WarriorCats (Forest Home)

[Ayashe]

Scotland felt excitement tingling in her paws at his genuine smile, and she hurried to keep up and stay by his side. She didn't want to get lost on the way there. When he explained to her about gaining a warrior name and abruptly cuts off, she stifle a purr but can't keep the amusement out of her voice.
"Yarrows? Not my favorite flower, but gorgeous all the same, don't you think?" She flashes him a grin and then focuses back on the forest, feeling like she's being swallowed by the greenery. It's a safe feeling, though, and the trees are like looming walls, built by nature to protect them.
"So you'd be teaching me? Don't you have other duties, though?" She frowns at the thought of being a burden to him.

[Alexander]

The blonde tom kept his head high, mentally pawing himself in the face. "They are quite beautiful.." Kind of like you. He thought all the same, of course. He cleared his throat. "Well, I wake up earlier than most to help catch prey, and I'd be glad to teach you that. Sometimes we do border patrols, and I can always bring you with me to help you get to know our territory better. Then there's fighting techniques. I'm kind of already a mentor, but Dawnpaw is pretty new like how you will be, so it won't be much different." He smiles innocently. "We're almost there. I imagine most will be sleeping by now, but maybe Firestar will be up." He forgot to mention who exactly Firestar may be.

Oh great, not the annoying teenager of a cat. Betel looked away and rolled his eyes.
"Betel's going scouting." Snorn told Betelgeuse, leaving him there to scratch the log even harder.
"And you're the one telling me this because..?"
"Well, he told me to pass on the message, and he left before I could say anything." The teenage tom added.
"You're pathetic." Betel snorted, shaking his head.
"What?! I'm always the pathetic one in this group! Why me?" The teenager whined.
"You have everyone do things like that to you. You're merely a tool. It makes me think what you said about your life is a lie." The leader snickered.
"It was not a lie! I.. I'm no failure!" The teenager, with low self-esteem and highly emotional, ran off.
"Go get some food while you're at it! Fox dung.." The leader snorted again, continuing his scratching.

[StarWolf]

Snakeskin slowed his purposeful run when he arrived at the snakes' rocky homes, relaxing slightly- only to stiffen a moment later a the scent of a cat. Growling lowly, he searched the area before checking various trees until he saw a bundle of creamy fur in a low hanging tree branch, and jumped up.
"Who the heck are you-" Snake's threatening words trailed off when the other raised its head, and he saw a face he hadn't expected to see. Shock slightly tainted his heart before hardening again when he saw the other's eyes nearly pop out of shock.
For a fleeting moment, he thought of saying 'surprise'.
"Y-y-y-ou... your alive?" The she-cat's voice was extremely highpitched as she jumped up and fluffed out her fur, her eyes wide as she stared at her father's face. He had gained many more scars- a long slash over his right eye, a few smaller scratches across his nose...
But his eyes were as green and uncaring as the last time she had seen him.
"I can say the same for you... thought it is no surprise to me, seeing as you and I share blood." The tom muttered, looking his daughter up and down. She had lost the fuzzy kit-fur, and now she looked more lithe- shorthaired like himself, but the graceful feline build of an adult she-cat. She had grown up.
"We might share blood... but I still hate you." The she-cat's voice grew raspy, and her eyes stung. Why had he turned up now, of all times? Why at the same moment that she was losing her last family member?
"You didn't hate me before, Kin." The tom drawled out her name, referring back to her kithood.
"I didn't hate what you pretended to be- but you were nothing but a coward, just like your own father. Isn't that right, Snake? Chip off the old block?" She sneered, golden eyes flashing dangerously and her father responded with raised hackles, ready to beat her back into submission before once again masking his emotions with a practiced poker-face.
"My father couldn't handle the forest; he was never cut out to be what his ancestors had been."
"Like you're any different... all you ever did was pretend. I never knew how cruel you were, not until Nik told me what you did to him and Yin."
"And what did your darling little brother tell you?"
"You always put Yin down, just because he was weaker. And then you targeted Nik for looking up to him. You never understood what they had between them... and then you went and killed our little brother. You were our father! Why didn't you at least try-"
"You haven't changed one bit, have you?" He snarled, glaring at his daughter with fiery green eyes. "I did my job with caring for you three. You were old enough by then to take care of yourselves; it wasn't my fault that Yin was too weak to live. At least he didn't care about dying."
"He never cared about himself because he believed you were right- that all he would ever be was a puppet for us to play with and take our pain for us." The she-cat spat, pushing her nose into her father's face.
"He begged me to kill him, Kin. He begged me so he could 'Watch over Nik and Kin'. He was too weak to even die right."
The pale colored she-cat screeched and was about to leap onto her father, when a blur of orange flew into her, knocking her off her post and into the dirt, leaving her gasping for the breathe that had been knocked from her lungs.
"Snake, why aren't you obeying our le-"
The nasally voice was cut off and his own eyes widened as a dark tabby blur flew at him, claws digging painfully into his throat.
"How much?" Snakeskin's normally silky and controlled voice was now raspy and murderous. "How much did you hear, Scorn?!" The orange tom pinned under him gurgled for air, frantically pushing agaisnt the claws that were threatening to rip open his windpipe until Snakeskin loosened his grip just enough for the other to speak.
"R-r-right w-when s-she said that y-you killed your own kit..." The younger stammered, staring fearfully into the livid green eyes of the tabby.
"If you repeat any of what you heard, anything at all, I will kill you in the slowest way possible." The tabby spat each word into his face, the orange cat flinching at each before nodding quickly. Snakeskin unpinned the eavesdropper, staring him down as the other dashed out of the clearing, emitting a distinct fear-scent the whole way. After a few moments, he turned his gaze back to his would-be daughter.
"I was being truthful when I said that the names Nik, Yin, and Kin meant nothing to me." He growled, glaring at his stricken daughter before leaving her alone in the snake-scented clearing.

