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Post by Jaysong :D on Apr 12, 2010 18:42:34 GMT -5
Echostar's stomach rumbled as she exited the Fernclan camp;she hadn't eaten all day and the sun was about to start setting. She was leading a hunting patrol to the Moth Tree,since that was a familiar landmark in the deepest part of the forest.
Lately it had been boiling hot in Fernclan,though they had a canopy of trees the air was full of humitity. There wasn't much water on the ground even though the air was full of it,so most od the prey had scuttles into their holes and hadn't appeared for days. Everyone was starving,but it seemed to passing.
When her patrol arrived at the Moth Tree,Echostar emediately dropped to a crouch and searched the air for a trace of prey.
Cloudpelt padded along at the back of the patrol,taking in the beautiful forest and lush undergrowth. It was getting less and less flourishing by the second,though. The white tom had taken note of the plants slowly begining to deteriorate. Apparently,the water in the air was not enough to get down to their roots and quinch their thirst.
The still,hot air caused Cloudpelt's fur to stick to his flesh,making him look quite puny due to his small frame. A bird,to stupid to hide from the heat,called to another bird in the distance.They had finally reached the Moth Tree,where Echostar singnaled them to stop and begin the hunt.
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Post by *-*Riku*-* on Apr 12, 2010 22:55:02 GMT -5
Oceawave followed closely behind her leader, taking in the heat and the scents. She hated it when it got this way, she she knew that when it was super humid, like it was now, rain was not far off. She was right to, on the horizon far north of here and sweeping to the southwest, a bank of dangerous looking black and grey clouds billowed, and, even though the sky was forget-me-not blue now, she could tell that it would probably rain later that day.
"Nice choice, Echostar. We'll have more prey for the whole clan before the day's over. That storm looks dangerous, so all the prey around here will be out trying to readjust their burrows and protect it from the storm." She noted lightly as she looked around and took in the scents around her. As the group broke up into individuals, Oceanwave crested a rise in the ground and went into the deeper undergrowth where an annual- snow melt created a stream here. In the midst of greenleaf, this stream was dried up.
The tortoiseshell she-cat crouched down to wait in a patch of ferns and scented the air till she found the scent of a vole and began stalking it.
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Silentshadow had been walking alongside Cloudpelt and making a comment on how it was so hot with a flick of her tail, or twitching her ears. She knew he would understand that she said through body language what she had never been able to do with words. The only time anyone heard her voice was when she purred, which was very rare. The heat was stifling, and it was worse for Silentshadow because her pelt was black, and it absorbed the heat like a sponge. Also, her pelt was thicker than normal, which meant a few hours in this heat and she was ready to die.
When they reached the moth tree, she reluctantly separated from her brother in the hopes she might catch something. Going in the opposite direction of Cloudpelt, she wound up circling around the tree in the search of something and tripped over a bramble bush. The bush shivered more than necessary and a rabbit shot out on the other side. Silentshadow tore herself free of the brambles and immediately raced off after it with lightning-like speed.
The rabbit made a mad dash up a hill and towards a hole in the ground but Silentshadow was quicker. She gave a massive heave with her back legs and leaped into the air, squishing the rabbit flat beneath her paws as she landed squarely on it's shoulders. Before the rabbit, which was almost as big as she was, could struggle out of her grip, she bit it's neck and killed it. Giving thanks to StarClan for it's life in her head. Purring with accomplishment, she picked up her prey and dragged it back to the moth tree, where she knew the others must be rejoining to see what they had caught between themselves.
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Post by Jaysong :D on Apr 14, 2010 14:44:12 GMT -5
Echostar crept up silently on a finch she had cornered near an oak tree. The small bird suspected nothing as it nibbled on something that she couldn't quite see,a berry maybe? But,that didn't matter. She continued to slowly approach the finch on her little bnlack paws that moved gracefully across the leaf-strewn forest floor.
Echostar pounced,nearly missing,but managed to get a claw through the bird's tail. She was about to kill it until she saw what it had been eating berfore her strike. The crushed remains of a Death Berry sat upon the leaf next to her prey. The clan couldn't eat this,they would get sick and an apprentice could possible be killed by the death berries inside of the finch! Echostar gazed down at the little creature squirming to get away with sad eyes. The berries would surely kill such a small bird, and, feeling pity for her prey,let it go to enjoy the few moments of remaining life it had. It swooped into the air and flew off into the distance.
