august. hunting patrol ☁

[aero ❥]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i52.tinypic.com/otj5sn.jpg); width: 390px; height: 450px; -moz-border-radius: 40px 0px 40px 0px; border-radius:40px 0px 40px 0px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #7298ac 15px solid; border-left: #7298ac 15px solid;] ripplesurf, It was a week, maybe more since the ceremony. Becoming deputy was absolutely one of the best things that had happened to him, ever. And he thanked his ancestors every night before his wintery eyes closed for the opportunity to serve his clan in such a way. Being a senior warrior before, he had often helped organize patrols and such - so most of the new responsibilities he had taken on were not so new. Though everyday life had become a tad more difficult, with new knowledge of issues that before he had no permission to even know existed, cats avoiding him because he obtained a high position or simply because they thought his deputy-ship was cursed, and that he had little free time to enjoy life the way he had before. Of course the last was a sacrifice he had to make, it wasn't optional. But he didn't terribly mind the lack of personal space. The void was filled with other pleasures that this new life had brought him. His nest was not in a den but among the long moor grass that grew in parts of the camp. Sleeping outside was more appealing to the blue/grey tom than being crowded in a hollowed shrub or the like. It let him breathe. From his place in the warm swirl of soft grasses and mosses, he didn't even have to move to watch the horizon blossom with pastel strokes of the approaching sunrise. He could see it clearly, sharp blue eyes witnessing the sight for what seemed the thousandth time. Though this was a special dawn - his first patrol of any kind as deputy was scheduled for today's daybreak. It was a hunting patrol, and though he wasn't the swiftest predator to stalk the lush rolling hills he wasn't going to look at the experience negatively. The cats assigned to the patrol were informed of the duty yesterday evening, all four of them seeming to be mutual about getting up at such an early time. Or, at least they didn't show any emotion when he was around. Pepperbreath; the attractive female whose tongue was just as sharp as his wintery eyes. Orioleflash; Another fiery she-cat that was equally as attractive though too young for the retired player. Then there was Whitegale, his nephew who he loved like he was his own son. Last but not least Orioleflash's apprentice Firepaw - the young tom was eager and showed potential. He had chosen the cats with a decisive precession, knowing instantly who he wanted his first hunt to be with. Of course the choices weren't completely self-centered, Whitegale hadn't been part of a hunting party for a few days and Pepperbreath had missed a patrol not long ago. Ripplesurf rose, massive pale silver paws guiding him out of the dense hedge towards the center of the open camp. The humidity was thick in the air, though not as terrible as days past. The sky meeting the horizon had turned quite vivid; bright oranges and pinks tinged with red. Around that that pastel purples and blues emitted a vanilla glow that reached even further, then stretched dark midnight swirls of navy and eventually the retreating black blanket of night. It was getting close to dawn, and the deputy figured he better start waiting in case any early risers decided to group up early. He himself had not always awoken so effortlessly at this time - no it had taken years to become bonded with the auspicious habit of waking before first light. It was a good routine to require though, well worth the hard labor of practicing. Sitting in a short, spotty patch of clean grass the handsome tom observed the fresh-kill pile. The remnants of the clan's evening meal was hardly more than a few dry looking morsels. A sparrow, a measly rabbit (A runt by the looks of it.), two field mice, and another furry shape that was half-hidden under the rabbit. Not too wasteful. By mid-morning the rabbit and mice would be eaten by hungry (Or just plain uncaring,) warriors or apprentices. Ripplesurf wasn't particularly hungry, having shared a good sized hare with the senior warriors yesterday evening. His belly wouldn't need filling until sun-high or later. Gaze wandering to a new object of concentration, his orbs rested on the nursery. It was empty, all the kits graduating to apprentices. It was a good and bad thing, since kits and queens were the innocence of a clan. The life maybe, though warriors would always be the blood. And what were the apprentices? He thought about this, tranquil silence relaxing. The will. He decided, nodding slightly to himself. Their youthful spirit was undeniably powerful. Letting his mouth open in a yawn, his white-lined eyes scrunched as a yawn pushed it's way up and out, mouth wide. His ivory teeth didn't show signs of falling out or decay as some cats' did that were his age, and until the yellow dominated the tainted white he would not yet classify himself as old. By then, who knows where life would have placed him. Do teeth dull? Razors dulled over time, and teeth were similar. A hilarious thought, biting into something without even a mark being inflicted. Purring at the inside joke, his silver-tipped tail flicked as he patiently tarried for the chosen clan-mates to assemble.

