points of authority || {dawneh&open}

[Dusk]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,378,true]

[atrb=background,http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n480/Shardclaw/lashpawbody-1.jpg] just watch and maybe even learn "Sure you understand me enough?"

[/b]
Sometimes simply thinking is better.

"Heh, you young cats think you have it so hard, but let me tell you, were you to have lived back when I was an apprentice you'd love how easy life is now." The creaking, aged voice of Darkclaw rasped next to his ear, once more drawing the tom's attention away from the task at hand. He hid a frown, keeping a glaring green gaze fixed on the moss he was weaving into the elder's nest. Tending to the oldest cats in the whole of Vertigoclan was one of the least pleasing of assignments given to apprentices, and one much better suited for the youngest apprentices; certainly a near-warrior shouldn't be given such a menial chore when he could be doing something better. Hunting, for one, or battle training, or patrolling for any uninvited rogues who felt entitled to wander territory that clearly didn't belong to them. Even so, Flamingarrow had seen it fit to send the stocky black feline off to the elder's den. "I'm sure, you're absolutely right, Darkclaw,"[/b] he replied in a simpering tone, anything to get the old she-cat to be quiet and let him finish mending the nests with new moss and down. The gray female gave a sage nod, and began to ramble on about how much smarter and faster prey used to be, but the tom let her voice fade out into background noise. It was easier to work when his thoughts were broken by nothing but the drone of day-to-day activities.

The tom never much enjoyed time with the elders. As a kit, their stories had fascinated and entranced him for hours on end, but as he grew it had become apparent that these tales were often fiction; delusions created by an aging mind. There was no point, no advantage Lashpaw could gain by listening to them, and so they were a waste of his time. Nectarpaw, his brown tabby sibling, was probably out with Galefrost learning useful skills. The young cat felt a pang of envy at his sister's better luck with assignments for the day. 'You win some, you lose some.' The philosophy wasn't much comfort. Hopefully Pyrestar would find something more productive for him to do in the evening. It was hard to tell just how much time was passing under the shade of the trees, but soon enough the tom was done, the nests neat and tidy, with a pile of old material simply needing some clearing out. With a quiet sigh, he leaned down and gathered the scraps into a loose pile to grasp in his jaws, turning to exit the den with a hurried mumble of "G'bye, Darkclaw. Brittlewing."[/b] It was a quick journey to drop of the moss at the dirt-pile. Afterwards, though, Lashpaw found himself looking about the camp a little lost, unsure of what to do now that he was free of the elders. He scratched at the ground. "Where's Pyrestar when you need her?"[/b] He hissed, tail lashing like a snake as he sought out his calico pelt of his leader in the crowd.

words;; 512 | notes:; getting used to the character. had no idea what he should be doing. xD | tagged: dawneh/open
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[Dawn]

And she was beautiful but she didn't mean a thing to me.

[/font][/color]
ARCTICLIGHT[/color][/font]
Yeah she was beautiful but she didn't mean a thing to me.[/i]

Sunhigh. By far the best time of the day, as she never had to be lonely then. This was the most productive time, when cats came in to see her, either to drop off prey if she was busy or make work for her. If there wasn't anyone coming in, however, all the better. With an empty healer's den, no one would miss the slim white medicine cat when she slipped out into the pines. Arcticlight was hunting for herbs under the bright sunlight, but she was at the edge of the border, and more so hoping to meet a patrol or lone warrior to gossip with. It wasn't that unusual, either, for a warrior of her own clan to come along and join her.

For now, though, she was alone with her thoughts, something that seemed to happen painfully often. Wending through a freshly growing patch of ferns, their leaves dusted with condensation, she tightened her jaws around a strong, relatively lengthy twig. Her green eyes gleamed to spy a massive patch of cobwebs stretching about the tender leaves, and she moved steadily nearer, mindful not to disturb the ferns as she dipped her head between them. Arcticlight carefully wrapped the wood with the dull substance, then continued in her search, until she had a satisfying amount, and dropped the light branch atop some flattened foliage, for later. She was delighted to see a patch of yarrow about twenty fox lengths from where she stood, atop a fallen log. Leaping down, the ivory femme headed quickly for the dry, unpleasantly smelling white flowers. Tilting her head back, she noted the time that had passed since she'd left camp, and decided it best to return once she'd collected some of the yarrow. It wasn't smart to leave her den for too long, without anyone else on standby.

