ThunderClan Territory

[Bracken12]

Originally Posted by Fawnsong

Ashclaw, stumbled through the woods, following the scent of a vole he thought he could smell not far from where he stood. Parting his jaws he tasted the air, catching a hint of thunderclan scent nearby. Padding through the bushes, he realized he had come across another warrior, already carrying a vole in his jaws.
"sorry" he mumbled, deep voice rumbling within his chest as he backed away, not meaning to disturb other cats while they hunted.

Sundapple's eyes widened as another tom spoke, his voice a deep rumble. The ginger tom quickly dipped his head in greeting. "Oh no, you aren't bothering me at all! I just stopped to take a quick break, I'm Sundapple." He noticed his voice sounded like a kit's compared to the other tom's, and his size meant that Sundapple and him could be compared to the size difference between a mentor and a apprentice. Sundapple realized he was staring, he quickly turned, feeling his face heat up. "Sorry, I just got surprised...I don't normally hunt with other cats watching. It freaks me out, sorry, that sounds so stupid when you say it out loud." he whispered.

[Fawnsong]

Originally Posted by Silentshade

Sundapple's eyes widened as another tom spoke, his voice a deep rumble. The ginger tom quickly dipped his head in greeting. "Oh no, you aren't bothering me at all! I just stopped to take a quick break, I'm Sundapple." He noticed his voice sounded like a kit's compared to the other tom's, and his size meant that Sundapple and him could be compared to the size difference between a mentor and a apprentice. Sundapple realized he was staring, he quickly turned, feeling his face heat up. "Sorry, I just got surprised...I don't normally hunt with other cats watching. It freaks me out, sorry, that sounds so stupid when you say it out loud." he whispered.

Ashclaws voice rumbled into a purr as he spoke, "I know you! We were apprenticed together!" He purred, coming into the clearing. Hiding his embarrassment, he strode forward and touched nosed with the smaller male.
"I was the one who almost broke the apprentices den by smacking into one of the walls."

[Bracken12]

Originally Posted by Fawnsong

Ashclaws voice rumbled into a purr as he spoke, "I know you! We were apprenticed together!" He purred, coming into the clearing. Hiding his embarrassment, he strode forward and touched nosed with the smaller male.
"I was the one who almost broke the apprentices den by smacking into one of the walls."

Sundapple snorted as he remembered. "Ashclaw! Oh my, it's been so long since we've talked! You scared me to death with that! I had been sleeping, and suddenly the whole den shakes!" he rubbed his left leg with his right paw as he smiled. "I'm the one who put that fire ant in your nest... along with soaking that mouse in mouse bile. I was an awful apprentice. but to be fair, you had woke me up, it was a call for pranks." he poked Ashclaw with one paw, grinning like a kit. "And what have you been up too, my friend? Starclan seems to be treating you well!"

[Fawnsong]

Originally Posted by Silentshade

Sundapple snorted as he remembered. "Ashclaw! Oh my, it's been so long since we've talked! You scared me to death with that! I had been sleeping, and suddenly the whole den shakes!" he rubbed his left leg with his right paw as he smiled. "I'm the one who put that fire ant in your nest... along with soaking that mouse in mouse bile. I was an awful apprentice. but to be fair, you had woke me up, it was a call for pranks." he poked Ashclaw with one paw, grinning like a kit. "And what have you been up too, my friend? Starclan seems to be treating you well!"

Ashclaw grinned shyly, dipping his head in recognition of the tom's words. "What are you doing today?" He asked sheepishly, enjoying the tom's company.

[aleka!]

Fernpaw was sniffing through the undergrowth, her ears flattened. Her brown tabby pelt more or less blended her in with the natural greens and browns of the forest, making hunting at least somewhat easier. Whenever the molly saw a cat with a white pelt in her clan, she felt bad for them. But, at least during leaf-bare when it snowed, they would nearly invisible to prey. Fernpaw had always been good at looking at the bright side. Sometimes, it would keep her and her sister motavited. Soon, she caught a scent trail of a mouse. She blinked with excitement. If only my mentor were here... The feline thought, frowning slightly. Hopefully he would be proud. Soon, after stalking through the undergrowth, she caught sight of the rodent. Fernpaw pounced upon the small animal, snapping its neck cleanly with a twist of her head. She sat up, aiming to go back to camp.

