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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 17:14:13 GMT -5
(That works for me. XD)
Smallstep allowed the silence to engulf her when Yarrowtail's pawsteps faded. She blankly stared at the den wall in front of her. She had settled herself down in the corner of the den. Her mind ran wildly with various thoughts. After a moment of what felt like blindly searching her own mind, an idea came to mind. She recalled how Mudwhisker had reacted in such a flirtatious way towards Frostcloud. Fine, if he wants to play games, I'll play. So it had been decided. She would attempt to play with his emotions. Throw herself out into the open and then lure the unsuspecting tom into her grip. She was certain that this plan of hers would work. The only potential problem would be luring him in in the first place. Surely if he had even the slightest feelings other than hatred toward her he would have shown them by now. No matter. She could manage to bypass an issues should they arise. The sudden call of her name pulled her from her plotting. Her tail flicked in annoyance when she made the voice out to be Mudwhisker. Didn't this fool know when to stop? Thoughts of lashing out at him then and there crossed her mind. What did she have to lose at this point? To her, it would be mercy for him to just kill her and claim self defense. A strong desire to let her temper control her began to bubble up. Biting her tongue, she remained silent.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 17:32:46 GMT -5
Mudwhisker waited for a few moments. No reply. Unsure if he should go in or not, he decided to just toss in the squirrel. It landed within the den Smallstep resided in with a small thump. He looked at it for a moment before saying, "I brought you a squirrel. You need your strength for work tomorrow. Leopardpelt will be watching over you." Concluding this was the best he could say, he turned tail and went straight to the warriors den. His mind was running too fast, and he needed to sit without the chatter from all of his clanmates. He entered the bramble den and went to his nest which was set in the farthest corner of the encased area. Circling it a few times before laying down, Mudwhisker just wanted to sit with his thoughts for a moment. His thoughts switched from his friends to Frostcloud to Smallstep. Smallstep? Why am I thinking about Smallstep? She's no one, and she'll never be anything. He tried to convince himself, and when that didn't work, he went back to Frostcloud. The gray she-cat with white dapples and blue eyes had, at the moment, won his affection. She was a capable warrior and her beauty far surpassed many. His thoughts went on like this for awhile, constantly switching between different topics and coming up with new ideas. He had completely lost track of time. (I honestly might make a little allegiances thing for myself xD Also, do you mind if we timeskip either to night or next day? )
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 17:56:06 GMT -5
(You're more than welcome to if you'd like! Sounds great to me. Also I don't remember you ever saying the gender of Leopardpelt, so I hope it's okay that I just put male.)
Smallstep woke to a sharp jab in the ribs. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Leopardpelt staring down at her. Light suddenly flooded her vision, forcing her eyes to squint. The Duskclan warrior had been standing in the perfect spot to block out the sun. Upon moving, the harsh rays entered the den. A small hiss escaped the warrior as she raised up a paw to block the light. It wasn't until now that she noticed the small trails of blood from the thorns yesterday. Obviously she had forgotten to clean her wounds. She rose to her paws and looked at Leopardpelt. The tom had his gaze fixed on the squirrel sitting at the far end of the den, untouched. His gaze returned to the small she-cat and stared coldly at her. "I better not catch you wasting anymore prey. If you refuse to eat, then don't take any to begin with." The words from this tom were cold and filled with hatred towards her. Annoyed, she flicked one of her ears, yet remained silent. So much for Mudwhisker giving the squirrel to her. What had he even been attempting to do? Make amends? No, certainly not. Her mind thought back to him saying she would need strength for work tomorrow. This was the more likely option, so she dismissed the thought quickly. "Meet me in the clearing. You will be changing nests today." After what felt like him throwing salt into the wound, he padded out of the den.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 18:14:35 GMT -5
(Haha that's fine. If you have google docs I can share a doc with you for allegiances ) Mudwhisker blinked open his eyes, sun light filtering into the den. He had fallen asleep last night in the middle of his constant thoughts. Stretching, he quickly arose and walked into the clearing that was filled with waiting cats. Upon his entry, they all turned to him expectantly. He cleared his throat, and with a powerful voice instructed, "I will go hunting with Frostcloud and Juniperheart. Timberfur, bring some cats on a border patrol. Not that there's much threat from Oakclan." He scoffed, and a few laughs were heard from some of the warriors. He flicked his tail, gathering the two she-cats and leading the way out of the camp. Once they were a good distance away, Mudwhsiker ordered them to stop. "We'll hunt individually. Once you have a suitable amount of prey, meet back here." And with a barely noticeable twitch of his ear, the two she-cats disappeared into the bushes. Right, time to hunt. He went the opposite way the she-cats did, bringing himself low to the ground as he tracked some prey.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 18:31:27 GMT -5
(Yeah sure! Do I just give you my email for that?)
