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Post by sil on Dec 1, 2012 17:13:11 GMT -5
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f i s h b o n e |
[/i][/color] Fishbone had grown in the moons since he had become deputy. Not in stature, unfortunately. He was still small and thin. His confidence as a leader had developed. The tom was no longer frightened by giving orders or speaking in front of groups of his Clan mates. His duties as deputy kept him too busy to be anxious or nervous.
NorthClan had two territories to patrol, and he had to organize all of them. The mystery behind Blackstorm’s death still haunted him, and the constant worry of EastClan’s inevitable retaliation hung over them all. Now leaf-bare was fast approaching, and that meant even more responsibilities to divvy out. The tunnels had to be protected against the extra weight of the snow, slush and ice needed to be kept out of the camp, and the dens had to be fortified against the bitter mountain cold.
Fishbone sighed as he padded around the nursery, overseeing the apprentices and warriors bringing in dry moss and grasses. The long stalks of wheat and grass from EastClan’s plains made good insulation. The NorthClan kits would need to stay as warm as possible. Fishbone felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched the kits tumble around the tunnel den. The young tom hadn’t found many reasons to smile lately, but the playfulness of the kits made him happy.
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 1, 2012 19:12:49 GMT -5
Maplekit, Rowankit, and Cherrykit tumbled happily out of the nursery. They approached a small play area, perfect for them to play a game.
Cherrykit was the most excited of the three. "Sooooooo... what should we play?" she mewed excitedly.
Maplekit suggested, "What about a game of moss ball?" and pushed a huge moss ball forward with her nose.
Rowankit, who was the rowdiest and most stubborn, didn't like moss ball as much as he used to. "No," he meowed, "we are five moons old, almost ready to become apprentices! Why don't we play fight to practice our skills?"
"I'm in!" Cherrykit yowled as she pounced on top of Rowankit.
"Well, I'm sorry to upset you both, but I kind of want to help the medicine cat. Maybe later!" Maplekit mewed as she padded of to look for herbs around camp, not daring to stray out, unless some herbs were near the exit. As she tried to find the scent of herbs in or very near camp, she came across Fishbone. "Hi, Fishbone!" she mewed to him.
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Post by Kenya on Dec 2, 2012 16:02:33 GMT -5
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L i g h t n i n g f u r
Lightningfur suppressed a worried sigh as she watched the kits tumble around each other. These kits would make excellent warriors one day, loyal to Northclan... But what of her own? As if on cue, Lightningfur sucked in a sharp breath as she felt a kick in her stomach.
"Easy little ones" She meowed quietly giving her growing stomach a few gentle licks. Nervously, she looked up and saw Fishbone. Instantly her ears flattened. The tom had been such a good friend and clanmate, but after becoming deputy he had changed so much. Lightningfur couldn't risk telling him about the kits and found herself distancing herself more and more. As far as she knew, no cat was aware of her carrying kits, or even who the father was.
Sure she had grown larger with each passing day, but Lightningfur played it off with her clanmates as the extra fresh-kill from Eastclan, and she took to taking hunting patrols alone, and sleeping in the corner of the den. It seemed to work so far, but it was getting harder and harder to hide.. and the kits wouldn't wait forever.
Wearily, she pulled herself to her paws and stepped towards Rowankit and Cherrykit. "If you want to pounce," She meowed looking to Cherrykit, "Keep your body low, and spring from your back legs. You'll have much more power that way."
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Post by sil on Dec 2, 2012 20:12:15 GMT -5
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f i s h b o n e |
[/i][/color] A low churr of amusement rumbled in Fishbone’s chest when Maplekit approached. “Hello, Maplekit,” he greeted with a dip of his head. “Where are you off to? Try not to wander too far while we work on the camp, alright?” He gave another smile to the young she-cat, who reminded him a good deal of their old medicine cat, Mapleberry. She’d supposedly died in the battle with EastClan, leaving her very capable apprentice, Harespirit, in her place. It wasn’t just the similar names, or the comparable eye colors. If Fishbone had any reason to believe in StarClan, he may have thought some of Mapleberry’s kind, quiet spirit resided in little Maplekit. “And be careful,” he added.
Fishbone’s whiskers twitched and he felt eyes on him. His amber gaze caught a familiar ginger pelt from his peripherals. Lightningfur. Nearly as soon as he saw her, the tom turned away. The fur along his spine stood up. Every time they crossed paths, there was always a sharp, chilling tug on his gut. It wasn’t unlike when he experienced the loss of a loved one, and he knew that he was experiencing grief; grief at the distancing of his closest friend. At first he thought he was just busy with his duties to spend time with her, but as the moons progressed, he noticed how Lightningfur would find excuses to hunt alone, or to patrol the EastClan territories. It wasn’t just him that was distancing himself. She was ignoring him. Of course, he had no idea she had a secret relationship with an EastClan warrior, but Fishbone couldn’t stop the prickling sense of jealously that spiked his fur whenever he watched her run off to their eastern borders…
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 4, 2012 23:06:21 GMT -5
Cherrykit ducked down low, preparing to spring onto Rowankit, as Lightningfur had said. Rowankit crouched also, but Cherrykit was fast. She pounced on Rowankit.
