#hickorymarsh

[butterflyclan]

Mid Summer

Hickorymarsh let out a low moan at the sight of Whiskershade's body in the camp. He stumbled over, his paws trembling. Stormclaw looked up at him as he approached, his eyes glistening.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. Between Stormclaw's paws lay a sleeping Barleykit, exhausted by staying up for the vigil. "I know you loved her."

"You did too," Hickorymarsh croaked. Stormclaw shook his head.

"Not romantically, not like you. What Whiskershade and I had... it was different from what you felt for her, I think. It was a single night and nothing else."

"But you had a son with her. That's a connection between the two of you that I could have only dreamed of. I'm sorry for the loss of your partner."

Stormclaw nodded, his eyes back on Whiskershade's body. The two toms sat in silent grief until the sun rose.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"From this day forth, you shall be known as Acornpool. We honor your skill and cleverness, and welcome you as a full member of ButterflyClan."

Acornpool raised his head, pride rippling through his body, his bad leg trembling. Asphodelpaw cheered her brother alongside the crowd. She couldn't stop the fangs of jealousy from sinking into her heart. They were the same age, and had the same skill. Why was Acornpool a warrior now and she wasn't? He'd been sick and injured for the last two moons, while she'd been perfectly fine and had kept training and hunting. Didn't she deserve a name, too?

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

Gingerpaw couldn't help his flinch when Parsleystar sat next to him. He stared at his mother with wide eyes, his fur spiking nervously. She seemed... sad.

"I suppose your reaction is my own fault," she sighed, her gaze settling on the horizon. "I left you in your grief. I'm... sorry for that, Gingerpaw."

Gingerpaw gaped at her. She shifted, still pointedly not looking at him.

"It was unfair of me to do that. I'm your mother, and you needed me. You'd just lost your father. I didn't... I didn't feel like I deserved you. I didn't feel like I deserved to be happy. But that doesn't mean that I should have abandoned you like I did. If you would allow me, I would like to be your mother again."

Gingerpaw blinked at her, and the silence stretched on for a while.

"Uhm. I... I would like you to be my mother again, too. I missed you," he admitted quietly. Parsleystar finally turned to look at him, and Gingerpaw was surprised to see tears in her eyes. A raspy purr rumbled in her throat and she pressed her cheek to his.

"I missed you too, Gingerpaw. I love you."

[butterflyclan]

Late Winter

"Whiskershade," Hickorymarsh said suddenly. His paws shuffled anxiously when she looked over at him. "I really like you. And I'd really, really like to be mates with you."

There was a long, long silence. Hickorymarsh felt like he was going to be sick, and the feeling grew worse the longer the silence went on.

"Oh- I mean- I don't... feel that way? I'm so sorry, Hickorymarsh, but I don't-"

"Oh, no, that's okay!" Hickorymarsh blurted, interupting Whiskershade. "No, it's totally cool! No need to be sorry! I'll just... leave you alone then! Sorry! My bad!"

He really might be sick, he thought as he dashed away. That whole experience was absolutely mortifying.

[butterflyclan]

Early Winter

The night is quiet, and the stars twinkle overhead. Burdockheart stared at them, her eyes flicking from light to light.

"Burdockheart?" Algaesky yawned, stirring from her nest. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out which star is Tempestroar." Algaesky went quiet, settling next to Burdockheart and brushing their pelts together. They watched the sky together, leaning against each other for comfort.

"She was so young," Burdockheart sighed. "I'm glad she's with her family now, at least. But she didn't deserve to die like that."

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"Hickorymarsh, you will train Acornpaw. I know that you will do this job well." Acornpaw touched noses with Hickorymarsh gently, hiding the fact that he was practically choking on excitement. He stood beside his new mentor and watched as Aspenpaw was apprenticed to Sakari, and Asphodelpaw to Stormclaw. He was wriggling in his place by the time the gathering had finally ended. He was an apprentice! He'd be the best apprentice in the whole wide world!

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

Frozenwhisker slipped into Parsleystar's den, his pawsteps silent. He stood there for a moment, admiring his mate and the tiny kitten at her stomach. She stirred and blinked up at him.

"Hey," he whispered, and curled around her. A tired purr rattled in her throat, and Frozenwhisker didn't bother to suppress the purr that rose in his own throat in response. He pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes slipping closed, and it wasn't long before he was sound asleep.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

Burdockheart let out a low hiss of pain when Mintswirl tried to maneuver her leg. They curled their lip in sympathy.

