(ANYONE) A Tired Soul

[Amber]

A lone tom lay alone, basking on a flat stone near the outskirts of camp. His eyes were blue today, half-closed with a sad expression. He was frowning, deep in thought. His tail flicked back and forth as if in annoyance.

The gray and white cat looked down at his paws. Something was bothering him. The newly-appearing streak of graying - or more, silvering, as his pelt already gray on its own - fur was obvious against his lithe, small body. Noblefire's gaze burned with sorrow at this discovery. His claws unsheathed unconsciously, digging themselves testily into the rock. His gaze turned upwards. He was not getting old. He wasn't a grandfather! He refused to become an elder. Refused. He wasn't a senior warrior, he...

The kit-sized tom's eyes seemed to focus in alarm on his other front limb, now bleeding profusely. Confused, he shifted his gaze to the other paw, namely the claws. Scarlet dripped from them. He had gotten carried away..sighing, he got to his paws with a resounding crack! of his limbs' old age. If anyone saw him now...but he was alone. Wasn't he? Now alert, he listened closely. Pawsteps were evident in the still air. He whipped around, lashing his tail and baring his teeth with a hiss. "Who is spying on me?!" his furious voice called to the undergrowth.

[lightningstorm]

Maplewhisker, stiffened as Noblefire detected her presence. She took a breath and padded from the bush in which she had padded into when she noticed the tom on the rock, basking, his tail twitching indicating he had alot on his troubled mind.
She leaped up on the flat rock, the mouse she had hunted dangling from her jaws. She dropped the mouse at the tom's feet, as if a sort of apology. She shuffled her paws, "I was just out on a... walk, I caught a mouse... but I saw you and... well," she flicked her ear, not meeting the tom's eyes. "Sorry if I was intruding." she mewed.

[Amber]

His eyes were yellow and full of the sizzling annoyance, but he forced his fur to lie flat. As he had to crane his neck to stare up at the she-cat - his size accounted for this inconvienence - he was getting even more frustrated with the situation.

Attepting to calm himself, he looked away and took a few deep breaths. The burning yellow optics slowly faded back to a yellow-green, at least. The tiny tom cat returned his gaze to the femme before him, sighing and dipping his head. "Fine," he mumbled, "I suppose there isn't that much wrong with hunting and just happening to spot me..."

Turning to look down at the mouse, he tilted his head and then looked up again. "Well.." he muttered, stealing another glance downward, this time at his bloodied limb, "You won't tell about..." With a nervous shrug he brought his tail around to gesture to the paw with the self-made scratches.

[lightningstorm]

okie dokie

[Crystal/Nokoli]

Pretending that she didn't notice the blood, or the other cat, Crystalgaze ran into the scene and had decided to cuddle up to her father and meow in happiness.

"DADDY~! I lovee you!" She was determined to make the tense atmosphere go away. Her tail flicked at her dad, then rested on her father's spine.

[Amber]

With a startled cry, Noblefire whipped his head around to reveal...Crystalgaze. Frowning, he turned himself around and, not waiting for a reply from Maplewhisker, placed a twitching tail on his daughter's shoulder. He guided her down the rockface and to a spot out of earshot, but still in sight, of the other cat.

Now yellow eyes were narrowed with annoyance, and he whispered quick words of scolding to Crystalgaze. "What was that for? Can't you see I was talking to someone?" he said in an angry murmuring tone. Hissing in rage, he spun around, looking like he was about to return to Maplewhisker's side, when he remembered the blood on his paw. He paused midstep almost comically, and ever so slowly tilted his head downwards until he staring straight at the bloody scratches. Then, with a nervous, heh!, he raced up onto the flat stone again, hoping his daughter did not notice.

[Crystal/Nokoli]

Crystalgaze pouted, as much as a cat could pout. She noticed the blood as soon as she came over; but she wouldn't let her father know that. She walked back over, and then snuggled down into the edge of the flat rock.

"If daddy...thinks..." She couldn't finish, she yawned and fell asleep quickly. She snuggled into her paws, and let out little cat snores.