solyn wrote:The moon was high in the sky, and the stars glittered overhead as the cats of Groveclan sat in the night, waiting for their leader to return. Shadowtail, Hawkthorn and Acornstream sat in a close-knit circle together, laughing about something, while Flowerpaw had curled up fast asleep next to Maplefall. Lionheart and Flintburr sat shoulder to shoulder, watching the entrance of the camp, waiting for the shape of a small dark cat to dart through.
"He's fine," Flintburr said to Lionheart reassuringly, "I'm certain of it. He has nine lives, after all." Lionheart simply nodded, keeping her head turned toward the entrance, unwilling to look away in case she missed his arrival. Nerves swelled in her stomach. Badgerstar was her first friend in a long time, and a cat who had given her a home and a purpose. If anything had happened to him, she didn't know what she would do. Flintburr nudged her shoulder with his own and she jolted a little, blinking at the fluffy black tom in surprise. He smiled at her, gently.
"Sorry," she said, "thank you, you're right. What do you think about that cat, by the way? The one you and Maplefall found? I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet."
"She... seems genuine," Flintburr replied after a while, "she had a warrior name and everything, not like Maplefall when you two found her. And she seems to know her herbs as well. I feel like you would like her, she just about bit my ears off for being even the slightest bit wary of her. And she terrified poor Maplefall. I daresay she's grumpier than you." Flintburr's mouth curled up in a smile as Lionheart snorted, shooting him a play-annoyed look.
"Goldleaf, right?"
"That's right."
"We'll see what Badgerstar has to say about her," Lionheart said.
"Say about who?" The voice behind her made Lionheart jumped, and she whipped her head back around, before the entire clan were on their feet, crowding around their leader excitedly. He stepped forward, and touched noses with Lionheart, the ginger molly purring in relief. As he spotted Maplefall, Badgerstar's tail curled above his back and he bounded forward. They paused in front of each other, hesitantly, before he touched noses to her too, with a soft chuckle.
"We found a cat, Badgerstar," Flintburr said, "and it's good to see you back safe."
"Another refugee?" Badgerstar's tail drooped as he turned back toward the older cats, but it was Maplefall's shake of her head that drew his attention back to her, his body relaxing. Flintburr nodded to the calico to take the lead, glad to see the youngest warrior in the clan showing initiative.
"She's not from a clan around here," Maplefall mewed, "she says her name is Goldleaf, she's a medicine cat, and that Starclan sent her to us." Badgerstar's face lit up, and he whipped around to look for the cat in question, his eyes falling on the pale gold fur emerging from the den he'd designated to be the medicine cat's den. Their eyes met, and Goldleaf looked amused by the black tom's apparent glee at seeing her.
"So Starclan did answer me!" He crowed gleefully. "Hello, Goldleaf, I'm--"
"Badgerstar, I know," she mewed coolly, "Dovestar's had me travelling here for moons. And before you ask, she appeared to me in a vision and told me I was needed here. And I would never question Starclan. If they tell you they have a plan for you, then they have a plan, and she lead me here. I see you're in need of a medicine cat?"
"We are," Badgerstar said, "welcome to Groveclan. That is, if you want to stay?"
"Well, I came this far didn't I?" She said, with a wry smile. Lionheart's ear twitched. She could see what Flintburr meant; the molly's sharp tongue was already amusing. She turned, glanced back at the medicine cat den, and huffed. "But I might not stick around if that herb supply stays so empty. I'll need a warrior to help me gather herbs tomorrow."
"I'll do it," Lionheart said, "Maplefall can look after Flowerpaw for the day."
"Then it's settled," Badgerstar said, glancing around his clan with pride, "everyone, welcome our newest member- Goldleaf!"
𝕥𝕠𝕕𝕒𝕪,
The storm clouds overhead were worrying, but the mood inside Groveclan was cheerful. Ever since the arrival of a medicine cat, tensions had been much lower. There was no more underlying fear of no one to help them if there was an injury, and Goldleaf seemed more than capable. As the first spatters of rain came with the dawn, Badgerstar emerged from his den onto the branch and yowled for the rest of the clan. They gathered underneath the high branch, looking up at him with expectant eyes. Badgerstar cleared his throat.
