WindClan Camp

The she-wolf turned her gaze to the camp entrance as Wrenclaw poked through, and she couldn't help but give a sigh of relief at his arrival. At least there was now one less wolf she needed to worry about, though she still felt a troubled at the disappearance of her apprentice. "He's too young to be wandering by himself in this weather." With the howling wind in Windclan and the sudden snow in Sunclan, who knew what other dangers lurked about. A part of her remained irritated that he had disobeyed her orders, but mostly she was just concerned for his safety and well-being. "I should send a patrol out to find him... No, everyone's been out of camp so much already. And he couldn't have gone far surely." Larkstar narrowed her eyes once more and scanned the camp, though she already knew well that he was not there. She turned to Embershard once more and asked, "Did you happen to see Heavypaw when you were outside of camp?" Giving the other she-wolf a concerned glance, she waited and heard her response, frowning when Ember confirmed that they hadn't. She sighed slowly, feeling some amount of unease again. "He left camp without permission and I haven't seen him." Lark was more talking to herself when she made the comment, but it was loud enough for the other warrior to hear. Shaking her head, the leader frowned as she decided on what to do. "Hmm. I'll just go out and bring him back to camp. He couldn't have gotten far." Sparing another glance at the she-wolf, Larkstar dipped her head politely to end the conversation and then padded forward. It occurred to her that clan leaders might have to inform others where they were incase they were needed, so she stopped short and turned back to Embershard. "Er, if anyone needs me, tell them I'll be back in a few moments." With that she resumed her course and loped forward entering the cool duskiness of the moors.
~The Old Orchard~

Avalanchepup saw the other pup (Foxpup) come out of the entrance of a den and saw as the pup walked over to him, Lilacsplash, and a male wolf he had yet to know the name of (Thornfur). He snuggled closer to Lilacsplash, whimpering softly. "I miss my mom." he said sniffling. He crouched down lower and just sobbed.

Larkstar mentioned Heavypaw's absence before effecting her own abrupt departure. Thornfur's deep frown followed her as he watched the final whisp of her brown fur disappear through the entrance, having announced her purpose for leaving but not her destination. He strongly disagreed that it was wise for her to leave alone - she knew how dangerous it was, she herself had forbidden anyone wandering on their own due to the dangerous conditions - but she was gone from sight before he could argue. Foxpup's arrival was a welcome distraction, but he had little in the way of comfort to offer the confused pup - he himself didn't fully understand what was happening. But Foxpup looked unsettled, so Thornfur sought to comfort him. "I'm not entirely sure, Foxpup, but you're safe here with us," Thornfur offered, casting another fleeting glance at the veiled sun, "but this here is Avalanche." He motioned towards the whimpering new arrival, shifting uncomfortably as the pup cried out for his mother. He may not have much of a paternal instinct, but he was sure that Lilacsplash would take good care of him well from now on. "Perhaps you should take Avalanche into the nursery, Lilacsplash. Get him settled in and keep him as sheltered as possible from the wind."

The newly-named Avalanchepup lifted his head, oily tears wetting the small fellow's muzzle as he stared out at Thornfur as he spoke to Lilacsplash. He snuggled closer to the silver she-wolf belly and whimpered. He was hungry and she had no milk. He feared he might die without food but he had to face facts. He stood up and tried to find the den Thornfur spoke of so he came out of Lilacsplash's warmth and headed towards the center of camp. After a few seconds he pathetically fell onto his belly as he came to Foxpup's side. He was not even half the young pup's weight yet or age for that matter. He shivered in the cold air and then ran back to the warmth of Lilacsplash's body - or it would've been, if he hadn't closed his eyes and snuggled into Thornfur's coat instead. He quickly didn't recognize the brutes scent and so yelped in fear and then hid from Thornfur under Lilacsplash's tail.

