cedarclan [roleplay thread] [semi-adv.]

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    [size=17pt]C e d a r C l a n[/size]
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    [size=7pt]This is the roleplay thread for registered CedarClan members only.
    If you are interested in learning more about this growing plan and/or joining in on the action, check out the sign up thread below.
    sign up thread
    plotting thread
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    [size=7pt]The sky was full of dark clouds, heavy and low-hanging with the promise of rain. In the distance, the sound of the ocean water tossing and toiling past the drop off made the air buzz with gentle white noise. Distantly, thunder rumbled a low, far-off growl. Spiderstar emerged from the fern-thick entrance into the camp clearing, having just come back from a round of hunting with his old apprentice, now warrior, Wrenfoot. The two parted ways and the tall black tom made his way over to the freshkill pile, which was strangle sparse. He had managed to catch only a small bird, which was a bit concerning. As of late, hunting had not been good on the little peninsula that CedarClan called home. Maybe I should speak with Morningeyes, ask her if StarClan has spoken to her at all about this strange shortage, thought Spiderstar as he stood by the pile, staring down at it thoughtfully. Oh, SPiderstar, don't be so paranoid. You always get so ahead of yourself, your Clanmates must think you have bees in your brain. Just give it some time.


    Having parted ways with Spiderstar, Wrenfoot padded across the camp, his tail lashing in mild frustration. He hadn't managed to catch a single piece of prey to bring back to the Clan. He wondered, Am I just off my game today? It sure seemed quieter out there in the forest than it usually is. I sure hope there is no shortage of prey, I am not at all interested in going down to the shore to fish. The ginger tom shuddered at the mere thought of having to go near that awful ocean water. It was violent with it's currents and tides and he hated to get wet with that sticky, salty water. It tasted too awful to groom away with his tongue and left his fur prickly and hard when it dried. Wrenfoot glanced up at the sky, through the parting in the tall cedar canopy, to see the dark, stormy sky above. It was just a matter of time before it began, he could tell by the taste of rain and sticky humidity in the air.


    Snowpaw let out a low groan as a paw stepped on her tail. Another apprentice leaving the den, most likely. She was too sleepy to lash out at whoever it was, as she likely would have if she were wide awake. The snowy white molly was still curled up on her mossy nest, now alone in the apprentice den. She was not keen on waking up early on her own accord--granted, it was past sun-high and everyone else had been up for hours. But Snowpaw preferred to sleep, seeing as the she-cat had a bit of a lazy streak. And she thought she remembered Solarflare mentioning something about hunting training today, and that was something Snowpaw was certainly not interested in. She'd much rather be in the hollow, practicing her battle moves and sparring with other apprentices. She parted her jaws in a wide yawn and curled her tail over her nose, returning to her heavenly dreams of partaking in battles and conquering her enemies.


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    DriftBreeze blinked, squinting as the sunlight blinded her vision, it was a few moments before her sight returned to her, thankfully. She yawned, showing a row of pointed white teeth and a light pink, rough tongue, remembering why she was so tired. Maybe I shouldn't have spent the night hunting, I've only just finished my training for heavens sake! she thought, the seventeen moon old she stretching until her spine cracked.

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    [img width=250 height=300]http://www.orderofinterbeing.o…/2014/04/light-forest.jpg[/img] [fancypost borderwidth=0px; width: 450px; background:url(); width: 250px; background-position: center; overflow: auto; height: 140px][justify][color=#F5F6CE]DUSKPAW★ Duskpaw gazed at the overcast sky as she listened to the sounds of camp life. The waves pounding at the shore and though it was faint, the thunder in the distance. It was hot and sticky, she could almost feel the electricity sparking the air already. Just rain or a storm, the fluffy she cat wondered as she listened. Duskpaw always woke up early to watch as her clan came to life. She liked watching the patrols come in and hearing the routine sound of the waves and her newly stirring clanmates. Lifting her muzzle into the air she breathed in deeply and quickly detected a new, but familiar, scent. They're back, and indeed they were for only seconds later Spiderstar and his former apprentice walked into camp. However something seemed amiss, she knew they had gone hunting, so why was there only one piece of prey? Spiderstar seemed troubled as well, what could be worrying her leader? While some may have went up and asked, Duskpaw didn't, she wasn't a confrontational cat. So instead the she cat sat in her perch at the edge of camp pondered what could have happened to the patrol.




