ThunderClan Camp

Lightfire nodded faintly, getting to his paws and letting his friend guide him to the den. Graciously, he curled up, enjoying the familiar camp and the comfort within it. He closed his eyes, smiling softly as Blackadder joined his side. He was about to drift away before Rainstar's voice caused him to snap back awake. Annoyance flicked across his features, and he scooted out of the den to watch her, perking his ears. He almost immediately stopped listening, until Lionpaw was mentioned. His eyes widened slightly, and he flattened his ears. "She isn't, like, coming back for me, is she?!" he yelped, glancing towards Blackadder in horror. "I can't go after her! Sh-She'll, like, totally kill me!" It seemed like his companion had as much displeasure as Lightfire, if not more. He listened as his friend snapped at the leader- at times, Light wished he had that much guts. It took a lot to tell off a leader. At his friend's request, the young male nodded and slipped back into the den, curling back up onto his nest and closing his eyes. He needed a rest like this- to just feel safe.

Rainpup had been resting, her eyes closed and her breathing slow. The movement of her sister was what brought her back into the world, and she blinked open her eyes. Rising to her paws, the she-pup let out a yawn and stretched, exposing sharp puppy teeth and shaking out her soft fur. The day was beautiful to her, and so full of opportunity. Being the optimistic little ball of energy she was, everything couldn't have seemed better. "I wonder what we'll do today? There's just so much that could happen!" In her mind, the world was just an awesome place teeming with adventure, and living in Thunderclan was the best thing of all about it.
Turning her head, Rainpup spotted her sister Ravenpup talking to their mother and her apprentice Cherrypaw. Figuring that her sister must have been hounding their mother about herbs, Rain could only wonder why her sibling cared so much about them. "Why does she like them so much? Plants are so boring!" Whatever joy that Ravenpup got out of those dumb herbs apparently went right over Rainpup's head. Turning away, the pup eyed her other sister Featherpup who still slept soundly in the nest. "Time to wake up sleepyhead!" Rainpup yipped, prodding her sister with her paw. She smiled and nosed Featherpup in a ticklish way, being the sort of wolf who enjoyed waking up others to the bright and cheerful existence that was life.

Cherrypaw nodded her head and sighed deeply. "I still miss Nettlecloud however, but if I must train with you I guess we best get to know each other. My name, if you didn't know, is Cherrypaw. I was born with a crippled fore-paw which causes me to limp which is the reason why I wished to be a Medicine Wolf. It is my only escape from becoming a warrior in which other wolves won't even acknowledge. For what good is a warrior with a crippled paw that almost prevents them from running?" she asked Skysong before her ears twitched and she glanced down as a pup approached and started talking to Song of the Sky, completely ignoring her. See this is what I'm talking about, they didn't even gawk at me! she thought to herself before hearing the pup refer to the bob-tailed fae as their "mum". Is that really true? Did this fae have pups? But wasn't that forbidden for a Medicine Wolf to have? Confusion in her mind, she took some slow steps away from them and tucked her tail in. Now the pup was asking about herbs. Was this just Song of the Sky's pup or her competition for Medicine Wolf apprentice?

Dipping her head to nuzzle her daughter when the little one came over, Song nipped a dark ear gently, reminding the young thing to not interrupt. “I was talking, Bird,” she said affectionately, adoring the litter of pups that she had managed to save. Staying calm as always, she turned her attention back to the young she-wolf she’d been conversing with before. “Pleasant to meet you,” she murmured, studying her carefully. There were always ways to get around only having three paws, but if this was what the youngster wanted, then she was always happy to teach. “I’m more than happy to share my knowledge, young one,” she explained in her gentle voice. “And I understand if things get tricky, I don’t mind explaining things multiple times. If you don’t want to learn, just tell me, and I’ll stop teaching.” Calm violet eyes steadied on the youngster, appraising her to see if she would have the guts to stick around. “It can be hard. It can be heartbreaking. You must remember that you can’t save everyone.” Unsure of what sort of ceremonies this clan went through for a new teacher and novice, she paused to nuzzle the black pup at her feet again affectionately. “Go find your siblings,” she said. “We’ll go over herbs later. Everyone should be awake now.” Once the puppy had trotted off, the tiny wolf turned her attention back to Cherrypaw. “I do not know the ways that you choose your novices, but I will accept you as mine to teach.” With her daughter so interested in herbs too, Song was aware that she’d be teaching both of them, but that didn’t bother her. It had never been against her rules to teach a pup who was interested.

