WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[>Pepsi<]

Originally Posted by NightWarrior4Life

"Yes Flamestorm!" Now ShinePaw could see her mentor's meaning as she noticed the sorrow in her mentor's eyes. She lost a close friend to the thunderpath...I can tell...
Padding some distance away from the edge of the thunderpath, beyond the monsters' stench, she scented rabbit. Please let me catch it...to make Flamestorm proud...I will prove I can be a cat to be proud of! stalking carefully until the thunderpath was hidden by a dark tunnel, she chased the rabbit, catching it in the blink of her pale Huey eyes. "Look, Flamestorm! I got one!" ShinePaw called, the rodent dangling lifeless in her grey muzzle.

Flamestorm smiled. "Well-done!" She mewled as she licked her chest. She could sense another member of the prey family, smelled a vole. "Smell that?" The firey she-cat whispered, waiting for her apprentice to identify the scent.

[doghouse]

Originally Posted by starfall

The queen smiled as she saw her daughter hop down the moor to her, it filler her with delight, the sight of her daughter hopping happily through the moor. It also made her tear up a bit, her precious children were growing up fast, too fast, and sadly her mate took no part in it. Neither of them did. Although he drug her heart through the dirt, ripped her soul in half, and cackled as she cried in despair, she still loved her ex mate, with all of her heart. Don't get her wrong, she loved Gustflight as well, but she believed that he didn't love her, was it her fate to be tossed out and hated by her mates? Was it her fate to be beat, clawed, battered, and broken by the ones she fell so deeply for? The very thought made her heart sink, no matter how much devotion and love she poured into her mates, they ended up leaving her, was she too much? Was she ugly? Was her personality awful, was she too demanding, did she care too much? All of these questions spun around in her head every day, she continplated her very existence. But she quickly pushed away those horrid thoughts as her daughter began to speak, she found it odd, phantompaw wouldn't look at her as she spoke, did she do something wrong? "Hello dear, it is a very lovely day, Newleaf is on its way." she purred, her white fur seemed to glow in the sunlight as well as her stunning, starling blue hues. After a few seconds of awkward science she smiled sweetly down at her daughter and giggled "How has your day been gong sweety? I hope you're learning a whole lot from your mentor. Are they being kind to you? Oh I hope they're taking their time while teaching you, I know how hard it is to be taught some new stuff so don't be afraid to ask for them to go slower." she said quickly, her motherly side was showing, and rightfully so, her daughter had avoided her as much as possible and she was worried sick over her safety, she just wanted to make sure she was happy, that's all she wished for.

Phantompaw fluffed out her pelt to hide the thin scratches the crossed her pelt from training with her mentor. Her claws, which were sheathed, had a small amount of dried blood caked on them from the few blows she'd managed to actually land on her mentor. If it hadn't been Dovecloud, standing before her, she would've let her claws slide out and scratches show, as she was secretly proud of them. A scratch across her cheek was the only one visible, but she kept her head turned to the side so the risk of her mother seeing it was not as high. The apprentice wondered if she had been too careless while training, and should've told Spireflare that she wasn't ready to train with tooth and claw, but she remembered what he'd told her, and decided that it was better to train like a real warrior, like the cats she'd seen kill each other during the battle, than a soft kittypet. When she was a kit, she'd thought it was a game, and the cats who'd died were faking or sleeping, but now that she was older, she knew the truth. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Dovecloud, not caring that the scratch was now visible. Her face was stony and gave away nothing, but a swirling mix of uncertain emotions flooded her thoughts, and she tried to block them out. “Good I guess, and I am, and they are.” she replied in a short, calm way, her voice almost quivering. She didn't want to make Dovecloud think she was upset or scared or weak, she was just very uncertain and rather uncomfortable with the situation. She doubted that Dovecloud would believe what she had just said, but she didn't care. The apprentice shifted her weight her ears twitching and paws itching to run, to avoid all this awkwardness, but that would only make it worse later, so she remained still and waited, both eager about what her mother was going to say and dreading it all. She looked over the white tabby, her icy blue hues giving away nothing. Her pale tail, almost dilute calico but not quite, was tucked against her hind legs, the tip brushing against the cold, moist ground and tall grasses. She remembered her earlier talk with Shinepaw and hoped that Dovecloud hadn't been there to overhear, for she doubted that it would be one of Dovecloud's approval.

