//Unstoppable {Private;;Lynxstar only}

[cedarclaw]

Cloudstreak had enough of sitting in camp. He rolled over and jumped to his paws. The sun was shining brightly and his silver and black tabby striped fur was blowing in the soft, cool wind. He sighed, agitated. "I need to get on my paws," he growled to himself. His yellow-green eyes flicked around the clearing while he looked for a friend to hunt..run..play..do anything. "Lynxstar?" the tom called softly. He could always look up to Lynxstar to do something fun. She was his best friend. Really, his only close friend. He rolled over again and hooped to his paws. Flicking a stray twig in the air, he jumped and caught it between his two forepaws. He probably looked like a kit but he was so bored. He had all of this pent up energy that he needed to get rid of and doing something fun would rid of it. Now that he thought of it, chasing a stick around wasn't really doing much of anything and his pelt grew warm under his skin as he saw how large his tail had gotten from all of the excitement. So excitement that was. Chasing around a twig. Heh. At least he could find some way to entertain himself. "Maybe she's busy.." he mused, trotting in place. Ah, the oddball. He had never felt so young in his life. He was quite the old warrior.

[LYNX ♥]

Drama and drama, as if Northwind's uproarous love-triangle, Lavenderpaw's constant trouble-making, Blizzardspite's sour snaps, and Chasmriver's unending flirting and odd blood-lust weren't enough for her clan to handle under the 'D' category, then this ridiculous war sparked by the useless lump of tom known as Darkfog would certainly cause poor VertigoClan to tip off the face of the earth, mountain and all. In some dry sort of way, this spread a subdued grin across the formerly sober and mellow-minded tawny she-cat. Her bulky form stalked slowly back and forth from within the cramped den, finding herself jittery and fidgeting when she settled into one position for too long. Though not exactly jumpy, Lynxstar found that some form of constant movement helped her think, something she never had to go through before. Oddly enough, Lynxstar was still a young leader, yet to grow out of her prime, yet she was often looked over as an elder leader, crippled and obnoxiously wise. What a jip. her ebony 'M' marked brow grew a deep furrow-the beginnings of a scowl- as she thought of it, and even this slightly bitter idea threatened to tip her boringly mediocre mood downward. Suddenly, she pricked her ears, flinging up her broad skull from her hunched-over positon of walked, and allowed her small, fluff-tipped ears to prick forward, picking up a familiar voice, and a familiar silhouette outlining the mouth of her den. "Oh hello there Cloudstreak," The big leader purred softly, gliding along the stretch of her nest to the camp clearing in a single movement. "What are you up to this sunny dusk-eve?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse from several hours of silence in her own presence.

[cedarclaw]

Lynxstar. His smile brightened. So she wasn't busy? How lucky was he? He kneaded the ground as he saw her form move from inside of her den. "Lynxstar," he breathed, flashing a grin. Oh. Wow. He still had the twig in his mouth. Her name sounded muffled and unusual. "How am I? Well, many things, but to start off, I'm very antsy and I need to get out of this camp for a hunt or a run. As you can see," he meowed, biting his lip and looking down to the twig. "I found some ways to entertain myself," he chuckled weakly, letting a nervous smile form again on his maw. His green eyes shone. "So, if you wouldn't mind, would you like to go out on a hunting patrol..run..patrol.." he suggested. "Anything really!" he knew he sounded desperate but sadly, that's what he was. Desperate. "I mean," he meowed with a fake cough, looking around the deserted camp, "If you're not busy right now," he laughed, cuffing her over the ear. He had known Lynxstar ever since they were..well, kits. Friends all the way through. His eyes flickered to her golden lights and he smirked. "Seeing as the camp is so busy and everyone is calling your name.." he meowed with a sheepish smile. Then again, she did look a little preoccupied with her thoughts, now that he looked her over. She wasn't the same relaxed Lynxstar he knew. "If there's something bothering you, we can talk about it. A simple walk would be fine with me," he meowed, his tone a gentle soft. "But if you'd rather me go out by myself, that's fine as well," he chuckled, keeping his tone relaxed and soft. If she didn't want to talk about whatever seemed bothering her, he wouldn't push it. He had known her for however many moons they had been together as friends -- forty-six moons for him. She was two moons older, and he had to give her that. They were still young but he hated to see her troubled. Always did.

