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Post by COBWEB on Jun 22, 2012 1:18:42 GMT -5
elmstripe" try talking to me about the reason behind your tears, and about the thorny roses which pierce through your tiny heart "
The makeshift Thunderclan camp was quiet aside from the protesting mewls of kittens as their mothers ushered them into the nursery. Overhead a storm was brewing. The sky was gray and cracked. Lines mimicking those of a spider web darted across the sky. Streams of pale sunlight dappled the ground below. The air carried the scent of rain and with it would come destruction. Most of Elmstripe’s clan mates were huddled in their dens. Elders complained about their joints and spat colorful remarks at one another. Warriors murmured softly and queens hummed their kittens to sleep. The orange tom slid out of the warrior’s den. He was uninterested in their conversation and he wasn’t going to waste his day listening to the younger toms exchange slap stick humor. No, the senior warrior would roam far away from camp—deep into the forest where he would be away from the noise.
His paws carried him out of camp undetected. Thunder shook the soil beneath his paws and the clouds were beginning to grow dark. Now wasn’t the time for a stroll but the escape was essential for his sanity. He loved his clan mates (some more than others) and was a loyal warrior but there were days when he just needed a break from their trivial conversations. It seemed like the only thing they talked about was she-cats or the weather, neither of which Elmstripe found appealing. He didn’t care what Brightstar had to say about his absence. He wasn’t breaking any law; he had the freedom to travel his territory as he pleased. Well at the moment it was Shadowclan territory but the lines seem to blur together these days. Another clap of thunder boomed above shattering the silence of the forest. The tom decided he would rather listen to the thunder than the staticy noise associated with camp.
Storm chasing was something his mentor had enjoyed. Personally, Elmstripe never saw the logic in it but he never argued or protested when his mentor asked him to participate. They’d go out in the pouring rain and chase down the lighting or follow the sound of thunder. What they were looking for he had no idea and even though it was irrational in his mind, he had fun. His apprentice days were full of hard work and determination but those stormy days were the days he remembered the above all else. What other apprentice got to go out and chase a storm down? Granted, they never caught one and he was sure it was impossible to do so but that was never the point. In fact the tom still wasn’t sure what his mentor meant to teach him and if there was anything to teach at all.
A rare grin pierced the scowl that he constantly wore. Thick raindrops soon began to fall from the sky and he figured that it would become a downpour soon enough. He turned his muzzle upward only to catch a raindrop in the eye. The tom blinked and shook his head. It was foolish of me to come out here, he thought, his lips forming his signature hard line. However since the tom was already out in the forest he figured he might as well bunker down until the storm passed.
[ words - 556 ]
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Post by HARPERKINS on Jun 29, 2012 13:36:21 GMT -5
** robinpaw ** It had been a rather slow day as far as being an apprentice went. Robinpaw was lazing about near the apprentices' den, eagerly keeping an eye out for her mentor. There wasn't much else to do. She'd already eaten a scrawny mouse, gone to check on the elders to make sure they were all taken care of, asked around to see if anyone needed help... the lanky young she-cat had done all she could think of. And now, as she observed the sky, she realized that it would be storming soon. That meant rain. Her nose wrinkled in displeasure at the thought of getting wet, and so she slunk into the small duvet in the ground underneath the fallen log that served as the apprentices' den.
There was another young cat there, curled up and taking a nap. Robinpaw considered doing the same, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep. There was too much energy laced in her veins. It was probably an invaluable and a rare opportunity, to get some extra rest, but she didn't want it. She didn't want to curl up and tuck her tail over her nose and doze off. She wanted to be outside, doing something, anything, other than sitting around. With that decision, the young apprentice slithered out from the den and sat back down outside, just as restless as she had been before.
A breeze ruffled her fur, and Robinpaw wriggled her nose as she sniffed the air. It smelled of the promise of rain, and as the sky continued to darken, so did her mood. Surely this meant that she wouldn't be able to get any training done today, and it was highly unlikely that anyone would take her out for a patrol. She felt very much... contained, and she realized she didn't like it.
Her attention piqued, however, when she noticed a familiar orange shape slinking out of came through the gorse tunnel. Robinpaw perked her ears, curious as to what Elmstripe could possibly be up to. Almost instinctively, as if she was popping out with him for a training session, the she-cat pushed herself to her paws and trotted off after him. If anyone noticed her leaving, they didn't call out to try and stop her. In reality, Robinpaw was only looking for something to do, and perhaps this was a good time to show just how far her tracking skills had come, and in the light of an oncoming storm, perhaps it would make the task a little more difficult. She relished in the possible praise that would come from this. So, she crouched down, and wordlessly went after her mentor as though stalking a rabbit.