    ICEPAW★ No, The tom stretched out his paw trying the catch the cat that was turning away from him. Please, he meowed, Dont leave me! At this point he had raised his voice to a howl, but the figure in front of him ignored his pleas. The grey and white fur was getting farther and farther away, putting more distance between it and him. Icepaw started to run, chasing after the disappearing cat, but to no avail. With every step he took the figure seemed to get farther away. He raced only a few more steps before collapsing on the misty ground. Please, don't leave me....... Duskpaw. The snow colored cat was jerked back to consciousness, his eyes wide and heart racing. He had this dream, and others like it, quite often but it never failed to leave him an emotional mess. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, it's just a dream, he reassured himself by saying those words over and over. Slowly he felt his heart slow down and his body still, he let out a shaky breath. He hadn't realized he was shaking. His eyes reopened and he climbed onto his feet. He tried to carefully pick his way among the apprentices but he saw his sisters empty nest and got distracted. He felt his paw go down on someone's tail and quickly scampered back a step. Oops. He tried again and, this time, he successfully made it out of the den.[/fancypost]

    [fancypost borderwidth=0px; width: 450px; background:url(); width: 250px; background-position: center; overflow: auto; height: 40px; text-shadow: 3px 3px 3px black][align=center][color=#F5F6CE][font=georgia][size=14]DUSKPAW & ICEPAW


    Apprentice ; Female & Male ; Cedarclan

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    [size=6pt]★ trek

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    bramblebeauty -- pebbleshore -- solarflare
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    [hr][hr][b]&&bramblebeauty |     the brown tabby she-cat looked up at the sky and sighed softly. a storm was brewing and that was one thing the warrior disliked. rain and thunder. turning her soft amber eyes towards the warrior den, bramblebeauty nodded a greeting to her sister and brother who were just waking up, "good morning pebbleshore, solarflare," the younger of the siblings said cheerily. mumbled greetings echoed from the other two tabbies and she sighed softly. looking around, the warrior wondered what to do. at sight of wrenfoot and spiderstar returning with almost no freshkill, the she-cat determined that she would try and catch some prey. but who to go with? pebbleshore would be no help and solarflare had his apprentice so that left the ones who weren't family. dipping her head in greeting to the leader and warrior, the tabby decided against taking a piece of prey from the pile. with the shortage of prey, bramblebeauty didn't want to make the pile any smaller.


    &&pebbleshore | melon green eyes opened as someone stirred to her left. letting out a groan of frustration, the fluffy feline rose to her paws to see her brother bumbling about towards the den entrance. well now that she was up, she might as well stay up, "could you be any louder solarflare?" the haughty warrior asked before pushing her way out of the den. solarflare's response wasn't very kind which made her growl lowly at him before stalking past her sister who greeted the two of them in a cheery voice. pebbleshore mumbled a 'hello' before padding towards the freshkill pile. dark clouds and rumbling thunder threatened a storm brewing. delightful, "it's gonna rain, too bad your fur won't stay all fluffy for it," her brother's voice echoed in her ear and pebbleshore wanted to tear his ears off for that comment. now he was just being a rude piece of foxdung.


    &&solarflare | moving his green gaze to his sister as she stirred and woke up, the muscular tom chuckled, "of course i could be louder, but i assumed you needed all the beauty sleep you can get," the warrior remarked, bounding out of the den to escape any lash out that may come upon him for saying that. of course, solarflare knew pebbleshore couldn't beat him in a fight. bramblebeauty, maybe, but not his fluffy coated sister. she was always too busy worrying about how she looked. her hunting skills were sloppy as were her fighting skills. for the longest time, the seasoned warrior wondered why his sister hadn't moved fully to the queens' den. maybe because she hadn't had kits of her own yet. that was probably the reason. looking at the clouds, he smirked and padded over to pebbleshore, "it's gonna rain, too bad your fur won't stay all fluffy for it," he teased before going to the apprentice den to see if snowpaw was awake yet. poking his head in, the brown tabby spotted his apprentice still asleep, [color=white]"snowpaw," his voice was stern. the warrior knew his apprentice was all for battle training so maybe that would help, [color=white]"if you get up now we can do some battle training after we hunt."
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    [size=7pt][size=7pt]Spiderstar gave a soft sigh, shaking his head and dragging his thoughts away from the fresh kill pile. It was time to start assigning groups for patrols, seeing as none had been done since dawn and now it was past sun high. Perhaps he should send out some hunting patrols as well, in case the weather was too bad to scent anything in the near future. It was more a job for a deputy. Spiderstar's chest clamped up a little as he recalled the recent events. Less than a moon ago, Cedar lab had lost its previous deputy, Shortfang. He had been deputy for a few moons when one day, he had been walking too close to the cliff drop-off at the edge of the territory. He lost his footing and fell to his death, to the rocky ocean below. Spiderstar had mourned deeply for his deputy, who was also a close friend. But time had passed, and while he should have chosen a deputy by now, still he was holding out, waiting until he knew for sure he was making the right choice. He padded towards Driftbreeze, greeting the she-cat with a meow. "Driftbreeze, would you mind gathering up a group to patrol the borders? And maybe do some hunting? The fresh kill pile is pitifully low," said the dark Tom, flicking his tail in the direction of the pile. His dark green eyes met the warrior's as he waited hopefully for a favorable reply.


