You've got your head in the clouds [tidal-moon]

[Swift ✱]

MOONBEAM
say my name
and every colour illuminates
we are shining
and we will never be afraid again
▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

Moonbeam leaned down to pull her rough tongue over her fur. her fur could be unruly at the best of times, but now she looked like she had just come running through a bush. There were bits of twigs entwined with her fur. Even a little piece of moss had tangled itself in her coat. Moonbeam huffed out an irritated breath. What a piece of work she was. When was the last time she had groomed her fur? Surely, it wasn't that long ago. She began to tease the twigs out with her teeth. She continued working through her pelt until it looked somewhat acceptable. Some of it stuck out at angles and other places were flat and sleek. Moonbeam pulled a paw over her face, washing it as a finishing touch. That would do. She wasn't going anywhere special today anyhow.

Camp was bustling with the daily business, patrols had been organized and the apprentices were going out for training. Some were leaving the clearing and some were coming in from the area around them. Others, like Moonbeam, were just hanging around camp, just a little bit fed up. Or, she was anyway. Moonbeam watched as one of the apprentices and their mentor made their way out of camp to do some training. Not too long ago, that had been her going out with her mentors. How many mentors had she had? Three? Four? She hadn't been very lucky in that area. But she was none the worst for it! She was a warrior now, nevertheless. And of course, with the variety in cats, she had never been bored. She wasn't on any sun-high patrol today, so she was free to do what she wanted for now. Moonbeam stood up and wandered over to the base of a tree not far from camp. She settled down there, tail tucked around herself. Her eyes still watched her clan-mates. Her bright green eyes blinked innocently, opened wide. The ground beneath her was cold and not very yielding, so she shifted her weight to make herself more comfortable. There was a cold breeze and it ruffled her guard hairs this way and that but didn’t chill her. The tricolor she-cat looked upwards through the towering trees to the overcast sky. No more snow, she hoped. It was about time spring came around.

✱ tagged | tidalhaunt (lynx) only
✱ word count |384

[LYNX ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv347/lovelywarriorlynx/tidalhaunt2.png] There was a definite chill in the air, and it was a bit disconcerting for a long-haired fellow, even despite his long and protective coat, for he would do anything to send winter packing. While over the past several days much of the snow seemed to have seeped quietly away, he thought it was probably still rather far from spring, judging by the bite in the wind that blew steadily through TempestClan's territory. The clans suffered, all of them, when leaf-bare clenched its bare paws around the valley, casting ice upon the lake and sending clouds sweeping continually across the sky, selfishly keeping the sunshine away for moons at a time. Though he wasn't too cold, a shiver passed faintly through his frame with the thought of it snowing once more and peered, squinting, up into the gloomy silver sky. Yeah, it seemed a lot like snow was in the future, and the thought made the tom cringe slightly before brushing away the thought, knowing naught could be done to change the weather. One simply had to deal with it, get through it, and wait for the sun. His hunting trip, at least, had been exceedingly successful oddly enough, and now two mice and a water vole he had managed to dig up hung from his maw by their tails, looking rather silly. He didn't mind though, and he was sure no one else did either. After all, they weren't all too skinny, and they'd make a few meals at least. He was proud anyway, and held his tail high in the air with a feeling of contentness beneath the apprehension about the season. The tuxedo fellow made his way over to the camp's great tree and dropped his cache at its base, where a few other bits of prey lay a bit haphazardly. Unable to think of another task to go about doing, Tidalhaunt decided to tidy up the fresh-kill pile, and neatly placed all the pieces with one another, placing the oldest bits on top to be chosen first before they spoiled and turned to little more than crowfood, but the task passed quickly, and he found himself looking around for something- or someone- to keep himself busy with. A silver coat caught his eye, a bit away from camp by herself. The young warrior, perhaps one of the newest in the clan though Tidalhaunt could hardly keep track, curled up by her lonesome at the base of a tree several foxlengths from camp, and the tom couldn't help himself as he padded away from camp himself, headed straight for his young clanmate. To be honest, he didn't know Moonbeam all that well, and spun around on a second thought and grabbed a bit of prey to bring her. "Hi there," He meowed, smiling a bit awkwardly as he dropped the ratty little squirrel at her paws, grimacing faintly at the hairs it left on his tongue. "Blegh." He chuckled, and lay across from her, setting about to cleaning his paws after his muddy trek through the territory. Pausing, the black and white warrior eyed her and gestured at the squirrel, "Care for a bit of a meal with me?" He finally asked, purring softly.

