Let's Talk She-Cats...

[:c a i:]

Tigerheart felt as though he had been rushed off his paws all day long. For some reason he had had very little peace and quiet over the past few days, since there was always some chore to be done or a patrol to be carried out or a fresh-kill pile to restock, and then there was the important job, welcome though it was, of training young Patchpaw. Of course, there was one extra task which had been half-present on his mind. Watching out for Rivermist's kits. Without realising it, he found himself making sure they were safe whenever he was in camp, though he quite determinedly ignored the reason for doing so.

After all, ThunderClan cats did not respond to idle demands from other Clans.

With all those things to be doing, it was a miracle that he had found a moment to himself this afternoon. With a sigh, Tigerheart realised it was to be expected. With numbers as few as they were, each ThunderClan cat would have to pull their own weight and probably someone else's as well. They didn't have the luxury of plenty of spare paws like ShadowClan, or a convenient and reliable source of prey like RiverClan. Though nobody dared say it aloud, ThunderClan was in a weak position. But if they all worked hard and-

How in StarClan's name does that lazy idiot have the time to do that?

Tigerheart's original train of thought was promptly aborted when he saw a giant golden-and-black figure slumped out in the sun, languidly licking its fur in apparent idleness.

"Flameclaw, you lazy old dog." Tigerheart rolled his eyes as he promptly padded up to his brother. "The rest of us have a hundred and one things to do, yet you still manage to lie here like an elder?"

Flameclaw only grinned up at his brother. "Now now, Tigerheart. What's got your tail in a twist? You've been brooding even more than usual lately."

"Absolutely no idea what you mean," came Tigerheart's short reply.

"Tell me, or I'll start a rumour about you and Doveheart."

Tigerheart glared at his brother, and for a long moment he seemed not to be about to reply. He licked a forepaw, letting the silence stretch out. Then he suddenly spoke, apparently switching the subject.

"D'you know any WindClan cats?"

"Erm... A few, I suppose. Why? Who've you been speaking to? Because if Firepool's complaining about that bet I made with him, I swear, he's-"

"No, you furball. Not Firepool." Tigerheart half grinned and half sighed at his brother's antics. "No, I just wanted to know whether you'd ever met a she-cat called Doveclaw before," he spoke nonchalantly, idly inspecting a paw as he did so. The picture of light conversation...

Unfortunately Flameclaw immediately grinned impishly. "Why? Have you been seeing a WindClan she-cat?Doveclaw? Ah, has a she-cat got you all hot and bothered, Tigerheart? Oh dear oh dear, little brother. Are you falling for a WindClan cat?"

"Be quiet, Flameclaw." Tigerheart said witheringly, scowling at the bigger tom. "Honestly. I can't talk to you about anything. Did you ever leave your apprentice days behind? You know, I think I'll make a up a rumour about you and Doveheart."

Flameclaw laughed gaily. "Well Doveheart is definitely out of your league," he grinned cheekily. "But to answer your question... never heard of her. Sorry, brother, you'll have to do your digging somewhere else. Just don't get mixed up with a secret lover or anything daft like that. I'm too busy watching that Lionclaw to keep an eye on you too."

Tigerheart cuffed his brother round the ear playfully, his bright golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "Get some work done like the rest of us instead of spying on Patchpaw's friends. Speaking of Patchpaw, have you seen her? I want to take her out for some battle training. It's been a while since we had a session..."

Flameclaw uncurled his great limbs and stood, stretching. "I think she's in camp somewhere," he yawned, looking around before yelling across camp.

"Swallowfang! You want to go hunting? Apparently I'm lazy, so I'm going to at least pretend to do some work!"

With a final roll of his eyes, Tigerheart bade his brother farewell and set off to look for Patchpaw.

[/color][/blockquote]

[Yoko]

Patchpaw was sorting the fresh-kill. More interesting than it sounds, seeing as there was more prey than there were cats these days. She placed it in order by size. The smaller mouses last, then the larger ones, then the rabbits, and most birds ccame last. Once it was all nice and organized she padded away from it, because, of course, she had not done such a thing on an empty stomach.

