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Post by frosty on Apr 16, 2011 17:53:24 GMT -5
Cougarheart padded out of the warriors den. It was sunhigh and, as usual, the tom had overslept. He stretched his forepaws out in front of him until his chest pressed against the ground. His tail quivered with the pleasure of stretching his sleep-weary muscles. Blinking his gray-blue eyes, he noticed the unusual amount of activity in camp. Cats were crowding around the nursery, buzzing with anxiety and excitement. A thin, eerie wailing rose from inside the tangle of brambles that made up the place where mothers nursed their offspring. Flicking his ears, Cougarheart realized that his mother must be kitting. Uninterested, the warrior scanned the crowd for his apprentice, Deerpaw.
The tomcat enjoyed training the lively she-cat; she was energic, learned quickly, and was also very pretty. But she was also Cougarheart's first apprentice, and he wanted to do a really good job training her; he would make sure she was DustClan's finest warrior. Holding up his head arrogantly, he padded through the crowd to search out Deerpaw; he would take her on a border patrol, he decided quickly, and maybe do some hunting while they were out. Flickerstorm would be hungry after kitting, he assumed anyways. What did he know about she-cats and kits anyways?
Cougarheart had no interest in kits. All they did was cause headaches, make trouble, and eat prey. And for six moons, they would do nothing but all of the above. Why his mother had decided to have a third litter was beyond him. She already had three sons, did she need more kits? Maybe she was missing Featherstorm, Flurryfoot, and Shellfang, his three older sisters who all died when he was an apprentice. But who fathered Flickerstorm's latest litter? Narrowing his blue-gray eyes suspiciously, he tried to think of a possible mate his mother could've taken. But he couldn't think of any cat in DustClan whom had gotten involved with his mother lately.
He rolled his eyes, not able to care less about his new siblings' father. He just wanted to be a good brother to his youngest kin, even if they were just wailing scraps of fur. The difference was that they shared his blood, and thus they were obviously superior to every other wailing scrap of fur. Cougarheart flicked his tail, making a mental note to catch his unborn siblings a juicy piece of prey for when he took Deerpaw out. Speaking of his apprentice, where was she?
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Post by sphinx on Apr 16, 2011 20:49:33 GMT -5
Deerpaw padded from the apprentices den, stretching her long legs and letting out a huge yawn that displayed her prominant, sharp teeth. Blinking her pale green eyes and flicking her large ears, Deerpaw's attention was immediately caught by the magnitude of activity, so unlike any other morning.
Everyone seemed to be out. Warndering, standing about, looking around at one another. It all seemed to be situated around the nursery and Deerpaw could only guess that Flickerstorm, the only DustClan queen at the moment, was giving birth.
Deerpaw had never spoken to Flickerstorm and knew little about her aside from the fact that she was the mother to Deerpaw's mentor Cougarheart.
For a moment, Deerpaw wondered if Cougarheart would be in the nursery with his mother, and wondered with a sinking feeling if she would get anything at all done today aside from listening to everyone in the camp gossiping about Flickerstorm's latest litter.
But then, she caught sight of her golden furred mentor and quickly made her way towards him. "Hey Cougarheart, what's going on? I thought it might be Flickerstorm kitting but you're not in the nursery...?"
[/color] She asked curiously, looking him up and down. He looked rather nanchelaunt, standing there as if he didn't have a care in the world. It seemed to her that nothing too important could be going on for he looked so uninterested, but by the level of activity, it seemed rather important. Too many mixed signals, she decided. Better not to judge before she knew all the facts. Looking around at a thin wail from the nursery, Deerpaw was even more confused. As far as she knew, Flickerstorm was the only queen in DustClan at the moment, but Cougarheart was out here acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Could some other cat have been brought in to kit? Somehow, she couldn't see a loner or a rogue stepping in out of the territory and ask to kit within a Clan camp. What in the name of StarClan could be going on? [/size][/center][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by frosty on Apr 16, 2011 21:15:53 GMT -5
"Hey Cougarheart, what's going on? I thought it might be Flickerstorm kitting but you're not in the nursery...?"
