~Sunhigh~

[Yoko]

[glow=black,2,300]Skunk-kit figured that he had explained everything clear enough. Besides, Hollykit was smart, he never doubted that. He smriked again at Hollykit's quiet question. He kicked the ball to the center of the two sticks and took a few steps back from it so he was just as far as Hollykit. "We...staaart....NOW!" he bounded forward, giving the mossball a swift kick.

Now moss is very soft and even when rolled tightly, it's bound to float a little in the air and roll very little. Needless to say, the mossball did not travel all that far, and in fact ended up landing even closer to Hollykit than to the stick he was aiming for. "Better watch out, Hollykit!" he teased, bounding forward again.[/glow]

[Kitty]

Ripplefur let out a laugh. "Birchfog, eh? A bit to 'out there'? Ah, yes, 'tis believable. Young cats these days, hm?" She nudged the warrior and let out a purr. "Of course, you wouldn't know, would you? You're a young one yourself, after all." The silver tabby elder stopped rambling and shot a glance up at the clouds again. They really were pretty, actually. "What's this about another tom? So there is someone you've got your eyes set one, hmm?" Her eyes flashed with curiousity. "Why do you sound so sad, young one, if you like another cat?" She considered the reasons Lilyblossom might be sad about liking a tom, and could only come up with a couple. "He's not in another Clan, is he? Or, say, StarClan?" The elder knew many a cat that had had loves lost to their starry ancestors. Surely that couldn't be this she-cat's problem?

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe pulled himself out of the warriors' den, feeling no better than before. The attempt at sleep had been fruitless, and he had been far too angry and worked up to relax enough to fall asleep. Stupid Dewleaf, blowing this up and making such a big deal out of everything. Now they definitely weren't talking with each other, and he had no clue how long it would last. They were both furious, and seemingly at nothing. He lingered outside the den, wishing for something to take his mind off of this.

Willowstar stood tall in the clearing, drawing attention to herself as she looked determinedly around at the cats in camp. "Puddlepelt has injured her paw in a Twoleg trap," she announced in a loud, assured voice. "And there can possibly be more. I want two patrols of cats to search the entire territory for more. Patchclaw, you lead one toward the river and the area around it. Bring Silverstripe and a few other cats with you." she added, spotting her deputy and the young warrior just outside the warriors' den. "Another patrol will search by the gorge and near Fourtrees. I want a volunteer to lead that one and cats willing to go."

Silverstripe heard his name called by Willowstar, and repressed a feeling of discouragement. A patrol wasn't what he had in mind, but it wasn't like he could say he didn't want to go. So he looked up and glanced around for Patchclaw.

[Yoko]

Shellclaw looked up at Willowstar as if his name had been called. Hunt for those darned two-leg traps that had injured his sister? Of course he would! He padded a few steps towards his leader and called out, "May I travel with your patrol, Willowstar? I want to make sure those fox-hearted humans don's injure anymore of our warriors!"

His amber gaze was bright. Maybe this would distract him from his outrage at Spottedfur's treatment of his sister. I'll show him how a real tom behaves, he thought haughtily.

Pebblepaw stood in the corner of camp, dragging her paw through the dirt. Where was Cloverpaw? Maybe they could go on one of the patrols together. They had already missed the chance to go hunting together. Pebblepaw felt a flash of fear. Were they growing apart? She glanced around camp nervousely. Hollykit was outside playing?

[hedgie]

Otterkit nodded, glancing over at cindertail while pretending to be completely focused on the water surrounding him. The litte brown tom stuck close to the gray-and-white elder, his thick and slightly stubby tail held out behind him. He reisted the urge to leap and spalsh at the little silvery flashes swiming unknowingly around his paws. Round amber eyes were trained upon the shallow waters as he raised his one paw in the air, ready to strike.

"Am I doing it right, Cindertail?" He mewed quietly, paying o attention his Rabbitkit, who was futher upstream.

Patchclaw looked up, her golden eyes flashing towards Willowstar. She nodded and silently stalked over, head hung low. It was her peculiar way of movement and the silent look of intense loyalty in her eyes that had cats either running from her or drawing closer. The small calico listened to her leader, ears perked.

