WAITING ON THE SUN TONIGHT // council

[HOWLINGSTAR]

// @Flycatcher @BERRYHEART @Flamewhisker @nightbird @RACCOONSTRIPE @WOLFWIND @BURNSTORM

Of course she is joyous to see her remaining clanmates return home. But there remains a sting in her heart that Little Wolf is not with them, an irrational sting but a sting nonetheless. She had allowed for swift hello's, given everyone time to greet their loved ones and get Stormpaw to the medicine den before she quietly ushered her council and medicine cat to her den for a meeting. A swift glance had been cast towards Sunfreckle - he is still looking after the nursery, but her gaze tells him she will update him as soon as they are finished. With that, she disappears into her den to follow the rest of her council inside.

She sits now with her back to the wall, dull eyes gazing between Flamewhisker and Nightbird. "I'm so relieved you were successful," She begins, thinking of the cats in Berryheart's care who are already well on their way to a full recovery. "You saved many of your clanmates. All of you are heroes." Tears prick her eyes and she must look away for a moment, blinking them away. Her daughter had died a hero. For the briefest of moments, her mind enters a dark place. Why couldn't it have been another cat? The thought is gone as quickly as it had arrived. Little Wolf would never have wanted that, she knows. She died a warrior's death, defending another, and there is nothing more honorable than that. Howlingstar couldn't be prouder.

"I want to hear everything. How were the other clans? How did you find the lungwort?" She goes on to ask, returning her attention to the two lead warriors. It's important for all of them to hear about this journey.​

 

[Flycatcher]

He sits quietly in Howlingstar's den. Its the first time in a while he's been sat here, much less gathered with the whole of ThunderClan's council - well, whole save for Sunfreckle. Flycatcher finds himself seated close to Howlingstar and Flamewhisker, occasionally sharing a quiet glance with his mate but otherwise remaining focused to what was going on.

Howlingstar asks the returning cats to share what had happened on the journey and Flycatcher looks at them with interest. Nightbird had shared some details, but they were brief and to the point, and likely not the full extent of what they had all seen. He wanted to know more about the journey there, how they had come across the lungwort and the elation they had felt about finding it.

// little teeny tiny post, will probably toss up another response after the others have spoken​

 

[nightbird]

successful, heroes. nightbird blinks, dips her head slightly at the praise but says nothing. success didn't feel like this, there was no mind numbing elation or adrenaline that refused to leave her blood. they had gotten the lungwort, at a cost of course, but what other clans were paying for it like this?

howlingstar wanted details, she didn't jump at the opportunity to retell them. it wasn't a fun adventure they had been on, maybe it would have been without the grim second half. but as the silence settled amongst them she found herself sucking in a breath to fill it. out and over with, then it could be a thing of the past as thunderclan grew to forget.

"the other clans were helpful when needed. soon after we crossed a thunderpath we came across a river. there was a broken twoleg bridge that the riverclanner's held up until everyone else could cross and help them. there were a few who fell in during the process, riverclan dived in after them to help." this was about where riverclan's praises could stop being sung, in typical fashion they remained independent, and even after it all hazecloud had the nerve to outwardly insult thunderclan.

"we travelled for a few days longer without much incident. found our way into a ravine." her tail taps anxiously in it's place over her paws at the memory. "i'm not sure what happened, the walls started falling in on us. everyone scattered in fear of being crushed, but we all made it. found openings in the walls to wait it out, but they were soon blocked."

"i can't speak for everyone, but the cats trapped with me managed. a shadowclanner, honeyjaw, guided us, it was pitch black and he was the only one able to see anything at all. i don't know how long we spent in those caves, but soon honeyjaw was able to lead us out and we all regrouped."

"we travelled again for a few days, drew closer to the mountains. faced a steep cliff, were able to climb it with the help of skyclan." expectantly, she glanced over to flamewhisker, a silent request for her to continue the retelling.

