Hello?

[Magicheart]

Firetail flattened his ears as he saw Honeysquirrel streak across the camp and into the nursery. He sighed. Now how am I to ever impress her when she's feeling so horrible? Why do I have to fall for a heartbroken queen? he thought to himself miserably. "What have I to offer her?" he yowled dramatically, accidentally out loud.

[darkflower]

Honeysquirrel blinked, snapping out of her trance at the sound of Firetail's loud yowl. She frowned. "Hey, Firetail? Are you alright?" Poking her head out of the nursery, she examined the tom with curious concern. Then she felt the thought return, and shift in like a dull, aching throb. She nearly collapsed under the wieght of her pain. GRitting her teeth, she turned to go back into the nursery, alone...the emptyness gaped at her, an evil sneer on it's face. She quickly turned back. "Firetail," she whispered, embarassed at this sudden longing for companionship. "Would you sit with me please? I..I feel a bit lonely.." She bit off her words, tears stinging her eyes.

[Seraphinu]

Inkpaw's ears flattened as he heard Firetail's yowl of despair. Sootbird's grumbling then alerted him that he had paused in de-ticking the elder. Vaguely Inkpaw wondered what Sootbird thought of all this. The elder was prickly, and rarely in the mood to confide in apprentices.

"Hmph. Don't concern yourself with the love affairs of another cat, Inkpaw," Sootbird suddenly meowed, startling the young cat. Loosening another tick, the steady rhythm of rubbing his paws into the elder's fur gave him time to think.

"He's my mentor. Shouldn't I be concerned?" Inkpaw replied, and Sootbird gave a raspy rumble that Inkpaw had to take as laughter. The young apprentice flicked his ear in discomfort. So, Darkpaw wasn't the only one who was going to tease him today?

[Magicheart]

Firetail glanced back and forth and then eagerly trotted over to the nursery. "Don't worry, Honeysquirrel, I'm coming!" he meowed in a hushed, yet heroic voice. He tumbled in the nursery and suddenly felt awkward and too large to be in the den. He felt heat flush to his face. "Um..." he meowed, unsure of what to say.

[darkflower]

Honeysquirrel yawned, the herbs starting to take hold of her. She felt sleepy, like she'd been awake for moons. She wanted rest, but more than that she wanted someone close to her, a heartbeat besides her own. She curled up and mumbled to Firetail. "Let's sleep ok? I just need someone with me..." She scooted over just a tad, enough room for his large, furry shape to squeeze in beside her. Her eyes blinked at him expectantly, half hidden by the flicker of her tail, twitching as she adjusted to a more comfortable position amongst the bedding.


Outside, Starpaw was watching the clan from the medicine den, feeling a building sense of despair. She hadn't seen her brothers yet today; where had they gotten off to? Sighing, she wondered if it was too late to go out for a walk. But no. She was needed here, with the way things stood. Sighing, she padded to the crevice where they stored the herbs, deciding to sort of bundles of traveling herbs. The journey couldn't be far off from now. Her own parents had appeared to her to remind her of that, surely that meant something was going to happen soon. Settling down, she pulled out the first needed items and set to work.

[Seraphinu]

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[atrb=background,http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j200/Seraphinu/Inkpawtemplatebg.png] Having finished getting the ticks out of Sootbird's fur, Inkpaw dipped his paws into a pool of melted snow that had gathered outside the elder's den, trying to wash out the vile presence of mouse bile in his pads. Examining the underside of his paws, his eye again focused on the pads of his right foot, which had changed from the purplish grey they used to be into pure black. The mark of the Eight. Again he wondered if he could be a hero. Setting his paws right and standing, Inkpaw began to practice focusing his vision, trying to see the far end of camp and judge its distance. Glancing up, he saw a broken branch hanging overhead- it must have fallen off a tree atop the hollow. Squinting and bunching up his legs, he sprang straight in the air, intending to grab the small branch with his paw. He landed somewhat heavily, only having clawed open air. He bared his fangs in frustration. He was going to learn how to see properly, if it killed him. He was going to make it to be a warrior... he was going to make his Clan proud. He was going to protect his sister... Taking a breath, he tried again, this time overshooting. The branch caught his wrist instead of his paw, and fell the rest of the way into camp, scattering snow onto his head. Inkpaw hissed in agitation and shoved the branch away angrily.

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[Magicheart]

Firetail nodded. "Ok." he meowed with a smile. that much I should be able to do without screwing up! he thought to himself. He tried to circle around to get comfortable, but almost got stuck in the cramped space. He silently cursed and clumsily lied down beside Honeysquirrel, his face feeling hotter than his flame-colored tail. He knew he couldn't get himself in a comfortable position, but being beside Honeysquirrel, wreathed in her scent, he found that he didn't notice at all. I don't want to fall asleep. I want this moment to last. he thought to himself, looking at the smooth coat of Honeysquirrel with loving eyes.

