As the Sun Falls

[Amber]

Honeypaw swallowed hard as her gaze found something interesting on the ground. She had said harsh words to her mentor. She really was turning into her sisters. What happened to the kind she-cat who kept her thoughts to herself? Maybe it was that accident everyone seems to talk about. All she remembered was being knocked out, everything after that is a blur, until the moment she saw Emberpaw and Eclipsepaw about to kill eachother. She hadn't mentioned that she didn't know what everyone was talking about with the memory loss, she just played along. No sense in making more trouble. Hearing her mentor start she shook her head. "No, it's not alright. I didn't mean it. Those were awful words." But then, he had spoken again, and it went straight to her heart. Snaketail had touched her deeply with those words. "I-I don't know what to say." she began, totally baffled. "I don't really remember my father, but you've always been there, and I guess that is what a father is. You're the only father like cat I can remember." It was the truth, the golden she-cat barely remembered her father, being a kit when he had been mur....passed away.

The apprenticed really enjoyed the sound that this would be her last moon of training. But it also saddened her, it meant she wouldn't spend as much time with Snaketail. He was the one to keep her sane through all she had been through in her life. "If Poppyfrost is mad with you, you might wanna keep out for a while." Honeypaw grinned at the thought of a queen chasing her mentor from the nursery. When the warriors had approached she nodded swiftly to them. She was glad she had time to speak with Snaketail, even if it was only for a few short moments. When Snaketail began to speak to Darkflower, the she-cat's gaze drifted to her sister and Brightpaw. It was good to see Eclipsepaw socializing with someone and not causing some sort of chaos. She had barely heard her mentor and quickly looked back, completely embarrassed. "I-uh..have no idea what you are talking about?" Honeypaw tried to evade whatever would come up next. Was her liking Heronstripe that obvious to the rest of the Clan?

[Yoko]

Snaketail was rather proud of his apprentice for the way she was holding up under all the chaos these days. He scolded himself for not realizing he had neglected her training for so long. I will do better...But the kits... He tried to imagine leaving the little bundles of joy all by themselves in that crowded nursery without any kin...

As for Darkflower, she wasn't letting them off an inch. Lizardeye had informed Snaketail of what exactly had set Darkflower off on her suspicious endeavors. It hardly seemed like enough for her to be this pressing. All the same, Snaketail was an easy liar, and thought nothing of it. His expression towards her was as amicable and charming as it always would. He chuckled and playfully smacked Twistedclaw's side with his tail.

"Well, they aren't the most social of cats you know, but they'll have to learn sometime. I can't exactly be attached to their sides," he purred.

His amber eyes flickered in amusement, "Oh, Honeypaw, I may be a few moons older, but I'm far from senile! But I won't pester you about it." He mewed coolly. "You've been through a lot today, and since my brothers and I have apparently taken the night off, I see no reason that you cannot either. You might want to join your sister, I think she's made a new friend."

He flicked his tail in Eclipsepaw's direction. The cloud-eyed apprentice was tearing viciously into her prey and apparently trying to talk through it. Snaketail leaned over to Honeypaw's ear.

"You may want to teach her some manners," he whispered. "I think Brightpaw's a bit frightened of her."

Lizardeye was as stone still and cold-eyed as he had been since Snaketail suggested that Darkflower join them. It was not that he could not keep his mouth shut, no he was quite fine with that. It was that he did not want to give Darkflower the satisfaction of knowing that she had changed their plans. Besides, he had better things to do.

"Snaketail, I think I would rather take a walk. That way if I catch anything on the way back, I'll have done something useful for the evening."

The amber-eyed tabby blinked then smiled brightly. "You're always trying to do something productive. Well, so long as it relaxes you, I don't see why not."

Lizardeye brushed by Darkflower slowly, smoothly, not looking at her as he padded towards the camp entrance. He caught a glimpse of Brindlepelt again, but as curious as he was about her health, he wanted to get as much distance from Darkflower as possible, and knowing Snaketail he would keep her occupied for a while if need be.

Twistedclaw's ears twitched. He stared down at his paws, shoulders stiff. He hardly heard anything Snaketail was saying. Words flowed out of that cat like a river of honey. If Twistedclaw had that sort of elegant speech he would thoroughly tell Darkflower to mind her own business. As it was, he could not even look at the beautiful she cat. The only things he really registered out of the conversation were his apprentice's name and that Lizardeye was leaving.

