((I am so glad that this is going at such a relaxed pace right now. I'm sure that will change soon, but I'll try to keep up better than I have in the past. -w- Anyway, more kitties to intro here.))

SparrowClan:

Silverpool:

Silverpool chuckled at the apprentices' comments. "Yes, she is quite far along. In fact, those kits are due to be born very soon," she told them.

The she-cat's thoughts turned somber, however, as she thought of the queen. Goldenflower's history was a rather sad tale of brutality, leaving her scarred both physically and emotionally. Silverpool hoped that the birth would go well, for the kits' sake, and for Goldenflower's; she didn't need any more tragedy in her life. Though she could be moody and even downright cold with those she didn't completely trust, Silverpool still admired her strength, and her self-control; the medicine cat knew her own sharp tongue would likely get her into serious trouble in HawkClan.

"I'm going to grab something to eat," she told Tawnypaw, "and then I'm going to go see if Goldenflower's awake. It's time to check on her and the kits again." Padding over to the fresh-kill pile, she picked out a jaybird and settled down to eat.

(( ))

Moonpaw:

As the morning light filtered into the den, Moonpaw's jaw stretched out wide in a yawn. Blinking tiredly, he stretched out his muscles as best he could, before batting at a furry body behind him, assuming it was his best friend.

"C'mon, Sunpaw," he muttered, a bit blearily. "Time to get up."

Strange. Why was he so tired? He was usually very good with mornings, but today he just couldn't seem to shake of that last bit of sleepiness.

(())

[WrenClan] >> Coralshine "All right kittens, let's get back to the nursery!" Coralshine mewed to the kits surrounding her. It looked like those of them who felt like helping already had their prey, and she wanted to get everyone out of the way so that the rest of the clan could eat their breakfast in peace. She doubted that all of them would appreciate waking up to the excited blabber of the kits, cute as they were. She picked up several pieces of prey, then began to lead the way back to the nursery. She still kept a sharp eye out for any wandering kits though. The last thing she needed this morning was an escape attempt, and she knew that some of the kits could be pretty adventurous at times. ( since that affects everyone with a kit)

[SparrowClan] >> Blazepaw "No, please, don't-" he pleaded with them, amber eyes wide. "I don't want to hurt you, I don't even know you!" The cats made no reply, and simply stalked closer. They were large, nearly as big as badgers, with sharp teeth and evil red eyes. "Please, we never meant any harm," he whispered, trembling. Yet they stalked closer, and closer, until he could smell the strange scent on their pelts. He didn't know what it was, but the scent was not right. They were outsiders, intruders, and he also knew that they were cold hearted killers.

Blazepaw backed away from them, until he felt his tail brush up against something hard. He was trapped, and he knew it. "Why do you hate me so much? What did we do wrong?" He screeched when one of the cats, the largest of the three, leaned over him and stared at him with vicious red eyes. "You talked badly of us. We don't take such things lightly." The cat said to him, at last. "And now you must die."

Blazepaw woke with a start, his heart hammering against his chest. Die, die, die. The word kept repeating itself over and over again, and the tom shook his head to try and make the thought go away. It eventually did, yet the dream still left him shaking a bit. As the tom looked around him, he realized that he must have been thrashing during the night. Bits of moss from his nest were scattered everywhere, and pieces of it clung to his fur. Blazepaw quickly tried to fix the mess he had made, then gave himself a quick bath before padding out of the den.

He saw Tawnypaw, Pinepaw, Ebony, and Silverpool chatting while eating their breakfast. Cougarpaw and Foxpaw were playing not far off, and he could see Slatestorm talking to someone. Besides them, he didn't see many cats though. Runningpaw and Dapplepaw still seemed to be asleep, and so was Falconfang. Blazepaw shrugged and made his way over to the fresh-kill pile. He would just eat his breakfast to keep himself occupied until one of his friends got up.

[SparrowClan] >> Goldenflower She ran towards the meadow as fast as her legs could carry her. She leapt over rocks and boulders, and even kicked up sand in a few places. Beside her ran her two she-kits, and on her other side her three tom-kits kept up with her pace easily. She laughed when one of the toms leapt over a boulder that was easily as big as he was, and then watched as they made a game out of it. Each of the five kits would try and jump over any boulder in their path, and counted each of them that they jumped over. The winner at the moment was Adderkit, with five, but his siblings weren't far behind. Goldenflower even considered joining in on their game for a moment, but knew that she needed to focus. She had to make sure they got to the meadow, where they would be safe.

They came out of nowhere. Toms of all shapes and sizes ran towards her, separating her from her five kits, and also blocking her way to the meadow. She snarled and fought against them, biting and slashing at them, but they only stood there, silently mocking her with their eyes. She looked around her, desperately trying to find the kits, but they were nowhere to be seen. They were gone, hidden by the monsters surrounding her.

Then he came. He smiled at her coldly. "You thought you would be safe?" Boneface mewed to her, hitting her across the face with a paw, claws extended. "You thought you would take my kits away?" Another hit across the face. "You stupid she-cat. Don't you understand?" He leaned close to her, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her ear. "You will never be safe. I am everywhere, I have eyes in every clan. I will find you, no matter where you go. You cannot get away-"

She jolted awake and sat in her nest for a few moments, shaking from the fear the dream had brought on. She had dreams most nights, usually starring her former mate and often her kits, and this dream hadn't been much worse than any of the others. Goldenflower sighed, then began to groom herself. The other queens were still asleep, and Jaguarkit too, but she didn't mind. Having a bit of alone time would be nice before they woke up.

SparrowClan {Slatestorm} Slatestorm watched the two apprentices play-fighting for a little while, relishing their youth and joy. He remembered playing with his siblings in a similar manner, especially his brother, though they had both been older and were busy with warrior duties when Slatestorm had been an apprentice. His fondest, though distant, memories were his kithood moons, when his brother and sister had been apprentices and they'd still wanted to play.

Eventually, the warrior had to call them to a halt. "That's enough, you two!" he said, loudly. Though never unkind, Slatestorm was firm with apprentices when it was needed. "I'm going to train you both in your tracking skills today," he told them. "Foxpaw, I want you to run through the forest, try not to leave too much of a trace, and find a hiding place. Cougarpaw will be tracking you. Ready, go!" This was the easiest way to get them both to leave so that he could speak to Cobrafang. Slatestorm hoped fervently that the other tom had not scared Plumpetal too much.

(Foxpaw and Cougarpaw)

{Swiftheart and Bluekit} Having combed through his fur with a wet paw for a second time that morning, Swiftheart wondered why he suddenly cared so much about what he looked like to his Clanmates. It was when he pulled three reasonably large pieces of prey from the fresh kill pile, despite having no companions for breakfast, that he realised he intended to go to the nursery. He padded over to where Silverpool and three apprentices were talking over their meal. "Good Morning," he greeted them, "I'm just going to take some food to the queens and kits," he told them, with a smile.

Swiftheart took the prey to the nursery and, quietly, pushed his way through the entrance. He lay the food by the nursery wall and gazed at the inhabitants of the den. A small, almost-apprentice-sized bundle lay curled up next to another small bundle and a much larger bundle. The first kit was a blue-grey in colour that didn't match the others; the queen was black and tan, the other kit the deep black of night. When Swiftheart had brought his soon-to-become adoptive son into SparrowClan, Bluekit had connected instantly with Longfur and Jaguarkit and, as the warrior had spent more and more time with them, he'd finally realised he wanted to make them all an official family. Not that he ever expected Longfur to feel more for him than friendship.

Swiftheart reached out one dark tan paw and scooped Bluekit towards him. He touched his nose to the tiny kit's and the bright blue eyes flashed open. The expression that followed was one of intense joy that made the warrior's heart melt. "Shh!" he whispered quickly. "Don't wake the others!" Swiftheart had brought prey for Goldenflower, the other queen, Longfur, and the two kits. He stressed forward and did the same thing to Jaguarkit as he had to Bluekit, pulling the tiny tom towards him and touching noses with him. Again, he warned the kit to be quiet, then he presented the two with a large mouse to share. With any luck, they'd be too full to be loud by the time he woke Longfur and Goldenflower.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of a cat in the evil throes of darkness on the other side of the den and looked up. With the kits distracted, Swiftheart was able to cross to Goldenflower quickly and lick the top of her head to calm her. He knew of her terrible past and wanted to make her feel comfortable in SparrowClan, especially if she intended to make it her permanent home. "Shh, Goldenflower," he whispered, as softly and kindly as he could, "You're safe here." Then the she-cat seemed to jolt awake and realise where she was. "Are you alright?" he asked her, just to make sure.

(Jaguarkit) (Tawnypaw, Pinepaw, Goldenflower, Longfur) (Silverpool)

{Skylark} With a grin, the sandy coloured tom leapt up with a new bout of energy. He enjoyed trips out with his adoptive daughter, especially because he got to behave like an apprentice and no cat would just him. Their rambunctious outings were the highlight of his days, his family his whole life. He didn't have to behave like a serious warrior who only did his duties with Lilacpaw and Nightwing, and he loved to teach the apprentice. She just had no much enthusiasm and energy! "Let's go then, my dears!" Skylark said, excitedly, and bounded out of the den and into the sunlight.

(Lilacpaw) (Nightwing)

{Ebony} Ebony nodded at the cats around her. "When the kits are born, you'll both have a lot on your paws! Perhaps Pinepaw and I could help you out with the kits when they get difficult to handle?" she suggested, happily. She'd never been around kits before, except when she herself was one, but she missed her poor siblings dearly. She didn't say anything about them, though, preferring to keep it as quiet as possible. She nodded at Swiftheart, another rogue, when he approached, feeling a kind of kinship with him in regard to his origins. She thought it was a shame that, with Silverpool and Swiftheart in the nursery with its inhabitants, there would be too many cats for her to join them. "Maybe we should do something like go look for herbs?" she asked her friends.

(Pinepaw and Tawnypaw) (Silverpool)

{Runningpaw and Dappledpaw} Two cats who lay side by side, moving almost as one, opened identical bright yellow eyes. They flicked their ears, one with brown and golden dapples and one with white and grey striped. The two looked very different, but when cats saw them together they were easily identified as twins. Somehow, without words, they were able to sit up at the same time, stretch, and lick their paws. Then the two followed Blazepaw out of the den.

Dappledpaw trotted gracefully over to her friend. Her brother, Runningpaw, stayed by her shoulder, ever present. They always seemed, at least to other cats, to have an ethereal bond. It was difficult to find them apart. When Runningpaw had made friends with the then Blazekit, Dappledpaw joined him and assumed a place in their group. Now she loved to spend time with the tom and found herself desperate to heal him of the hurt he'd gained from the death of his family. Dappledpaw and Runningpaw's mother had died not too long ago, and the shared hurt was bringing the three even closer, it felt.

Dappledpaw licked Blazepaw's ear. "Good morning honey!" she said brightly. "Here, have some food, you'll feel better soon." She pulled something delicious-looking from the pile, large enough for the both of them, and put it in front of him, before pressing her flank to his. Runningpaw sat calmly on Blazepaw's other side, not touching, but a - hopefully - comforting presence for their friend. The striped tom nodded to his friend but said nothing, knowing his sister would say all that was necessary.

