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 Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:52 pm
She wasn't sure what to do with herself, now that she was free of the treachery of twolegs. It had been two full moons since she had found the river, and she had taken to following it in the direction opposite of the one it ran in. She supposed she was curious as to its source... And with no other purpose, she had decided to try and indulge her curiosity. The loner had considered finding the place to which it ran, first, but had abandoned the thought once she had realized that following the river downstream had a chance of taking her back to her birthplace. She just wished she knew if this was the Great River, or some other spirit. Though she wouldn't have minded company, either.
Feeling a small pang of hunger, she halted her walking and peered out over the winding water. It would seem it was time to catch herself something to eat... Seeing a rock that jutted out away from the bank and was large enough to suffice as a perch, the nameless she-cat delicately hopped onto it. Settling herself, she extended one paw over the water and waited.
There- a small shadow. Her paw flashed under the surface, careful to strike just beneath where her eyes saw the creature's image. Batting the slippery fish out, her other paw caught it and batted it onto her stone perch before holding it down by the tail. She looked at almost mournfully. "Thank you." Hungry, she then began her meal.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 3:12 pm
Palefire padded sternly forward, tension gripping every inch of his frame, but his paws carrying him in silence. He kept himself low, but ears erect and ready. Ready for anything.
He was not one of the cats open to the change. But the plague had taken its toll on everyone, to the point that not even the resolute Palefire could not bring himself to deny their need to leave. As much as he hated it. As much as it unnerved him now. They had no idea what was in store for them, what could possibly happen on their journey or where exactly they were headed.
That was why he was here. He had, well, somewhat taken it upon himself to scout out ahead of his Clan. The rest of the cats could fend for themselves and their own respective clans. Palefire was not here to make friends, he was here to make sure Riverclan prospered. Which, for now, meant making sure nothing dangerous was in their way, as well as finding what food he could. He would not put it past himself to walk right around the other starving cats to make sure his Clan was fed with what he caught.
In the end, he would just have to cling to his firm hope that better times were ahead: that someday soon he could fill back out what remained of his muscular pelt: the large tom having lost a significant amount of weight recently.
Then Palefire came to a quick stop, the smell of another cat catching his attention, so that he parted his jaws in the slightest in order to get a better taste. A she-cat. Now.. Where was she? He was already downwind, and so he proceeded slightly forward, chest pressed all the way to the ground as he crept, golden eyes dashing, looking for the source of the scent.
Then he found her. A young she-cat, one who looked.. Oddly wild. He took in another breath. No, there was no clan sent on her. No twolegs either. She had to be a loner. Her pelt, light in color but adorned with distinct, wild-cat like spots: it caught his attention, perked his interest enough to keep from immediately reacting to her presence. Had they been in any other situation, had he found her back in the old Riverclan territory, thing would be different. Rather, there were no boundaries here. No reason for him to pounce without warning. Not unless she gave him a reason to: a sign that she may be aggressive, that she may.. somehow.. be a threat to the wandering pack of mixed clans behind him.
Then, he watched her perch and lean in over the water, as if prepping herself to fish.. How would this she-cat know how to fish? His ears pushed forward, interest growing, but also half-expecting her to fall in. But, she didn’t, instead, she caught one, rather expertly.
She could end up being a valuable asset to Riverclan.. No, no.. She was a loner, she was nothing.. Riverclan did not need to stoop so low as to take in an Outsider. A loner. A no one. Except, really, they did. Their numbers had suffered, and if this she-cat already knew how to fish..
Palefire raised himself up, purposely allowing the brush around him to tremor and announce his presence, as if his firm, but oddly warm, voice would not do that.
“Where did you learn to fish like that?” He asked, bold, confident steps carrying him forward.
He looked loose, he looked comfortable, but he was not. He was a careful tom, and there was no way he was letting his guard down, not even around a younger she-cat.
He didn’t give her a chance to answer his first question before he proceeded, “As impressive as it may be, I would not dwindle here for long. A number of cats will be moving through here soon, and would not expect a warm welcome.”
Not far from her now, he sat, never removing his piercing, golden gaze as he wrapped his tail over his paws.
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Black VVinter Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 3:38 pm
The nameless loner had only just swallowed her first bite when she heard a rustling in the thick grasses behind her. When it was followed by a relatively friendly voice, she turned away from her fish to see a pale ginger tom. He seemed to rise from the brush with a strange kind of fluid grace, a practiced ease; it reminded her of the large striped Wild Ones the twoleggers sometimes brought through the rows of dens in her birthland. Like one who hunted for more than a snack and bragging rights.
