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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 20:00:11 GMT -5
Daringheart pushed her way into Lionstars den without asking permission, in her mind her announcing her presence before entering was pretty much the same as an invitation from her leader, and former friend, Lionstar. Even with a bit of a falling out she didn’t see her privileges as best friends just getting up and walking away, those privileges being respect thrown out the window replaced with a new kind of bond where their trust for one another was so great they didn’t need the formalities. Such is the code of best friends, and she refused to give that up so she just walked right in. “Lionstar, let’s talk.” She said, her voice was much more mellow and had a hint of gentle nature that was almost never present. She was usually a bit crazy but right now she had toned everything down which added a serious tone to the conversation.
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Post by Fawn on Jan 2, 2013 21:12:47 GMT -5
In truth, TreeClan's leader had been catching up on his beauty sleep, his thick golden tail tucked over his nose, amber eyes closed, body still as Somnus overtook him. He probably wouldn't remember the dream when he woke up, but Lionstar dreamed he was running through the forest in the middle of Greenleaf; prey was plentiful, and he was still a young warrior, taking a break from the seriousness he'd went about his daily activities to enjoy youth once more. A warm wind blowing out the thick golden ruff around his throat, Lionstar, Lionstep then, could faintly hear voices calling his name - familiar voices, and some he hadn't heard in ages.
One was the voice of Thrushpelt, a friend he had lost due to unforeseen circumstances, the other was Stormchaser, a tom of which he was still on very good terms with to this day, and the last was -
“Lionstar, let’s talk.”
Stirring immediately, the muscular tom uncurled, jaws parting in a loud yawn, ears flicking off to the side as he momentarily did not recognize the sudden intruder. Oh it's Daringheart. His brain finally reminded him, and the golden tom sat up, licking the fur along his chest with a few quick bobs of the head.
She had sounded serious, which was quite a change from her usual tone.
"Alright, what's on your mind? Is anything wrong?"
The patched tabby warrior in front of him was usually never this serious unless something had happened, or was about to happen.
Lionstar was only left sitting there, speculating on what it could possibly be.
Word Count: 290
Notes: None!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 21:48:32 GMT -5
Lionstar was up in an instant, he didn’t lull about as he got his bearings it was like he was just instantly awake and alert. This made Daringheart wonder what was going on with him, and made her think even more so that they needed to talk. “I worry about you is all, Smallshine dying, I wonder how you are doing. You don’t really talk to anyone about it, and if you do nobody but that cat knows about it.” She said quickly as she closed the distance a bit more and head butted him softly as she sat by his side. “I know we have grown apart just a little bit, but I want you to talk to me.” She said simply as she pushed herself into him in silent support. “You have been so strong and brave about it, but are you really as okay as you seem?” She asked in a gentle tone, this instance been the last time she would probably use it for ages.
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Post by Fawn on Jan 2, 2013 22:54:21 GMT -5
"I worry about you is all, Smallshine dying, I wonder how you are doing. You don’t really talk to anyone about it, and if you do nobody but that cat knows about it.”
Surprise registered on the big golden tom's face, his whiskers twitching as his ears came forward with interest. "You're concerned about me? Thank you, Daringheart but I'm handling it. Really." He mewed, trying his best to sound as sincere. Truth be told, he wasn't sure how he felt on the whole subject of Smallshine passing; in her all-too-sudden absence, a void had been created in the rankings that he was desperate to fill, but a small part of him was timid at the idea of selecting yet another cat to fill the position of Deputy. What if he was electing another cat who would only catch greencough and die, just as Smallshine had?
This position almost felt cursed, really. How many more cats was this Clan going to lose before greencough had run it's course and run the hell out of his camp? Dawnpaw, Spottedfeather, Smallshine... All gone. Just gone. This did nothing but increase the worry he felt for his beloved little sisters, Rowankit and Silverkit, and his parents. Several times he'd always felt it necessary to go and speak with Swanfeather, to see if she could offer Elderpaw any advice that would increase the chances of survival for TreeClan.
“You have been so strong and brave about it, but are you really as okay as you seem?”
