[so the world will never find you] BriarxMasq

[glowlynose]

Briartail pranced through StreamClan territory, happy as a clam at high tide. Today was a great day, just like every day before it had been and every day after it would be! Well, there had been a few days in the past that hadn't been so great, but they were over now and he didn't have to worry about them anymore. He was glad that he didn't have to worry about them anymore. He knew where Ember was and so there was nothing to worry about. She was living on their star, or maybe she was their star. He could see her every night, either way, and that made his days perfect.

Ah, the birds were singing! Briartail smiled up at the trees, glad when his stomach did not rumble. It would appear that for the time being his breakfast was enough to keep his hunger at bay. The joyous birds could continue chirping their beautiful melodies and not worry about being attacked and eaten. It was a strange sound to hear during leaf-bare. The birds usually fell silent this time of the year, but here they were, twittering away up in the trees like nothing could ever bring them down, not even freezing rain, snow, and treacherous rivers. Briartail's short fur was fluffed up as protection against the cold. At least it hadn't snowed too much yet, just a light dust of white on the ground. If he looked back, he could even see his pawprints in the frost.

Now he was at the border and had to concentrate. He'd been sent out to do a border patrol starting with the open territories first. It didn't make much sense to him, since the threat from PineClan and FogClan was much greater, but it was what Cloudstar had ordered. There was no arguing with those sharp green eyes when they wanted something done. Maybe it was because of the rumors that a roguish loner had recently joined PineClan. Maybe he was being sent to scout for potential recruits! What an important job!

What was that up ahead? It couldn't be a little bunch of daisies, somehow hardy enough to remain unwilted after the frost last night? Yes, it was! Oh joy of joys, daisies! The leaves and stalks were a little bit blue and grainy looking, but nothing had shriveled up yet. It was so incredibly amazing that he simply had to take a break from his solo patrol to marvel at them.

Briartail circled the little group of flowers a few times, then he stuck his nose right in the middle of one and breathed in the half-frostbitten daisy scent. It was the best thing he'd smelled all day, especially since he'd passed the dirtplace on his way out of camp. In any case, Briartail was so relieved to smell something relatively sweet that he collapsed onto the ground and started rolling around on his back, batting up at the flower heads with his paws and grinning. He was alone- this behavior was perfectly acceptable! Nobody could come and make fun of him for being undignified and thoroughly unlike a warrior out here.

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[♫ poltergeist ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/314fsli.jpg] Frost glittered on the ground, cheerfully reflecting the sun's gentle rays. The ground was mostly frozen, a few slightly damp areas here and a small puddle there. Leaf-bare had approached quickly, the warm sun from the previous evening reduced to a chilly source of light. The fallen leaves were still crisp underpaw but had retained enough moisture not to crumble under pressure. There were a few late birds calling to each other, but aside from that a loud silence hung over the area. The scent of snow seemed to linger in the air, but something else hit the roof of the she-cat's mouth before she was able to inhale anything else. Another cat. She knew that, at some point, she had crossed the border on her early stroll, but she didn't remember when and she wasn't entirely sure how far into the territory she was. Even as a kit, she had known that the other cats of the area were usually vicious and would have no mercy for a trespassing loner. The reminder of that set her on edge, becoming much more alert than she was previously. After a few seconds, she heard the tom, but what she heard puzzled her. It was unsteady rustling, rather than the even paces of a patrol she had expected to hear. Crouching down, she moved forward a few paces, glancing over the top of a small bush and then seeing him. Was he . . . rolling . . . in a patch of flowers? She instantly relaxed, tasting the air to make sure he was the only one, then gently cleared her throat and stepped around the bush. "That's very, hah, warrior-like," she said, her voice soft and a small purr lingering at the back of her throat to show that she meant no harm. Her tail curled in amusement, then the tip flicked in the slightest bit of annoyance when she could suddenly smell the flowers. Too sweet, she thought, before taking a few steps back to avoid smelling it and to give the tom plenty of room so he knew that she wasn't about to slit his throat. every time you turn around i know you're standing there waiting for me to take it on back down the other road baby but i won't let you down [ >< bad post, sorry. and sorry it took so long D: ]

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[glowlynose]

Briartail was lucky that the newcomer meant him no harm, because he had not detected her presence before she had spoken. No sir, his nose had been thoroughly occupied by his patch of daisies, probably the last of the year. In fact, he was so absorbed by the flowers that he nearly missed the loner's gibe altogether. Warrior-like, was it? He could let her be sarcastic if it made her happy. He didn't mind. If she meant to insult him, she failed. Ah, but there was no hint of sarcasm in her voice, at least not the hurtful kind. Rather, she sounded almost as if she was [i[teasing

[/i] him. What a strange thing. Nobody ever spoke to Briartail, let alone teased him.

