by Cradily » Thu May 07, 2020 4:26 pm
FireClan
The camp was already slowly coming to life by the time Lightstar emerged from the den. Saffronfang was talking to Foxcloud, just beginning to send out patrols from the looks of it; one by one, warriors were emerging from their den, going to chitchat with their denmates or fetch their apprentices for training; Bluesky was heading for the medicine cat's den, and Lightstar eyed him curiously before turning his gaze to see Pebbleclaw, his former mentor and one of his most trusted warriors--talking with Sweethoney. Annoyance prickled beneath Lightstar's pelt and his eyes narrowed, but his expression quickly changed to a neutral one as he padded up the two cats. "Good morning, Pebbleclaw, Sweethoney," he meowed politely, dipping his head to the two cats. "Sorry to interrupt, but Pebbleclaw, would you mind training apprentices with Tigerblaze today? He's been a bit...unstable again, lately, and I'd rather he not be alone with Dovepaw. Of course, if they're sent on patrol together, that'll be fine. Just keep an eye on them, okay?"
The yowl seemed to reach Tigerblaze's ears from a mile away, but even from that far, he could tell there was something...off, almost disingenuous, about it. It sounded so familiar and yet so unfamiliar, like a tom's and unlike a tom's, as if it was someone he knew trying to sound like someone else, but he couldn't put his paw on who. Before he could even try to figure it out, another yowl sounded, this one earsplitting, full of panic and pain and horror, sending shivers down his spine and making every hair on his pelt stand up, like lightning crackling through the sky. This one was higher-pitched, more like a shriek or a scream, an instinctive cry for help despite knowing that it was too late. No, this one was real. So real, in fact, that it woke Tigerblaze up from his deep sleep. The yowl had been cut off as abruptly as his dream had, and for a moment he lay there in his nest, dazed. Then, slowly, he rose to his paws, gave his pelt a quick shake, and padded out of the warriors' den. Outside, everything looked fine...for now. But Tigerblaze couldn't let his guard down. He gave his pelt another shake, as if to shake off the uneasiness that he felt, before heading straight to the apprentices' den and popping his head in. "Dovepaw? Dovepaw, wake up," he meowed urgently.
The sound of her denmates stirring and the hustle and bustle of camp outside woke Daisyface rather quickly, and she allowed herself only a moment to groom her pelt--what she could reach of it, anyway--and stretch the upper portion of her body before dragging herself out of the warriors' den and into the dimly lit cave that was their camp. Several cats were already up, and although she'd done well to get over the envy she'd felt initially after the accident, dawn was always the time when she couldn't stop the sadness from welling up inside of her. Seeing all of her clanmates rise up to begin the day, to hunt, patrol, train their apprentices...She wondered if she would ever get used to seeing it and not being able to do it ever again. As she dragged her gaze across camp, she spotted Willowcreek resting off to the edge of camp, and proceeded to make her way over to the warrior. "Nice flat, easy-to-get-to spot you picked," she complimented the she-cat, a joking tone to her voice. "Perfect for me, huh? I take it your sitting here was a subtle, not-so-subtle invitation for me to come talk to you. It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I know you love me." The humor in her tone was reflected in her blue eyes as she stretched out next to her friend. "Just lazing around before you get sent on patrol?"
Batpaw awoke bright and early, as per usual, ready to begin his training. True to his name, he was always a bit of a night owl, and often stayed up late; despite this, he made a habit out of getting up early. Even if he was tired, he loved watching the final darkness of night fade into a gentle morning light. Besides, he didn't want to seem lazy by sleeping in--no, he wanted others to know that he was a hard-working, diligent young tom who took his training seriously, and would one day be a valuable addition to the warriors' den. He left the den only when he began to hear the camp stirring outside, and scanned the camp for his mentor, Shudderheart. Sure enough, several cats were already awake...but Shudderheart wasn't one of them. The fluffy dark tom cast a glance at Saffronfang, who was already starting to send out patrols, and contemplated going to ask to join one. Who knew when Shudderheart would be up, after all? Batpaw didn't want to be waiting all morning. But then again, what if Shudderheart woke up while he was gone? What if the warrior was offended by his apprentice not waiting for him, or thought that he was too impatient? Batpaw didn't want that. Sitting down with a sigh, he wrapped his tail around his paws and began to wait.
AshClan
The sweet, soothing scent of her mother's fur combined with the gentle nudge from the queen was enough to rouse Softkit ever so slightly, enough to be awake but not enough to actually get up. She buried her face deeper in Sleekfang's pelt, relishing in its softness and warmth. "Can I just sleep a little bit longer, please?" she asked quietly, her words barely audible as she already spoke so softly normally, and now her voice was muffled on top of that.
Southwind had been resting just outside the warriors' den, giving himself a casual morning grooming, when a yowl sounded from the apprentices' den and he looked up just in time to see a flash of brown and white zip by him and straight out of camp. Eyes wide with surprise, Southwind jumped to his paws and darted after the apprentice. "Thunderpaw!" he yowled, but the young tom kept running, and so did Southwind. Only when the apprentice finally began to slow down did Southwind do the same, and the warrior skidded to a halt next to Thunderpaw, taking a moment to catch his breath before asking, "Thunderpaw, what happened? Are you okay?"
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Bramblefrost's sing-song voice sounded in Tumblebranch's ear as he prodded the warrior awake. He let his tail tip brush the brown-and-white cat's nose as he added jokingly, "Or I'll make you."
"Not bad," Leafpelt complimented Nightmask's catches, eyeing the birds approvingly before turning back to the black tom. "You should have told me you were going hunting. I'd have gone with you. The rain's probably only going to get worse later..." Her gaze drifted up to the sky. There were no storm clouds yet, but Leafpelt knew how quickly a drizzle could turn to a downpour.
