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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 12, 2008 9:48:46 GMT -5
Diamondleaf veered sharply from the ThunderClan camp with her kill of rabbit, vole and mouse and sprinted towards The Greta Sycamore. her pale eyes searching everwhere for different signs that other cats had been here. None. That was good.
Slowling down and she reached the tree he re-butyed her kill at the base, looking around there was a rock with long garss flanking it, a log near the entrace and ivy over hanging it.
Entering it carefully, he found tghe place was a tand larger than she thought it would have been, it extended into a bramble thicket and it reminded her of the Warriors den. No one lived here to that was a good start.
Clearing the dried leaves she went back out to collect her own fresh bedding and placed it in a little bed shape and used her body to mold it.
When that was done, she stood back an admired it. Good, it was an alright place.
Trotting outside she noticed the sun was going down and quickly went to gather her three kills. Placing them near the back of this new den she settled down with the rabbit and started to eat, replaying back the memories and her plans of what to do.
Swallowing the last morsel she decided to stay here for a while, it was quiet and there was plenty of prey, plus it was in her own terratory. Laying her head down, she closed her eyes, ignoring the tear that coursed dlowly down her cheekfur and fell asleep.
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 14, 2008 20:33:41 GMT -5
Energy. Pure energy - Lilypaw didn't know the science of it, but she knew what she felt. Running was the motor that kept her life going. She didn't quite understand it, but she could tell how different she was because of it. She was stronger than the other cats her age, even though many were better than her at fighting. She could train for twice the time her mentor could teach and have energy left over. She was able to outrace some of the most experienced warriors. She was not, however, able to stop. Her addiction was running - a better addiction than killing or eating or mating, for sure. Running. Feeling the surge of life in her veins, the searing pain that reminded her of her kithood, the strain that told her she was very much alive.
But that pain - it was the catch in her addiction. She was nearly able to ignore it now, after seasons upon seasons of training her young mind. But it was like a constant enemy. It never left. It woke her up at least once a night, burning through her like water just about to boil over. It took away the life from her veins and set them on fire. There was a story behind the pain, although no one knew of it. Actually, the pain was even less known than the story. No one knew that the apprentice who moved the most was the one that was hurt the most by every single step.
A gift - she barely remembered receiving the gift, the gift of a wound so deep her sides felt like they would split if she lifted a dainty paw. Thanks for that gift, she told the unknown cat who had given it to her. I will never forget that day. Thinking as she ran - but never too much; no, running was her escape from reality - she sped on, weaving deftly between low growing plants and jutting branches. She was near her limit for the day and her breath was coming in short gasps. It was harder and harder to think, and harder to ignore the pain that was demanding her attention. She would soon have to stop; it was nearly sun-down, and she'd been running since the sun was halfway between all the way up and the side of the sky. A long time, but not the longest run she had ever endured.
She turned to head back along her oft traveled route to head towards the ThunderClan camp when a curiosity caught her yellow eye. She slowed to a stop when she noticed a she-cat from the Clan that was hosting Lilypaw's ShadowClan. Diamondheart? No... Diamondshower? Lilypaw couldn't remember exactly, but it was something along those lines. A pretty name. Why was she bedding down, then, in such a far-off and deserted part of ThunderClan's lush forests? Lilypaw's young mind brought her strong curiosity forward and she padded up to the she-cat.
"Hey," she mewed in simple greeting.
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 15, 2008 6:53:01 GMT -5
Yawning and flicking her ear the she cat raised her head and looked out of the entrance. A younger cat was there and had meowed a greeting. Blinking, Diamondleaf noticed some light flitering through.
Hmm, must be dawn, she thought to herself.
Heaving herself up and slinking through her den and out the entrance, her pale eyes slitted at more light streamed into them. her attention now of the smaller cat, the scent told her she was from Old ShadowClan, but that didn't matter at all.
Diamondleaf smiled softly at the smaller cat.
Hello there. What are you doing out here on your own?
She didn't mean the question to sound patronising, she was just mildly curious. Her belief that most kits at that age were able to look after themselves was the reason she was curious and not concered.
