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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2017 0:17:01 GMT -5
Bring me the night, tell me it's near,
give me the chance to pretend that you're here...
The day had been cold and miserable, gray clouds covered the sky and icy rain fell. But the night brought a break in the clouds that Nightsky was thankful for. Sitting in front fo the ancient stump, Nightsky watched the clouds pass overhead in a broken pattern, constantly shifting his view of the stars. He sighed, settling onto his belly, bright green eyes locked on the sky above.
He still hadn't found Bluejay's star. He couldn't tell where it was. It didn't seem to be near his mother's, but that just didn't make sense to him. Why wouldn't they be together in StarClan? Had he been wrong about his mother's star? Maybe it wasn't hers at all. He was confident he wouldn't be able to find it tonight either, with the clouds shifting like they were. He wondered if he should just try to actually get some sleep tonight, but he was too awake to sleep.
He had gotten a decent amount of sleep during the day for once, owing to the poor weather. He'd brought back a few pieces of prey, gone on his assigned border patrol, and besides that he'd stuck to his nest. He thought about going for a walk, maybe trying to hunt. He had been getting better at hunting at night. A lot of prey was sleeping, obviously, but there were a couple creatures that stayed active during the night. Mice could still be found, for one.
He really wanted to catch a bat one of these nights, but as of yet he'd been unable to do so. Their flight patterns were awkward and they didn't often fly low enough for him to leap for. He had pursued them in the trees a couple times, and come close, but in the dark it was hard to see the next branch, and his caution had caused his failure every time. His ears pricked slightly and he sat up. He could practice navigating in the trees at night! If he just got better at that, he could definitely catch a bat.
Darken the sky and light up the moon,
so that somehow you'll be here with me soon. Silver
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INVENTORY
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Post by Silver on Sept 17, 2017 15:18:03 GMT -5
 Warrior Apprentice of TreeClanRavenpaw enjoyed the shadows of night-time the best. It made it easier to slip away unnoticed and do whatever she wanted to. Lately that had meant honing her growing hunting and stalking skills and mapping out the territory that was her home. It also let her discover the prey that only came out at night; which was certainly interesting. Mostly though, Ravenpaw enjoyed the night for the quiet it often brought. She had given her father a hint into herself; something she cursed herself for even now, but she wouldn't allow herself to linger on the issue.
Instead she enjoyed the quiet and hoped the clouds would clear enough that she could watch the stars for a bit. It seemed trite, but it was soothing for the young she-cat to watch the stars that all said held her ancestors. She wondered sometimes what those that came before her would think of her. She shook that thought away; knowing it wouldn't do for her to begin to doubt herself like this. It would only make her vulnerable to others and that wasn't something she could tolerate. She took a deep breath and let herself wander further into the camp without an actual destination in mind.
Orange eyes glowed in the dark, her ears tilted forward to listen to the sounds around her. She noted that at least one of the Warriors was out and about and she lifted her tail in greeting as she kept her eyes forward on the trees nearest him. She could hear mice in the grass and the high-pitched squeaks of bats. She didn't mean for her opinion of the creatures to be spoken aloud, but it was. In a low, growling tone she spoke as she watched the little irritating creature. "Ugh, stupid little vermin. They make so much noise. Makes it hard to enjoy the night. Well then..."
She locked her gaze on the flying monsters, shifting her stance as if she was seriously considering hunting them. She charged for the nearest tree, climbed about halfway up it, then launched herself off and into the air; narrowly missing one of the little menaces by a whisker before rolling as she hit the ground. She hissed; annoyed, then shook herself. She'd try again once they settled down. As it was, her brief flight had scattered them further into the air. They'd come back down, stupid prey always did, and then she'd catch the little blighters.
Tags | @zen |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 22:14:05 GMT -5
Bring me the night, tell me it's near,
give me the chance to pretend that you're here...
Nightsky did not see Ravenpaw's initial silent greeting, or even notice her at all to be honest. Her dark pelt was unmarred by the splotches of white that gave him away in the night, and the black she-cat blended into the shadows well. And besides, he was more focused on the bats. Then she spoke and he startled, glancing over at her. He wasn't entirely certain she was talking to him, she seemed to be preoccupied by the bats as well. And then she was tearing past him and leaping up onto a tree and he stared after her with wide, surprised eyes. She clambered up the trunk and just as quickly launched herself into the air, barely missing a bat as it darted just out of her grasp and the whole flock of them rose higher into the night air.
