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A soft glow was beginning to cast itself over the entirety of Lightningclan’s territory, bathing the camp in its crisp but comfortable breeze, bringing with it the promise of a warm day ahead.

Blinking away the sleep from her pale green eyes, Foxswipe emerged from the warriors den and dropped her small, lean body into a long stretch. The russet colored warrior flexed each leg and paw in turn and flicked her tail. The previous day she and Emberheart had been chosen to do dawn patrol. Foxswipe had always enjoyed patrolling Lightningclan territory. Despite other Clan cats thinking their territory was flat and dismal, the small she-cat enjoyed stretching out her legs and racing along the valley that she called home. These were her skies, she had been born to run and chase under them and fight alongside her clan mates for this place.

Giving her pelt a thorough shake, Foxswipe sat and began washing her ears, waiting on her patrol partner. She and Emberheart hadn’t worked together much at all. Where he was more boisterous, Foxswipe was more reserved. Because of this the fox colored she-cat had a hard time connecting well with her clan mates, though she would fight for them and alongside them any day she wouldn’t exactly say she had many friends at all.

Foxswipe pushed aside thoughts of connections and friendships and focused her mind on the dawn patrol, she could ponder life later. Flicking her ears, she swiveled her head to look for Emberheart, the big lump had only just been waking up when she made her way out of the den.


tagged: @emberheart

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Emberheart was reluctant to relinquish the final threads of his dream as noises from the camp filtered through the walls of the warrior's den, attempting to bat them away with a disdainful flick of his ears. In theory, if he couldn't hear them, then that meant it wasn't time to get up yet, right? The sunny meadow he'd found himself in slowly dissipated to black and the barest murmur of a sigh fluttered from him, the whisper of fur on the soft floor of the den and the gentle tap of paws alerting him that someone was already up and about. He sniffed, catching scent of Foxswipe as his denmate padded toward the clearing and he rolled onto his side, paws meeting the cooler earth across the border of his nest as he began to stretch. A yawn parted his jaws as the sooty tom remembered he was supposed to be up and out on the dawn patrol with Foxswipe and he blinked hard, shaking the last traces of sleep from his head.

He sat up and gave his chest fur a few swift licks before swiping a paw across his ears to make himself look less dishevelled than he would have otherwise and he trotted out to meet her. "Hi, Foxswipe!" he called cheerfully as he approached the russet she-cat, green eyes blinking warmly in greeting. "Ready to go explore what's happening on the border this morning?" he paused as his stomach gave a loud, involuntary gurgle. "Have you had anything to eat yet? I'll bring you something!" he meowed brightly, beginning to pad toward the fresh-kill pile. I'll be a much better patrol partner with a full belly, he thought, stooping to select a two particularly plump mice for them. "M'ere you go," he mewed through the mouthful as he rejoined her, placing one at her paws before tucking into his own.

His tongue swiped around his jaws when he was done, glancing to check Foxswipe had finished too. "So, where should we go first?" he asked when they were both ready, rising to his paws and padding toward the entrance of the camp. He crawled through the barrier, a gentle breeze caressing his fur as he looked out across the open moorland ahead of them. He turned to face Foxswipe, a smile curling his maw and the final tendrils of sleep evaporating as newfound energy thrummed through him, his paws itching for a good run! "Race you to the gorse bushes over there?!"

@wolftail

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The early morning had always been Foxswipe’s favorite time of day. No cats, beside patrols, were quite awake and about yet. This gave her a chance for peace, to sit and simply enjoy the sun rising and marking a new day. Peace, however, didn’t seem to be on the agenda for this morning as a loud mrrow of greeting tumbled from the black tom currently emerging from the warrior’s den. Foxswipe sighed as irritation coursed through her momentarily. Because she was a younger warrior, she was often paired with those more senior than herself. It worked well because they often left her to her quiteness, with only a few comments here and there. The clan deputy had seen fit though to place her with Emberheart today, and quite just didn’t describe her clan mate very well.

Turning to face the new arrival, Foxswipe dipped her head in greeting Hello, Emberheart. Wide awake already I see.” The she-cat immediately regretted her earlier annoyance with the tom as he offered to bring her fresh-kill, when he dropped the mouse at her paws, her ears twitched once and she nodded to gratefully, she was hungry. She hadn’t really thought about it though. Dropping into a crouch, Foxswipe made quick work of the small creature and swiped her tongue around her jaws. Thank you, Emberheart. I appreciate it.

