WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[lone]

@Suspiciousmindz

The brown and white apprentice glanced back at her younger companion, her hues twinkling with mischief as she did so. She knew that the apprentices' den held several differences from the nursery; and not all of them were good. For one thing, she missed the comfort of being in the nursery surrounded by a warm, milky scent and with smaller cats everywhere. Here there were much bigger cats, and Heartpaw often felt out of place and uncomfortable. Something she definitely didn't like. She peeked in to see if any of the more annoying cats were around-- had they been in there, she probably would have told Larkkit that they couldn't go inside.

"Yeah, we can go inside. No one will care," The apprentice shrugged. That was how it worked in her mind-- who would care about a couple of cats heading into the apprentices' den? Did anyone even look to see who went in there? A fully grown warrior could be staying in there, and the majority of apprentices would never notice them because they just wouldn't care. At her friend's next statement, Heartpaw's tail flicked upwards.

"It seems nice, but it gets lonely too. I mean, you'll have me-- but if you move in there without any friends, it's horrible." Heartpaw shuddered, remembering her first night as an apprentice and how she had avoided Rainpaw as much as she could, trying to stay away from him. It hadn't been very comforting. And she had missed her friend's comments. She wished he were here now, though she knew her wish wouldn't be granted...it would be a while before she would see Rainpaw again, as far as she knew. And did she want to see him again?

[monfang]

Originally Posted by Zero to Hero

Okie dokie, sounds fine to me!



Surgestorm paused from his tidying of the den, perking up at the sound of another cat. With one breath in, he knew instantly that this was the SkyClan cat that had been staying with the clan for a while. Curiously, he turned toward the entrance of his den and sat. "Come in," He meowed confidently, wondering what the older gentlecat wanted from him. The tom could see Yarrowpounce just beyond the fronds that covered the crevice that was the entrance to his medicine cat den, and instantly noticed that the tom had collapsed. "Leopardpaw!" He yelped, "Get a bed of moss ready in the middle of the den!" The young medicine cat lept into action then, hurrying toward the SkyClan warrior and leaning over him worridly. "Are you alright?" He paused for a moment and studied the older cat, a wary feeling growing in his chest. The medicine cat recognized the look in his gaze; he had seen it many times before in his career. No, I can save him. I have to, it's my job. He leaned down and carefully grabbed ahold of the tom's scruff, then digging his claws into the ground for traction, he began to pull the tom into the warmth of his den. Momentarily, he was surprised at how light he seemed, as if the tom was just skin and bones.

Leopardpaw squeaked before she nodded and bolted to a nest, padding in circled until it was soft and big enough for the other cat. She watched as he entered and then her heart dropped. The tom was frail, skinny, obviously weak, but from what? With the upcoming New-Leaf, food had been becoming better and better. Something caused it. Something forced, not natural. She then ran to the her storage and waited more instruction, just in case he needed something simple like comfrey. It could just be a broken bone, nothing serious. So she thought. Then she remembered her own injury, and the sudden running sent pain up it fir a few seconds and she winced in pain slighty before she put on a strong face. "Bed's ready Surgestorm." she replied. She felt tense, as she didn't like the way he looked. He looked close to death and that worried her. She had seen her share. Between her older sibling's death, or her mother being killed by the lynx, or her father's attempt to kill her, and her older sister, Moonfang ended his life before he ended hers. Sure, he wasn't of their clan, and sure, she didn't know him, but he followed the same set of stars, and like Moonpaw had taught her, he saw the same moon, no matter where he stood in the clans. She had to be ready, and she was.

[Brunch]

Peace rang in the clearing, entwined with the quiet conversations. Errupting into the colorful clearing, Caninheary had two rabbits-- one larger than the other, each quite plump. The she-cat's maw was parted in a slight smile around the prey. Her normally harsh features soft as the ran across the clearing. The brown and white-cream molly approached the pile of the prey, laying her limp catches atop of the rest, only to slowly strut away with a smaller mouse clutched in her jaws.

Canineheart slowly started to devior the mouse, until it was a small pile of bones, which she placed in a small hole that she had carved in the ground. The she-cat crossed her creamed forepaws, while her stripped white and brown tail flicked. Though her mouth wasn't curved in a small grin, her bright emerald eyes smiled cleverly at the clearing.

[dino.]

Originally Posted by NoireRose

''No, no, nothing's wrong.'' Lakepaw replied, but her tail stated otherwise. She swished it with agitation, but she refused to let it display in her expression and her attitude. She was just saddened that she couldn't find any friends. All her life, she focused on her training too much. Which is good, but also annoying. She felt her ears flattened, but she quickly picked them up again, and flashed a brilliant smile towards her mentor so that he knew that she was okay. ''See? I told you that I was okay!''

