Fireblaze returned from her early-morning hunting and placed her prey onto the fresh-kill pile, which was plentifully well-stocked.
The bright sunlight warmed up her bright ginger pelt as she stretched her back, her paws aching slightly from all the walking.
--
Wolfpaw exited the Apprentice's Den and squinted his eyes insensitively when the sunlight caught his eyes.
He ruffled his grey-and-silver fur and then bent down to groom it.
"Oh, morning Pantherstar!" Wolfpaw mewed hastily, just noticing that his leader was there, "I'm just grooming myself. Is there a task I need to do this morning? Hunting? Patrolling?" He asked, looking up at his mentor.
ooc: Sure!
ic: Wolfpaw gasped in delight, "Really?" He purred happily. Without waiting for an answer, he dashed out of camp and ran towards the lake, hoping his den-mates will be there.
He purred silently as he slowed down and trotted over towards Robinpaw and Spottedpaw, "Hey, guys!" He meowed, "Can I play too?"
--
Fireblaze purred in amusement that the young cat's joy, "I remember when I was an apprentice," She sighed nostalgically, "The lake was always where we played during our free-time, wasn't it?"
Fireblaze turned her head over to Tallfeather and flicked her tail in greeting, "Hello, Tallfeather." She meowed. She didn't know why, but she felt a lot happier this morning than she does on others; you could ask any one of her clna-mates and they'd agree with the notion that Fireblaze certainly wasn't a morning cat. So why was this morning different? She didn't know for certain, but she imagined that one factor was just talking to Pantherstar; Ever since they were young 'paws, Fireblaze couldn't help but admire him.
If Pantherstar knew how she felt was unkown to her, but if he did, he showed no evidence that he knew.
'Probably for the best,' Fireblaze thought, glancing at her paws unconsciously, 'Starclan knows if he'd ever think of me that way, but I guess it wouldn't matter too much.'
"How are you this morning, then?" She asked Tallfeather, pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind.
"And how we used to go down to the lake for fun. Except that time in Leaf-bare when I thought the ice was thicker," Fireblaze shivered at the memory when she fell in the cold water, "Had a chill for days, never trusted to go into the water again.."
--
"Mice are often the most fun to pounce on," Wolfpaw purred, jumping into the hunter's crouch and slowly stalked to leaf on the ground, before quickly pouncing on it, "Then receiving the satisfaction you can only get when you hear the sudden squeak of a piece of prey and then holding it in your jaws.." He trailed off when he realised that he was getting far too into the simple question. He was always like that; getting distracted all the time, leading a conversation completely off-track.. Sometimes made it hard to be talked to.
"So.. What are your favorites?" He asked Robinpaw and Spottedpaw, subtly fumbling his paw in the sand.
What's the link to the clan? (I'll probably join it :D)
Wolfpaw chuckled under his breath in embarrassment, "Ah well, I don't know really," he purred, "I just pick them up from places, I guess.."
--
"Haha, they didn't appreciate us waking them up, that's for sure." She chuckled, reliving the old memories in her head; She and her friends may have grown up, but their hearts will probably be young for a long time.
"A fox!?" Fireblaze echoed, shooting up and twitching her ears in anxiety; she didn't have such a keen sense of hearing like her clan-mates, which was hardly ever a good thing.
"Oh no!" She gasped, spinning around to Tallfeather and Pantherstar, "What if it finds the apprentices? Even with 3 of them, they wouldn't be able to escape a fox without great injuries!"
--
Wolfpaw was about to reply, until he heard something rustling from quite a distance away.
"Hey, do you guys here that?" He asked, straining his ears towards the direction of sound. Whatever it was, it sounded as if it was coming closer to them..
Wolfpaw sniffed the air. There was defently a scent there, but it wasn't one he scented in many moons, but he knew that it was dangerous.
He urgently recalled his memory backwards, back during the first few moons on his training when he was exploring the territory with his mentor.
Then realization struck through like fierce lighting,
"Fox!" He gasped in terror, his shakey voice echoed through the land.
Wolfpaw, Robinpaw and Spottedpaw all went to the lake.
A fox was spotted in the territory.
