Cattail Pond

[Fairytale]

Uh oh. Brighttalon's paw twitched at the same time his ear did. Sure signs of nervousness. So, Burrface had obviously noticed. That wasn't good. He backed up a small step, knowing a newer warrior like him was no match for an older warrior. Not that he wanted to fight, but Burrface seemed really angry. The growl wasn't on purpose, of course, but he'd still done it. And what would he blame it on? A voice in his head that no one else could hear? That wouldn't be much good. And the growl hadn't been directed at her. But who else was there? He couldn't blame it on a scent or sound, because Burrface would've noticed that, too. Looks like someone's in a sticky situation that they can't get out of. Too bad you won't be able to explain. You're not a good liar, either. The voice chose a bad moment to start up again. It took everything in him to not growl again. He was already in a tight enough space. "I- But- it wasn't supposed to-" the tom sputtered. "It wasn't at you, it was..." He trailed off, struggling for an excuse, which hadn't happened in a while. "It was something I saw," he blurted out. He just hoped that Burrface ignored all the stuttering and stammering. But she didn't seem like the type of cat to fall for an excuse like that, especially with all the extra fun he added to it. @dinosaur

[dinosaur]

Burrface's ears were pinned back, fur bristling. Traitors all around me! She thought. Brighttalon's face, in her mind, was twisting and twirling into different shapes. At one moment, he was snarling, at the next, he was crying. One of her hallucinations even had his muzzle splattered with blood. The fear scrambled her thoughts; her mind was making up images to repair where the gaps were.

Burrface paced around him, belly low to the ground, eyes never leaving his face. She sniffed his fur. He didn't smell of blood, nor sweat. He seemed clean. Burrface stood up to face him, still upset. "It's hard to believe you dare growl at your senior." Her pupils narrowed. "Are you even Riverclan? Or are you a kittypet, a rogue who snuck into our ranks?" Burrface's voice was accusatory and gritty.

This was unlike her- to be overly defensive, reactive. But the rumors of internal fighting, killers among them, disoriented her. Any cat could be out to kill; it sent shivers down her spine. Riverclan was not how it used to be. She reminded herself. Starclan is turning it's back on more and more cats.

@Phoenix Fall

[Fairytale]

Brighttalon was honestly a bit intimidated by Burrface's sudden hostility. That he'd caused. No, that the voice had caused. It was the voice's fault. But he couldn't say that. He started to get angry, angry that the voice did this. Made him growl and lose a peaceful day. Made Burrface angry. Made what should've been a normal conversation into a showdown. And he could tell the voice was loving it.

That's right, get angry! Get angry because you're no good! Get angry because she's angry! You'll have a fight, and guess what? You won't win! The voice continued on and on, and he couldn't focus. Until Burrface started accusing him.

"What? What would make you think that?" The tom was confused, and, of course, angry. But he tried his best not to get too angry. If he did, it wouldn't be good. He didn't want to start a fight like this, caused over the voice. "I didn't mean to- to growl. I'm sorry. It was the... never mind," he mewed, struggling to explain to his bristling companion. @dinosaur

[dinosaur]

Burrface watched Brighttalon stutter and trip over his words. He seemed flustered, unsure what to say. She felt a rush of shame come over her. What am I doing? Burrface thought. Why am I so upset? He had done no wrong to me. Burrface sheathed her claws, though was still weary.

She realized how the paranoia had started to get to her, and felt exhausted. It wasn't right, to constantly be on edge. She took it out on awkward, introverted cats like this. Though Burrface couldn't help but be suspicious. "Was the what?" She asked. "Keeping secrets doesn't help prove your innocence, boy."
@Phoenix Fall

[Fairytale]

Brighttalon relaxed some. The anger started to fade. Burrface was calming down. Well, sort of. The voice had gone quiet, for now. He knew it'd be back later. Back to harass and embarrass him. But he would enjoy the time he had away from its exhausting, constant bombardment.

Unfortunately, he had something else to worry about. He should've known Burrface would be suspicious of the part where he trailed off. And honestly, telling someone about the voice didn't sound all too bad. But it was horrible at the same time. "It's nothing to worry about," he mewed before racing away from the pond so he didn't have to answer any more questions. He forgot the fish and everything. He just wanted to get away from the spot he went to when he needed to get away from life. @dinosaur

[dinosaur]

Burrface watched, slack jawed, as Brighttalon began to scurry away.