"All right then." But the look he gave her told her that he lens something was up. "I'm going to go get some sleep. I'll see in the morning. Sleep in, if you want," he added. He kicked the bones o the grouse into a dark corner of camp and stood up, then padded over to the warriors den and ducked inside

[lone]

Originally Posted by Cloudy

Peace rang in the clearing, entwined with the quiet conversations. Errupting into the colorful clearing, Caninheary had two rabbits-- one larger than the other, each quite plump. The she-cat's maw was parted in a slight smile around the prey. Her normally harsh features soft as the ran across the clearing. The brown and white-cream molly approached the pile of the prey, laying her limp catches atop of the rest, only to slowly strut away with a smaller mouse clutched in her jaws.

Canineheart slowly started to devior the mouse, until it was a small pile of bones, which she placed in a small hole that she had carved in the ground. The she-cat crossed her creamed forepaws, while her stripped white and brown tail flicked. Though her mouth wasn't curved in a small grin, her bright emerald eyes smiled cleverly at the clearing.

The black furred warrior entered the Clearing, his hues scanning it for a familiar face. And he spotted Canineheart-- a familiar cat-- near an edge of the Clearing, looking much happier then she had the last time he had seen her. But she still wasn't smiling; something that made Obsidiansky feel bad, he would have felt much happier if she had been smiling. He liked to see cats happy. But he headed over in her direction, his tail twitching back and forth in a friendly manner. A smile was firmly etched onto the tom's features, as usual, though there was a hint of worry behind his dark hues.

"Canineheart, hi!" He mewed, flashing her a smile as he approached, sitting down beside her. Their last conversation had ended somewhat abruptly, and he felt bad about it-- though it wasn't his fault. Or her fault. It had just sort of...happened. Stuff happened, and he knew it, but he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. "How are you?" He asked, a smile still on his features as he did so. Though his focus was clearly on her, his hues were glancing around the clearing, sweeping it in singular movements, always alert.

Obsidiansky was a naturally alert cat; though he didn't know why, he'd never had any real reason to be. Since Singenight's exile, being forced out, there had been no threats to the Clans. WindClan was being rebuilt and soon, would be as strong as they had always been. Strong might be exaggerating a little, but the black tom couldn't help thinking it...he was thankful to be a part of his home Clan, WindClan, and he was thankful that he was going to be here to stay. At least as far as he knew.

He could only hope that it would be true.

[Fel]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

@fenic!

The brown and white Deputy padded into the clearing, his sharp hues scanning it for a moment before he relaxed. It seemed no matter what he did, he was constantly on the lookout for a hostile face...and knew exactly what he would do if he spotted one. Shrikecall was rarely indecisive, especially when it came to figuring out what to do with a stranger. Though the strangers who had recently come into Camp were still on his mind. He was annoyed that they were here, when they were a threat...annoyed that that warrior was dealing with them...but at least they weren't in his line of sight at the moment. He would get rid of them later. Briefly he unsheathed his claws, digging them into the dirt at the thought of the so-called 'former Deputy--' he'd never heard of her! So what was she doing here? What did she want...to see Dapplestar? Because he had already told them that Dapplestar was gone. And yet they were still here, prevailing in whatever quest they might be trying to accomplish. The tom's tail twitched back and forth as he settled in a more remote part of the clearing where he could be on his own for a moment, undisturbed...unless, of course, Heathertail wanted to come over. Or someone else from his past moons, that he didn't mind quite as much. Shrikecall yawned, feeling quite tired...it seemed to have come on all of a sudden, but perhaps it had really been there for a while. He wasn't quite sure, having not been paying attention to the needs of himself for a short time...he didn't feel like they were important at the moment. And besides that, he felt fine, so why do something that wasn't going to help anyways?

Galespring had things on her mind as well- though they didn't seem to be as important as the deputy's fears, she still kept them packed in her mind. The thought that her mother might be out there, somewhere, having given her up as a small kitten in where she could never learn who her biological parents really were. How she was so concerned for Blazingstar, her best friend, and how he seemed to be getting himself rooted even deeper into trouble now that he'd become leader, how she didn't want to let go of him now that she'd had to let go of another friend. She needed to vent, to talk to somebody she knew well, somebody she could trust- and as she stumbled back to the clearing, paws about to give out from the day she'd spent running in circles, she saw the perfect cat to talk to. Shrikecall. Her former mentor, and now the deputy of WindClan- he was an older cat, but that just meant he would be better at helping her in her predicament. "...Hey, Shrikecall." She whispered as she walked towards the tom, her voice raspy with exasperation.

