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Post by Shortee on Feb 26, 2018 17:00:16 GMT -5
Mudwhisker gave a small nod and said, "Hurry up then." He didn't want to be too lenient with Smallstep. According to Breezestar, none of the Oakclan cats deserved anything. Making sure the she-cat was following him, Mudwhisker lead her back to camp at a good pace. Stopping at the elders den, he laid down the materials and flicked his tail near the opening of the log. "Once you finish this you may rest. I'll be going to freshen up your den." He knew it would be odd for him to be making her a new nest, and he hoped desperately she didn't suspect him of anything. Making sure she wasn't looking, he retrieved the thorns he had hid away and went to the little den Smallstep lived in. The apprentices had left moss for her to remake her nest, as Breezestar said she could do it herself. Carefully and swiftly, he added moss that hid tons of thorns into her nest.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 26, 2018 18:27:34 GMT -5
Smallstep grabbed her materials, stuffing her mouth completely full. She did not want to make two trips, thus she got as much as she possibly could. She was confident that combining her pile with Mudwhisker's would be enough. Her tail swayed behind her as she followed a few steps behind the deputy. Her eyes wandered the forest as she moved. It had been countless days since the last time she had been allowed outside of the camp. A small sigh was luckily muffled by the mixed pile of materials in her mouth. When they returned to the camp, she gently set down what she was carrying. She pushed their two piles together with her paws. "Whatever," she mumbled, only half paying attention to the words he had said. The she-cat wasted no time getting to work.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 26, 2018 18:56:24 GMT -5
"There," he mumbled to himself as he hid the last thorn. "She needs to learn not to talk back." His gaze hard and narrowed, he left the den, seeing the she-cat working. Many of the cats were in the clearing now, hunting patrols bringing back tons of prey, and everyone was eating. Timberfur flicked his tail, signaling for him to come over. Mudwhisker walked to him, feeling the normal stares of some of the she-cats on his back as he sat down next to his friend. He was digging in to a large rabbit, and offered to share it with the deputy. Eating together, Timberfur started a conversation. "How's that mouse-brained Oakclan cat doing?" "Fine. She's doing her job, but she talks back a little." "Did you punish her?" "You'll see soon." Mudwhisker told him, a smirk on his face. Timberfur gave him a knowing look, and they began talking with the other cats. Timberfur and Flowerstorm talked about their kits, Junierstep and Leopardpelt were discussing Oakclan, and a pretty she-cat named Frostcloud had grabbed his attention.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 26, 2018 19:14:09 GMT -5
Smallstep was breathing heavily by the time she finished. Although it seemed like a simple task, mustering up the strength to actually do the task was difficult. The constant tasks and very few breaks were beginning to take a toll on the warrior. She stepped back to get a better view of the den. As she had expected, it appeared as good as new. With a satisfied nod, she turned to see the clearing crowded with cats. Most of the cats from the clan were eating and gossiping about in their own little groups. Her gaze fell upon Mudwhisker sitting near Timberfur. She recognized the she-cat that Timberfur was conversing with as the queen from earlier. Her tail flicked in annoyance at the queen. If only she were alone with that queen, then she would really have something to snicker about. Her thoughts were interrupted by something bumping into her. She stumbled a bit, just barely catching herself from falling. A fairly large she-cat was looking around as if expecting someone. Upon being cast a slightly annoyed glance, Smallstep's temper rose yet again. "What where you're going!" she snapped with a hiss. The she-cat, unlike most of the other cats, simply continued on her way. After releasing a huff, the warrior began smoothing down her long fur. After a quick cleaning, she rose to her paws and padded off into the shade. She settled herself down in a small patch of grass, creating a small cloud of dust as she landed upon the dirt. Her head rested on her paws as her eyes scanned the clearing multiple times.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 26, 2018 19:50:23 GMT -5
Mudwhisker stared as Frostcloud walked up to him, sat down, and began making conversation. Her voice was sweet as she asked him questions like, "Are we going to capture more Oakclan cats," and "Don't you think having kits in the clan will be great?" He answered every question she threw at him. It was as if she was assessing him. With a flirtatious smile, she eventually left to sit with Juniperheart and Leopardpelt. He looked around at all of the cats. There were only four she-cats, who all seemed pretty close, but other than that, the clan was thriving! Mudwhisker stretched, the day was getting late. Taking another look around his camp, he saw Smallstep resting in the shade, her yellowish eyes searching. Can't have her eavesdropping, now can we? Getting up and nodding to Timberfur, Mudwhisker sauntered over to the Oakclan cat. "Get up and go to your den." He growled.
