A Moment in Time [ character short stories ]

[[ hardyrex ]]

Come one, come all to see Hardy's "Moment in Time", a series of short stories about little or big events in her character's lives.

Any story can start at any point, and can end in any way. Some events have happy endings, some don't. Some are G, some are PG-13. It all depends.

Its a fun way to write about (most) my character's old personalities. Beaverstripe and Rabbitstep, compared to their current personalities, will be really out of character. Plus, it helps me get ideas for role playing posts and drabbles.

So, let's start the show!

/cheesy

IMPORTANT NOTE: My characters may have different names then their current ones, so here is a list to what I may refer to them too. Also, different cats who are not on FoF will be told about here, so you aren't confused.

Beaverstripe
Also Known As:
Clyde
Cat Relationships:
The Flock - A group of cats who lived in the city. Killed Bonnie and is currently looking for Beaverstripe. Smoke was part of this group.
Bonnie - Beaverstripe's late mate. Killed by The Flock.
Smoke - A cat part of The Flock. Was the son of the group's leader. Killed by Beaverstripe over a piece of prey.

Rabbitstep
Also Known As:
Rabbitkit
Rabbitpaw
Rabbitflight ( Insulting term used by Blacktail. )
Cat Relationships:
Blacktail - Rabbitstep's mentor back in ForestClan. Died in a pointless fight in ForestClan. Helped make Rabbitstep who he is today, and was the reason he went on the Journey. ( Also called him Rabbitflight. :c )

Bluestorm
Also Known As:
Blue Smoke
Cat Relationships:
Mr. Dove/Snowflower - Old enemy, current bbf. Totes.

Stripes
Also Known As:
Number-387 ( Official cat fighting number. Real "Name".
Relationships:
Stripes - First friend, current best friend, lover
"Master" - Stripe's Two-leg "owner".

[[ hardyrex ]]

WARNINGS: Character death. Not in very vivid detail.

"That's a nice pigeon you have there." The purr rumbled deep in Clyde's throat. "You wouldn't mind sharing, would you?" His words were punctuated with his claws showing themselves, flexing them in clear view of the other solid gray cat. The most important part of hunting here? The approach. Sneaking around made you a coward, but a confident (cocky?) front on appearance was a good way to get into a cat's head. If you knew how to play your cards right.
Of course, some cats just had to play the hero. The tabby frowned when the cat hissed for an answer, showing its own claws. No easy dinner today, it seemed. He'd have to work for his food.
Someone here was going to die.
Clyde smiled wickedly. Was he obsessed with killing? Of course not. He didn't run out everyday slashing and clawing at everything he saw. Did he enjoy killing? Oh yes, very much so. Very few can handle the feeling of controlling someone's death. The rush of power that stormed through your body, the once in a life-time excitement, the wicked pleasure of the simple act. The very idea of taking away something that can never be gotten back made the tom's heart quicken. Saying that he enjoyed it was an understatement.
The two cats began to circle one another. Fur was on its end, making each cat looking bigger. Ears and lips were drawn back with hisses filling the air. It was almost a unspoken rule for these cats to give your foe one last chance to run, and this was that chance.
Today, no one took that chance.
A quick swipe at Clyde's muzzle started the battle. The tabby pounced onto his opponent, teeth biting at the scruff. The gray cat rolled over and swiped his front paws at Clyde, drawing blood with two lucky claws to the side. The brown tom lost his grip and scrambled back, but gave the tom no time to rebound. He jumped on top of the gray cat, aiming for the throat. Teeth hit flesh. The sent of copper filled the air. Clyde backed off of the now dead cat, licking the small amount of blood off of his muzzle. The fight was surprising quick.
Just goes to show how one mistake can be your last. The tom took a mental note of the battle. A reminder of not what to do. He sat and turned, feeling the sting of the scratches on his side. Nothing serious, it would heal in a week or two. The pigeon, the puzzle of the battle, lay just a few tail lengths away. A good meal for Bonnie. A smile crossed his muzzle. Their best in a moon.

A/N: Clearly, I have problems. x) I got bored and just started to type this. This is an important event in Beaverstripe's life; This cat ( named Smoke ) was a important cat in a group of cats, the ones who are after Beaverstripe. This is what started it all, so to speak.

