ThunderClan: Life Before 2020's Fire

[Tazzy]

Originally Posted by Megan

Summerkit let out a purr at Foxkit's excitement, closing her eyes. She bumped Foxkit's shoulder, playfully. "we gotta close are eyes now, so that we don't see where she's hiding it." meowed Summerkit in a friendly and playful voice. She didn't want to seem serious, since she was always playful or giggly when it comes to her playing with her new friend Foxkit and her best friend Shiverkit. 'I wonder where Shiverkit's gonna hide the leaf. I just have to keep quiet and listen to her movement's so that I know where to look.' thought Summerkit, listening for Shiverkit's movement.

Originally Posted by Misto

Shiverkit paused waiting for Foxkit and Summerkit to close their eyes. She wandered around as she looked for the perfect spot so it would be harder to listen exactly where she left the leaf. The black sphinx then spotted two nests that were close together. She padded over and attempted to squeeze the leaf in between the two nests. Although it was a good hiding spot she failed to notice the crunching noises the leaf made as she hid it. She walked around a bit feeling very accomplished before mewing, "Okay I hid it!"

Foxkit opened her eyes looking around the nursery. I heard the leaf crunch over here, she thought going in that direction. But where? she sniffed around the area searching.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Random Melody

Mintpaw giggled at his words, grinning with excitement. And when he wrapped his paw around her and pulled her close in a hug, she snuggled closer into his chest and pushed her nose into his fur, inhaling his familiar scent. She did that often, not really sure why. He smelled good to her. Unable to explain it, even to herself, she gave up and smirked up at him. "Of course we'll have fun!" She said enthusiastically, lifting her muzzle and rubbing her head against his chest before pressing his nose to his chin. She was purring as well, not as loud, but loud enough. She liked the affection he seemed to be showing her. It made her feel... Good. Warm. Safe. Loved. Happy. Heck, the words weren't even enough of an explanation for how she felt, but she didn't need to explain it. She showed it in her smile, her giggles, her affectionate gestures, so that was okay. "Training will be so easy. And then soon we'll be warriors together." She smirked, eyes gleaming brightly. "Won't that be fun? We'll be so unstoppable."

"The dream team," The tom agreed with a nod, a smile on his maw as he did so. It was funny - a few days ago, Marshjump hadn't been so sure that they would be a mentor/apprentice team after all. He had been watching the other warriors, his thoughts going to oh, this one's so much like Minty or oh, this one would do a good job with Mintkit every time that he saw someone he thought would be a better mentor. And yet here they were, just as Marshjump had hoped - hesitantly hoped, but he had still wanted it - and now things were back on track. "So, where to first? The territory and borders, I'm guessing?" That was where most mentors began training their apprentices. Marshjump was sure he would be running into a few familiar faces if they were to go out there right now. They could mix it up, start with battle training - but who was he to mess with structure? To hell with structure, he might have said. But even with those words he would be silently hoping that no one was watching him, judging him, that Snowstar wouldn't take his new apprentice away even if he did screw up every once in a while.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Mystical

Quietpaw thought that someone lying even once in their lives were terrible, unless it saved lives. Vixenkit had lied to him twice and he assumed a bunch of other cats before him, and after as well. He wasn't exactly sure how many cats she had lied to but she was pretty sure it was about the whole clan. Cats that lied more than once were disgusting, terrible and unbelievably annoying. They had no heart and just lied and lied and lied and lied. Vixenkit was one of them."Look Vixenkit, I know what your real name is, and you can't get out of that with a lie." He was trying to stay calm, trying to not make any aggressive noises, like hissing or growling, but his words came out dark and unfriendly. His feelings towards her, perfectly expressed. Never again would he trust anything she said, she didn't tell the truth, she didn't care, she didn't think, and mostly she didn't understand. Quietpaw knew of real problems in the world, and lies were one of the things that could cause them.

He supposed the anger he felt towards her was mainly from the fact he felt betrayed. Quietpaw didn't have many friends, and he had always wanted a friend. He had honestly believed that Vixenkit could be his friend, but when he discovered she lied, all ideas of having a friend were demolished. His small kit heart had shattered, and it had made him tougher. Now he was hard to get to know, and hard to find. He stayed away from other cats his age. He believed that if he tried to find a friend like he had done with Vixenkit, they would just hurt him even more. He still wanted a friend, but what if they weren't all they were cracked up to be.

Quietpaw snorted while Vixenkit talked, she was trying to get his trust back. But she wouldn't get it. Never. Part of him wanted to be nice, and keep the conversation going, but if he did that he knew he would just end up even more hurt than he had been before. Quietpaw was a very sensitive cat, Vixenkit obviously was not. She didn't understand anything. All she did was lie. He didn't trust anymore. It was too hard. Too stressful. And it shattered your heart into so many pieces that you couldn't fit them all back together. She couldn't get his trust back, she didn't have the strength to apologize. She probably didn't even know how. But he knew that causing more problems himself would be a terrible thing, so telling her the truth about who his mentor was wouldn't do any harm. Not much anyway. "Ryepelt's my mentor." He answered honestly taking a sharp in take of breath at the thought of the strict tom. But at least he didn't lie to Quietpaw.

The kit shifted her weight, scoffed, mumbled, made excuses under her breath, and then eventually sighed. "Okay, Quietpaw-" She mewed, accenting his own name in the same way that he had accented hers - "If... and I'm not saying it is, but if my name was Vixenkit, who told you?" The kit asked. There was no good way to ask her question. He would know that she was Vixenkit now - and her name suited her perfectly. Much like the cunning animal she was named after, the feline was quite the trickster. She weaseled her way out of whatever she could - perhaps Weaselkit would have been a better name for her - but she liked her name. Vixenkit liked to think that her Mother had planned out her name and personality from even before she was born. Her sibling was much different then her, and the feline couldn't remember the last time they had agreed on anything. Literally anything could be a disagreement with the two of them, not that she minded that much.