Fireblaze, Pantherstar, Tallfeather and the apprentices are fighting the fox.
ic;
Wolfpaw's heart stopped when he saw how close the fox was to Robinpaw; almost forgetting any sense of safety, Wolfpaw leaped onto the Fox's shoulder and teared at it's fur with his claws and fangs.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" He spat, his voice almost unaudiable and muffled with ginger fur.
--
Fireblaze tried to distract the fox from the others by pouncing on the other side of the fox, hinging on the fox's pelt with her white claws.
Wolfpaw's mind went blank. His amber eyes were locked onto Robinpaw's unconscious body,
"No.." He whispered, barely coming out as a shaky breath, "No, no, no.."
He tried. He tried so hard to stop that fox from harm, and yet.. And yet it still wasn't enough. He stood up and walked back to camp behind everyone else, his tail drooped down as he lagged behind the group.
Fireblaze shook her head, "I'm fine," She reassured Tallfeather, "I think most of us were lucky this time. Well, except.." Her voice trailed off as her gaze slowly locked onto the Medicine cat's den, where she knew Robinpaw was,
"I hope she's OK.." She whispered, "But she's a strong cat, I think she'll come through; and I think Wolfpaw has grown a liking for her too. Well, she is a very pretty she-cat.." She added the last part with a purr.
--
"You're awake!" Mintleaf meowed, her voice soft and gentle, "How are you feeling?"
She gently dabbed a small bit of cobweb on the side of Robinpaw's head, soaking up any blood that hasn't dried on her fur.
"The hit on your head was quite critical, but you should be OK after a while. Unless you develop a headache that last for more than a day, then I would need you to come back to me, is that alright with you?"
Is it still cold in America? We've had quite sunny weather in Britain (About 16'c, which is pretty pathetic) and it was arm enough to stay outside :P
"Wolfpaw said that he was going to get you some fresh-kill just before you woke up," Mintleaf explained, glancing at Robinpaw. She then turned her gaze at her visitors, "Just be careful you lot don't make too much noise, OK?"
--
Wolfpaw trotted into the den with a mouse hanging in his jaws. He didn't expect Robinpaw to be up yet, but when he saw that she was, he grinned widely,
"You're awake!" He purred, his voice muffeled by mouse. He placed the fresh-kill beside Robinpaw and sat down, "Are you alright? Are you badly hurt?"
Wolfpaw sighed in relief, "Good," he purred, "You fought really well out there, I hope Pantherstar makes us into warriors soon."
His silver-and-grey fur laid flat down as his anxiety faded away, almost as if Robinpaw's voice some how had the ability to make him relaxed.
Tawnyspots sprinted into camp with a patrol of warriors behind him, he stopped in the middle of the clearing and felt his legs shake as he tried to catch his breath,
"Word.. Got to us.." He rasped in between breaths, "Fox.. In territory.. Robinpaw.. Hurt.."
His lungs stung like fire as his rasping gasps could probably be heard from miles away.
Tawnyspots' hind legs collapsed under him, "There were also.. Scents of fox while we were out.." His breath slowly coming back, "We think.. It might be the same fox, but.."
His cream-and-tawny spotted pelt was ruffled and heaving; Running was never his strong suit.
--
"Are you OK?" Wolfpaw asked hastily, his nose gently pressed against Robinpaw for support, trying to help his den-mate up.
"I bet the fox is still shivering it's flea-bitten pelt off, from what I heard about the treatment you all gave it." Tawnyspots purred, barely giving any recognition about how dangerous a fox could truly be when it was angry or frightened.
--
Fireblaze opened her mouth for a snappy retort, but then closed it while shaking her head; Tawnyspots somehow lacked the ability to take anything seriously, it would just be a waste of breath trying to tell him, and at least he was optimistic about it.
Fireblaze nodded, standing up and stretching her hind legs slightly; if that fox comes back ,then she has more than enough energy to give it a real warning.
--
Tawnyspots nodded quickly, silently thanking Starclan that he didn't have to go on another patrol just yet,
"You can count on us, Tallfeather." He reassured, smiling proudly.
Fireblaze nodded again, striding towards Tallfeather and the rest of the patrol.
"Ready."
--
"Yeah?" He looked down at his apprentice. His grin made Tawnyspot's certain that Spottedpaw had something good on his mind, "What is it?"
His paws almost started fumbling in the brief anticipation, waiting for him to speak.
