FrostClan: A Dark Tomorrow

Hellspire snorted and hissed,"Nah. Apparently there was only a tom there. Well, a tom and Enigmapaw, supposedly. She may have run off with him somewhere." He hissed and and continued into the camp's clearing from within the forest.

Relicheart shook his head and sighed. Dipped his head to the rest of the cats, he padded away towards the warrior's den, his tail drooping as he yawned. Perhaps later he would have a chat with Harrierstar about what had happened.

~

Malicepaw made his way through the dense underbrush, his tail swishing against the ground with his flank leaving a trail of blood as he passed through the edge of his former territory. The swirling scents caused his head to spin as his body grew weaker. No...I must keep going. My clan needs me.....Raccoonstar...and Slipkit...and Enigmapaw. They all are waiting for me. "E-Enigmapaw..!? Where are you all?!"

Lavapaw's whiskers twitched and he let out a small depressed sigh. He hated to admit it, but the kits were gone. There was no finding them now, and Enigmapaw seemed to have left too. His tail drooped at the loss of his clanmates as he followed Hellspire and the others to camp.

"Malicepaw! I was just on my way to get you. We're right at the border, the older apprentices carried most of our fresh kill and the young ones. We're a bit shaken, but fine." Enigmapaw called towards her friend. "H-hey, are you okay? Y-you don't look so good." She didn't look so good herself, already seemingly upset from the sudden move.

Malicepaw shook his head and meowed,"No, no. I'm fine." He padded over and sniffed, his soft orchid eyes set on the pretty silver and black she-cat. "Now, why do you seem so down. We can always find a new home to set up camp. And as long as we're all together, protecting one another, we'll always be a clan. Twoclan." He stopped to lick his flank wound before meeting the bright purplish black gaze of Vectorpaw, rushing up to him with Basilkit on her back.

"Malicepaw! Oh Malicepaw! Enigmapaw told us you'd come back! Oh yes!"

Greenpaw sniffed the air. "Come on little cus, we've got to keep patroling." He meowed. He yawned and got back onto his feet. With a swish of his tail he turned and padded back into the forest.

Rogueheart stewed in his defeat, swearing to himself he wouldn't let anyone get the best of him like that again. "I'll find you and drag you back by that mutant tail." he growled to himself.

Enigmapaw let out a little sigh of relief and turned her attention to Vectorpaw and Basilkit. "What are you two doing? I told you both to stay back at camp and watch the others! And- Slipkit, Orchidkit, not you, too?" She groaned, shaking her head. "Come on, you four. Malicepaw will come with us back to where the others are. Then Raccoonstar will send some of us out to find a nice new place to set up a new camp, alright?" Slipkit and Orchidkit had just arrived when Enigmapaw told them to hurry back.

"But Enigmapaaaaaw, we just wanted to see Malicepaw! Right, Orchidkit?" Slipkit had whined, turning his head to his other kit friend, who nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

Malicepaw gently cuffed Slipkit's ear, knowing to be careful of his heavy paws, and mewed,"Engimapaw is right. The deputy should really let his leader know when there is news to be told. I'll be right behind you, I promise." He gave the kits a kind look and nudged Vectorpaw and Basilkit towards Slipkit and Orchidkit before re-positioning his body to keep his flank from bleeding by shifting more pressure to the gashes. He was pleased to know they had been worried about him, glad to know they cared. How could he ever return to a clan who treated him so poorly when he had all of these cats here to love him equally? A question he knew had to be answered....soon.

Her bright blue-drowned brown eyes glittered softly with worry as she peeked at Rogueheart from a distance. He had left camp so confident and proud. A brand new warrior! But he came back all beat up and in pain. I hope he's ok....should I go to talk to him? No no no! I'd probably seem like too much of a worrywort! What if he gets mad at me for checking on him? But still, I'm worried for him. She shuffled on her paws nervously, wanting to move her wide gaze away from the tom, but somehow wasn't capable to do so, her small tan nose twitching. She eventually dipped her head and closed her eyes, the tiny flecks of tan above her eyelids caused to flutter a bit as she sat down in her shaded spot to rest and think.

(Someone got a crush? XD )

Sleetpaw sighed, she couldn't believe Enigmapaw would just runaway like that without at least telling her friends. She looked up from the mouse she had been eating and glanced over at Deltapaw, who looked dejected as well. 'We're all a little upset and hurt' she decided, nodding to herself.

Deltapaw flicked her gaze upward to Sleetpaw, who was looking back at her, and blinked as the dark colored she-cat's stomach rumbled. Sleetpaw had the right idea; Deltapaw hadn't eaten since this morning and she decided to get up and grab a meal. Padding slowly over to the fresh kill pile, she plucked up an old magpie and settled down to eat, picking gently through the feathers to get to the cold, stringy meat.

