storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Jan 8, 2024 11:45:00 GMT -6
#s://live~staticflickr~com/2504/3974396799_cc5af4664d_z~jpg juniperbelly | | to love one another,
'cause you are each other |
That is, if they could find anything.
Juniperbelly, despite her good intentions, could not hear the patrol's eyes rolling with her enthusiastic talking. Ever since the entrance of camp, the she-cat hadn't stopped talking about whatever came to her mind. The birds singing (which was good-luck to catch prey, apparently), cursing about the lack of water near camp and wishing the ancestors had settled closer to the river, the irony of her littermates being a gradient of color and how all the queens were in awe about it... yeah, no wonder her clanmates were tired of hearing her talk.
Once the patrol of five cats reached a centralized point of the mountains, with two guardians and three warriors gathered together, the leader of the patrol, a young tom named Redshade, flicked his tail toward Cloudwhisker. "Hey, Cloudwhisker," he sneered, "why don't you and Juniperbelly take the high path, while the rest of us search low in the mountains?" Juniperbelly, the naive molly she was, didn't see this as an attack on her, with her tail swaying high. Before Juniperbelly or Cloudwhisker could object, the three cats swiftly left, with snickering and laughing echoing against the rocks.
"Well, it looks like it is you and me, Cloudwhisker!" The molly looked toward the tom with her deep blue eyes, almost reflecting the calmness of the river in Greenleaf. "Hopefully, the chipmunks and squirrels are out as early as we are! Maybe we can catch more than the other group, and we can get first pick of the fresh-kill pile for our outstanding work!" Juniperbelly's happiness with her new partner was obvious. Cloudwhisker was a tom that she had never really interacted with, so for her, it was a new friend to make!
But then, she realized her mistake with her last statement. "Oh! Well, obviously the elders and kits can choose first. But then, maybe we can!" The white and tawny molly couldn't help and giggle. "Do you know of any good areas to hunt up in the mountains? I'm sure you are here a lot more than me!" Considering her first, and last, patrol in the mountains resulted in her running away from her party when a hawk attacked, she couldn't really blame Wolfstar too much for not allowing her to return so quickly. |
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I'm stright from hell with love <3
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Post by doge on Jan 8, 2024 21:46:24 GMT -6
#s://i~postimg~cc/Hxf3gjRS/cloudavatar1~png | Cloudwhisker
sunlight, moonlight, i'm dead
shoot me, i'm used to seeing red
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His stare floated upwards, tracing how the light of daybreak spilled onto the rugged terrain of the mountains ahead. The guardian felt so alive whenever he trailed the patrols on higher elevations protecting them overhead from the threats large birds of prey posed to the warriors hunting. Finally his dark blue eyes shifted with amusement as his ears flicked to the chirps of Juniperbelly. She’s so silly and happy. Cloudwhisker thought warmly of the white and tawny warrior but it kinda also made her seem like she craved attention.
And next thing he knew Redshade was sneering for him to take her away from the group alone. Is that some sort of challenge? Cloudwhisker smirked but then blinked in surprise when she hadn’t seemed to catch on to the tone their clanmate used. A little bit of an air-head? He mused as she looked very pleased to have been assigned together, and they really had interacted not enough to his knowledge.
“Chipmunk sounds really good right now, I hope we catch one.” He purred at her while the ground under their paw-pads turned rocky. Her question lingered in the air that made his teeth flash with his head lowering in a chuckle. “Of course I do.” His eyes tilted back to side-eye her as they walked. ”But,” the guardian started. “Some warriors don’t like to climb higher than what they’re used to because that’s closer to the hawks. Although, we can go to a good spot higher up, I’ll just have to watch you a bit closely.” Cloudwhisker teased and started to take the lead with a leap up onto a higher rock. Turning around to glance down at Juniperberry to see how much she desired to be up higher in the mountains. |
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Jan 28, 2024 21:45:54 GMT -6
#s://live~staticflickr~com/2504/3974396799_cc5af4664d_z~jpg juniperbelly | | to love one another,
'cause you are each other |
As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that sometimes she came across as too much for some cats. Shadowgaze and Snowlight were quick to remind her. Very rarely did she actually acknowledge that fact for herself (especially given the interaction with Redshade that happened just then), but it seemed like the heart-throb of RidgeClan was actually interested in having a conversation with her!