(Blazepaw)

{Peach} "Come on kittens!" A black she-kit, bold and bright, sent a call out to her littermates to wake them. "We'll find some food to eat then get walking again. Weasel, Orangey, I could use your help to catch something."

Peach was, like her siblings, only 6 moon-passings old. A tragedy had left the 5 of them without parents around a moon-passing ago and since then, Peach had stepped up. She wanted to make sure her siblings could still have a kithood, so she went without them. She didn't really mind; she liked looking after them. When their parents had died, however, she'd found it difficult at first to get her siblings to listen to her. It was still difficult, but she did her best.

The black she-cat had heard her parents talking about a large group of cats on the other side of the Giant Mountain, and that was where they were headed. She was determined that they'd find a safe place. They all still had nightmares about the attack, but they were mostly okay when they slept in a group. The others were still asleep, as far as she could tell, so she padded up to two of her siblings. The ginger stripe on her head that gave her her name flashed in the light as she prodded her brother and sister. "Weasel, Orangey, wake the others. We need to go hunting."

Of course, they didn't have very good hunting skills. The easiest way was for one of them to find a group of mice or rabbits and chase them towards the others. There, they would each try to catch something and hold it until the runner could come over to kill it. Peach huddled close to her siblings, all of which hid close to the side of the mountain, and hoped that they would wake up soon and that they would all find a new home before another moon passed.

(Weasel) (Orangey) (your kits in the litter)

WrenClan {Lionspirit} A loud yawn split a golden face wide open as the fluffy WrenClan warrior woke up on the warmer, she-cat side of the warrior den. Lionspirit didn't necessarily believe that all toms were worthless, but it was often easier to behave that way so as not to risk persecution as a sympathiser. And all cats reacted in particular ways subconsciously, right? Her brilliant sapphire eyes opened wide and she was greeted by the fantastic thought of her best friend, Darkshade. The two hadn't always been close; a tenuous apprenticeship with a shared mentor that had begun as rivalry had slowly grown into a mischievous kind of kinship. Lionspirit spent what time she could with her closest ally, now, and in doing so had begun to break down Darkshade's mistrustful walls, she thought. "Darkshade, are you awake?" Lionspirit asked, hoping the other she-cat would answer her from the delicious and sleepy darkness of the den.

(Darkshade)

{Strawpatch} The joyful mewlings of the kit on his back would probably have melted Coralshine's or Oakmask's hearts, but not his own. Where she could not see, Strawpatch rolled his eyes at Oceankit. "We can't spend too long out of the nursery," he told her. "Your siblings and cousins won't leave you any food." The siamese warrior warned the she-kit, hoping he'd be able to slip away, not avoid spending too much time with the irksome balls of fluff. "So, where do you want to go during your ride? We have to stay in camp, though." At least looking after kits, Strawpatch mused to himself, was better than doing menial tasks and being abused by she-cats. He would do what he could to avoid that, he decided. Being a breeding partner was the only task both he and she-cats agreed he was suitable for.

(Oceankit)

{Bearkit and Amberkit} Bearkit glanced between Snowykit, Amberkit and Coralshine and started dragging the prey towards the nursery. For once, he felt like he might be able to spend some time with his siblings and cousins! Somehow, Amberkit wasn't ready, and he was yanked back towards her. She opened her mouth to apologize as quickly as she could, but he just laughed and tugged at the prey again. "When we've eaten, we can play!" Bearkit yelled at his brother. "Maybe I'll even become well enough to get my apprentice name with you all!" Amberkit nodded eagerly and excitedly, though he wasn't sure if she really believed he should be playing with them.

(All the kits and Coralshine)

HawkClan {Nettlesmoke} The delicious darkness swirled inside her mind and around her. Her eyes were shut, but her ears open. Nettlesmoke's black fur blended into the black shadows in the Dark Forest. She sat by a river now; she only knew this because she could hear its ripples and drips and thrashes. The tinkling noises of the water as it passed through its banks was incredibly calming, and the medicine cat truly felt like she belonged in this place. Since she'd first visited the Dark Forest with her former mentor, Nettlesmoke had known her place was with their ancestors there, especially her father. She'd stayed there, leaving her body trapped in slumber and fed by her mentor's half chewed prey, for a quarter moon. Time had passed much more slowly in the Dark Forest, however, and things seemed to happen all at once, like in a dream. In the Dark Forest, months had passed.

The medicine cat thought back to her naming ceremony, where her mentor had named her for the ease with which she could recognise messages from their ancestors, and the mysterious things that had happened at the ceremony. The two had told the leader they were not to be disturbed and taken traveling herbs to sustain themselves.

"Nettlepaw," her mentor said, carefully. "You are now ready to receive your full medicine name." They were joined by Dark Forest cats, ephemeral and only half there. "I, Frostdapple, medicine cat of HawkClan, call upon my Dark Forest ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has worked hard to learn the ways of a HawkClan medicine cat and with your help will serve her Clan for many moons."

Frostdapple turned to the black cat who fit in so well with their ancestors. "Nettlepaw," she said. "do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of the Dark Forest I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Nettlepaw, from this moment you will be known as Nettlesmoke, in honour of your ability to see through the smoke signals of the dark Forest."

It was at that moment that one of the shadow cats stepped forward, one Nettlesmoke hadn't seen before. There was very little to him, but he held a power that Nettlesmoke knew was very grave indeed. "Nettlesmoke," he growled. He didn't sound like a cat; more like a tiger. "The Dark Forest claims you as one of their own. You serve only us." The young medicine stared at him, then at her mentor, but Frostdapple didn't understand. This wasn't normal. The Dark Forest didn't claim medicine cats.

Nettlesmoke still didn't understand, but knew that she'd come into her knowledge the more time she spent around those incredible cats. She knew, however, that she belonged with them. The black she-cat began to sort through her stores of herbs in her sleep-daze, calling out to Springpaw to wake up. "We need to go out to find more coltsfoot and burdock root, and we always need more cobwebs and moss. Get up, already!"

(Springpaw)

((And those are all I can be bothered to do now; it's midnight and I'm tired and have to go to my grandmother's funeral tomorrow. Wish me luck ><))

[SparrowClan] >> Goldenflower & Longfur Longfur shifted when she heard pawsteps approaching the nursery, and opened her clear green eyes. She had only been half asleep, since she had retired pretty early the night before, and was ready to start the day. She groomed herself while watching Swiftheart go through his normal morning routine. He first touched noses to his own adoptive son, Bluekit, then to her own son, Jaguarkit. She smiled as she watched him interact with the kits, and even purred a little bit. She liked to see Swiftheart with the kits, especially Bluekit. He had proven himself to be a great father to his adopted son, and to her own as well. She would miss him when Bluekit became an apprentice.

"Good morning Swiftheart," she mewed once he was done with the kits. "Did you sleep well?" She looked up, a bit startled, when Goldenflower began to thrash around in her nest, and instinctively moved a little bit closer to the two kits. Goldenflower's unpredictable nature scared her; it was impossible to tell how she would react to anything, and her moods seemed to change by the hour. She tried her best to comfort the queen, knowing that her past was unsavory to say the least, but there was only so much that they could do. She needed time to heal more than anything.

She watched as the pretty golden she-cat cringed, her pupils dilating. Goldenflower was very obviously uneasy around toms, even kind ones like Swiftheart. The only toms she was okay around seemed to be kits, and some of the younger apprentices. And her mate, Goldenflower seemed to trust Ruinedscale more than anyone else in the clan. Goldenflower stood rigid for a moment, crouched in a defensive position, but she relaxed when she realized where she was. "I-I'm fine," she mewed, looking away from him to stare at something only she could see. "It was just a- a dream."

[SparrowClan] >> Nightwing Nightwing smiled when Lilacpaw began to spin in circles excitedly while she waited for Skylark to be ready to go. "Come on, slowpoke!" she mewed to him jokingly, leaning in to give him a playful nip to the ear. "You and Lilacpaw have hunting to do!" She walked with them to the camp entrance and stopped once they were there, turning around to smile at two of the most important cats in her life. She licked each of them on the cheek affectionately. "Now, I expect for each of you to catch lots of prey to show me when you get back!" she mewed, feigning a stern look while she said it.

[SparrowClan] >> Tawnypaw & Pinepaw "Of course!" Tawnypaw mewed to Ebony. "If it's okay with you, Silverpool," she added after a moment sheepishly. She had forgotten that her mentor was there for a moment, but she thought that she'd probably let Pinepaw and Ebony help with the kits a time or two. No matter what they would be allowed to visit them anyways, since pretty much anyone had the right to visit new kits in the nursery, so long as the queen was okay with it. That was how it had been in WrenClan, anyways... Thinking of her old clan, and her siblings in it, made her sad so she pushed the thought away.

"well, do you want for me to come help you, Silverpool?" she asked her mentor. It would probably be pretty busy in there, but she wanted to ask just in case. Silverpool might have some sort of lesson planned, and she didn't want to go scurrying off with her friends if she had something important to learn today!

[SparrowClan] >> Blazepaw Blazepaw looked up when he heard pawsteps approaching, and wasn't surprised when he saw Dappledpaw and Runningpaw approaching him. "Hey guys!" he mewed to them happily. Dappledpaw immediately began to try and comfort him, grabbing a delicious looking piece of prey from the pile for them to share and pressing herself against him. It was nice to have her there, and the food smelled and looked great! "Oh, I'm fine!" he mewed optimisticly, when she told him that he would feel better soon. He was already feeling much better with them there, and he knew that his memory of the dream would pass soon, like every other day. "It was just a dream." He took his first bite of the prey, then looked back at Dappledpaw. "But thanks."

[Outside of the Clans] >> Weasel Weasel yawned when he heard a peppy voice trying to rouse them, and immediately knew that it was his sister, Peach. She was always the first to wake up in the morning, and by far the bossiest of the group. He turned over lazily, and began to stretch his limbs where he lay. He wasn't exactly the most active of cats, so he was going to keep sleeping for as long as he possibly could. Why hurry to get up when his bed was so comfy?

But she kept talking! Sometimes it seemed like his sister would never shut up, and now was one of those times. She had only said about two sentences, but those two sentences were annoying to listen to when you were trying to sleep! He turned over in his nest again, and waited a few minutes, but he was already awake and sleep would not come. "Ugh," he groaned, forcing himself to a sitting position. He stayed there for a few minutes, blinking sleepily at the trees, bushes, and rocks that surounded the place they had been staying at for the night.

"Mornin' Peach," he mewed to her when the black she-cat with the stripe of orange on her face came a little closer. He stayed sitting where he was and waited. He wasn't the loudest of cats, and would begin prodding his siblings if need be. But he hoped that Peach's wake up call had been enough to get them up, because he didn't really want to mess with trying to wake up his siblings.

[WrenClan] >> Darkshade "Well, I am now," the siamese she-cat mewed groggily, opening her jaws to yawn. She had always been a pretty light sleeper, like her mother, and just a few words were usually enough to wake her up. Really, she had been up earlier when Fox began screeching at some cat about who-knows-what, but she had been trying to get back to sleep after that without much success. Most mornings she was woken up by Fox yowling about something, so it wasn't much of a surprise that the same thing had happened again today. She only hoped that her mother had been spared; Russetfang despised Fox and wouldn't be happy at all if she had woken her up as well.