Smallstep lingered in her den for a moment longer, sulking. She released a heavy sigh as she prepared herself for the day. Rather than a big speech to herself, she simply insisted that today couldn't be worse than yesterday. She padded out of her den just in time to hear laughter from some of the cats. Her eyes scanned the clearing and stopped on Mudwhisker. Figuring that he had cracked another joke, she lashed her tail a few times. Stick to the plan, she reminded herself. He won't fall for it if you snap at him again. As much as she wanted to take her anger and pain out on him, she couldn't. Her eyes darted away from Mudwhisker and landed on Leopardpelt. Wasting no time, she padded up to him for instructions. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could return to her den. "I want you to lay out fresh nests in the nursery and medicine den first," he meowed when he spotted her approaching. He tossed his head towards the left. "Some moss is over at the camp entrance. If it isn't enough for all the nests, tell one of the cats guarding the entrance." Without saying anything else, Leopardpelt padded off in the direction of the warrior den. The small she-cat stayed put as she watched the various patrols head out. When they were gone and the clearing was less crowded, she made her way over to the entrance. Just as Leopardpelt had said, wads of moss were bundled together in a pile.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 18:34:09 GMT -5
(Yup! I'll edit this post in a bit with a reply) Mudwhisker sniffed at the mouse he had caught just a moment ago. It was warm in his paws, blood pooled a little around the place where he had bitten into it. He bent down to pick it up by its tail when he heard rustling in a near by bush. Suddenly, he was on the ground, looking into the eyes of Frostcloud. She had a goofy grin on her face when she said slyly, "Did I scare you?" The look of surprise on his face quickly vanished as he pushed her off, laughing and saying, "Of course not. Nothing could ever scare me." They were both laughing now, and when they finally calmed down, she asked, "Do you mind if we hunt together? Maybe we can find large pieces of prey." Mudwhisker thought for a moment before nodding, "Yes, let's do that. Start searching while I hide this mouse." Frostcloud walked around him, flicking her tail on his nose before going deeper into the forest. He sighed, but it was a happy sigh, as he quickly hid the mouse in some shrubbery. Once it was thoroughly hidden, he followed the dappled she-cat's scent until he saw her tail poking out. He bent down beside her as she whispered, "Rabbit." Looking where she was, he saw a fat hare chewing on some leaves. "I'll go on the other side," he mumbled as he carefully stalked around the unsuspecting animal. Once he was in position, there was a sudden yowl. Frostcloud ran straight at the rabbit, chasing it right into Mudwhisker's claws. Once he got a hold on the panicked creature, he bit into it, resulting in a quick death and large meal. They continued to do this, hiding prey, hunting, then hiding prey again, until they had many pieces of prey pooled together. Kittensmew
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 19:09:57 GMT -5
(I'll send a pm with it shortly then. ^.^)
Smallstep rolled a large wad of old moss across the clearing. She rolled it a short distance from the pile of new moss. Her paws rolled a large section of the moss into a smaller ball. She picked up the ball and began padding off towards the nursery. The queens cautiously eyed her as she worked. "Goldkit! Get away from her!" Her gaze shifted from her work to a small kit staring up at her. Upon being scolded, the kit scampered back to its mother. "What did I tell you about going near that cat!" The warrior lowered her ears as she released a small sigh. "Don't you even think about putting any thorns in there," another queen commented with a cold tone. Apparently news of the event had spread. Biting back a snarky remark, Smallstep quickly laid out the last nest and left. Time seemed to pass rather quickly as she worked on the next dens. Despite what Leopardpelt had told her, she decided to do the medicine den last. As she padded into the den, she drew the attention of Yarrowtail. The medicine cat greeted her and seemed to be straining to get a better look at her cuts. Dismissing his attempts, she worked quickly and silently. About halfway through laying out new nests, she noticed that all the moss had been used. "I'll be back to finish these. I just need to get more moss," she informed Yarrowtail before disappearing out of his den.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 19:28:50 GMT -5