@Fireleaf

[lone]

Originally Posted by hiraeth

powdernose's pelt radiated an embarrassed heat as he listened to the tabby's question. "o- oh, y- yeah, duties, haha," he gulped and looked down at the nest, his tail curling closer around him. his mind drifted to him sleeping for most of the day instead of doing whatever he needed to do, also finding himself daydreaming of a... certain tom. the siamese deputy shook his head to clear it, his ears twitching. "i guess my day was fine. i mean, there wasn't much to do. many cats formed their own patrols," he provided, shoulders rising in a shrug before falling back into the tensed stature he held. "uh- what about you? get any work done?" it was a stupid question-- of course stonegazer got work done, unlike powdernose.

he faintly felt the other's tail against him, though it was so light that if he wasn't hyperaware of everything, he would've missed it. anything that stonegazer did, powdernose would notice, if he was in the same area. it was almost as if he were watching over the tom every moment of each day, although that was not true. he didn't watch stonegazer all the time, just enough to... make sure he was faring well. you keep lying to yourself, little one. the voice in his head spoke, yet softer and sweeter than it ever had before. why don't you accept that you wish for him to be yours? powdernose's eyes widened briefly, but he quickly masked his expression as to not raise questions. because i know that that will only bring upon problems of which i cannot handle. all i wish for is to be his friend, as i will not gain any more. the voice sighed and disappeared, a disapproving noise coming from it, despite only being in the siamese's head.

all i want to be is his friend.


right?

”Well, I’m sure your presence would have been appreciated on any one of those.” The gray tabby’s words were slightly kinder, and perhaps there was a small smile on his maw as his tail lightly brushed against Powdernose’s body once more. He liked the little deputy. The smaller tom might have seemed like he wouldn’t be Stonegazer’s type of friend (not exactly the cold and quiet type) but Stonegazer liked him anyways. It was a strange friendship, perhaps, but it was nice to step out of his comfort zone every once in a while. Those things happened so rarely, it almost hurt Stonegazer to think about what could come of this. What if something bad happened? What if he messed up, what if he was reading into things and Powdernose was just looking for an ally - not a friend?

That thought had Stonegazer curling his tail against himself once more, his moment of happiness disappearing. ”I patrolled the border as well, and did some hunting. I’m afraid I wasn’t able to contribute very much to the Clan… but thankfully some others were more skilled than I was and nobody should have to go hungry.” There was a slight smile, a brush of pride when the tom began talking about the work he had done. He generally sat a little taller, his form a little straighter, mind a little clearer when he thought about the good work that he was able to get done. ”It’s very beautiful out here,” Stonegazer remarked after a moment, glancing up at the sky with another one of the smallest smiles.

”If you don’t mind my asking, why… well, why did you ask me to accompany you here tonight?” He sounded almost flustered. It was embarrassing, asking Powdernose such a question - the tom was allowed to keep his reasons his own, right? Right. So why was Stonegazer half-hoping for an answer that would show they were… friends, and not merely allies?

Originally Posted by Brilliance

Passionstar watched with amusement as his best friend told the story of stumbling upon this place. Passionstar always liked a good story. Whether he was the one that told them or was hearing them. He reminisced the times when they were kits, and being confined in the nursery forced them to use their imaginations to tell the best story. Even her pointed looks didn't bother him. He propelled his tail into an irked movement, glaring at the she cat for her little jab at him. He opened his mouth to protest, but he didn't want to ruin the story, so he wrapped his tail around him as a good kit would do, and leaned his head further to listen to the suspense she was adding to the tale.