Those softly spoken words in accompaniment with the gentle nudge of Daringheart, it was enough to pull a haggard sigh from the golden tom's throat, seeming to undo the confident words he'd spoken just moments before. "I have made a mistake. About Elderpaw - I never should've let him join the Clan and become Spottedfeather's apprentice. Now we've lost Spottedfeather and have a half-trained loner as our only healer." The bitterness with which the warrior spoke was uncharacteristic of him, but that didn't make the emotion any less real. His tail swayed, the fur along his shoulders bristling from how unsettled he was on the inside.
Ha. And to think Daringheart had woke him from a pleasant dream to talk about this not-so-pleasant reality.
Word Count: 375
Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 0:53:56 GMT -5
Daringheart sat and listened and was happy to see him actually opening up when she pressed his bluff, she had know him long enough to know when he wasn’t being one hundred percent truthful. It wasn’t like he was lying for bad reason, in light of all the events that had transpired and all the deaths brought about by greencough the cats of Treeclan needed a strong leader now more than ever. However she wasn’t quite prepared for the truth that he had let slip, she was almost surprised that he had said it but she couldn’t say it wasn’t on the mind of the clan. Saying it out loud though, that almost made it a scary bad situation. “Spottedfeather had faith in him, just because she has passed doesn’t mean our faith in her should disappear.” Daringheart answered to Lionstars comments. It was all she could think to say but it didn’t make it any less true.
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Post by Fawn on Jan 3, 2013 17:24:54 GMT -5
“Spottedfeather had faith in him, just because she has passed doesn’t mean our faith in her should disappear.”
Though her words were meant to soothe, they only agitated the tom further, his frustration apparent in the wild, electric spark of his amber eyes. "Faith is not going to rid the camp of greencough. Faith isn't going to do anything, it's not like Elderpaw's going to just wake up with all the knowledge Spottedfeather never had the chance to teach him right there in his head!" This outburst was accompanied by a slicing through the air by the young lion's thick golden plume, fur along his shoulders bristling; he kept his voice down for the sake of the Clan overhearing, but he could only keep a cap on the aura of frustration and anger for so long.
"I had faith in Distantstar, Smallshine, Spottedfeather - and look what happened? They died. They all died. If I have to hold another vigil for a cat I put my trust into, I'm going to lose it."
He didn't really expect Daringheart to understand; there was no way she could possibly get a grasp of how serious this job was, of how much it meant to him and to his Clanmates - who all just seemed to keep dying. Lionstar had never expected it to be easy, but perhaps his hopes had been too high that the death that had taken place in order for him to be here would be the only major one for the beginning of his reign. Oh how wrong he was...
One deputy gone, one Medicine Cat gone. Lionstar half expected something ghastly, something awful to come smite him and take out all nine of his lives before the winter was over. The fates seemed so intent upon wrecking his Clan from the inside out.
Word Count: 340
Notes: None!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 0:33:03 GMT -5
“Don’t get the fur around your lady parts all bunched up you pretty little she-cat.†Daringheart scoffed as her tail twitched in irritation. She knew that Lionstar had to get his pent up frustration out and this was probably the first time he had said any of these things out loud, but seriously could he be any more like a she-cat readying herself for kits? “Take a look around all the clans have experienced the worst losses any clan has ever seen this leaf bare. It’s been hard but know that every clan is right where we are, so you don’t have to worry about any clan attacking us and driving us out.†She said simply, “Leafbare is coming to a close this madness is done all we can do now is heal, it wouldn’t matter what apprentice she took she would have died before she got to teach them anything. Just be glad the loner is a bit older than the standard 6 moon old apprentice, he is going to have to be a mature tom to handle this all a kit right out of the nursery would be crushed with the weight of responsibility you must give them now.â€
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Post by Fawn on Jan 4, 2013 0:50:14 GMT -5
Lionstar was pretty sure the purpose of this conversation was to let him vent and not get criticized for it, but there was some truth to the words Daringheart spoke. And no, every Clan was NOT where they were: the other Clans had a fully functioning, and presumably completely trained Medicine Cat, and did not have to put up with NightClan stealing prey like the foxhearted little thieves that they were. Heaving an aggravated sigh, the warrior's ears flattened. A dead deputy could easily be replaced, TreeClan had, if anything, many capable cats, but a Medicine Cat was so very much harder to find a successor to...
"I would give anything to have Spottedfeather back, even if it cost one of my lives," he confessed, jaw set grimly. She was one of those pivotal figures of the Clan that should never have been taken so soon. "Elderpaw is not fully trained, there wasn't enough time - so what if he makes a mistake? A life-costing mistake? Acting like everything is fine and that things will take care of itself doesn't mean that they will."