Quartzprickle snorted as he picked through her fur, removing the pretty, prickly pelt of any burrs or debris, her ice cold eyes flashing with annoyance. She couldn't believe that she didn't find anything and it made her icy blood bubble up with rage. I always find what I'm looking for! Always!

(maybe...or perhaps she's just worrying about her friend )

Sleetpaw smiled slightly at Deltapaw and flicked her tail to her. She continued to eat, occasionally looking up again and glancing towards the medicine cat's den. She watched as the older hunters when around their business, the not often seen Earthshatter was coming back from delivering food to Emeraldeye's patients and flopped down next to the hunter apprentices.

Deltapaw blinked as her friend looked up at her and then back down at her food, Deltapaw quickly moving her own gaze down to her diminishing meal. With a sigh, she finished up the rest of the bird, cleared her throat or any feathers, and began plucking the remainder gently with her mouth, careful to get them all before bringing them to the Nursery. It won't be long before there are more kits being born, and there's already so many cats in there. These should help make things a bit more comfortable, I hope.

Quartzprickle's claws slashed through a pile of leaves that had formed beside her during her grooming, her long, translucent claws getting stuck through the dried, crumbly membrane that was once part of a tree, hissing and thrashing about in annoyance. "Get off ya stupid leaves!! Errgg! OFF!!!!" She continued to thrash until Relicheart approached her with a weary, annoyed face.

"I swear to Starclan, if you don't stop that thrashing like a kit, I'll send you back to the Nursery, ya got that?! You'll be smearing bile all over the elders and picking off ticks till your teeth fall out!" The crimson and black-furred tom spun around to hear a snicker come from behind him. Seeing Hellspire giggling, the elder tom added,"You too buster! Keep that up, and you'll be doing the same!"

After gobbling down her meal as she always did. Little Moonpaw was laying on the ground with her feet tucked under her and her tail curled around her body just a few paces from where some of the others were eating and conversing. Instead of walking over to join the discussion some of her clan mates were engaged in, the pale colored feline was much more content with just staring up at the sky. It was one of her favourite things to do, especially at night. How the sky changed with almost every passing day always kept her interested. 'Such a lovely gift the sky is...I wonder what sort of amazing view those in Star clan have from way up there?' She wondered. Guessing that it was a amazing sight. One that the warriors of old were very desearving to have.

Moonpaw stood up. Standing there for a moment before stretching her back. It bothered her to sit down for so long when there was something that could be done to help the clan. The apprentice hunter started to stroll over towards the elder's den. Curious as to if they had any more interesting stories to tell. Moonpaw was rather interested in Star clan. Somewhat a little bitter that she hadn't been born a male as she had heard that medicine cats knew a lot about Star clan that many other cats were not privileged to.

Ghostsong lay outside the shared elders den, her pale part blind eyes hooded in what looked like tiredness. If she were honest with her self she was tired more and more often now, Burntwhisker's death had taken a toll on the old she-cat and she was struggling to carry on.
But she would.
She would.

Her head snapped up with surprising quickness for a cat her age and she met eyes with the apprentice Moonpaw. "What can I do for you tonight?" She rasped.

Moonpaw felt somewhat uncomfortable when she made eye contact with the older cat. Conversation was something that she sometimes had trouble with in some situations. "I was hoping to hear a story or two before some of the elders went to bed...I really like those stories about Star clan" Moonpaw replied. The apprentice unsheathed and sheathed her front claws as she felt the ground a little nervously. She wasn't sure if she was really supposed to keep eye contact with the tired looking Ghostsong or keep her head bowed.

Ghostsong chuckled and tucked her paws tighter to her chest. "Well don't just stand there, sit down. Just looking at you is making my paws sore." She rumbled. "Hmmm, StarClan. Lets see.. Not much is known about it, well unless you're a leader, Medicine-cat or dead but there is one story I know... but it's not exactly nice so if you get scared just tell me."

Blinking sleep away from his eyes as he walked over to the old cat, Shadderpaw stifled a brisk yawn before settling down on the other side of Ghostsong, his pale green and blue eyes glazed over from sleep. "Yaaaaawn! I may be tired, but its not too often you tell us some stories. I wanna hear too." Though he seemed half-hearted about it as he curtly curled up his tail, his voice seemed genuinely interested in what the old cat had to say. However,he seemd to disregard Moonpaw completely.

Cursekit was hanging out behind the elder's den, enjoying the secluded spot. She squeaked a littled as she heard voices coming from the den. Hm..Definatly Ghostsong and two apprenitces. One is female, timid....Deltapaw or Moonpaw. The male seems to be pretty laid back. I don't know, She thought, mad at herself that she couldn't identify Shadderpaw's faint voice.

