Twilight on the Moor

[Dawn]

* DREAMFEATHER

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I've already made up my mind | No matter what, I can't be bought or sold

She could hardly even comprehend the lecture she was going to give her cousin. There would be a high price to pay for this, whether it was accident, intentional, or fated. It barely struck her, that guilty sort of thing that sometimes is thrown at parents, that sometimes is brought on one's self. Did I ever make mistakes like this? Of course, Splashpaw would never question her older cousin, and Dreamfeather would be unlikely to confess what she had done as an apprentice, if it had been bad. But... her life, though at times tinged with sorrow, had been relatively boring. Born in a litter of three, with two brothers, one who she competed with, one whose gentle spirit she loved unconditionally. Apprenticed to an average but wise mentor; abandoned by her mother, which was, Dreamfeather had repeatedly told herself, for the best; the death of Blazepaw, which, though a tragedy, would not haunt her. She wouldn't let it. And then, she had become a warrior; and her father had fallen sick, and then died, and, well, her life had gone straight after that. After that she had pretty much been the same as she was now; she had set herself on a path to become deputy, had mentored Midnightpaw, had done her stupid little things in the clan.

Blazepaw's ghost knows how that went! Falling out with her brother, Hailghost. Silently admiring the leader, Voidstar, while in turn he had no interest in her. Quarreling with Longshadow. Looking out for Splashpaw. Fighting with Ivyshade. Spending long nights up watching Shard's mate, and then later seeing her death; but not the death of her kits, whom the bengal silently disliked for their rogue blood. Never in that time though, had she really done anything of monumental importance either for others or herself. It wasn't as if she could look back and say, 'Yep, I did a lot of things wrong, but at least now I have my mate/kits/best friend/any friend at all.' Sure, one could pooh pooh about how she was respected, and her family, but really, did any cat actually like her? Voidstar trusts me to be his deputy, and that has to be enough.

Of course, as she thought this over, things were happening that she certainly should be paying better attention to. Luckily, she listened in just as the part that would rekindle her anger began. The young warrior was taking the lecture right out her mouth- HE was lecturing her cousin, from her clan, the clan which she was deputy of. And what bothered her even more was his closeness to her, which she was sure would have made her bristle... Whatever it was with toms getting in her space. Flamestripe, Blackshard. It was fine and dandy that the other warrior seemed to be defending her, but that he was putting himself on the same side as her, well, she wasn't sure she liked that idea much. Had she known that when he said Splashpaw was taking out of his night he was really just a dirty, flirtatious tom like many she had met before, she would have been noticeably more angry. As it was, she had already made the transition from fiery, personally involved anger to cold, responsible deputy anger. This was when she was quite curt and more likely to icily turn away than leap for throats. However, if even one hair on her cousin's pelt was threatened... Well, she would be ready to go, claws and fangs.

As he spoke, the silver bengal shot Splashpaw a look which said she would be giving her own thrashing lecture as soon as they were out of earshot. "I'm certain she won't..." Dreamfeather began in a swift, but vaguely polite tone. Of course, she should have stopped there, rather than making it a point to address him, for now she had made the mistake of asking for his name. He had caught her off guard, calling her by her name right out. I guess that can be expected, being deputy and all, but still... What a pain. She thought fervently, tail tip twitching in involuntary spasms. The name, spoken earlier by the male apprentice, came to her after a moment of silent thought. "Runningfox, it is, then." She cut in, before he could mention his name. She made a diplomatic attempt to smile in the same cool polite way she had spoken, a thin smile that didn't reach her icy gaze. She would not apologize for the behavior of her cousin, not being able to bring herself to after he had taken the initiative to scold an apprentice that was not his to reprimand. Still, she had to keep things peaceful at the borders. Things are tense with Vertigoclan, and we might very well need Zephyrclan as an ally in the near future. Neither of these cats seem important to the clan, but I can't mess things up in any case, should they bring a bad report to their new leader, Paintedstar. She reminded herself of keeping the peace, using her tail to draw the young she-cat to her side.