    Wrenfoot watched as the three siblings emerged from the Warriors den. Pebbleshore was harking on about something or other and Solarflare was slinging insults her way, the norm. Bramblebeauty, the most docile of the trio, nodded her head and the Tom meowed a greeting to the she-cat as he passed. "Hard of hunting today," he said, his ears flicking towards the tabby. "Aren't you going to eat anything?" Wrenfoot wasn't much of a conversationalist, in fact, he wasn't even particularly friendly. But he did try, being the good natured cat that he was, to converse even when it was hard for him. The ginger tabby gave his chest fur a few licks to smooth it down. He frowned as a small 'plop' hit his nose. And then another, his forehead. He gazed up to see that a scattered drizzle had begun. Thunder rumbled distantly.


    Snowpaw groaned at the sound of her name being spoken in the empty den. "First some bee-brain flattens my tail, now you've got to come in here waking up the whole Clan," said the snowy she-cat, rolling onto her other side so that her back was facing her mentor. She didn't even need to open her eyes to identify Solarflare. She knew who it was by the stern voice, always cold, always casual, never too revealing. However, as soon as she heard battle training, she perked right up. Snowpaw scrambled to her paws, carelessly smacking her head against the branches of the undergrowth above that formed the apprentice's den. She shouldered her way past her mentor and into the camp clearing just in time to be welcomed by a few droplets of rain. "Oh, it's raining," she groaned. "That's just perfect. Do we need to do hunting today? Because I think it's a perfect day to skip right over all that nonsense and go right to the important stuff--" Snowpaw thrashed a paw through the air, an attack on an imaginary opponent. "--battle training!"

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    Morningeyes -- Nettlefang -- Brackenfoot


    A gentle breeze passed through the medicine cat den; brushing past the lichen drape, which fell over the entrance, combed through Morningeyes' pale grey fur and disturbing every herb in her storage. The sudden draft wasn't strong enough to displace any of her stocks; yet it had enough force to rustle the leaves and cause the berries to tremble where they were situated. The pale grey she-cat glanced towards the entrance; the breeze brought with it the scents of the camp outside, specifically the scent of freshkill and at the thought of a juicy mouse, the she-cat's belly snarled impatiently. Morningeyes shook off the thought of eating for the moment as she continued, what she had gotten up so early for. She was sat facing the back of her den, where she kept all her herbs in separate compartments; specifically in little cracks in the earth. She reached out her paw into one of the crevasses, pawing out her juniper berry stock; she narrowed her eyes a little as she observed the small number that she had. This had been the case with most of her herbs, but by far she was very short on juniper berries, marigold and yarrow. Perhaps I should ask a Warrior to accompany me while I go and replenish my stocks. She flattened her ears at the thought, but that's just a bother. Besides, no Warrior is ever happy to come along on such a patrol. She rose to her paws after replacing the juniper berries from the section they came from and shook her striped pelt as her stomach snarled irritably again. The she-cat now turned her attention to the camp clearing outside and padded out of her den, pushing her muzzle through the lichen; before sliding the rest of her body out after it.


    She was surprised at the dullness of the sky, nevertheless she surveyed the camp, the fresh scents of a number of her clanmates washed over her instantly; but the scent of prey was still catching her attention. Unable to ignore her hunger any longer, she padded over to the freshkill pile and also where Spiderstar stood, as she approached, she noticed the forest's scent clung to his pelt. "Morning Spiderstar." She greeted her leader, "I hope hunting was good." But as her gaze was cast downwards, her head tilted slightly; the pile was scarce, which came as a surprise. Or not. She turned her amber gaze upwards again to her tall leader, now determined not to eat; seeing as their was so little prey, despite her belly's growls of protest.


