[ twist the truth ] PRIVATE

[Slug]

The Devil cannot lie...

Crowclaw watched with smug eyes as his clanmates bustled about in an attempt to stay warm. New-Leaf was just around the corner, but the snow still hugged the ground and the air was brittle and cold. However, the sun peaked through the clouds and Crowclaw hadn't hesitated to throw himself down in the rays of warmth. Usually it was dangerous to do that, seeing as black fur absorbed more heat than any other. But the current weather made it safe and Crowclaw could freely mock his clanmates for their stupidity.

Which he had been doing for about an hour or so. He was pretty sure he chased most, if not all of his clanmates away from the tempting sunlight. Aha, good. It was his and he wasn't sharing! So, with a knowing, roguish smile, Crowclaw stretched his long body across the ground, his dark pelt glossy as a raven's wing under the sun.

It was amusing how easy it was to anger his clanmates. To play them like the emotional fools that they were. It was pathetic how they had no control of themselves. And Crowclaw played on their faults. Oh, yes, he played them good.

But he doesn't tell the truth, either.

[Poizuun]

darkpaw

Darkpaw had no worries about keeping warm in late Leaf-Fall. His long black and white coat saw to that. He watched as cats ran about camp to keep warm, where in Green Leaf they would have just wandered to their destination. If cats weren't on a mission for something, then they huddled with other cats to keep warm. The young tom cat was perfectly content with his body temperature, though the right breeze chilled him when it filtered through his fur, straight to the skin. Otherwise, he was absolutely fine.

As his wide paws carried him aimlessly across camp, he spotted Crowclaw, a warrior and mentor to one of his fellow apprentices. They'd never really interacted outside of group training sessions, but he'd gotten strange vibes from the older tom. As he passed the black cat lounging in a break of sunlight, he paused. "Hello Crowclaw," He chirped in a friendly voice. Darkpaw's thick tail was low, almost dragging on the ground, but otherwise, his amber eyes and ears were alert and fixated upn the tom, if he chose to answer.

[Slug]

Crowclaw

And then his precious peace was destroyed by a disgustingly cheerful voice that made him want to hark a hairball. Really, who was that happy? It was disturbing as it was annoying. And Crowclaw was not a tom that should ever be annoyed. His apprentice Palepaw was proof of that, having practically been turned into a pitiful, frightened pile of fur by the time the warrior had gotten done with their first training session.

Pah. Crowclaw never wanted to mentor the worthless she-cat in the first place.

Slowly, he peaked a poisonous yellow eye at his next victim, a sour expression on his handsome maw. It was Darkpaw, one of Palepaw's friends. How trivial. Friends were useless and distracted a cat from their important training. As far as Crowclaw was concerned, they were only good for being bait for the enemy.

Now that was a nice thought, indeed. Mm. A ripped up Darkpaw, how fascinating.

"Beat it, kit. You're blocking my sun."

[Poizuun]

darkpaw

What crawled up in his butt and died? The apprentice recoiled physically in surprise. He knew that Crowclaw could be a jerk, but that was excessive. Darkpaw thought his greeting was more neutral, rather than excessively happy or stand-offish, but obviously Crowclaw didn't see it that way. Initially, the black and white tom stepped to the side in order to be "out of his sun," but then fully realized the warrior's words. Darkpaw straightened, his tail lifted and he placed his giant paws closer together. "I'm not a kit," He meowed, the tip of his tail curling slightly. "You've helped train me and Palepaw together." His voice was level. He didn't want to start an argument with Crowclaw, he just wanted the tom to know that he'd slipped up and corrected him. In no way did Darkpaw mean to be disrespectful, but after he said it, he figured Crowclaw would be angry with him for not just agreeing with him and moving on his way.

[Slug]

Obviously the apprentice didn't get the meaning of beat it, and as Darkpaw continued to jabber away, a dark look began to twist Crowclaw's features. His tolerance for stupidity was not well-known for being extensive, and it was time for Darkpaw to realize that he had gone and pass the dark warrior's, ah, limit.

