EiTHER WaY , , itwillalways . s t i n g || {open}

[ravvveycaw]

if you're not getting answers . . . }

The stream was alive. Quick, youthful eddies of water swirled and danced over the smoothed pebbled bottom, reflecting every last gleaming ray of sunshine back at it's creator. The clouds, white and fluffy like a rabbit's tail, peered down from the sea of light-blue sky to gaze lovingly at their reflections mirrored in it's dips and curves. But the relentless current payed no attention, slithering hurriedly onward to it's unknown destination, lapping impatiently at the narrow banks all the while. Gurgling, bubbling. Murmuring, laughing.

Along one side, there came the slightest flash of movement. A small mammal, brown and sleek, scurried along upon minuscule white feet, pausing here and there to occasionally scrape feverishly at the soft earth. Suddenly, the vole stiffened. The creature sniffed cautiously at a gentle breeze which had begun to softly caress the water's surface, it's rounded ears rotating backwards, forwards, back again. Beady black eyes glazed with fear. Lips pulled back in a silent snarl. A paw, claws unsheathed, lashing forward. Now a young cat, no more than eight moons, curled his long tail in satisfaction as he scraped a few pawfuls of dirt over the limp body of his fresh-kill. "Thank StarClan, for the life of this vole." Nettlepaw whisked off a quick prayer to his warrior ancestors before plopping back upon his haunches and giving his chest fur a few satisfied licks. "One of those grumpy old elders better be grateful .." He then grumbled more quietly to himself, more or less.

With a wide yawn, Nettlepaw stretched out his forelegs, arching his back contentedly and producing a rumbling purr as the sun beams warmed his pelt. Nice day, he thought pleasantly, allowing his gaze to drift slowly across the expanse of ThunderClan territory upon the opposing side of the stream. The sight of the tall, shrouded trees pulled at his heartstrings, and sent the fur along his shoulders and back bristling with desire. Longing memories weighed like river rocks in his belly as his thoughts traveled instantly to Ravencaw and Wasppaw, living together, and happily, in ThunderClan. My kin. Nettlepaw wrinkled his nose, flicked his ears back flat against his skull. "ThunderClanners." He surprised himself with the sudden vocalization of his thoughts. "Do I even belong here?"

The wind shifted, blowing from behind Nettlepaw now, and tugged almost impatiently at his pelt. Uneasiness prickled in his chest as he caught the scent of a Clanmate, what if they'd overheard him? Would they question his loyalty? As if on cue, a raspy meow broke through his mental wall to interrupt his frantic consciousness. "An apprentice out of camp? All on his own? Rustlestar wouldn't fancy that, now would he?"

Instantly, Nettlepaw's fur lay flat and he released the held breath that had been gradually tightening in his chest. Casting a glance over his right shoulder, he flicked an ear gleefully at the sight of warm goldenrod eyes and an uneven, black-and-orange pelt. "Hello, Spiderfur," Nettlepaw purred in his relief. "You had me going there, for a moment." With the wink of an eye, the somewhat stocky she-cat padded forward to touch noses with her younger Clanmate. Spiderfur sat close to him, their pelts brushing, and followed his eyes across the stream to ThunderClan's side. She looked back down at him, rasped her tongue over his ears several times.

"Do you miss them?" Spiderfur's voice took on a more sympathetic tone, and she spoke slowly, afraid of striking a sensitive nerve in the troubled tomcat. Nettlepaw hesitated, looking to his paws for some form of support. "I, well," he sucked in a deep breath. "Yes, I do. I miss the little bits I remember about them." His pleading stare jumped suddenly up to meet his false-mother's eyes. The words stuck momentarily in his throat, but he mustered up every last fiber of his courage to force them out. "Spiderfur, would you, could you, maybe . . you remember them, don't you? Can you tell me about them?"

