drying our tears** f!aming/!ion/jet/g!oom

[lily ♫]

ooc: it's the day after the clan meeting. <3

F L A M I N G ARROW

She'd had it rough for awhile, but Flamingarrow was finally sure that everything was going to be okay. For now, anyway. Fear still radiated from the VertigoClan camp, and it made this vibrant ginger she-cat wrinkle her nose. Of course, Abyssbird's death had been a wake up call. While they'd been queens, she'd always thought that their friendship was what had helped her get through it all and finally cope. 'That's over now.' She silently reminded herself, and looked up into the bright and shining sky, carefully dotted with cumulus clouds. Such a pretty scene for such sorrowful times.

Shaking her head, the female Warrior found herself slowly approaching the fresh kill pile. Frowning at its small size, the she-cat picked a mouse up in her sharp teeth only to drop the prey immediately in disgust. Rancid scents filled her nose and mouth, and her emerald gaze began to tear up. "Oh for StarClan's sake!" She spat, swatting away the maggots and eyeing the rest of the prey cautiously. Holed up in the camp, they were all going to die from starvation or carrion-sickness!

A flash of creamy, sunshine tinted fur beside her and a pair of piercing aqua eyes told her to organize a hunting patrol. Accepting her deputy's orders, the young Warrior sweeped her gaze across the camp, her long tail flicking with impatience. Paws restlessly moving about, the ginger she-cat picked a few of her clanmates to accompany her. "Jetfang, Lionpaw, and you, Gloompaw," Flamingarrow began, signaling her grieving nephew to listen to her order. "We've got near rotten prey in the freshkill pile. Why don't you two see if you can find anymore of it?" Pointing to the two apprentices with her tail and gesturing with her head toward the food supply. Turning her attention to her fellow Warrior, she managed a quick smile.

"Mind taking them on a hunting patrol with me? It'll help Gloompaw take his mind off of things." She persuaded, hoping that the obsidian and pearl tom standing before her would agree. If not, her entire little patrol idea would just be a waste of time. Watching the apprentices closely, she stepped forward and pointed out that one of the pieces of prey Gloompaw had deemed 'alright' was in fact, not. His face crumpled into a glare, but he still tried to act determined as Flamingarrow took her place next to Jetfang.

G L O O M PAW

She'd been so proud of him when he'd gotten his apprentice name. So amazingly proud that she'd been the happiest he'd ever seen her. His face was damp with the tears he had shed in his haunted sleep. Spellpaw had yet to return, and his heart ached and yearned for the pretty little she-cat that'd always been there for him. For some reason, Heatpaw hadn't begun to bother him yet, and he hadn't started his bullying yet. Part of him was grateful for the short ceasefire, though it was his own fault. As long as he strayed from his cousin, nothing would happen between the two rambunctious toms.

A familiar ginger tabby stood in the center of the camp, and Gloompaw watched his aunt with his sterling orbs. What was she up to now? As she took freshkill from the pile, he saw mallow forms twisting and falling from the prey. Gagging, he meandered closer to the almost-entertaining events unfolding in the center of camp. Peering more closely at the prey than before, he saw that it had begun to rot into carrion. "Ew!" The apprentice muttered, disgusted. It was then that, like a ghost, Lilythorn approached and whispered to the other she-cat. Almost immediately after, his aunt's emerald gaze tore into him and she was calling out the names of cats.

Flinching as he was ordering to sort through prey, he found himself almost smiling. Lionpaw! He hadn't spoken to her recently, and a task together would be the perfect opportunity to do so. "Yes, Auntie Flamingarrow." Gloompaw meowed bitterly, approaching the freshkill pile as if it had evil creatures buried inside it. His paws got to work as he sifted through the pieces of prey that hadn't already been consumed. Gleaming with pride as he found a rancid piece, the tom didn't notice that the freshkill he sorted after that was a bad one. "Nonono, Gloompaw. That's a rotten vole.

[/i]" Flamingarrow chastised, pointing out the obvious characteristics. "What a drag!" The tom whispered to the lovely she-cat apprentice performing the same task with a half-smile on his maw.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[dawn]

Jetfang -
It's like we're chasing all those stars
And everyday I see the news
All the problems that we could solve

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After the clan meeting, in which the dreadful news had been told and like a stone cast out sent it's ripples throughout the clan with sickening speed, Jetfang felt drained of energy. From where he crouched without reason at the edge of the clearing, mismatched lights resting at his paws, Jetfang raised his head and took in the cats that made up Vertigoclan. Blue and amber orbs brushed over the creamy golden deputy, swept toward a vibrant orange she-cat. She was near his age, possibly younger, but he felt no distaste that she had signaled for him to join her patrol, at the command from Lilythorn. He didn't feel an immediate burn of energy to join the hunting patrol, but he knew that they needed prey desperately, especially after watching Flamingarrow's display. He sent his eyes sharply to the squirming maggots, and then away, feeling a prickle begin at the base of his spine and travel upward.

The deep black tom-cat stood, feeling stiffness in his snow colored feet and stretching ivory claws outward, feeling a tinge of pain from where he had torn one earlier. A hunt would do him good, even if he didn't like the feel to the air, the way he knew they would walk so slowly and carefully. Always fearing that one would become the next Abyssbird, that one might be attacked by the terrible creature, or even the whole group might. Jetfang filled his lungs with the cool air and padded across the clearing toward Flamingarrow, nodding to her as if to signal that he had seen her request as well as heard it.

