[Deleted]

And that's how the story goes,[/font]

The mid-day sun's rays licked at the frozen, bare earth that was the StoneClan campground. It seemed to be another busy day in StoneClan. The prey pile was pathetically low, even for the usual cold Leafbare. All the capable warriors and apprentices were out seeking each unaware thing they could find. Desperation had struck StoneClan particularly hard, as of late. The warriors had resorted to hunting anything that they felt capable of killing. This included frogs, toads, snakes, and birds. The situation seemed so bleak, for everyone. Everyone was hard at work, with such a small rate of success.

Even the dark brown tabby, Volepaw, was willing to lend a paw to StoneClan's cause. Unfortunately, his cause was less of the noble sort. Volepaw liked to learn about all sorts of things and he had only been outside of camp a small number of times. The apprentice simply wanted a chance to take in the world, particularly when it was Leafbare. The brown tabby had been postulating as to why the prey had disappeared and currently was wishing to get out of camp so he could figure out where they might've gone. Unlike most of the cats in StoneClan, he did not simply assume StarClan had willed the prey away. He wanted to know, specifically, where they had gone. I know that throughout times, the clans have had troubles catching prey during Leafbare. If I could simply figure out where they've gone, couldn't we get them back? Volepaw postulated, glancing at the thin layer of ice that coated the rocky surface of the camp ground.

The tom-cat let out a somewhat bored sigh. He wished to go out to explore and sight see badly, but his mentor was currently nowhere to be seen. Though his mentor was the deputy of StoneClan and had many other important jobs to complete besides mentoring, Volepaw felt no sympathy. I still need to be trained and more important, I still need to learn! What would I be without knowledge? Volepaw asked himself, getting to his paws. If it wasn't that he was so young, the tabby would definitely be out on his own doing what he felt to be important. Volepaw scoffed at the idea of hunting and battling and patrolling. If my mentor shows up, she'll probably be showing me all of that stuff. I guess ... it's better than nothing? Volepaw questioned, his curled ears perking back and his dark eyes rolling.

Something then caught the young apprentice's eyes and his interest was instantly perked. The ground seemed to be particularly ice-coated and slippery. He wondered what it was that made the ground slick. Of course, he knew that there had been a recent snowstorm, but Volepaw figured this was an unrelated phenomenon. There was so much the apprentice wondered about. Why is the grass green and the sky blue? I don't want any simple answer. Give me all the answers. I want the answers and I want to help others understand the truth.

[/color]

The story of the beast

with those four dirty paws

[/color]

[Hellion]

[atrb=width,390,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][STYLE=float: right; border: 3px #280f14 solid; -webkit-border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 20px; border-radius: 15px; background-image: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/143dlvn.jpg); width: 125px; height: 113px;] [/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #5c2a2a; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: 30px; margin-left: 0px;]It's hard to know[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #a0432f; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .5; alpha:filter(opacity=50%); margin-left: 0px;]What can become[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #db947b; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .25; alpha:filter(opacity=25%); margin-left: 0px;]If you give up[/style][STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 360px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d;] With a flick of her tail Falconleap excused herself from the warrior she was talking to. They are reported to her that a flock of birds were seen close to border and Falconleap instructed them to hunt them until they brought something home, even if that meant heading part way into LightingClan territory but not far enough to cause any problems. She trusted the cats she was talking to and felt sure they would follow orders and not cause major issues, not with the gathering so soon. Now to focus on Volepaw, while it wasn't official for Falconleap to train the young tom she felt it was her duty as deputy to take him under her wing so to speak and teach him a few things until Fallingstar settled on a mentor for him. Before she greeted the tom, she looked behind her toward the nursery, the memory of her conversation with Pyrelight rung in her ears as she brought her attention back to him. "Hello Volepaw ready to learn about StoneClan territory?" She asked him already knowing the answer, no apprentice she ever knew wanted to remain home and stare at the ice. Without a word of confirmation from the tom she took the lead and headed out of the camp, toward sky springs. [/style] [STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: left; background-color: #280f14; width: 100px; color: #f0e3e3; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-top: -18px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;]words: comments: credit:[/style][STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 260px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d; margin-top: -8px; margin-left: 110px;] comments here made by ZINGARA of BTN & LS[/style]

