RootClan

Moon 1 : 5/26/2025 (D/M/Y)

Stonebite

Pawsteps echoed faintly in the leader's den as his deputy, Stonebite, stuck his head in, his eyes glowing faintly as they adjusted to the darkness inside. A vole was clamped in his mouth, and he stooped down to place it at his paws in hesitant silence.

There was a pause before the shadowy mass at the den floor gave a shake, and a dark form separated himself from his bedding, shaking bits of moss from his ears. "Here I am," Meadowstar meowed in a low voice, stretching out his jaw in a yawn. Immediately, Stonebite's eyes narrowed with concern; Troutclaw, RootClan's medicine cat, had said that the leader wasn't feeling well and would be resting, but Stonebite would have thought that he'd sooner see hedgehogs fly than his leader waking from a nap at sunhigh.

He recalled the conversation he'd had with Troutclaw just a few heartbeats earlier. Meadowstar had come down with a splitting headache, and the medicine cat's diagnosis had been stress. Stonebite didn't doubt that for a heartbeat; he could only imagine that pulling together a ragtag group of cats with one's bare claws didn't exactly do wonders for one's mental health.

"Check on him when you can. Make sure he stays in his den, at least for today," the medicine cat had instructed before flashing the deputy a grin. "If you see him out and about, let me know. I'll give him some injuries he can't ignore!" Stonebite had only chuckled along awkwardly, unable to completely convince himself that the medicine cat wouldn't really follow through on that (joke? threat?) and took his leave.

"I came in to check on you, and to give you this." Stonebite began, gently nudging the vole towards Meadowstar. The leader sniffed at it but could only turn away with a faint expression of disgust; he couldn't quite bring himself to eat, even for the deputy's sake. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Meadowstar shrugged. "I was barely asleep, anyway. It's too light out. But thank you, Stonebite. I'm fine." He hesitated before adding, "Just a little stir-crazy," under his breath. He squinted with a mixture of wistfulness and pain at the bright day that shone just over the deputy's head. Suddenly he turned to Stonebite, a glimmer of a mixture of humor and hope in his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have any important Clan matters to discuss with me, would you? We could go over patrols, or the coming Gathering..."

Stonebite hesitated. On the one paw, having Meadowstar think about his Clan responsibilities didn't exactly seem in line with Troutclaw's treatment plan. On the other, the idea was to reduce the leader's stress. If he only spent his time tossing and turning, wondering what was going on outside, Stonebite figured that wouldn't help, either. Besides, the deputy felt a bit sorry for Meadowstar and wanted to humor him, if possible. Stonebite could discuss something small and simple, if only to give the leader something to hold on to and calm his nerves for a bit.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to discuss patrols," Stonebite offered, and he had to stifle a chuckle when Meadowstar nodded eagerly like a kitten who had successfully goaded an older cat into a story--before he abruptly stopped with an expression that implied his head had strongly disagreed with the motion.

"I want to have Darkthroat take Copperpaw out to check the borders." While Stonebite would normally prefer to have the apprentice's mentor accompany him, his mentor was Meadowstar; Darkthroat would have to take his place for the time being. Stonebite wouldn't have minded taking on the apprentice himself, but he got the faint impression that Copperpaw was a bit closer to the other warrior and might prefer her company. "I'll do the hunting today." Patrols really were a simple responsibility to discuss; the ranks of RootClan were yet thin, so there wasn't much too say.

While Stonebite had started speaking, Meadowstar passively leaned forward and took a few bites of his vole, as though just hearing about the everyday duties of the Clan was enough to improve his health. He swallowed and spoke up. "Yes, that sounds good. I wanted to start putting him on more border patrols--Copperpaw, that is. Should be a good experience for him--though StarClan willing they won't run into any trouble." He paused, then added ruefully, "I was planning to teach him some more battle techniques today. He wouldn't let it show, but I guess he'll be disappointed."

Stonebite nodded sympathetically, for both the leader and his apprentice. "I'll talk to him," Stonebite offered after a heartbeat of silence. "I'm not his mentor, but I'll see if I can't teach him a thing or two when he gets back."

