; x Life x ;

[Blair ;;]

Sagestar noted that Vinetangle seemed to have not liked this tomcat. He couldn't tell why. Maybe she was really just in a rotten mood. Or maybe she was lying. Maybe he'd ask her later. He wasn't listening as the two of them spoke. The likely hood of a tree falling in his meadow.. Impossible, he thought. Just about impossible. This was something he was unsure of. But impossible, yes, impossible was a good assumption.. His tail twitched as the thunder seemed to be dying, the water coming down less now. He wanted to go out hunting. He wanted to now. He wanted to rush those two and hurry himself up already to the meadow. But he wanted to show patience. Something he wasn't good at: patience. His tail twitched in annoyance as he looked to the others. "I don't mean to interrupt, but the storm seems to be settling. I vote the meadow for some much needed hunting; the prey is now all wet that we have already killed, and will go bad sooner. So therefore, we need to catch some more. . Shall we go, or shall we wait for it to fully settle down?" He was mainly asking Vinetangle, but he knew the deputy would put in a word, as well. [bg=000000][atrb=width,438,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Vinetangle stares at Whiteheart blankly while he talks. She imagines the meadow; such as the sounds of mice scurrying across the ground and the long grass brushing against her flank. She longs to be back out hunting. She gazes up at the sky. It excites her that the clouds are parting. She can no longer hear the drumming rain. Her tail twitches with anticipation.

"I don't think I'd be cut out for that," she meows sort of absently toward his deputy remark,"but, uh, thanks. She's not entirely certain she deserves respect, either.

She wonders if the lightning hit any trees. It's very likely. Many of the trees are quite tall. They might as well be begging the lightning to hit them. She lets out a light laugh. She's seen fallen trees before after storms, many times. She only saw a tree actually get hit. It was a long time ago.

Vinetangle limped through the forest. Blood trickled down her fore leg, and she stopped to lap it up. The pouring rain didn't help anything. She sighed with relief as it stopped. She had a feeling it wasn't over, however. She had been in a fight with a rogue tom. She was the winner of course, she's a clan cat! No non clan cat could ever stand a chance against a trained fighter. She jumped at a crackling noise. She winced at the pain in her leg. She looked at the direction of the noise, and her eyes widened.

The flames danced across the trunk. The tree was fairly tall. The fire was entrancing. She found it hard to turn away. It was a scary thing, but it was beautiful at the same time. She was amazed. Realization struck, and she shook her head. Her leg was bleeding. She needed attention from a medicine cat. She hoped that the fire wouldn't spread. The rain started heavily again. She glanced over her shoulder to see the fire fizzling out. The clan would be safe.

Her muscles stiffen when she comes out of the flashback. She sees fire flickering over the camp. She shook her head just like she did those many moons ago. After blinking hard a couple times she examines camp once more. It isn't on fire, thank Starclan. She sighs with relief. She guesses re-seeing the embers in her memory translated over to reality.

At the sound of Sagestar's voice she flexes her claws, still disturbed by the strange vision. No, it wasn't a vision. She mustn't think it that way. Then it sounds like... never mind. Her thoughts snap to the meadow again. The grass and dirt will be sodden with rain. She thinks about the mud squishing under her paws.

"Yeah, the meadow. The storm seems to be calmed, I think we should get going soon," she replies. The tortoiseshell she-cat can already smell the musky rodents and feel the wet grass ruffling her pelt. She's actually almost excited. She smiles.

[Blair ;;]

When the deputy was yet to respond, Sagestar smiled at the thought. He nodded happily to the warrior, Vinetangle. He loved hunting, but mainly he wanted to see if the tree had fallen. He began to walk without a word towards the meadow, thinking. What if the tree had fallen? What were to happen? The meadow had been his place for years. And what if it was no longer his place anymore, now inhabited by a tree? The thought sent chills down his fur. He began to pick up the pace, not running, but still keeping it steady. He wanted to find out what had happened.. fast. They were already almost there, so why not speed up? Then he remembered he may scare prey off and slowed his pace. He couldn't help thinking that it was possible that the tree had fallen. It's what he hated about storms. The grass was wet on his paws, which he hated just as much. Sagepaw was walking through the territories, looking for prey. His mentor had told him to stay within the camp when it was raining, but Sagepaw was never one to listen to anyone. Even the mentor. Sagepaw's ears were flattened down from the rain, his pelt sagging from how wet it was. He stopped to lick at it when he heard lightning. It was relatively close, almost like he could feel it. He wanted to go back. No prey would be out with any sense now. Just as he began to turn, a large tree fell just inches away from where his paws were about to take him. He yelped, jumping back, wanting to yowl and run to the other side of the territory. He did just that, just not to the extent. He ran about seven feet and peaked out from behind the tree. The tree that had almost fallen on Sagepaw was relatively small, but it could have still crushed him. The adrenaline ran through his body as he looked over it. The leaves looked glazed with black, because of how burnt it was. He approached it slowly, and realized then that the bark was heated. Just as he was about to investigate further, see if there were any animals in the tree before it had fallen, he heard his mentor calling for him. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be out and ran, hoping never to see a tree fall or a tree that had fallen recently again. [bg=000000][atrb=width,438,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Star (Noblelion)]

Whiteheart vaguely heard Sagestar speak, so immersed in his own memories was he. He shook his head, he didn't like thinking about the past. He wanted only to focus on feeding his new Clan, which lay here in the present.