"Chipmunk does sound really good! Ugh, I can't wait for Newleaf so all the critters come back and stop hibernating. Like, we need to sleep too, but you don't see the clans sleeping through all of Leafbare," she giggled, as she began to follow the white tom, looking into a mirror with their ocean eyes. "Oh, I don't mind going up high! Though... don't tell Mushroomstar or Toadfeather," she whispered, ducking her head down toward the tom as they walked side-by-side. "The last time I went into the mountains... uh, let's just say I wasn't allowed to go back." For a split moment, her eyes were filled with emotion, something that was certainly rare. In no time, of course, she lifted her emotions back. "But, that was back when Wolfstar was leader! I've changed since then, I promise!" Juniperbelly's tail wagged with excitement.
As she continued to ramble about random happenings around the camp and territory that she had experienced, she couldn't help but try to catch Cloudwhisker's gaze whenever she could. When the patrol first entered the mountains, he was the cat that seemed to show genuine interest in what she had to say, unlike the eye-rolls and huffs that she got from the others.
"You know, you can tell me to shut up if I'm talking too much. Shadowgaze and Snowlight used to do it all the time when we were kits!" Juniperbelly, again, gave a little giggle. "But, they mean no harm in their jokes toward my bubbly nature. It's refreshing to them as much as I annoy them," Juniperbelly continued. The warrior took a quick halt before gazing around to see how high they were. With her nose in the air, she was able to fixate on a collaborative smell of prey in the area. Looks like they were close to Cloudwhisker's spot. "What about your family, Cloudwhisker?" The tawny-spotted molly began to say. "You have two daughters, correct? Leopardpaw and... Shrikepaw?" she tilted her head as she questioned her own memory. "Are they training to be a hawk-hunter like you?" |
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I'm stright from hell with love <3
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Post by doge on Feb 1, 2024 20:25:35 GMT -6
#s://i~postimg~cc/Hxf3gjRS/cloudavatar1~png | Cloudwhisker
sunlight, moonlight, i'm dead
shoot me, i'm used to seeing red
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tw: slight implications that life is meaningless, absence of values, nihilistic perspectiveThe handsome guardian’s mind drifted to wondering how easy it might be to convince her to share the chipmunk with him up in the mountains if she were to actually catch one. Of course, only working off the assumption that he was taking a capable hunter up into the mountains. If she was as skillful as she was sweet, Cloudwhisker was content – he could work with that. As soon as he noticed her tone shift to that of a whisper there was intrigue as he almost angled his own chin to her as ducked her head towards him, not wanting to miss what she was saying.“Hey, hey, don’t worry…” His voice looked to soothe her. “You’re with me and not them, I’m the best guardian in RidgeClan.” He was actually surprised to hear Juniperbelly was forbidden from trekking up the mountains and further astounded that she truly failed to make him bored. Maybe she’s that bad and could even get someone as strong as me killed in the process so Wolfstar had to ban her from even coming up here. So she wouldn't get any of his best soldiers killed. He mused at the thought of such a death to his existence, knowing it would be meaningless to try to know what it would all come to finally be.
Life had been more relaxed since their generation escaped Wolfstar’s reign, even if Mushroomstar still believed she shouldn’t be allowed into the mountains. Fortunately for Juniperbelly, Cloudwhisker’s true loyalty did not lie with Mushroomstar or Toadfeather, but to himself.Either way there was no stopping, it would actually be pointless to go back without even attempting to hunt. “Just past this jump ahead, and we’ll get you to a spot where you can hunt your heart out.” He took pawsteps in front of her and gathered himself up at the base of a small cliff that was jumpable for warriors. He wiggled his muscles briefly before springing upwards and propelling himself onto the flat top. Cloudwhisker wished he could avoid being asked about his family but knew it was a subject impossible for clanmates to avoid. Cats either actually cared how he was doing or were waiting for their chance at him.
And it was true, he was back up for grabs.
