#Birchpaw doesn't care

[letthe-skyfall]

Happy Trans Day of Visibility from my OC Birchpaw to all the trans people out there :)

He supports you and thinks you are amazing.

[wc-confessions]

I want to preface this confession by saying very big age gaps are a major squick for me in shipping, but I *still* think the Warriors fandom can be a bit. Weird about them?

Like. I see so many things of ppl being like "UGH, [insert ship] is SO problematic bcus it has an ENORMOUS age gap and [older cat in relationship] is a TOTAL CREEP even if they pursued [younger cat in relationship] as an adult!!!"

And then I'm like "Wow rly? Sounds terrible! Just how big is this age gap?"

So I look it up. And then it's like. Twelve moons.

You folks realize that's... twelve *moons*, not years, right? This is a one year age gap, not twelve. A one year age gap is *nothing*

One could argue that it is a big age gap, or should be considered one (bcus the canon series doesn't care about age gaps at all lol) by the standards of Warriors society, bcus the commonly accepted average age of becoming a warrior is 12 moons, meaning that the younger cat would be born by the time the older cat would be considered an adult

Which, yeah, does sound a bit weird when you put it into that light. But if that's enough to consider the ship "problematic," you have an extremely limited pool of "good" ships, so limited to the point where it rly wouldn't make sense for the long run of the series

You're telling me that cats' only eligible partners are ones who are born within, like, less than six moons of them, if they wanna consistently stay in the same life stage? What are the odds of a good match happening within that pool? What if the uncommon situation of a cat being the only one in that age range occurs (ex: Birchpaw (Birchfall) in The New Prophecy), are they just supposed to never get a mate no matter how badly they may want to (if they don't want a mate, awesome, and a convenient coincidence, but if they do)? What if all the cats in that range just so happen to be somehow related?

The warrior cats, despite how anthropormorphized they are, still aren't humans, and mature at a different rate than humans, so one being an adult at the same time as one being a young child and then pursuing each other later in life, a year between them (WHEN THEY'RE BOTH CONSENTING ADULTS!!!), has a way different connotation than it does for humans, who would have to have an age gap of over eighteen years (in the US for me, age of consent may be different elsewhere) in order for that to be the case

I get being grossed out by age gaps, I am too, but I genuinely don't feel like an age gap of one year or so is anything to freak out over the way so many ppl do. If that's your limit then there's hardly a ship that's not "creepy" in terms of age gaps. If you're fine with that, whatever, but you might be surprised by what ships you may like that have an age gap of that size

For me, personally, an age gap bigger than roughly three years is when I start feeling squicked (in Warriors shipping specifically), but it varies from ship to ship, and ymmv of course (and of course this only applies if they pursued each other when they were both adults)

But point being I think the Warriors fandom should rethink what's considered a "big" age gap bcus no small amount of the ones I see accused of being that aren't that at all, not by my personal standards at least

.

[morningmask27]

Hawkfrost X Whitewing?

WhiteHawk three au. Birchfall pulled a Thrushpelt. Ivy is the actual third, and a bio whitebirch kid. (Yeah plant 3 with neglected bird sister this time <3)

Fennelrush (Lionblaze) is strong and stubborn and a great fighter. He still has his canon powers and he's not going lightly with them. He definitely has killed a few cats accidentally during fights. He's a meathead, but in Very Rare occasions he makes a good decision. He has anger issues though. 

Flaxroot (Jayfeather) still blind. They're smart and cunning and have a position between warrior and healer. They do patrols and hunt and have trained as a warrior apprentice, but since fights are slightly too much for them they usually (read Usually) avoid participating in them. They also have a huge knowledge of herbs and are thus a sort of extra healer for the clan. They still have their canon powers and they don't use them sparingly.

Falconstrike (Hollyleaf) is the one training in the dark forest. Falcon is obsessed by the code. She wants to be the strongest warrior of the clan too, she wants to be a respected warrior and maybe even leader, who knows, it's an interesting position. She's also very motivated by the kin of tour kin prophecy, she's special, guys, she's special! Right? She trains with Hawkfrost because he promised her the keys to becoming a strong and respected warrior. 

