[Aqua]

'What can I do? There are so many cats. So many sad faces. Come on....there has to be something I can do or help with...'
A look of frustration passed over the features of a muscular tom sitting amongst the cats of Lightningclan. There had been so much devastation caused by the passing Earthquake that all of the clans were forced to house themselves with the tribe until the valley was safe to return to. But while there would typically be so much work to do after such a catastrophic event, Braverush found himself at a total loss on what to help with. There were different rules in play here so he couldn't just rush out to do whatever he felt might be helpful for everyone. It was making the tom anxious and to be totally frank, a little stir crazy.

'Maybe I could help the queens....no. They might bite my head off after the stress of keeping their families safe the whole way. Um...hunting? But what are the rules about that now? Is there rules?...'
His thoughts run like wildfire as questions came to light over everything he thought about doing. Something this big should have many opportunities for him to play the knight in shining armor guise so perhaps he would need to start asking questions. Maybe find one of the old leaders or maybe the tribe's leader Skyteller could enlighten him instead.

Yellow eyes darted about the walls of the cave, scanning over all of the cats in the hopes of spotting one of the higher ups to talk with. His eyes were met with a plethora of colors; oranges, browns, dark colors, super bright colors. None of the pelts stuck out to him as he tried to scope out the leaders. There were just so many cats and it was hard to see the entire cave with so many pelts to look over. He grumbled to himself in annoyance.
That was when he heard a feminine voice sound over the top of all the voices around him. His head turned to be met by a tribe cat standing beside him. She had made her way through the crowd of cats, stepping on a few paws along the way. From the sounds of what she had to say, she was in need of cats for a patrol of sorts. Braverush felt his skin begin to tingle at the thought of being able to help anyone at this point.

"I would gladly assist you on your little patrol! I need to get up and help with something before this sitting here makes me lose it. I can't stand sitting around and being a bump on a log." The tom meowed in total excitement, jumping to his paws. "I really want to-" He paused and glanced awkwardly at the she-cat. Was that a little too much? He chuckled nervously, ducking his head down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I'm so used to always having something I can do for my clan. But here, I feel like I'm kinda stuck. It's making me a little anxious. But where are my manners. I am Braverush." The spotted tabby meowed with a respectful bow of his head in greeting to the she-cat.

^{Made by Aqua || Tagged: @ide || Words: #539}

[Jos]

There had been so much pain, so much confusion…so much loss.
Cloudtail had been in emergency mode ever since the first signs of disaster. It was all he could do to keep his clan together but, despite his best efforts, it felt like trying to catch mist between his claws. Everything he had ever known was coming down around him. The clans were living with the Tribe for Starclan’s sake! There was no precedent for this. No cat knew what to do.

But he was a warrior, and he had a duty to his clan. No, not just his clan, to all clans. So he did what he could to help: comforting kits and apprentices, helping with patrols, assisting the medicine cats however a warrior could. He shared tongues with cats he never thought he would share tongues with, even that rascal Whitethorn from Lightningclan, whose blasé attitude seemed to have dissipated. A little.

Every cat was helping every cat. Wherever he looked, the clans were merging into one. It felt wrong, and he felt guilty, as though Starclan would come down and scold them like naughty kits. But then he would see a queen nursing kits that weren’t her own, or even from her own clan, or elders and apprentices working side by side, and for a moment he wished that clan life could always be so peaceful.

So much had changed in such a short period of time that it was hard to remember what life was like before the earthquake, if that’s what it truly was. But he did know that there were far fewer cats around than there used to be. Just Stoneclan’s ranks had dwindled with cats who had gone missing or were confirmed dead. Including…

He shut his eyes and breathed a shuddering breath. Birdstar. His brother. Now Cloudtail was the last of his litter. He had outlived his sister and his brother. It wasn’t fair! Why did Starclan have to take away everything he loved? Hadn’t he been a good warrior? Hadn’t he done his duty to Starclan? What had Birdstar and Redpaw done to deserve to die?

Tears stung at his ice blue eyes as he stood in the middle of the cave, frozen. The cave walls seemed to be crashing in around him. He couldn’t breathe. He had to escape.

Looking around he found several clan cats gathering near the entrance of the cave. He shook out his pelt and padded towards them, determined to do something more helpful than sitting around and feeling sorry for himself.

“Are you going on a patrol?” he recognized these cats. Having lived with them for the past few days, he had come to know many cats from different clans. Mulberry that Ripens in Winter, a prey hunter from the tribe, and Braverush, a Lightningclan warrior. He nodded to them both in turn, “I would like to join you. I’m Cloudtail…from Stoneclan.” He wasn’t sure if they could tell from his scent anymore. “Did I hear that we were hunting and looking for herbs? I'm ready to go whenever you are, Mulberry that Ripens in Winter.” he gave her a nod, acknowledging her as the patrol leader. Any Stoneclan cat watching this might think that Cloudtail, who was as bossy as a badger, had been replaced by a more modest cat. But he was ready to give himself to the clans and the tribe if he had to. Whatever it took, he would make any sacrifice. "Just point me in the right direction, and I'm there."

