[Deleted]

Well, this is life in motion,
And just when I could run this race no more,
The sun bursts, clouds break,
This is life in colour

Sun splashed through the canopy and onto Hummingbird's pale brown pelt. Her swirl of tabby stripes blended in with the tall pines behind the mute she-cat. Giving a soft purr to herself, she padded down the branch trail, her light green gaze preoccupied by the pale blue skies above.
Once reaching one of the medium sized trees, she stopped in her tracks. She was nearing the bees' hive she'd noticed a few moons ago, in fact, it was just across from the tree she was at the foot at.
Swaying from side to side a little, she shifted her weight onto her haunches, feeling power surge through them like lightning as she prepared to make the leap. And then, all at once, she leapt onto the trunk of the tree, scrambling up the slippery trunk, just a blur of striped brown fur.
Once reaching one of the higher branches, she stopped, settling herself down. Hummingbird loved to come here and just watch the forest around her, especially in green-leaf. It took a few moments to get her balance right, but once she did, she sat comfortably on the thick branch.

She let out a content sigh, letting her green eyes rest on the tree opposite hers. Just like this one, it was a pine, except with slightly higher branches. As Hummingbird knew, there was a sparrow’s nest in that tree, and today, her aim was to find out whether any of the chicks had hatched. The pale brown tabby knew there were five eggs, she had checked the previous day whilst the mother was out.
The NightClan she-cat was often considered an unusual cat by her clanmates, partly due to her muteness and the strange humming sound that she tended to make, but mainly because of her habit to watch all the creatures of the forest that inhabited the forest with them.
Although she hunted, Hummingbird enjoyed watching the birds and bees. Occasionally the odd butterfly would venture into the thick pine forests that NightClan roamed. Hummingbird had made a vow to herself to only hunt birds without young, otherwise their prey of the future could die out.

The pale brown tabby warrior had learnt to distinguish a bird nursing young from a normal bird, without chicks, the same with the mice. She knew where all the mice burrows and bird nests in the forest, well, most of them at least.
It was after watching the sparrow going to and fro several times when she detected the presence of another cat. Her ears pricked and she sat up straight, keen pale green gaze drifting down to the forest floor.
I wonder who it is? Perhaps I can surprise them?

[Deleted]

The warm sun shone a bit to brightly for Clawstorm's liking. But she knew she shouldn't complain, since her grey fur didn't get quite a warm as some of her clanmates dark fur. This was one of the days she was glad about her grey-colored fur. Most days she envied the dark pelts since they could blend in with the shadows. Her grey color wasn't as bad hard to hunt with as white fur, but it still made her jealous of her darker coated clanmates.

The trees provided some shade, but the sunlight still snuck in through the branches. Lifting her nose to the air, Clawstorm tried to pick up the scent of some prey. The young warrior smelled the scent of a possum, but it was old, and so she moved farther away from the camp in search of fresh scents.

Following her nose, Clawstorm caught the scent of a squirrel, and instantly went into her hunting stance. Focusing on the unsuspecting squirrel, she moved swiftly towards her prey. The fat squirrel was stuffing it's face with nuts, and only when Clawstorm struck it did the squirrel notice her. The gluttony of the squirrel disgusted Clawstorm, but it would be a good piece of prey for her clan.

Burying her prey she looked around. Clawstorm had wandered into some medium sized trees. She thought she smelled something but then the scent disappeared. Casting aside the smell the young she-cat sat down. She toyed with the idea of taking a nap, but decided to go back to hunting. Clawstorm stood up and stretched her legs. Closing her eyes and taking a breath she was unaware of the cat in the tree almost directly above her.



OOC: Go ahead and surprise me! 

[Deleted]

But no matter what daylight brings to us,
We all know,
Well this is life in colour,
Today feels like no other,
And the darkest greys
The sun bursts, clouds break