Taking the rough plants about their stems, she tugged about five yarrow plants from the soft earth, one by one, and went back for her cobweb. Pleased, the medicine cat headed back to camp with her finds at a trot, tail streaming behind her. It wasn't long 'till she reached the familiar pine clearing, passed the young warrior guarding the entrance, and was among many pelts again. For the most productive time of day, camp was crowded! Setting her jaw, Arcticlight proceeded shoulder first, so that she bumped clusters of cats away without injuring her precious supplies. At last she reached her den, and found that it remained blissfully quiet and empty. She deposited the cobweb and yarrow carefully, then, after sitting in solitude for several moments, catching her breath, she brushed back out into the clearing.

What a state of indecision. Should she return for more herbs, catch a nap in the late sun, or try and strike up a conversation with someone unoccupied? Arcticlight had just taken a few hesitant steps in the direction of the camp entrance, unfocused, when she stumbled against a shorter but far more muscular form, and stepped backward, turning to gaze at the cat she'd run into. "Lashpaw!"[/color] The healer mewed rather abruptly, skimming over him with her moss colored eyes. "Sorry, my bad, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking,"[/color] she added genuinely, before realizing how it sounded and adding, "Not that you're easy to miss! I was just distracted."[/color]




"As we moved together in the dark."[/color]
"And every bite I gave you left a mark."
word count 558 | tagged to post open/duskeh | notes haha whoo arcticlight

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[Dusk]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,378,true]

[atrb=background,http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n480/Shardclaw/lashpawbody-1.jpg] just watch and maybe even learn "Sure you understand me enough?"

[/b]
Sometimes simply thinking is better.

The young, soon-to-be warrior let a quiet breath escape between clenched teeth as his eyes wandered across the camp in search of some authority to give him guidance. It wasn't as though he was incapable of figuring out something useful to do on his own, but the tom knew -what with it being sunhigh and all- some cat in all this hustle and bustle would likely request his services in a way far more entertaining than elder-managing. Preferably, he would find his bob-tailed mentor and see if they could go out training. It seemed, however, that Pyrestar was not to be found in the camp at the moment. 'Likely she's already out on a patrol.' The one negative of having a leader for mentor was their availability. It was only fitting that his mentor also be leader, and he'd been all too happy when Pyrethroat had become Pyrestar, but it also meant that the ambitious she-cat was constantly busy tending to clan affairs and preserving her image against any dissenters who still saw Lilythorn as the one who should have taken over after Lynxstar's death. It wasn't uncommon for Lashpaw to simply tag along with another training session if he were able to. It wasn't quite the same experience as learning hands on, of course, but he made due.

The afternoon sun overhead was warm on his dark pelt, and pleasant considering the memories of a biting winter still fresh in his mind. It was tempting to just find a soft spot of grass in the camp and curl up for a nap; he wasn't much looking for company at the moment, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that no senior warriors were going to ask him to join a patrol. He could save up his strength, then work twice as hard in the evening hunting patrol. Probably a good idea to reserve a space now. The tom shifted and gave a leisurely turn towards the fresh-kill pile where he spotted a few senior warriors speaking together. Doubtless one of them would be heading the patrol.

The Vertigoclan apprentice was beginning to make his way towards the skilled cats when his path was interrupted by a sudden knock to the shoulder. The tom gave a small grunt, more in surprise than pain at the buffet as he struggled to avoid stumbling to the ground. "Good Starclan,"[/b] he growled as he regained his balance, "Do you enjoy bumbling about the camp like a blind badger?"[/b] Lashpaw's words cut off suddenly as he realized just whom he was speaking to. "Ah, pleasant afternoon, huh, Arcticlight?"[/b] The tom ducked his head slightly in apology, scrambling to recover from his unfriendly greeting. What a brilliant way to start off a conversation with the clan's medicine cat. He gave a dismissive flick of one ear to her words, it was hardly his place to take offense when they'd both begun on an awkward note. "No, no, it's alright. Sometimes you get lost in thought. I can understand that."[/b]

words;; 501 | notes:; quick post. crappy muse. | tagged: dawneh/open
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[Dawn]

And she was beautiful but she didn't mean a thing to me.