[darkflower]

Yawning, Honeysquirrel pressed into Firetail, purring slightly. There was an odd comfort to him, something in his scent that brought back memories of Graveheart in a kinder light, and she couldn't help but feel soothed by his nearness. She stretched a bit, moving over to make more room for them both. Between the two of them, there wasn't a large amount of space left in the nursery, and suddenly she wondered if the herbs Starpaw had given her were making her groggy and a bit thoughtless. Ah well, no time to care now. Resting her head on her paws, she curled up against Firetail, shut her eyes and slipped into dreams.



Starpaw finished sorting out the traveling herb bundles, then ducked out of the medicine den and into the clearing. She arrived just in time to see Inkpaw land with a heavy thud, and swat at a fallen branch inside the hollow. She titled her head to the side and pricked her ears, perplexed. "Hey Inkpaw, what are you doing?" She bounded over to the tom, frowning to see the firce determination on his face. what in the name of starclan are you thinking of? she wondered.

[Seraphinu]

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[atrb=background,http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j200/Seraphinu/Inkpawtemplatebg.png] Inkpaw sighed, shaking the snow out of his fur. How could he be expected to hunt live prey when he couldn't even catch a stupid stick? He nearly jumped out of his fur when Starpaw asked him what he was doing. He felt his ears burn. Had she seen him fail? "Training," he muttered, his eye avoiding her gaze by focusing on the fallen branch that had evaded him. His ears perked up as he heard the skittering of paws near the camp entrance, and Spottedpaw raced into camp, her sister Darkpaw not far behind her, both looking frantic and frightened. "There's a fox in the territory!" Spottedpaw cried, and Inkpaw blinked in surprise, racing over to her and her littermate. "Where?" he asked. "Near the ShadowClan border," Darkpaw answered, slightly calmer than Spottedpaw, although her fur was fluffed out to twice her size. "We were out gathering moss when Littleflower suddenly appeared and told us the patrol had found fox-scent! She told Icecrystal and Whitefire to come join the patrol in case they had to fight it and for us to warn the camp!" Spottedpaw explained, after having gained some composure. Moonripple suddenly appeared, jumping down from his perch where he had been watching the camp entrance. Clovercloud and Dapplepelt also came into the clearing, exiting the warriors den.

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[Magicheart]

Firetail pricked his ears at the sound of talking in the camp. He had fallen asleep. He gazed at Honeysquirrel, not wanting to move. not sure that I can anyhow he thought to himself, his left back leg tingling with numbness from the awkward position he had left it in. He slowly stood up, trying with all his effort not to wake the sullen queen next to him. He stepped over her carefully, but accidentally stepped on a twig and swished his fluffy orange tail across the tips of her ears. "Floods of Thunderclan!" he cursed in a hiss.

[darkflower]

Starpaw's heart leaped into her throat. A fox? In the territory? She looked to Darkpaw. "Are you sure it's still in Thunderclan?" she asked uncertainly. "Maybe it went over the border..." She trailed off. If it had, they wouldn't be this worried. She eyed the camp enterance, then turned determindly to Inkpaw. "Well, lets round up all the warriors and have everyone keep watch then. Though let Honeysquirrel sleep. She's still really shaken up about...well, you know.." Turning to the rocky cliffs, she bunched her muscles and leapt, claws scraping into stone as she hulled herself to a vantadge point. Then she sat, ears pricked, eyes searching, and silently kept watch.

[darkangel]

Crimsonheart's fluffy tail fluffed up to twice its size when she heard news of a fox in the territory! "A FOX?" she hissed, kneading the ground with her already unsheathed claws. "A fox! I'm going straight to that border!" she growled, already beginning to stalk out of camp despite other cats calling for her.
She ran, using her agility and speed to her advantage, to the ShadowClan border. There she would be able to show that size was not always the real secret in a warrior's strength.

[darkflower]

"Wait! Crimsonheart!" Starpaw lashed her tail in frustration. Things were going to get out of hand if everyone started to panic. Worriedly she raised her voice above the crowd. "Hey, everyone! Listen! No one else can leave the camp, we have to keep it defended!" She tried to get the clan's attention, pacing slightly in her concern. She hoped no one else would bolt off to play hero or have a heart attack from worry, especially the younger cats in the clan.

[switch321]

Brackensmoke, deputy of Thunderclan, saw Crimsonheart leaving the camp.
"Crimsonheart!" he yowled. "Stop!" He saw her go, and growled in frustration.
He looked at Starpaw and said, "Make sure no on else leaves the camp. You have my permission to stop them."
With that said, he bounded after Crimsonheart.

[darkangel]

Crimsonheart had rushed ahead of the returning group, paying no attention to the scratches along her pelt and how the twinged with pain as she ran fast.
She skidded into the camp.
"The fox is dead," she said to all in earshot as she padded, more calmly this time, into the medicine den.

(The patrol's over )