WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Static]

Originally Posted by Canine

@Static

Dawnsong saw the annoyance flash over his face and immediately felt herself tighten as if to ward off whatever would come next. Why did it always have to be this way, she wondered fleetingly? Nevertheless, she stepped back, shocked by the sudden outburst that followed. His words echoed in her mind, beating against her too-tender heart. "Swiftclaw..." the murmur escaped her lips, as if willing him to stop. She looked into his eyes, searching for the meaning of his hatred, but couldn't catch it. Her own feelings crowded out her thinking. Own friends.. Her eyes dropped to her paws, a wave of regret and sorrow washing over her. The world suddenly felt a little crueler in that moment.

She looked back up at his next words, forcing herself to stay put as he took a step closer although she couldn't meet his eye. Her ears flattened against her head, and she felt the fur on her back bristle defensively. "That's not true.." she heard herself quietly blurt out, blinking back tears of frustration. Bothering him? Didn't he realize all those times she tried because she cared? She didn't understand him. Yes, she tried to, told herself she did understand. But in reality, she couldn't grasp why he'd blame her for every bad thing in his life. When tears blurred her vision and a sob threatened to escaped, Dawnsong masked her hurt in the only way she knew how: with anger.

"What have I ever done to you?!" she hissed, anger flashing across her pale eyes as they locked with his. She raised her head, her tail thrashing. In a torrent, she let all her thoughts and feelings spill out. "I never knew you existed? Maybe that's because you never let me! I didn't know how to let you know I cared! Every time I try to talk to you, you push me away!"

Swiftclaw was startled at her sudden outburst,but he did not move from the spot he was in. Even when he tried to get her to eleave him alone on patrols,this was not usually the reaction he got. Dawnsong would usually let him leave when they got to camp. He did not let his surprise show,or even the little bit of hurt in his eyes, because he knew in his heart she was speaking the truth.He was just to stubborn to admit it.
"What did you expect me to do?Hapily talk to the cat who had taken any chance I had at ever being called a good warrior? " Swiftclaw retorted, his tail lashing. " I was never given a chance because of you!You may have tried to talk to me, but you never defended me, even when I would have defended you! You didn't want to have the tital of 'best warrior' taken away from you." He told her, turning away. He also knew deep in his heart that she had not asked for the attention as a kit and Apprintice. She had never tried to get rid of it either though. "I'm going back to camp before it gets late. Don't follow me.If you want to continue this atleast wait until the morning or something so I can get some sleep." He told her, picking up his rabbit and walking the long way back to camp.
As he walked away, behind the lashing tailtip and the fact that his ears were still pinned back against his head, you could see a hint of sadness. His tail was lower than usual, and his head was lowered. As a warrior, he was still barley acknowledged as a good, or even decent warrior. He was simply the cat who mentors told their apprintice's to avoid so they would not cause a fight. He was jealous of his sister who had grown up a great warrior to be looked up to while he had nothing. To some, this would seem childish. For cats who had grown without parents or anyone to actually acknowledge that they had even a little talent in what they where raised to do, or even that they existed, they could have an idea of how it felt. Lonely. The difference was though, they had someone come into their life later. Swiftclaw had his mentor as an Apprintice, but they had simply acknowledged him as their Apprintice. Nothing more and nothing less.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Gemini

The tom looked up to see where the voice had come from, upon looking up he saw Asterbounce. His blue and brown gaze settled on the gray tom, almost instantly he could feel his face growing red like a cherry. No! Don't embarrass yourself Cottonspirit! he franticly thought, though that would be hard to do.. he had seen the gray cat around camp doing this and that he ha always been far to shy to go over, but the fluffy tom had never been to much of a shy cat "Oh uh uh, Hi there!" he stuttered out, he could feel his whole body growing hot, he had never really tried to flirt with a tom that looked as good as Asterbounce, Don't make a fool of yourself! he told himself again, this one was cute! "Want to uh, share?" he said nervously hoping for the best, he put on a smile and pat the ground next to him with his feathery tail.

The silvery-brown tomcat let out an amused purr at the flustered tone in Cottonspirit’s voice. He found it adorable, and he cocked his head to the side in the slightest, hoping to appear calm to give the other cat some reassurance. Looking down at his words, Asterbounce gave a slight shake of his head. “Nah, it’s a mouse, you eat it. I’ve already eaten anyways.” It wasn’t really the truth, he had gone hunting, but hadn’t had the chance to eat something for himself. It was still early though, and he wasn’t hungry at the moment. Plus he just wanted to talk to Cottonspirit for a little bit. “I’ll sit with you though! I need someone to talk to anyways.” A small grin overtook his face as he sat down, brushing his tail subtly on the white-furred tomcats back as he settled it around his paws gently, looking up with wide eyes to give the tomcat his full attention.