[ameko]

[ @Ludicrous Lunacy ]

An annoyed groan followed by a shuffling of paws was heard from the corner of the apprentices' den. A small, thin apprentice sat up, rubbing an eye with his paw. One ear was bent back and the other was perked up as usual, giving him a silly look. His fur rippled along his spine as he stood, taking great care not to step on any stray tails or paws nearby. Cinnamonpaw leaned forward and stretched his back, glaring out into the clearing. It was nearly sunrise, and the poor apprentice had barely gotten any sleep at all! He had been having problems with sleeping enough already, and he was done. Just done. Done with everything, done with life, done with being done, and done with dealing with his little adopted sister—whom he did love, mind you; he was just annoyed by how sensitive and insecure she was all the time. Uuuugh. He didn't want to go outside because he'd have to try to maneuver his way around all the dumb, sleeping bodies, and that would just be too much work for the fiery tom. For now, he was content kind of okay with sitting in his little nest, unless some cat decided to force him out. He wasn't in the mood to talk right now, still busy being done with life. Cinn's ear was still flopped down, as the young tom had not noticed it yet. With a glance around the den, Cinnamonpaw wasn't even sure if there were any cats awake besides him. Oh, well.

[lone]

Originally Posted by fenic!

Galespring had things on her mind as well- though they didn't seem to be as important as the deputy's fears, she still kept them packed in her mind. The thought that her mother might be out there, somewhere, having given her up as a small kitten in where she could never learn who her biological parents really were. How she was so concerned for Blazingstar, her best friend, and how he seemed to be getting himself rooted even deeper into trouble now that he'd become leader, how she didn't want to let go of him now that she'd had to let go of another friend. She needed to vent, to talk to somebody she knew well, somebody she could trust- and as she stumbled back to the clearing, paws about to give out from the day she'd spent running in circles, she saw the perfect cat to talk to. Shrikecall. Her former mentor, and now the deputy of WindClan- he was an older cat, but that just meant he would be better at helping her in her predicament. "...Hey, Shrikecall." She whispered as she walked towards the tom, her voice raspy with exasperation.

At first, the Deputy seemed not to realize the younger cat was heading towards him-- her voice sounded so different-- but once he did, a look of surprise crossed his features. "Galespring? What happened?" He asked. His voice was raspy as well, but it was more from age then anything else, and wasn't too serious. Though his focus might have been on the cat before him, his eyes certainly were not. They were scanning the clearing, looking for those three cats, trying to find them...but of course, he couldn't. The tip of the tom's tail began to twitch aggressively for a moment before he turned his attention back onto Galespring. She looked tired. And worried-- what would she be so worried about? He was aware, of course, that she had been spending quite a bit of time with Blazingstar... perhaps there was something going on with that. That must be it. A second look of concern passed over his features before he turned his eyes back onto the clearing, once again searching for those cats. Nothing. They must have been buried in the crowds that were hanging around, though he was exasperated that his eyes weren't quite as sharp as they used to be. That was just one of the problems with old age... once he got older, his senses-- well, some of them-- started to deteriorate.

[Ludicrous Lunacy]

Originally Posted by Pathos

[ @Ludicrous Lunacy ]

An annoyed groan followed by a shuffling of paws was heard from the corner of the apprentices' den. A small, thin apprentice sat up, rubbing an eye with his paw. One ear was bent back and the other was perked up as usual, giving him a silly look. His fur rippled along his spine as he stood, taking great care not to step on any stray tails or paws nearby. Cinnamonpaw leaned forward and stretched his back, glaring out into the clearing. It was nearly sunrise, and the poor apprentice had barely gotten any sleep at all! He had been having problems with sleeping enough already, and he was done. Just done. Done with everything, done with life, done with being done, and done with dealing with his little adopted sister—whom he did love, mind you; he was just annoyed by how sensitive and insecure she was all the time. Uuuugh. He didn't want to go outside because he'd have to try to maneuver his way around all the dumb, sleeping bodies, and that would just be too much work for the fiery tom. For now, he was content kind of okay with sitting in his little nest, unless some cat decided to force him out. He wasn't in the mood to talk right now, still busy being done with life. Cinn's ear was still flopped down, as the young tom had not noticed it yet. With a glance around the den, Cinnamonpaw wasn't even sure if there were any cats awake besides him. Oh, well.

