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Post by Amber on May 2, 2008 21:36:48 GMT -5
The dark, dark, gray, almost black, pelt of Eclipsepaw blended in with the shadows easily. Hidden in the shadows behind the apprentices' den, she bent her head down and licked her neck. She winced a bit; the area there was still tender from the battle.
The moss-green eyes that reminded so many of her mother peered out from the darkness, scanning the darkening camp. Tempers were running high and the RageClan camp was beginning to become a dangerous place. As always, the other Clans had began to distance themselves from RageClan in this time of trouble. Always assuming they were evil, cold-hearted monsters...
Deep down, though she tried to look otherwise, this bothered Eclipsepaw very much. The rest of her Clan may have begun to doubt DreamClan, and maybe they weren't as nice as some, but that didn't mean other Clans should judge all of the RageClan cats. Eclipsepaw herself still believed strongly - she was visited frequently by her mother and her brother in her dreams.
The sound of approaching pawsteps made Eclipsepaw jump back farther into the shadows. Though the real battle was over, that didn't mean the argument was. Many cats still took swipes at each other in the camp. She cracked one of the dead twigs on the ground and jumped forward at the noise again, into the light. She blinked and looked at the cat before her as her eyes adjusted, praying to DreamClan they wouldn't attack.
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Post by Brambles on May 2, 2008 22:03:49 GMT -5
Yellow ops stared curiously into Eclipsepaw's face as the dark gray femme had jumped forwards, appraently startled. Black furred tom-cat stepped back silghtly, smiling slightly at the slim feline. Smokepaw sat back on his haunches, breath caught in his throat. Eclipsepaw was, suddenly, much more stunning than he had first thought of. The black tom looked away, embarressed at having thought so bluntly. It wasn't like him, seeing as he was normally reserved and kept his thoughts in check. Skull lifted back upward so yellow ops could gaze into Eclipsepaw's moss-green ones. so beautiful, he could drown in their liquid color forever. [/size]
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Post by Amber on May 2, 2008 22:16:13 GMT -5
Eclipsepaw blushed, or at least as much as a cat could. It was more like her fur started to stand on end and she could feel her face growing warmer. But her fur would probably hide it anyway. She noticed something different about Smokepaw's feelings to her - no, she knew what it was and knew it was different.
She looked away. She knew Lightpaw had these same feelings for her too, and had known for a long time. Lightpaw was her best friend, but...she didn't like him anymore than that. Well, it can't hurt to be friends with Smokepaw, she reasoned, and snapped back to reality. A smile crept onto her face and she warmed up a little.
"Hey, shortie," she teased tightly, looking into his eyes. She had to tilt her head down a bit - Smokepaw was only a newly made apprentice.
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Post by Brambles on May 2, 2008 22:24:51 GMT -5
"Hey shortie."
The small comment made a frown grow upon the black tom's maw. as he turned away from Eclipsepaw. It was obviously made in short humor of the tom-cat being a new apprentice. It was suiting, in some deformed manner of a joke, for Eclipsepaw to name him such. Audits would flick in a smug attempt to give off an offended persona, but the wry smile upon Smokepaw's maw easily discarded the attempt. Neck would crane as skull was raised to stare into the feline's tantalizing eyes again as he hissed humorously in response. 'What if I like being short?' Smokepaw bit back a small laugh that attempted to escape his maw. He would wait for her to laugh first, if she did. [/size]
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Post by Amber on May 2, 2008 22:30:05 GMT -5
Her laugh was light the tinkling of bells; thats what she hated most about herself. Instead of having a normal laugh it had to sound all girly. Oh DreamClan, why? she asked silently. She was laughing despite the fact that she hated her laugh, laughing without trying to. After a moment her laughter faded and she noticed something.
"Something wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" she apoligized quickly.
