A Shaky Night

[eagle]

Twas a disturbing night, it was snowing, actually it was snowing hard. The wind was strong, so strong that it whistled through the dead tree branches, rattling as they hit against each other. The middle of leafbare was always one of the most depressing times of the year, according to Torrentfoot, but it was truly accurate. Nobody had seen the beautiful grass for moons now and they were waiting and waiting for extra pray. But this leafbare was not very tough on the clans like it usually was. There was still a good bit of pray around and Torrentfoot did not recall any cats dying of the dreaded greencough, which caused warriors and elders to drop like flies. There were a few cases of minor white cough, but no cat died in SapphireClan.

But it was now very early dawn, and the dusk patrol had only returned a little while ago. Torrentfoot was usually a sleeper, but last night he had a horrible dream where he was trapped in a vortex of snow, surrounded by badgers and forced to fight them. Torrentfoot had a serious fear for badgers, it was almost unhealthy because his two litter mates had been killed by one right before his eyes. It was as if it was reminding him of his past that he so desperately needed to forget.

So there was the tabby cat sitting alone in the snowy clearing. He hadn't really built up a serious appetite, but the dimwitted tom decided to eat a thrush anyhow. Sliding across the clearing, he quickly grabbed the freshly harvested thrush bird and rushed back to the entrance to the warrior's den where he sat in content, but the dream played in his head like a tv show in reruns.

[Windpelt]

A small, dark shape emerged. Shadedlily was on the prowl. His small frame squeezed easily through the dripping moss, that lined either side of the warrior den entrance. Shaking himself off, for his pelt was a little on the wet side, he trotted across the clearing. Although late, he felt an urge to step outside. A strange urge, for a cat, yet one that he could no longer ignore. The bitter winds had been too strong for him to be able to get a proper sleep in, so having abandoned all hope, he had resorted to stepping outside. His hope was that the freezing temperatures would set his body, and perhaps more importantly, his mind, at rest, allowing him to sleep, even if for a little while.

Soon after this brave stroll, he noted that he was not alone, as he had thought he had been. For a heartbeat, a flicker of regret passed through him, as he would have much been consoled by some time spent by himself. As soon as that thought had passed, did he begin to feel regretful. Surely, he should be grateful for the company, he thought with an impaitient shake of his head, for leafbare was tough, and standing through it alone as he could be currently doing, would be much harder!

He padded up to the tom, Torrentfoot, as he knew he was called. His pads begin to be ailed with a dull ache, the cold seeping through to his very bones. Oh how he should have stayed in the relative warmth of the den, in the first place. He was in much surprise that he had not spotted the tom, eating, before he had even left. His thoughts were broken by the crunch of a small bone. He winced, hating the cracking sound. 'Cold evening, is it not ?' he managed to mutter, his sharp teeth chattering and his fur upright.

[ OOC: Sorry if the black is hard to read ?? And thanks so much for starting a thread, lol, I have missed RPing on here so dang much. :3 ]

[eagle]

As the different thoughts drifted around in his head, the deep-in-thought tom was deep in thought. He had been thinking much of that dream, knowing that there was a possibility that it was StarClan trying to tell him something. But then again, he always wanted to be special like some of the other cats in the clan were, having that deep connection with their ancestors. He had not had that nightmare in years though, and as he continued to process these different thoughts through his head, they scattered like mice at the sound of a voice.

Torrentfoot looked up, surprised to see another cat out this early. It was truly a brutal night, the wind was howling like a pack of dogs, and the clearing was beginning to cover with snow. Torrentfoot nodded toward the tom, scanning the lithe little guy. But he was an excellent warrior, or so he seemed to notice. Shadedlily was a strong tom for his size, even though he was not that much smaller than the rest. 'It is.' Finally came his reply, looking his clanmate in the eye. 'Tough sleeping with all that wind, I don't know how the rest of them do it!' He exclaimed, turning to look out at the blizzard from there small sheltered spot.

Torrentfoot gestured to the half eaten thrush before him, he was not really that hungry anymore that he was not stuck out in the cold by himself. He felt around in his mouth for pieces of the bone he cracked with his tongue, Torrentfoot had eaten right down the the bone. The piercing, arctic chill finally reached him and he shuddered, and then started to lick a wound that he hoped would not freeze over and crust. 'So, Shadedlily, how are you? Surviving the leafbare?' he asked, ear twitching at the slight sound of a stray rabbit searching for its den outside of the camp.

[No, the black is fine for me, I'm using I think the rain skin? So the background is a light, light blue. I'm glad you responded to it, I know your a great role player and your active too. I wish more people would be active, it'd be so much fun!]

[Windpelt]

The brown - golden head shook slightly, side to side, in a motion that was one of complete understanding. 'Neither do I,' he finally muttered, surprised to hear his voice crack a little, as if already the ice - cold leafbare was taking its hold of him. Shaking his coat, he continued; 'in fact, that was the reason I came out here. The wind is stronger, yet somehow it seems less disturbing. Perhaps it is because we're in the thick of it..' The lithe tom became aware he may be rambling a little, and abruptly stopped, first taking time to complete his sentence. He doubted the older cat would have noticed either, he seemed a little too intent on his meal.

Noting Torrentfoot's gesture to his thrush, he found his blue - gray gaze following his movements. He found that the thought of prey made him feel a little sickened, and was glad to see that the other tom did not continue to eat. Listening to the crunching of bones would not do anything to settle his stomach. In truth, he was surprised by the warrior's next quesion. Mainly because he simply could not remember when the last time some cat had bothered to ask how he was, despite the fact that Torrentfoot was most likely just trying to make conversation.