[Alexander]

Betelgeuse boredly picked at the log, gently gnawing on a nice chunk of wood. He felt better, in a way, and thus decided to maybe walk around the camp a little, just to kind of see how his body was doing considering his injuries. After fighting with the Windclan leader, he'd have plenty of manly scars on him, thanks to his worst enemy. For a grumpy cat, he sure had some ego to go about him. He began to pace around the camp, noticing a little pain in his chest from moving around so much, but it was manageable. He noticed the teenage of the group pacing right by the camp, not making any eye contact whatsoever. What's up with him? Has he seen a ghost? The tom smirked, shaking his head once more at the young tom.

Tornear frowns as Ravenfeather goes straight to bed. He sighs, moving back to his nest and trying to find a way to convince himself to sleep a few more hours.

[Ayashe]

----------TIME SKIP: Early morning.------------

If you were in the middle of something, don't worry about it. c: Just continue whatever it was and ignore this.

Scotland and Thunderstrike arrive at the camp just as day breaks, and though she's tired, she can feel excitement coursing through her veins with every beat of her heart. She takes in all the sense with a look of awe. So many cats! Where were they all? Something bright orange catches her eye and she's reminded of her fireplace at home. Scotland realises that it isn't fire at all, though, but an orange tabby. Without noticing, she presses close to Thunderstrike and whispers, "Who's he?"

Ravenfeather yawns and stretches, then rolls over. He freezes, his mind scrambleing to find out why his face is in the soft fur of Cedarleaf's neck, and he vaguely remembers laying down last night with the other tom in his nest. Gulping, he slowly inches away and sits up, praying the brown tom doesn't wake. Then he silently picks his way out of the den and into the fresh morning air. Bowing in yet another stretch, he inhales and refreshes his lungs with the dew scented oxygen, then gives his ruffled fur a few quick licks. As he's doing so, two figures pad into camp. He looks up and frowns, because he recognizes Thunderstrike, but...
Getting to his paws, the black and white tom strides over to the two, eyes narrowed. "Who is she?"

[Alexander]

"That would be Firestar, our leader." He whispers back, smiling. The she-cat pressing against him makes him want to melt over. Noticing Ravenfeather in view and noticing the two made Thunderstrike instantly tense up, acting like he never meant to melt down on the ground in the first place. "Hey Ravenfeather!" He smiled, passing off the weird atmosphere like it was nothing. "This is Scotland, a new friend I have made." He paused, his smile lowering a little, eyes quite stern at Ravenfeather, somewhat daring him to attempt anything rude to her. "Let's go talk to Firestar." He meowed to Scotland, gently brushing against her in a friendly way before getting up and padding off to his leader.

