WarriorCats (Forest Home)

[Ayashe]

Ravenfeather stares at Tornear, his face expressionless. There's no way I heard him right, no way... Thought he tells himself this once, twice, three times, he can't convince himself that he'd misunderstood the elder. Silence takes the reigns and envelops the den. Then the black cat stands, very slowly, and takes a step towards Tornear. A low growl rises up in Ravenfeather's chest, and his amber eyes are aflame.
"Is this some sort of joke? Messing with me just when I seem to have gotten my parents' deaths out of my mind?" The words are deathly quiet, but with such anger behind them, he may as well be snarling.

Dawnpaw and Moondust bound after the yellow tom, but stop suddenly when he leaps into the ferns and begins rolling around like it's a field of catmint. The two she-cats exchange a confused glance at the curious sight. When the tom explains, they both nod and follow suit, trying to stay serious and avoid the temptation of tackling each other as the roll around. They get to their paws and shake the bits of debris from their fur and look to Thunderstrike for further instructions. Meanwhile, Moondust can't help but think that this may be the most fun she's had in all of her life.

[Alexander]

The elder looked away, his face remaining emotionless. "I had to keep it away.. I made a great mistake to many's eyes, Ravenfeather, and it's only a matter of time until I'd either die with the secret or be a man and tell the truth. Look, I.. I know our family has always hated Shadowclan, and I still do, but I fell in love with one. She was the only Shadowclan cat I met that was ever sweet and loving. You came from her, Ravenfeather. A sweet, loving Shadowclan cat. I think that aside our clan differences, we were still lovers, even though she.. passed away." The old tom closed his muzzle tightly.

The blonde warrior pads to Moondust, gently catching a small debri of fern off her ear. He smiles once again, seeing the two have done a good job of coating their scent. He begins his natural crouch, letting them see how he does it. "Keep all fours bent, have your belly brush against the ground, and keep your tail low. Just not too low to brush the leaves." He said softly, restating what Tornear had told him a long, long time ago.

[StarWolf]

Cedarleaf edged farther into the forest, at one point hearing laughter off to the side- and upon a glance it was the same trio from camp. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if they were following him before counting himself too paranoid and whisking around, sending the bushes rattling. He winced as the bruises he had gained from training from his makeshift mentor, and felt a sliver of guilt pierce his body. I'm not even being trained by my proper teacher... This thought then lead to him wondering what Ravenfeather was currently doing, which then brought on an onslaught of things his sister would say to such thoughts. This then brought on more guilt at the arguement he and his sister had recently asked, before shaking his head and picking up the pace.
All too soon, he was standing in the middle of a sandy hollow that carried many scents of different cats- old and fresh scents, but no one seemed to be here at the time. Taking a deep breath he fixed his eyes on a single sprig of fern, just as he had been taught by the mysterious cat who still hadn't mentioned his name.
Tuck in your tail, Nik. Then your enemies have less to grab a hold of. The tom nearly jumped out of his fur upon hearing the voice- he only heard it in his dreams. He gulped once, before tucking his tail in and leaping at the fern. He rolled neatly away from it, and then coming back up just as fast to take a few quick swipes with unsheathed claws, tearing into the green leaves.
The tom backed up a few paces, mentally asking his head-invading teacher which moves to practice next.

Springsand walked slowly through the undergrowth, the pines becoming taller and taller- the scent of birds began to taint her nose, and she twitched an ear when she heard some rustling nearby. Instinctively, she crouched down wit her belly fur and tail hovering just above the fallen leaves when she spotted a mouse, just as her father had taught her once.
"If you don't keep your fur off the ground, it'll drag and alert the prey of your presence." Snake looked completely relaxed, and 3-moon old Kin had to supress a purr of amuesment as he absent-mindedly pawed a fallen leaf off his head.
"But Father, why do I have to learn to hunt right now? Aren't you and Mom good enough?" The kit's question was innocent enough, and she failed to see the flash of impatience that the older tom hid so well.
"Of course we are; but one day, you'll have to learn to hunt for yourself..."
The flashback caused Springsand to snarl with anger, effectively scaring off her prey- leading to another bout of cursing and spitting. "Is there anything good left in this good-for-nothing woods?" She growled to herself, flicking her striped tail back and forth.

