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Post by Fawn on Aug 12, 2016 0:58:23 GMT -5
Honeypaw always slept with her tail over her nose; it was a habit from kithood, and one that would likely persist into her warrior or queen moons for many many days ahead. Being so thin-furred, this allowed her to glimpse over the soft tabby fur to see Fallenleaf's friendly face peering back at her from the entrance of the apprentices' den.
"Not coming to see the stars?" Whispered the elder, and Honeypaw rose immediately, shaking off her drowsiness for this rare opportunity to actually see the stars move. When Fallenleaf had told her and a gaggle of other interested youngsters about the 'running stars' across the night sky, Honeypaw hadn't been skeptical at all—she'd been enchanted.
If stars could run across the sky, so fast that if you blinked you would miss them, than anything in this world was possible wasn't it?
Honeypaw nodded hastily to Fallenleaf, and began to gently rouse Heronpaw and Hazelpaw, nudging each one gently with her nose and paws. "Wake up sleepypaws, we're going to miss the stars!" Her words were an excited whisper, but not loud enough to disturb Cricketpaw or Valerianpaw. It was a shame, but she knew Cricketpaw had to go on the Dawn Patrol, and getting up in the middle of the night could only lead to frustration in the morning. Frustration and fatigue.
Honeypaw, who was most certainly not a morning-cat, didn't mind getting up in the dead of night. Fallenleaf had said this was the perfect night for it; without any rain in a while, the skies would be clear.
When her two best friends were awake, Honeypaw gently herded them out into the dark center of camp, the world looking so different in pitch darkness. Her eyes adjusted slowly, and when she tilted back her head, the whole expanse of sky seemed big enough to swallow her up. How did they not all fall in? Seeing so many stars twinkling above them, it took Fallenleaf gently tapping her on the shoulder with her tail to break her mesmerized stare. "Go carefully, but climb those rocks and you'll have a better view."
A black-and-white she-cat, a young warrior who was still much older than Honeypaw, appeared beside Fallenleaf, yawning enough to show off her full set of teeth. "Did I miss it?"
It was Skunkspots, but Honeypaw was too distracted by the stars to properly say hi. Instead, she was watching Hazelpaw and Heronpaw carefully—Heronpaw was the bravest and the healthiest, so she would climb the rocks first. And then Honeypaw would help Hazelpaw if she needed it, though she was confident the little tortoiseshell would do just fine. Wearing a dreamy smile, Honeypaw craned her neck again, stealing another glance at the swath of stars.
So many stars... Which one are you, Kitekit?
Just then, a bright white light flared across the sky, Honeypaw gasping with delight as the star trailed through the blackness. That one! That one was Kitekit! "I saw one!" She uttered a hushed squeal, to the amusement of Fallenleaf and the ear-twitch of Skunkspots. Honeypaw turned to stare at her friends, eyes glowing. "Did you see it? I think it was Kitekit." What a silly thing to say, she knew, but... she couldn't help but believe it.
It's so easy to make believe, it seems you're livin' in a dreamWord Count: 540 Words Tags: Phoenix , BlooRey DVD Notes: I hope you don't mind that I borrowed Fallenleaf a bit. She's the only elder in the den old enough to know about the perseids, xD even if not by name.
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Conquer the monster in your head, and then you'll fly |
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GaleClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by BlooRey DVD on Aug 15, 2016 9:44:01 GMT -5
HERONPAW The white and cream form of Heronpaw had been dozing in her nest when the distinctive feel of paws against her flank roused her from whatever dream she'd been having. Blue eyes blinked sleepily, doing what they could to clear her blurred vision so she might focus on who it was that had stirred her from her sleep. Jaws parted in a large yawn, flashing rows of sharp, pointed teeth; it also brought the distinctive scent of Honeypaw to the half-asleep apprentice. Giving her head a shake in another attempt to clear her sleep-fogged mind, Heronpaw scrambled for possible reasons Honeypaw would be waking her up.
