Looking over the camp

[Slug]

Smokestripe body automatically stood straighter, posture firm and alert. "Gingerstar," He dipped his head in respect. "And Badgerpaw. Greetings to all." He stated, nodding toward Badgerpaw. "Many greetings indeed." Then he promptly turned back to No-ears.

"That is good to hear, No-ears. I was worried for a moment." He smiled, despite his reputation for being a stern mentor he was told to be. "And Gingerstar, if you don't mind me asking, who else is going on this patrol?" He glanced at Badgerpaw before looking towards the warriors den.

"Do you need me to wake the others, Gingerstar?" Smokestripe asked, curious. "If so, say the word. I shall take Badgerpaw with me to "wake" them." He grinned playfully, winking at Badgerpaw knowingly. It never hurts to have some fun once and a while, Smokestripe thought.

/short. D8

[Rolo]

No-ears smiled, a little sad that there was little to be said in reply to Smokestripe, despite him handing out a compliment. Maybe the warrior wasn't one to act with glory, but he was a little sad that his praise had seemingly fallen on deaf ears. Their conversation was over much too soon for his liking, but then he knew that Smokestripe had more important things to attend to. Slowly, he moved away from the young tom and sat moved to sit beside his ginger leader.

Politely, he whispered in her ear, "Are there any matters we need to discuss today, Gingerstar?"

[lissey]

She was inching towards the dear rodent, each paw step was making her mouth water at the taste of a fresh vole. She crouched down, getting ready for her leap. So close, so close, she kept reminding herself. She was about to make the spring-

When Fawnfoot woke up with a start. Perhaps it was kismet that a patrol was being organized, right when Fawnfoot decided to cut off her usually lengthly nap? She wasn't going to be just another wastrel today, oh no. Fawnfoot wanted to go on patrol. Just the thought of getting to explore PineClan land gave her some encouragement to stretch out of her nest, and to pad slowly out of the warriors den, sleep still aching at her paws.

She let out a rictus of pleasure as she saw her leader, Gingerstar, talking with No-ears, Badgerpaw, and Smokestripe.

Looks like somebody is trying to get first dibs on patrol, she thought grimly to herself.

She walked over until she was side by side to the other warrior, Smokestripe, and then flicked her ears in delight when she heard Gingerstar mention patrol.

"'Morning, Gingerstar!" she spoke, trying to hold back her yawns and maintain a positive attitude.

Still trying to friendly, she glanced over and greeted Badgerpaw and Smokestripe as well, adding, "Hey Badgerpaw and Smokestripe, good morning, eh?"

She turned her direction back on Gingerstar, nodding her head in respect before she continued on, "Could I be in the patrol, Gingerstar? I feel the patrol could do some well needed refreshment for me." She gave a sweet smile to Gingerstar, getting annoyed at how hard acting sweet really is.

[Emily]

As Smokestripe gave a little wink, one lid closing over his eye - which had quite a mischevious gleam; Badgerpaw couldn't help but chuckle, daunting green eyes twinkling with an amount of respect and wonder. He never knew Smokestripe would want to do such a thing, it was quite funny really. The young apprentice loved when warriors who usually were much... stiffer, and serious, threw out a little something for the spunky apprentices like himself. "Yes! Smokestripe and I would go wake some of those other, lazy cats," Badgerpaw exclaimed, trying to keep his paws still from raw energy.

Badgerpaw, flanked close to his mentor, Gingerstar - and across from Smokestripe - glanced sideward as Fawnfoot casually made her way towards the little huddled group of cats. She was quite beautiful, mottled gingery pelt smooth and almost marble-like. Nose twitching, the apprentice faced Fawnfoot with a face much like previously; all the excitement flooding back into his face, and zipping about in his paws.