[Deleted]

And that's how the story goes,[/font]

A small gust of snow-filled wind swirled past Volepaw as he stood on the hard StoneClan ground. Disinterest of the banalities of the StoneClan campground filled his head and made him sigh. From the moment he was old enough to set paw outside of the nursery, Volepaw had been hard at work exploring and learning about his vivid world. The young apprentice was tired of the camp for the time being. From the stories about the past, the brown tabby was more than thrilled to take the new, unknown world in his own paws and increase his knowledge. The young apprentice felt that he had fully explored the camp and had expanded his camp knowledge to its boundaries.

Deep in thought, Volepaw crouched down and peered at a flake of ice that stood upright, smooshed against the stony, dirtless StoneClan floor. He was so bemused by this singular flake of frozen water that he did not hear the light stepped approach of Falconleap. It made no difference to the young apprentice. When Falconleap spoke, his brown ears simply twitched back and forth as they craned to catch her words. 'Hello Volepaw ready to learn about StoneClan territory?' the deputy questioned as the brown tabby StoneClanner spun on a dime to face the pretty she-cat. Before Falconleap was halfway done with her sentence, Volepaw was already beaming from ear to ear. "Of course I want to go with you! I can't wait to experience the full expanse of the territory head-on! I have only learned about it from what the elders have told me. Did you know that in the Sky Springs, there is a puddle that's as wide as five cats from head to tail? Or that the Barren Scrublands is full of adders? For a long time I thought that all adders had poison! One of the elders, however, told me that it's not true. I had to ask the medicine cat to be sure, but it's true! All adders bite, though. Some are pretty vicious. I hope we don't go near there. Will we?" Volepaw inquired, his head almost doing a full ninety-degree tilt.

But Falconleap was already tail-lengths ahead of him, nearing the main camp exit. Volepaw tensed his back legs and sprung forward to catch up with the pretty deputy, kicking up a small dust cloud with his thick-skinned paw pads. Volepaw's excitement was through the roof. He hoped he wouldn't be disappointed.

[/color]

The story of the beast

with those four dirty paws

[/color]

[Hellion]

[atrb=width,390,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][STYLE=float: right; border: 3px #280f14 solid; -webkit-border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 20px; border-radius: 15px; background-image: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/143dlvn.jpg); width: 125px; height: 113px;] [/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #5c2a2a; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: 30px; margin-left: 0px;]It's hard to know[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #a0432f; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .5; alpha:filter(opacity=50%); margin-left: 0px;]What can become[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #db947b; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .25; alpha:filter(opacity=25%); margin-left: 0px;]If you give up[/style][STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 360px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d;]Falconleap let out a rare smile, it was comfort to her to see Volepaw listening and being able to list a few of the lesser known things about StoneClan. Not that no one knew that the Scrubland was full of adders, in her time she'd had stepped on a few. While he did rattle off for a moment about what he knew and confirmed with elders, he finally caught up with her. Falconleap didn't get after him for taking his time, she felt it was best to allow them to enjoy being young and fearless, ask all the questions they could, again all the answers. Falconleap questioned herself even now in her older moons, it was a task on her head and heart to know which path to take. Would she do what she promised herself? Give up her rank for her family? Glancing back toward him her tail flickered as they got closer to the Sky Springs. Normally it had puddles large enough to give water to the entire clan and then some, however with the reason freezing where wasn't enough water to even dampen a leaf. With a heavy sigh see sat down and looked toward Volepaw. "Yes, normally there would be a puddle as large as five cats, but as you can see it's frozen solid. I guess that's another task for large warriors. She paused for a moment trying to entice the young cat to ask further questions, instead she just filled in the blanks. "In leaf-bare months and the water is frozen I direct warrior to push rocks into the puddles to try and break the ice, but when the puddles are so small normally the ice is frozen to the ground and doesn't do any good." She explained to him, flicking her tail as she tired to think of more idea to get water for StoneClan. "Now Volepaw we've kind of visited Sky Springs, would you like to go to the Scrubland or somewhere else?" She asked him, unsure of where he'd like to go, the deputy had free time and would happily show him all parts of Stoneclan, so it was entirely up to the young tom. [/style] [STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: left; background-color: #280f14; width: 100px; color: #f0e3e3; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-top: -18px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;]words: comments: credit:[/style][STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 260px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d; margin-top: -8px; margin-left: 110px;] comments here made by ZINGARA of BTN & LS[/style]

