WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[MessrMoony]

Originally Posted by Cave

"You!? Winning!? Don't forget I am younger then you I have more stamina!" she yowled before pulling ahead by just a few whiskers. The sea was now in sight she couldn't let him win!

Jaggedspring rolled his eyes. "I'm not as old as you think!" He yelled at her with a grin on his face.
The sea was pretty close so he had to keep going. He started to pick up more stamina as he went but she was still in the lead by a few whiskers. Once he got to the sea she was already there and he was out of breath. "O-Okay you win..." He said while breathing heavily. "I haven't ran like that in a while"

[Tempest's Song]

Originally Posted by Orchidleaf

Houdini snickered at his friend's failed attempt at a quiet entry and he was right about all the dust but a hunting contest? Houdini knew he wouldn't win that. He had been slacking on training his hunting abilities and had instead just waited outside the exit for the mice to burst out so he could snap their little necks swiftly and easily. He didn't want his friend to see him fail so miserably especially with his tendency to gloat. "No thanks, I think you should just hunt for now or as you said, your mentor's gonna flay you if you don't. Plus, I can just hunt more later. I'll just stay right here while you hunt to catch any rascals that try to escape." He puffed out his chest and almost on cue, a mouse began to dart out of the hole in the side of the barn and Houdini quickly smacked it down with his paw, snapping it's neck and laying it in front of himself.

"No, thanks, I think you should just hunt for now or- as you said- your mentor's gonna flay you if you don't." Houdini's voice was apologetic, but carried the whisper of something else that Emberpaw couldn't recognize. "plus," he continued, I can just hunt more later. I'll just stayright here while you hunt to catch any rascals that try to escape."

Then, the tiny pattering of mouse foot prints was cut short as Houdini quickly killed one.

"I can see what you mean," purred Emberpaw, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Well, all right, you stay here then. I'm going to see how many I can catch!"

With a statement like that, Emberpaw would usually hold his tail up high and strut like a peacock- and usually would knock something over and trip over his own paws. But, this time, he was aiming for stealth and focused on the hunt. He disappeared into the darkness and almost immediatley found one.

Edging forward with careful deliberance, he fixed his form in the way that his mentor had taught him, and wiggled his haunches. It was dark here, but he could feel his surroundings pretty well.

He leapt and caught a mouse in between his paws. He silenced it with a quick nip before it could let out any tell-tale squeaks, then picked it up and brought it over to Houdini.

"Don't eat this," he said through a mouthful of mouse, before dropping it by his friends' side. "Just keep track of them, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he spun around and padded away.

The next couple minutes were good. He caugh four mice in total before he accidentally knocked over a twoleg shovel, and scared all the rest into their dens. Cursing himself, he padded back over to Houdini and his mouse pile.

"I... should go," he said, feeling a little guilty, but not sure if it was from disobeying his mentor and staying out here, or leaving his friend. Maybe a little of both. He scooped up his mice and nodded politely to his friend.

[Vexing]

Originally Posted by Tempest's Song

"No, thanks, I think you should just hunt for now or- as you said- your mentor's gonna flay you if you don't." Houdini's voice was apologetic, but carried the whisper of something else that Emberpaw couldn't recognize. "plus," he continued, I can just hunt more later. I'll just stayright here while you hunt to catch any rascals that try to escape."

Then, the tiny pattering of mouse foot prints was cut short as Houdini quickly killed one.

"I can see what you mean," purred Emberpaw, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Well, all right, you stay here then. I'm going to see how many I can catch!"

With a statement like that, Emberpaw would usually hold his tail up high and strut like a peacock- and usually would knock something over and trip over his own paws. But, this time, he was aiming for stealth and focused on the hunt. He disappeared into the darkness and almost immediatley found one.

Edging forward with careful deliberance, he fixed his form in the way that his mentor had taught him, and wiggled his haunches. It was dark here, but he could feel his surroundings pretty well.

He leapt and caught a mouse in between his paws. He silenced it with a quick nip before it could let out any tell-tale squeaks, then picked it up and brought it over to Houdini.

"Don't eat this," he said through a mouthful of mouse, before dropping it by his friends' side. "Just keep track of them, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he spun around and padded away.

The next couple minutes were good. He caugh four mice in total before he accidentally knocked over a twoleg shovel, and scared all the rest into their dens. Cursing himself, he padded back over to Houdini and his mouse pile.

"I... should go," he said, feeling a little guilty, but not sure if it was from disobeying his mentor and staying out here, or leaving his friend. Maybe a little of both. He scooped up his mice and nodded politely to his friend.