[graves]

Originally Posted by pomegranate

@Solstice!

Dogsnout shivered. With every passing day, he could feel the air growing colder and colder, tightening the rope until the tension snapped and the frost took over. Dogsnout normally loved leafbare- once it was over. The sparkling ice caps as snowdrifts wafted over the moor, the hardened crunch of heather under his paws, and the sunrises were phenomenal. Dogsnout usually wasn’t even the type of cat to like sunrises, but he did in leafbare. Of course, there was also greencough and starvation, but Dogsnout simply ignored those facts as he strode outside, cursing himself for waking up late.
I’ve missed the dawn patrol. He thought bluntly, stamping his paw down slightly, mostly to express his anger at himself but also to hear the satisfying crunch that came with the brittle grass. It was still leaffall, but it certainly felt like leafbare, especially since Windclan didn’t have many trees to tell whether the leaves were still orange and vibrant or it was going to snow the next day. Glancing around, Dogsnout noticed a dip in the stocks of the kill pile. I might as well go out once the next patrol comes back. Maybe I can tag along onto the last hunting group. He thought glumly. He always was so punctual, why had he slept in today of all days? There were no clouds, so the sunrise should have been spectacular. Oh well. Dogsnout muttered sadly before turning to assess his coat. It was a bit stringy and frizzy, so, with an indignant snort, he began to run his tongue through his long brown fur, separating the tangles and carefully grooming.

it had been almost a moon since spireflare was..exiled. it was still hard to believe that his brother was actually gone. he noticed how lonely he felt without him gone, now, even if they hadnt gotten along for the last section of his stay here, it still felt apart of him was gone. he was his twin, after all, they used to be inseparable. they had done everything together - even finish eachother sentences. it was weird to have him gone. granted, he was a violent, and it was right to exile him. he had.killed so many cats while h was here, and fireflare knew that he wasnt done. not until he was gone, too. since then he had been slightly depressed, keeping himself busy with patrols and right after spending all of his time in his nest, besides that.. nothing more. he was social, he loved talking to others, but he couldnt bring himself to talk to anyone.

walking out of the warriors den he squinted his eyes at the harsh light. how long had it been since he had really just..chilled? after spending almost all of yesterday in the warriors den havign the sunlight in his eyes almost burned. it started to give him a mild headache, grunting and sprinting to take in his surroundings. nothing out of the ordinary. it seemed life still went one, despite his life feeling like it was on pause. but he saw..dogsnout? he hadnt seen them in so long. they had been best friends as apprenticed but as they grew older they just..grey apart, life got in the way, nothing bitter or uncommon. he didnt know why, but fireflare found himself approaching. he didnt know what he was going to say, but hey, anything was worth a shot.

[Blazepaw]

Originally Posted by Miss Bliss

Jaytalon let out a slight snort. "Just make sure you don't it again. This is your only warning." he mowed in a low growl. He was disappointed in his apprentice for being late. If it wasn't anything big he should have been here. Jaytalon looked at his apprentice. "Today we are going to start battle training." he meowed.
@Blade;

Spiritpaw stiffened. He didn’t seem like a all friendly cat. “Uh, yea sure.” He looked up at the warrior. His eyes seemed to blaze his pelt, until he looked away. He listened to Jaytalon and gave a confused glance. “W-why so soon? It’s only our first day..” he wasn’t sure if it was right to ask the tom, he seeming aggressive.

[IkeaMann]

Originally Posted by Cave

Patchpaw smiled and started licking her paw a moment passed before she asked, "so what do we do now Jaggedspring?"

"Hm we could..Try actually hunting.."He suggested. "About the only thing we could do at the moment." Jaggedspring was excited to teach his apprentice all he knew about hunting and turn her into a pro hunter like him. "You see you have the greatest hunter in the clan as your mentor"He'd grin. "So I shall turn you into a great hunter"He explained. Jaggedspring got up and scanned the moor for anything. Really nothing was out at this time. "Can you see anything out there?"He asked since he saw nothing. Maybe his apprentice could see something out in the moor lands. Like a rabbit or a bird.

