[align=center][align=center]
[align=center] thes code
ten moons old
[b]baby
[b]crow Seeing that Heron's facial expression had changed made Crow's heart swell for a second before it felt as someone had taken a grip on it. The day's adventures had come to crash on him and it made him suddenly very tired, paws feeling like rocks had been tied to them, he dragged them after Heron. Head lowered as his mind began to race with different possibilities.
If they ran into the patrol they had met earlier, the friendly cats that had offered help, would it be possible to ask for the help they had refused not too long ago? Would it be too much, or was it a little too late by now?
Feeling his eyes sting with the threat of tears and his tongue itching to scream, he dug his claws into the ground as he paused to stare at the sky. "[b]Why is this happening, Heron. Why won't any cat help us?" he asked softly, mind starting to grow darker as he imagined the miserable time that remained for their mother. Shaking himself vigorously in hopes of energizing himself before he began to walk again, now more like a trot.
Ravencloud would be okay, they would find help, or they would do their best finding the right herbs that would help their mother to get on her paws once again. She always found ways to keep them alive, keep him happy and loved. But glancing at Heron, he felt the guiltiness that came to him every now and then start to creep on him. Heron was loved. She was cared for. He loved her more than anything, she was the reason of them leaving the den to look for help after all.
But then again, a mother's love is like no other, and their mother didn't shower her in the affection that she well deserved. If only Ravencloud saw two kits instead of one.
[table] |
everyone will come
everyone will yell
id thank you just the same
if you didnt tell
my mother says that
i will surely go to hell
please be a good man
please say you won't tell
[br] | [/table] Heron seemed to notice that Crow had gotten tired, she stopped after they were a safe distance from the barn, stretching her sore muscles and heaving a deep, tired sigh. "Wanna stop for a bit?" she asked. Even if he had said no Heron herself wanted to stop. She lay down under the shade of a tree, even though it was beginning to get dark out, the sky was lit up with colours as the sun began to go down. Heron thought it was pretty.
She began rasping her tongue over her long legs, tail wrapped around herself as she groomed her fur.
She wished that they'd run into the patrol of cats, too, but knew it wasn't likely. Raven had told them how clan patrols worked and with it getting dark out, they should be heading to sleep soon. She lay her head on her paws, staring forward blankly.
"I don't know, Crow...but if someone wont help us we'll just help ourselves. Thats what we've always done, anyway." She said quietly for once, shaking her head.
After they had rested for a bit the oriental got up, stretching once again before continuing on silently.
The whole way home she was silent, deep in thought. When raven came into view Heron felt her heart ache for the black molly, despite her hatred for her. She looked even worse than before. She walked right up to her and stared down at the sickly she.
"We weren't able to get you help." she said simply, "he got angry and almost attacked Crow so we left." The mostly white molly muttered, awaiting the harsh response she was sure to get. Ravencloud let out a little growl.
"You almost let Crow get hurt? Why am I not surprised...just go, leave me alone." She hissed. Heron didn't even flinch, just listened. She walked over to her nest - right next to crows, though before she could lay down she heard a yowl of anger.
Her heart dropped as soon as she turned around, seeing Swiftclaw a few tail-lengths away from Raven, who stared up in pure horror.
No.
Swiftclaw leapt towards Raven with a yowl of pure anger.
No, this wasn't happening. it was a bad dream. Heron was frozen in complete shock and fear as she watched Swiftcloud tear into the sickly Ravenclouds throat. She was unable to fight back, too weak to do anything but cry out for help that did not come. It was too late.
Everything happened so fast, Heron almost didn't know what had happened.
She was quickly snapped out of it, though, as Swiftclaw turned to Crow with burning eyes and blood dripping from his jaw.
No, no, no.
Heron was knocked out of her frozen state, sprinting towards the two as fast as she could, shoving Crow out of the way just in time as Swiftclaw had leapt towards him screaming repeatedly, frantically, "Run! Crow, go! Run! To the Clans!" She cried out, her tiredness suddenly gone as fear coursed through her body, making her run faster than she had ever before towards where they had met the nice clan.
[table] | | | [/table]
I AM SORRY, MY LOVE
[size=9pt] THAT I RUINED WHAT WE HAD X
[align=center][align=center]
[align=center] thes code
ten moons old
[b]baby
[b]crow At their arrival, Crow had watched as Heron went up to their mother to report the failure of their mission. Head lowering to the ground as his body soon followed. He hated hearing his mother scold his sister over the littlest things. He looked from his mother to his sister, wondering who he should follow.
