WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Teza]

Originally Posted by Lost Illusion

Redwhispers chuckles, "I am glad you're my friend. I hope there is some prey.. The Clan really needs the food right now." He said sadly.

The fawn she-cat nodded her agreement. "I wonder how far the fire spread," she said. "I haven't really been out of the camp much since we got back, I'm curious to see if it went across the entire territory or not."

[lone]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

{Yeah, I know, it's weird but it definitely builds on her character!}

To be completely honest with herself, Adderpaw thought that that was the end, right then and there, that he would have taken those words, shrugged it off and just went off to trick another poor cat into giving him things that he wanted, or doing things that he wanted, making them think they were his friend only to.. Sighing out, the yellow tabby only buried her face further into her tail as she started to get a hold of her sobbing, quieting down to just the occasionally hitches and hiccups of breath. She had never felt so low and terrible and alone in her life before now. All those times of being strong, shrugging off what other kits said to her, shrugging off the fact that she didn't have any friends, had come crashing down to this sobbing mess of an apprentice in her nest. What had she ever done to deserve this? Was it wrong to be confident that she would do well in life? Was it wrong to be herself despite some cats not liking how she was? Was it so wrong for her to be her? That's what it started to seem like, especially now that the one she thought was her friend was just a sneaky trickster that only wanted what he wanted and didn't care for another's feelings, didn't care for friendship, just took what he wanted and left.
But that wasn't the end. She heard a soft voice call her name from the entrance, her right ear swiveling a bit in the direction before she realized who it was. That soft voice was Pinekit's. Or was it? She didn't even know what was the real him anymore. Curling even tighter into a ball, she didn't bother answering and simply remained silent. But what he said next caused her to pause in confusion. That wasn't the voice she normally heard him use. Was he acting again, to try and mend the bond so that he could just get more benefits from her? Probably. So she simply remained silent.

As he spoke, Adderpaw quietly listened from her nest, slowly lifting her head from her paws, tears staining the fur around her eyes as they looked towards the entrance of the apprentice's den. "Of course you think of this as a game, what do you mean? You said I won. This is all a big game to you Pinekit, are you too mouse-brained to see it? A big game that you thought you would win before you slipped up. Maybe you told me on purpose, and are doing this on purpose too, mending the bond to make me think that maybe you really are a cat that could be my friend so that you can get benefits from me even longer, only to leave me in the long run. That wouldn't surprise me." Meowed the she-cat, her voice shaky with tears with a bitter note in it, an almost sort of scowl on her face. "Maybe you should put yourself in another cats paws for a second. How would you feel if I played with you, told you things, shared tongues with you and was nice to you, making you think I was your friend only to come along and say I was tricking you so I could get something I wanted. You're a liar Pinekit and you probably never even meant anything you ever said to me, it's all lies." More tears started to flow from her eyes and she gritted her teeth, looking away. "A-And to think.. To think that you were actually a good trustworthy cat that I could go into battle with knowing that you would have my back.. Starclan help me if I were deputy and you wanted to be deputy, huh?" Sniffling, she simply shook her head and laid her head back in her paws. It was clear it would definitely be an extremely hard job gaining her trust back.

Pinekit listened to her and realized this was going to be much harder than he had thought. He had known it would be hard, it was very hard to get any cat's trust back once it had been broken like that, but Adderpaw...Adderpaw was completely heartbroken. Perhaps now was not the best time for him to be trying to get her trust back, although he knew he wasn't going to give up easily. He tried to think of how to respond. How could he respond to something like that? "If this was a game to me, I would be talking to you nicely. Like this." He changed his tone, making it sound more like he had been talking to her before. "Y'think I would be able to win over anyone sounding like this?" He asked, his voice going back to it's original, true state. He really didn't expect her to believe him. Why should she? Why should she believe a word I say? I don't know how to get her to believe me, because I've never had to before except in a game. And this isn't a game to me anymore. So how do I do this right? Pinekit thought desperately, his tail twitching with aggravation. It was frustrating to see that this was something he couldn't do. All through his life, he had learned to get what he wanted by using a charming, pleasing tone that made other cats feel special or wanted by him. But now- now he couldn't use that. It was too fake, it didn't sound real enough. "Would you rather I hadn't told you? Would you rather I was still playing my game with you? Because if so, that would surprise me...you'd rather I was lying to you rather than trying to tell you the truth now, except you're not listening because you're not going to believe me. And if you do believe me, you're doing a very good job of hiding it. Congratulations, Adderpaw. You've done the impossible- you've gotten me to tell the truth, and you believe me to still be a liar." He mewed, his voice having a sarcastic, hard note in it near the end of his statement.