"It's pretty badly damaged," they told her. "It might scar, it might not- it's too early to tell."

"You should have stayed away from those hills," Algaesky scolded. Burdockheart made a face at her friend. "You know that twolegs like to set traps for the rabbits there."

"We needed prey," Burdockheart grunted. "I'd hoped that there would be some rabbits stuck in those traps that the twolegs hadn't gotten to yet." Algaesky made a face right back at her.

[butterflyclan]

Early Spring

"It's been a few days since your last coughing fit," Mintswirl announced. Hickorymarsh blinked at him blearily. "Your nose has stopped running, too. I think you're about ready to go back on patrols. I wouldn't push it, though. Working your body too hard could land you all the way back at the beginning."

"Thank you, Mintswirl," Hickorymarsh managed.

"Be sure to thank Pondfang, too. He kept you alive and as healthy as possible before I came along."

"I'll do that."

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

The moon was hanging directly overhead by the time Algaesky admitted that she wasn't able to sleep. She wriggled her way out of her nest and wandered into the middle of camp. She'd found a community here, and was training Skypaw, and she loved the sense of family she finally had. What happened when it all went away?

It would have to go away, at some point. Algaesky would make a wrong step, anger the wrong cats. Pinedash wasn't fond of her, though he wasn't fond of very many cats. What if he managed to twist the rest of the Clan's view of her? Or-

Or what if there was another fire?

Algaesky suddenly found it hard to breathe. What if she saw the camp, going up in flames around her. What if she had to watch Skypaw and Burdockheart burn alive, listen to their screams, know that she could do nothing to help them. What if, what if, what if...

[butterflyclan]

Mid Winter

Hickorymarsh is practically gasping for air between coughs by the time he finally admits something's wrong.

"I couldn't be sick," He tells Pondfang glumly when, at long last, the coughing fit subsides. "The Clan needs me to be healthy. We need as many healthy warriors as possible."

Pondfang didn't deign to give that a response, instead just giving Hickorymarsh a look that made the tom fold his ears and look away guiltily.

"It's yellowcough, I think," Pondfang said at last. "I can't be sure, of course, but that's what it looks like to me. You've got some yellow gunk coming out of your nose."

"Yellowcough isn't so bad, right?" Hickorymarsh asked hopefully. Pondfang snorted at him, and he looked cowed.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

Pondfang sighed in relief. The swelling in Stormclaw's leg had gone down, and the skin wasn't hot anymore. The tom was sleeping peacefully for once. This was good. This was great, actually. Pondfang had declared Shadowbloom free of whitecough earlier that day. Everything was going wonderfully for now. He could only hope it would stay that way for a while.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"Algae, if you'd step forward please."

Algae blinked in surprise, and the Clan murmured. They'd expected that Sky would be apprenticed now that he was six moons, but instead Algae was being called up. The black she-cat stepped forward cautiously, meeting Parsleystar's eyes.

"This she-cat has proven that she belongs among us. Should she accept, we will welcome her into our fold. Algae?" Algae's heart quivered. She'd found a home here, where she'd least expected it. She'd learned the ways of Clan life from Lynxfur and Burdockheart, and watched Hickorypaw become Hickorymarsh. She wanted... she wanted to stay here.

"I do," Algae called. Parsleystar's eyes crinkled with joy.

"Then I, Parsleystar, leader of ButterflyClan, the Colony of Survivors, bestow upon you a warrior name. From here on forth, you shall be known as Algaesky."

A purr caught in Algaesky's throat as the cats around her roared her new name.

"Skypaw is now six moons old, and ready to be trained," Parsleystar continued after the Clan had calmed down. "Algaesky, I'm entrusting him to you. I know you will train him well."

A lump formed in Algaesky's throat as she touched noses with an eager Skypaw. To be given a new name, a community, and an apprentice, all within a few minutes... it was almost overwhelming.

"Lastly, Sakari has asked to stay with us. She has requested to keep her name, and I have considered this request carefully and decided to accept it. Sakari, from now on you are a full warrior of ButterflyClan. We welcome you warmly into our fold."

Skypaw scrambled away from Algaesky to chatter excitedly at his mother, and she watched her apprentice go, swelling with pride. Today had been a very, very good day.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"Hey, Algaesky!" Skypaw called. "There's an old tom over here saying that he's looking for ButterflyClan!"