With a yawn, he started to crawl towards his mother, he softly greeted her as he went to press his nose on her cheek. But the sudden screech of an unknown figure had snapped him from his tired daze at caused him to scramble back.
Fur standing on end, he stared with wide eyes at his mother, but seeing that she had the same confused horror on her face had made him understand that his mother had not been the one that screeched. Whipping around to find the source of the horrible noise, his claws dug themselves into the soft ground instinctively, shrinking back as he recognized the tom from before.
Watching in horror as Swiftclaw leaped towards Ravencloud, Crow stood where he was, hearing the shrill shrieking of his mother that turned to choked gurgling. His eyes had been fixed on the growing puddle that dripped from his mother's dark fur, as she slumped to the ground as the white tom left his grip slack. "[b] Momma" he managed to croak.
Crow was left paralyzed, his eyes stinging with tears as he was focused on the slowly advancing rouge, his white fur stained. Closing his eyes and letting a sob escape his throat, he whispered a short prayer that was quickly interrupted by another yowl and a shove, fur pressing against his body as he felt the harsh breeze of Swiftclaw's own body just missing him by a whisker.
He felt his claws strain against the movement, feeling as if they were torn from his paws, his eyes snapped open as he hit the ground and listened to Heron's frantic yell of an order. Following her frantic scrambling, Crow heaved himself onto his paws, wincing in pain as he weaved after his sibling. Reaching the small slope that exited the den, he paused to look back, feeling his mother's dead eyes piercing into his own, mouth gaped open in a frozen scream.
Holding his tears back, his eyes focused on Swiftclaw as he began to run towards him. Turning and pushing himself after Heron as they fled to the safety of an unknown territory's border.
As they ran, everything felt slow and heavy, staring up at the ever changing sky. Heron's screaming at him to run faster felt so far away. The angry yowling of " get back here! wait till I get my claws on you!" felt muffled, the last scream of his mother being the only thing that filled his ears.
The path they took not too long ago led them to the strong markings of trees, seeing Heron jump over the invisible border so quickly and easily while Crow had paused and stared after his sister. Run, jump, hide. Get away from here.
It seemed like a moon past until they had finally lost the enraged rouge and had found safety in the base of some roots that gave way enough for the two siblings to curl up in. The night had been rough, full of loud sobbing and frantic licking of his paws, crying of the physical and emotional pain.
It felt like another moon had passed until Crow had tired himself out, weeping for his dead mother and had eventually blacked out. Their first real outing of the den had not been as bright and exciting as he had hoped it would have been. Instead, it had been full of scary noises, unfamiliar surroundings, an aching heart and body, and a crushed soul.
[table] |
everyone will come
everyone will yell
id thank you just the same
if you didnt tell
my mother says that
i will surely go to hell
please be a good man
please say you won't tell
[br] | [/table] The only thing ringing in Herons ears was run. run faster. keep going. as she sprinted as fast as her legs would take her, frantically yelling at Crow to run faster as he began to fall behind.
What if Swiftclaw ran over the border with them? What would they do then?
They reached the border sooner than she thought, but she didt stop running. Not until her paws gave out and she quite literally tripped over the roots of the tree and fell flat on her face. She huffed and stood, shaking out her fur. She turned around to make sure that Swiftclaw was nowhere near them.
The molly then curled in next to her brother, grooming him silently until he fell asleep. She just sat there for awhile, too shaken with fear to actually sleep. Her fur stood on end and her large ears were flat against her head as she kept watch.
Kind of.
She mostly stared forward with blank, lifeless eyes. What were they going to do now? They had nowhere to go. She had said to come here on instinct, after seeing that the other Clan would not pass the border. She hoped that she would be right in the fact that Swiftclaw wouldnt either. And she was, right.
Soon Heron found herself falling asleep against her will, head draped over Crows back in a comforting manner.
--
It wouldnt stop. The screaming and the blood. It was never ending. It just wouldnt stop. Heron watched as Swiftclaw tore into Ravenclouds skin, and then turn towards Heron.
He sprinted towards her. Eyes full of anger and determination. Heron found herself wanting to scream and run. But she couldnt. She could only watch as the white tom ran towards her and disappeared.
