|
|
Post by brownspot on Aug 19, 2009 22:33:45 GMT -5
` you spoke your wish aloud
and i made it come true
------------
HE WANTED to say everything was going perfect. But that would be a lie. The truth was, they just looked like they were doing well. In reality, RavineClan was as shook to its core as it had been after Dreamstar's death all those moons ago. Sure, they were no longer the tiny clan, barely managing to keep their borders patrolled properly. And there were no longer random fox attacks. RavineClan was now the largest clan, the most formidable, the most feared. They'd proven their strength again and again. Then nothing should be wrong, should it?
THIS TIME, the clan wasn't battling enemies or striving for their lives. This time, the clan was being torn apart from the inside out. Even the simplest of tasks were a big fuss anymore. Brownspot remembered when everything was simple: when kits were born to keep the clan strong; when it didn't mean who trained you, so long as you were one step closer to being a warrior; when love for your clan eclipsed any other concern. Since when did it matter if a tom was the father of the litters of two different she-cats? Who cared that two apprentices were so head-over-heels that they couldn't speak straight around each other? And was it remotely relevant which warriors were dying to take up the deputy position? Things didn't need to be so dramatic. He wished his clanmates could just accept things they were and keep a little more faith in StarClan. What would happen would happen. And surely if any of this was nearly so important as everyone said, StarClan would be offering advice, right?
HE FELT a wave of gratitude for his own family. His love for Gryffinwing had evolved slowly over time, starting soon after he was apprenticed. But it had always made sense. And she had always loved him in return. Having a family of their own had never once been questioned. For them, it was simply supposed to happen. And while their first litter had all died, their second litter was nearing their fourth moon. The five kits were growing larger and stronger as each day passed, already showing the beginnings of good warriors. His daughters were sweet and adorable, but still plenty capable of hold their own. His two sons were very much different, but still both harboring great potentials. He relished in each day he was able to watch them play and learn. But he couldn't forget the last member of the family. Silverhawk was more the parent of the entire clan, but he did take the time to spoil his little nieces and nephews. Every few days he'd watch them for a few hours to let Gryffinwing have some time to herself. And even when all of the queens were present, the long-legged medicine cat was often caught tumbling about with his tiny kin. Unlike so many other RavineClan families, his just made sense. There was no drama in their lives outside of when Fogkit tackled Robinkit too roughly.
BROWNSPOT CHIDED himself for getting so lost in his thoughts. He was sitting beneath a wide-branched pine tree, sun filtering down through the pine needles and glaring off the tiny remains of the last snow. Around him, the forest was teeming with life. The birds were singing noisily, the mice scurrying about beneath the moss. He lifted his brown head, drinking in the scents of the woods around him. It was beautiful, so beautiful. For a moment, he was reminded of their old home in the old forest. For a moment, he became fully immersed in a memory.
HE WAS a tiny kit, bouncing along after Silverkit and the dark auburn tail of his father, Redmartin. They were outside of the camp in the dark, damp ravine for the first time in their young lives. Every leaf, every rock, every sound was a mystery, beautiful and amazing. They scurried from place to place, sometimes lagging behind their father, other times racing ahead of him. In only a few moments, Brownkit had fallen completely and utterly in love with the forest. He loved how alive it was, how everything depended on one another, how everything was so perfect. And the forest was surely the best metaphor for his clan. At that point in time, RavineClan hadn't yet fallen. They were rivaled in size only by BrookClan. Intelligent and experienced Dreamstar led them moon in and moon out. RavineClan warriors knew their clanmates better than they knew themselves. Everything was perfect.
