Smallpines

[wren]

(( I hope this border was ok? I just chose whatever one I could think of ))
@doug.

The time was late afternoon, stretches of shadows started to climb their way through the skinny trees and creep along the thicket. The pair of cats seemed to slip in and out of the shadows seamlessly. The small patrol moved along in silence for a while as the sounds of the forest rang out and dulled to a mutter as shade began to mottle the ground. The ginger and cream coloured deputy walked down the damp pathway with the walk of royalty. Despite wobbling every few seconds due to the extra pounds added to her underbelly, she looked as graceful as a pregnant she cat could get. Upon her soft features was a gentle smile, her green eyes tinted with peace and tranquility. With other clan mates she had previously known and bled out her heart for it was hard to just, walk and let the beauty of a territory overcome the reality of everything else.

The pair remained in the sweet silence for a moment, the sound of melting snow dripping melodically around them filling the lack of conversation. That’s when she glanced over her shoulder at the tom blinking her large eyes at him. “Firehawk, i don’t believe I’ve ever seen you with any family” she said quite abruptly, She looked back towards her path awaiting his answer patiently. Rowanflower has never been one to really let boundaries break down on their own, she was happy to jump right into personal life with a flick of an ear. “You have family here don’t you?” she pressed still not looking back over to him as she walked ahead. That’s when they approached a fallen log, rotting and it’s bark peeling off. Wet snow was settled cozily on its upturned side piling quite high. The tabby stopped short of the log than down each side with an embarrassed laugh. Moving around had become, difficult, adding some weight to throw you completely off balence was never fun.

Taking a step back she flashed an apologetic glance at firehawk, bunches her hind legs than took a jump. Somehow managing to get her massive body up onto the log and scrambling up onto the top. Perhaps it would’ve been easier a few moons ago, now it certainly wasn’t. After a deep sigh of relief she jumped down the other side, hitting the ground with a “humph” and trying to steady herself again.

[BEAR.]

@Celestial

Going through the forest at the end of Leaf-bare was one of Firehawk's favorite things to do. The warming weather brought with it new life, and already some changes to the landscapes could be seen as the snow melted, leaving behind the tiniest sprouts of new herbs and grasses, and the beginning of the return of leaves to the trees. Birds were once again starting to chatter, filling the air with their song, and faintly the scutter of rodent paws could be heard against the dampening ground.

Silence was something he was accustomed to, preferring it over conversations outside of his small friend group-- namely, Iceflower. Being fairly private didn't leave much room for socializing when one of the few Clan-mates he talked to gave him a weird vibe. Was it .. Cloudsky? Yes, her probing for his romantic life was uncomfortable, and he hadn't missed the fleeting looks that left him longing to return to Iceflower's warm embrace. "Hm?" he was startled when Rowanflower began to speak to him, unsure of where she was going.

"Family?" That was a bit of a loaded question, given part of why he'd join RiverClan all those moons ago was to find his son. "Only Iceflower, my mate." The others were either dead or gone, wandering the outskirts. "I used to have a son here - he wasn't Iceflower's, it was before I met her - but he's dead. He died during a flood a pawful of seasons back." The river had swelled and he'd been lost to the currents. Firehawk didn't think about it too much anymore. A part of him missed the young apprentice, but .. he couldn't dwell on the past. He had a new life now. He was happier.

Springing over the decaying log without much difficulty, Firehawk watched as Rowanflower attempted to jump and scramble over it. "You okay?" he asked with some concern as she hit the ground. "Do you need help?" With steadying herself specifically, since she seemed off-balance.

[wren]

@doug.
( I’m so sorry I have some serious writers block )


The she cat looked over at him as he answered eyes softening gently at the mention of his son. The tom was older than he has let her think. Funny how that happens. she was going to touch on the outsider aspect of his family heritage but shut her mouth again. Glancing down at her paws she gave her ear a dismissive flick. “I’m so sorry” she commented turning to look at him for a fleeting moment. She couldn’t imagine the agony of loosing a son or daughter, and not being able to do anything about it. Deep in her chest a pang of sadness struck her but she brushed it off. Little did she know soon she would suffer the same death of a son.