His head peered over the rock to her below with a smile. “Haven’t you heard? I destroyed it, at least with Pigeonscreech, after finding out how she treated Leopardpaw wretchedly. How pointless is it to take out adult matters on a child?” Cloudwhisker finished with a sigh before his attitude seemed to find calmness once more as he was ultimately indifferent to whether others shared his interests. “I’m not sure if either of them have taken the same interest in it as me when I was younger. I still sometimes wonder about having a son one day…” The guardian hummed, wondering if he could wiggle his way out of talking about them. He instead wanted Juniperbelly to climb up to where he was so she could take a gander at this higher section of rock and forest for herself. |
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Feb 4, 2024 21:19:29 GMT -6
#s://live~staticflickr~com/2504/3974396799_cc5af4664d_z~jpg juniperbelly | | to love one another,
'cause you are each other |
And right now, it was to help Cloudwhisker find something to hunt.
The unspoken promise to not say a word to the council made her sigh in relief. It was good to know that she was also with the best guardian in RidgeClan. Still, in her mind, the best guardian had always be Cedarhawk. She still missed him so much ever since his death all those moons ago. "So, what makes you the best guardian? Is there some sort of secret guardian competition to figure that out?" Her head tilted in genuine curiosity. "Cedarhawk used to take me up to the mountains as well, and he was actually teaching me to be a guardian... well, before he..." She stopped herself before continuing, as she was certain that Cloudwhisker was well aware of his comrade's death. But, she didn't want to dwell on it too long, before she continued to keep up with the fluffy tom.
He sprung up to a ledge above before calling down to her. She nodded before leaping after he continued his speech about his family. Juniperbelly had to claw at the rock a bit to be able to lift herself up, but she eventually joined the guardian as they continued.
"Wow! This is going to be a great place to hunt, I'm sure of it." Juniperbelly wagged her tail behind her happily, before realizing that she hadn't replied to words about his family. "Oh! You did? Hmmm, I guess I was asleep." Juniperbelly had called it an unusually early night after a day full of border patrols and unsuccessful hunting, so the announcement was unheard to her. "Pigeonscreech is an unruly she-cat. I had seen her taking Shrikepaw out early in the morning for training, and I just always thought it was cruel to do to an apprentice. But, if I talked to her, she would surely claw my eyes out," she giggled, before realizing the solemn of the conversation. "A son, huh? Well, would you even be open to love again? Or perhaps you could just sire a litter if you are done with trying to get another mate."
Juniperbelly paused to take a quick sniff of the air. Surprisingly to her, she actually caught the scent of a ground squirrel. "Cloudwhisker, there's a ground squirrel near here. It's strong, quite a few fox-lengths away though. Let's head deeper into the trees." Her slender tail swung behind her. Her paws were delicate with each step, careful to not step on anything to alert the prey nearby.
"Everyone was telling me that Cedarhawk was going to ask to be my mate. But, I guess I'll never know. I wish I would have asked him myself," she whispered to the tom. "But, I'm just trying to be a better clan cat right now. Love will happen naturally, right?" The tawny-furred molly giggled, as she continued. "Leopardpaw and Shrikepaw, though, would be good guardians. After all, they are kin of you! Perhaps you could show them? Especially since you want to rekindle your relationship with them." Juniperbelly hummed, while her ears twitched to keep on track of the possible ground squirrel around the area.
sensing roll: 12 [8 needed for success] |
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I'm stright from hell with love <3
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Post by doge on Apr 9, 2024 11:15:29 GMT -6
#s://i~postimg~cc/Hxf3gjRS/cloudavatar1~png | Cloudwhisker
sunlight, moonlight, i'm dead
shoot me, i'm used to seeing red
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Cloudwhisker’s ears rotated to listen intently to Juniperbelly’s words, still making sure to be on high-alert for any large birds stalking the pair entering the mountains. His eyes trailed her methodically once again as, well, he could easily by her new Cedarhawk. “I’m easily the most requested guardian, but that could just be my charm… But I guess I also have a few hawk kills to my name as well.” He murmured underneath the she-cat’s excitement and wagging tail. “I am open to love again and I think I would actually prefer that–'' The white cat cut himself off from mentioning he wouldn’t want something similar to happen like Leopardpaw’s lack of family growing up. Even though the guardian was almost solely responsible for that fumble.
