[ --- ◆ the clan life ◆ --- ] - warriors - o&a

[Arkinhallow]

▸ Pebblestripe
silver & brown tabby she-cat with pale green eyes
40m, warrior, het, mentoring milkpaw
tags: none. mentions: fiercegaze, blazepaw, milkpaw, ashshade, ashstar.
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Pebblestripe felt another tinge of annoyance as Fiercegaze insisted on her viewpoint, and took one last dig at her clanmates who had participated in the argument. You really can't just let it go. Great Starclan... "Thankyou for talking normally?" As if you were being such a beacon of calm discussion! You hold others to a standard you cannot even keep to yourself. Despite the indignant thoughts running through her head, outwardly the only sign of her irritation was the slight backward tilt to her ears and the tip of her tail flicking back and forth. Even that was a great show of emotion for her, but in the circumstances it certainly felt warranted. She returned Fiercegaze's nod and kept her mouth shut as the she-cat walked away. After a moment she realised exactly how tense she'd become; she took a moment to sit and groom her chest while her heartbeat slowed and her muscles relaxed. I think Fiercegaze managed to offend just about every cat in the clan, she thought disapprovingly. I doubt Ashstar will put up with such an outburst again, nor should he.

Presently she felt herself becoming calmer and she looked up to take in the scene of the camp. Her eyes latched on to Fiercegaze again, and she couldn't help but notice Blazepaw's outburst. She sighed slightly. Someone always has something else to say. Can't we just get on with things? In fairness, she understood how her clanmates felt because she herself was thoroughly disgruntled. Blazepaw was young and a few of her fellow apprentices were only half-clan; it would be easy enough to get angry. Pebblestripe's own apprentice, Milkpaw, was completely outside blood, both her parents having been loners. She resolved to find Milkpaw soon and make sure she was okay. It was hard enough not being clan blood, knowing that some cats might expect more from you to prove yourself; blatant slander such as what Fiercegaze had spouted would be exceedingly hard to ignore. Milkpaw was hardly soft, but she was still a young, impressionable apprentice, and disparaging words from a full-fledged warrior would likely not have been taken lightly.

Milkpaw however was not immediately in view; perhaps she was still curled up in her nest, although that would be unusual for the little she-cat. Just as Pebblestripe was thinking she ought to peek her head into the den, she saw Ashshade scurry into camp, looking winded. Where on earth has he been? Not simply out in the dirtplace to judge by how out of breath he looks. The red tom made a beeline for Ashstar, and thinking that she shouldn't eavesdrop, Pebblestripe rose and wandered over to the apprentice's den. If it was something important she'd know about it soon enough.

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▸ Paleheart
striped cream she-cat with brown tabby points and pale blue-green eyes
27m, warrior, bi, no apprentice
tags: embertail. mentions: fiercegaze, buzzardclaw.
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Paleheart hadn't noticed how caught up in his own thoughts Embertail was when she had approached, too busy thinking about what had just happened. She shook her head angrily at his words. "If she has another outburst like that I might just claw her ears off myself," she said darkly, "Provided Buzzardclaw doesn't beat me to it." She shot a dirty look in the direction of the she-cat in question. "I'd almost feel sorry for those loners if they met her on patrol. Hopefully Ashstar keeps her away from that border for a while, I don't think anyone could control her if they came across an outsider," she mused.

She already felt less prickly, now that she was chatting with her friend. She looked over at the ginger tom, appraising him for a moment. He was quite a bit taller than her, though she often didn't notice it. She was a small cat, but she didn't see herself that way, and she got the impression others didn't either. She was strong enough, confident enough, outspoken enough to make up the difference. Embertail was somewhat the opposite, he was most definitely quieter than her and didn't always seem to have as much... presence. He didn't stick out as much as she did. But he was always there for her to fall back on. She gave him a small grin, suddenly realising she'd been staring as her thoughts ran away from her. She almost felt... well, awkward. That's a new feeling.

[Echoflame17]

x [ ＴＩＧＥＲＴＡＬＯＮ！]

xxxxgender. tom x rank. warrior xage. 32 ms xapp. fawnpaw xcrush. none x
mentions. - xtags. fawnpaw / patrol xx────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

indent the handsome tom tilted his head ever so slightly in response to buzzardclaws; "Morning Tigertalon, though nothing has happened yet make this morning particularly "great"," and he sighed slightly "I agree, although they may be rouges and may poss a threat, we must remember that we have many half-clan, or rouge blooded cats within this clan, who are constantly proving themselves to be very valuable assets to the clan." he glanced briefly at pikepaw, catching her eye and giving her a small smile. the two may not be the best of friends, and he may find her rather irritating and arrogant, as well as downright rude sometimes, and out of place, but he respected her desire to be a good warrior, just as much as he would respect a clan cats own desire to be just the same.