White has her kits right after Hawkfrost died. She's having a mental breakdown when Birchpaw finds her and after Whitepaw explains the situation, this young kiddo proves how he has a heart of gold by suggesting he pulls a Thrushpelt and say he's the father of the kits. White accepts and yeah. Some cats still judge them for their "accident" bit it's better than half clan prejudice. White and Birch raise the kits together and the two start to become quite closer romantically. When the three are nearly warrior aged White is expecting kits again, this time from Birchfall. These are Dovewing and Ivypool. 

While the three are apprentices, Flax, like in canon learns of the kin of you kin prophecy. Flax understands quickly it talks about them and their siblings. Falcon tries very hard to find her power, but fails to do so. 

The three are amazing older siblings to Dovekit and Ivykit, but one night Falcon overhears White and Birch argue over if they should ever tell the three that Birch isn't their bio dad. White doesn't want to tell them, but Birch kinda does want to. Falcon is very shocked by that and then her dark forest mentor, Hawkfrost, taunts her, making her go mad. She's angry and confronts White and Birch in presence of Flax and Fennel. The two brothers are horrified. White confesses to everything, the three are furious. 

Falcon also fully learns that she isn't a part of the prophecy, but Ivykit is. Having inherited Dovewing's canon power. This makes Falcon become even angrier and she threatens Dovekit and Ivykit to punish White. (keep in mind Dove and Ivy are about 4 moons at that point and realize very well what's going on). Eventually she breaks and runs off. 

"little" drabble of the story, all in Whitewing's PoV.

I knew I should never have hung out with Hawkfrost. I knew he was a terrible cat and he didn't care about me, but he was the only cat I felt free around. My parents are amazing, but I have to be perfect around them, and they had their own problems in their relationship then and I didn't want to be involved. Hawkfrost gave me a way to escape the situation. He was funny and witty and never coddled me. He challenged me and laughed when he lost, he complimented me. Most cats in ThunderClan did, but these felt real, realer than any repetitive statement about a good catch by a clanmate, even though I knew he didn't feel anything for me. 

I knew things would go wrong. I was still a -paw. Not that I was too young, I was barely a few moons younger than Hawkfrost, but the destruction of the forest had delayed my warrior ceremony and then, I decided to wait until Birchpaw was ready too, to not leave him alone in the apprentices den like I had been. That status of -paw did definitely make things complicated when I discovered it. 

It was shortly after Hawkfrost had been found dead by the border, a foxtrap bored through his neck. I had to pretend very hard it didn't affect me. Why would it? He was a cat from an enemy clan, why would I be sad about his death? I felt sick. I had trouble doing my work because of how weird my belly felt. I thought it was because I mourned him. 

I would have never thought it was because I was expecting kits. Leafpool was surprised, but I was horrified. I quickly escaped the den after begging Leafpool to not tell anyone. I ran into the forest and found a quiet spot. I began crying. I couldn't believe how badly those meeting with Hawkfrost ended. I knew it was him, I wasn't close to any other cat, but I still somehow hoped it wasn't. 

StarClan must have heard me and felt pity because Birchpaw found me. Usually he can't find a mouse when it's right in front of him, so StarClan must have definitely sent him my way. He saw my tears and became worried. And asked what was wrong. I like Birchpaw, but I wasn't about to tell him what I had just learned, but he kept on asking. He wanted to know if I at least could tell someone, which I knew I couldn't, so I began crying again. 

He silently pressed himself against me and let me cry. When I had ran out of tears he asked if I was ok again. I wanted to stracht his ears of, but his worried eyes made me decide to keep that for another time. He waited in silence for a response. I felt doubt tugging at me, but I told him anyway. I told him everything. From my parents to the meetings with Hawkfrost and the kits I was expecting now. I broke down crying twice while explaining everything and wondered why he was still there. 

When I was done he silently nodded. I had never seen him so contemplative as that day. He was deep in his thoughts for a few heartbeats before looking at me. Determination visible in his eyes. 

"We can say the kits are mine." 