Houdini sat there watching his friend hunt and had actually gotten lost in his swift and calculated movements. Each time he caught a mouse, a slight purr would escape him and it was like that even as he was told not to eat his catch. He wouldn't have thought of doing that but it made sense that he should be told that. As his friends continued to hunt, no more mice attempted escape probably due to what happened to their friend. He watched Emberpaw and , with a sigh, he realized he wished it could be like this everyday, Emberpaw coming into this shed with him and catching mice the only part he would change is his friend having to leave afterwards. Houdini was brought back out of his mind when the shovel hit the ground of the barn and he jumped whilst Emberpaw said that he should go. Houdini nodded to his friend as he picked up the one mouse he killed and nudged it over to Emberpaw with his paw "Here, take it. Like I said, I can hunt here anytime and it sounds like you're gonna need these more than I will." He chuckled a bit at that last part.

[Tempest's Song]

Originally Posted by Orchidleaf

Houdini sat there watching his friend hunt and had actually gotten lost in his swift and calculated movements. Each time he caught a mouse, a slight purr would escape him and it was like that even as he was told not to eat his catch. He wouldn't have thought of doing that but it made sense that he should be told that. As his friends continued to hunt, no more mice attempted escape probably due to what happened to their friend. He watched Emberpaw and , with a sigh, he realized he wished it could be like this everyday, Emberpaw coming into this shed with him and catching mice the only part he would change is his friend having to leave afterwards. Houdini was brought back out of his mind when the shovel hit the ground of the barn and he jumped whilst Emberpaw said that he should go. Houdini nodded to his friend as he picked up the one mouse he killed and nudged it over to Emberpaw with his paw "Here, take it. Like I said, I can hunt here anytime and it sounds like you're gonna need these more than I will." He chuckled a bit at that last part.

"Here, take it. Like I said, I can hunt here anytime. And, it sounds like you're gonna need these more than I will."

Emberpaw shot his friend a thankful glance. He felt a bit bad for scaring him with the shovel. Why was he so clumsy!?

As he made his way out of the shed, his mouth full of plump mice, he turned and quickly called to his friend, "I'll visit again soon, if I can!" He truly did enjoy these visits. They were the only way foir him to truly relax. With his brother, Windpaw, and his mentor, Jadeheart, he was constantly having to try his hardest to be a clan cat. Sometimes, it could feel suffocating, but he could never say that he would want it any other way. Besides, knowing his freind was only a hop, skip and a run away from camp, he was sure he would never need to feel pressured into anything.

He made his way to the towering fence. Readjusting the mice in his mouth, he wiggled his haunches and launched his way to the top of the fence. There, he stood, precariously watching as his friend made his way from out of the shed.

"See you soon?" he asked hopefully. Without waiting for a reply, he threw himself off of the fence and began padding home. The sun was close to setting, hopefully he could make it home before dark.

[Jesse]

Originally Posted by Vermin

His happily propelling fan tail slowly waned along with his hearty smile that started to crestfallen as he watched the white tom's eyes flood in dark emotion before looking away. That triggered more questions that bounced around in his brain echoing loudly than before, he shook his head reeling in his breath and puffing out. He didn't want to scare away his new friend. Cowpaw plopped down in front of him, surprisingly waiting for his answers instead of pinning more questions that will only make him more uncomfortable. As he listened, something tickled his skin triggering an aggravating itch that made him instantly scratch pulling some fur strands while doing so. Though, he didn't raise a white flag to him and continued to watch his white fellow friend with a tip of his head.
"White coat?" he repeated, reeling in what he said. White coat? Cowpaw watched the rogue's white fur and it hit him. He means his family, ohhh! "I'm so sorry that happened to you! Family shouldn't do that to each other. Nope!" The apprentice stood up dramatically, lashing his tail with green eyes glowing with kindness. " I'll be your new family. We are friends and all. Friends and family, it kinda means the same and it sounds the same and means the same thing!" He thought about it more, looking up thoughtfully. "Mm, well, I think so." Giggling floated around the young tom, hyperly jumping up as he backed up playfully toward the tall grass. "Follow me! I wanna show you something uhh..," his head swiveled right and left before looking back at Itchy, speaking in a loud whisper again. "Itss a secrettt," he dragged his words looking around once more and disappeared in the greens with tail waving high, gesturing him to follow.

Itchy looked over Cowpaw's puzzled expression as he echoed what he had just said. He could tell he hadn't a clue what a whitecoat was, which made the tightness in his chest instantly unravel. Relief flooded over him as he realized that if Cowpaw hadn't seen a Whitecoat, it was unlikely they were out wandering about looking for him. But his conclusion only drew more questions..

