WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Vexing]

Originally Posted by Rosemew

Was this tom putting an act of sorts on? The dark grey and white tom couldn't tell, his thoughts a whirlwind and frowning at getting called a kit. He figured the loner was blind , due to the unsteady movement of his eyes. "Not.... I'm..not a kit." Chickenpaw corrected, cringing slightly at his stammering. Did he have to be so nervous?
A sad realization hit him, frown deepening. "You shouldn't be here...clans don't take kindly to loners in their territory." he warned. Of course, Chickenpaw would've scared the tom off any day if he wasn't a nervous and germophobic apprentice. But life isn't fair is it?

Orion chuckled slightly at the nervous stammering of the not kit in front of him "Sorry, I know you all don't take to kindly to my kind being on your territory." As if to strengthen his point, he stood up to stretch, allowing his flank and no tail to go in the air until he settled back down "But, I took a chance I mean, what fun is life if you don't take a few risks and learn along the way? If I encountered say, an older cat I may have already been sent on my way with scratch marks covering me but luckily, I encountered you, someone who'll talk before they attack and I thank you for that." He dipped his head then hesitated, not sure if he should continue talking to this cat but then a smile crept across his face as he thought of some questions he could ask, "Umm excuse me, what's your name if you don't mind me asking? And if you're not a kit then what are you? Because, when it comes to loners, kittypets, or rogues, a kit is still a kit until 10 moons old or at least that's how it's worked for every cat I've met."

[Zero]

@Fuzzyfeline @Gemini
It had finally come time for Quiv to become an apprentice. The last three moons had gone by smoothly and she had adjusted well to clan life despite the rocky start she had had. She'd even filled out a bit and wasn't quite as scrawny as she had been when she first arrived at WindClan. It was clear that she would become a very pretty she-cat in the future, but was a bit awkward and lanky looking at the moment as she began her 'teenage' moons of life. But, she was clearly growing up, bit by bit.
At the end of the ceremony, Quiverpaw approached the cat she knew as Cottonspirit, her new mentor. "Hi," She began shyly, straining upwards to touch her nose to his in greeting. Quiv was a bit nervous about her first interaction with her mentor. She hoped he was excited about it and that he was nice since they were going to have to spend a lot of time together from now on. However, as Buttercupbreeze approached, the young apprentice clearly brightened. Maybe Buttercupbreeze could help her break the ice: if she remembered clearly Cotton and her mom knew each other after all. "Thanks, mom." Quiv eagerly closed the distance between them, pressing her muzzle into the fur of the older she-cat's shoulder with a smile, giving her a half hug before pulling away. She let out a quiet breath as the scent of her adoptive mother calmed a few of her nerves. Calmed, she was able to smile softly as she was nuzzled by Buttercup in return, before returning her amber-eyed gaze to Cottonspirit.

[BEAR.]

Foxpudge couldn't suppress the wave of emotion that crashed over him at Blazingstar's words, a lump forming in his throat at this chance of a new beginning. He was.. tired of the shadow that hung over him, mostly being known for the blood that ran through his veins and the misdeeds of his parents.

A coward and a murderer. A fitting pair, and one he was glad to disassociate himself with. There were times Foxpudge didn't feel much better, not after Aspenflight's throat was cut by his own claws, and it was difficult to remind himself it was an accident. Not intentional like his parents.

"Thank you," his voice was hoarse as he spoke to Blazingstar, though he managed to keep it steady. "You.. really don't know how much this means to me." He couldn't thank him enough, he supposed, though he let the fiery leader bask in the attention of the crowd.

