SunClan Camp

Swiping her tongue over the grey pup’s head as she woke and moved out, Heatherfrost watched her quietly, wondering what she was going to do. The two older pups should play some more, in her opinion, but she was hesitant to force them if they really didn’t want to. Listening to the little ones, she gave a sigh as Mistypup abandoned the game after barely trying, and licked the pup’s brother gently. Perhaps she’d have a talk to Gentleheart, see if they could encourage the four surviving pups to learn to play together. It would be good for all of them, for the younger ones to toughen up a little, and for the older ones to soften a little. Wondering where both Ashfall and Gentleheart was, the older female still didn’t move from where she was curled around Peachpup, knowing that he needed the comfort more than she needed answers to her curiosity. She’d get her answers soon enough, and Mistypup wouldn’t leave her brother alone for too long.

Lightningpup nodded when Heatherfrost told them to play outside. "Okay," he told her. He hurried out of the nursery, his gaze shifting back towards the moss ball and Pebblepup. He wagged his tail with excitement when his sister tossed back the ball; however, it was moving quite slowly. "I'll get it!" he yipped, preparing to stop the ball with a paw. Before it neared him, Mistypup came over. He tilted his head a little; the other two pups didn't usually pay him and his sister much mind.
"Wanna play too?" he asked. Hopefully Pebblepup would allow it; Lightningpup knew that she was uncomfortable around others who weren't himself or their parents. Instead, however, Mistypup had said something about being sorry before she batted the moss ball away, sending it skittering far past Pebblepup and towards another tunnel.
"What was that for?" For a moment he wondered if Mistypup's aim had just been off, but it didn't seem like that was the case. He frowned before looking back to his sister. "Come on, Pebblepup, let's go get the moss ball. Maybe we can find some lizards or something along the way!" He headed off towards the medicine wolf's den, sending a glance over his shoulder to see if his sister was coming too.
He'd only been out into the camp a few times before, so it was quite interesting to be out there again. The gray pup padded down the tunnel the moss ball had disappeared in, wrinkling his nose at the strong scent of herbs. This den smells like that wolf who came into the nursery earlier, Lightningpup thought, recalling the plant-wolf. Finding the moss ball, he padded over to it. He was about to roll it away when he spotted the herby-scenting wolf. He tilted his head in confusion. "Why are you looking at those plants?" he asked.

The grayish-tan female let out a yawn as she exited the tunnel that led to the warriors' den and stepped out into the main cave. It seemed that most of her Clanmates were already up, and it also appeared as if the patrols had been sent out as several wolves were missing. Rainheart just hoped that she hadn't been selected for a patrol and had overslept. No, someone would have woken me up had that been the case. She headed over to the fresh-kill pile and selected a robin, settling down to eat her meal. She looked up when a moss ball skittered past her towards Sunheart's den; Lightningpup was chasing after it. She smiled at the pup's adorableness. She'd never had pups of her own, but had raised Sagepaw. She'd been heartbroken when the pup she'd mothered went missing, but could only hope that she was safe somewhere outside of the Clans.

Tourmaline let out a yawn as she lounged about by the sides of the camp. SunClan had been her home for a few moons now; it seemed like so long ago that she'd joined the Clan, when in reality she'd spent most of her life as a stray. SunClan had changed a lot since she first joined, too. They'd gotten a new leader and medicine wolf, and her friends, Weedfang and Carlos, were now gone. At least she still had Jasper. I'm glad he managed to find SunClan. Frankly, she was surprised that Jasperpaw was still in the Clan, what with his fear of fighting and all. He was just lucky that war hadn't broken out between SunClan and WindClan. Tourmaline wasn't certain how her brother would react if he'd have to go out into battle.
She yawned again, closing her eyes as she relaxed. She hadn't been assigned to any patrols and she didn't have much to do in the meanwhile. She'd been out hunting late last night so she was still a bit tired. Perhaps she'd take a nap before she did anything else.

Jasperpaw was sitting nearby Tourmaline, eating a squirrel that he'd selected from the pile. Even though he'd been in the Clan for a few moons he still felt rather uncomfortable around most others. He was shy by nature, and didn't really have any friends in the Clan aside from his sister. Sometimes he wondered what he was even doing in SunClan. Surely I don't belong here. But where else could he go? The couple of moons he'd been living on his own were the worst moons of his life. He also wondered if he'd ever become a warrior when he was terrified of fighting. He'd fallen behind on his training after Steelstripe disappeared. Jasperpaw figured that he'd be assigned a new mentor relatively soon, but he still worried that he'd never get to be a warrior.