"Good morning everyone," he said cheerfully, and a murmur of a chuckle went around his clan at his lack of formality, "Lionheart and Flowerpaw are going to train today, so I'm going to take Maplefall and Flintburr with me on a patrol to see if the rain is flushing out any new warriors. Acornstream, can you take Shadowtail and Hawkthorn hunting in the forest? Stay away from the lakes and the river, it's too dangerous right now."
"Yes, Badgerstar!" Shadowtail trilled cheerfully, already on her feet. Her brother and the acorn-brown she-cat were quick to follow, calling out their goodbyes as they loped out of the camp and into the territory. The canopy of the forest blocked out most of the rain, but the smell of petrichor in the air was overwhelming, and even with her nose directly to the ground, Shadowtail was having trouble picking up the scent of anything. A drop of water rolled directly off a leaf above and splashed her on the forehead. She huffed and shook her head roughly.
"No luck," she whined, turning to Hawkthorn and Acornstream. "I feel like a dog, tracking with my nose to the ground, but I can't pick up anything! What about you, are either of you having any luck?" Her brother shook his head, and Acornstream just sighed, her ears flattening dejectedly, before perking up again.
"The rain must be washing all the creatures back into their dens," she said, "I know Badgerstar said to stay away from the lake, but it's possible we could go there, where the dens and burrows will be flooded. Or, we can hunt in the trees. Birds can't fly when it's wet and it'll be harder for them to get away!" Shadowtail and Hawkthorn turned to her with twin beams, and it struck her how similar they were when they looked at her like that. Hawkthorn purred, while Shadowtail giggled gleefully.
"Acornstream," she meowed to her friend, "you are an absolute genius!"
"I try," she purred, shaking out her wet fur that hung off her frame like lichen moss. Hawkthorn snickered at her and she playfully splashed water at him, the droplets easily sliding out of his short fur. She huffed at the unfairness of the motion; neither he or Shadowtail were bothered by their pelts getting bogged down in the rain.
"I think we should stay away from the lake for now," Hawkthorn added, "I don't think Badgerstar would be mad, but we have to be conscious of our own safety. And I don't want... either of you getting hurt." Shyly, he smiled at Acornstream, whose tail curled happily at him. She nodded, and glanced upward at the trees. Shadowtail's eyes followed hers, and so did Hawkthorn's, the three of them staring into the green leaves above their head.
"Then it's settled," Acornstream mewed, "let's go catch some birds."
★★★
Groveclan was not a bad place to live. The camp was on a rise so that it didn't flood, and it was sheltered from snow. Goldleaf's den was spacious, and had plenty of room to store her herbs. Or, what very few she had. She couldn't blame the other cats for never having collected any, they weren't medicine cats after all, but it was tedious trying to build up a supply from nothing, especially when the warriors were mostly needed elsewhere, so she had to carry everything herself. Luckily, Lionheart often opted to help her on days where she could pass her apprentice off to Maplefall for a patrol.
She exited the den, and shook her fur in the rain with a disgruntled huff. She went to take a step forward, when Flowerpaw crashed into her with a yowl. Alarmed, Goldleaf fell limp underneath the young ginger apprentice. What in Starclan's name is she doing! Goldleaf thought, but the thought abated when she heard Lionheart's tinkling laugh from the other side of camp. Pushing the apprentice off of her, the molly stood up, shaking her head.
"So, now you enlist your apprentice to help bully me?" She asked, amusement lilting her voice.
"I wouldn't say bully..." Lionheart mused, "don't look so grumpy, Goldleaf. You need to work on your battle skills too. So does Flowerpaw, since we never know when something bad might happen. I just think we're lucky so far to have not encountered any difficulties. At least we don't seem to be in danger from other clans. Badgerstar is good at making friends."
"But didn't you say you were posing as leader?" Flowerpaw asked, curiously.
"Yes, and I almost provoked an Echoclan warrior within the first few minutes because I accidentally ran into her," Lionheart felt warm as Goldleaf and Flowerpaw both laughed. The memory was fond now; her following chat with Beestripe had been very nice and Squirrelstar seemed very friendly too. Idly, she wondered how the dark brown tabby and her grandmother were going. Shaking her head, she flicked her ears at Goldleaf. "Anyway, what are you up to today?"