It was a shame they couldn't use the finch,but Echostar had already caught a mouse and two shrews,so it was okay. The young leader padded back over to the small clearing in front of the moth tree. She didn't need to call;cats were already beggining to gather before her,their jaws full of prey. Echostar smiled approvingly at Silentshadow's huge rabbit,it looked as though it weighed more than her! Her brother Cloudpelt had caught a blackbird and a vole that were also a substancial size. A smile of pride spread across her face as she saw her wonderful warriors with so much prey,even during these hard times.
Cloudpelt looked up from his catch to see cats from the patrol beggining to head back to their leader. Realizing they were to show what they had caught so far,the white warrior picked up his blackbird in his jaws and let the vole dangle by it's tail from his teeth.
Cloudpelt knew it was silly but he couldn't wait to show his mother and sister his prey. He reminded himself he was no longer an apprentice,though he had been pretty recently. He began to head back to the moth tree to his clanmates and leader,eager to see everyone elses prey.
When he arrived,Cloudpelt gaped at the massive rabbit Silentshadow had caught. Since he had a pretty small frame,the rabbit was about as (or looked to be) big as him! Cloudpelt wished he could have to same strong build as Infinitystrike,no wonder he was Echostar's mate. Though the two,he knew,were mates,he had always thought they acted a little weird around eachother,and it was strange how neither of their kits looked anything like their father.But,it wasn't any of his business,so he stayed out of it.
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Post by Flamey on Apr 15, 2010 6:26:15 GMT -5
When they reached the Moth Tree, Infinitystrike immediately surveyed his surroundings, ears twitching with concentration. Suddenly, something dark brushed by his face. He shook it vigorously, annoyed at the disturbance. The moth immediately flew away from his face and back to the safe haven of the Moth Tree. Unfortunately, his shaking had disturbed a mouse that was nibbling on a seed under one of the nearby trees, and it instantly fled. He tried to give it a chase, but it was no use. The mouse was too small and fast. "Mouse dung." he muttered crossly, once again focusing on his surroundings, this time determined not to get sidetracked.
There. He spotted a plump thrush just about to fly away. Not bothering to be quiet, he pounced on it, catching it just as it was about to move out of his reach. He bit down hard, killing it instantly. He gave a satisfied purr, carrying it back to the Moth Tree where the others were already gathered. [/size]
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Post by *-*Riku*-* on Apr 15, 2010 10:32:25 GMT -5
Oceanwave returned to the moth tree the last, dragging behind her a squirrel, piled with 2 mice, a vole and a shrew. When she returned to see the huge rabbit that Silentshadow had caught she gave a loud, approving purr and dropped her catch near the others. She had noticed the coldness between Infinitystrike and Echostar and wondered why this was. The two of them were mates, weren't they? She had learned, however, not to say anything about it to Infinitystrike, seeing as the older tom was a bit touchy on the subject. Instead, she went over to her two kits and gave them both a warm lick on the forehead. "Your father would be very proud." She mewed.
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Silentshadow sat down beside her own catch with her tail wrapped around her paws and looked at her former mentor, Infinitystrike, for some sort of approval. She had also noticed the coldness sparking like lightning between him and her leader and she wondered what was troubling him. As usual though, she remained silent, her tail tip twitching back and forth as though she were using Morse code, which in fact, she was. This was one of the ways she used to communicate between her and Cloudpelt. She seemed to be asking him the question that was on her mind right now. What was wrong with Infinitystrike?
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Post by Jaysong :D on Apr 15, 2010 15:21:15 GMT -5
Echostar smiled at her patrol and mewed,"Everyone did wonderfully today. Would you all rather continue hunting for a bit longer or head back to camp?" It wasn't that the Fernclan leader couldn't make desisions for herself,it was just that she liked the cats she led to have a little imput. She had noticed a few leaders just bossed their cats around without them having any say,more like a dictator than a leader. Echostar wanted to be a friend of the cats she led,and she would never want any cat to be afraid to approach her,like she had seen some cats. Despite wantimg to be a kind leader,she knew when it was time to be stern and serious.
Echostar moved to sit next to Infinitystrike. She had felt the stares burning on her pelt,flashing between her and her 'mate'. Though for a while, the black female and Infinitystrike had had some issues,because he had been mad at Echostar for rejecting him for the Blazeclan leader Flamestar,and had continued visiting him secretly. She hated him for a while,but when she had Flamestar's kits,he pretended they were his and the two became friends when Echostar realized all he had done for her. Now they were okay again,and happy.
She knew that they would have to start acting like mates now,or cats would start getting suspicious. Echostar did love Infinitystrike,just more like a brother or best friend,rather than a mate.Because of this,she didn't mind having to pretend as much as she used to. She licked Infinitystrike over the ear gently,making sure a couple of the cats were watching. If she could smooth things over quickly,she and Flamestar could meet again tonight.