"Hey Fawnfoot!" Badgerpaw remarked, tail flicking back and forth, held high. Well, he certainly couldn't wait to go on a patrol. Badgerpaw, mostly known as the energetic, curious apprentice; was always up to doing something new or old alike. A hunt, a patrol, even just going around and helping the elders with their bedding. The only thing Badgerpaw truly disliked was picking ticks of the elders. It was horrid, and the smell of mousebile made his nose crinkle in disgust.

"So when do we head out for patrol?" Badgerpaw questioned slowly. "Do we need more warriors first?" More and more questions seemed to tumble from his mouth; certainly one could never deny Badgerpaw's loving little habit of nosing around in things and always getting so curious.

The grass beneath his paws was slightly damp, and the shafts of light hit him square in the eyes. Narrowing his eyes to shield his gaze from anymore sunlight, Badgerpaw shifted his weight from side to side. So, what now?

[Crowzerplorodon]

Rays of light broke down through openings in the canopy, littering the forest floor with dabs of light. The light caused the forest to have a warm glow about it, something inviting which almost drew out prey like a magnet. Pale green eyes scanned the vicinity softly as the cat kept watch for the telltale signs of a mouse.

The cat's white paws kneaded the earth softly, his ears pricked and alert as he focused on the hunt, not distracted by the sun's warmth on his short gray fur. Next to him stood a smaller, light furred she-cat who looked just as eager as he did to begin the hunt.

And then he knew it was a dream.

Slowly the warm forest seemed to melt away, taking with it the feeling of pleasure the sleeping tom got from the image and the pride he felt when he saw his apprentice. A chill sunk into the tom cat's fur, causing him to shake before his pale green eyes cracked open.

Jaggedclaw held back a rough sigh as he glanced around the dark Elder Den. His eye's attempt to close and send him back to sleep, back to the wonderful dream, but a gust of chilled wind blew in at that moment, forcing him to shiver even harder. The effort it took to shiver was slowly warming his bones and waking him up and with a grunt of pain, the gray and white elder stood from his once-warm moss nest.

His paws ached him terribly, caused by his crooked claws. A bolt or two of pain shot up his legs as he stretched out, trying to get his paws in "working order" for the day. Moments passed with Jaggedclaw just standing there, waiting for the sharp pains to fade so he could leave the den. Once they had dulled to an annoying pulse, the elder made his way out of the den, hissing as the snow on the ground made his paws wet. At least the cold felt nice on his paws.

A quick sniff told him the only ones awake were all gathered in one area. His nose picked up No-ears first, the tom easily recognizable by his shockingly bare head. Without ears, it wasn't hard to spot the elder from a distance.

Next Jaggedclaw saw Gingerstar and his leader's apprentice, Badgerpaw. As usual, the large apprentice was bouncing like a kit, and Jaggedclaw's ears flicked back in irritation. How his leader could deal with an apprentice like that was beyond him. Smokestripe was there too, as well as Fawnfoot who had just approached Gingerstar. Probably for dawn patrol Jaggedclaw thought with a yawn.

The tom paused for a moment, wondering if he should join the group or spend this time alone, having some peace and quiet before the clan really started. A pang of pain from his paws drew a snarl from the tom, and he sent a hateful look to the Medicine Cat Den. No way he was going there today.

With a firm look on his face, the elder padded through the snow, liking how it seemed to cushion his aching paws, and made his way to the small group. "Good morning Gingerstar, No-ears." He said politely, nodding to the both of them. A pause, then he turned to the other three cats, nodding to each one in turn as he spoke their name in an attempt to be polite.

[Whiskers]

Gingerstar had an answer for Smokestripe-- the answer was "yes, please do go wake up those sleeping hedgehogs"-- but then it seemed like the clan read her mind. It sprang to life before she could give it a sharp rap on their hindquarters. Fawnfoot slinked her way over as No-ears slid to the side and murmured a polite question in her ear. She saw Jaggedclaw begin to hobble his way toward them as well. Finally, the day's work could begin.

It had taken long enough.