Briefly, the apprentice wondered what Elmstripe was doing while a storm was brewing. Thunder shook the air, and for a moment Robinpaw's ears flattened against her head in displeasure at the sound. But she didn't let it distract her for more than a second. The land was still somewhat unfamiliar to Robinpaw. Like many of the ThunderClan cats, she was still uncomfortable with the idea of living on ShadowClan territory, and so the she-cat primarily used Elmstripe to guide her. Another piercing sound of thunder boomed through the dark sky, and Robinpaw quietly hissed to herself. She had never been particularly fond of storms, and now she was questioning her own sanity for following her mentor into one.
But then, she got to see a sight that Robinpaw had never seen before. It was all she could do to keep her jaw from dropping. She saw Elmstripe smile. And not just any smile. A full out grin. It didn't matter that fat raindrops were beginning to fall from the sky, Robinpaw was just completely and utterly shocked. And just like that, the smile was gone, but the memory would be forever ingrained in the young apprentice's mind. Now shaking herself, the apprentice rose herself to her full height and padded after her mentor. "Aren't you going to head back to camp?" she questioned as soon as she was close enough. Robinpaw saw no need for disguised tracking now, not with a full on downpour approaching. The curiosity was practically dripping from her voice. "It looks like it's going to get nasty."
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Post by COBWEB on Jun 29, 2012 14:46:23 GMT -5
elmstripe" try talking to me about the reason behind your tears, and about the thorny roses which pierce through your tiny heart "
As soon as the first raindrop hit his eye twice as many started falling from the dark sky. It was going to be a downpour which dismayed the senior warrior. Their territory was already under water and with the added rain he was sure that they would never be able to go home. Shadowclan territory was no place for his clan just as Windclan was no place for Riverclan. Through the rain he looked back up at the sky. Lightning cracked and tore through the grey clouds while thunder shook the earth. Is this our fate? For four to become two? His lips curled into a snarl. Although he was loyal as any other cat to Starclan he couldn’t help but question their judgment. Ever since the dawn of time there had been four distinct clans roaming their own lands. Although during harsher times they had been split up and a time long before his own Windclan was chased out of their territory bringing the clans to three. The balance was upset and chaos sat in every corner. Elmstripe didn’t need war on his paws, he didn’t want the imbalance, what he wanted was peace but the fragile substance seemed to evade everyone’s outstretched paws. So be it, he thought and turned away from the sky.
The orange tom was too preoccupied in his thoughts to notice the faint scent of Robinpaw. It was her voice that stopped him in his tracks and although she couldn’t see it a small grin appeared.
"Aren't you going to head back to camp?"
“Aren’t you supposed to be in camp?” The tom turned his signature scowl in its usual place. He quirked an eyebrow at the small apprentice in front of him. Her pelt was soaked through making it look matted. “You look like a drowned rat.” His frown deepened. The rightful thing for him to do was escort her back to camp so she didn’t catch some undesirable disease—although it served her right for following him out into a storm.
"It looks like it's going to get nasty."
“Which is precisely the reason why you should be holed up beneath that log of yours,” he said before he started walking toward a small cluster of trees. Unlike Thunderclan’s territory Shadowclan tended to be lacking trees and what trees they did have were pine—they weren’t exactly the best when it came to fending off the rain. But he supposed they would have to do for now. The rain was coming down too thick for them to find camp and any scent would be washed away. It wasn’t the safest place to stay but at least he would have his quiet. “It’s unsafe to go back now,” he called over his shoulder. “Might as well bunker down until it passes or we get set aflame by a bolt of lightning.” Elmstripe knew that Robinpaw would follow him, he was pretty sure she had enough common sense to do so anyway. The cluster of pines were the only thing close enough to be considered as shelter and the tom held no qualms against it. If Starclan wanted to punish him for escaping their pathetic camp by striking him down with a bolt of lightning, so be it.
He bunched his muscles before leaping onto the closest branch. Then he hopped onto a few more before settling himself down onto a more comfortable branch. The thick branches accompanied by the outspread pine needles provided enough resistance to keep them dry for the most part. Plus he had a good view from his perch. He curled his tail around his lithe form and dropped his chin to his paws. The sounds of the storm comforted him but he didn’t think he could say the same for Robinpaw.