Cloudpelt listened to his mother's words and smiled. Oceanwave was right,his father probably would have been proud of his children's catches. Cloudpelt imagined him smiling proudly down at he and his sister,and he smiled a bit.
The young tom looked over to Silentshadow and her tail twitched back and forth in a number of ways. Some looked slightly irritated,other gestured to their leader and her mate. Cloudtail understood that it was referring to the touchiness between Echostar and Infinitystrike,so he just shrugged.
He turned again to face Echostar when she began to speak,and her praise made him quite pleased. He knew that your leader praising you was one of the best compliments you could get,since in was from the opinion that mattered the most. When she asked them what they wanted to do he answered,"I don't really care,I can stay and hunt if everyone else would like to,but if you all would rather get a bit of rest it's fine with me." Cloudpelt liked Echostar's method of leading them,much like his own personality,she was quite easy going,but not just some push-over. Then the white warrior pricked his ears to see what the other cats had to say.
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Post by *-*Riku*-* on Apr 15, 2010 20:29:14 GMT -5
Oceanwave looked up at the sky and scented the air, this time she was watching the clouds that had stretched halfway across the sky by now, and the cold northern wind that smelled heavy with rain. "I think we'd better return to camp before those clouds get any worse, Echostar... if we stay out here much longer, we might find ourselves in the midst of a downpour." She mewed.
Personally, Oceanwave had a crush on Infinitystrike, and she was jealous of Echostar's relationship with the black tom. She had already figured out that the kits they had had were not Infinitystrike's, and she personally didn't approve of the way Echostar was treating her mate. She was privately hoping she could one day get Infinitystrike's attention and make him hers instead... she knew she'd treat him right. She didn't say any of this out loud, though, and only the slight twitching of her tail tip told she was annoyed with the fake display of affection.
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Silentshadow sat down beside Cloudpelt and let out a soft purr of appreciation at her mother's compliment. She brushed her tail gently along her brothers side to communicate more to him. This was her way of showing sympathy, love, or affection. She was saying something along the lines of, "He watches us from StarClan."
She watched her mom say that it was going to rain and She saw Echostar give Infinitystrike a lick on the ear but, as sharply observant as she was, Silentshadow knew that the display was fake. Her ear twitched in acknowledgment of this fact and she watched them closely for anymore signs. She didn't know what was going on, but the fact that Echostar was trying too hard to make it seem like they were mates intrigued the young warrior. She decided to get to the bottom of this mystery, else it would bite at her like a tick all day long.
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Post by Flamey on Apr 16, 2010 7:34:18 GMT -5
Infinitystrike, too, felt the stares of his Clanmates seemingly boring a hole into his fur, no matter how inconspicuous. He himself didn't care much, because it was obvious that he loved Echostar, but unfortunately, she did not reciprocate them. Instead, she chose to give them to a filthy BlazeClan tom, who just happened to become the leader of BlazeClan at the same time Echostar did. He hoped that it would stop them from seeing each other for a while, but she still continued to do so, no matter what he did to try to stop them.
Purring with satisfaction with Echostar's display of affection, even though he knew she was only pretending, he returned her lick, though with much more emotion. He looked up at the sound of Oceanwave's voice, seeing that it was indeed about to rain. He nodded, picking up the thrush he had caught earlier, waiting for them to lead the way. [/size]
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Post by *-*Riku*-* on Apr 16, 2010 10:23:00 GMT -5
Oceanwave picked up her catch and looked at Echostar, waiting for the command to move out. When it was given, she deliberately put herself beside Infinitystrike, intending to spend some amount of time with him today, even if it was in a group. She dropped to the back of the group with him so that she could talk without Echostar's prying ears. "You seem to really love her..." She mumbled through a mouthful of squirrel fur. "I mean... I can understand how you must feel.... it's totally obvious her kits aren't yours and yet.... you insist to the rest of the clan, that they are. It's an interesting relationship, but I don't think you deserve that type of abuse." She mewed, flicking her tail slightly as she talked.
"Besides... it's a she-cat's choice if she wants to reveal the identity of the father or not, you don't need to protect her. She's using you, you know that, right? I wouldn't treat you like that." She murmured.
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Silentshadow picked up the huge rabbit she had caught and began to follow after Echostar, walking beside her brother again. She twitched an ear, commenting to him on how their mom was talking to Infinitystrike. They were murmuring too softly for Silentshadow to make out what they were saying, but she could tell, when she looked back at the pair, by her mom's face that it was important to her.