I was taken aback by what he had just said. 

"It would still be awkward to explain, but at least some of the problems would be fixed, right? If the clan knows both parents, they're less likely to be prying." 

I had honestly underestimated how smart Birchpaw could be sometimes. I thought about it for a very short moment. It was the most sensible option. The kits would be treated as fully clanborn kits and everything would be fine, but I needed to be sure about one thing. 

"Would you genuinely be ok to be called the father of kits that aren't yours?" I needed to know. It all depended on him. If he was ready for this charade I'd go along, but he would have to play along. 

"Yes, and I'd even love to be involved in taking care of them if you're ok with that." 

He looked at me with such kindness. I then knew I had found a cat I should treasure. 

—

"What do you think about Flaxkit for the white and cream kit?" He asked me. I nodded with a smile. 

"It fits them." I answered. I then looked at the gray and white kit. It looked like it'd be a strong cat. 

"Would Fennelkit suit the gray and white kit?" I asked. Birchpaw had jokingly suggested having a theme for their names, but I liked the idea. 

"It is beautiful." He answered, adorating brimming from his eyes. 

"Then Fennelkit it is." I affirmed. We stayed silent for a while. Neither of us really daring to say anything about the brown and white kit. I had seen the faces my parents had made when they saw it, I had seen Firestar himself flinch. I know brambleclaw looks a lot like his father and I know that kit looks like brambleclaw a bit. All that didn't change the fact this kit needed a name. 

"Is Falconkit too close?" Birchpaw softly asked. I looked at my kit. This brown and white kit that had an uncanny ressemblance to one of the most feared and hated cats, whose son had fathered these kits. 

"Falconkit would definitely suit them." I agreed. It would just be a name, nothing more. Their brown fur could be explained by Dustpelt, it was going to be fine. The kits would be fine. 

—

"You know I can also stay in the nursery." I said. I looked at Birchfall, who had just recently gotten his name. I had gotten mine as soon as the clan knew I was expecting. It was mostly to not have a -paw in the nursery, but it was still very awkward. The clan had looked at me so weirdly. I didn't dare to look anyone in the eye that day and nowadays it's still hard sometimes. 

"It's fine- oomph-" he was cut short by Fennelkit and Falconkit running into him. The three kits were growing every day. They were definitely going to become strong and big cats. 

"As I said," Birchfall began after extirping himself from the two kits, "I like spending time here with the kits." I smiled again as I watched Flaxkit jump on Fennelkit's back. The two rolled until they hit my paws. They looked up and smiled at me. I smiled back and helped Fennelkit on his paws. 

"Thanks mama." He mewed. 

"If you're so sure." I answered. I couldn't help but smile as the kits swarmed him again. 

"We got papa!" Flaxkit yelled. 

—

I felt weird again. I thought I recognized the feeling from somewhere, so I went to ask Leafpool and Honeypaw about it. I was pregnant again. This time I was surprised, but also so happy. 

Birchfall and I had been growing closer since we raised Flaxpaw, Fennelpaw and Falconpaw together. They have grown up so well and I'm very proud of them, but I was also excatic about the idea of having kits with Birchfall. I knew they'd grown up wonderfully too. 

—

"We can't keep it a secret from them eternally" Birchfall stated. I felt my fur bristle. 

"We raised them together to protect them from having to know it." I argued back. 

"I had suggested this to protect them from the Clan judging them, I never thought you'd also want the kits not to know the truth." Birchfall lashed his tail as he spoke. I cringed unintentionally. What if they don't take it well? What if they hate us for having kept this a secret for so long? What if they want to learn more about Hawkfrost? I surely can't give them more details, but he definitely isn't a good cat? How would they feel of they learned that? I kept wondering. Birchfall looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

I shook my head. "Sorry Birchfall. I don't think it'd be a good idea. They might want to know who their father is and become angry." 

"What? Do you mean I would not be their father if they learned the truth?" He tensed up, his claws flexing repetitively. 

"No, you wait, that's not what I meant-" I tried to reason, but he was already walking away. 