"Herb gathering," Goldleaf replied, "I don't suppose there's any chance you could accompany me today?" She sounded hopeful. She liked Lionheart; she was a strong-willed she-cat with a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind, and in the moon she'd been here, they seemed to get along swimmingly. She liked talking to Lionheart about clan life before Groveclan, where they came from and who they'd left behind. It was a good feeling; a warm feeling.
"Unfortunately, no," Lionheart mewed, "I have to train Flowerpaw. She needs to brush up on her battle skills and tactics, which is why we're practicing in the camp while no one is here, so she can learn how to defend it. You're always welcome to join us once you've finished collecting herbs." She added the last part teasingly, eyes sparkling with mischief. Goldleaf snorted, and then laughed, shaking her head at the ginger.
"You know what," she said finally, "maybe I will. But only after I've collected my herbs." With that, she turned and yowled goodbye to Lionheart and Flowerpaw over her shoulder, making her way out of the camp and into the territory beyond.
★★★
"I'm telling you," Badgerstar said, "if a badger and a dog got into a fight, then the badger would win, every time!" Flintburr snorted and rolled his eyes, while Maplefall giggled in amusement at their silly argument. They'd been debating this ever since they left the camp, and Badgerstar had made a comment about how cool badgers were compared to the dogs from the two-leg place.
"There are some pretty big dogs around," Flintburr pointed out to the other black tom.
"Yeah, but they're all whiny and wimpy! They hear the dog patrol van coming and they scatter. Badgers don't have to care about that and they don't listen to two-legs either. They'd beat a dog any day!" Flintburr scoffed and rolled his eyes. Badgerstar's tail lifted in amusement as he bumped the other with his shoulder. "You know I'm right," he sing-songed.
"I think you're both wrong," Maplefall interjected, drawing their attention. After a dramatic pause, she shot them both an impish smile, her tail kinked over her back, "I would win in a fight against both a badger and a dog." Flintburr and Badgerstar couldn't help but laugh with her, the merriment in the patrol obvious. It was such an inane argument, and it didn't even matter! But it was still fun to think about it, and the thought of little Maplefall triumphantly standing over the woozy, unconscious masses of a large dog and a badger was just too funny.
"Of course you would," Badgerstar finally managed, "you're one of the most brave and fierce she-cats I know!"
"Lionheart being the other?" Maplefall queried.
"Yeah."
"Now there's a she-cat that could defeat a badger and a dog," Flintburr said, prompting another round of laughter. Now that was more believable: Lionheart all claws and fury attacking a much larger enemy and triumphing. They all nodded. It seemed the argument had been resolved: it didn't matter if a badger or a dog would win in a fight because they would always eventually lose to Lionheart. Badgerstar and Maplefall had gone a few paces, before they realised Flintburr wasn't with them. They turned to see him standing still, and frowning.
"Flintburr?" Maplefall asked, concern laced into her voice. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," he said, shooting her a reassuring smile, "I just... think I smell some badger. It might just be because we've been talking about it though." A look passed around all of the cats, before Maplefall and Badgerstar scented the air as well. The mood dropped significantly as their noses came down, twitching with the scent of badger. Maplefall glanced between her two friends with worry.
"That's odd," she said, "I've never smelt badger this far into the territory..."
"The flooding must be driving them out of their burrows," Flintburr suggested, "Maplefall and I scented some near the lake when we patrolled there about a moon ago. We assumed they lived there, but if they do... they must be looking for a new place to resettle."
Badgerstar looked worried, his tail swishing in agitation. This was not good; things had just been looking up in the clan. He sighed, looking to his two warriors, who stared back at him expectantly. After a moment or two, he sighed again, with a half-defeated shrug and lowered his head. He was shaking it now as he turned and padded on.
"There's not a lot we can do," he said, "we just have to keep patrolling and hope we don't run into any trouble. I just wish we had some more warriors to deal with this. Not that you're not wonderful- but Flintburr and Lionheart are really the only experienced battlers we have. Acornstream and the tabby siblings seem to be hunters rather than fighters and I... don't know what I am."
"Let's hope Starclan hears you then," Flintburr murmured, "because I have a bad feeling about this."
[ badgerstar, flintburr and maplefall go on patrol to look for new cats
lionheart takes flowerpaw training (battle skill)
shadowtail, hawkthorn and acornstream hunt in the forest
goldleaf gathers herbs [catchweed/marigold priority]
the clan consumes a mouse and two voles ]
imagination 