The golden tom's ears swiveled forwards when Deerpaw scurried up to him. Cougarheart flicked his tail overh er pelt, letting out an amused mrrow of amusement.
"Yes, Flickerstorm's kitting. But what do I know about queens and kits? I'm a tom, for StarClan's sake! I think Leopardfur is probably with her. I'd just get in the way. Anyways, I'll see her and my new siblings when we get back from training. How does a border patrol sound? We can catch some breakfast while we're out too, and bring something back for DustClan's newest warriors," he meowed gently.
Cougarheart didn't want to tell Deerpaw of the nagging fear he had for his mother and unborn siblings. Flickerstorm wasn't the young cat she used to be. Maybe her difficult kitting was an omen from StarClan that this would be the she-cat's last litter. Shuffling his paws awkwardly, he jerked his head towards the camp exit, signalling that it was best they'd be going. The sooner the tomcat was out of camp and away from all the excitement and anxiety, the better.
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Post by sphinx on Apr 16, 2011 21:26:07 GMT -5
"Yes, Flickerstorm's kitting. But what do I know about queens and kits? I'm a tom, for StarClan's sake! I think Leopardfur is probably with her. I'd just get in the way. Anyways, I'll see her and my new siblings when we get back from training. How does a border patrol sound? We can catch some breakfast while we're out too, and bring something back for DustClan's newest warriors,"
Deerpaw tipped her head slightly to one side at his words though did not answer at first. She still found it a bit odd that Cougarheart did not want to be with his mother at this critical time, but she could also see a flicker of worry in his eyes which made her want to comfort him.
However, seeing as he was her mentor and probably wouldn't like being treated like a scared kit, she decided against it. A patrol would be ideal for getting his mind off of stressful things, so perhaps it would be in everyone's best interest.
She nodded slightly, feeling his tail flick over her pelt. "Alright, let's go. I'll catch Flickerstorm a great big rabbit so she will be able to replentish her strength after kitting. I'm sure it can't be fun."
[/color] She mewed and gave a slight shudder. The idea of birthing kits repulsed her slightly, and she had no idea why. Wasn't it every young she-cat's dream to one day find a cat they would fall in love with and have beautiful kits with them? Perhaps, but somehow, Deerpaw was more focused on how the kits came into being. How painful it must be to give birth to them. She shuddered again and shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. "Where did you have in mind that we should go?"[/color] She asked, staring to pad towards the entrance of the camp. Her large green eyes looked back at Cougarheart as her head turned to look over her shoulder at him. [/size][/center][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by frosty on Apr 16, 2011 21:40:38 GMT -5
"Alright, let's go. I'll catch Flickerstorm a great big rabbit so she will be able to replentish her strength after kitting. I'm sure it can't be fun."
"That's what I like to hear," he meowed proudly. "And you're right, it's probably not fun at all. But I guess it's all worth it afterwards, when there's a new litter of kits you can call your own."
Cougarheart dwelled on his own words for a moment, padding out of the camp with Deerpaw at his heels. Was having kits really all that great? Perhaps it really was worth all the pain. Maybe watching your own flesh and blood scampering around and playing with each other was a feeling that couldn't be replaced with anything else. But how rewarding could it really be? Cougarheart decided if he were to ever have kits, they would be the most perfect kits the Clans had ever seen.
"Where did you have in mind that we should go?"
He thought carefully for a moment, realizing with a pang that he hadn't given it any thought yet. "Well, if you want to catch that rabbit then we'd better head for the Openland, and we can re-mark the PineClan border while we're there," he decided after running through his thoughts quickly. The field was a great place for rabbits to make their warrens, and it was newleaf so there'd likely be more of the rodents than usual.