She would either win or try to make Oriolekit's argument sound so bad that it would fall apart after. To other cats, anyways. Her sibling had always hated that. They had blamed her, and made her seem like the bad guy when really, she was just trying to survive. And with her acting? She was thriving. Vixenkit was an extrovert, though she might have seemed more like a leech - sucking the energy and emotions out of other cats and then discarding them when they were no longer of use to her. She only used you until you were no longer useful, no longer entertaining or serving her purposes of making her look good, or popular, and then she tossed you aside. She wouldn't tell you the truth, of course - that would make her look like a bad guy, wouldn't it? And I'm really not that bad. They just don't see it yet, but I'm good. This was what she truly believed. The thought had entered her head ever since she'd been competing with Oriolekit, for everything.

With her sibling out of the way, at least to her knowledge, now Vixenkit was truly able to shine in the spotlight. She had always taken the spotlight, trying to keep it out of reach from her sibling, but they had stolen it back every once in a while when she had most hated it. "Ryepelt? What a fascinating name! Can't say I know - him! Or is it her? Anyways, is training hard?" The she cat practically babbled, changing the subject off of her name and onto something rather more interesting. Quietpaw seemed to be figuring her out. And Vixenkit hated that. If he stripped down her acting layers too far, he would find that she was nowhere near as interesting as she seemed. Which would mean the she cat lost. And Vixenkit? She hated losing. She would figure out some way to win, no matter what the cost was for her or for him.

Originally Posted by starfall

The tom folded his ears against his skull and pouted. He found it hard to convince his sister most of the time, especially when he was trying to tell her that she was more than what she thought she was, that she was more than just another molly in camp, she was his sister. No one could be more in tune and completely wrong about his emotions as his siblings, that's the way family worked, wasn't it? Each family member could practically sense the other's emotions, their sadness, their happiness, and most of the time they knew exactly what to say. "C'mon Calia...speak to me, tell me what's going on in that big brain of yours. " he said softly, scooting closer to his sibling. She had always second guessed herself, she had always given herself the short end of the stick, she had little self confidence and honestly, he felt as though it was his duty as her brother to fix that. But of course, duty felt as though he was being forced to help her, no, he happily set aside his time for her, he happily tried his hardest to make her smile, help her come out of her bubble inch by inch. He knew she felt as though she didn't belong within their family, how could he not notice? But, for him, it wasn't that she was different, it was that she was special, him and Caliapaw could connect on a level most siblings could not, and he treasured that. She was his #1, his go to buddy, his flower skipping, river romping, tree tripping pal, and he loved every single moment he spent with her. It hurt him, so, so very much to see his sister like this, and he would be lying if he said he didn't want to take each and every ounce of her pain for himself, just so he could see her smile, even if just for a second.

Doepaw shook his head and gave her a soft smile, his lashes covering half his dark blue hues " Cali, only the lucky and the damned get do-overs." he stated, "We weren't meant to have do-overs, we were meant to live life with each and every mistake, each and every triumph, and each and every fear, so that we can live them, and then, so we can teach those younger than us, just how to deal with everything they will ever experience." he said, holing his gaze for a second more before he looked down and played with a blade of grass, a soft smile still barely visible. He didn't really have a way with words, he found it hard to speak his mind, but, whenever he was with his sister, he couldn't stop the flow of support and help that spilled out of his mouth, his very being was so used to helping her, so happy to be apart of her world that there was no stop button when he was cheering up his sister, or when they were playing together, adventuring together, worried together, everything. The caramel colored feline believed in fate, he believed that Starclan had a particular path laid out for each and every feline, and only the truly special would walk off that path and make their own. Doepaw felt as though Caliapaw was one of those cats. The spotted tom gave his sisters cheek a lick, as if cleaning off those uncried tears, and gave an airy chuckle. "Maybe you weren't supposed to save your first patient, maybe you were supposed to be broken, supposed to cry, to worry, to ache...but I think Starclan put you through that so that when you build yourself back up, you'll be 5x stronger than last time...that's why we all go through hardships after all." he hummed as he went back to playing with the single blade of grass. He didn't know what he was spouting, but somehow, someway, he hoped that it would brighten her world, even if it added just one more star to her night sky. He would continue to add little specks of light to her world until it became a beautiful day, instead of a dark night.

As she spoke once again, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. What she said hurt, it hurt horribly. Alone, although he had been by her side the whole time, throughout everything, her apprenticeship, Wheatfur's death, he even walked to the end of Thunderclan territory when she went to have her Medicine Cat ceremony. The tom's face scrunched up in pain and he looked away from the cream feline, he couldn't find the words, his soul had cracked, did she not think of him as helpful, though he had poured so much of his spirit into her, so much of his own light? After a few seconds of thinking to himself he shook his head and chuckled at himself. It's not about him, it was never about him, it was always for his sister, for Caliapaw's happiness, since the moment she was born he wanted her to be nothing but happy and safe, and he planned on doing everything he could to keep her that way, he would throw away each and every emotion he could if it would make her laugh or smile.
"Caliapaw, when have you ever been alone?"

The medicine cat knew she was luckier then most. Some cats were shunned by their families, rejected, and she knew that even a medicine cat was not immune to being bullied or rejected. But unlike some cats who could ignore, or fight back, her job was to save the bullies' lives if it was needed. She hadn't been bullied recently - perhaps everyone was too in awe, or too stunned at her new position to make fun of her. It wasn't like she'd ever really been made fun of, anyways. Caliapaw had been [I]average -[I] even she would at least admit that she was average, and not below - her entire life. She'd lived in a nice family, she had done fairly well in training, though she would say that she had been nowhere near the best apprentice, and all of a sudden she was being treated like she was something special. But she wasn't. Caliapaw wasn't special. She knew that she was lucky, growing up in a family who loved her, who cared for her, and yet she felt so alone.