Tornear stretched and walked out of the elder's den, eyes half open from the light. He didn't sleep much at all last night. He somewhat stared at Ravenfeather, wondering who the she-cat was and why Ravenfeather looked a little upset.

[StarWolf]

Springsand uncurled her now soiled body, wincing at the harsh cramps and stiff joints from sleeping in wet ferns.
Wait... why am I sleeping in wet ferns? She thought to herself, blinking her still-tired eyes, before the memories of her and her father's reunion the day prior.
"... the names Nik, Yin, and Kin meant nothing to me." Snake's cold words echoed throughout her muddled brain, and she felt her eyes stinging. No, fox-dung! Don't get emotional over scum like him... he doesn't deserve your care! She mentally scolded herself while pressing her forehead into the damp earth, calming herself as the morning's mist clung to her fur. All she remembered after her encounter with Snake was running for a while before arriving at the exact same spot that she and her brother had first met Ravenfeather, and she blinked.
How long has it been since we met him? It couldn't have been more than a day, and yet... it feels like ages now. When she had sat on the bank yesterday night, she had simply reminisced in older and happier memories, when she and her brothers had been kits and were so innocent...
It almost made her want to kill her father.
The she-cat gave a tired sigh before standing up and flinching as her aching muscles protested, wondering if she should even bother with walking back to camp in this state.

Cedarleaf groaned as he woke, pawing out for his source of warmth... and eyes shot open in confusion when he found himself pawing at air while lying on his back. He sat up quickly, remembering his dreams...
That dark tabby had visited him again, and this time had trained him in more advanced battle moves. Oddly, even though it had all been a dream, he could feel the bruises the other cat had left on him and frowned. How odd.
But then, he had more pressing matters. He was in a nest, and it wasn't his- it was his mentor's. He vaugely remembered his arguement with his sister and when he looked to his side, he saw her nest was also empty, and upon placing a hesitant paw on it he could feel the chill of unused moss. She hasn't been here since last night at the most... Worry ran through him, replacing any embarrasment at having taken his mentor's own nest before heading out of the warrior's den.
He froze in his tracks upon reaching the camp's clearing- his mentor was looking a bit disgruntled and glaring a stranger who was walking inside the camp- a whiteish colored she-cat with a few spots dotting her back. Once again, Cedarleaf frowned, his normal happy waking mood forgotten with the appearance of an unfamiliar cat.

(I don't see purpose in typing out Snakeskin's part, since he's just chilling with his homies at Snake Rocks... again.)

[Ayashe]

Scotland shrinks away from yet another strange cat. This one does not seem to like her. She wonders what she has ever done to tick off the black and white tom, but Thunderstrike seems to have it under control, so she doesn't say anything. Without a word, Scotland follows Thunderstrike as the head for Firestar.

Ravenfeather gives an exasperated snort and glares at the two as they go. With an annoyed flick of his tail, he turns and pads towards Tornear, noticing the elder's gaze on him. "What do you think of that? Some softpaw joining the clan..."

Firestar stops as he notices the two. He gives a small dip of his head towards Thunderstrike, then looks questioningly at the she-cat. By the black and white striped collar on her neck, he can tell she is a kittypet. "What brings you so far out? Most don't venture from their yards." Scotland blinks in surprise, not realizing her collar was what set her apart. "I-I um...Thunderstrike here told me a little bit about your uh, clan. So I wanted to see it all for myself." She tried to look confident, but his powerful green gaze made it hard to look him in the eyes.
"Are you saying you wish to join ThunderClan?" he asks, sitting down in front of the two. "It is no easy life, but there's nothing more honorable than hunting food for your clan and defending the kits and elders. It's not always like this, however. Prey gets scarce in colder moons, and sickness can spread. But if you are willing to try and live as a clan cat, we will have you."
Scotland looks at the ground and ponders this. As if reading her thoughts, Firestar adds, "Don't worry about not knowing how to fight or hunt, we will take care of that." He glances at Thunderstrike.
The pale she-cat gulps, but when she looks back up at the fiery-pelted leader, there's a confident light in her eyes. "I'll join."