his ear flicking was getting a little faster with each passing second, and his paws began to shift on the ground. he needed to hunt, to chase after something, a rabbit perhaps if he came across one. talk of hunting, his ears pricked up as the one-eyed warrior spoke again. "The heart of the Hunting Grounds. In other circumstances, I would let us hunt around it an' potentially test out yer nose, Fawnpaw. However, given that leaf-bare is mere sunrises away and loners are running amok, it's the safest route an' best use of our time if we go to the most prey-dense area. Make no mistake, your tracking skills will still be tested, but today will be as simple and hopefully, standard as possible. "Let's get moving - this prey isn't gonna catch itself. Stay lively, don't stray more than three foxleaps apart, and let me know if you so much as see a strange pawprint." nodding his agreement, tigertalon feel into step beside fawnpaw as everyone departed camp. he lowered his head a little "do your best, you are improving with each passing day and I am incredibly pleased. do your best to work on your position when in the hunting crouch, and tread lightly. perhaps stick with pikepaw, not just for your incredible success when you hunt together, but perhaps you could help her a bit with her tracking, and she can give you tips on your hunting. but whatever happens, I will remain very pleased" he smiled as he waited for her reply. she was his first apprentice and he was anxious to make sure he told her he was pleased with her. in his mind, an apprentice who was often praised was an apprentice who felt more inclined to succeed.

x ( ＰＩＫＥＰＡＷ！)

xxxxgender. molly x rank. apprentice xage. 10 moons xmentor. buzzardclaw xcrush. blazepaw x
mentions. fiercegaze blazepaw, swancrest- xtags. buzzardclaw, blackpaw / patrol xx
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indentpikepaw remained quiet as she observed the clan while they waited on the other members of the patrol to join them. she looked over at the all too familiar pelt of the midnight apprentice and prayed to starclan that she would have the decency to at least work harder than she normally does. her amber eyes watched as blackpaw sat down, neatly wrapping her tail around her paws and grooming her chest as if she had no cares in the world. how dare she have just spoken to pikepaw's mentor in that way. resisting the urge to speak up and tell blackpaw to keep quiet, she watched as her mentor leaned in, more than likely to offer some threat or some quiet telling off. good, she deserves that. how dare she think she can talk to a senior warrior like that. she licked her own chest fur, trying to flatten it and succeeding somewhat, only for it to ruffle up in anger at blackpaws comment "who put a thorn in buzzardclaw’s nest this morning?” she glared at the apprentice "not you, I hope. do be quiet" a slight bitterness in her voice. deep inside she felt rather bad for having been rather rude herself, but she would never let her know that, not even with her dying breath. raising her head high, attempting to look proud and like nothing was bothering her, and shifted her attention to tigertalon who was literally bursting with energy, she rolled her eyes in slight amusement, honestly, he can never say still. but she was glad he was with them, he was a pretty decent hunter.

she waited patiently as buzzardclaw explained where they were going to hunt, catching the glimpse he had thrown her way before he spoke. her head slowly dropped, she could sense he was worrying and it made her feel utterly awful for troubling him. what apprentice caused their mentor to worry over she made the decision there and then to tell him briefly that she had not slept well due to old memories. surely he would understand what she meant and would save her from having to say moleheart's name. she had, to be honest, began to drift off as buzzardclaw was talking, she was too busy thinking how best to tell him. before the hunt? or after? she was pulled from her thoughts as the patrol set of, keeping her head low, she briefly glanced around camp, seeing blazepaw with swancrest and fiercegaze. she was in some odd way rather pleased to see that her best friend looked so...furious, it reassured her that her place was in fact here in the clan, no matter what that spotted cat had just said. she turned her attention back on her mentor she stayed relatively close to the back of the patrol, leaving the camp.

as everyone spread out a little, she caught her mentors one good eye and noticed his pace slow a little. seeing her opportunity she hurried up to him "I'm sorry buzzardclaw for being so....down and...causing you to worry..." she apologised, head a little lower than it just had been. she briefly glanced around to check no-one else was in perfect earshot and looked up at him "I did not sleep too well I'm afraid. old memories coming back to haunt me" she paused to see his reaction, and before he could talk quickly added in "but please, don't dismiss me from the hunt! a good hunt in the fresh air will do me some good I promise! and perhaps some extra training later? perhaps we could bring blazepaw?" she looked up at him with pleading amber flecked eyes, like a kit pleading her parents to let her leave the nursery, training was her way of forgetting things, he of all cats would understand that surely.

[yeeee.]

Ａｓｈｓｔａｒ
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|53 moons| ◆ |leader| ◆ |location : highrock| ◆ |w/ Ashshade|

Without an interaction to occupy his mind, the gray tom could feel his thoughts drifting about aimlessly, none of them particularly good. The sudden influx of loners had to come from somewhere, but where exactly? Twolegs? In his relatively lengthy life, Ashstar had encountered all of two twolegs. Stories from the elders made it clear the pink, furless invaders liked to come during greenleaf, when the days were bright and filled with life. That proved true, as Ashstar had encountered only two of the strange creatures in his lifetime. Neither encounter was noteworthy, as the strange, pale creatures had been frolicking at the Lake. All that it meant was that fishing was not an option for a few sunrises. But what if that was the case? The twolegs were strange creatures, devoid of rationale. They made these strange camps with thunderbeasts, hard earth all around and strange-dens. If there were a few lurking about, there was a strong possibility that the patrols would encounter them, since they were on the borders in search of the loners. That probably was not it, though. Rationally, there would been more of an indication, more of a sign that the strange, hairless invaders were stumbling about the terrain. Was there some disturbance past the mountains that drove them here? All while these thoughts raced between his ears, the lithe tom's devoid turquoise stare was towards the sky. It had warmed a little bit, but not much, and already it was sun-high. Leaf-bare would be upon them in almost no time at all. Hopefully, the border patrols had found the whereabouts of the loners, and the hunting patrol had had a solid catch. Surely it was not so late in the se-