[LYNX ♥]

Upon seeing her friend, the stout leader stopped short and shrugged her shoulders upwards in an amused gesture, "Get that hunk of wood out of your mouth, you country bumpkin!" She chided the pale gray tom in a slightly mocking tone, as if pretending to be an unpleasant old queen, scolding a naughty kit. "And straighten your back or it'll stick and you'll grow up with your nose stuck in your paws!" That, for sure, was teasing, and the usually aloof, somber she-cat grin, raising one huge forepaw and smacking him lightly on the shoulder, moving past so her thick coat brushed his, then turned to face him once more. For once, Lynxstar could agree wholeheartedly, she needed to get out and jump, climb, run, fly, anything. It was strange to feel so restless, but also refreshing to have a play partner, one who wouldn't gossip to the clan when she cried herself to sleep or sprinted after leaves like a kitten. "Oh I don't know Cloudstreak. A patrol at this hour? I'll have to move my schedule around a bit. I'm not quite sure I can squeeze you into it." The rough-looking tawny she-cat pulled an extraordinary straight face, her deep gray-brown eyes almost regretful, yet the way she couldn't contain her whisker-twitching gave away the sarcastic darkness in her tone, just before a smile broke across her broad features. Shaking her smal, round fluff of a tail-the equivilent of a lash or twitch-the leader slipped over to the camp exit, small ears pricked in signal for him to join her. "Troubling me? Oh everything I guess. That's usually how it is. I guess I can never truely clear my mind but nothing serious. Just the usual VertigoClan dramafest I suppose." She mewed, shrugging as she trotted out of camp.

[cedarclaw]

The tom didn't need an answer, he supposed. Her padding out of camp was a yes for him. Cloudstreak bounced to his paws and threw the stick somewhere in the camp. There was a loud noise and he hoped dearly he hadn't hit another cat. If he did, he didn't know and he didn't care. The tom smiled and let out a hearty purr as he pounced around like an excited apprentice going out for his first training session. He hadn't been an apprentice in moons but he sure did remember how he felt once he had been made one. A feeling he would never forget. The tom purred and pounced out of camp, making his strides longer so the tom could follow after his best friend. The leader. Boy, was he lucky? The tom was so happy, he almost forgot he was running until he slammed straight into Lynxstar. He ended up tackling her to the ground. "Let's have some fun while we're out here!" Cloudstreak meowed with a smile. Maybe once she loosened up, she'd explain to him why she was so..tense in the camp. Sure, there was the every day drama, which sucked, but there had to be something else. He wouldn't push the subject but he did want to get to the root of the matter -- if there was a problem at all. He was probably jumping to conclusions, like always. Silly tom.

[LYNX ♥]

In her bout of pure ecstacy of being out of the confines of camp at last, the massive, normally quite dignified leader found that she herself had fallen into a rhythmic skip-hopping, even in all of her VertigoClan-characteristic muscular bulk. A wide, almost goofy-looking grin played across her broad face, stripping her of those severe wildcat looks as she darted through the forest and the rocky slopes. "H-oof!" her yelp suddenly rang through the crisp mountain air, flinging a flock of dark shapes, birds, into the air above her from the trees. "Get off of me you great lump of tom!" Dispite her good-natured words, Lynxstar felt a hot blush coursing through her face, lighting her slackened ears into a brilliant sunset-hue. In a frenzied attempt to rid herself of all visible signs of the embarrassing gestures, Lynxstar pricked and unpricked her ears, shaking her head and slipped out from underneath Cloudstreak, frisking the dusk and twigs from her pelt. "I think I had a fly inside of my ear," She lied, eyes twinkling to show her tell-tale excuse. No, Cloudstreak wouldn't miss that, so used to being critical of other cats, nothing would slip by him. In her fluster to disguise herself, the great tawny tabby she-cat spun and slapped him on the shoulder with one massive paw, then turned and darted off, uphill. "You're it!" She yowled to the bright blue sky as she raced away, resembling a lumbering bear.