Algaesky bustled over, concern alight in her eyes. The tom looked quite nervous at the sight of her, but nodded to confirm Skypaw's declaration.

"I'm Minty," he introduced himself. "I have some healing skills, and-"

"Healing skills?" Algaesky interrupted. She turned the concept over in her mind. Pondfang would love to be a warrior again, she knew. And it would mean great things for the Clan to have a medic who- well, who knew how to be a medic.

"I'm pretty sure we have a position for you."

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"I'll be returning to warrior duties now," Pondfang announced immediately upon meeting Minty. "Good luck."

"At least stick around long enough to teach him the job," Parsleystar told him. "Not the medical job, of course. But the job of caring for Clanmates."

"Look at him," Pondfang scoffed. "He's practically trembling. He doesn't need to learn how to care for anyone. He'll have to learn to boss them around!"

"And you're very good at that, Pondfang. Very bossy. I'm sure you'll be a great mentor." Pondfang didn't seem like he knew whether this was a compliment or not. It could have been both. Parsleystar seemed like the kind of cat to compliment and insult you at the same time.

"I'm going back to being a warrior," Pondfang decided, squinting at her.

"Okay," Parsleystar shrugged.

"...I am."

"I didn't say you weren't."

"Fine! I'll teach him how to be bossy! But I'll be doing my warrior duties, not medic ones." Pondfang grumbled to himself as he rustled away. Parsleystar watched him go with a smug air about her before turning her attention to Minty.

"What do you think about the name Mintswirl, dear?"

[butterflyclan]

Early Winter

"Hickorypaw, from here on after you'll be called Hickorymarsh. We welcome you as a full member of ButterflyClan, and we celebrate your kindness and your wit."

Hickorymarsh let out a sigh of relief once there weren't any eyes on him anymore. He didn't like being the center of attention. It made him deeply uncomfortable, though he couldn't explain why.

Marsh was... well, it was a nice enough title. Whiskerpaw had suggested he'd be named Hickoryhush or Hickorywhistle. He liked Hickorymarsh, though. It was a good one. It... fit. Very few things felt like they'd fit through his life. It was nice to find something that did.

[butterflyclan]

Mid Spring

"From this day on, until you've received your warrior name, you will be known as Hickorypaw. Your mentor will be Frozenwhisker, and I know that he will pass down everything that he knows to you."

The small gathering of cats cheered, but it all just sounded like buzzing in Hickorypaw's ears. He touches noses with Frozenwhisker, but hardly notices. Is this... really what I want? Hickorypaw thinks. To be a warrior? To fight and hunt and kill? To... be a part of a Clan?

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"You should have given Hickorypaw to Stormclaw to train," Pinedash spits. "Since you made the choice to make him deputy, the least you could do is give him an apprentice."

Parsleystar hummed contemplatively. Pinedash continued, fury twisting his features. "Or you could have given him to me! I haven't trained anyone either, you know-"

"What do you think about kits?" Parsleystar interrupted. Pinedash stuttered to a halt and blinked, eyes wide.

"...What?"

"Kits, Pinedash. What do you think about them? Do you want them?"

"Er... I suppose so," he said awkwardly. His eyes darted away from Parsleystar.

"I think Frozenwhisker would make a good dad," Parsleystar sighed. She watched the tom leave the makeshift camp, his new apprentice by his side. "Don't you agree?" Pinedash gaped at her, eyes practically bulging out of his head.

"I- Uh- I think I hear Lynxfur calling me," he babbled, backing away quickly. Parsleystar hummed again, her eyes fixed on the place Frozenwhisker had been, borderline oblivious that Pinedash was gone.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

Stormclaw yelped, jerking back and glaring at Pinedash. Blood dripped from the cut above his eye.

"What was that for?"

"It was an accident," Pinedash stated firmly, his voice cold.

"An accident? We're supposed to be sparring with claws sheathed!" Stormclaw hissed, lashing his tail. Pinedash shrugged, his eyes glittering.

"It was an accident," he repeated. Stormclaw let out a slow breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Fine. Sure. An accident."

[butterflyclan]

Hickorykit

A reddish-brown tabby tom-kit with copper eyes. He's lonesome and interested in Clan history.

Hickory; Brown fur ; Stubborn