A strange, metallic scent drifted across his nostrils. It was only briefly, but alarm shot through the tom like an electricity jolt.What in Starclan? Immediately the gray tom leapt to his paws. It was much too close to the camp to be smelling blood. Someone was clearly hurt - how and why? Before Ashstar could draw a rational conclusion, a familiar russet tom padded through the camp, panting and dirty but otherwise unharmed. The smell of blood was carried on his thick pelt, but it appeared the tom himself was not injured. That was a relief. Before the gray tom could open his mouth and ask what exactly had occurred, the russet tom quickly made his way over to the tom. "Ashstar, I need to speak to you... about something fairly important," Ashshade mewed urgently. Wasting no time, the leader mewed, "I am glad to see you are uninjured. Tell me everything - what is the issue? What is amiss?" Falling silently rather quickly, as he wanted to hear the tom's report, Ashstar's tail swished behind him ever so slightly, the only sign that the russian blue was slightly disturbed.

Ｂｕｚｚａｒｄｃｌａｗ
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|48 moons| ◆ |warrior| ◆ |location : the forest (outskirts of the hunting grounds)| ◆ |w/ Pikepaw, (mentions Fawnpaw, Tigertalon, Blackpaw)|

It seemed that every occurrence that had happened today was to spark the tom's ire in some sort. Or maybe he was just being exceptionally irritable and sensitive. At this point, Buzzardclaw was not sure, but the grizzled tom knew he'd was at his wits' end. The scarred tom was quite thankful that he had been selected for hunting patrols. He was not sure how he would have handled staying in camp, as he knew that the issue was far from resolved. After doing his best to make it crystal clear to Blackpaw that he would not tolerate her horrible work ethic and lengthy mischievous streak, the midnight molly had flirted with the aspect of receiving a verbal-tongue lashing. As always, the sly apprentice seemed to know exactly what to say to make another feline more irritated, but just beneath the threshold of punishment or severe retaliation. ”you should come catch the sunrise with me sometime, buzzardclaw. and no worries. you know me, never a bother. besides, i do love a good analogy. perhaps ashstar will name me blackcrow!” Her careless words echoed in the chamber of his mind. While the words alone were playful and innocent, the meaning was made clear by the mischievous twinkle in the apprentices' deep emerald eyes. The absolute nerve of that apprentice. I have no idea was Ashstar was thinkin' when she was given Acornheart as her mentor. She needs a firm claw to get anythin' done. With a sigh, the already livid warrior gnashed his teeth together - it was at times like this he needed to put the clan's needs above his own desires. At the present moment, prey needed to be caught. He could not let his emotions get in the way of the clans' next meal. And it was not as if he was a stranger to swallowing down his emotions. If he got too upset to focus or wept in pain during his father's brutal training sessions, Buzzardclaw knew he would not be getting a meal, as he would be too tired after completing his punishment to care about a solid meal. Compartmentalizing at key times was one of his strong suits, even if at times it did not appear that way. With a few deep breaths, the scarred tom began to quash the worthless thoughts and emotions down, down into the back of his mind. He needed to be in the proper mindset to speak to his apprentice, and to handle any adversity that should occur on this patrol. His anger could wait.

Speaking of emotions... the stripped tabby tom could hear Pikepaw padding up behind him. It hadn't taken her long to catch up with him - clearly something was eating away at her. But before Buzzardclaw could even open his muzzle and inquire as to what exactly was the matter, the fluffy tabby had already launched into her spiel. That was fine by Buzzardclaw - after all, it was better to listen than to talk, in most situations. As the young molly padded alongside him through the noisy forest, mewing while analyzing his reactions to his words, Buzzardclaw remained silent. And when she finished, all that could be heard was the occasional bird call as the two padded slowly through the dense undergrowth. Although the scarred warrior was usually quite expressive and quick to snap back in any situation that warranted it, his gaze was blank for a second as the two padded through the territory. The silence continued for about two heartbeats too many before Buzzardclaw focused his eye on his apprentice. Her own amber-flecked gaze was wide and pleading, as if she were asking for a favor. Don't apologize to me for feeling like mosuedung, that's a problem you have to address yourself. Sure, you can ask for advice and listen to other felines, but ultimately your the one who has to handle the problem. I'm just glad she was able to talk about it, and I have to ensure in the future I am available for whatever the issue may be. And I know, like myself, working tends to help improve the mood. Especially given that leafbare is right around the corner and the clan needs more prey than ever? I'm not gonna dismiss you unless you get yourself hurt being distracted. As for the extra training, I know that, again, it typically does you some good. But there is a point of too much training. It is important to maintain a solid balance, though I am arguably the worst example of that. Your doing well, Pikepaw. Already your close to being a warrior.

