TIME CAST A SPELL ON YOU ☀︎ HOWLINGSTAR

[freckleflame]

some time had passed since mousenose and sparkwing had been assigned their apprentices. a great feat, regardless of whether or not the apprentices in question were their younger siblings, a crowning achievement. to be trusted in training the next wave of thunderclan warriors, melding them beneath her paws, easing them into growth like a weed. hardy, durable — alive. at the arthritic age of three moons, sunshinepaw and emberpaw had touched noses with her littermates and since then, they were no longer sunfreckle’s responsibility. those fragile lives were in the paws of.. sparkwing. mousenose. despite the rush of dread that brings to her skull, they were doing well — still kicking, following at the heels of their mentors like every other warrior in training. so they couldn’t have been doing too bad, and if they were ready, then, well.. she should be, too. it could be any day now.

she cannot place the feeling that thought spurs in her. it rolls her stomach, a sudden nausea pulsing along to the quickening beat of her heart — an apprentice of her very own, to train and keep alive until they could do so on their own. it is enough to keep her from despairing, from the black hole of why were they assigned an apprentice before me? was that on purpose? by the hair of her head.

freckleflame ponders the feeling, ruminates on it on starlit nights when sleep dances at her heels like a playful mutt, worries herself sick. any day, she could be assigned, and what then? she barely knew what to do with herself at the best of times, couldn’t do a thing without taking a best too long to second guess it. the scar on her chin was light compared to what could have been during the invasion on their home, and while she had succeeded in getting the molly away from her father, it hadn’t been for long. what if she was caught off guard again? she’d have two lives to worry about, she’d have to pray she could imbibe them with the knowledge she knows is set deep in her skull. why was it so much harder to act than it had been to practice? why did it feel so different? could she put aside that uncertainty, could she train an apprentice right?

” howlingstar? “ she hopes she isn’t interrupting, speaks hesitantly into the shadows of the tabby’s den. there is a fear keeping her paws planted, though she isn’t quite sure if that’s the right word for it whatsoever. a hesitance to step paw into her leaders den, although she’d heard stories of her father and howlingstar’s closeness since before her ears had perked open. stars, this was wolfwind’s grandma, but still their leader, and she does not move until allowed. freckleflame chews the inner side of her cheek, continuing softer, ” are you.. busy? “

𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴 -`☀︎´- 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘞

• i. @HOWLINGSTAR
  
• 
  
  
• 𖦹 . LESBIAN, SINGLE. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK. SIXTEEN MOONS. FRIEND & SISTER TO MANY. NAMED WARRIOR OF THUNDERCLAN ON 8 / 3 / 2023. PENNED BY ANTLERS .. !!!
  f. she / her, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. large cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. larger than life! shades of vibrant russet, dousing swathes of shadow and interwoven with ribbons pale cream come to drape like licks of flame over a thick, broad - shouldered figure.
  
  unspecified maine coon heritage born of sunfreckle's kittypet background shows itself in large, round paws and tufted, long - furred toes set upon thick, tabby - splotched limbs. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers, all while bearing a wide, bright - eyed grin. she seems to sing confidence from every laugh, every word.. that can't all be for show, can it?
  
  ——— ˙⋆ — prone to bouts of explosive emotion. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.
  
  

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Leaf-bare so far has been absolutely exhausting. From the fear of Sunfreckle’s capture to the lack of prey and herbs, the tabby had become worn thin from stress and exhaustion. She hunts when she’s not patrolling - with all the free time she has now that her apprentice has become a warrior, that means lots and lots of hunts. And so when her head finally does hit her nest, it doesn’t take her long to sink into sleep. Until a soft voice reaches her and alerts her from her slumber, that is.

Howlingstar lifts her head and stares out the entrance to her den, ears twitching. “No, come in,” Comes her equally soft reply, voice heavy with sleep but welcoming all the same. Sleep can come later, but whatever is weighing on young Freckleflame’s mind must be spoken now. That is Howlingstar’s favorite part of being clan leader: hearing her clanmates’ troubles and fears, and doing what she can to comfort them and give advice when she can. That’s what her purpose here is. “What is it?” She tilts her head, blinking gentle eyes at the warrior.​

 

[freckleflame]

although the sun lowers and settles into the canopy of trees overhead, the tabby welcomes her — she steps in blinking wildly, letting cool green eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. she feels the ache of the season setting deep into her bones, can only imagine how howlingstar must ache from the sound of her soft, sleepy tone. what is it? she asks, and freckleflame loathes to admit the fall in her chest when she thinks of it again. how it’s bothered her, kept her tossing in her nest — was it normal to be like this? to feel some semblance of excitement, of adrenaline pumping through her veins before it freezes over to ice, to what ifs. there it was, though : the thoughts that plagued her. what ifs. there were a lot of what ifs, enough to keep her picturing them when she lets her thoughts stray too far.

