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Post by me on Oct 18, 2009 17:55:31 GMT -5
Ratbite shivered as the cold breeze bit through her fur, trotting faster in a attempt to keep warm. Her paws were almost silent on the carpet of decaying pine needles, and her speckled brown pelt blended pretty well with them, too. About the only thing to show that she was there, besides her scent, were her yellow eyes.
She was northwest of MireClan territory, among the foothills of the mountains that towered up before her. It was very unusual for the deputy of the clan to go this far away, but she had had to think.
She was beginning to regret that she had killed Flametail, and not just because the whole clan, pretty much, besides her own apprentice, shunned her for it. No, it had been a wrong thing, to kill a cat over a border dispute, no matter how much longer the battle would have lasted without that final blow. Yes, more cats would have been injured, but probably not seriously, and they would have all recovered.
But there was no more time to think... she had told her apprentice to give her several minutes head start, and then to follow her scent trail, and since her apprentice was much faster than she was...
She pricked her ears towards the distant sounds and sat down to wait. Wildpaw would be here very soon.
The deputy hadn't really liked the other creature at first, but as time went on, she began to appreciate Wildpaw's loyalty and utter devotion to the clan. Of course all MireClanners were loyal, but to find one similar to her apprentice was very rare.
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 18, 2009 21:08:46 GMT -5
The winds had picked up, causing a scent to find it's way into the young tom's nose - the smell of a Mireclan cat...high-ranking, she-cat...deputy perhaps.
His tail thrashed as he realized it - he thought he was alone. Branchwhisker wasn't one to be bothered when he wanted time to think.
Of course they weren't on any clan's land, so it wasn't against any Warrior Code and a fight didn't have to come out of it. The blood of his Thornclan ancestors, however, sent an instinct through him to jump out after the she-cat and pounce on her unexpectantly, a quick and easy kill to an enemy clan.
Branchwhisker's thin fur was subjecting him to the cold, and he couldn't stay there pondering for long without freezing. His muscles needed to keep moving to stay warm, so the decision came quickly as he fought the original urge of attack. The dark brown pelt of his blended in, his murky green eyes watching from the ground as he slunk towards the scent under the bushes and tree roots.
He had originally left the Thornclan camp after a chat with the other cats in the Breezeclan territory. Something told him nothing good would come out of the remaking of the clan, especially since it was mostly full of rogues and beggars that most cats would despise.
His thoughts led him out on a walk, wanting to believe that everything would be fine. Yet, somehow, he still couldn't bring his mind to accept it. As he came close enough to see the she-cat, he recognised Ratbite, the Mireclan deputy. His ears flicked as he straightned and meowed a quick greeting, "Here to mull a couple things over, as well?" He asked with a smirk.
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Post by me on Oct 19, 2009 17:20:24 GMT -5
Ratbite watched as the ThornClan warrior called Branchwhisker approached, his strange dark coppery pelt, like her brown one, blending quite well with the ground. She flicked her ears in annoyance. Quite apart from the fact that he was an enemy warrior, she was not in the mood to be talked at right now, especially by a cat such as Branchwhisker, who she had found faintly disturbing and unsettling when she had met him at the last gathering. Also, she would have to send Wildpaw back now, right in the middle of her training session. The MireClan deputy could not risk the "secret weapon" being seen by any cat not in MireClan.
It was a pity about that, but Ratbite was not one to sit around when there were urgent things to do, so she accepted it and rose to her feet, raising her voice also, in a loud caterwaul. "Wildpaw! Don't come over here. There's a cat from another clan -- I'll deal with it. You run home now." Mentally she thanked StarClan that she had impressed upon Wildpaw early and well the importance of avoiding non-MireClanners. And her training seemed to be working pretty well: she heard the sound of scrambling feet and panting breath for a brief time before it receded into the distance.
Annoyed at herself for getting the two creatures into such a close call, she resolved to keep her apprentice within MireClan borders from now on before turning to Branchwhisker. She was careful not to let her voice reflect her mood, however, and spoke normally to the other cat. "Strange to see you here, of all places. May I inquire as to the reason?" She spoke neutrally, not wanting to offer offense to any cat. A feud with ThornClan would be the last thing her clan would want. No, it would be best to let everyone enjoy the long-awaited peacetime for as long as she could.
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 20, 2009 16:50:50 GMT -5
The curiosity that ran through him when the deputy told her apprentice to go back was amazing, his ears twitched as he heard the apprentice rustling through and back towards Mireclan camp, most likely. He chuckled lightly at her question, sheathing his claws that he just realized were unsheathed. "Just thinking; many things have happened within the Clans that are questionable. And you? I hope I did not interrupt a training session, but surely your apprentice should learn about other Clan's warriors?" His voice was it's usual low hiss, a voice that one would think that could deceive many and trust few. However he knew not to push it too far with a Mireclan deputy. It may not turn out in his favor, him being a new warrior and all.