With no hesitation in his voice, the tom then finally broke the silence. "Y'know, you don't have to apologize to me about not feeling yer best. Stuff happens. I just didn't want you brewin' and makin' yerself more miserable for no reason. It's not good to stew 'n hold it in. It's pretty annoyin' when old things come back for round two, huh? It'll get better with time. I'm not gonna pry you for details, but if you need to tell me, I'm all ears. Sometimes gettin' off your chest is all y'can do." The scarred warrior let that sink in for a second, before continuing, in a noteably more lighthearted tone. "Good joke, Pikepaw! As if I would dismiss ya because yer feeling like mousedung. We need all paws workin', now more than ever, and I'm sure stretchin' your limbs will do ya some good. If you feel up for some extra trainin' later, sure. I'll talk to Swancrest about bringin' Blazepaw around for a good roughin' up." The warrior paused for a moment before continuing, adding the rare compliment. "Yer making solid progress to becomin' a warrior. At this rate, maybe a moon or two early. So don't push yerself 'till your paws fall off, it won't you much good. Sometimes takin' a breath and is just as effective as 'n extra training session." Buzzardclaw glanced at Pikepaw, analyzing her expression, all while hoping that she would heed his words. After all, he was laughably the worst example of not working out your problems. But, the saying went, do as I say, not as I do. Giving his apprentice a second to process the former statements, the senior warrior than lightly tapped his apprentices' shoulder with his tail, letting her know he was there as he awaited her response. Hopefully, things were all good, and they could focus on bringing back a bountiful catch.

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|6 moons| ◆ |apprentice| ◆ |location : leaving camp| ◆ |w/creekgorse, acornheart, rushwing (mentions Fiercegaze)|

She was just so, so, so excited. This was practically the best day of her incredibly short life. She got to go on a patrol with her mentor, her favorite cat, and the deputy! While Rushwing was an authority figure and she tried to show him the ultimate respect, he was so much fun to be around the molly felt more eagerness and excitement that nervousness in his presence. He brought an energy to the group that seemed to cheer up the most gloomy of cats. Yet, even the typically oblivious molly could feel a cloud hanging over the group of cats when she asked her question. Immediately, the silver molly wished she'd phrased it differently or waited - she did not want to annoy anyone, although curiosity and concern gnawed at her. There was a very real chance that they would come face to face with a loner, and Minnowpaw had been told how to act by her mentor. Yet, the young molly could not help but wonder if there was truth to Fiercegaze's words. After all, she was a fully-fledged warrior, and from the way she spoke it was as if she had dealt with many a loner before. And her mother's murder... the mere thought of it made the young apprentice's stomach churned. Minnowpaw had not know her Fiercegaze's mother had been murdered in the camp, as she was not in existence when it happened, and it was not really something talked about over a nice meal. Were loners to blame for that? Minnowpaw wondered. And yet, even the usually nosy molly was scared to ask. It was such a fresh wound, obvious to even the young molly due to the way Fiercegaze had spoken. If they were, then how did they know the same thing would not happen with these loners?

Minnowpaw could feel the joviality of the group shift with her question. Rushwing, who had just been playfully prodding her and purring, fell silent. But only for a second, before he answered her question, thankfully not sounding too annoyed. "absolutely not. there is a fine line within the warrior code that we must follow. what fiercegaze was suggesting is plain reckless and boarder-line rouge-like itself. we do not attack cats who have done no harm to us. if they were to attack one of us or seem to try and take territory from our lands, then yes, we would form a patrol to go and chase them off. but we will not be risking our lives and blood over some harmless loners who have done nothing as of yet. Minnowpaw nodded, trying to understand exactly what the deputy was saying. Then her own mentor, Creekgorse, pipped in, simplifying things in Minnowpaw's mind. With a gentle touch to ear, as if to emphasize the point, the silver molly nodded, her own baby blue eyes gleaming as they met her mentor's proud brown ones.

As Rushwing noted that allegiances were good, Minnowpaw then fell silent and still as she processed the information delivered to her, her little muzzle scrunching up with effort. There is a fine line within the warrior code that we follow? I-is it something I'll know when I get to it? I won't mess up, will I? And well, Fiercegaze did sound a bit reckless... I guess trying to deal with a problem that isn't there is just impossible. Th-th-the darkforest? The young molly felt her blood run cold. Minnowpaw had only ever heard her mother, Heroneye, mention the Dark Forest. It was a place where the most evil of souls went. Cats who murdered in cold blood, cats who lied and manipulated to achieve their own pleasure and dreams, cats who completely destroyed the livelihood of others for nothing more than a laugh. So, it's better to make peace than fight. That makes sense. After all, fighting does not mean cats come to an agreement, right? It basically just means everyone gets mad to the point it comes to blows, and then maybe if they calm down they can agree on something. Ugh, it's so confusing - hopefully it will make sense when I'm older!