[/font][/color]
ARCTICLIGHT[/color][/font]
Yeah she was beautiful but she didn't mean a thing to me.[/i]

The grunt came to her ears just a second before his rather harsh tones. "Good Starclan, do you enjoy bumbling about the camp like a blind badger?" As the apprentice actually took her in, a flicker of hurt crossed her face, radiating in the inexperienced healer's green eyes. "Well, I suppose it's a bit like that..."[/color] she murmured into the following silence, as she had never been the most graceful of cats. Certainly, in the thrill of the chase, two hearts beating as one, she excelled, for who could be better at holding the balance of life in check than a medicine cat? But it was at an equal disadvantage battle found her. When dealing blows against others, her paws found her clumsy and weak, and she often seemed absorbed by other things, becoming easily distracted just before her mentor would bore down upon her. Once Arcticlight was a medicine cat's apprentice, Pomegranatefur hardly brought it up, and focused intently on teaching her the tricks of their trade, not the lot of a warrior. It had been for the better in some cases, his single minded teaching, as his life had been claimed so early in her training. Still, it was coming back to haunt her now that she noted her particular ineptitude with battle skills, and was beginning to note a distinct lack of grace in other everyday things. Such as now, when she had been compared to a blind badger. I suppose it was my fault, and I should have expected his harshness.

The reassurance and even smoothing over as they both scrambled to set things right still didn't completely erase her feeling of disquiet, however. Arcticlight really should be working on her fighting, but she wasn't sure how to go about it, having earned her full name and being well past apprentice age. "I was just, you know, mentally ordering my herb... stocks..."[/color] Of course she hadn't been really, but it sounded just the right amount of stupid and generic that it might have been passable. She could smell the faint traces of bile, and overlying, the elders, on his pelt. Springing away from the conflict, the she-cat added, "I guess you've been looking after the elders? I hope I'm not distracting you from Pyrestar."[/color] Arcticlight conjured the calico in her thoughts, an image of detail considering how often she had now seen their leader perched above the clan. "I've been looking for her myself,"[/color] she added, though just remembering, "to discuss the trip to contact."[/color] It wasn't really something an apprentice needed to know, Arcticlight was simply being open as usual. In fact she had been known to treat the young as though they were far more aged than some warriors did, likely because she knew how much she had despised being taken lightly when she was younger. All in all, she tended to avoid meaningless conflict when she could, but concerning most other things, being evasive simply wasn't her style. And if there was a real problem in need of solving, she was ready to step up and get to the root of it.



"As we moved together in the dark."[/color]
"And every bite I gave you left a mark."
word count 518 | tagged to post open/duskeh | notes kind of lame i tried to add some dialogue to make it response-worthy though

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[Dusk]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,378,true]

[atrb=background,http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n480/Shardclaw/lashpawbody-1.jpg] just watch and maybe even learn "Sure you understand me enough?"

[/b]
Sometimes simply thinking is better.

The tom let his gaze drop to his paws for a moment as discomfort and a bit of shame made his pelt burn. Perhaps it would have been best for him to look first and speak second rather than let his temper get the better of him, but the tom was feeling increasingly short-fused after his not-so glamorous morning. Still, the apprentice realized he should know better, and he could hear the faint sound of hurt in the she-cat's voice as she replied to his sarcasm. There were few cats he minded offending, but the clan's healer was one of them. With a small shake of his head, the tom ruffled out his fur and looked back up at the taller medicine cat, gaze level. "Look, I'm sorry,"[/b] the words were stilted in his mouth, apologies being uncommon to him and stinging his pride. "I -well- it wasn't right for me to snap over such a little thing."[/b] He wondered what his mentor would think of the tom's saying sorry. She'd always been a proud warrior herself, and often preached standing your ground in all situations, never backing down unless there was no alternative. He knew that certain clan cats saw the leader as overly aggressive and bull-headed, but the fools didn't know what they were saying. It was her tenacity that gave Pyrestar her power, and a charisma that Lashpaw hoped to one day match. For today, however, he would apologize to Pomegranatefur's former apprentice.