Whiteheart watched as Sagestar got up and walked out of the camp. Whiteheart stretched before following him. Normally, he would have followed from the tree tops, but he could see that something was on his leader's mind.

"You seem troubled, my friend. Tell me, what is the matter?" Whiteheart meowed.

[Blair ;;]

Sagestar shook himself out of the memory. He hated the memory of a tree falling, much less a tree in his own territory. He wasn't a very good apprentice, not listening to his mentor. But really, was anyone? Sagestar shook his head to push the damp raindrops off of it, splattering just about everywhere. He hated the rain. The damp grass was all over the pads of his paws and the trees were too slick to climb. Did anyone like the rain? Of course it was a source of more water. But, he thought, there was nothing worse than a lightning storm.. making a.. tree fall.. He shook the thought away. His deputy began to pad over to him. He looked back at him, a slight smile on his face. But it wasn't of happiness. When he spoke, he tried to think of a clumsy response. "Oh, I'm not thinking of much, actually." Lied the leader, with a smug look on his face that seemed rather real. "Just about if there will be prey in the meadow." He added smoothly, looking up at the cloudy, grey sky. "It was such a beautiful day before. Now the rain has ruined it." Sagestar added, scowling, trying to change the subject. {Low muse. c: } [bg=000000][atrb=width,438,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Clove]

Vinetangle was glad the storm had stopped. However, it left a weird feeling in the air. The post-storm air seemed to gnaw her bones and get under her skin. Weariness rushed through her without warning. She shook her head, trying to shoo it away. She sped up a little. She couldn't show that she was tired. She really wasn't, but it might appear so.

He was anxious about something. She could sense it. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Sagestar, but didn't want to say anything. She glanced at Whiteheart as he spoke their leader. What would Sagestar's answer be? She watched him expectantly. She possessed a strange eagerness to know what was going on inside of his mind. He might not even have been pondering anything important. Vinetangle had a feeling, deep inside her stomach, that he was having unsettling thoughts that made his pelt prick and his eyes dart in several directions.

The answer made the muscles above her eyes furrow together slightly. She was puzzled. He couldn't possibly thinking about something so simple. She gave him a disbelieving stare. "There is likely to be," she meowed roughly to show her suspicions,"although they may hide during the storm, afterward prey tends to have an eagerness to come see the refreshed land." She knew better than to believe every word he said. She had enough experience to know many cats don't say what they are thinking. They want to hide it for some reason, even if it isn't something so startling or juicy that it needed to be kept secret. She burned a hole in his pelt with her patient but irritated greenish eyes.

Only after she spoke had she realized he had said something in an attempt to change the mind focus to other places. That showed Vinetangle was far from an oblivious or gullible cat. She was the opposite, really. The day a cat pulled something over her was the day hedgehogs would fly! She turned away a moment to bite back the urge to let out a purr of amusement. She glanced at Whiteheart before focusing her gaze to Sagestar again. She sighed lightly,"It sure was, but rain is kind of nice too."

Her response was neutral. She didn't have much of an opinion toward the matter. She wouldn't admit that the rain made her ache a little here and there, causing her to resent the previous storm, somewhat. She wasn't anywhere near enough to be considered an elder, or soon to retire as one. She stared absently at the trees in the direction of where she thought the field would be. Wishing to be youthful again would be foolish. She'd lived pretty good, despite the horrible mistakes she made in the past. She just hated how the younger cats could outrun her and that she felt a coming rain in her bones and still felt it a little afterward. Maybe she was paranoid, but she shouldn't feel like that already.

'Oh, well. I'll just have to accept that I'm slowing down. I'm not as young and fit as I used to be, no matter how hard it is to believe,' she thought grudgingly.

What worried her most was the fact that she didn't have a mate, or even a lover from outside the clan. She didn't want to die without raising kits to make up for her terrible and selfish decision. Perhaps that's what truly caused her ache. She was oversensitive to her gradually aging body because at some point, it would be too weak to make things right. She also felt guilty for killing their father when he hadn't done anything to deserve death. Her mother may have been evil, but deep down, Vinetangle desired to walk the ranks of Starclan when she passed. In her heart, hunting and fighting like a true warrior, as in not killing other cats unless she had to, was barely enough.

