The sudden addition of Celandinepaw in WindClan had made it clear that RiverClan, too, needed more paws to heal if they were to get through anything that was thrown their way.

"Robinheart." Small mew from the snow-colored moggie would reach into the nursery as her head poked in, offering a small smile to the other before a tail waved in her direction. "Are you busy? I wanted to talk with you for a moment, nothing bad I promise." She would reassure the queen in case there were any thoughts of something bad happening before waiting for an answer and ducking her head out from the nursery once more. If the other were to follow she'd move carefully to the side of the medicine den, paws resting alongside the small river that she used for water for her moss before looking to the other once more.

"Your kits are growing so quickly, they'll be apprentices soon." A careful musing of small talk to get the conversation started, tail wrapping around her paws as she did so before maw would open once more. "Are you excited to be a warrior again?" It was an unusual question from the medicine cat, but she had to ask just in case for if Robinheart did want to become a warrior again more than anything then she would need to seek out another.

CAUSE LIKE CONTELLATIONS ꕥ A MILLION YEARS AWAY

• -- @robinheart
• ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ flesh wounds
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ infections
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ aches & pains
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ illness
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ breathing
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ traveling
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ broken bones
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ kitting
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ poisons
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ 15 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual polyromantic ; mated to beefang, crushing on redacted
  ꕥ currently mentoring none
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics

​

 

[robinheart]

The whispers of the news from the gatherings are fewer and farther between the tortoiseshell queen realizes. The nursery does not buzz with gossip as it once had - which is not necessarily a bad thing - however she is missing details of what has happened outside of Riverclan. Something to do with Thunderclan… something about illness… the faces that had returned did not beg to be questioned further.

Robinheart instead focuses on what she is able to see and hear before her. Her kits are growing day by day, ever curious and ever full of wonder. Claythorn's brood are hitting milestone after milestone. She tries to catch moments with Foxpaw to ask how his training is going (she might consider it fortunate her son's mentor is the father of the kits she helps care for when Claythorn needs a breather). She devotes her time and energy to the queens and kittens of the clan. That is her duty and she must do it well.

Moonbeam's voice draws Robinheart's attention from the wall of the nursery, speckled paws having been busy reweaving a spot where a playful wrestling match had gone too far. Citrine eyes behold the ivory moggy and a gentle smile tugs at the corners of her maw. "Moonbeam," Robinheart greets in return whilst shifting to face the visiting medicine cat, "I always have time for you, my friend. Just give me one moment," she muses with a dip of her head. Quickly the queen tucks in the piece of reed she had been weaving, making sure it was out of the way of any distracted queen or too curious kitten. Content with her job and oh so curious about what Moonbeam wanted to discuss, the tortie slips out of the nursery and makes her way to the water's edge to sit with the medicine cat.

Hues of tangerine and honey meet over kindhearted small talk. Robinheart feels the corners of her eyes crinkle with joy at the opportunity to talk about her children. "The time is going by so fast. Less than two moons and they will be apprentices," she confirms with a nod. "It feels like just yesterday you were helping deliver them." She fondly recalls that day; the tapping of newleaf rain upon the nursery as newborns squeaked and cried, the apprehension she felt as a new mother and the reassurance gifted to her by Moonbeam and the other queens. That memory is washed in the tide of Moonbeam's next question, only the memory to replace it is of Robinheart laying not far from here… speaking to her starlit reflection as if she were speaking to Brookstorm in Starclan.

Her ears briefly angle back against her head and she breaks her gaze away from Moonbeam's own.

"I… don't know," the queen confesses, dropping the volume of her voice a bit just in case Lichenstar or Hazecloud were somehow within earshot. "I will do my duties to the best of my ability, of course, but part of me is nervous about… not being strong enough or fast enough to keep up. There's quite a bit I will need to relearn once I leave the nursery." She shifts her weight a bit, readjusting her hind leg to try and alleviate the dull ache her confession has brought to life. "I'm sure it will be okay once I settle back into the life of a warrior, it just feels very daunting right now," Robinheart adds, not wanting to leave her confession on a negative note. "If you are worried about my leg, I can try to assure you that I have been keeping up my physical activity and swimming to strengthen it… that's probably what you wanted to talk about, right?"