"I'll be taking care of my kits if you need me." He said. 

I stood there and watched him leave. I heard some faint rusting from behind me, but I only looked in front of me, to where Birchfall had left. 

What have I done?

—

"Tell us who it is!" Falconstrike yelled. She had her fur fully bristled out in anger as she looked at me. I couldn't more, not only because my kits were looking at me, but because I knew I had to say something. 

"Tell us, now. Tells us who our father is!" She approached her face scarily close to mine, snarling from disgust as she looked me in the eyes. 

"Falcon, I-" I stammered. How could I explain this without hurting them? How could I feasibly explain that their father is dead and from another clan?

"What do you mean from another Clan?" Flaxroot asked incredulously. They stared right at me. Fennelrush and Falconstrike looked horrified. 

"Uh, yes. Your birthfather isn't Birchfall. He raised you and loves you three so much, but his blood isn't in your veins." I began explaining. 

"Then who is it?" Fennelrush asked. He looks so much like Hawkfrost when he thinks like that. 

"You weren't going to tell us our dad is Hawkfrost, right?" Flaxroot exclaimed. Their eyes were wide. How can they know all those things? I took a deep breath. 

"Yes, your dad is Hawkfrost, but he has nothing to do with you three. You are still my and Birchfall's kits. We love you. We didn't tell you to protect you from how the clan would react." I pleaded. 

"How could you love is if you lied to us all our life? We didn't even know who we are!" Flaxroot snided. 

Falconstrike growled. "you lied to us. You broke the code and we are born from a crime and you never told us. We should have never been born, but you should have never even been allowed to approach us." She approached me again, slowly and with her claws out. She growled again and lifted a paw to hit me. 

Fennelrush pushed himself between us. "Falcon, don't do this!" Falconstrike's hit deflected weirdly. Not hurting Fennelrush at all. She landed clumsily on the ground. "she might have lied to us, but you can't just attack her like that." He stood in front of me, but mostly paid attention to Falconstrike. She glared back at him and growled. He didn't move until she stood up and didn't make another attempt at attacking. 

I watched horrified as my kits fought each other because of me. I never wanted any of this to happen to them, why couldn't they just live a happy life? 

— 

"I can hear a cat yelling." Ivykit said. I worried a lot about her lately. She often heard things that no-one else could and loud sounds overwhelmed her terribly. 

"They're in need of help!" She yelped. "We need to go find them!" She looked at me desperately. 

"Sweetie, are you sure you heard things right?" I asked, hoping she'd tell me it was a lie or something. 

"No, mama, this cat needs help!" She stubbornly responded. She looked a bit further away and saw Flaxroot passing by. 

"Flaxroot! Flaxroot! Please, I need help to help a cat!" They stopped in their tracks as Ivykit ran to them. I followed her hesitantly. I knew they were still angry at me and I didn't want to make things worse. I prepared to scoot Ivykit away, but Flaxroot asked Ivykit. 

"What do you mean by a cat needs help?" They looked at her. 

"A cat in the first is yelling in pain, we need to help them!" She responded hurriedly. 

"Ivykit, please-" I tried to keep Ivykit from bothering her sibling. 

"No, you, stop." Flaxroot snapped at me. I shut my mouth immediately and looked at what was happening. 

"Tell me more about that cat, Ivykit." Flaxroot gently nudged her. 

She stood confidently. "a cat in the forest needs help. They are in pain, we need to save them." 

"Do you know who that cat is or where they are?" Flaxroot asked. 

"I- uh. I can hear water not too far from them?" She tried. 

Flaxroot narrowed their eyes while Ivykit was lost in her thoughts. At this point a patrol emerged from the entrance. 

"We need a healer!" Brackenfur yelled, "a WindClan cat, Heathertail, got attacked by a fox by the stream and no-one knows where Kestrelflight is!"

Flaxroot immediately turned their head towards the patrol. "Leafpool and Honeypaw are out gathering herbs, but I can grab some and go with you." 

Brackenfur hurriedly nodded. "yes, please, she's been at the stream for a while, I don't know how long she still has if her wounds aren't treated soon." 