"Ahhhh, I'm pinned!" Rowankit yowled stubbornly. He was jealous because his sister was the fastest of the three. Rowankit swipped a paw at Cherrykit, and she jumped off his stomach into a dodge.
"You are tough, but I'm tougher!" she playfully meowed, and the playfight continued.
Meanwhile, Maplekit, the youngest of the three, was talking to Fishbone. "I am looking for herbs around camp!" she answered him, dropping a small heap of juniper. She had heard the elders tell stories of medicine cats and their histories. She loved those stories, ecspecially ones about medicine cats. She wanted to be the medicine cat apprentice, or at least be able to help the medicine cat. Being a warrior was one of her favorite things, too, but she can only be one thing.
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Post by Kenya on Dec 6, 2012 22:30:21 GMT -5
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L i g h t n i n g f u r
Lightningfur concentrated on the kits scuffling so she didn't need to lock eyes with Fishbone. What would the tom do when she had her sun-colored kits? What would Scatterstar do? She thanked Starclan, or what was left of it, that she didn't need to reveal the father. She sighed and flicked Rowankit on the ear with her tail as he pushed off his sister. She had hoped to mentor one of the kits, but with her own on he way this looked very unlikely.
"Its not all about strength you know." Lightningfur meowed crouching low to the ground, her belly brushing the hard earth. "Sometimes, the quieter and more patient you are, the better chance you have." She jumped and landing clumsily on her paws, a large leaf crunched as she landed on it. "Running and yowling catches no prey."
"You try. See who can be quieter." She challenged taking in a few breathes. These kits were starting to slow her down. She stole a glance over her shoulder at Fishbone. Had he noticed? He seemed distracted by Maplekit, the little future medicine cat in training. Thought she knew him better, and he knew her. Being clumsy on her paws would give her away eventually.
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 7, 2012 0:04:40 GMT -5
Cherrykit and Rowankit stopped. They stood in absolute silence. Cherrykit flicked her tail to the sound of the birds, but otherwise, they did nothing. Suddenly, Rowankit spotted a mouse in the distance. Rowankit snuck towards it, in almost the perfect position. He then silently pounced, and caught his first prey.
"You did it!" Cherrykit yowled with excitement and jealousy. She was proud of her brother. "When I find some prey, I want to try too!"
Maplekit padded around camp. She looked behind dens, she sniffed the floor, she looked through the fresh kill pile (without messing it up), and finally she found some marigold next to the leader's den. She padded away with the marigold, picked up the juniper she had found earlier, and took it to Harespirit, the medicine cat.
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Post by sil on Dec 8, 2012 17:18:17 GMT -5
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f i s h b o n e |
[/i][/color] Fishbone tapped Maplekit’s spine with the end of his tapered tail as she passed by. “Be careful, little one,” he mewed, “be sure to stay out of the way of Warriors bringing in supplies. They may not see someone as small as you.”
The snapping of branches pulled his attention away from the kit. NorthClan had to keep thick, sturdy branches and small logs against the walls of some of the tunnels to keep the ancient foothills from collapsing in under the added weight of snow in leaf-bare. Dread gripping his innards, the deputy spun around to see a section of the new den reinforcements begin to fall away from the wall. Fishbone leapt quickly over Cherrykit and Rowankit, pulled himself up onto his hindpaws, and forcefully pressed the branches back against the tunnel sides as weightily as he could.
“I need some help,” the tom growled to any Warrior nearby. With his tail, he tried to wave Cherrykit and Rowankit away from the immediate area. The tunnel was, of course, not likely to collapse, but if this section fell, it may bring the rest of the wood down with it, and he didn’t want to risk any damage to the kits or their nursery.
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 8, 2012 19:42:12 GMT -5
"Yes, Fishbone!" mewed Maplekit. She listened to Fishbone's request well, and she padded over to the nursery, where Cherrykit and Rowankit were standing.
"Guess what???" Rowankit bragged, "I caught my first prey!!" He bounced up and down with the mouse in his mouth. Deciding to bring it to the fresh kill pile, he padded away.
Cherrykit bounced like Rowankit did. "Will you playfight with us NOW?" she asked Maplekit.
Maplekit hesitated. She wasn't a big fan of playfighting, but she played anyway. "Okay," she meowed, trying to sound excited, "let's start!"
Then, the silent playfight began.
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Post by Kenya on Dec 9, 2012 21:06:05 GMT -5
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L i g h t n i n g f u r
Lightningfur's head snapped up when she heard the cracking of the branches. Her heart leapt to her throat. If those branches collapsed they would lose the nursery. Lightningfur looked around the camp. Most warriors were out in Eastclan, or further down the mountain during this time of day. Two territories took up a lot of time.
