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Post by Taxx on Jan 1, 2019 22:10:27 GMT -5
Watch me, I'll make a name for myself The sun-high patrol was awful at the best of times- dragging your tired self from your warm nest into the light of another day, knowing it would be nearly impossible to return to sleep once you were fully awake. It was made all the worse by the cold that held the land in its grip, the snow that lay thick on the ground and drifted down from the sky, and when Crowflame poked her nose out of the entrance to the forest outside, it took every scrap of strength she had not to turn right around and return to her nest.
Her thick fur was a decent barrier for the cold, at least, as she slunk into the open and stood, waiting for the others of her patrol to join her, eyes narrowed against the mix of rain and sleet, her ears full of the sounds of rain and ice falling around her. Lightstep padded around Crowflame, tail lifting as she beckoned the others to join her as she set off. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can return to our nests," the she-cat told them; grumbling, Crowflame followed, barely managing not to roll her eyes as Oakblaze burst past her. Last was Snakestep, and the she-cat fell in beside him as he appeared.
"The elders don't tell you about this when they're telling their stories," she groused, but flicked her tail at him, still friendly despite her distaste at patrolling in this sort of weather. "When we're old and stiff, we should tell the young kits that it's not all hunts in greenleaf, so they don't forget that there are also patrols in leafbare." A drop of ice struck her on the nose and she gave a snort, a prick of annoyance quickly brushed aside. "At least our pelts are thick!" Crowflame NightClan Warrior I won't be just another face in the crowd @zen || Notes |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2019 14:36:34 GMT -5
Being chosen for the sunhigh patrol was honestly the worst. The nocturnal nature of NightClan had been a major blessing to Snakestep. He very rarely had to go out in the light of day and deal with the blindingly bright sunlight. Except when he was assigned the sunhigh patrol. With miserable sigh followed by a yawn, the albino tom pushed himself up from his nest beside his sister and plodded out of the warriors' den, steeling himself before he headed up the tunnel leading out of camp.
He squinted at the brightness of the day; it might not have been sunny but it was still far brighter than the nights he had grown used to spending his waking hours in. Blinking a few times as his eyes watered and adjusted, he fell into step beside Crowflame as Lightstep led their patrol onward. It was cold, wet, bright, and about as miserable a day as it could get for Snakestep to be honest. But Crowflame's conversation had him purring in amusement regardless.
“I dunno, kits tend to ignore warnings about things like that anyway so I doubt they'd get it until they actually had to do it,” he shook out his fur, fluffed up against the cold, just as the she-cat stated her relief for thick pelts. He nodded in agreement, “That's one good thing, at least.” His ears flicked forward as he glanced at the older warriors ahead of them, Oakblaze chattering away to Lightstep, who looked like she was barely paying attention, not that Oakblaze noticed at all. His whiskers twitched in amusement. He'd heard a lot of cats talk down about Oakblaze, he apparently wasn't a very good warrior, but he was always friendly and he had been one of the cats that first brought him to NightClan, so he didn't mind the excitable older tom.
As they reached the TreeClan border, his pelt prickled uneasily. There had been plenty of talk about the battle that had won them back the branch trail, but when Nettleheart seemed to get annoyed whenever he brought it up he had stopped. Crowflame had been there, though. “Hey, speaking of stories, I never heard your story of the branch trail battle. I think you were all really brave.” His red gaze fixed on Crowflame with a soft light of admiration. Snakestep wouldn't run from a battle if it happened, but marching into one like that? He would do it if Foxstar or Briarthroat ordered him to, he supposed, but he would definitely be nervous about it. He was far more a hunter than a fighter.
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Post by Taxx on Jan 26, 2019 20:46:50 GMT -5
Watch me, I'll make a name for myself Had she ever really given a thought, as a kit, on the weather? It was usually quite warm in the tunnels in leafbare, and on the coldest nights she'd been tucked away in that old nest with the pelts of her mother, sister and brother around her, keeping out any chill that snuck in...
"Probably," she purred. Innocent little minds, always so sure that they could handle what was thrown at them without really knowing what the title of 'warrior' meant. They all learned, strengthened and toughened up, as countless cats before them had. A light shiver passed through Crowflame and she shook off the thoughts, turning her attention back to the forest around her, and Snakestep at her side. She glanced at him again as he piped up, mentioning the battle she'd been in, and at once a surge of remembered excitement drove out the chill.
She had to stop herself from making any unnecessary noise, but her tail lashed. "Oh, yes- that was great!" And she'd barely taken wounds: the worst had been the scratches on her cheek that had bled and stained her fur. "I wish you'd been there! Those mouse-hearted TreeClan cats barely fought back. Darkstorm handled two of them on her own, pretty much. She chased off one and then went to help Ashfang, and I got this fat ginger tom, and I clawed him so good."
Fierce delight shone from her eyes as she reared up on her hind legs, acting out some of it as she continued. "And then I jumped right on top of him, but he rolled over and tried to squash the life right out of me and nearly succeeded, the fat ball of fur, but I tricked him and then..."
A quiet cough drew her attention to Lightstep, eyes narrowed at her with Oakblaze standing at the older she-cat's shoulder; embarrassed heat swept through Crowflame and she dropped back to all fours, tail flicking self-consciously. "Sorry," she muttered, and Lightstep sniffed.
"I should hope so. Let's try to stay focused, shall we, and save the stories for later. This is not the time."