Flaxroot nodded. Before they went to the healers'den they turned their head to Ivykit again. "We will be talking again after this is done, okay?" 

Ivykit happily agreed. 

—

"Falconstrike, no-" I exclaimed. I tried to get closer to where she was standing with Dovekit and Ivykit, but when I tried she just pressed her claws deeper in Ivykit's fur. Ivykit let out a pained squeak. 

"Don't. Come. Closer." Falconstrike slowly threatened. I obeyed her, but kept my eyes focussed on Ivykit and Dovekit. Dovekit was cowering from behind Falconstrike's legs and Ivykit was pinned on the ground by one of Falconstrike's paws. 

"Please, Falconstrike, why are you hurting your siblings?" I asked. I hoped it at least make her reconsider, but she just spat at me. 

"Those aren't my siblings, I don't have the same blood. Because of you!" She yelled. The two kits peeped in fear from Falconstrike's anger. "you broke the code and that caused us, and then you believe you can just have better kits after that? These kits don't deserve to live, just like we shouldn't have been born!" She yelled.

"Falconstrike, this isn't true. Please, don't take out your anger on these kits, they are innocent. If you need to punish someone, it's me. Hurt me if you need to, but leave the kits out of this." I bowed my head down. Please let this work, please, Falcon let the kits go. Falconstrike looked hesitantly between me and the kits. She didn't move and furrowed her brows. 

Ivykit let out a small cry while she was thinking and Falconstrike broke out of her thoughs. "oh, shut it, you worthless kit!" She hit Ivykit on the face. Ivykit yelled out in pain and covered her face as well as she could with her paws. I briefly saw red, this was too much. I sprang on Falconstrike, pushing her off Ivykit. Dovekit ran to her sister and dragged her away, out of me and Falconstrike's path. 

We rolled over the forest ground until I had her pinned under me. She struggled to escape, but I had more experience and kept her stuck on the ground. She eventually gave up after a long struggle. 

She let herself go limp. "come on then, finish this. You brougt me here, so now finish me." She blankly said. I stared at her in pure horror. How could I ever hurt her? She's my kit and I love her. 

I let her go as I said: "Falconstrike, you are my kit. I can't kill you, I love you too much for that, no matter what happened." 

She stood up and glared at me. "No matter who my father is, huh? Is that why you replaced me and my siblings by these two worthless spawns?" She raised her voice again. "I- I-" her voice broke. She fought back against tears as she looked at me. I tried to comfort her, but she pulled away from me. "don't touch me!" She yelled. She took a step back and then turned around. She ran off. I watched her leave. When I knew she was gone I slowly turned around to find Dovekit and Ivykit. They need me right now. But so does Falconstrike. How could I mess this up so badly?

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

I am 👀 at Milktail

please tell me more about her

Milktail

My Enemy Milktail!

Tw for kidnapping

A pure white molly with green eyes, shredded ears, and heavy scarring on her back leg. Born in Shadowclan under Brokenstar's leadership to another OC, Frostwave. Frostwave only had a single kitten, and although she did not approve of Brokenstar's methods of... Acquiring more... She would never say no to another mouth to feed. And Brokenstar knew it.

He took kittens from Rogue groups, and personally indoctrinated some. Spiderclaw, Batclaw, Oakstripe, Lizardsong and Nestfur are all examples. Each one turned out differently...

The other is Elmfeather, or Elmkit as he was known when he was small.

Elmkit was passed off to Frostwave when he was brought to Shadowclan's camp, and she immediately took him in. Milk-kit... Hated him. She didn't like that he was getting her mother's attention. Then it turned into this outsider getting her mother's attention...

She is made Milkpaw by Nightstar and assigned to Scorchwind. Scorchwind... Ain't great. He supported Brokenstar for the most part (which is hilarious seeing as his wife cheated on him with the guy). He teaches Milktail to channel her anger into strength, that she has the "right" to be angry over her brother.

Before he tells her about cuckoo birds. Anyways, how about we go on a border patrol?

She is named Milktail by Tigerstar when he takes power. She fully supports Tigerclan, and hopes it will mean the death of her brother.