Pebblepup blinked, tilting her head as Mistypup came over towards her brother, stopping the moss-ball with her own paws. "Does she want to play too?" the pup thought, hesitating briefly. But as long as Lightningpup was around, Pebble guessed it was ok for the older pup to join. Sometimes Mistypup and Peachpup could be sticklers to their fun, but maybe they would want to play too. "Maybe they'll be nice once they join the game," Pebble thought hopefully.
Her hopes were dashed though when Mistypup took a hard swing of the moss-ball, sending it flying past her and into another tunnel. Pebblepup flattened her ears at the other pup's meanness, watching as she padded away outside the cave. She was hurt briefly, quite sad that Mistypup wanted to be rude to them. Lightningpup seemed a bit offended at first, but got over it quickly, chasing after toy into the den it had flown into. Pebble hesitated, not liking exploring as much as her brother for the many dangers it could bring. "What if we get in trouble for going in there?" She thought, hesitating. But her brother had already taken off and the little she-pup didn't want to be left behind. Pebblepup then scampered after her brother, slinking close to his side as they entered the strange area. "It smells so much like plants in here? What is this place?" She wondered, still not daring to leave Lightningpup's side. She blinked when she spotted the wolf who had visited them earlier, closely looking at some weird plants on the ground. They had a strange but appealing scent to them, and Pebble wondered what the other she-wolf was doing with the leaves. Glancing around she noticed that many more plants lay in piles or in cracks along the walls. Lightningpup asked the question she was thinking. Taking a step out from behind her brother, Pebblepup tilted her head and awaited the answer.

Gentleheart was still trying to get her thoughts in order when Ashfall came over. "Ashfall I know that we have never really seen eye to eye. And since your mate and your other pups have left I haven't helped you at all with your pups, and have just seen your pups as being negative or rude. I apologize to you and your pups. I dont know if you know but I know what it feels like to lose a mate and pups. I lost my first mate to illness and recently just lost a pup in my first litter. I have been so far in my own head that i didnt even try to understand or think that you and your pups were grieving. It took somebody else telling me that to finally see. I would like to help you as much as i am able to right now. I truly am sorry , yes we have never gotten along but I hope that we can put those days behind us. Being leader turned me into something i dont even recognize anymore. Sorry that I was hard on you. I ask that you possibly think about forgiving me." Gentleheart said with a nervous smile but her eyes showed that she really was feeling guilty for the way he treat the brute and his pups. She hoped that he would forgive her.

Pebble listened closely as the she-wolf who spoke to them explained her job. "Herbs? Medicine Wolf?" Keeping the clan healthy did sound like and important job, and a tough job at that. "But there are so many wolves to keep healthy!" In Pebblepup's mind the clan tunnels were like a maze, and the wolves who inhabited them might as well have numbered up into the hundreds as far as she was concerned. The little she-pup sank back into Lightningpup's fur when the other wolf asked if they would like to help. "But that's such an important job. What if we mess up?" Pebble said nothing, preferring her brother to speak for her. Instead she continued to observe the den they were in, the sharp tang of leaves here, the sweet scent of berries there, it was in honesty very confusing and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

Quite content settled with the cross little pup, Heatherfrost was drifting off to sleep herself, enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted. Spotting the pup’s father coming in, she lifted her head and moved over a little, giving him the choice of curling with the bright little pup if he wished. She was already fond of the two motherless babies, and sent a stern look towards Ashfall. “Your fur is appalling,” she scolded him gently, moving so that she could groom him, not caring about what he might think. “How are your pups supposed to have any confidence in their father to take care of them if he doesn’t care about taking care of himself, hm?” Swiping her tongue over his messy fur, she soon had it set to rights again, pushing him to clean his own paws. “Remember to look after yourself, Ashfall,” she told him, nosing him gently. “If not for yourself, for the pups. They can’t lose another parent.”

Pleased that the male didn’t put up a fight, she finished her grooming and just watched the bright pup go with an amused look on her face. “So it seems,” she responded, ducking out of the den to clear it now that the pups didn’t need her any more. Glancing about the camp area, she noted that her son wasn’t back, nor the border patrol party. A flutter of worry revealed itself, and she tried to push it away. She couldn’t lose her son. He was the only family she had left. Surely it was fine, they were just finding prey. It wasn’t like they could get in trouble with that. Still, she knew what a magnet Riverstar was with trouble, and it was highly likely that he’d found something. Giving the Mexican wolf a gentle nudge with her nose, she turned her gentle blue gaze onto him. “If you want me to help with the pups, I’m very happy to. But I won’t interfere if it’s not what you want. They are yours, after all. The offer is merely there if you want it.” Content that she’d done what she could for now with the little ones, she cast her gaze around the camp, searching for the other queen of the camp. Soon finding Gentleheart, the older female padded over and waited patiently for the other mother to be free. “May I speak with you a moment, Gentleheart? If you’re free.”

