Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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woof She had given Crow his space. The past day had been probably the toughest day of his life. He almost died, his former mate and his kits nearly died, and then he found Orchiddrop again. She had no doubt in her mind that he was beyond exhaustion at this point. She understood that he would want to be with his new mate and new family. She herself saw Orchiddrop as daughter, and those kits as her own, and she made that clear to Orchiddrop. She would never let a monster like Goldenshadow touch them or her ever again. Ratstar was the only reason that Goldenshadow still lived. Her claws were mere millimeters from ending his life.
Now she left the makeshift nest she made on the edges of the camp. While she doubted Ratstar would mind if she claimed some spaces in the warriors' den, she did not want to become a part of them. Clan life never was for her, and it never would be. Separation was essential, just as essential as finding Crow. She poked her head into the nursery, and only found the kits and their mother. Maybe he went out? She shrugged and took up post outside the nursery. She had no doubts that he would return to be with Orchiddrop soon, and she would talk to him before then. Before he returned she had scared away a few apprentices with just a look. No one would bother her daughter-in-law. No one.
Igziq's presence was the only solace Crow found in the last twenty-four hours, knowing that there would be no threat to his family that could stand against his mother and survive. He allowed himself to sleep and recover, to move around SummerClan's territory and familiarize himself with this side of the border that had long since evaded him, and he allowed himself the time to mend emotionally knowing his mother would keep Orchiddrop and their children safe. There were still many hard moons to come, but at least with this time, he could prepare himself for it.
When he limped back to camp, his tread was slow but his head was higher despite the exhaustion still embedded in his paws. He smiled at the fearful apprentices who skirted around Igziq. He would have trembled before her too, were she not his mother. He brushed his muzzle against hers affectionately and took a seat beside her, thankful to be sitting down again, though not without a glimpse over his shoulder at where his family slept soundly. "Thank you, mom. Thank you for everything. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there, and I can't ever repay you for watching out for them when I'm not here. I'll miss you when you leave, you know." He wouldn't fool himself into the belief that The Huntress might settle down in SummerClan. This lifestyle was his, not hers.
(Sorry this took so long. Just got back to school.)
Watching the scared apprentice flee almost made her not realize that her son approached. His limp gave him a much different walk than what she was used to: one with purpose, and usually with anger. He still had that purpose, but other feelings and emotions lived beneath the surface now: relief and gratitude, most of it for his children and for whom she considered to be his mate. She leaned into his nuzzle and let out a reverberating purr, something Crow might remember from his childhood in the desert. Igziq above all cared for her family, and seeing it grow made her happier than anything else.
"Crow, no need to thank me. We're family, and I will not let some abusive trash tear it down." She growled. "He's lucky that I just don't go down their and end him myself. He doesn't deserve to live... but I suppose that is what makes this place good for raising kits." She paused. "This place is soft, and they should be grateful for living here." She chuckled. "They'll have it better than you. Remember when Ray get stung by that scorpion? I'll never forget the words that came out of her mouth, and she won't forget the sand she had to eat for it." She held such memories of her daughter dear. While she wholeheartedly knew it was Ghostcrown's fault, a part of her still wished she had done something different, maybe even joined the Clan.
"I will come back every now and then, you know. Or, I plan to. Ratstar still wants to talk to me. And you know how I feel about leaders ordering me around."
He laughed at the bittersweet memory she brought up, hazy details of his childhood becoming clearer at the reminder of when Ray swore up and down at all of her siblings. "She was so mad at us for laughing at her. I think she kept trying to trick Desert into letting one sting him, and he almost did," he added, chuckling at the reminder of Desertpaw's gullibility. His brother was so intent on his experiments that he often allowed himself to be deceived by the rest of their litter, leading to many, many occasions of him suffering the consequences of their mischief. He missed those days; not having the rest of his siblings around pained him every day, and it was only that he got to spend time with Igziq that he didn't go stir crazy and drag one of them away from SwiftClan against their will.
"I agree that Goldenshadow doesn't deserve the kindness Ratstar is showing him, but you're right as usual. I'm glad my kits will grow up somewhere they won't have to worry about being cast away. Not the way we had to in SunClan," mused Crow, his thoughts turning to those dark days before he struck out on his own to make a life for himself rather than his family. He'd hated leaving them-- and yes, he still did blame himself for Raypaw's death, despite Igziq's conviction that the fault lied on Ghostcrown alone-- but they chose their own path and he hadn't been ready to let himself fold into another clan so soon after escaping Bloodystar's reign. At her ensuing comment, he smiled. "Good, I was hoping you would. Ratstar will try to charm you into staying, I'm sure, but I think he'll accept you coming and going as you please. He was going to allow me to stay a rogue with privileges in the clan at first, but I think this is where I need to be from now on. I can be happy here, and I can be with my kits and Orchiddrop."
She loved Crow and all of her kits with everything she had, but she was afraid living with Ghostcrown softened them up. Spiritpaw and Desertpaw still had their sibling squabbles as if they were kits, but Crow moved beyond that. While they had all been through hardship from losing their father, and perhaps even her giving them to her father, Crow had always faced more. His name holding some cursed value in his home Clan made him stronger and more mature than his siblings. The rest were still plenty strong on in the own right, but not near where Crow was.