Everything went black.
She hated to admit it, but she was terrified. She didnt know what to do. Unable to move or speak.
Soon, though, a pool of water appeared at her paws and she could finally move. Albeit only her head, but it was something.
She looked down into the puddle only to see her maw dripping with crimson blood, the same red substance staining her paws.
--
She woke up screaming. An ear piercing scream that sounded like it didnt even come from her.
Heron calmed down after a moment, remembering where she was and what had happened. A tiredness swept over her and weighed her down. She felt the brush of fur against her own, and looked down at her brother with a blank expression.
Weird for someone who just screamed like they were dying.
"Hello there..."
Heron jumped out of her skin and turned towards the voice, fear grippling through her body for a moment before she saw the pretty silver and orange molly standing a few fox-lengths away from them. She was smiling softly and had a calming aura about her.
But Heron refused to give into that. She covered Crow with her whole body, letting out a low constant growl while staring at the molly.
Thats when she noticed the two other cats behind her. One she recognized. Though wasnt happy about. The little ginger apprentice and another new face, a little calico tom.
"its the cats me, froststar, and sparrownose found yesterday!" the short apprentice yipped. it gave heron a headache, she just growled in response. she wanted to run. she didnt want to be around other cats right now.
"what happened, little ones?" the older molly asked, "you seem...scared. im not going to hurt you!"
heron stopped growling at that, going dead silent though still bristling with fear.
[table] | | | [/table]
[/quote]
I AM SORRY, MY LOVE
[size=9pt] THAT I RUINED WHAT WE HAD X
[align=center][align=center]
[align=center] thes code
ten moons old
[b]baby
[b]crow The deal that Honeybreeze had made with Turtlepaw to get him up extra early in the morning for a patrol had been to take him looking for a pretty rock he had seen a couple of days ago while he had been on a hunting patrol. She had said she'd help him look for it and let him take it back to the camp.
Another member of the family! I get to show Willowspots something new! the young apprentice thought, excitedly trotting along the small patrol made of three. Applepaw had agreed to join him and Honeybreeze as well. It was an exciting time, the birds were up and about, a few jumping from one branch to another, singing their songs as they did.
The gentle morning breeze made Turtlepaw a tad chilly, he had short fur that didn't help to warm him all that much. With a shiver, he pressed against Honeybreeze to share some warmth for a second before he dropped back to examine the area. His nose was raised to the air when he heard Honeybreeze stop in her tracks, listening. He froze and began to shrink back as he watched her head point to an area and she crept towards it.
Choking back a cry of a question, Turtlepaw soon followed after Applepaw.
His chest grew tight as he began to pick up a new scent. It didn't feel right. It didn't belong. "[b]Honeybreeze?" the apprentice whispered, but fell silent as she quickened her pace when a scream sounded.
Tripping over his paws, Turtlepaw curled into himself, ears flat against his skull. " Honeybreeze! Applepaw! Are we under attack? Do I run back to warn the Clan?" he whimpered, but was reassured by a glance from both mollies and a shake of Applepaw's head as they ran towards the distressed scream.
--
When they arrived, Turtlepaw couldn't see what was in front of them, he only listened to the warrior as she spoke softly. Then turned to Applepaw when she then spoke. Squeezing himself in the middle of both, he peaked his head to see a seemingly frightened white cat. She didn't look much younger than him.
Glancing at Applepaw, he leaned to her, " Who is she?" he whispered, turning back to the white cat as she relaxed a tad. While being so focused on the white cat and her display of bristling fur, he had nearly missed the other cat. Turtlepaw blinked in surprise when he saw a tuft of black fur that went against the white fur of his sibling " Two?"
Growing more and more wary yet curious, the tom was tempted to go against his gut and run to the two cats in hopes of comforting them. But not seeing the second cat made him more nervous, why wasn't he reacting to their presence? For what he knew, the patrol could have been a mean patrol that would have chased them off their territory with a stern nip. The black tom just laid there, and from the slow reveal of him, he could see he was heaving, fur looking unkempt as both siblings looked underfed.
Pressing against Applepaw, he whimpered " I don't have a good feeling about this"
[table] |
everyone will come
everyone will yell
id thank you just the same
if you didnt tell
my mother says that
i will surely go to hell
please be a good man
please say you won't tell
[br] | [/table] Honeybreeze frowned at the bristling unknown cat. What had happened to these poor kits? Why were they so scared? She felt a tear of sympathy in her heart that made her crouch low, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. She just wanted to help....