"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't 'put myself in someone else's paws.' I would be running off finding someone else that I could use and forget about you. I'm here because I put myself in your paws, and I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am, and even if I did, nothing I say is going to make you believe me." He said, feeling more guilty and feeling as though she were just slipping away with every word he said. Why was this proving so hard for him? He was Pinekit, he had never had trouble getting anything he wanted...but everything he said to Adderpaw just wasn't good enough. He was failing. He was losing again, only this time it wasn't a game, and he wasn't expecting to win. "Why do I even bother." He muttered in a low tone, almost too low for her to hear- at least, that was what he believed. Still, Pinekit had never been one to just give up on something. He at least worked it to a dead end where he couldn't work anymore, and he would either get her trust back or drive her too far away from him. He wasn't sure which was happening at the moment, although he hoped that her trust was slowly being restored in him. If not trust, at least perhaps a respect that would at least allow her to just think about the things he was saying and look at them in a new light, one that he hadn't broken. That was doubtful; at the moment, Pinekit was pretty sure it would be moons before she would so much as look at him again. And in the meantime, if I go and find someone else to trick, it's only going to break her trust in me further. He thought, with a dejected sigh. So all he could do was wait for her to come around or give up on her now and move on. But the fact that he was still waiting for her told him what he already knew, and wished he didn't: he didn't want to give up on her.

[goddess of ducks]

Originally Posted by # Hashtag

Monsterpaw turned around her eyes on Singenight she reared up and pounded, since going at that speed it is quite difficult to come to a full stop and avoid it,besides she was full grown it would be a fair fight.

Singenight continued forwards, aiming a swipe at her leg. He then retreated backwards a little ways and leaped forwards pinning her to the ground. "Monsterpaw, why do you defy me?" He demanded, with a eerie calm to his voice.

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by toothlost!

Seeing his smile, his own teasing glint in his eyes, his adoration for her... Marigoldrise didn't know how she managed to stay calm and not explode into a giddy mess. She wanted to, oh how she wanted to. Perhaps she will later, when she's telling her close friends the news, there was no way she could hide her squealing, excited mess of a cat then. But for now she was just going to have to keep herself contained to prevent unnecessary attention. Rookpatch didn't need a bunch of eyes on him, especially not now.
At his stuttered response to her compliment, she smirked at him and put her nose to his for a brief moment, "What? I can't call you amazing, or stunning, or handsome? What about adorable?" She nudged him softly, "You're my perfection." Suddenly she stood up, looking down at him. "You need to eat, Rookpatch." She had noticed he was starting to look sickly and she assumed it was from a lack of food and rest, so she'd force him to eat and then nap with him. If he refused to nap, she'd find a way to make him. Without waiting for a response, the she-cat turned and went to the fresh-kill pile, picking out a decent sized hare, not the biggest one on the mound but definitely not a small meal. He was going to finish it whether he liked it or not.
Returning to their resting place she set it at his head and returned to the position she was in, staring at him a moment before gesturing to the rabbit. "Go on, eat." She looked back at him, shooting him a look that said 'try me' before returning to grooming him, purring softly to urge him into eating even more. If he felt comfortable and safe, he'd be more keen on caring for himself and eating. "After that you can nap. Or we both can." She smiled softly, remembering their last 'nap.' Granted it ended horribly, they had bounded a lot that day. That's when she really fell for him.