Sitting up a little straighter, some of the warmth crept back into his eyes, changing their tone, making his whole appearance a little more pleasing. Well.. how AM I ? was his first thought. With a small smile, a movement that could easily be missed, for the emotion simply flickered over his face, he finally replied. 'Not too bad.. obviously, I'm still here, so survival is goin' well.' This spoken thought, simple as it was, made him ask something of the warrior sitting beside him. 'Am I just overracted, but.. does it seem a little colder, this leafbare ?' A flicker of concern had crept into his gaze, and was the fur along the back of his neck beginning to raise ?

[ OOC: I totally agree with you. <3 I miss the times when this place was so active. It really saddens me to see so few people logging on. Anyway, -seriously off topic here- should I change or leave my avvie ? I'm not entirely happy with it, but I wanted someone's opinion, *first*.. and well, you were the first person to see it. xD ]

[eagle]

Something had been eating at Torrentfoot since Shadedlily began speaking. He had not been ignoring him, not at all, but there was something out there. He just knew it. The wind direction had just changed and he caught a brief scent of another cat, although he was almost sure that it was not a clan cat. He suspected it to be a rogue of the sort, but he brushed it off for the moment until Shadedlily was going to say something.

He chuckled and nodded, squinting his eyes in a delightful agreement, his mood suddenly shifting to a more cheery one. "I would agree with you there, Shadedlily, it is a rather strange thing, but I would say its true." His own voice trailed off, Torrentfoot noticing that he also had the habit of rambling. He kneaded his paw at the cold, hard ground, listening to his clanmate intently. His interest was indeed sparked when Shadedlily mentioned how cold this leafbare was.

This leafbare was actually a bit chillier than the rest. It had been much windier, there had been much more snow, but the prey surprisingly was not as awful as he'd expect. Torrentfoot soon realized he had lost himself in thought and forgot to answer, so he quickly nodded to Shadedlily in agreement. He suddenly batted a rather large snowflake away from his eyes as it drifted toward him swiftly. But doing so was almost no use, as it was storm.

"I agree fully. I feel like the weather has been more intense. Everything is harsher than usual. The kits are probably freezing the tails off! Poor guys." Torrentfoot thought aloud, looking to Shadedlily, still catching the rogue scent on the roof of his mouth.

[OOC: Soory that took like, a year and a half, my muse had been totally demolished, but I read another Warriors book so I think I'll be fine for now. x) I wish I'd have been here when it WAS active. O.o I think you should leave it as it is right now, I like it! Take your time responding since I kept you so long.]

[Windpelt]

The gray tom nodded, feverently, glad to find that it was not just his sense, overreacted, perhaps. A small smile passed over his face, when Torrentfoot mentioned the kits. It progressed to a laugh, and as he did so, the sound cracked a little, and he abruptly stopped. Had it been that long since he had last laughed ? he found himself thinking.

Shrugging the thought aside, he scuffed a paw against the freezing earth, in an attempt to get some feeling back into it.Shadedlily became aware that the other warrior's attention was not fully on him. At first, he became resigned to the fact that he was just like the others; only making polite conversation, not really caring for general talk. As soon as this thought had passed over him, the young cat realized that his glances were more directed that that of a cat simply feeling boredom.

A frown creasing the upper half of his face, he opened his mouth a little, hesitating. His question would seem reasonable, would it not, he began to wonder. Or was his mind playing tricks on him; the other cat's attention not distracted in the slightest. Yet, something was still wrong and Shadedlily could not ignore the problem any further.

'I - Is something the matter ?' he found himself asking. His tail tip had stopped twitching and he found the sudden realization worrying. His gaze pierced Torrentfoot, each movement he made, he would notice. He was a little bemused as to what the problem could be, for he himself could sense nothing. But then.. perhaps there was a real threat. He was not sure which was worse.


[ OOC: No worries about the time you took responding; seriously, it wasn't very long. xD And thanks, I'll keep it then! ]

[icetail]

Moonheart awoke to a strong breeze moving inside the den. It felt like her every bone was made of pure ice as she opened her eyes, that stung within moments from flying snow. As she tried to get up, she felt her fur stand on end, as she uncontrollably shivered. There had been worse leaf-bears, where prey wasnt half as scarce, but the season had still been as uncomfortable as the last. She grabbed a peice of prey, and stalked off, nearly ignoring the two cats outside. She ripped out a small bite of vole, and returned to her bed, carrying the prey with her. Eventually, after she finished her prey she drifted off to sleep again. Her dream was enjoyable, and she found great pleasure in her slumber, at least at first

It was green-leaf again, and her sister Moonheart was perfectly alive. Hunting along a small river Sunheart already caught three mice. prey was plentiful and the clan would be happy with the hunt. Ignoring the rustling in the trees, her and her sister walked along happily but silently, secretly looking for small peices of prey. There, in the bushes was a bird. Lucky thing, that it was on the ground, easy for her to catch. Moonheart had already leaped for it though, killing it in a few swipes. Sunheart turned away, and returned to find more prey. Then she heard a smqall scream, and spun around. There, Moonheart was dead in the jaws of a fox.

Then, Sunheart awoke with a start. She headed back outside and decided to make conversation with the two cats. "Hi there" she said happilly, continuing the fascade that nothing was wrong. She hoped silently that she wasnt being rude, barging in to a conversation. Waiting for a reply, she became fairly impatient, and asked how they were doing. They couldnt possibly refuse to answer a question she thought in triumph.