Spiderfur swallowed hard at the sound of the question she had both expected but dreaded since the moment she began to raise the little furball. "Nettlepaw," she began, searching for the words that might ease the apprentice's heart and douse his curiosity. "Your father, Ravencaw, he looks like he'd belong in WindClan a load of mousetails more than you do," Amusement glinted lightly in her eyes, and Nettlepaw's mouth curved upward in a slight smirk. "He's black as the lake at moonhigh, and his tail's broken in two places, looks like a crooked tree branch. Oh, and great StarClan he's got the longest legs, faster ThunderClanner I've ever layed eyes on." Nettlepaw nodded in acknowledgment, painting a mental image of his father as Spiderfur continued on about his littermates. "Then there's Nightpaw, she's a beautiful little kit. Her pelt's white like mountain's snow, and her tail, well, she hasn't got any tail at all! But she's got little wisps of ginger and gray around her eyes, just absolutely adorable. And finally there's Wasppaw, and he lives with your father, beings he's the youngest. He's a tabby, almost like Rowanwing, but much, much lighter in color, white-and-gray all over."

Spiderfur paused, gazing down at Nettlepaw, whom she loved as though he were her own kit. "And you, little Nettlepaw, you look just like your mother." The tom stared up at her in wonder, and a pang of sadness stung Spiderfur's heart like brambles in her pads. "Mossear was a loyal RiverClan cat, but she loved your father very much. When she died, Ravencaw brought you here, and I caught him dropping you on this side of the stream," Nettlepaw's eyes flicked across the border momentarily before snapping immediately back to Spiderfur. "I promised to keep his secret, and raised you as my own. Loved you like my own."

Nettlepaw blinked up at Spiderfur, his thoughts whirling at such high speeds he found himself unable to latch on to even one and analyze it. This cat had always been a great mother to him, but he'd always tried to imagine what Mossear had been like. How long had she kept him? Why couldn't he have stayed with Nightpaw? Or Ravencaw and Wasppaw? He pushed the chaotic emotions from his mind, focusing up on Spiderfur with a heavy purr rumbling in his chest.

"Thank you Spiderfur. You've been the best mother I could've asked for." Turning away, he caught his buried vole with one claw and tossed it to the ground beneath the she-cat's paws. "Hungry?" he meowed in a happier tone, banishing the conversation they had just shared into oblivion, and focusing on the here and now. "I'd thought to bring it back to the elders, but they won't appreciate it like you do." Spiderfur purred with her amusement, nudging the fresh-kill back toward the apprentice. "Now, now, Nettlepaw. You won't get to eat yourself unless you feed the elders. But wait," Nettlepaw had bent downward, mouth open, to retrieve the vole and return to camp with his catch, but Spiderfur halted him with the wave of her tail. "Relax a bit, won't you?"

{ . . . ask better questions.

ooc ; eep. long post, sorry XD

[Fox]

((Mind if I roleplay with you? My post isn't anywhere near as good as yours, though...Very nice intro for your cat!))

A young, fox-looking she-cat, stopped and sniffed around. "I smell Nettlepaw!" She said out loud to herself, and began to follow her Clanmates scent. Foxheart, a sly, cunning, and all-around mischievous cat known widely for her pranks as a trickster, was bored. "Soooo bored!" She mewed out loud to herself. Her pointed ears swiveled as she heard a small noise not far from her. She opened her mouth and tasted the air. Rabbit! She thought in satisfaction.

Foxheart dropped into a hunting crouch, and stealthily crept towards it, making as little noise as possible. Luckily, she was downwind, so there was no way the rabbit could smell her. Just a little closer...and...pounce! Foxheart leapt forward, narrowly missing her prey on purpose. The rabbit took off, bounding out on the moor, and Foxheart, delighted to be chasing a rabbit (one of her favorite things to do) took off after it. Her paws thudded the ground as she chased after it, its white fluffy tail an easy beacon on the brown, windswept moor. Enough. Time to catch it before it bolts into a hole. Foxheart put on an extra bit of speed and leapt forward, her claws piercing the rabbit. She quickly bit into the squealing animal's neck, ending it fast. "Ha! Only a Windclan cat coulda caught that! Oh yeah, and, uh, thank Starclan, blah blah blah, the rabbit'll make a good meal."

