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Post by Cloud of Diamonds on Jan 17, 2010 14:48:16 GMT -5
....and I'd rather be out here with my friends than all alone.
He told himself. Though admittedly it hadn't been his idea. Still, it was good to see the others.
As the black-patched white tom padded into the Gathering clearing, it struck him how empty it was. Obviously it wasn't supposed to be, but still, it was strange to not see it filled with cats, not see the white, black-and-white, brown tabby, and ginger cats that stood above the rest.
Memories. Of once when they had all been reunited when the moon was full, supposedly under StarClan's blessing.
StarClan...how most of his Clan snorted at them so. Loonstep did not know what to believe, hadn't really come to a conclusion on whether the starry felines existed or not.
But that was besides the point. Or rather not, considering that his brother was in the Clan that believed the most. Ugh.
Zealotry was never a wise policy. Unless it was enthusiasm to improving oneself, in which case it was to be welcomed in any form. But then, recognition of such a thing was so uncertain.
Where were they, though? His brother and those who felt like his sisters? Had they been delayed?
He sat in the middle of the hard ground, pale blue eyes narrowed in curiosity.
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Post by Whiskers on Jan 17, 2010 15:15:03 GMT -5
Goosefur was so, so, so happy just to be walking along this land, toward the Gathering area, where her friends-- oh, her friends!-- would be waiting! It hadn't been very long since they had all parted ways and pledged their loyalties to different clans. Had it been a moon? Two, three perchance? Whatever the number, Goosefur felt like it had been a lifetime. The moons were dragged out by mind-numbing boredom and heart-crushing loneliness. Goosefur was a social butterfly, true. She was a friendly she-cat, eager to interact, ready to hop into conversations when given the chance. But there was an ache in her chest-- right in the place where she kept her friends dear to her heart.
She missed them. She missed them! She missed her beautiful sister, she missed Loonstep and she...well. She...did miss Cranetail, of course, but she had been relieved to have space from the tom. She had been able to get over him by escaping to Streamclan and so, when she faced him today, would the feelings comes back?
All thoughts of Cranetail were wiped from her mind the instant she saw the familiar pelt of Loonstep up ahead. With a bright and high-pitched squeal, Goosefur bolted toward him, barreled forward with a surprising amount of force for a cat of her stature. She broke through the remaining bushes, and down to the clearing she went. She brought her body to an abrupt halt before she could knock into Loonstep and with a breathless giggle, she whispered his name.
"Loonstep." [/b] Her maple syrupy eyes swept up and down his form, like she was making sure he was really there. And then, when she was sure, she threw back her head and laughed again, before dashing around and around him. She felt the need to pounce on him actually, like she was a kit and he was a kit and they were back in the Forestclan nursery together, like they should be. Together. At least they were together now. Goosefur couldn't contain her elation any longer. She pounced on his back and nuzzled his fur and said in a very low, murmuring, sort of bittersweet tone, "I missed you so so so so so so so so so much, Loonstep." [/center][/size] |
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Post by || allie on Jan 17, 2010 16:19:38 GMT -5
Duckfang stood at the top of the slope that led down to the Gathering area. Something about it seemed way too empty, almost a haunted feeling. This land was too big to only have four cats meeting in it. She shivered, and it wasn't only from the cold wind whipping past her. This better be worth sneaking away from camp, she thought with a hiss, fluffing out her white fur. It's freezing out here, and I could be getting my beauty sleep! The she-cat lashed her tail, but instantly took it back a second later; she could see Loonstep and Goosefur arriving now.
Her paws tingled with excitement at the thought of seeing her best friends again. She could have jumped for joy. Yeah, it meant breaking the warrior code... but it's not like that mattered any to Duckfang. That's what she lived for, and it didn't bother her in the slightest. Now, after moons of waiting, she got to see her dear sister again. They had so much to catch up on, and she couldn't wait. Caught up in her anticipation, Duckfang threw herself down the cliff. She hadn't calculated the distance correctly, and stumbled as she landed on the snow. Still, she pulled it off gracefully, like she always managed to do. Her paws raced toward her friends, making a crunching noise as they met snow. She almost tripped a few more times and kept reminding herself not to run faster than her feet could move, but she couldn't help it.
