YOU WERE INCREDIBLE ☆ frostbite

[Skunktail]

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Very few cats held his respect, his issues with authority not withstanding. He had began to slowly develop a sense of understanding for Chilledstar at least, looked upon their stripe faced leader with a little less disdain than he once did, eventually settling into the realization that no one would ever live up to the standards he desired to fill his mother's paws so he should probably just lower them some instead and that's what he did. Chilledstar was doing alright, Smogmaw was still a stain on an otherwise compelling leadership, the medicine cats with his sister's guidance were doing well and of course, Frostbite was perfect. Couldn't ask for a cat more suited to the role, he was born for it in a way. Strict but kind, dutiful but carefree enough to not be intolerable - maybe he could teach Scalejaw a lesson or two. Removing sticks 101. Spotting the alabaster prince he made his way over with an intent behind each pawstep and a cautiously friendly expression.

"Frosty, got a second?" He leaned into the pale tom with a friendly shoulder bump as he approached, noting with immediate interest that the lead warrior didn't look too busy, "Take a walk with me?" His teeth flashed white against dark fur but he quickly stifled it in some embarrassment as he remembered Pipit's teasing remarks about getting him some 'cool little siblings'. Was going to throttle that boy at some point, he could just feel it. "If you don't mind..."
He needed someone to talk to and most the clan was in a chokehold of different levels of grief. They'd lost Sprucepaw to something so avoidable, Starlingheart was still not the same since Granitepelt's exile, Comfreypaw had been killed by one of the two monsters, it was a wonder they had not caught fire from the friction in the air, the tension; though everyone could probably do with a little warmth. All that aside he had no one to really go to, Lilacfur would happily hear him out but he wanted advice from someone who might understand his struggles of feeling out of his element with parenting - to suddenly find out he had adult-aged kits was a jarring mess but it felt so trivial in face of everything else. He felt almost selfish for even focusing on it.

☆ ———— promise me she's not your world ☆ ———————— 'Cause Andy, you're a star

• @Frostbite
• 
  
  
  Skunktail
  —⊰⋅ Warrior of ShadowClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ SH Black & white tom w/spearmint green eyes
  

​

 

[Frostbite]

Stress was a constant companion these days and there was no escaping it. He couldn't, no matter how he wanted to. This clan needed to shape up if it was to survive, it couldn't continue the way it was. Granitepelt and Siltcloud were proof of this. And yet, things still kept happening. They couldn't even keep their apprentices safe, poor Comfreypaw didn't have to die.... Sprucepaw shouldn't have either. The rules were not respected here... Queens don't leave the nursery and apprentices don't wander off on their own. What will he have to do to make everyone understand without being overbearing?

How does he do it without snapping? He already snapped at Ferndance although that was an understandable reaction. But when does he let his temper flow, and when does he hold it in?

Everything is so complicated and it hurts his head.

Thankfully, he is pulled from his thoughts by a bump on the shoulder. He blinks his vision back to focus and looks at Skunktail. Frosty, he calls him. Skunktail is the only one who's given him a nickname before.

"Yeah, I've got time." He answers. He wonders what's wrong. He's glad that Skunktail came to him instead of letting it fester. "Something on your mind?"

He'll have to set aside his stress and anxiety for the time being to listen to his friend. It was hard to be stressed and anxious in the presence of the cat who kept bringing him the weirdest gifts anyways. How was he supposed to top that weird spider he brought him that one time?​

 

[Skunktail]

