If you would have told Kestrelwing that the small strange tabby apprentice that was taken into his old clan would become a clan leader, he would have called you mouse brained. But that is exactly what happened.
The blue grey tabby she-cat had joined after Mousepelt had found her and her sister being attacked by a fox. Unfortunately the sister, Wren if he recalled correctly, hadn't survived her injuries. Kestrelwing, then Kestrelpaw, thought the new addition was an annoyance at best. Why in Starclan would the two of them wander aimlessly in someone else's territory and then go into a fox den and be surprised that the fox was there? The fact he had to then train with her only made it worse. While he struggled to grasp training, Jaypaw seemed to flourish. It was like a strike to the face. She wasn't even a clan cat. He nearly hissed at her at the suggestion that she could help him train. He didn't need her help. He was fine training with his mentor or by himself. But after moons of training and having to spend time with her Kestrelpaw lightened up. She wasn't so bad to be around. She could be funny, if not outspoken, brave, curious and an amazing storyteller. She was a favorite of the kits much to some of the elders annoyance. As warriors their friendship grew. They would go hunting together, challenging the other on who would get the best catch of the day. All in good fun of course. Sometimes they were on the same patrols and even if they weren't they would fill in the other if something amusing happened. It was an easy friendship, if not a bit of a rivalry as well. It all came to an end sooner than expected when the twolegs came. It wasn't right away. They came in pairs, then small groups. The clan avoided them at all costs but some were intrigued with what the twolegs were doing. And then they attacked with the scent of food as a lure and strange metal dens that once entered ceased to have an exit. Cats yowled and called and were taken away. Some ran, some hid, some tried to fight back. The twolegs were persistent and in the end Spruceclan ceased to be. Its members were scattered of captured and taken away in the monsters. Kestrelwing had managed to get away but he was alone. Cherrytail was no where to be found, neither was Jaysong, or any of his clanmates. It was scary how suddenly alone he was in a territory that no longer belong to him. So with that he ran away. Being a loner was hard. It was lonely and he longed for his clanmates and their familiar voices, touches and smells, He was constantly on the move. As soon as he would settle in a place something would come up to displace him again. Dogs. Twolegs. Other cats. Whenever it was other cats he hoped to see a clanmate, or even if they were strangers a group that might take him in. But he had little luck and in the end grew frustrated and wary of those he didn't know. Anger boiled up inside him. Why would Starclan allow this to happen? What had his clan done to deserve an ending like that. There was no warning. No was no guidance. Just silence. And after moons of wandering he came face to face with another cat again. She was tall and lean with a long tail. Her pelt was a light bluish grey tabby and her eyes were a familiar blue. She was thinner than he remembered, more wary and reserved but her scent was still the same. Jaysong. After a moment of quietly studying each other they touched noses relieved to have found the other again. It wasn't quite the same. Both had changed in their time apart. Their rivalry was long gone and instead they made a great team. He learned that she too had never quite stopped searching for their clanmates. Together they carved out a small territory and were able to defend it from foes for the most part. One day, after finishing a meal and lounging in the sun Jaysong jumped on a fallen log and looked at him. "Lets remake the clan." She had mewed. Remake the clan? The idea both sounded absurd and wonderful. "How?" he mused watching her, "everyones gone." She sat there then surveyed the area. "Not everyone. We found each other, didn't we? There might be others. We have a territory. We can find clan members along the way." She looked truly confident, he noted, something that the warrior of old only pretended to be. Maybe they could do this. "It won't be Spruceclan" he commented as he jumped up beside her. "No, it won't. It'll be Redwoodclan." He gave her a questioning look and she brushed his shoulder and jumped off. "Come on!" she called, "we've got a lot to do, even with Starclan's help" Kestrelwing gave an amused purr and followed her "Does this mean I have to call you Jaystar now?" he called back sarcastically. "I like the sound of that." Jaysong replied curling her tail high in the air. "Yeah, I thought you would."
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What he hadn’t yet realized was that he was doing important tasks. Taking care of the clan was important and that included keeping it clean. His mentor was a she-cat named Cherrytail. She was tall with a ginger and white pelt and marigold eyes. A very patient cat, she always looked at Kestrelpaw’s impatience with mild amusement. She was adamant that he took his tasks seriously, no matter how small, and if he didn’t do them to her satisfaction he’d have to do them again. Kestrelpaw’s favorite part of his apprenticeship was when he was training. He loved learning the skills it took to have a successful hunt or the various moves he could use in battle. Much to his disappointment, however, he was a better hunter than a fighter. He enjoyed his hunts, but slowly grew frustrated at how he fell behind in battle training. He was always a touch too slow or didn’t anticipate his sparring partners moves correctly. He made it his goal however to get better. He would practice whenever he had an opportunity. Cherrytail was encouraging though not one to give undue praise, and reminded him that overdoing it would have the opposite effect. Not one to go easy on an apprentice, she never lowed her expectations for Kestrelpaw. She would train him hard so that he could grow to his full potential. Never once did she hesitate to repeat teaching moves he hadn’t fully mastered. She saw no shame in him needing to take a little extra time. Though he gave her sass, Kestrelpaw really grew to respect and care for his mentor. He wanted to make her proud. To prove to her that her faith in him was well placed. So the first time he bested her in training he was beaming with pride for the rest of the day. The clan during this time was peaceful. There weren’t too many disputes. A few border disagreements at most but they were settled without too much fighting. When he was granted his warrior name and saw Cherrytail watching him with pride he knew he had done it. Even though his apprenticeship was rather ordinary, filled with the usual ups and downs of training and clan life, Kestrelwing remembers it fondly and strives to continue to uphold the ways Cherrytail taught him.
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KestrelwingA light leopard-spotted tom with green eyes ArchivesCategories |