[Alexander]

Betelgeuse's ear twitched under his paw at the sound of what he thought was some sort of snarl. As soon as he heard that, a mouse had scampered off right by him. He quickly got up, however he cursed stupidly at himself for making too much noise from doing so. He was sloppy at this due to his injuries. The male had curiosity run through him like wildfire. The tom padded straight for the bushes, trying to peek through and see who may be there. He smelled something, that of which was almost familiar. His bush rustled a little as he suddenly jolted from the sudden pain in his front paw. He quickly picked it up and held in his breath, causing the bush to rustle. He cursed again under his breath, feeling it was no use to hide anymore. The leader, as best as he could, padded out of the bush, his left paw held up a little to prevent putting pressure on it. He instantly noticed Kin of which looked pretty-- frustrated. A sort of shockwave struck through him, a connection, maybe, and he, noticing her, standing there in disbelief, like this was some sort of dream that the two would find each other here, it just struck him as.. odd.

[StarWolf]

Springsand froze mid-rant when she noticed a pair of amber eyes staring at her, causing her breath to hitch slightly. The cat in front of her was none other than Betelguese, leader of a rouge group.
And the leader of her father now. Her eyes hardened at that thought, and she quickly averted her own staring so as not to show her emotional turmoil. Somwhere she was sure that Fate was laughing at her, telling her that she now had someone to spill her sorrows on- the very cat that mixed up her mind into inelligable mutterings.
"He... lied a lot. He lies easily, but he didn't the last I spoke to him." Her voice was slightly raspy and hourser than she would have liked. She was sure that Betel knew of her father's habits, but if he didn't then she felt she was responsible for letting him know.

[Alexander]

The tom blinked, taking in her words. "That's a given. These days he's more sarcastic and tests me a lot." The tom said, padding over to her, hoping she'd know of his understanding for her feelings. His heart dropped after noticing the slightest detail of sadness into her eyes. "Maybe he wanted to make a point, whatever he said, and maybe he was still lying. Maybe not every detail he put in his truth is exactly the truth, I mean." The leader told her softly, his emotions slowly taking over him. He wasn't sure why he was doing this or how, his natural wild behavior wanting to scream at him, however he remained completely silent for now, feeling like he should be closer to her.

[StarWolf]

Springsand shivered slightly at his words, wishing vainly her father was more of a father. "You're talking about a cat who killed his own son. A cat who abandonded his three kits in an empty twoleg nest simply on his stupif beliefs. I still wish it was me who died. At least then Nik would'nt have to have wished it was me..." Her bitter words rang out clear. "Snake never gave a rat's tail about us- us or our mother. She loved him, and she saw straight through him- but she stayed with him regardless. He's a worthless bag of scum..." She spat, anger dancing through her yellow eyes. She easily recalled their last two conversations, the one that had taken place yesterday and the one 6 months ago.
Both had left scars on her heart.
"I don't know how your father was, but mine never cared if we lived or died... he only pretended to. It's worse to love something for its pretendings, then be betrayed when it no longer needs to pretend." The she-cats words grew to a mere whisper, and she crouched down onto her paws to stare at the hard-pached earth surrounding her with mourning eyes- eyes that were grieving for the death of someone she had trusted. But he couldn't have died..., she reminded herself silently. Something must first be alive in order for it's death to come.

[Alexander]

The tom's eyes widened. He didn't think that Snakeskin would be quite that bad. Of course he was pretty bad and sarcastic, but now he knew the reason behind all of that. He cast a shadow over himself, keeping himself evil however secretive about what he did. The male stayed silent for a while, listening to her speech. "He's definitely not the best person you'd like to think about in your life, whether family or not. I believe that the main focus is to either forget them or rip them to shreds. You see, Onestar kicked me out of Windclan, so I'm set on killing him for good. 3 lives, 5 more to go.. maybe." The cat whispered to himself at this point. The tom looked at her straight in the eye. "My father was a brave man. I understand you because of this filthy Windclan leader. He's treated his clan with lies and made them into his army of zombies." The tom snorted, unable to bare how his old clan is right now.
Without the slightest bit of thought, not much effort putting into it, Betelgeuse suddenly pressed against Kin, wanting her to lean against him, or whatever was more comfortable for her. He wanted to help her through her pain, as he knew how it felt. He knew this pain and how long it took him to recover. And when he did recover, his scars made him emotionless and forget every bit of happiness in this world. He didn't want Kin to think like that..

[StarWolf]

Kin pressed her muzzle into the tom, thinking over his words. "Nik wants to kill him... he's being trained to kill his own father. He was close to our little brother. Very, very close... I was only ever the replacement to him. Yin never hated anybody- he was just like our mother... I don't think I could bring myself to kill Snake, knowing that my mother and little brother loved him even with his pretendings." She paused for a moment then. "Nik... he's been slowly turning away from the world. One day I don't think he'll have a scrap of himself..." She went silent again, pushing a bit harder into the fur of her companion as if to forget her surroundings and very being.