Passionstar would tilt his head from side to side, he'd dig his claws into the ground, creating straight lines, he'd whip his tail when Erminewhisper would become dramatic, knowing how well of a performer she was. He loved her dramatic self. It was comical to him, really, but he was grateful to have someone like her in his life. The mention of a...crow? Passionstar's eyes blinked slowly, repeatedly. "Not surprised about that, at all. Crows are feisty criminals." Passionstar snickered. Genuinely, the crow may have been his favorite bird species. Passionstar always had an...intense type of interests than others would assume about him.

The leader couldn't help but chuckle loudly at Erminewhisper's antics. She was the type of she cat that annoyed you, yet you were forced to love. By the end of her story and her little bow, Passionstar thumped his tail against the ground. "Bravo! Bravo!" He cheered along, suddenly rolling over into a fit of laughter at imagining her clumsiness. "I'm not surprised. Only you would be clumsy enough to do that." He chortled, now on his belly to jab a paw upwards at her. He could do little to berate her - he was sure he had four left paws.

Passionstar rolled onto his stomach, looking up at her with a glint of mischief in his gaze. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Although leader of thunderclan, Passionstar treasured his adventures alone. The places he discovered while journeying left him gasping in awe - did he really want to share that with others? His best friends, of course. No doubt. The way Erminewhisper bounced on her paws, her eyes glittered with excitement; Passionstar reciprocated her movements, acting as a childish kit as he bounced on his own paws copying her movements. "Who knows. Maybe, I'll invite you out sometime - but, you'll have to earn that, missy. My spots are secrets, though. And, this dork never shares his secrets." He winked. Although, showing his best friend some of his favorite spots was on a bucket list. However, his favorite spots were usually too far...too far from the forest, and he didn't know if Erminewhisper would love the journey.

”Hey! At least I can get myself out of trouble, right? You’re about as smooth as a toad, mister!” Erminewhisper danced out of his reach, her eyes glistening with merriment as she spoke, a little too pleased with her comment. She had always been pretty clumsy, but she was the smoother talker out of the two - most of the time, she found herself able to talk her way out of any incident. After all, it was easy, with a sweet smile here or a quick flutter of her eyelashes there… just as long as she didn’t have to keep up a lie for too long, she could talk herself out of many situations. ”You would never have finished your apprenticeship if it wasn’t for my silver tongue.” The warrior bragged, puffing out her chest as she bounced around him, hyped up on her own pride and giddy that she was getting to spend this much time with her best friend.

Eventually she stopped, and rather ungracefully plopped back down on the ground, her tail swishing back and forth, gathering up all sorts of leaves and dirt that would have to be groomed out later (but that she would probably ignore until it was far too late, fall asleep with them in, and end up having a much more tangled mess to groom out the next morning) until she settled further, into a more feminine position. ”Oh! I haven’t earned it already, huh?” Part of her was offended, but that only lasted for a split-second… she could never feel too angry for too long at the tom. It was easy to get angry with him and just as easy to forgive, but Erminewhisper’s emotions tended to go all over the place when she was very tired or very excited. So perhaps it was just her giddy drunkenness that had her switching back and forth so quickly. Glancing around her spot, Erminewhisper struggled to think if there was anywhere else she could take him - that he had earned, of course - and was actually failing to come up with anything. What was there, anyways?

Perhaps there was a secret spot she was forgetting, but some of her secrets would have to stay her own - she would need them for future hide-and-seek games, or to play tricks on Passionstar, or if she wanted some time to herself. ”What can I do to earn the right to see these magical spots, O Great and Powerful Leader?” Erminewhisper asked, her tail twitching back and forth happily as she thought about where he might take her. There were so many places in the territory, some of which she hadn’t even seen yet, probably… and maybe there was something great just waiting to be discovered around here. Maybe they would get to discover it together. Now that would be one exciting opportunity, Erminewhisper supposed. It wasn’t every cat that got to find a special spot with their best friends.

