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Post by Crowzerplorodon on May 16, 2010 18:40:01 GMT -5
With the fresh air ruffling his fur like an old pal, Tigertail felt peaceful for once. It was easy to forget plaguing maladies if you just let yourself get lost in the open, lush meadow under a clear, blue sky. Only a few clouds scattered the air; each one like a tuft of kitten fur, soft and wispy. Tigertail's paws kneaded idly at the ground, turning up blades of grass and dirt. His fur was slowly turning darker with each pawful he scooped, already the area around his paws was pure brown, unlike his lighter brown tabby coat he normally had. Almost like two-leg socks, he noted with amusement, picking out the word as something Daisy had used occasionally.
Oh, Daisy. She would have liked MeadowClan, with its open land and fresh air. The cats were real friendly, just the type she preferred. Then again, if Daisy had survived long enough to be here now, the two probably wouldn't have gone to MeadowClan. They would taken the kits and gone far, far away. Somewhere the lovely she-cat could forget her old mate and Tigertail could forget his brother.
His eyes narrowed slightly, remembering just how much he wanted to forget his brother. After Daisy had died, it seemed impossible, because he realized he needed the tom more than ever. But after finding MeadowClan and settling down, all those thoughts were wiped. He could and would forget the tom cat. Or at least, if he hadn't seen him at the gathering he could've. Irritated, the warrior glared over in the direction of StreamClan, cursing the cats for somehow finding and taking in his brother. Didn't they realize the grief it would cause?
... Okay, probably not.
With a groan, the warrior stood, stretching out each limb in turn. He was turning to head back toward camp when a noise startled him. Quick as a fox - or at least, close to one - Tigertail snapped his head toward the noise, raising a brow in question.
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Post by Crowzerplorodon on Aug 20, 2010 17:32:23 GMT -5
ooc: pssst. Cloudie. This is for you. ;3 [/blockquote]
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Post by Cloud of Diamonds on Sept 30, 2010 20:42:23 GMT -5
For once in what seemed an eternity, the big tom was finding it hard to decipher his mood. Usually he could dispassionately look at his emotions and flick them aside, gleaning what he could and combating it with hardness of heart and brain, obliterating the memories of pain until they resurfaced in his sleep, giving him the nightmares that still visited.
Well, the ones while he slept. Truly, life had been a nightmare since that one day. Perhaps he was exaggerating. True, he had a place to sleep. True, he had food. But these satisfied only his body - his mind was broken, a wild beast turned against everycat, even himself, a guilty, twisted thing full of greed, malice, and lust. He knew this, and cared nothing. This was who Redtail was.
Then why was he going to have a foxing apprentice? Was Cloudstar mad? Perhaps the white leader was blind to the truth, or perhaps StreamClan was simply so desperate they were ready to enlist even the most unsuitable candidates. Then again, it wasn't like the leader knew him. None of them knew each other at all. The Journey cats maybe - but even then, they probably only thought they did. No cat ever knew one another. Everyone was unpredictable.
Thinking such thoughts, the warrior had padded almost all the way to the MeadowClan border without realizing it. But he did. when his pads no longer felt the earth damp beneath them, when the slight day wind smelled of earth and rabbits and other foreign things.
Smelled of his brother.
A sharp intake of breath as he looked up and saw the achingly familiar tabby pelt in front of him made that pelt whirl - and their eyes locked. So much! So many feelings he barely knew them all, let alone could put names to them. But only three words came from his mouth. Perhaps Snarl - Tigertail - wouldn't understand. Or maybe he would. He had to know.
"Who are you?"
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Post by Crowzerplorodon on Oct 16, 2010 22:27:39 GMT -5
Tigertail had expected a lot of things to come from the sound.
At first he assumed prey. Some stupid rabbit or something that decided that Tigertail was a lazy cat and wouldn't chase it. Or maybe it was a badger that had decided it would take on the mighty warrior. Have at it, ye brute. Tigertail had fended off his fair share of badgers. He could take it. Then he sniffed the air, though, and the overwhelming scent of StreamClan hit him first. Alright, so it was a patrol, crossing the territory for whatever reason. Perhaps a message for Cedarstar? Or maybe something generally nasty. Oh well, he was here to intercept. And if they were planning an attack? Well, Tigertail was fast on his feet and could beat a patrol back to camp.
Then he realized it was just one cat and the idea of a message seemed more likely. Maybe there really was a badger and this StreamClanner was coming to warn the first cat they saw. Again, Tigertail was here as interception.
Of course, all of that was shattered when he saw who it was. Hiss. Redtail. Hiss. Redtail. StreamClanner. Brother. Redtail. Bastard. Hiss- Tigertail shut his mind down for a second to order his thoughts, trying not too make himself look too familiar around this other tom. He was trespassing, after all. Brother or not, Tigertail still had an obligation to find out why and get the tom off MeadowClan territory.
Even if his brother's words stung Tigertail more than the tabby warrior would ever admit.
“You know damn well who I am,” he said, purposely speaking very clearly as he narrowed his eyes at the orange furred tabby. “What'cha doin' here, Redtail? Youse StreamClanners ain't s'pposed t'be on MeadowClan territory. Scat 'afore I tell Cedarstar on ya'.” He completely paused for a moment, frozen in thought. “'Less dere's a serious reason fer ya' bein' here. If so, speak now or ferever hold yer peace. If not, scat.” In all honesty, Tigertail didn't want to talk or see or do anything with this other cat.
And that hurt him even more.
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Post by Cloud of Diamonds on Nov 11, 2010 9:28:54 GMT -5
He didn't understand. For a heartbeat this utterly crushed the flame-colored tom. Then his heart hardened once again, as it had always done. Suck up the pain and spit it out. Any other way would drive him insane, as it almost had done when he thought he - no, the river - had killed Snarl. Tigertail. Tigertail, Tigertail, Tigertail. This was not Snarl. This was just a cat who looked like him, had his memories, had once owned that name. Now he was just Tigertail of MeadowClan, not Hiss's big brother. Just another face in an ugly crowd.
He was not, as he had never been, and never would be, his lover.
And yet that voice that he had yearned to hear for so long...was telling him to shove it and get out of his sight. Well, that was just too damn bad. He'd suffered too long imagining things. It was time to end this for good. No pretending anymore.
Amber eyes narrowed, ears flattened, but insides twisted in the pain of memory, he answered.
"I might ask the same thing, Tigertail. And yet we don't, do we? We don't know who we are anymore. Ever since..."
That day on the river. But he couldn't bring himself to say it. This wasn't a joyful reunion, after all. It was a permanent farewell.
And yet, if he dared look outside his own writhing coil of emotions, if he dared look straight into the mind and soul of the cat whose face he knew better than his own, he could see the brown-striped tom's own pain and bewilderment. The urge to comfort him, to bow down before him and tell him that he was his, forever, was so strong that the big warrior took an unconscious step forward.
But he stopped himself.
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