Her first instinct was that something was very wrong. It had her ears pricked forward, and her muscles tensed. It didn't take long for the younger apprentice's words to settle in, and for Heronpaw's memory to kick back into full gear. She'd promised Honeypaw she would watch the running stars Fallenleaf had told them about. Forcing her fur to lie flat and stifling another yawn, Heronpaw murmured softly. "I'm up, I'm up." Hauling her training-sore body from her nest, the apprentice allowed herself a moment to stretch out her stiff muscles, before carefully stepping through the apprentices' den with Honeypaw hurrying both Heronpaw and Hazelpaw from the comfort of their nests.
Once outside, Heronpaw tipped her head up, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the shift in lighting. The moon wasn't overly bright tonight, lending more of the dark sky to the illumination of the stars spattered across the expanse. Fallenleaf's voice broke through Heronpaw's quiet thoughts, drawing her blue-eyed gaze away from Silverpelt, and to the similarly coloured elder. Heronpaw's tail swayed slowly behind her as she followed Fallenleaf's gaze to the rocks in question. She'd half expected her friends to take off running towards the rocks.
When she glanced back at the two younger apprentices, she noticed both were looking at her. Straightening slightly under their gaze, she blinked in momentary confusion. Why are they... Slowly, she looked back to the stone Fallenleaf had indicated and cleared her throat. Is this what it means to be a leader? She thought to herself. Having others look to you for guidance... What if you don't know what to do, or what the right answer is? She understood that she was the oldest of the group, but she'd also been an apprentice several moons over the average, for longer than the other two likely would be.
Surely I'm not something they should be looking up to? The last thought rang through her head loudly, nearly causing her to sit back down where she was. Without giving herself time to back out of it, Heronpaw stepped forward and meowed softly. "Right, uh... Give me a head start, and then follow me up. I'll let you know if there are any loose stones." With that, she set paw on the first of the stones, and began to bound up to the spot Fallenleaf had indicated.
Heronpaw was busy climbing when Honeypaw gasped suddenly. Steadying herself, the cream and white apprentice glanced over her shoulder, trying to glimpse her friend. The excited murmur of the younger apprentice reached her ears, and for a moment she felt like she'd failed as a friend. She hadn't seen it; how was she supposed to admit that to Honeypaw? Fortunately, another voice came to her rescue. "I saw him too. Burning bright with his adventurous determination and his love for your family." Relaxing slightly, Heronpaw let Fallenleaf snag Honeypaw's attention. A couple bounds later, and Heronpaw found herself at her target destination.
Turning to face the two apprentices down below, she waved her tail for them to follow. "It's not too bad most of the way up." She called to them, loud enough to be heard, but hopefully not loud enough to wake the sleeping Clan. "Just watch yourselves on the last few rocks. Some of them, like that one-" She said, pointing at one on her left with her tail. "- wobble slightly if you step too much on one side. Now... Come on, Honeypaw, Hazelpaw. Let's... See if we can't see Kitekit again, or maybe find some others."
Alternating between glancing up at the sky, and back down at her friends while they progressed up the stones, Heronpaw waited for the other she-cats to join her. As she was switching from her friends to the sky, something caught her attention. It was at the very edge of her peripheral vision, a streak of white like a claw tearing through the sky. But the moment she looked at it, it had disappeared. Was that... My imagination? Or was that really a running star, just like Fallenleaf told us..? Narrowing her blue eyes and focusing on the sky, she hoped another would appear to confirm the elder's story. apprentice of stoneclan Fawn Phoenix | background image | table by phoenix
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We are born with a DNA blueprint into a world of scenario and circumstance we don't control |
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Co-Captain
INVENTORY
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Post by Phoenix on Aug 17, 2016 10:57:34 GMT -5
i'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so At first she disregarded the paws against her side as a part of a half-formed dream that had started to fade, but their persistence roused from deep within her a higher awareness that perhaps they were not as much of an illusion as she had thought. What? Bleary green eyes blinked open with the question in their depths as she cast a glance around her to find the owner of the paws. Beside her, Honeypaw shifted with barely contained excitement, and the rushed whisper that came a moment later had memories of an eager promise springing back with an enthusiasm that mirrored that of her friend. The running stars were tonight! Suddenly, all traces of the sleep that weighed down her limbs vanished.
