⊱ Into the Distance (Clover)

[RUNNINGLEAF]

Silentstar felt the tiny rain drops hit his black pelt, running smoothly down him until they collected on the rock he was sitting on. Dammit, rain clouds. he thought bitterly. The sun was not out and, what other reason did he have for coming here? But he was here, so he was going to stay. It was hard enough climbing all the way up here. He laid down, taking up most of the rock, it was cool, unlike the hot air that surrounded him. Not hot really, since the rain did make it better, but hot in general. He sighed, looking across the river. He would probably leave back to camp soon, he had no use of being here anymore that he got here and then rain started pouring... but again he was here. And he was far too lazy to care about camp at the moment. Word Count;; 145 (Short sorry.) Muse;; Eh, ok. Music;; All My Friends Say Notes;; Not really. [bg=1b1b1b][atrb=width,450,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Rootpaw looks up at the dark clouds and scowls. She splashes through puddles on her large paws as the rain slides down her calico coat. She spots Silentstar in the distance. She has sort of followed him out of boredom. She doesn't like sitting around in camp much or for too long. She's very annoyed that the rain decided to start falling. Stupid clouds! she thinks with a growl. She can take the rain, she just wishes it wasn't here. It's far better than huddling in camp like a nervous mouse.

She catches her leader's eye and nods in greeting. Her thick tail swishes left to right a moment. She walks around, glaring at the wet rocks. She plops down on one near Silentstar and relaxes her muscles. The hot but rainy air surrounds her. The rock felt nice on her pelt. She lets out a slight sigh. She places her head on her paws and closes her eyes. Her ear twitches, but she barely acknowledges Silentstar's sigh. She peaks through an eye and sees him look across the river, tumbling by viciously.

She's not interesting in leaving soon. If he leaves she probably will as well. It's definitely too rainy of a day to be training, though if it was offered she would say yes without a second thought. She isn't weak like some apprentices. She is strong and enduring. Her tail tip flicks. She wonders if the rain will let up. The air will probably be suffocating if the sun scorches the ground right after it rained. She lays her tail up against her, the tip near her face. She finds she kind of likes being battered with rain, strangely.

[RUNNINGLEAF]

Silentstar kept gazing at the water, singing to himself. "The river flows by, you jump in, the river flows by, all again." It could barely be heard by any other cat though, if it was, he wouldn't care. Glancing down he saw Rootpaw, and saw her nod at him. He gave a flick of his tail in acknowledgment, and turned back to the river. Surely she would go back to camp. It was far too rainy a day to climb up without her mentor. He continued chanting the words. "The river flows by, you jump in, the river flows by, all again." and laughed a little to himself. If he jumped in today he would be swallowed by the river... maybe he should try that. Then he glanced over, claws unsheathing out of habit as he heard something plop beside him. He realized many of the other Clans didn't like him... positive some traitors in his own Clan didn't like him. Those little... "Traitors..." They think they can just come in... "CardinalClan" and steal "Our rightful prey..." he said, mixing up his words with his thoughts. Then he turned his attention to Rootpaw, amazed at she actually got up here... even more so since it was raining. Brave young apprentice." he mewed to her, smiling. wrapping his tail around him. "I thought you would stay down there, but you didn't. That is what all CardinalClan cats should be like." he nodded at her. Word Count;; Muse;; 239 (I need to do better xD ) Music;; Take a Back Road Notes;; You saw Silentstar's crazy side.. xD [bg=1b1b1b][atrb=width,450,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Rootpaw has smiled in amusement as she heard Silentstar chanting. Then he rambled some words and she nearly purred. She supposed his thoughts were too strong to be contained inside his head. She believed him a great leader, despite what she heard from cats at gatherings. She even heard cats speak about him behind his back in bad ways. They always departed or turned to normal conversation whenever she caught them. She was bent on finding out who was saying disrespectful things against the leader. She decides to speak up.

She almost opens her mouth when Silentstar speaks. She smiles as he smiles. She is brave indeed. She purrs as he continues talking, feeling immensely proud of herself. She practically lives for his rare praise. It means a lot coming from such a great leader. "I know," She purrs,"Maybe when I'm a warrior I could teach the apprentices how to be like me, so the clan becomes more to your.. expectations." She stares at him through her yellowish squinted eyes, her tail switching side to side.