Noticing that Lilacsplash’s labour had begun, Ashfrost urged her surprisingly gently into the medicine den, wanting to keep a close eye on her. By the time she lashed out at her mate, he banned anyone else from coming into the den. He didn’t like being crowded anyway, and the new mother would need time to herself. She seemed to be having no trouble with the first few pups, so he didn’t bother her, simply staying in the den and checking on his herbs just in case. Glancing over as she named the pups, he nodded, remembering which one was which so that he could then avoid the little annoyances. With the final pup giving her problems, he did his best to help the gentle female, finally getting the big black and white pup out. His quick actions luckily saved her and Lilacsplash, and it wasn’t long before all the pups were suckling again.
Not allowing the female to leave until he was happy with how she was going, he kept a close eye on her and the last born pup. There was something about the black and white one that made him want to keep watch over her, despite his dislike of pups. He tolerated Honeybadger being in the den, but allowed no more than one other wolf in the den at a time. Lilacsplash needed her rest, and the pups needed their mum as long as they could have her. As the pups weaned, he did his best with the ailing mother as she faded, making her passing as peaceful and painless as he could. She didn’t deserve to die in pain, and he made sure of that for her, and for the pups, and for the rest of the clan.
Surprisingly, he seemed to be the only one who didn’t blame Eclipsepup for the death of her mother. He’d sensed a darker presence as the pup had been born, and it wasn’t her fault for being bigger and having a difficult birth. Having pups was never guaranteed to be easy, so he took the little one somewhat under his paw. He didn’t mind her questions about the herbs, though he was still his usual short self with all the pups.

Avalanchepup was currently laying outside the nursery, surrounded by play-mates but not really in the mood to play. He sort of missed Lilacsplash and wished he could still see her around here, cuddle in her warmth, but he can't. He had made very little friends since he had remained distant from the other pups and he seemed the only wolves he knew around here was Embershard and Larkstar. He whimpered - he was lonely. His ears pricked up as he heard his stomach growl and he padded over to the fresh-kill pile, taking out a rabbit and slowly eating the whole thing himself. He let out a silent belch and then looked towards the camp entrance/exit, so tempted to go out there and see the world even though he needed to stay in here.

The leggy little pup bounded out of the nursery, searching for her friend Honeybadger. The elder was just so full of exciting stories and tips and tricks and so many things! Sniffing around, it wasn't long before she pinpointed the old female and danced over on her long black legs. Tripping over them more than a couple of times, she ended up rolling to bump against the crotchety female and grinned up at her. “Hi Honeybadger!” she chirped, not bothered that she'd bumped into the usually grumpy wolf, and that her legs were more than a little tangled together. “How are you today? Do you have any stories or tips or tricks that I can practice on?” Unravelling her too long legs, she hopped up onto her paws, wagging her tail madly and tilted her oversized ears towards the elder. “Please?” Of course she wasn't going to forget that all important word. She had to be polite, of course! Especially to such a wise elder.

Little Eclipsepup... not so little. While her littermates tumbled around camp, she stayed in the shadows of the nursery. Her large body was already big enough to be an apprentice, but she didn't want to be one. She locked eyes with Windpups' for a brief second, but long enough to notice the hatred in the young pup. The silver and white pup looked away and buried herself into her nest.It should have been me. Now everyone hates me. Mama hates me too, Eclipse didn't bother shedding tears out of pity for herself. There wasn't a point. She was the only one who knew she didn't mean to kill her mother, so no one was too terribly concerned with her well being. She was okay with it, actually. This meant she could quietly starve to death without anyone noticing. Plopping down onto her side, she rolled over and exposed her soft belly to the air, gently closing her eyes. Let them come for me. I want to see my mama.

The days passed by, but to the male it was all a blur. He had only eaten when Lark nagged him, and his fur remained rather dull and unkempt. The first few days after finding out Weed was dead was a mix between feeling intense anguish and feeling nothing at all. He preferred the nothingness, as it was less painful and made doing duties to his clan at least somewhat bearable. Wrenclaw was already a closed and reserved person, but lately he had become a recluse, either sleeping or spending time out on the moor alone. Patrolling to the Sunclan border had become unbearable, and he had volunteered to go hunting many times just to get out of having to visit his old rendezvous spot with Weedfang. The grief he felt had slowly turned from a sharp pain to a dull ache. If he thought about it, the dull ache would grow to become overpowering, so he just simply tried his best to keep it at the back of his mind.