(I know that your very busy, but a tiny little bump @starfall)

[Brunch]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

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.

"Hi Obsidiansky," Canineheart mewed, her mouth twitching into a feeble smile. Her tail whipped slightly; side to side as Obsidiansky stood before her. She felt slightly happier at the sight of the tom, for she hadn't seen him since their last conversation a moon or so ago. Canineheart looked forward to this one, as the last left her in higher spirits.

"In feeling much better than last," Canineheart chirped merrily, her somewhat harsh voice so using odd as cheer made its way into her tone. "How's Rainpaw doing?" Canineheart meowed quietly, her emerald eyes meeting Obsidiansky's. It was hard not to get lost in them, that the she-cat found herself staring into them for longer than she had intended. She stared at her paws, blushing furiously under her brown fur.

[Ludicrous Lunacy]

[ @Lonestar23 ]

In the back of a den that was gloomily lit by the snow-enhanced dawn, a pair of bright blue eyes opened blearily. Tiredness was clear in the face of the cat to whom they belonged to as they stood up. The she-cat, a beautiful Siamese, whos eyes appeared to be crossed, gave her slightly rumpled fur a few quick licks to smooth it to the best of their ability. One after another, they set down their dark chocolate brown paws carefully. On any normal day, a cat would have trouble getting through this maze of limp paws and tails, but the she-cat wa having an especially hard time; They couldn't really see what obstructed their path on a bright day without tucking their chin to their chest to allow their narrow field of vision to see the obstacles clearly. Here, with the only light being the reflected milky light of dawn was not helping one bit. The warrior was surprised they hadn't tripped already. Well, they were, until they tripped on some moss and landed on somecats tail. Wait. Not just somecat's tail... Shrikecall's tail.
Oh, great StarClan, seriously? they thought, stumblimg back to their paws. "So sorry about that," she meowed quietly to the now most definetly awake deputy. Their tail flicked nervously behid them as they cursed their luck in their head. "I couldn't... See you..."

[lone]

Originally Posted by Cloudy

"Hi Obsidiansky," Canineheart mewed, her mouth twitching into a feeble smile. Her tail whipped slightly; side to side as Obsidiansky stood before her. She felt slightly happier at the sight of the tom, for she hadn't seen him since their last conversation a moon or so ago. Canineheart looked forward to this one, as the last left her in higher spirits.

Originally Posted by Cloudy

"In feeling much better than last," Canineheart chirped merrily, her somewhat harsh voice so using odd as cheer made its way into her tone. "How's Rainpaw doing?" Canineheart meowed quietly, her emerald eyes meeting Obsidiansky's. It was hard not to get lost in them, that the she-cat found herself staring into them for longer than she had intended. She stared at her paws, blushing furiously under her brown fur.

The tom smiled back at her, although his was noticably brighter-- and then it faded to an expression of confusion. Maybe he had noticed that his companion's smile was somewhat lacking in cheer, or maybe it was the fact that he was having a harder day as well-- but whatever it was, Obsidiansky suddenly didn't look as happy. "That's good! I'm glad to hear it." He purred, his smile once again returning as brightly as before. Whatever the reason had been, it was no longer bothering him, seeing as he now looked just as excited and spirited as he had a moment before. It was hard to tell whether the tom was truly upset, or confused, or happy sometimes-- due to his almost always constant smile. Whether it was a barrier for more potent emotions or just something he did was also unknown.
　
But once again, the smile faded from his features at her question about Rainpaw. "He's... well, to be honest, I don't know what to do with him. His parents had a rough background for him to hear, especially that young. He's not too respectful, either-- and while that bothers me, it's not the thing that bothers me most. He's just so angry-- to be honest, Canineheart, I don't think I'm getting anywhere with him." Obsidiansky wrapped his tail around his paws. He glanced up at her, dark hues meeting the emerald ones of the female, and sighed. The fact that she was willing to listen helped... and he was glad of it. "But I didn't come over here to tell you about my problems. Actually, I was thinking you might want to go for a walk or something." Obsidiansky grinned, and then waited for the she cat's reply. Oblivious to his companion's feelings-- whatever they were-- he wasn't aware that perhaps she might rather stay in the clearing opposed to going out into the territory.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Ludicrous Lunacy

[ @Lonestar23 ]

