on my o w n (open)

[- Steph -]

Cinderpelt.....! Cinderpelt.....!

The pretty she-cat jerked awake, feeling the tears fill her eyes again. A few cats began stirring, but she was out of that den before anyone could realize it.

She shook her head fiercely, shaking away the last few tears from her eyes. Was she really going to keep living like this? Nightmares filling her dreams about something completely beyond her control? My mother could have saved him first, she thought painfully. Then, where would she be today?

The constant questions seemed to fill her life with such anguish and pain. Her safehaven, her place of escaped, was below her paws now: the forest. Here, she could lose herself. Here, she could become herself for a few precious hours.
The she-cat was on a mission, catching as many prey as she could. However, much of the prey was asleep, making everything that much difficult. Difficult was what Cinderpelt needed right now; she needed to keep her mind off of the constant nightmares.
After catching her three mice and two voles, the she-cat buried her catch at the foot of an oak. There were few oaks throughout this specific forest, but this was her favorite tree. Cinderpelt easily scaled the tree, crouching in a comfortable postion on a thick branch. She wrapped her tail around her paws, watching intently as the sun began rising. Southclan would be waking up soon enough. Still, Cinderpelt couldn't make herself move this morning. The air was particularly warmer than the past few mornings; this morning, Cinderpelt could actually enjoy the sunrise. So, this is exactly what the she-cat would do with the precious time she had now.
Are you watching it too? Wherever you are?
The she-cat felt the tears come to her eyes again; this time, she let them fall, but only for a little while. After a few minutes, the she-cat lifted her head proudly, looking ahead of her. Right now was not the time for a breakdown. Right now was the time for Cinderpelt to keep her head high, never giving up hope in herself. The she-cat took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She would stay for just a little while longer....

[ink]

s n o w .

[/i]

Another dreary day wasted away with the blinding sun slipping through the leaves, illuminating every vein on every leaf. The air was getting rather balmy, with a drafty wind passing by. A white tom trudged through the forest, letting out a grunt of disgust whenever a breeze passed by. How his well-groomed fur would fare through the horrible weather would only be a question of endurance. He would wash over it plenty once he returned to camp.

Honestly, he didn't know why warriors were held for so much regard yet did all the grunt work. And what did the leader do on this warm day? Sleep? Traipse about his den and nibble on a mouse? Balmy air teased his fur with specks of debris and Snowstreak scowled, gouging the ground before continuing on his little expedition, upholding his duties as a SouthClan warrior. Snowstreak scoffed.

A familiar scent hit his nose, and the snow warrior leaned out, inhaling the smell. It was definitely fresh and undoubtedly a cat. One of his little proud, honorable clanmate, perhaps? Snowstreak paced the ground, looking around for any sight and sound of a cat. Well, his trial wouldn't be so bad if he had company.

Something rustled in the corner of his eye and Snowstreak turned, looking up at the canopies of the towering trees. Through the thick leaves he could see something moving, hues of auburn and black shifting.

Ah, it was...what was her name? Something rather plain. Ah, yes. Cinderpelt. Snowstreak grinned to himself, his mood lifted at the sight of a female companion; well soon-to-be companion. He hadn't talked to Cinderpelt much; in fact there probably wasn't an exchange of conversation at all. From his observations, Snowstreak deduced that his clanmate was another goody-two-shoes, strict about the warrior code down to her tail tip. From what he could tell, she was a quiet little thing. Not particularly the most beautiful she-cat, but she was sufficient.

Snowstreak pranced in front of the tree Cinderpelt rested on, his eyes glowing in mirth.

"I spy with my little eyes something in a tree. Or is it a someone? Who could it be? Oh, how I wonder!" Snowstreak shifted a little to the side so he could get a better view of the she-cat.
"Well what a surprise! If it isn't Cinderpelt!" he purred.

((hope you don't mind if i pop in c:))[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[- Steph -]

(( i was waiting for anyone to pop in! This should be interesting ))

"I spy with my little eyes something in a tree. Or is it a someone? Who could it be? Oh, how I wonder! Well what a surprise! If it isn't Cinderpelt!"[/b]

The she-cat felt her claws unsheathe, digging into the branch below her. Eyes still closed, Cinderpelt took one more deep breath. Her moments of silence, now ruined by some annoying clancat - Snowstreak, to be precise. Cinderpelt never had anything against the white tom. In fact, she had never even gone on a patrol with him in her time in Southclan. Naturally, this meant that she had never exchanged even a sentence with him.

The she-cat slowly opened her eyes, looking down upon the white tom. She was not glaring, but simply observing. She never quite understood why so many she-cats in Southclan took an intense liking towards the tom. While he was a good asset to Southclan, he sometimes preferred goofing off instead of something more productive. Cinderpelt didn't care what others did within the clan. She was just always trying to get her mind off of her thoughts, and she accomplished this by hunting all day.

She thought briefly about what she was going to say before responding, still trying to figure out if she wanted company or not. One thing was certain: Cinderpelt was not leaving this branch.