"I dont really know, honestly. We found them and they said they were looking for this cat called Swiftclaw-" Applepaw was cut off by a hiss, and Honeybreeze drew back and stared as the white cat began trembling, eyes flicking back and forth.
She looked terrified and downright scary.
Honeybreeze could figure what happened. They got attacked by Swiftclaw. There was no other reason as to why they were so terrified. And hearing the name set the angry-scared white cat more.
"We aren't like him...we want to help." She breathed, looking back at the two apprentices.
She felt a sudden burden weigh on her shoulders. She wanted to take the two out, and now they may get attacked by this unknown cat. The black one didnt seem to be threatening. Was he even alive?
Looking closely she could see faint breathing. But also ribs. These two were starving! Her instincts kicked in and she wanted to feed them as much as they could eat.
But she knew she hd a responsibility to keep the two apprentices safe, so she held back.
"Go away...." The white one hissed, though did move a bit so the black one could be seen a bit more.
Honeybreeze looked taken aback as she spoke, blinking a few times before giving a warm smile, "sweetie we're not going anywhere, and were going to help you." she said sternly.
"No!"
The white cat had lashed at Hoeneybreeze as she drew near, but she easily dodged the shaky swipe. "Dont hurt him."
This time it was low, and shaky.
She was loosing her motivation to not listen. Honey reeze could tell. "Turtlepaw, Applepaw-" she turned to said cats, "Run back to camp. Tell Iveaf that we have some rouges that need tending to for...uh, something"
"But Honeybreeze!" Applepaw whined, looking at the two for a moment "Theyre rouges! You don't know if-" Honeybreeze cut her off with a shove "Im serious Applepaw. Go, or ill tell your mentor you didnt listen to me and youll have to clean the elders den for a moon!" She threatened half-heartedly. Though that did make the short cat turn and begin running towards camp. Good.
Honeybreeze went back to the two and lay down, examining them from a distance. They looked to be young apprentices. Or was the white one warrior-aged? She was quite tall. Though still very underweight.
Most rouges were either plump from stealing prey or only slightly underweight. These two looked half starved.
"come with me. we have someone who can help you. her name is Ivyleaf, shes a medicine cat. she'll give you something to calm you down you dont have to tell anybody what happened if you're not ready."
the white cat seemed to calm, now looking less terrified and more tired. exhausted. "fine...but lay a paw on him and ill tear out your tail" she grumbled, moving out of the way to fully reveal a fluffy black mass.
"stay by me, crow..." she breathed. Honeybreeze tried not to listen, knowing that it was not meant for her, though she couldnt help it. She wondered if this was how medicine cats felt.
The white cat nudged her companian up, helping him out of the little hollow den they had made in the tree.
"can i have your names?"
"Heron.....and Crow."
--
As they made their way into the camp, it was dead silent. Did Applepaw or Turtlepaw tell the camp that these cats were potentially dangerous? Honeybreeze felt thankful for the little apprentices and made a mental note to praise them. She looked around, noticing that all cats were either in the dens or out in the territory. Only a few cats remained. Froststar, who was by the medicine den talking to Ivyleaf and Dapplepaw, and Sparrownose, who sat near. Honeybreeze figured that Froststar thought rhey needed a guard just in case.
Honeybreeze turned to the two, and smiled gently "Just over here" She purred, leading them towards the small group.
She noticed Heron hesitating-watching the cats closely. Though seemingly deciding against running and following heaitantly.
"Hey, here they are. Just...be careful. Theyre scared out of their wits. Oh and don't touch the black one, his names Crow, without the white ones, Herons, permission. She might attack." Honeybreeze told the medic, brushing her tail against her shoulder before heading off to find her mate.
Heron watched as the nice silver molly left. And they were left with the four others.
She didnt know what to do at this point other than listen to what they said.
A black and white molly who she assumed to be the medicine cat motioned for them to enter the den. It looked comfy...she wanted to go in. She was scared to. She didnt trust it.
She just stared forward at the cat for a few moments. She waited patiently, and after a thoughtful look at Crow and a soft "why not?" she walked in and lay in the nest that she had motioned to.