Considering he could contain his intense fear inside of him rather than breaking down mentally every day, it almost wasn't surprising that he could contain his intense feeling of giddiness, if there was one thing Rookpatch was good at aside from running, it was containing his emotions inside rather than bursting them out. Now don't get me wrong, when he speaks to Blazingstorm about the good news, he'll hardly be able to control himself, heck, he might even stutter more out of pure excitement at the prospect of actually.. Having a mate. But he also certainly didn't want to bring attention to them, he absolutely hated it when cats stared at him, plus he didn't agree with what Singenight was doing and was fearful that that might get him, or even worst, her, killed. So he did well in containing himself.
As her nose met his, he couldn't help but allow his eyes to widen, his breath being stolen momentarily by the beautiful she-cat as she complimented him even more, his ears flattening a bit in embarrassment, his cheeks heating up, a small smile appearing on his muzzle and his pale green eyes glancing away momentarily, until she got up in which he quickly looked back up at her, his ears perking up. Blinking a bit as she made the statement about him needing to eat, he looked at his sides where the ribs could be seen individually beneath his short hide, his lips turning down a bit in a frown. He honestly didn't feel that hungry. But she was already on the way to the fresh kill pile, causing him to sigh a bit and glance around nervously, feeling the fear creep back into him the father away she went and the longer she stayed away from his side, his paws kneading the ground a bit. Luckily enough for him, she wasn't gone too long and soon enough she was padding back to him with a hare in her jaws, his favorite piece of prey.
Rookpatch frowned at the piece of prey as it was set down in front of him and looked to Marigoldrise as she settled down in the position she was before, giving her a look as if to say, Do I really have to eat it? before huffing out a bit and pawing at the corpse. Giving it a sniff he realized it.. Did kind of smell good.. There was nothing to worry about right now anyways, he was.. He was safe. Licking his lips, he would flash a glance at the tabby as she stated that either he or the both of them could take a nap after this. The nap sounded more intriguing than the meal, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get away without eating it. So as she gently continued grooming him, he cautiously began to pluck the fur from the rabbit with his teeth before beginning to nibble at it, after a few nibbles it seemed he truly realized how hungry he was and started to take desperate mouthfuls of the creature, nearly choking a few times as he scarfed it down as quickly as he could, as if it could still run away from him and would if he didn't eat it as soon as possible.

[Maplefur]

Originally Posted by TheBread

Thornpelt whispered, "Just don't say anything.. They won't kill us if we don't speak out." The tom gave Flarerunner a worried look then turned back to the scene in front of him.

Flarerunner paused. Can I really just say nothing? If I just sit here and watch this all go down, without speaking up, then aren't I just as bad? She squeezed her eyes shut, and then slowly nodded her head to Thornpelt. It doesn't make sense to say anything if I'm just going to die... If I wait until we have more support, then maybe I can actually do something about this. She still felt guilt rack her as she agreed not to say anything. She had just watched two of her clanmates be killed, simply for stating their opinions. The molly knew she should do something, but her mind also told her she didn't have the support right now. She looked around the group, at cats who either had a face full of fear or excitement. For once, she was able to keep her mouth shut instead of blurting out her opinion. Perhaps it was the shock she still felt, or maybe the menacing glitter in some cats' eyes that allowed her to do so.

[~Breadsticks~]

Originally Posted by Maplefur

Flarerunner paused. Can I really just say nothing? If I just sit here and watch this all go down, without speaking up, then aren't I just as bad? She squeezed her eyes shut, and then slowly nodded her head to Thornpelt. It doesn't make sense to say anything if I'm just going to die... If I wait until we have more support, then maybe I can actually do something about this. She still felt guilt rack her as she agreed not to say anything. She had just watched two of her clanmates be killed, simply for stating their opinions. The molly knew she should do something, but her mind also told her she didn't have the support right now. She looked around the group, at cats who either had a face full of fear or excitement. For once, she was able to keep her mouth shut instead of blurting out her opinion. Perhaps it was the shock she still felt, or maybe the menacing glitter in some cats' eyes that allowed her to do so.

Ebonykit watched Singenight, his eyes bright with excitement, He's what we need... The kit thought to himself, a small smirk replacing his grin.
Thornpelt gave a small nod, "We'll be alright.." He whispered to Flarerunner, watching the clan.

