[O P E N] Visiting Hours [ Rain&&Willow ]

[Whiskers]

ooc// So this is the thread where cats can come and interact with Willowpaw and/or Rain (who is more important than Willow, just saying). So have your character drop in, say hello etc. etc, once Glowy posts.

bic//

Willowpaw slowly woke up, wading through different degrees of fog and fatigue, until she finally found sunlight in the small corners of her eyes. The light was stirring, inspirational and encouraged the small apprentice to open them wider and wider. It was a slow process, full of blinking and soft sighs, but soon Willowpaw stopped drifting in semi-consciousness and emerged from her slumber, her green eyes snapping open and letting the day pour in.

Willowpaw's expression was, at first, glassy with confusion. She was in the den-- why? A flash of rat eyes answered her and she started, a whimper drawn through gritted teeth. She sat up, very abruptly, like the ground beneath her was made of rats. She quickly collapsed again, the pain in her legs persistent. But she remembered everything now, the rat attack, the visit from Cinderpaw (though it felt like a dream, a hazy, magical thing that protected her from the nightmares), and of course, her hero.

He was right across from her. Big, gray, asleep. For now.

If there was one thing Willowpaw wanted, more than poppy seeds for her pain, it was to learn the name of her savior. She was so grateful to him, yet he was a mystery, more of a dream than Cinderpaw probably was. She felt the urge to poke him, wake him up. That would be rude though, hardly the thing to do for the cat who saved her.

She would just have to wait.

[/size]

[glowlynose]

"No... no... Ana, come back. Please come back..." Rain whispered, voice shaking as the last strands of his dream floated away into the blistering sun that now pierced his consciousness with its cruel, white rays. His eyes snapped open, and, unfortunately for him, he knew exactly where he was. He was in the medicine den in PineClan's camp, the same PineClan that was led by Gingerstar. Oh, how he wished for night to come once more. Then he could return once more to the comfortable coolness of night's embrace, see his love once again. Every night, without fail, Rain dreamt of Analucia. Sometimes the dreams weren't good, but he didn't really care, just as long as he could see her.

A long time ago, somebody had told him that once you love somebody, they stay in your heart forever. These dreams were proof to Rain that he still loved her, if he ever needed it. Maybe she was dreaming of him too, wherever she was. Even if she was dead, she could still dream of him, right? Her soul would still feel something toward him, wouldn't it?

Rain screwed his eyes shut, determined to fall back asleep, unwilling to live through the time between the end of his previous dream and the next one. Perhaps he would end up saving her this time. Ah, but it would not do. The sun burned through his eyelids, bright and orange. Everything was orange. Why did everything have to be orange? Analucia's fur had been orange, Gingerstar's fur was orange, and now the marks left on his eyes by the sun were orange! Rain sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he would have to endure a day alive before seeing Analucia again.

"Well well, good mornin', Sunshine." Rain smiled at Willowpaw, eyes sparkling in the accursed sunlight. Now that he could get a good look at her, he was glad that he'd saved her. She was so... fragile, so small, so innocent. The wounds on her little body looked ten times worse than his did on his body, he thought. He was bigger, so he could handle more wounds than her.

Rain craned his head around to look at himself more closely and was almost sorry that he had. Alright, I take it back. The cobwebs looked like giant patches of pus on his side, soaked as they were with herbs and blood. At least he didn't hurt very much from his wounds. The medicine prepared by Crowpaw combined with the latent effects of the poppy seeds would tide him over... for a while.

[/center]

[Whiskers]

It was as if her hero read her mind. The body in front of her stirred with a groan and a rumbling, like a warning that thunder gave before the storm hit. Only instead of a boom, the thunder rolled into words, tenderly whimpered in a heart-crushing way. His voice was so small this way, and it made no sense when Willowpaw put it with the large, strong body. And the words themselves made absolutely no sense.

"No... no... Ana, come back. Please come back..."

Ana...it was so foreign to the ears of Willowpaw, who had heard nothing but warrior names her entire life. She knew though, that it was a name. A name of a someone, a someone locked in the mind of her savior. A sister? A daughter? A lover, even? Willowpaw could only wonder, the mystery of the name intriguing her to repeat the name in a silent whisper. She did not have long to ponder, however, for the cat across from her opened his eyes.

