pafp WHEN EVERYTHING IS GOLDEN -- announcement..?

[leopardtongue]

It had been thirteen nights since the cats that had gone on the journey had left everyone, though for Leopardtongue it had been fourteen days since the worry of those leaving potentially never coming back had been gnawing at her stomach. It was a risk that everyone who had volunteered were willing to take when they had decided they would go, and it had to be a risk that everyone that was left back at home were forced to accept. Even if they did come back, there was no telling who it would be or how they would be, and the thought of that had only caused the rosette tabby to be more worried. She missed her clanmates, but there was no denying that Batwing had been the one to always come to mind first, she knew that she missed him the most and instead of dwelling on it for the first two days she had tried to go out and hunt, helping to train those she could while trying to gauge Acornpaw's training thus far, wanting a distraction from the thoughts that plagued her at night when they were meant to be sleeping.

And many distractions she had gotten the past few days. Bones of prey showing up within the territory from unknown sources, more cats getting and dying of yellowcough, the disappearance of others. Recent conversations with Berryheart and Howlingstar aside, there were many things happening in ThunderClan, and it felt more and more like none of them were good.

She had been lost in these thoughts when she saw Raccoonstripe in camp, and it was then that Leopardtongue sought the tabby out - a friendly enough face despite his demeanor, one that she had known for most - if not all - of her life. He wouldn't sugar-coat things and simply tell her what she wanted to hear, she knew that much. When he agreed to talk with her, she soon found herself siting down by him, speaking in a lower tone and not wanting others around the camp to hear what she had to say. Everyone was worried, they didn't need to hear about her own worries as well, there was enough of that going around. The more she spoke, however, the more the warrior found herself losing what she was going to say, and without meaning to she was getting louder, speaking quicker as the tears she had been holding in finally threatened to fall. "What if they don't come back? What if they do and Batwing isn't there?" She finally found herself saying, head turning to look at the other warrior before it fell down to her paws, watching for a moment as they shuffled along the ground, moving the grass around, and before she realized it the words slipped out - "I talked with Berryheart to make sure, but I'm expecting kits. Batwing's the father and he may never come back." She didn't mean for it to be loud enough for others to hear, but whoever gathered around she didn't notice, too focused on the burning in her face as the fear-filled tears that had been welling this whole time finally fell to the grass.

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[ooc]@RACCOONSTRIPE

info appearance

• "speaking" // thinking // action
  Leopardtongue - 35 moons - she/her - ThunderClan - warrior
  MEDIUM physically // MEDIUM mentally
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[RACCOONSTRIPE]

Raccoonstripe’s fur is bristling about his shoulders, his tail lashing furiously, when Leopardtongue approaches him. He’s only just returned from a patrol around the perimeter of WindClan’s border, and they’d found prey bones with the rank stench of rogue all over it. Different scent than the one he’d chased with Roeflame through their territory, which leads him to suspect they are unrelated cats entirely. Others have had their mice stolen, their catches haggled over, their safety taunted. The lead warrior’s fury burns away his exhaustion so that there’s only anger left to fuel him; he’s on his way to report his most recent findings when a hiccupping voice halts his steps.

He turns, angry dark eyes softening somewhat. Leopardtongue is only just older than he is—the two of them hailed from the marshes, had fought in the Great Battle alongside one another. They’d tussled together as young cats, had shared prey and miseries when the pine cats had come. He dips his head to the spotted tabby, letting the fur on his neck lie flat. His report can wait, he decides, if only for a moment.

The glowing yellow-green of her eyes mists with tears. Raccoonstripe blinks in surprise. “Hey, are you okay? What’s—” He bites his tongue, ears flicking forward as she laments, as she confesses. “What if they don’t come back?” The tabby blinks. “They will,” he assures her. “Flamewhisker and Nightbird won’t let ThunderClan fail. None of them will.” He hides his own doubts, those that mimic Leopardtongue’s. He doesn’t want to imagine a patrol returning without the small black smoke he calls his closest friend, but the root of their worries turns out to be quite different.