[pomegranate]

Originally Posted by Solstice!

it had been almost a moon since spireflare was..exiled. it was still hard to believe that his brother was actually gone. he noticed how lonely he felt without him gone, now, even if they hadnt gotten along for the last section of his stay here, it still felt apart of him was gone. he was his twin, after all, they used to be inseparable. they had done everything together - even finish eachother sentences. it was weird to have him gone. granted, he was a violent, and it was right to exile him. he had.killed so many cats while h was here, and fireflare knew that he wasnt done. not until he was gone, too. since then he had been slightly depressed, keeping himself busy with patrols and right after spending all of his time in his nest, besides that.. nothing more. he was social, he loved talking to others, but he couldnt bring himself to talk to anyone.

walking out of the warriors den he squinted his eyes at the harsh light. how long had it been since he had really just..chilled? after spending almost all of yesterday in the warriors den havign the sunlight in his eyes almost burned. it started to give him a mild headache, grunting and sprinting to take in his surroundings. nothing out of the ordinary. it seemed life still went one, despite his life feeling like it was on pause. but he saw..dogsnout? he hadnt seen them in so long. they had been best friends as apprenticed but as they grew older they just..grey apart, life got in the way, nothing bitter or uncommon. he didnt know why, but fireflare found himself approaching. he didnt know what he was going to say, but hey, anything was worth a shot.

The crunch of paws on hard dirt drew Dogsnout’s eyes away from his pelt. Looking up, the brown and black feline saw another tom, one that was familiar, but wasn’t able to be placed in Dogsnout’s mind yet. The pelt was the same, body the same, and it echoed from somewhere deep in his past, when he was still Brindlebark; struggling with identity and worth. Slim but roundish face, almost boyish, but marred by sadness. Long body and legs, all the same ginger and tan coat color, and Dogsnout grew frustrated with his inability to draw back the cat’s name from ages ago. Squinting, Dogsnout replaced the angry and depressed expression on the tom’s face with a much more recognizable one, and the blackish cat began to smile.
“Fireflare!” He greeted warmly. The second the name passed from his mouth he remembered the last ceremony, where his brother had been exiled. Spireflare and Fireflare, dynamic duo. In their apprenticeship, even Dogsnout. then Brindlepaw, found it hard to ever talk to one of them alone, as the other was close behind or maybe even tied at the hip. It had been fun chatting with them, as sometimes they could be so in sync with each other, or an argument sprouted and he could watch as the two, so close to each other, tried to find a middle ground. “I... you haven’t been around much.” Dogsnout noted simply, nodding to the ground next to him, wanting Fireflare to sit down. It had been much too long since the two had talked, and it was almost strange to see him so down and lacking spirit. Well, his brother had just been exiled- maybe it wasn’t a good time to talk about that. Dogsnout opened his mouth once more, but nothing coming up he looked forward blankly, cold personality arising once more. If he couldn’t talk to Fireflare, Fireflare would have to talk to him. Perhaps I’ll let Fireflare run the conversation. I don’t know a thing about what’s been going on, I can’t expect him to open up if I push him.

[Dust]

Originally Posted by Gemini

The white tom felt the sun easily slice through his pale fur he could feel it as the light hit his muzzle. The nervous look in his eyes melted into delight at the queen's questions. He nodded in response he had talked to the tom, it was quite stressful. He couldn't stop spacing out, he thought back to the moment blushing again. "He's quite sweet, he likes to flatter it seems." He said smirking. He smiled and patted his friend's shoulder with his tail, "I think we could fit." He choked out happily, he really did like the tom. "So, do you have your eye on anybody?" He said a smirk covering his maw, and a playful glint shining in his eyes.

"Ooooo.." She teased the tom, but in reality, Hazelflower was overjoyed that her bestfriend had finally found someone he liked that seemed to return the feelings. "He sounds like a lovely cat, you'll have to introduce us sometime so I can embarrass you!" She purred with delight, obviously joking. Continuing a good stride beside Cottonspirit, she visibly shook at his question. "Me? Having an eye on someone?" Hazelflower paused for a moment, determining if she /had/ been interested in anyone... "Honestly, not since my mate died. I've just been so busy with the kits, I haven't had the time." The queen admittedly sadly, a somber air about her. Truthfully, her mates death had shook her to the core, made her retreat in the nursery. If not for her kits and Cottonspirit, Hazelflower had no idea what she would have done with herself. "Why? You know anyone who needs a friend?" She quickly shifted her mood, smirking playfully at Cotton.

