|
Post by Justice on Sept 11, 2017 18:46:33 GMT -5
Leaf-Fall 3 Yr. 5 ---------------------- She knew that with the coming of colder weather she'd have to be more careful where she hunt, careful to cover up her tracks once the snow began to fall. It would be bad were the clan cats to discover her and her nest deep in the heart of their territory. She kept her nest with the willow trees, their protective canopy making a fantastic nest and safe area for her to sleep. But today she was just going fishing, which meant getting in the steadily cooling weather. She had short fur, which meant swimming as it got colder would be harder and harder. Still, she didn't mind. She liked the cold, she liked pushing herself to swim faster and fish quicker so that she didn't freeze to death as the waters got colder and colder.
She'd already caught one small fish when she noticed a flash of orange floating down stream, little head barely above the water. A kit! A kit in the water! Her brain turned over as she scooted her fish away from shore and leapt into the rushing water. A kit, a loner kit or maybe one of the clan-kits? Where was its mother? Why had it been left unattended? She swam strongly, letting the current sweep her closer until she could grab the scrap of fluff by the scruff and turn her body towards shore. It was freezing!
The kit looked funny, Jade realized. Limbs too long, snout extended. It was hard to tell soaking wet like this, but she thought it might be a fox pup. Meaning she was risking her life for a creature that, when grown, would try to eat her. The she-cat sighed inwardly and kept swimming diligently against the current anyway. It could still be a kit, she couldn't tell at this angle. It could be deformed and that meant that if it were a loner kit someone threw it into the river to drown.
She was far down stream now, closer to the RainClan's primary hunting grounds than she ever liked to go, but the river was moving her along too quickly. She was small, her weight not near enough to fight the press of current. Normally, if she weren't trying to save this might be a kit, she'd have drifted until she got close enough to tree roots or rocks to safely climb out on. But the kit could freeze before that point so she had to get out now. Her body was starting to feel heavy, and it was getting harder to move her limbs to try and free herself and this little one.
But shore came close enough and she gave a hard throw of her head, sending the little creature right to the edge of the shore where it pulled itself out and curled into a cold little ball. She hit one of the rocks in the river and went under then, the world starting to go in and out of focus. Was she going to die? She didn't want to die, she wanted to live, and if that was a kit she'd take care of it. Bring it to her mother to learn what to do, try and keep it alive. Every kit deserved a chance, regardless of how it looked.
Another rock, and this time she dug her claws into it and pulled. Keeping her head above water, she just sat there and tried to regain her strength.
@zen
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2017 23:23:30 GMT -5
Enemies surround me but the worst appear as friends. Liars and pretenders only seek to reach their ends...
Padding along the river bank with three perch hanging from his jaws, Rushwhisker was seeking out a new fishing spot, one with perhaps a different type of fish to be caught. Suddenly he caught sight of something flailing in the water. A small shape flew over the top of the river to land in the shallows by the bank and crawled out, and the larger shape in the water ducked beneath the waves, disappearing for a moment.
Dropping his fish, Rushwhisker bounded along the bank, searching the water to see if whatever it was would resurface. He hadn't gotten a very good look at it, but it had looked vaguely like a cat? A few moments later he spotted it, a cat indeed, clinging to a rock out in the middle of the river. He trotted ahead, judging the distance and the speed of the current, and plunged into the water, swimming straight out and letting the current carry him down toward the rock from his initial starting point farther down the bank, conserving his energy considerably.
He clung to the rock beside her for a moment when he reached her. He didn't recognize her at all, but with the river covering her scent, he couldn't tell if she was from another Clan or not. Not that it mattered. “Hey, I'll help you get to shore. Just swim straight for it and don't fight the current, let it carry you. I'll stay at your side and make sure you don't go under again. Ready?” He pushed off from the rock with her and let her sweep against him, taking some of her weight and helping to carry forward as the current pushed them farther downstream.
Finally their paws struck the river bed and Rushwhisker half shoved the stranger ahead of him, back to shore, and waded up after her, shaking out his fur. “You all right?” He eyed the cat critically, looking for any sign of wounds. He still couldn't really tell, as waterlogged as she was, but he didn't think she was a Clan cat. That meant he couldn't send her back to her Clan for treatment. She'd have to take her chances with Swanfeather or go her own way and deal with it herself.
Everything is breaking, right before my eyes. Looking in the mirror, I see someone that I don't recognize.
