RiverClan Camp

Bubblepaw, the grey and white fae with her now amber eyes glanced towards the apprentice den and walked into it. There was only 2 nests in it currently which meant she had to make her own. So she went into the nursery and took the moss from her old bedding and carried them into the apprentice's den and made her new nest there. She added a few flowers to it to get it smelling good and then added some mossballs in there to make sure it was soft enough for her. She tested how it felt by laying in it and then yelped and lifted her one paw. There was a thorn in it. Red stuff oozed from her pad and she whimpered. Her first day as an apprentice and she was already wounding up horrible. Limping towards the medicine den she gulped. "Twistedfoot? I think I had a thorn in my paw." she said, laying her ears down.

Lightheart bolted out of the water as soon as she could, water droplets from the river still dripping off her fur as she tracked down Twistedfoot. “TWISTEDFOOT!” She called out, following scent trails that led her to him him and Graystar in the leader’s den. She’d apologize for barging in later, but now was not the time. “I’m sorry to interrupt Graystar… Twistedfoot something’s happened… Follyfoot’s been attacked. It's bad. We can’t get her back to camp… we need you there.” She was almost winded. She’d bolted and her stamina wasn’t the best in the world. She could do the long climb, just not at the speed she’d been using. “They’re out at Perches Flow.”

Twistedfoot made her way over to Graystar's den when the leader said that she was ready to have a meeting. Once inside, she sat down, focusing her amber gaze on Graystar. "I've received a message from Owlscreech regarding RiverClan. He told me to 'beware the shadows' and said that the Dark Forest is rising. He said that they will wipe out RiverClan if we are not strong come leafbare. He also said that the medicine wolves of all Clans are in danger." Graystar's expression had changed to one of surprise, understandably. "I have not heard news from StarClan since. However, I fear that we may be in danger." She would need to be on the lookout for any more signs or omens.

Soon after she had finished speaking, Hollowpaw showed up. The apprentice mentioned Follyfoot being missing, and Moonbreeze sent out a patrol shortly afterwards. Although Twistedfoot guessed that Follyfoot was probably fine, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried on account of Owlscreech's warning. It wasn't leafbare yet, but the Dark Forest certainly couldn't be trusted. She returned her focus back to Graystar to hear what the leader would have to say. Graystar seemed quite concerned, although Twistedfoot hoped that the leader realized how serious this situation might become.

It hadn't been too long before the medicine wolf heard Lightheart shout out her name. The warrior had come bearing bad news about Follyfoot. "I'll leave immediately," she told Lightheart as she got up to her paws. She mumbled an apology to Graystar before she hurried over to her den. She was glad that she had at least informed Graystar of the danger. There was nothing more she could do now. Once inside her den, her eyes quickly scanned over her herb store as she looked for the medicine she'd most likely need. Raspberry leaves. Comfrey root. Marigold. Cobwebs, too. She placed the herbs and the cobwebs in a large beech leaf, in order to carry them more easily. As she bent down to grab the beech leaf, she heard Bubblepaw's voice. "Oceanpaw! I need you here, now!" she called out loudly. When the newly-made apprentice arrived, she motioned to Bubblepaw. "Follyfoot's in trouble. I've got to leave right away. I need you to gently pull the thorn out of Bubblepaw's paw, and then apply dock." She grabbed a couple of the leaves and set them down in front of Oceanpaw. "Chew them up them apply them to the wound after you've removed the thorn. If you need cobwebs, they're towards the front of the herb store." She didn't think that helping Bubblepaw out would be too hard for Oceanpaw, and the practice would be good for her.

After she'd finished explaining everything to Oceanpaw, she grabbed the beech leaf full of herbs and started off to Perches' Flow. If it truly was as bad as Lightheart implied, she needed to hurry. I just hope that I'll be able to heal her. Twistedfoot swam across the lake as quickly as possible and then took off running using her three good legs, keeping her twisted paw raised from the ground.