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made by hay shay @ caution!

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[Wolfy]

FIREPAW

//Out of the fire, my paws will lead me.\\

A calming breeze had settled over the white and orange pelt of a small apprentice. Outside of the clustered den, he was relaxed and enjoying himself to full potential. He wanted action and he wanted to fight danger, though his mentor, Orioleflash had informed him that they would need to go on a hunting patrol with Ripplesurf leading it. He was the new deputy since Paintedstar had decided. Ripplesurf was a great choice and Firepaw felt honored to be chosen for the hunting patrol, even though his mentor was chosen too. He wanted to get up and run around in circles, but that would be silly, he couldn't think like that now. He had told Shadedpaw in a round of eating and she had encouraged him to do his best and he wasn't about to let his sister down. Rising from his "nap" he stood and stretched, popping his back and legs. He flicked his ears and gazed around the clearing until he spotted the deputy searching for his patrol.

Firepaw skipped a bit before trotting, a little too enthusiastically, over to Ripplesurf. As he neared him, his orange and white tail waved a little in greeting as he neared him. "Hi, I'm ready to go," he announced eagerly. Yet, his mentor and Pepperbreath hadn't arrived yet, why not? He was ready and it very much seemed like Ripplesurf was ready, but where were the other two she-cats? He looked up to Ripplesurf and moved back and forth on his paws lightly, he was so excited, he could hardly keep it locked in.

[LYNX ♥]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb= style, background-color: 353946; width: 420px; padding: 5 5 5 5px; border: 10px solid #A6CEA3;] PEPPERBREATH It was shame enough that she had recently been so incredibly truant to a patrol meetup that they had to leave camp without her, and she most certainly would not allow that to happen again. Still, slumber was a needy temptress that would not leave the female alone, for each time her wide eyes appeared in the gloom of the den her lids felt so heavy they drooped to sleep's overpowering will once more. Could it even truly be considered dawn yet? Had the sun even woken from its own peaceful slumber? Pepperbreath couldn't bring herself to look up and check, but she suspected it hadn't. So why, pray tell, had StarClan told someone that this was an ideal time to traipse about the moors looking for intruders and killing rodents and whatnot? Intruders and rodents were busying being fast asleep themselves! Still, her conscience was busy enough now that sleep had begun to relinquish its persistent grasp, thankfully for the tortoiseshell. She couldn't stand the idea of disappointing another group of clanmates, especially - she cringed when she realized it - a group lead by the new deputy. Ripplesurf may be new to the position, but he was no stranger to Pepperbreath. Of course, she couldn't really consider him a friend if he didn't consider her one (and that was no surprise, Pepperbreath was fully aware of how irritating to most she was) but she wished she could make his acquaintance. If only so she could look at him more often without coming off as incredibly creepy, which she surely would otherwise. Pepperbreath smiled at herself sleepily, confident no one would catch her silly expression when she thought about how awkward these thoughts were. Still, she couldn't deny his ravishing looks. He really was just her type. The skinny female shook her head slowly and pushed these terribly disappointing thoughts aside, whilst she mentally prepared herself for the day, for the patrol, ahead of her. At last, she managed to pull her frame up and out of the broad, half-full den of warriors and into the mossy clearing. Sure enough, there he sat in all his damn majesty. Pepperbreath made a sour face she was sure he - nor anyone else - could see, then swiftly trotted across camp toward the deputy. "Ahoy mighty deputy." That was stupid to say. Quit saying words you socially unacceptable oaf. Pepperbreath jibed inwardly at herself, but found this humble request impossible. Speaking far too much was simply in her nature. "My my, pre-dawn is definitely my favorite time to be conscious," The female added before she managed to clamp her mouth shut. Rather than meeting his icy gaze with her own dull yellow eyes, Pepperbreath glanced over at Firepaw and nodded in acknowledgement. "Hey lad," She meowed curtly but quickly allowed her attention to drift from the little group. oh how we found the same old fears TEMPLATE BY BROOKE

