Dusty
Apprentice
Trying to be active....
Posts: 54
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Post by Dusty on Apr 26, 2014 19:47:18 GMT 1
The dark she-cat's pawpads ached as she travelled, her soft feet used to the soft terrain of Treeclan's forest, not the harsh rocky outcroppings she had taken herself to now. This area of the mountain range skirted her territory, so of course her paws were still met by grass, however it was not the lush kind that grew within the forest. Here the grass was dry and struggled to keep hold of it's grip on the mountain range. Were she to venture much further, she would find that it would cease to grow at all. However, she did not hold much of a desire to submit herself to such a disadvantage.
The she-cat had found herself back in camp earlier than expected, having caught a couple particularly large pieces of prey whilst out hunting for the clan. She had taken this to mean she could get away with returning early, particularly as she did not wish to lose such kills in any manner. However she hadn't counted on the boredom that would come from sititng in camp with little else to do. Many were still out hunting, or sleeping off night patrols. It was not yet midday and the sun was still low in the sky, though it would peak before too long. The day brought a slight chill, but not an unpleasant one, and she had decided that she would serve better purpose returning ton the hunt.
However she had prowled the forest once already today, and succeeded well. If there was one thing Duskpelt desired, it was the thrill of a challenge. The she-cat's wandering mind and paws had brought her to the edge of the forest and out into no mans land. The wild mountains. A rough terrain that she had rarely ventured onto, truth be told. Yes, hunting here would challenge her. Her keen green eyes scoured the landscape, searching for sign of any life, but seldom could be seen. Not to mention the lack of cover available even if she had seen something.
Yes, truly it would be a challenge.
He eyes flashed and ears drew back as she saw a shadow move ahead of her. The perputrator was merely a small lizard. It would feed no one and no doubt tasted foul compared to the fat beasts she could catch in her own territory. But she would have it. She narrowed her eyes, and slower than usual, conscious the lizard could look her way any moment if he sensed her movement, she moved into a pouncing position.
However her bulky boar body was built for springing, but made such obvious attempts more difficult and her quarry sensed her shifting. It's eyes flashed as it saw her and she saw it's tongue flick before it darted away, it's escape so abruptly fast that she had barely time to register it before she was left to stand back up and register her failure. She rolled her eyes, at herself or the lizard, she wasn't sure and continued to make her careful way along the outcroppings.
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Post by Greymuzzles on May 5, 2014 23:15:33 GMT 1
…Where was she?
The spotted tom paused, balancing his unusual almost-Boar bulk on an uneven rocky outcrop so he could focus on inspecting his surroundings. What met his yellow-gold gaze was a scene well and truly out of his comfort zone: a tangle of scantily grassed scree stretching up into the paws of the looming mountaintops, and meandering down into the soft belly of the treeline. No place for a Treeclanner. No place for the likes of him.
Twitching his tail against an unintentional tilt of his sort-of-Bird body, Leopardstrike forced himself to look beyond what was plain to the casual eye. Though he knew little of life in the wilderness he had swiftly learnt that the she-cat he sought was something of a master at going unseen—should she wish it—and that meant that it was futile to seek her in the same ways or places he would seek others. It was this that had driven him up here in the first place, but the Plataea she so often favoured had failed him; not surprising, given the number of felines it had held when he arrived. Now he had no idea where else to search, for his sister was still about as familiar to him as flight: an anomaly that he couldn’t comprehend, no matter how hard or desperately he strived.
Unfortunately, his flickering eyes weren’t about to offer him clues.
Growling, the tom finally split his jaws to trade sight for scent, drawing the cool air over his teeth and tongue and the hopes that this, if nothing else, might finally led him her way. But it stubbornly refused. Offered him nothing but the tang of a different she-cat: a feline he was surprised to find in these regions, but also dissatisfied to detect, for she was the wrong Boar.