His glance shifted in the direction she began to slither towards, and it only took one sniff of the air for Cloudwhisker to nod in her direction. He felt a pang of empathy, but it was also a revelation to him that the always cheery and bright-eyed molly had been navigating difficult emotions amidst duty. She was known for being an airhead after all but as Cloudwhisker heard her giggles he smirked, understanding she was not to be looked at in that same manner again.
Her face couldn’t be seen as he let her take the lead but he imagined the stripes that mirrored the corners of her eyes stretching with hope and sincerity. Even reassuring him that it would be only right to rekindle the relationship with his daughters. RidgeClan could use a strong, young generation of guardians in training after all.
His stride behind her stretched while remaining as silently as possible, scanning branches of leafless mountain trees. But they were barren of hawks thankfully, so Cloudwhisker could continue on indulging and perhaps she would be receptive to courtship. Flirting was very much still an act that he still carried through seasons of being a guardian and even having Pigeonscreech as his mate. “If you manage to catch the squirrel, my nest is open later if you’re interested.” He meowed in a low voice and leaned to close some of the space between them before withdrawing and flicking her playfully with his tail. |
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on May 11, 2024 18:18:20 GMT -6
#s://live~staticflickr~com/2504/3974396799_cc5af4664d_z~jpg Despite her nose trying to keep the scent of the squirrel, she was able to keep her attention on what Cloudwhisker was saying as well. As much as she enjoyed the company of all the other cats, having him around was... different. Normally, she would see the other cats pair off and she would be off to hunt alone. Naively, she didn't realize it was because the other cats didn't want her airheaded and unskillful antics to ruin their hunts. But with this guardian, it felt like the old days, whenever everyone was friends and before the war. The war ruined everything, in her opinion.
"Anyone would be lucky to patrol with you! Having a guardian that can do their job and have a social personality is hard to come by these days!" she chuckled a bit. Bristleback was always dark and brooding. Rockscreech was too..... Rockscreech. Cherrynose was gone now, even though she had a terrible attitude until she left, and Gingerfang was approaching her time as an elder. Having Cloudwhisker was a breath of fresh air.
However, when he cut off his sentence about finding love again, she could help but look back at him with a tilted head, as if to say, "What were you going to say?" However, despite her obnoxious curiosity, she didn't really want to pressure the tom into giving her an answer. She didn't want to scare him away!
Suddenly, the trail of the squirrel got strong, as she could hear movement in the far distance. Her pace slowed, along with Cloudwhisker. Though, it wasn't long until he leaned in close, just as she was focusing on the scent, and whispered something to her. Thankfully, she was facing away from him as her white cheeks likely turned red. It had been so long before someone had flirted with her, in the same way that Cedarhawk used to. And if a cat had flirted with her since, it was very likely that it had just went over her head. But the way he said it and leaned it, she could tell instantly. "I-I- uh... well," she started to stammer, as she lowered herself down to think about what he had just said.
Before she could really get a sentence out, it just so happened that the squirrel had peaked its head around the base of the nearby tree. Instantly, she flattened herself to the ground, trying to use the stones and weeds to hide her pale pelt. Luckily, somehow, it didn't see her as it began to dig for a acorn stash in the ground.
"One second," she replied to the guardian, as she only took a couple crawls forward before using her momentum to sprint and pounce toward the prey. 'StarClan, help me catch this, pleeeeeasssseeeee...'
Her paws instantly landed on the prey, but it seemed like for a split second that the squirrel had an opportunity to run. Juniperbelly wasn't going to let it go that easily. As quickly as she leaped, she managed to get the squirrel in her jaws. For once, she had a successful hunt, in front of this handsome guardian no less.
Juniperbelly stood as the prey hung from her maw, before turning toward the other alabaster cat. The she-cat then walked over and placed the prey at her feet, before looking at him as she raised her head. "I guess I caught it before I could answer," she smiled. The squirrel could feed one of the queens or elders easily.