[lio]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

”Well, I’m sure your presence would have been appreciated on any one of those.” The gray tabby’s words were slightly kinder, and perhaps there was a small smile on his maw as his tail lightly brushed against Powdernose’s body once more. He liked the little deputy. The smaller tom might have seemed like he wouldn’t be Stonegazer’s type of friend (not exactly the cold and quiet type) but Stonegazer liked him anyways. It was a strange friendship, perhaps, but it was nice to step out of his comfort zone every once in a while. Those things happened so rarely, it almost hurt Stonegazer to think about what could come of this. What if something bad happened? What if he messed up, what if he was reading into things and Powdernose was just looking for an ally - not a friend?

That thought had Stonegazer curling his tail against himself once more, his moment of happiness disappearing. ”I patrolled the border as well, and did some hunting. I’m afraid I wasn’t able to contribute very much to the Clan… but thankfully some others were more skilled than I was and nobody should have to go hungry.” There was a slight smile, a brush of pride when the tom began talking about the work he had done. He generally sat a little taller, his form a little straighter, mind a little clearer when he thought about the good work that he was able to get done. ”It’s very beautiful out here,” Stonegazer remarked after a moment, glancing up at the sky with another one of the smallest smiles.

”If you don’t mind my asking, why… well, why did you ask me to accompany you here tonight?” He sounded almost flustered. It was embarrassing, asking Powdernose such a question - the tom was allowed to keep his reasons his own, right? Right. So why was Stonegazer half-hoping for an answer that would show they were… friends, and not merely allies?

his crystalline gaze swerved to watch stonegazer as he spoke, nodding along with every word. "i guess so, but many patrols fare much better without me to drag them behind," he replied, then shook his head to rid of the negativity, "any skill that you may have is a contribution to the clan, stonegazer. you are a talented, hard-working warrior and thunderclan is lucky to have you." powdernose only realized what he had said after the words were out of his mouth, pelt burning intensely as he cleared his throat and looked off into the distance. hopefully, stonegazer would take the words as those of a friendly praise, not that of admiration and fondness. big-mouthed mouse-brain! the siamese's body subconsciously leaned towards where the other's tail had been, the space now empty and tingling.

"it is," he spoke, voice soft and, for once, calm. powdernose let down the tenseness he had felt and closed his eyes peacefully, body relaxing. "i always love to come out here and gaze at the stars. whenever i'm stressed, or anxious, they help me to calm myself and realize that everything isn't as bad as it seems to be. especially when the weather is warm and the sky is clear, the stars shine their brightest, shedding their beauty among the land." he let a smile twitch onto his lips, whiskers flicking and eyes reflecting the gleaming stars. "they're amazing."

then, he heard the tom's question, his body immediately freezing once again. "w-well," powdernose gulped, mind reeling for an answer that wouldn't reveal any hints towards the feelings he felt for the silver tabby, "i-i mean, i thought it would be fun and a w-way to grow closer, i-i guess? as friends?" he cringed at his own words, sounding much more awkward and questioning than he wanted to be. idiot, powdernose thought, eyes flickering over to watch for stonegazer's reaction, you could have at least tried to make yourself sound believable! his body curled in upon itself, awaiting the other's reply with a feeling of dread sinking low in his stomach.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Mauve

(Ah! My apologies! I'm terribly sorry!)

A slight prickle of irritation laced its way through her russet fur as she detected a hint of sarcasm in his answer. Not that she didn't understand it, but Emberwing wasn't one to joke around during training sessions. Her loyalty and commitment to ThunderClan, and training the next generation of warriors who would be tasked with the object of defending the borders, was too important to let any distractions occur. She brushed it out of her mind with a flick of her ear and grinned, nodding as they approached the training cave. Her gaze swept the rather empty clearing, memories of her own training with Jaystorm flooding her mind. This is where she had gathered all of the battle skills she knew, and would now pass them on to Cinnamonpaw. And perhaps teach Halfgaze a lesson or two during our next meeting, she thought, her claws curling up as she imagined sinking them into the molly's fur.