Darkshade yawned again and began to groom herself hastily before going to get some breakfast, or something. "So, what do you want to do today?" she asked the long-furred she-cat by her side.

[WrenClan] >> Kestrelmoon The pale cream-colored tom twitched while he slept, and his eyelids fluttered. It was after dawn by now, and getting close to sunhigh. He mumured something unintelligable, then twitched again. It was impossible for anyone to tell what Kestrelmoon was dreaming about, or even thinking about when awake, so most knew not to ask. He was a strange cat by nature, with his odd opinions about things, random knowledge that came bubbling forth from his brain daily, and strange ways of even moving his own body. He was a unique cat for sure, and some even thought him insane. It was impossible to know for sure whether he truly was or not. Kestrelmoon was a brilliant medicine cat though, with his immense knowledge of herbs, remedies, salves, and the like. He could cure nearly any illness or injury, barring only the most severe of problems, and this was how he came to be one of the few male medicine cats that WrenClan had seen.

His only problem in his profession was his lack of skill for teaching. He had never been good socially at all, and didn't pick up on silent cues that cats would use to communicate various things. Kestrelmoon was like a child in conversation, and patience was needed to get a message across to him. The only cat who really had enough patience to deal with him was his sister, Fox. She seemed to understand him like no one else ever could. They were very different cats, the two of them, but they had their similarities as well.

The cream-colored tom woke up and looked around him. His apprentice, Finchpaw, seemed to still be asleep in his nest. No one else had come to visit him yet today, which was a good sign. Cats in the medicine den usually meant something bad had happened, something that him and Finchpaw would have to try and fix. It wasn't always so bad, but sometimes it was. Lately there hadn't been much action there though, so Kestrelmoon's life had been pretty relaxed.

He watched as light played against the walls of his den, and his tail twitched excitedly. He thought about going out to say good morning to everyone for a moment, then decided against it. Most of them were eating prey, and someone would probably try to force him to eat some, which wasn't something he really wanted to do. He didn't like taking the life of another creature just to make himself feel full, so he usually just ate a bite or two of each piece of prey before handing it back to whoever happened to be sharing with him that day. He had to eat something to keep himself alive, but he ate more herbs than meat. They didn't taste good to him, but they were not animals so it was worth it to him. No one else really understood why he tried so hard to avoid eating prey though...

Kestrelmoon continued to watch the way the light lit up the den, and even tried to touch it a few times. It didn't feel like much though, and he knew that light wasn't a tangible object. It was a form of energy, he knew. Made of the stuff that let all of them live. It was still fun to play with though, even if he couldn't actually catch it.

[WrenClan] >> Russetfang The auburn she-cat groaned when she heard a commotion going on outside, and went ahead and opened her eyes. She could hear Fox yelling about something, and again, she had woken her up. Russetfang and Fox had been friends once, as kits they had been best friends, but their friendship became strained when they were forced to share a mentor due to a shortage of mentors. Things got even worse when Fox was chosen as deputy over her, breaking off their friendship. When Fox murdered her mate, Badgertooth, Russetfang vowed that she would be the one to kill Fox, even if it meant her death in the end.

Badgertooth had been the only cat she ever truly loved. He left behind six kits, all worthless scraps of fur except for Darkshade. Darkshade was the only one she would even look at, the others were all weak. The siamese made her extremely proud though, and had turned out to be quite a bit like her. She knew that she would achieve great things one day, once Fox was gone. She would never let her serve the likes of that cat. She would sooner have her daughter join FalconClan...

Russetfang shook her head to clear it and began to groom herself. She heard movement not far off and saw Darkshade getting up to speak to Lionspirit, who was sitting next to her. The two were becoming friends, and it was good to see Darkshade getting some friends at last. Lionspirit was a she-cat, and a reasonably strong-willed one at that, so she saw no reason to complain. Perhaps they would even become a mated pair someday... She wasn't so sure whether she liked that idea or not, but she would just wait and see.

Once her fur was clean and presentable, Russetfang padded out of the den. Now that she was up, she was ready to begin her duties for the day.

(( That's fine. =) Oooh, that's a good idea! They'll love having an elite army of kits and stuff. grins

I'm alive everyone! Been adjusting to my new job and been having my ass kicked by it, literally. You should see all the cuts I've been getting and I'm hardly more than a cashier. Apparently microwaving sandwiches and stocking shelves is deadly. XD))

-WrenClan-

-Oceankit-

Oceankit's eyes widened slightly when she heard Strawpatch's warning and she knew she didn't want to starve so she yelled, "Mama, make sure everyone saves me some food!" She then grinned down at Strawpatch, rasping her tiny tongue over his ears. "All over the whole camp! Run, uncle, run! I can hold on!" she said, squealing in delight at the thought of something so fun.

-Snowykit-

The young tom flicked his tail, purring loudly as he started dragging some of the prey towards the nursery as well. "Yes, yes, one day you will! I can't wait for us to get our apprentice names! It's going to be amazing!" he yelped in joy, starting to prance as he tried lifting up the prey and failing miserably. It was difficult to prance while hardly being able to lift the prey but somehow he was managing.

-SparrowClan-

-Foxpaw-

The two she-cats continued wailing on each other, engaged in their literal cat fight until they heard Slatestorm's command and leaped away from each other, staring at him, eyes alight with joy when they heard his idea. "Okay!" Foxpaw mewed loudly, immediately running off as quickly and carelessly as she could until she remembered that he had said to try not to leave too much of a trail and slowed down, starting to sneak while glancing around with a grin spreading across her features. This would be easy!

-Cougarpaw-

The auburn she-cat curled her tail over her paws after she separated from Foxpaw, waiting patiently for the she-cat to leave her most likely obvious trail. She could tell she was excited by how she ran off but didn't know the she-cat had slowed down after she was out of sight. The tip of Cougarpaw's tail flicked lazily back and forth and she purred in delight. "Today's going to be a good day," she mewed to Slatestorm.

-Jaguarkit-

The black tom yawned loudly in Swiftheart's face without even realizing he was there, assuming it was his mother who had woken him up. But when he opened his eyes and saw Swiftheart, he blinked curiously and stared at him, his eyes wide. Then the mouse was placed before him and his siblings and a loud purr escaped from within his body and he set on the mouse voraciously.

-Lilacpaw-

Lilacpaw grinned back at her father when his excitement spilled over just like hers had and she was suddenly very glad to have him. Who knew what her real father was like? He probably wasn't as fun as Skylark, that was for sure! "Yes, yes, let's go! This is going to be so much fun, papa!" she squealed, waggling her haunches before launching herself at him.

-Orangey-

The small orange she-cat yawned loudly, stretching luxuriously while she still lay on the ground before curling back up tightly and pressing her paws over her head. "But I'm tired..." she mewed sleepily though she had already opened her eyes and was blinking the sleep out of them. They had to hunt and survive and find a home. She couldn't wait! She missed her parents...she missed the feeling of having a home. But at least she still had her siblings. Finally, after a while, she forced herself to her paws, yawned again then glanced at the others, rushing toward them and starting to prod them lightly with a paw. "C'mon, wake up!" she mewed.

((Cats and dogs who still need to be introed: Spiritshine, Ruinedscale, Jake?, Smokepelt, Goldensoul, Lucky, Gracie, Burnedleaf, Gladepaw, Otterpearl, Moonblossom, Mistkit, Hawk, Arctichail, Dreampaw, Oakenpaw, Savagestorm, Emberwing, Spottedjay, Waterdrop, Shroudedstream, Cascade and Fadingmoon.))

Ooc// Sorry for my absence. Took an extended vacation, haha. Let's get this thing going!

Bic// {Cobrafang - SparrowClan}

The sound of Slatestorm's feeble calls, and Foxpaw's annoying yowling, were drowned out by the sight of a she-cat he'd never seen before. A small, very frightened she-cat who looked at him as if she was certain he would kill her on the spot. She was a very beautiful she-cat, one who took his breath away. But at the same time, his chest welled up with a feeling he couldn't describe. He hated the way she looked at him. It made him feel wretched. Awkwardly, he dipped his head in a non-threatening way and spoke softly, although not exactly gently, "Um, sorry to wake you." He mumbled, "I was just looking for Stonestar... Um, I'm Cobrafang and..." her fear and his guilt were starting to irritate him. What had he done to deserve the look she was giving him?! "Would you calm down? I'm not going to hurt you!"

{Sunpaw - SparrowClan]

Sunpaw stretched luxuriously and curled on her back, opening her bright eyes to look up at Moonpaw, "Already?" She complained, "It's too early." She rolled over and licked a paw a few times, then reluctantly got to her feet, stretching again, arching her back with a shiver, "Hey." She mewed gently, looking at him, "You look like you haven't slept at all. You okay?" She flicked a tail at her best friend, worried, exhibiting a rare tenderness that she reserved just for him.

{Featherpaw - HawkClan}

Crowpaw's gentle voice woke her, but it was Adderpaw's sharp command that made the small, young she-cat leap to her feet in terror. "Y-yes Adderpaw, Crowpaw..." She mewed, and, without even hesitating to give herself a morning wash, she turned to her sister, Thistlepaw, and nudged her, hard. "Wake up, or you'll be punished." She hissed in her ear, then quickly exited the den so she herself would avoid any sort punishment, or at least attempt to. She stood closer to Crowpaw, as if standing near the kinder of her brothers would help to protect her from Adderpaw's sharp claws and fangs. She tried not to make it too obvious, though. Anything could risk her getting punished, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs.

{Skypaw - WrenClan}

"Oh," The quiet she-cat mewed in surprise as Riverpaw addressed her, "I'm fine, really." She assured her, "Just a little tired after this morning's hunt." She purred for emphasis, trying to seem more cheerful than she actually was. Being with Dawnpaw all morning had been exhausting. The she-cat never shut up, and never gave up the hunt. Skypaw was quite worn out and it wasn't even sunhigh yet.

{Dawnpaw - WrenClan}

"Thanks!" Dawnpaw mewed proudly, "Skypaw helped, but I think I caught the most." She boasted, purring to herself. She couldn't wait to tell Finchpaw all about her accomplishments that morning. She was rather proud of herself. Dawnpaw's ego knew no bounds, but she wasn't a mean-spirited cat. Just an overzealous one at times.

SparrowClan {Swiftheart} Swiftheart almost jumped in surprise when he heard Longfur's mew, but resisted purely because he didn't want to make Goldenflower anymore scared than she already was. He gazed sadly at the queen, knowing that it was merely his gender that made her fear him. The dark tan tom sat back, about a foxlength away, in order to speak to her. By resting on his rump and putting his best attempt at a harmless, kind smile on his face, he hoped to make her feel more at ease. Perhaps one day, she'd feel comfortable around him, especially if she was going to be good friends with Longfur for her time in SparrowClan. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said gently. "If you'd like, I can fetch Silverpool or Ruinedscale?" The she-cat said she was fine, but her eyes betrayed otherwise, and it seemed to him that she needed trusted cats around.