    • • •


    Nettlefang tucked his nose further under his tail as he was awoken by the sounds of the camp. He would have been content to stay in his nest all day and sleep away the horrid day, even from the Warrior's den he could feel the heavy and humid air around him; perhaps it would rain later, or it might be because of the ocean they lived so close to. Either way, there was no way he could sleep all day, much to his disappointment, after all, Spiderstar had given him an apprentice a while back and it was to be his personal goal to make him the best Warrior in the clan. With that thought in mind, he heaved himself to his paws, stumbling a little at the sudden movement and brushed out of the den; his head lowered and his ears back. When he left, he took a moment to scour the camp for his pale-pelted apprentice, upon spotting him leaving the apprentices den, he padded to meet him, "Icepaw." He called, parting his jaws in a huge yawn.


    "I hope you're awake. We're going to practice out battle training today." He informed the smaller tom. His words seemed a little ironic, Nettlefang was hardly awake himself, his gaze still clouded with fatigue and his balance slightly off from waking up not long ago, evident as he had to shuffle his paws to keep himself standing.


    • • •


    Brackenfoot stirred in his next and stretched out his forelegs; forcing his eyes open. As he glanced towards the entrance to the elder's den, he flattened his ears against his head in despair of what he could see. Despite having just woken up, his eyesight was deteriorating and, although he could make out the entrance; it was entirely blurry. In his Warriorhood he could have made out every strand and fragment of the ferns on the entrance of the camp; but now it was just a green blur. Brushing off the thought, he rose to his paws and pushed out of the elder's den, it was pretty quiet in there so he didn't spend much time inside.


    As he emerged he was surrounded by his clanmates' scents. He must have woken late, and to his irritation had missed the dawn hunting patrol; he did make it his job to go out hunting at least once a day, to try and show his worth despite his age, and often went early; but he would have to settle for later. He sat down heavily at the entrance of the den and ducked his head down a little, so that his hind leg could reach his ear. Tssk, another tick. He confirmed irritably.

    DriftBreeze raised her head groggily and nodded, "It is unfortunately low, I'll arrange for a few border patrols, we can try to catch a few mice on the way back" she mewed, sighing as she darted her gaze over to the rapidly sinking pile, which seemed to be positioned on some quicksand lately. Stretching out her limbs, DriftBreeze flicked her tail in goodbyes to SpiderStar before advancing towards the Warriors den.


    "WrenFoot, SolarFlare, BrambleBeauty, BellbeShore, could you participate in a border patrol, we can hunt on the way back" she mewed, looking up at the cats, "as you can probably tell the kill pile is fast dissapearing, and orey has become somewhat scarce". She flicked her tail over to the pile, what seemed to be even smaller than she remembered.

    [size=7pt]Spiderstar watched Driftbreeze pad off and assemble a group in no time. Almost as soon as she left, he turned to see Morningeyes padding towards him. "Good morning," he greeted the she-cat, whom he regarded fondly. "Actually, no, hunting was rubbish today." He shook his head, casting a sideways glance towards the dwindling pile. "I was actually hoping I'd get a chance to speak to you, and ask if perhaps StarClan has said anything to you lately, maybe regarding such a shortage. I'm not sure, maybe it's just a fluctuation... Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself..." His ears perked and he trailed off at the audible sounds of the she-cat's belly rumbling, though she made no advance towards the pile. "Say, now, it does no cat any good if our medicine cat isn't nourished," he said, giving a flick of his long, black tail.


    Wrenfoot bit back a groan as he was summoned once again for another patrol. However, he wasn't much of a complainer and he didn't mind it all that much. It was something to do. Otherwise he just sat around camp all day, doing nothing productive. He glanced at Bramblebeauty beside him, who had also been chosen.