Smiling happily to herself, the pale brown tabby she-cat on-looked from her perch in the trees as a grey warrior settled herself directly under the pine tree she was in. Quickly recognising the warrior as Clawstorm, Hummingbird watched as the warrior sat there for a moment before rising to her paws and stretching. Humming softly to herself the call of the mockingbird, the young warrior decided to try and surprise her fellow NightClanner.
Making sure her weight was balanced out, the pretty young feline bunched her muscles, awaiting the right opportunity to leap down and frighten the life out of Clawstorm. No one ever expected a mute cat to like a bit of fun everyone once in a while, they always expected her to be as cold as the snowiest mountain peaks. No, Hummingbird would prove them wrong, so what if she couldn’t talk? She loved life just as much as any other cat in NightClan did, well most of them.
When the time was right, the slender brown tabby she-cat fluttered close her eyes, taking a deep breath, before snapping them open and fearlessly leaping from the branch and straight onto the unassuming Clawstorm.
Landing light on the grey she-cat’s shoulders, the light brown tabby grinned, green eyes dancing with amusement. Swiftly jumping off of her clanmate, Hummingbird scrambled to seat herself in front of her fellow warrior, imitating the song of a sparrow in the form of a low hum.
Inclining her head to study the young warrior, Hummingbird continued to smile easily. Hopefully she hadn’t shocked her clanmate too much and they could take the joke of a clanmate leaping down onto their shoulders from high in the trees. Perhaps they could even be friends?
No, no, Hummingbird. Don’t get too excited, you can’t speak remember? Why would anyone want to be friends with you? She sighed heavily, but tried not to let her thoughts dampen her cheery mood. The pale brown tabby didn’t really have any proper friends. Sure she had acquaintances, but the truth was, there was no one willing enough to volunteer to just spend a little of their time with Hummingbird. Sometimes the young warrior thought it would be so much simpler if she could speak.

[Deleted]

A sudden weight on her shoulders startled Clawstorm. Fearing an enemy attack the gray warrior unsheathed her claws. Her training with Blackwolf flashed through her mind. All her training had prepared her for this. Then her attacker sat down in front of her. Letting out a sigh of relief she realized it was Hummingbird. Glad she didn't actually have to fight someone alone, Clawstorm smiled at her clanmate.

Hummingbird had always been a mystery to Clawstorm. The mute cat was always humming, which confused the gray she-cat. Titling her head a bit she studied the she-cat. Hummingbird looked normal, yet the sounds she was currently emitting was a bit odd. Wanting to get to the bottom of this Clawstorm decided to talk to her.

"Hey there Hummingbird. I didn't even notice you in the tree! Most times I can't be caught unaware. What... umm... You were... I am wondering, this is going to sound stupid to you, but I was wondering what you were just doing. You know, the humming thing. It's pretty cool." Hoping that Hummingbird didn't get insulted by the question Clawstorm took up a comfortable sitting position across from Hummingbird.

[Deleted]

But no matter what daylight brings to us,
We all know,
Well this is life in colour,
Today feels like no other,
And the darkest greys
The sun bursts, clouds break

Hummingbird beamed happily, absolutely delighted that Clawstorm hadn’t just turned tail and left her in the dust. It was nice to not have someone running away from her for once or avoiding her, or just scorning upon her.
Realising, in her joy, that her tail was starting to wag, rather like a dog’s, against the forest floor, emitting a deep thumping sound, Hummingbird quickly stopped, flashing the fellow NightClanner an apologetic smile, the young warrior shifted for a few moments, trying to get comfortable.
"Hey there Hummingbird. I didn't even notice you in the tree! Most times I can't be caught unaware. What... umm... You were... I am wondering, this is going to sound stupid to you, but I was wondering what you were just doing. You know, the humming thing. It's pretty cool."
The pale brown tabby wasn’t all surprised when the grey warrior asked her about her peculiar humming sounds that she tended to make and for which she had been renamed as a kit. Tilting her head from side to side, Hummingbird smiled at the NightClan warrior, green eyes glittering with playfulness.
With her tabby-striped tail, she flicked her tail to her own throat, motioning to it and then nodding to a small female mockingbird in a tree above, singing its little heart out.
Hummingbird then cleared her throat, before imitating its call as best she could. In all honesty, the young feline had no idea how she did it, it just sort of came naturally to her. Even if she did know how she did it, she couldn’t possibly tell Clawstorm, being mute.

Up above, in the canopy, the female mockingbird had finished its song and was spreading its wings out, preparing to take flight back to her nest, which Hummingbird knew for a fact was near the TreeClan border. Completely distracted by the bird’s antics, the pale brown tabby inclined her head to the sky and, squinting against the sunlight, watched as it flew away, moving gracefully through the air.
If only I could fly. I’d fly away, all over the clans, I’d see the mountains, the twolegs the elders talk about. I’d see everything, if only I had wings. Blinking wide green eyes, the pale brown she-cat managed to drag her attention back to the feline before her.
Realising she’d completely drifted off, Hummingbird offered an apologetic grin. Her tail had started to wag from side to side once more and Hummingbird scowled inside, Mr Tail, won’t you listen? Stop wagging, you hear?
Feeling a little embarrassed, the pale brown tabby NightClanner ducked her head in embarrassment and flattened her ears. Well, I’ve just ruined my chances at making a friend. Why do you have to mess everything up all the time, Hummingbird? Why can’t you be more normal?