Being a MeadowClan cat had its perks. It seemed to take only less than a minute to get down to the Gathering area, and Duckfang was already approaching her friends waiting under the four great oaks. She wasn't even breathless as she trotted towards them, tail waving. She smiled at them. "Goosefur, Loonstep, I've waited to see you for so long!" she purred, nuzzling each of them in turn. "How've ya been?" The she-cat sat on the ground and wrapped her tail around her paws. Her eyes gazed at her friends warmly. She studied them; they didn't appear to have changed very much, which relieved Duckfang. She shivered again; it really was way too cold out here for a meeting like this.
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{amberrr}
Junior Member
Taste da rainbow.
Posts: 87
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Post by {amberrr} on Jan 17, 2010 17:15:58 GMT -5
Cranetail padded into the bushes that kept the Gathering place hidden and took a gulp. He hadn't seen these cats-- his real friends in a moon. Don't get him wrong, he respected his clan and its ways, but sometimes he feels if he hadn't believed that idiotic apprentice all those moons ago, things would be different. But, no matter how much he wanted to, the past was set in stone, and Goosefur was probably going to announce she had become mates with Cloudstar or something like that...
Maybe, he thought to himself, if I hadn't Goosefur and I's relationship would be...different. He still felt mouse-brained about not knowing Goosefur had had affections for him while he had tried to push himself harder, hoping that Brownstar would choose him for deputy, while Goosefur sat in the back, always waiting for him. And, he'd blown it. She was now in StreamClan, probably as happy as she could be with Cloudstar...
Cranetail shook the thought out of his head. This was a time for remembrance with his dearest friends, he wouldn't let his stupidness get in the way. As he pushed through the bushes, he saw his brothers familiar pelt, and caught the scents of Goosefur and Duckfang, who were almost like sisters to him. One of them was, anyway. The other he had no idea how he could talk to her, without having that awkward moment of remembering Cranetail's confused expression as Loonstep had told him of Goosefur's love for him.
Seeing them, he ran down the hill at full force. He only stopped when he was right by them. A moon of lies to his clanmates, telling them last moon he had felt squeamish and decided to hunt in the middle of the night. Not that it mattered, these three were more important. In a way, their were his only piece left of his old self, the one where he didn't want to beat everyone at everything, and feel the need to show off in front of she-cats, to show he ruled. |
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Post by Cloud of Diamonds on Jan 17, 2010 20:41:44 GMT -5
Oh, well. So, the others had all arrived, and quickl'y, too. Loonstep didn't mind waiting, but it was kind of cold...he felt a strange longing to go the river, his favorite place, in spite of the chill...
But Goosefur was here! A rare smile stretched the tom's black and white face. His little sister. Or practically so. On one of her mad dashes around him, he gently stopped her with a paw and stepped forward to nuzzle her affectionately. "I missed you too, Goosefur. There's no one quite like you in PineClan. Or anywhere, for that matter."
He looked up to see her sister! Duckfang was here, good. He nuzzled her back, saying "Good to see you too. We should do this more often. We're not even breaking the code, really."
But the warrior's face was slightly less pleasant when he caught sight of Cranetail rushing towards them. Arrogant mouse-brain.
Still, they were all together again - and that was what mattered.
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Post by Whiskers on Jan 17, 2010 21:41:26 GMT -5
Goosefur purred at Loonstep, the eyes still bright and yellow like the stars as she listened to Loonstep's greeting. Ah, was there any other cat she respected more than Loonstep? He was possibly the best tom that she knew-- truly, her best friend. Duckfang was so close, but she was Goosefur's sister. It was different. And Cranetail...Starclan knew it was very different there. Loonstep was the one she had the most honest friendship with.