As they both crawled out of camp to begin patrolling, Foxswipe heard Emberheart ask where they should go first. She thought for a moment, they could start with the closest border and just work their way around. Before the fox colored she-cat had a chance to answer though she heard the tom once more, asking for a race. Foxswipe twitched her ears once. The more serious side of her said that they needed to get on with patrol. But her competitive side growled at her to show the other cat who was faster. Before she had a chance to re-think, Foxswipe smirked and bolted towards the gorse bushes. Long, lean body stretched out, the small she-cat almost smiled. She didn’t like losing. As they neared the bushes, Foxswipe felt Emberheart pulp alongside her and gave one final push with her haunches.

Panting, the she-cat turned to face her partner and twitched her ears. I don’t remember you being quite that fast

tagged: @emberheart

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Emberheart was never quite sure what Foxswipe thought of him. She was reserved whereas he was more outgoing − only because he'd had to be, mind: getting a word in edgeways with his littermates used to be a matter of speak loud or forfeit your turn in the conversation, so it was easy for him to forget that not everyone's immediate family had been like that. He watched as she sighed, an uncertain smile playing about his maw as his own stomach fluttered with doubt as to whether or not she liked him. "You're welcome!" he mewed brightly, blinking slowly at her as she accepted his proffered mouse. He felt relief pulse through him as he chanced a glance out of the corner of his eye, seeing that she was contentedly scoffing the small morsel. If she accepted my mouse then that at least means she can't hate me, he reasoned to himself, nerves settling as he devoured his own breakfast.

Emberheart watched, head tilted to one side as he tried to read what was crossing the she-cat's mind. He raised his brow at the twitch of her ears, body lowering in reply so he was ready to spring when she gave the say-so; only it didn't come. He saw the flash of a smirk and then the sleek warrior was bounding off across the moor! He shook his head and grinned, smugness coiling in him as he realised he'd managed to coax her into a race and he let out a mrrow of laughter, his paws pounding across the dewy grass and kicking up droplets that sparkled in the strengthening glow of the dawn in his wake. She was still a few strides ahead of him so Emberheart hunkered down, belly low to the floor as his legs ate up the distance between them. The morning breeze ruffled his coat as he drew closer to her, literally blowing away his hopes of winning as the russet coloured warrior gave a final burst of speed toward the finish line.

He grinned when she complimented him. Okay; it wasn't really a compliment but you'd have a hard time dissuading the incorrigible tom that it wasn't! It was definitely a small-win in his mind. "Thanks, you were pretty speedy yourself!" he meowed back in response, tapping her shoulder with his tail by way of congratulations. "You had me beat in that last stretch though, I thought I'd caught you but you went off like a hare!"

He opened his mouth to taste the air, trotting a little further down the hill and relishing the buzz sparking through his muscles from the run. Warm scents of rabbit drifted toward him from the hillside but other than that it was clean and fresh; no signs of intruders this close to camp. He turned and waited for Foxswipe, twitching his tail downhill. "This way?" he meowed, pointing toward the riverbank that cleaved their territory neatly in half. The gush of the water bubbled up to meet his pricked ears and he felt restless energy tugging at his limbs again as he imagined how nice it would be to take a splash in the river. He made an effort to hold himself still as he waited for Foxswipe's reply, knowing he was a bit of an oddity for liking water as much as he did and not wanting to force the warrior anywhere she didn't want to go.

@ @wolftail sorry for delay, I'm off to bed now but next reply is gonna be as prompt as possible I promise! ^^<3

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There was never anything quite like feeling the morning wind in your fur as you charged headlong across your territory, whether it be for hunting, patrol, battle or plain old fun. It had been awhile since Foxswipe had run simply for the fun of running. Pushing as hard as she could to prove whether she was the best or not. She needed to make more time to come out of camp to do things like this, though it wasn’t nearly as fun without a little competition to go along with it. The russet warrior twitched her ears once as she watched the excitable tom before her, she had never quite understood how cats could seem so carefree. She had been raised by a serious mother, and her mentor had expected nothing but focus from her.

Foxswipe felt the tip of Emberheart’s tail against her shoulder and dipped her head to him in thanks for his compliment. Thank you, Emberheart. Her tail tip twitched once as she responded. I thought you had me for a moment, you really closed the gap until the last second. It actually almost pained her to admit she had nearly lost the race, there weren’t many who were as fast as her and it was pretty obvious that this tom was up there on the list of “very close”.