He watched them silently for a moment before padding over to where the younger she-cat had landed. He hadn't expected to find any of his Clanmates up and about, much less throwing themselves around with so much energy. Was she like him? Did she prefer the night too? How had he missed her before now? His ears twitched, wondering if maybe he had been too caught up in the stars to notice her. “Nice try,” he mewed softly, encouraging, but mindful of the cats sleeping not so far away, “You were very close.” That was about as close as he had ever gotten too. He gaze up at the bats once more, tilting his head slightly, “I wonder what they taste like.”
Moreover he wondered what they really looked like. He'd never gotten a good look at once before. Whenever he saw them they were always moving, and it was always dark. For a long time he had been under the impression that they were some sort of strange night birds, but from what others said of them, they were more like flying mice? He rather wanted to see one up close to find out for himself. He turned bright green eyes back to Ravenpaw, tilting his head curiously, “Do you hunt at night a lot?” His gaze brightened slightly, “Would you like to hunt together?” The only other cat he'd hunted at night with was Gorsetail, and now that Bluejay was gone, Nightsky found he had been feeling... lonely. Being alone had never really bothered him before, but maybe that was because, with Bluejay in his life, he never truly felt alone.
Darken the sky and light up the moon,
so that somehow you'll be here with me soon. Silver
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INVENTORY
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Post by Silver on Oct 3, 2017 23:45:31 GMT -5
Warrior Apprentice of TreeClanRavenpaw huffed at the flying rats above her head as she settled herself; ears tilting towards the Warrior she'd noted before but hadn't really acknowledged before. Orange eyes looked curiously over to Nightsky. She was surprised to note that this was a cat she didn't know much about, a fact that made him a bit interesting to her for the moment. So until he proved too stupid for her to tolerate, she'd stick around and interact with him.
What came from the Warrior's mouth a moment later though had her eyes going slightly wide with surprise as she turned to fully face him; eyes gone cautious and wary. He wanted...to hunt with her? No one ever asked her that; her family aside and training not counting. So why would he ask? What was his angle?
Her tail perked up in a clear show of interest in his words before the words that had preceded the query finally registered to her mind and allowed her to relax a bit. So the query was because he preferred to hunt at night? That made more sense to her then. She took a moment to watch the scattering bats for a moment longer before pulling her orange gaze back to the tom before her. "It's more practical for me to hunt at night. I blend in well and I enjoy the quiet when hunting. So I prefer the darkness when hunting." As for his wanting to hunt with her...
She didn't want to sound as curious as she was so she went for cautiously accepting. "You may hunt with me if you wish, I can't stop you certainly. And we may yet be able to catch the flying vermin if we work together." Which would be good because their calls were highly annoying to her sensitive ears. She watched the expressions on the tom beside her for a long moment before realizing just how interested he was in the rodents she so hated. So it was a good idea to suggest trying to hunt them together. It benefited them both certainly.
As for Nightsky himself...Well, she'd withhold her judgement on him...for now. Tags | @zen |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2017 11:41:51 GMT -5
Bring me the night, tell me it's near,
give me the chance to pretend that you're here...
He blinked bright green eyes gratefully at her as she gave him permission to hunt with her. He wasn't the best hunter during the day, usually too tired from being up at night, making clumsy mistakes... so not very many cats liked to hunt with him, since he tended to scare prey away more often than not. But this was the night, this was his time, and he felt a rising, subtle sense of excitement at the prospect of perhaps finding a hunting partner that would be able to see his true worth for herself, and that, just maybe, would want to hunt with him again sometime.
He looked up at the bats, “I was going to try hunting them from the trees tonight. I've been working on my night climbing a little... maybe if one of us kept to the ground, and one to the trees, we could scare them toward each other and manage to get them close enough to catch?” He turned his bright gaze back to her, his tail twitching slightly in excitement. Partner hunting was about the only way he ever caught anything during the day, scaring prey toward some other cat that was more awake and alert. It wasn't a normal TreeClan tactic, however; from Gatherings he'd learned that LightningClan used it a lot.