(Goldenflower)

{Bluekit} Shoving his friend playfully out of the way, Bluekit took an enormous bite of prey. He couldn't chew it very easily, so he had to open his jaws very wide to do so. "Good morning Longfur!" he said, loudly, through his food. It was a muffled sound, but she always knew what he wanted. Once he'd finished his mouthful, he grinned at his almost-brother. "We should play outside today. The weather is nice, and Goldenflower might want some space. We could play Elite warriors again today?" He glanced quickly at Longfur for permission. Would she be okay with them playing outside? Bluekit wanted to spend as much time with Jaguarkit as he could these days. One or both of them would be made apprentices soon, and then they'd never see each other!

(Jaguarkit) (Longfur)

{Skylark} The beige warrior rolled his eyes at his mate as she chided him. She'd only just got back and was already trying to get rid of him! "Yes, mother," he mewed sarcastically, hoping she'd laugh. "I'll do super good to make you proud." He mimicked a young kit trying to please its mother by jutting his paws into the air around him, fighting imaginary foes. He kicked up leaves and dirt, biting them in the air, then finally swooped down to bury his nose in her flank, tickling her. He did the same to Lilacpaw, then dashed away, calling ,"You can't catch me, I'm as quick and cunning as a fox!" Soon he was out of camp, a grin plastered to his face, and darting around trees while he waited for his daughter to catch up.

(Nightwing) (Lilacpaw)

{Slatestorm} "Oh yes, yes it will," Slatestorm mewed to his apprentice, with a grin. They watched Foxpaw dart into the forest together, both knowing Cougarpaw was more skilled. He would wait a short while, before allowing her to follow Foxpaw, then follow her himself, assessing the decisions she made. He knew she'd do him proud. With any luck, Foxpaw would turn it into a game for them, and keep moving around. "Stay here a moment, I just need to speaking to Cobrafang."

The tom ducked into Stonestar's den, grimacing at how scared Plumpetal looked. He gave her a kindly smile. "Don't worry," he whispered to her. "Cobrafang's a friend. Cobrafang," he turned to the tom, "You must not tell any cat that she is here. Stonestar will announce it when he is ready. We do not want to provoke an attack from HawkClan right now, so I'd appreciate your silence on the matter." He emphasised the word carefully, a plea and a threat all in one. Though all SparrowClan cats knew he wouldn't hurt them, he could make their lives slightly more uncomfortable than they would like.

(Cobrafang) (Cougarpaw)

{Dappledpaw and Runningpaw} While Runningpaw nodded his silent agreement, Dappledpaw licked Blazepaw's ear. She was relieved he was okay; he certainly seemed happier now they were all awake. "So what do you want to do today?" she asked, excitedly. "We could get our mentors to take us all for battle training or hunting or climbing- climbing would be fun!" She saw Runningpaw roll his eyes at her and stuck her tongue out at him. It was a warm, sunny day, and nothing could stop her good mood.

Runningpaw blinked and smiled sympathetically at Blazepaw. He knew his sister could be a little overbearing sometimes, but since the death of their mother she'd only really had the two toms to spend time with. It was this event that made the siblings unnaturally close. Before, Runningpaw could just about remember spending a lot of time with Blazepaw and some time with Dappledpaw. She'd mostly spent time with their mother, and their father when he visited. Wind hadn't visited them for a long time; Runningpaw assumed he was dead, killed by a fox or something, or catnapped by a twoleg.

"I've not seen any of our mentors this morning, but I imagine they went on patrols before we were up or something," he said, quietly. Runningpaw didn't like to speak a lot, preferring to let Dappledpaw say what he was thinking. She always knew what he was thinking and vice versa; it often made other cats uncomfortable. "Don't worry, Dappledpaw, I'll get my own prey," he mewed, dryly. She batted him with a paw playfully, knowing he was joking. He dodged and grabbed a piece of prey.

"I didn't think you were that hungry," the tortoise-shell said. He nodded; she was right, but they could always finish his. "I suppose you'll be hungry later, though," she continued. "And if you really can't eat it, there will be someone who can." Dappledpaw grinned at Blazepaw, a bright, sharp-toothed grin that made her look surprisingly vicious. "So, what did you fancy?"

(Blazepaw) (Fawnstep - for mention) (Ruinedscale - for mention) (Falconfang - for mention)

Outside Clans {Peach} The black she-cat leaned down and swiped a pink tongue over the head of first her brother and then her sister. "Good morning, Weasel, Orangey," she mewed, authoritatively. "It's a lovely morning, we should be able to smell prey quite easily. I hope hunting takes less time this morning." Hunting was always a bit of a shambles for them. It was always going to be difficult to get four other kits to get up, behave, and do as you say, especially when you are no older than them. They'd had no training, so the best they could do was make the prey run and hoped it worked.

"I spotted a meadow yesterday, before we fell asleep," she continued. "I have a good feeling about today." True, Peach always told them she had a good feeling about today, but she really felt good about today. She hoped she would be proven right, for once. It was about time. Only two of the five had yet to wake up, so she nudged Orangey and Weasel to get them to help her. "Help me wake the others, I'll have a look around." Peach padded away, eyes roaming around the area carefully.

(Weasel) (Orangey)

WrenClan {Lionspirit} An amused purr rumbled deep in Lionspirit's belly as she watched her friend groom herself. She had beautiful, cream coloured fur that was rarely in disarray, but today it seemed unwilling to cooperate. Most of Darkshade's fur looked immaculately slicked to her flank, however one area refused to stay down. It was a patch that the she-cat clearly couldn't reach very easily, behind her neck, and thus it thought it could afford to be rebellious. With a giggle, Lionspirit padded over and began to lick the fur flat, laughing, "Here, let me."

Between licks, she spoke to her friend. "I don't know, I didn't really think this far ahead. I wonder if patrols have been assigned yet. I heard Fox say something about taking all the female apprentices out to train, so we could go along to watch and help. Or we could offer to do something similar with the toms, so as to stop them being idle. I'm open to suggestion, really." So, she realised, she had many ideas, but could make no decision. Finally, the fur seemed to be behaving, so she sat back and waited for Darkshade's reply.

(Darkshade)

{Strawpatch} The siamese tom rolled his eyes emphatically at the kit. Her voice was loud and high-pitched in his ears, but he couldn't really tell her to shut up. Whether he liked kits or not, he liked his siblings and didn't want them to hate him for being horrible to Oceankit. "Okay, just a couple times around the camp," he told her. "You can't go boasting to the other kits, though, or they'll all want a go. I can only take the most worthy of little warriors." The ego boost would make her feel good for a bit, so he decided it was okay. No doubt there would be siamese kits all over the place begging for rides later, and he'd regret his words, but it would stop him having to hunt or, worse, do some demeaning task set to him by a she-cat. He set off, first at a slow gait, staying well away from the steadily growing group of she-cats by the fresh kill pile.

(Oceankit)

HawkClan {Dusktalon, Whisperpaw, Echofeather} Deep in the secluded and comforting darkness of the nursery, a silver she-cat was stirring. Her fur was matted in strange ways and would need some grooming, but it was difficult to keep long fur tidy, she'd found, with a young kit always tugging at it. Still, Echofeather had never thought it would be possible to trade the wonderful feeling of being a mother, even for well-kept fur. And in HawkClan, it was difficult to find little pockets of joy like the one she found in Mistkit and Icewhisper, her best friend. Her brilliant sapphire eyes blinked into the half-gloom, and she wondered if the atmosphere was as nubilous outside as it was in.

Something must have awoken her, she realised, and found herself gazing at the entrance to the nursery, half in fear, half in defiance. If a tom came in here to terrorize her or her kit or her friend, she'd do her best to rip him to shreds. But she allowed herself to relax when she saw the faded grey pelt of Whisperpaw in the entrance. "Good morning, Whisperpaw," she said, very quietly. He was far better than some of the toms, and she was thankful that he was their visitor. She could see a darker form, that of his father, Dusktalon, loitering outside. No doubt he was making sure the young tom didn't spend too long in the nursery.

"Good morning, Echofeather," the tom replied, equally softly. "I was looking for Icewhisper." Echofeather knew the she-cat, her best friend, was the apprentice's mother and that their bond was better than many toms had with their mother in HawkClan.

She smiled at him. "I believe she's still sleeping, but I could wake her if you liked?" she asked. "Just try not to disturb Mistkit, okay?" Echofeather nuzzled the tiny bundle affectionately. She was both thankful and upset that she'd not had a tom; it would be a hard life for Mistkit, but at least they'd have each other.

(Icewhisper - for mention) (Mistkit)

{Ringpaw} A ginger and white face poked tentatively out of the moss that surrounded her. Ringpaw's nest resembled that of a bird more than it did that of the other apprentices. She found it protective to have the moss and ferns build high up around her. As they each had to make their own nests anyway, she didn't see any harm in putting extra effort into hers. Provided she could escape the toms, that was. There was no one to protect her, so she had to avoid them as much as she could. She was very careful, now, since she'd been brought to HawkClan. She was told she wasn't HawkClan born, and they didn't really want her anyway, they had only kept her to be another kit-bearer. She didn't see much of a point in trying to be anything else.

"Don't go," she whispered to Featherpaw. Ringpaw had heard Crowpaw quietly wake his sisters, Featherpaw and Thistlepaw, next to her and then heard Adderpaw yowl terrifyingly into the den. She'd had no chance to stay asleep after that. She could only hope her mentor, the only female mentor at the time, would be kind to her today. "We could run away where they'd never catch you." She knew Featherpaw wouldn't listen, but it was probably safer that way anyway.

(Featherpaw) (Crowpaw) (Thistlepaw)

FalconClan {Ivyhawk and Raccoonmask} A bright ginger paw thudded against a deep black head and Ivyhawk's ears rang. She hadn't ducked when she knew she could and should. She decided not to waste time on berating herself, and threw her body at her attacker. The ginger fur quickly became splashed with red blood as a howl rang through the mountainous terrain around the pair. They both reared on hind legs and became locked, forepaws gripping hard, claws unsheathed, and pain seared down Ivyhawk's front legs. She stared into the vicious green eyes as she fought her opponent, and the eyes stared back. The sudden feeling of fur being torn away from her made her realise how serious this battle was.

It was at that moment that the midnight black she-cat made an adventurous move, kicking into a snow white stomach with night-coloured hindpaws, and the wind burst from the ginger cat's lungs. Raccoonmask felt herself fall forwards, thinking she would end up on top of her Clanmate, crushing Ivyhawk underneath her, but infact the Trooper felt herself sailing over her opponent. Claws dug hard into her belly, and blood began to bead there, but she took the other she-cat's ear in her mouth and bit down hard. They rolled on the harsh stone ground for a short while, each barely pulling their punches, until they burst away from each other, breathing heavily.

Ivyhawk assessed the wounds on her opponent, while she knew Raccoonmask did the same. The blood showed up much more easily on the ginger cat than the black, but it glistened beautifully on them both. She could feel a trickle from her ear and her lip tasted of metal. Her front right paw ached slightly, but she'd walk it off. A large gash, not too deep, ran across Raccoonmask's shoulders, and her tail was missing some fur at the end. "Good battle, friend," the black she-cat breathed. The Trooper nodded, satisfied.