"I had better go with him," the small tabby mumbled quickly. "Dogs..and foxes and all are out there.."

And promptly he stormed off.

"Ta ta Twistedclaw," Snaketail mewed brightly.

My brothers are about as settle as a badger sitting in the middle of camp.

"Well," Snaketail mewed darkly with a smile. "I suppose its just us then. Care to share a lizard?"

He circled to sit beside Darkflower, purposely between herself and the entrance. He was hardly in a romantic mood since the death of his mate, but the Clan did not know of that and appearances had to be kept. A Snaketail that paid more attention to kits than flirting and socializing was not a Snaketail at all.

[Amber]

Honeypaw should have known better than to try and change the subject. She grinned, glad that he was somewhat okay with her new relationship. His approval meant the world to her. "You may not be senile, just yet, but in this Clan it's only a matter of time." she joked. He was giving her a break? This was new, but she liked the thought of spending some time doing nothing. Wait, her sister had made a new friend? What was this? Eclipsepaw and Brightpaw were talking? Well, Eclipsepaw was doing her best to talk, no wait, what was her sister doing exactly? "Well I'll sort it all out. After all, I am the sane sister out of the three of us." she purred. "Thanks, for everything, talk to you later!" The golden apprentice left her mentor and padded to the two apprentices. She would have grabbed something from the fresh-kill pile, but she couldn't decide what to get. "You two mind if I join you?" she queried, her gaze looking toward her sister. "Or are you gonna kill that lizard all over again?"




"Uncle Stormclaw, you better come out of there, or I'm gonna come in and get you." Nightpaw had learned a few short days ago that she wasn't alone in the Clan. Her father had a brother, and here she was socializing with him. She had not liked him after she had been told this news, up to her normal tricks of ignoring and giving crude remarks. Once she had gotten used to the idea, and after much calming down she liked having someone other than just herself in the Clan. She didn't feel so deserted. The black apprentice was quite serious, she wasn't about to let her uncle sleep anymore. They had moons of catching up to do. And she was sure that she could persuade one of her friends to come with her and start some trouble. "Come on you big furball. I'm gonna sit on you if you don't move!" she yowled.

[Kitty]

The voice of a cat drifted to the sleeping Stormclaw's ears. What? Patrol? Mousedung, did he have to get up now? Was it too much to ask for a nap? The gray tom rolled over in his nest, debating on whether or not to get up now or wait for them to try and wake him again. The sound of a cat leaving the den - by scent he could tell it was Ripplefang - inched him a bit closer towards consciousness. Was Ripplefang on patrol too? He thought that he'd heard his Clanmate's name...but he couldn't really remember until he got out of his nest.

He was just about to get up when he heard the voice of a much younger cat, a she-cat this time. He recognized the voice to be that of his niece, Nightpaw, calling in and telling him to wake up. He was glad she knew that he was her uncle now. He hauled himself out of his nest just as the yowl drifted in. "Come on you big furball. I'm gonna sit on you if you don't move!" He yowled back, "I'm coming, I'm coming! Don't get your tail in a twist!" and pushed out of the den, nearly colliding with his black-pelted niece.

Stormclaw's amber eyes blinked. "I can't talk right now, Nightpaw, I've got patrol," he meowed, and padded off towards the others for dawn patrol. "We'll talk all you want when I get back, alright?" he called over his shoulder. By then he'd reached the patrol cats and stopped. "Alright, let's get going."

Lingering near the warriors den, Icepelt watched the activities of the camp. The patrol set to go out soon was grouped together, probably about to leave. The fresh-kill pile was well-stocked - although some pieces were a bit mangled and unrecognizable - Twistedclaw must have been out hunting. So hunting patrols wouldn't need to be sent out anytime soon. Well then, it seemed that all of the deputy's duties were taken care of for now, and he was free to relax around the camp. Besides, Icepelt was pretty sure that Specklestar had taken Dustpaw out training, so he was in charge of ShadowClan's camp, more or less.

He padded over to the fresh-kill pile and located a frog that wasn't too destroyed and settled in to eat it a few tail-lengths away from the pile. Maybe he'd go check on the new kits after he finished, see how they were settling in.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Brightpaw focused her gaze on only the prey in front of her and kept herself from staring. The way the other apprentice was tearing apart her prey... it wasn't like she'd never seen Eclipsepaw eat before and she wasn't about to act rude about it. But it did weird her out slightly. She ate her own meal, mostly quiet for once and responded politely whenever Eclipsepaw talked to her.