"Let's bring these back, Juniperheart must be waiting." Frostcloud remarked as she picked up two squirrels and a mouse. Mudwhisker agreed and he quickly picked up the large rabbit they had caught earlier. They traveled back to the original area the three warriors had started at, and found Juniperheart waiting white a few voles. Mudwhisker knew that their catches combined would be a good contribution to the fresh-kill pile. Leading the way back, Mudwhisker's thoughts were filled with Frostcloud, and he hadn't realized they had already made it back to the camp. He walked in, the clearing still mostly empty. He set down the rabbit in the middle of the camp where the fresh-kill pile resided. "This is good, some cats can share and others can take a vole. You are excused for the day." Juniperheart and Frostcloud went on their own ways, and so Mudwhisker was left with nothing else to do. Maybe I'll go check on Amberfall and her kits, then I'll wait for the border patrol so they can give me a report. Deciding on this idea, Mudwhisker padded over to the stone den that protected expecting she-cats. Poking his head in, he saw two she-cats and two kits. Flowerstorm, halfway into her pregnancy, was gossiping with Amberfall, who had given birth to her two sons Flamekit and Goldkit. They were about two moons old. "Hello, sorry to interrupt. I just came to make sure everything was alright." The kits nodded enthusiastically, clearly excited to have the deputy right by them. However, the queens were obviously in a different mood. Amberfall remarked, "That Oakclan cat is so...so... what's the word? She had an attitude-" Flowerstorm interrupted, saying, "Yes, an attitude is just the right word. She's scaried Goldkit and Flamekit when she was making our nests. Please, straighten her out, Mudwhisker." Somewhat shocked to hear that Smallstep had startled the kits, he nodded slowly. "Of course, I will see to it immediately." With that, Mudwhisker went back to the clearing, waiting for the border patrol and Smallstep.
(Those queens love to exaggerate!)
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 19:59:46 GMT -5
(Indeed. XD Oh, I got the invite. ^.^)
Smallstep had managed to slip out of the camp before any patrols returned. She slowed her pace and cast a glance over her shoulder. Yarrowtail had stopped and was bending down examining a plant. She waited patiently as he made one swift cut through the stems of the plant. "Oh, sorry. I just have been pretty low on marigold lately," he explained as he quickened his pace to catch up with the small she-cat. "That's okay," she replied. The tom kept pace with Smallstep now, holding the marigold in his mouth. Her mind flashed back to how she ended up with Yarrowtail following her. She had informed the guard that she needed more moss. The guard, Squirreltail, unsurprisingly would not allow her to leave without someone watching her. He insisted that she wait for some of the patrols to return so someone could accompany her. Accompanying her was what the tom had called it. However, she knew that he really meant someone to guard her. Waiting for the patrols was that last thing she had wanted. "Fine. If you can get Yarrowtail to agree, he can take you," Squirreltail had told her. Luckily the medicine cat had agreed. To her surprise, he was rather kind to her. Well, not entirely kind, but a lot better than the others. So, the two set out together to find some moss. Smallstep followed Yarrowtail back into the camp with a mouth full of moss. The medicine cat had a full mouth as well, but with herbs rather than moss. Along the way he had spotted several useful herbs that his stocks were low on. Truthfully, the she-cat had not minded waiting for him to gather his herbs. She would rather be out in the forest than stuck in the camp. Seeing as she still had to finish up the nests in the medicine den, she continued following Yarrowtail. As she padded across the clearing she had noticed Juniperheart. A small sigh was thankfully muffled by the moss as she assumed that meant Mudwhisker had returned.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 20:38:08 GMT -5
Mudwhisker stood up when he saw Yarrowtail and Smallstep cross the clearing. He quickly walked over to them, nodding to the medicine cat and stepping in the way of the tiny warrior. "I need to speak to you." He said, his face expressionless. "The queens tell me you have scared the kits in the nursery. Your attitude also needs some work. If you don't change your ways soon, you'll have more than just strained muscles." His yellow eyes were, of course, narrowed as he waited for her response.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 20:56:15 GMT -5
Smallstep slowed her pace when she saw Mudwhisker approaching. She had wanted to pretend she didn't notice him, but he stood in front of her. She stopped and stared at his expressionless face with a confused look. Upon hearing these accusations, her tail flicked in annoyance. She gently set down the wad of moss she had been carrying. "I did no such thing," she replied, surprisingly calm. Her gaze drifted off to the nursery in the distance. "Leopardpelt told me to change nests today, so I started in the nursery. One of those kits was watching me work," she explained. Her gaze returned to Mudwhisker. "I said and did nothing. I didn't let the kit distract me. Then the queen that I presume is the mother scolded the kit for talking to, as she said, 'that cat.'" Her ear flicked uncomfortably as she recalled the remark the other queen had made. "Then the other queen said I had better not think of putting thorns in the nests." She looked down at her paws as Mudwhisker warned her. "By that you mean more of these little pranks, I assume?" This had been the first time she had confronted the deputy about what he had done. The first time she even acknowledged it to anyone, actually. Yet, her question was not in her usual snarky or angry tone.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 21:07:50 GMT -5