It was temporary sentiment. The thought had hardly settled within his head before it was dissipating beneath the touch of his more easy-going nature, swapping the nipping frustration with a flicker of curiosity and a sense of opportunity. Wrong Boar or not, this cat was a possible clue to the one he sought, for there was a chance—albeit a slim one—that she had seen Tigerheart on her way to or from some duty, and would be able to point him in the right direction. And if not…well, at least he would have a moment of distraction from his habitual concern: a chance at company before he was driven back into the grips of his search.
Mind made, Leopardstrike half bounded, half fell from his precarious perch, twitching whiskers and tail in frustrated amusement as he steadied himself upon flatter ground. He paid the mistake no more attention than that, instead opting to trot through the rubble-strewn world in search of the dark shape paired to that scent; to call out when he finally spied her solid body amongst the rocks.
“Good hunting, Duskpelt?” He slowed his pace, stepping more carefully as he worked his way around the more jagged patch of ground separating him from her. “Sorry to ask, but have you seen Tigerheart? We’re meant to be hunting together, but she seems to have gotten herself lost.”
Ooc: Hope this'll do you~
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Dusty
Apprentice
Trying to be active....
Posts: 54
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Post by Dusty on May 8, 2014 22:11:04 GMT 1
Duskpelt's ears pricked at a nearby sound and her nose twitched as she checked the air. Dark fur held the slightest bristle as she sensed another cat nearby, but stilled as she tasted Treeclan upon him. Her neck twisted as she turned her head curiously, for the sound had been louder than she would have expected. Not quite the subtle steps of a warrior. Perhaps her fellow clanmate was hunting also. Her olive eyes scanned the rocks but could not yet see him, fortunately for the tom.
She sat back on her haunches waiting patiently for him to appear, sensing his approaching pawsteps. Her pose gave her every suggestion of casuality, though truth be told there was some tension in her. She was not one to be entirely relaxed outside of clan territory regardless of whether she was confident the approaching tom was a friend or not.
As he neared his scent grew stronger and she could identify the tom. Leopardstrike. Not so curious him being out here she supposed. Sure he was a Treeclanner now, but having grown up outside of the clan she could hardly imagine he was content to spend all his time in the forest. No matter how beautiful their territory truly was, she pondered fondly, the thought bringing a purr to her chest.
She smiled as Leopardstrike came into view. "I wouldn't say fantastic," she purred, an amused smile on her face. "I'm not quite cut out for this terrain, I must admit. Still, I'll get something before I return..." She added, a promise to herself more than anything, her eyes narrowing and flicking in the direction of the escaped lizard and back almost instantaneously.
She frowned at his question however. Tigerheart was not a cat she was overly familiar with, despite the length of time the female had spent in the clan since quitting her past life. Duskpelt had always felt somewhat unnerved by her and had never found herself in the she-cats company for a long enough time to gain any better knowledge of her. None the less she knew her scent when she found it and of course knew her appearance. She could be no help to Leopardstrike it seemed. "I confess I haven't caught sight nor scent of her Leopardstrike, I'm sorry. I was back at camp not too long ago however and I didn't see her there either...Are you quite sure you two arranged to meet in the same place?" She asked, her voice hinting at a good humoured tease before reverting to a curious tone as she added a question that had just struck her. "What are you doing out here anyway? Do you not enjoy hunting in the forest?" She asked, the jest returning to her voice for the latter question though her voice remained soft and friendly; she didn't want to seem as though she were accusing him of anything, given his past life outside of the clan.
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Post by Greymuzzles on May 17, 2014 17:14:27 GMT 1
“Who is?” He asked easily, pleased to find her so welcoming of incidental interrupting approach. “You’d have to be part Stoneclan to handle this ground, and there’s no question that there’s none of them in your blood.” Finding himself drawing close to the invisible line between ‘reasonable’ proximity and ‘invasive’, the spotted tom finally halted his careful progress across the uneven terrain, settling, instead, within a space a good fox length away. His gaze, when it found her again, was as warm as it would be for any other member of his clan, though it carried, too, a clear undercurrent of the annoyance nipping at his fur.