She must’ve not been deputy than, she had been the normal bouncy tabby everyone else knew, one who wasn’t bothered by chaos of the other clans, she wasn’t aware of how much death actually happened. Not like she was now, she had awoken into an unforgiving world full of pain. At least firehawk had someone, not that she was worried about him having anyone, she just liked to know everyone had somebody to talk too. And on the off chance they didn’t she liked to get involved and become said friend. Which was rarely fun but she liked doing it for the sake of the lonely warrior.

“Iceflower” she remarked steadily “such a pretty name, I’ve seen her around a few times I believe. How’s that going for you?” she asked innocently. Even if firehawk was uncomfortable she really couldn’t tell. After sticking an awkward landing she was able to keep walking, brushing off her imbalance with the dismissive wave of her tail. She waited a moment before responding to firehawk asking if she needed help. However embarrassing it may have been to accept she was kinda stumped.

“No no, just the few extra pounds are throwing me off” she mused gently. He seemed like a nice cat, I mean naturally most cats would help a pregnant deputy but she quite admired the fact he tried.

[BEAR.]

@Celestial

Back when this happened, Fallowstar still reigned over RiverClan. It had been shortly before the injury that crippled her, when Ottertail was beginning to take over some leader duties as Fallowstar tended to her own kits. Firehawk wasn't even sure if Rowanflower had been alive, not that it mattered. Losing his son had hurt, but it was only a fraction of the pain he had felt throughout his lifetime. Smokepaw wasn't the only kit he had lost, and he could still clearly recall the day he found his former mate over the bodies of their two other kits.

She had killed them for being smaller than their brother, and she had made it clear their surviving kit would be next if he didn't make something of himself. Needless to say, he was glad she was dead and gone. His life had improved significantly when he joined the Clan, and after recovering Iceflower from the cold river she had dived into, he never looked back. "He's in a better place now," was Firehawk's quiet response. "Wherever he is." As Firehawk didn't believe in the Clan ancestors, he didn't know where they ended up when they died. On the bright side, Smokepaw was away from his insane adoptive mother. Firehawk didn't know how Russetswirl ended up normal.

"Good," he said. "Haven't been happier." Firehawk wasn't surprised if Rowanflower had seen her. Iceflower was currently a queen as well, although she did occasionally do warrior duties. Unlike some cats in the Clans, Firehawk would never force the love of his life into a permanent position. He was content with her doing whatever made her happy. Talking with Rowanflower about his personal life wasn't uncomfortable simply out of the fact she didn't have ill intent.

As long as Rowanflower was able to walk, he wouldn't push helping her. There was no harm done with her landing and it'd be rude to act as if she were fragile. Even when pregnant, queens were a force to be reckoned with, and they deserved respect. "If you need anything, just let me know."

The border was beginning to come into view, and the tri-colored tom scented the air. "Seems quiet," he commented gently. "A relief, considering all the drama that's taken place within the last few moons. I hope the ThunderClan and WindClan conflict will die down now that ThunderClan's under new leadership." Unfortunately, he didn't think it would. Passionstar seemed easily antagonized and that would only make things worse. "Or at the very least, RiverClan stays out of it. I don't understand why Fallenstar felt the need to involve us in that."

[wren]

@doug.


Rowanflower teetered down the path stumbling ocasionally as she made a sharp turn towards the territories somewhat following the toms lead and not caring that she wasn't in control anymore. It was nice to let someone else take control sometimes. Since everything had changed it seemed hard now to slip into the background unnoticed for just a while. It just was t the same. Just as a momemtary silence fell over the pair she felt her eyes drifting shut and just taking in a deep breath of the fresh and bitter air. The warm embrace of newleaf wrapped itself around her tongue, it smelled of new life and abundant prey despite being riddled with rotting leaves and soggy mud, It was just delightful nonetheless.

The multicoloured tabby let out a deep sigh, glad to know firehawk seemed to understand smokepaw was at peace. Or at least he had come to terms with it, despite a sneaking suspicion that brought her to think they didn't know each other all that well anyways. What he said next had slightly shocked her, wherever he is? the she cats whiskers gave a quick twitch but she dropped the subject, thinking better not to pry on his beliefs. Ever since riverclans liberation she had to come to terms with the fact even a clan was divided by beliefs, and even a simple choice could tear it apart within sunrises. She had the long curved scar and her throat as a painful reminder. Even the thought of the grey tabby who had awarded her such a ghastly scar made her shiver. "Quite."