[cedarclaw]

Cloudstreak actually laughed. Laughed like he used to. He had been so serious and so determined to make a good warrior, he hadn't had a good laugh like the one he had just had. "I am so sorry my queen!" the tom laughed, blinking sympathetically. She wriggled out from under him and she mentioned she had a fly in her ear. He laughed again. He knew that look. She was merely lying to cover up something. But alas, he was a tom. What did he know? Sure, he knew Lynxstar better than most, but he was only a tom. He didn't really understand she-cat's and their odd emotions sometimes. Then she changed the subject. Well, she also changed his balance. He had slipped on a rock and was lying on his back, chuckling manically. "Tag? I see how it is, I'm it? Not for long!" he yowled, jumping to his paws. Oh, the rush of adrenaline. It was lovely, being out in the open. The tom grinned and pounded after Lynxstar. His paws thrummed the ground eagerly and his mouth was open in a wide grin. Oh, he was happy, yes he was. So happy to be out and about and with hist best friend, also. He was coming up close to her. So close, that he could almost touch her with his paw. He came up to her side and tried to reach out with a paw but stumbled and lost his footing like the idiot he was. "So close!" he howled all the while laughing. True, he was so close but he had just fallen. It was all so much fun. He didn't even care that his paw hurt. Oh well, he'd run it off later. He jumped back to his paws and grinned devilishly. He couldn't see Lynxstar, but hopefully she hadn't stopped. "If you stopped, my friend, you better start running again!" he yowled with a smile on his face. Ah, he felt like an apprentice again, yes he did!

[LYNX ♥]

Ah, yes! How refreshing to know that Cloudstreak couldn't see her blustering cloud of embarrassment as she franticly scurried about, covering up her heated blush, how good to know that he wasn't always uncannily observant, and that sometimes he really was just a dumb tom! Jubilant not only by this, but of the sheer joy that frisking about like a playful kitten or a new apprentice when no one would ever find out, and with the tom she adored at her side. Wait, adored? No, no, completely wrong word! Shaking her head wildly from side to side like a galloping mustang, Lynxstar tempted her conscious to rid itself of such a silly thought. The only way she adored Cloudstreak was as her friend, her best friend, and that would never change. Glancing over, the tawny, mottled she-cat threw back her head and let out a joyous peal of laughter as Cloudstreak skittered off, tumbling and she shot ahead, no matter how silly the massive she-cat looked when she ran. It didn't matter. She couldn't care less, and she knew Cloudstreak wouldn't even notice that she was about as graceful as a fish on land. StarClan only knew that the tom was no more than her! Her large paws slapped the rough ground, leaving small spatters of blood on the rocks below every once in a while, but Lynxstar hardly felt it, though she knew, looking down and spotting the crimson marks, that she would feel it later. Even the leader of VertigoClan, whose pads the toughest and roughest of them all, could not withstand constant running upon the cruel terrain. "Phoo.." She huffed, slowing with each lumbering gait, lungs blazing as her entire body heaved and puffed wearily. Glancing over her shoulder, the muscular she-cat managed a weak, breathless chuckle, knowing the silver tabby would come padding along soon enough. Rapidly, she glanced around, then grinned. Still panting heavily, Lynxstar clawed her way heftily up the nearest evergreen. Swaying at the sudden weight thrown at it, the tree quivered and trmebled until the leader finally stilled, flopping down upon a thick branch and peering through the needles to watch for her companion.

[cedarclaw]

The tom slowed down, hissing at his paws. He hadn't been over to this part of the territory in a while. All of the rocks screwed up his paws. He was bleeding but the rush of adrenaline allowed the sudden sharp pain to dissipate. Cloudstreak sighed and made his way carefully up the rocky outcrop, searching for Lynxstar. Actually, he didn't need much help. All he really needed to do was to was to follow bloody paw prints up the slop and onto a small hill where a lone evergreen laid. The tom looked around. Crap. Her pelt blended in so much with the brown and green needles, he didn't really know where she was. He brought his nose to the ground and began to follow her scent. He stopped just short of the tree and looked into a pair of eyes. He grinned. "I found you," he meowed, looking down at her paws. "I see you've been hurt, my lady," he meowed with a twinkle in his eye. Are you a damsel in distress? he asked with another grin. He kneaded the ground but stopped short. His paws were bleeding too, he remembered. Oh well. It was his left hind paw that bothered him the most. The one he had fallen on. Oh well, he would get it checked out later.