[Fawn]

[atrb=border,0,true;][atrb=style, background: url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/OrangeDotPattern.gif) repeat; padding: 10px; border-radius:3em; -moz-border-radius:3em; border: 4px solid #E9E9E9;][atrb=width,459,true] [STYLE= width: 474px; border-top: 10px solid #C3C3C3; border-bottom: 10px solid #C3C3C3; color: #626274; border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 395px; background-color:#FFE4C4; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana][STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius:2em; border: 5px solid #D6D6D6; float: left; Background:url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/Warriors/Frostkiticon.jpg); width: 100px; height: 100px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-right: 8px; margin-left: -1px;] [/style] [STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 220px; background: #D6D6D6; color:#FF4500; font-family: georgia; font-size: 20px; padding: 2px; padding-left: 150px; padding-right: 14px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 6px;margin-left:10px; margin-top: 12px;]`Frostkit - 4 Moons [/style]The air was much cooler than when she'd bounded out of the nursery a few hours ago. Her whiskers twitching with delight, Frostkit left the warmth of her mother's side and her brothers behind her, padding into the busy middle of LightningClan camp, curious as to the comings and goings of her many Clanmates. I wonder if Dad's out hunting right now? To the kitten's delight and surprise, her ginger ears perking, tail raising like a flag, Frostkit spotted the solid white warrior making his way back from what was probably a border patrol or something equally as Warrior-ish and important. Scrambling her way over to him, Frostkit let out a chipper mew, "Dad!" Addressing Cloudflight, she paused to call back to her mother to let her know where she was going; "I'm gonna go talk to dad, mother. I'll be right back!" Super lazy starter post for a super lazy Rp. x] [/style]

[Deleted]

Cloudflight actually had been assigned to a border control that morning. It had been a frustratingly dull few hours, nothing too eventful but the trespassing of a StoneClan female -- the pale warrior had been promptly dismissed at that point, to his own chagrin, he hadn't even been looking -- and being led on a merry chase by a couple of TreeClan apprentices who had been perfectly content to taunt and invite a skirmish from a distance, but at the first sign of trouble had turned tail and fled.

Typical youth; all tongue and no fangs.[/b]

He had been sorely relieved then, when he was relieved of his watch and allowed to return to camp. His tail was still twitching faintly in annoyance when someone called out to him, and his ears pricked, head swivelled towards the source. He blinked as he recognised the little she-kit, his demeanour changing quickly enough as he realised her exuberance was directed at him. It made a change. He wasn't a pariah by any means, but lately it seemed to him that there was... a little more ill-will towards him than usual in the Clan.

A quiet purr picked up in his throat as he picked his way through the other cats to join his daughter with the ginger ears and tail, giving her a light nudge in greeting. ''Hello there, Frostkit. How's my girl? Not giving your mother too much trouble?'' A joke -- sort of. He didn't suppose she went out of her way to cause trouble, but he knew from just spending time with the kit that she could be a bit of a handful at times, regardless of intentions.[/size]

[Fawn]

[atrb=border,0,true;][atrb=style, background: url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/OrangeDotPattern.gif) repeat; padding: 10px; border-radius:3em; -moz-border-radius:3em; border: 4px solid #E9E9E9;][atrb=width,459,true] [STYLE= width: 474px; border-top: 10px solid #C3C3C3; border-bottom: 10px solid #C3C3C3; color: #626274; border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 395px; background-color:#FFE4C4; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana][STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius:2em; border: 5px solid #D6D6D6; float: left; Background:url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/Warriors/Frostkiticon.jpg); width: 100px; height: 100px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-right: 8px; margin-left: -1px;] [/style] [STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 220px; background: #D6D6D6; color:#FF4500; font-family: georgia; font-size: 20px; padding: 2px; padding-left: 150px; padding-right: 14px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 6px;margin-left:10px; margin-top: 12px;]`Frostkit - 4 Moons [/style]A purr of pure delight reverberated out of Frostkit's chest as she nuzzled into Cloudflight's warm white fur, pleased with the attention and the familiar scent of her kin. "Trouble?" she mewed, blue eyes gleaming, "Of course not! I've been behaving myself - even though all Icekit wants to do is sleep," she cast a slightly frustrated glance back at the nursery. The ginger and white she-kit loved her brothers dearly, but sometimes they just weren't exciting enough for her. "Did you run into any enemies? Did you meet a badger? Is it hard going on patrol? I can't wait to become a warrior..." She trailed off in her barrage of questions with a wistful look in her big round kitten eyes, kneading the earth at the thought, tail held high like her own personal flag. To be a warrior! That would certainly be something, huh? Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw a familiar silver and black compact warrior carrying a rabbit into the nursery for her mother and brothers, Frostkit recognizing Rapidwind immediately. He didn't even look this way, but Frostkit could pick up on the distinct distaste that was coming off of Rapidwind in spades whenever Cloudflight was around. Confused, Frostkit looked up to her father, as though expecting the answer to be written all over his face. Why was Rapidwind so unfriendly towards her father? Did they fight? Were they rivals? Or maybe Rapidwind just has a bad tummy ache? None[/style]

