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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 12, 2007 20:17:38 GMT 9
Pushing her head weakly up from the rocky ground, eyes narrowed in amusement, she mewed. "Fine, how would you have caught another cat?" She didn't really see how it was possible for two cats to stand on one stone, though it was still a fun exercise, and it left her hyper and exhilarated, able to ignore the pain in her paw for now. Standing up after the ground had stopped spinning, she shook out her pelt. "What next?" she mewed eagerly, bouncing up and down. Training with Stormcloud was the most fun she had since...well, yesterday morning, really, when her and Ashpaw had been hunting. Still, it was great in contrast to how the rest of the day had followed, the demotion, the ominous gathering, and the night in the nursury. JaggedClan hadn't recieved any more news of the prophecy, but now that she thought of it, there was something...unsettling in her stomach. Something telling her there was danger nearby. Shaking off the feeling, she returned her thoughts to the present time and place, waiting for Stormcloud's next command.
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 13, 2007 1:18:52 GMT 9
"How about just landing on their back?" He suggested lightly, feeling a yawn tickle at the back of his throat. This mentoring thing was more tiring than he'd expected. "Do you want to try the hunting-crack once more, or shall we just grab a bird normally and go back?" Stormcloud asked his apprentice, giving her the choice this time. He didn't really mind, either way was fine.
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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 13, 2007 17:15:40 GMT 9
Realizing this would have been a good tactic, Bonepaw purred. "Oh yeah!" After sitting still for the few heartbeats that she had, she began to recognize the slow sensation of exhaustion. Now that the adrenaline of leaping from stone to stone was gone, she was beginning to realize that her muscles ached at the partially dislodged, bleeding claw was pretty bad. "Maybe we should just hunt regularly. I don't have the energy to risk my life any more today," she mewed, standing up. It would be good to bring home some prey that she didn't nearly die catching for once.
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 13, 2007 18:39:58 GMT 9
Whiskers twitching in amusement, Stormcloud nodded and flicked his tail, indicating for her to lead the way to wherever she thought would be a good place to hunt. He wanted to see how good her judgement was. He felt his own paws begin to ache from the hard surface of the rocks they had been springing to and from. It would be nice to pad back into camp with some fresh-kill. The perfect end to the day, in fact.
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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 13, 2007 18:52:09 GMT 9
Bonepaw nodded and thought for a second. Deciding that since their main source of prey, birds, flew in from the sea, they'd find a lot by the border with SandClan where the ocean was near. "The SandClan border," she decided, and she was off, pelting acros the rocky territory, he paws finding just the right angle to slip between the pointed stones at her feet as she ran. When she finally reached the border, she stopped, opening her jaws to scent the air. Salt and sea and wind and rock. That was how you knew that you were close to SandClan! Dropping into a hunter's crouch, she continued scenting the air. Suddenly, she caught a whiff of bird. Sure enough, a few fox-lengths away it sat, pecking at something between two rocks. She slunk a bit closer to it, bunching her muslces, and then releasing them to spring at the fowl. She was upon it in an instant, and killed it swiftly with a firm bite at the neck. Bonepaw was tempted to eat it, its mouthwatering scent drifting near her mouth, but she knew this wasn't allowed. Deciding she had been in enough trouble latley, she placed it between two large rocks for safe keeping before padding off to try and find more prey. Suddenly, she heard a series of far-off yowls. Creeping closer to the border, she peeked over the edge of the cliff down into SandClan territory, and was shocked at what she saw. Cats--lots of them--were fighting! A group of them could be seen running out of PineClan territory to take part in the battle. Turning around, she called out to her mentor. "Stormcloud! Look! A battle in SandClan!"
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 13, 2007 19:10:02 GMT 9
Feeling the familiar prickle of dread at the mention of the SandClan border, Stormcloud forced his paws to follow the smaller cat, pushing the forbiding down. As he scented the sea he found himself itchign to turn back but shook his head, annoyed at himself. That had happened a long time ago and it hadn't been this place's fault so much as his, anyway. He crouched behind a rock, keeping the edge of the cliff stubbornly behind him so he didn't have to look at it. He watched Bonepaw instead feeling a flicker of satisfaction to break through his tense fear as she made the catch. Then his heart jumped to his mouth as she peered over the edge, dangerously close to it. "Get away from there!" He yowled suddenly, springing forward to grab her by the scruff and pull her back a safer distance from the cliff edge, fur standing on end. "Stay away from the edge! It's too dangerous!" He meowed angrily at her, not processing what she had just said.