He hadn't any time to dwell on it before Cowpaw interrupted his thoughts with his usual headache-inducing shouts. Oh bother. Now he was going on about family. Family? It sounded like he had drawn the conclusion that Whitecoat's were his family, which couldn't have been farther from the truth. Or, perhaps they had different interpretations of the word. After all, Cowpaw had so far proved to be alien beyond his imagination, it wasn't a stretch to assume that their language was too. No, he thought, just stupid.

Be my family? That was the last thing he'd expected to hear. He almost had to double take and yet, he still couldn't wrap his head around it. Why was this creature who had only met him moments ago, so unconditionally kind to him? It was surreal. He had left a place where being treated warmly- or for that matter, any sort of any interaction at all- was scarce to none. And yet, this complete stranger beamed like the sun in his presence. He noticed a strange fluttery, feeling tickling his stomach and a indescribable warmth swell in his chest. He almost felt as if he might be sick, but it wasn't particularly unpleasant. No, in fact, to his bewilderment, it was quite pleasant. It was a sensation he'd never felt before- and he found himself craving more.

Itchy was silent. He was out of words. What could he say? Thankfully, Cowpaw was more than happy to speak for him. A secret? He didn't know how he felt about that, but reluctantly he wobbled to his feet and followed. He didn't have much of a choice, did he? He was sure Cowpaw would only pester him until he did. Not bothering to keep up, he picked his way through the foliage after him, craning his long, slender neck above the grass to follow the rustling trail as Cowpaw bounded ahead of him.

@Vermin

[Madelaine]

~ @Dust ~
(this is a little late)

Snailpaw was sitting by the apprentices den when she heard her aunt Buttercupbreeze call her and her mentors name to check out a border. The apprentice stood up and padded over to her mentor. Snailpaw sat down and waited patiently for Hazeflower to tell her when she was ready for them to start their small hunting patrol.

[Cave]

Originally Posted by *Lazy Carrot*

Jaggedspring rolled his eyes. "I'm not as old as you think!" He yelled at her with a grin on his face.
The sea was pretty close so he had to keep going. He started to pick up more stamina as he went but she was still in the lead by a few whiskers. Once he got to the sea she was already there and he was out of breath. "O-Okay you win..." He said while breathing heavily. "I haven't ran like that in a while"

Giving Jaggedspring a wild grin she panted "I guess we have been so busy with everything we haven't gotten out much." The morning sun was barely creeping out on top of the water slowly engulfing everything in its bright golden light. Looking out at the sunrise she gasped "I've never seen the sea this early in the morning. I didn't know it would be this colorful. Jaggedspring lets train here!"

[Tempest's Song]

@bright !

Emberpaw stepped into the Windclan Clearing, clutching his catches in his mouth. His mind was still buzzing from the day he had experienced with his close friend. He was just glad he had something to eat.
Stepping carefully through the camp, he kept his head down, hoping that he didn't attract any unwanted attention- which was strange for him, because he loved attention.
But today he was trying to avoid a certain someone. He has disobeyed their wishes and left that morning to go and see his friend, Houdini, in the twoleg place. The five mice he was clutching in his jaw were still quite fresh, and he felt his mouth begin to water.
For a second, he thought of how tasty they would be, but he reminded himself that elders and queens ate first. Besides, Jadeheart was probably going to send him to bed hungry anyway. He should have eaten one earlier.

[MessrMoony]

Originally Posted by Cave

Giving Jaggedspring a wild grin she panted "I guess we have been so busy with everything we haven't gotten out much." The morning sun was barely creeping out on top of the water slowly engulfing everything in its bright golden light. Looking out at the sunrise she gasped "I've never seen the sea this early in the morning. I didn't know it would be this colorful. Jaggedspring lets train here!"

Jaggedspring looked up and smiled. "Wow it really is nice. Oh, okay then well train here" He said. For once he was actually happy about training and not grumpy. Maybe because it was a nice morning for once. "It's up to you today what you want to do" Jaggedspring mewed looking at his apprentice.

[Cave]

Originally Posted by *Lazy Carrot*

Jaggedspring looked up and smiled. "Wow it really is nice. Oh, okay then well train here" He said. For once he was actually happy about training and not grumpy. Maybe because it was a nice morning for once. "It's up to you today what you want to do" Jaggedspring mewed looking at his apprentice.

"Hmm," she thought for a moment, "What about both battle and hunting training!" She exclaimed. "We can start with battle training and finish the day with hunting," she knew her days of training as an apprentice would be over with soon and she wanted to make the best of it.