Posts by cyclonebluster.

Cyclone remained silent as the cats around him debated the merits of stealing prey. His gaze flickered curiously between them, and something must have shown on his face, for Ashenskies bent toward him and whispered, Don't believe her. He nodded slightly to the other tom, although his mind wasn't made up. He didn't plan to blindly follow either side: they both had their merits, after all. No, he'd have to think about this for a bit before choosing a course of action.

Turning to those who hadn't left, he queried, "Has this been a problem for a while?"

Blackstar's interruption gave Cyclone a chance to get back to his feet. He shot up fluidly, eyes narrowed as he waited to see if Redstripe would attack him again, but the warrior was listening to their leader. Dropping his defensive stance, he too turned his attention to Blackstar, hazel gaze fixed on the larger tom. Part of him wanted to argue with the leader; there had always been something in him that resented being disciplined. It was a struggle to keep that from showing on his face, but he prevailed, waiting until Blackstar had turned away again.

His gaze slid past Ashenskies back to Redstripe. She seemed content to let him make the first move this time, and he fell into form, mirroring her circular movements. He was wary this time, too cautious to attack with all his power. Instead, after a moment of searching for an opening, he jabbed a paw at her, movements slowed by the extra effort it took to remember to keep his claws sheathed. Whether or not he succeeded, he pulled out quickly, returning to that careful circling.

Ashenskies was quick to reintroduce himself. Cyclone flashed him a grateful smile. Despite his mistake, he showed no sign of embarrassment: it would take a little more than forgetting the name of one cat out of twenty to make him want to curl up and die. "Great," he meowed.

Astralpaw seemed embarrassed, the poor thing. He watched her gape for a moment, internally relieved when she recovered. He wasn't about to turn down an offer for free help, so offering her a grin, he murmured, "Thanks. I'd like that."

Before he could get any more words out, a blur of fur flashed toward him, accompanied a by a high-pitched, familiar voice. Was that Hail? Eyes widening, the newcomer staggered back as his brother affectionately tackled him. He returned the gesture by tucking his head against the blue-grey tom's shoulder, tongue darting out to offer him a rasping kiss. "Hail! You live here?"

Tempest and Gale were the eldest, and Foggy was a true middle child. When they'd still lived together, as a family, he'd always been lumped with Hail: they were the two littlest ones. Out of all his siblings, he was glad that it was Hail he'd run into first, and a surge of affection coursed through him.

Despite the knowledge that he was dreaming, there was a harsh, realistic quality to the imagery, making the scene feel more concrete than the burnt forest Cyclone had spent the day in. A faint clicking sounded, heralding the arrival of another cat; the silver tabby felt ice crawling down his spine, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt to remain alert. Whatever nightmare this dream held, it was something special.

The cat who came into view was monstrous in size, brown pelt torn and tattered. Cyclone took him in through cool eyes. His heart was pounding in his chest, and curiously, he let the sensation overtake him, allowing the cold, hard spot that he usually kept hidden to expand, filling him with detached confidence.

The BloodClanner's rasp assaulted his ears, powerful in the silence, and Cy couldn't refrain from flinching back. Tongue rasping around his jaws, he considered the cat before, mulling over his question. What was he dreaming about? That was simple. "You," Cy said, stepping toward the powerful figure. "Who are you?"

When he'd heard the call, Cyclone's initial reaction was to search out Hailcloud. The blue-grey tom was his littermate, the only cat here whom he'd known before he joined. Simply put, he wanted to sit besides him, but although his murky eyes roved the clearing, he couldn't find his brother. Hail was probably just a little late in showing up; for the time being, he moved besides Ashenskies. As the cat who was more or less his mentor in all things ThunderClan, Ashen was the other cat here who he felt something akin to a bond with. Scooting in besides the other tom, he murmured a quiet, "Hey."

Unsurprisingly, he was the first item on Blackstar's list. In truth, he wouldn't have minded a Clan name, but remained silent as Blackstar announced that he was remaining Cyclone. In a moon, perhaps, if nothing scared him off, he'd revisit the issue. Patiently, he bore the welcoming and/or curious glances of his Clanmates until Blackstar moved on.