She tensed up in surprise and in a sudden bout of shyness that gripped her on all sides. He was awake and Willowpaw did not know what to say to him! What did one say to someone who saved one's life? Thank you? "Thank you" was too expected, too casual. She said thank you when someone gave her a piece of prey. But what else could she say, if not thank you?

"Well well, good mornin', Sunshine," once again, the mystery of a cat spoke and now his voice was the voice of a hero, for sure. Strong and with a ring of sharp attitude, it was warm, like this cat before her had swallowed the sun. It brought a shy smile onto her face and evaporated the rest of the fatigue in her eyes.

"Good morning," she replied without thinking and she now realized that this was the first words exchanged with her hero. Great. Wonderful. She had no idea how to continue, and since she felt "thank you" wasn't good enough...Willowpaw gave up, and let herself be awkward and shy for once. No one was around anyway.

"I'm Willowpaw and I don't know your name," she blurted out. "And I really want to. So uhm. I can think of a proper way to...show my gratitude."

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The silver tabby had searched in vain for her mentor, and since he could not be found, she let herself visit Willowpaw. Surely no cat would object; they were best friends, after all. But she couldn't help feeling a bit nervous as she padded over to the medicine den as quickly as possible.

The little she-cat poked her head into the den, and her blue eyes widened at seeing that her friend and the stranger who'd rescued her both already awake and talking. Willowpaw didn't know his name? Wh...oh, right, she'd been unconscious, practically, when she was in here. Real smart, said the mocking voice in her head. The PineClanner slowly moved back from the den entrance.

She very much wanted to thank Rain immediately, but decided it would be better to let Willowpaw talk to him first. He had saved her after all. She'd just sit here quietly until there was a chance for her to enter the conversation without being rude. Or would there be? she worried. Would they be so caught up in talking that she would have to barge in to say anything? Oh, StarClan, if you exist, please let that not happen. Her claws scraped the ground in worry.

Because upsetting the gray she-cat would be the worst of crimes, especially now that she was injured. No, she must only act if invited by Willowpaw. That would work.

[glowlynose]

Rain blinked slowly, calmly. Perhaps if he showed the poor dear how calm he was she would calm down herself. She seemed so flustered, and for absolutely no reason at all. The big tom had only done the right thing. He would have done it even if it had been Gingerstar in the fray instead of this... Willowpaw. Given the PineClan leader's resemblance to his Beloved, his motive might have been different in that case, but he still would have done it for anybody.

Willowpaw. He blinked again, but this time a hint of disbelief showed in his sparkling green eyes. She shared the name of his daughter. His daughter... Rain drew in a sharp breath, then expelled it slowly. Now was no time to go and get all worked up and in a tizzy, he told himself. It would hardly look good for his macho factor. After all, the only resemblance between this she-cat and his daughter was their name and fur color. Willowpaw had green eyes, while Willow's eyes had been a sharp yellow. This clan apprentice was much to young to be his daughter anyway. She would be nearly a year-and-a-half old now...

"Allow me to introduce mahself, then. The name's Rain, nothin' more, nothin' less." He grinned at the little she-cat, feeling distinctly more at ease now that her brother and Gingerstar were not around. The medicine den was much less crowded. It felt easier to breathe without Gingerstar standing there, staring him down with all the animosity of a rabid dog pursuing its next unfortunate victim. "And there ain't no thanks necessary, Sunshine. I wuz only doin' the right thang, and it just so happened that savin' you from those nasty buggers was the right thang at the moment."

A rustling sound issued from behind the burly tomcat, and for a moment he felt an acute sense of terror. The scent of another PineClan she-cat flooded his nostrils, and he managed to convince himself that he was drowning in Gingerstar's scent. She probably wouldn't mind that, actually, him drowning and getting himself out of her hair forever. He smirked. That was as good a reason to stay right where he was as any, and he turned to face his nemesis emboldened. Needless to say, he felt like quite a fool when the newcomer turned out to be another little she-cat.

"Haha, well, welcome to the party, Hoss. You probably came to check up on Willowpaw, didn't ya?" Rain smiled, pleased with himself. He felt that it was a neutral enough greeting, tinged with sarcasm though it was. He would need to save all his sarcasm for Gingerstar. There was a good chance that she was saving all her anger especially for him, so he needed something to combat it with.