Most of the apprentice chores had been done already, by herself, and the others of course, especially by Mudpaw who was on punishment. New moss beds for the kits, herbs stocked for the medicine cats, the elders had their ticks picked, and she had already been hunting. In short, the calico apprentice was rather bored. Lionclaw was nowhere in sight, and there was no way she was going to go back to that nursery. Ravenkit was throwing a regular fit in there!

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang lay by the warriors' den, eating her second mouse. Greenleaf always meant there was plenty of prey even for a large Clan, but with ThunderClan so small there was even more food available. The pile was looking a bit low, but a few cats could always go out and return with plenty more. Despite the threats of the other larger Clans, at least having more than enough food was an upside. She'd been busy with patrols the past few days, seeing as ThunderClan still lacked a decent amount of warriors, as well as getting used to not having an apprentice any more. Softstep was doing well with warrior life, but she found herself wondering if she would have an opportunity to mentor Ravenkit, Spottedkit or Stonekit. As long as they were well behaved.

She glanced across the clearing and noticed two familiar toms speaking to each other. She couldn't hear what Tigerheart and Flameclaw were talking about, but from the amused look on the larger tom's face she guessed they were teasing each other. Those brothers were somewhat of a mystery to her, she mused as she finished her meal and started to groom her short black fur. She hadn't gotten very far in her washing, however, when she heard Flameclaw's voice calling across the clearing for her. Looking up, slightly irritated from being interrupted but still curious as to what the other warrior wanted, she saw the gold colored tom still laying in the clearing.

Swallowfang got to her paws, shaking out her fur and called back over, "Fine, but don't expect me to catch most of the prey." With her un-stellar hunting talents and Flameclaw's apparent laziness she doubted they would catch much. But she could get out of camp for a while on something that wasn't a border patrol.

[° i c y - -]

Out in camp, lounging around the fresh kill pile, it seems a bit too boring to a senior warrior with white paws. His amber and light green eyes flashed with amusement over at two brothers, and hearing it was interesting. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A tom with a love interest?" he muttered, whiskers flicking the morning dew off. "Tigerheart, may I see you for a few moments?" He meowed, padding up to the tabby warrior.

His thoughts swirled in his mind, and he remembered the day he met Leopardclaw, a RiverClan she-cat. Her golden dappled pelt and those white paws... \Snap out of it,\ he thought, almost hissing. \You have no mate anymore.\ He needed to talk with Tigerheart, just to get his feelings out. "Well, hurry up will you?" he snapped suddenly, and stalked off toward the exit. Badgerstorm really had nothing to trouble him, but with this rumor just starting, he wanted to stop it.

[/center][/color]

[Yoko]

Rabbitheart padded into camp from the returning sunhigh patrol his father had led. Rainstorm was recounting the long ago ShadowClan invasion into ThunderClan territory. Rabbitheart was not bored of it, and in fact, he could recount the tale word for word by himself. He chuckled lightly.

"Father, I doubt ShadowClan is going to invade again anytime soon."

"Never doubt anything! I wouldn't put kitnapping past those mange-pelts!" Rainstorm snorted, but let it drop.

His father seemed better lately. Less depressed, more active. Rabbitheart had hopes that his father was moving on at last. Rabbitheart's ear twitched, he heard yelling from the nursery, and sure enough, out stormed Ravenkit.

"Stinky WindClan kits...taking up all that space!" the little black kit grumbled.

His eyes widened as he saw Rabbitheart coming into camp. Weaving beneath Badgerstorm, Ravenkit made his way over to his big brother.

"Rabbitheart!" he whined, rubbing his fur against his brother's leg. "Make them leave!"

Rabbitheart chuckled. Poor Ravenkit did not know how to deal with these newcomers.

"How about if I come play with you guys instead."

He glanced at Patchpaw's organized fresh-kill pile.

"I don't think we'll need another full hunting patrol for a while."

Ravenkit looked reluctant, but Rabbitheart padded confidently towards the nursery and called inside, "Stonekit, Spottedkit, would you like to come out and play with us?"