Cherrypaw wagged her fluffy tail from side to side and smiled at Song of the Sky. "I hope we get to know one another very soon and you can teach me everything you know." she said happily with a smiling muzzle. The young ginger and white fae then padded off towards the apprentice den to get some rest but then glanced towards the fresh-kill pile and picked out a fat squirrel from the pile and started nibbling on that silently. It was stingy but it had to do because she wasn't all that hungry. She sat down at she ate it and winced at her crippled paw as it bent awkwardly to the side, but she didn't let it stop her from getting a somewhat good meal.

The small she-wolf had sat in the crowd as the newly-named Rainstar called forth a Clan meeting. She dipped her head when Rainstar formally announced that she would remain as deputy, still thankful that she'd been allowed to keep her position. There was a part of her that still felt guilty about not accepting leadership of the Clan, but deep down she knew that it had been for the best. She still needed more experience when it came to being in charge. The mention of Lion caused the deputy to frown. She hadn't forgotten how the ex-ThunderClanner murdered Moonshadow. She blinked sadly at the thought of her former mentor. Moonshadow had been far too young to join StarClan. Cloudwisp hoped that the warriors would be able to chase Lion away. She didn't want her anywhere near ThunderClan territory.

After the meeting ended, Cloudwisp was about to go on with the rest of her day when she heard a loud growl sound in the camp. It sounded like it belonged to Rosestar—no, Rosethorn. She perked her ears, on the lookout for any sign of danger, but didn't see anything of alarm. The silvery-white wolf tilted her head. What had bothered Rosethorn? The deputy hurried after Rainstar as she approached Rosethorn, stopping at the new leader's side. "Is something wrong?" Her words were directed towards Rosethorn. Cloudwisp glanced about and also checked for any strange scents, but wasn't able to tell what had threatened the camp.

Pigeonheart hadn't been paying too much attention to the Clan meeting as he figured that it was mostly information he already knew. The mention of his name caused him to look up, however. Rainstar wanted him to chase out Lion? The wolf who had killed one of her own Clanmates? He shuddered; what if Lion decided to attack them when they confronted her? Although he might have bragged about his fighting skills, Pigeonheart was aware that he was far from the best when it came down to it. He couldn't let his leader down, however, as much as he didn't want to go on this patrol.

He glanced at Blackadder as his former apprentice approached him and nodded in greeting. "Do you think that we should take a third warrior with us?" he asked, knowing that Lightfire wouldn't be able to come on account of his health. Normally, Pigeonheart would have darted out of the camp without hesitation, but this situation was different. It could possibly be dangerous. "Otherwise, I'm ready to go if you are." He tried to keep his voice steady, so that Blackadder wouldn't see that he was scared.

Cherrypaw swallowed a bite of a squirrel right as the dark pup which she didn't know the name of yet (Ravenpup) bounded over to her talking quite a bit. Yes, it must be fun being a Medicine Wolf, never getting to have pups of their own, putting their Clan before family, and having to face your mistakes she thought to herself sourly. The pup was obviously hyped up and she chuckled at that for she was once like that too when she was younger. Her ears perked up to listen, maybe this pup could teach her some things as well. So poppy seeds are for pain, I believe I've had them when I was younger she added in thought as the pup kept rambling on and on. Her ears then lowered as the pup noticed her crippled paw. "Oh........that. No herb can help fix that, it's been like that since I was born. Born with a crippled paw. I was lucky I was named for my ginger pelt or else I probably be named for my deformity. I'm sure I can cope with the pain somehow. Or else I would've taken you up on that offer." she told the much smaller fae. Her sky-blue eyes twinkling into Ravenpup's purple ones.

