As Pearlstar emerged from the nursery, she kicked off with a little bounce in her step and padded towards the center of camp. Both of Creekclan’s newest kits were precious things, and she was happy with the thought of having soon having new apprentices…and new warriors, for that matter.
Whiskers twitching, the noble feline strolled around the camp, tidying up bits of twigs and leaves that were had strayed inside. Pearlstar would use her hind legs to push the leaves outside the walls, and used the twigs to help strengthen them. Gazing around, she saw that Creekclan remained tidy, indeed. Content with it for now, she sat on her haunches, simply gazing around. It looked as if most of her clanmates were either outside or in their dens, which meant that there were likely cats already hunting. In that case, she’d wait for them to come back before sending out more. Perhaps she herself would be able to stretch her paws then, she could use a good hunt.
Last Edit: Oct 21, 2015 17:49:35 GMT -6 by Deleted
Cedar paw watched as the warriors and apprentice returned from the gathering. She wondered how it went, and what happened. It was all a new and mysterious thing for her. Cedarpaw was about to go into the apprentice den to go back to sleep, but then figured her stench would keep her, and Wasppaw awake anyway. She shook her head and decided to move out of the way, and watch as the cats were bustling in the morning light.
Wasppaw strode grandly into the center of camp, with head held high and a mischievous glint in his eye. He spied Pearlstar and Cedarpaw. Noting Amberpaw was not present, he shrugged and strolled over to Cedarpaw and sat next to her.
He waited expectantly. He shifted and sat up straighter. He puffed out his chest. He cleared his throat. Side-eyeing the she-cat, he scooted a little closer and "subtly" bumped her with his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Cedarpaw," he said, not sorry at all. "I didn't see you there. I was just stretching." He rolled his shoulders and stretched, though it seemed suspiciously like posing. There was probably some purposeful flexing thrown in there too. Just a little added style for good measure.
"So, uh, how are you this morning? You notice anything... you know... unusual or... like, you know, different?" he said as casually as he could, puffing out his chest again and shooting her an expectant look.
Cedar paw looked at Wasppaw, almost smirking in the way he pretended to bump into her. "Uhm... You look... Taller." Cedarpaw stated, smiling. "And I guess I'm okay... I would like some sleep, but my empty stomach won't let me. Actually... I think Amberpaw wen to go hunt..." Cedarpaw's voice drifted off. She was sure she was boring Wasppaw, so she thought it was the best thing to stop. "How was the gathering?" Cedarpaw asked, eagerly awaiting the news.
As Maplefang left the nursery, she expected there to be some fresh kill in the pile. However, she found that it actually seemed empty at the moment. Frowning, some negative thoughts started surfacing in her mind. However, she shook her head, and put on a smile, looking at the others. "I'm just going to go get some fresh kill real quick. Just be sure to keep an eye on the nursery, and my kits, alright~?" Smiling, she left the camp.
Arriving back at camp, Maplefang set the Sturgeon down into the fresh-kill pile. Then, already feeling starved, she wolfed down part of it, before heading back to the nursery.
Personally, Wasppaw had thought of many awesome compliments Cedarpaw could have given. Although he saw much room for improvement, he eagerly accepted the one she did give. He purred loudly and nodded to the she-cat.
"I totally didn't notice, but you're right. I'm just as big as any of the warriors around here." he boasted.
His pride indulged, he listened to Cedarpaw sincerely. His interest became more intense when she mentioned Amberpaw. He glanced at the camp exit and wondered when she had left -- and when she was going to be back. He still had much to tell her about the Gathering, but it seemed like he wouldn't have to wait to share his story.
"Well..." Wasppaw began, trying to recall every detail. Honestly, the Gathering had been a bit slow and boring. Nobody had to know that, though. The tom would make it sound more impressive than it was, to satisfy his captive audience. "It was amazing! First, everyone gathered in this little clearing around the Brightrock -- I'm pretty sure it's an actual piece of the moon or stars or something because it actually glows on its own. You can't even tell it was night. I felt like I was crossing into a whole different world!"
Wasppaw paused, lingering on the beautiful image in his head. The Brightrock really was stunning. It wasn't possible to exaggerate how it looked or made him felt. More than anything, the Brightrock had been his favorite part of the Gathering.