[Deleted]

''Growing kits do need their rest, Frost,'' he recited dutifully... even if he could understand her frustration, given that there seemed to be few kits about this season and her brothers were not so adventurous as she. Frostkit moved on quickly enough from that, though, and the tom nearly laughed as she questioned him, starry-eyed and clearly quite enamoured with the warrior lifestyle. It would be a disappointment when she found out otherwise, that the life of a warrior, while often perilous and sometimes interesting was not the non-stop glorious adventure that many kits seemed to think.

Still, he wasn’t going to be the one to break the news just yet. ''No badgers, but I met two enemy cats out on the border today. They ran straight back to their camp, of course - even TreeClan knows they can’t stand up to our warriors!'' Oh, he was embellishing just a little bit, sure, but it was more for her sake than his and at least he gave credit where it was due.

''It’s not hard, not most of the time. Challenging, perhaps, sometimes, but you have the other patrol members on hand if things get messy and the other clans don’t usually raid in large groups, unless they plan to make a fully-fledged battle out of it... '' He trailed off himself as an unfortunately quite familiar face passed them by, Rapidwind’s distaste almost palpable in the air. The pale tom sighed quietly, and didn’t bother to call a greeting to the other cat lest he invite some sort of tongue-lashing.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand where the other tom’s resentment had come from, but he couldn’t help thinking it was all just a bit silly. Dovesong herself didn’t harbour so much bitterness towards him, so why did that sister of hers and this silver tom refuse to leave well enough alone? And if it was Rapid’s feelings for the white she-cat getting in the way, as he was beginning to suspect they were, well, with him gone and Dovesong seeing no other males, why didn’t he just work up the guts to confess to her? The worst that could happen, after all, was that she rejected him. It wouldn't be the end of the world.

''Honestly,'' he muttered to himself, not sounding angry so much as resigned and a little confused. It was at that point that he seemed to notice Frostkit had not yet bounded off in search of another returning warrior, and was in fact starring up at him with a curious expression that he was sure had been mirrored on his own face a hundred times or more during kithood.

''...What?''

[Fawn]

[atrb=border,0,true;][atrb=style, background: url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/OrangeDotPattern.gif) repeat; padding: 10px; border-radius:3em; -moz-border-radius:3em; border: 4px solid #E9E9E9;][atrb=width,459,true] [STYLE= width: 474px; border-top: 10px solid #C3C3C3; border-bottom: 10px solid #C3C3C3; color: #626274; border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 395px; background-color:#FFE4C4; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana][STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius:2em; border: 5px solid #D6D6D6; float: left; Background:url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/Warriors/Frostkiticon.jpg); width: 100px; height: 100px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-right: 8px; margin-left: -1px;] [/style] [STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 220px; background: #D6D6D6; color:#FF4500; font-family: georgia; font-size: 20px; padding: 2px; padding-left: 150px; padding-right: 14px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 6px;margin-left:10px; margin-top: 12px;]`Frostkit - 4 Moons [/style]"Why doesn't Rapidwind like you, father?" Her inquisitive voice was full of honest bewilderment, as though she just couldn't understand why anyone would dislike the white warrior, let alone to the levels Rapidwind had apparently just displayed. "Did you guys fight?" She mewed tentatively, eying Cloudflight as though contemplating what he had been like as a kit. "Mother always makes me apologize when I fight with Snowkit or Icekit..." What she was hinting at was fairly obvious, as little Frostkit assumed the 'Golden Rule' and the manners she had learned in the nursery applied to life outside of it. It didn't occur to her that the problems were much bigger, and were things an apology couldn't always fix. Dad's the smartest cat in the whole Clan - even smarter than Emberstar, so why is Rapidwind so mad? She just couldn't put her paw on it. Rapidwind seemed to really like her, her brothers and her mother, but when it came to Cloudflight, he ignored the white warrior like he didn't exist! Wait, maybe it's a game? Sometimes she heard about an almost 'hazing' that the apprentices of LightningClan liked to do, they'd ignore the new apprentices for several sunrises at a time, and it wasn't until the apprentice did something noteworthy - like catch a good piece of prey, or participate in a border patrol - that they were spoken to and welcomed into the group like family. She'd heard of apprentices do that, sure, but full grown warriors? Frostkit's tail twitched from side to side, puzzled, and she immediately looked back up to her father for an answer. None[/style]