Whiteshadow rested his head on his paws lazily. Though he did perk up when a patrol brought back a dog that was not only old but blind as well. He growled under his breath of course those soft hearted fools brought back a dog that weak and defenseless in the mist of leafbare. He wondered if they had any common sense at all. He observed as Stormblade seemed to be the only one who understood how dumb it was to let that dog into the clan. And he nodded his head to the dog in respect. When Stormblade went to Graystar he saw her maul it over before finally deciding to not allow the dog into the clan. When she made her announcement and did a few ceremonies he listened contently.  Whiteshadow did wonder about making a recent single mother who lost her mate and pup at once deputy, but he trusted that Graystar had her reasons. He regarded his leader and although he would do anything she asked of him, he wondered why she looked like everything was so overwhelming. He sighed and after Twistedfoot left her den, he got up and stretched and then on silent paws walked up to the entrance of her den. "Graystar are you alright?" He asked though he figured the only one to truly comfort the leader was Stormblade as though too were quiet close these days. But he hated to see that she was so troubled and if he could he would be there to listen or if she wanted to spar he would do that as well. But he had a soft spot for the kind hearted leader who took him in and let him be apart of the clan. A place to belong too.

The gray-and-tan wolf was sitting just outside of the apprentices' den when he heard Graystar call a Clan meeting. Flamepaw made he was over towards where meetings were usually held, sitting down. He kept his gaze pointed at Graystar even though her figure was mostly just a blur to him. The meeting started shortly afterwards, opening with sorrowful news.The apprentice frowned at the mention of those they had lost. Even though he hadn't been particularly close with any of the wolves, it was still sad to lose Clanmates. The sad occasion was soon followed by good news, however: Moonbreeze was deemed deputy of RiverClan. He was happy for her, but he felt rather embarrassed that he himself was still an apprentice, considering he was older than her. However, he was aware that he would likely be made a warrior soon, if not now. He had finished his training with Stormblade, after all.

Sure enough, his name was the next one to be called. Even though he had expected it he couldn't keep his heat from racing. This was it. He was finally going to be a warrior. If only Kitpaw and Lionpaw were getting named beside me, he thought wistfully, recalling his puphood friends who'd since gone missing. Flamepaw carefully made his way to the front of the crowd, keeping his gaze fixed on Graystar. When the time came for his affirmation, he took in a deep breath before speaking. "I do." After he'd finished, Graystar gave him his new name: Flamebreeze. He liked the sound of it. He gave the RiverClan leader a smile before making his way back to where he had been sitting, once again careful not to bump into anyone. Eaglepup was next to be called forward, but what happened afterwards did take Flamebreeze by surprise. I'm his mentor? He had only just received his warrior name. His excitement was partially replaced by worry. Although Eaglepaw had vision issues too, Flamebreeze was worried that he might not have been the best choice as mentor. He stepped forward to touch noses with the apprentice before disappearing back into the crowd and listening to the rest of the ceremonies. When they were over, he cheered along with the Clan, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he would be a terrible mentor.

The sound of someone approaching caused him to leave his thoughts, and he soon enough realized that Eaglepaw had come up to him. "Hi," he said, a bit hesitantly. Now that he had an apprentice, what was he supposed to do first? He tried to think back to his own apprenticeship ceremony and what his mentor had told him after the fact. "How about we go out for a tour of the territory? I'll see if any of the other mentors and apprentices want to come too. It should be fun," he said with a smile. He was briefly distracted by Lightheart's rapid entrance into the Clan—apparently something had happened to Follyfoot by Perches' Flow. He made a mental note that they shouldn't go to the river, at least not first. Hopefully by the time they got around the rest of RiverClan's territory the situation would be under control. It would be unfortunate not to take the apprentices on a tour to the river, considering how important it was.