"Now can you tell me what happened?" Ivyleaf asked, though Heron wasnt paying attention. She was more concerned with the dappled cat in the background scrambling with some small seeds.
She hissed as him as he drew near and dropped the seeds.
"Now!" Ivyleaf growled "Do not hiss at my apprentice! Hes trying to help you!" She sounded pissed. Heron didnt like that. So she got pissed back.
"What the fuck is this, even?" She pushed the black things away and squirmed to snuggle against Crow, wanting to be as close to him as possible.
"Poppy seeds. Theyll calm your nerves."
Heron really needed that right now. She lapped up half of the seeds and, after a moment, pushed the rest towards Crow.
[table] | | | [/table]
I AM SORRY, MY LOVE
[size=9pt] THAT I RUINED WHAT WE HAD X
[align=center][align=center]
[align=center] thes code
ten moons old
[b]baby
[b]crow On the way to the camp, Crow limped after Heron, eyes glued to the ground as he took careful steps over the unfamiliar path. He refused to look at the new cats. He refused to look at his dear sister.
Tail dragging in the dirt and paws landing heavily, he winced at the source of such a scent, it filled his nostrils and choked him. Where are they taking us? Are they going to kill us? Is this a trick? He stopped and lowered himself to the ground, burying his face into the fluffy chest fur that stuck out the most. But with more urging to get him to his paws again, he stood and continued to follow.
At the camp, his ears were filled with near silence. Only soft whispers exchanged from the entrance of dens, but still he kept his eyes on the ground. He refused to raise his head, belly fur dragging, getting dirtier and dirtier with each step. His eyes stung with the threat of tears again as they approached the medicine cat's den.
Panting softly from the sprint back to the camp, Turtlepaw laid outside the elder's den with Willowspots sitting next to him. "[b]Son, you have to steady your breathing, or you'll run out of breath like this." they placed a paw on his side, " You can eat a bit more, I can nearly feel..." their voiced trailed as they saw Heron and Crow being led to the cozy den that healed so many before. They held their tongue as they saw the poor state both the kits were in, Turtlepaw shook the paw off of himself as he sat up, " We found them on a patrol. They were hiding in a small den made in the roots of a great tree." he reported, looking up with a tint of sadness " Do you think Froststar will allow them to stay with us?"
Feeling himself get antsy, he inched close to Willowspots, the elder already lowering their head to give the apprentice comforting licks, " I'm sure she will" they said between licks. Only pausing when Turtlepaw pulled away, " Do you know where Russetfur is? We weren't able to find the rock and want to ask if he can take me." the young tom was still set on getting the rock, it was going to be a gift for his dear friend.
Eyes lighting up and as his posture perked up, he then asked " Or Spottednose?" but was told that both had been sent on separate patrols.
Collapsing into the nest next to Heron, Crow only sighed at how comfy it was. The black tom then buried his face into the bedding and began to shake. We were followed! We were attacked, we watched our no good father rip his mate's throat out! he wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to go back to Ravencloud.
He stayed silent. Too tired to speak, to move, to think. Hell, he barely had the energy to breathe. And with that, he passed out once more.
[table] |
everyone will come
everyone will yell
id thank you just the same
if you didnt tell
my mother says that
i will surely go to hell
please be a good man
please say you won't tell
[br] | [/table] Ivyleaf wasnt so worried about Heron. She seemed to be talking and moving around just fine. She was just scared out of her wits. Though the poppy seeds would help that. It would also help her sleep.
Though, Crow, she was very worried about.
He wasn't responding. He didn't eat the poppy seeds. He was just sitting there. And when he passed out she began to grow frantic. "Dapplepaw, check him."
Heron was not happy about that. She pressed herself into her brother with a low warning growl. "No! Don't touch him..."
Iveleaf had had enough. She shoved heron up, narrowly avoiding a snap in her direction as she pushed the tall white cat out of ber de and stoodbin the enranceway. Heron did not like that. She was bristling and lashing her tail.
"Let me back in! He needs me!" "No he doesn't! He needs our help right now and you need to calm yourself down. Go eat something."
Heron seemed to realize that she wan't going to get anywhere. So she turned, angrily stalking off.
Ivyleaf scrunched her nose and turned, beginning to work on Crow.
Heron stared at the little pile of prey, absently taking a little mouse and eating it slowly. She wanted to be with Crow right now. She needed to keep him safe from these strange cats.