She was different from her siblings, even now she was different. They were all going to fall in love, have their crushes and someday mates and kits and so on. But she wouldn't understand because she never had. She had never understood how her parents got along and were together and all of that. She never understood how apprentices knew how they were in love. Was it an attraction based thing, and off of appearances or personality? Caliapaw had never felt any attraction, but she was still young. She just didn't understand. She didn't get it. "I - I haven't ever been... alone, I guess, I mean - you guys have always been really supportive and really nice..." Her voice trailed off and she sighed. Why did she feel so raw and open like Doepaw had just opened up a wound? Why did it sting like he'd put marigold in that wound?

Caliapaw didn't understand the meaning of the word "love." She wasn't sure that she had ever loved anyone, even in the friendship or family sense. What did it mean? And how could you know for sure? She'd heard it said that it meant you would die for someone, but Caliapaw wondered how you could know that. When the time came - when it really came - would you actually do it? Somehow, she really doubted it. You could never know for sure and that was a risk she wasn't willing to take. "But I'm different, Doepaw. You guys are learning to be warriors, and it's hard being the only one who knows for sure what it feels like to be working to save someone's life, trying so hard, and then they're just gone. Like that. I wasn't ready, Doepaw... I wasn't ready for any of this. I should have known how to save her, Wheatfur taught me, I just-" She stopped, her voice cutting off shakily. Caliapaw hated crying in front of other cats. Because it drew attention, and she didn't want those eyes on her, or the caring remarks, or concerned questions.

She wanted to be normal. God, she wanted to be normal so badly. But she had agreed to be the medicine cat apprentice because she had worked with Wheatfur before, or hung out in there while he worked, and she had thought it was a good choice for her. She had wanted to be different at the time, because she had thought it might help. And even when Wheatfur was alive, she had been a little happier. Perhaps a little more confident. Maybe there was a new spring in her step as she got ready to go to training, knowing that he was going to help her. That was gone now, because now she wasn't ready. She hadn't been ready to stand on her own. She needed help, because if she didn't get it, her mind was going to eventually destroy her. Caliapaw could always feel it working, on overdrive, wondering if she could get just one more thing done that day, if she could treat just one more cat, if she could heal just one more wound, then that would make a big difference.

She had met a few cats now, cats she hadn't even known had existed before. Now she knew them. It was almost nice. And when she was able to help, it reminded her why she had wanted this. But losing a patient had taken a toll on her, and one that was not easily fixed. Caliapaw would learn, though, over time, that not all mental wounds were going to heal and that she would just have to teach herself to deal with them in the best way possible for her. Perhaps she would be able to. Someday, somehow.

Originally Posted by tinyalienkid

♡ ahh sorry this is so late !! ♡

powdernose perked up at stonegazer's reply, his mood visibly changing. "of course! i perfectly understand," he dipped his head, as if he were thanking the tom, and leaped to his paws. truthfully, he couldn't wait to show stonegazer the path into his world. a glimpse through the eyes of a lazy cat. chirping, powdernose trotted in a circle around the silver feline, sending all prayers to whatever lies after death that nothing would go wrong. he finally had a chance to talk to his idol, and to spend an entire day with him. why would he want that to be ruined?
after many heartbeats, powdernose settled down and thought. albeit having a sudden burst if energy, he had to calm down in order to allow the experience to seem real. at least, for him. he would make stonegazer feel more relaxed than he had ever felt before. and, if everything went well, maybe they could do it again in the future, after all the tension has settled down enough to not be worrying about an ambush at every turn. right now, his job was to make stonegazer allow his stoney walls to fall, even if for just a short while.
if powdernose was anything besides lazy, he was determined.
everyone deserved a little happiness, right? it wasn't healthy to stay cautious all the time. it helped the clan to stay safe, yes, but too much worrying can cause terrible trouble on the mind in the future. so, stonegazer will relax, if it's the last thing powdernose does.
his tail swished up to curl over his back, the fur waving everywhere. the siamese purred quietly before signalling to stonegazer with a flick of his ear, as if saying follow me. powdernose padded over to the shade of a tree after grabbing a small piece of prey.
"first things first, we need to eat. we have a long day ahead of us. the true prize will be at night, so we need a way to spend the time. take this as a way to see into the life of a lazy cat," be snickered before going on. "after eating, we will go on a walk to my favorite place to sleep. i'll leave the rest for when we get there." powdernose nodded towards stonegazer before dipping his head and taking a bite, trying to be as neat as possible while he chewed. with a quick paw, the powdery feline prodded the prey towards his new companion, a warm smile on his face.

Powdernose taking charge, telling Stonegazer how to relax, was quite possibly one of the most amusing things the older tom had ever experienced. Not because the tom was doing a bad job - on the contrary, he was surprisingly good at it. But because it was normally the stoic feline's job to take charge, to take control of a situation that he was in. He found himself trying to do it more and more, but it appeared that that wasn't happening for him right now. "What about hunting, though? Isn't it selfish to take prey from the Clan without giving any in return?" The tom asked, his expression quizzical. He had already hunted that morning - so he didn't feel too bad, but if he hadn't, the question would have been more valid. He was still curious to know the answer, however. Did Powdernose hunt before he took prey, or did he take without giving anything in return?

Glancing at the prey that was offered to him by the other tom, Stonegazer hesitantly pulled it a little closer towards him with one silvery-grey paw - unsure, but unwilling to hurt the other cat's feelings by rejecting the offer. The tom was somewhat traditional when it came to manners - he was definitely catching up with things like gender identity, and sexuality, open to everything, but he did not appreciate cats who were rude. That was the only thing that he was unwilling to "catch up" on was the seemingly new rudeness that had come with new generations of cats. Over the moons something had been lost, even when he was a young tom something had been lost. He was a pessimist by nature, but that didn't mean that he couldn't reason and have his differences in a polite and logical manner. Lowering his head, Stonegazer took a bite of the prey... it was larger then Powdernose's, but not so large as to appear like he was starving.