OOC. no splashy response this time around, just assume she was silenced by the deputy, but I'll get a post in with her before the thread is over.
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[Dusk]

Dunepaw
_{All I can say is that my life is pretty plain,
I love watching the puddles gather rain.}

Dunepaw couldn't help it when his ears flattened against his head and he recoiled slightly from the tom. The pale striped warrior really was angry, wasn't he? This was no longer some pointless false anger, the older cat was truly and royally pissed off with the situation. It still wasn't necessarily frightening, but the little apprentice was still shocked to see that the usually flirtatious and carefree tom had a drop of palpable fury in him. The apprentice shrank back slightly from the anger, though he willed himself not to react with much shame. What was there to be ashamed of? As far as the leggy feline could tell he'd done nothing to betray his clan. Had he given away information to the "enemy"? No. Had he willingly gone against the warrior code? As far as Dunepaw could tell, no. All he'd done was avoid immediate conflict with a strange new cat. What if he had attacked Splashpaw first and asked questions later? The possibilities briefly flared in the sable tom's mind as vivid mental pictures. Considering Splashpaw's being related to the silver deputy, it wouldn't have been too surprising if his attack incited some sort of argument between the two clans. The argument could escalate into something worse, and who needed a battle? The clans should just focus on getting strong on spring and summer fattened prey rather than fighting with each other. Speaking of prey...

"The only bloodstain you'll find on the moor tonight is plover blood from fresh-kill," he retorted in irritation. The swarthy tom jerked his chin towards a patch of grass where the plover from his earlier hunt still lay - long since forgotten in the excitement of recent events. Things had dissolved so readily from an innocent hunt on the moor to innocent chatter between two apprentices and now to anger and annoyance and half-arguments. In the heat of the moment, the apprentice was indignant at being treated like some newly made apprentice; fresh to the territory and totally unaware of its hidden dangers. 'I may be small, but I can still outpace a mangy fox!' With any other cat, Dunepaw might have been better at keeping a level head, but this was Runningfox; a replacement for a mentor that the young apprentice still mourned for. A replacement that -in the young tom's still maturing mind- would never be suitable as Fleetfoot had been. And this was a moment for the younger cat to loose some of his frustrations. "Mouse bile?" he snapped with a scornful huff "It's not as though-" the tom's words faltered as his mind caught up with his tongue and the realization that there were cats from another clan next to them struck again. "-as though we have a medicine cat to supply us with any," was what the apprentice had planned on saying. He'd almost given away a vital clan secret without a care in the world about who heard it. If he hadn't been in enough trouble before then he certainly was going to be now.

Had the tom noticed him even reply, though? He seemed to be busy berating Splashpaw. The male apprentice gave a small snort of derision as he watched the young warrior rant about time taken from the daily lives of others. Shouldn't he be leaving that to the Tempestclan deputy? Dreamfeather, at least, had clan relations tying her to the gray tabby. The she-cat couldn't have appreciated a younger warrior -and from another clan to boot- undermining her by handling her own task of correcting an apprentice. 'Time taken out of your night, Runningfox? You only care because you can't be off flirting with some she-cat.' This time, though, the sable male was wise enough to keep his jaws clamped shut. He shouldn't be inflaming the situation further. Splashpaw had taken the more rational route, it seemed; she hadn't spoken out since her first attempt at explaining their being on the border in the first place. As for Dreamfeather, she seemed a cat of few words who was handling the situation far more coolly than his own mentor. Dunepaw's own eyes flickered with momentary embarrassment as he compared the two different results between the cats of two different clans. The way both he and Runningfox had gone about the situation made it look as though Zephyrclan cats couldn't keep a level-head in any situation. He resisted the urge to shift in discomfort as the thought struck.

[aero ❥]

{ R } UNNINGFOX

So he had lectured an apprentice from another clan, so he had boiled in a rare rage and snapped at his new apprentice, so he was standing in front of Tempestclan's deputy. He might have been the most hot-headed, ungoverned, young warrior with a mischievous reputation there was but he wasn't a straight up fool - and being thought of as the imbecile out everyone around him took immense amounts of his pride straight out of his pale chest. He could see it in their eyes and posture - their expressions and hear it in their tone of voice. It was like sitting in a patch of thistles. He genuinely hated the feeling of being labeled and judged, and instead of that turning into sadness or worry it just churned out anger and resentment that eventually led to him being more rebellious.