Featherpaw, who'd woken up, padded straight into the apprentices' den, practically falling into her nest on shaky paws. Ah, but the ever-tired she-cat couldn't sleep. When she was curled up in her somewhat chilly nest she was usually rethinking her life and realizing how much it totally sucked. It's what kept her going.

Lavapaw was quick to arrive at the elder's den when he heard the word 'story'. He liked listening to the stories the elders told. Especially the ones about the Heroes. Lavapaw quickly made his way over to a spot near Ghostsong. "I wouldn't mind a story either." he said briskly, before starting to clean the underside of his right fore-paw with a few swift licks.

Seeing a group of cats make their ways over to the elders' den, including her own brother, Deltapaw drew the conclusion that one of the elders was about to tell a story. This got the dark she-cat moving from the Nursery over to the Elders' den, her wide eyes blinking with curiosity. She had heard that cats in Boulderclan and such enjoyed telling stories to one another, and an elder was always glad to speak their words, but when it came to their clan, no cats could have more bitter blood. The elders were often too exhausted or grouchy to deal with the younger clanmates, so a story from one of them was a rare treat.

She settled down near Moonpaw, pulling her small tan paws inward beneath her furry chest and draping her tail across her back. It acted similarly to a feather boa, though the fur was more thick than long, its tan underside contrasting to her dark back as its tiny brown speckles lining the top of the tail seemed to shimmer in the light. Her blue-surrounded brown eyes glittered softly as she began to mumble. "Errmmmm...well Ghostsong.....do you think.....ummmm....maybe, I could.....perhaps, listen.....t-too?"

(And yes, I'm currently at my grandparents' house. They have no wifi, but I'm somehow using the neighbor's wifi, though its a bit slow But hey look, I'm still able to post.)

Cursekit lightly stepped out from the nursery after confirming in her mind which cats were in the den. She poked her head in quietly. Stumbling over her own paws, the russet-colored she-kit padded near where the apprenitces were sitting beside Ghostsong. She curled up a mouse-length or two away from Deltapaw, hoping that she hadn't been noticed.

Deltapaw glanced over at Cursekit, then with a smile, she stretched her neck over and picked up the crimson kit by the scruff and pulled her over, setting her on her front paws, propping her up against her fluffy chest, be ginning to lick the top of the tiny kit's head. After a moment, she paused and mewed,"Haven't you ever heard of a bath, little one?" But she was grinning, as if to joke with the kit, before resuming the cleaning process, her steady gaze still on Ghostsong as they all waited for the story.

Cursekit trembled on Deltapaw's paws, trying not to squeak. She stared, horrified, into the she-cat's gentle eyes. "Wh-I-Wh-" She stumbled over her words. Her tiny form seemed to shrink even more in the dimly-lit den.

Deltapaw chuckled and murmured through her grooming,"Shush shush. No need to be scared. Trust me, I know the feeling, but you can be calm around me. now, the story will be starting shortly." She licked the kit's ear comfortingly before resting her fuzzy tan chin on top of Cursekit's head, a small purring sound coming from deep within the apprentice's throat in order to try and soothe the frightened kit.

(I swear, its like they're in a theater. XD Its all dark and they're like "Shhh!! Its starting!!")

(XD It is.
Featherpaw: I would be here but there are no 3-D glasses >.<)

Cursekit slowly stopped trembling, her muscles relaxing. She enjoyed the feeling of Deltapaw's soft fur. I wonder if this is what mothers are like... she thought, tucking her small paws under her chest. That would be nice. She pretended, just for a moment, that Deltapaw was her mom and she wasn't named Cursekit. In her day-dreaming state her name was Quick-kit and she was laying in the nursery, curled up beside a misty queen who vaguely resembled Deltapaw.

(D'AWWWWWWW!!! )

Deltapaw smiled, as if to share the tiny cat's dreams, a warm feeling filling her heart. Could this be...how our mother felt? Before she died and I could understand and share the feeling of love? Of interaction with others? Could her death be the reason I'm so timid. So scared that everyone I'm close to will be taken from me? She guessed her brother would feel differently about their parents' absence, though she couldn't have been ore wrong. Oh well.....at least this moment is tender and gentle. She gave another throaty purr before nuzzling Cursekit's gently, a bit of a yawn caught in her own throat.

Hellspire gave a snort as he sat behind the elders' den, trying to doze off as he laid curled tightly in a ball with his bushy tail draped over his nose, a position he rarely slept in. Hmmm...I might as well listen in too. But in secret.