He wasn't, he was just used to eating fairly quickly. The tom wasn't quite as neat, either, the illusion that everything he did must be dignified and elegant-looking quickly shattering with that bite. He pushed the prey back to Powdernose, the ettiquette that he had grown up with kicking in. Perhaps it was different when you were supposed to have a "lazy life?" Either way, Stonegazer would soon learn. He was willing to, that was the big thing. At least he was willing to learn and take advice and he would change, if he needed to. However much change was needed, that was what he would give. At least for today. Changing forever would take some time, and Stonegazer was not willing to be less of a hard worker for the rest of his life. He liked the way he was - and wanted to keep it that way.

Originally Posted by Spiraling Snow

"I'll make sure to. " Snowpaw said, praying to Starclan the apprentice if, they did meet his sister didn't say anything offensive. He doubted a little that they would get along. He didn't say that however. The white furred remember the actually really scary encounter. Not the speaking or how he looked; what he did. Wolfpaw actually studied him. He shook his head a little, it send shivers up his spine. Snowpaw wasn't exactly used to someone studying him. "Don't ya wonder what life would be if we didn't have the clans or they weren't form?" His eyes widened at the thought. "Would.. would we even be alive?" Snowpaw exclaimed, his voice was hushed. Like if anyone heard it, it would happen. "Would Starclan be real, wait no.. it wouldn't.. Then where would the cats go?" The apprentice looked like he was having a mental crisis. His paws covered his maw, he looked at the ground. Thinking deeply in thought.

Something about Snowpaw, he usually overthought thinks. The question had been on his mind but he never actually thought about it. Their were times he even stay in the apprentice did for two or one day to think about it. Which he ended up getting dragged out by either a meeting, his mentor, or friends/family. Snowpaw wasn't that complicated to figure out even if his thoughts were. He was easy to read with simple movements. Usually when he looks away from you it is he embarrassed or in thought. While in thought he won't fidget while if he is embarrassed he would. One of his biggest weakness if that Snowpaw is easily to predict in battle. While what he will say is different. Truefully no one knows what he will say next, confusing.

Snowpaw randomly stood up, stretching his body before laying back down. "Sorry, just.. stretching." He chuckled before looking back into her eyes. He always found that it was hard because to him; eyes reveal everything. "Well.. I'm just kind of boring?" He was taken aback she didn't just say `okay` and leave. "Plus this is your break and all.. I don't wanna ruin it." His looked guilty, because to him he was. Snowpaw eyes seem to brighten, a small purr escape his mouth. "Really?" He said, a large smile grew on his face rather quickly. "Aw.. your just a softie, aren't you?" Snowpaw teased a little. "Alright! I'll make up a story!" He said. Nodding his head, confident.

"Well.. " He thought for a moment. "Aha!" Snowpaw said, brightening up rather quickly. "The apprentice ran across the forest, their paws bounded across the forest floor. The sounds of rustling and the feeling of eyes watching them burned into her pelt. It didn't stop her! Her eyes focused on the rabbit before her. It carried a herb.. er.. a special herb from Starclan! The apprentice was tiring quickly but she couldn't let the clan down! The apprentice wasn't special; they had no powers, they were.. them. They didn't train to be a Medince cat or a warrior. She had no training one bit but herself. She felt like a thousand cats ran with her, hearing the cheering of the voices! Chanting her on. She made the finale move, her claws suessfully caught the rabbit. Giving it a swift killing bite. A simple apprentice saved the clan.. by catching a rabbit who stole a special herb." Snowpaw finished the story, a bit proud of the made up one which he almost never did

.

Snowpaw's question brought amusement twinkling into Caliapaw's eyes. She had thought about this before and had come to the conclusion that if StarClan didn't exist, or the Dark Forest, there would be nowhere for the cats to go. They would remain dead forever, their spirits trapped inside their bodies, slowly dying as well until eventually it was like they had never existed. They wouldn't watch over their loved ones. They wouldn't be doing anything like that. They would just be... dead. For now and forever. "There would be no afterlife. They'd just be gone forever," She explained matter-of-factly to her brother, not bothering to think about whether the question had been hypothetical or not. That was what happened to loners, wasn't it? They were just dead. There was no afterlife for them, no knowing that they would be somewhere that was better, softer, they would just be gone. That must be why loners were more afraid of death then Caliapaw felt. She didn't want to die, sure, but she wasn't terrified of it.

She would be in StarClan with Wheatfur and her other ancestors, able to move on from the life that she led now and there would be no more stress. She would be at peace, just like the many cats who had come before her were. Just like they always would be. The she cat listened to Snowpaw's story patiently, amusement twinkling in her eyes as he finished, and she purred in a manner of polite applause. "That was great, Snowpaw. You have a real knack for that," She mewed in her most encouraging tone of voice. It wasn't particuarly peppy or excited, there were rare times that her voice sounded like that, but it was more of a softer, rounded sound then the sharp, pointed one or dull, calm one that she generally used when she was speaking. There was no in between for her usually, except for now. A soft tone of voice was challenging for her, but she had done it quite neatly - she thought.

Perhaps she was wrong and if she was, it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways. Caliapaw knew she'd made a few differences so far, for better and for worse, and she couldn't say which was more stressful. The better differences had led to several stressful occurances - more pressure being put on her (by her), thinking that she could save everyone, and then there was Goldenpaw. The admiring younger apprentice who thought she was just about the best thing that had ever happened. Caliapaw knew that Goldenpaw admired her, but there was no need for all of this starstruck acting around her, and the other cat was just so bouncy that it was hard for Caliapaw to take her seriously. She wished the cat would stop, but so far she had just sort of been ignoring her. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Goldenpaw and her antics right now, at all. Thank goodness it was Snowpaw she had met when she had entered the clearing and not the other she cat.