Ravenkit was now hiding beneath his leg, glaring at the entrance of the nursery.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Spottedkit couldn't hold back a sigh of relief when Ravenkit stormed out of the nursery, leaving those inside in peace. What in the name of StarClan could have caused that kit to grow up to be so spoiled and angry? Maybe it was because he was an only kit in a Clan where there were no other kits around. Having grown up with nine other kits his own age, it was simply impossible for any one kit to expect to have attention all the time. He had to fight for everything, and he had to know how to get along well with others his age. It was obvious that Ravenkit had not learned these skills.

"Whew, what a brat." Spottedkit blew out a quiet breath, making sure his statement was only loud enough for Stonekit to hear. The last thing he needed was his 'caretaker' overhearing him and giving him a reprimand. He didn't bear any ill-will to Mottleadleaf; it hadn't been her decision to bring them here, and she seemed to genuinely care about all three of the kits that she was watching. He knew that his grandmother (it was still strange thinking of her that way, when he had another, more familiar grandmother back in WindClan) had no kits of her own to care for, and she had given up her life as a warrior to care for him and Stonekit (and Ravenkit) for the next few moons. But it was still strange trying to adjust to the new place and the new faces. For a while at least, he would be happier if he didn't have to speak with her too much.

He could still hear Ravenkit outside, probably talking to the tom who Spottedkit had learned was the black kit's older brother. It seemed like Rabbitheart had filled in for both of the kit's parents, as he seemed to have no mother or father that the WindClan kit was aware of. Privately he thought that the warrior was doing a pretty poor job of it, or maybe it was Ravenkit's fault for being such an unmanageable kit. Certainly Mottledleaf didn't seem to be having much luck with him either. Glancing towards the exit, Spottedkit pricked his rounded ears at the sound of Rabbitheart's invitation to play. Hmm, did he want to play with Ravenkit?

He didn't like him too much, but it was disconcerting for the young tom to be alone with just one other kit for company. He wasn't used to having so few cats around, and even Ravenkit was better than no one at all. "I guess I'll go," he muttered, half to himself. "Are you coming too, Stonekit? I wouldn't blame you if you decided not to." With a roll of his eyes at the thought of their ornery nursery-mate, the spotted tom sauntered out of the nursery, noticed the glare that Ravenkit was already aiming his way, and shrugged it off without a thought. For a kit who was at least a moon older than himself, the tom sure acted like a newborn.

[:c a i:]

[[Er, Icy, I don't quite get your post. The OP is just my TC brothers bantering a bit as usual, not really anything rumour-provoking. It just seems so random, your cat eavesdropping, barging in and demanding a heart to heart... >.<]]

"My brother assures me that you won't." Flameclaw grinned at his brother, knowing he had probably landed Tigerheart in hot water with Swallowfang now with that comment about her hunting abilities. "But never mind. We only have to seem like we're being hard-working warriors to keep this slave-driver quiet."

"Oi!" Tigerheart glared at Flameclaw and called over to Swallowfang. "I assure you I said nothing of the kind, Swallowfang. And whatever else this mousebrain tells you about me is a lie." He flashed a brief smile at the she-cat, purposefully flicked his tail in Flameclaw's face and called a farewell over his shoulder.

Tigerheart was then too absorbed in his thoughts and his search for Patchpaw to realise anybody was speaking to him at first, but eventually it registered that somebody was calling for him. He glanced up, mildly surprised, and paused, frowning at Badgerstorm and wondering what on earth the tom wanted from him this afternoon.

"Hm? What's wrong, Badgerstorm?" He asked politely, though his eye was drawn across camp towards the fresh kill pile where he spotted a small, tri-coloured cat fiddling with it. Ah, there was Patchpaw.

"Excuse me a moment," Tigerheart said briefly to the other tom, then turned around and called out to his apprentice. "Patchpaw! Don't go anywhere, we're going training! I'm just having a word with Badgerstorm, then we're going out!" He waved his tail over at Patchpaw before turning back to Badgerstorm.

"All right, Badgerstorm, is there a particular reason why you want to speak to me?"

Meanwhile, Flameclaw had lumbered over to Swallowfang, a cheerful smile on his face. "Hello, gorgeous," he chuckled "ready to go?"