In the back of a den that was gloomily lit by the snow-enhanced dawn, a pair of bright blue eyes opened blearily. Tiredness was clear in the face of the cat to whom they belonged to as they stood up. The she-cat, a beautiful Siamese, whos eyes appeared to be crossed, gave her slightly rumpled fur a few quick licks to smooth it to the best of their ability. One after another, they set down their dark chocolate brown paws carefully. On any normal day, a cat would have trouble getting through this maze of limp paws and tails, but the she-cat wa having an especially hard time; They couldn't really see what obstructed their path on a bright day without tucking their chin to their chest to allow their narrow field of vision to see the obstacles clearly. Here, with the only light being the reflected milky light of dawn was not helping one bit. The warrior was surprised they hadn't tripped already. Well, they were, until they tripped on some moss and landed on somecats tail. Wait. Not just somecat's tail... Shrikecall's tail.

Oh, great StarClan, seriously? they thought, stumblimg back to their paws. "So sorry about that," she meowed quietly to the now most definetly awake deputy. Their tail flicked nervously behid them as they cursed their luck in their head. "I couldn't... See you..."

Shrikecall had just woken up-- the senior Deputy had found himself sleeping later and later, and it was something that was constantly annoying him. Annoyance was one of the strongest emotions with Shrikecall, something that he seemed to be experiencing on a daily basis. He didn't think there was a single cat who had managed not to annoy him. Whether that was a bad thing for them or him, Shrikecall didn't know, but he believed things were only going to get worse as he got older. The tom didn't want to be this way. And yet he had managed to do so anyways. Despite this, he was quickly learning that he would have to just deal with the annoyance.
If he wanted to have cats like him, that was. He could always be an unpopular Deputy-- that was something he would be good at, right? The brown and white tom was preparing to get to his paws-- stretching out and yawning-- when he felt something landing on his tail. A sharp pain jolted through him, and a half-frustrated, half-pained yowl erupted from the tom's maw. "What were you doing? Were you unable to see me, or were you just being clumsy?" He snapped. Most of the time, he handled things in a more professional manner.
But being first thing in the morning-- well, first thing to him-- he wasn't exactly in the mood for giving this cat some space. Carefully drawing his tail out of the way, the Deputy turned so that his hues pierced the other cat. Though he knew it probably wouldn't look good, he honestly couldn't remember who they were-- and he wasn't expected to, there must be dozens of cats in the Clan-- but he would have liked to. "Who are you?" He demanded, the tip of his tail twitching-- though every time he did so, it sent another little shock of pain through the older cat's body. He ignored it, however, continuing to focus his hues on the cat before him.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Obsidiansky entered the nursery, the black tom glancing around for his friend. He knew Sagewhisker would be in here; she always was, with her kits. He spotted her by a nest, beside her young kits, and sighed. It seemed as though bad luck had taken it's toll-- her mate had left her, but he was glad that was all that had happened. She would be able to take care of them without him. And he would step in, if he needed to... but that would be a last resort, for although Obsidiansky cared about his friend very much, he didn't want to strain the relationship between them. He approached the nest, stopping as he saw that the younger cats were asleep. "Are you doing alright?" The tom asked in a low voice, glancing worriedly at his friend. He would hate for something bad to happen to her. And surely nothing bad would happen, right? They would be fine. She and the kits both would. He glanced down at the slumbering kits, and a slight smile spread across his maw. "The kits are beautiful. Getting bigger by the day." He added, glancing up at her. That was his attempt at conversation; he was normally better, but for the moment being, it seemed appropriate somehow to talk about the young kits.

The tortoiseshell molly looked up from her sleeping kits to see one of her closest friends, Obsidiansky. A smile crossed her face as he spoke to her. She gave a slight nod. "Yes, especially young Larkkit. She is as beautiful as ever and she is so adventurous. She will make a fine warrior, all of them will." Sagewhisker stared down lovingly at her kits. They seemed so peaceful and they gently kneaded her stomach. Rowankit let out a distressed mew as Brightkit kicked him away from Sagewhisker's stomach. The tortoiseshell molly craned her neck toward him and began to guide him back to her stomach. She gave the top of his head a quick lick and turned her gaze back to Obsidiansky. "So how have you been doing lately?" She asked.