"What about a hunt? Or, you could hunt and I could look for herbs? It'd probably be a good idea," The medicine cat mewed. She was getting restless, just sitting in the clearing, and figured it wouldn't do much harm to get out on her "break." Then she could settle for organizing the herbs, cleaning the medicine cat's den, and it would be a fairly quiet afternoon - or so she was hoping.

[lio]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Powdernose taking charge, telling Stonegazer how to relax, was quite possibly one of the most amusing things the older tom had ever experienced. Not because the tom was doing a bad job - on the contrary, he was surprisingly good at it. But because it was normally the stoic feline's job to take charge, to take control of a situation that he was in. He found himself trying to do it more and more, but it appeared that that wasn't happening for him right now. "What about hunting, though? Isn't it selfish to take prey from the Clan without giving any in return?" The tom asked, his expression quizzical. He had already hunted that morning - so he didn't feel too bad, but if he hadn't, the question would have been more valid. He was still curious to know the answer, however. Did Powdernose hunt before he took prey, or did he take without giving anything in return?

Glancing at the prey that was offered to him by the other tom, Stonegazer hesitantly pulled it a little closer towards him with one silvery-grey paw - unsure, but unwilling to hurt the other cat's feelings by rejecting the offer. The tom was somewhat traditional when it came to manners - he was definitely catching up with things like gender identity, and sexuality, open to everything, but he did not appreciate cats who were rude. That was the only thing that he was unwilling to "catch up" on was the seemingly new rudeness that had come with new generations of cats. Over the moons something had been lost, even when he was a young tom something had been lost. He was a pessimist by nature, but that didn't mean that he couldn't reason and have his differences in a polite and logical manner. Lowering his head, Stonegazer took a bite of the prey... it was larger then Powdernose's, but not so large as to appear like he was starving.

He wasn't, he was just used to eating fairly quickly. The tom wasn't quite as neat, either, the illusion that everything he did must be dignified and elegant-looking quickly shattering with that bite. He pushed the prey back to Powdernose, the ettiquette that he had grown up with kicking in. Perhaps it was different when you were supposed to have a "lazy life?" Either way, Stonegazer would soon learn. He was willing to, that was the big thing. At least he was willing to learn and take advice and he would change, if he needed to. However much change was needed, that was what he would give. At least for today. Changing forever would take some time, and Stonegazer was not willing to be less of a hard worker for the rest of his life. He liked the way he was - and wanted to keep it that way.

the tom's ears perked at stonegazer's question, eyes confused. "wouldn't it be more of a contribution to have a full stomach, where you can focus better on your task, rather than have a growling belly chasing away the prey?" his question was simple, but he secretly hoped that it held a hint of logic to it. powdernose cocked his head to the side and stared at the other, watching the less-than neat way he ate. not what i would have expected from him, to be honest. he blinked and took another bite, chewing slowly as he awaited the reply to his question. once the prey was completely eaten, the siamese stood.
"now then. let's head out. the territory won't walk itself," powdernose purred, eyes dancing with excitement. he tried to contain it, to not act as if he were a kit, but that was difficult. it seemed like a lifetime since he had felt this energetic. tail hitched up high over his spine, powdernose trotted towards the entrance of the camp. a soft purr resonated from him, and he didn't even wait for a response from stonegazer before leaping into the territory. his fur fluffed up as he pranced along what seemed to be a path chosen at random, though he had certainly travelled it many times.
truthfully, powdernose wasn't planning on hunting. he usually avoided it by staying out in the territory until everybody in the clan was asleep. now, of course, he did hunt occasionally in order to help his clan at times, but he didn't enjoy doing so. he would choose battling over hunting any day. the tom just didn't like to disturb the peace of the forest by killing off animals, really. powdernose could admit that living in the clans was much better than where he was living beforehand, from what little memory he had of it, but he would never, ever say that hunting was his favorite thing, whether it fed the clan or not. that was just the way he was.
after many moments passed, they arrived at the designated area. it was a small clearing that was only big enough to actually fit three full-grown cats. a tree stump lay in the center of it, surrounded by a low border of cold-bitten plants. powdernose's eyes lit up as soon as he saw it, a smile seeming to spread from ear to ear.
"ah, yes. we are here. welcome to my hiding spot." he jumped onto the stump and spun around, dipping his head as if he were greeting a leader. "this is where i disappear off to every day. don't tell anyone, though. this is just a secret for you and me," mewed the siamese tom, chuckling quietly, albeit knowing that many patrols must have passed by here on many occasions. he padded in a circle before laying down, leaving enough room on the rather large stump for stonegazer to stretch out comfortably. the sun beat down on his fur, warming it up even through the cold temperatures. "now then, i will allow you to choose what we do. would you rather sleep most of the day away, take a walk around this area, or lay here in the warmth and talk for a bit?" powdernose stared at the other tom with fondness laced in his gaze, patiently waiting for the answer.

♡ onwards to the territory !! ♡

[PeaFlower]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Having cleaned the medicine cat's den some, the young feline was looking forwards to a break. Normally she would be happy to work for as long as possible, but she wasn't having the best day. And she needed more herbs, but since it was leaf-bare, it was nearly impossible to get those herbs. "This is just fantastic," She muttered to herself as she stalked toward the fresh-kill pile. Caliapaw had promised Snowpaw that she would try and eat something, and while she still wasn't very hungry, she figured it wouldn't hurt to try and grab something. But as she was approaching, she saw a familiar, eager face sticking out from the rest of the Clan cats. The medicine cat froze, her muscles tensing and her body automatically crouching lower to the ground as she silently pleaded to StarClan not to be seen by Goldenpaw.