Cinnamonpaw's question rattled her back to the present, and Emberwing shook her head, refocusing her attention. "Today, young Cinnamonpaw," she began, puffing her chest out as she lifted her tail, standing a bit taller as if what she was about to say was the most important thing he would hear all day, "we're going to learn how to attack from the trees." It was a bit of an advanced move, sure, but it was a trait that ThunderClan cats held as a specialty. Teaching it to her apprentice early on would definitely gain her points with her Clanmates back at camp, as well as gear him up for any future battles. Plus, it wasn't too bad if one remained balanced while up in the tree. Her green eyes glowed with excitement as she looked at Cinnamonpaw. "We'll practice here, and then take to the trees that surround the training cave, sound good?" she asked.

Cinnamonpaw listened intently to his mentor’s words, digging his claws into the ground below to contain his excitement. He was a bit nervous about attacking from the trees, but more excited than anything. He’d heard about how many Thunderclan battles were won from surprise attacks from the trees, and he couldn’t wait to be a part of that. Even if it was a small border skirmish, Cinnamonpaw bet he could take down a full grown warrior with the surprising move.

Flicking his ears, the Bengal tomcat nodded. “Sounds great!” He purred. He now was on his best behavior, hoping that Emberwing would teach him some of the most difficult moves. He figured if he proved to her he could listen, she would deem him ready. “I’m ready to start when you are!” The tomcat exclaimed, swishing his thin tail through the air.

[k!ngk3s]

Originally Posted by Aleka

Fernpaw was sniffing through the undergrowth, her ears flattened. Her brown tabby pelt more or less blended her in with the natural greens and browns of the forest, making hunting at least somewhat easier. Whenever the molly saw a cat with a white pelt in her clan, she felt bad for them. But, at least during leaf-bare when it snowed, they would nearly invisible to prey. Fernpaw had always been good at looking at the bright side. Sometimes, it would keep her and her sister motavited. Soon, she caught a scent trail of a mouse. She blinked with excitement. If only my mentor were here... The feline thought, frowning slightly. Hopefully he would be proud. Soon, after stalking through the undergrowth, she caught sight of the rodent. Fernpaw pounced upon the small animal, snapping its neck cleanly with a twist of her head. She sat up, aiming to go back to camp.

@Fireleaf

[So sorry!!!] Fireleaf came only to see a cat trot right in. He saw a fox and said "RUN."So he ran to the warroirs den only to see a fox run in "Oh no" He said

[lone]

Originally Posted by Empress Of Evil

[Sorry this is so late!]

“Oh you’re fine,” Everpaw assured. “You haven’t been removed from your position so far so obviously it must mean you’re doing a good job, even if you don’t have a mentor,” she continued, giving the she-cat a bright smile. Her heart warmed a little as she repeated her own words in her head. Yes, this is what best friends were for. This is how she wanted every conversation between the two of them to be like. Well, not exactly like this, but just something positive that they could discuss their thoughts and opinions over.

“Mm,” she murmured, nodding her head in agreement. “At least it’s new-leaf now, so we probably won’t have to worry about anything like greencough spreading throughout the clan,” she remarked, a shudder rippling through her body at the mention of greencough. Although the Calico she-cat had never caught the horrible illness before, she had heard of the things that it could do and how hard it was to cure without the right herbs, and the medicine cats never seemed to have the herbs because most of the time, greencough would strike in leaf-bare. ThunderClan had made it through another leaf-bare without having an epidemic. “You’re doing a wonderful job,” she purred, nudging the she-cat playfully. She was proud of her best friend. Although she struggled to understand why she would want to choose to follow such a path, she was still proud of what she had done and how far she had come without having a mentor. Of course, there had been a few problems along the way. Such as the loss of a patient. It must’ve been devastating for Caliapaw, but Everpaw didn’t blame her. She had tried, and she was just an apprentice after all.