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• NIGHTBIRD ✩ she/her, lead warrior of thunderclan, twenty-seven moons
  ⭃ nightbird is a small black smoke molly with pale silver eyes. a loner turned thunderclanner, her loyalty and drive to provide for her clan is unwavering. however, she is not known for harboring a bleeding heart, instead equipped with sarcastically fueled wit, brutal honesty, and a sharply edged tongue.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[Flamestar]

At Howlingstar's request, she follows the others into her den. Naturally she sits down beside Flycatcher, pressing her side against his. She closed her eyes, his presence giving her much needed comfort. However, when she opened her eyes again, she was met once more with the heavy guilt that had been weighing on her since Little Wolf's accident. When their leader asked for them to speak, she noticeably hesitated...Right now, the last thing she wanted to do was relive everything they had been through..no matter how important it was to share. Nightbird must have noticed her hesitance, because she began to tell their experience, and while she spoke Flamewhisker kept her gaze at the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look at Howlingstar, Raccoonstripe, Berryheart, Wolfwind, or especially Burnstorm...though she wasn't too sure why he was in here.

The river...their first obstacle. At the time, it had seemed hard, but after everything else...now it had been the easiest obstacle. Her muscles visibly stiffened as her clanmate brought up the rockslide. Flamewhisker's eyes grew hazy as she imagined the sound of the falling boulders...the trembling could still be felt under her paws. They had spent so many days in complete darkness, relying on Needledrift to hunt lizards for them. She had been certain they would die down there in those tunnels, but everyone had found a way out. She blinked, and when she came back to, Nightbird had left off at the cliffs. The ebony she-cat paused, and glanced over at her.

Flamewhisker took in a deep breath, and ruffled her pelt out. "We traveled for several days after climbing the cliff. The mountains were very cold and snowy. A few of us had some encounters with the eagles...myself included. Orangeblossom and I were hunting, and one tried to take her, but I got to her before it could. We chased it off together...that's where this came from." she paused, glancing at missing fur on her shoulder was from the healing scar. She then turned to look at Howlingstar. "Little Wolf was who found the Lungwort." As guilty as she felt, her friend's mother deserved to know who the true hero was. "Magpiepaw showed us all how to harvest it, and we all grabbed as much as we could carry. We then turned to head back...It was a few days after we got the Lungwort that...it happened." Her voice tightened, and grief filled her gaze. "Cherrypaw, Orangeblossom's kit...It all happened so fast...An eagle tried to take her, but Little Wolf intercepted it.." She couldn't bring herself to say anymore. Her legs started to tremble, and she felt sick. She pictured the crimson stained snow...her best friend's broken body from being dropped by the bird. Her head lowers, and she pins her ears against her skull. The den was suddenly feeling very crowded, and she wanted to leave...to get some fresh air...but she forced herself to stay, and after a few minutes she continued to speak.

"We...We traveled for several days, until we found a forest. We had to come back a different route since the ravine was blocked off. It was a lot like ours, and the cats from the other clans had a difficult time maneuvering through it, so we did most of the hunting and leading. A day or so in, Stormpaw and I were hunting and we had a run in with a fox. It threw me against a tree, and I got winded. Stormpaw heard the commotion, and she jumped in and saved me. She chased it away, all by herself...she fought like a true warrior. Owlear would be proud." she paused, taking in a deep breath. Little had she known, that was her daughter's last battle. "A fox also found our camp one night. Some of the cats scattered, along with Batwing. We got split up, but most of us stayed together. He found those who scattered, and lead them through the forest until we were all reunited."

"After we made it out of the forest, we came across moorland. There was a pack of dogs out there, and they were on our tails faster than you could blink. They came out of nowhere, and the entire group got separated....there was so much screaming that I..I froze and couldn't move, but Batwing knocked me out of it. The windclanners managed to chase them away, but...not before one got ahold of Stormpaw." Periwinklebreeze lost an eye that day as well...she feared for the windclanner at how Sootstar would view him now. "Batwing helped me look for her, and we found her in a wooded area..." she stopped, taking a moment to bury her face in her mate's shoulder fur. The scene was too much to relive...she couldn't do it. She wasn't strong enough...after a moment, she pulled herself away, facing her clanmates once more. "We all...we all know the result."