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Pinekit listened to her and realized this was going to be much harder than he had thought. He had known it would be hard, it was very hard to get any cat's trust back once it had been broken like that, but Adderpaw...Adderpaw was completely heartbroken. Perhaps now was not the best time for him to be trying to get her trust back, although he knew he wasn't going to give up easily. He tried to think of how to respond. How could he respond to something like that? "If this was a game to me, I would be talking to you nicely. Like this." He changed his tone, making it sound more like he had been talking to her before. "Y'think I would be able to win over anyone sounding like this?" He asked, his voice going back to it's original, true state. He really didn't expect her to believe him. Why should she? Why should she believe a word I say? I don't know how to get her to believe me, because I've never had to before except in a game. And this isn't a game to me anymore. So how do I do this right? Pinekit thought desperately, his tail twitching with aggravation. It was frustrating to see that this was something he couldn't do. All through his life, he had learned to get what he wanted by using a charming, pleasing tone that made other cats feel special or wanted by him. But now- now he couldn't use that. It was too fake, it didn't sound real enough. "Would you rather I hadn't told you? Would you rather I was still playing my game with you? Because if so, that would surprise me...you'd rather I was lying to you rather than trying to tell you the truth now, except you're not listening because you're not going to believe me. And if you do believe me, you're doing a very good job of hiding it. Congratulations, Adderpaw. You've done the impossible- you've gotten me to tell the truth, and you believe me to still be a liar." He mewed, his voice having a sarcastic, hard note in it near the end of his statement.

"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't 'put myself in someone else's paws.' I would be running off finding someone else that I could use and forget about you. I'm here because I put myself in your paws, and I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am, and even if I did, nothing I say is going to make you believe me." He said, feeling more guilty and feeling as though she were just slipping away with every word he said. Why was this proving so hard for him? He was Pinekit, he had never had trouble getting anything he wanted...but everything he said to Adderpaw just wasn't good enough. He was failing. He was losing again, only this time it wasn't a game, and he wasn't expecting to win. "Why do I even bother." He muttered in a low tone, almost too low for her to hear- at least, that was what he believed. Still, Pinekit had never been one to just give up on something. He at least worked it to a dead end where he couldn't work anymore, and he would either get her trust back or drive her too far away from him. He wasn't sure which was happening at the moment, although he hoped that her trust was slowly being restored in him. If not trust, at least perhaps a respect that would at least allow her to just think about the things he was saying and look at them in a new light, one that he hadn't broken. That was doubtful; at the moment, Pinekit was pretty sure it would be moons before she would so much as look at him again. And in the meantime, if I go and find someone else to trick, it's only going to break her trust in me further. He thought, with a dejected sigh. So all he could do was wait for her to come around or give up on her now and move on. But the fact that he was still waiting for her told him what he already knew, and wished he didn't: he didn't want to give up on her.

It seemed to have taken him a moment to respond to her, but Adderpaw glanced at the entrance to the den to listen, the corners of her mouth turned down and the fur around her eyes still wet with fresh tears, but she was running out of tears to cry. Hearing what he said, a flicker of doubt in herself seemed to fill her and she glanced away, suddenly a bit confused. I.. Don't know what to think anymore.. He.. He could be lying, or he could be telling me the truth.. The apprentice paused before whimpering out a nearly pitiful, "I-I don't know.." It was a soft statement, but loud enough for the male kit to hear and it was clear that she just didn't know what to think anymore. This kit.. He was.. Just so good at lying, she couldn't tell when he was and when he wasn't, she had gone practically an entire moon, maybe longer believing that he really was a friend, that he was a good friend too, one that wouldn't deceive her like he had planned and technically did do. A small part inside of her wanted to say that he was actually telling the truth, that he had wrangled up his guts in order to finally come clean after so long of lying and that he truly did want to be her friend and didn't want to have to act in front of her anymore, didn't want to have to lie to her anymore. The voice was quiet, but it seemed to grow louder the more Pinekit spoke, leaving her looked confused and just completely defeated. Eyes focusing on him as he started speaking again, she could almost feel her heart sink lower, his words stung and I would say that sarcasm is the last thing that this poor apprentice needs shoved into her face, in fact, she seemed to physically flinch at the words and looked away, a few more tears flowing over onto the fur around her eyes, her lips quivering. She didn't have a response to that and simply sniffled, just not knowing what to make of this anymore, what to make of him anymore.