She noticed Turtlepaw out of the corner of her eyes and turned to look at him talking to another stranger. She stared for a moment with a blank expression.
Who was he talking to? Heron suddenly found herself wanting to know the names of all these strange cats. That was the polite thing, anyways. What was that mollys name from earlier? She turned and noticed her sitting and talkig to a large black cat with long fangs and a tiny white kit.
The silver and orange cat noticed her gaze and smiled wide, padding over slowly.
"Hello, Heron! Glad to see you eating....did Ivyleaf kick you out? She does that often..." The cat purred in amusement, sitting in front of the oriental cautiously.
"uh, yeah she did. whats your name, by the way?" she asked. She didnt know how log they were going to be there. So she figured it was best to know some cats names.
"Honeybreeze! Sorry about not introducing myself earlier." She purred and Heron nodded slowly before going back to take another bite of her mouse. She was beginning to feel tired...
[table] | | | [/table]
I AM SORRY, MY LOVE
[size=9pt] THAT I RUINED WHAT WE HAD X
[align=center][align=center]
[align=center] thes code
ten moons old
[b]baby
[b]crow Feeling his sister digging into him, Crow squirmed. He didn't want to be touched, he couldn't handle being around anyone else, he just wanted to be alone. He wanted to go back to the den, he wanted to be back in his nest. He didn't care that this nest was much more comfy, he wanted to smell his mother one last time, before the stench of sickness took over. He wanted things to be like they were before, he wanted his momma, he wanted the comfort she showed, he wanted her back. He needed her back.
He stifled a cry when he felt the hot breath of a new cat on him. An unknown tom that smelled of earth, he had a calming scent, but it was unfamiliar. Strangers were dangerous. He should have remembered the lessons his mother taught him and Heron. Never trust strangers. If he hadn't cried to Heron on finding outside help, maybe his mother would still be alive. Or at least, she wouldn't have died the way she did.
Leave me alone. Let me die, I want to see momma
After being comforted by Willowspots, Turtlepaw had gone to find another apprentice to play with, calmly walking around the clearing while he checked for anyone awake or still in camp before they went training. When he couldn't find anyone, he sighed and went to retrieve a rock from his nest and took it out, doing a little dance as he left the apprentice den.
But the excited little dance stopped eruptly when he noticed Heron glaring at him from the fresh-kill pile, eating a mouse from it. Shrinking back, he whimpered softly as he crawled towards the nursery, barely missing Honeybreeze as she went to greet the white newcomer. Looking up at Badgerfang, the calico set the rock down near her paws before he whispered a greeting and asking if he and Lizardkit could play for a while.
With the day continuing, a large tom pushed through the thickets with a soft grunt, annoyed of the path they had to take to secure that the territory was untouched by unwanted visitors. He raised his head and looked at his patrol, a warrior and her apprentice, as well a senior to him. With the four cats, they looped around the eastern part of the territory before heading back.
Although the warrior did fall back as he looked for a patch of flowers that were always blooming at this time of the year, always giving out a lovely smell. And as everyone in the Clan well knew the morning routine of him searching for the prettiest flower in the forest, the patrol went on without him, giving him some space. They would meet him back at the camp like always.
When the russet-colored warrior found a flower fit for his mate, he gingerly picked it from its stem and began to trot back to the camp, long tail waving in the air as he hummed a little tune. He imagined that the senior warrior would handle the report back to the deputy, Sparrownose, so he was in no hurry.
Back at the camp, Russetfur scanned the clearing for signs of his mate, a purr swelling in his chest as he spotted Turtlepaw batting a rock across the little area surrounding the nursery, Lizardkit running behind it as he did. Then he saw Honeybreeze, the love of his life. His purring grew as he watched her for a minute, admiring her beauty, before he looked down to see an unfamiliar coat pattern. His purr stopped as he began to walk over.
Greeting his mate first, the large tom purred as he began to fix the flower behind the ear of the gentle she-cat. Rubbing his cheek against hers before he looked down, a look of confusion and distaste, he felt a low growl coming. "[b]Who is this? They don't look familiar. Another barn cat, I assume?"