[Deleted]

And that's how the story goes,[/font]

The young marbled brown tom-cat padded slowly behind Falconleap and fell somewhat silent on their journey. Volepaw had not been out of camp very often and his eyes were widened by the expanse of the land that he had never seen before. There was so much for him to do and understand about the world and it shocked Volepaw that there was more to know even though he already knew so much.

Volepaw shivered as the pair came upon the Sky Springs. 'Yes, normally there would be a puddle as large as five cats, but as you can see it's frozen solid. I guess that's another task for large warriors.' Falconleap informed the tom, but the marbled brown tabby was already peering at the frozen mini-ponds and casting judgments. His head, which was spinning with different ideas, barely processed what she said. It was only until she continued that the tom-cat tilted his head upwards to her and took notice. 'In leaf-bare months and the water is frozen I direct warrior to push rocks into the puddles to try and break the ice, but when the puddles are so small normally the ice is frozen to the ground and doesn't do any good,' Falconleap informed him and Volepaw gave a small nod. "Not to seem like I am questioning your judgment," Volepaw began, studying the water. "But, wouldn't that be dangerous in Leafbare? I have heard that if a cat gets in freezing cold water, they can get sick or even die instantly. What if ... one of our cats fell in one of the deeper puddles? That's where'd they'd be trying to collect water from, anyways," Volepaw asked Falconleap, trying to maintain a respectful tone the best that he could manage. The apprentice didn't want to seem haughty, questioning not only his own mentor, but the deputy of the entire clan. But, Volepaw's curiousity and his desire to display his expanse of knowledge was too much for the curled-eared apprentice to hold back.

Volepaw ventured a few steps closer to the closest frozen puddle and pressed his paw against the ice for a moment, as if testing the ice to see if it could hold his weight. The brown tabby quickly drew back his paw onto the dirty ground and made a twisted face. The water was unbelievably cold. The tom cat backed away from the puddle before Falconleap addressed him. 'Now Volepaw we've kind of visited Sky Springs, would you like to go to the Scrubland or somewhere else?' the deputy told him and Volepaw gave a small grin. "I'd like to do one expansive view of all of the areas within our clan, if we could. The Scrublands is a great place to go next. I don't really mind where we go -- as long as I can learn," Volepaw told Falconleap, flicking his tannish curled ears forward earnestly. If he could go see all of the StoneClan territory, he would have the best day of his life so far.

[/font][/color][/blockquote][/color]

The story of the beast

with those four dirty paws

[/color]

[Hellion]