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Post by Brambles on May 2, 2008 22:37:31 GMT -5
'Didn't mean it?' Smokepaw smiled wryly at Eclipsepaw. She was older. Of course she was older, seeing as he had just become an apprentice. Yet it seemed to the tom-cat that she held no sarcasm, or otherwise failed to understand his own sick sense of humor. Feline's were very peculiar. But his father, Shadowtail, seemed to take to them rather well. At least to his mother, Dawnleaf, anyway. Skull shook bemusedly after several moments as Smokepaw responded, his normally stoic voice filled with humor. 'No, nothings wrong. I could care less.' [/size]
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Post by Amber on May 2, 2008 22:43:50 GMT -5
"Thats...thats good, then," Eclipsepaw mewed, sounding relieved. She glanced up, spotting a cat approaching. She grabbed Smokepaw by the scruff of the neck and dragged him back in the darkness with her. After putting him gently down, she whispered something to him very seriously.
"You never know who'll take a swipe at you." The cat seemed to have spotted them anyway though, but that didn't mean Eclipsepaw had given up. She pressed herself as low into the ground as she could go, wary.
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Post by Fallentear || on May 4, 2008 18:52:12 GMT -5
ooc- cue me! lol
bic- A pale white, ghostlike form padded slowly towards the hiding spot that had been so hastily chosen. Luckily enough for the two apprentices though, it was only Stormwhisper. The medicine cat cocked her head sideways, peering down at her clanmates. "Hey guys." She meowed with a disarming smile. For weeks now, she'd been struggling to keep her clan believing in Dreamclan, but she didn't know how much longer she could hold on. Cats were starting to get quite ill-tempered, and were beginning to lash out at anyone with an ounce of faith left. Stormwhisper was no fool, and she was positive that Dreamclan hadn't turned their backs on them...not yet anyways.
Some would find it odd, a warrior, let alone a medicine cat, hanging out with apprentices. But if one paid close attention, they would realized that Stormwhisper herself was not much older than Smokepaw, and probably younger than Eclipsepaw. She'd had medicine duties pushed on her quite soon, after barely any training, and so was still young. Luckily, her mentor was still around to be her partner in the healing processes, and Dreamclan as well was there to aid her memory and guide her paws. This is why she had so much faith in them: she felt their presence everywhere she went. The fact that she was quite isolated because others didn't have this connection didn't make her sad, it made her pity those that couldn't feel their ancestors' watchful eyes.
Stormwhisper sat down, exhaling in a loud, troubled manner. "Things haven't been going so well around here, seeing as cats are hiding whenever a clanmate approaches." She looked pointedly at the two others. "But what can we do? Once a person has faith in something, even having faith that there is no Dreamclan, how can their mind be changed? We'd need a miracle or the like to prove it well enough." If only her own faith was enough proof, but things didn't work like that. [/color][/center]
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Post by Amber on May 5, 2008 7:19:21 GMT -5
"I still believe in DreamClan," Eclipsepaw said softly, looking up at Stormwhisper, "No matter what has happened." She glanced at Smokepaw, wondering if the same was true for him, then back at the medicine cat. She'd just have to hope so. Slowly she raised herself up off the ground, but she didn't sheathe her claws.
"Yeah, well, what else am I supposed to do with some of my Clanmates deciding to attack me in the middle of camp?" she asked bitterly. Her eyes narrowed at the thought. How could they do this to their Clanmates...how could they turn on them on a dime? She sighed, looking up at the sky. Oh, Onyxpaw, where are you now to show them you are there?
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Post by Brambles on May 5, 2008 21:42:47 GMT -5
Muscles tensed when DreamClan became the topic of the conversation, now that Stormwhisper had arrived. Piercing yellow ops flicked hesitantly over at Eclipsepaw as the feline spoke. She still believed. While Smokepaw himself doubted. His mother had raised him to follow DreamClan. But his father, whom Smokepaw looked up to most, seemed to have lost faith in the mythical warriors of the stars. Oh, how Smokepaw yearned to please Shadowtail. He wanted so much to be like the strong warrior that was his father. And yet, the black tom could not let his grip on DreamClan go. Not just yet. The nape of Smokepaw's neck burned, and the tom shifted his gaze toward Eclipsepaw. The femme had glanced his way. More than likley wondering of his position on his beliefs of DreamClan. Smokepaw exhaled heavily, giving a weak smile. 'I do not disbelieve in DreamClan, yet I see no evidence of them existing.' Smokepaw looked down at his paws, white tail tip dancing across the cool spring air as he awaited a rebuke from either Stormwhisper or Eclipsepaw. [/color][/size]
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Post by Amber on May 6, 2008 7:28:24 GMT -5
Eclipsepaw was silent a moment, then said quietly, so quiet it was almost inaudible, "I respect your opinion." She looked down at her paws, sighing. Not him. Why did everything happen to her? The perfect tom - and now that all shattered. She'd have to distance herself from him, she decided. She didn't want him or any of his friends hurting her or what was left of her family.