[Swift ✱]

MOONBEAM
say my name
and every colour illuminates
we are shining
and we will never be afraid again
▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

Her green flickered, startled as two paws came into her field of view. She barely noticed him coming towards until he was standing directly in front of her. Moonbeam quickly snapped to attention and blinked in surprise to see a black and white tom – Tidalhaunt, wasn’t it? – drop a squirrel at her paws and lay down opposite her. “Hey,” she said back, smiling brightly at him. She wasn’t very familiar with Tidalhaunt, but there was no time like the present to get to know a fellow clan-mate better.

"Care for a bit of a meal with me?" She grinned delightedly. “Of course! Thank you,” she mewed warmly. It was nice to have company. The frigid morning could be easily forgotten if someone distracted her. But as if to remind her of the cold another chilling breeze blew through the camp, bringing with it scents of prey and forest and other clans, creeping under her thick winter pelt causing her to shiver slightly. She knew that if the weather continued like this there was a high chance she would be seeing more snow. She wasn’t particularly fond of the stuff, though it could be great entertainment at times. But it was the ice that she detested. Not only was it cold, it was slippery and a few falls hadn’t exactly soften her outlook on it.

She glanced at the squirrel and then back to the tom. It was his squirrel, so to speak, and she wasn’t sure if she could tuck in. He’d offered to share with her, but the she-cat wasn’t sure if it was rude to just start eating first. She lowered her stomach to the ground and shifted forward a little on her forelegs towards the prey. "Not a very nice day today," she meowed, eager to strike up some conversation. "You don't suppose we'll be getting more snow, do you?" she asked with a quick glance upwards through the bare trees to the grey sky. "I hope we don't, anyway. Do you like snow?" she asked quickly as she looked back at Tidalhaunt.

✱

[LYNX ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv347/lovelywarriorlynx/tidalhaunt2.png] He blinked, glad she was rather welcoming of his company, judging by her charming little smile when he spoke to her. Many of his clanmates just had such a sharp edge to their personality-- it made Tidalhaunt a bit nervous, if he was honest with himself. Hey. She seemed a little softer than what he was used to, and it was refreshing. Of course he could usually make them be a little kinder to him, but he was glad he didn't have to be doing any convincing here. He grinned widely and settled down before the young warrior, leaving the squirrel between them. "Great! I'm starving. I haven't eaten a bite all day," He chuckled, curling his tail up around his forepaws contently. A shiver danced down his spine, making him tremble faintly with the promise of more snow that plagued the afternoon air. "Brrrr." He muttered, not directly addressing Moonbeam and he leaned forward to take a ginger bite of the squirrel, chewing thoughtfully as his companion then spoke, encouraging to make small talk with her. "Mrrph hrm mnfff!" He agreed enthusiastically, mouth still full. After he finally swallowed, he gave a good-natured peal of laughter, and bobbed his head, "What I meant to say was 'I hate this weather!' but.. heh." He chuckled again, and twitched an ear a bit self-consciously. "It makes me nervous, just waiting around for it to snow. Like, it's almost nice but you just know the weather's gonna get bad in a hurry." Tidalhaunt sighed and shrugged, "I'm not particularly fond of snow at all, no. It's just cold... and wet. It makes prey run and hide and makes cats get sick. Frankly, snow is pretty stupid." He blinked, and took another bite, flicking his tailtip.

