[Deleted]

At the first hint of dawn, Patchfur began to drift into consciousness, her mis-matched hazel and blue eyes lighting up in the gloom of the new day. She lifted her ruffled-up head and peered around the den at the many still-sleeping forms of her clanmates, softly shaking her head from side to side to realign how her bed-head fell.

The little she-cat gently attempted to extricate herself from her bed of moss, shaking off the odd parts from her delicate white paws as she did her best to stay hushed. She knew the normal time for waking up was still a while to come, and she was in no mind to accidentally wake anyone up before they had been intending it. She perked up her dainty ears to listen to the howling of the wind outside, already feeling a shiver pass through her even though she was still in the warmth of the den and surrounded by the heat that radiated from so many comfortable bodies around her. She fluffed out her fur in preparation for her exit, tentatively stepping over her clanmates with her breath held and her hackles raised along her back anxiously.

The wind yowled at her from outside, a swirl of snow visible in the half-light of a much overcast morning, and the sound was so unusually loud that it caught Patchfur completely by surprise as she was stepping over one of the final cats between her and the exit. With a quiet squeak of alarm she jumped with shock and lost her balance, so precariously had she been poised over her colleague. The little white and ginger she-cat tumbled over, collapsing directly onto the cat she had been stepping over in a flurry of whispered apologies. 

Words: 291
Notes: Sorry it's quite short, just wanted to get the ball rolling ^_^

[Deleted]

Juncoflight

I TRY TWICE AS HARD BUT I'M HALF AS LIKED,

NightClan. Tom. 30 Moons. Warrior.

Juncoflight had always had the joy of sleeping well, so much so that little could wake him, from whistling winds, to pattering rain, to the snores of the other warriors. Of course, no cat could sleep when another cat had fallen over them. With a splutter of surprise and a low warning mrow, he arched up out of his nest, looking around franticly for what had driven him from his deep slumber. He found that it was Patchfur and huffed at her.

Sleep still clung to his face, his whiskers drooping, and his eyes blinking slowly as his inner lids retracted. Slowly coherent thought began to form, and his first reaction was to want to hiss and spit at the she-cat. Yet some part of him refrained. He paused, taking a deep breath, remembering how much he had enjoyed spending time with Applewhisker, and how he had realized that intelligent conversation much outweighed lonely contemplation. It allowed him to debate issues with a cat who wasnt himself and encounter a point of view he had never thought of. He would never get that conversation out of another cat if he was immediately hostile. Nor did he want to wake any of his other clanmates, who would be none more pleased than he had been.

"Good morning Patchfur. Up early and looking for company?" He smirked. "You could have just asked."

He took the moment for her response to stretch, deciding that he was up for the day anyway, and groomed the worst patches of errant fur.

"Since Im already up, and its probably not wise for either of us to go out alone, I will accompany you."

He spoke the words matter-of-factly, after all it was the only logical choice.

BUT HERE THEY COME AGAIN TO JACK MY STYLE

319 | @sparrowkeeper | Notes

[Deleted]

NightClan

33 Moons

Warrior

---

Patchfur shrank before Juncoflight's obvious annoyance, ears slicking against her skull and back arching with ruffled fur in an instinctive response to his own huffing and alarm. Her mouth was running before her mind could catch up with it, whispering fervent apologies that she was relatively sure neither she nor the tom paid much attention to the content of.

"I'm sooooo soooo sorry Junco- I- Ack- I didn't mean to-"

She quailed as he started to speak back, expecting anger, but visibly relaxed as he made a flirtatious joke, confusion mingling with embarrassment as she ducked her head with a blush, stammering and adding to the nonsense pouring from her nervous mouth.

"EEP! J-J-Juncoflight that's so forward of you I- Were you joking? Oh dear I'm making even more of a fool of myself I-"

His offer to accompany her added another layer, and the little she-cat crumpled a little as she tried unsuccessfully to gather herself and her dignity.

"Oh no oh no really it's fine, please go back to bed I really didn't want to just wake you..."

She paused, finally managing to accept the inevitable and piece together some real structure to her thoughts,

"Well alright, if you really are up. I was gonna have a romp in the snow mostly, and a ghost along the borders, still sure you want to join?"

She glanced at him ruefully, assuming it would be a no. She wasn't a fan of hunting, disliking the idea of harming anything, and she knew most of the clan knew of that and had little patience for it, especially in Leafbare. Few cats wanted to have a conversation about the feelings of a mouse while their belly grumbled.

Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay

294 words- @dreamer - Notes

[Deleted]

Juncoflight
I TRY TWICE AS HARD BUT I'M HALF AS LIKED,

NightClan. Tom. 30 Moons. Warrior.

The she-cat immediately reacted when he moved, spluttering something about being sorry. He did his best not to roll his eyes, settling his chest fluff with a few quick licks as she stumbled on. "It's fine. Don't apologize for something so trivial, its a sign of weakness." He murmured quietly, trying to keep the she-cat from awakening any more warriors.