My cat fight fails. I tried to watch one on youtube, but youtube won't work on my computer. So I made it up, basing it on a lion fight I saw once. o3o; And neither of the lions died in the lion fight. >>;

[[ hardyrex ]]

WARNINGS: Emoness ~

A new life.
It was a hard choice to make. Stay or leave? ForestClan was were he grew up, where he was taught to survive, where his family was born. He was part of ForestClan itself.
...But ForestClan wasn't ForestClan. This was another Clan, raised by a badger's honor. These cats didn't care about the Warrior Code, the land, the other clans. Just honor. A Badger's honor. Not a Warrior's.
But, his mother, his father, his siblings, his expected ones; How could any cat just abandon them? Maybe they had abandoned them. Why would a cat want to live in this lawless land? If that was the truth....then why did it hurt so much?
There was hope, though! Hope! ForestClan isn't the only thing in this world that StarClan has graced him with. A chance to start anew, away from this evil Clan. He didn't want his kits to grow up in this madness, and he was sure Dappledflower, his newly crowned mate, didn't either. A new life...
His mentor had told him to think hard. Think long and hard. Then think some more. "This will be a very important choice, Rabbitstep." The memory of his words was still fresh on his mind. "You could die. You could get lost, starve, or get killed by whatever is out there. We may not even find somewhere to live. Its a small chance."
Small chance. His very future depended on a simple yes or no question. Will you go? Will he? The last words of his mentor echoed in his mind, before he was killed by foolishness.
The last thing he ever said to any ear.
The wisest thing he ever said.
The wisest thing Rabbitstep had ever heard, and maybe ever hear.

"Don't you have that chance here, though?"

A/N: Blacktail was the reason you have Chuck Norris as MeadowClan deputy at this moment. He is accepting cash only as gifts. <3

[[ hardyrex ]]

WARNINGS: iluslug. <3

Blue Smoke couldn't believe it.
Here she was in some new two-leg home. It was a brand new start. Just her and some two-legs. Sweet, sweet attention.
But no. Something was obviously jealous of her. Not mere moments after been left to roam her new Kingdom, she had found something unacceptable.
Another. Cat.
They called him "Mr. Dove". He thought he was the king of this nest. Keyword: Thought. That mindset was going to chance really soon, however, because there wasn't enough two-legs for the both of them. Things were going to become ugly. Very fast.
Something was going to have to give.
And it definitely wasn't going to be her.

A/N: Yeah, its short, but whatever. |D

[[ hardyrex ]]

WARNINGS: Death, blood, fighting; All that horrible stuff I love writing.

Clang Clang Clang!
The door flew open as the cage tilted forward. A cat dashed into the ring with claws out and muzzle snarled. He met the other cat in the middle, claws slashing and teeth snapping. The crowd of up-walkers roared with the excitement of the battle, the very sound forcing his paws to strike harder. This was not a sport for the faint of heart. Fight or die was the rule here. And obviously, he was a damn good fighter. The other cat was new to the bloodshed of The Fight; sloppy timing and misjudged distances made it an easy opponent for tonight.
His master will be pleased.
He clamped onto the other cat's hind leg, tasting the warm, sour copper of blood. The other cat began to flail its paws; claws slicing wherever they could find fur. The blows slowly became weaker as blood was loss. The surge of victory ran through his veins, until something grabbed him around his neck and jerked him backward. His jaw pressed down harder, refusing to let go until his opponent was dead. Another jerk ripped his teeth from the fur and the cat whipped around and began to claw at the stick-like object that had him. He's not dead yet! Hoisted into the air, the cat was put into a cage that was covered by a blanket. His eyes couldn't see what was going on, but the sounds of pain-filled mews and smell of blood made his fur bristle. His wounds would heal, then he would fight again.
It was all he knew how to do.
It was all he could do.
And he loved it.

A/N: This? This is a cat I am currently playing around with. He has no name ( He doesn't need one. ). He is a cat raised for the underground of cat fighting. This is a battle that he was in; nothing but a distant memory for him. I doubt he will be a character on FoF, but this was fun to write.
And I'm happy to say I have no idea how real illegal cat fighting works. o.e

[[ hardyrex ]]

Title: The Seven Stages of Grief
Rating: PG
Cast: Tobias, Stripes
Summary: Everyone goes through the Seven Stages of Grief at some point of their life, and Stripes is no different.
A/N: Long Story Short: Tobias was the first friend, and so far the only one, Stripes has. This makes much more sense if you know the past of Tobias/Stripes, so I suggest you read that first.

! the seven stages of grief.

! stage one: shock/denial.

The cage had been empty for far too long.
There were rumors running around. A cat had manged to escape. The cat had dug a hole, and ran. The cat made it out alive, and the Up-walkers couldn't find it.
And it was not Tobias.
The cat looked like Tobias, acted like Tobias, but that cat was not Tobias. Tobias wouldn't just leave him here with even saying good bye, no. They had became too good of friends. Too much had gone on between them just for him to up and leave without so much as a final tail wave. Yet the cage was empty, the cat that left looked like Tobias, and some had said it was Tobias.
But it wasn't.
And that was final.

! stage two: pain/guilt.

Stripes should have tried and form a closer bond with Tobias. Maybe he formed too close of a bond. Either way, Tobias didn't want him to go with him, and all because of something Stripes did. Or didn't do. He would never know, because it was all his fault. He should have tried and helped Tobias escape. No, he should have made the tunnel himself so they could of escaped together. It was too late for any of that.
Too late for anything.