Straightening up, the silver molly nodded eagerly, mewing, "I understand. Thanks for explaining it to me!" As the tom finally announced they were heading out, the apprentice found herself once again quivering with energy. She had never met a loner before, and now that she thought about it, they should have wonderful stories to tell - after all, loners did not really have a place to call home, right? That's why they intruded on clan land, to find shelter and food. Who knew what amazing places these loners might have gone, and if they were friendly, maybe she could find out for herself. Now if I do a good job of finding these loners, then I can show of what Creekgorse taught me, impress Rushwing and possibly make a new friend! But still, the question lingered in her mind. Heroneye had mentioned so many different types of Dark Forest cats. While doing so, she had mentioned some of them were exceptionally smart and cunning. How would they know if one of these cats joined the clan? And what will we do? She had so many questions! Her eyes darted from cat to cat, so wide and eager they were practically overflowing with curiosity. But Minnowpaw knew she could not waste all of the warriors' time with these questions. No, she had to do what was asked of her and find these loners. Rushwing is super nice and Ashstar can survive literally anything! Surely whatever comes our way we can handle. I just need to do my part so that everything to go smoothly! At this point the molly fell in line behind the deputy, silent yet bubbling with excitement and curiosity.

[bunsniff]

PATCHWATCHER
*figuring out what to do with him*

CREEKGORSE
*waiting for patrol to move out*

ASHSHADE >> tags; ashstar, mentions; shadowclaw, pixie
Ashshade managed to settle himself down somewhat, panting momentarily as he gathered himself together. He truly loved that his leader was so calm and prepared to take on whatever issue Ashshade brought upon him. "Shadowclaw found a lone kit." He began his statement like that and warily glanced at the entrance to the camp. "She is currently on her way here with the kit. She is injured, thus Shadowclaw felt she couldn't leave her behind--as any decent warrior wouldn't do." He tried to milk the fact that Pixie was indeed a kit, was injured, and Shadowclaw was simply doing what she felt was right. "I felt I needed to let you know so that perhaps you could... Prepare the clan." He winced at his own words as his eyes filtered across all the faces in the camp. "Particularly because of what happened earlier with the discussion about rogues."

[Echoflame17]

x [ ＴＩＧＥＲＴＡＬＯＮ！]

xxxxgender. tom x rank. warrior xage. 32 ms xapp. fawnpaw xcrush. none x
mentions. - xtags. fawnpaw / patrol xx────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

indent the handsome tom tilted his head ever so slightly in response to buzzardclaws; "Morning Tigertalon, though nothing has happened yet make this morning particularly "great"," and he sighed slightly "I agree, although they may be rouges and may poss a threat, we must remember that we have many half-clan, or rouge blooded cats within this clan, who are constantly proving themselves to be very valuable assets to the clan." he glanced briefly at pikepaw, catching her eye and giving her a small smile. the two may not be the best of friends, and he may find her rather irritating and arrogant, as well as downright rude sometimes, and out of place, but he respected her desire to be a good warrior, just as much as he would respect a clan cats own desire to be just the same.

his ear flicking was getting a little faster with each passing second, and his paws began to shift on the ground. he needed to hunt, to chase after something, a rabbit perhaps if he came across one. talk of hunting, his ears pricked up as the one-eyed warrior spoke again. "The heart of the Hunting Grounds. In other circumstances, I would let us hunt around it an' potentially test out yer nose, Fawnpaw. However, given that leaf-bare is mere sunrises away and loners are running amok, it's the safest route an' best use of our time if we go to the most prey-dense area. Make no mistake, your tracking skills will still be tested, but today will be as simple and hopefully, standard as possible. "Let's get moving - this prey isn't gonna catch itself. Stay lively, don't stray more than three foxleaps apart, and let me know if you so much as see a strange pawprint." nodding his agreement, tigertalon feel into step beside fawnpaw as everyone departed camp. he lowered his head a little "do your best, you are improving with each passing day and I am incredibly pleased. do your best to work on your position when in the hunting crouch, and tread lightly. perhaps stick with pikepaw, not just for your incredible success when you hunt together, but perhaps you could help her a bit with her tracking, and she can give you tips on your hunting. but whatever happens, I will remain very pleased" he smiled as he waited for her reply. she was his first apprentice and he was anxious to make sure he told her he was pleased with her. in his mind, an apprentice who was often praised was an apprentice who felt more inclined to succeed.

x ( ＰＩＫＥＰＡＷ！)

xxxxgender. molly x rank. apprentice xage. 10 moons xmentor. buzzardclaw xcrush. blazepaw x
mentions. fiercegaze blazepaw, swancrest- xtags. buzzardclaw / patrol xx
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indentPikepaw panted ever so slightly as she awaited a response from her mentor. she had said her piece rather fast, so he would not have time to cut her off, which she had succeeded in doing, but now had to catch her breath. her amber flecked eyes observed his every move, scanning his face for any emotional sign of what he would say next. a few heartbeats later and buzzardclaw still had not said anything, her heart began to beat a little faster, perhaps she shouldn't have said anything after all...but then his eye focused on her. so he had heard after all. she flicked her gaze over his face, once again, studying him as she waited. she left out a small sigh of relief when he spoke, her ears pricked as she listened intently to what he had to say. being a warrior, and an older warrior for one, a wise apprentice would want to listen to the advice a warrior gave, whether they were a mentor or not. she looked up at him, to say something when he spoke again, letting out a big sigh of relief this time when he agreed to take her for some extra training later on in the day. it would give her a chance to talk to her best friend concerning what had occurred that morning.