Everpaw let out a snort of amusement as her friend tripped over something sticking out, similar to the way she had. She didn’t bother to help her. She could tell that she was fine. Plus, since when did best friend’s ever help each other up after making a stupid mistake, something as silly as tripping over? No, friends were there to help each other up and fuss over one another, but best friends were there to laugh along with them. “Sure!” Everpaw replied cheerfully. The she-cat was always up for a bit of training. She had no preference over battle training or hunting, either one was fine by her as long as she got to sharpen up her skills and be impressive. Plus, now would be a good time to make sure that Caliapaw still remembered the basic battle moves to defend herself. Although it was now her job to heal and not involve herself in physical fights, there would still be situations where she would have to defend herself. “Alright then, let’s see what you still remember,” she said, grinning at the medicine cat.

Everpaw moved forward and turned around so that she was facing the other she-cat. She made sure there were at least two foxlengths between them and put herself into a battle crouch. Before launching her attack, she felt at the grass beneath her paws. It was smooth and short, almost slippery in a manner. With this in mind, she assumed a battle crouch. She made sure that her friend was ready before taking two fast steps forward and then jumping. With her claws sheathed and her paws stretched out, she aimed for the spot in front of the medicine cat. If she did this right, she would land on the floor in front of Caliapaw and with the force from her jump, would slide across the slippery grass and turn upwards to rake her paws against the she-cat’s belly as she went underneath.

Greencough. It was a horrible, horrible sickness that Caliaflame hoped would never come through ThunderClan. The mere mention of it frightened her, and the fact that the warmer seasons wouldn’t last forever only made it worse. Eventually, the weather would change and it would get colder and with cold weather could come an outbreak of greencough. But, she’d been trained for this. She knew what to do, and if it did come - she would know how to get rid of it. Caliaflame smiled a little, although her mind was back in the den, wondering if everything was still okay - if she should even be doing this. You need a break, her mind whispered back to her.

”Great. I could really use this,” She smiled just the smallest bit. She’d been pretty good at battle training when she was younger, still right on track to become a warrior, and hopefully things hadn’t changed that much in the past few moons. She would have been a warrior by now, at least probably, but her training… well… that was still at a 7-moon-old apprentice’s level. Her hunting left so much to be desired and she hadn’t tried any sort of fighting in… moons. About six, to be exact. Dropping into her best battle crouch (which was sloppy by anyone’s standards) Caliaflame prepared herself for Everpaw’s attack. It came quicker than she had expected - quicker than she remembered. The medicine cat braced herself, determined not to launch into the air (like she’d been about to do) or squeal (like she’d considered doing), ready to face the attack head on. She could do this! It was just a silly exercise, after all.

Nothing to be afraid of. Caliaflame felt Everpaw’s paws brush her belly fur, and just a little too late, reacted by jumping to the side. The medicine cat whirled around, her eyes taking in the territory around her and Everpaw’s current position, trying to determine what her best course of action was now. Running? No. Fighting back? Maybe, but she’s physically superior at this point. Striking now? That seemed to be the best-case scenario, as far as Caliaflame could see it. She was, by no means, “weak”... but she wasn’t as fit and ready for battle as apprentices training to become warriors were. She’d tried to keep up with some battle training while Wheatfur was still alive, but there hadn’t been enough time for everything. Disappointing, yet understandable. Caliaflame scrambled across the grass, trying to pin Everpaw to the ground so that her friend couldn’t get up and attack again, although she was pretty sure she would be dead by this point - Everpaw would have ripped Caliaflame’s sensitive underside open, had it not been for the fact that her claws had been sheathed.

Such a shame that she wasn’t used to all of this anymore. If there was another battle, she was just going to have to be extra-careful to stay out of it. Either that, or get better at stuff like this. If Everpaw helped her, she would have a pretty good teacher, she supposed. Her best friend was right on track to becoming a warrior… it wouldn’t be long now, would it? There was a smile on her face even as she scrambled, because for the first time in a long time, she felt like she was getting a part of her young life back. It’d been a while since she had played. While this might have counted as training… it was a lot like a game to Caliaflame right now. She didn’t normally play this kind of stuff, but the distraction was welcome at the moment - and she was taking it.


