feel the rain on your skin - open; intro

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    Rain.


    It pounded delightfully, bombarding the ground as it turned to sleet and slush. It wove through the blades of grass and dampened the soil, cleansing the land as it violently beat it. And in the center of the pandemonium, like a single star in a pitch-black sky, was a cinnamon-colored feline cheerfully skipping through puddles.


    A smile was glowing on the maw as their emerald hues sparkled, the rainy world glimmering on their surface. And they took it all in, every raindrop that lingered on their sleek brown coat, every strike of lightning that called in the distance. This tumbling ball of happiness was called Oceanpaw, an apprentice of SkyClan, and they carried their happiness right into the camp, sodden but grinning.


    Personally, Poppystar had never been a fan of rain. She saw no appeal in the weight of the drops pounding on the top of her head, on her back, on her tail. She didn't enjoy every step being into a puddle, and she certainly didn't like it when it rained hard enough to flood her den. Regardless, there was a certain joy that it seemed to bring to some other cats in the clan, and for that, she appreciated it.

    A brilliant example of one of those cats was Oceanpaw, making his way into camp as if he was the happiest cat in the world, and honestly, Poppystar had a feeling he was. The apprentice seemed unfazed by the rain pouring down around him; if anything, it was the source of his happiness. The leader couldn't help but smile at how excited he was, and stepped out from underneath the tree that formed the apprentices' den, where she had been hiding until the rain let up, hoping to go talk to him.

    Immediately, the water pounded down, and she shrunk back, hissing in annoyance. This was a bad idea. How was he just standing in it so unbothered? Well, she couldn't back out now. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to step completely out of the shelter of the tree, trying to convince herself that everything was fine. It wasn't, but she continued on, walking faster in the hopes that it wouldn't be as bad. It was.

    "Hello, Oceanpaw," she greeted, forcing a smile. "Lovely- Lovely weather we're having, wouldn't you say?"


    TAGS 10/29

    These times, when the heavens opened up and poured down buckets, oceans falling from between the silvery branches of the barren trees. The SkyClan territory, leaf-fall almost past them, was turning into a lane of skeletons, the oaks looming tall and gray over camp, and appeared even more hostile when storm clouds unleashed their wrath upon the area. Wheatpaw, however, much like Oceanpaw, threw himself into the dangerous festivities of playing in the rain. Puddles were a good enough sport for kits, but not for grown-up apprentices like himself: the trees, rattling and twisting in the gales, were the only worthwhile challenge. And StarClan, he took them on every time, a bull rider of sorts as he clung to a waving branch, scarcely focusing on anything as his pale cream form swung to and fro meters above the forest floor. He had transcended. He was the master of balance. He was invincible.