Nevermind that she has new siblings, Nightkit (Nightwing) and Wildkit (Wildfur), and Frostwave has just died from sickness. Nevermind that two of her siblings, Woodkit and Silverkit, died in that same sickness, the 4 born far too early. She doesn't care. All she can think about is what her "fake brother" has 'stolen' from her.

Elmfeather has done nothing wrong, but it doesn't matter. She hates him.

Elmfeather flees to Thunderclan, and after Tigerclan falls apart, she goes to the newly appointed Blackstar, and begs for forgiveness. "Blinded by hatred" she says to him. She won't ever let it happen again. Shadowclan is her truest love, and she only wishes to still be part of it.

In his defense, she was popular. She was liked. She was forming a bond with Daykit, Flintfang and Fidgetflower's little one. When Daykit was made into Daypaw, they were given to Milktail, as a sign of good will towards her. She had Shadowclan fooled.

She remained good with Daypaw, teaching them lots of battle tricks and hunting tips, strict but on her best behavior. Daypaw became Daywhisker, and Milktail never spoke to them again.

She is made Deputy after the retirement of Boulder during Starlight.

She lured Blackstar into a double trap with the help of Mistfang, Tigerstar's sister, who got Ashfur to help them out.

Firestar and Blackstar were shoved into fox traps, Birchpaw gets Brambleclaw to come to the lakeshore, but he bumps into Elmfeather on the way. Elmfeather, having mentored Sootfur after Longtail was blinded, has also qualified for deputy, not that he wants it...

And Brambleclaw freezes. In the Chaos, Elmfeather explodes out of the bushes, snarling at his sister. She immediately flares with rage, fighting with him. The two grapple, biting and clawing one another until...

Elmfeather forces Milktail backwards, dunking her head into the water and nearly drowning her. She plays possum one last time, but when she springs back up, Elmfeather is prepared, and her throat meets his teeth.

Blood is spilling Blood, and when Milktail falls back into the water, the Lake begins to turn pink.

She goes to the Dark Forest, Mistfang not far behind her. They walk together in darkness until Tigerstar calls on them.

Later, during The Great Battle, Milktail gets one last showdown with Elmfeather, now older and grayer. She brutally wounds him but manages to get an upper hand on her, chasing her to Riverclan land and catching up with her, rolling them until he is on top of her, the soft riverbank partially giving way, making them slide back. Milktail's head dunking into the water, Elmfeather pushing forward and finally drowning her in the river. Her oily black blood runs through the river and into the Lake once more. The last thing she sees is Elmfeather's eyes, full of disappointment.

He wanted a sister.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.27) Sunset Trails

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

"Race ya there?" Birchpaw suggested with a grin, eager to head off to their destination. "Three-two-one GO!"

"Wha-!" Antpaw watched as his sister darted across the thunderpath, not even waiting for him to be ready first. "Hey! No fair! You got a head start!" He called out, taking off after her in seconds.

He was faintly aware of Mousepaw calling out to them to wait for her, and- even farther away- Lightrunner warning them to be careful on the path. It was fine, he figured; monsters rarely came by this direction, anyway. It was why Honeypurr had suggested their little outing in the first place.

His heavy breaths formed thick puffs of mist in the air as he raced after Birchpaw, willing all of his strength into his legs and his lungs. As his sister disappeared around a bush, he thought the race had surely ended, and he had already lost. But he would still give it all he had!

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

Antpaw, Birchpaw, and Mousepaw are taken on an evening trip to nearby hunting grounds to practice their hunting skills. They are chaperoned by Lightrunner and Honeypurr.

Mousepaw catches a snake.

Antpaw spots a strange rock structure in the distance, but he doesn't get an opportunity to investigate.

Birchpaw catches the most prey out of the entire patrol. What a rush!

Antpaw is bummed out that he didn't win the prey-catching contest.

Pepperfrost tries to distract herself from her grief by hunting. She's especially productive, despite having kits to take care of.

Antpaw challenges Magicpaw to a friendly spar.