[Alexander]

The tom pressed closer against her, eyes gazing gently. "You feel used, right..?" He whispered. The leader pressed his nose against her head, unsure if that would be a sort of sign for comfort. He felt the need to make her feel better about herself. The dark tom gulped. "It will be okay, I'm sure. Despite how things are now, maybe something will come out to be better in the end." The male stopped there. There was something more, maybe a little off topic. "Kin, I feel strange, maybe awkward around you, but when I see you in a state like this, one that I ended up failing to recover from, everything changes. I don't know who I am right now, but right now I just want to help." The male admitted, nearly holding his breath at this point. He gently nuzzles against her, purring loud enough for her to feel how he truly cared.

[Ayashe]

Ravenfeather stays silent throughout Tornear's explanation and instead glares at the soft den floor, eyes narrowed in frustration. He doesn't want to accept the elder's confession and believe him, but there's a certain ring of truth in it all that makes him realize he's not lying. When Tornear stops, Ravenfeather swallows the lump in his throat looks at the elder's paws, not willing to meet his eyes. "I-I just need a moment," his voice cracks, and he hates himself for it. Without another word, he turns tail and bounds out of the den, then the camp. He doesn't watch to see where his paws carry him, but after a while he's out of breath. The black tom slumps down under a large bush and buries his face in his paws. All this time I thought there was no one there for me... Anger mixes with his despair and he digs his claws into the earth. You just stood back and watched me suffer!
Eventually his breathing levels out and the dark tom lies there, tired and worn despite it only being early morning. He gives the air a taste and finds that he's in the undergrowth along the Sandy Hollow. Faint scuffling reaches his ears so he peeks out of his hiding place to get a look...
Cedarleaf? What is he doing here? His eyes narrow suddenly as he watches the brown tom. Those are some pretty advanced moves. Some don't even look like they're from ThunderClan...

EDIT:

Dawnpaw gives Moondust a questionable look, but the she-cat avoids her gaze. Then the apprentice turns to Thunderstrike, but his face doesn't give anything away. She ponder this for a moment, then shrugs it off. "Let me try!" she mews, crouching again, but with more care than earlier. She tries to remember everything Thunderstrike said to do.
Low, but not too low. Uhm, tail steady?
Moondust snorts, trying to keep a laugh in, and Dawnpaw glares at her. "What?" she hisses. Moondust shakes her head and waves a paw at her, "Never mind, just keep doing that." Dawnpaw huffs and crouches again, but another snicker makes her whip around. "What is it for StarClan's sake?!"
"You looked like a rabbit not sure if it should jump or not," Moondust finally blurts out. Dawnpaw growls and gives a half-hearted swipe at the she-cat's brown ear/

[Alexander]

The old tom watched as Ravenfeather left the den, eyes averting to the floor. He may as well rot on the ground with old age now. He knows that the time for his life to end was nearing, and so he may as well take it easy for a while longer. His life of wars have taken a huge tole on his body, leaving him to basically have a shorter life span than most.

[StarWolf]

"No, no, no- stand up on your hind legs and then jump." The ghastly warrior had by now taken a more solid form and the position of antagonizing his trainee, Cedarleaf. In response, Cedarleaf stumbled onto his paws after he had fallen- his balance needed work.
"Why do you want me to do that move again?" He muttered lowly, examining the nearby trees in case someone was watching. Somehow, he knew he wasn't supposed to be with a stranger like this- but it was only for the sake of getting powerful. Right?
The other dark cat snorted, looking almost amused. "No one but you can see or hear me- and they wouldn't object to their warrior receiving additional trading, now would they? Besides, I'm being a better mentor than that good for nothing half-clan softie."
Cedarleaf blinked in confusion, tilting his head in a silent question.
"I forgot... you’re ignorant. Try the move again." This time the dark cat narrowed his fiery amber eyes, warning Cedarleaf that if he didn't do as he told he would have a mock-battle to deal with. Sighing, the orange chested cat gazed upwards at the low-hanging branch. He could easily jump onto it with all four legs, but jumping like a twoleg? And this mouse-brain is saying this will help with my goals? What an idiot...
Regardless, he balanced himself onto his hind legs and once again tucked in his tail, before tensing the muscles in his hind legs and leaping up at the branch. For a moment, his claws seemed to skim over the bark, before he fell back to the earth with a heavy thud. Spitting out dirt, he got back up and glared at his tutor for making him look like such a fool.
"You’re building your balance and hind leg strength with these exercises. Unless you want to stop, then continue." The tabby's words angered him and he once again balanced on his hind legs, tensing them once more. He leapt again- and again he could feel his claws graze the bark before he fell back down, only this time he landed wobbly on his hind legs again. "Much better." The praise echoed throughout the clearing, and Cedarleaf wondered how no one else could have heard it.
"What next? I've got good balance, I need better fighting moves," Grumbled the yellow eyes warrior half to himself, beginning to pace the clearing. His tutor followed his moves, eyeing the muscles that flexed just under the tom's pelt. He looked powerful, and he himself had witnessed what this cat could do when angered, but he still needed to assess the other's skills.
"You'll continue until I tell you otherwise- now this time, instead of jumping spin on your hind legs." The tabby's words caused Cedarleaf to raise his lips in a silent snarl, before once again turning back to his tree to practice his balance.