The younger apprentice was an admirer of sorts, cheerful and spunky and the type of cat who just seemed to have her life more together. Caliapaw wasn't jealous, per se, it was Goldenpaw's suffocating presence that made her frustrated and made her wish that the young apprentice would go through just one tough time so that she could see how hard life really was. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, and Goldenpaw would learn that eventually, but the she cat had learned it earlier then most. Even this job, this duty, was harder then she had expected. She'd watched a cat die, and she got the sinking feeling that there were more cats to come. More deaths, more losses, and she wanted to yowl her frustration to StarClan - except they didn't seem to be listening to her recently. She wished Wheatfur would visit her, even just once, in her dreams so that she could speak with him. She missed her mentor a lot.

Standing there in the clearing, with her muscles tensed and wondering if Goldenpaw was about to spot her and give a happy squeal before coming towards her, Caliapaw's thoughts turned off the subject of anything else but her struggle to hide. Pleasepleaseplease don't notice me... the medicine cat thought, squeezing her eyes shut as she struggled to close out the bustling of the clearing. There wasn't really a way for her to use that to her advantage at the moment, so she was going to have to work with what she had. If Goldenpaw wouldn't notice her, then all would be well.

(Sorry for how long it's taken for me to respond. I've been feeling out of it, amongst other things. Hopefully this doesn't happen again ... )


After a while Goldenpaw had started to lose hope, though she didn't show it on the outisde. She couldn't help but sigh a little, however. Seems like she hadn't figured out Caliapaw's schedule after all …

She was about to head to one of the far corners of the clearing to daydream and slack off, when she spotted a familiar pelt amongst the others. She went back on her steps, and perked her ears up, trying to make herself taller to see who it was, and if it was the one she hoped to see.

Immediately, her smile came back full force as she recognized the cat as being Caliapaw. She trotted off in her direction, feeling giddy, and slowed down only when she noticed the Medicine cat's strange behavior.

“She looks nervous ...” The young she-cat meowed to herself. She figured if someone or something was bothering her, now was the right time to go talk to Caliapaw. She would crack some jokes or play a little to make her forget about that bad thing. After all, that's the kind of things you were supposed to do for friends, or those you wanted to be friends with, right ?

Without a single doubt in her abilities to distract cats from their worries, she stuck to this plan, even after checking that there were no cats around giving nasty glances to Caliapaw, which would have been a dead givaway for someone who was observant, but Goldenpaw was anything but that.
Instead she figured out that the source of the Medicine cat's disarray was gone for now.

She went back to trotting and came rather close to where Caliapaw was crouching, smiling brightly at her, though trying not to come off too strong. She had been scolded enough times already for that lesson to have finally stuck around.

She still loudly meowed a “Hey ! Caliapaw ! Hi ! What are you doing ?”, while barely managing to restrain herself from bouncing excitedly all over the place.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Mauve

@Lonestar23 (I couldn't remember if I had posted a starter for Emberwing and Brightkit. If not, here it is! I apologize for its lateness!)

A cold wind rushed through the quiet ThunderClan camp, whistling above the ground and stirring up a pile of dead leaves that had collected nearby the entrance. Overhead, gray clouds had gathered to blot out any of the remaining weak sunlight rays, providing no warmth to the cats below. Near the side of camp sat one feline, her tongue moving in rhythmic stroke to flatten her fluffed up fur. Emberwing hated feeling any sort of wind between her pelt, and worked feverishly to settle it back down.

Thank goodness I'm not a WindClan cat she thought to herself as she continued her work, stretching her neck to reach the last tuft of fur on her shoulder blade. Once smoothed, the warrior lifted her head and let out a tired sigh. This leaf-bare had been a rather tough one, and she was looking forward to the coming moons where greenleaf would began to poke it's head out from hibernation. She longed to feel the warm sun on her fur and to be able to climb high into the trees without being buffeted by the treacherous wind that seemed to fill long days and nights. At least it hadn't started to snow. That was one thing she was glad for, thought the temperature could use a bit of warming up. With the tensions so high, the almost freezing environment did nothing but add to the already heavy stress she felt upon her shoulders as a ThunderClan warrior.

Emberwing shook her head in an attempt to dislodge the dreary thoughts, deciding instead to focus on the good in Clan life. She gazed around, her pale green eyes flashing as she studied her Clanmates. Most were seeking shelter in the dens, and if they weren't she was certain they were out preparing for the battle. Snowstar had ordered expedited training for all apprentices, and it made her feel a bit left out. Sure, she was a newly made warrior, but the she-cat knew she would do a fine job as a mentor. She just needed to be given the opportunity. Claws flexing in and out of their furred covers, caving marks into the soft ground, the she-cat rose to her paws. Perhaps making herself useful by taking a turn hunting in this gloomy weather would increase her chances at becoming a mentor. Aiding the Clan had to help, right?

What appeared to be a ball of calico fur darted out from the nursery, batting a piece of moss between her soft white paws. Something was clearly wrong with her eyes - yet no one seemed to be staring at her anymore, despite the fact that one was a clear, beautiful blue and the other was more unfocused, glassy, and green. Brightkit looked happy as she made her way through the clearing, her good eye focused on the piece of moss and her bad one unable to pick out the figures - she was blind in that eye, after all, and with her focus on the moss, she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away to see where she was going. Miraculously, she managed to keep from crashing into any of the other cats in the clearing, despite several close calls. "Hi there!" She mewed to everyone she did see, mainly the cats that she had gotten into close scrapes with. Those cats were staring at her funny, but it wasn't like Brightkit minded.

She was more then thrilled to see everyone looking at her, like they were just there to keep her company - they were just there to be her friends. "How are you guys?" She asked, staring in a friendly manner at the group of cats she had just barreled through with her moss. They stared at her for a minute (none of them stood out to Brightkit, at least she was pretty sure she didn't know any of them) but there was no answer as they got up and walked away from her, to a quieter part of the clearing where she wouldn't be able to bother them. Brightkit tended to be seen as somewhat of a nuisance sometimes. As she continued her disruptive path through the clearing, she nearly bumped right into Emberwing, who was sitting minding her own business.

