Tumblesoar above! Base by Louixie! 

Thunder crashed and rumbled above the cave, making the stone walls practically reverberate with the storm's force. Water dripped through the cracks in the ceiling, and warriors constantly replaced moss to soak up the puddles.

It was humid, loud and stuffy in the subsurface camp, and BleakClan's mood had soured. Hopepaw crouched in her nest, paws covering her ears as lightning split the sky. She'd found that loud noises- like thunder, or Monsters- were a lot more terrifying after the avalanche. They brought a flood of unwelcome memories and fear rushing back into her head. But, there was nothing she could do about thunderstorms, however annoying and frightening they were.

From across the camp, she could see Emeraldshatter and Bluepaw huddled together. Despite Emeraldshatter no longer being an apprentice, she still had her claws latched onto Bluepaw. And he didn't see any problem with it. Really it's sickening, she thought. So young, and already trapped in a cage by the worst cat in the Clan. Over the soft conversation of older warriors, she could just barely hear what Emeraldshatter was saying. "Oh, Bluepaw, thunderstorms are so scary! But luckily, you're here-" Her voice was cut off by another crash of thunder, and she glanced in mock fear around the camp, her limpid  green eyes holding a coldness that nearly made Hopepaw shiver.

She sighed. Wow. Circling in her nest until she was turned away from the two cats she waited for the violent Snowgone storm to end.

The thunder began to fade away until it was no more than a distant rumble, and warriors began to return to their duties outdoors. Tumblesoar peeked into the Apprentices' den, a sunny smile plastered across his long, blue-gray muzzle. "Hey there, Hopepaw! You ready to go do some training?" Hopepaw gazed at him for a moment, and heaved herself to her paws, stretching until her ginger-tipped toes quivered. "Yeah," She answered tonelessly, following behind her mentor as he left the den and walked toward the tunnel.

He glanced back at the short-limbed apprentice, brow quirked in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Oh... Yeah, fine. Why?"

"You sound kind of hollow. Are you feeling sick? Are those nightmares back?"

"Nope." She replied, forcing cheer into her mew. She wasn't entirely telling the truth; nightmares still plagued her at times, causing her to wake up in a cold sweat, shaking with tears in her eyes. In fact, she'd had one the night before. They were still always about Screechpaw and left her feeling empty inside.

Hopepaw could feel that her smile was sickly-sweet and obviously faked, but at least it was something. "Let's go." Tumblesoar nodded slowly, hesitant to accept her answer. "Alright. Let's head down to the willows near the creek, and practice battle moves, okay?"
"Okay."
                                                  ~❆~

The ground was soggy underpaw, as Hopepaw and Tumblesoar trekked through the forest. Being careful not to trod on worms, she followed Tumblesoar's snakelike tail as it threaded rhythmically through the lush, green brush, made vibrant by the recent rain.

Focusing on her paws and her mentor's tail, Hopepaw jumped in fright as a magpie let out a loud alarm call, wings flapping noisily as it hopped from one tree to the next, cawing at the two cats. In one of the trees, a messy nest of twigs sat nestled in the crook of two branches.

"Look!" Tumblesoar exclaimed. "There's a nest. I know a couple of cats who love eggs; myself included. Shall we try to get them?" Hopepaw glanced up at the nest. She'd never tried eggs and was curious. "Sure. But won't the tree be slippery? From the rain?"

"We'll be fine. I'm good at climbing." He assured the apprentice, crouching low and springing onto the lowest branch, digging his claws in. "Come on up!" Hopepaw hesitated. I've only practiced tree climbing twice... Ignoring her own concerns, she leaped up onto the branch beside Tumblesoar, struggling to keep hold. By the time she'd steadied herself, the sleek grayish-blue tom was already two branches higher.

The magpie was hysterical, diving at the two cats as they carefully scaled the large oak tree. With a hiss, Hopepaw struck out at the bird with a fluffy ginger-and-cream paw, nearly falling in the process. Feathers ruffled, the magpie continued to screech at Tumblesoar and Hopepaw, its cries growing louder as they made their way to the nest.
Peering into it, Hopepaw could see two nestlings, no more than a few days old, and two eggs. The nestlings were both mostly naked, with small tufts of black fuzz scattered across their tiny bodies, beaks opened wide in whiny screeches. 

Tumblesoar reached into the nest of moss and twigs, and pulled out the eggs, cupping them under his chin as he retreated down the tree. She stared at the two baby birds. I almost don't want to kill them. She thought sorrowfully, closing her eyes as she grabbed the nestlings, dispatching them and quickly hopping down from branch to branch until her paws met the damp forest floor. 

Tumblesoar's chin was tucked close to his chest in order to safely carry the eggs back to the Clan. He looked odd, with his face scrunched close to his neck like a disgruntled owl, and Hopepaw couldn't help but let a smile cross her muzzle for a brief moment like the sun passing through a patch of clouds. 

A few moments passed in silence before her mentor spoke. "Your warrior assessment will be soon; you'll finally get your full name! Aren't you excited?" A warrior... My warrior name... She felt a fleeting flash of excitement shoot through her before a thought crushed it again. Screechpaw should be getting his name with me. He talked endlessly about what he thought it would be. He deserves it more. It's not fair. Sensing her change in mood, concern crossed her mentor's face. "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing."