"Snowstreak,"[/color] she purred back, clearly mocking his approach towards her. Her tail waved from side to side slowly, and she found herself grinning slightly before she knew it. Yes, Snowstreak was the distraction she needed today. "What are you doing up so early? Going to meet someone, perhaps?"[/color]

The she-cat's eyes raised ever so slightly. She was actually surprised at herself for making such an effort to talk to the tom. Usually, Cinderpelt found herself remaining silent, not because she was anti-social, but because she didn't feel like what she had to say was very important for everyone else to hear.

The she-cat wrapped her tail around her legs, waiting patiently for Snowstreak's response. [/size]

[ink]

s n o w .

[/i]

Snowstreak happened to notice that the she-cat hadn't immediately responded to him; definitely different from all the other nameless she-cats he fooled around with. Hm, perhaps she was different. He hoped so.

He heard her soft purr, obviously mocking his own and a slight grin graced his features at her headstrong attitude. Looks like this encounter would be fateful.

"What are you doing up so early? Going to meet someone, perhaps?"[/i]

Snowstreak chuckled softly.
"Is that what you think of me? Come now, I am a responsible warrior. I was thinking of going hunting. But I see that you aren't being very productive." Light olive eyes glinted in amusement. He smelled the strong scent of fresh prey buried at the foot of the tree but acted upon not noticing it.
" Why don't you come down here so I can see your pretty face? I wouldn't mind if you came along with me." Claws sank into the rough bark as the scaled the tree, resting a dipping branch just a couple feet away from Cinderpelt. His long tail whisked back and forth in a playful manner before he leaped back down, landing with a soft 'thud' on the earth. Snowstreak shot a look at the she-cat and smirked.

((blegh. i have horrible muse today -.-))[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[- Steph -]

Cinderpelt continued to raise her eyes at Snowstreak, keeping her eyes on him. Her tail continued to wave back and forth, as if taunting the silly tom.

"Is that what you think of me? Come now, I am a responsible warrior. I was thinking of going hunting. But I see that you aren't being very productive. Why don't you come down here so I can see your pretty face? I wouldn't mind if you came along with me."[/color]

Before she knew it, Snowstreak was racing up a tree across from her, taunting her for a few minutes, and then landing below her. The she-cat's claws immediately went back into the bark, stabilizing herself. Snowstreak's unpredictable personality was surely keeping her at her toes. As she laughed to herself, she realized that this is the length Snowstreak must use for all of the she-cats he comes around. And, as Cinderpelt continued laughing to herself, she realized that she had not laughed in forever. The she-cat had a cute laugh (not too annoying); it was genuine, like she was truly having fun, something she had not had in awhile.

The realization clearly stunned the she-cat as Cinderpelt stopped herself abruptly. She was not opposed to having fun, but simply hadn't had it in so long. Before too long, a sly look came upon her face as she gazed down at Snowstreak, her tail moving back and forth. She couldn't forget this game she was playing: stay with Snowstreak, forget about all her troubles. She liked this, as she thought more about it.

"You act like I'm so easy to convince,"[/color] mewed the she-cat, still safely on her branch. She finally remembered to sheathe her claws back, feeling silly for sticking them into the branch in the first place. Snowstreak was just messing around with her anyways, no need to become so defensive. She began pacing the branch back and forth, still staring down at the tom. "if you want my hunting expertise, you'll have to catch me first."[/color]

Cinderpelt couldn't believe such an idea had come into her head. Never before did she think she would mention goofing around instead of bringing her fresh-kill back into camp. However, her words were out of her mouth before she could even think about the needs of her clan. As quickly as possibly, Cinderpelt jumped down upon her branch, landing gently onto her feet. Without even glancing at Snowstreak, she raced out of the clearing, loving the feel of the wind on her face. She hadn't run this fast in ages.

What am I doing, what was I thinking? she suddenly thought to herself, coming to an immediate stop. He's probably not even following me...![/i]
[/size]

[ink]

s n o w .

[/i]

He heard the sudden peals of laughter, a clear lilting noise that resounded through the forest. It sounded...well, he had to admit that it sounded delightful. And then it stopped, suddenly halting. For a heartbeat, he noticed a change in her before that coy, taunting look resided back in its place. Her tail swished back and forth and Snowstreak looked at , suddenly skeptic and suspicious to her change.

"You act like I'm so easy to convince. If you want my hunting expertise, you'll have to catch me first."[/i]

A rush of air whistled as she landed in front of him and shot through the forest. The smirk graced his features once more. He didn't know what Cinderpelt was doing, but if she wanted him to follow, then follow he would. He scaled the tree again, climbing higher onto the thinner branches. Nimble feet swerved to the next trees while olive green eyes looked down below, trying to spot where the she-cat was.

Cinderpelt had run off like a badger was chasing after her so he couldn't exactly tell where she was. Back to the safe ground it was then; that and a twig was nudging against his leg which didn't feel quite comfy. He slipped back down, landing softly. The snow cat sat down, long tail whisking over his hind paws while his front paw was drawn to wash and groom.

He grinned. Did she really think that he would chase after her? Heh, foolish she-cat. She wasn't that desirable. Sure, she wasn't ugly, but not gorgeous enough to have him woo her. She was kind of tricky to understand too, and he wasn't in the mood to figure her out at the moment. Snowstreak continued to wash himself, nudging his damp paw against his face.

He would simply wait. Wait for her to come crawling back and wipe that smug smirk off her face.

((whoo boy. 2am and im beat. some stuff might not make sense xD))[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]