Speaking of the other two-- they were here before Goosefur could blink. Duckfang first, then Cranetail, but there was hardly a moment between the two. Goosefur's beaming smile returned and the excitement she had at seeing Loonstep soared through her body. She trembled, and it wasn't because of the cold. Her purr extended into a yowl of greeting. Tonight would be the best night of her life, that was for certain.
"Duckfang!" Her tail waved in the air as Duckfang nuzzled her; the warmth spread to her tips of toes and she licked her sister's muzzle affectionately. "I've been doing as well as I can away from you and the boys," She replied to her sister. Then she turned to Cranetail, rather reluctantly. When she faced him, what would she feel?
Her eyes settled on the tom's face and she waited apprehensively for that same breathless feeling to sweep underneath her and grip at her heart. It didn't come. She felt the stir of embarrassment, a heat underneath her fur and she ducked her head rather sillily. No no, don't make this evening awkward, she lectured herself inwardly and so the she-cat raised her head again and she smiled very kindly at Cranetail. The smile shimmered in her eyes as she danced forward and gave him a tiny playful nuzzle.
"Hello, Cranetail," Goosefur said to the handsome tom. "With your arrival, we've completed our little circle again! Loonstep is definitely right, we need to do this more often. As often as we can. I miss you all so much sometimes I can't even bear it. I want to know everything about what's been going on with you!" Goosefur gushed. "How are your clans?" [/size] |
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Post by || allie on Jan 17, 2010 23:56:42 GMT -5
Duckfang's teeth chattered. She couldn't get over how dang cold it was out here, and her thin pelt wasn't helping the situation at all. Her eyes swept around the Gathering; Cranetail still wasn't here. What was taking the white tom so long? Had he been caught? She squinted again, then sprang back in surprise. Cranetail was there already, but his white pelt blended in so nicely with the snow that he appeared invisible. Only his blue eyes gave him away. "Cranetail!" she purred enthusiastically, twining her tail with her friend's. "I've missed you as well. You're gonna have to do something about that pelt of yours; I didn't even notice you." As she stepped back to her place in the small circle, she could sense the tense air crackling between Goosefur and Cranetail like right before a thunderstorm. Why were they acting so nervous like this? Did something happen? She thought about it for maybe a second, then the thought vanished as Loonstep spoke again.
She swung her head around to face the black-and-white tom. "Whaddya mean, 'We're not even breaking the warrior code'?" she mewed. "Of course we are! Are you suggesting this is totally within the rules? I swear, Loonstep, sometimes you're a bit... loony." She giggle a bit at her joke then addressed her sister. "MeadowClan's great, Goosefur," she meowed. Then after a short pause: "Hell, who am I kidding? It's not great. Prey's low, cats are getting weak, it's cold as who knows what out here... I hate leaf-bare. Who would even come up with the idea such a thing?" The she-cat sighed, whiskers drooping.
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{amberrr}
Junior Member
Taste da rainbow.
Posts: 87
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Post by {amberrr} on Jan 19, 2010 21:36:37 GMT -5
The great white warrior fluffed his pelt in the cold. For a brief moment he saw Loonstep's glare and Cranetail almost wished he hadn't come. He didn't deserve friends like these. He looked down, then heard his friend's comment and his whisker's twitched in a form of amusement. Duckfang always could make the darkest days seem happier. The tom looked at Duckfang, he purred. "Well, there's no mud to roll around in like the old days." he meowed, remembering the times he and Duckfang had mischievously had a mud fight, causing their mentors to almost die of fright when seeing their mud-covered pelts.
Goosefur nearly pounced on them all to get them to spill about how their clans are and he purred. "FogClan is full of "StarClan is the only thing" insane cats. In fact, one cat, Tigerheart tried to get me to realize my sins or something," he shuddered at the thought of the not-all-together cat,"But, most of the cats mean good, and they all treat me nicely, as we're all new to the Clan." Loonstep had been looking at him uneasily,but now he looked horrified, most likely from the insane cat who'd try to "convert" him.