[Deleted]

Cloudflight seemed to sag into himself a little where he sat, tail thumping slowly off the ground; leave it to the kits to ask the questions he’d really rather avoid talking about. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed about it; there was no reason for him to be. After all, what transpired between him and Dovesong was no-one’s business but their own. He would rather not dwell on the negatives in life when there was so much to look forward to... but at the same time, didn’t his daughter deserve an answer of some kind? ''Hmm, no, we didn’t fight. Near as I can tell, your mother and I were in a relationship at one point – we aren’t any more.''

Had their mother even explained that concept to them yet? He might have been better off explaining that in a different way, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of a better explanation.

''And that’s fine. We made a decision as grown-ups and chose to be friends instead. Rapidwind, though... I think that he thinks I could have handled things better. I’m not angry at him, but I don’t think an apology would work here.'' He drew himself up a bit, trying to look a bit brighter and brisker and not really feeling it. He had no idea if that would satisfy her curiosity, or just open up the field for even more questions, but he rather hoped it was the former and not the later.

''Does that make it any clearer?''

[Fawn]

[atrb=border,0,true;][atrb=style, background: url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/OrangeDotPattern.gif) repeat; padding: 10px; border-radius:3em; -moz-border-radius:3em; border: 4px solid #E9E9E9;][atrb=width,459,true] [STYLE= width: 474px; border-top: 10px solid #C3C3C3; border-bottom: 10px solid #C3C3C3; color: #626274; border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 395px; background-color:#FFE4C4; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana][STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius:2em; border: 5px solid #D6D6D6; float: left; Background:url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/Warriors/Frostkiticon.jpg); width: 100px; height: 100px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-right: 8px; margin-left: -1px;] [/style] [STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 220px; background: #D6D6D6; color:#FF4500; font-family: georgia; font-size: 20px; padding: 2px; padding-left: 150px; padding-right: 14px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 6px;margin-left:10px; margin-top: 12px;]`Frostkit - 4 Moons [/style] The topic of discussion went over the ginger and white kitten's head just a bit, her maturity level not quite high enough to understand or embrace the concept, but she feigned understanding with a few nods. "Ohhhh," Frostkit mewed. "What do you do when apologies don't work?" Now that was an answer she was eagerly waiting for - what if she ever upset someone like Cloudflight had upset Rapidwind? She wanted to at least know how to fix something like that. Frostkit was at that age where everyone felt like a friend, and the idea of dissonance between Clanmates seemed like such a foreign concept... Scratching lightly at one of her ginger ears, Frostkit glanced back towards the nursery, contemplating all that her father had said to her. Dad and Mom were in a relationship, but now they're not? Now they're just friends? Weren't they friends before? A tiny bit perplexed, Frostkit let it go. She'd have to ask Dovesong what her father had meant - or forget about it by lunch time, maybe. At that moment, something seemed to shift and click into place in the white and ginger kitten's mind, and she spun around, looking up at Cloudflight with shining eyes, as though her discovery was one for the record books; "Is Rapidwind jealous?" she exclaimed, tail sticking straight out behind her, expression alive with curiosity. That was it, wasn't it? That was why Rapidwind was acting like he had a thorn stuck in his paw all the time... He was jealous of Cloudflight! For...uhm... Something? You'll understand when you're older, Frostkit![/style]