[valleyclan-cg]

Greenleaf brings new life into the mountains, and with new life comes warmth and security. The clans begin to bustle with life once again as the warmth touches the heart and pelts of all of the clan cats in this transitional period. Hunting is plentiful, and even with such small clans, the growth and opportunity that Greenleaf provides is enough to fill the bellies of the cats within Valleyclan.

MOON THREE ☆

With the turn of Greenleaf, Iciclestar calls to Milkkit to come and stand before the clan, the cheeky kit tumbling straight to the front of their awaiting clan. She looks proudly to Iciclestar, and as her mother Saplingear steps back to give her the room she needs, she's immediately called forwards by Iciclestar again to care for the apprentice, a duty which she takes very seriously. It is her kit after all, and Iciclestar thinks that Milkpaw can learn from her mother's compassion to be more thoughtful and kinder to others, from her own clan or other.

Birchpaw has seemed eager to make up with Silverbright after the passing moon for her sneaky attempt to run away from camp based on her vision. These kind gestures have not went unnoticed to the older warrior though, who appreciates them very much, and has warmed up to Birchpaw again.

And after the meal he shared by himself, Honeyfern is quick to let him know of a stray falcon feather stuck to his face, which he cleans off quickly before thanking the medicine cat.

She gives him a weary gaze as she departs though, seemingly judging him in a sense... He sniffles his running nose and continues with organising patrols.

Birchpaw curses herself for not being braver and talking to Iciclestar first, as Honeyfern trades the fat juicy rabbit away from her. Birchpaw knows the medicine cat didn't mean any harm or was doing it intentionally, but is still upset as she watches the smaller shecat gobble it down infront of her.

As Saplingear and Milkpaw are assigned to go on a border patrol, Saplingear complains that Silverbright should have let her take her daughter out to train instead, a remark that Silverbright overhears as she leaves the camp.

Despite the hostility, Saplingear takes this as a perfect opportunity to show Milkpaw the use of words and good relations and what they can do for the clan. She immediately goes to banter with the two toms who she recognises from the gathering the night before, and whilst taken aback by her words, they laugh and part ways satisfied and with a friendly wave of their tails. Milkpaw is surprised, sure that she would have to fight for her honour.

Silverbright sees that Birchpaw is a brilliant bird hunter, and decides to teach them an important lesson, one which she's quick to understand and immediately learns. She's satisfied by the time they come home.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

MOON FOUR ☆

Silverbright is happy to wake up and finally feel the dribble of liquid from his nose now dry against his fur, he grooms himself clean, and, feeling less sluggish, is ready to face the day with a new lively attitude.

As he sees the leader leave her den and settle amongst her clanmates to eat, he settles besides her, cleaning her fur before shuffling his paws. He's nervous, what if she doesn't feel the same? Iciclestar, despite her name, was the warmest cat he had ever known, and her determination and loyalty to her clan warmed him up to her despite his lonesome lifestyle. His parts his jaws to confession and watches her with rounded eyes to see if she'll accept his proposal. He knows as she licks his face and her leans into her fur and breathes in her pine-rock scent that she loves him too. They share a silent moment, before both erupting into purrs and touching noses.

Birchpaw is called forwards soon after the clan has finished eating and the evening patrol has been assigned but not sent out. As the young she-cat recieves her name, and at only 11 moons, Silverbright is so proud of her, and let her know such. She promises to make him proud.

As Birchleaf leaves to go and sit vigil for the clan, she strikes a coversation with Iciclestar, knowing that the leader is mates with her former mentor. They chatter about this for a little bit before she goes to stand guard.

The two toms have a talk regarding Milkpaw, and how Teaselcrash had been enabling the young she-cat's destructive behaviour. Teaselcrash argues that he doesn't enable her, and that she can control her own behaviour. The conversation turns into more of an arguement, one that Silverbright can't continue as Teaselcrash brushes past him, bumping into Iciclestar as he leaves, leaving Silverbright to feel embarrassed that his mate had to watch him argue with a clanmate like that.