    Morningeyes -- Nettlefang -- Brackenfoot


    Morningeyes sat down and curled her striped tail over her forepaws, keeping her bright gaze focused on her leader. He mentioned the unsuccessful hunting trip and she nodded, it was clear by the recessive amount of freshkill that they had. Her ears were pulled forwards as Spiderstar asked her about any recent contact with Starclan and she only shook her head,"I'm afraid not." She meowed softly, "There can be many reasons for a low prey yield," She mused quietly, "I'm just hoping it's not some kind of predator, was there any unusual scents in the forest today?" She asked, brushing one of her forepaws across her cheek, cleaning it momentarily. "But I will keep an open mind, so Starclan can reach me if they should ever want to." She meowed, glancing up at the sky. She did wonder if they knew about the prey shortage, hopefully it would just be something insignificant and the sunhigh patrol would bring back an abundance of prey, yet something in her gut told her it wouldn't be the case.


    She turned her amber gaze to her leader again, he'd noticed her belly growling and she felt her ears go hot with embarrassment. "I'm fine." She meowed, brushing off his concern. "If prey is short, we should be keeping it for those who need it." She peered around Spiderstar at her father by the elder's den, her gaze suddenly dulling for a heartbeat, she knew he wouldn't be around forever, yet he had shown her so much support after her mother had died and she followed the path of a medicine cat and not a warrior like he had been; it pained her to think he, the last of her kin, would leave her eventually to join Starclan.


    • • •


    -


    • • •


    Brackenfoot's ears perked at the sound of another patrol; refusing to miss this next opportunity, he rose to his paws and padded towards Driftbreeze, trying his best to hide his hobbling stride. I'm still useful to Cedarclan. He insisted, as he approached the young Warrior. "Mind if I join your patrol Driftbreeze?" He asked, arching his spine in a long stretch in an attempt to wake himself up. He was very willing to go back into the forest today. "I'll try not to be a burden." He offered, flexing his, now skinny, shoulders.

    "Of course, we just need to patrol the borders, then get to hunting on the way back to camp, the prey seems to be reducing rapidly" DriftBreeze mewed, a look of concern on her face as she looked towards the hunting grounds within their territory.

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    bramblebeauty -- pebbleshore -- solarflare
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    [hr][hr][b]&&bramblebeauty |     the tabby warrior turned her gaze to wrenfoot and shrugged her shoulders softly. just as she was going to answer, driftbreeze's voice called her name. a patrol, what fun. rain had begun to sprinkle down, dampening bramblebeauty's fur, "i would rather catch something and then eat than eat when i haven't yet provided for the clan," she mused, rising to her paws and looking back at wrenfoot with a forced smile, "maybe it will be more successful hunting this time," the words seemed so pitiful the moment that she said them. but making sure to stay hopeful was a good thing. maybe it was silly to have hope in a time where the clan was barely catching enough prey to make sure that everyone got at least a little bit to eat every day.


    &&pebbleshore | the fluffy warrior sighed as she was called to be on the patrol alongside her sister, "sounds good, when are we going to leave?"


    &&solarflare | the warrior looked at his apprentice and sighed, "it's just some rain snowpaw, it's natural," the warrior remarked, backing out of the apprentices' den and waiting for his apprentice. she seemed so determined to do battle training but right now they needed to stock up the freshkill pile, [color=white]"well, with prey being scarce we need to try and stock it up," he said. at the sound of his name, he sighed, [color=white]"sorry driftbreeze, i need to take snowpaw out. maybe next time," solarflare said before turning back to snowpaw.

    [size=7pt]Spiderstar nodded thoughtfully at Morningeye's words. "Well, whatever it is, hopefully it passes," he said, more for his own reassurance than for his companion's. He followed her forlorn gaze to where Brackenfoot was joining the patrol. A smile spread his lips and his long whiskers twitched. "He's a very determined cat," he meowed. The elder was a warrior while Spiderstar was still training in his apprenticeship. He'd seen many seasons, but still managed to (or at least try his best to) keep up with the daily activities of the Clan rather than wasting away in the elder's den. Spiderstar admired the tom's determination and spirit. "For as long as I can remember." His green eyes turned towards the sky as rain started to fall. He was suddenly reminded of something. "Oh, yes, Morningeyes, I've been meaning to have a word with you..." He exhaled evenly, his ears twitching as he drew a paw across his face, licking it, and then using it to groom his ears for a moment. "You know as well as any cat that a new deputy must be chosen. It's been longer than it should have been, but I can't seem to make a decision..." his eyes glazed over for a moment, as if he was somewhere else. "Perhaps I'm just beginning to accept the loss of Shortfang. He was a close friend of mine for many seasons. It's just hard to lose a cat who you've known for so long... Ah, anyway, you are a very wise cat, despite your lack of years. Do you have any guidance to offer?" Spiderstar felt a bit silly asking her for advice, after all, she was the medicine cat. He was supposed to be able to make these kinds of decisions on his own, for StarClan's sake, he was the leader! But still, he found himself unsure.