As the she-cat turned back to continue the patrol, Crowflame flashed a glance at Snakestep, ears flicking and a roll of her eyes in Lightstep's direction. "I'll tell you everything later. But it was great, and we won, and the Branch Trail's ours again!" Crowflame NightClan Warrior I won't be just another face in the crowd @zen || Notes |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2019 15:19:39 GMT -5
Crowflame’s excitement over remembering the battle was infectious, chasing out any lingering anxiety the albino tom felt over the idea as he focused on the she-cat beside him, drawn into her animated retelling. The mention of Darkstorm had his tail flicking. She sorta made him nervous. It was like her eyes were on fire, just waiting to burn through him every time she so much as glanced at him. He knew it was unfair to judge her based on her eyes, after all he’d been judged plenty on his own, but there it more than the color. There was always such an intensity in Darkstorm’s gaze that set him on edge, like she was preparing for battle at any moment. So he wasn’t at all surprised to hear she took on two different TreeClan cats in the battle. Crowflame’s personal battle seemed a harrowing event. The tom she’d been fighting must have been larger than her with how she kept calling him fat. He purred softly in amusement at the image it gave him of Crowflame darting around a very round ginger tom who could barely move. But just as she was getting to how she’d apparently tricked him and was about to escape from supposedly being squashed to death, a quiet cough drew both their attentions. Lightstep scolded her and Snakestep’s ears twitched back briefly. It wasn’t like they were on a hunting patrol. Lightstep was just grumpy because it was the sunhigh patrol, probably. Not that he could blame her. He purred softly, keeping his voice down so he wouldn’t draw Lightstep’s attention again, “I definitely wanna hear the rest when we get back to camp. It sounds really exciting. And everyone’s been really happy about having the branch trail back. I know my sister wishes she could have been there to fight.” His ears twitched again, “Do you think TreeClan will retaliate somehow?”
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Post by Taxx on Feb 11, 2019 20:58:28 GMT -5
Watch me, I'll make a name for myself Only a little subdued by Lightstep’s scolding, Crowflame carried on with the patrol, keeping up with Snakestep. His soft request brought a pleased look to her face and she purred at him. “I’ll tell you all about it, I promise.” She knew she wouldn’t have been so eager if she’d lost, but she hadn’t and there was no harm in retelling a story that she enjoyed- her first real fight and she’d handled herself perfectly.
“Nettleheart will have her turn!” Crowflame replied with a toss of her head. She could understand the calico’s displeasure, but she’d been at the Gathering- her loss. And it wasn’t like this was the only chance she would have to unsheathe her claws at an enemy. A frown crossed the she-cat’s face then, at Snakestep’s question, and she gave an angry huff. “They’d better not!” she growled, before brightening again. “If they do, we’ll just send them running again. The leader of their patrol fought Blackwolf, and he could hardly call a retreat fast enough.”
It made sense in her own mind; why would they try after such a total defeat? With a softer look, Crowflame glanced over at Snakestep. “Was Nettleheart really upset when she found out? I bet she would have been a good addition, she’s a great fighter, but there wasn’t any way we could include her when she’d already been called to go to the Gathering.” Crowflame NightClan Warrior I won't be just another face in the crowd @zen || Notes |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2019 0:04:37 GMT -5
Nettleheart would have her turn. Snakestep’s ears twitched anxiously at the thought of his sister in battle. He knew she could handle herself. She was strong and fierce. But he still worried about her getting hurt. He shook off the thought for now, “I guess we’ll all probably get our turns eventually.” They were warriors after all. He shook out his fur with a soft laugh, “I don’t blame TreeClan for running away. I wouldn’t wanna fight Blackwolf either.” His whiskers twitched, glad to return to lighter conversation rather than worrying about future what ifs. Then she brought up Nettleheart again. He sighed and then shrugged, “She was a little, but….” He glanced behind them as if to make sure she wasn’t following them, “I think she was a little glad too, after how Briarthroat was so… well….” He probably didn’t have to remind Crowflame. She’d been there. “I don’t think she would want him upset with her. He’s… he’s kinda the closest thing to a dad we’ve ever had.” Even before his mother had abandoned him… they had never known their father. No cat had filled that role for them until Briarthroat.
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Post by Taxx on Apr 6, 2019 13:37:20 GMT -5
Watch me, I'll make a name for myself A nod- that was likely. It was their purpose, after all, to protect and defend their Clan. If that was by joining a fight, then they would. Crowflame had no trouble pitching herself into battle on her Clan's behalf. Her mrrow of laughter was a bit too loud, probably, but she couldn't help it. It was sentiment she could absolutely agree on- not that there was even a chance of Blackwolf fighting those of his Clan. Unless they deserved it, she supposed.
Her ears flicked at the reminder of Briarthroat's anger when he'd found the battle party and she felt the slightest touch of guilt over them acting without permission from the two leaders of the Clan, only for that to be buried by the sense of rightness. Maybe they hadn't gone about it the proper way, but they'd still won the fight, and wasn't that what really counted?
And part of her really wanted to ask about his past, before he'd come to NightClan. He must have had a mother, but no father? But what had happened to cause him and Nettleheart to end up in NightClan when they'd been so young? They hadn't even arrived together- Snakestep had been taken in first, and his sister had followed later. Not that she'd really cared at the time, but that made her wonder now.
Maybe later. "Come on," Crowflame piped up, and nudged Snakestep on his shoulder before trotting ahead. "Let's get this patrol over with so we can get back to camp and I can finish telling you all about that TreeClan warrior I sent running." Crowflame NightClan Warrior I won't be just another face in the crowd @zen || Notes |
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