Iciclestar offers to take her mate on a border patrol to ease him, to which he agrees. Whilst out though, he picks up a strong and weird smell, one which he can't recognize as any of the neighboring clans. He goes to investigate it just to see the backend of the rogue as he pelts away from them. Strange.

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[poisonedwell]

everyone holds up crowfeather and ashfur as the pinnacle of Shitty Male Warrior Cats but y’all sleep on how awful brambleclaw is. i legitimately consider him to be almost on the same moral level as ashfur in power of three, he is that bad in the new prophecy.

[valleyclan-cg]

After a harsh leaf-bare, and an even harsher season of redcough, bought into the clans by a wandering loner from the reserve, Valleyclan seems to find peace in recovering from its great loss, the now small clan coping with the new rule of Iciclestar, the previous leaders daughter, who had stepped up after the previous leader had died without taking a new deputy. The clan seem happy with the position she inherited, as well as the new deputy, Silverbright, who took the role after being offered it.

Once the last snowstorm had finally passed and new life of newleaf rejuvenated the clan, the medicine cat, Honeyfern, had taken Iciclelarch to see their ancestors at the Stonepool. It seems they greatly approved, and Iciclelarch was given Heartpaw as her guiding spirit, who she had found a very odd choice, but welcomed the long dead apprentice nonetheless.

MOON ONE ☆

Whilst nothing interesting may have happened, the clan is healthy and fed. Even without the excitement that life may bring to the clan cats, they can be grateful for being alive and healthy after such a terrible season passed.

Silverbright, being the new deputy, seems quite curious about Iciclestar, now taking on her new position as leader. He wonders if she has time for mates anymore, and that leads into the realization that she doesn't quite have as easy of a life as he may think. This gives him a high respect for her, as his loyalty ties him back to such a strong she-cat and the clan she cares for.

Birchpaw is also very fond of her mentor, Silverbright. She offers him feathers, to line his nest with to make him more comfortable and, in Silverbright's mind, to show her comfort and respect for him. He takes these happily before inviting her out to training.

Despite this though... The two don't have much luck. As Silverbright expects her to lead the session, but Birchpaw seems awkward and shuffles her paws, once Silverbright prompts her, the two seem to bicker, before giving up on the expedition and they both go home.

Asides that, the clan is well fed and the border patrols come back happily.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

MOON TWO ☆

The chills of Leafbare has not quite left the tall mountains of the territory, and Silverbright finds himself waking up with a runny nose after a border patrol the night before. He checks it with Honeyfern and she tells him to relax and try to eat warm prey when it comes and sleep well at night. Silently, he thanks Birchpaw for the feathers she had given him the moon before.

Birchpaw snuck out of camp, to hunt pressumably, but didn't think that Silverbright would come to look for her. He had planned battle training today for her, but when he found her slunking into came with a small falcon, he reprimands her, telling her that she should join the patrol with Honeyfern to collect herbs, since she already contributed to the fresh kill pile for the day. Birchpaw isn't too happy with this but she agrees.

Iciclestar, sensing Silverbright's unhappiness, challenges him to a soft sparring match, and she's very surprised when the skinny and scrawny tom is able to beat her despite her size. The two have a good laugh and chat about it, further strengthening their bond further.

Whilst Birchpaw is waiting for Honeyfern to be ready, she watches the two older warriors, impressed by them.

Saplingear is very happily chatting her younger sister's ear off whilst she sorts through her herbs, they discuss Birchpaw, whilst Saplingear jokes about all the mischief she got into when she was an apprentice her age, and Honeyfern happily listens.

Saplingear and Silverbright go out to hunt for the clan, and down the mountain they find a two-paw path they didn't recognise was on their territory before. They look at it a little confused, but Saplingear tells them not to cross, just incase of injury.

It turns out Birchpaw's wondering earlier in the day was to clear her head, and she vents out this to Honeyfern, who listens intently.

Unfortunately, Honeyfern can't make any sense of the vision either, which only makes Birchpaw a little more worried. It seems strange to her that they would send such a strange vision to her. They head back to camp.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

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ALLEGIANCES (WRITTEN) (DRAWN)