She smiled again when she saw that they had company. Another older apprentice, Honeypaw, who she knew was Eclipsepaw's sister. Who wouldn't know, with all the time the siblings spent together? She idly wondered where Emberpaw was at the moment before nodding and giving Honeypaw a friendly greeting. "Of course not, Honeypaw. What have you been up to? Hopefully training hasn't been too hard on you."



Her kits were sleeping now, so Paleflower allowed herself some time away from the stress of the crowded den. The past week had been nothing but worry, relief, more worry, and concern for her daughters. They seemed to be recovering according to Feathercloud, but it would still be some time before they could move back to sleeping in the nursery where they belonged. Paleflower herself had spent her nights right beside them in the medicine den, helping them sleep and comforting Dusk-kit when she woke up from her nightmares. Whatever had happened to them while they'd been lost, and whatever was causing her daughter's nightmares was making her more and more concerned and she wondered if she would ever be able to talk to them about it. But she didn't want to risk upsetting them since they obviously were still not themselves.

Oh, now she was worrying again. Paleflower shook her head as she came into the clearing. She considered checking on the kits from WindClan, she had been introduced to them when they'd first arrived and had tried to make them feel at home for the past few days. But they didn't seem very responsive to her; they preferred to stay in the nursery and not talk to anyone. And then there were the two kits that Snaketail and his brothers had found and brought to camp; they would be alright with a queen to nurse from and she found herself thankful to Snaketail for rescuing the newborns and being so concerned for them even after they'd been given surrogate parents. Even though they weren't her kits, no kits deserved to die.

Paleflower was on her way to the nursery when she saw Brindlepelt lying by herself. The warrior had been recovering well; Paleflower had watched her progress over the past few days and saw her improvement. Staying in the medicine den was a sad thing, she knew from experience, and the queen was glad to see that Brindlepelt was on her way to returning to her warrior duties. It couldn't hurt to go over and say hello; even a quiet she-cat like Brindlepelt couldn't mind company. "Hello Brindlepelt, how have you been feeling? Recovering well?" she asked curiously once she'd padded over and stood a few tail-lengths away. She wasn't intending to stay long, just exchange a few words with someone she didn't speak to often. It seemed like Brindlepelt didn't talk to many cats, aside from her sisters and Lizardeye who had been visiting her lately... she wondered...

[:c a i:]

[[Yoko, you liar! That was a good post, not a fail. x3 Care to share a lizard indeed...]]

Darkflower smirked, definitely pleased with herself. Lizardeye was not happy with her. She realised that, though had her suspicions, she was certainly over-exaggerating them just for the sake of seeing the toms disgruntled. It was a rare thing, after all. Lizardeye, in particular, was virtually impossible to crack, yet here he was, skulking off to get away from her. It was like he was used to always having his fur stroked the right way, but she was the one stroking it up instead of down, and he didn't like it one bit.

Lizardeye brushed past her deliberately, and she turned her head to smile a challenging smile at him. Their game of wills was very much in full swing, and neither looked set to concede any ground. Darkflower glanced at the hurriedly departing Twistedclaw and raised an eyebrow. Dogs and foxes indeed. He is stiffer than a frozen twoleg tied to an oak tree, she thought, watching him scurry after his brother.

As the other two promptly vanished, Darkflower returned her sharp gaze to Snaketail, thinking hard. "Just us then." She echoed musingly. "Yes, because your brothers do not like to be discomfited," she spoke in a voice akin to velvet and accompanied it with a sleek smile. "No thank you, Snaketail. Why not see if the queens fancy a snack with you? I am sure their company would please you more." She almost laughed, but checked herself and left, slinking away with nothing more than a rustle of her pelt.

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[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Brindlepelt continued to watch motionlessly from her little corner of camp while Clan life unfolded in front of her. She saw apprentices coming back from their various chores and assignments, congregating in front of the fresh kill pile to talk and be social. Honeypaw seemed to have recovered completely from the injury that she had suffered during the dog attack several days previous; her patterns and rhythms had returned to normal, she was back to training and spending time with her sisters as she usually did. Albeit with some time set aside for a certain dashing young warrior. Brindlepelt's eyes were pensive as she studied Honeypaw for a moment more. Young love, she thought to herself. It just proved that Clan life continued, no matter what.