This time her gaze didn't flicker back at him, only her ears swiveled slowly in his direction as he continued to speak, her eyes blinking a bit, glancing at the ground before looking back at him. His.. Words sort of made sense, they sounded truthful. In fact, he sounded sort of hurt. But for a second, that didn't matter to her, the fact that mattered was that.. He was actually here, talking to her about it, if he didn't care then he would have just found another apprentice to latch onto. Right? Come on Adderpaw.. You.. Could give him one more chance. Maybe he really is telling the truth, maybe he really does mean that he's sorry and wants to be your friend. If he's just lying again you can completely ignore him and put him out of your life. Just one more chance to see if he's actually telling the truth. That voice inside of her was getting louder and she couldn't quite ignore it, a quiet sniffle escaping her as she thought it over. She was just so scared of being hurt like that again.. But she would give him one more chance. Flattening her ears and lifting her head, she focused her shiny, tear-filled gaze directly on Pinekit.
"Ok-hay Pinekit. I'll give you one more chance. One more chance and that's it. You ever lie to me again, I'll never speak to you again, I'll never acknowledge your existance, and I won't have your back in battle, I don't care if you're my clanmate. You will be dead to me. Do you understand?" There was a fire burning in her eyes now as she stared at him, waiting for his reply.

[Maplefur]

Originally Posted by TheBread

Ebonykit watched Singenight, his eyes bright with excitement, He's what we need... The kit thought to himself, a small smirk replacing his grin.
Thornpelt gave a small nod, "We'll be alright.." He whispered to Flarerunner, watching the clan.

"We might," Flarerunner murmured back. "But others won't." Her eyes flashed again to the two elders. Already she was grieving for them, knowing what was bound to happen.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

It seemed to have taken him a moment to respond to her, but Adderpaw glanced at the entrance to the den to listen, the corners of her mouth turned down and the fur around her eyes still wet with fresh tears, but she was running out of tears to cry. Hearing what he said, a flicker of doubt in herself seemed to fill her and she glanced away, suddenly a bit confused. I.. Don't know what to think anymore.. He.. He could be lying, or he could be telling me the truth.. The apprentice paused before whimpering out a nearly pitiful, "I-I don't know.." It was a soft statement, but loud enough for the male kit to hear and it was clear that she just didn't know what to think anymore. This kit.. He was.. Just so good at lying, she couldn't tell when he was and when he wasn't, she had gone practically an entire moon, maybe longer believing that he really was a friend, that he was a good friend too, one that wouldn't deceive her like he had planned and technically did do. A small part inside of her wanted to say that he was actually telling the truth, that he had wrangled up his guts in order to finally come clean after so long of lying and that he truly did want to be her friend and didn't want to have to act in front of her anymore, didn't want to have to lie to her anymore. The voice was quiet, but it seemed to grow louder the more Pinekit spoke, leaving her looked confused and just completely defeated. Eyes focusing on him as he started speaking again, she could almost feel her heart sink lower, his words stung and I would say that sarcasm is the last thing that this poor apprentice needs shoved into her face, in fact, she seemed to physically flinch at the words and looked away, a few more tears flowing over onto the fur around her eyes, her lips quivering. She didn't have a response to that and simply sniffled, just not knowing what to make of this anymore, what to make of him anymore.