---


Leafsparks was tired. Tired of the questions, (”are you sure you did the right thing? She’s pretty vicious, you know”), tired of the concerned whispers, (”poor thing. He dated a crazy, and now he’s gonna get it.”), and tired of the gossip. He wanted his life back. He should’ve known Minnowtail was crazy, even from the moment he met her, but he’d wanted so badly to get rid of the stupid rumors and make sure that she got the life she deserved, that he had thrown part of his life away. And now that it was over, he was finally able to get back into things. He’d liked being free, at least for a while, but it felt weird… not being clung to like the last piece of prey. Leafsparks had found himself looking over his shoulder at least ten times since he’d entered the territory, and the worst part was, he kept feeling a little more disappointed when she wasn’t there. Minnowtail hadn’t been awful - at least not the whole time - but she had been too much for him. There was no reason to feel guilty, or scared, or sad anymore. She couldn’t hurt him here and he had done the right thing.

It was a good thing that she wasn’t following him around, stalking him, waiting for him to slip up… it was a good thing. It just took some time for Leafsparks to understand that she wasn’t going to murder him. That wasn’t even the worst of it, though. The absolute worst part of all of this was the nightmares that came with it. Drowning, falling off a cliff, being clawed to death in the forest… Leafsparks had pictured all of these things happening to him, and Minnowtail was watching every time. It was getting harder for him to sleep. He hadn’t seen her in the warriors’ den lately, and he supposed it was a good thing they didn’t run into each other often, but every time that they did, he kept wondering: “what if today, she decides to hurt me?” There’d been a lot going on lately, and the good news was, Minnowtail probably hadn’t had time to plan her revenge.

Leafsparks was going to get his life back and he was going to keep it. He’d met a few pretty nice cats lately, and now that he was able to have friends again, he’d been thinking about making a few more. It was nice to get to do what he wanted. He wasn’t going to let some silly fear that his ex-love interest would take revenge on him stop him from doing what he wanted to do. That was why he’d left in the first place… because she was crazy. And because she didn’t let him do these things. And Leafsparks, well… he needed a little more substance than that.

Originally Posted by hiraeth

his crystalline gaze swerved to watch stonegazer as he spoke, nodding along with every word. "i guess so, but many patrols fare much better without me to drag them behind," he replied, then shook his head to rid of the negativity, "any skill that you may have is a contribution to the clan, stonegazer. you are a talented, hard-working warrior and thunderclan is lucky to have you." powdernose only realized what he had said after the words were out of his mouth, pelt burning intensely as he cleared his throat and looked off into the distance. hopefully, stonegazer would take the words as those of a friendly praise, not that of admiration and fondness. big-mouthed mouse-brain! the siamese's body subconsciously leaned towards where the other's tail had been, the space now empty and tingling.

"it is," he spoke, voice soft and, for once, calm. powdernose let down the tenseness he had felt and closed his eyes peacefully, body relaxing. "i always love to come out here and gaze at the stars. whenever i'm stressed, or anxious, they help me to calm myself and realize that everything isn't as bad as it seems to be. especially when the weather is warm and the sky is clear, the stars shine their brightest, shedding their beauty among the land." he let a smile twitch onto his lips, whiskers flicking and eyes reflecting the gleaming stars. "they're amazing."

then, he heard the tom's question, his body immediately freezing once again. "w-well," powdernose gulped, mind reeling for an answer that wouldn't reveal any hints towards the feelings he felt for the silver tabby, "i-i mean, i thought it would be fun and a w-way to grow closer, i-i guess? as friends?" he cringed at his own words, sounding much more awkward and questioning than he wanted to be. idiot, powdernose thought, eyes flickering over to watch for stonegazer's reaction, you could have at least tried to make yourself sound believable! his body curled in upon itself, awaiting the other's reply with a feeling of dread sinking low in his stomach.