Ivyhawk and Racconmask had been friends when they'd both still been in WrenClan. Ivyhawk had applied first, but now the younger cat had joined the older and they'd been able to continue their friendship. They'd trained together before Ivyhawk had competed in the Games, then once she had been settled in FalconClan she'd given Racconmask all the training she needed to join her. Since then, they'd often trained together, neither sheathing their claws, and they got a very good work out from it. They began to head back to camp and lay down in a sun-warmed spot, knowing Ivyhawk's mate would soon arrive and they'd head straight out to train their kits.

(Birchpaw - for mention) (Savagestorm - for mention)

((Just so you all know, I added a couple more apprentices in HawkClan and delegated them mentors; Ashfall now mentors Whisperpaw, and Ivythorn now mentors Ringpaw. If anyone has any cats to go on the character lists or if anything needs re-organising, now is the time to let me know :p))

{Featherpaw - HawkClan}

Featherpaw flinched as she heard Ringpaw's soft plea. But she couldn't risk not going, even if the other she-cat's request was exactly what she wanted to do. She ignored Ringpaw, and pushed out of the den, hoping that Thistlepaw would be right behind her.

{Ivythorn - HawkClan}

Just as Featherpaw was rushing out of the apprentice's den, she bumped into a lithe grey form. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry Ivythorn. I didn't see you and I'm in a hurry and-" "Don't worry about it." Ivythorn interrupted the desperate apprentice, "Run along, we both know your father doesn't like waiting." Featherpaw dipped her head respectfully and raced passed the she-cat. The warrior turned to watch the poor young apprentice and shook her head. "Those poor kits." She murmured tonelessly. Ivythorn didn't like the way HawkClan was run anymore than any other she-cat who lived there. But she was stronger than most of her peers, and she had managed to survive well throughout the years. She had her siblings, and her strength of will to get her through. Ivythorn shook off the sadness for the young she-cat and pushed her head into the apprentices den. "Ringpaw, get up. It's time for some training." She meowed tartly. (synesthete)

{Bonesoul - FalconClan}

The sight of his Clan, the most elite Clan in all the forest, made Bonesoul swell with pride. Perched on a tall rock that he used to make all his announcements, he observed the cats of FalconClan with a critical eye. Who was slacking? Who was doing well? Who needing to be reminded who was in charge? And what pretty she-cats needed some attention from the dominant? He spotted Raccoonmask, an eligible bachelorette he'd been keeping his eye on. He wanted more kits, more Ivorymoons and Frostbites. Raccoonmask wasn't taken, and he liked the look of her. He didn't like, however, that she was with Ivyhawk. Bonesoul leaped down from his perch and trotted over to the pair of them, "Am I interrupting anything?" He meowed in a tone that said he wasn't, and if he was, get over it. (syn)

WrenClan {Riverpaw} The blue-grey she-cat glanced at Onepaw, knowingly. They both knew how irritating Dawnpaw could be, as much as she was a sweet cat. Perhaps that was what had gotten Skypaw so down? They could only hope, but Riverpaw didn't deign to be so naive. "Well, we going training with Fox in a minute," the long-legged cat said, deliberately putting a note of cheerfulness in her voice. "So it's best to rest up now, while you can. Hopefully, as there's so many of us going, you'll have lots of time to rest while you're out?"

(Skypaw)

HawkClan {Ringpaw} A whimper escapes white-rimmed lips as Featherpaw disappeared out of the apprentices' den. It was at that moment that Ringpaw knew there was to be no saving the poor young cat. Ringpaw was, in a way, lucky that she had no relatives; no father to boss her around or abuse her, no sisters to want to escape with. It was easier this way. Train in the small amount of fighting ability she was allowed then take the role of kit bearer she'd been given without complaint. If she was always pregnant, they wouldn't hurt her. They couldn't risk the kits. Perhaps Featherpaw should find a tom straight away, the ginger cat thought.

A familiar face peered around the entrance while Ringpaw was still staring after her denmate. It was her mentor, Ivythorn. She was lucky enough to have been given one, but a strong mentor like she had was difficult to come by, she'd noticed, for female apprentices. "Ringpaw, get up. It's time for some training," the warrior mewed, a sour tone in her voice. Another whimper left the apprentice, before she whispered, "But Boneface and Badgerclaw are out there!"

(Ivythorn)

FalconClan {Ivyhawk and Raccoonmask} From their spot beside the camp entrance, their backs warmed by the stones, the two she-cats could see almost everything in camp. Raccoonmask glanced in the direction of the leader's den, expecting to see him surveying his land. He had such an air of power around him; the elite of the elite. It was something she rarely seen in a cat, and she loved it. The idea of sneaking into the forest with this tom sent an electric thrill through her, despite herself. He was something her mate - was he still her mate? - in WrenClan could never be. As much as she loved her mate, she knew he wasn't the same and could never have the explosive power Bonesoul had. Raccoonmask considered that she didn't feel guilty for thinking this way, but brushed it off. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him, in the end.

And lo! The Dominant was making his way towards them. His leg muscles bunched and she observed the way he moved when he leaped and then trotted. "Of course you're not interupting anything," Ivyhawk replied. Raccoonmask dipped her head politely. Her companion's voice didn't hold the same awe that hers would, and she wondered whether she was happy the other she-cat had spoken or not. "Can we do anything for you?" Ivyhawk continued. Raccoonmask looked between herself and the other she-cat, seeing their untreated wounds, and hoped Bonesoul would know they had been training and not been attacked. Surely he would?

(Bonesoul)

[SparrowClan] >> Longfur and Goldenflower Longfur smiled when the kits began to tear into the food that Swiftheart brought for them, and she took a bite of her own prey. When Swiftheart asked if Goldenflower needed her mate or a medicine cat, she turned to look at the pretty golden she-cat. She knew that it wasn't Silverpool that she needed, it was time. Ruinedscale might be able to help calm her though, and she supposed that Silverpool could give her herbs or something to calm her nerves. "No, I'm fine, really," the she-cat mewed quietly after a pause. She turned to look at Swiftheart and smiled. The smile didn't reach her eyes, but that was about as good as it got for Goldenflower.

Then Bluekit started talking about playing outside, and when Bluekit caught her eye, she nodded. It would be good to get them out of the den with Goldenflower so close to kitting, and it seemed like it was a nice, sunny day outside. "That sounds like a good idea," she said to the kits. "A little alone time might be nice for Goldenflower, and I wouldn't mind a chance to sit outside either." Longfur had always liked being outside more than in the den. It was nice to be able to watch the warriors and apprentices as they began their day, and she liked to feel the wind and sunlight on her fur. "When everyone's ready, we can head on out and you two can play."

[SparrowClan] >> Nightwing Nightwing laughed when Skylark called her his mother and began to act like a kit. She giggled again when he ticked her flank, and she nipped his ear playfully when he dashed away, towards the camp entrance. Laughing, she watched him run away, with Lilacpaw trailing behind him. "Have fun, you two!" she called, still laughing. "I'll see you when you get back." Then, once they were gone, she turned around and headed towards the nursery. It would be nice to talk to hang out with Longfur for a little while, and maybe even get some sleep at the same time. She doubted that she would get much sleep with the kits there, but a little bit was all she needed.

[SparrowClan] >> Blazepaw Blazepaw smiled at Dapppledpaw when she said that they should go get their mentors to go training. "We could," he said to her. "Although I'm not sure that Falconfang would be up for climbing this early in the morning!" He laughed at the enthusiastic she-cat, then took a bit of his breakfast. When Runningpaw mentioned not seeing any of their mentors, Blazepaw nodded. "I haven't seen any of them either. You're probably right though, I guess they were patrolling last night. Either that or they're just sleepy-heads this morning." He smiled and shrugged. "Hopefully they get up soon."

He laughed when Runningpaw complained about having to get his own prey, just to tease Dappledpaw. "Sorry Runningpaw, only I am cool enough to get my prey handed to me." He looked at his friend and grinned at him mischieviously. He flicked him with his tail to show that he was just teasing. He tuned out the two of them as they talked about prey, and nearly rolled his eyes. His friends could be so weird at times! But he loved them for it.

He looked at Dappledpaw when she spoke to him, confused. "Um, what?" he said to her, his head cocked to the side in confusion. She was asking what he fancied, but he wasn't sure what she was talking about.

[WrenClan] >> Darkshade Darkshade allowed Lionspirit to smooth down an unruly tuft of fur at the back of her neck, while smoothing down her chest fur. Normally she could do it on her own, but the back of her neck was one of the few places that she couldn't reach. When Lionspirit talked about either going with Fox to help train the she-cats or training the toms themselves, she nodded. "I guess we could just get out there and see what Fox wants for us to do? I don't care either really," she admitted. "Patrolling would be fine, or helping Fox with the she-cats. I'm not sure if she'd want for us to train the toms by ourselves, but I guess they're toms so it doesn't really matter anyways." She got to her feet once she was ready, and took a step towards the exit of the den. "Either way, we should probably get out there so that they can decide what they want to do with us." After flashing a smile at Lionspirit, Darkshade headed towards the entrance of the den.

[HawkClan] >> Icewhisper The long-furred she-cat stirred in her sleep when she heard voices. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the clan was beginning to start their day. She opened her pond-colored eyes and yawned, exposing her teeth. She could hear Echofeather saying something, and as she listened closer, she realized that she was talking about her. "Oh, good morning guys," she said to the cats that were there drowsily. Echofeather was sitting close by, with Whisperpaw talking to her. She could guess that her son was probably looking for her, like he normally did in the mornings. She got to her paws and padded over to him, then nuzzled him affectionately. She knew that by her clan's standards, she and Whisperpaw shouldn't so close, but Icewhisper couldn't have cared less. She loved all of her kits equally and didn't see why she should treat this one any differently just because he had come out as a male instead of a female.

"So how is everyone this morning?" she asked them. "It looks like it'll be a nice day out, a good training day for sure," she said, with a smile directed at Whisperpaw.

[HawkClan] >> Crowpaw Crowpaw sighed in relief when Featherpaw finally stirred, then left the den after leaving her sister a warning. "Come on Thistlepaw," the tom murmured under his breath anxiously. "Boneface and Badgerclaw won't be happy if you take much longer..." He shuffled his paws and stared at the entrance of the den with alert green eyes. Once he saw one of them there, he would have no choice but to leave his sister behind to face the wrath of his father alone.

When Ringpaw begged Featherpaw to not leave the den and to run away with her, Crowpaw pretended not to hear. Of course he wanted for his sisters to stay with him, where he could try to protect them when he could, but he also knew that Featherpaw wouldn't listen. Surely she knew that they would never get away and live to tell the tale, not with both Boneface and Badgerclaw looking for her. Part of him hoped that Featherpaw would get away from here someday, but now wasn't the time, and he was pretty sure that both of them knew it. It seem like he was right too, he noted as he watched Featherpaw continue out of the apprentice's den.

{Skypaw - WrenClan}

Skypaw dipped her head in agreement and purred, "Hopefully Fox won't mind." She agreed, glad not to be alone with Dawnpaw any longer. She enjoyed being with all the other she-cats. She felt safe and comfortable, and grateful not to have found a Clan such as HawkClan. "Perhaps we can go on another hunting trip this evening, after training?" She suggested, feeling spontaneously social.