He turned his attention to the new warrior and apprentice, straightening his posture as he hesitated-- should he even go over there? He wasn't too familiar with Cottonspirit or Quiverpaw, distantly aware Buttercupbreeze adopted her. Perhaps it was better to sit this out, let Buttercupbreeze enjoy some time with her kit before she was whisked away for the day's training.
@SuspiciousMindz

[gemini]

@Zero to Hero @Fuzzyfeline
As the tom stood beside the cream molly he gave her a nudge, “you must be a proud mama!” He joked, he hadn’t known her kit very well but only knew if she was buttercup’s she had to be amazing. As his name was called out to be a mentor he froze for a moment, to process, as he took an inhale and his nose was filled with fluff, his mismatched gaze shining with excitement and joy at everything.
At Quiverpaw’s gesture he bent his head down a good amount to reach her, he was a large cat to say the least. As she nuzzled her mother once again he couldn’t help but smile as a warm feeling crept up and through his chest as he watched them as the new apprentice turned back to him he gave a polite nod: “Well, your mother loves to talk about you.” He couldn’t help but joke fanning his own tail in the deputy’s face, his blue and amber gaze amused. “But I’m sure that your going to be a wonderful apprentice.” He smiled before turning his head back to buttercup and dropping his voice to a low whisper and saying.
“I’ll find out her favorite fur color too.” He joked with a wink before looking back at his new apprentice his gaze bright and energetic, the chipper grin that he usually wore slowly grew across his maw as he couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the new apprentice.

[BEAR.]

While Snailpaw focused back on the mouse, Darkbelly's attention drifted away from her to watch the blades of grass dance in the breeze.

He could hear the distinct thud of a hare briskly hopping through the grasses, and he visibly tensed as he waited for the creature to near them. With the minimal movement they've had, the hare had yet to be alerted to danger, and it didn't have time to register it before Darkbelly was plunging into the grasses after it.

With its escape delayed, he was able to knock it down and pin it with minimal issues-- something he was thankful for! Darkbelly wasn't built for speed like many of his Clan-mates, and it showed while hunting. He was already a little out of breath, but he easily dispatched his catch with a bite to the neck.

Hare limp in his jaws, he returned his attention back to Snailpaw, awaiting her own movement before he approached. He didn't want to scare off the mouse she was after.

@GLaDOS

[Madelaine]

| @BILL.; |

Snailpaw heard him catch a rabbit and focused on her mouse. The molly crept forward into a hunter's crouch, making no sound as she got closer to the mouse. Both her eyes were focused on the mouse even if it gave her a headache. Snailpaw stopped when she was just a couple mouse lengths away. The apprentice pounced, pinning her own prey to the ground before giving it a killing bite to the neck. Snailpaw's eyes went back to normal as her lower eyes looked at the ground while the good one starred ahead of her. "Nice catch.", she meowed, padding over to Darkbelly.

[OhAtropa]

@jupiter
----
A calico molly sat near the edge of the clearing, relishing in the shade of the heather. A break from the green-leaf heat was elusive, and she wasted no time as she sat near the clump of feathery plants and yawned contently. Wrapping her tail neatly around her paws, she took the time to lap at her paw and drag it behind her ear. Although she was content without anyone bothering her, she was quite grateful for the silence - a conversation was a two-sided effort, and the effort required was not something that Heatherwing had within her. Speaking was hard enough enough on her own, but having to talk with others? The poor she-cat found it nearly impossible.
Once her fur was completely clean, she let her tail flick lazily behind her as she stared out into the clearing. It made her nervous to observe her clanmates, since doing so risked making eye contact. But everyone milled about, enjoying the weather and discussing duties. It was a rare time of contentness within the Clan, since so much horror was going on outside of the borders. The molly swiveled her ear towards the sound of pawsteps approaching, but whoever it was walked right by. The smell of prey drifted from their direction, and Heatherwing realized that a patrol had returned - and that meant more cats crowding up the clearing. Shrinking back lightly, she crouched so that her chin was nearly brushing her paws, a relaxed yet ready position.