[/color][/blockquote][/justify]

[° i c y - -]

{{ Hmm, I'm not quite sure. >.> I guess I didn't get the concept completely. }}

Badgerstorm, who was at the enterance to the camp, really needed to have some space. He stared out into the forest, as he let his fur lie flat once more. "What was I thinking?" he muttered to himself, then looked up towards the sky. "Oh, Tigerheart. I apoligize for snapping. Just grieving over... Spottednose," he lied, hoping it would calm himself. It didn't.
He stared at the tabby warrior, then over at Flameclaw, who was actually being lazy. Sighing, he turned back to the warrior, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Do whatever you please. Never let your Clanmates get in the way." he meowed, then padded out of camp. What was the point of eavedropping, then getting angry at your own Clanmate? he thought to himself, wondering just, why did he do that?

[/color][/center]

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang felt a prickle under her fur at the jab; even if it wasn't intended she still felt the bit of irritation that came every time some cat mentioned her hunting. Her gaze slid to Tigerheart, who was trying to save his case and assuring he never said such a thing. She supposed it didn't matter, it was no secret to most of the Clan. Most just didn't bring it up or expect her to go on too many hunting patrols. She was busy enough with border patrols, and formerly had been occupied with an apprentice so she hadn't needed to worry about being accused of laziness.

She shook again as if trying to rid the irritation from her fur. She wanted to keep in a good mood. After watching Tigerheart walk off to do whatever it was he was doing, she looked back to Flameclaw, the tom who was walking toward her now. At his calling her 'gorgeous', whatever would drive him to say something like that, she almost wanted to roll her eyes. A comment like that was part of his personality, she assumed, so she didn't think anything of it. "Yeah, let's go." She still would have liked to finish grooming her fur, but that could wait until they returned. "You have some good hunting to do if you want to keep Tigerheart off your back." This she said with a bit of a smirk. Her, she would just watch and make sure he wouldn't slack off.

[Kitty]

Stonekit barely stifled a sigh of relief when Ravenkit went storming out of the nursery, having just erupted into a shouting fit about StarClan knew what. What had caused that kit to be so spoiled and self-centered? Only StarClan knew. The slightly baffled tom, however, did not. He only knew that he and his brother had been here for less than a quarter moon and had already made an enemy. Just their luck. Sure, some of the warriors and elders probably didn't much care for them, or felt uncomfortable around them, but they weren't near Stonekit's age. Ravenkit was, though, and it kind of hurt that he so openly despised the two previously WindClan kits.

Of course, growing up being the only kit your whole life had to make you a bit spoiled. Having grown up in a nursery full of ten kits the same age for most of his life, Stonekit was used to having to share the attention, while Ravenkit most certainly was not. In fact, even in a nursery with two other kits and a queen was a bit lonely for Stonekit's tastes, but it wasn't like there was any way he could fix that. It wasn't like he could tell any queen in the Clan to go into the nursery and have kit right now (not that there were many queens in ThunderClan, anyway. It was significantly smaller than WindClan and made up of mostly toms.).

Stonekit couldn't stifle the chuckle that followed his brother's comment, however. "Wow, what a brat." The little tom didn't want to think badly of any of his Clanmates so soon, but it was hard not to when you had to be around someone like Ravenkit all day. It was certainly tiring, that was for sure. He padded over to Spottedkit and bumped him playfully. "Come on," he attempted. "I'm sure he's not that bad...we just haven't found his good side yet." As he went on with his sentence, however, his voice became more and more doubtful. Maybe Ravenkit didn't have a good side?

Ravenkit's voice drifted into the nursery from outside, talking to the tom that was his brother - Rabbit-something, right? - about them. He'd raised Ravenkit from a little kit, but now that Mottledleaf (it was so odd thinking of her as his grandma, Stonekit thought again) was in the nursery to watch out for all three kits and But then Rabbit-something's voice came in, near the entrance to the nursery. "Stonekit, Spottedkit, would you like to come out and play with us?" The gray kit thought about it for a moment, but it only took his brother's agreement to have him make up his mind. Spottedkit was the only cat he really knew here in ThunderClan, although he was picking out a few favorites among the elder cats. He intended to stick by his sibling's side for the time being.

"I guess I'll go too." Stonekit led the way out of the nursery, glancing around a bit nervously when he entered the main camp, which was slowly beginning to seem like home. Rabbit-something was there with Ravenkit hidden underpaw. "What are we playing?" Maybe ThunderClan games were different from WindClan ones.