[Blair ;;]

Sagestar looked back at Vinetangle. He could tell that she wasn't falling for him saying that he had nothing on his mind. The anxiousness he had felt prickled through his pelt and probably made every length on his pelt stand on end. He began to pick up the pace, seeing the meadow within walking distance now. He slowed down, looking on to the black darkness above the treetops. Something didn't seem.. right, about how the trees were swaying. Something didn't feel right about how musky the air was. Sure, it was after a storm. But surely something else had to be causing the heat that seemed to thrash around him? He began to speed up, and what he saw scared him enough to stop, his sage eyes widening. A large willow tree had fallen off to the side of the meadow, and the heat emetting from it was shown vigorously. It had obviously caught partially on fire, but the rain had put it out. A nature-made fire. His claws deepened into the wet soil as he saw this, his eyes widened with harsh fear still. Stay calm. Sagestar thought. The only thing he knew to do was to stay calm. The other warriors beside him would react the way he was. He steadily took a few more steps towards the tree, and pt his paw without thinking against the heated bark. It had been caught on fire at the beginning of the storm, he knew. The bark was still hot, but not enough to burn you, if you were careful. The leaves severed and burnt at the ends, as he stared at them, shivering, removing his paw. "This is what I was afraid of." He whispered. The one place he had spent his childhood, a third of it once being on fire, and a tree fallen. What were they to do? Push it out of the way? He couldn't even think straight. [bg=000000][atrb=width,438,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Star (Noblelion)]

Whiteheart watched Sagestar carefully and could tell that his leader was upset by the fallen tree. Whiteheart stepped a little closer and put his paw on the tree, to test how strong it was. He could feel the heat coming off the tree through his fur, but could feel nothing in his paw, his long journey had made sure of that. He gave the tree a small push, and felt it roll slightly.

"We could probably move this to the edge of the meadow if we worked together," Whiteheart whispered to Sagestar.

[Clove]

SHE WAS UNDOUBTEDLY FRIGHTENED.

Vinetangle scanned her eyes over the tree. Her gaze roamed the smoldering, ruined bark. Her fur was bristled. She was crouched down in the grass at the edge of the treeline. She had stayed away from it, unlike her clanmates. Her eyes were wide with horror. She had wrapped her tail so that it lied against her side. Her ears were drawn back as well. She didn't want to look cowardly, but she couldn't help it. She tried to get her muscles to do something. They wouldn't budge.

An image of flames danced in her head. They flickered up toward the sky. The flames were a dazzlingly bright mixture of yellow, orange, and red. Her eyes burned from the brightness and smoke. The smell was disgusting. She pawed at her nose at the very thought. She got to her paws. Her legs were shaking slightly. She slowly made her way to the tree. She still kept away from it. She needed to face her fear, but she was unsure.

The bark was split in several places. It looked weak and soft. She inched closer. She could almost feel the remnants of the heat. She glanced at Sagestar. He appeared to be greatly distressed. 'What's the big deal?' she wondered. She shook her head. It was a necessary thing to know. She didn't turn her head when Whiteheart spoke. The idea of putting her paws on something fire had once been consuming made her shudder. Would she be able to summon the emotional strength? She tentatively reached out her paw, claws unsheathed. She hooked them into a loose piece of bark. Slowly, she dragged her claws down. They snagged and the piece came off. She dug her claws into it. She glared at the carcass of the tree.

The fire was no longer burning. The tree was dead. The blemish on the meadow had to be removed.

CONFIDENCE FLOWED THROUGH HER VEINS.

She reared up on her hind legs. Her claws were still unsheathed. Her tail was whipped out behind her body to keep it balanced as she lifted into the air. She came down on the tree. Her landing made a slight crunching sound. Her hind paws were planted firmly in the somewhat muddy ground. She had sunk her claws into the tree firmly. She locked eyes with Sagestar for a moment. Then, she caught the eye of Whiteheart. She looked down at the life-drained tree trunk.

Her voice came out strongly. Had she tried to speak earlier, it would've been cracked and wavery. Now, her voice showed none of her previous fear. Her tail lashed side to side behind her. She flexed her claws, liking the feel of the bark under them. She wished she could claw fire, but that would result in her paws burning off, fur and flesh. Her ears were bent forward. Her eyelids were half down in a way that gave a relaxed but determined vibe.

"So, how exactly are we going to do this?"

She directed her question mostly at Whiteheart because he made the decision, but of course since Sagestar was leader, it might have been more his call. She looked at neither of them. She gazed across the meadow. It didn't look too damaged. The tree wasn't really that big of a deal, but if the two high ranked toms wanted to move it, who was she to argue? She smirked strangely, almost as if it were at the tree. Her smirk was subtle though. Even if the battle was with her own mind, it wasn't wrong to feel triumphant.

[Star (Noblelion)]

Whiteheart looked at Vinetangle for a second and frowned. He could tell she was somewhat terrified, but he couldn't tell why. He didn't press her but instead meowed, "Keep your claws sheathed, that way they don't get caught in the tree when we start to move it. Right, Sagestar?"

Whiteheart addressed Sagestar, if only to give his leader some semblance of authority.