‘I confess I haven’t caught sight nor scent of her, Leopardstrike’
Therein lay the stoking breaths for his frustrations flames, but he could hardly blame her for her lack of knowledge. If even he, the striped cat’s brother, couldn’t guess where she was, then how could another? It wasn’t like she had made many friends within the clan, after all, nor as if her temperament was sweet enough to make others inclined to seek her when she slipped away. She was, in truth, more likely to inspire unease and the very avoidance she employed than to attract company and care; a fact he knew just as well as any other member of their clan.
“I’m not quite that old, Duskpelt,” this time the annoyance was not merely an undertone, but a note enhanced by feigned affront. “Kindly let my memory be, before you land me in the Elders den. I’ll make your life miserable with all my petty vengeful little demands if you manage that.” he smiled across at her, wrinkling his nose as he tried for a fake glare, “Just imagine all the mousebile I’ll bring upon your head – and the constant search for moss, or the whines that that bird is too feathered. Only rabbit will do, thank you very much.”
‘What are you doing out her anyway? Do you not enjoy hunting in the forest?’
Though the words were friendly, there was no helping the fleeting frown that reached for his features as they slipped into the cool air. Moons had passed since the events that had stirred so much drama within Treeclan, and yet it was evident that their lingering touch had not yet passed. But, of course, there was no real chance of them managing such a thing, for though the clans kits and apprentices – even some of their youngest warriors – had no knowledge of his or Tigerhearts origins, his sisters ways were such that none as old as Duskpelt could forget that the pair had not been born to their current clan. Their treatment of him had barely changed—he had been amongst them since his apprenticeship; was practically one of them—but it was no real surprise that there might now be some questions surrounding his place and thoughts of the place he called home. Another source of frustration to add to the list given him by his rediscovered kin…but not one to bring him down.
Using the friendliness of her voice, his own certainty that he was exactly where he belonged, Leopardstrike easily traded his frown for a purr and good-natured tilt of the head. They were signals of his acceptance, recognition of her jest, and perfectly wielded to sweep his flash of unease aside. “I’d sooner be there than here. I’m not cut out for these stones, but that grouch of mine seems to prefer it away from the trees.” he flicked his tail, briefly turning an unconscious gaze towards the higher mountain slopes, and the passes and wilds they so thoroughly concealed. “Far as I can tell, she likes just about anywhere that’s away from the clan. Guess she’s still adapting to company.”
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Dusty
Apprentice
Trying to be active....
Posts: 54
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Post by Dusty on May 21, 2014 18:40:46 GMT 1
She grinned at the tom's response to her struggles with the terrain. True enough, Duskpelt's broad build was the like that was rarely seen outside the bulky boars of Treeclan, though her dark pelt was something of an oddity within the clan. Had she been more curious, perhaps she would have pondered her heritage more because of this. After all, that strange coat had to have infiltrated from somewhere. But Duskpelt had no desire to take her thoughts down this path. She was Treeclan and it was all she knew and everything she loved.
"I'm not that old, Duskpelt."
She chuckled lightly at the tom's reaction, glint in her eyes dancing with amusement at her clanmates words. "Oh, please no!!" she cried, feigned despair creasing her face. "A vengeful elder, I don't think I could take it! I'll never let them put you in that den, Leopardstrike! Why, one day you'll be the oldest warrior ever known if I have my way!" She cried, melodrama taking over. "There's only so much a cat can take," she purred with amusement. Her tail flicked lazily on the ground, content in conversation. "Although you know, I'm always more than happy to go rabbit hunting. If only that was the only thing that the elders desired of me!" She added with a grin.
Duskpelt almost missed the fleeting frown that followed her question about his chosen hunting destination, but as it was so quickly replaced with a smile, she ignored it anyway. She had feared slightly that her words may be taken wrong, but after all, was she not hunting out of territory also? And she loved her clan. He must know that she meant no harm.