As she considers this she smiles again. Her pelt prickles with sudden hope. She will be a warrior. A great warrior nearly as great as her leader. She would teach the clan to be better. They will become the greatest clan in the forest once she's a warrior. She shakes her head. She's just an apprentice and a young one at that. She has a lot to learn before she gets her warrior name and is able to pass down her skills to a new generation. She sheathes and unsheathes her claws eagerly, wishing she could be 12 moons and fully trained already. The clouds thunder overhead. She doesn't flinch like a lesser cat might.

[RUNNINGLEAF]

His head turned to the young apprentice, flicking his tail. "I think you teaching the apprentices would be a great service to the Clan. You understand the whole reason why CardinalClan is here!" he mewed. His smile turned to a smirk as he faced the river again. CardinalClan might have it's leader when he passed laying beside him. He smiled at that thought, CardinalClan could be the greatest in the forest-- no. Continue being the greatest in the forest. "My expectations..." he mewed softly, almost to himself. "If every cat lived by them the forest would be a wonderful place. he said, thinking about the way things used to be. A weak leader would lead a weak Clan. Thinking of things like, saving the weak cats. If they aren't loyal, just send them away. Loyalty was much more, couldn't they see that!? a growl was building in his throat as his thoughts built up again, and he cut it short, remembering Rootpaw beside him. The rain still pelted his fur as the rocks grew ever more damp, but it wasn't like grass where the swamps would be muddy. It was quite plesant actually on the rocks, and that's why he liked CardinalClan, wanted it to grow more so more cats could enjoy it. Did he wasnt to take over the whole forest? Maybe. Did he want to take it over now? He could wait a little... He saw lightning in the distance, as a rolling crack of thunder came upon them. He saw Rootpaw sitting there nonchanlant, unlike most of the apprentices would, and he gave a short laugh. This apprentice wouldn't be killed-- by him at least. Word Count;; Muse;; 274 Music;; Television Notes;; None [bg=1b1b1b][atrb=width,450,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Rootpaw thought into the future. Her eyes glazed over as her mind drifted into a daydream. The rain and clouds melted away. She imagined strong, fierce warriors swarming around the camp, training their tough apprentices. She stood by Silentstar's side, head raised with pride for the clan. It flashed to a battle. There were claws and teeth flashing. They were beating down a weak clan who dared to stand against them. She and Silentstar fought side by side taking down the leader and deputy. She watched proudly as the leader of the weak clan lay limp, losing a life or maybe more than one. Every Cardinalclan cat took the scratches without complaint. The weaker clan would retreat, battered.

She blinks as Silentstar's words bring her back to reality. Her eyes shine again. Her tail is swishing wildly from her vivid daydream. Right now the clan isn't as powerful as she wants it to be. Perhaps, no definitely, in time the clan will become stronger. I will make them stronger! She thinks. She takes in her surroundings as her mind becomes less muddled. She finds that the wet rock feels nice on her belly fur. She bristles suddenly at the thought of Cardinalclan not being able to beat another clan. She dismisses it with a flick of her tail. Even though they are not as strong as they could be, the other clans are still weaker.

She purrs roughly, "This clan will be great.. this clan is great. I hope to one day make it greater." It might be a while away, but she wouldn't give up her dreams easily. Everything will fall into place eventually. Her clan needs time and hard work, but first she needs to put in time and hard work to make herself strong as can be. Any cat who sees her face will take off running. That is what she hopes. She yearns the fear and respect of every cat.

Her ear barely flicks as she hears his laugh. She's unsure what he's laughing about. She shouldn't really concern herself with it anyway. His mind is an interesting thing, and she can't help being curious from time to time. She feels the rain start to weaken slightly. She looks up at the sky. The clouds are getting a bit lighter. She can almost see the sun. She kind of likes rain, but she can't wait to feel the sun on her pelt again. It isn't ready to come out yet. She desires for it to appear soon. She hopes to train. She wants to learn to serve her clan. Only when she is a completely trained warrior with knowledge of how to fight and hunt can she take part of the clan's future in her large paws. She has a flitting thought that jumps into her brain then quickly hops out, like a rabbit. I wonder if I can help before I'm a warrior. That's ridiculous. She has to know how to be a proper warrior before anything else.

----
Note: 500 words, wow!