"Yer making solid progress to becomin' a warrior. At this rate, maybe a moon or two early." her jaw dropped. was buzzardclaw really just saying that she could become a warrior a moon or two early? her tail immediately began to rise from the low dropping position it had previously been in, as well earned pride and happiness flooded through her. she decided perhaps she could quickly mention her memories "thank you buzzardclaw....that" she pauses trying to find the right words "it means a lot to hear that from you" she meowed with a genuinely grateful smile, for it certainly did "I can safely say you just made my day 10 times better" she laughed a little to show she was indeed feeling a lot better then paused, her tail lowering ever so slightly "I'm sure my father would have been happy that I have such a good mentor" it was unusual for an apprentice to compliment her mentor, but she did it anyway, meaning every word she had just said. molestep certainly would have been pleased that she was doing so well, and would have thanked the one-eyed warrior for his persistence with dealing with his daughter...though perhaps if her father had still been alive, she would not have been training as hard to prove that being half rouge was not a bad thing. it was his death that made her push that extra bit harder to prove that (and she probably would have more friends...). she continued "his death still haunts me sometimes, and I still blame myself for it...poppystrike tells me it was not my fault, but I sometimes feel it was..." she stopped and looked up at him with a small smile, signalling she had finished what she had to say. sure it was a topic she was more inclined to talk to poppystrike about, the black and white molly had basically raised pikepaw after all, for that she would be forever grateful. however, buzzardclaw was her mentor, and with each passing day, he grew into more of a fatherly figure in her eyes than just the mere old mentor.

[∂αмє υмвяα]

Sable| Male| Loner| 28 Moons| Location; abandoned campground/hunting grounds | tags; open
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The pure black tom cat finished his meal fairly quickly, though he wasn’t satisfied with the plump mouse that he had caught in the close by forest. Though he was a kittypet for most of his life, he craved adventure, and the thrill of the hunt that the forest provided enough of an adventure that he craved oh so desperately when he was but a kit. Pushing pass the tattered tent that served as his makeshift home, he made his way to the forest once again to get another meal for the day. In approaching the dense undergrowth and foliage that was the forest, a scent was strong in the air. It was a hare!

Crouching down into the foliage, his black fur and the dark undergrowth covered him completely. The only thing that was seen, if you could see him, was his golden-orange eyes in the blackness of the covering bushes that covered him. He approached the hare as stealthily as he could, for any unexpected sound could spook his prey and make it run into the underbrush, making it harder to catch in the long run. Getting as close as he could, without snapping branches or rustling the leaves on the bushes near him, Sable rushed forward to catch the hare, but the hare ran fast to outrun the cat to save its life. But, it wasn’t quick enough, as eventually it tired itself out and Sable got his prey.

”Sweet! This will definitely be a sizable meal to carry over into the night.” The black tom said to himself before he picked up the rabbit to carry to his tattered tent. As he made his way to his home though, the air felt different as he left the forest with his recent catch of prey. It was as if he felt as if he was being watched. Though, the tom cat always felt like this, after all he was a loner. It was survival of the fittest out here all on your own.
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Snowpaw| Female| Med Apprentice| 10 Moons| Location; med cat den| tags; Bitterfang, Shiveringwillow
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The snow colored she-cat saw the surprise in the old medicine cat when she talked back to the tom, as if he wasn’t expecting her to do that in the first place. Snowpaw was full of surprises after all. After all, she did continue on after both of her parents where lost to her. She could’ve easily have given up and continued to wallow in her never-ending sorrow. But, she didn’t. She would rather become a medicine cat in order to help other cats with their pain. It didn’t matter to the she-cat if it was emotional, mental, or physical pain. She would help them no matter what and or the cost. That is the duty of being a medicine cat apprentice after all.

‘The medicine for back pain? That is kits play, Bitterfang!’ The apprentice thought to herself as she thought of the herbs that would help Shiveringwillow. “Well, there is no medicine for ‘back pain’ but there is medicine for ‘muscle pain’ which is what you most likely have, Shiveringwillow,” The she cat spoke to the warrior with a calm attitude. “There are three options that we know of that can help treat muscle pain. Arnica Blossoms, Comfrey Root, and Huckleberry. We will line your nest in the warriors den with some Comfrey Root later today and give you some Huckleberry now to relieve you. But check in with us if your muscle pain continues or comes back Shiveringwillow.” The she-cat spoke with a sure tone, as she knew she had the right answer, and a smile towards the warrior.
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[radio.active.]