THE BROAD-SHOULDERED warrior dipped his head, returning to the present. The new forest was indeed very different from the old one, but he would be the first to admit it felt like home. He lifted his head again, looking up at the forest around him. It was lush and glowing with life, springing back into it's prime after winter. A glow entered the tom's eyes. If the forest could come back after the cold and harsh season, then surely the clan could as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by tallstone on Aug 21, 2009 20:14:36 GMT -5
you're aching, you're breaking
[/color] AND I CAN SEE THE PAIN IN YOUR EYES [/font][/size][/center]
it was strange, not hanging around morninglight or northwind. not hovering over cinderpaw to make sure he was alright, to not be led into sharp arguments with a certain sunsplashed she-cat and to not be trying to solve unresolved issues in his marriage with northwind. it was different just being by himself, with his thoughts, and not having to wonder if the cats that encircled his life would suddenly come bursting out of the bushes, one spitting scathing remarks, the other sharp retorts and the youngest, the last, looking at him with wide, confused eyes that gave him haunting reminders of what could have - what should have - been. he couldn't explain what it was like, what it was like not having to pad after northwind for every second of his life or overshadow cinderpaw or fret over morninglight.
well, actually, he still fret over morninglight. he still felt obliged to overshadow cinderpaw. perhaps the only that was really missing was his need to hover over northwind, to tend and bend to her every with and command like the boneless tom with absolutely no confidence in himself or the future. admittingly, part of the reason that he had decided to follow northwind was because he was sure that she was stronger than himself, that she would be able to shape the sort of future that he could not yet see, but so terribly needed.
he sighed, an action that loosened the pressure that had built up in his head but did nothing for the ache in his heart. northwind and i are over, he thought and he had known it for a while now, known it since their fight when cinderpaw had gone missing, had known it when he had first set eyes on morninglight and figured out his feelings for her. he knew things were breaking apart the moment cinderpaw began slipping out of their grasp, growing up from the small, fragile son he used to be and when they lost possession of his true, genuine heart when cometpaw had unwillingly stolen in it. the only thing that had ever kept them together was cinderpaw -- it didn't matter what kind of kits would be in the new litter, what kind of little souls that tallstone would fall in love with, because he didn't love northwind anymore. not like morninglight. it was so very different that he couldn't even find the words to explain it.
if he really had fallen for her - sweet, genuine, painless morninglight - then why couldn't he just end things as quickly as possible with northwind? he had no problem telling other people how much he hated his former mate. he had no trouble at all telling morninglight how he felt for her. tallstone could easily recall the dark, furious emotions that burned his heart and were directed to none other than the chocolate-colored queen he had sired two litters for. he could tell northwind how much he hated her, how much of a bad mother she was, how he didn't care what she did with her life. . but end it ? he thought, his stomach churning. even the thought of it, of ending it completely, was difficult, but he couldn't explain why.
the air was warm and the soil was soft and if he his mind had not been occupied by all these rampant thoughts, tallstone might have found himself relishing in the peace that came with the new home. he had gone on the journey too and the memories of him and northwind - quiet and silent and unspeaking as always, with him padding soundlessly along - and cinderkit washed over him. he wondered what would have happened if he had never meant morninglight - well, got to know her - and he instantly regretted it. he knew, that in his heart, northwind and tallstone could not have ever existed as a real couple for long and if another morninglight did not come along, then surely another castro would have and they would have been in the same situation, watching their family being torn apart.
tallstone lifted his head, twitching his ears. a gust of wind whispered by, feeling pleasantly cool on his face and he lifted his head to see his cousin, standing just before him. quickening his pace, the warrior padded up to his cousin with a welcoming flick and dip of his head, a quiet smile stretching across lean, tired features. "good afternoon, brownspot" he meowed, turning his head to watch the light filter through the trees and the wind drift away.
"speech"
'thoughts'
[/blockquote][/size][/font][/color] SINCE EVERYBODY'S CHANGING and i don't know why [/color][/font]
›› response to brownspot with tallstone. while i have fluttering muse,
i have to say "nothing" and you can see that my word count is seven six five. ‹‹
[/size][/font][/color] |
|
|
|
Post by brownspot on Sept 20, 2009 13:04:17 GMT -5
` you spoke your wish aloud
and i made it come true
------------
A PALE shadow was making its way towards him. His mind slipped back into the present, and his gold gaze slid over to the creature moving near. A cat of another clan would have found difficulty telling one silver RavineClanner from another, but Brownspot could tell in a glance that his companion was Tallstone, not his brother Silverhawk. The two silver tabbies could have passed as brothers. They were both gray-tinged and lithe. But one who had spent any time around the two could tell the differences at once. Tallstone's fur was darker, a rich platinum color instead of Silverhawk's pale silver. And the latter of the two had more brown sewn into his coat than his cousin. It was the eyes that was a dead give away. Tallstone had the beautiful blue eyes that his aunt Graywhisker had failed to pass on to her two sons. Instead, Brownspot and Silverhawk bore the same pale gold eyes of their father Redmartin.