[Spirit]

Nightkit was sat at the border of the clearing, watching and trying to keep out of earshot of everyone. His ice blue eyes darted over his siblings having some play fights nearby the nursery, being excited to become apprentices soon. Himself? He dreaded it. It would mean having to listen to an experienced warrior talk day in and day out. His worst nightmare. He secretly hoped he would be paired with another mute, but highly doubted so. Whilst he had not spoken a word to anyone yet, not even his family, he feared the clan knew that he could, and would try to force him to.
His small forepaws started pawing at the ground in a nervous manner, something he'd recently picked up on. It annoyed him, yet it kept the nervousness down. He should be vigilant, cool and collected. But he was so scared.
He would've slumped down to lie down on the ground, but something in him, some odd instinct, told him he'd be attempting to escape something in a moments notice soon enough.
This thought didn't exactly slow down the pawing on the ground, his small claws making very quiet scraping sounds.

@Fuzzyfeline (Got it right this time! *Embarrassed*)

[BEAR.]

Darkbelly beamed at her, plopping the hare onto the rock he'd previously perched on. "Not as nice as yours! You're a fantastic hunter." He wasn't entirely aware of her disabilities, obviously there was her eye, but he didn't know about the lack of her sense of smell.

Ears perking, he barely had time to register the hawk swooping down at them before he moved, intending on knocking Snailpaw down to get between her and the predatory bird.

It seemed to work, when talons raked across his back, hooking into his skin, and he twisted with an angry hiss to swat at the bird with his claws as it attempted to lift him-- only to find itself being dragged down from his weight. He wasn't a light cat, after all!

Still, the pain was aggravating, and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to get a good hit. At least his struggles seemed to be going somewhere-- with a screech, the bird loosened its grip, and he could feel himself sliding until he was a sunken heap on the ground.

Ouch, that'd ought to leave a mark! He didn't even want to look-- to see the damage done to his back.
@GLaDOS

[wren]

Originally Posted by glitching

@jupiter
----
A calico molly sat near the edge of the clearing, relishing in the shade of the heather. A break from the green-leaf heat was elusive, and she wasted no time as she sat near the clump of feathery plants and yawned contently. Wrapping her tail neatly around her paws, she took the time to lap at her paw and drag it behind her ear. Although she was content without anyone bothering her, she was quite grateful for the silence - a conversation was a two-sided effort, and the effort required was not something that Heatherwing had within her. Speaking was hard enough enough on her own, but having to talk with others? The poor she-cat found it nearly impossible.
Once her fur was completely clean, she let her tail flick lazily behind her as she stared out into the clearing. It made her nervous to observe her clanmates, since doing so risked making eye contact. But everyone milled about, enjoying the weather and discussing duties. It was a rare time of contentness within the Clan, since so much horror was going on outside of the borders. The molly swiveled her ear towards the sound of pawsteps approaching, but whoever it was walked right by. The smell of prey drifted from their direction, and Heatherwing realized that a patrol had returned - and that meant more cats crowding up the clearing. Shrinking back lightly, she crouched so that her chin was nearly brushing her paws, a relaxed yet ready position.

The day was progressing quite slowly, as days normally did around this time of year. The prey itself was slowing, the greenery was getting that tinge of yellow and life was gradually preparing itself for the cold that was soon to come. However the cats seemed to be in full speed, Cardinalswoop had been on two patrols earlier that morning, dusk, dawn and now. He could feel that achey dryness and pressure on his pads and ached for a seat and a decent meal before he set off again later that evening. Slipping under the shade of the camp walls he could feel his shoulders slump by his sides, The shade bringing a sense of relief washing over him.
Tossing his small shrike amongst the throng of prey and picking out a rather small mouse for himself he set off to his favourite spot to sit. Unbeknownst to him at the time was occupied by another seeker of some quiet in the busy hustle of the schedule. Eyes downcast and paws dragging through the trampled over grass but thats when he spotted her. A calico she cat who seemed to be comfortably lounging off to the side he felt his tail lash in annoyance. He wasn't particularly game for small talk at the moment- but she didn't seem to keen on the idea either? She was crouched in the farthest corner of camp looking shrunken against the foliage as if she were hiding? He realized now he had paused mid step to stare at her and quickly shook his head and took a few more awkward steps ahead. ' ' mind if I sit here? ' ' he mumbled around the mouse still trying to recover from his embarrassment. He only hoped she hadn't caught the wrong signal from his dazed look.