Shaking her head dismissively she turned her Attenion to the larger tomcat her eyes focused and welcoming. "That's fantastic, kits are on the way aren't they?" she commented giving him a little playful wink. To playful you furball. she scolded herself, mentally kicking herself for the friendly gesture. She knew that iceflower was pregnant, it's hard not to notice when a queen is expecting and you pass them by every other day. "By the time they're around maybe this war will be over" she said hoepfully, her voice dropping down to a mere whisper by the end of the sentence.

As he insisted if she needed a thing to let him know she tossed him a glance that said 'I'm going to be ok' than looked back down the path. She flicked her tail once and laid it across his shoulders for a moment. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm sure I'll be fine" she said assuringly as she walked ahead.

"Quite frankly I feel as though I can't quite get in to his head, I now he went to help Thunderclan for all the right reasons considering they would've been crushed by two clans at once. Otherwise I'm clueless" she said with a deep sigh of anoyance. It was hard not knowing what fallenstar wanted from her, it was impossible to tell. One day he's glaring at you the next he's barking orders at you and she just couldn't keep up with what he wanted out of her.

[BEAR.]

@Celestial

Growing up as a loner and joining the Clan out of his youth, Firehawk was never raised to believe in StarClan or the Dark Forest. Beyond the Clans worshiping them, that was all he knew about them, and it was hard to believe in something that one couldn't physically see. Until he was face-to-face with one, his views on the Clan ancestors likely wouldn't change. The uprising moons prior didn't affect his opinion, though if asked he would admit to not understanding the unrest within the Clans at the time. Their Clan-mates could talk about the "dark times" all they wanted, but the truth of the matter was the other Clans had it worse. Being told their freedom to worship what they wanted was nothing in comparison to executions. "Hopefully he didn't end up with his mother," he said with a soft laugh. "She was uh, an interesting character."

Kits? Well, he wasn't sure about that. They hadn't talked about that yet, and as for Iceflower taking on a more queen role, he hadn't thought much of it. Firehawk shrugged a little, mostly out of being unsure -- if Iceflower wanted to tell him anything, he'd let her do it on her own accord. "I don't think the war'll be over anytime soon," he said. "As long as Blazingstar and Passionstar are around to fuel the flames." Both males were antagonistic, and it seemed to only take a little to set them off. Fallenstar wasn't helping in the slightest.

Firehawk hoped she knew his offer had been in general, and didn't necessarily only apply to now.

Even with Fallenstar's good intentions, all it had done was put four Clans in a weakened state and result in casualties for everyone. ThunderClan would have lost, but that seemed to be a small price to pay after Snowstar refused to acknowledge her wrong-doing despite knowing it wouldn't go well for her Clan. "He seems set on staying by ThunderClan's side in this, but I'm not sure if we should be worrying ourselves with their conflict. All his .. insistence on choosing sides seems to be doing is making tensions worse." As seen at the Gathering, where their leader single-handedly angered the other high ranks.

[wren]

@doug.


She glanced at him over her shoulder eyebrows furrowed together thoughtfully. "Interesting, how so?" admittedly she never knew her mother or her father matter of factly. The only thing she could recall was the flooding and her fathers eyes as he plummeted to his death before them. And my brother. that was the first time she had thought about him in a long time. A shiver worked its way down her spine and into her tail, only gifivng it a shake to dismiss it. Better left unsaid. she glanced back down at her paws as she weaves her way closer to the border, nostrils flared and eyes widened and tail lashing promptly behind her.

Her eyes flicked for a moment, whatever happened to snowstar? she had met thunderclan's deputy powdernose and he had only vaguely said she had stepped down. Could've meant anything. she glanced over at him as he finished his statement about blazingstar and the newly appointed leader passionstar. "We can only hope that riverclan decides to stay out of it like skyclan did" she said with another lash of her tail.

Oh fallenstar, why must you hate me so?

She sighed, part of her knew that it was what fallenstar wanted and no matter how much she tried to reason with him he was set on tending to thunderclan's needs when riverclan needed him more. They need him to be a leader for them and help them in licking their wounds. We can't fight everyone else's battles. rows flower let out a sigh and flicked her ear "There's an amount of arrogance that causes him to not back down, I can appreciate where he comes through on that, though he is also defending the defenceless. Even if they could have gotton themselves out of it by simply apologizing"

[BEAR.]