[atrb=width,390,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][STYLE=float: right; border: 3px #280f14 solid; -webkit-border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 20px; border-radius: 15px; background-image: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/143dlvn.jpg); width: 125px; height: 113px;] [/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #5c2a2a; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: 27px; margin-left: 0px;]I won't give up on us[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 27px; color: #a0432f; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .5; alpha:filter(opacity=50%); margin-left: 0px;]Even if the skies get rough[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 27px; color: #db947b; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .25; alpha:filter(opacity=25%); margin-left: 0px;]I'm giving you all my love[/style][STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 360px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d;] He asked her an innocent question and from the look on his face he was trying his hardest not to seem like a bossy little tom-cat, that brought a smile to her face. Falconleap was pleased to hear the input of other cats, it was always great to see or hear cats asking questions and challenging old tradition. She flicked her tail and smiled, warmer toward him. "Yes it's dangerous but I supervise the missions and I try not to choose puddles that are too deep. I rather risk a failure than cats falling in and drowning. A leader need to make sacrifices I'd rather sacrifice the easy of getting water than the life of a warrior" She spoke evenly, laughing out loud as his paws touched the cold ice, that wasn't the brightest choice he had but her laugh wasn't to hurt his feelings, more to ease the mood. Flicking her tail over his ear she took the lead, taking into consideration of seeing more the large territory they called home. Toward the boulders they went, it was by far the easiest place to see all of the clans with a higher vantage point. Upon reaching the boulders her paws easily made the jump to a high boulder, she stood there a noble sight, flicking her tail for Volepaw to stand on the boulder juts below her, a far easier jump for him. "That way is LightingClan, warriors that are just as quick witted and agile as the rabbits they hunt. Not to mention slightly a She pointed with her paw, turning a little to point toward RainClan. "Over there are warriors that swim almost as well as fish. They are a strong clan" She wanted to say more about RainClan, but stopped herself, it might make Volepaw think there is something for the she-cat in that water-logged world. Sitting back she looked toward Volepaw with a kind smile. "We don't share borders with them, but there are two more clans. NightClan, a dark and somewhat strange clan and also TreeClan, I've only meet a few cats from there, not much to say." She spoke evenly before standing at the edge of her boulder. "But by far we live in the greatest territory of all" She spoke proudly, looking over StoneClan. [/style] [STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: left; background-color: #280f14; width: 100px; color: #f0e3e3; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-top: -18px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;]words: comments: credit:[/style][STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 260px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d; margin-top: -8px; margin-left: 110px;] comments here made by ZINGARA of BTN & LS[/style]

[Deleted]

And that's how the story goes,[/font]

The young apprentice took a few silent steps backwards to stand beside of Falconleap. 'Yes it's dangerous but I supervise the missions and I try not to choose puddles that are too deep. I rather risk a failure than cats falling in and drowning. A leader need to make sacrifices I'd rather sacrifice the easy of getting water than the life of a warrior' the deputy informed him and the apprentice nodded and felt a little embarrassed that she had laughed at him. Yes, I have a lot to learn, but at least I am making the effort to understand. One day I hope to know as much as you do, or more, Volepaw thought to himself, then tipped his brown head to the deputy, suddenly feeling the weight of her words rather than the implications of the words in that she was 'smarter' or 'knew more'. Falconleap is such a superb deputy. Of course, she would never threaten the lives of her fellow warriors unless she absolutely had to. She cares for all of us too much. I shall not question her again, Volepaw thought to himself -- and his handsome amber eyes glowed with interest.

The deputy appeared to be pleased with his request and this brought a little joy to the chatty apprentice after he had felt a little guilty about doubting her judgment. The apprentice rose to his paws and turned his head upwards just as the deputy lept on top of a large rock (a common occurrence in StoneClan, hence the name of the clan itself). The marbled tom did not understand what she was up to at first, until she began to describe each of the clans.

At first hesitant about his ability to jump up on the rocks with his current size, the apprentice tensed his back legs and sprang forwards, barely hooking his claws on the boulder adjacent to Falconleap and scrambling atop of it just as she mentioned TreeClan. "Have you met cats of all the other clans? If, hypothetically, you could chose, which of the other clans have been the kindest and most like our clan?" Volepaw asked, peering out at the frozen word before them. Everything to Volepaw looked only like undefined white Leafbare wonder. The tom had no idea how it was that Falconleap knew where the borders were.