[lily ♫]

Her small, calico frame was built perfectly for a ZephyrClan cat, but any ZephyrClan cat in its right mind wouldn't be caught dead awake at this hour. Dawn was soon to come, and Orioleflash's golden saffron eyes were narrowed with exhaustion. She hadn't gone to bed until late, forgetting that Ripplesurf had assigned her to an early morning patrol. Stumbling out stupidly from one of the sets used as a den, the fiery female wasn't in any sort of a mood to be civil.

Approaching the collecting cats, she blinked at each of them, awaiting the appearance of Whitegale, and managed a rattling chuckle. "You might be the only one sane enough to be ready for anything this early, Firepaw.

[/u]" The female quipped sharply to her apprentice before turning her gaze to her friend. "Hey, I should be the one complaining, Pepperbreath. I had to take care of your last patrol 'cause you bailed.[/u]" Retorted one calico to the other, a half-hearted, sleepy smile of bright ivories flashed once her words were finished. "Thanks for showing up this time.[/u]" She added before lightly headbutting Pepperbreath.

Opening her jaws wide in a yawn, Orioleflash snapped her mouth shut with a 'clack' and eyed Ripplesurf carefully. "Where's Whitegale at? Catching a few extra winks of sleep?[/u]" Orioleflash asked, narrowed eyes exposing her now awakening mind. 'Lucky bastard. She thought, widening her menancing slits to their average size and rolling them around inside her sockets. As she did so, colors began to burst across the dark navy blue skyline, pastels decorating the horizon in brightening streaks.

For once, Orioleflash allowed herself to pause her whining and complaining and to enjoy the moment. "Look.[/u]" The femme murmured, gesturing her head toward the gorgeous scene as it began to unfold before the patrol of cats. "Maybe rising early's worth something afterall.[/u]" Voiced the calico once more before withdrawing within her own thoughts, giving her tongue a few moments of rest.

ooc: table coming soon[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Wolfy]

FIREPAW

//Out of the fire, my paws will lead me.\\

Waiting less than patiently, Firepaw watched as Pepperbreath made her way out to the patrol, indifferent as ever. Shadedpaw always said that Firepaw should respect Pepperbreath, but sometimes he had a hard time understanding her. On a lighter, more irritable note, his mentor Orioleflash bounded out of the den and met the patrol in wakening. She commented on his status about him being awake and he let a purr rumble in his throat. Besides Orioleflash being a bit harsh and irritable, she really was a great mentor and he couldn't wait to start training with her. She knew so much and he always guessed she was a fantastic fighter. What skills could he learn from her? Fighting, hunting, battle training, climbing, fighting, running, did he mention fighting? Just thinking about it made his fur fluff out in excitement. Then he saw Orioleflash bite a harsh remark at Pepperbreath, he wondered how much these two actually liked each other.

But Orioleflash didn't give Pepperbreath the time to comment before she was suddenly distracted by the sun's design on the dawn sky. She was right, it was worth seeing. He was transfixed into the detail that it was too alluring to look away from. But, he picked up his paws and trotted over to Orioleflash before sitting down beside her and gazing at the orange and blue enriched colors. "That's so cool," he murmured only for her to hear. He didn't want the other cats to think he was a softy. He was ready for battle, for war, for anything he could do to help his clan. After all, he was going to be leader one day.