The warrior’s eyes seemed to soften just the smallest bit, and for a second, while Powdernose’s eyes were closed - Stonegazer snuck the tiniest look at him. The deputy looked so calm and relaxed, it was… nice. The other tom seemed to always be bursting with energy, or anxiety, or something… and it was good to see him calm and enjoying himself. That moment passed quickly, and Stonegazer looked away, clearing his throat. You are crazy. Absolutely insane. Get back into your mind and pull yourself together, right now. It was one of the moments he had allowed himself to forget where he was and who he was, and Stonegazer regretted it almost instantly. Of course he wasn’t supposed to be here right now. If Powdernose wasn’t the deputy, he probably wouldn’t have come. This just wasn’t Stonegazer’s type of thing.

He wasn’t supposed to be doing something like this. His body tensed up a little more and he returned his gaze to the stars, albeit more reluctant than before. ”They are the most beautiful lights in our world.” Talking with Powdernose was just so easy, it wasn’t fair. His gaze softened once more, muscles relaxing just enough so that his mind was put at ease for another moment. ”When I was a kit, I used to want to touch a star. I thought maybe it would be like… magic.” He was doing it again. He was being completely unprofessional, and that was not right, and he wasn’t being a good warrior. Stonegazer drew his tail against himself, his gaze hardening and muscles stiffening back up, like they were before.

Then, he drew himself against the edge of the nest so he wouldn’t have any more thoughts of being like this. It was unlike him, and he shouldn’t have had anything like that enter his mind in the first place. ”But it was just a crazy fantasy. It was never meant to happen, and it was never going to happen. Just a distraction from real life.” He was talking to himself more, now. Although he would never admit it out loud, to anyone, every once in a while… Stonegazer still had a dream about touching the stars. And he still struggled to get rid of that fantasy. It was the one thing from kithood that had stayed with him, all the way up until now.




Coming back onto ThunderClan’s territory was probably a stupid thing to do. But, her luck hunting here was much better than her luck hunting in her own territory, so Whisper was willing to do something stupid. After all, that was the only way things really got done, right? Someone risked doing something stupid, right? She had lost count of the times she had second-guessed herself doing this. After all, there were some pretty vicious ThunderClan warriors hanging around the edges of the territory, and she didn’t want to get a hole bashed in her skull. Most were willing to forgive and forget if she tricked them into thinking she was interested, but that hadn’t gone over too well last time. Stupid. What kind of a tom isn’t tempted every once in a while? A good one, she supposed, but she needed… bad toms. Toms that were really tempted by her, that thought she was irresistible, that would love to get closer to her. Too bad they were rarer and rarer these days. Whisper crouched low to the ground, her ears pinned against her head as she slunk towards a rustle in the bushes.

It would be easy enough to catch something out here - as long as she stayed inconspicuous, she’d be safe. That was pretty hard with her silver-white ghost of a pelt, standing out against the dark bark of the trees and greenery around her, and it was enough to make her wish for leaf-bare again. It was nice coming back here. She’d forgotten how well these dumb-as-a-slug Clan cats had it. The worst part was, they were too stupid to know how well off they were. If Whisper ever heard another idiotic cat complaining about how hard it was to take care of their Clan, she was going to show them what really hard luck was. And it wasn’t being holed up in some cushy joint with all of their buddies, getting to hunt and talk together, training to take care of each other… that sounded pretty lucky to her.

Whisper would’ve loved to claw the smug looks off of their faces, but she had to wait and bide her time… eventually, maybe, she would be able to attack a Clan cat. Maybe that one warrior who’d tried to smash her skull in would come back. She’d love to get the upper hand with him, to break apart the little chinks in his armor - Whisper was good at that. Sort of, anyways. Everything she knew, she had learned from her Mother, who had been less than a model cat. And who was now dead, so Whisper would never make the mistakes she had made. She was smarter than that. Closer and closer Whisper crept, until she pounced, slashing the throat of an unsuspecting fat little rabbit, who had crept into the edge of the forest… and who would never return home to it’s little rabbit-hole.
@Brilliance