The pup's attention turned away from Ripplesplash when she heard Graystar announce a Clan meeting. Forgetting all about the game they were going to play, she raced forward to where a crowd was gathering, nearly tripping over her paws in her sprint. She'd ended up sitting next to her brother, and gave him a small smile before she looked back up at the RiverClan leader. Her ears drooped when she heard mention of Forsakensoul and Pantherpup. How she wished that they could still be here today. The meeting took a more cheerful turn with her mother's promotion to deputy—at this, Lunapup flashed a smile to Moonbreeze. Lunapup's thoughts began to drift off after her mother's promotion, but at the mention of Eaglepup, she perked her ears forward. Was it their apprenticeship ceremony already? She gave her brother an encouraging smile when he stepped forward, and right afterwards it was her turn. The blue-furred pup bounced up to the front of the crowd and touched noses with Glacierpath after he was deemed her mentor. She found it hard to focus on the rest of the meeting, save for when Graystar mentioned that Oceanpup would become the next medicine wolf apprentice. The newly-named Lunapaw cheered with the rest of the Clan once the meeting was over. She beamed at Eaglepaw as he approached her. "Congratulations too!" she replied. "Oh, it's going to be so fun being an apprentice!" She smiled back at Oceanpaw when she came over, too. "Congratulations! You'll have to tell me all about what it's like to be a medicine wolf!" When her siblings walked away, Lunapaw bounded over to where Glacierpath was standing, a smile still on her face. She'd forgotten about Moonbreeze's order to go and make her new nest in the apprentices' den, though would probably get around to it later. "Hi Glacierpath! I'm really happy that you're my mentor! I can't wait until we start training! What are we going to do first?" The words tumbled out quickly in her excitement.

The golden-eyed leader focused her gaze on Twistedfoot. The medicine wolf's expression was somber, causing Graystar to fear the worst about what she had to say. Sure enough, her words had been one of danger, but Graystar still couldn't help but feel shocked about just how perilous the situation was. "I see..." she murmured. "That could explain the missing sun from earlier, and the strange way in which Grizzly was pulled out of the camp." If both of those situations were related to the Dark Forest, it was possible that the threat was imminent.

However, there had been no time to further discuss the matter before Hollowpaw interrupted the meeting to ask about Follyfoot. "No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen her in a while." It was somewhat concerning that the warrior had not yet returned. "You should remain here at camp, however," she told Hollowpaw. She nodded to Moonbreeze when she said that she'd send out a patrol. Hopefully they would find that Follyfoot was safe, and perhaps had decided to get in some extra hunting or patrolling. She returned her attention to Twistedfoot for the time being. "Do you recommend a specific course of action?" Twistedfoot didn't seem to. The leader sighed. "I suppose that you'll need to keep alert for any signs. Perhaps when you and Oceanpaw go to the Mooncave, StarClan will share more information with you. In the meantime, I will keep watch over the Clan."

Graystar attention shifted to the den entrance when she heard Lightheart call out Twistedfoot's name. The white-furred warrior came into sight shortly afterwards, nearly out of breath. Graystar's eyes grew wide when she heard that something had happened to Follyfoot, but Twistedfoot was quickly on the case. She could only hope that Follyfoot would fare out okay in the end. She couldn't help but worry that Follyfoot's injuries may somehow have been the Dark Forest's doing. It was leafbare, after all. Had they already begun the attack? She let out a soft sigh. She wasn't really sure how they could defeat the Dark Forest, especially not when the Clan was relatively weak.

Whiteshadow's voice caused her to glance towards the entrance once more. She gave him a small nod in greeting. "Yes, I'm alright," she said. There was a moment's hesitation where she wondered if she should tell Whiteshadow about all that was happening with the Dark Forest, but she quickly decided against it. She didn't want to worry the Clan, not until she or Twistedfoot knew more about what was happening. "To be honest... I am a bit worried that RiverClan may not be strong enough to make it through leafbare," she conceded. It was technically the truth, although she was leaving out mention of the Dark Forest. "We have so few warriors...." Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head slightly. "I shouldn't bother you with my worries." It wasn't fair to stress out Whiteshadow as well. RiverClan's well-being was primarily her responsibility.