bitterfang▸tom▸80m▸medicine cat▸tags- snowpaw, shiveringwillow▸mentions- xx

As his apprentice rattled off the remedies for Shiveringwillow's pain with the certainty of Bitterfang's own self, he couldn't help but let out a purr of pride. Honest to StarClan, he would ramble for the rest of time about how excellent Snowpaw was if that was something he typically did. Perhaps someday he would, his deathbed perhaps.
"Excellent work, Snowpaw," he mewed as she finished her advice. He searched the herb stocks, praying they had enough supplies to supply Shiveringwillow's pain. Only a pawful of huckleberry remained, a fact that both relieved and stressed the old tom out, and a barely-sufficient store of comfrey root. He gathered what he dared take from the stores and returned to Shiveringwillow.
"It may take some time to feel the huckleberry's effects, but as Snowpaw said, it ought to help. We will get an apprentice to line your nest."

embertail▸tom▸33m▸warrior▸tags- paleheart▸mentions- fiercegaze

Embertail chuckled as Paleheart blew off steam, though a little halfheartedly. His mind was still caught up in his prior thoughts and it always seemed to take a while to uproot himself from those paths. Still, he had noticed that Paleheart had a talent for speeding up that process. Whether it was simply because she knew him better than most, or something else, he wasn't sure.
"StarClan help her if we're around when the loners make their appearance," he said, trying his best to at least appear grounded to the earth. The more he forced himself to focus on Paleheart and the real world, the quieter and less noticeable the voices and memories seemed to be.

poppystrike▸molly▸41m▸warrior▸tags- batpaw▸mentions- xx

The tall molly pondered for a heartbeat. She couldn't say Batpaw didn't have a point, as every member of the clan did have a special task. "I can't say I know how to answer that, Batpaw," she said at last. "I think it may be something to do with their connection to StarClan. But who know for cert-" As Batpaw took off into the brush, her voiced halted and she crouched to the ground on instinct.
She started to follow her apprentice into the undergrowth, but rose as he returned, head low. A sympathetic purr escaped her as she trotted to Batpaw's side and gently batted his ears.
"My dear, it's alright, you just need to keep training," she said. "If it makes you feel better, my limbs still cause me trouble when I run." To prove her point, she did a wonky little dance, tossing her long legs all about.

[clickbait]

【ｓｈｉｖｅｒｉｎｇｗｉｌｌｏｗ】

gender; molly rank; warrior age; 27 location; warrior's den > camp mentions; snowpaw, bitterfang, tags; snowpaw, bitterfang

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shiveringwillow dipped her head. “it’s surprising how you say it is probably muscle pain. i don’t recall doing anything different to cause it.” the long-furred tabby meowed. now that she thought about it, shiveringwillow wasn’t doing anything to help the clan. a sick feeling twisted in her stomach. snowpaw was over here, so young but so talented. she was helping the clan in so many more ways. cats younger that shiveringwillow had done so much more. the cat’s eyes flattened. “and i can line my nest myself. the apprentices are probably very busy.” shiveringwillow glanced up at bitterfang. there was no point in being rude to the old cat, he had served his clan well, and he taught snowpaw well. shiveringwillow was just being hypocritical. she dug her claws into the dirt. she twisted her head towards the camp. warriors were mulling about their day, doing so many things to help about the clan. no wonder she was so hated.
(160 words, lil shorter didn't know what else to say)

[imperials]

☁︎ ── ( ＲＵＳＨＷＩＮＧ! )
gender. tom x age. 35 moons x rank. deputy x location. far boarder x tags. acornheart, minnowpaw, creekgorse, ???
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rushwing eagerly left the camp as his patrol followed after him. he could feel minnowpaw quaking with excitement and emotion behind them as creekgorse and acornheart followed suit as well. he felt bad in a way that he didn't include blackpaw on this little expedition. though he wasn't able to catch the midnight-colored cats pelt during the gathering this morning. that little she-cat was walking on some thin ice as this wasn't the first time he's caught her being absent to something in the morning. be it her sleeping in or doing who knows what, he knew he was going to have a small chit-chat with acornheart today as to the actions of his apprentices ability to show up to something on time.

the patrol traveled swiftly, not leaving much time to sit and gawk over prey under-paw or over-head. they wasted a lot of precious time today when fiercegaze decided to make today of all days her little rebellious outburst. rushwing already decided that he was certainly going to have some choice words for the molly later if she decided to pull something like that again if they were to find traces of the cats coming into the boarder today.

slowing to a halt as they neared said boarder, he drew his tail into the air as a silent note to remain calm but diligent. pausing as he suddently caught a sharp whiff of scent, he turned towards his patrol, sweeping his tail in agitation over the smell inside their boarders. "minnowpaw, your up." he dipped his head quietly to the small apprentice. he tasted the air again, making sure nothing else was around. this cat seemed very sloppy and lazy, a clear path could almost be seen as to where it walked just due to the amount of debris that was scattered where they stepped. "get down low and track where the scent it going minnowpaw. we need to see if they are heading inwards to the territory or if they left. it's pretty fresh so we could possibly get into trouble here. I trust you that you will make good judgment and not run us into the cat if they happen to be here still. stay just in front of me." to say he was worried was an understatement. a flush of apprehension and poor-judgment washed over him. was he putting poor innocent minnowpaw in danger by testing her skills like this? time would tell of course but that still didn't mean he was worried over his choices currently.