Still, Weedfang's last words haunted him, more then he could ever realize. "Stay loyal..." Her voice echoed around in his brain, and though he understood that if they hadn't meant she wouldn't have died, he wondered how his loyalty to the clan could prevent something like that happening again. Her words of there being another she-wolf whom he would love also resonated in his mind. At the moment, there weren't that many she-wolves in his clan. There were Silverfern and Lilysong, but those two had grown closer and Wren had suspected that they had taken a liking to each other. There was also Embershard, but surely she would judge him to be disloyal and reject any offers he made. And Wrenclaw certainly wasn't fond of or felt attracted to any males in the clan, besides, Weedfang had specifically said a she-wolf.
All these thoughts and more ran through the brute's mind as he sat closer to the edge of the camp, gnawing on an old deer bone. The object had long since had been wiped clean of any traces of meat, yet Wrenclaw found it therapeutic to gnaw on. It helped him focus his thoughts and decide on what to do. "Why did you have to leave me here alone?" He thought, imagining himself asking Weedfang this within his head. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think about her or the time they had spent together. But it was all lost now, and nothing he could do would ever bring those times back. Hearing the voices of the young pups, the male glanced in their direction and flattened his ears. Lilacsplash had given birth within the past moon, and her little bundles had been tumbling around the camp nonstop. While Wren usually enjoyed watching pups as they played, the noise they created made it hard to concentrate. Carving deeper into the bone, the brute continued his gnawing, his thoughts resuming back to finding another wolf that Weed said he would supposedly fall for.
"It doesn't matter what you think or feel, what matters is that you remain loyal.." Did that mean he would have to put his own sentiments aside for the sake of his clan? The thought didn't appeal to him, but it was what the she-wolf had told him. "Who is the most loyal wolf in the clan?" As if on cue, Embershard padded into the camp, several rabbits hanging from her jaws. His eyes fell briefly on her, and a thought stirred in his mind. "Embershard is as lawful as Lark, and strict with the warrior code." But there was a certain amount of hesitation in his thoughts. "But I don't feel anything like that towards her...besides she wouldn't accept me after what I was doing with Weedfang." But still, she hadn't been rude to him at all since he had broken off his relationship with the Sunclan wolf. And it occurred to him that she herself had lost someone dear to her with the death of Obsidianshard and the disappearance of Diamondfang. The male stopped his carving and frowned. "Is...that who you meant Weedfang?" He wished more then anything that he could speak to her again, yet such a dream was futile.

Waking up late, as usual, the dark pup wandered out of the medicine den in silence. he'd stayed behind, nuzzling with his ma as she'd passed. He was grateful that she hadn't been in pain, though. Ashfrost had explained it quietly, for some reason the cranky old wolf tolerating his many questions. Yawning, for he was still tired, he looked around and spotted Eclipsepaw sitting on her own. Giving a sigh through another yawn, he padded over to her. He was pretty sure that he was one of the few who didn't blame the little pup. After all, who was dumb enough to blame a pup for being too big? It hadn't been hurt fault, it was just something that happened. Nosing her gently, he gave her a quiet look before speaking in his soft voice. "Ma's gone," he murmured, sitting with her. "She said to say she loved us all though."

Tending to Lilacsplash's body in silence, the old wolf had urged all the pups out, knowing that the sharply intelligent Darkpup would know what had happened. At least one of the pups accepted Eclipsepup. Giving Silverpup an exasperated look, he pointed her back outside. “Out,” he said shortly. he had things to take care of, a leader to inform about Lilacpslash, and he wasn't in the mood for pups when he'd only just got the last of them out of his den. “She'll be in the sun. Go.” Not allowing anyone else in the den while he finished with the gentle wolf's body, he nosed her cheek gently, sadly. She'd had a hard last couple of months, but her pups would survive. He and Honeybadger would make sure of that. Padding out, he glanced around the camp, wanting to know where Larkstar was. She'd need to know about Lilacsplash's passing before she heard about it from the rumours winging their way across camp.

Larkstar trotted into camp a little later then Heavypaw, her breathing still escalated and her fur somewhat bristling. The fay knew that none of the clan, especially Lilac's pups, needed to know of the late queen's fate. Speaking of the pups she spotted a few padding around the camp, but just gazing at them filled her heart with unspeakable sorrow. They were so lively, so full of innocence. No, she would never let it be known to them what had happened, lest they become miserable and broken.
Lark scanned the camp wearily making sure every wolf was accounted for. She noticed Ashfrost padding out of his den, and the she-wolf made her way over to him. "Ashfrost? I need to speak with you." Her voice was softer then normal and her pelt still bristled. If there was one thing Lark was not good at, it was hiding her body language. She couldn't understand how Wreclaw and some of the others did it so well. "Alone." She added quickly, giving a quick glance at the pups that wandered the camp.