Whiteshadow listened to Graystar as she told him that she was fine and he was about to respond with she didn't look it, but Graystar went on to elaborate on how she was actually feeling. And hesitating a bit because he wasn't sure how to make her feel better he simply sat next to her. Just to let her know that he was there for her. But when Graystar told him that she shouldn't worry him with her problems he almost wanted to growl at the fae. "Graystar just because you are the leader of the clan does not mean you must take everything on for yourself. Is that not why you have a deputy, a medicine wolf, warriors. We are all her to support you. If you feel that the clan needs to become stronger in order to survive another season than that is exactly what we will do. Not just you, and it is fine to express your worries and fears with others. You are a wolf just like us and you have feelings. Most discuss things like this with your deputy, or mate. But seeing as they are not here then the next thing to do is talk with friends. And I agree with you in that respect, this clan does need to become stronger in order to survive. I don't know much about being in a clan but as a loner you have to fight for everything that you have. Maybe its time for the clan to show a little fight as well. And that can mean a lot of different things, it could mean the first thing that mentors focus on with their apprentices is learning how to hunt, or learning how to swim. There are different ways to strengthen the clan its just you may or may not have to make some sacrifices in order to do so.  But that is something you and Moonbreeze will have to discuss. But just know that no matter how hard or difficult it will be we will do anything to keep this clan alive and running." Whiteshadow told the gray furred female and nudged her shoulder in order to comfort her. "Anyways do you perhaps want me to take a hunting patrol out?"

As Whiteshadow spoke, Graystar soon realized that he was right and that she should rely on the Clan more. RiverClan was tough, and with some effort, they would all be able to make it through leafbare. Perhaps they could even make it through the Dark Forest threat, if they were strong enough. "Yes, that's all true," she said. "Moonbreeze and I will have to work out a plan as soon as she gets back here." Whiteshadow's idea about making sure that the apprentices focused on hunting and swimming for the moment seemed like it would be good to implement. She was grateful that she had been able to finally share her worries with someone; Whiteshadow was also right in that it wasn't good for her to keep all of her feelings to herself. "A hunting patrol would be a great idea, thank you for offering. Choose a few wolves to go with you. I wish you good hunting," she added. Hopefully Whiteshadow and his patrol would be able to find some prey. Although it was leafbare, it was still early on in the season, so perhaps the prey wouldn't be too scarce yet.

Whiteshadow dipped his head in respect to Graystar. "I will wait a bit until more warriors get back to camp, or if you want I can take some apprentices out to try their paws at hunting?" He asked the leader. It worried him that so many warriors were out from camp, and it wasn't like patrol was sent out but with all the death that has been happening he suppose he could understand. But to leave the camp so unguarded, with only apprentices, a couple of warriors, and newly made warriors made him think that Graystar was right. Because if this clan didn't step their game up,they weren't going to make it through this unusual leafbare. Whiteshadow was loyal to a fault and will always be grateful for Graystar taking him in but he was a loner at heart. And all his instincts were telling him to run, That if he stayed with this clan it just might get him killed.

Whiteshadow was having a hard time adjusting to life here in Riverclan and the warrior code for that matter. There was just so many different rules and how you couldn't do this and the consequences for doing that. But everyone seemed okay with that, maybe because they were born into such a life; he didn't know. To him it just seemed like these wolves didn't know what it meant to really have to fight for survival. He was taught at a young age what that truly meant. Whiteshadow remembered when his father would take him out to the middle of nowhere and tell him to find his way back to their den. At the time never knowing that his father watched over him the whole time to make sure no serious harm came to him. But having to learn the hard way on how to find prey, and if you couldn't that other things could be eaten. How if you cant find a good water source, you can lick the morning dew off of leaves. All this he learned by doing himself, with very little help from his father.

Graystar paused for a moment, in thought. Although the apprentices had never attempted to hunt before, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea for them to get in some practice, even if they didn't end up catching any prey. It was rather concerning that there were so few warriors in the camp at the time, what with the threat from the Dark Forest, but if they were to strike the apprentices likely wouldn't be able to defend the camp anyways. "I think taking out the apprentices would be nice. A little experience would be good for them," the leader replied. "If you run across anything that might pose as a threat, please hurry back to camp." If Whiteshadow and the apprentices did stumble upon anything dangerous, hopefully by that time the majority of the warriors would have returned to camp, so the problem could be dealt with. Graystar wasn't certain if the Dark Forest posed a threat right at this very time, but wouldn't hurt to be overcautious in this case. "Thank you for speaking with me, too," she added with a small smile. "I appreciate it; I really needed to hear that. Sometimes I forget that RiverClan's fate does not fall solely on my shoulders." Leadership was a lot of responsibility to bare, that was true, but she needed to rely more on the Clan. What good was a leader without loyal Clanmates?