With a low rumble, the MeadowClanner rose to his paws, slowly towering over the apprentice. Yellow eyes glaring in the sunlight, Crowclaw stared down his nose at Darkpaw, disgust and irritation ever-present on his shadowed features.

Curling his lip back to show his fangs, he replied coldly "Training you two was a wasted effort, and if anything, a mistake. You're a far cry from warriors and you're skills are slim to none. So as far as I can tell, you are nothing but a kit."

Crowclaw took pride in his cruelty, but there was an inkling thought that perhaps he had gone too far.

...

Then again, Crowclaw never did seem to grasp the meaning of crossing the line.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Stormclaw had been out early, hunting while the sun came up by himself, and had managed to catch a decent-sized vole and a sparrow. It was so quiet and yet so invigorating, he thought as he padded back into camp with his sparrow (he'd already brought back the vole.) The distinct smell of the dew on the leaves and grass, the gradual beams of light shining on the meadow, the soft turf beneath his paws (although it had a few pebbles)...

The sound of Clanmates bickering...oh my, but that wasn't pleasant. His serene, angled face shifted to a frown as his slim gray brows met in worry. The green eyes became troubled as he heard snatches of Crowclaw's words. Surely his Clanmate didn't mean that, it would not be honorable in the slightest to insult a hardworking apprentice unless they had committed a misdemeanor against the code. His natural instinct was to defend Darkpaw, but then, he didn't know everything...

He would simply try his best to smooth it out and pray to StarClan for aid in resolving the conflict, whatever its nature might be.

Dropping his sparrow into the fresh-kill pile, he padded through the subterranean camp in a few easy strides until he was near the duo. Still standing, he looked at them both, asking in a polite, mild voice, "Is there a problem?"

OOC: Oh Stormclaw. You're only going to get your tail bitten off~

[Poizuun]

darkpaw

"The only mistake that was made was making you a mentor." Darkpaw snapped at the warrior, slowly losing his patience with the jerk warrior. His ears laid back as he spoke, but quickly rose to their normal position as his anger calmed after his quick outburst. To him, he'd done his best to come up with a great comeback. The large apprentice just squared his shoulders and stared back into Crowclaw's eyes. He knew the warrior wouldn't do anything terrible to him, being in the middle of camp when everyone was bustling in and out. So he may as well push himself a little bit further while still being as respectful as one could be while being insulted. Darkpaw held Crowclaw's gaze until he heard Stormclaw enter their conversation. Instantly the apprentice backed off, his tail lowering and his ears laying back. He suddenly realized how far out of line he had gotten and feared the worst of punishments from the older warrior.

{ooc} btw, slug, darkpaw's extremely large for his age, as in nearly the size of an adult cat, so i think it's doubtful crowclaw would "tower" over him.
just sayin' ;D

[Slug]

OOC: Aha. xD Naw, Crowclaw towers over most grown cats. He's a long, tall tom. You can tell by his picture. If Darkpaw's "nearly the size of an adult cat", then Crowclaw is definitely going to be taller than him.

Also, Crowclaw is beginning to get back into my good graces. |D Sly, you are.

Crowclaw

"The only mistake that was made was making you a mentor."

"Oh, please," Crowclaw sneered at Darkpaw. Openly mock your opponent. "Who do you think you're trying to fool? Your mother?" Insult their family. "The real mistake is that you were actually made an apprentice." Bam, and there was Crowclaw's kill.

The message was clear: learn your place. Crowclaw only hoped the flea-bitten furbag wasn't too mousebrained, or else his words would all be in vain.

"Is there a problem?"

Crowclaw glared at his new victim, noting that, yes, it was that disgustingly chivalrous tom Stormclaw. "Actually, there is a problem," he purred, and that was the only warning the innocent MeadowClanner received. "In fact, this camp is full of them, one of those problems being... oh, I don't know, you?" With another twisted sneer, Crowclaw brushed past Stormclaw, tail held high in the air as he trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, fully intent on snagging that juicy looking rabbit...