Nestling close to his fiery wolf, Angus easily slipped into a soft sleep, happier now that she was with him. Waking briefly, he rested his head on her back while he listened to the announcements, still half asleep and so not really paying attention to what was being said. Her growl was what really woke him up, and he jerked a little, confused to what was going on. “Rosie?” he asked softly, then retreated a little as the deputy and leader came over. He didn't know what Rosethorn had seen, nor did he really want to know if that was her reaction, so he settled down in a sunnier spot to go back to dozing. There didn't seem to be much that he could do, unless he badgered his mentor to take him somewhere and teach him a few things, but she still looked exhausted. It was more likely that he was going to badger her to eat and then sleep some more while she could.

Watching her pup go fondly, Song was content just watching the wolves of the tribe go about their business. The growls of the bright ginger female caught her attention, and she half got to her feet when she spotted the dark wispy shadow. It was similar to the ones she'd noticed in the maple forest. But with the leader quite occupied, and still not quite knowing the ways of this pack, she held her tongue and kept her peace, simply watching the intruder as they left the camp. Something was really not right, and the death of the pups's mother had really only been the beginning. Reminded, the tiny red wolf glanced into the shaman den to check on the other pups, relaxing a bit as she counted them all safe and sound. Little Bird seemed to be making friends with the self proclaimed Cherrypaw, which was a good thing. If she was going to be teaching them both, then it was best that they got along. Blinking out of her thoughts when the gentle black wolf came over, she gave him a quiet smile. “Thank you,” she murmured, nosing at the pheasant to find her favourite part before taking a few mouthfuls. It was quite a large bird, and it was unlikely she'd finish it all, but it was sweet of him to bring it over to her in the first place.
Pleasantly surprised when he recognised that she still really had no idea, she gave a slight nod and listened carefully to his explanation, trying to understand. So many points didn't make sense, and she mulled them over for a bit before asking her own questions. “The ways I were taught, some are very different.” She kept her gaze off him, keeping an eye on her little Bird to make sure she stayed out of trouble. She didn't expect that the black pup would be alone for long, her pure white sister would soon be up and causing mischief with her sister. “I don't want to offend...” It was hard trying to pick the words, but he was a gentle soul, she didn't think he'd get angry at her. “But I can't disregard my ways completely for yours. Ideally I would meld them together, use the best from both, but there are some of your rules that I'm afraid I can't follow.” Her violet eyes were troubled when she gave the gentle male a quick glance and then she returned to watching the pack again. The bit about treating a leader last troubled her, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to follow that. She always treated wolves in order of wound severity, and if the leader was the worst wounded, then that was going to be who was treated first. It only made sense to her. Unsure about her pups now that she was told their shamans couldn't ahve pups. She wasn't going to let them go to someone else, not after raising them from birth to now.

The ghostly pup had been happily dreaming, of a place where she could talk and not have to worry about no one understanding her. Waking when her sister nosed her, Skypup yawned, blinking her eyes blearily at the world. Deciding to stay curled with the rest of her siblings for a while, the tiny pup settled down again, listening to everything that was going on. Perking up when she heard her parents's voices, she scrambled to her feet and bounded out. Ignoring the rest of the clan, and not really noticing anything else that was going on, the silent white pup nuzzled into her mum's belly fur in greeting, wagging her tiny tail as she looked up at them both. Peeking around the red legs, she spotted Ravenpup and then poked at the bird thing in front of her mum. Looking up again, there was a clear question in her eyes about what it was, and what one was supposed to do with it.