However, he would like to avoid any fighting at the moment, especially with the new arrival of the new Breezeclan. It was a strange day when he would not fight, that was so much his mind was reeling.
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Post by me on Oct 20, 2009 17:30:26 GMT -5
... and here came the questions. The MireClan deputy had been thinking quickly, while the other cat had been speaking, and now spoke her improvised story. At least she was able to control her voice well enough that it sounded authentic, or at least believable.
"She's only four moons old, or somewhere in that range. We found her wandering alone on the northern border of our territory, and took her in; we couldn't leave a kit to die. But we have no nursing queens at the moment. Duststar decided that it would be for the best if she would go immediately into training, rather than sitting lonely and bored around the camp. We have no other kits currently, and he thought that apprenticing her would be the best way to keep her out of trouble. If you had been here to fight... well, she would have been really hurt. I thought it best to send her home."
After finishing her speech, she sat down and licked thoughtfully at a forepaw, gazing off towards the distant mountain tops. Some clouds seemed to be gathering, she noticed, and shivered as a cold blast of air slapped across her face and went through her typically MireClan-thin fur. A thick pelt would be a major disadvantage for a cat that swum, but there were definitely some benefits from having one.
((XD 444 posts!))
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 20, 2009 19:27:54 GMT -5
Ears pinned back against his head slightly, his mind was already raising questions about the deputy and her story. It seemed real by the way she told it, but he couldn't help but think...that rustle sounded a lot more than a four moon old kit could make, and besides, isn't against the Warrior Code to make a kit an apprentice before six moons? At the cool breeze of wind, Branchwhisker shrugged it off as his medium-length fur ruffled. He was used to the cold.
"Hmm...quite funny. I thought the Warrior Code, perhaps, said something about kits not allowing to be apprentices before six moons of age? Of course, there may be quite a bit of controversy over the subject..." he thought out load to himself, loud enough for her to hear the first part. He shrugged his shoulders, "besides, that was a very.../big/ four moon old kit to make such a noise. " He sat back on his haunches, tail tip flicking lazily as he looked at her with a smirk.
Branchwhisker's tail came to a rest as it curled around his paws, and his eyes became icy with suspicion as they narrowed at the deputy. Of course he knew not to start anything, but he was allowed his suspicions - something he was quite good at actually.
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Post by me on Oct 21, 2009 14:17:36 GMT -5
"Forget the warrior code," Ratbite said sharply, eyes narrowed at Branchwhisker. "MireClan, just like every other clan in the forest, has suffered in the war. We cannot spare our medicine cat from searching for herbs, our warriors and apprentices from hunting, patrolling, guarding the camp, and training, or our leader from his duties... and we most certainly cannot trust a four-moon-old kit, a foreign four-moon-old kit that knows nothing of clan ways, to keep itself out of trouble."
At his next question she shrugged, and let some of her irritation at his constant questions show through, although careful to phrase her words in ways that the irritation would be consistent with what she said, and a casual observer would probably assume it to be directed at her own apprentice. "As I said, she's not clanborn. Probably was a kittypet before she came here." Apparently bored with the subject, she changed it, inquiring after the other cat's clan. See how well he liked her poking into their business... "Is the prey running well for you?" Well, it wasn't much of an intrusion into ThornClan secrets, but at least it changed the subject.
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 21, 2009 15:47:57 GMT -5
As she said to forget the Warrior Code, his ears went back further and he hissed under his breath - he hoped Starclan heard, and that they would reek havoc on her for that, since no cat, especially a deputy, should never deny the Code. "And you, my dear, are a deputy. One must not forget her place in the Warrior Code if one forgets it." Without such Warrior Code, he would like to see where she would be now, murdered for her position more than likely. Then she changed the subject..."I'll take that as a hint to let it drop. As I will, for /I/ still have respect for you...only because of the Code." He glared down at the Mireclan deputy, his ears twitching as they pinned against his head, wondering if he could drive her to madness as he talked about her lack of respect for the Warrior Code.
Branchwhisker was like that. He played devil's advocate many a time, it was quite a hobby and pleasure of his to disagree when possible. To get such a cat riled up would be a great story to take back home, how a deputy attacked him. Of course, if she was any deputy at all, it would not come to that.
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Post by me on Oct 22, 2009 1:09:19 GMT -5
Ratbite tilted her head towards the ThornClan warrior, both amused and beginning to get angry at the same time. "I am only against the warrior code when it is actually dangerous, like, for instance, when following it would likely result in either harm to a kit, or harm to all of MireClan by the means of not enough hunting patrols and warriors being trained... my dear..." she added this last bit with a bit of a snicker, watching Branchwhisker with a bit of a gleam in her eyes, teasing him over his use of the word earlier.