! stage three: anger/bargaining.

Stripes had never thought there was a higher power or anything, but whatever was up there, he was offering up his own soul just for something to lead him to Tobias. Time pasted, however, and that didn't work. He soon went on a full blown rampage, snapping at everything and anything. His fights were bloodier. Not even the Up-walkers was safe, as Stripes had almost bitten the finger off of a careless Up-walker who got too close. Even an innocent she-cat got part of her tail bitten off in an attempt of the Up-walkers to spread his talent to another cat. They soon put him in a small cage covered in a black towel.

! stage four: depression/reflection/loneliness.

He hadn't had any contact with anything in days. Stripes didn't want any. He hadn't eaten, and heck, he had hardly gotten up from the back of his cage. He was stuck laying down, remembering the first time they met. How Tobias named him. The "fight" they had. It seemed so far away now, and all that was left was nothing. Nothing could bring him back. Nothing else mattered, the Up-walkers, the she-cats, the other toms, even his Master. He didn't want to see any of them. Ever again. He just wanted to crawl under a rock and melt into the world.

! stage five: the upward turn.

Tobias was gone. That was a fact. But he wanted to leave. He wasn't born for this ruthless life of fighting. Stripes could handle it, but Tobias wasn't himself. Yes, he was lonely. But Tobias was too. If Tobias could handle it, so could he. Tobias was happier anyway, away from all this bloodshed. That's what Stripes wanted anyway.
A happy life for at least one of them.

! stage six: reconstruction/working through.

Stripes had started eating again. His Master could pet him again ( but the praise just wasn't the same. ). He had been in a small fight, just to get back on top, and had did pretty well. He was going to be okay, and Tobias was going to be okay. He could live without Tobias. He done it before and he will do it again.

! stage seven: acceptable/hope.

That didn't mean Stripes would ever forget Tobias.

[[ hardyrex ]]

Title: Fall Apart in Parts
Rating: PG-13
Cast: Stripes
Summary: Even the mightiest can fall...
A/N: ...yeah.

Loud wailing noises were filling the air. Up-walkers were running around, cats were yowling, and red and blue lights were flashing. Stripes cowered in the back of his cage, ears back and fur standing on end. He'd never seen such chaos before, so many scared Up-walkers and panicking cats. He wished he could run away from all these loud noises, but he was stuck like a mouse in claws. Where was his Master? Surely his Master wouldn't leave him behind, but he couldn't spot him and the only thing he could smell was the sourness of fear.
A Up-walker crashed into the row of cages, knocking Stripes and the other three cats onto the floor. The cage door to one of the cages opened and the cat shot out. Stripes looked around wildly for his Master, dimly hearing a crunch a pained yowl cut short. Yet another Up-walker tripped over his cage, kicking Stripes out of the center of the pathway and making him flip in his cage. A familiar scent mixed with fear picked up his cat and began to ran, jerking him back and forth as he made out his Master. The cage was roughly sat down and the cage was opened; Stripes' Master yelling something at him. Fear made him head for the bush-lined land outside the ring.
His Master was tackled by another Up-walker, both of the began to fight until the Up-walker sprayed something at his Master's eyes. Stripes lunged forward and bit the leg of the Up-walker, but something hard hit him and he went flying back into the bushes.

Everything went black.

Stripes was awoken by the afternoon sun beating on his pelt. He jumped up, but the pain in his side made him cry out. Gingerly moving forward, he peaked out of the bushes.
The ring was empty. Cages were flipped over, blood was scattered around the land, and some dead cats were laying here and there. Stripes moved back into the plants, and began to walk away from the area he was born in. Those Up-walkers might return for him, and he wasn't taking any chances.
Where was he heading?
A very good question.
Guess he'd find out when he got there.

[[ hardyrex ]]

Title: And the Thunder Rolls
Rating: G
Cast: Stripes
Summary: Rain rain, keep on pouring, never never stay away from me...
A/N: I suggest listening to this as you read this. Why? Because it will sound awesome.

The harsh clanging of rain echoed through the ranch. Every now and again the soft roar of thunder would drown out the rain for a heartbeat, then the steady beat would return. Stripes was resting on a hay bale on the loft, looking out with half lidded eyes to the storm. Before, he would have been sitting in his cage, looking out ( if he was lucky ) from a near by window to watch the rain fall. He would just sit and watch, listening to the rain as it hit the top of the ring until it lulled him to sleep. Thunder would help keep him up so he could keep listening. It was such an relaxing sound. He closed his eyes, imagining the few times his Master would take him out of his cage, set him on his lap, and just pet him to the song of the storm. He missed those days, the days of fighting, the days of a warm place to sleep, the days of his Master most of all. Stripes curled up into a ball, purring slightly. If only Tobias was here.