"You've heard about GlenClan and NestClan in stories? They're just like the stories tell, but even stranger! The GlenClan deputy is huge -- I bet she eats entire badgers for breakfast! And some of them don't even have fur. I talked to one that was completely bald! Also they're all really dirty."
"And then there's NestClan." Wasppaw frowned, recalling the black-and-white apprentice he had met. "Oh, Pudgepaw!" he said suddenly, finally remembering her name. "There was a NestClan apprentice there. She was really big for an apprentice. Her mentor is the deputy of NestClan. His name is Tigerblaze, but he's not at all as cool as Cougarheart." Wasppaw nodded to himself. "Cougarheart is definitely better. But they're all pretty friendly I guess. Like kittypets would be."
"I got to see the other leaders, too. There's, uh, Ravenstar. He's the leader of GlenClan, but... he's kind of disappointing. He was probably one of the smallest cats there. And I think he's full of himself. He just kept talking. Mintstar is a little better, though -- she's the leader of NestClan. She's pretty intimidating as far as NestClan goes..." Wasppaw shrugged and smiled at Cedarpaw. "I'm looking forward to going back again. I think I left a good impression -- everyone probably thinks CreekClan apprentices are just as great as I am. Maybe you'll get to prove 'em right next time, huh?" he playfully bumped her with his shoulder again.
Truthfully, though, he couldn't understand the appeal of being a medicine cat. They were necessary, sure, but it had to be boring work. Collecting and sorting herbs seemed synonymous with tasks like changing bedding. Wasppaw was reminded of Amberpaw. She might've made a good medicine cat apprentice -- she was oddly eager to do those kinds of things. Funnily enough, he was happy she hadn't become one. They wouldn't have become as good as friends if she had, possibly.
With this thought, he looked at Cedarpaw curiously. Although they were both apprentices, their training made their lives very different. He had never taken the time to get to know the she-cat; in fact, he couldn't recall ever really having a conversation with her. Wasppaw realized he was oblivious to a lot of things. He gave a small smile -- one that was genuine and kind. "But hey," he said, giving a friendly chuckle. "I'm much more interested to hear about how your training's going. I've always wondered about... plants." he said awkwardly, unsure of how to express sincere interest. He genuinely wanted to show he was interested in her training, like she was for his account of the Gathering. Hopefully it didn't seem forced.
Cedar paw laughed as he detailed his night at the gathering. Wasppaw surely could tell a story! Then he said he was interested in her training as a medicine cat, and then her heart seemed to squeeze. "No... I'm sure you'd rather hear about hunting stories...." Cedarpaw said, now looking at her paws. She tucked them further towards her belly, and wrapped her tail around herself. Cedarpaw new how Wasppaw was like. He didn't like the boring stuff of cleaning bedding and tasks like that. Being a medicine cat, of course, was different, and has it's own boring tasks but, not all of them are boring. Not many apprentices think that way though.
"Hang on a second... I've got to eat... I'm starving." Cedarpaw stated and walked over to the fresh-kill pile. She picked up a sturgeon and walked back over to Wasppaw. She dropped it in front of him. "Are you hungry to? If so, we could share... There's only 3 other sturgeons over there, meaning there's not much prey left for everyone else..." Cedarpaw's voice faded away. She started to eat the sturgeon, but then looked back up at Wasppaw after the first bite.
Amberpaw returned to camp, a white and gray feather in her white jaws. Her dark colored orbs looked around camp. Her mind wondered back to her time in Pebble beach. How the leader of Glenclan taught her how to hunt birds. Amberpaw felt excited to say the least. It was the first time she had meet another clan warrior whom wanted nothing more than to work together.
Amberpaw wouldn't tell a soul about this meeting. She feared what her clan-mates might think and what her mentor might have seen. Amberpaw's gaze fell to the floor and she began to make her way to the apprentice to place her feather on her nest. A small thing that would help keep the memory alive in her head.
Alright, maybe he wasn’t a great warrior. Maybe the only thing he was great at was napping. But that was beside the point; Firpelt had finally emerged out of his den after strolling around the opening for a good twenty minutes or so, hmming or hawwing and thinking he was going to go out before gazing at his nest once more, his whiskers still drooping at the prospect of sleeping so late and with so little done. After pacing this way and that at the opening, he had opted to sit in a nice spot near the den, and began to lick down his fur. Nice and clean for the day’s proceedings, and a freshly bathed cat was a happy one.