[RUNNINGLEAF]

OOC: Nice word count Clov O: Silentstar sat there for a second, quiet as the apprentice was. He glanced ver, seeing her tail lashing from time to time, and looked to the river again, seeing not as dark a shadow on the water as he had. The cooling rain was getting ready to subside, he could feel it, and he looked up. Muscles working within him, he pushed himself up, looking at the sun, and a slow smie curved at his lips. It was almost through the clouds. Of course, the sun always won battles with the clouds. It had told him that many times before. Then Rootpaw spoke, as he stood standing upright, towering over the apprentice. He sat down, tail wrapping around his body as yellow eyes took in what she was saying. "Not every cat in the forest believes we are as great as you say..." Silentstar mewed, turning his head back to the appearing sun. "but they will. His smile once again twisted itself into a smirk, thinking about it. He'd come this far with his achievments, and look what he'd gotten! All the other Clans hated him, but they feared them too. And why? Only because he, leader of CardinalClan, had built them up strong! The weak Clans could only envy them. Letting in kittypets, loners, and rogues... unless they could fight he would rather kill them on the spot. Thinking to Rootpaw, he knew she'd make a great warrior, and carry on his motives for other generations. She was obviously fierce and brave, and reminded him of himself in his youth. Ah yes, he slightly regretted not choosing to mentor the young apprentice himself now that he thought about it. But he hadn't, and as long as the other cat didn't mess with her thinking... she would be a great warrior. And if the other cat did mess with her thinking. That cat would join 'StarClan'. He let himself laugh again at the thought of StarClan, the bizarre things he let cats believe in! When they took over the whole forest, he needed to fix this whole issue. But, what if this strong apprentice next to him believed... would it make her weaker? "Rootpaw, is StarClan of any importance to you...?" he ventured the first thoughts that came to his mouth. Of course he wouldn't judge her to closely about her answer. But he was a curious cat, and he wanted answers. No, he demanded answers from cats. They needed to learn to respect his authority, and most did. The others had better keep their mouths shut about it. Word Count;; Muse;; 422 Music;; None. Notes;; Nope. [bg=1b1b1b][atrb=width,450,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Rootpaw is excitedly anticipating the end of the rain. She wishes to hone her battle skills. She digs her claws into the ground at the thought of battle. She imagines shredding another cat's side, clawing out its eye, or slashing its shoulder. She pounced suddenly, proceeding to claw the rock. It makes a rather annoying scraping sound. She cringes ever so slightly, regretting her actions.

She then thinks of her mentor, scrunching up her nose. She hasn't gotten much chance to get to know them, but she knows that cat isn't as great as the leader. She wishes he was her mentor. Her chest aches with hatred for the mentor she has. She scans her eyes over her leader and bites back a sigh. Her tail droops, her excitement put out just like that. The rain drizzles lightly. It is now barely noticeable. She narrows her eyes at the sky. She sees light.

Whatever cat was her mentor surely wouldn't hold the same beliefs at Rootpaw. If they did, well, that would be wonderful. The calico apprentice hadn't paid much attention to her ceremony. She found it boring and droned most of the words out. She wouldn't let this cat get in her head. She's determined to keep herself. She won't let any cat change her. She mumbles out loud,"I don't remember who my mentor is. I hope it isn't a cat that is stupider or weaker than I am, that just wouldn't do." She means every word. She growls and lashes her tail.

Her teeth are sunk into his scruff, holding him up against a tree. The black and white kit pleas desperately for mercy. Rootkit chuckles darkly. She bites down harder and he yelps. Blood oozes from his shoulder. She throws him violently to the ground and claws his shoulder. He attempts to kick her as she rolls him over. She avoids the attack and claws his belly.

"There is no place for weak cats in the clan!" She yowls in his face. [Rootpaw finds herself saying this absentmindedly out loud while staring at the river.] Rootkit digs her claws into his ear and drags them down his side. She kicks him in the belly. He yowls in pain. He pleads for her to stop.

"You'll be better off idiot. You'll never be able to hunt or fight. You're useless!" With that final comment she bites down in his neck. Blood pools around her unusually large paws for a kit. He's still not dead. Why won't Starclan or whatever take him? Those imbeciles! She swipes her claws across his neck. He lets out a choking sound and holds still. She grabs her brother's bloody scruff and drags him back to camp to show them that weakness is unacceptable.

As her daydream fades away she sits up as if startled. She smiles at the memory and lets out a slight purr. She could reason that she killed her brother to spare him a dull life. That's only part of it. Her true reason was because he was useless. She remembered the way many cats stared at her in horror. The darker cats of the clan had shining eyes and praised her when the slightly moral cats had their backs turned. She lets out a dark chuckle. She turns to Silentstar at his question. She smiles before letting out a loud, echoing laugh.

"They are nothing to me."