[Katara]

BRIARSKY

[smear:BE7A4D]SHE QUIETLY EXPECTED GREAT THINGS TO HAPPEN TO HER,[/smear:C25176] [smear:C25176]AND NO DOUBT THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THEY DID.[/smear:BE7A4D]

O h she was bored stiff! Briarsky could hardly stretch her legs without her paws smacking in some other poor cat's face. Even when she did it flirtatiously, nobody seemed very appreciative on the receiving end. Lighten up! she wanted to tell them. Sure, they'd lost their homes and everything they'd ever known, but they were alive right? Well, not everyone obviously, but this time around Briarsky hadn't lost anyone important to her. It may be a self-absorbed thing, but she'd been through the pain of grieving before, and she didn't care to revisit that dark place. So, to her, any distraction was helpful. And one stumbled right there in front of her, in the form of Mulberry. She was already speaking to Braverush from her own Clan, and though Briarsky hadn't exactly been in close proximity to him and this conversation, she had no problem inserting herself as if she had been there all along. "I think this patrol could use another she-cat," she said cheerfully. "Can I come with? I'm dying to get some fresh air and stretch my legs." She sized up the other tom, Cloudtail from StoneClan apparently, and felt a flicker of disappointment he was just as much of a fossil as Braverush. Whatever, maybe someone else her age would join the patrol. In the meantime, she could always make fun of them. "Oh, you two are so formal," she pouted. "Are we going to have no fun while we're out? I hope a hawk tries to pick a fight with us, I'm ready to whack something." She pranced in place, tail waving with anticipation and her blue eyes alight with good humor.

tagged @ide, Aqua, Jos

281 words

[Aqua]

Thank goodness. The tribe she-cat did not seem opposed to him joining her patrol and in fact laughed at his struggle to speak. He had thought for sure she would have been spooked by his bold and sudden jump at the opportunity to get away from the crowded cave. But she took up his offer nice and easy, even going as far as offering to help him find things to do. He gave the female an appreciative smile at this. He definitely needed some help with finding things to occupy his time and with figuring out the rules here. The Tribe had a different set of beliefs and morals that he would have to learn. If he wanted to respect these cats and the home they willingly shared with the clans, he would need some guidance.

"I would like that. I need someone to show me the ropes around here so I don't step on any toes." He chuckled just as a white tom approached. Yellow eyes turned to be met by the bulky form of Cloudtail, a warrior from Stoneclan. He too showed an interest in getting outside of the cave, essentially enlisting himself into the patrol. Braverush nodded his head in greeting to the other tom, glad to have another capable tom to guard the patrol. While the two didn't have many encounters with one another before now, Braverush knew of Cloudtail's haughty reputation. He was often described as bossy and overly proud of himself by the other Stoneclan cats during gatherings. So the spotted tom knew to be careful to listen and not upset the white tom.

Just as Cloudtail joined the patrol, the familiar pelt of a fellow clanmate flashed past. “I think this patrol could use another she-cat,” Braverush smirked at the familiar voice that spoke up, Briarsky. The pointed she-cat had stepped forward, anxious to get into something fun. In her usual enthusiastic fashion, she went on about hoping something like a hawk swooping on them would happen. He chuckled nervously at this, on one hand hoping she was only kidding but on the other knowing she was probably serious. That's when Mulberry spoke up claiming that they actually plan hunts against hawks. The tom's head whipped around to stare at the Tribe she-cat in disbelief, at first. The fact that the tribe actually made plans to take on such large birds was surprising. Almost as surprising as the fact that the she-cat essentially encouraged the young warrior's hopes for something coming after them. The clans had always tried to avoid the large birds, the risk of losing lives usually too great to willingly go after them. So to hear that the Tribe would hunt them down was....intriguing.

“Well, we should, uhm... get to it, then?”

The sound of Mulberry's voice snapped Braverush back to reality. They had a job to do and herbs to look out for. They didn't have the time to discuss these bird hunts. The tom gets to his feet, standing tall and proud as he follows the she-cat to the entrance of the cave. He could feel his skin tingle in excitement as he stepped out into the light of day. "We're ready whenever you are Mulberry." He meowed glancing back at the rest of the patrol.

^{Made by Aqua || Tagged: @ide Jos Katara || Words: #548}

[Jos]

Cloudtail gave Briarsky a withering look,
"I should hope we don't run into a hawk. I don't think any of us, aside from Mulberry, could take one down. From what I understand it's an entirely different hunting technique from anything us clan cats have ever achieved. Although," he added, "It would be a good skill to learn. I just don't want to have to learn it while being attacked by a hawk." He was all for learning from experience, but some things needed a bit more preparation.

He followed Mulberry down the path out of the cave. The white tom blinked in the sunlight, his eyes adjusting painfully to the change. As much as he appreciated the hospitality of the tribe he did not know how much longer he could take living in such a dark, damp place. A fierce wind was accompanied by rainfall that morning but it seemed to be clearing up. The ground was slick with rainwater and the sky was gray. Having lived in Stoneclan territory prepared him for the hazards of wet stone but he worried about his Lightningclan party members. "Careful on these rocks--slippery." He grunted to Braverush and Briarsky. The rain would make scenting prey difficult, but the prey would be coming out of hiding now that the storm had passed. Plus, the herbs would be nice and fresh for Stoneteller and the other medicine cats. He would have to rely on his training, his eyesight, and his instincts for this hunt.

Cloudtail braced himself on the steep path Mulberry lead them on, "Mulberry, excuse my ignorance, but in the clans the medicine cats go out to get their own herbs. It's not only their duty but the medicine cats know which herbs are good, which ones to take and which ones to leave for the future... do Prey-Hunters and Cave-Guards get trained to know these things? Or do you just bring Stoneteller some plants and...well, hope for the best?" He could not imagine certain medicine cats giving up so much direct control over their supplies, and he certainly did not want to have to be responsible for finding life saving herbs as a mere warrior. That was medicine cat stuff...things a cat would spend their entire lives training to do. What happened if a cat brought back the wrong herb? How do the Stonetellers get trained to know the herbs? "What herb are we looking for, by the way?"