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Post by Jaysong :D on Apr 16, 2010 18:45:25 GMT -5
"Yes,I suppose now that you mention it,it does seem to be on the verge of raining,Oceanwave. Dreamclan knows we need it though. Once it rains maybe some of the humidity will be gone."she replied. She flicked her tail to signal for the patrol to follow her back to camp.
The scent of the storm was getting stronger as they approached the camp. Echostar padded along nest to Cloudpelt with Silentshadow following and Oceanwave and Infinity strike bringing up the rear.She pricked her ears to here what she had to say.When she finished,Echostar felt anger flare up inside her. How dare she accuse her leader of mistreating her mate! She had never told Infinitystrike that he had to do this for her,he just had. She did love him,and if everything was the way it was supposed to be he would be her mate,but Echostar had found Flamestar and she loved him more than anything,except for maybe their kits.
Echostar shot Oceanwave the most intense look of rage that she had ever made,and meowed,as calmly as she could manage,"Oceanwave for your information, I love Infinitystrike VERY much,and nothing will ever change that." She couldn't help but feel jealous of the fact that Oceanwave would make a better mate than her,since he wasn't her second choice. It hurt her so much to know that she had caused him so much pain.
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Post by *-*Riku*-* on Apr 16, 2010 22:02:04 GMT -5
[OOC: Echostar, the point of bringing up the rear with Infinitystrike, was so she would NOT be able to hear what Oceanwave said. She said it softly enough that ONLY Infinitystrike would hear what she had to say. >.> Ah, well. I'll deal.]
Oceanwave immediately retaliated with a sharp retort. "Then what in the name of DreamClan are you doing? You say you love him, and yet you treat him like dirt! I don't know exactly what's going on, but I do know that he's willing to go through all this pain for you, and you don't even seem to care! I don't care if you are my Clan leader, she-cat's like you don't deserve to have mates!" She growled. She had dropped her squirrel and was bristling threateningly. She didn't care if Echostar was her leader or not, Oceanwave wasn't afraid to speak her mind, she never had been. She had mouthed off to more cats with power over her than Oceanwave cared to remember. If she didn't like something you did, she wasn't the cat to hide her distaste, Clan Leader or not.
There was something else in her voice this time, though... sadness? Was she remembering her own mate? Her own mate had died and she had no other choice but to be a single mother to his three kits, though the fact that he was gone still cut her heart to pieces. That was why, when she saw how Echostar was messing around with another tom when she already had Infinitystrike, Oceanwave was inflamed with anger and jealousy. "Shame on you!" She hissed, flexing her claws. "Shame on you, Shame on you!" Oceanwave looked like she was ready to attack, her tail was lashing back and forth and every hair on her body was bristling furiously.
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Silentshadow stopped to watch what her mother had to say. She was shocked that her mom had abandoned all respect for their clan leader, but somewhere in her mind, a thought occurred to her. Echostar had failed to deny the fact that she was seeing another Tom, which confirmed that Infinitystrike was not the father. Now though, she thought about who WAS the father...? Obviously it wasn't anyone in FernClan, if it was, there wouldn't have been the need for all the secrecy and lies. But outside of FernClan... who was it that could captivate Echostar's attention so much that she loved him more than she loved Infinitystrike. The young black she-cat twitched her tail-tip and her ears as she relayed her thoughts to Cloudpelt in sign language.
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[OOC: Jaggedfang's rose hunt. xD]
Not far away, the huge form of Jaggedfang crept into FernClan's territory, cautious of patrols or any type of attack. He wasn't here to steal prey or cause trouble. He was here for the sake of his love. The long-haired white IceClan deputy was as big as a small fox, and he was muscular enough to take on a whole patrol of enemy warriors by himself. The Titanic White tom was limping slightly on his hind leg, the only reminder of his time down in the gorge 2 moons prior to now. Though now, Jaggedfang's limp was more out of habit than any real pain.
Contrary to his Leviathan appearance, Jaggedfang was humming quietly to himself as he looked around and tasted the air for the flower he was searching for. He seemed to be the complete opposite of the way he looked like he could crush skulls with a blow from his sheathed paw. he walked confidently towards the scent of a rose bush, not far from where a FernClan patrol was, though he hadn't noticed them at all, and began to chew off a few flowers from the bush he had found. He was still humming to himself as he did so, every once in a while, when his mouth wasn't full of stems or leaves, he would sing a few words. "My heart has wings, Hmhmhmhm... and I can fly... I'll touch every star in the sky....... So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of..... So this... is... love."