[Swift ✱]

MOONBEAM
say my name
and every colour illuminates
we are shining
and we will never be afraid again
▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

Mrrph hrm mnfff! Moonbeam lifted her eyes to look at the tom with an amused expression on her maw. He was trying to talk past a mouthful of squirrel but all that came out was a muffled mumbling. She laughed along with him as he swallowed his mouthful. What I meant to say was 'I hate this weather!' but.. heh. The she-cat nodded in agreement, her grin still stuck on her face. “Me too. It’s just so cold and sort of boring,” she contemplated, frowning a little now. "Not my favourite season, anyway. But different seasons have different perks. Up-sides and down-sides, I suppose," she meowed as she pawed at the prey.

It makes me nervous, just waiting around for it to snow. Like, it's almost nice but you just know the weather's gonna get bad in a hurry. She bobbed her head again as she took a bit of the squirrel. She chewed at the meat before swallowing hastily to speak. “Hmm. Snow’s good fun sometimes but other times you just get fed up at the sight of it. But I just hate the thought of having to go out on hunting patrols in that sort of weather. It’s quite hard to find a decent piece of prey because everything’s hiding away in someplace. And then there's the colds that go around,” she rambled, just saying whatever same into her mind, though being sure that she didn't say anything she wasn't supposed to say. "Leaf-bare itself is annoying. Not just the snow," I'm not particularly fond of snow at all, no. It's just cold... and wet. It makes prey run and hide and makes cats get sick. Frankly, snow is pretty stupid. Moonbeam ‘hmmed’ in concurrence. The she-cat took a few pieces of the squirrel into her mouth and began to chew absently.

✱

[LYNX ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv347/lovelywarriorlynx/tidalhaunt2.png] She seemed rather distant at all times, though not altogether unpleasant, and in fact it was a little refreshing. His clanmate appeared so composed, and he was so flustered all the time-- he had to take a moment to laugh at his repetoire of blunders in the presence of a clearly graceful female. He was hopeless around ladies! The thought jolted him when a stunning tortoiseshell visage materialized before him, muffling Moonbeam's words in her power and beauty. The tom's voice caught in his throat as he did his best to shake away the vision of his former 'girlfriend', the love that never was. Of course he knew he and Hauntedsky could never be, but that didn't keep him from pining for her at the worst of times, wishing back on the times they had found a shady nook to snuggle in, whiskers brushing and hushed laughter mingling in the forbidden light of it all. Tidalhaunt winced at the fresh wound that thinking about her brought, pealing away the not-quite-healed scab. Shaking his head hastily, the tuxedo tom returned to Moonbeam all at once, and narrowed his eyes pleasantly in agreement with her, having caught bits of her voice through his aching. "Yep. I mean, I don't care for green-leaf either really. It's so hot with all this confounded fur! But at least during then there's like prey and herbs and stuff to go around, not like winter. It's a friggin' wasteland when there's snow on the ground." He snorted, frowning lightly, not all too perturbed by the weather really. In a moment's notice he remembered the squirrel he had brought that now lay before him and reached down to tear away a bit of it, and chewed thoughtfully, taking advantage of this as an excuse to retreat into his own thoughts again. Not the best idea, considering he would only drift back to his badly bruised heart. "Ugh." He grunted, peered curiously at her, wondering what she thought of him, wishing he could get in her head, but the wanting was all futile. He remained quietly polite. "I don't wanna talk about weather, it's depressing and lame. Especially talking about this kind of weather-" The warrior motioned around them with his tail, "Why don't you tell me how life as a warrior has been treating you? You're still new to it all eh? So?" He prompted, grinning.