Duskpelt nodded at his words, unsurprised. "I confess she hasn't struck me as a particularly sociable one," she replied, jest no longer in her voice. Infact her good natured comment was peppered with concern. "It must be tough though, to adapt to such a lifestyle change, I would imagine. I'm sure any of us clan born cats would struggle to survive where she is from, let alone settle in happily." Duskpelt frowned thoughtfully as she spoke and for a moment her thoughts drifted from Leopardstrike and his sister to herself and her brothers. How would she cope if they left, or if she did? It must have been awful for the two siblings to have had to spend such large portions of their lives apart. In reality Duskpelt knew only the basic details of the situation, but she didn't need facts to know you didn't willinging part from your family. She mentally shook her head clear of her meandering thought track and back to Leopardstrike.
"Still I can't blame her for wanting to hunt a little outside the forest. Always good to feel a change of dirt beneath the paws," she smiled at Leopardstrike. "Sorry I can't be more helpful," she added, her head cocked to one side as she looked at him. "I'll be happy to accompany you while you look for her if you'd like company? Two noses are better than one, surely?!" she suggested with a grin.
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Post by Greymuzzles on Jun 12, 2014 16:17:47 GMT 1
Distracted or not, there was no way of ignoring that cry. Though it was as fake as his own attempt at a glower, it was also plenty loud and ‘convincing’ enough to draw his ambers back to her dark form, and focus him on her retorts – not to mention their exchange. He was pleasantly surprised. He could no more miss the age difference between him and Duskpelt than he could the cautious way in which many other cats her age handled him, and in his experience they didn’t tend to joke with cats like him, despite the fact that he was far from being a senior—at least by Treeclan standards. The exceptions had almost always been his own apprentices, and then only after several moons, so to find himself addressed so casually made for a pleasant change. It was also something he was inclined to encourage, which was exactly why his response was a feigned sternness and a calculating stare: a look designed to be as sceptical as it was pre-emptively vengeful.
“Oh you are, are you?” he ‘growled’, leaving his gaze to cover the first parts of her melodramatic speech by itself. “In that case, I think I’ll swap the rabbits for squirrel and fish. It’s a poor punishment if you enjoy it.” Somehow—he knew not how—he managed to regulate his features until some seconds after he had finished speaking, but then there was no resisting the amused smile that struggled for his maw. Finally giving in, the tom uttered another little purr and allowed himself a few content seconds—
Shed his amusement with a sigh when the conversation shifted back to his missing sister, and immediately hit on a few…unwelcome truths. But unwelcome or not, they were very much correct, and scraps of knowledge that he knew that both he and the rest of Treeclan had little option but to accept. They weren’t likely to change anytime soon.
“You’re probably right,” he murmured, shuffling uneasily at his own awareness that, despite how many moons had passed, the striped she-cat was apparently still far from making a solid place for herself. “She doesn’t speak much of the past…but she’s definitely less social than I remember.” This last a half-absent self-direct musing; a statement dismissed with a snort and a shake before it could work its claws into his fur.
“Not to worry, Duskpelt. I figured it was unlikely anyway,” he stirred himself, cautiously rebalancing his paws on the rough scree as he stood and passed the she a nod and faint smile. “The help’d be welcome – assuming you don’t mind a…prickly reception when we find her.”
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Dusty
Apprentice
Trying to be active....
Posts: 54
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Post by Dusty on Jul 19, 2014 22:14:00 GMT 1
Duskpelt purred softly in delight at his response; the faux sterness hiding his own amusement. It was always nice to find a cat that she could have a laugh with, far too many warriors were too serious these days it seemed. Better still was that it was this tom, who she could not recall seeing overly carefree before. It was good to see the elder tom smile. "Ah, you've got me there. I could bribe my brothers to find me a squirrel perhaps but those poor elders would go hungry if they were waiting on me catching a fish!" she purred, the corners of her mouth twitching a grin. She found herself silent as his mood shifted and he responded to her thoughts on Tigerheart. She probably should have kept them to herself. She frowned in concern at the change in his mood. Clearly his sister troubled him, as it would any cat, she supposed. Her tail twitched uncomfortably as he spoke. She'd have to make it up to him, having brought up bad memories. The least she could do would be to give him some company in the hopes it would decrease his concern til they found her again.