The rest of the meeting past by quickly. Cy's attention was stolen by Adderstrike when the other tom raised his objection. How would Blackstar respond? Interested, he leaned forward, eyes widening.

For the time being, Cyclone had taken to remaining close to Ashenskies. Although he was probably only doing it because Blackstar had ordered him to, the warrior was providing the newcomer with handy tips—and his company wasn't bad. Ears perking at the call, he slid toward the patrol. This was something useful; with any luck, it would go better than his first sparring match. (Who would have thought that they refrained from drawing blood when training? In Cy's mind, it still seemed counterproductive.)

Pausing beside Astralpaw, he crooked a friendly smile at her and queried, "Does ThunderClan have special hunting moves, like those battle moves you mentioned?"

"Astralpaw?" Having returned from an unsuccessful hunting patrol, Cyclone needed a distraction. He'd flitted around the temporary camp for a few minutes, trying to memorize his Clanmates' names, when he'd remembered the quiet apprentice. Of the cats he'd met at his joining, Astralpaw was one of the few who'd stuck in his mind, alongside Blackstar and Ashenskies. The list of those he knew was woefully short, but for the time being he pushed it aside in favor of finding the apprentice.

Scotchsour. sucky intro i'm sorry

Cyclone hadn't seen much of the territory, but from what he'd seen, most of it consisted of a burnt, scarred area devoid of greenery and life, and sunning rocks, where the temporary camp was. Alone, it wasn't reassuring, and when mixed with the grumbles he'd been hearing from his new clanmates' bellies, it was downright frightening.

The afternoon had passed in a blur of names and faces. Whenever he wasn't being introduced to someone, he'd spent the time catching up with Hailcloud. To think that he'd wandered alone for so long, only to reunite with his brother because of a whim. He'd wanted to join a clan for a while, but it was fortune that had taken him here, where his littermate resided, instead of to one of the other clans.

Cyclone had been a bit surprised when he found out that Ashenskies wasn't going to be the one in charge of showing him around: the warrior had been giving the responsibility of smoothing his entrance to clan life. Perhaps he was busy. As a warrior, he had more responsibilities than just ensuring that the newcomer settled in nicely.

Heading toward the camp entrance, he shifted his gaze, searching for the feline who was supposed to give him a tour. It didn't take the silver tabby long to recognize Nightpaw, and he hurried toward her, greeting, "Hi. Uh, Darkpaw, right?" It was hard to memorize so many names, and he could only hope that he'd gotten it right.

Astralpaw was so shy! Cyclone felt a twitch as she turned a bashful gaze toward him, and he resolved to be careful when approaching her. It would clearly take some time until she grew comfortable around him, and he didn't intend to slow the process unnecessarily. He listened thoughtfully as she explained the differences between the varied territories, and what made ThunderClan unique. She might be right that ThunderClanners in general were bulkier than cats from the other Clans, but he certainly wasn't. Although his shoulders were broad, the rest of him wasn't; he'd probably do better in SkyClan, given his powerful legs.

Astralpaw grew animated as she continued her explanation. Watching her, it seemed to Cyclone that she'd gone from meek to beautiful. She was all grace as she stepped forward, modelling the proper way to move. "Like this?" he asked, mirroring her movements. He thought that he was a decent hunter, but he was used to rustling grass or hard pavement, not crackling leaves and twigs. Hopefully, his natural skill would be deemed on par with those of the rest of the patrol.

He straightened as Dawnbreeze chimed in, head tilting. He hadn't had much experience with the small molly, but she seemed nice enough, and he definitely appreciated any tips she had to offer. "Okay," he replied gratefully. Would hunting here be different than hunting as a loner? Aside from the short time before his family had split up, he hadn't really hunted in a group. "Thanks."

He twisted his head to eye Redstripe and Rustpaw as they approached, the latter obviously eager to begin hunting. He didn't blame her. He hadn't been in the group long, but it had been long enough to realize that they could desperately use whatever prey they managed to catch.