The MireClan deputy felt safe in teasing him; after all, he wasn't going to suddenly attack her, or at least, it didn't seem like it. She wasn't sure if she liked this cat or not. For the time being, however, he was at least interesting to talk to, more interesting than border patrolling or hunting or something back in MireClan territory.
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 22, 2009 12:14:55 GMT -5
Branchwhisker let out a laugh at the Mireclan deputy; this was more fun than he thought it would turn out to be. "'Touche. I see where you're coming from, of course, and I know all the Clans have run very low on cats. I just never though, since Thornclan has quite a bit apprentices." He narrowed her eyes, but not at Ratbite, more, a memory of earlier in the day when a certain little apprentice got on his nerves, jumping around like a hyperactive rabbit.
Being a Thornclan warrior, even a new one, he knew how to stand his ground against the deputy's taunts, and when to back off on his own. He couldn't tell the she-cat's emotions, but he was under the impression that she was, perhaps, confused. Not sure what to do with him; in fact, he couldn't see why she stuck around. Probably, like himself, found it more entertaining that being in Camp.
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Post by me on Oct 22, 2009 22:04:20 GMT -5
Ratbite shrugged, her attention trailing away from the other cat and back off into the forest and the mountains. There was a sort of stillness in the air now, and she saw storm clouds gathering back over towards the edge of GaleClan territory. They momentarily flickered with lightning. Several heartbeats later, Ratbite's ears caught the faint rumble of thunder.
"Looks like there's going to be some bad weather shortly," she meowed, turning back towards her companion. "Branchwhisker -- has ThornClan had any signs from StarClan lately that you know of? Anything predicting danger ahead?" Hey, it couldn't hurt to ask, could it? Maybe ThornClan knew of the 'great danger' that her apprentice had been sent to MireClan to protect them from?
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 22, 2009 22:30:20 GMT -5
"Not that I know of," he replied, his ears twitching back again as his voice took on a serious tone and turned his gaze to the ground. "Of course, I'm the worst person to ask. I don't associate with the rest of the clan much." Then, he thought about why she would ask, and curiosity crossed his mind as his green eyes raised to look at hers. "Why do you ask? Has Mireclan heard anything?"
Branchwhisker couldn't help but wonder - if Mireclan had heard something of danger in the clans, then the other clans deserved to know. He ignored the roll of thunder as he heard it draw closer, and as a sprinkle of rain landed on his head, he didn't even shake it off. It ran off the edge of his nose and onto the ground.
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Post by me on Oct 23, 2009 18:33:32 GMT -5
Ratbite twitched uncomfortably as the rain hit her fur and trickled icily down through it and across her skin. At least the main bulk of the storm would probably stay in GaleClan territory, though, or at least, that was what it usually did. And her thin, sleek typical-MireClan pelt would dry quickly after the storm. She didn't know how the GaleClan cats stood it, with their thick fur.
"Yes, we received a prophecy from StarClan just a quarter-moon ago. If ThornClan hasn't heard anything, though, I suppose it is for MireClan alone," she said. She saw no harm in mentioning the prophecy, but if it had been only for MireClan, she probably shouldn't share the words of it with Branchwhisker.
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Post by ( x Dint x ) on Oct 23, 2009 18:46:32 GMT -5
Branchwhisker blinked out the rain as it threatned to get in his eyes, shaking his head back and forth as droplets flew in all directions. The storm seemed to blow towards Galeclan, which relieved him. At least then, he wouldn't have to stay in the dens with the other cats just to stay dry. He listned to the Mireclan deputy, and nodded briefly.
"Like I said, I have no idea if our Medicine Cat has heard anything. I don't associate much. However, I will probably mention something and ask around," he stood up and stretched his cramped-up back legs. He wondered if Thornclan had heard a prophecy, and if it has, what about? Although he highly doubted this - surely there would be a meeting called if anything was heard from the great Starclan.
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Post by me on Oct 25, 2009 17:33:44 GMT -5
"Thanks." She fluffed her fur up with discomfort, shivering from the cold rain. It was definitely starting to become winter now -- storms in the summer weren't usually this chilly. "What do you say to getting undercover?" she asked, gesturing with her tail towards the thicker forest to the north.
It was beginning to be foggy now, and the most fog seemed to be in the direction of the thicker forest, but at least under the trees, it wouldn't be this... wet. They might even find some prey up there. "Hey, Branchwhisker? Do you come up this way a lot?" She was curious, she hadn't known that any clan cats ventured outside their territory often. But then, she supposed, the other clans probably didn't know that MireClan's deputy left her territory occasionally. It wasn't something most cats talked about.
She didn't know. Maybe she had some loner or rouge ancestor or something.
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