Lightningfur, if not a bit sluggishly, ran to grab spare branches. With her jaws firmly clamped against two large branches she drug them to Fishbone. Her fur was spiked for more then one reason as she pushed one of the branches against the wall to help support some of the weight.
From all the excitment, a small rock slipped and tumbled towards her. Lightningfur jumped back with a hiss and shielded her stomach with her ringed tail. Eyeing Fishbone carefully, she moved forward and pushed up the second branch. The wall needed at least two more to hold it, but the extra kit weight left her out of breath. Lightnignfur pulled in a few sharp breaths and went back for the other two branches. She turned to look over her shoulder at the kits.
"Stay back you three" She warned between breaths as she grasped another branch between her jaws.
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 10, 2012 0:42:36 GMT -5
Cherrykit looked up and cocked her head at what Lightningfur and Fishbone were doing. Rowankit smiled, wanting to be strong like that someday. All three of them stared at them in silence. Suddenly, one of them spoke. It was Maplekit.
"Maybe we should fetch some extra branches!" she suggested. Cherrykit and Rowankit ran off to find more branches, with Maplekit padding behind them.
They soon came back to the nursery and dropped some branches at Lightningfur and Fishbone's paws.
"There, all done!" Cherrykit mewed. They then stood back, wondering what the others would do next.
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Post by sil on Dec 10, 2012 2:23:26 GMT -5
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f i s h b o n e |
[/i][/color] It felt like electricity crackled through Fishbone’s pelt when Lightningfur drew near, in the way it always seemed to since they fought together in the battle against EastClan. Heart hammering from the combined situations, he nodded dumbly when she began helping to fix the reinforcements. He couldn’t quite bring himself to speak, and his mixture of elation and confusion at the breaking of their unspoken lack of proximity or interaction, caused him to initially overlook her clumsiness.
Fishbone, bracing his weight against the branches, hissed at the kits when they came near. “Stay away!” he warned harshly, before catching himself. He forced his pelt to lay flat and his expression to soften. The stress of his duties made him snappish, and he didn’t intend for the severity behind his words. The tom bowed his head in brief apology. His action nearly made him miss Lightningfur’s strange, awkward actions, and her protective hiss peaked his attention.
His mind was whirling with dark, angry thoughts. With a solid tug, Fishbone jerked down the broken branch and replaced it with a solid one. He used the kit’s branches as extras. His amber eyes smoldering, hardly straying from Lightningfur’s stressed, panting form, the deputy set to rolling the rock that had worked itself free into a corner of the nursery.
His gaze drifted from her belly back to her ginger-and-white face. His eyes narrowed to fiery slits. “I think we need to talk, Lightningfur,” he mewed.
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 10, 2012 4:30:48 GMT -5
Rowankit and Cherrykit stood back nervously at Fishbone's tone. Maplekit knew he had apoligized for accidently being so harsh, and dipped her head to say, 'That's okay!'. Rowankit and Cherrykit knew what she was trying to say, so they dipped their heads, too. All three of them watched the 'fight' between the collapsing nursery and Fishbone and Lightningfur. When they heard Fishbone say, "I think we need to talk, Lightningfur.", they knew the fight was over. The nursery was steady again.
"Let's get back to our silent fight!" Cherrykit mewed. Rowankit pounced on Maplekit and Maplekit swipped a paw at Cherrykit and she dodged it. The fight then continued.
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Post by Kenya on Dec 10, 2012 23:47:41 GMT -5
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L i g h t n i n g f u r
Lightningfur watched Fishbone finish placing the sticks against the wall as she caught her breath. Turning away from him, she scooted the kits away with her tail. Incase the reinforcements didn't hold, she didn't want the three of them any where near it.
"Come on kits. If you want to be apprentices one day we can't have you squished by the rocks now can we?" She attempted to herd them away and then seek shelter where Fishbone couldn't find her, but his words reached her before she could get away.
Ears flattened, she sulkily turned towards him. "What?" She meowed in a low voice with her eyes locked with his. "What do you want?" She turned to make sure the kits were playing safely as well as hide her face for a moment.
"All the down time is making me slow, ya know?" She meowed with a flick of her ear, trying to lighten her voice.
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Post by maplebreeze on Dec 16, 2012 22:35:09 GMT -5
Maplekit listened to Lightningfur. She slowly stepped away from the nursery, just in case it collapsed again. Cherrykit and Rowankit heard the words, 'squished by rocks', and ran from the nursery. They eventually caught up to Maplekit.
"Let's keep fighting! Let's keep fighting! C'mon, pleaaaaaaase!!!" Cherrykit yowled. Maplekit and Rowankit looked at each other with confused looks. They knew Cherrykit was in one of her rowdy moods like Rowankit usually was. She was sometimes like that. At other times, she would act sweet and kind like Maplekit.
Rowankit just stared. He would usually say, 'Okay, let's start!', and pounce on them, but not this time. This was the rowdiest mood that Cherrykit has had in moons.
"Uh... okay..?" he and Maplekit rasped at the same time.
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