"Well, he doesn't have a choice but to accept that. I'd beat his tail and everyone else's if they tried to keep me from my grandkids." She chuckled and gave him a nudge. "That goes for you too, you know. I wouldn't quite stuff your mouth with your own tail, but it couldn't fly." She hoped he knew that she was joking, but she half wasn't. "Look, as long as their happy and you're happy, and I can see them, then we're good." She paused. "But there was something else. I know what Agonywail did to you, and I know you agreed to do it. But I swear, if you ever offer it to one of your kits..." She shook her head. "Just... don't. They'll be soft but don't do that to harden them up to the world, no matter how much they might need it."
His mother need not have any concern, but the show of it still brought a softer smile to his maw. "Mom, you know I could never do that to them," he promised, and then continued to say, "I don't want them to have to be tough for the same reasons we had to be. They'll always know they have a large family at their backs and the strength of the clan to protect them. They'll experience pain and hurt in their lives, no doubt, but they'll have me and Orchiddrop and you to help them through it. That's all I could ever hope for."
Crow's tail curled protectively around his slender paws, his gaze drifting skyward. "I'm thinking about seeking SwiftClan out soon. I want to tell everyone else about the kits and invite them to meet them," he hedged, in some way searching for his mother's blessing to do so.
She sighed with relief. "Good. I'll hold you to that, or I'll hold your head on my paws." Her eyes showed dark humor, but an edge in her voice was telling to the subtle truth in her statement. If she saw any sort of mistreatment of her grandkits, there would be a price to pay. If he ever did what Ghostcrown did his family and put someone else before them... the she-cat did not want to think about what she would do to her son. Sure, he knew part of what the berries were good for, but he hadn't experienced their more nefarious side as she had. He experienced true fear, but he still lacked an understanding of what was beyond it. Igziq didn't understand it herself, and was grateful she did have to know.
"If your looking for my permission, you don't have it because you don't need it." She put a paw on his shoulder. "Son, you are a parent. A father. Do not ask me permission for anything again. Do you really want your kits to see you asking your mother for permission?"
"My kits will see a father who still respects his mother, and I can only hope they'll do the same." He leaned into her side and purred, but there was still anxiety prickling in his paw pads at the thought of seeing Ghostcrown again, their previous meetings still heavy on his conscience. Back in SunClan, before the war, Crow had shown nothing but love and adoration to his father, and he'd been the loudest voice of objection to the crimes the patched tom was accused of, never once believing the cat who'd raised him could ever do such things. But he'd been blinded by his own anger after his father relented so easily, despite having children to take care of. It was still a sore wound he felt in his heart. "Do you... think he'll be excited? Proud? Will he think I'll be a good dad?" Igziq may not have all the answers, but he was asking anyway, hoping she could soothe his worries. He wanted his father to believe in him, despite how strained their relationship was.
"Hmpf. There's a difference between respecting me and asking me for permission. Just don't ask me for it again." She wasn't a particularly affection person, so she didn't quite lean into Crow, but she did return a sort of light purr. But her eyes remained focused on the nursery and the kittens that slept safely within. It brought her back to when she had her kits, well, when she had Crow's litter. Igziq knew that seeing these kits would remind him of the day he got them on the border. There was no doubt in her mind. "Crow, he'll be proud. Stop worrying about that. The tom's a fool, but he will certainly be proud and excited. You may have to convince Ratstar to let him visit, but other than that, it'll be one of the best days of his life." She paused. "Imagine what Ray would have called your kits..." She chuckled and wiped a tear from her face. "I wouldn't let her near them. She'd have them swearing in no time."
"I don't think Ratstar will be difficult to convince, but we'll see. I'll have to track down where the clan is currently settled, though. That's the biggest problem since SwiftClan left the territories," he added, frowning. He wasn't wholly sure of how he planned to find information about the nomads or even where to start, only that he would, somehow, accomplish it. He wanted his children to know their family in its entirety.
As she mentioned his sister, he felt his heart constrict in his chest and his throat tighten uncomfortably so, but a chuckle managed to slip out. "They would have the thickest skin in all or SummerClan, that's for sure. I don't think I would have survived this long without enduring Ray's bullying when we were little," Crow added, the memory fond now though he'd been loathe to think it funny in the slightest when he was a kit. She always came up with insults and comebacks on the fly, something he couldn't do. "I'm honestly surprised she was even allowed to die. You'd think they would have sent her back by now."
There was a fundamental difference between the mother and her son. She never saw Ray's actions as bullying or anything like that. Igziq knew all of the name calling and insults came from a place a love. She had no malice for her siblings, but wasn't really the affectionate type. Hell, no one in their family was super affectionate. She chuckled. "Yeah... I never thought of that. I'm sure she's made a name for herself on that Isle of yours. I wouldn't be surprised if she got herself thrown off it. I know she's my daughter, but there's only so much someone can take of her before losing their mind."
That thought brought her somewhere else. Her gaze darkened as she turned to her son. "Speaking of losing minds, I made promise to Orchiddrop. If you ever hurt her, I will reeducate you myself." Her gaze softened. "Now, of course I don't think you would. But... I wanted to make sure you know what will happen."