[/color]

The story of the beast

with those four dirty paws

[/color]

[Hellion]

[atrb=width,390,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][STYLE=float: right; border: 3px #280f14 solid; -webkit-border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 20px; border-radius: 15px; background-image: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/143dlvn.jpg); width: 125px; height: 113px;] [/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #5c2a2a; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: 27px; margin-left: 0px;]I won't give up on us[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 27px; color: #a0432f; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .5; alpha:filter(opacity=50%); margin-left: 0px;]Even if the skies get rough[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 27px; color: #db947b; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .25; alpha:filter(opacity=25%); margin-left: 0px;]I'm giving you all my love[/style][STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 360px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d;]With Volepaw finally on a boulder below her, Falconleap looked at him and jumped down to sit beside her apprentice, flicking her tail she curled it around her paws and looked down at him, only because she was taller. In no way was the sandy tabby she-cat trying to belittle Volepaw, she never felt that teasing or degrading a cat did much good while trying to teach. "If I had to choose what Clan has helped out the most, I'd truly be unsure." Falconleap tired to rack her brain for a better answer, but settled on a truthful answer instead. "I feel that we can look to TreeClan for some help, they gave us herbs when Crowfang our medicine cat before Blackeagle left us. However, it's wise to know that we are on our own. We can ally with one clan or another but never trust another clan all together." She said flicking her tail and looking for Volepaw sizing him up for a moment, trying to read the young tom on what kind of warrior he would be. "No matter who we ally with and call our friends for the season or the war. We must keep in mind that when the time of war and alliance is over that we must go back to our peaceful ways of being rivals." The deputy meowed, rising her head up thinking of the threat of LightingClan hanging heavy on her heart, the knowledge of her love with Vultureback fragile as the ice RainClan lived on, her world was fragile and even more so with the possibility of kits growing in her belly. Silently she looked back toward Volepaw, trying to picture him as a warrior. Would he be talkative and wise ? Or ruthless and cruel? Even if her training would the thread of LightingClan war ruin his young mind? Could she fail as a mentor to this tom who needed correct guidance and faithfully nourished to be a warrior StarClan would praise. The sandy she-cat was lost in her thoughts and at lost for words, so instead she waited for her apprentice to spark another interest, bring up another topic. [/style] [STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: left; background-color: #280f14; width: 100px; color: #f0e3e3; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-top: -18px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;]words: comments: credit:[/style][STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 260px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d; margin-top: -8px; margin-left: 110px;] comments here made by ZINGARA of BTN & LS[/style]

[Deleted]

And that's how the story goes,[/font]

The cold air shook through the curled-eared apprentice's thin coat as he sat squarely on the boulder just below him. Falconleap seemed somewhat perplexed by his question, and the marbled brown tabby seemed impressed by the level of consideration that the deputy had placed on his question. I'm glad that she takes my questions so seriously. A lousy answer wouldn't help increase my understanding of the world at all, Volepaw thought to himself and grinned a little. The tomcat perked his ears at the deputy's response.

Volepaw was surprised to hear how unsure his mentor was on the situation. The question was so opinion based that the tom would not have minded whatever his mentor's answer had been, as long as it had been backed up properly by knowledge about the clans that Volepaw had not been previously aware of.

At last, Falconleap came to a decision, but seemed rather morbid in her response. TreeClan seemed like a good choice. They had never done anything to StoneClan as far as he was aware. Not that they really could do any harm to the mighty StoneClan even if they wanted. Volepaw's innocence simply allowed the tom to think that his clan was the most powerful of the clans.

However, the seriousness in Falconleap's response did concern the apprentice. Volepaw could hardly believe the things that the deputy spoke of -- war, forming enemies and allies? Volepaw was very unsure about how to handle such matters at his young age. The tabby was so unsure that he could hardly believe the situation at hand. Volepaw had, of course, heard about the heated situation between the clans (though he had not attended the Gathering), but when he had heard of it, he had hardly been able to believe his ears. Disputes happened, but the clans had been at peace for such a long time and the apprentice had begun to believe that the ideas of wars were something that elders told kits to scare them into being civil to cats from other clans. "Will there really be a war?" Volepaw asked Falconleap, tilting his small brown head. While the tom did not want to seem disrespectful in questioning the deputy's words, Volepaw also could hardly compute such things.