It wasn't just apprentices who were flocking around the fresh-kill pile to meet and talk, either. She saw ShadowClan's most well-known trio of brothers lingering there, Lizardeye among them. She looked up briefly to see Darkflower pausing near her to deliver a greeting before moving away again, her sister's condemnations lingering behind them. Brindlepelt simply nodded, unable to find her voice before the two moved on. As she watched, Blackfeather and Darkflower passed through camp, causing general discomfort and gloom where they went. It seemed that even Snaketail and his ilk were not immune to their influence, for Darkflower had only paused her progress for a moment to speak with them when Lizardeye and Twistedclaw departed for destinations unknown. The dappled she-cat watched the toms as they passed, her eyes lingering briefly on Lizardeye's form before he disappeared from sight. He always seemed to be doing something. She wondered that he found time in his busy schedule for her.

A voice from nearby drew her attention back to more immediate things. She moved her gaze over to the source of the sound, and saw Paleflower standing a few tail-lengths away, offering her a tentative greeting. Brindlepelt was well aware that the queen must be having a hard time right now, with both of her kits still in the medicine cat's den. That was part of the reason she herself was outside, instead of resting in her nest. She preferred not to spend any more time around Tawnykit and Dusk-kit than she had to. Brindlepelt found that she didn't relate well to young cats, kits especially. But she didn't care to dwell on that particular issue, and brushed it aside. "Good afternoon, Paleflower," she greeted the silver-furred queen. "My shoulder has been healing well, thank you. Feathercloud tells me it shouldn't be too much longer before I'm able to return to the warriors' den." She was already walking around camp a bit, keeping most of her weight off of that leg but definitely getting stronger.

Now, she supposed, was the part where she was supposed to make an inquiry of her own. Polite conversation dictated that it was so, she remembered from times when she had cared for such things. "How are Tawnykit and Dusk-kit?" She hesitated to bring the conversation over to that subject, but Paleflower would be expecting it. She was a queen, raising kits was what she had been doing for over a season. And besides, the two young cats weren't just kits, they were Paleflower's kin. No doubt the other she-cat would be quite worried about them– it was only decent that she show concern.

[Yoko]

Snaketail could not say he was altogether disappointed that Darkflower had turned him down. He gave a mrrow of amusement. "But would the Queens enjoy mine? Well, in any case, I'll see you later, Darkflower. And give my regards to Blackfeather as well." Snaketail had not even waited until she was out of sight to leave. The tired tall tabby ambled away towards a far end of the camp. In the shadows where he and his brothers often dined. He hardly minded that they had left, so weary was he.

Though he felt very much like laying down, he began the tedious task of grooming his pelt, running his long tongue over the sides to smooth them and occasionally pulling a stray twig out of the thick fur. He had appearances to keep up with after all.

Eclipsepaw gave her sister a friendly glare, but her greetings were lost in a mouthful of lizard meat. So instead she went back to eating. She had been attempting to speak with their younger kin, but she was far too ravenous to participate in idle chatter, however interesting Brightpaw may be. Instead, she listened to Honeypaw's amicable tone as they discussed training. And her mind wandered off to, where exactly was Emberpaw?

[Mousy]

Hawktalon nodded, making sure that the whole Patrol group was with him. Why stick him and Toadpelt on the same patrol, for... StarClan's... sake? It was like asking a ravenous cat to watch a mouse and not eat it! A reciepe for disaster!

Never mind that, though. Hawktalon had a Patrol to lead, and lead it he would

Toadpelt padded quietly along, following Hawktalon out of Camp. Sure, he didn't want to go on Patrol, but he would. He lagged along beside Rippleclaw, while Hawktalon padded out ahead faster than them.

"Hi, Rippleclaw," he said. He didn't get to speak to Rippleclaw very much, and his company offered a welcome distraction from Fireshadow's condition. It was just what he needed. "So, how have you been?" he asked.

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Paleflower nodded after hearing the warrior's comment of a good recovery. It had been a nasty and seemingly painful wound from what she had seen, and it was good that Brindlepelt was making progress toward recovery.