[graves]

Originally Posted by pomegranate

The crunch of paws on hard dirt drew Dogsnout’s eyes away from his pelt. Looking up, the brown and black feline saw another tom, one that was familiar, but wasn’t able to be placed in Dogsnout’s mind yet. The pelt was the same, body the same, and it echoed from somewhere deep in his past, when he was still Brindlebark; struggling with identity and worth. Slim but roundish face, almost boyish, but marred by sadness. Long body and legs, all the same ginger and tan coat color, and Dogsnout grew frustrated with his inability to draw back the cat’s name from ages ago. Squinting, Dogsnout replaced the angry and depressed expression on the tom’s face with a much more recognizable one, and the blackish cat began to smile.
“Fireflare!” He greeted warmly. The second the name passed from his mouth he remembered the last ceremony, where his brother had been exiled. Spireflare and Fireflare, dynamic duo. In their apprenticeship, even Dogsnout. then Brindlepaw, found it hard to ever talk to one of them alone, as the other was close behind or maybe even tied at the hip. It had been fun chatting with them, as sometimes they could be so in sync with each other, or an argument sprouted and he could watch as the two, so close to each other, tried to find a middle ground. “I... you haven’t been around much.” Dogsnout noted simply, nodding to the ground next to him, wanting Fireflare to sit down. It had been much too long since the two had talked, and it was almost strange to see him so down and lacking spirit. Well, his brother had just been exiled- maybe it wasn’t a good time to talk about that. Dogsnout opened his mouth once more, but nothing coming up he looked forward blankly, cold personality arising once more. If he couldn’t talk to Fireflare, Fireflare would have to talk to him. Perhaps I’ll let Fireflare run the conversation. I don’t know a thing about what’s been going on, I can’t expect him to open up if I push him.

hearing dogsnouts voice brought back alot of memories alone. he could remember their time and memories with..his brother alongside him, they had been such a trio. then, he had gone by brindlepaw, but fireflare could remember dogsnouts ceremony for his name to be changed - for his identity,right? he honestly didnt know that was a thing, that you could change your gender, but to each their own. in the end he was happy for him. he dipped his head in a greeting, taking a seat next to the tom when offered. how long had it been since they had spoken, apprenticed? they had been so young and so long ago yet fireflare could remember all of it clearly. he had the same smell, the same greyish black pelt, the same pretty eyes. how could he not remember? he had been so brainwashed by his brother once they became warriors he was the only cat fireflare spent his time with, and not even for good. for how many cats blood he had on both his and his brothers paws it was shameful, really, and to this day he felt sorry for all the lives they had taken. but spireflare was gone now, and couldnt make him kill without reason anymore. he knew he wasnt safe, far from it, his brother was one to get the last laugh, the final say, to end anything that has wronged him, and fireflare wasnt an exception. spireflare was plotting, he knew that, and accepted already that at any moment he could die. maybe thats why he had approached dogsnout so quickly, he wanted to talk to somebody, to say he had lived before he died, and dogsnout had been such a key point in his life. "ive been..dealing with things," he answered calmly. spireflares exile was something that wasnt a secret, or the fact he had attacked fireflare before being driven out. even if the scratches and marks were gone, there were still scars under his skin that still burned. he wouldnt forget the look of betrayal on spireflares face when blazingstar announced his exile. "but i cant stay in the warriors den forever," he couldnt let spireflare control his life when he wasnt even here, he couldnt just hide from his problems. he needed to face them.

[Cave]

Originally Posted by *Lazy Carrot*

"Hm we could..Try actually hunting.."He suggested. "About the only thing we could do at the moment." Jaggedspring was excited to teach his apprentice all he knew about hunting and turn her into a pro hunter like him. "You see you have the greatest hunter in the clan as your mentor"He'd grin. "So I shall turn you into a great hunter"He explained. Jaggedspring got up and scanned the moor for anything. Really nothing was out at this time. "Can you see anything out there?"He asked since he saw nothing. Maybe his apprentice could see something out in the moor lands. Like a rabbit or a bird.

Patchpaw got up and looked about, seeing nothing at all at first; Until a small flutter in a nearby bush caught her attention. " Jaggedsping, over there" she pointed to the bush to his right, "I think there's a bird in that bush," she said quietly trying not to startle it. Another flutter came from the bush, this time accompanied by a few chirps. Patchpaw took a few cautioned steps towards the bush, "it sounds like its struggling" she said with sympathy for the animal. The bird fluttered for a lot longer this time and Patchpaw looked up to her mentor and asked, "what are we supposed to do, What is the right thing here?"

[Raptor0owl]

Falconkit woke up from a peaceful slumber. As she looks around thinking if this is reality, or just another dream, she swiftly whipped her head to face behind her, but no one's there."Why does it feel like there was someone watching me? It's creepy!" She thought as her tail fur puffed with paranoia.