☼ ── ( ＦＡＷＮＰＡＷ! )
gender. she-cat x age. 9 moons x rank. apprentice x location. hunting grounds x tags. patrol
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fawnpaw purred back as blackpaw responded with a 'morning!, Tigertalon showed up next to her as well in a slow trot as they started to gather. "good morning all, I hope you are all well". once again, she dipped her head and purred in response to her mentor. of all cats to have her be her mentor, fawnpaw was certainly happiest to have gotten tigertalon. he was a kind warrior that understood her struggles with hunting but still pushed her to do her very best. even if she could pin-point where a mouse was a tree-length away but not catch it. Her ears perked up as Buzzardclaw responded to her question, the hunting grounds! thank goodness, i'm too nervous to hunt near the boarder today. ”who put a thorn in buzzardclaw’s nest this morning?” Fawnpaw let out a quiet snort at this question. she shrugged her shoulders slightly and cast a glance over to the unruly old tom. "didn't you see what went down this morning? i'm surprised that he's not more upset than he is currently!" she cooed with a laugh.

"Let's get moving - this prey isn't gonna catch itself. Stay lively, don't stray more than three foxleaps apart, and let me know if you so much as see a strange pawprint." With that, Buzzardclaw briskly trotted out of the camp and they all followed, her conversation with the other apprentices and tigertalon forgotten. she let her senses open and drew in a breath of fresh air. it felt so good for her to be out in the openness. being able to taste, touch, and hear things all around her that intrigued her senses to no end. it used to be so overstimulating for her as a fresh kit-to-apprentice. but she learned to grasp it better now, and train her ears, mouth, and nose to specific noises or scents. she was broken out of her thoughts as tigertalon trotted up next to her, "do your best, you are improving with each passing day and I am incredibly pleased. do your best to work on your position when in the hunting crouch, and tread lightly. perhaps stick with pikepaw, not just for your incredible success when you hunt together, but perhaps you could help her a bit with her tracking, and she can give you tips on your hunting. but whatever happens, I will remain very pleased" she smiled in response to this. this was why she loved having tigertalon as her mentor so much. he was so understanding of how she was with her scenting abilities and some lacking-of-abilities with hunting. "thank you tigertalon, i promise i'll catch something today. and not just with my nose this time!" she chuckled quietly.

[Arkinhallow]

▸ Pebblestripe
silver & brown tabby she-cat with pale green eyes
40m, warrior, het, mentoring milkpaw
tags: shiveringwillow. mentions: milkpaw.
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Pebblestripe stuck her head into the apprentice's den, only to note empty nests and no sign of Milkpaw as far as she could see. Hm. Where has she got to, I wonder? She was beginning to feel the stirrings of concern; Milkpaw wasn't the kind to miss a clan meeting or put off training. Perhaps I should ask around. She backed out of the entrance and took a quick look around camp; the patrols had dispersed and the camp had almost recovered the quiet stillness that she had seen before dawn. She noted Shiveringwillow striding away from Bitterfang and his young apprentice Snowpaw. She had a strange expression on her face; irritation? Distress? Pebblestripe wasn't quite sure, but she wasn't one to be deterred by a grouchy cat, and if she could distract the young warrior by engaging her then that was all to the good.

She padded over to Shiveringwillow, intercepting her before she reached their den. "Morning, Shiveringwillow," she said with a bob of her head. "If you have a moment, I was wondering if you'd seen Milkpaw around. She's not usually absent from camp without my knowledge," she meowed, getting right to the point as always. She wasn't overly worried just yet; Milkpaw was by no means a large cat and despite her bright pelt she was strangely capable of hiding in plain sight. She decided not to touch on Shiveringwillow's visit to Bitterfang for the moment; up-close it was clear Shiveringwillow was deeply bothered by something and Pebblestripe felt it would do no good to ask her to divulge her feelings at present, especially as the two of them weren't particularly close.

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▸ Paleheart
striped cream she-cat with brown tabby points and pale blue-green eyes
27m, warrior, bi, no apprentice
tags: embertail. mentions: fiercegaze, buzzardclaw.
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Embertail's laugh was hollow, and his voice was almost... wispy, as though he wasn't quite present with her at the moment. Paleheart looked carefully at him, and noticed the slight tension in his body and the faraway look in his eyes. She'd been so consumed with thoughts of Fiercegaze and the loners that she hadn't even noticed how distant he seemed. It was unusual for her to not pick up on a clanmate's emotions, but she'd clearly been so annoyed it just hadn't registered. Now, her irritation was quickly replaced with concern. She had a good idea of where Embertail's mind was at, having known him for some time, and she knew it wasn't a good place. She dropped the topic of Fiercegaze completely. "I can tell when your thoughts are a hundred fox-lengths away from the present, Embertail. Today's not a good day, huh?" she mewed sympathetically, moving closer and giving his shoulder a comforting lick. "Do you want to talk about it? Otherwise we can just find something to do together to take your mind off it," she added, looking up at him patiently.