"Periwinklebreeze, Sedgewhisker of Windclan...Dovethroat of Riverclan, Magpiepaw of Shadowclan, and Orangeblossom, Cherrypaw, Bobbie, Duskpool, Greeneyes, and Chalk of Skyclan stayed behind to help us." Their discussion had gone fairly well, but she couldn't help but remember Hazecloud's insult upon their clan. Her name almost came out, but she held down the negative words she wished to say. The Windclanners had been more friendly on the journey than the Riverclanners were.

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★ don't need to save me

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• View attachment 1193
  FLAMEWHISKER of THUNDERCLAN
  LH red tabby with low white (masks black tabby, carries dilute, solid)
  — Lead Warrior of Thunderclan ; currently mentoring Acornpaw
  — she/her ; mated with Flycatcher
  — mother to Stormpaw & Falconpaw
  — 26 moons ; ages on the 20th
  — Smells like dirt, old leaves, tree sap, faint hint of flowers
  — will start a fight, will finish fights, will kill (case depending)
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — penned by Icey ! ; link to tags
  — link to toyhouse​

 

[BURNSTORM]

He feels like an intruder on this meeting. Always, he had been on the outside, wondering what went on during the meetings that his grandmother held with her council but now he actually got to be a part of it and he had thought it would feel empowering and it does but theres also a strange feeling that he gets when he looks around at all the other faces present. His youth does not escape him but his grandmother believed in him and that is what mattered is it not?

He listens quietly as Nightbird and then Flamewhisker recount the journey they had travelled on. Flamewhisker says his mother is the one who found the lungwort, that she was a hero in more ways than one. His ears pin to the back of his head and he feels like he could choke on the unshed tears that threaten to flood his eyes but that he forces himself to swallow. Hearing Flamewhisker recount her death was painful, and it makes his heart twist in fresh agony. He says nothing from where he sits, and choses to look at his paws. Anything else and he runs the risk of shedding the tears he works so hard to keep under wraps.

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howlingstar's eyes focus on Nightbird as she begins their shared tale. Though her heart aches, she is warmed by stories of the other clans coming together to help ThunderClan. Crossing a river...leading through darkness...ascending a cliff. Incredible feats that were only made possible because of each clan's individuality. It's no wonder StarClan decreed there would be five.

Next, her eyes shift towards Flamewhisker and she listens intently as the tale continues to unfold. She says Little Wolf had been the one to find the lungwort and her lips tighten; to some, it might look like a smile, to others it looks sad. Flamewhisker goes on to detail the story of how her daughter lost her life and Howlingstar must close her eyes and turn her face while the words spill over her and run off her back like water. She cannot bear to think of it anymore. But eventually, the story does continue. A name that continues to pop out is Batwing. "It seems he helped quite a bit," She comments softly, nodding in approval.

She listens to the names Flamewhisker lists, committing them to memory. It is thanks to them Stormpaw made it home safely. I should thank them, She thinks briefly, eyes flicking to the ground in thought. "It sounds like...you all have been through so much." She gently shakes her head. "You must promise me to rest. Take the next few days to recoup and relax, gain your strength back. I'm sure your paws must be killing you." ​

 

[Flycatcher]

Like the others present, he listens closely to the stories Nightbird and Flamewhisker have to tell. Flycatcher was pleased to hear that despite the differences between all the clans, when the time came for it, they had been able to put aside their differences and use their strengths to help each other out. It reminded him somewhat of all the clans banding together to drive out the rogues too. A rare moment of unification between the five of them.

As the two lead warriors go on, they learn the full extent of Little Wolf's deeds on the journey from her discovery of the lungwort to the sacrifice she gave. Flycatcher glanced at her kin in the room and gave them a sombre smile. "Thanks to Little Wolf, many lives were saved. You must be proud." Little Wolf had saved cats by finding the lungwort they had set out to retrieve and she had saved one more by sparing Cherrypaw from the eagle. The only time Flycatcher seems to quiet is understandably at the mention of his daughter, a pained expression on his features as was usually the case when she was mentioned as of late. His attention and focus return when Howlingstar speaks again, suggesting they rest and take a few days to recover, to which the deputy nods his head in agreement.​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

The council meeting has a somber atmosphere. Raccoonstripe sits beside Burnstorm, his grief raw inside him like an open wound, one he bends and flexes to protect from prying eyes or claws. Flamewhisker and Nightbird are still journey-weary—he can see it in the soft, jaded gleam in their eyes, the worn-leather-quality to their voice. He does not hear what Howlingstar does, about Batwing’s heroics, or what Flycatcher seems to, about Little Wolf’s. He hears the story of how his sister died for a Clan not her own. For a kit whose own mother should have died saving her.

