Eelchaser

Admittedly annoyed, the silver Warrior stalked through the soot. It really seemed like the chaos of ShadowClan would never leave him alone and now here he was surrounded by burned bushes and a couple charred trees, just like his old camp. Maybe he felt at home, just a little bit. But mostly he felt… inconvenience and certainly disgusted with his old Clanmates. Sure, they didn’t have the best track record nor did they like ThunderClan (part of that grudge still lives in him even now) but this was just far too much. They burned over half the forest!

And now, how was he supposed to find food? Their stockpile was gone by the time they even got close to the camp and anything that could’ve remained? Crowfood. Quite literally in some cases. Perhaps the Storm Elemental could find some small bird, foraging through the ashes, and zap it before it went away. Although he had a sneaking feeling many of his Clanmates preferred not-so-burnt birdmeat. Well, it was unlikely anyone would refuse food now.

Yet there was nothing! Where could have all the prey gone?

At least it didn’t seem like he was the only one who found no success in his business. As he kept stalking and trying to follow scents, he stumbled on Briarsong lashing her tail. Impulsively, he remarked: “Having troubles in your Earthly work? At least you’re not the only one who it seems nothing can go right for. Let’s hope ShadowClan won’t be stingy on the food or growing new trees might be the last of your concerns,” he chuckled slightly quieter, trying to lift the mood a little. Mostly so Eelchaser could take a break and not have his paws burn off from exhaustion.

Jinx

Eelchaser

“Can Sagewhisker really grow plants from nothing?” That concept was quite foreign to the tom. Earth Elementals weren’t… particularly common in ShadowClan. Actually, did he even know any Earth Elements from ShadowClan? Eelchaser couldn’t remember any but it had been a couple moons, maybe he just didn’t speak a lot to them?

“Ah, Sunwing. Yeah, I knew her a bit, and she is DEFINITELY the type to try and avoid punishment.” He chuckled a little, reminiscing on a couple memories from his past. “I’m sure most cats don’t mean to burn ThunderClan’s territory. Between you and me...” he walked a little closer and continued in a hushed tone, “Apprentices are a lot more volatile.”

“StarClan knows I was!” he exclaimed with a kind smile. “Fire looks hard to control as is but lightning has almost no goal - no target,” he tried to explain. It was already hard enough to get Acornpaw back in shape after their last training session, and he had something to relate to, but it was even harder to explain to Briarsong. “Part of it is skill, sure, but most of it is luck, right? So even when you’re tippy-pawed sure that your zap will hit, it could just recoil into a tree. Quite a risk, but when you’re used to fire you’re not as surprised when half a forest is burne- Oh right, it did happen.”

There was a slight awkward pause, but the Deputy broke the silence and the Storm Elemental replied:

“Well, I’m supposed to be hunting but there’s nothing, soooo,” he hung on the last word for a second. “Might as well, right? After all, the quicker the forest regrows, the easier it’ll be to leap after the frogs.”

With new vigor in his step, the Warrior half-turned around, ready for the challenge, before facing Brairsong again, his electrifying-yellow eyes looking embarrassed around in silence. Finally, after a brief moment, he asked with one breath: “So how do I help exactly?”

Jinx

Eelchaser

Padding after the Deputy, Eelchaser listened more about Sagewhisker. Starfruit was rare and usually reserved only for Medicine Cats, so the Warrior knew nothing of what it did or how it worked. Nevertheless, it was interesting, and he absentmindedly nodded to Brairsong.

As she spoke of the Border skirmishes between ShadowClan and ThunderClan, the tom stopped briefly next to one of the plants she had grown. It was quite intriguing hearing from the other side; it must have been quite annoying having to grow new plants after every battle between the two Clans. Good thing the Air Elementals pushed the fire away from ShadowClan, huh. At least ThunderClan could regrow their forest, something ShadowClan couldn’t really.

“Oh, have you now?” said the tom. “I’ve been in a few patrols myself - quite a few. Storm is fairly useful for fighting off intruders, so I was picked often,” meowed the Warrior, quiet pride sticking to his tongue. “I’ve had to patrol with Sunwing a pawful of time and I don’t recall ever losing,” said Eelchaser with an arrogant chuckle. “But then again, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in any fights back then.”

He started following behind her again, listening as she told him about her brother and the trouble he got into. “Taking out someone’s eye! StarClan save me because I don’t think anyone’s got that kind of precision. You’re making me more relieved I never had to take on an experienced Warrior if that’s what just an Apprentice could do.

And yes, Water Elementals are always welcome. If DarkClan weren’t neighbours with ShadowClan, we may have used RiverClan as training ground, haha.”

Eelchaser gazed at Briarsong. It really was impressive how she could just boost a plant’s growth. And as she answered his question, the tom began searching through the ash, his paws sifting carefully through the fine, dusty soot, making his white-gray paws darken.

It took a while to find anything, making various retorts or sighs in the meantime, but eventually he found a tiny plant. “I found something!” he chirped, his silvery tail raised high. “What do you think it is?”

Jinx