Volepaw was simply asking for confirmation for himself. Falconleap's response would solidify his fears.

[/color]

The story of the beast

with those four dirty paws

[/color]
ooc: lol this is a really crappy post, feel free to ask me to rewrite it. I'm sleepy!

[Hellion]

[atrb=width,390,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][STYLE=float: right; border: 3px #280f14 solid; -webkit-border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 20px; border-radius: 15px; background-image: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/143dlvn.jpg); width: 125px; height: 113px;] [/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #5c2a2a; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: 27px; margin-left: 0px;]I won't give up on us[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 27px; color: #a0432f; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .5; alpha:filter(opacity=50%); margin-left: 0px;]Even if the skies get rough[/style][STYLE=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 27px; color: #db947b; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .25; alpha:filter(opacity=25%); margin-left: 0px;]I'm giving you all my love[/style][STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 360px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d;]The question he asked was one Falconleap expected. She however, didn't answer him right away, she wanted to be sure answer was the right one for such a young mind. Would it be best for her to give him a white lie? Coat the truth in honey so it would be easier for him to understand and accept. Would it helpful to him to not know the test of war, how you can go from loving a dear friend to losing them in a heart beat. Taking in a deep breath and looked down before meeting the young tom's gaze. "The threat of war is always on our horizon. It might not come tomorrow or even next season, but it will come and it will cost many lives. Peace if short lived Volepaw, that is lesson I've learned and you must too." Falconleap felt guilty but only for a moment, she felt it was right to teach him the truths of the world, no more honey coating. "Volepaw, I know it might not be the nursery tales that elders told you or that warriors have pride from, but it's the truth. War is not a rare occurrence to the Five Clans, but it's your role as an apprentice to learn how to fight and defend our Clan and our ways." Falconleap nodded with her final words, feeling pleased with herself even for a moment. "Shall we keep traveling or would you rather see if Silentcloud is ready to take you out to train?" Falconleap asked him, leaping down from the boulder and turning to look at him with a faint smile. [/style] [STYLE=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: left; background-color: #280f14; width: 100px; color: #f0e3e3; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-top: -18px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;]words: comments: credit:[/style][STYLE=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 260px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d; margin-top: -8px; margin-left: 110px;] comments here made by ZINGARA of BTN & LS[/style]

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And that's how the story goes,[/font]

The young apprentice observed his Deputy with concerned eyes. Volepaw wasn't sure what concerned him more about Falconleap's words -- that she even mentioned the concept of war, or that the deputy even struggled with definitively answering his question about the existence of war. Every elder Volepaw had ever chatted with had battle stories -- some horrid, some victorious but all of them were, to the innocent young apprentice, exciting. If war is truly upon us, then I need to get ready! Volepaw thought to himself, feeling charged with a mixture of emotions -- none of which included fear.

The marbled brown tom knew he had a very capable clan and a very capable mentor and he knew that from their knowledge and experience, he, too, could be knowledgeable and experienced. And maybe, just maybe, StoneClan would be successful in the war.

Volepaw's thoughts about the future were drawn to a close when Falconleap addressed him again. 'Shall we keep traveling or would you rather see if Silentcloud is ready to take you out to train?' the Deputy asked him and Volepaw gave a thoughtful tilt of his head. Volepaw wasn't sure how to respond to this question. Though he appreciated his deputy and was incredibly thankful for the knowledge she had given to him in the short meeting between them, the apprentice knew how busy the deputy was and did not feel it was right or his place to tell the deputy to continue. "I know you are a busy cat and I think you should go. I appreciate you for teaching me today," Volepaw meowed to the deputy and instantly felt a little down with his decision.

The apprentice hastily added, "I should probably go locate Silentcloud, anyways," to rectify the situation.

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The story of the beast

with those four dirty paws

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ooc: and the bad posts just keep on coming ... and haha I figured we should bring this thread to a close.