Mudwhisker didn't say anything for a long time. He took a deep breath before saying nothing and walking away. He just didn't know what to do anymore. How could he trust an outsider instead of his clanmates? Plus, the fact she confronted him about the thorns unsettled him a little bit. Right now, he just wanted to find Frostcloud. She would make him feel better, he was sure of it. He stopped just as he was about to walk out of camp. He couldn't appear desperate to the she-cat. So, he turned and went to the nursery. Mudwhisker poked in his head, saying, "I spoke to Smallstep. I recommend simply giving her no notice when she is in your den. That goes for you too, kits. This way there will be no more problems in the future." Before he could receive a reply, he left. Back to the clearing it was.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 21:25:50 GMT -5
Smallstep held her gaze down at her paws. Mudwhisker said nothing in return to her explanation. After a long pause, the tom had simply left in silence. Her eyes shifted to watch him pad off, a confused expression on her face. She had expected him to yell at her, scold her, defend the queens, do anything other than remain silent and leave. A small sigh escaped her as she lowered her head to pick up the wad of moss. There were still tasks that she had to attend to. No use in wasting time pondering about why Mudwhisker said nothing. Yarrowtail greeted the she-cat when she entered his den. She could feel his gaze staring right at her. Completely silently, she worked on laying out the remaining nests. After quickly finishing, she cast a quick glance at the tom, then turned to leave. "Smallstep, wait." Upon hearing him call her name, she paused. He padded up behind her and looked down at her paws. "Let me at least make sure you won't get an infection," he meowed, gazing up at her. "Please," he added. Finally agreeing, the she-cat sat down on the floor. She refused to settle into a nest, as she had planned on leaving right after. Yarrowtail examined her legs and the lower parts of her stomach that the thorns had reached. "Well, the cuts look very minimal. They won't cause any infections, but-" When she heard that she was fine, she didn't care to hear the rest of what he had to say. Besides, it was likely to be his opinion rather than facts. "Thank you," she murmured with a small nod before exiting the den.
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Post by Shortee on Feb 27, 2018 21:37:11 GMT -5
Mudwhisker watched in silence as Timberfur walked up to him, his border patrol dispersing upon entering the camp. "Did you find anything?" He asked. Timberfur responded, "No. There isn't a hint of anything that would be a threat." Mudwhisker simply nodded and his friend left. He watched as scenes unfolded in front of him. Squirreltail had gone to see his sister, Amberfall, along with Bramblefoot. Juniperheart and Frostcloud had come back and were now conversing with Leopardpelt. As his gaze wandered the camp, he saw Smallstep leave the medicine cat den. He didn't let his gaze stay, however, and he looked up to see Breezestar watching the camp, as usual. His gaze locked with Breezestar's, and they gave each other a small nod, as if to say everything was in order. For now.
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Post by Kittensmew on Feb 27, 2018 21:54:32 GMT -5
Smallstep stopped a short distance from the medicine cat den. She scanned the camp, noticing that most of the cats were socializing yet again. She stopped looking around when she spotted Breezestar. It had just now crossed her mind that she really didn't see much of him. For a leader, he never seemed as concerned with guarding her himself. Instead, Mudwhisker seemed to be the one given that task. Assuming she had more to do, she slowly padded over to Leopardpelt. The two she-cats that he was talking with eyed her with cold gazes. "Is there anything else I need to do?" she asked the tom, attempting to ignore the other two cats. "Hmm. Not for now. Return to your den if you wish. You aren't completely done for the day, though. Just for now." The Oakclan warrior nodded and began padding off towards her den. "Don't sit in anymore thorns!" A cold remark can from Frostcloud. The comment sent Juniperheart into laughter, and Leopardpelt offered a small chuckle or two. Her tail flicked a few times as she attempted to hold herself back from lashing out.
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