Like someone who had been at it far longer than herself. Hearing his question, she opened her mouth to reply before realizing it had been rhetorical. Instead, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
"I shouldn't expect a warm welcome? But is it not they who come here, where I already am?" It seemed rather arrogant to her, that this tom's group of cats should expect her to leave just because they were passing through...
It was then that she noticed the state of the tom's frame, looking as though he had been deprived of a proper amount of food. If all of those he spoke of were like that... Or maybe he had been chased off by the approaching group? She supposed that for now, it did not matter; only that there was a cat before her far hungrier than she. And since he looked like he planned to at least stay for a small chat, sitting there in an almost haughty fashion...
"You look hungry, would you like some fish?" If he had a problem with eating something she'd already bitten into, she could easily catch him a 'fresh' fish. If not, she could catch herself something else later. The river provided plenty, and she had been raised to always offer a meal when she could to the hungry. Spirits knew there were plenty where she came from... She could only hope that hunger was not as prevalent in this land as it was in the one she had left.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 7:27 pm
He had to admit that he found her initial question rather humorous, in an odd way, but the amusement did not stop from flashing over his gaze. A look that was immediately erased by the quick narrowing of his gaze when she asked her second question.
He looked hungry? The tip of his tail twitched with frustration. He knew freshkill had been scarce and.. impure recently, and he knew that some of his muscle had been toned down. But that didn’t mean that he appreciated being told by a loner that he looked hungry. Or, that he wanted to be offered a share of her food. To him, it was just a deep cut into his pride, and his posture managed to stiffen even further.
“No..” His voice came across harsh, rather hurt at first, but he took a moment and righted his tone appropriately, “No.. Thank you. I do not eat before my Clan is fed.”
He almost left it at that, but instead, decided to add it one more quick, little remark: he owed it to her in face of her generosity, as much as it may have insulted him.
“I will, however, take advantage of the wonderful fishing perch you found.”
He unwrapped his tail and stood again, holding it high in a manner that matched his strong and prideful gait as he padded around the spotted she-cat and leapt onto the rock he had seen her fish from just moments before. He approached the surface slowly, pressing himself down against the smooth surface, and gingerly peered over the edge.
It felt wonderful, to be able to hunt like this again, without having to worry about sickness or plague. Simply.. energizing.
It wasn’t long before his prey shifted into his view, and the pale ginger tom unsheathed his claws eagerly, swiping into the water with a single quick and fluid motion. One he had made hundreds of times before. Sure enough, the fish followed, flopping onto the bank. With a satisfied air, Palefire leapt down from the rock and stifled its flopping with the quick bite. Then, in an action he realized would probably be odd to the she-cat, began to dig a place to bury it.
“In regard to my earlier statement,” He spoke slowly, his eyes not flashing back to her until he was done with the first portion of his statement, “This is a rather.. Large group of cats. Five Clans. And there are few among us that are in a tolerant state. Your presence alone, regardless of who was here first, could be enough to evoke aggression.”
Finishing his hole, he took the fish between his teeth again and lowered it down, proceeding to bury it and expecting to return to for its retrieval after he had finished his scouting.. From the kindness this mysterious she-cat had shown before, he doubted that she could steal it.
“In fact, I would not continue to travel in your same direction. Our old territory lies further downstream, and is has become tainted with plague and death. Even the freshkill was soiled. You would come away from there looking.. Well.. No better than me.” He added a tone of mock smugness towards the end, referencing his smaller, “hungry”, state.
His general kindness actually surprised him. Speaking to an outsider in such a way was.. utterly unheard of on his part. He had to constantly reminded himself that he was doing this for a reason, that he was attempting to appeal to her, attempting to recruit a healthy new member of his Clan. However, he was also not one to force the idea: if she was intrigued, he would humor her. If not, he would leave her to her own, and never again bother himself with her memory or concern for her well-being.
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Black VVinter Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 6:02 pm
The she-cat's head tilted ever so slightly in confusion as she realized her offer had offended the strange cat... Though she supposed that, in this new land, it may very well have been she who was strange one. Just how far away had she been taken...? Part of her said any distance was too far, part of her said no distance was far enough.
She missed her family.
Hearing the tom's explanation, she nodded in understanding. Curious about the nature of this 'clan' that she assumed was the group of mysterious cats he had warned her of, she was about to ask him a question when he lept onto the rock she had used to fish. This confused her- hadn't he said he wouldn't eat until his clan had been fed? Fish would spoil quickly... Thoroughly confused but not wanting to ruin his focus while fishing, the she-cat held her tongue. Her brow furrowed when he began to bury his catch (Perhaps it was a local rite? They had plenty of them in the place of her birth.), but still she staid silent. There was no need to risk further offense.