Whiteshadow smiled and dipped his head in respect to Graystar as he left her den. When he exited he looked around the camp and was not to surprised to see that most of the warriors were gone. He did notice that most of the newly named apprentices were still in camp. He walked over to the group, "Flamebreeze how about we take the apprentices out to try their hand at hunting. The fresh kill pile is looking a bit scarce. Iceflood and Glacierpath should stay behind so that the camp isn't left unprotected." Whiteshadow then sat and thought about one thing that could halt the advancement of the hunting trip. He looked at the group of apprentices and asked "Does any of you not know how to swim? Now would be the time to say something as you cant get out of camp without knowing how and it wouldn't be fair to me or your mentors if we had to carry you as none of you are pups anymore."

Flamebreeze perked his ears when he heard someone say his name. From the sound of the voice, he quickly recognized it as Whiteshadow's. "Oh, sure. That sounds like a good idea—I was just thinking about taking the apprentices out for a tour. Hunting would be a great way to gain experience and see what it looks like out there," he said with a smile. He recalled the first time that he had been outside of camp as an apprentice. While it wasn't as exciting as it normally would have been on account of him having made the long trek to the new territories prior, it was still fun nonetheless. He hoped that the new apprentices would enjoy their first time out and about as well. At Whiteshadow's next words, he gave a small nod, turning to face the apprentices. "Yes, Whiteshadow is right. It's important to tell us," he said.

Lunapaw's attention quickly shifted onto Whiteshadow and Flamebreeze when she overheard them talk about taking her and the other apprentices out for some hunting. She let out a yip of excitement and dashed over to the two warriors. "Oh, I'd love to! It'll be so fun to go hunting!" She bounced from paw to paw, imagining all the prey she would bring back. The largest fish that RiverClan had ever seen, plenty of rabbits, a bird or two, perhaps. "I can swim. At least, I think so." She'd practiced swimming as a younger pup before, but she wasn't all that confident on her abilities. "You don't have to worry about me!"

Lunapaw smiled at her brother when he walked up next to her. She was happy that he wanted to go hunting, too.  "We're gonna catch enough prey to feed the entire Clan!" she yipped in agreement. "It'll be great! What kinds of prey do you think we'll catch, Eaglepaw? I hoping to find some rabbits myself." The young apprentice wasn't too certain which species of prey lived on RiverClan land, with the exception of fish, of course. "Do you guys think we'll run across anything exciting out there?" she asked after a few moments, glancing between the other three wolves. She didn't know just what to expect, but hopefully there'd be lots of interesting sights to see.

Whiteshadow shook his head in disbelief that Lunapaw and Eaglepaw thought that they could catch enough prey to possibly feed the whole clan with. But didn't really see a reason to dash their hopes, knowing that it would make them more determined to catch as much prey as possible. Whiteshadow looked to the other apprentices and warriors to see if they were also going to answer his question. But before he could speak up about it Eaglepaw took off for the water. He watched the apprentice carefully but when he saw Eaglepaw go into the water and then come back out, Whiteshadow got up and walked to stand in front of the apprentice. "Why did you come back out of the water, you said you could swim right? Did you lie about that, or do you need your sisters approval before you try again. What happen to all of that courage a minute ago. Because Eaglepaw when you are in the water, even if its shallow you need to be sure with your paws. It only takes one wrong move in the water."

Seeing the look on Eaglepaw's face when he brought up his sister made Whiteshadow sigh. Whiteshadow wasn't trying to be mean to him but he did want to make sure that he had confidence in himself. "Eaglepaw, you are an apprentice now who is training to be a warrior. You will be expected to hunt, and fight if necessary. It's fine to ask others for help but you can't become dependent on it. If you need help you may ask me or any of the other warriors." Whiteshadow told him, hoping that he understood. Speaking up to the group behind him "This goes for all of you new apprentices, you are now apprentices and that means that you will be treated as such, if you want to be still treated as a pup then stay here. But the apprentices I take on this hunting patrol will be taught how to hunt. Now with that said who wants to come explore some and learn some hunting techniques." He said with a grin. He needed them to understand that he wasn't going to baby anyone of them. And also to help motivate them some.