Pretending that the trees are green won't make them so.
"Anyway, I'm done. Talking about this won't make my problems shrink overnight, so I'll unbunch my fur and just keep dealing with it." Though he sounded tired, angry and frustrated, there was an underlying note of resolve that had, if anything, never wavered. Life as a deputy had not been so easy either, but then again, the winters had never been this bad. Greencough, Prey Stealing, Dead Deputy and Dead Medicine Cat, Smokeface's stupid blood feud - this had to be the worst three moons of his life ever since his father had died. There was no other thing he could compare it to. Even when Distantstar had first departed things had not been anywhere near this severe.
He knew she was just trying to help, let him alleviate some of that stress, but he just had to look outside at the Clan to get all wound up again.
Everyone was looking so thin...so gaunt.
They were turning into a ghost Clan, and he felt powerless to stop it.
Word Count: 460
Notes: None~
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 19:08:13 GMT -5
“Maybe you aren’t as helpless as you think.†She mewed to the now shutting down leader and friend, she was surprised how easily he was letting the whole situation beat him. “Starclan hasn’t abandoned us, they won’t let us falter and die off they never have before. These cats that you miss and we rely on to keep Treeclan together and safe are watching over us still, they are PART of starclan now and I don’t think will ever forget us especially not this soon. They are figuring out how to save us now, so I say again have faith in Elderpaw and whoever you choose as your new deputy. I’m sure that even though Spottedfeather is in starclan she has faith in him just as she did in life, she must have a plan to see him succeed.†Daringheart had no way to actually confirm what she was saying but she believed every word she spoke. Over the generations starclan had never let them be destroyed before. “Now don’t you worry damsel, your hero Daringheart is here to save you. Common’†She finished with a smile, she had a plan to cheer him up.
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Post by Fawn on Jan 11, 2013 21:09:27 GMT -5
Lionstar wasn't sure if he believed her words, but they helped to ease some of the bitterness that had swept over him like a winter storm, the golden tom's light muzzle pulling into a faint smile. "Here to save me, huh? Well alright then - lead the way, Daringheart." He could use a bit of a break from all of the stress that had been building up, and even if it was a simple hunting trip in the dead of winter with no real prospect of actually catching something, it was better than sitting here brooding.
The leader of the Clan padded out of the den, the snow crunching beneath overly large paws, front limbs extended after he scrunched his body, back arching. With a few resounding 'crack!'s of some joints that had needed attention, Lionstar shook out his golden ticked fur, ears rotating, picking up on the distant and nearby chatter of their Clanmates. Glancing over to Daringheart, he drew in a cooling, calming breath of the icy air, using the winter atmosphere as a means to soothe his frayed nerves.
Daringheart was right. StarClan had not abandoned them, though their challenges were many. Life would go on. Watching Rowankit and Silverkit play outside the nursery, Lionstar smiled, gently distracted by the warmth of kinship that sprouted in his heart every time he saw them, more grateful than he had ever thought he would be that fate had given him siblings. He hadn't realized how lonely it was, growing up an only kit, as he'd always had friends at his side, but now that he was here at this point of his life, a Clan leader and someone other cats would look up to, it was...comforting to know that at the end of the day, he was someone's big brother, someone's son, someone's friend, not the cat who had to make the big decisions and somehow try and cope with the consequences.
Word Count: 333
Notes: None!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2013 16:07:46 GMT -5
Daringheart was pleased to see her leader following, she knew just the place to take him that would cheer him up. “See I know more about your territory than you do, you spend so much time cooped up in here worrying about your work. I have plenty of time to myself to explore Lighteningclans hidden places, so come there is a very special one I really want to show you.†She didn’t want to lead the way though she wanted to go with him so she dropped back to stand beside him and pressed her body into him for comfort. Once out of camp she would use her body to steer him in the right direction, it was a bit of a long walk but before long they were at a log that was slightly visible through its covering of snow. She would break contact with Lionstar as she jumped over the log to the other side and called to him, “Come!†before entering a hidden hole on the other side. A dusty filtered light from the entrance would reveal tons of grass, plants and herbs that had survived under the protection of the log. Daringheart thought it was beautiful and maybe even a metaphor for their situation right now.