It was a sad affair if he thought about it too much. He'd been lonely ever since Ember had died. StreamClan had seemed like salvation from a fate of eternal loneliness, but he had yet to make a single friend in his clan. Heck, he had yet to make a single friend in any of the clans! Briartail didn't mean to seem narcissistic, but he couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to be his friend. He was a friendly, outgoing, spunky guy, always had been. That hadn't changed, despite the tragedies that had befallen him. So why didn't anybody like him?

Ah, it didn't matter right now. Right now he had the matter of a stranger to deal with. She did not smell like she came from anywhere around here, and there were some questions that were standard protocol. It wasn't like Briartail had actually been involved in any situations like this before, but he imagined that there was a protocol and that it would need to be followed. He ought to at least size up this mysterious she-cat before he got to asking anything. If a battle arose he would need to know what he was up against. You never kept your back turned to an enemy.

So he turned and found himself facing a pair of the most stunning bright blue eyes he'd ever seen. They were vibrant as the sky on a clear summer's day. Everything about this stranger seemed to be bright. It might have just been her white fur that gave the illusion of brightness, but something about her was different than anyone he'd ever known before. Maybe she was going to be his friend! That would be fantastic! Maybe she was looking for a friend too.

"Hi!" he chirped, all traces of caution thrown to the wind. It was amazing what a pretty face could do to him after all these moons. She was nothing like Ember, of course. Nobody could ever be like Ember. But she was something.

"My name's Briartail. I live here. What's your name? What are you doing here? Haven't you heard that it's not safe for cats who don't live here?" He paused, shaking his head with a smile. He didn't want to scare her away. "Well, at least, it's usually not safe. You're just lucky you met me instead of somebody else in my clan. Like Cloudstar, or Redclaw. He's a grumpy old badger, that one. Mad at everything. He could find a way to be mad at the sun on the first day of New-Leaf."

Briartail smiled again, hoping he wasn't being overly friendly. That could scare some cats. "Oh, and if anybody else comes along, try to act scared, like I'm trying to get you to leave. It's what I'm supposed to do. I don't want you to go though, just so you know. You seem like a nice cat. I like nice cats."
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[♫ poltergeist ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/314fsli.jpg] "Hi! My name's Briartail. I live here. What's your name? What are you doing here? Haven't you heard that it's not safe for cats who don't live here? Well, at least, it's usually not safe. You're just lucky you met me instead of somebody else in my clan. Like Cloudstar, or Redclaw. He's a grumpy old badger, that one. Mad at everything. He could find a way to be mad at the sun on the first day of New-Leaf. Oh, and if anybody else comes along, try to act scared, like I'm trying to get you to leave. It's what I'm supposed to do. I don't want you to go though, just so you know. You seem like a nice cat. I like nice cats." Masquerade had inhaled several times while he was talking, but he never paused for long enough for her to actually say anything. "Well, hello, Briartail. I can tell already that it's going to be hard talking to you because you're so excited yourself," she said, a gentle purr in her voice. "I'm Masquerade, but I guess you can call me Masq. And I live just down the river, out of your territory where I'll be 'safe' from all the scary cats living in your Clan." Again, there was a teasing hint in her voice, and a faint smile on her face. "Do you want me to start crouching and cowering, so it seems like I'm terrified you're going to kill me?" Masq asked, crouching low on the ground and tucking her tail between her legs. "Ha, well, I don't want to seem completely weak in case . . . Cloudstar comes around and finds me here. He can't know I went down without a fight. And . . . do you think you could like, jump in the river or something? Those flowers smell way too sweet for my liking." Masquerade laughed again, but this time more nervously than not. For whatever reason, she didn't want to insult him or anything -- he seemed rather upbeat and she didn't want to bring him down. "You know, . . . Briartail --" she hesitated as she started to say his name, worried about getting it wrong -- "I think it's strange that you're out here all alone. I mean, you have a whole Clan with you, don't you? You could at least bring another warrior along with you. After all, if I were my brother, you would probably have been ripped to shreds by now. He's, well . . . vicious and unforgiving, I guess." All the laughter that had been in her voice before had disappeared and her eyes had darkened with the air around them. She hadn't meant to kill the lighthearted tone in the air, but it had just kind of . . . happened. Trying to avoid feeling surrounded by it, she spoke again. "I have two brothers. Marauder is the vicious one who is constantly looking to fight. Poltergeist . . . he's . . . different," she finished lamely, looking apologetically back at Briartail. every time you turn around i know you're standing there waiting for me to take it on back down the other road baby but i won't let you down