"I.... appreciate the offer," she started, not being able to hide her shyness this time. "But, I mean, I could just see Pigeonscreech dragging me by the ear off your nest if that happened." Juniperbelly sighed to try to emulate a sarcastic laugh, but it didn't really hide her true fear as much as she hoped. "You all broke it off today, so I'm sure she wouldn't be too happy with me taking her spot." Which wasn't really her spot the past few moons, as she observed them sleeping on separate ends of the den... but that was besides her point.
[agility roll: 10 [8 needed for success] |
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I'm stright from hell with love <3
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Post by doge on May 22, 2024 17:36:05 GMT -6
#s://i~postimg~cc/Hxf3gjRS/cloudavatar1~png | Cloudwhisker
sunlight, moonlight, i'm dead
shoot me, i'm used to seeing red
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Cloudwhisker held his breath, he was careful to not laugh at her stammerings. She really meant it when she implied all the things she used to do with Cedarhawk. His eyes blinked slowly with only encouragement as a squirrel caught her attention. Thinking about the sentiment of real love and always wanting to pick the same cat to spend time with out of affection pulled the corners of his lip to form a warm smile. And Cloudwhisker missed that as it gave him a reason that spoke against his own nature, and that not everything was meaningless. His head canted to his shoulder, watching with silent cheers for her to be successful through half-closed, pale eyes.
As she prepared her leap, his gaze took another quick rotation to mark any surrounding tree branches or stony perches as clear. The tall guardian looked proud when she turned around with the freshly caught squirrel. So, she can hunt, and up this high nonetheless… Cloudwhisker’s thoughts traced back to many warriors labeling her as a dim-wit. He didn’t know why he was stuck on remembering what others have said about her in the past but maybe now he’d punch them. They had no idea what Juniperbelly was truly capable of. “Hey, nice catch,” he said with a deep, prideful purr. “Yeah, you’re unfortunately right but it was still fun to add some pressure to the hunt.” He got up and padded towards the squirrel while moving closer to be in front of her.
“How are you feeling so far? We’re pretty high up in the mountains, and the air can get thin-” he asked, taking his alert shifting glances off the trees and settling softly on the tawny markings of her small face. Around them, the mountains stretched into a tapestry of jagged peaks and deep valleys. The scent of scattered pine trees mingled with the sharp scent of such high altitudes, and tended to make cats who did not often frequent these heights feel sick. The wind picked up slightly, and the rustling leaves of nearby ash trees, their red berries adding a splash of color to the otherwise almost monochromatic terrain. He hoped that she was okay to continue, after all he didn’t mind talking to her and her companionship was so pleasant. |
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Jun 6, 2024 19:48:10 GMT -6
#s://live~staticflickr~com/2504/3974396799_cc5af4664d_z~jpg The look on the guardian's face as she turned around with the squirrel was enough to make her want to squeal with joy. It had been so long since anyone had really looked at her in that way, in the way that... he used to.
As he applauded her for her kill, she was relieved as well that he didn't take offense to his offer of settling in his nest. I mean, who wouldn't want to join the handsome, the casanova tom of RidgeClan? It would be ridculous to not even be interested. However, with the freshness of his breakup with his mate, there was no telling what kind of war path that Pigeonscreech would be on toward anyone that looked at Cloudwhisker.
Her face flushed read at his comment about adding pressure to the hunt, as he moved closer to her to eye the squirrel that laid before them. The tom asked how well she was holding up, as his guardian eyes looked for any sign of predators above them. The smell of pine did make her a little sick at first, but the adrenaline of the hunt helped calm her down. Looking at the tom, her eyes shined bright and big. "I feel fine! I'd be okay to hunt one more time. Hopefully, the prey falls into my paws as easy as it did this squirrel!"
The alabaster she-cat moved to pick up the prey, as she looked at him with a cheeky smile. "Let's bury this so that we can grab it on our way down." The she-cat quickly moved to dig a secure place for the squirrel before she scented the air again. There was some sort of prey in the air, but it wasn't strong enough for her to tell what kind of animal it was. However, she had a general direction. "Come on, this way, Cloudwhisker!" she trilled, as she began to start walking again. "So, what were we talking about before the hunt?"
[agility roll: 10 [9 needed for success] |
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