Springsand silently regarded Betel's words, unsure how to respond. I can't go back with him... I can't face Snake yet. But Betel can't come with me, either; Firestar was already lenient enough to give him shelter for the night... “My mother once told me that gods are always watching over us… and that they give each being an equally happy life, and if it isn’t equal, then they help them make it better…” Her words were soft, similar to her late mother’s. “If someone’s life isn’t going well for them, and they’ve had a horrible past… then that means their life will change soon for the better. That’s what she told me once. I’m not sure, but, if I’ve had a bad life for the last year or so, then that means my life must change- very, very soon.” Her eyes grew with wonder. “I’ve never really had anybody that didn’t mind me protecting them- Nik is so closed off, but if I find something to call my own and protect it… could that change everything?” Her last words were followed by a head turn, to watch the other cat’s eyes as he purred. I didn't have much to live for a few days ago, other than just being there so Nik wouldn't kill himself... but now that he has others to rely on... maybe I can live my own life.

[Alexander]

The rogue leader blinked at her, maybe her mother had a different religion, as Starclan wasn't entirely like that. It was always based on having neutral or allied feelings with other Clans and to never take out another Clan's whole population. He remembered, after all of these moons, and to hear these gods from Kin's mother, it made a little more sense. Maybe there were gods beyond them, or maybe he hasn't heard the full story of Starclan. At this point he just wasn't sure, but he began to look at the sky through the branchy areas, half wondering if they will show something, anything to prove their existence. He's heard that Starclan would give dreams, but he wondered what these gods will do to show their ways as to how they make life better. "I suspect a greater life soon, yes, as I too have had many moons of hardship with my group and not having a lot of prey, especially ones as plump as yours. I personally believed that protecting these mouse-brained cats of mine, that we could be a powerful rogue group and live together another day without having to die alone with no one else there to save or protect them. It's hard when you've been kicked out of somewhere and now you live alone with no one else there, especially if you grow ill." He felt like stopping there, as he wasn't much with story telling. "I don't know what I should do. I've lived my life as a rogue and now I don't know what to do. My brain screams to be the same old me, but my heart screams to be with you, Kin. I don't know how to be with you while being the old me; a rogue leader." He blinked at her after looking down to meet her eyes. "Maybe the gods will show me the solution." He mumbled to himself, though he had absolutely no idea how it could happen. He's given up on Starclan all these years, maybe her mother's gods will do something, maybe he can believe them instead. And why should Betelgeuse be with Kin? Well, he felt a strong connection with her, as they both have had hardships. Although different, he had an understanding, and he didn't want her to end up like him, a mean, nasty and unemotional rogue leader that ends up grumpy most of the time and will scream at his groupmates if he has to. He half wanted her to join, but half didn't because he was holding her father. He surely didn't want her to see him after their last meetings together, but he didn't want to be separated from her because of it.

[Ayashe]

Ravenfeather watches silently, amber eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear. Cedarleaf seems to know exactly what to fix and improve on, even without anyone there to instruct him. Ravenfeather begins to wonder if Cedarleaf has had a lot of fighting experience in the past. The thought makes him look at the tom differently. He'd never thought Cedarleaf may have a more authoritative side to him until now.
After a moment or two of this thinking, Ravenfeather stands and slides out from under the bush. He shakes his coat, ridding it of a few clinging leaves, and pads forward, careful not to be too quiet. "Hey, Cedarleaf," he meows from the edge of the clearing. Ravenfeather decides not to comment on his expert battle moves and instead sidesteps the topic carefully. "Better hope Leafpool doesn't catch you out of camp already. StarClan knows what she'll do then," he tries to keep his voice light, but after Tornear's revelation, it's taking every bit of effort he has.