[lone]

Originally Posted by S A G I E

The tortoiseshell molly looked up from her sleeping kits to see one of her closest friends, Obsidiansky. A smile crossed her face as he spoke to her. She gave a slight nod. "Yes, especially young Larkkit. She is as beautiful as ever and she is so adventurous. She will make a fine warrior, all of them will." Sagewhisker stared down lovingly at her kits. They seemed so peaceful and they gently kneaded her stomach. Rowankit let out a distressed mew as Brightkit kicked him away from Sagewhisker's stomach. The tortoiseshell molly craned her neck toward him and began to guide him back to her stomach. She gave the top of his head a quick lick and turned her gaze back to Obsidiansky. "So how have you been doing lately?" She asked.

"I know they will. They're your kits, aren't they?" He asked, a smile crossing his features and disappearing just as quickly. He looked down at the young cats, cocking his head to the side as he did so. They certainly were beautiful. And he was sure they would make great warriors-- their Mom is. He thought. He took another look at the kits... having never had kits of his own, he wasn't quite sure what to do. But for a tom who wasn't really around kits that often, he wasn't awkward around them at all-- as a matter of fact, being around hers made him wish he would have some of his own someday. But he was still a young warrior... there was plenty of time for that. "I got an apprentice. He's... headstrong, to say the least. Hung out with a new friend-- and working on making friends with my apprentice. Nothing too new." He shrugged, before glancing over at his friend with a slightly worried expression. Was she doing alright as well? "...how about you? Have you been okay?" He asked in a lower voice, looking back down at the ground-- or rather, the ground at an angle so that he was still semi-looking at his friend and the small cats who were in the nest.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

"I know they will. They're your kits, aren't they?" He asked, a smile crossing his features and disappearing just as quickly. He looked down at the young cats, cocking his head to the side as he did so. They certainly were beautiful. And he was sure they would make great warriors-- their Mom is. He thought. He took another look at the kits... having never had kits of his own, he wasn't quite sure what to do. But for a tom who wasn't really around kits that often, he wasn't awkward around them at all-- as a matter of fact, being around hers made him wish he would have some of his own someday. But he was still a young warrior... there was plenty of time for that. "I got an apprentice. He's... headstrong, to say the least. Hung out with a new friend-- and working on making friends with my apprentice. Nothing too new." He shrugged, before glancing over at his friend with a slightly worried expression. Was she doing alright as well? "...how about you? Have you been okay?" He asked in a lower voice, looking back down at the ground-- or rather, the ground at an angle so that he was still semi-looking at his friend and the small cats who were in the nest.

"Yes, of course. But....their father denies that they are his.." Sagewhisker mewed, her voice clouded and shallow. She thought of how she had informed Blazingstar that the kits were his and how he had refused to believe her. Well, one day they are going to find out the truth and I can guarantee that they won't be happy about it. Obsidiansky's voice thrust her back into reality as he asked how she herself had been lately. "That's great that you got an apprentice, I'm sure you'll be a great mentor. Well, I found out that Galespring is my half-sister and that the kits' father denies the kits are his." Sagewhisker meowed. She blinked slowly and sighed. I just wish Blazingstar would act like a father. I know the clan needs him, but the kits and I are included in it. I hate that these kits will grow up without a father, but that is how it is going to be. I just hope that a can be a good mother to them. "I hate that the kits will grow up without a father, but I hope I can be a good mother to them, just the same." Sagewhisker mewed.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

@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?

Larkkit squealed with delight and charged through the entrance. Her paws hit the ground with light thudding noises and she suddenly skidded to a halt, glancing around at the den. It was dark, but obviously needed patches here and there. The nests were smaller than the ones in the nursery, but looked just as comfortable. However just like she had thought, it was not as welcoming as it appeared. Larkkit spun around to look up at Heartpaw as she listened. Her head cocked a little in confusion. "Surely you have friends! Anyone could be friends with you! You're so nice!" she spoke, her voice sounded almost amazed at this realization. Perhaps she wasn't ready to be an apprentice... No. Larkkit was ready, but had a few moons to wait. She wanted to start now, so perhaps Heartpaw could help with that? As her attention span broke, she moved on to a different topic. A typical kit thing. "Show me how to crouch! Or or or...." she strained to think of the words, "Or...er... to fight! I wanna learn now so I can be the best apprentice ever!" she declared, puffing out her already fluffy chest. The kitten fluff would soon give way to a sleek tortoiseshell pelt, but for now, she looked like a fuzzball with legs.