Hazelpaw sprung up with an energy that would have had the grouchy elders grumbling discontentedly. All, perhaps, but one; Fallenleaf, after all, had been the one who had told them about the way on only the most special nights the stars flew across the sky. A mumble from nearby interrupted the apprentice’s thoughts and had her turning to the third in their little trio. Heronpaw, by far the oldest of the friends but no less of a valued friend, was awake, and even as the calico she-cat turned to offer an excited smile at the older cat, Honeypaw was there, hurrying them along. It took some concentration to avoid attracting anyone’s ire by stepping on sprawled tail or stretched out paw, for even in the daylight, the apprentice was far from the most graceful cat to ever sleep in this den. Somehow, though, she managed, and having taken a little more time than the others to pick her way out of the den, she hurried to catch up with the group.
Then she looked up for the first time and her mind went blank. As if the weather knew their intentions, every cloud had vanished, leaving the inky sky to stretch endlessly far above her. Legions of stars fell scattered across the dark backdrop. She couldn’t take her eyes off of them. Vaguely, Hazelpaw was aware of another cat joining them, and the familiar voice of Maplepaw’s mentor had her flicking her ears. She wished that her sister was here to see this, but caught up in the whirlwind of excitement with her friends, the young she-cat had completely forgotten to wake up the other apprentice. Guilt flickered across her conscience. Maplepaw had had a hard day of training. She could use the sleep.
Just as she was turning to watch Heronpaw begin the ascent to the top of the rock pile, she caught a flash of something out of the corner of her eye. Whipping around, she stared at the stars as Honeypaw cried out. Delight bubbled up inside her, and a wide, silly grin spread across her lips. Green eyes, bright with the exhilaration of seeing star – even just a small glimpse of one – run across the sky, found her friend. ”He was there!” She agreed, speaking after Fallenleaf as she kneaded the ground with her paws.
Heronpaw’s call down from her perch atop the rocks drew her attention to the older cat, and she nudged Honeypaw with her shoulder. ”Come on! I bet we’ll so much from up there!” She made for the rock pile, jumping up on the lowest one and then the next, before turning back to see if the other she-cat was following her. In leaps and bounds, she carefully navigated her way up to the top of the pile, head rotating between finding the steadiest rocks and looking around to see how far her friend had gotten. Tail flung wide for balance, she took the final jump that landed her beside the pale ginger apprentice.
A streak of light seen out of the corner of her eye had her craning her neck upwards once more. ”Did you see that?” She asked Heronpaw, voice full of whispered awe. That will be me, she decided, determination setting her heart alight. She would be like that star racing across the sky, faster and brighter than all the others.
i'm defying gravity and you can't pull me down
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Post by Fawn on Aug 18, 2016 19:03:38 GMT -5
Honeypaw could not remember ever being so high up above the ground before. It was different than standing on a hill—hills didn't have edges, not the way these rocks did. Her breath catching in her throat, the apprehension she felt as she climbed up after Heronpaw slowly began to ebb, the thump thump thump of her heart like a jack-rabbit on sand dissipated with a bit of time.
Flashing an excited smile to both of her friends, Honeypaw gently nudged Hazelpaw, feeling as if she were full of lightning on a night like tonight; she wanted to leap to the sky springs, see the stars run through the puddles—Kitekit would love that—but Honeypaw knew that wouldn't be possible. The territory was far too dry. It would've been... it would've been incredible, though. To wade in the stars? To touch the water and watch the ripples dance over the surface.
The tabby she-cat uttered a dreamy sigh, and looked up. Wow! Breathless awe filled Honeypaw from the end of her tail to the tips of her whiskers, and she uttered a soft noise of amazement. In truth, her eyes had fully adjusted to the low nighttime light (or lackthereof), able to pinpoint pawfuls more stars than ever before in the deep, mesmerizing blue. To Honeypaw, it was the wisdom of Fallenleaf paying off.