"W-wait! I didn't mea-" But it was too late, Brighttalon had already disappeared. She stared at the spot in the tree-line where he had slipped away for a while. Burrface turned her gaze downwards, to the little silver fish at her feet.

She felt alone.

-
@Phoenix Fall
let's end this scene here ^^

[Madelaine]

Cottonstrike looked at Copperpaw. he had to admit it was strange, but he knew he'd get used to it. He was all for it don't get him wrong. "My mother doesn't really like it due to her being from Skyclan, but I sure love the water. Once you get used to it it's really fun.", he responded. Cottonstrike knew his mother well. She was one of the best cats he knew. Well besides his apprentice, his mate and his kits.

[ @Cobra; ]

[MEAT ANGELS]

Originally Posted by thelabradorr

Honeyblossom - @H3ARTBOUNC_3

Honeyblossom fell slightly behind her newfound acquaintance not only from fear but also so the conversations between them would be limited. However, the pond soon changed her point of view on the situation. It had been quite some time since the she-cat had visited the pond and forgot how lovely it truly was. She blushed as Halfnose's eyes met briefly with hers. How odd, I wonder what their intentions are now?

Honeyblossom giggled softly at the cat's small tongue sticking out as they talked. Nodding to Halfnose, Honeyblossom spoke,"You are quite the tour guide Halfnose." It was strange to Honeyblossom how their conversation began to turn friendly, but she went with it. As the cat continued to call her Honeycomb, Honeyblossom rolled her eyes not caring enough to correct them.

Before Honeyblossom could finish admiring the rest of the pond, Halfnose appeared directly in-front of her face. Spooked by the sudden invasion of personal space, Honeyblossom froze. Is this where they kill me? Luckily, it was not the case and instead the cat began to compliment her. A bit taken aback by the situation, Honeyblossom smiled,"Well thanks I guess?"

Halfnose smiled, and flicked an ear as their smile grew. Oh, dearest Honeyblossom, if only you knew! The deepest desires that fueled this darling mission. “Your welcome, my love. Let us enjoy this splendid trip! It’s not every day you get to enjoy the wonders of the Cattail Pond.” Finally, Halfnose remembered the name of this wretched place. It stunk of dying fish and the unattainable feeling of despair. The large cat sighed, and went to sit by the edge of the pond. Their priorities surrounding this cat were so mixed.. it was difficult to sort out how to feel about Honeyblossom.
Halfnose stuck their tongue out again, severely confused.
“Why don’t you come sit by me?” Surely, I can cheer up.

[vellichor]

// @Mumble

Beanpaw
________

So maybe he wasn’t supposed to be here "unsupervised". That hadn’t stopped him before.

The siamese was nearly a warrior, couldn’t he go out and look at the pond? Stare into the cold water and get lost in some memories? Right? Wasn’t that what normal cats did? Anyway. He was here because his paws were restless. And despite the cold, he thought it was a good idea to follow them.

Bad idea. Now he was cold, lonely, and looking into what was essentially a big puddle. Or—? It was shiny! He wondered if it was... what was the word?? I see?? Icy!! Yeah. That. He also kinda longed for some company, but, nah. He didn’t want to think about that. Nope.

[Cobra]

Leopardthistle flashed out her paw, snatching the fish that she had tracked for ever so long. Her golden eyes stared around her, searching the dark for anycat that might even dare to come into her little corner of the wilderness. She was fishing here, and she would not be bothered by some annoying little rat who thought they could toss their weight around however they chose. No. She would not allow that. She would shove them away, sass them away, annoy them away, whatever. Leopard would do whatever she could to keep babies out of her personal space. Those kittens didn't understand personal space - they were all over each other drooling.

It was quite a show.

She carefully placed the fish next to her, then unsheathed one of her front claws and examined it as it shone in the moonlight. Leopardthistle smiled with dangerous glee and sliced open the fish on its side from its head.. to its tail. She laughed as the guts, meat and all sorts of fun treats spilled out. And as the blood oozed onto the ground, she bent down her head to lap it up. She then scooped up the other pieces of the fish in her mouth, and swallowed it down vigorously. The skin was always the worst part, but the stuff inside? That was why she fished. Youngsters, again, had been doing it all wrong. They shoved the fish in their mouth without any regards to the taste. All they cared about was getting something done, so they could move on to the next. You had to savor the moment, milk it of all its glories.

// open