WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[fresh]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Cloudedpaw flattened his ears at her question. Well, indirect question was a better way to describe it. He felt she had said the words as if she didn’t even know what they meant. What do cats do with their brains these days? Honestly sometimes I think I’m the only intelligent one in the forest.. mice can be smarter than some of these cats sometimes. He simply continued to watch her as she talked to him. Cloudedpaw looked at her the way he would look at structures he built. Trying to pry inside to see what was wrong with it, and how he could fix it. Everything was logical for the light-colored tomcat. His emotions, any emotions, were a foreign concept, something beyond the apprentice’s reach.
“I only flinched because..” Here he hesitated. What should he tell her? He knew that telling her straight up “he didn’t like social interaction” would most likely hurt her. He’d had experiences with it in the past. But he wasn’t going to lie either. Lying was a sign of poor intellect. “Because I’m not the best when.... it comes to... interacting with... things other than..... things like... rocks.” Cloudedpaw struggled to get the words out, to form them together. Usually he would be able to have a sentence out of his maw in a few seconds, but with another cat around, his brain was whirring, thinking, trying to understand someone. Something his brain couldn’t seem to handle.

No response at her first remark made the cat frown inwardly, her tail flicking absentmindedly as she sat down. Fleetpaw didn't know what he'd say in response to her final question, so what he did say caught her off guard. He only knew how to interact with rocks? As absurd as it was, it seemed as though he was being honest, which, despite her typical snarky attitude, made her feel a little bad for the tomcat. She wouldn't mention that it was entirely laughable and stupid. Just this once, she wouldn't break someone's heart.
"Hmm," she said, a puzzled look crossing her features for s few moments. Despite trying not to hurt the feline's feelings, she did actually find it a little interesting. "You... You interact with inanimate objects, not cats?" There it was. She just couldn't resist prying a little more. Fleetpaw could never put up a facade for long, unless she truly wanted to. Maybe the apprentice was finally maturing a little bit if she was showing a little compassion. Or, she tried to show some compassion, at least.

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by RedHead

@Cosmo

Lionsoar sat in the clearing, debating whether she should try and do one more thing before the sun went down, or just call it a day. She still had some energy left in her, and she wanted to put that energy to use. The feline always went to bed tired, most days, bone-tired. But right now, she had no idea how to spend the last few minutes of energy she could burn. It was too late to start hunting, and the last border patrol had just got sent out. Maybe I should socialize... That always took plenty of her energy, especially if she started talking to a cat who was having some problems. Or talking to a cat that didn’t like her. That always took loads of energy. Maybe just a simple, small conversation. If she got too tired, she knew she’d start acting like a huge mouse-brain, so she wanted something short and sweet. Just a “Hey, how was your day?” Kind of thing.

Weaselshade padded out of the nursery, he had just brought a mouse to his kits, even though he knew that they could easily go select food for themselves, it made him feel better about the fact that he was not always around them, busy with his warrior duties. He was just about to turn in for the night when he spotted Lionsoar, he smiled at seeing one of his best friends and padded up to her side. "Lionsoar," He purred. The tom was having a rather good day and he knew that seeing one of his best friends was always a good way to end your day. Weaselshade had often ended his days filled with stress and he didn't know why, this was certainly a good way to make this better. He realized with a pang he had neglected seeing the molly for a while, he hoped she was okay with that.

[Mauve]

@mompaws
(Figured I'd post this now just to have it out there; you're welcome to respond when you can! ^^)

It felt like twice as many moons had passed for Jaybreeze than normal, but the day had finally come. He was a warrior now; a WindClan warrior. Pride swelled in his chest, and his yellow gaze beamed with a mixture of emotions. Happiness, relief, exhaustion, sadness... His muscles ached from his assessment the night before, but it felt worth it to finally not be a 'paw anymore. Jaybreeze. He was sure Blazingstar had picked it out to make note of his half-Clan heritage, and how he'd fought hard to be apart of WindClan despite his ThunderClan heritage. It made the young tom smile, and he glanced around for his fellow companion, a she-cat who had been named alongside him. One of his only friends in WindClan, and someone who kept him grounded in times of great dispair, or when he was missing ThunderClan and she was the only feline who would understand.