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[glowlynose]

"Masq? That's an interesting name. I used to have a brother named Flare. Your names seem sort of the same, somehow. Different but not too different." Briartail screwed up his face in confusion, his head tilting to one side. "What is a 'masquerade,' anyway? Is it some kind of animal? A flower? And a Poltergeist? I know what a maurader is though." He couldn't be completely inept, after all. He still remembered a few things from his days before the clans. A nervous grin broke across his face. She didn't seem like she disliked him. She hadn't run away yet. That was a good sign. He preferred it when he wasn't weirding people out.

Masquerade seemed to know a lot about clan life for being a loner. She lived near the clans, but still, how did she learn so much about them? It wasn't like she was in regular contact with anybody from the clans. So how did she know how large the clans were? A clan could be two families of cats cooperating to survive, for all anybody knew. And how in the pit did she know Cloudstar's name? Had she simply overheard it as border patrols passed by? A little red flag went up in his mind.

It was brought down almost instantly though. When he looked into her eyes, there were no hidden motives in them. She was not trying to guard anything. There was not a single shred of evil in her body, so far as he could tell. It might not be true, since he tried to give everybody the benefit of two doubts. Everybody deserved a second chance. Briartail had quite a large capacity for trust.

"Haha, you think I'd be out here by myself if I couldn't take care of myself?" He had to laugh at that one. Oh, Masq. So silly. "Just 'cause I like flowers occasionally doesn't mean I can't hurt somebody. They didn't make me a warrior for nothing. And if you were your brother, things would be different. He would've attacked me, from the sound of it, so I'd have no reservations about, well... yeah. That. Just 'cause I'm small doesn't mean I can't pack a punch."

"And the flowers smell like frost. You don't like the smell of frost? I love it. It smells sharp," he said, but jumped a little bit as something cold and wet landed on his nose. "Hey! It's snowing!" A grin immediately transformed his face into a kit's and if he hadn't been trying to not seem like a complete idiot he would have jumped for joy. He loved snow!

"And by the way... if I jump in the stream, which is frozen, you're coming with me. Splash fight time!" His eyes were set all a-twinkle and his tail shot up in the air, ears perking up playfully. Of course, he'd much rather wrestle or something, but if he walked back into camp with Masq's scent all over his body, there were bound to be some questions asked. The splash fight would be cold, but so, so worth it! When was having a good time not worth it?

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[♫ poltergeist ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/314fsli.jpg] "Masq? That's an interesting name. I used to have a brother named Flare. Your names seem sort of the same, somehow. Different but not too different. What is a 'masquerade,' anyway? Is it some kind of animal? A flower? And a Poltergeist? I know what a marauder is though. Haha, you think I'd be out here by myself if I couldn't take care of myself? Just 'cause I like flowers occasionally doesn't mean I can't hurt somebody. They didn't make me a warrior for nothing. And if you were your brother, things would be different. He would've attacked me, from the sound of it, so I'd have no reservations about, well... yeah. That. Just 'cause I'm small doesn't mean I can't pack a punch. And the flowers smell like frost. You don't like the smell of frost? I love it. It smells sharp. Hey! It's snowing! And by the way... if I jump in the stream, which is frozen, you're coming with me. Splash fight time!" Again, Masq had to wait until he was done talking before she could even hardly breathe. She chose not to answer his questions about the names, blinking solemnly at him as he asked and remaining silent aside from that. "I was just trying to warn you," she murmured, taking a step or two back with her tail low, as if in shame. "It's not that I don't like the smell of frost, it's just that it mixes with the natural smell of the flowers and becomes sickeningly sweet. Frost smells crisp on grass and leaves, but aside from that it smells like it could kill." Masquerade relaxed a bit, glancing away from the tom and ignoring the small part of her that nagged at her to keep him in her peripheral vision. A small smile crossed her face and she shrugged, loosening her shoulders and stretching a bit. "So . . . you want to play in the stream, do you?" Smirking, she looked back at him and crouched down clumsily, waggling her tail as if she were an apprentice that didn't know how to do anything. Of course, she was much more experienced than that; the reason she was trying to look like a bit of a klutz was so that Briartail didn't suddenly start taking her as a threat and think she actually meant to harm him or anything. She pounced, dropping her weight in the flowers and kicking some at him as she rolled through the patch and jumped into the stream, breaking the thin ice as she did so. "Come on, don't you want to have some fun?" Masq called, sliding on a few stones and turning to look at him. She took a second to put her head under the water and get the top wet, shivering at the icy temperatures. After being under for a few seconds she surfaced and put her paws down on an area she could only touch with her chest underwater, her neck and nose both completely clear of the current. "Oh no Briartail, save me! I'm drowning!" Masq kept the lightness in her voice, of course, trying to make sure he didn't hear anything but mock seriousness in her voice. She gulped in some air and ducked underwater, keeping close to the surface so she would feel any ice passing over her and avoid getting trapped beneath. every time you turn around i know you're standing there waiting for me to take it on back down the other road baby but i won't let you down