"A patrol? The river? No big deal. We'll find that trap and be back in no time." She rasped, confident in not only herself, but her clanmates. She straightened up, large-ish ears perked. "Just the thing I was looking for." she grinned, whisker twitching.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

"Hmm..." Rabbitkit thought about what Leopardfang said and glanced back at the water. His front paws and chest were soaked now, and although he didn't mind the feeling, it would distract him even more from concentrating on fishing. How was he even going to know where the fish would be when it could change direction or speed so easily? Were warriors really that talented, or did they just have to practice all day long? As much as he wanted to learn, waiting all day by the edge of the river sounded boring. "I'll try, but how do you know that the fish is going to be there when you try to get it?"

Willowstar looked over as Shellclaw approached. He must be worried about his sister, but he seemed rather on edge, almost angry. Wherever it was coming from, he seemed eager. And at his suggestion, she thought. Maybe it would be better if she did lead the other patrol, just in case. They wouldn't be gone for long. "All right," she mewed to Shellclaw. "You can come. And we'll bring Graypaw with, too; he's not doing anything. We'll leave as soon as we have some more cats."

She nodded to Patchclaw proudly. She never regretted picking her old apprentice as her second deputy. "Alright, Patchclaw. We'll meet back in camp once we've each searched one half of the territory. By then both patrols should have covered all of it." All they needed were a few more cats on each patrol and they could leave.

((Anyone else want to go with?))

Graypaw, lingering outside the medicine den without much to do, looked up at Willowstar's announcement. He wouldn't have volunteered to go by himself, but when he heard the leader call his name, he decided he might as well. It might be good to have something to do, even if they were searching for the traps that hurt his mentor. He reminded himself that Puddlepelt would be healed soon enough, and padded up to Willowstar and Shellclaw obediently.

[Kitty]

((I'll let Crowstripe go. He's being a lazy kitty today. >.> *prods*))

What was this about Twoleg traps? Crowstripe had seen an injured Puddlepelt enter camp not too long ago. Had a Twoleg trap done that to her paw?! It hadn't looked good. Great StarClan, if a kit wandered out of camp without a warrior and stumbled upon one of those things...he didn't even want to think about what would happen!

The gray tom rose to his paws. He wasn't doing anything important this morning. "I'll help, Willowstar," he volunteered, stepping forward. If he went, he could be sure that the kits his mate was soon going to have would be safe. Not one trap was going to escape his notice. He was sure of it.

"Nearly perfect," Cindertail purred, glancing at Otterkit with one amber eye. "Just a little more practice, and you'll have it down!" she added. Her eyes flashed back to the water and to a fish that was swimming dangerously near the two cats. It was swimming back and forth, over near Cindertail, then back to the kit. Cindertail knew she could catch it easily, but the kit needed a chance to try it out.

"Ah, Otterkit, here's your chance. Try to catch that fish when it swims close enough," she instructed, and sat back to watch him. And also to catch him if he fell. This water would be over his head if he slipped.

[Amber]

((If needed Cloverpaw can go, but would love to go with Pebblepaw. So if two apprentices are needed, and Yoko agrees, we can put those two up to going on the same patrol.))


Hollykit let a squeak escape from her mouth as Skunkkit announced their game had begun. She hadn't expected such a quick response, but she was ready. Her eyes shifted to Willowstar for a moment, but didn't care what was being said at the moment. She was done being that quiet little kit who just sat around and waited for her sisters to come play with her, now she had a friend who actually didn't mind she was a little small. That was about to change, though. She would be big one day and then everyone would have to respect her. And then the reddish kit saw her opening once the game had started, the moss was near her. Hollykit saw her sisters eyes on her but ignored it, and began to run after the moss. She managed to reach it and kick it, but not without falling over it. Hollykit sighed, she needed bigger paws.