He shifted as the healer spoke, trying his best to look attentive. At least it was better than clearing out bedding and mites. A brow rose silently at her explanation. "Wouldn't it have just been easier to go into you den and see what was there and wasn't?"[/b] In fact, the white cat smelled of fresh herbs, the bitter tang bathing his palette as he parted his jaws, but then, medicine cats always smelled like the plants which they were constantly in the vicinity of. He gave a small shrug, letting the matter go as he frowned at his own, darkly coloured fur with faint disgust. He hadn't realized the scent of aged cat and moss was so noticeable. "Yes... I was, I guess I need to clean myself up a little better. But no, you happened to catch me when I was looking about for her. I don't think she's in camp right now."[/b] He felt his tail lash once behind him in annoyance. His mentor had busied herself with more and more patrols as of late, especially border patrols. It was almost as if she was expecting something. The tom looked up sharply. "Do you think Pyrestar's planning on launching an attack on another clan soon,"[/b] he asked eagerly, a battle-hungry glint lighting his pale eyes. Lashpaw knew the calico had been looking for a way to re-establish Vertigoclan's legacy in the clans, to prove that they were plenty strong. Perhaps that would explain why Arcticlight's mind was so full with thoughts of herbs, counting up what would be needed for treating battle wounds. Maybe Pyrestar wanted the she-cat to ask Starclan for advice on battle! There were so many possibilities.

words;; 528 | notes:; herp | tagged: dawneh/open
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[Dawn]

And she was beautiful but she didn't mean a thing to me.

[/font][/color]
ARCTICLIGHT[/color][/font]
Yeah she was beautiful but she didn't mean a thing to me.[/i]

Arcticlight sighed, actually mentally consulting her herb stocks. After this morning, she was pretty much set, until the sunlight brought out more of the warmer weather herbs. Of course, it couldn't hurt to look around for catmint, either. "Look, I'm sorry, I -well- it wasn't right for me to snap over such a little thing." The she-cat shrugged, attempting to brush over the slight amount of sorrow her body and voice had displayed. "It's alright, I ought to be more careful,"[/color] she relented, smiling faintly to herself before looking back at the apprentice. "Er, well, yes."[/color] He made an excellent point. "It was just something to keep me occupied, I suppose. It's been so quiet lately."[/color]

Noting his annoyance, she frowned. "It must be hard to be the leader's apprentice,"[/color] Arcticlight mewed aloud. She had never really thought about it before. Why had Pyrestar kept an apprentice for herself when there were plenty of capable warriors without anyone to train? It didn't make sense. Unless she wants to take a personal part in raising aggressive fighters. That was probably the real reason. As if reading her mind, Lashpaw's head snapped up, and she nearly startled at his intuitive words. "Do you think Pyrestar's planning on launching an attack on another clan soon?" The thought of the calico leader purposely provoking another clan made her nervous, for some reason. Vertigoclan had always seemed the brave defenders, never the crafty type to make too much trouble for the other clans. She didn't want to see young cats like the one before her injured for no reason, especially when the clan was so weak. Hadn't they just gone through the most difficult season of their lives? Losing a leader, a medicine cat, countless lives. Trying to keep the reluctance out of her voice, Arcticlight meowed, "Maybe. Newleaf is almost here, so it wouldn't be all that unexpected."[/color] She almost grimaced at Lashpaw's clearly thirsty look. He really was Pyrestar's apprentice. Unwilling to give anything more away of her own thoughts on the leader's plans, Arcticlight shifted to look toward the trees. "Perhaps I should go out and look for a few more poppy heads, now that I think about it,"[/color] she murmured distractedly. "We do seem to be running short of poppy seeds."[/color]




"As we moved together in the dark."[/color]
"And every bite I gave you left a mark."
word count 381 | tagged to post open/duskeh | notes haha they don't have much to chat about so if you can think of anything he can either come with or she can leave the thread.

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