    Wrenfoot nodded solemnly at Bramblebeauty's hopeful words. They were a nice sentiment, but he could tell by her tone of voice and strained smile that even she couldn't bring herself to believe. He too had a feeling in the pit of his belly that perhaps the problem was something more than just an unlucky hunting expedition. The tabby rose to his paws and padded over to Driftbreeze and the others. He flicked his tail in greeting but did not hesitate much longer, heading straight for the entrance of the camp, pausing only to wait for the others to follow behind.


    Snowpaw sniffled. "Rain that gets in my eyes and makes my fur all wet and heavy," she growled. Her white fur was barely white anymore, for she neglected grooming. It was an off-white shade, muddled with dirt and various other stains of unknown origin. It was messy and had bits of moss and feathers from her best still clinging to it, but she didn't seem all that bothered. Snowpaw gave an exaggerated sigh when Solarflare was insistent on going hunting. "Fine," she grumbled, turning on her heels and heading for the entrance of the camp. "Lets just get this over with so we can get to the good stuff."

    [fancypost bgcolor=; borderwidth=0px; background: url(http://41.media.tumblr.com/tum…8p153Ix1qer7uso1_1280.jpg); height: 90px; width: 420px; background-size: cover; background-position: center; border-bottom: 3px #f9f9f2 solid; border-radius: 22px 22px 0px 0px;]
    [/fancypost][fancypost bgcolor= translarent; bordercolor= transparent; borderwidth= 0px; font-family: baskerville old face; font-style: bold; font-size: 18px; margin-top: -25px; letter-spacing: -2px; text-align: center]runningsun && brindlebird[/fancypost]
    [fancypost bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; borderwidth= 0px; height: inherit; width: 420px; font-family: palatino; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; word-spacing: -1px;][runningsun] As others had already been out hunting, or at least attempting to hunt, he had been sleeping in. An inward groan crawled out of his throat just thinking about the earful he was going to get from his overly assertive sister. Runningsun flipped around in his nest until he could see the den's entrance, and where light was slowly encroaching more and more. With a passive sigh he unfurled himself from his nest, and hopped out as if he hadn't been sleeping. He was careful to shake out each limb before sauntering out into the camp. As the sunlight hit the tom's fur he shook it out in pleasure, then he noticed the dark clouds forming in the sky and grimaced. He didn't look as fine when his fur clung to his bones. Runningsun glanced around, seeing who and where patrols were heading off to. His ears swiveled towards a newer warrior, Driftbreeze, as she gathered a patrol. He noticed Wrenfoot was apart of it as well as the tabby trio. A new nickname for them. A small smile flickered over Runningsun's face while he mentally noted the labeled the siblings. His smile quickly faded when his eyes landed on a familiar figure whose blue eyes were boring into him.


    [brindlebird] The she-cat had been quietly sitting in camp since before the sun's rays touched down on the earth, but she had just missed Spiderstar, and Wrenfoot as they left to hunt, to her disappointment. She had decided it be best she didn't go off on her own that morning, and rather keep silent watch over the camp. She had been the warrior on guard that night anyways, and sleep didn't interest her with the prey shortage. A rustling of paw steps lifted her head hopefully towards the entrance. A frown rested on her muzzle at the sight of empty jaws. She tilted her head at her brother, but missed eye contact. Brindlebird got to her paws, and quickly stretched any tiredness out of her joints before taking a step towards Spiderstar, and then halting. She watched as the black tom padded over to Morningeyes. She couldn't resist a tail lash of frustration. Not at the clan leader, but at the feeling of worthlessness for not being able to sufficiently feed the clan. She had wanted to ask Spiderstar if there were any changes, and though her answer was pretty much given by their arrival, she wanted to know more. The eager, and ambitious she-cat curiously watched the medicine cat and leader as they spoke. Brindlebird had a feeling in her stomach that they discussing the potential of the new deputy. Her paws shuffled in anxious hope, and then she saw her brother finally exiting the warrior's den. She gave him her best glare until they exchanged eye contact, and then she moved towards him.
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    [size=7pt]Having noticed his brooding sister in the shadows, Wrenfoot took a slight detour on his way out of camp. The others were lagging behind anyway. He intercepted Brindlebird. Wrenfoot and Runningsun were easily identifiable as kin, as well as their nephew Sunpaw, for all three shared a dark ginger pelt. However, Brindlebird was drastically different. He opened his mouth, scenting the feelings of vacant frustration on his sister's pelt. "Morning," he mowed shortly, never having been a star conversationalist, even with his own litter mates. "Maybe you'll come with us on this hunting patrol? The fresh kill pile is mysteriously low." he frowned, following his soster's gaze to Runningsun, who was just emerging from the warrior's den. Classic, he thought. He stepped towards the shelter of an overhanging bush as the rain fell in scattered plops through the parting in the canopy over the clearing. Thunder crashed, more closely now. A wind buffeted the tabby's ginger fur and he flattened his ears.