No one had ever taken him seriously, everyone always seemed to think they knew who he was. The young flirtatious warrior that would never learn. He looked down at his paws at the thought, claws digging into the sand. His short, black set that differed from the rest caught his yellow eyes, his left paw turning to he could examine them. The action gave him an excuse to turn from the prying eyes of those around him, to not let them see the internal battle that threatened to break the surface. His warm eyes filled with hot tears, his body temperature rising slightly as his fur burned with embarrassment. He hadn't been himself lately, with fatigue and headaches to his interest in Orioleflash, even here with his outburst. And that moment, with his emotional break.

Why was it so hard to find yourself? To figure out who you really are? His father had been the same way, the same habits. How did he turn out okay? My father... The deputy of Zephyrclan that lived with knowing his son was the joke of the clan. The jester. He hadn't spoken to Stormtrick lately, but they were drifting apart a little. Runningfox was realizing their differences slowly but surely. He felt alienated now without someone to talk to, distant from everyone else. Even with she-cats that adored him he couldn't vent to their perky little ears. A sigh escaped his mouth, the sudden urge to run from the tense scene overwhelming. What was so astounding was he wanted to run to his father.

As a kit and apprentice his father hadn't been there, he hadn't cared. He hadn't wanted to take responsibility. I would do the same. But the healed scars were still there and they wouldn't ever go away. What was important now was that his father was involved with his kits presently, and the handsome warrior had to remember that. That the large grey tom hadn't abandoned him totally.
"Runningfox, it is, then."

He looked up, the tears absorbing back and virtually unnoticeable now. The orange tabby felt tired and confused, still angry but too tuckered to rage on. He had barely heard Dunepaw's retort and barely cared, though he had noticed he almost gave away their dirty little clan secret. He would have a reasonable talk with him later. Dreamfeather on the other hand obviously didn't know Zephyrclan had taken on a new deputy, and that the deputy happened to have a son. Who indeed was facing another deputy. Who, just happened, to be her. Should I tell her? It would bring a smile to his face if he could see her reaction to the information. He needed a smile so badly....but the pretty she-cat could wait until the gathering. When she realized he had been the deputy's son all along and not some unimportant young warrior, well, he would make sure he sat close enough to see her expression. (And so she could hear his laughter.)

The mental image stretched a grin across his suave maw, and he felt a little better inside. A little carefree. Like he didn't give a damn what these cats thought of him, or his clan or any other. That if he was content with himself, the world could go fuck itself because that was all he needed. Dipping his head respectfully the warrior also nodded to Splashpaw who had been rather silent, and then looked at his own apprentice in a sort of....new light. "Well, good catch then. We should be getting home, I bid you ladies goodnight. Journey safe." Then he turned his back on all three, long legs working towards the sable tom's catch which he would carry back for him. It was an awkward parting, watching the tall tom pick the bird off the ground by the neck. He wandered a few steps towards the group again, waiting for the smaller black tom to follow. (And was secretly hoping to hear a goodbye from the beautiful blue-eyed deputy.)

[Dawn]

* DREAMFEATHER

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I've already made up my mind | No matter what, I can't be bought or sold

She stood there stricken, in silent thought. Feeling cold and lost as words buzzed around her, from mouth to mouth and ear to ear. Dreamfeather's tail flicked restlessly, her glacial sky eyes took in the scene, and she wondered, what will I tell Voidstar? It wasn't her first concern, but there were just too many others to think of right then. Clearly something was up with the Zephyrclan cats, by what Dunepaw had said- Dunepaw, she thought of him by name now, she wouldn't forget- before. She managed to get a claw hold on the situation as the young tom lifted his head and watched her, his eyes glistening with something like scorn, self reassurance, and weakness. It was a hard mix to decipher; if she had seen such emotions in battle, it would have been a delicate balance, deciding whether to act on the weakness or go for a head on attack, should her opponent find his strength. Sometimes, just when she had cornered another warrior, she would feel... well, she hated to think of it now. Dreamfeather hated to ever admit it to herself. But when she was there on the crimson battlefield and she was about to strike a winning blow, she would try to look away from those eyes, try not to study too much. Because if she did look, if she couldn't resist but to dwell there, deep inside she would feel pity. And pity is no good for anything! The lean bengal warrior took a deep breath, and looked at the smaller tom again, meeting his eyes for the slightest moment. It wasn't that she was attracted to him, or pitied him, or even liked him; she felt none of those things. But in any case, the deputy couldn't do it. This was one fight she couldn't finish.