Gentleheart felt so relieved at Ashfalls words. She felt like a small burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She looked around and saw her pups run after the moss ball she had allowed them to play with. When they ran inside the medicine den she winced at the thought that Sunheart ay have some of her plants ruined. She hoped that the pups didnt do any damage, if so she would offer to go pick some herbs for her. She also saw that Mistypup and Peachpup were also out of the nursery. She had started to make her way over to the pups to apologize, when Riverstar's mother Heatherfrost asked if she could talk to her if she was free. " Yeah im free, is something wrong Heatherfrost?" She asked.

Lightningpup tilted his head when the she-wolf began to speak, mentioning something about herbs and medicine wolves. He'd never heard of a medicine wolf before, but apparently they kept the Clan healthy somehow. With plants? How could a little plant heal a big wolf? When the medicine wolf asked them for help, the pup spared a glance back at his sister. She seemed somewhat uncomfortable and he wasn't certain if she wanted to assist the medicine wolf or not. It seemed like it could be fun, however. Maybe he'd get to learn a thing or two about these so-called herbs.

"Hmm, how about it?" he asked Pebblepup, before turning back to the medicine wolf. "Sure, we can help," he said, hoping that he was making the decision his sister wanted. "What do you need help with?" He padded past the medicine wolf, sniffing about the herb store. Some cobwebs got stuck to his nose and he sneezed. He gave a sheepish look and stepped back, waiting for the she-wolf to speak before he attempted anything else.

Oakstream was so far in his thoughts once more that he didn't even see the hunting patrol leave. He quickly sped after Stoatblaze. Not wanting to get in trouble with Riverstar. On the way there though he thought about a certain pretty she wolf. He wanted her as his mate, but first he knew he would need to show her and her father that he would be a good mate and would provide for Rainheart and whatever pups they had.

Sun clearing

Grateful, Heatherfrost dipped her head slightly, sitting down where she was before speaking in her quiet voice. But for once, there was a trace of steel in it, a tone that if her son had been around, he would have recognised as being in trouble again. “It’s about the pups. I realise that you’ve lost some of your own, and I understand how hard that is to cope with. However, you are not the first, nor will you be the last, mother to lose pups. Yours are exceptionally lucky they have both parents, and it’s been rather selfish of you to ignore Peachpup and Mistypup.” Watching the brown female steadily, Heatherfrost wasn’t afraid to be blunt and straight with her, and didn’t really care if anyone else could hear them. They were a clan, a pack, and that meant taking care of everyone, not just picking and choosing who they wanted to take care of. “Losing a parent is when they need comfort, not irritation and annoyance thrown at them. Losing their mother is especially hard – they’re not to blame for their actions. They’ve had no one to tell them what is right and what is wrong, despite another family being in the nursery with them.” Giving a sigh, the pale red female got to her feet again, giving Gentleheart an almost stern look. “I’m disappointed in you, and it shouldn’t take two other females to knock some sort of maternal instinct into your head.” Finally finished, she turned and moved over to Ashfall again, tilting her head at him. “Come on. Stop moping. The pups are fine. We’re going for a hunt.” It would be good for him to get out of camp and not be alone, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Gentleheart listened to the wise she wolfs words and nodded her head. I mean what was she to say anyways. She knew she did wrong. She just wished everybody would get off her case and at least give her a chane to try and make things right. Deciding not to delay things any further she made her way over to the two pups. "Hello Mistypup, Peachpup, Im Gentleheart. As you two may already know im Lightningpup and Pebblepups mom. And i came over here to apologize. I wanted to tell you that i am sorry for treating you two the way i did. I shouldn't have made you feel like you couldnt come to me, that you were isolated, that you couldnt play with my pups." She said refering to when Mistypup had started to play with her younger pups. "My pups are younger but you can certainly play with them just not so rough. Im sorry for what happened to your mother and siblings. Im sure that it hasnt been easy for you two and all i did was ignore you. I hoping that you will forgive me and allow me to get to know you two. Im not trying to play as a stand in mother or anything i would never do that, but i want you to know that you can come to me if you want."