    ❁ unheroically ❁


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    [justify][font=times new roman][size=8][color=black]Dawnwing was just on her way into the camp from an early morning hunting expedition. She hadn't been able to sleep lately, so she had decided to leave the camp before the sun had even risen over the horizon. She had had a lot on her mind lately, especially with her new clan, and she wanted to make sure that everyone would have the right first impression of her.


    She silently padded through the dense underbrush, the limp body of a plump squirrel and a mouse were clenched tightly between her teeth, the tangy taste of blood tricking onto her tongue. There were a couple droplets of water falling like tears from the sky, and she was glad that se was back just in time, as not to be caught in the storm alone. The Siamese she-cat padded through the cover of the bush and into the clearing, just in front of the camp's entrance. She was surprised to see that there was a hunting patrol just exiting the camp now, lead by Wrenfoot.


    "Good morning, Wrenfoot. Where are you taking the hunting patrol this morning?" She inquired after dropping her two kills by her feet to speak more freely, without the annoyance of attempting to talk through the fur of two dead animals.


    Morningeyes -- Nettlefang -- Brackenfoot


    Morningeyes kept her amber gaze fixed on her father as she spoke to Driftbreeze, he was wearing himself out by hunting with the clan everyday; but nevertheless, it was keeping him strong, exercised and healthy, which would keep him immune system up, which was a relief of course. She turned her gaze to her leader again at the mention of their late deputy; she ducked her head slightly at his mention, she recalled growing up with Shortfang, he was leader material if she ever saw it and his death left a rip in the clan. She pondered her leader's words for a moment - attempting to tuck her paws further under herself, He has been sorely missed in the clan," She meowed softly, "But we know he's in Starclan watching over us." She twitched her tail tip. "As for Cedarclan's new deputy," She paused for a moment to think it over; she looked over her shoulder at each of the Warriors; every one was capable. "You've got a difficult choice Spiderstar." She then turned her gaze back to her tall dark leader, "If anything, I would suggest a relatively young Warrior." She mused, "I pray to Starclan you will be with us for many seasons to come, so even if they lack experience, they can learn from you. Also they need to have a good heart, the last thing we want is for our next leader to drag us into unnecessary battles and dangers." As she spoke, she couldn't think of a single cat who would do such a thing, but she did glance back at Nettlefang momentarily, although he wasn't a bad cat; his hasty personality and hostility when provoked had gotten him into his fair share of scrapes and battles in the past. She quickly looked away, Nettlefang was Spiderstar's littermate after all - she didn't want to show any disrespect.


    • • •


    -


    • • •


    Brackenfoot's old eyes brightened as he made his way over to the camp's entrance, his tail lashing from side to side with excess energy. "Let's go then." He meowed, working his claws against the ground impatiently. "I'll catch the biggest piece of prey the clan had ever seen." He insisted, his kit-like persona shining through again.

    [size=7pt]Wrenfoot turned his head as Dawnwing almost walked into him. He realized that he must be blocking the entrance with his body. He had almost forgotten that he'd been standing there. "Good morning," he said shortly, but kindly, stepping out of the way in case the she-cat wanted to pass. When asked about patrolling, he shook his head and angled his ears towards Driftbreeze, who was talking a short distance away with the rest of the patrol. "Well, Driftbreeze is leading the patrol. So you'd have to ask her. But if I had to take a guess, I'd say along the furthest border. We're to be hunting on our way back as well." His eyes rested on the two pieces of fresh kill that Dawnwing had retrieved. A bit of relief stung his pelt. Perhaps this whole scarcity of prey thing was just a bit of overreaction on his part. Perhaps he and Spiderstar had simply run into a dead stop earlier this morning when they'd gone hunting and come back empty-pawed. However, maybe the opposite was true. Maybe Dawnwing had simply hit a stroke of luck catching those two, and perhaps there was still a problem at paw. Who could tell for sure? He glanced sideways at Morningeyes. Medicine cats were supposed to know the answers, but the she-cat didn't seem to have heard anything from StarClan. Its too early to be worried about all this, he thought, trying to reassure himself. Just give it some time. I'm sure the hunting will pick back up. But still, be found himself staring distantly at the fresh kill pile, dwindling dangerously low. As Brackenfoot appeared beside them at the entrance, he let out a soft mrrrow of laughter. "Let's hope you do," he said to the elder. "Then maybe we can all stop our belly's from rumbling." As if on cue, another bout of thunder rumbled over head.