"When you speak of clans, do you reference families or glarings?" He spoke of clans and cats who were aggressive by default as if it was normal; it served only to show her just how foreign she was to this place. Glarings were not common but not unheard of on the banks of the Great River, large swarms of perhaps a hundred homeless cats that crowded and moved together like the temporary streams that formed after the rains.
The news of plague and death downstream caught her urgent attention, and her fur began to stand on end as panic creeped into her mind. This tom was obviously not from her birthplace or anywhere near it, but if this land was becoming tainted as well...! "The river there. Is the river tainted as well?" Realizing almost immediately that the outburst might have seemed strange, she calmed herself with the knowledge that there were, from the sound of it, a great many hungry mouths that needed fed.
"And..." She hesitated, not knowing what would or would not offend the tom. "Would it be against your customs to help you gather fish to feed your clan? If food is that scarce in the land you flee..."
Either way, it looked as though she would be changing direction in her roaming...
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Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 11:17 am
A warm reply to the wild she-cat’s question about the nature of their Clans had just about risen from the ginger tom’s throat when he took note of the bristling of her coat.
He had been expecting her shock, and continued to watch her more panicked, frantic actions: deciding to meet them with the calm, cool atmosphere of his own. Yes, the general amused atmosphere was gone, replaced by the acute, solemn air that now came with any talk of their old territory.
But there was something about the large tom at was oddly comforting without him even needing to speak. A soft narrowing of his eyes, a light reflection of concern reflecting through them, but the simple, strong way in which the bold cat held himself relaying both his support and his readiness to address the problem.
“The river appeared fresh,” Palefire relayed thoughtfully, “But the fish themselves were maggot ridden.” He nodded in the direction of her freshkill, “It’s a relief to see how clean these fish are. We were not sure how widespread our plague had become.”
He finished putting dirt back on the top of the fish, then pressed a single paw against the top of the mound, lowering his head with a brief, inward thanks to StarClan for the fish’s apparent health. Only then did he continue with his statement.
“The Clans have been through a significant amount of suffering recently, which is why I felt it necessary to warn you of their possible aggression. We have.. lost a lot of our Clanmates.. And yes, our Clans are more like family groups.” He ended his last sentence with a fond, warm purr. As haughty as the pale tom could be, he would be the last to deny his affections for his Clan.
He caught her opening statement, and her hesitation, awaited her to continue with interested ears perked forward, golden eyes staring intensely.
"Would it be against your customs to help you gather fish to feed your clan? If food is that scarce in the land you flee..."
This, he did not answer immediately. But, unlike previously, the tom did not appear offended by her suggestion. Instead, he gave an attentive twitch of his ear.
Actually, her helping collect fish would be rather helpful… His Clanmates would be able to scent another cat on the fish, but he doubted any of them were in a state to complain or question. If there was a possibility of her being able to gather more fish, then for the benefit of his Clan, he was more than willing to set aside whatever pride in him which would have normally rejected any help from a loner.
“I would greatly appreciate any help you could offer.” He announced finally, another soft purr stirring in the tom’s throat.
He allowed her to have her old perch back, then scoped out, not much more than a few fox lengths further down the bank, one for himself.
With the nature of their hunting, it was silent between them for a while. All besides the sure swipe of paws across the surface of the water. Occasionally, when her back was turned, he would find himself looking up, still surprised at the loner’s keen ability to fish.
But he didn’t address it until they had each gathered as much fish was they could carry, and, walking back along the shore now, the proud tom addressed her with a surprising, but ever so proper and polite, dip of his head. “RiverClan owes you their thanks,” He announced ceremoniously before raising himself again, his formalities erased, replaced by only that same, amused twinkle of his eyes. “You would fit in well with our Clan.” He gestured with a switch of his tail towards the fish she had gotten, “My Clan prides itself in our closeness with water: our ability to fish and swim. I have never met a Loner who could say the same..”
That was when a sudden shock over came him, which he balanced it with a quick, warm purr, “I am so sorry. I can be so rude sometimes. My name is Palefire. What are you called by? Because, I have another request for you, if you can spare a few more moments..” Of course, he doubted the she-cat was in any sort of hurry.
“It would aid us greatly if you could give me an idea of what kind of land lies in our path.” He turned, looking downstream, in the direction the she-cat had just come from, standing tall, the whole of his muscular form stretched out high now, firm as he peered thoughtfully through the trees and brush with his ears perked forward, as if maybe.. if he concentrated for long enough, he could see right through them. Maybe have a better idea of what lay in store for the journey of his clan.
“I don’t suppose..” He added on thoughtfully, extending the end of his sentence, and not yet turning back to face the white she-cat, “Did you pass by any small, but roomy, pieces of land, surrounded by water on all sides along this river?”
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Black VVinter Vice Captain
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