That brought another pang of uncertainty. It seemed to Nightsky, more and more, that he had been born into the wrong Clan. NightClan was active during the night, LightningClan used partner hunting. For all he knew he would prefer the taste of fish and love swimming if he ever tried it. Nothing really seemed to make him TreeClan, particularly, and with Bluejay gone his ties here were... just Gorsetail, really. It wasn't bad here, exactly... he just didn't feel the same sense of belonging as every other cat seemed to feel.
He turned his attention back to Ravenpaw then, curious. She preferred the night too. “Do you ever feel alone? I mean, not just at night, but... being different from everyone....” A quick glance down at his white paws, ears flicking uncertainly, his voice soft, “I've never really... felt like I belonged here....” He didn't normally talk about such things with others, especially when he barely knew them, but he'd never met another TreeClanner that preferred the night like him either, and he was more than a little curious if she felt like he did.
Darken the sky and light up the moon,
so that somehow you'll be here with me soon. Silver
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INVENTORY
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Post by Silver on Nov 16, 2017 22:56:47 GMT -5
Warrior Apprentice of TreeClanOrange eyes regarded the Warrior next to her with consideration as he spoke of his idea for catching the hated flying rats. Ravenpaw's head tilted to the side curiously before she looked over at the nearby trees then back to Nightsky. "That's...not a bad idea actually. How good are you at night climbing?" She was asking because it was definitely an acquired skill one had to work hard to attain and maintain. Her stance was easy and confident, showing her willingness to work with the tom next to her and that she was being attentive to his words.
It was a novel experience to Ravenpaw to get to converse with someone that didn't made her immediately want to kill them for their utter stupidity. And Nightsky didn't seem to be the sort to live his life through lies alone like her family seemed to prefer. It was...sort of nice. It was then that she noticed Nightsky's mood seemed to drop as something crossed his mind that made him unhappy.
Black ears tilted towards him as he spoke quite words that hit much too close to the heart of how Ravenpaw felt all the time. She dropped her gaze from his and held perfectly still for a long time before finally, offered him honesty because he'd surprised her. "Honestly...I've never fit into the clan. I'm too violent for them; too rough around the edges. They can't see beyond my sarcasm to the cat I am beneath that. I feel like, more and more, I'd be better off just leaving the clan. At least then no one will know or care who my parents are and may actually see me."
She looked out into the darkness and felt a lingering sort of sad loneliness fill her lean frame. The words spoken next were to that same darkness. "It's easier just to disappear into the shadows and let them all forget I exist. I've been different since I was a kit, and there are those that take every opportunity to let me know I'll never be good enough. I guess I'm not TreeClan enough for them. I know I shouldn't care what they think, and if anyone asks I'll say that I don't. It does bother me though. I want to be a good Warrior for the clan. I want to protect and provide for us, and I want them to accept me as I am. It's...sort of a stupid dream though, I guess. I stopped hoping it would come true a long time ago. It's not worth breaking my heart over and over again each time someone new lets me down."
She shook herself and let silence reign around them. She felt that probably that wasn't what he'd wanted her to admit, but he really had surprised her and it had all just come out. It wasn't like her, and she was upset with herself. No help for it now though but to wait for the consequences of her actions and then deal with them. Tags @zen |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 0:14:30 GMT -5
Bring me the night, tell me it's near,
give me the chance to pretend that you're here...
She liked his idea! His tail swished happily behind him as Nightsky's usual muted emotional response to being excited. His ears flicked at her question, “I could still use a little work, but I think that I'm better at it than most TreeClan cats.” There was no hint of pride in his tone, he wasn't bragging or trying to say he was better than anyone because of it, simply stating what he was quite certain was a fact. There were not many other cats in their Clan that ever went climbing at night unless they happened to be out and were trying to hide from a predator.