[Swift ✱]

MOONBEAM
say my name
and every colour illuminates
we are shining
and we will never be afraid again
▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

"Yeah, but at least our fur keeps us warm in winter!" she replied, smiling. There wasn't much to do about the weather but bear it, though. As Tidalhaunt quickly changed the subject from weather to her warriorship Moonbeam tilted her head, listening. "Why don't you tell me how life as a warrior has been treating you? You're still new to it all eh? So?" She was new to it. Did he think of her as an apprentice still, just a newly-made warrior? Was that all she was? "It's going well," she meowed happily. She shifted her paws forward into a more comfortable position before she spoke. She wasn't one to talk about herself, but she would answer questions, of course. But she didn't like offering up information about herself. Mainly because there wasn't all that much to tell. "Well,I can't really say I feel much different than how I felt as an apprentice." She laughed lightly as she thought about what she would say next. "But maybe that's just me. I suppose that you have more responsibility as a warrior. Apprentices have someone to keep an eye out for them, but now you're the one that has the obligation to look after them," she mewed. She gave herself a little confirming nod as she thought back over what she had said and found it to be acceptable.

She hadn't missed the fact that he seemed to tune out of the conversation for a while before, his mind occupied with something else as he stayed quiet. She said nothing but had an immediate urge to find out what the problem was. Instead, she took another bit of the squirrel in her mouth and chewed calmly, watching him carefully. She was beginning to feel at ease with Tidalhaunt. He was quite easy to get along with. But still she wondered why he had a brief change of mood before. Of course, now he was fine, grinning again with the subject change from weather to her warriorship. "But, like I said, maybe it's just me that doesn't notice anything. Did you?" she asked with a curious expression lighting up her gaze.

✱

[LYNX ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv347/lovelywarriorlynx/tidalhaunt2.png] It's going well, With that, the tuxedo fellow cocked his head, hoping she had more to say, as he was simply hopeless at holding one-sided conversations. Not that he minded the silence much, but often found it tense and ridden with unwanted undertones. That, of course, was why he seemed so chatty all the time. Glancing at his younger clanmate, the tom pricked his ears and nodded. "Yeah," He purred, "I definitely know what you mean. It gets pretty dull now that you don't have much to work for huh? Well, I mean in the short-term. Long term there's settling down with a family or working for a higher position of course, if you're into either of those things-." His heart tinged a bit at the idea of having a loving mate and kits, raising them as his own. He had strong paternal feelings every once in a while; he willed them away, but they always sprang up again. He had always adored his parents, and thought perhaps it was that bond that encouraged him to want to try it himself- having a family, that is. And while working to become deputy and even leader did appeal to him a bit, he wasn't sure that leading was really in his nature. It was too hard to please everyone, and at times impossible. On top of that, he was far too self-conscious to be under all that scrutiny all the time. No, he was plenty content being a faithful warrior of TempestClan. He didn't need much more than that when he had friends. "But there are good things too! I'm still looking forward to having my first apprentice. One of these days I'll get one. I don't mean to brag or anything, but I think I'd be a pretty good mentor... I mean, fighting isn't much of a passion or anything, but I'm a fair hunter! And I like working with young cats. At the risk of sounding phony, I gotta say it's kind of inspirational. To be around kits and apprentices, that is." The green-eyed warrior smiled, looking down at his paws a bit shyly, knowing how silly he sounded once he got to talking like that, and wondered why he had such a bad habit of spilling every thouht that entered his mind. Moonbeam probably thought him nuts! At that, he wondered faintly what exactly Hauntedsky had seen in him- a common thought for him. "Huh? Oh, yeah. It takes a while, since no one's taking you seriously yet. StarClan, practically no one's taking me seriously yet, and I've had my name for moons!" He sighed good-naturedly. "But respect is earned. I figure once you got respect in the clan, you've got it good. You just gotta make a name for yourself, you know? Plus things are pretty peaceful for the clans right now. Besides CelestialClan, but even they've been quiet since winter started. When things get frisky between clans being a warrior gets more exciting, I promise." Tidalhaunt meowed, flicking his eyes up to meet hers for a moment before taking another bite and chewing thoughtfully, gazing into the distance.