Lilyblossom stared at the she-cat, she didn't understand what was so funny. Had she said something that amusing without her knowing? She tried to think back but was coming up with a blurr. "A bit out there is an understatement." she murmered. Her eyes blinked as she mentioned young cats, and really wasn't thinking much about it. She didn't think of herself as young, then again she didn't think of herself as old either. What did she think of herself as? And then Ripplefur just had to mention the tom. She felt her fur going hot just thinking about him and she almost went back into her shell, but no that was the old Lilyblossom, the new Lilyblossom was going to be more open. "Yes, there is a certain someone." she started. She would have gone on about who it was, but that would be revealing too much too fast.
"Oh no, I'm not sad I'm just worried. And no, he isn't in StarClan or another Clan, he's in our Clan, I just don't know if he likes me as much as I like him, or even if he likes me just a little." Lilyblossom admitted.


Cloverpaw finally managed to get herself to move from her spot, yes she was worried about what was going on, but more so for her sister. Ivypaw must be feeling awful, it seemed Cloverpaw had more faith in her sister than Ivypaw did. Cloverpaw knew her sister knew what to do, but Ivypaw had frozen up...again. Sighing she saw her youngest sister playing some game with Skunkkit, completely ignoring what was going on. She should probably scold her, but how could she, Hollykit was actually playing with someone her age. Before she could even think about saying anything, she noticed her best friend. Finally someone to talk to. The apprentice padded over to Pebblepaw, a smile now on her face. "I've been wondering where you have been." she mewed.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Rainpaw watched with undisguised interest as Silverstripe skulked off towards the warriors den, immediately morose now that they were back at camp. Almost immediately, Dewleaf stormed over and started snapping at him, resulting in the tabby she-cat sprinting furiously out of camp and the silver warrior sulking darkly in front of the warrior's den. The fluffy blue she-cat didn't know whether to be concerned for their friendship or amused at the sheer drama. Tilting her head to follow Dewleaf's rapid progress out of camp, she saw the young warrior run straight into Slatepaw, who was just returning from a successful hunting trip, by all appearances. The result was fish flying everywhere, scattered all over as the she-cat continued on her way without so much as an apology.

Definitely amusement, Rainpaw decided, watching Slatepaw pick up his catch again and cross the last few fox-lengths into camp. It looked like he didn't have nearly as good a grip on his prize as he might have liked, because another fish slipped from his grasp once he padded through the entrance. Smiling with amusement at his garbled attempt at speech, the fluffy apprentice sauntered obligingly over and retrieved the wayward fish, walking it the few remaining paces to the fresh-kill pile and depositing it there. "I see Falconeyes has been keeping you busy, Slatepaw," she purred amicably, her sea-green eyes shining. "StarClan knows we're in much the same boat where mentors are concerned, but at least Brackenpelt has more patience."

[:c a i:]

"Phew." Slatepaw said, dropping the fish he had managed to keep hold of onto the fresh-kill pile with some element of relief. He turned to Rainpaw with a slightly rueful smile. "Thanks. Tell me about it." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I don't think Falconeyes would give me a day off training even if I lost both my paws." He peered down at himself to inspect his shoulder, noting happily that it was fine, even after the morning's exertions and the rather painful collision with Dewleaf. He stretched experimentally and decided that he was virtually back to normal, even if he had to be slightly more careful about moving awkwardly.

"So have you got any idea what's turned Dewleaf into a walking thunderstorm? She's been in a foul mood for ages now. Normally moods don't last more than half a day with her." Slatepaw looked at Rainpaw quizzically, though he was fairly sure there was going to be a Silverstripe-related cause. "Silverstripe got under her fur again?"

[Yoko]

Pebblepaw looked up from the fish that she had yet to touch. Her grey eyes were gloomy as ever, but she did jolt at hearing her friend, Cloverpaw speak. She was the first cat to talk to her all day. She attempted a smile, which ended up only being a mere twitch on her muzzle. She didn't smile much these days, except for when they were playing games and being apprentices and all, there was little time to do that.

"I haven't been anywhere," Pebblepaw mewed, looking back down at her fish, "My mentor doesn't pay much attention to me these days."

Pebblepaw looked for Mistflower. Maybe she's given up on me already? She tried to brighten up.

"Where have you been?" she teased.