"It's like we're close enough to touch them," she gushed in a hushed whisper. Kitekit would try to get even higher... Was she brave enough? Could she do what he did? For you, I'll try. With a strengthening breath (she was a little winded from the climb but otherwise fit as a finch), Honeypaw sat back on her hind legs, folded into a sit without the added support of her front paws on the ground.
Instead, much like a rabbit, Honeypaw wobbled into an upright position, reaching out with neat tabby limbs as though to bat the stars out of the sky, like dew glittering on a cavern wall.
Just then, two stars ran one after the other, and Honeypaw wobbled back down to all fours, her eyes shining. "I think they were racing each other! I bet that was your sister, Hazelpaw. Playing with Kitekit." Those kinds of thoughts always made her so happy. It brought peace to her young heart; why shouldn't Hazelpaw & Maplepaw's sister be living a full, happy life in StarClan? Where there was no sickness and no heartache. No tragedy.
Just... stars.
Honeypaw purred. "Thanks for getting up to watch with me, Heronpaw, Hazelpaw. I'm glad we're all together." I wish Cricketpaw could be here, but... It's like I have two other sisters here already. Heronpaw and Hazelpaw were not replacements for the siblings sleeping in or no longer with her, but they felt like family nevertheless.
It's so easy to make believe, it seems you're livin' in a dreamWord Count: 465 WordsTags: BlooRey DVD , Phoenix Notes:
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Conquer the monster in your head, and then you'll fly |
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GaleClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by BlooRey DVD on Aug 20, 2016 14:31:41 GMT -5
HERONPAW The white and cream apprentice had been gazing up at the sky, joined by Hazelpaw, when the other she-cat suddenly gasped. Heronpaw's blue eyes blinked wide, staring up the sky with a trace of alarm flicking through her. There was nothing wrong, she'd just not been expecting to see anything. And yet? It had been right there, just as Fallenleaf had indicated would happen. A star had actually run across the sky momentarily, with a long white tail flaring out behind it, tracing an unmistakable path on the dark surroundings for a heartbeat. And then it was gone.
She nodded to Hazelpaw, a flicker of excitement behind her blue gaze. It was a change from the dull light that had seemed to dominate her as of late. Honeypaw soon took up her spot next to the other two, Heronpaw shifting slightly to make sure she wasn't taking up too much room; that was another thing. She was older and built slightly more stocky than her two friends. It made her feel as though she were taking up a lot of room all the time. Keeping an eye on Honeypaw as the she-cat rose up on her hind legs, Heronpaw was wary of allowing her eyes to return to the sky.
It didn't take long for curiosity to win out, and for the StoneClan apprentice to follow her friends' gazes up to the sky. Just as she did, an additional two stars appeared to race one another across the sky. A strange sense of hope fluttered in her chest as she squinted to follow their path as long as she could. Much like the first one she'd seen, the pair of stars eventually vanished from the sky, leaving Heronpaw to wonder where they had been racing to, and which had claimed title of winner.
Smiling softly, she turned an ear to listen to Honeypaw excitedly tell Hazelpaw that it must have been their siblings racing. Despite the jealousy she'd felt in recent moons toward her brother, she couldn't imagine not having him at her side, she couldn't imagine losing him. Heronpaw believed there was a different kind of strength needed to live through that; she couldn't possibly possess that. She'd been told once that her father had lived through that. Her father was strong of body and strong of mind. She would not be surprised if she never reached that same strength. She was just a shadow of her father.
Still, now was not the time to let those thoughts take over. Focusing on the present, on being there, in this moment with her friends, Heronpaw just caught Honeypaw's thanks. Offering her friends the smallest trace of a smile, she mewed softly. "Of course, Honeypaw." Slowly, she looked back up at the sky. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world... We should do it again some day, even if there are no running stars." She took a deep breath in, letting her gaze linger on the silver specks in the sky.
"It's just good to... Get away sometimes, you know?" apprentice of stoneclan Fawn Phoenix | background image | table by phoenix
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