[RUNNINGLEAF]

Silentstar watched as Rootpaw answered, and his eyes glimmered with hope. Another cat who didn't believe in StarClan? How could this day get better? He let out another laugh, looking upwards at the sun that hd peeked out through the rain clouds, though drops of water still danced on his pelt. "I knew you would come through." he said to the sun, in reguards to Rootpaw. He knew the sun would provide him with a good Clan, after all he had heard he was the best warrior in the Clan when he was still 'Shadow. Well, I always do don't I? the sun laughed. Silentshadow swept his tail over the water on the rock, making waves in it that ran across it's surface, before falling to the water below where rain was steadily ceasing to fall. "I should of expected more from you. I'm sorry." he said, his mouth curling into a smile. He hadn't talked to the sun all of today, and he had been feeling quite lonely without it... he then remembered Rootpaw. "Rootpaw, do you know who I'm talking to?" he asked, but didn't wait for a reply. The apprentice needed to know before the sun went to sleep. He flicked his tail towards the sky. "Don't you talk to the sun?" he laughed at the prospect. Most cats didn't even know he did, but he needed to have something to say about his actions, didn't he? "I wouldn't expect you to..." he trailed again before she could answer. Whipping his head toward her he spoke, "But she is really quite a nice person when you get to know her." he smiled at all the memories he'd haven with the sun. All the prophecies exchanged between them, the sun even predicted his future once. Leading this great Clan was his future, and he knew it. His master did too. All the other cats could go to their ancestors with 'StarClan'. But he would be riding with the sun. As he thought about it, the grey clouds started to lighten up, as the river started retreating more and more towards it normal pace. He started to wonder if this apprentice would like to train. After all what she had said about her mentor, maybe she wasn't getting enough training. "Would you perhaps like to go and train ofor a little while?" he offered. He would understand if she didn't, bt the rain was slacking, and he was sure the sun would let him do this and not make the air unbearable. Right Sun.... you won't will you? Word Count;; 423 Muse;; Eh, ok. Music;; Roll - Ironic... I just ate Rolls. Notes;; Crazy Silentstar. [bg=1b1b1b][atrb=width,450,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Rootpaw continued to smile. She looked him in the eyes and saw the glimmer. His laugh danced into her ears. She didn't stop smiling, feeling strangely happy. She rain would surely end soon. She wasn't sure anymore if she was glad or not about that. She watches his tail. Feeling a bit bored, she slaps her own against a puddle nearby and gets sprayed with water but hardly feels it because she's already drenched.

She doesn't really pay attention when he speaks. His voice sounded distance as if he was speaking to someone, not Rootpaw, and not himself. 'How very strange,'she thought. She pawed the water, not saying anything. Though not skittish she almost jumped at his questions. She tilted her head. Of course she doesn't talk to the sun. That seems a little odd. She doesn't say anything for a moment.

"I'm sure she is," She said reassuringly. If it's something that works for him, she's OK with it. She remembered when she was a kit she would talk to someone. She doesn't know who she talked to, if it was the sun or the moon- the stars or the sky. She pretty much stopped after being apprenticed. The thought makes her smile. Oh, her awkward days as a kit. What interesting times those were.

It's difficult not to wonder what her leader speaks to with the sun about. He must have been speaking with the sun for a while to talk that way. This seems quite strange, but she disregards it. She's young and doesn't know much, maybe the sun really does speak somehow. In her mind it's less silly they 'speaking' to 'ancestors'. They are old and dead and useless in her opinion. At least the sun shines. It gives the forest life, light, and strength.

The rain is finally stopping. She doesn't know what she's going to do know. Her belly rumbles. She's a little hungry. She would rather fight than hunt right now for some reason. She expects cats will be going to hunt now. She heard that prey is likely to come out after fresh rain. Despite this, she thinks the muggy air is better to train is. The more she toughens herself to the weather, the stronger a fighter she'll become someday. She feels a twinge of doubt about getting good training. Oh well. She's bound to learn something useful one way or another.

Her ears perk up at his words. She pushes away her urge to shout 'Yes!' right away. She turns her narrow yellow-brown eyes on him, thoughtfully. She wants to very much, but she doesn't want to seem too much like a silly kit. She takes in a deep breath. She stands up and stretches, her sharp claws gliding over the rock. She shakes her pelt and sits down, drawing her tongue over her fur. She stops for a moment and finally replies. "Sure, that sounds good."

A tongue is drawn across a large orange paw. She swipes it across her face. She does the same with her other fur paw. There's a spot that's still rain-wet on her and she quickly licks it dry. She feels fully groomed now and ready to go. She starts slowly back the way she came, feeling no hurry whatsoever.