A light-footed Siamese poked their head into the den, struggling to make things out inside it. Finally catching sight of their apprentice, who had been quite near the entrance already, they wondered where it was fair to force them to get up so early. After all, Cinnominpaw needed rest as much as any other cat. You are their mentor, Rainshade, not their health coach, they scolded themself. And anyway, he's awake. The she-cat stepped into the den and meowed quietly, as to not disturb any later risers, "Cinnominpaw, if you could come on, I'd like to take you hunting today. The fresh-kill pile isn't going to stock itself, and you know as well as I do that two sets of paws are better than one." Two sets of eyes, more like. Stepping back a bit to allow room to exit the den, their crossed gaze darkted around as they tried to ensure they didn't clumsily trod on some slumbering apprentice's tail. Or muzzle, actually, as they had when they were younger. Their pupils finally dilating to the point to ensure better vision in the den, their eyes fell upon Cinnomin's floppy ear. Flicking her own ear, she decided, Well, it's up to him to notice. Having managed their way past the minefield of paws and tails, Rainshade stepped outside the den to wait for their apprentice.

[Fel]

Originally Posted by Lilly

Moonpaw tought for a moment, letting silence fall after her friend's last sentence. A part of her brain - the logical side - was telling her that there were warning signs all over the place. It looked like an area dense with trees, almost as if they had been put there in that array. She couldn't see anything past the bundle of greenery, and what lurked in the space-filling shadows somewhat frightened the young apprentice. But another part of her, the adventurous side she had kind of picked up from her friend Leopardpaw and her uncle Surgestorm, danced the idea into her head that it wouldn't be the end of the world. If it was part of their territory, it had to have been explored by warriors within the Clan, right? If anything posed a threat to WindClan, especially that close to camp, surely Blazingstar wouldn't have permitted access to it. Or maybe there were WindClan warriors guarding the entrance. Despite the former voice trying to pull her back, the white and black furred WindClan apprentice's curiosity got the better of her, and she offered a shrug, paired with a determined look.
"I'm sure there's nothing terrible over there. I mean, look at today. What could go wrong?" she inquired, posing her question in a simple, nonchalant tone. Her blue eyes were filled with curiosity as she started to take a couple pawsteps forward, not bothering to check the breeze, which was uncharacteristic of her. Feeling a bit braver as she began to make her way to the patch of trees, Moonpaw cast a glance over her shoulder. "Just for a bit, we'll go explore it. But then let's go see if we can find any rabbit holes out in the main moorland," she offered, knowing that going to explore the mysterious bundle of trees would satisfy her adventurous friend. She didn't know much about Tawnypaw's early life, as they had grown apart, but she did know that the apprentice didn't have much family left. She was the daughter of Dapplestar and Rowanhawk, both of whom were no longer with WindClan, but hunted with StarClan. She knew of a few of her siblings, some of whom were still kits, and others warriors from Dapplestar's previous litters. Her heart ached at times for her friend, wishing she could fill those gaps. But she was here, now, and Tawnypaw had her undivided attention. A smile crossed her face as she tried to mimic the mischievous personality she had seen her friend have time and time again. "It'll be like a secret adventure!"

"Alright, alright- but if you get into trouble, I'll be right behind you." Tawnypaw exclaimed- she was used to being protective of her only few friends, she way she used to be for her siblings before their deaths left her alone. She didn't want to bring Moonpaw down or make her feel sad like this, and so she decided to just go with everything she said, though the slightly younger apprentice couldn't help but feel like she was doing something wrong. Of course I feel wrong- everything I do, everybody I get close to, they all seem to drift away, to die- and that's why I've got to stand by Moonpaw's side, so she doesn't end up like everybody else. Her friends, the entire clan- they were her family now, and so she had to protect both those things in any way she could. Flicking her tail back-and forth across the snow-covered grass, she smiled quietly at her friend's exclamation that it would be an adventure- they could do something fun together, just the two of them. "We can start walking now, if you want- it might get really tiring if we wait until nightfall to actually explore the place." She mused, looking around herself carefully before giving the other molly a quick nod- trying to mean that there didn't seem to be any warriors or dangerous-looking cats around the area. In fact, the moors seemed to be quite bare- the only place she couldn't check were he trees up ahead, due to both how far away it was and the heavy foresting which covered the patch.
However, Tawnypaw didn't make the first move- instead, she waited for Moonpaw to start walking, trying to hang back. She liked this excitable side of her friend, somebody who was quite shy and generally less outspoken. Maybe it's time for me to notice things, and to quiet down just a little bit. One of the only good things that came out of being so alone most of the time was the ability to tune things out- to shut your eyes for a second and let everything phase away, almost like you couldn't hear it anymore. She didn't have the best hearing, which might have contributed to this- but she could still hear her friend, and that was what mattered. She'd tune out everybody else.