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Post by sphinx on Apr 16, 2011 21:55:58 GMT -5
"That's what I like to hear,"
The pride in his voice as he spoke made Deerpaw stand up a little straighter. She wanted nothing more than to please her mentor and become the best warrior she could be and it seemed as though she was on the right track. She just needed to stay focused and positive and remember that nothing came without hard work. She would put in that work, she would do whatever it took.
"And you're right, it's probably not fun at all. But I guess it's all worth it afterwards, when there's a new litter of kits you can call your own."
Deerpaw shrugged slightly, not particularly finding an answer. She supposed that's why everyone had kits, but she couldn't understand it fully. Perhaps to fully understand, you had to have a littler of your own. Perhaps it just came with the territory as rabbits and mice came with DustClan's barren terrain. She supposed she may understand in time, but she hoped that time wouldn't come for a while. She didn't want to be distracted from her goals. Right now, her only desire was to become a DustClan warrior on whom the Clan could depend and be proud of. Not to be a mother.
But of course, she was only an apprentice after all. She was in no place to be thinking about kits anyway. She imagined what her mother would do if she told her that she was going to have kits and smiled slightly. Deerpaw had no doubt that Lionflower would kick her butt from here to next moon.
Deerpaw's mind then wandered to her sister. Shellpaw was pretty yes, but she had little substance. Would a tom ever want to have kits with her? Was it all about caring about the other cat? Perhaps Shellpaw would find a tom as superficial with her and they would make beautiful but stupid kits together. That would be a great day for DustClan.
Turning her head away from looking back at her mentor, Deerpaw rolled her eyes. She and her sister had gotten into a fight the night before, so perhaps the reason she was having these not so nice thoughts about her was because of that. But she had always been irritated with her sister's superficiality. This was no time to focus on that though, she had more important things to do.
"Well, if you want to catch that rabbit then we'd better head for the Openland, and we can re-mark the PineClan border while we're there,"
"Alright, sounds good to me!" Deerpaw mewed brightly, refocusing her mind on the task at hand. It would do her no good to have her mind on her sister while trying to impress her mentor; it would only do her ill.
Padding towards the entrance of the camp, she paused and stood aside to allow Cougarheart to lead the way. She still didn't know the territory very well and was worried about getting them lost.
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Post by frosty on Apr 18, 2011 14:41:37 GMT -5
Cougarheart blinked warmly at Deerpaw when she stepped aside to let him lead. He would make sure she knew the territory inside out before she became a warrior. She would know every nook and cranny, every tree, every bush, every mouse hole, everything. He would have to test her sometime to see how much she knew, but not today. They had rabbits to catch and borders to remark.
The golden tom padded confidently through the barren land, purposely brushing up against stalks of bracken so his scent was left behind. This was his territory, his Clan, and his apprentice. And soon, he'd have new brothers or sisters. Any cat who dared defy this would be flayed. Especially MarshClan cats. Their neighbors were far too arrogant and near-sighted for his liking. But he wouldn't dare risk taking Deerpaw to that border. Cougarheart would never risk her injuries for his pride.
But the Clan who resided in the marsh would pay for what they did to DustClan. He would make Hawkstar eat his words and regret that day's work. During that battle, his father had died, leaving Flickerstorm to act as both parents while Cougarheart and Beechtail grew up. Narrowing his gray-blue eyes, he let out a soft growl.
He had heard his father's murderer, Batstream, had been killed by a passing rogue. Cougarheart felt no guilt smiling about her death. It was just a shame it wasn't his claws that ripped the life from her.
Flicking his ears, Cougarheart realized that he had walked almost to the Openland. Parting his jaws to inhale deeply, he checked to find the scent of rabbits. Sure enough, a whitetailed creature was nibbling on a seed about ten tail lengths away, just behind a barrier of grass He flicked his tail in signal for Deerpaw to try to go after it; it would be a good way to determine where she was at so far.
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