[glow=black,2,300]Skunk-kit raced for the mossball, but Hollykit, even with shorter legs, beat him to it. As she fell, Skunk-kit had to skid to a halt so as not to trip over her.

"Are you okay?" he mewed in concern. Hollykit was not used to playing so many games. At least not without her sisters.

He placed a firm paw on the mossball and squished it down some more. That might worrk better. He then smirked and kicked the ball further in the direction of his stick, but the moss was soft and floaty, hardlygoing anywhere. He wished they had something heavier to play with.[/glow]

[Ki]

"Fish, most of time, will keep going in the same direction." Leopardfang replied. He glanced down the river at Otterkit and Cinderpelt. He could remember when the two of them were apprentices. They'd stood in the same river and listened attentively as their mentors explained the different methods of fishing to them. Afterwards they'd told the apprentices to practice. There had been a good deal of splashing and cursing on that day. Fishing wasn't easy sometimes. "But they can change their speed and course very quickly. So you have to be fast."

((Fail post. ))

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Rainpaw let out an amused purr at Slatepaw's rueful assertion. The funny thing was, it wasn't too far from the truth. Falconeyes had felt ready for an apprentice long before he began to mentor Slatepaw; he would have wasted no time in leaping headlong into training. Shifting back to the topic of Dewleaf and her badger-like rampage, the fluffy she-cat sat down and wrapped her plume-like tail around her paws. Beckoning Slatepaw closer, she leaned forward and lowered her voice so Silverstripe wouldn't be able to hear then talking. "I guess you could say that," she replied to Slatepaw in hushed tones. "They had another fight. Silverstripe tossed some pretty heated retorts back at her for once, and Dewleaf got upset and stormed off. Thus your adventure with the flying fish."

[:c a i:]

Slatepaw inched closer to Rainpaw, curiously tilting his ears forward to listen as closely as possible. So, Dewleaf and Silverstripe had still failed to put aside their differences and make up with one another. And now it seemed that the whole Clan was going to feel the heat of their row, since Dewleaf had quite honestly turned into something as bad-tempered as a badger with a sore head. "Huh." Slatepaw sat back after listening to Rainpaw, blinking a few times. So it was to do with Silverstripe.

"Huh." He said again. "Remind me to stay well out of Dewleaf's way until they make up. I'm not sure I can handle being mowed down by her again. I can't believe she and Silverstripe are still fighting! I mean, they've always fought like naughty kits, but they've never properly fallen out. Not since I can remember, anyway." He twitched his tail thoughtfully. "Are all she-cats as mad as Dewleaf when they're annoyed?" Slatepaw suddenly was worried that he was going to have to put up with rampaging she-cats for the rest of his life. He looked at Rainpaw with wide eyes, thinking over how she-cats were peculiar creatures. You never quite knew what they were thinking and it seemed so easy to say completely the wrong thing, even when you meant well. It would be much easier if they would just say what they wanted.

((Eheh. Boy brain. <3))

[Kitty]

Tom troubles indeed! Not knowing if another cat returned the feelings for you that you have for them is a horrible sensation. The silver tabby elder had had her fair share of crushes, after all. None of them had amounted into anything, though.

"Ah, I see. Well, at least you've admitted your feelings to yourself. Many cats I've known in the past have let a possible love slip through their paws because not only had they feared of admitting the way they might feel to the cat that they feel those emotions for but also to themselves." Ripplefur settled in, tucking her paws under her chest as she went on. "I remember one of my good friends, back in the day. His name was Stonefang. I kind of liked him, you know? Well, he always said that" - her voice deepened to mimick that of a tom's - "love is a weakness and I am never falling into it." She let out a mrrow of laughter, and her voice returned to its usual pitch. "Of course, because of his saying that, I moved on. Not three moons later did Stonefang find himself a nice she-cat. I never wanted to admit to myself why, not until Stonefang was in a river accident and joined StarClan. I realized that perhaps I'd liked him as more than a friend."

Ripplefur sighed, eyes unfocusing as memories flooded her brain from her prime. She'd been sad when Stonefang ahd joined StarClan but she was also pretty sure the Clan assumed that she simply sad because they'd been good friends.