Don't be ridiculous, Rain. You're not a fighter, and you know that. You know it as well as I do. Just give her a second chance, love. I gave you one. Rain nearly jumped at the sound of Analucia's voice. It was the first time in months that he'd heard her say anything. Was it possible that this was a dream? No, his wounds burned too harshly. Why had she spoken to him in defense of Gingerstar? That ridiculous she-cat hated him! Then again, there was something admirable about the way she carried herself, like she would stick her neck out to save this little part of the world that was under her protection. Maybe she would someday.

I'm not a fighter, Ana, but she is. I need to defend my honor, he replied in a silent murmur. Peals of her wonderful, melodious laughter sang like a brook in his head.

Look what I've turned you in to, Rain. You're a regular old knight in shining armor now, all about honor and courage. Are you sure that the only reason you saved that child is because it was the right thing to do, or was it about restoring your honor too? Could it have been a way to worm your way into the only chance at a real life that you have left? PineClan can't turn you away now, not after you saved one of their own from certain death. Very clever of you, my love, very clever indeed.

Rain didn't know the answers to any of those questions. He didn't want to know. Was what Ana said true? Was this really just about his own stupid honor? Was it really a way for him to secure a place in the clan? No. That was ridiculous. He didn't even want to stay in the clan. He'd get healed up and then just leave. Gingerstar would like that.

[swift]

Tigerpaw padded quietly into the den, head low, eyes averted. He skirted from the shadows, but kept to the far wall where the sunlight could not reach him, and from that vantage point, he lied down on the dirt floor to rest his aching paws. He had just come in from his training session with Swallowpelt, and if not bruised and sore, he was most certainly in a gloom. Of the disheartened mood he was currently affected by and the cause of it, he would not give voice, but of the soft pleasantness he felt rising when he had finally risked a furtive glance towards Willowpaw was apparently strong enough to show through his body language. His eyes, just a moment ago so dull and dismal, was brightened and shining, and his ears were held erect atop the crown of his head, straining to catch each ebb and flow of conversation.

Although his eyes and ears were full of Willowpaw, his nose was free to scent the air in the motions of precaution. The distinct smell of pine needles and fresh rain carried across the den to him and whispered to him of the wilds of the outside forest that encompassed them—of the woodland trees that once in a while reached out with gnarled boughs to tap solemnly against the cave walls when the wind was high and the sky storm-struck. Also came the reek of rats and the biting potency of soiled herbs. There was a stranger present, currently occupying the nest so beside Willowpaw that he almost pulled up immediately and ran back out. The thought of another cat that dared be so close to her upon a simple chance meeting--hero or not, savior or not--was utterly distressing. Tigerpaw truly believed that he would not be able to bear such a situation as the one described before him in teasing scents and smells.

But then, out of the corner of one eye, he saw dust motes shift and shadows lengthen. His curiosity piqued, he turned to discern the cause of the disturbance and found, with great relief, that it was Juncopaw, a fellow apprentice. She seemed lost, huddled in a tight ball in the darkest part of the wall. She was only a few tail-lengths away, and upon further inspection, Tigerpaw realized that she was, in fact, waiting. Was she waiting to be addressed? Were not she and Willowpaw friends? Had not Willowpaw yet invited her into the conversation? Or was it that, perhaps, the reason for her reluctance to join her friend and the stranger was that she had not been introduced to the stranger, and was, thus, afraid?

Tigerpaw got up on his paws and shook out his pelt. Then it was his duty, as an acquaintance of hers, to relieve her of the stress of potential neglect and of the victimizing effects of forgetfulness on the part of her friend. He walked towards her, silent as a lion stalking a mouse. His eyes flashed as he walked across a bar of sunlight, and then colored green as he all but disappeared in shadow.

“Juncopaw,” he said, trying to keep his voice from soaring too high. It would not do to interrupt Willowpaw’s conversation, no matter how callous of morals and virtue the stranger happened to be. “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

[/size][/justify]

[Pyro]

Okay. This was a bit more than organizing patrols. This was diplomacy. how exactly should the intruder be handled? For, despite his heroic deed, Rain was just that. An invader. A boundary-crosser. How would Gingerstar approach the situation? No, no. How would Aspenheart approach the situation? Charge in and dominate like Gingerstar, speak with kindness and sensibility like Aspenheart. That'll do. That just might do.

"Allo theh."