Meadowstar blinked gratefully. "Thanks, Stonebite. I just hope I'll be back on my paws before too long. He let out a resigned sigh, curling up into his nest again. "Alright, I've kept you long enough. You have enough to worry about without humoring me, I'm sure."

Stonebite dipped his head with a meow of fairwell (not without first reassuring the leader that he'd been no trouble, of course) and took his leave, slipping out of the leader's den and into the bright newleaf sunshine that poured over RootClan camp.

The first thing he noticed when he scanned the camp for activity was Darkthroat seated outside the nursery, gently bobbing her tail about while RootClan's kits--Sneezekit, Chasingkit, and Ficklekit--all climbed over each other to attack it. Whatever Stonebite may have thought of the warrior's sharp tongue, he could not deny that she simply had a way with kits. Perhaps they found her particularly frank demeanor novel, or maybe there was something else at play. Copperpaw was lounging outside the apprentice's den, tail flicking side to side in apparent boredom.

"Darkthroat, Copperpaw," Stonebite called, and both cats looked up at him expectantly. Copperpaw got up quickly and padded over, whereas Darkthroat was apparently unwilling to wade through the sea of kittens that surrounded her just yet. "I would like you two to go out and check the borders."

Immediatly, wails of objection rose up from the three kits. Stonebite watched in awe as the warrior was able to send them into an uneasy silence with a flick of her tail. "Sure," she said, and Ficklekit let out a squeak of distress. "But then who'll watch over the kits? You?" There were no queens in RootClan yet; their kits had each been found without parents and were raised by all the Clan. They always ensured that they were well cared for, always stationing at least one older cat to watch over, protect, and entertain the little bundles of fur.

Before Stonebite could respond, Chasingkit piped up, apparently electing herself kitten embassador. "Come on, Darkthroat! You know we're big and strong. We can look after ourselves!" The other kits murmured and nodded in agreement.

"Nope. You're still kits, and kits need a warrior looking after them at all times," Darkthroat replied slowly, her tone implying that they'd already been over all that about a million times. The cries started up again, and the she-cat promptly ignored them, looking expectantly at Stonebite for an answer.

"I was hoping to go on a solo hunting patrol. I thought maybe Troutclaw could look after them."

Darkthroat snorted. "You're just going to take off without a single healthy warrior here in camp?" Her entourage of children yowled their agreement, probably moreso to side with their favorite caretaker than anything else. "Think, Stonebite. What if we're invaded? We're the smallest Clan in the forest as is; we can't afford to take those kinds of risks."

"Well, when you put it like that..." Stonebite nodded. He could have done without the harshness in her tone, but he couldn't deny she had a point. If nothing else, he appreciated her willingness to bring her concerns to light, especially when they concerned the wellbeing of the Clan. "You and Copperpaw can go on that patrol. I'll watch the kits for now and leave when you get back." Darkthroat murmured something to the kits, gave Stonebite a curt nod, and flicked her tail towards Copperpaw, who had been hovering about in silence.

As they made their way through the camp entrance (the kits' wide, longing eyes following them intently, though they at least had the sense to not follow Darkthroat), Stonebite quickly added, "And Copperpaw." The apprentice and the warrior paused, and Copperpaw looked over his shoulder at the deputy. "When I get back from my hunting patrol later, I want to speak with you." He hesitated; by that point, it would likely be getting late, though he figured he'd still have some daylight left on that clear newleaf day. "I'll see if I can give you a bit of training to make up for Meadowstar's being sick today."

The usually stoic apprentice instantly brightened and nodded. "Okay. Thanks." With a dip of his head, he and Darkthroat disappeared through the camp exit.

Stonebite watched them go with a distinct feeling of satisfaction in his chest. RootClan had only just been born, and yet the deputy could easily see himself spending the rest of his life there. Sending off patrols, guarding borders, catching prey. Working towards a home that's distinctly yours. Stonebite doubted there was any greater joy.

Stonebite settled down beside the nursery, where Darkthroat had been sitting. He gazed downwards and wondered what sort of cats these kits would grow into, what sorts of adventures life still had in store for the senior warrior.