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Post by Fawn on Jan 17, 2013 2:54:03 GMT -5
Lionstar had padded along after Daringheart with an expression of curiosity and mild bemusement, half expecting her to take him from the well-known areas of TreeClan's territory and into some foreign landscape. When her chosen location was none other than a fallen log with a hidden hole on the other side of it, Lionstar's whiskers twitched in confusion. What was so special about this place?
Deciding to trust his friend - along with her goading word - Lionstar cleared the log with ease, his large paws absorbing the impact of such a jump, the golden tom pivoting to watch Daringheart's fluffy tail disappear inside the log. Padding in after her, Lionstar's ears flattened so they wouldn't brush against the ceiling, his frosty breath coming out in a faint gasp.
Herbs! Plants! Untouched by the frost!
Stunned, the golden warrior turned gleaming eyes onto his friend, a purr bursting through his heavy mane at this stroke of good fortune.
"Well done, Daringheart! We'll have to let Spott- Elderpaw know where he can find these." Smiling at the dappled she-cat, Lionstar felt his mood already start to improve. Spirits lifting, the Clan leader leaned forward, inhaling the deep, earthen scents of the menagerie of plants that had, against impossible odds, survived this awful winter.
It was a miracle, really. Logic told him these should not be alive, and yet they were...
Word Count: 249
Notes: Nope!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2013 19:39:37 GMT -5
“Let’s not think about working for the clan for just a few moments alright? Look at this, it’s so beautiful and alive compared to everything else this season.” She said simply as she turned to give Lionstar a soft smile, “If this life can survive in these conditions, why not Treeclan in ours.” The metaphor was a good one in her opinion, it was spot on accurate and that was why she had chosen to take her leader to this place. She moved herself to flank Lionstar as she sat by his side and pressed herself into firmly adding physical support to the heap of emotional support she had just offered. “If you want to look at the clan again, this is a huge deal we can easily stay alive until next season with this kind of material.” She purred softly, “So we at least have bought ourselves time to figure out what to do.”
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Post by Fawn on Jan 17, 2013 20:01:35 GMT -5
“Let’s not think about working for the clan for just a few moments alright? Look at this, it’s so beautiful and alive compared to everything else this season.”
What? Why the heck not?
Lionstar blinked, stupefied at the words coming out of his friend's mouth, feeling his expression ease into one of understanding when she finally clarified, drawing his attention back to this little hollow of plantlife. Though it was impossible for him to stop working for the Clan, he was able to take a few steps back and enjoy the metaphor Daringheart had been trying to show him all along.
He was not one for metaphors, he was one for results, for strokes of good fortune, but even the combat-oriented tom could find a few seconds to slow down and truly grasp what was in front of him. Feeling Daringheart brush against him again, he spared a glance her way, managing a smile.
"Fair enough." Purred the lion-like tom, chuckling to himself. "It's impossible for me to stop worrying but," he added with a slim grin. "I think I can relax a little. Newleaf is almost here, and we should have just enough herbs to make it out alright."
[/color] The golden tom flicked his tail for Daringheart to follow, intending to leave this tranquil, preserved place as though in fear of lingering, they might destroy what they so desperately needed. He was no Medicine Cat, he knew not how to extract the herbs so gently they did not get damaged, or even what part of which herb was needed. "We'll keep this well hidden until Elderpaw can get out here to collect them." Mewed Lionstar from over his shoulder, stepping out into the chilly environment, though he was feeling much warmer than he had in a very long time. At last, there was hope.
Word Count: 355 Notes:  None [/size][/blockquote] |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2013 19:36:33 GMT -5
Daringheart couldn’t help but purr in happiness as Lionstar understood the metaphor she was using it, not only did he understand it he even went as far as accepting it. Seeing his radiant smile nearly had her shaking with excitement, she couldn’t contain her purr as her plans were confirmed and she was led out of the little hollow by her leader. She wasn’t ready to go back to camp yet, she wanted to spend more time with him before she had to get back to working for the clan during the cold desolate season. “Do we have to go back yet?” She asked in a tone that was similar to a beg, “Is there somewhere else we can go for even just a little bit longer?” She returned his smile a bit late, this one was very uncharacteristic for her however as she was usually confident in all her actions but this was a nervous sheepish smile and it showed.
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