Private Thread Cold in Bloom

❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅

I identify as a threat. My pronouns are Try/Me.

❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅

Coldstar was resting - NOT sleeping. Or so he told himself. But he would be lying if he didn't start when Merryaster called into his den, her tone light and cheerful. Right, he had summoned her here. 

Maybe he would have attempted to be more dignified, quickly straightening his fur and getting up for any other cat. But instead he let out a deep sigh, and rolled so that he at least wasn't lying on his side. With the Mad Rouge gone, this was probably the most he'd slept in several moons. He blinked out at the entrance blearily before responding. "Come in, Merryaster."

He let her settle before continuing, stretching so he was no longer buried in moss and feathers. "How has your warriorship been so far?" He'd seen her making friends with the other young warriors. Her mother Otterwhisker was still around as well - and even though he had been neglecting her and his kin in the elder's den these past few moons he was certain she had not been.

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

Merryaster always was pleasantly caught off guard by just how comfortable his den and nest actually was. Her own was a modest mix of mostly moss, recently freshened, with a touch of mouse fur along the rim where she usually rested her head. With his long pelt he looked to be the most comfortable cat in the Clan, even if he was a bit bedraggled by sleep.

She didn't chide him or really even acknowledge the fact that he must have fallen asleep. In her eyes he deserved every moment of rest now that rogue was dispatched. She moved in further at his invite, lowering herself against him and onto the tuck of her paws. The hue of her deep teal eyes lit up at the conversation, even if she knew this probably wasn't without purpose.

"It's been...good, everything considered." She started with a knowing nod. A rogue that populated all of her apprenticeship and start of her warriorhood wasn't ideal but her bonds had become stronger for it. "The weather has been perfect and Otterwhisker enjoys trips to the River. We even manage to do a bit of hunting. It's been nice growing up alongside so many my age, I feel like we all work well together." Now that the rogue was gone there was nothing stopping her from allowing her mother to go as she pleased. Otterwhisker preferred it that way.

"We even have two pairs of kits in the nursery." Merryaster beamed, an ear flicking towards him. Even though it wasn't one hundred percent confirmed aloud, if Bloomfire had anything to say about it, Merryaster assumed that little stubbed tail couldn't have come from anyone else. Unless Mintwhisker had a paw in that...which she highly doubted. "How have you been, Coldstar?"

❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅

I identify as a threat. My pronouns are Try/Me.

❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅ ⭒ ❅

Ah yes, the kits. Coldstar leaned slightly in one direction, before properly shaking himself of the fluff and feathers of his nest. "I am grateful for your mentors for training warriors that are so reliable." He almost felt he was relying on the younger cats than the older ones - especially with how many elders the clan had at the moment.

He headbutted her in a proper greeting before continuing. "And I wished to speak to you, with regards to the kits of the clan." He didn't need to mince words around Merryaster; one of the many reasons he felt that he could trust her with this. 

"I am looking to provide some of you with the opportunity to mentor an apprentice." He sat back on his haunches and regarded her coolly. "I am particularly interested in providing yourself and one other with the honour." 

He had decided a moon ago that he should not mentor his own kits - for their sake. Did he want to? Starclan, yes. But they needed cats who would push them, make them work for their warrior names. He wasn't sure if he could do that for them. But he knew of few cats he trusted more than his own apprentice. 

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

Merryaster's ears warmed slightly at the praise, though she accepted the headbutt readily, leaning into it before settling once more. "Well...I'm grateful for my mentor. He didn't make it easy but I think a cat learns a lot when someone trusts them to figure things out for themselves."

A flick of amusement touched her whiskers before continuing. "Though I spend plenty of time wondering if he actually liked me." The joke was delivered with a light lit, her teal gaze bright with affection rather than an accusation. It was no secret that Coldstar had never been the sort to shower apprentices with praise.

As he continued, however, her eyes widened. He wanted her to be a mentor...? Her ears lifted and she sat a little straighter without realizing it. For a heartbeat she was silent and tried to picture it. She didn't doubt herself or her leader and instead gave him a nod. "I'd be honored." She wasn't sure if she'd do as well of a job as some of the cats who taught her and her siblings, but she was willing to try.

"I'll do everything I can for them...and RiverClan." Coldstar must have been thinking long and hard about his decision; his brow was always pressed in thought. No doubt the burdens of leading. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before her smile deepened. "We can challenge them together...not just tell them they are wonderful."