- ＨＯＬＬＹＳＮＡＰ！
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01 38 moons. 02 warrior, moonpaw's mentor. 03 loc: den, fresh-kill pile 04 tags: open. 05 form.
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- hollysnap was awoken by the drumming of rain and the slow drip, drip, drip of water onto her nose.
indentthe tortoiseshell she-cat snorted, shaking her head, as she rode the cusp of sleep's dark waves onto the shore of consciousness. her wide yellow-orange eyes gradually adjusted to the change in lighting, pupils shrinking and dilating, until, after a few moments, the warrior could bear to lift her head and peer around the den. some of the bodies of the other warriors──warm lumps of fur all crowded together in the far corner of the cave in an effort to escape the cold outside──remained, but a great deal of mossy nests were missing owners. hollysnap couldn't tell the time of day if she tried. outside, the skies were charcoal gray, and the sun was obscured; somehow, someway, faint hues of light streamed into the den, fighting feebly against the deluge. the prickly-furred she-cat looked upward and glared at the cave's leaky roof, as if staring down the sprung leak would fix her clan's dilemma. it didn't. more water fell through onto her face, as if starclan was laughing at her attempts.
indenthuffing, she clambered to her feet, shifting until she was out of the way of the water. the dark cat yawned loudly and raised a large paw to rub her face clean of the sleeping dust that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. thunder grumbled in the distance, and she wished she could collapse back into her warm nest and sleep this muggy day away.
indentthe tortie pushed her negative thoughts aside. if she started moving, then the air whispering through her short fur would subside. hollysnap knew from experience that once she busied herself the coldness and the wetness wouldn't plague her mind as much. so much for more sleep. with all this in mind, the muscular female proceeded to complete her usual morning routine: she first bowed, sliding her forelegs out before her, in a luxurious stretch, and when she had slowly eased herself out of that, she arched her back. the warrior relished in the familiar cracks and pops her cramped bones made as she twisted every way possible for a feline. she released a low, rumbling purr at the feeling of refreshment and invigoration that came over her; the noise reverberated throughout her broad chest and caught in her throat. hollysnap completed her routine by shaking out her fur wildly and suddenly; she didn't bother to lick her pelt into submission. the wind and rain whistling outside would style it for her. hollysnap stalked easily around the few cats that separated her from the entrance to the den. she slipped out of the cave and stepped outside, only to be instantly met with everything she had expected: rain, rain, mucky puddles, and, oh wait . . . more rain.
indentthe camp, an open area with a river in its center, was slightly less wet nearest the caves where orchardclan's cats slept. still, the area was very exposed. hollysnap shrank against the outer wall of the warriors' den, which offered meager protection but suited her fine. she stared out at the soaked camp and its sparse occupants. cats were out, milling around, but they stuck to the sides of the camp to avoid the expanding river, swollen with water. the fresh-kill pile, though small, looked as if it still offered prey. the black-and-ginger molly was starving──her belly cried out when she simply pictured a nice morsel. steeling herself for the bitter sting of the rain, hollysnap darted away from the den and bounded across camp, eyes narrowed against the downpour and pelt doused by the time she skidded to a stop at the fresh-kill pile. she examined the contents of the pile with a twitching tail, eager to get out of the rain; there was a lark, a vole, a pigeon, and one crushed mouse. all were completely drenched, but hollysnap chose the pigeon and hurried to slide beneath a rocky overhang. lightning flashed overhead as she settled down on the semi-dry ground.
indentshe absently watched cypressshade gather ravenclaw, spiderpaw, and cloudfern, presumably for a patrol. although the tortoiseshell was never one to turn down a patrol, and always wanted to serve orchardclan to the best of her ability, secretly she was glad that she didn't have to go out . . . yet. perhaps the rain would let up later. the she-cat sniffed at the pigeon as she set it between her fore-paws. once she'd plucked the feathers and taken a bite, she discovered that the meat was tough and lacked flavor, due from it being out all night in the rain. prey was prey, however. hollysnap munched in silence and thoughtfully watched the rain pour. she thought of her apprentice, moonpaw, but ultimately decided that she would let him sleep and rouse him for some training after she'd eaten her meal.
- ＢＵＲＮＰＡＷ！
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01 8 moons. 02 apprentice to darkrain. 03 loc: apprentices' den. 04 tags: open. 05 form.
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- burnpaw crouched right outside the apprentices' den, protected just enough from the rain by the cave's overhang and by his fluffed-up pelt. today was positively boring already. he'd been woken up by the sudden rain before everyone else in the den; he hadn't been too hungry, and being more eager to start training for the day than eat, he'd settled at the den entrance to wait for darkrain to wake up. the last thing he wanted to do was pester the dark tom into wakefulness, although he knew he wasn't above doing so.
indentburnpaw was a busybody, always ready to go out for some sparring and excited to learn something new, which was why he despised rainy days. it put the clan on a bit of a hold; nothing was as exciting, and the cold seemed to sap the energy out of everyone, including the lively dark tabby tom. despite the weather, burnpaw was determined to keep a positive air about him. he scanned the soggy camp, looking for a denmate to talk to; while he was acquaintances with all of the apprentices, he would hardly call any of them his best friends. at times, the tabby was far more focused on training with darkrain than he was on the usual apprentice gossip and foolery, although it did amuse him. unfortunately, the only apprentices that were awake were sorrelpaw, bluepaw, and spiderpaw, and the latter had just left on patrol. burnpaw didn't want to interrupt the two mollies, especially because he could sense even from his seat that bluepaw was irritable. so, the young male tucked his paws further into his chest fur and wrapped his tail tighter around himself. he let out a small sigh of boredom, burning orange eyes assessing his surroundings.