After a couple moments of searching, Jaybreeze spotted her ebony and ginger pelt a few tail-lengths away. "Looks like we're both warriors at the same time, Larkhowl," he purred as he came up behind her, batting at her ear in a friendly manner. He came to sit in front of her, curling his thin tail across his paws. He was seated straight and head lifted a bit high, as if he wanted to show every cat in the Clan he was now a warrior instead of an apprentice. "Are you excited?" he asked her, ears flicking in anticipation for her answer. There was nothing the gray furred tom wanted to do more than stretch his legs across the moorland and race alongside his friend, but he knew they would be expected to hold their vigil tonight - something that would be made hard with Larkhowl sitting right beside him.

[Leucos]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Splitkit said nothing to the tom as he talked about his own time as a kit. Grown cats did this sometimes, he noticed. They'd talk about their own kithood. They'd talk about how times had been hard for them once and how they had gotten better. He didn't understand why they did this. He hadn't asked to know about their lives. And what did they have to gain from sharing this information. The warrior went on and looked at a group of apprentices playing nearby. Splitkit had noted them earlier. They were noisy. It annoyed him. "Don't want to," he replied simply. He didn't see the point of playing. All it did was put him in situations where he had to interact with other cats. This never seemed to go right. When other cats played together, they sometimes did so for hours and hours, their pace rapid and rushed. When he tried to play, the pace slowed, then stopped and the other cats wandered off. They didn't play right with him. The white tom was still there, still looking at him. He stared back. "Do you want something?" he asked. That seemed to be how this worked. Cats went up to other cats when they wanted something, then once they got it, they left. He didn't have anything to give though. Not to anyone.

The white tom flicked his ears his scowl almost vanishing being replaced with a somewhat surprised look but it quickly returned to its rightful home on his face. Besides what was wrong with him wanting to talk to a kit? Sure he may not talk much. But some days he will actually want to talk to someone . a kit not wanting to play?.....that's indeed odd....normally most little rascals like to. Eh . he didn't mind talking to kits they still had to grow and he wondered what this one will grow into. A whiny and weak cat? Or a strong and brave one? He hoped for the second . He valued strong cats . Bravery was something he looked in for a warrior as well. His tail twitched and he snorted " tis it wrong to want to talk to someone ? I'm not a murder or kitnapper for starclans sake. Besides I know better then to harm a youngster ! " he snapped . There it was , the old grassleg they knew . The grumpy white furball. He felt anger rise in him again but did his best to put a paw on it and hold it down. He sighed and shook his head " so , what do you think ? About the clan so far? " he asked as he slowly started to lay down . Once he did he wrapped his tail around his hind leg " it will be a pawful to handle once you grow. " he added his gaze at the young tom softening .

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Checkmate

The white tom flicked his ears his scowl almost vanishing being replaced with a somewhat surprised look but it quickly returned to its rightful home on his face. Besides what was wrong with him wanting to talk to a kit? Sure he may not talk much. But some days he will actually want to talk to someone . a kit not wanting to play?.....that's indeed odd....normally most little rascals like to. Eh . he didn't mind talking to kits they still had to grow and he wondered what this one will grow into. A whiny and weak cat? Or a strong and brave one? He hoped for the second . He valued strong cats . Bravery was something he looked in for a warrior as well. His tail twitched and he snorted " tis it wrong to want to talk to someone ? I'm not a murder or kitnapper for starclans sake. Besides I know better then to harm a youngster ! " he snapped . There it was , the old grassleg they knew . The grumpy white furball. He felt anger rise in him again but did his best to put a paw on it and hold it down. He sighed and shook his head " so , what do you think ? About the clan so far? " he asked as he slowly started to lay down . Once he did he wrapped his tail around his hind leg " it will be a pawful to handle once you grow. " he added his gaze at the young tom softening .