Looking up from her moss as she felt her pelt brush against another, Brightkit had to stumble for a minute to refocus her attention on the other cat. "Oh! Hi there, I'm Brightkit!" The feline introduced herself cheerfully, her bright blue eye twinkling with amusement and excitement, her green eye trying desperately to focus itself on something - anything. The calico was aware that she was blind in that eye, it had been brought to her attention around the time that Ratnight had left power. She was lucky to still be alive after that, with how reckless she had been during that time. Not that she realized this, she had never thought she was in any danger.

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

Mintberry threw her head back while she ran as a laugh left her throat. "Have to stay on your toes, fluff-butt!" she yowled as she continued to dart around the clearing. She didn't care what the other warriors were thinking at this point. She was having fun and that's all that mattered to her. She was making the best of leaf-bare. Her tail streamed behind her as she ran, paws hitting the ground lightly until her muscles started to warm up with the activity. It felt great. However, Mintberry's pace started to slow down a bit as her lungs started to burn for air. She wasn't sure how long they had been running at this point, but she couldn't stop her pace from decreasing. Okay. So maybe she was a little out of shape. She wasn't in Windclan anymore so running for so long was harder for her to do. If this were back when she first joined, she could outrun anyone here. Not saying she couldn't outrun most of the felines still. Mintberry simply used her former training to the best of her abilities.

The fluffy brown tom was far from the fastest or most agile cat in the Clan; on the contrary, he wasn't very quick at all. Fighting was his specialty, not that he liked doing that very much either... if he could, he would avoid conflicts altogether. Things like this were what kept him on his paws, moving around quickly and kept him from getting too confident and letting his guard down. Anything could happen - and while Ottertail was a laid-back, "let it happen" kind of cat when it came to having a guard at all, his energy level saved him - and probably had - on multiple occasions. "Still a cheater!" He retorted, darting after the black and white feline, his eyes sparkling with excitement. His speed was much slower then hers, but he still seemed happy as he dashed toward the she cat, his paws hitting the earth with dull thuds as he tried to catch up to the she cat. With a lower speed, his stamina was greater... his energy wasn't drained as quickly, not that he thought it would be anyways, since there was so much of it. And slowly, slowly his own speed increased even as hers was slowing, though it was definitely bit by bit and he was still behind her, steadily trying to catch up.

Originally Posted by PineCone

(Sorry for how long it's taken for me to respond. I've been feeling out of it, amongst other things. Hopefully this doesn't happen again ... )


After a while Goldenpaw had started to lose hope, though she didn't show it on the outisde. She couldn't help but sigh a little, however. Seems like she hadn't figured out Caliapaw's schedule after all …

She was about to head to one of the far corners of the clearing to daydream and slack off, when she spotted a familiar pelt amongst the others. She went back on her steps, and perked her ears up, trying to make herself taller to see who it was, and if it was the one she hoped to see.

Immediately, her smile came back full force as she recognized the cat as being Caliapaw. She trotted off in her direction, feeling giddy, and slowed down only when she noticed the Medicine cat's strange behavior.

“She looks nervous ...” The young she-cat meowed to herself. She figured if someone or something was bothering her, now was the right time to go talk to Caliapaw. She would crack some jokes or play a little to make her forget about that bad thing. After all, that's the kind of things you were supposed to do for friends, or those you wanted to be friends with, right ?

Without a single doubt in her abilities to distract cats from their worries, she stuck to this plan, even after checking that there were no cats around giving nasty glances to Caliapaw, which would have been a dead givaway for someone who was observant, but Goldenpaw was anything but that.
Instead she figured out that the source of the Medicine cat's disarray was gone for now.

She went back to trotting and came rather close to where Caliapaw was crouching, smiling brightly at her, though trying not to come off too strong. She had been scolded enough times already for that lesson to have finally stuck around.

She still loudly meowed a “Hey ! Caliapaw ! Hi ! What are you doing ?”, while barely managing to restrain herself from bouncing excitedly all over the place.

The feline closed her eyes momentarily, muttering "StarClan help me," under her breath as she heard Goldenpaw approaching. It was impossible not to hear her. Now, if Caliapaw was even a little more social, she might have appreciated the younger apprentice's sweet attempts at getting her to be friends, but she wasn't - and so those attempts were dangerously irritating to her. Even as she heard the apprentice's friendly voice chirping in a birdlike manner, high and annoying, Caliapaw wondered if there was an escape route. Of course there were many excuses she could have made, but she wasn't sure how to pull them off convincingly. Lying was not a strong point of hers, and while she could pull off the occasional white lie or, if she needed to, larger lie, it was hard for her.

"Hey, Goldenpaw." Her voice sounded defeated, deflated, like the apprentice had just sucked all the life out of her and left her with an empty shell. That was what it felt like sometimes, that Goldenpaw deflated her and left her annoyed and hollow-feeling. She wanted to say something, to make the younger cat stop, to make her go away, but the problem was that she wasn't quite sure how to do that. "I was just taking a break. I finished sorting some herbs." She answered shortly, not that the apprentice would notice. She never did. The medicine cat was only bugged because the other cat didn't notice, and while once again, it might have been considered sweet to someone else, it was the highest level of irritation and violation of personal space that Caliapaw could think of. How annoying was it to be pushed and pushed like that?

