#blacksong

“So, medicine cat, eh?” Redjay settled beside his grandson, who had snuck out of the nursery and kept to the shadows of the camp wall to avoid being shooed back in or be seen talking to air.

Myrtlekit nodded enthusiastically. He had told Hickoryskip his decision earlier that day, and guessed that either Redjay or another of his family had seen the discussion. “A good choice, right?”

Redjay made a doubtful grunt. “Are you sure it’s the path for you? You have a bloodlust in you, little one, battles are a good way to quench the thirst.”

“But it’s so mindless,” Myrtlekit responded, pulling his mouth to one side. “Slashing around is fun, but it’ll get boring in time, right? And what am I gonna do when there’s no war for moons?”

His grandfather grinned, his teeth glinting in the moonlight. “Aw, so mind games has piqued your interest, has it?” His smile dropped. “But you’ll have to target the weak, and you’re better than that. Stronger than that.”

Anger clawed Myrtlekit’s chest. “I’m no coward! If they’re not weak, I’ll make them weak, then I’ll make them all beg for mercy and give them none!”

Redjay’s eyes sparked. A ring of energy seemed to shoot through his body, lifting his fur in enthusiasm. “Oh, the fire in you, my little one!” He tilted his head, so far it almost looked like the bones inside had split apart. “I suppose I do see the benefits. Herbs and poison right by your paws, to be used at your disposal…”

“Trusted by my Clanmates and leader,” Myrtlekit added, remembering Bella-May’s advice.

“StarClan won’t rat on you, because you’ll be their messenger.” Redjay’s grin was returning.

“Gorsedaisy will hate it.” Myrtlekit spat the name. The elderly medicine cat had never liked him, and wasn’t shy on making her thoughts clear. 

Redjay’s eyes darkened. “Indeed she will. The Clan knows she’s lost her petals. Ha! They’ll trust you more than her!” Redjay’s whole body shook. “I can just imagine what she’d say! ‘No! Please don’t let him become a medicine cat! He’s evil, I tell you! Evil!’”

Myrtlekit pressed his paw to his muzzle, stifling the laughter that threatened to choke him, his shoulders shaking as he struggled to breathe. The impression Redjay made was perfect. For a second, he thought that Gorsedaisy really had spoken. Sure, it was a little dramatic in its mockery, but the idea was still clear. “Do it again, do it again!” He prompted.

Redjay did so, though he had to control his own chuckles before he could speak again.  “‘You’re all fools! Fools! I guess I’ll speak to you when you get to StarClan, because that’s where the lot of you will end up, mark my words!”

Myrtlekit burst out in a fit of open laughter, rolling onto his side until he gasped for air. “One more!”

“Myrtlekit, what are you doing out here?” Myrtlekit whipped around to face Grebeglade, his aunt, who had been on guard duty. “What’s got you so amused?”

Myrtlekit looked over his shoulder. Redjay’s spirit had already disappeared. “I saw a frog jump on a squirrel, and I thought it was really funny!” 

Grebeglade looked around. Her whiskers twitched, and she blinked at him with warm amusement. “Must have been a dream. Go back to your mother, alright? You could freeze out here.”

“Okay, I will!” Myrtlekit told her, and bounded back to the nursery. His fur still buzzed as he settled in the nest beside Blacksong, and the smile remained on his face as he fell into the darkness of sleep.

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--Probably one of the cutest stories we'll ever see of Myrtlwing.

--I like to think that Redjay does his mimicry often for the amusement of the little ones.

@ambitiousauthor

Computer died and I forgot my charger at work, so posting this from my back-up blog on mobile. First post here, I think?

—Grebe once called Broken her little brother. They’re littermates, and he is the youngest. I imagine Broken was always very sensitive, and his sister was his protector.

—Though he cared nothing for Marblegaze, Redjay did love his kits deeply and was very involved in their lives (Black and Grey not included, he died before they were born).

—Lightstream put up a strong, confident front in front of his Clanmates, but alone with Redjay, he would confide and talk about things that worried him, his anxieties and insecurities. After Redjay was revealed and died, he kept to himself completely.

He is also gay, but never had the Realization until after he died and reunited with a tom friend.

—Swanmist was the first to suggest ending their bloodline, distraught at the pain it was still causing the family. Marblegaze had often failed to fight back in battles, not wanting to shed blood anymore, and got deeply hurt because of it.

—

ref by Turukhan

@ambitiousauthor @wills-woodland-warriors @starfalcon555 @umbranoxs @elementaldeityoffood

Bella-May loved her family more than anything else, and although she never lost anyone while they were still so young, she understands the pain of a mother’s loss. So of course she would be there to comfort her granddaughter, even if Blacksong couldn’t feel her.

Blacksong could feel trepidation lingering on the outskirts of her heart, expecting something to happen, but not quite sure what it was. The way Gorsedaisy had looked at her kits after delivering them had unsettled her. Was that it? 

She turned her attention to her kits, and once again love swelled within her chest, threatening to spill over. Not all kits had made it. Aspenkit was dead before she was born, cradled delicately now in Blacksong’s paws.

Duskkit was crying. That pulled Blacksong from her daughter. Gazing at her sons, it was then that she realized that her youngest, Myrtlekit’s back foot was planted on a jutting branch coming off of the den wall. She shifted, ready to move it and then feed them, when the tiny branch gave and Myrtlekit’s foot shot out, kicking Duskkit.

Duskkit’s crying stopped instantly, his head thumping onto the ground. Blacksong froze, staring. Duskkit didn’t move, didn’t cry. 

For a long time she was frozen, unable to anything but watch. In the back of her mind, far from her thoughts now, she was grateful that the other queens were temporarily moved to the elder’s den so that she could have privacy with her difficult birth, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to handle the wailing she was already feeling build up in her chest. 

She clamped her jaws shut before a noise could escape her. She shakily picked Duskkit up from the ground and laid her beside his sister as carefully as she could. 

Then she turned to grab Myrtlekit, accidently dropping him when he cried out. In horror, she saw the blood on his scruff. She had picked him up too harshly.  

He began to cry out more, mouth wide. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Blacksong licked his head, nudging him close to her belly. “It was an accident, Myrtlekit.” She wasn’t sure which one she was talking about. “I didn’t mean it, I know you didn’t either.” She curled herself so that she could embrace them all deeper. Three kits. She had three kits, and now two of them were dead. She managed through a shuddering breath, “You would never hurt a fly.”

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--Yee!

--This really was an accident, given Myrtle was just born.

--This is 100% taken from a daydream I had all the time. It was pretty much Brokenstar’s birth, and back when I first read it I thought that he killed one of his sisters this way? I’m fairly sure that’s not what happened. I think I got confused with the one sister crying and then suddenly stop crying. It’s been a while since I’ve read it.

--The kits were stillborn and already weak. It’s possibly Duskkit was close to death anyway and this just helped him speedrun it.

The mom!

I think I got it right @ambitiousauthor

--Blacksong fed Buck because he’s pathetic and she’s nice.

--She became interested.

--On their first planned meeting, he wanted to give her something in return but couldn’t hunt, so instead he gave her a nice flower or something

--They met up more and more

--For her it was a break away from her family and knowing about Him.

--They began to like each other.

--She became pregnant.

--She had one son.