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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 13, 2007 21:04:36 GMT 9
Bonepaw's eyes bulged in surprise as her mentor darted to her side, flinging her away from the border as if she was about to topple off of it. She stood up in a surprised daze at the tom's reaction. "But Stormcloud...SandClan are being attacked on their territory! Look!" she repeated. How could her mentor ignore the fact that another clan was under attack? What if JaggedClan was next? Her lavander eyes were wide and worried.
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Post by Incognito on Oct 14, 2007 19:55:21 GMT 9
Ashpaw waited for Yewstorm to say something, marking his scent around the border, feeling slightly awkward because of his mentor's long silence. Glancing around, he heard bird song, but it abruptly stopped as the wind changed wafting his scent through the air in streams. He licked his paw, having spread his scent strong about the border.
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 15, 2007 0:17:54 GMT 9
Stormcloud was still staring at the cliff-edge, stricken. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the trecherous point, long-buried memory re-surfacing painfully. His brother's eagerness and speed. His terrified face begging Stormcloud to hold on. His scared, agonising last yowl and the sickening crunch as he hit the bottom. With imense difficulty, he blinked, dragging his pale green gaze back around to Bonepaw. What had she said? Something about SandClan? "They can't get up the cliff..." He meowed distractedly, "But you'll fall if you go near it! Don't go near the cliff, ever! Do you understand me Bonepaw? Stay away from there!" He was having trouble remaining in the present, eyes flickering between her and the cliff edge, not looking beyond at SandClan's battle.
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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 16, 2007 21:01:32 GMT 9
"But, Stormcloud..." Seapaw trailed off, realizing that it was no use. Stormcloud's memories of this place were too intense. Too mortifying. He looked like he was having trouble standing on his own four legs, and he probably hadn't even heard a word she was saying. Sighing, she mewed weakly, "Yes, Stormcloud," and groped around in the rocks until she found where she had left her catch. Picking it up, she padded back over to her mentor, assuming that this was the end of their training for today. "Shall we head back?" she mewed heasitantly through a mouthfull of feathers.
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 17, 2007 0:34:28 GMT 9
Even through the terrible memories, Stormcloud heard the difference in his apprentice's voice. Was it important? Stormcloud wasn't sure but all he wanted right now was to get away from the cliff. "Yes. Come on." He meowed listlessly, pulling himself around and carrying on back toward camp. As he began to move away from the edge his mind became less clouded. Bonepaw had said something about SandClan. What had she seen? He had dissmissed it instantly, too absorbed in his memories. They had clouded his judgement. By StarClan, he hated that place! But what if it was important? "Bonepaw." He said, suddenly stopping and facing his apprentice. "What did you say about SandClan?"
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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 17, 2007 21:28:54 GMT 9
Bonepaw was startled for a moment at her mentor's sudden return to reality. It was as if something in the air there took over his brain, and once he was away from it, it cleared instantly. She dismissed this thought quickly, not wanting to make things more complicated than they already were. "I said that SandClan is under attack! There are lots of cats there, and they're all fighting. Some were coming from PineClan." she mewed urgently, glad that her mentor was listening to her again. She began shifting her paws in the rocks, eager to get back to camp with her kill and tell her leader about what she had seen.
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 18, 2007 1:33:44 GMT 9
Stormcloud gave his head a final shake to return completely to the present-day. When she spoke he thought he had gone mad for a moment. Who was SandClan fighting? It couldn't be SnowClan, could it? Why would the mountain cats want the beach? It must be PineClan then, hadn't she seen them racing onto the beach. Every cat knew how much those two Clans hated each other and it had been easy to see how little compasion Ebonystar had for other Clans in the Gathering. "Are you sure?" He asked her incredulously, "We'd better report this, although if PineClan and SandClan are fighting it hasn't got much to do with JaggedClan." He shrugged a little and carried on towards camp, marvelling at how he hadn't even heard the battle-sounds of the other Clans. Or maybe he had heard them but just didn't remember. Either way, they had to report it.
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Post by ♫ admin on Oct 18, 2007 17:28:17 GMT 9
Bonepaw bounced along, excited and nervous now. They would report it to Wildstar! They would tell her about the big news. Leaping along after Stormcloud, she noticed some of his words had tugged her curiosity. "Stormcloud," she mewed through a mouthfull of feathers and meat, "how come you think PineClan is fighting SandClan? I mean, maybe they're helping. Cats were already fighting when the PineClan cats came," though she had to admit, her mentor was probably right. Who else did they have to fight, unless rogues were attacking. And besides, it seemed unlikley that PineClan would help SandClan, the two were mortal enemies.
[[Camp board?]]
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 19, 2007 1:14:27 GMT 9
"Well who else would they be fighting, unless it's some rogues?" Stormcloud asked as they neared camp, unknowingly echoing her thoughts. "And why would PineClan help?" Every cat knew how much those Clans detested each other. [[sure]]
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