Introducing: Mothwing

[mothwingofriverclan]

Mothwing leaves camp at sunrise, wanting to beat the greenleaf heat. Herbs are plentiful this time of year, and Mothwing wants to find a few to take back to camp to teach Frostpaw their scents. She’s glad that she’d found a new apprentice with a connection to StarClan so quickly after Willowshine’s death, if only so that her clanmates wouldn’t bug her. She still doubts that they really need StarClan; it had been Bristlefrost that saved them from the impostor and the Dark Forest, not a bunch of mouse-brained dead cats. Still, Frostpaw was learning her herbs well, which was what really mattered.

Heading for the lakeshore, Mothwing keeps an eye out for borage, and maybe some rosemary. Padding up to the edge, Mothwing takes a look at her reflection. She’s getting old. Her dappled golden fur isn’t as shiny as it once was, and her amber eyes are tired, but she notes with satisfaction that she’s still bigger and stronger than most of her clanmates.

There’s an odd flicker in the lake, and Mothwing instinctively swats at it with her paw--extra fish is always welcome, even in bountiful greenleaf--but it turns out to be a trick of the light. Disappointed, she looks up, and is startled to find herself at a completely different lake. It’s much smaller than her lake, and she can’t see the Gathering island anywhere. Besides, it smells completely different--is it leaf-fall suddenly? She backs up a few steps, the fur on her back raising defensively.

For a moment, she wants to laugh--is this her first ever vision from StarClan? They couldn’t have sent this to her seasons ago, when her position was in question? Then she notices the large twoleg dwelling looming over the lake, and she feels a stupid kind of relief. There are definitely no twoleg dens in StarClan’s hunting grounds, so this isn’t a vision. On the other paw... she has no idea where she is.

“Is any cat here?” she meows as loudly as she dares. Unbeknownst to her, anyone walking by would understand her words, whether they were a cat, a twoleg, or any other person.

Comments

[mothwingofriverclan]

"I trained as a warrior, then as a medicine cat. I assume you're still training to be an einherji warrior?" Whatever that was.

[summerdude]

"Oh, I am an einherji warrior," Magnus says. "The practice is for the final battle." He's excited by the other thing Mothwing mentioned, though. "A medicine cat? I have healing powers. I'd love to learn what yours entail."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"I don't have any powers," Mothwing meows shortly. "I just learned my healing herbs the best I could, and I have many moons of practice."

[summerdude]

"Which makes it monumentally cooler," Magnus says. He laughs a little. "I'm a very bad warrior, so I try to be good at other things."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Thank you!" Mothwing's pleased to hear someone respect that she heals without StarClan's help. "I'm sure you're great at what you choose to do."

[summerdude]

Magnus considers this. "I am very good at having friends," he decides. "Um, can I help you settle in at all, Mothwing? Is there stuff you need to be able to feel at home? Food, a particular sleeping arrangement?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Maybe you can tell me where to find moss or feathers so I can make a nest?" Mothwing gets up and scans the lakeshore. "I just need to find a good den out here. At home the medicine den is a thorn bush."

[summerdude]

"Oh, there's a cool clearing in the woods with a ton of moss," Magnus says, not bothering to add that he's been making sure the moss grows so he has a soft place to chill out when he's watching the clouds on his own and trying to feel his dad's presence. "And tons of bushes. We also have a lot of great places for a cat inside? Tons of armchairs. And books, if you wanted to nap on one while someone's reading. Someone usually is."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"I'm not a kittypet, so I don't live inside," Mothwing explains patiently. Her mother had mentioned armchairs to her a few times, and they did sound comfortable, but it's still too close to being a kittypet, even if Magnus wouldn't be a bad twoleg to have. "And I have the lake to fish in here, so I won't be hungry. Just show me the moss clearing, and I'll be fine."

[summerdude]

"Sure," Magnus says. "C'mon, I'll show you the way." He starts off in the direction of the clearing, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Mothwing is following. As he walks, he says, "So kittypets are different from... Clans?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

Magnus moves quickly, making enough noise to scare off any prey in the vicinity, but Mothwing's able to keep up.

"Very different. We clan cats reject the soft life of a kittypet," she recites. It's one part of the warrior code Mothwing actually understands. "We live on our own territories, not in the Twolegplace, and hunt our own food."

[summerdude]

"Oh?" Magnus says. "What's your favorite kind of food?" Maybe he can look up what it eats and make sure that's growing around Mothwing's den.

[mothwingofriverclan]

"I'm partial to carp myself. Do you eat, as a spirit?" Mothwing knows that StarClan is in an endless greenleaf, with abundant prey for its members to eat, which she thinks is kind of silly. If you're dead, why bother with food at all?

They reach the mossy hollow, and Mothwing purrs with satisfaction when she sees it, immediately starting the work of tearing up strips of moss for bedding.

[summerdude]

"Oh, I might technically be dead, but I have a body and it gets hungry," Magnus says. He actually hasn't thought about that, before -- all einherjar eat, just like all gods eat. "I like a lot of things. Falafel, lamb, goat, falafel, Saehrimnir, falafel..." He smiles. "I doubt you'd like falafel, though; it's all plants."

As Mothwing starts to harvest moss, Magnus sits down, spreading his fingers through one of the patches and encouraging it to grow back, fluffier and softer than before, so that they can both benefit.

[mothwingofriverclan]

Mothwing's seen lambs on WindClan territory, and it shouldn't surprise her that twolegs can take down such big prey, but it does. "No, I probably wouldn't like this falafel," she agrees between mouthfuls of moss. "StarClan warriors also still hunt and eat, so it makes sense."