{Ivythorn - HawkClan}

Ivythorn peered back over her shoulder, searching for the two cats in question. "Ringpaw.." She mewed flatly, "You don't have to fear them. They aren't your kin. They aren't going to bother with you." She assured her, "Besides, you'll be with me. I'll keep you safe." She added in a kinder tone. "Come on, we have training to do, away from Boneface and Badgerclaw."

{Bonesoul - FalconClan}

Bonesoul let his eyes settle on Raccoonmask. He has no interest in Ivyhawk. She already had a mate. But Raccoonmask was single (as far as he knew), and he'd definitely been noticing her lately. "Ivyhawk, why don't you get your wounds treated? We wouldn't want any of our fine warriors getting an infection. You never know what could happen." He said, and though the words were a suggestion, his tone was commanding. "I'll look after Raccoonmask for now. We wouldn't want to overload our medicine cat." He kept his eyes trained on Raccoonmask, as if Ivyhawk weren't even there.

{Swanfeather - WrenClan}

Two sparkling blue eyes observed WrenClan quietly, not really paying too much attention to what was going on, but watching nonetheless. Swanfeather spotted what she was looking for, and leaped to her feet from her spot in the shade. She flexed her petite paws anxiously, and turned to lick her creamy, silky pelt a few times. Satisfied with her appearance, she trotted off towards her target: Fox. "Excuse me, Fox?" She mewed in a soft, sultry tone. "May I speak with you a moment? It's rather important." She looked at the WrenClan leader with imploring blue eyes, as if it were very urgent that she agree.

SparrowClan {Swiftheart} Goldenflower's smile was superficial, not lighting her eyes like it should do. However, it spoke of reassurance; that, deep down, she knew she'd be okay so long as she was with SparrowClan. At least, that was what he chose to believe, because he knew it to be true. "Okay, if that's what you want," Swiftheart smiled at her, and turned to Longfur. Why couldn't she be his mate? he thought, frustratedly. The warrior touched her nose with his. "Good morning, beautiful," he said to her. His ears grew hot when he realised the compliment had slipped out, but decided to pretend it was intentional, as though he did it to all his close female friends. With a bright grin, he winked at Bluekit. "Playing outside is a good idea; it's going to be a lovely day."

(Goldenflower and Longfur) (Jaguarkit)

{Runningpaw and Dappledpaw} While Dappledpaw put way too much prey into her mouth and chewed around it unattractively, Runningpaw nudged his friend. "Only you are pompous enough," he joked, "To have your prey handed to you! Dappledpaw's eating it all, anyway." The tom laughed, indicating his sister, knowing she wouldn't want Blazepaw's eyes on her at a time like this. She glared at him.

When she had finally finished her mouthful, she pushed the rest of the prey towards Blazepaw. "What kind of training do you want to do? We could go out on our own or get our mentors, or whatever you wanted, really." Runningpaw thought she was too excited for a normal day, but smiled at her excitement anyway. He suspected she was only excited for spending time with Blazepaw, and that her affections for him had transgressed the boundaries of friendship by now. He had always known it would happen, in the end, anyway.

(Blazepaw)

WrenClan {Lionspirit} Lionspirit nodded in agreement. "We'll get shredded if we laze around much longer. Even she-cats can't do that all day," she said. With that, she took off, hopping nests with or without cats in them, laughing as she went. She probably woke up half of the den. Since she'd gotten closer to Darkshade, she'd begun to take herself a lot less seriously and just enjoy life more. She wondered briefly if that was why they'd never gotten on before. "We could just cause mischief all day," she called back to her friend, "And then blame it on a tom." She grinned a toothy grin.

(Darkshade)

{Riverpaw} "Hopefully my mother won't mind," Riverpaw muttered, muted, her voice laced with disapproval. She edged closer to Skypaw. "You know how much Russetfang hates Fox," she whispered, "She might have a fit or something at any moment because I'm out training with the leader." The blue-grey she-cat couldn't help thinking that she had always been a disappointment to her mother. She couldn't fathom why, however; she wasn't weak, she was a strong fighter, hunter and even swimmer. None of them could match up to Darkshade though. "Sure! I'd love to hunt with you this evening." A brief thought went to why she wanted to; she didn't hang out with Skypaw much, and she quickly surmised that the more training she did the more likely Russetfang was to approve of her, one day. One day, she'd ask her mother why she hated them all so much.

(Skypaw)

{Fox} "Excuse me Fox."

The auburn she-cat's thoughts were invaded by an attractive female voice. Fox knew the identity of the cat immediately, without thinking; the she-cat Swanfeather had caught her eye on many an occasion. Her creamy fur, bright eyes and honey voice, Fox had to admit but only to herself, had been noted to drive her wild. The leader turned.

"Of course, Swanfeather." Fox's reply didn't miss a beat, no matter the breath-taking effect this she-cat had on her. Swanfeather knew, of course, the effect she had on males and females alike, and knew how to use it to her advantage. Fox had been known to do that when she was younger. "I'm taking the she-cats out for training soon, I'd like you to accompany me." Fox was a sucker for punishment, afterall.

(Swanfeather}

HawkClan {Echofeather and Whisperpaw} With a grin that showed a hint of naivety that normally was not evident in the young cat's face, Echofeather watched Whisperpaw interact with his mother. It was strange for a tom to get on so well with his mother in HawkClan, but Whisperpaw wasn't the most normal of toms, it had to be said. The silver queen watched him, as she did all the HawkClan cats - what else was there to do, when you're looking after a kit all day? - and saw how he interacted with other cats. He seemed to watch one tom in particular, though mostly from afar, and this worried Echofeather.

She and Icewhisper had been close friends for as long as she could remember; they were both permanent queens and had been for most of their lives. They'd been there when the other had given birth and Icewhisper had been her only comfort each time a kit had been born dead. She couldn't help hoping those poor, beautiful creatures where living somewhere in StarClan, not in the Dark Forest where kits didn't belong.

Whisperpaw grinned at his mother. "Good morning, Icewhisper!" he said, excitedly. "The sun is up and the forest is warm. I hope to spend the morning training, then I'd like to spend the midday meal with you on a sun-warmed rock, if you'd be happy to do that?" He turned to the second queen. "Echofeather, you're welcome to join us, though I understand if no one can watch Mistkit for you." Whisperpaw liked to make a point of looking after the queens; few other toms would do so in such a direct and conspicuous manner.

(Icewhisper)

{Ringpaw} The orange she-cat sighed. She knew Ivythorn was right; Badgerclaw and Boneface could only do as much harm as any other warrior, so it was no use avoiding the pair more than any other cat. Still, something nagged at her, at the back of her mind, even through her mentor's caring words. "I have no kin," she muttered under her breath. My own mother abandoned me, she thought.

There had been days spent avoiding the toms where she would find some far-out rock or hiding spot and dream up reasons why she hadn't been kept, think about who her mother and father were. Perhaps her mother had been attacked and had dropped her, then scoured the area for moons looking. Perhaps she'd died in kitting and was watching her from StarClan or the Dark Forest, waiting for her to join her so she could tell her how sorry she was. Perhaps she'd just needed to get away from HawkClan and no cat knew Ringpaw was her daughter. Her favourite was that her mother had tried to give her to WrenClan, so she could have a good life, but her mother had been forced to leave her behind because of HawkClan toms. One day she would know why, she thought. She had to believe that.

In the meantime, she would go hunting with Ivythorn, the closest thing she had to a mother, and try to do her imaginary parents proud. "Okay," she said. Ringpaw stood, slightly shakily, and marched to the den entrance. Waiting for Ivythorn to lead the way, she followed her mentor, waiting to see what they would be doing that morning.

(Ivythorn)

FalconClan {Raccoonmask and Ivyhawk} Raccoonmask could sense her friend's mild irritation from beside her. Ivyhawk was unused to being dismissed so quickly and harshly; the other she-cat took pride in being the best and was used to praise and attention. Ivyhawk gave the she-cat a pointed look. That meant 'don't get involved, remember you have a mate back home'. Raccoonmask sighed inwardly; Ivyhawk could be judgemental sometimes, but she was also a good friend. Good enough to know when the ginger cat would be diverted.

Ivyhawk slunk off. She sashayed attractively towards the medicine den, looking for Whitefire. Calling behind her at her friend, she said, "Raccoonmask, would you tell Savagestream or my kits where I am, if they come looking?" Then she disappeared into the medicine den. With a grumble, she glanced around; Bonesoul was only not interested because she had no sexual favour to offer. He didn't realise Raccoonmask shouldn't be doing so either. Few cats in FalconClan knew about her WrenClan mate, and Ivyhawk knew her friend liked to toy with toms every now and then. "Whitefire, are you there? Bonesoul sent me to get checked up."

Once Ivyhawk had disappeared, Raccoonmask's bright green eyes raked over Bonesoul's strong form without hesitation. She knew how obvious she was being, but why not? He was being just as obvious, and the air seemed to crackle around them with intensity. All thoughts of her mate in WrenClan had left her mind and she found herself growing warm under her pelt. "How do you intend to look after me, Bonesoul?" she asked, rather cheekily, "You are no healer, afterall."

(Bonesoul) (Whitefire)

-SparrowClan-

-Jaguarkit-

Jaguarkit swiped his little tongue around his jaws and glanced over at Bluekit curiously before grinning, revealing his sharp little fangs. "Yeah, let's go! I'll beat you today!" He claimed excitedly, unable to keep his tiny tail from covering. He glanced up at Longfur pleadingly, hoping that she'd let them go and play. When Swiftheart agreed it'd be a good idea for the two he grinned widely and blurted out as he paced, "Come on then, get ready already! We wanna go now!"

-Lilacpaw-

The siamese she-cat yelped when her father playfully attacked her without really hurting her and soon her eyes brightened and she smiled, darted after him quickly, kicking up as much dust from the dirt as he had without meaning to. "No, you're not! You're as clumsy and lumbering as a badger is, papa!" she yowled, running as hard as she could to catch up to her longer-legged father. "Bye mama!" she yowled over her shoulder, hoping her mother would hear her.

-Ruinedscale-

The brutish looking tom with the oddly set jaw sat apart from all his Clan mates, devouring his prey with stunning ferocity and atrocity, the food ending up awkwardly hanging from his jaws until he slurped it into the mouth with the rest of his fresh-kill. Once he was finished making himself look repulsive though he knew he couldn't help it, he quickly washed himself, unaware that he had missed a spot on his cheek that was stained with the somewhat congealed blood of his kill, before prowling into camp just in time to hear mention of himself by his apprentice. He approached the three apprentices, gazing down at them all intently. "Well, rather than leave you here to wither away in boredom or get in trouble, how about I take all three of you out until your mentors show up?" he growled gruffly, cocking his head slightly to the side.