@Celestial

"Ah.." Majesty had been a piece of work. "She was a kittypet who got kicked to the curb when she got pregnant, and afterwards.." To put it simply, she changed. "Became bitter and cruel, cold. Killed two of our kits and threatened to kill the last if he didn't make something of himself. They weren't close to being weaned, I didn't know what to do." The smallest of shrugs. "I didn't have anyone I could bring a newborn to." Trying to carry him across the forest would have resulted in his death for sure.

This was Fallenstar they were talking about. The tom didn't seem capable of staying out of anything. "With any luck we will," he said. "It feels like Grousestar is the only one with sense right now, you know? All this fighting is just .. unnecessary." A drain on their strength and resources during the worst season.

Personally, he never thought of ThunderClan as being defenseless. If they were, they wouldn't have survived as a functioning Clan for so long. "Do you think ThunderClan would have been driven out had we not intervened?" he asked. "I know WindClan and ShadowClan were being vengeful, but I didn't think ThunderClan would be completely powerless against them. It felt more like they wanted to teach them a lesson for stepping out of bounds so much."

Firehawk completely understood Snowstar's actions with the thefts though. If RiverClan had been in a similar situation, he would have likely done the same to ensure the survival of his Clan. RiverClan always came first.

[Brilliance]

For the following moons, Tigerbreeze had caught himself in quite...a pickle. As that was best to describe it using lack of better words. To say the least, he was confused with where he stood. Each relationship he cornered himself into, it only got worse on his end. He was happy, no doubt, to have Desertpelt in his life. She was his best friend, after all! He proclaimed that he was in love with her. In his mind, he knew it was wrong. It was deadly to love a she cat borne into another clan. Especially, considering the recent fight with opposing clan. Tigerbreeze honestly didn’t know where he stood in Desertpelt’s heart. One moment, he was for sure. So confident that Desertpelt was ready to strip everything she knew and come to join Thunderclan. Where he imagined, they lived a tranquil, happy life with less burdens and worries. However, that was selfish on his end, as he must knew she had family that she didn’t want to stray too far from. So, Tigerbreeze tried to lounge in the ideal of finding the perfect Thunderclan she cat that could top his affection for the Shadowclan warrior. Being Tigerbreeze, the ever-so-smooth flirt, his attention was a fleeting thing, making him appear quite ignorant when he held pretty eye candy nuzzingly against him.
It...wasn’t enough.
Tigerbreeze was a self-efficient tom. As he believed and knew all too well, he was athletically fit, the charmer, the goofy fellow - every molly’s dream! So, why was it - for the life he couldn’t understand - so hard to keep himself planted into the heart of one. Possibly, he was a bit too picky. Or, he was waiting for Desertpelt to see how much happiness he could get out of her, and how much he could give her. He’s always been quite taken with her anyway, but recently, the Bengal tom had been feeling discouraged in himself. Considering to be deficient in the emotion he refuses to address, Tigerbreeze unshamelessly flirted until his heart was content. And, boy, did he ever! Although, most times it wasn’t a positive experience, and other times, he’s shown to be quite full of himself...it was never enough. Perhaps, he indulged into a greedy trait that was ever hard to appease him. What Tigerbreeze didn’t notice was that everyday he’d come to the border of Riverclan, peering across the river to see if he could spot a nearby familiar pelt. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Tigerbreeze didn’t know much of anything about Wildfire, but he knew that if anyone asked of her character, he could simply talk an entire book about her. Not knowing much information about her - such as her preferred prey, or the position she liked to relax in, or even her favorite activities...Tigerbreeze liked her. She definitely wasn’t a bad looker other...at all. The most amazing thing he saw in their friendship was the fact that he could be...himself.