Justice
|
|
|
Post by Justice on Sept 11, 2017 23:36:01 GMT -5
She didn't hear him hit the water, and barely realized she was being rescued when he spoke to her. Green eyes were wide as she took deep gulping breaths to help with her strength. Her head hurt something fierce, and she could only hope she hadn't done herself irrepairable harm in saving the odd looking kit. If it was a kit. Either way, she knew it was at least on shore where it would be safe.
The tom told her he was there to help, and she had to wonder if this was a clan cat or not. He was helping her, so perhaps not. That was good, that eased her mind considerably. She was a strong swimmer most of the time, and knew what he was talking about when he told her to let the current take her. She'd just been moving too fast to get out. "I'm ready." She told him softly as they pushed from the rock and started towards shore. She let him take her slight weight, paddling with as much determination as she contained. She wanted to know if the kit was alright, to find its mother if she could.
Once they reached shore she let her body go to the ground, resting for a long moment as she shook from the cold. She had a thick pelt, but she was still short furred and it was cold. "I am now. Where's the kit?" Her head popped up and she looked around frantically, putting her paws back under her. "I saw it floating downstream, but I didn't see a queen go in after it."
Jade's legs still shook, but she gave herself a hard shake to dislodge as much water as she could then started looking for the little creature she'd nearly died for. "Thank you." She told the stranger next to her, dipping her head and offering a weak smile.
Said 'kit' was curled in a little orange and white ball right where it had landed, on shore but in no state to care for itself. It didn't take long for her to notice it and let out an exasperated sigh. "A fox kit, just my luck. I thought it was a kitten." She sighed again. "That's alright, at least its alive."
@zen
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2017 0:51:51 GMT -5
The light that showed the way is gone and darkness takes control. Bitterness and anger are quick to fill the void...
Noticing her shaking, Rushwhisker wondered if he shouldn't help her dry off before she caught a chill, but then she said something about a kit. His ears pricked slightly and he looked around, unsure what she was talking about. The he remembered the little ginger shape he had seen her toss to shore, “That was a kit?” Where in StarClan's name had it come from? It hadn't looked like any RainClan kit, that was for sure. NightClan maybe? Or... ginger? Had Flamekit tried to return to RainClan and fallen in the river?
She thanked him and moved away to look for the kit, and he followed after her, senses alert, “It landed farther upstream from here.” They finally reached the little bundle... only to find that it was a fox kit. Rushwhisker could only stare down at the creature incredulously. She had risked her life for a fox kit? A noise of disbelief sounded in the back of his throat, but he supposed, drifting in the river, anyone might mistake the little thing for a kitten. He could admire her bravery and selflessness, anyway.
He leaned down to sniff the fox, completely baffled as to what course of action should be taken with it. It was quite young, without its mother it probably wouldn't survive. His ears flicked back at the thought of killing it. It was just a kit... but if it was going to die anyway, wouldn't it be more merciful to do it quickly? He didn't particularly want to go looking for its mother, he was sure she wouldn't understand or appreciate them showing up with her lost kit. His ears flicked again. What a stupid situation.
He turned his gaze to the stranger, “So what do you plan to do with it now? It probably would have been better to let it drown.” Then he wouldn't have to be worrying about the moral dilemma this stupid fox kit was presenting. A fox kit that would grow into an adult that would be a danger to every cat in the valley. He gazed down at the helpless creature with a mixture of disgust and pity. It wasn't like an adult fox would pull a kit from the river and try to return it home... it would just eat it. They should kill it. It would probably die anyway.
The cold seems to grow in my soul, it's consuming me. Growing jaded, being pushed, being pulled, I'm unraveling. Justice
|
|
|
Post by Justice on Sept 13, 2017 1:04:30 GMT -5
Jade just laughed at herself. "Its my luck that I go into the river after a fox kit. I thought it was a deformed kitten, honestly." But there was no mistaking what it was, and she could only laugh more, letting the situation sink in on her. "What will I do with you, little one?" She sat down next to the fox kit and curled up a little. It was like it knew what it was supposed to do and scooted in to cuddle agianst her hide where it was warm. "This one isn't weaned I don't think." She looked up to her savior, looking sad.
"I really thought it was a kit. Would you have let a kit drown?" She didn't think he would. She didn't know too many cats that would allow a kit to drown when something could be done. "There's a fox den near my parent's nest. If I bring it to them they can probably sneak it into that nest."
She sighed, letting the poor fox nestle against her pelt. "My name is Jade, by the way. Thank you for saving me, even if it turns out my heroics were wasted on this little fox." She beamed at him, ears flicking. She didn't now if she was in trouble yet, but hoped this tom would prove a loner as she was rather than one of the clan cats. The water washed away scents pretty well, after all. "Might I know who it is that I owe my life to?"