With a quiet sigh, she meowed, "Have a nice night, Runningfox. Come on, Splashpaw." It was kinder than she could have been. The deputy turned and led her cousin away almost resignedly, though only her kin could have told that she felt that way. It was lucky that the tabby felt only curiosity about her sudden gentleness, and not the need to exploit her tired surrender.


* SPLASHPAW[/font]
Just ask and I'll hold your breath in my hands | And I'll save you when you crash, when you crash

She felt the need to defend Dunepaw as he spoke, but her cousin shot her daggers in a glance when she opened her mouth to say something. If looks could kill... I'd be crow food! She didn't really have much say in what went on. It seemed more a private battle than one she could join, and Dreamfeather flicked her tail close by her jaws, as though she might like to slap the black tip on Splashpaw's muzzle. Rather disappointed that her conversation with Dunepaw had ended, she watched Runningfox as he spoke, but made no attempt to speak after his reprimand. What was the use? Whether she understood the accusations or not, she and the young tom were both already guilty, and maybe guilty as charged, so there was nothing she could do but sit back and be quiet.

Splashpaw had expected Dreamfeather to snap at the other warrior, to tell him to mind his own business, but she didn't. She seemed to note his downfall after his own apprentice jumped him, even if he deserved it, and though the bengal should have relished it, instead she was being... kind? Green eyes darted to stare at the deputy in confusion, but there was no time, as she was being led- well, practically dragged- away from the scene. The little female cast a last look over her shoulder at Dunepaw, frowning, before he too had to be taken away by his mentor. One little mistake, apparently, and now they were forbidden to be friends. They've made me feel so guilty! Surely befriending him can't be that much of a bad thing?

OOC. Terribly sorry for this failingly short and unceremonious end (Dunepaw post, and then close this board? :3) there wasn't a lot left to do.
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[Dusk]

Dunepaw
_{All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain}

Dunepaw couldn't help but grimace slightly as he watched the two warriors continue on with their short exchange. Watching Runningfox with mild apprehension as he once again acted opposite to his typical characteristics; the apprentice softened slightly as he saw the warrior shield his face from the others, hiding whatever emotions were playing across his eyes and muzzle. A pang of regret rang through the apprentice. Maybe he'd been too... Too what? He was an just an apprentice that was angry with his mentor for making assumptions without properly assessing the situation first. Surely the pale tabby knew that and wouldn't be taking real offense at anything he said? The tom snorted inawardly. 'You're talking nonsense now, Dunepaw. Why would he have any problems with something you said? Besides, look at him now.'

The tom seemed to have calmed down and gotten over whatever chaos had reigned momentarily inside his head; now there was just one big oafish grin settled on his face. The near-black apprentice preferred that carefree "don't-give-a-damn" grin to his earlier outburst (although the feline found the abrupt change more than just a little strange). With little warning the tabby made his good-byes and turned to leave; snatching up the sandy-colored bird without warning and padding away a few tail-lengths before turning to make sure the apprentice was following suit. Dunepaw just stood uselessly for a moment, stupefied by the abrupt turn of events. Then something clicked and he broke free of the stupor, seeing that the Tempestclan cats were already heading in the opposite direction back to their own territory. He dipped his head to both of the she-cats cats even though the silver bengal was already half-turned; slight frustration still lingering in the tom for having been able to speak for so little with Splashpaw. His spirits rose in a brief burst of appreciation as he caught another moon-lit flash of those mixed blue-green eyes twisting over a gray-furred shoulder to look at him. "Bye," he mouthed and gave a small wave with his tail before turning to trot after Runningfox. He was in trouble. He knew that much without a doubt, but some part of the tom was just happy he'd gotten a chance to speak with someone new for a change. Even if it did leave him dealing with the elder's for a moon. 'Heh, maybe I've got a new friend?' The thought pleased the scrawny tom and chased out any sullen wonderings as to how precisely Runningfox would handle him for the next moon. Elders and mouse-bile... It seemed a small price for finding a friend; even a friend in another clan.

ooc: yeah, crap post but i couldn't think of how to end it. guess the thread is done. :D

[LYNX ♥]

xx closed