(Sarcasm is not his strong suit)

Spiltkit stared back at the tom, narrowing his eyes just the tiniest bit as he wondered about what the cat had said. Why would a cat specifically say he was not a killer or a kidnapper. It seemed like most cats just assumed that. Most cats got close to their clanmates and didn't tense or act like they worried their clanmates might suddenly turn on them and claw them to pieces. Should he be? He thought about this. About what it would like to be murdered by another cat. he supposed he wouldn't like that. It would probably hurt. But all in all, he supposed that was all he didn't like.

What did he think of the clan? Splitkit looked down at his paws, thinking this over carefully, slowly the way he did most things. "Fine," he said at last. "Noisy sometimes. I don't like that. It's better at night. They all go to sleep then." The kit spoke softly in short, punctuated sentences. And he didn't look at the white warrior to see in the cat agreed with what he said. He didn't really care of the older tom did or not.

[Lilac]

Originally Posted by Arié

Hawkpaw tipped his head, already exhausted by the eager cat's movement. "Yeah, you can sit here," he said gruffly, moving his own rabbit out of the way. "I'm Hawkpaw if your fluffy brain haven't picked that up yet." He murmured, not caring if he was being rude or not. He just wasn't in the mood for those overly energetic cats that likely would drag him everywhere. He wanted his sleep and the other's could go do whatever they wanted. He sighed, feeling like he should start up conversation and nodded towards the rabbit, - everyone loves food right? - and said, "Caught that yourself? Seems like a good catch."

(Sorry this took me so long to respond, I’ve been busy the past few days!)

Applepaw wasn’t fazed by his comment, she didn’t even seem to notice his slight rudeness. She plopped down next to him in the tall grass. “Hawkpaw’s a cool name. But how would have I picked that up? This is our first time talking to each other silly. It’s our first impression of the each other. And first impressions are very important.,” She said sweetly. She loved meeting new cats, so she always goes a little overboard in friendliness the first time she meets someone. Like she said first impressions were important to her. She wouldn’t want to seem as anything but her friendly energetic self.

He was excited when he talked about the rabbit. She was flattered that he thought she could catch something this nice. But it didn’t take much to flatter or impress her, she was simple. She had low standards. “I wish I had caught this I’d be so proud. But I can’t claim it as my own. I’m not very good at hunting yet. But what about you? Did you catch that? It looks great.,” She said. Even though she was a newer apprentice, her hunting skills were not that good. She couldn’t seem to stay quiet long enough to catch something. She just couldn’t contain her excitement, and she was impatient. She could scare all the prey in the area with no effort.

[Mauve]

@CactusHeart
(Posting the starter for Appledusk and Birchpelt! ^^)

Appledusk had practically sprinted away from camp after bumping into Birchpelt and making the decision to leave her sunny spot in camp in favor of strolling the territory with him. He seemed like a nice enough warrior, and she was happy to branch out and make friends. Today was the perfect day for it too; a warm breeze was dancing across the grass and the sun shone high in the sky, with only a few clouds dotting its path. Bird chirped as they swooped in and out of the trees ahead, though the enough away that Appledusk didn't consider chasing after them. For now, she just pranced around the hilltop she now resided upon.

"It feels so... freeing up here!" the young molly called out, tilting her head back as she lifted her tail, letting out a joyful cry as she jumped up into the air. The day felt splendid, despite the rising tensions between all of the Clans - though, Appledusk rarely paid attention to that. The calico she-cat turned around, smiling over at her companion, her eyes dancing with delight. "What should we do? We can do anything! The whole world is at our paws!" Her voice carried through the empty air between her and Birchpelt as her tail waved through the air, a smile gracing her soft features. Although she appeared of warrior age, it became apparent when she talked or acted in any way that Appledusk was still a kit at heart. How she had managed to focus and receive her warrior name was even beyond her at times, though she tended to never dwell on the subject.