she thinks of sandthorn, stars rest her soul. she thinks of her fathers hesitance around apprentices, the forlorn glint he gets in his eye when he watches the newest wave of kits step up for naming. she thinks of.. morningpaw, but it had been so long ago now that the molly is only a hazy blur of chocolate and ivory, too easy for her mind to conjure moonwhisper in its place. too much could happened, had happened ; freckleflame, herself, was aging now. little wolf was gone, and her first litter now standing place in the position she once had. her siblings, training their own apprentices — she didn’t see them much. not anymore, not unless flycatcher assigned them patrol or they managed to snag a meal together before crashing, exhausted, into leafbare - frosted nests. they seemed to be doing just fine.

but what if i make a mistake? it could cost them their life. she would be looking out for more than just herself, which she does just fine — but what if, one day, she doesn’t? the uncertainty rolls her stomach again, but she swallows hard against it, ” you know how you.. uhh..“ and off her voice trails. a poor start, she cringes visibly, shaking her head as if she could throw the words physically out of the air. a sigh snakes from her teeth and she settles down heavily aside howlingstar, hesitance slowly being forgotten and in its place, thought. a furrowed brow. her paws turn inwards, fidgeting, ” well.. you’ve trained a lotta cats, right? were you.. “ it’s a word shes said a lot, as of late. ” .. scared? at first?“ scared she wouldn’t do well, scared she would fail and have to face the hard eyes of their family because she — she was the one who was supposed to teach them to defend themself.

she purses her lips, then lifts her head, cheek fluff flying, ” you gave mousenose ‘n sparkwing their apprentices and everything, but i — i don’t know if i’m.. ready. “ green eyes flick upward, searching, as if she could find the answers along the tabby’s striped face. would there be a time? or was it like wolfwind had said, back when she’d fretted to her in the dying sunlight? maybe there wasn’t a perfect time, as much as she hoped the older molly would have some wise, all - knowing answer otherwise.

𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴 -`☀︎´- 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘞

• i.
  
• 
  
  
• 𖦹 . LESBIAN, SINGLE. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK. SIXTEEN MOONS. FRIEND & SISTER TO MANY. NAMED WARRIOR OF THUNDERCLAN ON 8 / 3 / 2023. PENNED BY ANTLERS .. !!!
  f. she / her, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. large cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. larger than life! shades of vibrant russet, dousing swathes of shadow and interwoven with ribbons pale cream come to drape like licks of flame over a thick, broad - shouldered figure.
  
  unspecified maine coon heritage born of sunfreckle's kittypet background shows itself in large, round paws and tufted, long - furred toes set upon thick, tabby - splotched limbs. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers, all while bearing a wide, bright - eyed grin. she seems to sing confidence from every laugh, every word.. that can't all be for show, can it?
  
  ——— ˙⋆ — prone to bouts of explosive emotion. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.
  
  

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

The young warrior appears lost in thought, and for a moment Howlingstar guesses it has something to do with Sunfreckle's recent disappearance and reappearance. She is prepared to offer comfort, to assure her the territory has been checked over and no twoleg traps remain; no more kin will be taken from her, but her stammered words are not about her father. She cocks her head to the side further, eyes narrowing in thought as she listens. When she trails off, the tabby leans forward, nodding encouragingly. "What is it, Freckleflame?" She repeats, more gently. Something is clearly bothering her.

Finally, she asks if Howlingstar was ever scared to train cats, and she blinks in surprise. The first cats she trained to do anything were...Hollow Tree and Little Wolf, two daughters that are no longer in her life for different reasons. Her heart aches, but she suppresses the urge to frown, instead forcing an expression of curiosity on her face. "I taught all of my kits everything they know about hunting and fighting. That was long before the clans existed, long before apprentices were a title and mentors were assigned. I did it because that was my job as their mother, to make sure they were ready for the world I brought them into. No, I wasn't scared to teach them - there isn't room to be scared when it is your responsibility and obligation."

She goes on to bring up her littermates, how they received their first apprentices, and Howlingstar's expression softens. "Freckleflame, when the time comes for an apprentice to need you, you will be ready for them. You'll be exactly what that kit needs when they're given to you. You're a skilled warrior, I know you'll do fine. But don't stress in the meantime - I'm sure your siblings are exhausted from the effort it takes to be a mentor, so enjoy your freedom while it lasts!" She ends off with a chuckle, her whiskers twitching with amusement.​