What else would there be for the medicine cat to discuss with the tortoiseshell queen?​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[Moonbeam]

She's glad that Robinheart follows after her, soft words in response to her questions and she soaks it in, trying to understand where the other was coming from. A cat trained fully to be a warrior only to quickly become a queen and mother having to move back and forth between dens and lifestyles after an injury and rest for moons on end. It was a lot to get used to, a lot to learn and relearn, and it was something that Moonbeam wasn't sure if she'd be able to do having began her training in her position so young. She finishes with a question, making sure that it was her leg that Moonbeam wanted to talk about and for a moment she hesitates - she hadn't really thought this through. "I've seen you swimming with your kits, teaching them while relearning how best to swim yourself... even though you were the first I've ever had to heal for a wound like that - and hopefully not too many after - I know that your leg is healing the best it can and that it'll be strong once more." Even if it will never be as strong as it once was if Robinheart were to become a warrior once more after her stay in the nursery then Moonbeam knew she could do it, already her friend had shown that she could do anything she put her mind to given how much she had been through.

"But no I came to talk to you about a few things really... at the gathering WindClan announced that yellowcough was threatening them once more-" had Robinheart been back for that? The hectic moons back then and the time to come after blend together so quickly within the medicine cat's mind "- and ThunderClan was not there so I could not speak with Gentlestorm to see when I'd be able to continue my training, but it's made me realize that I need help." She'd search her friend's gaze for reactions, understanding, disgust, anything that the other gave way. "I want you to be that help if you'll accept, not because of your leg or any future struggles that could come of it, but because I know you can do anything you put your mind to and that's something that could be valuable in this position."

She'd let it sink in for a moment more before speaking again, "If you you do accept you won't be able to have anymore kits, and after they're apprentices you'd have to make sure the kits you have now don't get special treatment... don't get favored over other clanmates." It could be hard, something that Moonbeam had no experience in and never would, but she had heard the story behind why it had been made a code, and with yellowcough threatening them once more it was something on the front of her mind, flicking back and forth.

CAUSE LIKE CONTELLATIONS ꕥ A MILLION YEARS AWAY

• --
• ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ flesh wounds
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ infections
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ aches & pains
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ illness
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ breathing
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ traveling
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ broken bones
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ kitting
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ poisons
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ 15 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual polyromantic ; mated to beefang, crushing on redacted
  ꕥ currently mentoring none
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics

​

 

[robinheart]

Relief washes over the queen like the tide along the shore, a confirmation of her efforts not going unnoticed by the medicine cat. There is gratitude in hearing Moonbeam reassure Robinheart that she will heal and be strong once more (not as strong as she once was, but better than having no strength at all).

But that is not the reason for this conversation.

Robinheart's eyes betray confusion for a second, morphing into concern over the news of yellowcough in Windclan and the absence of Thunderclan from the gathering. Then Moonbeam reveals that needing help was at the forefront of her mind. It made sense, all things considered. But why tell the tortoiseshell queen?

'I want you to be that help,' the ivory moggy continues, not leaving her companion in limbo for more than a small breath. "Me?" The concern for the wellbeing of the other clans dissipates and leaves behind flickers of disbelief. She is thrown back in time, back a couple moons, to when she confessed to the stars (to starbound Brookstorm) that she had considered asking Moonbeam to take her on as an apprentice. Robinheart's driving factor had in fact been her leg. But Moonbeam's mind thinks not of what may hinder the tortoiseshell, rather what lifts her up. Her perseverance. The way she faces everything thrown her way to the best of her ability.

Traits she learned from Willowroot. Traits that Brookstorm helped foster in their rivalry turned romance.

The news settles within her mind as Moonbeam continues. If she accepts then she will not be able to mother any more litters. Robinheart lightly shakes her head at the revelation, having made up her mind long ago that she'd never take another mate or bring new life into the world again. "The love of my life resides in Starclan, there were never going to be more kits from me," she confirms with a sad smile - the first shift in expression since Moonbeam asked her to become her apprentice. As for not giving her kits special treatment, "And I believe I can be fair to all, not putting my kits above anyone else…" she affirms with a subtle bow of her head. It'll be hard, difficult at first, but isn't everything difficult at first? Once they are apprentices they will begin to lead their own lives. Robinheart will be there for them, of course, but she also knows there is plenty room enough for all of Riverclan in her heart. It has never deterred her to step up and help her clanmates.

And now she was being given a chance to help in a way she had only whispered to the stars in a moment of self-doubt. Robinheart fixes her gentle gaze upon Moonbeam. Citrine eyes reflect that same perseverance the medicine cat had noticed in her before. Even more so is gratitude for having this opportunity to join her friend in aiding their home through illness, injury, and omens. A soft smile presents itself to Moonbeam. "I would be honored to accept. I want to help… to learn from you so that Riverclan can thrive."

Are you seeing this, Brookstorm? I'm going to make something of my life. I'm going to do right by our home.​

[ penned by kerms ]​