She was very flustered, with Juncoflight's other reply, and he couldn't help but smirk and twitch his whiskers smugly. It was far too easy to mess with this she-cat, but at least she had gotten his inference. "Clearly you don't know much about forwardness do you? I could show you, but I rather think you would burn your fur off from embarassment." He winked.

But her next words made Juncoflight cringe at the she-cats flighty nature, ears going back involuntarily. Already he regretted offering to go with her. But he wasn't about to back down now. Especially not if this she-cat was so completely mortified of him that she quailed in his presence. No, he would prove his whole clan wrong. He could be charming, right? Just because he was light-years ahead when it came to intelligence didnt mean he couldn't interact with others. Applewhisker had showed him that, all he really needed to do was get cats into some sort of conversation then he could improve both their lives with a lively philosophical conversation.

He pushed past the she-cat outside the warriors den, hoping to silence any other words of retort before she woke up the whole camp. "Might as well." He answered in reply to her last question. "We can always pick up some prey on the way back. Or catch something for ourselves. But if we are at the borders we should probably scent mark them." He took the lead out of camp, hoping she would keep up.

BUT HERE THEY COME AGAIN TO JACK MY STYLE
340 | @sparrowkeeper | Notes

[Deleted]

NightClan

33 Moons

Warrior

---

Patchfur raised her brows as Juncoflight's obvious distaste at her suggestion, tail lowering disappointingly despite herself as she awaited his inevitable rejection of her offer. He seemed like a rather standoffish tom to her, often rude and aloof, but she was certain there was some softer layer to him that she might discover if they gave each other a chance. She was a steadfast believer in the idea that all cats had a good side, and she already felt a gentle sigh building up within her chest, ready for release when he said no.

Her surprise when he brushed past her with agreement was unfortunately lost on him, for her had already turned his back to her. The she-cat's eyes grew wide and her fur fluffed out, though it had already been on-edge so it was unlikely that it made any visible difference. She turned to pad after him with a growing smile, feeling that her opinions of his soft side had been validated. Positivity swelled up within her, and her whole demeanour changed. Now that she had had enough time to gather herself after her mishap, and with a smile on her muzzle, the she-cat felt refreshed zeal. The small she-cat padded out after the tom, tail raised and a spark in her eyes as her confidence returned to her.

"I'm all for it"

She chirruped, bounding after him until she was walking alongside him. The dawn was still, with dim light and only a few birds singing quietly, as if still half-asleep.

"Was gonna go to the wooded marsh, check up on RainClan, keep up!"

She meowed, bouncing ahead of him in the dim light with her tail high, and racing off into the distance.

Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay

296 words - @dreamer - Notes

[Deleted]

Juncoflight

I TRY TWICE AS HARD BUT I'M HALF AS LIKED,

NightClan. Tom. 30 Moons. Warrior.

Her disappointment was cut off as her turned his back to her to leave, but she seemed to bounce back at his acceptance replying loduly and enthusiastically. Juncoflight could thll he was probably going to lose some of his hearing today. Patchfur quickly caught up with him and then passed him, looking for all the world like a bobbing rabbit the way she was bouncing in and out of the undergrowth, he smirked at the sight.

"The wooded marsh it is then." He said, picking up his pace to a loping stride and drawing even with the she-cat. Only then did he realize what a mess his fur would be after, which made him falter and a slight scowl flicker across his features before he recovered.

"So how do you keep your fur so clean? Its so white...." How shallow could he even be? But.... his pride insisted he ask.

BUT HERE THEY COME AGAIN TO JACK MY STYLE

182 | @sparrowkeeper | Sooo short Im sorry...

[Deleted]

NightClan

33 Moons

Warrior

---

Patchfur didn't catch Juncoflight's scowl as they rushed through bushes and ruffled their fur all over the place with their flight through the forest, but as he asked about her fur she glanced back at him with a disbelieving expression, half-surprised and half-laughing. She giggled in response, slowing the pace slightly as she responded.

I knew it! He's a sweetheart deep down!

"Dawww gosh Juncoflight thank you!"

She gushed, taking it as a genuine complement, then cocked her head as she tried to think of an answer to his question.

"I'm not really sure to be honest. I wash about as much as any other cat... Maybe all the ginger patches make the white bits of my fur look brighter than they really are? Like a visual illusion?"

She mewed as she jumped over a log, finally bringing them to their destination. Patchfur paused and scented the air, picking up RainClan's faint scent drifting from the border. There was still snow banked up against the sides of trees, and the little she-cat grinned at Juncoflight,

"Or maybe it's all the snow I roll around in?"

She mewed, jumping into one of the snowdrifts with a puff of white mist.

Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay

218 words - @dreamer - Notes: No worries Dreamer lol at his comment xD