He sat down and curled his pure white tail over his paws. He noticed what Duckfang meant by his fur, in the tail-deep snow, it took him a hard time to even find his own paws. He sat there letting them continue there discussion feeling to guilty to look them in the eyes. What must they think of him? A horrible cat, for sure. Never actually realizing Goosefur had feelings for him, being too occupied to even /really/ be deepest friends with them as apprentices? Being too full of himself to see what he really had there all along... |
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Post by Cloud of Diamonds on Jan 20, 2010 18:06:50 GMT -5
His poor brother! Loonstep's irritation instantly changed to sympathy and horror when his brother described how some mouse-brain had tried to 'convert' him. Ugh. Well, at least before that things had been going fairly well before that...
Goosefur was behaving well around his brother...hopefully it would last. The last thing he wanted was for her to get upset or something. Admittedly, it was a bit awkward, but still, the general feeling of togetherness was strong.
The little cat's cheerfulness was nice...it almost made the chilly clearing warmer, though he was thankful for his thick, long pelt that made him seem bulkier than he actually was. She was so frank, yet so lovable...it was one of her most endearing traits. Everything? Gosh, what could he even say? He'd been kind of bored? He'd been climbing trees, thinking, missing them? Nothing entertaining, that was what.
And then there was Duckfang's depressing speech..he didn't need more bad news, thank you. "We know, Duckfang. It's the same for us, and it's nature's idea." He'd sighed. Get used to it, he almost added, but that would've been mean. And the black and white tom was working on suppressing his cynical comments, despite what some might think. Loony. He rolled his eyes. Ha ha.
Cranetail's comment made his face a bit more lighthearted, though. It seemed his brother was being better than Loonstep's expectations, which goodness knows was a good thing.
"Well, PineClan's okay, and no one has gotten really sick yet. I guess that's something to be grateful for. Nothing much has been going with me, just patrolling and stuff.
I sympathize with you, though, Cranetail."
And I've been aching to see you all, were the unsaid words.
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Post by Whiskers on Jan 21, 2010 23:33:50 GMT -5
Hearing their news, picturing their lives... Goosefur felt both excitement and the great, strong stab of absolute loneliness, even jealousy, when she realized she was truly no longer in those lives! She would only hear about them now, through these stolen, forbidden meetings and the short, shallow ones at the Gatherings. She would never ever ever ever be involved with them again. What would happen to them, Goosefur thought to herself. Would they stay best best friends, the way they were?
It was near impossible, Goosefur knew. They would grow apart, most likely, being in different clans. The struggle to stay together, to sneak around... it would get to be too much. They would all make new friends and those new friends would help them through their lives.
Goosefur hated those stupid new friends. They had no right to take her family!
The growing distraught inside her bubbled and popped and Goosefur gritted her teeth. What was she doing? This was a happy time, she would not let her melodramatic nature run astray and ruin everything! Yes, they would grow apart, and yes they would make no friends, that was almost...almost certainly a given. But they were together now!
Now is what matters! Tell them about your life! she urged herself and she smiled at them, though it was most obviously forced.
"Sorry to hear about that Duckfang, Cranetail. Clan life is always hard during leaf-bare though...even when we were on the journey and it was awfully cold... it was terrible.This one has been harder though. I just...hope everything gets better. I guess Streamclan is fairing better, along with Pineclan," she said with a tiny nod. She wasn't so sure herself. Were they okay?
"I mean...the stream is nearly all frozen," she admitted. "And well...we can't get water very easily but I'm really good at hunting in bushes and so I'm pretty well fed myself and I try to give the kits as many of my catches as I can. It will all get better though. Just two more moons of this right? It will get warmer every day... I bet the snow will melt by the end of the week!"
There. That was Goosefur. Optimistic, always trying to get a smile out of someone though she was hardly in the mood for a joke or a laugh today. She just wanted...her friends. She just wanted to snuggle up beside them and know that they would be there the next morning. [/size] |
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We have a cbox again and we're opening the place up as a closed, members only rp