(Changed Juniperstep to Juniperheart for convenience xD)
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 26, 2018 20:21:21 GMT -5
Smallstep's gaze locked onto Mudwhisker. She watched from a distance as a she-cat sat by him. Although she could hear no words, she couldn't help but notice that he looked like a love stricken kit. The faintest sign of an amused smile crept onto her face. When she saw him getting up, she quickly began searching the camp again. Perhaps he didn't notice her staring. As he approached, she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Here we go again, she thought. He just loved to pick a fight, didn't he? Well, what if she didn't want to play his games anymore? He had ordered her to her den. "Why does it matter?" she questioned, biting her tongue to withhold an irritated hiss.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 26, 2018 20:31:43 GMT -5
Mudwhisker rolled his eyes, "Are you that dumb, or do I really need to explain it to you?" He couldn't keep the hiss out of his voice as he continued, "I don't want you snooping in on conversations. And didn't your mother teach you not to stare? It's pretty rude." His patience was running low now. Very low. Smallstep was, well, small. So, he bent down, grabbed her scruff, and dragged her up to a standing position. "Now, walk to your den. Or, do I have to drag you there myself?" His tail lashed slowly from side to side, and his eyes were narrowed. They were always narrowed when he was angry or thinking.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 26, 2018 20:52:48 GMT -5
Smallstep flicked his tail a couple of times. "You're the dumb one if I need to explain that I can't exactly go spreading clan secrets to other clans," she replied, attempting to keep the flame that was her temper extinguished. Suddenly Mudwhisker was towering over her. He grabbed her scruff and pulled her up. A sharp growl escaped from her. There it was. What had set her temper to flames. The small warrior rose to her paws and glared at the deputy. "I'd like to see you try," she replied dryly. With that, she turned and began stalking off towards her tiny den. "Oh, and didn't your mother teach you not to go after she-cats so obviously out of your league?" She shot an amused glance back at him before disappearing into her den.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 26, 2018 21:08:23 GMT -5
Mudwhisker was almost trembling with anger, but he took a deep breath. She would soon enough sit on the trap he had set and be filled with pain. He looked away at her retort about Frostcloud. Was the gray she-cat really out his league? Maybe Smallstep was right, after all, Frostcloud was very pretty. He shook his head to clear his thoughts before he decided to go to Breezestar, who was now watching the clan from the roof of his den. "Breezestar?" he asked when he got over there, "I'm here to give you the report on Smallstep." Whoever watched the she-cat always went to Breezestar towards the end of the day to tell him her progress.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 26, 2018 22:59:04 GMT -5
Smallstep slumped down in the dirt at the back of her den. She hadn't noticed the newly made nest on her way in. Either that, or she simply didn't care enough to lay in it for now. Her claws dug into the ground as she thought about her situation. She couldn't keep going on like this. Hopelessness seemed to suddenly creep under her skin. With a sigh, she lazily gaze out at what small amount of the clearing she could see from her small den entrance. What was she to do? The thoughts of her clan not caring enough about her returned to her mind. Surely they would have found her by now had they cared enough. A million doubts bounced about in her mind as she tiredly rose to her paws. Perhaps a quick nap would assist her in clearing her mind. Her gaze landed upon her nest in the right corner of the den. She remembered Mudwhisker saying that he was going to change it earlier for her. Was that the smallest spark of an attempt to make amends? Had she dashed that small hope of being treated slightly better with her snarky remarks? Surely he wasn't truly attempting to be friendlier. It simply isn't like him, she told herself. After shrugging the thoughts away, she placed a paw into the moss. It had the soft texture of a newly lain out nest. As she settled down, she felt a sudden sharp pain in various places along her body. With a yowl, she jumped to her paws and ran out of her nest. When she got outside she paused. What had even happened? As she moved her head to examine her body, stabs of pain were sent up her legs and stomach. Upon closer inspection, she noticed several thorns stuck into her fur and skin.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 7:21:22 GMT -5