-Foxpaw-

The she-cat barely resisted the urge to laugh hysterically as she ran, finding it felt amazing to be free and even mentorless, regardless of the fact that Cougarpaw's mentor was probably watching her now. She was smarter, cleverer, faster, awesomer and many other things than Slatestorm and she knew it. Starting to prance as quietly as she could as she made her way through the forest, she soon found a tree, grinned, and started mockingly chattering like a squirrel as she climbed it with none of the agility and grace a squirrel possessed. (Anyone)

-Cougarpaw-

Cougarpaw gazed at her mentor out of half-lidded eyes as she waited for his instructions to go, watching him while her lips curled up in a slight feline smile. "Glad you agree. Anyway, I'll be patient," she said though in reality she was really itching to go. But patience was a virtue, she knew, and so she sat, continuing to flick her tail as she waited.

-Outside Clans-

-Orangey-

Orangey listened to her sister's words as she yawned and stretched, taking her time to wake up though she didn't mean to. When she finally felt like she wasn't going to fall back asleep on her paws she let her sister rouse her before going to prod at her other siblings. "C'mon, wake up, we're going hunting!" she blurted out with all the usual energy she had every morning. It seemed things really did stay the same with the kits, not just their hunting luck.

-WrenClan-

-Oceankit-

The little kit's eyes lit up, seeming to glow a deep dark blue as her entire tiny body was filled with the joy. "Thank you, uncle Strawpatch! I won't tell any other cat about this, not even my mother! That way no one besides me can ask you for rides!" she said delightedly, her little tail quivering happily as she lifted her head up, allowing the slight wind to caress her fur. "I'll be the most worthy warrior for you too, when I grow up!" she promised brightly.

-HawkClan-

-Mistkit-

The fluffy little grey bundle yawned loudly and squeakily as her mother nuzzled her so gently and she curled up tighter, pressing her little paws against her head as if to block out all the light and sounds around her though there wasn't much of either. Finally though, the she-cat could no longer deny the fact that she needed to wake up and slowly opened her eyes, gazing around at the world through their green depths. "Mama," she mewed through a yawn. "Why doesn't Dusktalon come in here? Doesn't he wanna see Icewhisper too?" she mewed softly. (for mention)

-FalconClan-

-Savagestorm-

A large black tom prowled with the ferocity and elegance of panther on the hunt despite his broad, muscular frame, his eyes scanning the camp he called home, a look of arrogant superiority contained, like always, in his eyes. Soon he spotted his mate alongside Raccoonmask, both of whom were being approached by Bonesoul, and he strode over to them, head held high like always, barely acknowledging his leader though he did dip his head very slightly to him but otherwise, did nothing that would acknowledge his Dominant's superiority over him. He was about to settle in next to her once he reached her but when he arrived she was gone and since he had been looking elsewhere when she left, he blinked at Raccoonmask and demanded, "Where did Ivyhawk go? She was just here a second ago! We need to go train our kits soon. Their perfection is waning the longer we wait." (for mention)

-Whitefire-

The creepy white tom with the splatter on his fur that looked eerily like a permanent patch of blood glanced up when he heard the she-cat calling his name, growling as he was drawn out of his dream and the Dark Forest, which he enjoyed prowling through at every opportunity, particularly with her. "Checked up? You've been training again," he diagnosed with one glance at her, since it wasn't hard to figure out. The she-cat with the superiority fetish was always training herself, her mate or her kits, and he wondered if her obsession bordered on deranged. Not like his obsession with the Dark Forest bordered on deranged, not at all. He quickly groomed his pelt before getting to his paws and picking out the herbs he knew he'd need before gesturing at her with his tail. "Come, sit here," he said, settling onto his haunches as he waited.

((Cats and dogs who still need to be introed: Spiritshine, Jake?, Smokepelt, Goldensoul, Lucky, Gracie, Burnedleaf, Gladepaw, Otterpearl, Moonblossom, Hawk, Arctichail, Dreampaw, Oakenpaw, Emberwing, Spottedjay, Waterdrop, Shroudedstream, Cascade and Fadingmoon.))

[SparrowClan] >> Longfur The pretty grey and tan she-cat blushed when Swiftheart called her beautiful, and looked up at him. She couldn't decide whether he really meant it or was just being nice to her. She hadn't heard him call Goldenflower or Nightwing that before, and Goldenflower was quite a bit prettier than her... Her golden fur, brown markings, and beautiful green eyes made her one of the prettiest cats in the clan. She probably would have been desirable to many a tom, if it hadn't been for her past in HawkClan. The only cat who seemed to want her was Ruinedscale, and she supposed that that was a good thing. Goldenflower didn't need any more stress in her life, especially not from toms.

Yet he was acting like nothing was amiss, so she supposed that Swiftheart was just being friendly, like he usually was. She felt a bit of disappointment at that realization, but shook it off. Why would he think she was so beautiful? She could take care of kits, sure, but she was no hunter or fighter. Surely he'd want someone stronger than her, and there were plenty of cats in the clan that were better at being warriors than she was. She had always been a queen, and always would be. But then again, Swiftheart had always been nice to her, and he spent quite a bit of time in the nursery...

She wrenched herself from her thoughts when she heard Jaguarkit asking to go outside, and she got to her paws. Everyone seemed like they were finished with their meals, so she didn't see any reason to make the kits wait any longer. "Okay, okay!" she said to Jaguarkit, licking him affectionately on the head. "If everyone's ready, we can head out now." She glanced at Swiftheart before she headed for the nursery's entrance, hoping that he would stay with them for awhile longer before taking care of his duties.

[SparrowClan] >> Blazepaw The ginger tom laughed when Runningpaw teased his sister about her habits, and he glanced at the calico she-cat, chuckling. She was gnawing on the piece of prey, trying to get a pretty big bite of it into her mouth. When he saw the look she gave her brother he stopped though, since he didn't want to upset Dappledpaw. She seemed like she was pretty easy to upset, but she didn't get mad at him often. Still, he didn't want to risk it. Dappledpaw had always been nice to him, and he loved to spend time with the she-cat. He was almost as close to her as he was to Runningpaw and Falconfang.

He was going to suggest that they just go ahead and go patrolling on their own, since Dappledpaw seemed so ready to start the day, when Ruinedscale approached them. Ruinedscale had scared Blazepaw half to death when he was a kit, but by now he was used to his strange appearence. "That's fine with me," he mewed, glancing at Runningpaw, then Dappledpaw.

[WrenClan] >> Darkshade Darkshade smirked at her friend when she began to hop over the nests, and did the same thing, only more quietly. "You'll wake up everyone in here!" she said to Lionspirit teasingly while hopping over one of the dens. Normally she might have chastised her more, but Fox, Spiritshine, and Russetfang were already up. They were the only ones that could punish her now that she was a warrior. The rest could get as mad as they wanted, she couldn't care less. "We could," she said to Lionspirit when she exited the den, smirking. "They'd believe us too. It sure is nice being a warrior, isn't it?"

[HawkClan] >> Icewhisper "I'd love to eat with you when you're done training," Icewhisper said to her son, purring. She loved how nice Whisperpaw was to her and the other queens, and other females in general. She was glad that he hadn't turned out to be like his father, Dusktalon. The two were almost complete opposites, and she liked to think that it was because of the way that she had raised him, even though she knew that it was probably more than that. When he invited Echofeather to join them, she turned to the other queen, and nodded with a smile on her face. She would love it if the other queen came with them. She was her best friend, after all, and the two had been close ever since they became breeding partners immediately after their apprenticeships. "I'd love it if you came too, Echofeather," she mewed to her friend.

SparrowClan {Swiftheart and Bluekit} The queen seemed to stare at him with something akin to amazement in her face for what felt like a long time. It gave him plenty of time to observe her features, the colour of her fur, the glint in her eyes, the shape of her ears. Swiftheart wondered what she was thinking. Then her face seemed to fall and he looked away, saddened. Perhaps she had been remembering when her mate called her beautiful, whoever he was. In the background, he heard Bluekit yell "No way, Jaguarkit, I'm gonna beat you!"

With Longfur's blessing, the dark tan tom watched his adoptive son skitter excitedly out of the nursery. He still played like a kit, despite the hardships he'd been through. "He'll be made an apprentice soon," Swiftheart said. The words held some sort of heavy weight to them. They marked the end of their mornings together, the time when he no longer had an excuse to visit her. Unless she asked him to still come. For a while, the tom debated asking her permission, but didn't have the courage. Instead he said, "I have no duties this morning. Spiritshine is nowhere to be found. Can I sit with you awhile and watch them play?" The question seemed almost poignant, like he was saying much more than his words. He wondered if he was.

(Longfur) (Jaguarkit)

{Skylark} And suddenly they were in the forest, the sounds of the camp left mostly behind. It was strange how the camp seemed to be a little pocket of air filled with noise and happy cats, while the frorest was quiet as the middle of the night. Were there many cats in the forest at the moment? Skylark grinned mischieviously at Lilacpaw. "You shouldn't be complacent around badgers," he said. He'd stopped and was now standing opposite her. Playfully, he kicked his hindleg against the ground, as though preparing to strike. "They can be quite dangerous." Then he leapt towards her, claws still sheathed, and landed just in front of her.

(Lilacpaw)

{Dappledpaw} The calico she-cat grinned up at her mentor. He had arrived at the perfect time, serving as a distraction from boredom and a dutiful mentor. Swallowing the last of her prey, Dappledpaw nodded, as did Runningpaw. "I'd love to have a training session," she mewed, excitedly. "What do you have in mind?" She gazed solidly into Ruinedscale's clear eyes, her line of sight never wavering. As a kit, she'd been terrified of his unfortunately appearance, been dismayed to be given such a horrifying cat as a mentor. She had been sure she was being punished for something, but couldn't think what she'd done. It was only later that she learnt she'd been given him with the knowledge that she had a kindly nature and would learn to accept him. This she did and thought of him almost as a second father. Almost. Their father had never visited often, but Ruinedscale was always there for them. Dappledpaw no longer blinked an eyelid at his face, thinking him to be like any other cat, though she was often disappointed that he wouldn't eat with her sometimes.

(Ruinedscale)

Outside the Clans {Peach} Peach sighed and stared at her unmoving siblings. Like all kits - she supposed - they would stay asleep as long as their bodies wanted, and nothing could rise them, not even the cajoling of Weasel or Orangey. "Okay kittens," she said to the two conscious kits. "Why don't we hunt a bit and wake them with the smell of food? They're obviously not going to get up right now. Maybe we walked too far last night." She frowned, wondering, briefly, if she was pushing her siblings too far in her desperation to find other - older - cats.

(Orangey) (Weasel)

WrenClan {Strawpatch} Of two minds, the tom began a steady trot around the camp. He avoid the gaggle of females by the fresh kill and the warriors' den, but used the apprentices' den as an obstacle to gallop around. He was caught between thinking Oceankit's promise was cute and wanting to throw up what little there was in his stomach. Kits were not his thing, but the affection she gave him was interesting. Why him and not his siblings? Perhaps there were just too many kits for each to get enough attention. He skidded to a halt at the fresh kill pile, no longer able to ignore the grumbling and aching in his belly, and pulled a small piece of prey towards him. Fox's eyes slid his way and he flinched, but apparently she wasn't interested in chastising him. He had been lucky. Then he pushed into the nursery, still carrying Oceankit, and waiting for her to dismount.