The question about her kits made her think for a moment. “They're recovering physically, which is good. But other than that... I don't know how they are. They haven't been themselves. I'm worried,” Sadness flashed over her face for a moment, for her kits weren't here to see her worry so she couldn't feel bad about showing it.

((Ack, sorry this is so short. I'm typing this on the wii.))

[Amber]

Honeypaw stared at her sister amazed at how rude Eclipsepaw was being. Snaketail was right, her sister did need manners, but the she-cat was doubting that even she could help with this problem. She didn't ever remember a time Eclipsepaw actually had manners, Honeypaw had just pretty much ignored it. It hadn't bothered her too much, and always said she had put it off till later, until she was older. And here she was older and it looked impossible to fix.

With the conformation of being allowed in the conversation she sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws. "Well other than not training with my own mentor, I still have two others. But Snaketail said that he would start training me again. And I can't complain about training, it has to be hard if ShadowClan wants to be the strongest in the forest." The thought of having her mentor back made the apprentice beam with excitment. "What about yourself, have you had any fun with training lately?" Honeypaw's full attention was at Brightpaw now, trying her best to ignore her sister's horrible eating habits.

She finally got enough and prodded Eclipsepaw with a paw. "You do know it isn't going anywhere and a bit of manners might actually do some good. I doubt anyone will steal your prey from you." Honeypaw couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the thought of anyone trying to steal her sister's prey. That wouldn't be a pretty sight.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

At least Honeypaw was nice to talk to, and Brightpaw could focus her attention on the other ginger apprentice for the time being. Not that she was rude at all, but it was easier to have a conversation with someone who had better manners. Eclipsepaw seemed to be too busy eating to chat anyway, and Brightpaw never passed up friendly conversation with anyone who was nearby. She listened attentively as Honeypaw spoke, remembering how differently Snaketail had been acting the past few days ever since he brought home those two kits. She felt sorry for Honeypaw not being able to train with her mentor, and curious over Snaketail's behavior toward those kits who would be just fine in the nursery without his constant attention. She murmured an apology out of pity for her not being able to train with her real mentor, but was soon asked a question and perked up.

"My training? It's been fun, tiring but good. I still have a long way to go, but the extra training should be worth it." Brightpaw mewed. The training was a bit difficult to keep up with along with her chores and hunting, but she was sure that it would pay off in the long run. She wanted to be a great apprentice, and that would lead her to being a great warrior. She was more grateful for the double training than anything.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Brindlepelt examined the other she-cat's face as she spoke of her kits, trying to see her objectively, as just another Clanmate, nothing more or less. Paleflower's concern was obvious in her expression and in her voice, and every single breath the queen took seemed to be filled with love for her kits. Brindlepelt looked away. Logical assessment was not her skill. That was for Lizardeye to do, for she herself could not seem to achieve the same level of emotional detachment that he appeared to tote with such ease.

For her, even being near this cat, so full of affection and concern for her children, brought back memories and feelings that she wished she could leave behind her. She wasn't sure whether to envy the tom for his apparent success in achieving the emotional distance which was so obviously his wish, or to feel pity for him. She knew, from the days of her kithood and apprenticeship, that life without feeling was no life at all. Yet perhaps she should pity herself, for even as she realized what she lacked, still she was unable to forget her reservations to pursue it. Because Brindlepelt was well aware of the joy and effortless ease that carried both of her sisters through their lives. But still she could not find the courage to live as she once had, a cat that truly belonged within her Clan.

Eventually the dappled warrior managed to raise her gaze back to Paleflower's, her clouded blue eyes clearing as her pensive mood lifted. It was difficult to remain lost in thought when she was talking to another cat. The pressure of conversation, of trying to occupy another's attention, tended to bring her back before long. Espacially in Lizardeye's case; that tom's discerning green gaze usually stopped her from drifting off in the first place, one of the reasons she enjoyed speaking with him. It kept her in the present, if only because he was too unsettling to ignore.

But she wasn't talking with Lizardeye at the moment, so she focused her attention deliberately on what was being said. Brindlepelt hesitated, then eventually ventured a question. "What does Feathercloud say?" Though she had made an effort to give Paleflower and her kits as much space as possible while they recovered (and just to avoid them in general, as was her wont), she knew that Tawnykit suffered from nightmares, and Dusk-kit had scarcely spoken since her return. Such behaviour was very unlike the two kits, and it was definitely concerning. Still, they were young, and they would recover in time. But how long would it take?