[ words - 632 ]
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Post by HARPERKINS on Jun 30, 2012 22:48:06 GMT -5
** robinpaw ** Robinpaw was not a she-cat who particularly found it a favorable fate to get all wet. Her fur felt heavy, though she had reasonably short fur, and her ears flattened against her head. The grass was quickly getting soaked beneath her paws, and the gentle squish of water between her toes. Her blue eyes narrowed as she neared her mentor. His response to her question was quick: “Aren’t you supposed to be in camp?” Robinpaw's tail twitched.
"Technically, yes, but isn't an apprentice allowed to be out with their mentor? Even if it is in a storm?" she quipped. Today seemed to be one of those days when the she-cat was feeling particularly snippy, somewhat mischievous, which was probably why she had left camp in the first place, even if it was to just follow Elmstripe. Having him as a mentor meant that Robinpaw had it ingrained in her head that just breaking the rules for fun was not acceptable. Bending them, on the other hand, was slightly more possible. Which, if he protested, was exactly what Robinpaw planned to explain this as. She edged closer to the large tabby tom, and snorted at his next comment.
“You look like a drowned rat.”
The lash that Robinpaw's tail gave was what suggested her irritation. Though as she lashed it, raindrops flicked off the end of her tail. Although, his remark made her shake out her fur self-consciously. Except it didn't do much good, considering as the rain coming down around her soaked her through just as quickly as it had before. "You don't look much better. Only difference is you're bigger and brighter, all that orange fur." The last part was more of a grumble. “Which is precisely the reason why you should be holed up beneath that log of yours." But now she rolled her eyes.
"So should you, but obviously that didn't stop you from coming out here," Robinpaw retorted. Elmstripe started walking away, towards a small grove of trees, and instantly she trotted after him, her paws mushing into the ground that was quickly becoming mud. The feeling wasn't entirely pleasant, and briefly the young she-cat wondered how the ShadowClan cats could stand it out here. As soon as they got back to camp, Robinpaw was going to get herself a good cleaning. The territory here was simply... dirty. It made her feel disgusting. The dirt and mud had now caked its way to a little ways above her paws, and she could feel droplets of it on her belly fur. Ugh. Did RiverClan cats actually feel comortable this way? She imagined it probably felt a lot different. After all, she'd been in the water before, though she could hardly remember it.
“It’s unsafe to go back now. Might as well bunker down until it passes or we get set aflame by a bolt of lightning.”
Robinpaw highly doubted that she would have been able to find her way back to camp anyhow. She still wasn't entirely used to being in ShadowClan territory, or seeing ShadowClan cats on an almost normal basis. But she was young, her mind was still tractable, and she was somewhat aware of that. The apprentice could hardly imagine how odd it was, or nervewracking it was, to be so close to a Clan that had historically been their enemies for generations. Was it scary, living here? For her it was just... odd. She wasn't used to it. It was something new. But for the warriors... she wondered what it was like. She would ask, when she had her chance.
It seemed as though she would, too. Her mentor sprung into a pine tree, and Robinpaw perked her ears in interest. Climbing wasn't particularly her strong-suit, but she didn't have much of a choice. Copying her mentor's actions, the long-legged apprentice launched herself into the branches and scrambled for a grip. She was much less coordinated than her mentor in the climb, but finally she managed to get herself settled on a branch a tad lower than Elmstripe's but large enough for her to crouch down on semi-comfortably. It was much drier here, in the shelter of the pine needles, though water dripped down on her every once in a while. But compared to the downpour, Robinpaw didn't mind this one bit.
Thunder rumbled, and Robinpaw's ears flattened against her head as she tried to make herself smaller. She wasn't particularly fond of storms, but that didn't mean she was scared to death of them. The sound of thunder really just kind of made her uncomfortable. It was a rumbling sound similar to this that had signaled the flood that had destroyed their home and had taken her father and brother. But, as was the way of the Clan cats, Robinpaw had moved on. Gotten over it. But that didn't mean she didn't think about it sometimes. Like now. So she decided to distract herself.
"So is it strange? Living here?" she asked curiously, knowing they'd be here a while. "Does living so close to ShadowClan make you nervous, like it does some of the other warriors?"
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