He watched the bats for a moment as he waited for Ravenpaw's answer to his question. Or maybe she wouldn't answer, that was always a possibility. Sometimes he asked questions other cats found too personal; he was never quite sure what was and was not until after he'd asked. He could ask the same question to two different cats and one would get offended and the other would answer happily. Most cats did not make a lot of sense to Nightsky. His ears twitched as the she-cat spoke and he turned his bright green gaze back to her.
Too violent? He supposed he had never particularly paid too much attention to Ravenpaw, though he had certainly heard other cats talking about her. Cats liked to talk, and he'd learned early on that not everything they said was true, so he didn't tend to pay them much mind either. For Nightsky, the truth was what he saw for himself, and he'd withhold all judgment until he'd had a chance to find the truth on his own. So far, Ravenpaw didn't seem excessively violent. So far... he knew she hated bats and she liked the night. And she also didn't feel like she belonged here.
When she mentioned her parents he tilted his head, considering that. When other cats talked about Ravenpaw, her parents' names often came up. Mockingbird. Magpiewing. He knew little of either of them as well, other than what other cats said. Some cats were uneasy about them, others argued that they were pleasant cats and everyone needed to stop clinging to the past. Grayowl's name came up sometimes. His whiskers twitched as an amusing thought occurred to him, “If cats are defined by their parents, then I guess I am nothing at all. My mother is dead and I've never known my father, so I suppose I don't have either... if they don't exist, does that mean I'm not worth anything?”
He blinked over at Ravenpaw, “Or maybe it's good I don't have parents to be defined by. Perhaps I'm lucky.” He shrugged, he wasn't sure about all that, but it was interesting to think about. “You seem like a normal cat to me,” he offered then, thinking about how she said she'd been different since she was a kit. He didn't think his opinion counted for much, however... he knew how different he was from most TreeClan cats. He looked up at the sky for a long moment, “Cats think I'm strange. They don't say it to me, but I hear them sometimes. I like the night... so during the day I'm... I'm not very useful. I make stupid mistakes when hunting because I'm tired. It makes others angry at me. But Bluejay told me I was perfect the way I was, so I don't think I should change just to make others happy.”
He turned his attention back to Ravenpaw, tilting his head slightly once more, “Are you happy with how you are? Do you like yourself? I know you said it bothers you that others don't accept you, but if you do, it's easier.... But it also helps when another cat does.” He thought of Bluejay, and how her acceptance of him had made every other cat's opinion not matter so much. Even though she was gone now, he knew she still felt the same up in StarClan, and it was enough. And he had Gorsetail as well. His ears flicked forward, angling toward Ravenpaw, “I can be that cat for you, if you want. Or, one of them. Will that help?” He didn't know if she had any other cats in her life willing to accept her as she was. He imagined her parents might, but maybe not. “I don't judge cats based on what other cats say about them. From what I've seen, all those cats talking about you, they're all wrong, and they really don't know what they're talking about.” His tail flicked in the slightest indication of irritation, “Cats that don't know what they're talking about should honestly just keep their mouths shut.”
Darken the sky and light up the moon,
so that somehow you'll be here with me soon. Silver
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| I'm back and better than ever! |
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INVENTORY
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Post by Silver on Nov 20, 2017 3:31:55 GMT -5
Warrior Apprentice of TreeClanThe topic of trees and hunting was pushed aside for the reaction this stranger to her had to things she had said. Orange eyes were wide with shock and she knew her mouth was opening and shutting yet no words managed to escape. Her eyes burned and her lean frame quivered as she realized just what it was Nightsky was saying. She had turned to face him when he'd started talking and so her surprise was showing clearly in her expression and for once in her life she didn't care. He didn't seem the sort to use her shock against her, and if she was wrong she'd take the consequences as they came. Ravenpaw had decided to trust him.
She finally shook herself and cleared her throat, but still the words that came out were quiet and honest. "Sometimes I think being nothing is better than being known only as the offspring of someone else. You can create your own identity separate from your parent. You still have them, even if you don't know them, but they can't define who you are and who you become. That's what I think, at least." She snorted at herself and shook her head again. What was she doing? Yet it seemed a sort of dam had broken free inside her and she had no way of stopping it now that it had started. To have the chance to just be honestly herself was something that rarely happened. Even with her parents she had to be cautious. Now though...she wasn't cautious and she wasn't pretending. She was just Ravenpaw. It was a good feeling, even if it made her sad.