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[glowlynose]

Briartail could tell that Masq was getting sick of waiting for him to stop talking. It wasn't his fault he was a naturally talkative guy! Sure, he could ramble sometimes, but he always made sure to include pauses in case somebody wanted to say something before he moved on. It was something he'd taken away from his childhood. He'd played by himself a lot, and he'd eventually found himself talking almost constantly to fill up the sound void. It had almost been like having a friend. Of course, that had caused problems even back then.

"You never know when to shut up, do you, kid?" Smack. "Now look what you done. Everybody's upset." Smack smack smack, oh look, there's blood.

"No, dad, it's just you. Nobody else is around."

"Yes they are! And they're all really annoyed because you never stop talking." Smack. "And you always bring up the worst topics." Smack. "Why don't you ever learn to shut up? Why can't you be more like Flare? He's a son a father can be proud of." Smack smack smack, oh look, more blood. Can't stand up. Falling over. Nobody cares. Lights out.

But nobody else ever said anything, so he'd had to speak up. It didn't matter to him that he got beaten and passed out, because it was something different. Somebody paid attention to him for once, even if it was bad, and that was enough for him to bear it. But then he'd met Ember, and he didn't need attention from her. He didn't need to fill up the silence. He could be silent around her and be happy. She taught him the way things were supposed to be, so the next time his dad beat him, he fought back, and now look where he was. All because he could never shut up.

Now Masq was going to hate him too. But wait. There were flowers flying at his face, and she was smiling and jumping into the stream and splashing around, pretending to drown. She didn't hate him! In fact, the black and white she-cat wanted to play. That was a change. Nobody in his clan ever wanted to play. It was always work work work, all serious faces and purposeful steps. Nobody ever did anything because they wanted to.

Well, right now he wanted to play. So he shook the flowers off his face and motored toward the stream. "Don't worry, Masquerade, I'll save you!" A grin plastered itself on his face as he puffed his chest out and struck a heroic pose before leaping into the stream. And all was cold and invigorating and amazing.

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[♫ poltergeist ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/314fsli.jpg] "Don't worry, Masquerade, I'll save you!" It had been a long time before Masq had heard anyone say her full name like that; the only cats she usually socialised with were her siblings, and they almost always said the shorter name. The childish part of her remembered how her parents would always say that when she was in trouble, giving the word a threatening connotation. However, this time, when Briar said it, she didn't sense the same scolding hiss that Beirut and Syria had always carried. Masq shook her head, feeling a weird sensation from doing so underwater, then surfaced for long enough to catch another big gulp of air. "Hurry Briartail, before the current sweeps me away!" She laughed, standing and shaking some water out of her coat. "It's really, really cold," she said, shivering but still amused. "Do you think we sho--" as she was speaking, she'd started moving toward the shore, and it was then that she slipped on a rock and fell back into the water. As soon as she had recovered -- only a few seconds later -- she stood, shaking her head and laughing. "Wow," she said, "only I could fall on my face in the middle of a stream like that. I'm so clumsy." She giggled a bit, shaking herself once more and then jumping out of the water. "Wow, I am really cold," she said, blinking at Briartail. "Sorry. Don't really want to end our fun, but . . ." every time you turn around i know you're standing there waiting for me to take it on back down the other road baby but i won't let you down

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[glowlynose]

Briartail smiled to himself. Of course she would be cold. She wasn't used to that kind of chill, not like he was. She had not spent countless moons training her body to handle sub-freezing waters. That was a StreamClan thing. The other clans thought they were absolutely crazy for it, but that was because they were ignorant. Where ignorance sometimes brings bliss, more often than not it brings condemnation. So he completely understood how she could be too cold. It had taken him a long time to get to the place he was right now. It was a miracle he could still feel his toes after such intense cold weather training, he thought.