[Yoko]

Ravenkit was amazed that they had agreed to play with him. He snorted, for all the trouble they had caused, he had better get some playtime out of them! Whatever they played, he was bound to win! He looked to Rabbitheart.

"Well? What are we playing?"

The golden tom was relieved that the WindClan kits weren't as hostile as Ravenkit made them out to be. They just needed some common ground was all.

"Let's play mossball," Rabbitheart mewed with a bright smile.

"Awww," Ravenkit moaned.

Rabbitheart just smiled and shook his head. He head-butted Ravenkit in the shoulder, a silent command for the younger sibling to play nice. And to make it more interesting...

"We'll play teams. Me versus all three of you. I assure you, my size makes a full team. If you get the mossball into the nursery its your point. If I get it past the freshkill pile its mine."

Ravenkit's jaw dropped and he looked about to explode, but Rabbitheart was sure it was for the best that he learned to get along with the new kits. The golden tom gave them all a friendly smile before padding off, and shortly after he returned with a mossball.

"Game on," he mewed, tossing the mossball in the air.

[:c a i:]

Tigerheart looked curiously at Badgerstorm, waiting for the reason for their conversation to come out. His expression softened slightly as he mentioned his dead mate, and he looked at the other tom long and hard. Why the hesitation between "grieving over" and "Spottednose"? If Tigerheart was not mistaken, there was something rather weighty hanging on Badgerstorm's mind.

"Then I wish you happiness in the future, Badgerstorm. And I hope your pain fleeting." He said, tilting his head to one side, wondering if there would be any elaboration. His ears flicked back in surprise when instead, he was given a piece of advice. Never let your Clanmates get in the way He was startled by it, and wondered what on earth had brought it on. In the way of what? Had Badgerstorm listened to his conversation with Flameclaw and got the wrong end of the stick because of what his brother had said about Doveclaw? Quite possibly. Tigerheart watched silently as troubled Badgerstorm made his way out of camp. He shook his head slightly, then turned around and headed back in to find Patchpaw.

"Come on, Patchpaw, let's go! We've not got much daylight left." As he called out to his apprentice, he spotted Bramblestripe, sitting at the edge of camp, yawning. With a moment of thought, Tigerheart called out to the other tom.

"Bramblestripe, Badgerstorm just went out and looked like he had a lot on his mind. You mnind checking he's okay? I need to take Patchpaw out." Tigerheart spoke smoothly, and the other tom consented with only a mildly curious look before heading out to check Badgerstorm hadn't got into any trouble.

Tigerheart turned to Patchpaw again with a smile, and led the way out. Not for one moment did he think that Badgerstorm's words would return with new significance.

Bramblestripe was perplexed by Tigerheart's odd request, but he said nothing. Better to check that Badgerstorm was actually all right before he dubbed Tigerheart a little bit mad. He got to his paws and shook his thick pelt to dislodge any dust, and headed out. He trotted after the scent of Badgerstorm, and soon caught up with the tom, walking down the path and looking thoroughly dejected. Tigerheart wasn't mad, then, because he certainly did look as if he had the troubles of the world on his shoulders.

"There you are, Badgerstorm," he said "how are you doing? Feel like some company?" Bramblestripe wondered how to extract the tom's troubles without looking like he was prying. It was not in his nature to let an unhappy Clanmate simply pass by, and if it were possible, he would try to help. The tom was older than him, yes, but perhaps he would have some advice to offer.

[[Bramblestripe is better for a heart to heart. x3 He's got experience with... forbidden...ness.]]
[/blockquote][/size]

[° i c y - -]

His black fur ruffled as he heard pawsteps behind him, making him turn to the older warrior. His eyes were somewhat filled with sorrow, and his tail was held low to the forest floor. "Company? Sure, why not." he muttered, attempting to hold his head a bit higher. His white paws were covered in a thin coat of dust, but he didn't mind.

What was he doing out here? He was heading towards the RiverClan border, where he used to meet Leopardclaw. Well, before she died giving birth to her daughter, Icefur. Her tortoiseshell fur, her white paws and belly... Snap out of it! he thought, almost growling in annoyence. Badgerstorm rose his head back to Bramblestripe, and he made sure that his eyes were bright again. They weren't.