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 15, 2008 22:00:10 GMT -5
When Lilypaw was a kit, she'd hated being talked to as if she was irresponsible and young. She didn't like the implication of her elders' patronizing tones: she was little, she wasn't mature. Now, ironically, that she was an apprentice and able to actually take care of herself, the tones didn't bother her. Lilypaw understood that no cat meant to talk down to her - they spoke the way they thought, as well they should. It didn't bother the calm she-cat at all; she brushed it off.
This was hardly an instance of that, anyway. The cat - Lilypaw decided to call her Diamondbreeze for lack of anything else - surely didn't mean to sound patronizing. Lilypaw could take care of herself as well as any other apprentice or young warrior. But she did not defend herself as she once would have. Instead, she mewed, "I was running." It was a simple, clear answer. No more explanation was needed. This cat could surely see by the new day's light that Lilypaw had just done some serious exercise. The young she-cat was panting and her fur was damp with sweat.
Lilypaw knew that she was an odd-one-out. No other cats ran for the sake of running. They played or fought or trained or hunted. None of them had the extreme excess of simple energy. And yet there was Lilypaw - exhausted and hungry, but pacing so she wouldn't feel sick. She couldn't just sit after a run: she had to slow down gradually, first pacing and then walking lazily, and then sitting, and by then she usually had her energy back and was able to bounce around camp. Training at sun-high... better make sure I'm ready... Her thoughts were some strange middle ground between incoherent from exhaustion and sharp from adrenaline.
Her movements were graceful as she walked too and fro, watching the she-cat before her. She had her daily routine down to a science. Her talk flicked tiredly from side to side, showing her peaceful fatigue. Her amber gaze, though a little unfocused, rested mostly on Daimondbreeze - no... that wasn't right... no matter - and her semi-long tabby fur needed to be washed. She always did that as soon as her need to move died down. "What about you? Why are you asleep so far from camp?"
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 16, 2008 5:12:14 GMT -5
Diamondleaf nodded with understanding, now looking at the other cat better, she noticed her fur was slick in places with sweat and her chest was heaving slightly. She nodded again, this was a unique kit and one she now respected. No cats ran for the sake of it, but Diamondleaf knew from experience it was a fun and exciting thing to do.
Heh, running eh? Glad to see a cat who has broken away from the norms of life and striking out on her own. she said in an aprroving tone. And indeed, Diamondleaf did approve of what this young kit was doing.
Sorry for my slightly patronising tone ealier, it wasn't meant to sound like that.
Diamondleaf wasn't one to appologise easliy but right now, she felt so crushed and down right weird, she swore she really hadn't got anything to loose.
For a while she lost herslef in the juniors graceful movements back and forth and wondered if she had ever been like that? Graceful, unscarred, beautiful. Shrugging her heavy shoulders she answered the question put at her.
Nothing much really, I've had a fight with one of the most stupid members of ThunderClan and I just cannot be bothered to go back to the camp. she paused and took a breath. She would let the kit press questions to her about the incident, she wouldn't ramble on.
I never aksed your name, mine's Diamondleaf.
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 21, 2008 10:09:40 GMT -5
(( BUMP ))
- this thread is open to all -
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 21, 2008 20:08:21 GMT -5
ooc; I can only come on during the weekends, so I apologize for making you wait now and in the future.
"I'm Lilypaw," the apprentice mewed, answering the older warrior's last question first. She quickly sorted through the other statements in her mind. They were not questions; mere facts. Only two of them merited a response at all. The she-cat shifted her weight to a different three paws and felt the jab of pain that accompanied the movement. She ignored it with practiced skill, but resented it all the same.
"Thanks for saying sorry, but you don't need to feel bad. I look young for my age." Hopefully that would close that topic, because Lilypaw didn't love how little she was. She was little but fast, as is often the trade, and the muscles under her orange and cream fur added a tone of sophistication to her presence. Her tiny figure, however, made her seem almost kitlike.
Moving on quickly, Lilypaw continued with her previous line of questions - "What do you mean by that? You're walking away from your clan because of an argument? I mean, in ShadowClan that kind of this isn't allowed. You fight someone or go to the leader, but never run away." The young cat had no practice in politeness, or in holding back her opinions. She had a filter between her brain and her tongue, but rarely used it. She was, after all, a ShadowClanner born and bread - even though most of her childhood had been spent on ThunderClan land. Ever since the battle when... block the memory, Lilypaw.