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Post by Jaysong :D on Apr 17, 2010 8:04:22 GMT -5
"Oceanwave,You will never understand my life. I don't know if you think I'm cheating on him or what but I promise you,that is not the case." At that moment, Echostar made her desision. She would just tell the truth. " Do you want to hear the story of my life? I'll tell you. One day, I met a tom and immeadiatly fell in love with him. That exact same day, Infinitystrike came to me and told me he loved me. I tried to tell him their was someone else,but he already hated me by then. I tried my hardest to make up with him,but I couldn't."
"Then,one day I found out that I was pregnant. After a while,the kits were born." A single tear rolled of Echostar's face. "I took them back to camp,supposing I would just not tell who the father was. Then Infinitystrike announced that the kits were his,and that was when I realized how much he really cared for me. I tried and tried at first,to reason with him,to get him to realize that he didn't need to do all this and that he should go and try to find someone else. He wouldn't though,and after a while,I just went along with it,hoping he would realize it someday by himself."
"I hate the pain I cause him every day. I hate that I have to lie. I hate that my life went down this path. But,you must understand,I can never regret my mate or my kits." she finished her speech. She hoped she hadn't made a terrible mistake. It was then she noticed a large white tom next to a rose bush. she could just barely pick up on what he was humming quietly to himself,and Echostar smiled in her head. She would just ignore him,he was getting the flowers for a cat he loved.
Cloudpelt nodded in agreement with Silentshadow. His mother's outburst had surprised him as well, he wasn't sure what their leaders reaction to that would be. What if she kicked them out of the clan? On the one hand, Cloudpelt agreed with his mother,Echostar shouldn't do this to Infinitystrike. But on the other hand,he felt pity for Echostar,he understood their was something deeper to the situation than just a she-cat with more than one mates.
When Echostar had finished her speech,he realized all the things she had gone through. No,he didn't understand,he had never even had a mate,but he did realize how hard this must have been for her. The story might have been a little different if the ther tom had been here. He wondered what his mother's next reaction would be.
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Post by *-*Riku*-* on Apr 17, 2010 9:16:51 GMT -5
Oceanwave did not reply to this at all. Echostar had pretty much admitting to having broken the warrior code. Oceanwave was completely disgusted, but she knew better than to say anymore on the subject, lest it result in a battle that she could not win against a cat with 9 lives. Instead, she picked up her squirrel the mice and the rest of the prey that she had caught, and continued on, lashing her tail as she passed Echostar so that the she-cat was slapped in the face with the blow. Stalking furiously onward without waiting for the others to catch up, she bounded back to camp ahead of them. Oceanwave knew Echostar's secret now, and she knew that the rest of the clan would not like it.
[OOC: This is Oceanwave's last response here. Continued in FernClan camp.]
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Silentshadow watched her mother stalk passed the other cats. She could tell that Oceanwave was seething with fury, jealousy, and frustration and that combination never boded well for any cat when it was harbored in the heart of a cat like Oceanwave, who's faith in DreamClan and the warrior code was almost 2nd nature. Silentshadow looked at Echostar, her eyes asking the question that she refused to voice aloud. Who was the father? She looked at her brother, voicing the same question.
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Jaggedfang got the roses he needed and left the territory with 2 of the buds in his jaws, still humming and blissfully unaware of the turmoil in FernClan.
[OOC: Also Jaggedfang's last response here. He's off to heat things up in the frozen willow. *Wink wink*XD]
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Post by Flamey on Apr 17, 2010 9:39:17 GMT -5
" She loves me. She really does." the tom-cat whispered back to the she-cat, though not that softly, because he had nothing to be cautious about. Then the fighting started, Infinitystrike watched the fury of the two she-cats unfold, unable to interrupt or sneak even a word into the fight. When they finally finished, he stood beside Echostar, stroking her back with his tail. "She does not treat me like dirt!" was all he could yowl to the departing she-cat. He then turned to Echostar, giving her a swift lick on the palce where Oceanwave's tail had hit her. "Don't let her bother you. There's nothing she can do." he meowed, trying to reassure her. [/size]
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Post by Jaysong :D on Apr 17, 2010 16:48:02 GMT -5
Cloudpelt saw the look in his mother's eyes and suddenly rushed after her. He didn't know why,but he knew he had to stop her from telling the whole clan. The fact that their leader had a mate from a different clan would tear Fernclan apart.
When he cought up to her he meowed," You can't do this Oceanwave. The only reason she told us those things was in response you your insults,and it's really none of our business anyway."
As Oceanwave stalked away, Echostar called out to her,"You can tell the clan whatever you want,but I've suffered more pain than you can imagine. Your pathetic attempt at hurting me will do nothing but hurt yourself." She turned to Infinitystrike. "How can I not let her bother me when everything she said was true?"she sobbed.
OOC:sorry for the short post. Writers' Block ><
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