    Spiderstar's ears pricked as he listened eagerly to what the she-cat had to say. While he was thankful for her advice, he realized that he had secretly hoping, in vain, for Morningeyes to give him a name, not characteristics. The cat she described encompassed half of the warriors of CedarClan. How was he to make a choice, among so many valuable assets? And what if he made the wrong one? He gave his head a shake and his whiskers twitched as he caught Morningeyes's sideways look at Neetlefang. It lasted only half a second, but Spiderstar was able to catch it. His tail flicked and he scoffed softly. "He wouldn't harm a fly," he murmured to the medicine cat, reassuringly, although he knew that his words had little to no backing. Spiderstar loved his brother deeply, they were litter mates after all, and had been together their whole lives. But while Spiderstar was more docile, friendly, and peaceful, Neetlefang was sharper, colder, and a bit more rash. He wasn't by any means a bad cat, but he had made some questionable decisions in the past, especially during the brothers' apprenticeships. Spiderstar recalled getting in trouble on a few occasions when Neetlefang's master plans had gone awry. But it was never anything sinister. His brother could be a bit.... Impulsive, but he'd never seen him act with brutality.
    Spiderstar shook these thoughts away, giving his tail a dismissive lash. He turned his green eyes back to Morningeyes. "Anyway, thank you for your help, Morningeyes. You always have great things to offer. I'll try my best to make a decision that will be right for the Clan, for every cats' sake." With that, he dipped his slender black head gratefully to her and turned to go.

    ❁ unheroically ❁


    [hr]


    [justify][font=times new roman][size=8][color=black]Dawnwing smiled down at her prey. She had heard about the rumour of the scarcity of the prey, which had originally frightened her. However, although the majority of their territory was scarce of prey, she was relieved to find that the upper north portion of the territory, just along the border was the only place she was able to find her prey.


    "Well, if you can't find any prey there, you might want to check up north. As far as I'm concerned, everything is as normal as ever in terms of prey." she said, picking up her prey again and waving her tail in the air, as a sign of farewell. She passed under the low hanging bracken and into the Cedarclan camp. She stopped by the freshkill pile and dropped off her two kills on the top of the other kills.


    The young siamase she-cat then headed back out of the camp to see if the hunting patrol had left yet.


    Morningeyes -- Nettlefang -- Brackenfoot
    Morningeyes rubbed a paw over her ears as she waited for Spiderstar's response, but when he spoke, her pelt burned with embarrassment, each hair along her spine prickling uncomfortably; he'd caught her giving a disrespectful look at his brother. She watched as he turned to go and she stood up immediately, "N-no Spiderstar, I-I didn't mean it like that." She spluttered, her voice high-pitched and flustered, her pelt fluffed out in absolute embarrassment. "Of course h-he wouldn't harm anyone, I-I didn't- I- that's not what I meant." She then held her tongue, her tail lashing from side to side nervously. She glanced back at Nettlefang, hoping he hadn't heard her sudden outburst, to her relief he hadn't even glanced their way; but even so, she should have known better than to have made her momentary thought so obvious in front of her Leader.


    • • •


    -


    • • •


    Brackenfoot puffed out his chest and glanced up at the sky as thunder rolled across it. Storms had never bothered him so he wasn't afraid. He glanced back at Driftbreeze, his claws this working furiously against the ground, he had a lot of energy for an old cat and was ready to hunt with his clanmates, just to prove he wasn't useless, despite his daughter trying to put him off. She had told him that hunting everyday just wore him out, but he'd brushed off that logic. His legs were always sore in the morning when he woke and his eyesight was poor, but he still felt as young as a Warrior.