"You're missing Screechpaw, aren't you? You can talk about it. I'm a good listener." For an instant, Hopepaw was tempted. Anger and sorrow and anguish and conflict were all gathered in the pit of her stomach, brewing and gathering like the storm that had rocked the mountains just hours before. But, she pushed the feelings down, feeling worse. "No. I'm fine." 

"Hopepaw, you shouldn't bottle up what you're feeling. It's not good for you." 

"You can't make me do anything."

"I can't, but-" 

"Just leave me alone! Nothing I can say can make you understand what I'm feeling. You haven't lost the one cat that loved you, that appreciated you, that made you feel like you weren't a complete waste of time and space. Screechpaw is gone; no little conversation can bring him back, so what's the use?"

 Angry tears stung Hopepaw's mismatched eyes, and she turned away from Tumblesoar, walking brusquely away. A lump clogged her throat, and she fought back the wave of tears that threatened to stop her in her tracks. "Hopepaw, wait." She looked back, to see the tall blue tom sitting calmly, a serious expression written across his muzzle. "Sit down."

Something about how his voice was both stoic and pained at the same time made Hopepaw reluctantly pad toward him, and sit down across from him. She couldn't look him in the eye. "I had a best friend. Her name was Soaringpaw." 

"What does that have to do with-"

"We were like the sun and the moon. She was graceful and strong, and smart. I was awkward and skinny and clumsy. She had the most beautiful white coat and the biggest hazel eyes I'd ever seen. We were both only kits, and we basically just adopted each other as siblings. I looked up to her more than any cat has ever looked up to anything or anyone; I wanted to be just like her. I'd go out at night to train in the trees so I'd get more graceful. I'd eat more so I would be just as big as her. And she was never offended or put off; she always wanted to do what was best for me and help me be the best cat I could be. She was a pure soul, and I truly loved her."

 A bittersweet nostalgia made his eyes bright as he spoke. "We decided to take our assessments at the same time. We wanted to do it at night, and so we did; but the moment the sun sank below the horizon, and the orange sunset dulled into dusk, everything went so wrong." Pain flickered through his eyes, and he drew a deep breath.

"It was almost Snowgone, night, and we couldn't find more than a mouse. So, Soaringpaw suggested we go further up the mountain to look for snow hares. I followed her dutifully. But when we made it up, we didn't find any hares. We found death itself. You see, wolves sometimes come into our territory in Snowgone, and Leafloss. Their territory runs out of prey, and they search ours. But no one told us."

He stopped for a moment, eyes glittering. "Right in our path, there was a massive grey wolf. Ten times the size of you, or me. Soaringpaw, swift and a good runner, tried to lead it away. But the wolf went for me. I froze- couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, and I could see my life flashing before my eyes. Just as it was about to close its jaws around me, Soaringpaw threw her body in front of me. I can still hear..." His voice broke. "I can still hear the sound it made when the wolf snapped her spine."

"Tumblesoar-" Hopepaw whispered. She could almost smell the anguish he was feeling, just telling the story. 

"I didn't know what to do. I was so scared. I raked the wolf's eyes and it, by some miracle, left, having had enough of the fight. But Soaringpaw... She couldn't stand. She was fading in and out of consciousness, and her back legs and flanks were completely limp. The last thing she said before she left me, was: "I'll see you in the stars, brother." 

Tumblesoar's green eyes shone with unspilt tears. "I asked for my warrior name to be Tumblesoar; after her. Then, only two, maybe four moons later, your father, my half-brother, died trying to find food for your mother. That loss stung too; we weren't as close as Soaringpaw and I had been, but he was still my brother. And then you and your brothers were born. Everyone seemed to forget Ashenwater and focus all their energy completely on keeping the new kits fed. It hurt to see him forgotten so soon, but I understood, and I'm not bitter. When I got the chance to mentor you, I jumped at it; I wanted to make sure you flourished. You remind me so much of Soaringpaw- she was a bit of a smart-mouth too. That's why I was a bit too tough at the start. I didn't want to see you get hurt."

"I'm so sorry, Tumblesoar. I don't know what I was thinking, I was just really... I don't know. I shouldn't have said what I did."

"It's okay. My point is, every cat in this Clan, including you and me, has lost someone they love at some point in their life. They still miss them every day. In fact, it will be the anniversary of her death in a few short moons. But we've moved on and tried to become the best cats we can be. Don't judge someone before you know their story." He blinked the sheen of tears out of his eyes and stood up.

"Come on, it'll be getting dark soon. The Clan will be missing us." He called, padding away with the eggs clamped under his chin once again. 

Hopepaw's thoughts whirled in her head. Tumblesoar's story had left her feeling shaken; he always seemed to cheerful and happy, even when he'd lost his best friend. How? But at the same time, knowing someone else had gone through grief like she had was almost comforting; she almost felt a bit less lonely. Grabbing the two nestlings she'd dropped in the initial argument, she followed her mentor, a new respect burned into her heart for him. Maybe I can move on too. 

Fun Fact: Tumblesoar and Ashenwater had a 14-moon age difference!