As he shot her a faint smile, she grinned, keen to cling to any sign that his lighter side may be dragged back to the foreground. "Ah don't you worry Leopardstrike! I can handle a little friendly banter," she said with a wink. Banter was a fairly light word for what would no doubt followed should they find Tigerheart. Though she knew little of the female really, somehow she doubted that she would appreciate either Duskpelt's appearance, or the fact that she had accompanied Leopardstrike. Still, that could be handled should they actually find the she-cat outside of the clan camp.
She got to her paws and stretched her front legs out infront of her, her thick body seeming to elongate as she stretched it out, shaking lose after having sat for so long. "Shall we get going?" She asked, standing and padded around Leopardstrike, circling to the other side of him as if setting off before she paused and looked to him. "Where exactly would you recommend we search?" She asked with a questioning frown. "Is she taken to travelling far from the clan's forests?"
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Post by Greymuzzles on Aug 1, 2014 23:49:41 GMT 1
“I’ve sharp eyes and a sharper nose, Duskpelt,” the faux sterness crept back into his voice at her speech of bribery, but this time the jest was accompanied by a considerably more sombre overtone; the work of familial concern…and perhaps a touch of real, if vaguely directionless, disapproval. “I’d soon know if you had your brothers doing your hunting.” He shifted his weight and his paws as he spoke, carefully trading the uneven ground he had made his perch for slightly more stable footing on smoother stone. It was a small patch for a tom his size, but it was better than its predecessor – allowed him temporary freedom from the need to monitor his balance at every minute movement.
“Remember that I’ve had my fair share of apprentices. I know most of the tricks already,” this a lighter, purr-edged statement to accompany an upwards glance itself balanced between the first scraps of amusement, and the long-lasting burs of sibling concern. Then his companion was stretching and standing, drawing his attention further from verbal games and closer to his original task. He accepted the change without complaint, but sobered all the more at the mention of banter, and his own too-keen awareness of his sister’s sharp tongue and sharper temper. Somehow ‘banter’ didn’t quite cut it…and he couldn’t be sure she would be friendly. Indeed, he couldn’t be sure of any part of her mood or tolerance until they found her, which was probably why he felt obligated to warn this young warrior that she would likely be facing
“Insults, not banter.”
He turned as he said it, half-following the younger she’s steps even as he bowed to the laws of fair play and warned her off.
“Tigerheart’s tongue is barbed even when she speaks to those she knows and likes; more so with near everyone else.” Grave yellow eyes rested briefly upon Duskpelt in the moments that followed this final warning, but he made no overt effort to send her away. Truth be told the offered company was far more welcome than he cared to admit, and he wasn’t about to give it up so easily – but he also couldn’t let her leap without some idea of what she might be in for when she inevitably hit the ‘ground’.
“That depends on her mood,” this final answer as he shook his head and gazed down at the coaxing shadows of the treeline; twisted to look back along the unwelcoming mountain slopes. “The less social she feels, the further she goes. Less chance of somecat stumbling across her.”
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Dusty
Apprentice
Trying to be active....
Posts: 54
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Post by Dusty on Aug 2, 2014 16:03:23 GMT 1
Duskpelt rolled her eyes at the older tom as he scolded her for her suggestion of bribery, but the amusement that shone in her eyes made it evident that it was in jest. This wasn't to say she hadn't noticed a slight edge of honest disapproval in his voice, but if anything that only added to her amusement. Duskpelt knew he had nothing to worry about. She was not one to let her brothers actually hunt for her, the very thought of it! She wouldn't give anything to hear the earful they'd give her if she proved she couldn't catch something like that.