AT HIS cousin's greeting, the broad-shouldered tom dipped his head in respect. Quite unlike his brother, he was a tom of few words. He spoke aloud what he felt was necessary, but little more. His quietness was dependable and comforting to those who knew him, but strange and cold to those who didn't. He shuffled his paws, rotating his large shoulders into a more comfortable position. He guessed without asking what was occupying his comrade's mind. This was exactly the drama he disliked. Tallstone's picture perfect life was now a complicated mess. More than one she-cat was pregnant with his kits, his only remaining son was nearly a warrior and having difficulty coping with his parent's split, and the warrior himself seemed unsure where he stood on the whole matter. Brownspot felt much less confused on the topic. Northwind was a powerful, capable she-cat; she would have little difficulty raising kits on her own. Morninglight, though... The brown warrior didn't doubt her strength when it came to hunting and fighting, but he knew she would need more emotional support than the other queen. And he wondered if the devotion of her little brother and the medicine cat would be enough. As for Cinderpaw, Brownspot had spent enough time overseeing the young tom's training to know he'd grow into a fully-respected warrior in a short time. There would come a day when the apprentice's loyalty would be tested and proven and that would be the last time his strength was ever questioned. The youngling would grow to be more like either his mother, unendingly independent and self-spoken, or more like his father, friendly and harboring a longing to be needed. Brownspot didn't doubt the whole thing would work itself out down the road. His only concern was how the two litters would get along. They'd be rather close in age. He couldn't begin to fathom how difficult training the lot of them would be.
AN IDEA came to him on the subject of kits, and Brownspot's gaze flickered back over to his cousin. "The kits'll be apprenticed soon," he said with the casualty one might use to comment on the weather. But then he looked his silver-coated cousin in the eye, something more meaningful hiding at the back of his gaze. "With Phantomsun's permission, I'd like you to mentor Robinkit." Really, it wasn't such a bad idea. Robinkit was a sweetheart, and her father hoped she'd bring as much amusement and joy to her mentor as she brought to her parents. She tried her hardest to be as independent as some of her siblings, but always found her heart stuck on one thing or another. Tallstone was gentle enough to keep her trying and soft enough to put up with her playfulness. The brown warrior had little worry that Phantomsun would agree to the match. His one worry was that Silverhawk might also decide he wanted to mentor the young she-cat. If that happened, Brownspot told himself, Tallstone would simply have to mentor another kit from the litter.
PERHAPS IT wasn't enough, because the warrior continued. "Northwind's kits will be my kin as well, Tallstone. I hunt for Gryffinwing in the morning before Bearpaw's training; it wouldn't take me much longer to catch Northwind's breakfast as well." Although he knew the queen could be difficult, Brownspot figured she'd complain less if her breakfast was brought to her by a quieter, more accepting tom. He didn't want to see her snap if a tom like Flametwist felt forced into hunting for her.
HIS EYES flickered around the forest around them. He tilted his head lightly to the side. "Today would be a good day for an assessment," he said quietly, more to himself than the other warrior. Without being told or asked, the tom had sort of taken over making sure the three apprentices were prepared to become warriors. He worried about assessing Bearpaw at the same time as the other two. His apprentice was coming along very well, but Brownspot didn't want the tom to be discouraged by seeing how far along his sister's training had come. Perhaps she was the one that he should worry for, though. Cometpaw was always perfectly capable, but her training had been lagging lately. Goldenwing had taken up Cinderpaw's training since Hawkshadow's death, but no one in particular had continued training the she-apprentice while Phantomsun mourned. He nodded his head the tiniest bit, deciding it might be best to evaluate each apprentice individually.
HE SHUFFLED his paws once more, comfortable savoring the morning for another moment before he had to return to his duties.
|
|