"Oh, of course. You need some help out?" He walked calmly over to her, enjoying the cold resistance the water gave his legs. Yes, he truly was in his element right now. He barely noticed the cold anymore. A content smile broke out on his face, and he sighed happily. "You know, I don't think there's anything I love more than being in the water. It's just so calming to me, now that I'm used to it. Haha, happens when you live in StreamClan, I guess." He could have gone and started swimming laps if he felt like it, but Masq was more important right now. If she started getting too cold, bad things would happen. So he climbed out of the stream, shook himself off, and extended his neck back over the water to pull her out if she needed it.

He was familiar with the coldness cycle. First your body got very warm, almost like it was burning, but you were still conscious of the cold. Then your heart would start beating faster and faster, trying to pump more warmth through your body. After that, you could lose motor functions- muscles might even start seizing, preventing movement. And then your breathing got progressively more ragged and labored, because your body was trying so hard to keep itself warm that it forgot how to do other things like breathe and move. Throughout the whole thing, you just got more and more tired. At the end, it was possible to just pass out and then freeze to death if somebody didn't find you.

Masq had already slipped. Her body was losing itself. Or she could have just slipped. He was freaking out too much. Either way, she should be warmed up. What was there around here to help warm somebody up? The ground was cold, the trees would be cold, even the moss was cold, and Briartail was wet. He was warm, but he was wet. Maybe he could use some moss to dry Masq off and then use some more for her to lay on and warm up in? Ah, but he was moving too fast. She wasn't even out of the water yet.

"How do you feel right now? Cold? Hot? Clumsy? Is your heart beating really fast? Can you breathe? I don't mean to be too inquisitive, but things like that happen when our bodies get too cold. And you could get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt. So do you feel okay?"

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[♫ poltergeist ♥]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/314fsli.jpg] "Oh, of course. You need some help out? You know, I don't think there's anything I love more than being in the water. It's just so calming to me, now that I'm used to it. Haha, happens when you live in StreamClan, I guess. How do you feel right now? Cold? Hot? Clumsy? Is your heart beating really fast? Can you breathe? I don't mean to be too inquisitive, but things like that happen when our bodies get too cold. And you could get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt. So do you feel okay?" Masquerade smiled internally, glad that he was talking again and slightly amused by the fact that she enjoyed it. I've been all alone for too long, she thought. "I'm fine," she said quietly, after the first question offering her help. "I just slipped and fell. It's something I tend to do; I've always been a bit clumsy, especially in water. Aside from the fact that I'm covered in freezing water, I'm okay." She laughed gently, stepping away from him so she could shake herself without splattering him. Once her fur was satisfyingly free of water she sat, quickly grooming herself and appreciating the fact that a stranger cared so much about her life. Although Poltergeist would care, Marauder would likely tell her to suck it up and deal with it. Blinking at Briartail a few times, she opened her mouth to ask something then paused. She had to phrase the question correctly, otherwise he might begin to suspect something of her -- and she had no intent to find out any real information, save for her curiosity. She just wanted to . . . know. "So, what's life as a warrior like? You live with a lot of other cats . . . at least, that's what I've seen and been told . . . you have beliefs in StarClan -- my father told me about them while I was a kit, since he'd been raised by someone who believed -- and you pretty much work as a family. But what's it actually like, for you? Do you enjoy it? Is it easier?" She tilted her head, looking at him inquisitively. Life as a warrior did seem a lot easier, really. Masq had heard that, aside from conflicts with other Clans, it was easier to operate as a whole than to be one lone cat trying to survive alone. There is a good reason for that, really, she considered. What if I broke a paw and couldn't hunt? If I were in a Clan, someone else could for me until I could do it myself. Masq suddenly shivered and she remembered that she should probably continue grooming herself to get the cold water out and her blood flowing normally again. every time you turn around i know you're standing there waiting for me to take it on back down the other road baby but i won't let you down

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