[CactusHeart]

Originally Posted by Mauve

@CactusHeart
(Posting the starter for Appledusk and Birchpelt! ^^)

Appledusk had practically sprinted away from camp after bumping into Birchpelt and making the decision to leave her sunny spot in camp in favor of strolling the territory with him. He seemed like a nice enough warrior, and she was happy to branch out and make friends. Today was the perfect day for it too; a warm breeze was dancing across the grass and the sun shone high in the sky, with only a few clouds dotting its path. Bird chirped as they swooped in and out of the trees ahead, though the enough away that Appledusk didn't consider chasing after them. For now, she just pranced around the hilltop she now resided upon.

"It feels so... freeing up here!" the young molly called out, tilting her head back as she lifted her tail, letting out a joyful cry as she jumped up into the air. The day felt splendid, despite the rising tensions between all of the Clans - though, Appledusk rarely paid attention to that. The calico she-cat turned around, smiling over at her companion, her eyes dancing with delight. "What should we do? We can do anything! The whole world is at our paws!" Her voice carried through the empty air between her and Birchpelt as her tail waved through the air, a smile gracing her soft features. Although she appeared of warrior age, it became apparent when she talked or acted in any way that Appledusk was still a kit at heart. How she had managed to focus and receive her warrior name was even beyond her at times, though she tended to never dwell on the subject.

BirchPelt giggled as he listened to AppleDusk. He had worked his butt off trying to get Apple to come, and was heavily rewarded. “I dunno!” He grinned, “Whatever you want!” He ran up to AppleDusk, and licked the side of her face affectionately.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air and purred, looking at everything that moved. He stood close to AppleDusk before nuzzling her and rubbing off playfully. He looked back to see if she was in the mood to play.

[Mauve]

Originally Posted by CactusHeart

BirchPelt giggled as he listened to AppleDusk. He had worked his butt off trying to get Apple to come, and was heavily rewarded. “I dunno!” He grinned, “Whatever you want!” He ran up to AppleDusk, and licked the side of her face affectionately.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air and purred, looking at everything that moved. He stood close to AppleDusk before nuzzling her and rubbing off playfully. He looked back to see if she was in the mood to play.

With the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and the intense happiness that circled her heart, Appledusk barely gave any recognition to Birchpelts signs of affection. Instead her eyes lit up as she watched him - though more so in excitement than returned affection. She watched his movements, carefully tracking them. So many thoughts and ideas flooded her head that Appledusk had a hard time organizing them. She wanted to play, and at the same time also hunt for the Clan. But the overwhelming need to stretch her legs overcame her and she crouched down, waving her tail in the air. "That could be a lot of things," she replied happily, her calico tail waving behind her in a playful manner. A glitter of humor danced in her blue eyes, causing them to twinkle underneath the sun's rays as she watched Birchpelt.

[CactusHeart]

Originally Posted by Mauve

With the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and the intense happiness that circled her heart, Appledusk barely gave any recognition to Birchpelts signs of affection. Instead her eyes lit up as she watched him - though more so in excitement than returned affection. She watched his movements, carefully tracking them. So many thoughts and ideas flooded her head that Appledusk had a hard time organizing them. She wanted to play, and at the same time also hunt for the Clan. But the overwhelming need to stretch her legs overcame her and she crouched down, waving her tail in the air. "That could be a lot of things," she replied happily, her calico tail waving behind her in a playful manner. A glitter of humor danced in her blue eyes, causing them to twinkle underneath the sun's rays as she watched Birchpelt.

BirchPelt rolled his eyes playfully. He leaped, knocking over AppleDusk. He looked into her eyes, and batted her face affectionately. “Like what?...” He jumped off and bounded a few feet away. He looked back, playfulness sparkling in his eyes. He purred softly and ran around her.