She reached a paw out and cuffed him lightly in a playful manner at his talk of his apprentices. "Alright, don't worry, I'll behave!" she purred with a grin. "Showing your age there though Leopardstrike," she risked, a playful smile curving up one side of her face as she bounded a couple steps away incase of retaliation. She turned back to him, her tail lashing playfully.
Seeing the more sombre expression on his face, her face dropped a little and her ears flattened in a manner that spoke of her lack of desire for the lecture she expected to follow his correction. However as he spoke she realised he was just worrying. Her face shifted into a softened smile; it was nice of him to worry about Tigerheart upsetting her, or whatever it was exactly he expected to happen. Unneccessary though, Duskpelt believed. She could take care of herself well enough. "Ah don't worry about it. I know she's not the most welcoming. If it makes you feel better I will do my best not to say a word infront of her unless durectly spoken to to ensure I don't set her off," she promised, her voice lighthearted. "Although I can't promise my general being there won't be enough" she added jokingly.
She padded back towards Leopardstrike. "Okay well, you guys were meant to be hunting together right? Does that count as sociable or are you not included there?" she asked. She glanced up towards the mountain range sloping above them. "Perhaps we should scout a little more along this area to make sure before we venture higher, if you are unsure?" She suggested, looking back to the tom beside her. "Or have you looked far enough?"
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Post by Greymuzzles on Aug 28, 2014 20:55:17 GMT 1
Leopardstrike was prepared for any number of responses from the younger she, and indeed half-expecting a continuation of her playful manner, but he didn’t anticipate anything quite like what he received. The cuff caught him completely off-guard and landed squarely against his shoulder; would doubtless have compromised his balance had it been applied with any real force, and may well have been met with aggression were he a less amiable sort of cat. Fortunately for the she, this was not the case, and all she received for her bold move was a startled jerk and a searching turn: a rapid blink and belated smirk.
“It would seem so,” he answered lightly, shaking his head at his own startle even as an amused purr rumbled within his chest. Technically speaking he knew he shouldn’t have been caught by surprise – should be annoyed by the fact that he had: irate that this youth should take such liberties. But the reality was very different, for when it came right down to it it was refreshing to be treated as just one more fresh-from-apprenticeship warrior. Good to find that the playfulness he remembered from his own earlier seasons was still present amongst the younger warriors of the clan.
Besides, if she could startle him so easily, then he clearly needed to work on his attentiveness a little.
“Your being there could be enough,” this time the talk of his ever-temperamental sister didn’t manage to put quite so great a damper on his spirits, though an edge of a grimace briefly strained his smile. “Never can tell with her, so best pull your best kit-in-awe act when we find her,” he shook his head again, faintly surprised by the jest in his own voice, but also quietly acknowledging, at least to himself, that there was more than a little truth to the words. But Duskpelt had been warned, and if she still wanted to risk it, then who was he to send her away? The company was welcome, after all, and some good might just be stirred from a meeting between the two she’s.
“Sometimes.”
The tom paused, flicking an ear at his somewhat unhelpful response. A moment later he was again picking his way across the mountain stone, a vague explanation carrying him a couple of steps forwards before he stilled again, his own gaze drifting towards the mountains. “Sometimes she’ll tolerate nocat. Sometimes she’ll only tolerate me…and sometimes only Cherryheart can get near her without suffering an earful.” A pause; tilted head; brief rumble of mild amusement. “Correction. Cherryheart seems to be immune; strange how these things work.”
Shaking his head again, Leopardstrike allowed his eyes to drift back towards the dark cat at his side: looked briefly thoughtful as her latest questions reached his ears. Then, without batting an eye, he barged her shoulder with his and leapt away – grinned as he set off up the mountainside. “Call that revenge for the cuff - and the ‘elder’ quips, too!” he purred, quickening his pace in anticipation of some attempted retaliation. “And I would say higher is more likely. One of us would have scented her by now, if she were on this level.”
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