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Post by Fallentear || on May 7, 2008 20:22:18 GMT -5
Stormwhisper looked at him understandingly, and was not about to rebuke him, but merely give him a different perspective. "I can see where you'd have some doubts...what with this drought and all...but sometimes you have to understand that Dreamclan isn't always looking out for just one cat or just one clan. For faith is not centered around oneself, such as if one of my parents were to become ill. If they die, I will not raise my head to Dreamclan and shout curses in their name. No, belief cannot revolve around such selfish means. Dreamclan works, instead, in mysterious ways. They look out for not just one cat, but they watch over all of them at once, weaving together the events that can happen in a series that turns out to be the best for every cat. Any way they arrange things, cats will always die and suffer, but the way they make it...it is the best scenario possible in all of them that could have happened.
Dreamclan cannot truly control us, and our actions, but they are all around, to give us that friendly, helping paw. They are on the warm breeze, the grass on the moors, the pine trees, and our dens earthen floors. They reside in our hearts, and in the glitter of kits' eyes, they are each difference that tells us apart, and also each quality that unifies different cats in a clan. I've heard that it's hard for some cats to see it this way...that Dreamclan isn't merely found in the good and bad things that happen in our lives, but rather in the miracles that we discover each day in this life." Her dark green eyes looked around camp and then closed momentarily. She sighed heavily. Without opening her eyes, she adressed the other apprentice.
"Eclipsepaw...who tried to attack you? Was it for protecting Dreamclan?" Stormwhisper was horrified that members of the same clan would turn on each other, just because of a little misfortune. These kind of stupid actions would do them no good, it was to band together in times like these that would aid them the most. Divided, a clan is so much weaker than one that sticks together. [/color][/center]
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Post by Amber on May 7, 2008 20:44:53 GMT -5
"Flightpaw," Eclipsepaw mumbled as quietly as she could, not wanting to turn the medicine cat against her friend. Though she had attacked her before, they had made up and were friends again, though they didn't speak as much anymore.
The pretty she-cat, who had been looking at her paws, looked up at Stormwhisper momentarily until her gaze travelled over to Smokepaw. She met his eyes and then looked away hastily.
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Post by Brambles on May 7, 2008 21:59:58 GMT -5
The sound of Eclipsepaw's voice after he had spoken of his position on DreamClan beliefs tore the tom apart. His heart told him to cry out for forgiveness of his mental thoughts on the distant DreamClan, yet his mind urged for him to stay silent. Audits flicked as Stormwhisper began to talk. She spoke of how DreamClan watches over all, and not one. How they work the Clans through the tough times so they make it out alive. How they were all around us, everywhere. Yellow ops were hidden behind his lids as Smokepaw closed them, sighing deeply. What if his father, Shadowtail, had been wrong? What if DreamClan never intended for the drought to occur? The black tom shifted his gaze towards Eclipsepaw, his eyeslocking with hers. The feline looked away, which did nothing to ease Smokepaw's pain at her obvious rejection of him. All because of his beliefs his father raised him around. [/color][/size]
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Post by Fallentear || on May 8, 2008 19:12:34 GMT -5
Stormwhisper's face became slightly grim. "Ah. I see." She meowed, realizing that these two had been friends before. "Are you both on better terms now? Or..." Stormwhisper hoped that the cats in the clans would be able to see soon...see that Dreamclan wasn't gone yet.
ooc- ehhhh....no muse sowwy [/color][/center]
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