-After the warrior ceremony....-

The newly named Moondust pads proudly over to Thunderstrike, purring loudly. "Moondust! What do you think?"

[Alexander]

Betelgeuse woke from his nest, seeing as a few others were still asleep at the time. Two new nests were replaced from the occupied ones of the tree of which Betel obviously disliked. The tom wandered into the woods, the every day twoleg screeches and sounds of many-toothed things in the morning were always an annoyance. After the noise had disappeared, the dark tom began to hunt for himself today, as the others ate all the kill they stole yesterday from Thunderclan. He was able to find a not-so-plump vole, which always depressed him in a way. Living off of this kind of stuff wasn't the best, but it was much better than crows or rats. He kept tracking it down in a rather lazy way, still tired and quite a bit weak from his injuries.

Thunderstrike keeps his gaze at Firestar, more so when his gaze reaches upon his. He nods slightly, letting him know that he would proudly take care of her. (After Ceremony) The blonde tom purrs. "What a beautiful name.." He admits, though kept his friendly smile, even though he felt a little "giddy" inside. "I should get Dawnpaw, I usually let her decide what she wants to learn for the day. Maybe the two of you will get alone!" The tom searches for Dawnpaw, calling her name softly to see if she'll pop out from somewhere.

The elder gazed at Ravenfeather, surprised he'd go up to him like this. "If I knew you a little better, Ravenfeather, I'd say you're... jealous." The elder laughed. The elder's face suddenly became serious, noticing the collar on her neck. "Oh..." He said gently, his mouth now tightly shut. Not another one.. The elder sighed, there was something else he wanted to talk about. "Ravenfeather.." He spoke softly to him, almost fatherly like in a way.

[Ayashe]

Ravenfeather blinks at the elder and huffs with gives a shake of his head. "Never." Then he glances at the two, eyes narrowed. He sighs and sits down, studying his white paws. His ears twitch at the sudden change of tone from Tornear, and he looks up questioningly.

--

Moondust smiles and then nods. She was eager to meet Dawnpaw, and it wasn't but a moment before a light brown tabby trots up to her mentor. The small cat gives Moondust a friendly dip of the head, then all formality is lost and she's bouncing around like a kit again. "Welcome to ThunderClan, Moondust! But...what's that on your neck?" She reaches up to touch the silver thing dangling from the striped collar and tilts her head. Moondust looks down, as if forgetting she had been wearing it. "Oh, it's a collar."
"A what?" Dawnpaw asks.
"A collar. It has my name and stuff on it so everyone knows who I belong..." Moondust trails off, realizing how stupid that all must sound. She shakes her head. "Never mind. I-I think I should actually get it off. Could you help me?"
Dawnpaw nods and grasps the odd thing between her teeth, and Moondust steps back so it can slip off. The apprentice drops it on the ground when it comes off and frowns. "I thought it kind of looked pretty."

[Alexander]

Tornear's voice suddenly became a little older. "We need to talk. I--" The elder's eyes nearly averted in guilt, but he kept his old self strong. "I need to tell you something. Come in here." Tornear slid into the empty elder's den, hoping the younger tom would follow. The elder's face grew to a mix of serious and somewhat guilt, slightly nervous of what he'll say next, however more so as to what Ravenfeather will react with.

Thunderstrike watched as the collar was taken off of Moondust. He agreed somewhat, it did look prettier on her. The tom thought of something, and picked up the collar, flipping it onto his head. "I bet it looks prettier on me!" He grinned in a silly way as the collar began to fall, making his right ear fall sideways and the little silver-noisy-thing laying on his right eye.
"What should we learn today, Dawnpaw?" The mentor kept his silly smile.

[StarWolf]

Cedarleaf snorted in amusement at the trio playing around with a kittypet collar, before turning and watching curiously as Ravenfeather dissapeared into the elders' den. The dark brown tom glanced up at the sky, watching as the sun slowly began to crawl over the horizon. He hesitated for a few moments while scuffling his paws. What do warriors usually do? I could ask Teacher, but... he might be too busy. Nik pondered his thoughts before leaving the camp, deciding to practice battle moves and maybe get something to eat. He hadn't eaten in since yesterday morning, and he was starving by now.