Breezestar nodded for him to continue. Mudwhisker told him that she had moved the boulder to the middle of camp and that she repaired the elders den. He also told him that Smallstep was talking back and, just like everyone else, the leader asked what he did for punishment. At that moment, a loud yowl was heard all throughout the clan, and turning in the direction of it, he saw Smallstep, clearly in some pain. Not looking back at Breezestar, he said, "I put thorns in her nest. Not the most mature form of punishment, but it did the job." He heard a laugh come from Breezestar, and he knew he was excused. Walking back to the clearing he saw many of the faces around him screwed up with laughter. They all understood now what Mudwhisker had done to get her back. He noticed Frostcloud turning back to him, an approving look in her gaze, before looking back to Smallstep. Even though happiness filled him to see his clanmates feel such joy, he couldn't help feel a prickle of guilt.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 7:49:44 GMT -5
Smallstep suddenly felt aware to the daunting gazes from those around her. The whole camp erupted into laughter. Her gaze fell upon Mudwhisker as she saw him approaching the clearing. Her expression was a mix of many different things. The most prominent of those emotions was surprisingly not anger. She appeared more understanding of her place, even broken. Her eyes shifted down to her legs, breaking the gaze that she previously held with the deputy. Anger suddenly erupted. Not anger at everyone else, but at herself. She gripped onto one of the thorns with her teeth, sharply pulling it out. A slight flinch was visible every time she ripped out a different thorn. Small trickles of blood had begun to flow from some of the cuts. All that remained was a small pile of the thorns as she turned and disappeared back into her den, completely silent.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 8:00:30 GMT -5
Even though all of the other cats were turning away from the scene and back to their conversations, Mudwhisker couldn't look away. Each time Smallstep pulled out a thorn, his guilt increased. As she stormed back into her den, he hurried to find Yarrowtail, the medicine cat. He was busy sorting herbs when he barged in. Before Yarrowtail could ask him anything, he said, "Smallstep has many thorn injuries. Please go and help her with them." And with that, he once again barged out, unwilling to answer any of his questions. A large sigh escaped him as he, once again, plopped down next to Timberfur and Flowerstorm, continuing to make conversation as Yarrowtail left his den with some herbs and went to Smallstep. The guilt subsided slightly.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 8:14:08 GMT -5
Smallstep flicked one ear as she heard faint pawsteps. They soon got closer and closer, stopping right behind her. "What happened to you?" asked a curious, confused voice. Yarrowtail. The voice of the medicine cat was not easy to confuse with the voice of any of the other cats. "Get out." The reply was filled with anger, but displayed a small hint of sadness. The medicine cat dared to get closer, inspecting her wounds the best he could from this angle. Although the cuts weren't deep enough to cause alarm, he knew that they must still hurt. "I just want to make sure that-" his voice was cut off by an agitated hiss from the warrior. Her head had raised slightly, but she kept her head and gaze facing the back wall of the den. "Look, I know that you're just trying to do your job, but don't waste your time." She seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I know you didn't have anything to do with what happened, but I don't want your help." The tom watched as she lowered her head back onto the dirt. It had surprised him that she didn't lash out at him. Of course she wasn't the most polite in declining his help, but she certainly could have attacked him. Sighing, he grabbed the bundle of herbs he had brought and left the den in silence.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 8:21:48 GMT -5
(I think I'm going to make Yarrowtail and Juniperheart siblings because I'm looking way to into this.)
Mudwhisker watched as Yarrowtail left Smallstep's den, the hint of defeat in his eyes. He was unsure what to do now, and he knew he shouldn't feel this way, but guilt wouldn't leave him. He wouldn't apologize, no way, but perhaps... yes! Mudhwisker stood up from his position and grabbed a squirrel from the fresh kill pile. He quickly took it to Smallstep's den, and as he stood outside the entry, he asked quietly, "Smallstep?"
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