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 22, 2008 16:49:40 GMT -5
Nice to meet you Lilypaw, and it doesn't matter how young you looked, I shouldn't have misjudged you, replaied Diamondleaf.
Her pale eyes took in her surrounding and the smaller apprentice before her and she listened closely to what Lilypaw said about her taking time off from the camp. The ShadowClan rules sounded great to her, the fighting bit that is.
Plonking her hind down on the ground with a slight huff of breath, she breathed her thoughts.
Your opinon is a strong one Lilypaw, more more than that, it is valid. But the only problem is, once I start fighting, I can't stop. I kill whatever is in my path and in this case it would have been another Thunder Warrior. she sighed and looked up.
Getting kicked out would have been an option when ShadowClan still existed, I would have run to you then, but now...I have no where... the huge shee cat trailed off, lost for words.
OOC// no need to apologies, Cinders, it's all fine with me.[/size]
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 22, 2008 22:27:50 GMT -5
Kill whatever's in her path? It sounded to Lilypaw like the ThunderClanner had a problem. Although unnecessary violence was more often a ShadowClan tendency, all of the groups in the forest had members who lacked self control. Lilypaw had seen a battle; she knew what fighting really looked like. It wasn't the controlled, watered down, safe version a cat got in training - it was bloodthirsty, fierce, and fast. There was no mercy in real fighting, and no control. Perhaps the she-cat thought of all skirmishes as actual battles? As life-or-death matches? "I guess that ThunderClan teaches you cats to put all fights in the same category. I know that there are different tones within the category of 'battle,'" the apprentice explained, not caring whether the older cat took offense.
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 23, 2008 16:02:41 GMT -5
Diamondeleaf stood again shaking her fur out. She looked sideways at the apprentice.
As if it matter anyway, Lillypaw. I have issues that concern no-one in the caln, only myself. It's up to me what category of 'battle' I choose. Diamondleafs voice was neutral, dull. She felt nothing, not hate nor kindness to a numbing throbbing senation where her emotions should be.
And this is the way I have got to keep it she thought to herself. Emotions are a weakness, that's what got me into this mess. I tries to befreind another cat.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts she half looked back at Lillypaw. The apprentice was strong in thoughts and of will, phisically, she didn't look that strong but Diamondleaf did not judge her. She only thought about returning to her new den to sleep or to brood. She would have to spend time well away from ThunderClans territory to re-learn the ways of a loner. But even then, what would she do, slowly bring the huge ThunderClan to it's knees?
That wouldn't do. For one she wouldn't be able to, and for a second reason, there where cats in there she had a half respect to. Maybe she would spare them.....
ThunderClan doesn't even teach fighting in my views anymore. What does it matter anyway?
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 23, 2008 20:19:02 GMT -5
"To be unable to fight is to be weak. To go against your Clan is to be weak. To make stupid and selfish decisions is to be weak. Even the tiniest ShadowClan kit knows that. Why not be strong and face your fear?" The headstrong apprentice didn't care if she offended some ThunderClanner. After all, her den-mates would stand by her if the she-cat became angry, and without a Clan behind her, any threat that Diamondleaf made was almost pathetic. Lilypaw didn't understand why any cat would ditch their Clan. Her Clan was her life, and although she had nothing against any other Clan she did think some of their ideals to be a bit stupid and childish.
Flexing her powerful shoulders, Lilypaw sat. The movement brought a searing pain across her abdomen, but she expected the ache now and was able to stop her body from reacting. She didn't flinch or twitch; she was an expert at hiding her constant enemy. She kept her eyes on Diamondleaf, though, because she knew that her words might have hurt the older cat's feelings. Some ThunderClanners were "emotionally delicate", as Lilypaw had once heard it phrased. That was another weakness - the egocentric fascination that some other Clan cats had with their own feelings. ShadowClanners were able to ignore their emotions, or manipulate their strong desires for the well-being of their Clan. It was an important trick, and one that Lilypaw was still learning. She knew it would come to her, though - it was in her blood and her breeding.
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 24, 2008 10:48:04 GMT -5
I don't need to hear this Diamondleaf thought to herself
Afterall, if I hadn't said anything to Midnightstar, no-one would even notice Cinderheart had gone.
She turned to Lillypaw quickly, her head snapping around.