(Oceankit)

{Lionspirit} Turning back to look at her friend, Lionspirit sent a brilliant white grin in Darkshade's direction. A wink quickly followed. "You think any cat could catch me to tell me off, anyway?" she called, laughing. She knew she wasn't the fastest, but why not pretend? She hopped towards her friend and butted her flank, hoping to knock her off kilter in a playful manner. Then she sped away, ready to run when Darkshade undoubtedly chased her.

(Darkshade)

HawkClan {Echofeather} Beauty and grace filled the she-cat's expression. Some had said she seemed older than her age. "I'd be honoured to join you," Echofeather said, quietly. "However, I'm not sure if we both left the nursery that there would be any cat to look after Mistkit. I suppose I could ask another she-cat or leave her in the medicine den." The queen's voice was quiet; she didn't want her daughter waking and thinking she wanted to get rid of her.

It was at that moment that the precious bundle decided to emerge into the realm of the awakened. Mistkit looked up at her mother, the picture of innocence, and asked one of the questions Echofeather always hoped she wouldn't ask. Anything about toms was difficult to answer, so when the queen had to explain that some toms didn't love their mates, it could be difficult. "Well, sweetheart," she began, carefully. She licked the she-kit's head and smoothed her fur while considering her reply. "There's not so much room in the nursery..." She stopped. It was unsatisfactory to let Mistkit think that was the only reason. "Dusktalon and Icewhisper aren't exactly mates. Both of them wanted to have kits - to give HawkClan more warriors - and they agreed to have them together."

Echofeather could see Whisperpaw first look up at the kit, then begin to shuffle his paws. He became more and more uncomfortable as she spoke, she realised, and flashed him an apologetic smile. She supposed he would have preferred if his parents had been in love, but it didn't happen often in HawkClan. It was more likely that a tom would love another tom or a she-cat another she-cat. With that thought, her thoughts drifted to her own lover, Crystalmoon. What was the warrior doing at that moment?

(Icewhisper) (Mistkit) (Crystalmoon - for mention)

FalconClan {Raccoonmask} Her vision was filled with a powerful, black form and Raccoonmask felt her eyes flicking from the Dominant to her fellow trooper. Somehow, however, this tom's mateship with her friend had put him offlimits to even she. She laughed, knowing it would drive him crazy, and felt like toying with him a little. "I shredded her, so Bonesoul" - she purred the cat's name, to give him some satisfaction while she spoke to this other tom - "sent her to get herself checked out. I hope I didn't hurt her too much." Her tongue flicked out of her mouth playfully, and she sent her tail following Ivyhawk to let him know the direction of her path. Raccoonmask turned away from him, no doubt wounding his pride, and grinned at the Dominant once more.

(Savagestorm) (Bonesoul)

{Ivyhawk} The tom was distracted. He wasn't thinking of her wounds, not really, when she entered, but she didn't particularly mind. If he'd practiced his discipline as well as she had, he could do it in his sleep - he could probably do anything in his dreams, she mused - and she trusted his abilities. "Of course I've been training," Ivyhawk remarked dryly. "If you were to deny me that, it would be to deny me my existence." Stupid tom, she thought, without stopping herself. She was still a WrenClan cat at heart, she supposed. She did as he asked, but found she couldn't relax properly; she sat awkwardly on her haunches, still ready to do battle, impatiently awaiting when she would train her kits.

(Whitefire)

[SparrowClan] >> Longfur and Nightwing Longfur looked up at Swiftheart when he mentioned Bluekit becoming an apprentice soon. Of course she wanted for all the kits to grow up and become apprentices, and warriors someday, but there was also a part of her that was saddened by the thought. Bluekit was like a second son to her, and she had become close to his fathers in the moons they had been spending together in the nursery, watching over the two kits. She liked Swiftheart - possibly more than she was willing to admit - and hated to think of not being able to spend time with him anymore. When he asked if it was alright for him to sit and watch the kits with her for awhile, the queen perked upand smiled at him. She knew that her time with Swiftheart was coming to an end, but she would still enjoy spending time with him while they could. "We'd love to have you," she said to him, purring a little too loudly. After a few moments she headed towards the entrance of the nursery, brushing past him as she reached the exit of the den.

[WrenClan] >> Darkshade She laughed when Lionspirit asked if she really thought that someone could catch her to tell her off, even though they both knew that she wasn't the fastest cat in the clan or anything. "I bet I could catch you!" she mewed. She was about to begin play fighting with Lionspirit, but she beat her to it, butting her flank playfully before running off. Darkshade smirked, then began to pursue her friend. "We'll see who's the fastest now!" she yowled, smiling.

[Outside of the Clans] >> Weasel Weasel nodded at Peach when she suggested that they just go ahead and start hunting. Their siblings obviously weren't being very cooperative, and he was hungry. He got to his paws, wincing at the soreness in his paws. Last night they had gone farther than they usually did, and he could feel it. He was hungry too, which made him more willing to begin hunting than he might have been normally.

[WrenClan] >> Ravensong and Morningblossom The two she-cats woke at almost the exact same time, both of them stirring and beginning to open their eyes just as the sun was beginning to climb up into the center of the sky, Morningblossom was the first to get herself out of her nest and begin grooming. She was more of a morning cat than Ravensong was, and wanted to get the day started. Ravensong, on the other hand, lay down in her nest for quite awhile, simply enjoying the comfort her nest gave her. Morningblossom waited for a little while, but began to poke her with a cream-colored paw once a few minutes had passed. After offering a few complaints to her sister, Ravensong also got to her paws and they left the warrior's den together to get some breakfast.

"Good morning everyone," Morningblossom mewed when she saw the cats that were all situated around the fresh-kill pile. It seemed like quite a few cats were already up, and the female apprentices were going out for training with Fox. Everyone else seemed like they were just waiting for orders. Morningblossom nodded at each cat as she passed them, then grabbed a thrush to share with her sister. Ravensong followed mutely, then began to help Morningblossom pluck the feathers from the bird. (no one in particular)

[HawkClan] >> Jaggedhawk A large, intimidating brown tom skulked out of the warrior's den, directly approaching the fresh-kill pile. It seemed like there were very few cats out and about in HawkClan, which was how he liked it. Jaggedhawk had never been a very social cat, although he could make himself seem like a social cat pretty easily. He simply saw no reason to bother with befriending the cats in his clan, or any clan really, and so he spent most of his time alone. There was only one cat he actually cared about, but even that cat seemed to still be napping. The only ones he saw there were Boneface, Badgerclaw, a few apprentices, and Dusktalon lurking near the nursery. It was strange that they were all waking up so late this morning, but he didn't really care. It was nice and quiet in the camp, and that was how he liked it. (no one in particular)

[HawkClan] >> Flickerflame Flickerflame woke with his heart pounding, his green eyes opened wide. He could feel that he had just experienced a nightmare of some sort, but he couldn't remember what it was. He shakily sat up and began to quickly groom himself, and then he got to his paws and headed out of the den.

When he saw Boneface and Badgerclaw, Flickerflame stopped in his tracks, staring at the two intimidating toms for a moment. With them were Boneface's sons, Adderpaw and Sandpaw, and his daughter, Featherpaw. The two young toms seemed like they were bickering, and the she-cat seemed like she was just trying to hide as much as she possibly could. Flickerflame felt his stomach churning at the sight and forced himself to head out into the forest for some early morning hunting. He couldn't stand to be around Boneface, not after what he had done to his sister. If it weren't for him, Goldenflower and her kits would be safe and sound in SparrowClan. The guilt was more than he could stand.

He opened his mouth once he was surrounded by the pines that covered HawkClan's territory outside of the camp, and he let the scents of the forest take over him for a few moments. He was generally a very nervous cat, but Flickerflame was quite different when he was hunting. Here he was calm, confident, and happy, just like he had been before everything went wrong in his life. Here he was himself, and the adrenaline rush he got when hunting forced all the guilty thoughts he dealt with daily from his mind.

It wasn't long before he found a squirrel, and the tom prepared to pounce. (no one in particular)

[HawkClan] >> Snowfall The pretty white she-cat emerged from the forest with two bluejays held between her jaws. She had been hunting since dawn, and was just finishing up. She hadn't been all that successful, she only had two bluejays, but it was something at least. Snowfall never had been a very talented hunter, especially since her training was fairly basic because of her sex. Nervously, she padded to the fresh-kill pile, being very careful to avoid all the toms who were beginning to fill the center of the camp, and laid down her prey. Then she got the smallest piece of prey in the pile, a half-starved mouse, and began to tear into it. She was starving, and she had brought her own prey for the males in the clan, so surely it was okay for her to take a small piece of prey right? (no one in particular)

[HawkClan] >> Thrushpaw The small tuxedo she-cat opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming through the entrance of the den. She yawned, showing her perfect white teeth, and rolled over to her other side. Her and her brother were sleeping a little bit later than normal this morning, but she didn't think that anyone cared too much. Most of the HawkClan cats seemed like they were still asleep anyways. She listened to Crowpaw come in to come wake his sisters, and she cringed against Viperpaw's side when she heard Adderpaw coming into the den, yelling at the two she-cats to get up so that they could go train. She was terrified of Boneface and his family, and avoided them whenever it was possible. Viperpaw usually protected her against them for the most part, but she still tried to avoid confrontation as much as she could. She even avoided the two females most of the time, just in case their father or uncle happened to get angry about them having friends.

It took quite awhile, but she felt Featherpaw stirring nearby, then heard the other female getting up to leave the den. Then Ringpaw spoke up, asking her to run away with her. Thrushpaw turned to look at the other apprentice, and frowned. She knew that life was bad there for females, but was it really so bad that they needed to run away? She didn't really think so, but she supposed that her brother made things easier than they would be otherwise. She waited for a few moments, and tried to go back to sleep, but it became apparent to her that sleep wouldn't come.

Sighing, she sat up in her nest and blinked her eyes sleepily. "Viperpaw," she whispered into her brother's ear. "Viperpaw, it's time to get up!" She had been waiting long enough, it was time to go do something.

SparrowClan {Swiftheart} Longfur's purring was audible, very much so; Swiftheart imagined Goldenflower would be able to hear it. It didn't help his confusion at all. I need to have a proper conversation with this she-cat about our friendship, he thought, frowning. Her flank brushing his sent imaginary bolts of electricity through him, and he started. He was momentarily locked in place before he forced himself to move and sit beside her. There was a long silence. "Longfur," he muttered. Bluekit seemed happy to be out of the nursery, but would no doubt tire of the duties when he became an apprentice. "Is there anyone who could watch the kits for a little while? I think you should take a break, spend some time in the meadow." His words were halting. He berated himself for being so obvious.

(Longfur)

WrenClan {Lionspirit} Elation and fear drew into one emotion when Darkshade began to chase her. Lionspirit's thick fur fluffed up instinctively, defensively. She knew her friend would catch her eventually - Darkshade was both faster and had more stamina - but she could get quite far out into their territory, maybe as far as the river. She sped through the camp, leaping over a kit in her way, and dashed out of the camp. The thick bramble entrance clawed at her, threatening to trap her and make sure her pursuer caught her, but she pulled away, feeling a her skin bead with blood slightly. She paused momentarily at the first sight of their territory, deciding where to go, then dashed in the direction of the river.

(Darkshade)

Some of us are going to get this going again; Can we get a headcount of who wants to participate?

((I'm game!))

(( Me! c: ))