"Listen, Goldenpaw, don't you have training to do? You should be working on getting to be a warrior," The she cat mewed. It wasn't exactly the harshest thing she had been thinking of in that moment - and she had had to bite her tongue to keep from adding instead of stalking me and irritating me every StarClan-forsaken second of my break but there was always a chance that Goldenpaw would take the hint and get lost. Or go and train like she should be doing, like Caliapaw would be doing now if Wheatfur wasn't dead and gone. At least Goldenpaw kept him out of the conversation most of the time, right? "I've got to go find some herbs soon. Okay? So I'll need to be alone to do that." She added a moment later, as a method of an excuse to get away. The apprentice might have admired her, but more then a few minutes in the same area as her and Caliapaw could feel herself shriveling up, crumpling under the energetic speaking of the other feline.

[Leaf]

@NightWarrior4Life ) Sunrock strolled out of the warriors’ den and sat off to the side so he wasn’t in anyone’s way. He wasn’t hungry so he figured he’d just look around for something to do before actually doing it. He stretched, feeling a little tug, and settled down with a sigh, tucking brown and white paws underneath him. He waited the slightly blurry vision from just waking up to go away, blinking a few times to help it. Finally, he looked around with amber eyes, quietly observing and enjoying how calm things seemed right now.

[NightWarrior4Life]

Originally Posted by Leaf

@NightWarrior4Life ) Sunrock strolled out of the warriors’ den and sat off to the side so he wasn’t in anyone’s way. He wasn’t hungry so he figured he’d just look around for something to do before actually doing it. He stretched, feeling a little tug, and settled down with a sigh, tucking brown and white paws underneath him. He waited the slightly blurry vision from just waking up to go away, blinking a few times to help it. Finally, he looked around with amber eyes, quietly observing and enjoying how calm things seemed right now.

(Hey can I tell you something)
HarmonyBlade was already outside in the clearing, sat on the opposite side to SunRock. When he noticed the other Tom, he strolled over to start a conversation. "Hey SunRock. How are you? The weather seems to be getting better..." The Tom spoke slightly awkwardly

[PeaFlower]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The feline closed her eyes momentarily, muttering "StarClan help me," under her breath as she heard Goldenpaw approaching. It was impossible not to hear her. Now, if Caliapaw was even a little more social, she might have appreciated the younger apprentice's sweet attempts at getting her to be friends, but she wasn't - and so those attempts were dangerously irritating to her. Even as she heard the apprentice's friendly voice chirping in a birdlike manner, high and annoying, Caliapaw wondered if there was an escape route. Of course there were many excuses she could have made, but she wasn't sure how to pull them off convincingly. Lying was not a strong point of hers, and while she could pull off the occasional white lie or, if she needed to, larger lie, it was hard for her.

"Hey, Goldenpaw." Her voice sounded defeated, deflated, like the apprentice had just sucked all the life out of her and left her with an empty shell. That was what it felt like sometimes, that Goldenpaw deflated her and left her annoyed and hollow-feeling. She wanted to say something, to make the younger cat stop, to make her go away, but the problem was that she wasn't quite sure how to do that. "I was just taking a break. I finished sorting some herbs." She answered shortly, not that the apprentice would notice. She never did. The medicine cat was only bugged because the other cat didn't notice, and while once again, it might have been considered sweet to someone else, it was the highest level of irritation and violation of personal space that Caliapaw could think of. How annoying was it to be pushed and pushed like that?

"Listen, Goldenpaw, don't you have training to do? You should be working on getting to be a warrior," The she cat mewed. It wasn't exactly the harshest thing she had been thinking of in that moment - and she had had to bite her tongue to keep from adding instead of stalking me and irritating me every StarClan-forsaken second of my break but there was always a chance that Goldenpaw would take the hint and get lost. Or go and train like she should be doing, like Caliapaw would be doing now if Wheatfur wasn't dead and gone. At least Goldenpaw kept him out of the conversation most of the time, right? "I've got to go find some herbs soon. Okay? So I'll need to be alone to do that." She added a moment later, as a method of an excuse to get away. The apprentice might have admired her, but more then a few minutes in the same area as her and Caliapaw could feel herself shriveling up, crumpling under the energetic speaking of the other feline.

The light ginger she-cat didn't pick up on the other feline's tone, and even if she had she would have blamed it on whatever was bothering Thunderclan's Medicine cat. Instead she beamed, thrilled that she got a few words out of her. That was some progress.

She resisted the temptation to tell Caliapaw that she already knew she was taking a break, though that was made easier by the fact her interlocutor spoke again.

“Training ?" The apprentice said, tipping her head to the side. "Oh, my mentor's not here yet. I'm usually free around this time. Funny, uh ? We both have breaks at the same time !” Goldenpaw meowed while she flicked her tail around, getting a bit closer to the other she-cat.

“Plus I still have a lot of time before becoming a warrior ! And I have learned some cool stuff already ! I bet I could already take on a fox.” She said proudly, trying to stand up to make herself look regal, though she ended up looking a bit stupid, with her untamed long fur sticking up in odd directions.

She was so caught up in her boasting that she almost didn't catch what the other cat said next. One word stuck with her. Alone ? That couldn't be right.

Goldenpaw suddenly had a realization. Maybe that's what was bothering Caliapaw ! She was feeling lonely ! After all, she never saw her hanging out with a lot of cats, and her mentor was gone … and she was about to go to the forest on her own, with no one else to talk to.

Not on my watch. The young she-cat thought. She had to find a way to convince her friend-to-be to let her tag along. She tried to think of something, anything … ha !

“Why don't you let me come with ?! I bet you could use some extra muscles !” She chirped with a happy grin, once again getting closer, if that was even possible. “And I could watch your back, in case some Windclanners attacked ! Like an escort !” She almost crouched down, trying to make herself smaller, in hopes Caliapaw would accept. They'd be spending some time together, and the Medicine cat wouldn't be alone for once. It was a win-win situation in Goldenpaw's eyes.

[Leaf]

@NightWarrior4Life ?) Sunrock looked up at the other tom. “Oh hey Harmonyblade. It does,” the tabby said with a little flick of his ears. “I’m doing fine. How about you?” He asked, tail curling neatly at his side.