“I talked with Berryheart to make sure, but I’m expecting kits. Batwing’s the father and he may never come back.” And now the distraught display clicks into place, and Raccoonstripe’s eyes cloud with sympathy. With pity he wishes he didn’t have to feel. “Oh, Leopardtongue.” Kits. Kits were good news for ThunderClan—especially kits from strong, loyal warriors like Batwing and Leopardtongue—but will they be born into a forest thinned by sickness and rogues, fatherless?

He rests the fluffy tip of his tail on his old friend’s shoulder. “We’re here for you no matter what happens, but…” A pair of silver eyes flash behind his own. His jaw tightens. “We have to have faith in those we sent to the mountains.”

ooc ✧ 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺

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  — raccoon . raccoonstripe
  — he/him ; lead warrior of thunderclan
  — heteroflexible ; single
  — long-haired black tabby with white and dark brown eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Rai

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[Flycatcher]

Flycatcher was not snooping on the conversation. He was at nearby, awaiting the reports from those leading patrols, when he spotted Leopardtongue intercept Raccoonstripe. Usually, Flycatcher wouldn't have paid this too much mind, but Leopardtongue seemed to be in something of a distressed state so he listened quietly.

"You and Batwing...you're expecting kits?" Flycatcher spoke, rising to his feet to pad towards the two. A difficult time to be bringing kits into the world to be sure, but it would be a blessing for Leopardtongue and the clan regardless. "Raccoonstripe is right, you cannot lose hope, Leopardtongue," Flycatcher assures her, echoing the lead warrior's sentiments. "We have sent some of our best to the mountains. We need to trust them and have faith in StarClan that they will find the herbs we need to fend off this horrid disease and come back to us safely." His expression was serious for a moment but softened looking at Leopardtongue. "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to let any of us know," He smiled.​

 

[BERRYHEART]

As rightfully-torn as Spots was, Berryheart was not expecting her to so readily reveal this information. She had been reluctant to go nursery-bound from what he had gathered, and the tortoiseshell tom had thought that perhaps she might attempt to hold her secret in her heart for a bit longer... at least, until it became overtly noticeable. A long sigh left him, the heaviness of the conversation snaking its way toward him and winding tendrils around his weak lungs.

He too had known Spots for a long time; a face close in familiarity to kin, they had hailed from the marsh ad travelled to this forest together. If she was to seek council from anyone in the Clan except for Wings, Berryheart should have guessed it would have been his brother.

It would be foolish to sit by and let them despair a little, when he was blessed with a bit of knowledge that made his faith as sturdy as an oak. Curled nearby, the slow rise of Berryheart's head would likely be caught in the periphery of those gathered. "If anyone returns, it will be our warriors." ThunderClan was meant to protect the five, to help the creeper vine keep all its leaves. Why else would he have been given that part of the prophecy, as opposed to a simple vision, or an instruction to cross borders?

He was not the best at comfort.​

PENNED BY PIN ☾​

 

[Sunfreckle]

Sunfreckle hears the word kits and he is joyous, overwhelmed with delight. While he was on his way out of the nursery it seemed as though Leopardtongue was on the way in and he made a mental note to ensure it was cleaned out and prepped properly before bidding it farewell himself. Having kits, being a parent, it was something that would always warm his heart though he was quite confident this was his last litter given the tribulations he'd gone through with them and the uncertainty of their birth, but he didn't regret it. Once you had a kit you viewed the world with wonderment again like you were also so young and he expected the rosette molly would make for an excellent mother.
The red tom plods forward from the nursery as he hears the worries, the fears, uttered concerns for their journeying clanmates, and his three-legged gait stops him alongside Raccoonstripe so he can regard them all with a polite smile in greeting, "They're right, we've sent our most dependable clanmates-I expect nothing less than them all to return safely with lungwort to spare." He had faith in them despite his worries, surely StarClan would not have them send cats to their deaths and he trusted that they would all return safely. Little Wolf, Flamewhisker, his closest friends - Nightbird, the silent and confident fellow lead who made him want to try more, Hailstorm's gentleness, Stormpaw's determination, Stormywing's fiesty demeanor...and Batwing.
Batwing, the new father, who had to come home now no matter what so he could see his new kits.
"Congratulations, by the way..." He dips his head, offers a comforting nudge to the shoulder with his nose, "Everything will be fine, he'll come back. I'm sure of it." They all would.
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