[/center][/color]

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Spottedkit gave a sideways glance at the raven-pelted tom that was standing beside his larger, older brother. The tom wasn't making exactly easy for the newcomers to like him, and that was a fact. For the past four days he had been nothing but grumpy, self-absorbed, and resentful that his nursery, the den that he had lived in alone up until now, was now home to two other kits, not to mention a full-grown queen. In Spottedkit's opinion, he was lucky to have had a whole den to live in all by himself for however long it had been, and shouldn't be such a badger about the way things were now.

Because now he and Stonekit had been brought here to live, and it wasn't exactly a party for them either. If Ravenkit didn't want to relinquish his rule over the nursery, then he had another thing coming, because no amount of weedling or whining was going to get him his way this time. Spottedkit had another three moons of kithood, and he certainly didn't intend to spend the entire time suffering through some uptight ThunderClanner's complaints. But that was an issue for another time.

So, the verdict had been passed, and the game would be mossball. At first Spottedkit was surprised that ThunderClan's kits would play a game that he had grown up with in WindClan, but he pushed the thought aside, berating himself for silliness. Why wouldn't they have mossball in ThunderClan? They slept in a nest-filled nursery just like any WindClan kits, there was no reason they couldn't have mossball as well. He measured up his opponent, and his new ally. Rabbitheart seemed confident that he could match the three of them... they would have to see if that was true. The real test, he suspected, would be having a good time with a den-mate that seemed to despise him.

"Sure, teams should be fun," the young tom said out loud, willing to at least give it a shot. He glanced at Stonekit, glad that he had at least one cat at his back that he could rely on, and then started to scoot a bit to the side so that they were more spread out. He kept his large, moss-green eyes locked on the tan-furred tom, as he was the one with the moss ball. Spottedkit knew Rabbitheart would have to toss the ball soon, and when he did, he would be ready for it.

Suddenly, movement. Spottedkit darted forward with speed that was the mark of WindClan, arrowing into the air after the clump of moss that had been tossed casually from Rabbitheart's paw. He had it, he got it! The little tom reached soft, grasping paws towards his prize and patted at the piece of bedding, sending it on a course that led straight to Stonekit. "Get it!" he mewed breathlessly before twisting to land on his paws once more, only slightly off-balance. Rivalry and annoyance were behind him now. He was in the game, in his element, and it was time for him to play.

[Kitty]

Although a bit unhappy with the prospect of teaming up with a cat who openly despised he and his brother, Stonekit couldn't help but feel pleased that he knew the game they were going to play, if not just a bit shocked. So here in ThunderClan they played mossball? He shouldn't be surprised, since the nests here - the ones in the nursery anyway - were made out of the squishy, soft green stuff. It would make sense that they, too, would play mossball, but they probably had other games that they didn't have in WindClan here as well. Stonekit made a mental note to try and learn to play them, too.

Ravenkit certainly didn't look happy with the idea that he had to play on a team with the two former WindClan kits. But the black-furred tom would just have to get used to the prospect of sharing the nursery. He had denmates now and the sooner he accepted that fact, the better it was for everyone. Stonekit didn't enjoy Ravenkit's company any more than he enjoyed Stonekit's. The spoiled, bratty black kit wasn't going to ruin this game of mossball for the gray tom, that was for sure. Their team was going to beat Rabbit-something, guaranteed. "Alright, let's play," he meowed enthusiastically.

The former WindClan kit shifted away from his denmates, so as to spread out and cover more ground faster. He took up a prepared stance as Rabbit-something came back with a mossball, tossed it up in the air, and just as Stonekit was about to leap for it, Spottedkit shot in a batted it away from the warrior. It flew towards Stonekit, his sibling calling out "Get it!" in a breathless voice, and the gray kit leaped for it and, batting at the soft green stuff, sent it flying to Ravenkit. They just had to get it to the nursery...that wasn't too far.... "Get it, Ravenkit!" he called as he landed, ungracefully toppling sideways on impact, but hopping right back up, unfazed. He was in the game now, ready to play, and all annoyance with his new denmate was forgotten.