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He was more than a little pleased to have his offer accepted, leaning into the tom's shoulder to give him a playful nudge to the edge of camp so they could commence their walk without delay. As they headed off he tried to formulate what he wanted to say without sounding like a complete fool but frankly he was going to sound stupid either way given the topic. Might as well just speak his mind.
"Let's be real about this, the only cat still in the clan right now who is a good parent is you." Halfshade had been a good mother as well from what he recalled, if not a bit too bossy at times though to be fair to her a lot of her anger had been having to watch Forestshade's kits along with her own. Couldn't really blame her for being so prickly about that but he'd still found her rather unpleasant to be around sometimes. "I need advice..."
Advice from a cat he respected, who had raised his own kits with care and dilligence and followed the rules; caring for the clan while not forsaking his own kin. It was a balancing act not many could claim to be any skilled at. Maybe part of him was afraid, afraid of being a bad parent even though his own kits were already grown and didn't necessarily need him; they could go their entire lives without his presence and be fine, Porcupine had done a good job with them - though part of him could not stand the thought of being viewed as tom who ignored his own blood, neglected them like every other parent in this wretched place. From Betonyfrost's disinterest, to Forestshade's aloof nature to the absolute disaster that was Ferndance. His sister had been a good mother, if not a little distracted with her job, but he couldn't bare the thought of burdening her further with all that was happening.
"How do I...connect with them? How do I act right? I don't know, part of me wishes I had gotten to see them grow up so I could learn with them while they were too small to see my mistakes, but they're all adults now and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing."

☆ ———— promise me she's not your world ☆ ———————— 'Cause Andy, you're a star

•  
• 
  
  
  Skunktail
  —⊰⋅ Warrior of ShadowClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ SH Black & white tom w/spearmint green eyes
  

​

 

[Frostbite]

To be called a good parent makes him feel warm inside. To have the acknowledgement that he was doing a good job eased any worries he had about his parenting. His kits weren't difficult and he hadn't had to discipline them often at all and he was very thankful for it. He feels he got incredibly lucky, compared to how some other kits behave. But even still, he feels happy.

Smiling softly, he lets Skunktail continue. He needs advice, he says... Was Frostbite experienced enough to give parenting advice? Thankfully, he thinks Skunktails question is easy to answer.

"I'm flattered you think I'm a good parent." He says softly. "I try my best to let my kits know that I love them, and that I'm here for them." He adds. Though Skunktail's situation is a little different. His kits were all grown up. "I think that's a good start for you, too. They're all grown up now, but they're still your kits. Spend time with them and get to know them better. Let them know that you are their biggest supporter. Even grown adults need love and support, and if they've been traveling alone all this time, I'm sure they'll appreciate it." He says. He doesn't know much about Skunktail's kits, but as someone who's travelled alone before, he knows it can be quite rough.

"I don't think you've made any mistakes. You've got a sharp tongue, but you're far from the only one in this clan with one." He says. "I think you'll do just fine." He adds reassuringly. "Besides, there's plenty of kits running around to learn from, even if their arrival is a little untimely." He adds. Leafbare litters were so risky. He constantly worries that he'll wake up to Ferndance in tears over a little body that hadn't gotten enough food or couldn't stay warm enough, so much could go wrong in leafbare and he wouldn't wish it on anyone, no matter what they did.​

 

[Skunktail]

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"You do not have a lot of competition in that, my friend." He smirks, not willing to pass up the chance to once again gripe over the irresponsibility of the clan's queens - his own sister had been alright to a small degree but even she had caused a different kind of problem that he still wasn't sure how to feel about to this day. Medicine cat matters, choosing who lives and who dies, it was all a bit much for him - he was a simple tom with simple preferences and ideals and those far breached his level of comfort.

"I will keep all that in mind, thank you. Its so hard to not view them as kits even knowing they're grown, I guess I'm still upset I missed everything. Missed their eyes opening, seeing the color change. Missed them trying prey for the first time." He didn't want to talk about Porcupine, another aspect of these new children of his that he missed; in another time, another universe even, maybe they could've been something more but he could never have bared to keep her from what her heart desired - to wander the world and not conform to the structure of clan society. It suited him fine, as it suited others, but she'd always been a free spirit even as young kits wandering the swamp unsupervised and alone.

"ShadowClan is lucky to have you, Frostbite. For every fool among us - myself included - we have you to keep the peace and reign us all in. I only wish it was not something burdened on your shoulders alone."

☆ ———— promise me she's not your world ☆ ———————— 'Cause Andy, you're a star

•  
• 
  
  
  Skunktail
  —⊰⋅ Warrior of ShadowClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ SH Black & white tom w/spearmint green eyes
  

​