[glowlynose]

Hawkheart

[/center]

Hawkheart had been watching Crowclaw and Darkpaw's little drama unfold from her own little sun spot, thoroughly enjoying the situation's little niceties. Breakfast and a show, she thought to herself, chuckling. Nice variation on the cliché, Hawky, m'dear. You deserve an award. Then Crowclaw went blustering past, obviously annoyed with life. Cats like that were just so much fun to talk to. It made for the most interesting drama.

"All the world's a tragedy, isn't it, Crowclaw?" she murmured in dulcet tones as she walked up to him, tail swishing from side to side. A smirk played across her lips and she looked over her shoulder, an expression of mock disdain on her face. "After all," she roped her tail around his neck, still smirking, "How dare anyone be happy or civil in this clan of ours? That would really be tragic, wouldn't it?"

Her tail now freed from his neck, she slithered around to the other side of his body, giving him a playful flick on the ear. Oh, yes, Hawkheart, you're brilliant! That should send your dear little Crowy nearly over the edge. Maybe he'll even forget about breakfast and spend the rest of the day hungry and grumpy. He'd deserve it, nasty old coot. She hah-ed out the beginning of a laugh, looking down at the ground.

"But you know what would be the most tragic thing of all?" She looked up at him again, meeting his eyes. Oh yes, every muscle in her face leaked so much innocence and sincerity that she would have been nauseated to look at it. "The biggest problem in the whole clan?" Hawkheart paused for a moment's dramatic effect, chin quivering in mock earnestness, before she began her speech, the awaited emotional climax of the entire conversation.

"If I stole your sun spot. That would just rankle your sorry hide, wouldn't it, Crowy?" A few more derisive hah's escaped before she sauntered over to Crowclaw's patch of sun. Hawkheart made very sure to circle around a few times before stretching and finally stretching out in the blessed warmth. Crowclaw would probably like to skin her, but she didn't care. Cedarstar would have him flayed if he did anything to anybody. "It really is too bad you walked away, Crowclaw! You just lost the game," she called to the lanky tom across camp.

Then she turned to Darkpaw and Stormclaw with a half-hearted shrug but a mischievous grin. "That miserable badger had it coming to him, I reckon." The twinkle in her eyes betrayed it all: Hawkheart believed she had won. "And besides," she inclined her head toward her two companions, lowering her voice to a near whisper, "Finder's keeper's, right?"

[/size]

[Pie]

Bearclaw[/color][/size]


The cold didn't bother Bearclaw much, his big body harbored enough heat to warm himself and whoever he slept by in the dens, but, what did bother him was Crowclaw's squawking across the way.

Slitting one eye open to watch Crowclaw and Darkpaw interact, Bearclaw felt a small smirk stretch across his muzzle. The apprentice sure had Crowclaw goin'. The tom was in a huff! Letting his deep chuckle escape his chest, the large tom uncurled, stretching his back while pushing his forepaws forward. Re-shifting his body back into its normal stance, the large MeadowClan tom laid back down on his side, still warm from his nap.

As Stormclaw became the grumpy tom's new victim, Hawkheart made her way into the scene. She was one charming feline. Feeling another chuckle erupt from his lungs, Bearclaw watched with amusement as Hawkheart danced her way around Crowclaw's bad mood.

"Crowclaw, you can always cuddle up to me if you get cold!" Bearclaw's deep voice boomed from near the Warrior's Den, his face split into a smile as usual. In a small, uncharacteristic kind of way, the warrior wanted to prove Crowclaw wrong. Not everyone in the clan was down and out, bending to their sorrows and not thinking for themselves. There were still a fine few mingling about.

Watching Hawkheart lighten the mood for everyone made him proud to be a clan mate of hers. And there was Darkpaw who didn't seem to take mouse-dung from anyone and big for his age. While Bearclaw was easily one of the biggest in the clan, this apprentice was gonna a grow. And last but not least, Stormclaw was level-headed, sure and true. Any of these cats were worth laying his life down for. ForestClan born or not.

Laying his head back onto his paw, Bearclaw kept his eyes on the trio across the camp, enjoying his morning so far.