But before he could ask any more questions, he felt a set of small paws poking his back as a small apprentice climbed onto him, excitedly chattering his ear off, " Russetfur, you're back! Is it okay if you take me out today? We were supposed to look for that cool rock that I was going to give Willowspots, but then we didn't and now I'm stuck at camp until I'm taken out by a warrior! I was going to ask Spottednose to take me since he said he wasn't told any plans for the day, but he's gone! So, is it okay?" the little apprentice was squeezing between both cats, purring a greeting to Honeybreeze before he looked up at Heron.
Seeing the apprentice's eyes light up with surprise, he began to press himself against Russetfur, crawling under his leg as he continued to make himself small. " Turtlepaw, I'll take you to look for that rock, go back to playing with Lizardkit, you looked like you were having fun before." the older tom purred, bending to give his son a lick between the ears and sending him running back to the nursery, hearing him loudly apologizing to Badgerfang and her kit for leaving.
Russetfur sighed heavily, chuckling at the excitement for a simple outing his kit showed, but his expression grew serious once more as he lifted his chin and looked down at Heron. " Well? Where did you come from, outsider. You don't smell like any of the other clans, so you can't be a prisoner."
[table] |
everyone will come
everyone will yell
id thank you just the same
if you didnt tell
my mother says that
i will surely go to hell
please be a good man
please say you won't tell
[br] | [/table] Heron watched blankly as a big reddish-brown tom padded up to them and placed a flower in Honeybreezes fur. She assumed they were mates, from this. Honeybreeze acted like this was a normal occurence. Though Heron had never heard of a cat doing that for their mate. She did live a secluded life, though
Suddenly she wondered where they would go after this. They couldnt go back home. Swiftclaw would expect that. They couldnt stay here either, though. She felt a couple pairs of eyes on her and heard some whispers.
It made her uncomfortable. She wanted to leave. Though she knew she couldn't. Crow needed help. She wasnt about to deny her brother that.
Honeybreeze smiled wide at the large tom, a warm look in her eyes as she thanked him happily.
"This is Heron. I took Turtlepw and Applepaw out a little bit ago and we found them sleeping in the roots of that old tree." She said softly, and Heron sighed.
Barn cats. Swiftclaw was one of those, wasnt he?
She stared at Turtlepaw as he rushed out. Her expression gave nothing away as she watched him. He reminded her a bit of Crow, and it upset hef a bit.
She scrunched her nose as he was sent away and the big tom spoke to her.
"Thats none of your business." It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it.
Honeybreeze frowned, and Heron saw her take a step forward. So she backed up, tail bristling a bit. She was so uncomfortable. She just wanted to run. She finished up her mouse and turned "Im going bacl to Crow." She said simply and padded into the den, staring at the dappled cat who pushed some herbs towards him. She had to hold back a yowl of anger. So she just sat, watching closely.
Until she felt a presence behind her and quickly turned, hissing out of fear though settlig when she recognized Froststar. "What?" she frowled at the strange cat, who just closed her eyes and whispered patiently.
"What happened, exactly? We need to know if there are any dangers near our clan. You can trust me."
Heron knew she was being reasonable, though felt herself not wanting to talk about it.
But she needed to know if her cats were in danger. Heron wasnt that cruel, so she spoke quietly so Crow wouldnt hear. And she told the whole story, flinching at a few points.
Froststar was nodding silently. And after Heron finished she said nothing for a moment, thinking.
"Would you care if I told this to my deputy? The clan needs to know about this so we can keep an eye out for him." This made Heron jump back a bit.
She didn't want everyone to know. Shes heard from Ravens stories how fast things spread in a clan. Everyone would know.
"fine....just leave out some parts that you dont need. I dont want everything out." she glanced at crow. for his sake. she didnt want everyone knowingwhat happened to him. what e was going theough. this was a private thing...
Honeybreeze watched Heron leave. She wanted to comfort her. She ould easily tell that something was very wrong. What exactly had happened? She wanted to know. She wanted to help the two terrified cats.
She turned to Russetpelt with a sigh, "I think it has something to do with that one cat, Swiftclaw. Applepaw said they found those two on a patrol yesterday and they asked where he was. I know theyre loners. But thats about it..." She told hom gently, shaking her head [b]"Im worried about them...Theyre both so skinny and Crow is unresponsive. Im scared he'll doe. And Heron will hardly let anyone near him."
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I AM SORRY, MY LOVE
[size=9pt] THAT I RUINED WHAT WE HAD X
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