Aspenheart padded easily into the den, showing none of the reservation of his clanmates. The deputy of PineClan couldn't exactly show unease at having a stranger in camp. He needed confidence. The stranger was only one cat. A cat who could be dealt with very easily if he decided to start trouble. He looked over to Willowpaw. She wasn't in very good shape. He looked over to Rain. Though he put on a brave enough face, he was just as bad off if not worse than the she-cat.

"Ihs good to see yiz are all awake now..." he paused for a moment, considering. He couldn't exactly officially welcome the strange cat into PineClan's care, even if only until his wounds were fully healed. But at the same time, Willowpaw had gone to the trouble of bringing him for a reason.

"Perhaps now we can get a full accoun' of wha' 'appened. I know you're noh' ah' your best, Willowpaw, but we need to know if a patrol must be sen' to take care of anything. Moreover, this stranger's presence...Gingerstar is going to want an explanation, no ma'er what he did to help you. I think we'd all like an explanation, actually."

[Whiskers]

For a blissful moment, Willowpaw had Rain all to herself. The den was near empty, just the two of them sitting across from each other, both tired and sore, but...strangely happy. At least, Willowpaw felt happy, especially at his comment. Once again, her whole body just felt warm when he talked to her, his voice brash but casual and friendly. She loved it. Out of every part of this cat-- his sheer size, his handsome, chiseled face-- it was his voice that Willowpaw loved the most. And the way he used it was of course, better.

Willowpaw smiled widely and genuinely, nodding vigorously at his comment. She was glad that no thanks was needed, mostly because she would have no idea how to properly carry out such a thing. So her smile and her friendship would be her thanks instead-- she would make sure this cat in front of her felt comfortable no matter what. Even if Gingerstar came in and demanded he get up and leave, she would fight the leader until the ginger she-cat gave in. This cat wasn't going anywhere until he was healed up.

The moment between the two was lost though. The sound of pawsteps approached and Willowpaw knew that someone was coming to check on her and Rain. Maybe Crowpaw? Willowpaw felt actually relieved at the thought. She had to admit to herself that she wanted to see her brother very badly. If any cat was to come into the den, it should be him. It was his den. Plus he could apply a whole load of that wonderful gooey stuff on her wounds again and she could indulge herself in some of his stupid, gooey lovey-dovey talk too, if he wanted to engage in that.

But it was not Crowpaw-- it was Juncopaw! Willowpaw was not disappointed in the least-- she let out a surprised mew and her tail curled. Her friend was coming to see her! How nice! "Hi Juncopaw!" she meowed, and was surprised at how hoarse she was. She had been conversing with Rain in a muted tone, but when she tried to shout out her excitement, her voice just wasn't cooperating. She cleared her throat and then caught sight of another body beside her friend.

Tigerpaw? Now Willowpaw's excitement plummeted. She had no problems with Tigerpaw; he was a gentleman. She just felt the den growing smaller already.

It was darn near suffocating her when Aspenheart walked in. Willowpaw's breath hitched in her throat at the sight of the deputy. Aspenheart was not as intimidating as Gingerstar. He at least smiled, in a distant, cool sort of way, like he was looking at all of them through a one-way window, sitting, observing them when they could not observe him. He gave out orders nice enough and now, his voice floated like flower petals, and his words were innocent and pretty. But she was scared of him anyway.

"O-oh, uhm right," Willowpaw said, her mind immediately falling into a jumble at just the sight of Aspenheart. It could be worse; Gingerstar could be here, she reminded herself. Willowpaw cleared her throat again and tried to be as confident and sure of herself as she could. Just think-- maybe your answer will decide the fate of Rain here! Gosh that would be ter-- well it could be good. You just have to say it right.

"I...don't know how much help I could be," admitted Willowpaw. "But well...basically I went out alone, I wanted to catch something. I know I shouldn't have... and well, all of a sudden, all these rats appeared and they were everywhere. Rain showed up just as-- oh this is Rain," Willowpaw interrupted herself as she realized how rude she was being. "And Rain, this is Aspenheart, our deputy-- that means he's second-in-command to Gingerstar. Oh yeah, and Gingerstar is our leader. Anyway-- sorry-- I'll continue."