But Firpelt wasn’t too happy to be winking away the last few waves of sleep from his bleary amber eyes - and if it weren’t for the guilt gnawing deep at his belly for sleeping in, he knew he would be right back in his nest. Still grooming down his fur, he tried to think of why he had slept so late last night. Had he gotten less than his five usual naps the day before? Had he been up too late, or fallen asleep away from camp and then returned, half-asleep, in the wee hours of the morning? All these options had happened before, but this particular night he didn’t remember anything too unique or out of the norm. With a final brush of his tongue against his plush pelt, he sauntered forwards towards the rest of the cats.
He wasn’t a mentor, but he loved kits - and so he easily recognized Wasppaw and Cedarpaw exchanging meows in the clearing. He only caught snaggles of their conversation, but he noticed how much Wasppaw was posing and puffing out his chest and bumping little Cedarpaw, and had to contain a joyful laugh. He remembered how it felt as an apprentice, to flirt and laugh and have a good time with his close-knit group of friends before they had all grown apart. Part of him wished he could join in with their chatter, but he felt that Wasspaw’s efforts were best left alone. Firpelt could let someone else talk to him about flirting with the medicine cat apprentice.
His heart leapt like a trout in his chest as he saw Amberpaw saunter into camp with a little feather in her mouth. A feather! How had the apprentice gotten one of those? He could hardly hunt birds because of how often they took off, but every bird he had ever caught had their feathers weaved into his nest, and carefully removed and return every time he collected new moss. He opened his jaws to congratulate her, but she didn’t have the bird with her, and she was strangely avoiding his gaze… figuring that the cat must want to be left alone (perhaps she had only caught a couple of feathers instead of the bird), he allowed her to trundle into her den.
Still, though, the appearance of the apprentice inspired him - he was a collector, through and through, and every new feather or scrap of fur amazed him. With a half-glance at the fresh-kill pile, he let out a strained sigh. Just as he thought, there was barely a thing on there - a half-eaten sturgeon that would be gone in no time. After looking at the two apprentices, he decided to head out alone. Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d be able to snag a nice bird feather or two.
Amberpaw felt a gaze burn into her ginger tabby fur that seemed to be set a blaze by the afternoon sun that peaked past the rainy clouds. This gaze made her feel slightly pardoned. The only one who could have possibly known about her meeting with Ravenstar was her mentor Dewdapple, but the she-cat didn't lecture her as if she had seen. So, the only one who knew about it was Amberpaw.
As she processed this thoughts, she began to calm her mind and scan the clearing for a pair of eyes. Then, her dark amber gaze finally locked. It was Firepelt. Because Amberpaw was a friendly cat who sought to brighten her clan-mates days, she felt it was right to approach and speak with him.
Turning away from the apprentice den, the sh-cat began to make her way towards the gray furred warrior. When she stood in front of him she placed her feather on the ground and put her paw gently on top so it wouldn't blow away.
"Hello Firepelt, how are you doing today?"
The she-cat gazed up at the tom her dark amber eyes having a golden shine when the light graced them. Her overall expression was cheerful and calm bringing with it a warm and relaxing aura that beamed around the young white and ginger pelted she-cat.
Cougarheart enters camp, placing the groundhog he had caught on the ground. It was definitely rotten. He quickly digs a hole placing the rotting rodent inside. He covers it up with a pile of dirt, shakes off his pelt, and walks to the fresh kill pile. He examines the prey, spotting a fresh sturgeon. He picks it up, takes a few large bites out of it, and heads to the nursery to check on his mate.
Lynxstrike returned to camp with his catch; a Muskrat, which he had already sampled, in his jaws; setting it down beside a sturgeon as well. At least it seemed like his clanmates were doing something while he had been gone.
"Hmph...anyone seen Littlepaw? He asked, knowing he was supposed to be responsible for the short little cat. He didn't feel much like training her, but felt like he would hear the worse of it if Pearlstar approached him about neglecting other duties - current circumstances or no.
Carrying her turtle into camp, Dewdapple snorted as she heard Lynxstrike searching for his apprentice. About time he did something other than mope around, she thought.
"It's not part of our job to keep track of your apprentice, oldtimer." She growled as she put the turtle down in the pile and nodded towards Amberpaw. "We have cats of our own to look after. Get your eyes checked, if you're having a problem with 'em."