@zen
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2017 0:07:46 GMT -5
Enemies surround me but the worst appear as friends. Liars and pretenders only seek to reach their ends...
Watching her curl herself around the little fox kit, Rushwhisker sat and started rasping his tongue over his fur to dry it further. The sad look she gave him had his ears twitching back. Why was she looking at him like that, it wasn't like he had an answer for her about what should be done. Well, he did, and he'd already given it. If she didn't want to kill it she was one her own.
He paused in his grooming as she asked if he would have let a kit drown and his whiskers twitched, “Of course not.” An innocent life was still an innocent life. He gazed down at the fox snuggled against the she-cat's belly and sighed. He supposed that held true even when the life in question was that of a fox. His tail flicked dismissively as she suggested her parents could see the fox kit to safety, “Great.” He was just glad the moral dilemma was over. She had a plan, he could let her deal with it and be done with the entire ordeal.
She introduced herself as Jade, and her name coupled with her reference to her parents' nest being anywhere near a fox den rather solidified the fact that she was not a Clan cat. It didn't matter either way to Rushwhisker. He was briefly curious about why she was in the middle of RainClan territory, but then he stopped caring. RainClan might as well be nothing more than a collection of rogues and loners anyway, what was one more? He returned to grooming his fur and answered flatly in between licks, “Rushwhisker. And you don't owe me anything.”
Everything is breaking, right before my eyes. Looking in the mirror, I see someone that I don't recognize. Justice
|
|
|
Post by Justice on Sept 14, 2017 0:27:16 GMT -5
"Hmm...if you say so." She just smiled and started grooming her own fur absently. Her head perked up after a few moments and she looked around, giving the area a good sniff. "Must have come further down stream than I thought." There were scents of cats here, lots of them. Too close to one of the clan camps then. She sighed. She did finally realize that he had to be a clan cat, he had one of those two part names. Great.
"It wasn't my intention to intrude." Like she could control how the river ran. "You still saved me though." Life was precious, but she wasn't stupid. Whatever reason this cat had for not tearing into her was his own business, and she certainly wasn't going to push him about it. The fox kit was her problem now, that was for sure. And it seemed to have gone to sleep, like a kit for its mother.
She looked at him for a moment then at the river they'd both been in today. "Do you ever wonder where the river begins?" It was a random thing to ask, particularly of a cat that probably swam these waters frequently. Still, she had to wonder if anyone else thought about things like that.
Her head still hurt, but other than a lump and the soreness in her body she didn't think she'd gotten hurt from running into that rock. She was lucky. It would have been very odd indeed to explain to the StarClan cats how she'd died saving a fox-kit. Did the cats of StarClan even allow loners like her into their ranks? Or was it an elite club like the clans that littered the valley? She'd never had the courage to ask anyone that might know.
His tone told her he may not be all that happy with her continued presence, but she needed to rest for a few more minutes, just until the aching got down to tolerable level. Then she'd cross the river with the fox and take it to her parents.
@zen
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2017 22:53:45 GMT -5
The light that showed the way is gone and darkness takes control. Bitterness and anger are quick to fill the void...
Swiping a paw over his ears, he shrugged as she said she hadn't meant to intrude, “Whatever. There's plenty of fish in the river.” That was the main reason the Clans chased out intruders, to prevent prey stealing. How stupid that prey could roam freely but the cats that hunted them could not. Prey crossed borders all the time, in fact it was a source of conflict on occasion, when a cat chased their prey over the border, not wanting to give up their catch. A lot of things the Clans did were starting to seem stupid to Rushwhisker. He'd never been fond of borders and the senseless fighting they caused when there was plenty for every cat, when there was no reason they could not share and all care for each other.
His ears flicked at her question and he gazed off down the river, where it disappeared eventually, on and on to some distant, mysterious source. Had he ever wondered about the river's start? Not really. He had wondered about the world beyond the valley a long time ago, back when he was a kit with too much curiosity for his own good. Back when his family had been whole and his Clan had committed no atrocities and he'd had nothing better to do than wonder about such things. But he had not even seen the river yet, back then, he'd only seen the camp stream. And then RainClan had chased out StoneClan, he'd become an apprentice, and his family had shattered. The world beyond valley had seemed terribly unimportant after that.