Turning to follow her clan mate, Foxswipe watched as he tasted the air around them and she followed suite. The she-cat’s nose wrinkled as Emberheart motioned down toward the river, but she nodded her agreement and began to pad after him down toward the riverbank. I don’t understand how any cat could enjoy getting wet, I mean soggy fur? No thank you she said disdainfully as she glanced down at the water gently lapping up at the banks.


tagged: @emberheart

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He watched with an amused smile tilting the corners of his muzzle a she accepted his congratulations, sensing her admission of how close the race was wasn't an easy thing for her to admit. He felt flattered that she had, though, pleased with his own performance. "Ah, I just run recklessly," he purred, shrugging his own praise away. "I figure it's better other cats just think I'm slower than I am." Truth be told he hadn't expected Foxswipe to be so fast − he'd always liked to think he was able to run along with the best of the LightningClan warriors− but she'd really proved him wrong. A bud of admiration struck him, and the tumble of words were out of his maw before he'd had a chance to really think them through: "Don't suppose you'd like to race again sometime when we're not on patrol together?" his paws scuffed at the grass sheepishly as he asked. "Only... well, I used to race with my sister but, er, since she's not around any more... I just miss it, you know?!"

She didn't look overjoyed at his suggestion of the riverbank, yet she still trotted toward him. He turned, paws rustling the springy newleaf grass as he padded toward the smooth pebbles of the riverbed. He glanced quickly toward Foxswipe, flashing her his best grin as he dropped into the hunter's crouch and jumped straight in, the current catching him in its embrace and sending up drops of water that caught the dawn-light in greeting. Water instantly tickled his belly fur, seeping through the layers of his coat and sending a shiver through his body. Tail raised high, he splashed his way through the shallows of the flow, body channelling the wobbles of his paws as he attempted to look as surefooted as possible. If there was any sleep remaining in his system then this was definitely the way to wake yourself up!

He padded along the edge of the riverbed, green eyes making frequent checkups on his partner. He drew ahead of her and hopped out of the river, giving himself a quick shake when he was sure that he wouldn't catch Foxswipe with the water raining from his pelt. He'd never seen the russet warrior angry, but had suspicions that the she-cat might have a temper if provoked and he was not about to be the warrior to incur her wrath! No, he was already well-versed in inspiring that reaction in clanmates, even if he didn't mean to.

"I've always really liked water," he told her, sitting down on the bank and staring out across their territory. "I think it comes from my brother pushing me in the river as a 'paw, he thought it was hilarious but I think I had the last laugh by turning out to be a better swimmer than him." he smiled, brain working up another conversation piece to share with her. "Do you have anything you like doing best, Foxswipe?"

@ @wolftail

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Apr 25, 2020 13:58:52 GMT -5 Katara said:

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FOXSWIPE
LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR

IF I HAVE TO I CAN DO ANYTHING I AM STRONG

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ars pricked over towards her clanmate, she glanced at him sharply after his comment. Hm, she thought, I’ve never been in battle with him before. The russet warrior new though that a cat who thought like that, even if he was simply playing right now, could easily turn into a dangerous combatant. Let your enemy believe they were stronger, and then show them how wrong they truly were. It worked quite well for her, many cats underestimated how aggressively she could fight due to her size. How is it I’ve never done any battle training with you hm? I’m sure you could give me a real challenge with that attitude. The small she-cat even dared to let a half smirk flicker briefly across her face as she continued onwards. Foxswipe glanced once over her shoulder as he continued to talk, racing outside of patrol? She would enjoy the chance to stretch her legs more and keep up her stamina. Plus, she understood to an extent not really having anyone to race with, though for different reasons than Emberheart. Well, I would enjoy the chance to beat you again. she mewed, waiting for him to rise to the challenge.

As the two warriors padded along the riverbank, Foxswipe let her gaze wander briefly over the soft current. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like, to be able to swim, but she didn’t relish the thought of getting her paws wet. She’d leave that to other cats. A flicker of movement had her returning her gaze to her clanmate, just as he crouched and dove gracefully into the water. Briefly she stiffened and nearly let out a yowl of fear, what was this mouse-brain doing. Anxiously she watched as he paddled along, until he pulled ahead and crawled his way back onto dry land, shaking his pelt to remove the excess water. The russet colored she-cat bounded up to now soaked warrior, ears flat against her skull. Worry, concealed by irritation flicking through her eyes. She had to take a deep breath to steady herself, no need to jump on her patrolmate over simple antics, clearly he’d done this previously. Well, as much as I hate to admit you are a decent swimmer, sure you aren’t half Rainclan? she mewed dryly.

As they continued along on their patrol, Emberheart still rolling along and conversing as though he hadn’t just jumped in the river, Foxswipe scrunched up her nose. She did enjoy running, and fighting, and hunting. But running most of all. I suppose I enjoy running best of all. Comes from being the smallest apprentice, it took awhile to catch onto the best fighting moves, but I was always fastest. Racing the other apprentices, for sport or for hunting, was when I was at my best.

TAGGED: @emberheart // NOTES: --

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