Like I said, what does it matter, you're obviously here to tell me how 'weak' I am. I have my reasons and I'm not weak in any sense of the word. Diamondleaf stood and stalked away from the apprentice.
It was my fault for even starting a conversation about why I'm out here anyway.
Quickly she jogged went to where her second rabbit was, dug it up and tossed it into her new den. This kit was giving her more and more reasons to live as a ThunderClanner.
The Clan was now horribly over populated and no-one got the recognition they needed anymore.
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 26, 2008 22:36:28 GMT -5
Lilypaw didn't back down, although the warrior's harsh words caught her off guard. Some cats were too unpredictable - especially those ruled by their emotions. Diamondleaf seemed so petty and self-centered in Lilypaw's eyes. The she-cat was avoiding a denmate, and because of that she was not doing her duties to her Clan. Lilypaw knew that there were a few egomaniacs in her own precious Clan, but they still were forced to proceed with their jobs. There was no shirking of responsibility in ShadowClan, or at least none without dire consequence.
Lilypaw wanted to argue with the cat's somewhat idiotic words - Here to tell her how weak she is? No, I'm here because I happened to just be jogging. And what does it matter? Here she is catching prey on her own territory but acting like the very loners that she and her relatives chase out! And uncovering that rabbit like you can just take from the land without giving back to the Clan that owns it. Inexcusable! The younger cat's thoughts were angry, but she decided that voicing her strong opinions wouldn't do any good at all. She couldn't keep the scorn off her tongue as she spoke with specifically cordial words.
"Well I suppose it's none of my business. I'm not in your Clan, after all." She smiled tightly, and rolled her shoulders. She was just finishing her pacing, and could feel her muscles starting to relax. It was a good feeling, and calmed her down. She was so used to her after-run routine that it was hard for her to stay upset while she acted out all the little steps to help her body recover from racing between the trees. She never let herself even pause during a run - she ran until she couldn't go any farther and then ran a bit more. Sometimes, like today, time constrained her real workout. It was still amazing exercise, but she knew she would have to run again at the end of the day just to be able to sleep.
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Post by //Diamonte . x on Nov 28, 2008 13:21:03 GMT -5
Look, I'm saying no m ore about why I'm here apart from the fact that I'm taking time out from a few cats and the real reason I'm out here is a pure ThunderClan matter. replied the female with her back still to Lillypaw, she began sifting through the prey.
After a while she threw out a rabbit, two squirrels and a vole. This she would take back to ThunderClan. She had already eaten what she had caught for herself and was satisfied.
Shouldn't you be running or something? I'm obviously taking up your time. the statement was without emotion, no anger, sadness, hatered, happiness anything. Diamondleaf was no longer the cat she was when she was born.
Anyway, she doesn't know anything about be. Grr! I hate Clan life. I'm leaving.
It was final. She would just tell Midnightstar, find the location of Tigerfang's half brothers Marijuana and Frost and that would be the end of it. Anyway, the Clan wouldn't care. She was just the cat who was sharp enough to alert them to their missing Med Cat. She was nothing.
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Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Nov 28, 2008 21:40:01 GMT -5
Lilypaw shrugged. "I'm done running. I don't need to wear myself out completely after every workout." Her laugh was short but not unkind. The young cat found it difficult to stay annoyed, especially when her body was rejoicing in the exhaustion that she so often craved. She smiled warmly. This cat was an insensitive idiot, or so it seemed to Lilypaw, but the apprentice had no personal problem with the warrior. Just a general moral disagreement, and that could be ignored with ease.
Lilypaw stood, muscles relaxed, and followed Diamondleaf with her eyes. The she-cat was preparing a meal, and Lilypaw breathed in the scent of the slightly stale meat. She was surprised to feel her own stomach twisting just a little. I haven't had any food yet. It's not a wonder that I'm hungry after running. Unfortunately, she couldn't hunt for herself. Not only was she an apprentice, bound tightly by the Warrior Code, but she was also confined by etiquette - her Clan was a guest on the land. She rolled her shoulders, feeling a satisfying release as they flexed into place. She watched Diamondleaf for a moment more, but assumed that the self-obsessed warrior wouldn't think to offer her any food. I'll go back to camp for some food soon, she thought.
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