Looking up, Foxheart realized she was near the Thunderclan border. "Meh. How'd I get here?" She asked herself, then looked around and spotted Nettlepaw and Spiderfur not far off. "Sweet! Company!" She exclaimed, and quickly buried her rabbit. She ran over and stopped in front of Nettlepaw. "What's up, little cat?" Foxheart was known for her strange way of talking. She mixed stuff together, and she was very coarse, like calling Nettlepaw a little cat, even though she had become a warrior only recently. She smiled, her face friendly, with a slight twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Caught that vole on your own, huh? Nice! 'Course, I bet the elders get it. Phooey." It was no secret that Foxheart was not a big fan of the elders. They were too grumpy for her.

[ravvveycaw]

"What's up, little cat?"

Nettlepaw jumped slightly at the sound of Foxheart's greeting, and he whirled toward her to respond in an all too eager manner. He stole a glance back at Spiderfur, worry sprinkled across his expression, Do you think she heard us? he mouthed to his she-cat companion. Spiderfur winked back at the young apprentice, flicking her tail over Nettlepaw and in the direction of Foxheart, She's talking to you! Wrinkling his nose awkwardly at Spiderfur, Nettlepaw focused once more on his crafty Clanmate, rotating his ears forward to catch the last few words she spoke.

"'Course, I bet the elders will get it. Phooey."

Laughter bubbled in Nettlepaw's chest, spilling out in the form of a throaty purr. Foxheart's coarse, casual language was different, and although Nettlepaw didn't understand the reason or cause for it, he often enjoyed the conversations he shared with the ginger she-cat. "Yes, I suppose the elders always get whatever they like," Nettlepaw meowed, rolling the vole back and forth between his paws. "Most of my apprentice duties involve caring for them, after all!" Changing moss, removing ticks, fetching fresh kill, the list of duties never ended with those darned elders.

"Now, now, let's not complain too much, Nettlepaw," Spiderfur padded up beside the WindClan apprentice, shouldering him playfully. "How do you expect to become a warrior like me and Foxheart if you don't care for the elders now and again? We've all done it before, even Duskfeather!"

Nettlepaw snorted obnoxiously. "And hedgehogs fly, Spiderfur!" Something about the laid-back nature of Spiderfur and Foxheart broke him away from the normally formal, strict lifestyle he reserved himself to. He didn't feel any younger than them, any less-experienced. They were just three cats, soaking up sun beams by the ThunderClan border and joking about the elders. "You don't think Duskfeather ever had to care for the elders as an apprentice, do you Foxheart? He's the deputy after all!"

[Fox]

Foxheart couldn't help but to purr along with Nettlepaw after elder's comment. "Yes, I suppose the elders always get whatever they like," Nettlepaw mewed. "Most of my apprentice duties involve caring for them, after all!" Foxheart stuck her tongue out. "Yeah yeah yeah. Elders want this, elders want that." She added, "Stinky furballs," muttering under her breath.

"Now, now, let's not complain too much, Nettlepaw," Spiderfur commented, padding over to the two of them. "Hey Spiderfur! What's up?" The ginger she-cat asked her fellow warrior.

"You don't think Duskfeather ever had to care for the elders as an apprentice, do you Foxheart? He's the deputy after all!" Foxheart made a tsk sound. "Now now, little cat, everybody's gotta take care of the elders. Even Duskfeather. 'Course, the rotter probably respected them, and took good care of them, and was nice to them! Nice! I mean really. Good-for-nothing mope-all-day complain-about-everything elders. Hmph." She snorted in irritation. "And I still got in trouble for sneakin' a coupla thorns in their bedding. They deserved it, if you ask me." She scowled, then smiled again.

"You know what? They can have your vole. I caught a rabbit! It's buried back there." She jerked her head in the direction. "Wanna share it? When we get back, of course. Just for us three." She winked at Nettlepaw and Spiderfur, then yawned and stretched, her back arching. "At least I'm not bored anymore." She mewed. Foxheart did have a tendency to talk a lot, but if you weren't an elder, she could be a pretty fun cat to have around.