He shifts his paws, eyes dark and smooth as pebbles. “ThunderClan owes you all,” he says dully. His ears twitch, gaze drifting to Flycatcher, who says her kin must be proud. His mouth tightens into a firm line, but he nods. “We’d rather have her here where she belongs,” he murmurs, half to himself. It’s no fault of Flamewhisker’s, of Nightbird’s, of any of the journey cats, that his sister’s head had been full of butterflies and dreams, that she’d sacrifice herself so foolishly.

After his initial reaction, he’d come to terms with that, at least. “At least you’ll get to sleep without RiverClan and ShadowClan stench in your nose,” he says, trying for a lighter tone. Near-black eyes flick to Nightbird, remembering their jest before she’d departed for Fourtrees. How different things had been then—for both of them.

, ”​

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[WOLFWIND]

Wolfwind wanted to be spared no details.

It's what she tells herself, but really, her eyes are dull, as Nightbird details the tale of the fallen twoleg bridge, or the cave in, or the cliff. As Flamewhisker speaks of Lungwort, her eyes round, if only for the mention of her aunt's name. A SkyClan apprentice. An eagle. Killer birds aren't something she's more than heard of, but she can imagine it— how the curl of talons might burn when they were bigger, and could grip a feline body. The fur along her back prickles, precarious, as if she were in that situation herself. Intercepted it. Little Wolf intercepted it.

And Flamewhisker is moing on, too, too quickly. Claws grip at the ground as she speaks of dense forest— because it isn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear what happened to Little Wolf. Her aunt that she'd known since she was a little Wolf. She lived through the marshes; she lived through the marshes, through the battle, through so much...

What happened to Little Wolf?

She knew what happened, but aimlessly, she tries to reach for something greater; something more. When she'd told her goodbye, it wasn't meant to be... goodbye, forever.

It feels like her family is getting smaller and smaller. Her shoulders are hunched. An amber gaze drops to the ground. Raccoonstirpe's grief is not so obvious, but he is grieving, isn't he?

She feels a flash of anger, that Flycatcher tries to tell her what she must feel. She knows what she means— but in a fit of sadness, she wants to antagonize. She must be proud. She must. Wolfwind was proud. Of everyone who'd made it home, and everyone who hadn't. Raccoonstripe's murmur is loud in the quiet of the den, and Wolfwind finds herself flicking an ear in agreement. She keeps her head to the ground, so she wouldn't accidentally make a face she wouldn't like.

It sounded like an extended death trap, this journey. " I'm glad... We didn't lose anyone else, " quietly, she says. Nevermind poor Stormpaw. What had happened... it was better than being dead. In another future, it was strange to imagine that Nightbird and Flamewhisker may not have been among them.

OOC ✨ 10.25.2023 BET MY MONEY ON A STUPID HORSE, I LOST THAT

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• [ SO I RAN OUT TO THE TRACK TO GET MY CASH BACK ] WOLFWIND THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR! MENTOR 2 EMBERPAW; KIN 2 MANY.
  —— SHE / HER, CONFUSED BY BUT NOT OPPOSED TO THE USE OF OTHERS
  —— CURRENTLY 23 MOONS OLD. AGES EVERY 1ST.
  
  FRIEND TO MANY! UPBEAT AND UPFRONT. MOVES THROUGH LIFE WITH AN UPBEAT EXTERIOR AND BRIGHT EYES. MAKE NO MISTAKE! TAKES HER JOB VERY SERIOUSLY. THERE'S IMPORTANCE IN SAFETY, RECKLESSNESS ONLY GETS YOU SO FAR. ONCE A FOOL, BUT NO LONGER

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