[Deleted]

As the words left her mouth Clawstorm wanted to bang her head against a tree. Hummingbird couldn't talk! How in the world was she supposed to respond to a question. But Hummingbird didn't seem to put out by the question. Instead she let out some more humming. Glad she wasn't offended Clawstorm tried to understand the pointing that Hummingbird was doing. Whatever the humming noise was however, it was apparent that the brown tabby didn't quite understand it herself. Smiling, Clawstorm closed her eyes and listened to he make the mysterious humming noise. Clawstorm tried, but all that came out were some garbled noise. Laughing at herself she tried again, only resulting in the same thing. She exclaimed "I don't think I can do it!" and then collapsed into a fit of laughter.

After laughing at herself she looked around at the trees and had an idea. Glancing at her clanmate she hoped she wouldn't seem to childish. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to ask she said, "How about we have a competition! Let's see who can climd a tree the quickest! We would have to find two trees of the same height. What do you think?" Already imagining climbing a tree, a wide grin spread across the Nightclaners face and her tail started to twitch in excitement.

Treeclimbing was one of Clawstorm's favorite activities. When she reached the top she was the leader of the world and no one could stop her. As a result, the long-clawed feline often climbed trees, and had become quite good at it. But she didn't know how good Hummingbird was. Clawstorm was desperate for some activity, and hoped her clanmate would agree to some friendly competition.

[Deleted]

But no matter what daylight brings to us,
We all know,
Well this is life in colour,
Today feels like no other,
And the darkest greys
The sun bursts, clouds break

When Clawstorm gave her attempt at humming, resulting in a strange gargling sort of noise, Hummingbird couldn't help but let out a squeal of laughter, emerald gaze sparking with amusement. It was great to have a companion for once, even if it was just for one day, someone to laugh with, someone who didn't mind spending time with 'the crazy cat who hums and doesn't talk'.
Beaming brightly at grey she-cat, cocking her head and tail flicking from side to side like metronome.

"I don't think I can do it!"
When her fellow NightClanner burst into a fit of laughter, Hummingbird couldn't help but join her, giggling like an excitable kit. One would probably think it strange that Hummingbird couldn't speak a single word, yet she could make an odd humming noise, she could still laugh, squeal, just like a normal cat. Well, maybe not the humming part, as Clawstorm had just demonstrated.

"How about we have a competition! Let's see who can climb a tree the quickest! We would have to find two trees of the same height. What do you think?"
As soon as those words slipped Clawstorm’s jaws, Hummingbird sat up straight, perking up dramatically. A little friendly competition, eh? She gave an exaggerated nod of the head, leaf-green eyes sparking up with a mixture of warmth and excitement.
Like her grey-furred companion, the pale brown tabby she-cat absolutely loved tree climbing. Hummingbird would often pass the time scrambling up tree trunks, watching the world around her; the squirrels scurrying about, trying to retrieve last leaf-fall’s stash of acorns, the birds flying to and fro to feed their young. On the occasion, the young warrior had even come across a herd of red deer out on a dawn run.

Oh StarClan, I drifted off again, didn’t I? she blinked, focusing her gaze on Clawstorm once more. Giving a friendly dip of the head to her clanmate, she got to her paws and began to study the line of trees that made up the branch trail. Right, let’s choose one that’s not too big, but not too small. I wouldn’t want it too easy.
She at last found two suitable trees, motioning with a flick of her tail for Clawstorm to join her. Tipping her head to one side, green eyes glimmering in the sunlight, she gestured to the two pine trees.
This okay?

ooc: darkestnight219

 

[Deleted]

When Hummingbird nodded the young warrior was instantly excited. Competitions were so much fun for Clawstorm, and she almost always beat her clanmates at climbing trees. Her long claws were extremely helpful, and she often practiced on her own. But Clawstorm thought that Hummingbird would be good competition.

Looking around she tried to see if there were any good trees near by. Then she noticed Hummingbird gesturing at two trees. Clawstorm's eyes light up in excitement. The two trees are seem like magnificent climbing trees. Bounding over to Hummingbird, Clawstorm looked up from the bases of the trees. The many branches almost blocked out the sunlight, but not quite.

Turning back to Hummingbird the young warrior was filled with so much excitement. Tail twitching back and forth she tried to calm her nerves for this challenge. Realizing they hadn't made any rules she said, "Ok, so when you get to the top make your humming noise, and I'll make some other noise. Also no interfering with the other person climbing. Sound good?" Watching Hummingbird for a nod she finally managed to calm her ever twitching tail.