“No,” he answered honestly, “At least not before now.” His gaze shifted to the mountains above them thoughtfully, “Every last one of my siblings disappeared out there. Once they set paw outside our territory, once they were gone for several days, my entire Clan gave up on them all. Even if they were still alive, they may as well have been dead. So I decided I would never leave... I didn't want to be dead to my Clan.” He remembered how while the rest of the Clan mourned, he alone had clung to his hope that his siblings were still alive, that they would return one day. He remembered the pity in every cats' eyes, and how they they all told him to let go and move on, offering him those all too familiar, empty words of comfort: that they were in StarClan watching over him.
But he had discovered that he was not a cat that could ever let go or give up on the cats he loved. He just wished he had discovered it sooner, before he had lost them all forever. All but one. His thoughts wandered to Ashflight. She was the only kin he had left. Bitternwing was still a good friend and Russethawk was like an older brother, but he and his sister were all they really had now. Creamtail and Peachflower could still be out there somewhere, they had been warriors when they left; surely if Ashflight could survive as a mere apprentice, they were still alive too. But if they were, why hadn't they come back yet?
He shook his head lightly, turning back to Jade. “You should go before one of the others finds you. I'll escort you to the border; if you're with me you won't be attacked,” he offered, glancing down at the fox kit. It would be hard to explain just what in StarClan's name was going on if another RainClan warrior found them, but he didn't particularly care. He wasn't going to let anyone attack her just because she'd been trying to save what she thought was a kitten from the river. Selflessness like that.... His heart clenched painfully as he thought of Bluejay. He turned away from the she-cat, intending to lead her out of RainClan territory, his tone bitter, “You should think about yourself more, or you'll just end up dying for nothing.”
The cold seems to grow in my soul, it's consuming me. Growing jaded, being pushed, being pulled, I'm unraveling. Justice
|
|
|
Post by Justice on Sept 15, 2017 23:23:28 GMT -5
"I wish everyone felt that way. Things would be so much more peaceful." She sighed softly and got to her paws, gathering the fox kit close to her paws so she could pick it up. "Forgive me, Rushwhisker, but your clan is cruel. Even when a cat goes beyond the sight of those that knew them, they should never be forgotten or given up on. Life is precious, and to simply forget, to move on without them..." Her head dropped. "Its heartbreaking." The green-eyed she-cat took a slow breath and looked at the river again.
"I feel like we should all be more like water, more like rain and river. It flows wherever it pleases, sleeps with leafbare and grows strong with the heat of greenleaf. It shelters and protects, but it is unbiased. Rain falls all over the valley, equally on everyone regardless of their loyalties or circumstances of birth. It has no true master, it simply is." She shook her head again then leaned down to groom the fox kit on her paws. "All life is precious, to forget that, to forget the lives that impact our own, its a crime to StarClan. We move on because we must, but it doesn't make it right."
Jade sighed, wondering where this had all come from. True, she'd been mostly alone for moons now, but was she so starved for company that she would speak on and on to a clancat that was kind to her?
He wanted to take her from here before his clan saw her and attacked. If she played it right they may see her but think she was a loner come to fetch her kit. Surely even the clans couldn't fault a "queen" from coming to save her offspring. She took a breath and leaned over to pick up the fox, pausing before she did so. She didn't think she'd see this tom again, so speaking her thoughts wasn't likely to matter in the long run. "I know my opinion likely doesn't matter, but I believe that even though StarClan only speak to leaders and medicine cats, if they are truly there to see the cats on their right paths then they'd tell you if your siblings were gone. If you feel that they are alive, then it is so, no matter what your clan says." She didn't know him, likely never would, but the way he put the absolute dismissal of his missing family by his clan was truly the saddest thing she'd ever heard.
She should think more about herself? She laughed softly at that and tipped her head with a slight smile. "I find myself unable to do that. I've never held an ounce of malice towards other cats, even if they'd rather I were dead that anywhere near their territory. All cats are equal in StarClan's eyes, right?" And with that she picked up the fox kit and motioned with her tail for him to start walking.
He wanted her out before someone else noticed her, and she didn't want to be a bother to him. Besides, his patience with her presence had to wearing out by now.
@zen
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2017 23:33:55 GMT -5
Enemies surround me but the worst appear as friends. Liars and pretenders only seek to reach their ends...
"I wish everyone felt that way. Things would be so much more peaceful."