@Ryder

[Captain]

Originally Posted by Brilliance

For the following moons, Tigerbreeze had caught himself in quite...a pickle. As that was best to describe it using lack of better words. To say the least, he was confused with where he stood. Each relationship he cornered himself into, it only got worse on his end. He was happy, no doubt, to have Desertpelt in his life. She was his best friend, after all! He proclaimed that he was in love with her. In his mind, he knew it was wrong. It was deadly to love a she cat borne into another clan. Especially, considering the recent fight with opposing clan. Tigerbreeze honestly didn’t know where he stood in Desertpelt’s heart. One moment, he was for sure. So confident that Desertpelt was ready to strip everything she knew and come to join Thunderclan. Where he imagined, they lived a tranquil, happy life with less burdens and worries. However, that was selfish on his end, as he must knew she had family that she didn’t want to stray too far from. So, Tigerbreeze tried to lounge in the ideal of finding the perfect Thunderclan she cat that could top his affection for the Shadowclan warrior. Being Tigerbreeze, the ever-so-smooth flirt, his attention was a fleeting thing, making him appear quite ignorant when he held pretty eye candy nuzzingly against him.
It...wasn’t enough.
Tigerbreeze was a self-efficient tom. As he believed and knew all too well, he was athletically fit, the charmer, the goofy fellow - every molly’s dream! So, why was it - for the life he couldn’t understand - so hard to keep himself planted into the heart of one. Possibly, he was a bit too picky. Or, he was waiting for Desertpelt to see how much happiness he could get out of her, and how much he could give her. He’s always been quite taken with her anyway, but recently, the Bengal tom had been feeling discouraged in himself. Considering to be deficient in the emotion he refuses to address, Tigerbreeze unshamelessly flirted until his heart was content. And, boy, did he ever! Although, most times it wasn’t a positive experience, and other times, he’s shown to be quite full of himself...it was never enough. Perhaps, he indulged into a greedy trait that was ever hard to appease him. What Tigerbreeze didn’t notice was that everyday he’d come to the border of Riverclan, peering across the river to see if he could spot a nearby familiar pelt. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Tigerbreeze didn’t know much of anything about Wildfire, but he knew that if anyone asked of her character, he could simply talk an entire book about her. Not knowing much information about her - such as her preferred prey, or the position she liked to relax in, or even her favorite activities...Tigerbreeze liked her. She definitely wasn’t a bad looker other...at all. The most amazing thing he saw in their friendship was the fact that he could be...himself.

@Ryder

Wildfire hadn’t spoken with Tigerbreeze in what seemed like moons, but that wasn’t her fault, of course. She had patrolled the Thunderclan constantly on her own in hopes of seeing him again and he was never there anymore, like he had been that one time. It’s not like she missed him though or anything in the end. That bengal tomcat was super annoying and it was just a thorn in her side to have him around when she was trying to sneak the border for exploring purposes. The orange-furred female walked through the forest with her tail waving back and forth behind her as she headed along, thinking and talking to herself like some scatter-brained fool. Why did she even have that stupid Thunderclanner on the center of her mind anyways? He was nothing special to her and he already had this special love interest anyways. Wildfire saw it in his eyes when they first met - the look of love. It wasn’t a hard thing to see in another cat’s emotions for the young warrior to realize. “Stupid, fox-hearted mousebrain..” She grumbled under her breath, kicking aside a stray acorn with her paw as she gave a shake of her head. She had better things to do with her life than care about her so-called friendship with that male. A small voice in the back of her head asked the shecat what exactly she meant by that and that just frustrated her more. She wanted an apprentice to pass time with, but no, she was apparently not old enough to train one yet, as her clanmates explained to her earlier this moon. It made her have so much free time and finding herself coming to this stupid border to see if any trespassers had come across, of course. It wasn’t to see if he was there or anything. No, that would be foolish of her and she had more pride than that. She smirked at that and slipped through some bushes, her fiery fur brushing along the leaves as the warrior came up to the borderline, divided by a small river that quietly trickled through the forest without a care in the world. Her amber-hued eyes shone as she looked across the river as beams of sunlight shone through the tree leaves above her, covering the forest floor and making her pelt shimmer with the warm light. With Newleaf now here, it was much more peaceful to walk around these parts. All the flowers and fresh prey that came with this season was amazing and she had to admit that this was her favorite time. Her thoughts came to a halt though as Wildfire’s eyes landed on an all too familiar figure on the other side of the border - Tigerbreeze himself. A small moment of hesitation went through her to make the female wonder what she should do. She decided to just be friendly and not start anything. “It’s certainly been awhile,” She greeted the male across the way as her ears twitched in silence, “How are things in Thunderclan - if I may ask?”