Her tail flicked slightly as the tom next to her admitted that others found him strange. She smiled faintly at that; having heard the rumors about him. He was judged because of how he'd come into the clan, but it didn't really matter to Ravenpaw. Only that he was now loyal to the clan she called her own mattered in her opinion. So long as he showed no signs of that loyalty changing, she had no issue with him. "I think...I think those of us that are different are judged so harshly because others don't understand us. We aren't like they are and that scares them. I don't think there's anything wrong with you though so you have no reason to change if you're perfect just the way you are."
He surprised her again with his next query about being happy with who she was. And then his offer to be a cat that accepted her as she was. A small keening sound left her before she could stop it, and her eyes burned with tears she refused to shed. He wanted to...really? "I...I like the way I am, I wouldn't want to be anyone else. I..." Her voice faltered and she dropped her head, tail dropping as well. Her voice came back small and uncertain; a bit of hope peaking through. "You...really like me the way I am?" Orange eyes turned up towards the strange tom, and Ravenpaw found herself holding her breath for his response. Could she...have made a friend? Tags | @zen |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2017 13:56:15 GMT -5
Bring me the night, tell me it's near,
give me the chance to pretend that you're here...
She would rather be nothing than be defined by someone else? Nightsky thought that over as she went on. He supposed she was being judged rather harshly, through no fault of her own, so the alternative must be attractive to her. From what he had heard of himself, at least he was being judged based upon his own actions. It wasn't his fault that most cats didn't understand his choices, and that made their whispering easier to bare. There was some pity, now and then, that he'd never known his parents, but he wasn't really bothered by it. After all, he had never known them, so it was hard to miss them or be sad about them. Bluejay had told him a lot about his mother and he was a bit sad he never got to know her, but he also wasn't one to dwell on things that can't be changed. Because of Bluejay he also knew she was watching over him from StarClan... so the stars made him feel safe, and he knew he could always talk to Pinkcloud whenever he wanted, even if he couldn't hear her answer.
He was sure cats must talk about his father too, but they always seemed careful not to do it around him for whatever reason. One of the queens that had helped raise him once told him he shouldn't try to seek out his father, that it would just be painful in the end. So he was sure his father was still alive, but as far as he was concerned, if his father didn't want him, then he didn't need his father either. He'd lived this long without him, after all. He didn't think about the tom much, except when the subject of parents came up now and again, like now. He wouldn't deny that he was curious, but there was little point in trying to figure it out if nothing would come of it in the end.
His ears pricked and he returned his full attention to Ravenpaw as she said she did indeed like the way she was. Then she asked her own question. His whiskers twitched in the slightest hint of amusement and he tilted his head slightly, though his voice remained level, stoic, “Well.... It isn't as if I know you very well yet, but from what I've seen, there's no reason not to like you.” Honest logic. He glanced down at his paws briefly, “And... it's nice... to know someone else that feels... different.” He blinked over at her, “It seems like most of the rest of the Clan is so involved with each other... they're all close in one way or another... and I'm just... watching it all happen.” Gorsetail was the only cat in the entire Clan he felt even the slightest bit close to, and his duties as deputy had been keeping him so busy lately that Nightsky had mostly been trying to leave him alone so as not to add yet another burden for him to deal with.
There was no cat that went out of their way to spend time with him, to invite him along on anything, to talk to him, to share prey. Nothing. They thought he was strange and lazy and a terrible warrior because they only ever saw him during the day. They avoided him. His bright green gaze settled on Ravenpaw's fiery orange, and his voice held an undertone of warmth that was unusual for him, “I wouldn't mind getting to know you better. Perhaps we can hunt together from now on? I would... I would like the company, I think.” His whiskers twitched in amusement again, “The Clan will be surprised to wake up to a decent freshkill pile waiting for them.” The freshkill pile was normally pitiful first thing in the morning. Imagine the dawn patrol's surprise to finding it decently stocked when they woke for their morning meal before head out.
Darken the sky and light up the moon,
so that somehow you'll be here with me soon. Silver Nightsky BBBFF x'D
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