A soft half laugh escaped him, “You and me both.” But everyone didn't feel that way. Most cats felt quite the opposite, actually. Selfish. He didn't need this loner to tell him his Clan was cruel. She didn't know the half of it. What would she think if she knew what they had done to StoneClan? If he told her about how his Clanmates had murdered each other over nothing more than blood purity? Would a loner even be able to understand the concept of blood purity? He tilted his head at her, intensely curious for a moment as it dawned on him that cats like her would never think twice about the blood that flowed in another cat's veins, about their heritage. What did it matter to a loner? They all came from different places; there was nothing to unify them, but that meant there was also nothing to divide them. He shook his head as the idea became hard for him to grasp.
His ears twitched and his gaze narrowed at her slightly at the mention of StarClan and he gave a short, dry laugh, “Who cares what StarClan thinks about anything? All they do is watch while the living suffer. Why would they care? They're dead, they can't suffer anymore.” Sure, they might care about some of the cats they left behind, but in the end, they would all wind up StarClan together anyway, so what did it really matter? It was more like StarClan just sent dreams and signs to the living because they were bored, after all it wasn't like they had anything better to do. If they were really trying to help they wouldn't be so cryptic about it and would just say what they meant, instead they sent puzzles for the Clans to figure out, probably while they all laughed it up watching them all down here tripping all over themselves trying to decipher their little games.
The only thing they ever really did was grant a leader nine lives, and even then, they didn't take into consideration if the cat would be a good leader. They just blindly followed tradition and gave any cat who ascended to the rank their nine lives. They had sent the likes of the legendary Brokenstar back to the Clans with nine lives. Why? Had things been a bit too peaceful for their liking? Not enough amusement for them? His tail lashed as his thoughts grew angrier and angrier, but then he realized she was waiting... waiting for him to take the lead. He shook out his coat as if he could shake out his anger as well, moving forward stiffly, “You shouldn't come back here. There's no telling what my... Clanmates will do these days. I would hate to find out that they'd hurt you.”
Everything is breaking, right before my eyes. Looking in the mirror, I see someone that I don't recognize. Justice
|
|
|
Post by Justice on Sept 17, 2017 0:23:15 GMT -5
Jade sighed softly, her mouth full of a so far behaving fox kit. Once they got further upstream she'd just swim across and head to visit her parents. They'd know what to do with her little friend. Such as it could be, being a fox. She didn't doubt that someday she'd be faced with this same fox, grown, trying to eat her. She even acknowledged the stupidity of not just tossing the little thing back into the river to drown. But her heart was set on it living, regardless of the future.
She listened to Rushwhisker speak as they went on their way, and felt deeply sad for how he viewed the world. A cat that had no faith in StarClan being better, in a higher path than just the day to day of living? She had always thought the Clans revered StarClan, but this one seemed like he'd given up on believing in anything, perhaps even himself. She watched him, watched the stiff way he moved and the harsh view he expressed of the world. She didn't miss his tone when he spoke of his clan, and that broke her heart for him. A stranger, and she felt like crying. Had no one given him a reason to believe there was still some good in this world? Even she, a loner with no clan to call her own, had more faith in the cats of the valley than this. Granted she avoided a majority of them, but still. As she'd told him, she'd never felt malice towards any of them. They were all cats after all.
Hatred bred hatred, and that darkness only intensified the longer it went uncared for, unresolved. She could tell he was unhappy, but it wasn't really something she could help him with. She wasn't a member of his clan, she wasn't his friend or even an ally. She was a loner that happened to come across a very lost RainClan tom. Lost in some pain she didn't know the cause of, lost in hatred so deep she saw him shake with it, his tail lashing about. If he was so unhappy, she wondered, why did he stay?
Once they got far enough upstream that she could simply walk across the river and not risk the swim Jade set the fox at her paws and looked at the tom that had escorted her this far. She looked at the stream, at the water, and then to the tom at her side. She should go, and yet she lingered on for a moment. He'd warned her to stay away, but she'd swam these waters for her entire life, made her nest within RainClan's territory. She would be careful, but she wasn't going to leave. She had every right to live and hunt these lands as the cats that thought they owned everything within their kept territory.
Finally, she spoke, turning to look at him as she gathered the fox back close to her body to prepare to leave. He was a good cat, she decided, clan or no clan. So she gave him a smile and a full dip of her head in a sign of respect. Would that their paths were different, she thought he could use a break from whatever dark things haunted his steps and his mind. She sighed and closed her eyes. "May you find something to believe in." She then grabbed the fox kit and started across the shallow part of the river.
Rather or not she'd ever see this tom again remained to be seen, but she hoped she would, and that he'd find some measure of comfort somewhere in his life. She hadn't been lying when she said she wished they could all learn to share and get along. It was her sincerest wish for the happiness of all, however much could be given.
@zen
|
|