This time her gaze didn't flicker back at him, only her ears swiveled slowly in his direction as he continued to speak, her eyes blinking a bit, glancing at the ground before looking back at him. His.. Words sort of made sense, they sounded truthful. In fact, he sounded sort of hurt. But for a second, that didn't matter to her, the fact that mattered was that.. He was actually here, talking to her about it, if he didn't care then he would have just found another apprentice to latch onto. Right? Come on Adderpaw.. You.. Could give him one more chance. Maybe he really is telling the truth, maybe he really does mean that he's sorry and wants to be your friend. If he's just lying again you can completely ignore him and put him out of your life. Just one more chance to see if he's actually telling the truth. That voice inside of her was getting louder and she couldn't quite ignore it, a quiet sniffle escaping her as she thought it over. She was just so scared of being hurt like that again.. But she would give him one more chance. Flattening her ears and lifting her head, she focused her shiny, tear-filled gaze directly on Pinekit.

"Ok-hay Pinekit. I'll give you one more chance. One more chance and that's it. You ever lie to me again, I'll never speak to you again, I'll never acknowledge your existance, and I won't have your back in battle, I don't care if you're my clanmate. You will be dead to me. Do you understand?" There was a fire burning in her eyes now as she stared at him, waiting for his reply.

Pinekit could feel the sting of regret piercing through him again as he heard the softest whisper of her words. It was so quiet and heartbroken that it took everything in him to hear it, not only because of how quiet it was, but because of the pain in it as well. He bit his lip, his tail twitching back and forth. Was this going to be worth it? Was he really going to give everything up, just for one cat? Yes. It's worth it. He thought, wondering how his way of thinking had changed along with him. He was nearly an apprentice, anyway...he wouldn't need favors anymore and if he did, he would get them like everybody else did. Through trust, not lies. Perhaps that was something he hadn't thought of before, but he was realizing it now. Yeah...next time I want something, I'll just ask for it! That could work, right? He thought excitedly, his sage hues now lighting up with a new light- not a sly, or selfish one- but one of realization and excitement, as though he were seeing the world around him for the first time and thought it was the best thing ever. The light faded as Adderpaw faced him, and sounded much more confident than the scared, unsure apprentice he had heard earlier. His own ears flicked backwards for a moment, and now he was unsure whether to believe her or not. Is she just going to do what I did? Does she want revenge? He thought worriedly for a moment, before shaking the thoughts off. This was Adderpaw, she wasn't like that...at least, from what he had experienced she wasn't. And besides, her words sounded truthful, and he knew that he would probably lose her altogether if he didn't agree to this. "I understand. Thank you for giving me another chance, because- because no one else ever has." He mewed, his voice calm and steady, although as he continued it seemed to break a little, as though he were going to cry. He cleared his throat, destroying the one moment of vulnerability he had just experienced, and got to his paws, stretching out slightly. "So...now that I have given up on creating a false character for myself...what now?" He asked, realizing that he didn't know what to do. He couldn't go back to his smooth tone, although he had rather liked the sound of it better, otherwise she would definitely think that he was lying to her. And he didn't know how to be a friend when he was just being himself, so Adderpaw would most likely have to take charge from here- at least, just until he could see what it was like to act like a friend with his own personality. He waited for her reply, cocking his head to the side in a very kit-like manner, and looking almost innocent...although, for her to have experienced his lying side, he wouldn't have looked innocent at all.

Her words kept playing back in his head, over and over again, giving it a ring that made him dizzy and unbalanced, and he nearly fell over, looking comical as he did so. At the moment, he didn't care if someone did laugh at him, he would have given anything just for Adderpaw to be happy right then...but he knew it would probably be a while before they would be able to be friends as they had been when he had been tricking her. Partly because she would be more hesitant this time, at least he imagined she would after what he had done, and partly because he would be unsure quite of what to do. Aw c'mon Pinekit, you do this stuff all the time when you're faking it, so just do it for real! Just actually mean what you say, like you did when you were talking to her a second ago! And besides, if you don't know what to do, just say so! Right? Pinekit thought to himself, feeling a little better than before.

[~Breadsticks~]

Originally Posted by Maplefur

"We might," Flarerunner murmured back. "But others won't." Her eyes flashed again to the two elders. Already she was grieving for them, knowing what was bound to happen.

"They will.. They'll go to Starclan, they won't have to deal with this anymore.." Thornpelt whispered, his gaze settled on the two elders for a few moments before going back to Flarerunner.