"Anyway, so he just came out of nowhere-- landed in front of me with this loud smack and automatically, all the rats flew at him, instead of me. I sorta scrambled away but...well, I watched. It wasn't that long and there were all these dead rats when it was over, but some scrambled away too... and he was just lying there and I thought he was going to die, so I went to get help-- I couldn't let him die, not when he saved me!" She iterated this point. She needed Aspenheart to know that he was no criminal, no real intruder. He was a hero. Her confidence grew and she stared Aspenheart directly in the eye. She sounded just as hard as her mother as she spoke, "I'd be dead right now if he hadn't trespassed, he just did it to save me."

She dropped her gaze. There. She had pretty much said her piece. She could not explain Rain's sudden appearance-- only Rain himself could do that. But why did it even need an explanation? Everyone should be falling over themselves trying to thank this cat, and everyone should be glad that he had been nearby. Or else, what she had said was true-- she would be dead right now, and her body would have been eaten by the rats. They might not have found a trace of her left.

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Things happened so quickly that the little silver tabby automatically shrank down, half in, half out of the den. Tigerpaw, Aspenhart, Willowpaw, Rain...and her. Five cats in one fairly small den. And one of them was the deputy...oof.

But at least this Rain fellow was kind. She smiled back at him. The apprentice hadn't the faintest idea of what Hoss meant, but his tone was friendly so she assumed it wasn't an insult.

"Hey there, Mr. Rain. Yep, just here to see my best friend, huh, Willowpaw?" She looked at the solid gray she-cat with friendly blue eyes. She'd always secretly admired her younger companion's dainty build; her own was compact and stocky, which she supposed was more useful, but Willowpaw was so much prettier than her...

But she shouldn't be jealous; her friend couldn't help it.

Then Tigerpaw came in, and she was a little surprised, but not unpleasantly so. She didn't know him real well, but he was nice. She felt sorry for him, though, having Swallowpelt as his mentor. "Hi, Tigerpaw." She meowed back. "Been busy, I s'pose." But really, she didn't know. It seemed like Jaynose was never around these days, so she mostly spent her time with Willowpaw, chasing leaves, or being on patrols. Yet time still passed so quickly.

"A-aspenheart!" She stood up straight as the gray tom entered the den. He didn't scare her, but she wanted to look good in front of Gingerstar's second-in-command. "Uh, yessir, we are..." Her voice trailed off as he talked about getting an explanation from Rain. The tabby almost felt annoyed. What right did he have to demand something from this noble tom so soon? But then, she reluctantly admitted to herself, he was deputy, he did have a right to know...

Her attention snapped back to her friend as Swallowpelt's daughter told her story. The sky-tinted eyes grew wide with fear and awe. Poor Willowpaw! How horrible for that to happen to anyone, especially such a wonderful little cat. And Rain, how noble he was to rescue her. Though she was timider than normal in the deputy's presence, she had to speak up - at least a little bit.

"Y-yeah. Mr. Rain was really brave. We owe him a l-l-lot. I k-know I d-do." She looked back at the huge tom fondly.

[Pyro]

Aspenheart nodded as Willowpaw spoke. It was irresponsible for her to go out on her own while she was still only an apprentice, but he'd be willing to bet she wouldn't make that mistake again. So there was a rat problem in their territory? That would have to be dealt with as soon as possible. A patrol had to be sent to make sure there were no more rats left. But he was hesitant to leave Rain. He saw saving an apprentice's life as good enough to negate the crime of trespassing, but Gingerstar might. He might have to be there to reason with her...She might not listen to the word of a few apprentices and an intruder. Then again, the word of a female might be considered better to her. Better than her deputy's? Well...he'd hope not. No. He'd stay, for now. But the rats would have to be dealt with. According to Willowpaw some had gotten away. And there could be more.

"Hm. Well I canno' say for sure how Gingerstar will see this...But I for one and very gra'eful Rain, tha' you were aroun' to save Willowpaw." His whiskers twitched in a silent cat's laugh, but his voice was serious as he turned to the injured apprentice. "I trus', Willowpaw, you will be more careful in the future. You appren'ices are the future of this clan. Withou' appren'ices, we would dwindle."

He glanced over his shoulder. Gingerstar would be coming anytime now. Aspenheart tried to tell himself he would stay neutral, and ultimately follow Gingerstar's decision...but he knew he would defend the Rain. Willowpaw might have died without him. Surely that was worth something in his leader's eyes?