Event Territory Our home's in sight, this storm's our final fight | Meadowpaw and Jaypaw meeting

[Jaypaw ⏾]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Jaypaw ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆-

He could barely believe his eyes, as he ran towards the field, but it was true - this was WindClan, another stranded group of refugees that managed to stick together and help each other out. Jaypaw didn't want to imagine what his own group would have ended up like were it not for the large medicine cat. Dimmingsun has all but saved them. Which is why he was especially glad to see this temporary camp had a medicine cat of their own - Meadowpaw.

"Meadowpaw!" he called out to her. She looked...bad. Tired, eyes empty, fur dirty. Jaypaw knew his pelt was probably not doing much better, but he hoped he looked less pathetic. He pushed all his anxieties and terrors away, not letting the medicine cat apprentice see them. They weren't hers to deal with.

Jaypaw sighed in relief as he looked around. This wasn't all of his clanmates, but together with his camp, it made up a large portion of it at least. And, if two groups had formed, the likelyhood of even more out there was high. Jaypaw could not see Dustystar, so surely she must have had a group of her own somewhere out there. Everything would be alright. Everything would be the way it has always been, before the flood, before the terror, before Merrysta...-

Jaypaw shook his head. He wasn't going to think about this now, lest he worries Meadowpaw. No, he was fine. She didn't need his guilt, he was capable of punishing himself on his own. He didn't need her to hate him too.

He sat and waited for her to approach him, glad to have found them. Soon, everything would go back to normal.

OOC: @Meadowpaw ​

 

[Meadowpaw]

MEADOWPAW

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Meadowpaw wasn't sure how long she'd been staring off into space, zoning out into the quiet of the field they settled into, when a voice finally pulled her back. She startled, green eyes lifting from the ground to focus on a blurred shape ahead. Her first thought was that something else had gone wrong—one of the cats she tended to had relapsed, or another cat had come back injured. Panic twisted in her chest, dulled by exhaustion and smothered by the fog pressing over her mind.

When the cat drew closer, she studied him, slowly piecing together just what she was looking at. "Jaypaw?" The usual annoyance that accompanied her tone when talking to him was absent. Where had he come from? Was he injured? Meadowpaw felt relief too, shifting and resettling like a stone loosened by a current.

She limped toward him stiffly, clumps of mud-matted fur tugging uncomfortably at her skin. Up close, she could see the same weariness etched into him. The same exhaustion thinned him just as it did the rest of them. None of them had come through this unphazed.

"Are you hurt?" Hazy green gaze swept over him. Even if he did wear her patience to its very limits, she wouldn't leave him untreated. Their herb stores were pitifully thin, but she would still do everything she could.

After a moment, she stepped back and plopped back against the soggy ground. "Where did you come from? Were you with anyone else?" Meadowpaw frowned. He was alone, and there were still so many missing. Her sister, Peafowlpaw, Cricketpaw, Dimmingsun, Yewkit's mother, and so many others. She knew better, but stubbornly she clung to hope that he might've brought some news with him.

x

I BELIEVE THAT THERES COURAGE

BUT ITS BURNIN' LIKE ASH IN THE WIND

x

WINDCLAN

MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE

10 MOONS

SHE/HER

Meadowpaw values kindness and remembrance. As a kit, she internalized her mother's lessons, but questioned whether her way is the only way. She has broken free from the heavy burden of her mother's expectations due to their estrangement after the fire. She remains kind and soft-spoken through all she's endured, but is not afraid to speak out for what she believes is right.

Meadow works tirelessly at any task she undertakes, desperate to prove herself capable and worthy despite her disability. Without her mother's guidance, she finds new ways to express herself.

In conversations, she is gentle, thoughtful, and withdrawn, often hiding her struggles, fearing others seeing her as incapable. She continues to have a strong bond not only with her sister, but with her adopted family as well. Meadow uses her new freedom to support and deepen the bonds with her clanmates. Additionally, she has started to explore the more spiritual side of herself…

Her worldview is a complicated mix of hope and frustration. She wants to believe that there's hope at the end of all the suffering, but feels trapped by her limitations. With enough time and support, she may find a way to overcome her limitations and accept herself.

 

[Jaypaw ⏾]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Jaypaw ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆-

.

Jaypaw had expected a lot of things, an annoyed glance, a lash of the tail, perhaps even a remark towards him. What he didn't expect was a simple question.

"Are you hurt?"

His breath caught in his throat, words frozen on his tongue - what could he say? His hind leg was scratched up, his front paws were sore from digging into the tunnel... but Dimmingsun had treated those, to the best of his ability given the circumstances. His spirits were crushed, all he could think of was Merrystalk - Merrystalk who might never properly recover again after what Jaypaw had caused him. Was he hurt? Yes, both physically and spiritually, but that was not something he wished to share with the young medicine cat.

To his relief, Meadowpaw quickly asked more questions, giving Jaypaw the option of avoiding the first one altogether; though it was not intentional, Jaypaw jumped at the opportunity. "We... from the dead yellow monster. A few of us have settled there, for now." he explained. "I can't ask them to move here, we have injured,-" Jaypaw said vaguely, not wanting to get into the details - they weren't his to say after all. "but we've got Dimmingsun leading us. He's taking care of the others."

It was probably for the best to tell her all who's safe - for everyone's sake - make a headcount of sorts. Figure out who's accounted for and who isn't. "We've got Dimmingsun, like I said. And Merrystalk with Harefoot, Cometpaw and Cricketpaw, Rubblekit and Clayspots." the apprentice listed out. "And me, of course." Jaypaw smiled a little. "Who's all with you? I didn't see Dustystar."