His voice a quiet rumble, Jetfang settled nearby the orange she-cat as the two apprentices began to search through the prey. "Not at all. We all need something to get the grief off of our hearts, though for some it will linger longer than in other's."[/color] He flicked his tail in appreciation that she had meant for him to take on the patrol with her. She was right, of course; his apprentice needed to busy his paws, to get away from the camp clearing, which seemed to reek of death even without the body of Abyssbird. For, as though called up by the thoughts of the clan cats, a stagnant and distasteful thing had come up on the wind, or perhaps just fallen over the camp, and now held them all down. It pressed all of the air from his lungs; it made it seem as though there was more weight than normal on his strong ebony shoulders.




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[lionpaw]

After the Clan meeting, Lionpaw had been at a loss. What was she supposed to do now? Tag along with other apprentices on their training sessions? Or just do chores around camp? The creamy golden she-cat's tail drooped, standing in the same spot she had stood during the meeting. She was still having trouble accepting that Abyssbird was dead. Dead. It felt like such a foreign word in her mind, an intruder. It was a word that didn't belong there when coupled with Abyssbird, who was once so full of life. How could something once so alive, so passion be snuffed out like a light? The youthful apprentice shook her head and sighed. She supposed that in a situation like this, Abyssbird would have her get on with life. Though it felt wrong to let her life keep going while Abyssbird's just stopped, she knew she had to. With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, Lionpaw started towards the medicine cat's den to retrieve mouse bile and a moss. It was the most repulsive chore, but someone had to do it. Then, just like that, her name was called. Lionpaw looked over her shoulder to see Flamingarrow calling her. Thank StarClan! she thought, having been saved from the chore of checking Brittlewing and Darkclaw for ticks. She trotted over with ears forward and green eyes bright with curiosity with her tail streaming behind her. "Yes Flamingarrow?" the pale ginger apprentice inquired to the older warrior. "We've got near rotten prey in the freshkill pile. Why don't you two see if you can find any more of it?" Lionpaw groaned inwardly, crinkling her nose. At least it was somewhat better than checking for ticks.. And at least she had some company. With a flick of her white-tipped tail, the she-cat crouched down beside Gloompaw, beginning to sort through the smelly prey. She giggled quietly when Gloompaw was chastised with sorting the prey. She smiled at the remark the black and silver-dusted tom made under his breath. "Understatement of the century," she whispered back, her green eyes looking up to meet his handsomely chilling blue eyes. She looked at him for a moment longer, marveling at his ability to cope well enough to jest when he'd been through so much in hardly a day. She looked back to the freshkill pile and pulled out a thrush with a claw hooked in it's wing. When it turned over, it's flesh was wrinkling, with maggots crawling through the blackened feathers. Lionpaw wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Eck!" she hissed quietly, nudging the curdled prey away from the freshkill pile. She suddenly over-heard Flamingarrow talking to Jetfang. She swiveled her ears to listen to them speak, while keeping her eyes down to the prey. She smiled to herself and looked up to Gloompaw. "At least we get to go on a patrol after this!" she whispered to him, her green eyes gleaming. [ooc] sorry it's short guys. i gotta get to bed. D; [bg=1f2f23][atrb=width,469,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[lily ♫]

gloom&flaming**

It was then that Lionpaw reacted quite severely toward a piece of fresh-kill, and Gloompaw couldn't help but let out a short laugh. "They don't bite, Lionpaw~!" He whispered light-heartedly, winking at her as he prodded a maggot and it smashed beneath his paw. "Urgh! Bad idea." The young sterling shrouded obsidian tom muttered, his stomach lurching. "Flamingarrow's got the worst ideas." Hissed the tom, utterly disgusted with the task. Lionpaw chimed in with a bit of encouraging news - a patrol! How delightful, really. He'd been cooped up into camp since..since. Reality crashed down upon him once more. They were going out in the territory, where his sister roamed and his mother's body rotted. 'Why me?' The smallest part of his mind cried out, willing him to disappear inside his depression. 'No! I won't be like my dad.' Retorted the majority of his conscience before looking to his fellow apprentice pleasantly. "Yes, it'll be great." His tone was a bit lackluster, edging toward monotone by the minute. Shaking his head, he consumed himself into the task until his aunt called them off from the pile. 'Finally!'

Flicking her tail back and forth with an impatient mask on her face, the lovely ginger she-cat simply noded at Jetfang's words. "Yes, of course." She murmured, praying that her friend's child would recover sooner than naught. Her mind longed to ponder about Chasmriver's current state, but she didn't dare let that tabby enter her mind. Instead, her thoughts traveled back into a more peaceful situation. A smile couldn't help but spread across her face as she thought of the new Warrior that had slept in their dens the past night. "Reflectedrain's going to be a brilliant Warrior, don't you think so? He's trained so hard to get there." Gossiped the simple she-cat, her emerald eyes blazing as she looked to Jetfang's own multi-colored gaze. 'Now, if only Heatpaw would do the same.' Her maternal instincts nagged as she thought of her darling son, looking back over to her nephew. Since Chasmriver had left her, she really wasn't anything to him anymore, but she felt that she had to be, given what appeared to be a friendship between the tom and her own son. And plus, Gloompaw needed someone to look after him when others could not. Silently, she prayed that Abyssbird was easily fitting in among their ancestors. "Alright, that's enough you two! Great job. But, that's not it." She meowed grandly and with pizzazz, a smirk spreading across her maw. "Now each of us has to carry the rancid prey out of this place and get some new freshkill in this dreadful place." A bit of humor rang in her words as she tried to make the duty bestowed upon her by Lilythorn seem more pleasant than it was. "All set and ready to go?" She asked of the tom near her, smiling.

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[MiNTY♥]

xx closed