[Reedfoot]x[Rowanheart] Hunting

[Whiskers]

Rowanheart tilted his head. He found himself not only surprised, but appalled. How could there be two nonbelievers in Fogclan? Out of all the clans, Rowanheart had chosen Fogclan because it was the holiest, the most pure. It was the chosen clan. But now all this... this riff-raff were coming in and tainting what used to be so good and so whole! Maybe his fear had finally been realized: Frostpaw's disease was spreading.

He had always suspected this. Fogclan had been a clear, pristine pool in the beginning, completely perfect and untouched. But as soon as Frostpaw put one of her paws in, it dirtied the pool and her sin spread with the ripples. She was filling everyone's head with doubts that shouldn't be there. What if Fogclan became unsafe for his boys? He loved being a warrior and serving Owlstar... but his sons always came first... he'd have to leave if things got any worse.

"Otterclaw doesn't believe in Starclan?" he expressed his disbelief and horror to Reedfoot. "Why...? Have you tried talking to him? What led him to that answer? There has to be some reason why... certainly he hasn't always believed that. Though if he's really all you say he is, then maybe he doesn't take Starclan seriously. " The thought brought a shudder to his spine.

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[Pyro]

"I've tried talking to him, but he just won't listen...By the way he's talking, he's thought really long and hard about it...I mean, it doesn't sound like he made a rash decision, however wrong it may be."

As for his reasoning and how he decided not to believe in them...She was starting to think that he came to the conclusion as he hadn't seen any real proof. "It was probably only a matter of time before he renounced them...I mean at first he just said that they didn't really matter...That they could watch over the clans all they wanted, but it didn't put prey on the pile...But now...I mean, I'm, really worried. What if...What if he goes to the Dark Forest when he dies because he doesn't believe?"

The Dark Forest. If her brother ended up there...Sure, he could be irritating, but she wouldn't wish that fate on anyone...To be alone, in the cold and dark...But then again, what if he and Frostpaw spread their beliefs? The clan would be in chaos! There wouldn't be any unity, no common ground...

[Whiskers]

Rowanheart walked over to Reedfoot, a small smile on his muzzle-- it was an expression of care. He knew exactly how she felt and he licked her ear to comfort her. He feared, every day, that he would lose what was very precious to him. He had already lost Zoe once and it had taken him... a long time to get over that. If Finchpaw and Firepaw weren't there to distract his mind and give him a new purpose then maybe he would as lost and confused as Frostpaw and Otterclaw. In fact, Rowanheart wouldn't doubt that if he hadn't been surrounded by the right cats, he could have plummeted into darkness and stopped believing in Starclan all together.

After all, even he had questioned Starclan once. Zoe was a fierce believer before he was, and it was she who showed him the love of Starclan in the first place. And when Zoe had gone, he had almost lost his faith again. He had wondered "why" without reminding himself that Starclan worked in mysterious ways. There was a reason for Zoe's death. Of course there was. That was clear to him now.

"You're not alone in that fear, Reedfoot. I once thought that someone very dear to me was going down the wrong path. But it's never too late to help them, even if they don't want your help. There has to be a way to convince Otterclaw, to help him. We've found a solution for Frostpaw, haven't we? It sounds like Otterclaw isn't too far gone yet, so maybe if you and I both talk to him, we can fix what has broken inside of him."

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[Pyro]

"Maybe..."

Honestly...She wasn't too sure. Of course, at this point she'd be happy to get him back to at least believing in them, but thinking they didn't matter. Realizing that they did would probably come to him in good time. Would he ever be as fierce a believer as her and others? Probably not. But all that really mattered was getting him to believe in Starclan. When they passed on...She wanted him to be there...with her.

Sure, she had heard that Starclan could go into the Dark Forest, but what if that was just some legend? And what if she couldn't find Otterclaw there? And what if she hersefl got lost? No...She would rather have him with her, as irritating and annoying as he was to her in life.

"But let's focus on Frostpaw first. She's the one that really needs it. Maybe then she'll know she's never alone and that there are even more cats that care about her besides Fogclan...Cats that can be with her even when the clan can't."

[Whiskers]

Rowanheart inclined his head in respect. Though he thought that they could tackle both problems at once, clearly Reedfoot was reluctant to do so. Maybe she didn't want to address the problem head on? She could be ashamed to acknowledge Otterclaw's non belief officially, it could have been hard for her to explain it to him. He would never, after all, admit to anyone the flaws of his family. That would show weakness and then those cats would question if he was a good parent.

And there was no reason to question that. He was an excellent parent.

"If that's what you wish. If you want, we can hunt a little more, then go back to camp and suggest your plan to Owlstar. And if she says no.... well we might need a back-up if that happens," Rowanheart said as he paced a little bit, a little impatient to get the plan into action. How far away was the half moon from now? Rowanheart couldn't remember and so he only shook his head and then faced Reedfoot, waiting for her answer.

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[Pyro]

Reedfoot sighed mentally. So she'd have a bit of a grace period to find out how she'd like to approach Otterclaw. Who knew...Maybe after he saw the inevitable change in Frostpaw, he'd believe in starclan once more.

The she-cat sniffed the air absentmindedly as Rowanheart mentioned hunting. Yes, that was certainly a good idea...But their minds weren't really focused. They'd probably end up scaring more prey than actually catching it. "Hm. It would probably be a pretty good idea to continue hunting...But our minds are clearly elsewhere. Maybe we can hunt after we propose the idea to Owlstar?" The last sentence was more of a tentative question than a statement.

Saying her thoughts out loud made her think of something else Rowanheart had said, about needing a back-up plan. Well...She was fresh out of ideas. And at this pint, if the Moonglade didn't make Frostpaw a believer, then nothing would. Especially if her heart was set.

[Whiskers]

Ah, Reedfoot was right. Beyond right actually. Rowanheart couldn't focus even if his life depended on it and though he really was trying hard to scent prey, his mind kept wandering back to her, to Reedfoot, and to her plan. Half of his mind was still marveling at her cleverness while the other half was eager to put the darn plan into action. If it didn't work, then it wouldn't work, but at least he had a shred of hope. And that single shred was a beacon of light for Rowanheart; as long as it was alive and well, he felt much, much better than he had in the past few days.

He chuckled in response to Reedfoot. "Yes, it's a good idea to go to Owlstar now instead of later. I'm so distracted I couldn't catch a mouse even if it jumped into my paws."

He went to his sad pile of soil and began to dig it up again, until he found the piece of prey he had caught earlier. The smell of it was making his mouth water a little bit, but he did not give in to such temptation. He held the animal in his jaw gently and then turned back to Reedfoot. He tilted his head slightly and flicked his tail, indicating that he was ready to go. Camp wasn't too far and frankly, he couldn't wait to propose Reedfoot's master plan.

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[Pyro]

Pleased that she had been dead on, Reedfoot fetched the prey she had caught earlier. Her paws were once again muddy, but she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to keep Rowanheart waiting. So she settled for a quick cleaning. Her paws weren't shining white, but they would do for now.

"Alright then, Rowanheart. Let's go propose our idea." Yes...Their idea. Well, her idea...But Rowanheart had gotten her to say it, and he approved of it, AND it was his apprentice.

After she finished her sentence she picked up her prey and walked over to the tom. If Owlstar approved...Then that would be that. Frostpaw would be on her way to realizing her mistake. And then the clan would be in balance again. Or rather, it would be once Otterclaw had also forsaken his ridiculous dis-belief.