Springsand leapt over a few logs, intentionally avoiding both the camp and Snake Rocks. Her mind was extremely fragile, and just he sight of her father or brother would shatter what little she held onto. She felt the need to tell someone- anyone at this point- what she going through, just to get advice on what she should do next.

((Didn't really know what to type, but... Cedar is on his way to the sandy hollow, and Spring is in the Tallpines area. Snake is still chilling with adders at Snakerocks.))

[Alexander]

Betelgeuse gazed at the little vole, it not even knowing his presence yet. The large cat swooped in at the vole's hiding spot, making the little thing freak and nearly die of shock, but adrenaline kicked in for itself as it sped past. Betel sped right after it, not letting it get away that easily. He jumped right in front of his prey, the small thing squealing in fear as it skid on its tracks and was almost able to pivot to another direction until the Vile leader caught its tail, making it flinch and gave Betel enough time to make a quick kill. As he held his prize in him mouth, he looked up, wondering where the vole had left him. Eyes blinked, wondering why he felt he should stay here for a little while longer. The trees were tall, the sound of life prominent everywhere around him. He wondered if this territory was taken. It probably was, which means he may be in Thunderclan territory. He sighed, wondering if he'll be able to provide his group a better source of food soon. Muzzle twitched as he pondered many things, laying down and taking the time to eat his still warm meal. Even though there wasn't plenty of prey like Thunderclan may have, it was still enough to last them throughout many moons. Then again, they surely don't have as many cats as Thunderclan does. His eyes averted to the floor. Kin.. he thought gently to himself. It was odd that he kept remembering her name. He's met many she-cats in his life, so why can't he forget about her? What's different about her that makes her seem... important? The leader suddenly swiped at the dead vole, frustrated with these feelings. He shook his head furiously, then lay his head back on the floor while putting his paws over his ears. The mutual sound of animals had stopped as he closed his ears with his paws, making it a little more unrelaxing for himself. He made a big sigh, wanting to just stay in that position until something interesting happens.

[Ayashe]

Ravenfeather's eyes narrow in suspicion. Usually he would have followed Tornear without hesitation, but today he seemed to be in a slightly sour mood. Tail twitching, the dark tom finally ducks into the den after the elder. Inside it's pleasantly warm, and he can't help but relax. "What is it, Tornear?" he asks, sitting down in front of the older cat. This whole thing was making him a bit nervous.

Dawnpaw gives a mrrow of laughter and reaches up to swipe the collar off Thunderstrike's head. "I think we should learn to...hunt! Yeah! Teach us the hunter's crouch!" Dawnpaw drops low to the ground, as if trying to stalk something already. She focuses on Moondust's fluffy tail and prowls forward, then bunches her muscles and leaps. Moondust yelps and dodges and Dawnpaw catches only a pawful of grass. "Nice try," Moondust purrs silkily, waving her tail tauntingly. Dawnpaw scrambles to her feet and grins at the older she-cat.

[Alexander]

The elder's gaze met his, attempting to keep himself calm. "Ravenfeather, I am your father." He said softly, almost fatherly like. A rush of memories ran through him, the times where he'd look at Ravenfeather and wish he would have done the right thing to be a better father. It was now the time to watch Ravenfeather's reaction, making the elder nearly wince, as he almost didn't want to see as long as it was a bad reaction toward him.

The blonde warrior laughed, the collar now no longer on his head. It couldn't fit anyway due to his larger head.
"Alright, it's time to hunt, then. I'll teach you the secrets needed to allow easier hunting, and hopefully see you two catch at least one prey until night falls." Eyes widened as he watched Dawnpaw and Moondust have their fun time together, in the end leaving him with a pleased smile. They were doing just fine with each other, it seems, and that was his only concern. "You're too cute, Dawnpaw." The mentor commented, resting a paw on her head before beginning his walk to the woods. He started to search for something. "Ah, there it is." The male dove head first into a pile of ferns, rubbing his back, sides, and cheeks against it. "This will help coat your scent from prey." He told the two, getting up so he could allow them to do the same.