[Deleted]

The tall tom curled his tail about himself, mulling that over to himself for a bit. "It depends on what was done and the cats that are involved, but here... I suppose the best course of action is to be patient and hope the other cat will forgive you in their own time." He said it almost reluctantly - he was still of a mind that Rapidwind was foolish for holding a grudge longer than the she-cat he had supposedly 'wronged'. The tip of his tail flicked in something like agitation, and he glanced back at the nursery himself when Frostkit did the same, half-expecting the silver tom to have heard the conversation and be standing right there. "Although sometimes, even that doesn't help; all you can really do then is move on with life."

He wasn't sure if this was really getting through to Frostkit or not; she was nodding along but there was a faint look of mystification about her just the same. He didn't like talking down to anyone, but perhaps he needed to work on simplifying things a bit for young ears. He was getting away from himself just a bit, drifting off into his own thoughts, when suddenly the ginger-tipped she kit burst out with something else... and he blinked. She'd understood him better than he thought, apparently, or had filled in the blanks and drew her own lucky conclusions. "That's not the whole picture, but I do believe it's part of it."

And though he wouldn't admit to it, that thought brought up an answering flicker of anxiety in the white tom. Not so much for Dovesong; he was perfectly content in remaining on friendly terms with the she-cat and did not doubt or regret his decision to end their relationship in the slightest. He did not want to lose the relationship he had with his kits, however, and he couldn't help but worry that if Rapidwind did indeed become their mother's next paramour... that he would lose them in a sense to the silver tom. He didn't want his own offspring to grow up resenting him if anything else. Cloudflight did not voice such concerns aloud, didn't even really acknowledge them to himself, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

[Fawn]

[atrb=border,0,true;][atrb=style, background: url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/OrangeDotPattern.gif) repeat; padding: 10px; border-radius:3em; -moz-border-radius:3em; border: 4px solid #E9E9E9;][atrb=width,459,true] [STYLE= width: 474px; border-top: 10px solid #C3C3C3; border-bottom: 10px solid #C3C3C3; color: #626274; border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 395px; background-color:#FFE4C4; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana][STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius:2em; border: 5px solid #D6D6D6; float: left; Background:url(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/nuttybuddy5/Warriors/Frostkiticon.jpg); width: 100px; height: 100px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-right: 8px; margin-left: -1px;] [/style] [STYLE=border-radius: 2em; -moz-border-radius: 2em; width: 220px; background: #D6D6D6; color:#FF4500; font-family: georgia; font-size: 20px; padding: 2px; padding-left: 150px; padding-right: 14px; margin: 5px; margin-bottom: 6px;margin-left:10px; margin-top: 12px;]`Frostkit - 4 Moons [/style] Frostkit listened intently, her inquisitive little eyes the picture of attentiveness, ears pricked forward, whiskers still, neck craned to look into her father's face. However, the mature situation she was trying to make sense of was still somewhat alluding her, but Frostkit wasn't put off. So long as Rapidwind and her father weren't fighting or hurting each other, she figured she didn't need to know all the details. It sounded as though Cloudflight should just wait for Rapidwind to forgive him, for whatever he'd done - Frostkit was still unsure as to the actual crime befitting the hostility - and the ginger and white she-cat had no qualms about waiting it out with him. "I understand!" She squeaked at last, nodding. "We're gonna be apprentices soon, Dad! Do you think Blazestar will pick you as my mentor?" The she-cat's mew was hopeful, Frostkit seeming to dance on her paws at the prospect. "I'm kinda tired of staying in the nursery, it was fun for a little while, but..." Her tail twitched with slight frustration. "Blueshine's new litter was just born, so they don't do anything but sleep and make noise. It's so boring." Surely he understood her cabin fever, surely he understood what it was like being surrounded by cats who just didn't want to play - either they were too young, or just didn't feel like it - Cloudflight understood everything. It was a fact. Firmly believing her father to be the smartest, strongest, nicest cat in the forest, it was with adoring eyes that she gazed up at him, hoping that fortune would smile down upon them both by making them Mentor and Apprentice someday soon. Sorry for this taking so long! I didn't forget, I swear![/style]