Gingerstar gathered her thoughts and then tuned out everyone else for the moment, giving Smokestripe and Fawnfoot a nod to tell them that she would speak with them presently. She turned to No-ears then and as she did, her tail purposefully brushed at Badgerpaw's muzzle to quiet his babbling. Her ears flicked forward. "Not that I'm aware of. I just need to assign the dawn patrol and then locate my deputy to organize another hunting patrol as well... do you have anything you wish to speak of with me?"

She did not turn to the others. Though she knew that waiting would just make Badgerpaw even more fidgety (and how was that possible?) and that Fawnfoot would get annoyed with her as well, she was busy at the moment, tending to clan business. They would wait.

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[Rolo]

No-ears nodded as she spoke, smiling kindly at her. He couldn't help but think that she had come achieved much in the few moons she had been leader. Already she was organised and running the clan quite capably.

"It sounds as if things are going quite smoothly. There are no immediate matters that we need to attend to, it seems. However, I'm sure all the elders would enjoy a report on how the warriors are doing and what the prey situation is. Have there been any boarder fights recently? I don't think our neighbours will be giving up on winning that extra strip of land just yet."

((Sorry it phails >.< Not much else to say))

[Whiskers]

(Pssh, no problem. Quality over quantity anyday.)

Gingerstar considered what he had said quickly before replying to him. To her, it seemed like everything was going fine, especially for a clan that was started five moons ago. Some warriors were still getting used to clan life. Apprentices (the older ones) were also adjusting, but adjusting gracefully. For the most part though, the clan was becoming one entity.

"Prey seems steady so far, and though some animals have yet to stir from their leaf-bare slumber, our fresh-kill pile is large enough to keep our clan well fed. I expect that with the season, our forests will be teeming with prey," Gingerstar reported.

"I am... ridiculously proud of our warriors as well. They've been handling clan life and guarding our borders so no skirmishes have arisen-- though I've heard rumors of how Fogclan looks at us from across the line... and so we should always be careful about them. That's all, for now."

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[Rolo]

No-ears nodded as she spoke, processing the information. His chest puffed out slightly as he heard of how smoothly things were going and how well this clan was banding together. He couldn't have hoped for a better situation.

However, the news of Fogclan's odd behaviour rang alarm bells in his head. It worried him, he was well aware that boarder skirmishes were likely to happen alot for now, since the territory markers had not quite been set.

"Hmm, I sense some trouble may occur with Fogclan in future." He mumbled, making sure his voice was only loud enough for Gingerstar to hear, "We shall have to make sure the scent markers are always fresh and make sure the patrols are vigilant."

A smile then spread across his face, "I can see that the warriors here are doing a great job, as you are. I am proud..."

He stepped back slightly, dipping his head slightly when he did so, fixing his gaze on Badgerpaw, "But now I shall leave you be, Gingerstar. Poor Badgerpaw won't get a minute to train if I keep jabbering on. Forgive me, young one." He smiled at the apprentice briefly.

He then turned his gaze to Jaggedclaw, "Greetings Jaggedclaw. How are you today?"

[Whiskers]

Gingerstar dipped her head one more time to the wise elder, stepping back toward her own apprentice once she did so. Her mind was beginning to clear and settle on the task at hand: A patrol, of some sort.

She decided to take out two birds with only one stone. No-ears was right; they needed to keep the scent markers fresh and they would have to pay extra attention to the Fogclan border. So why not go check up on it herself now? The young tom, Badgerpaw, would probably also enjoy it. Then again, he'd enjoy anything, as long as he was doing something. Who knows-- Gingerstar could tell him to pick ticks off of elders and he'd probably be just as excited.

"Badgerpaw, today we are going to patrol the Fogclan border along side of Smokestripe." She told the tom. "So I do hope you've already eaten-- we can't afford to wait for you. Gingerstar momentarily looked away from the tom to sweep her gaze over the campsite. A patrol of just three cats was rather small and she would love to take another with her... if only she could find someone...

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