|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Jul 19, 2011 23:33:17 GMT -5
sunset on the Willow River was a visual treat that Smokingleaf had treated herself to many times in her life. as an apprentice, it comforted her when she began to feel lonely or pressured by her mentor. as a new warrior, it helped numb the pain of her father's death.
now, as a calm MistClan warrior, she merely used the view to ease the stress of Clan life off of her shoulders. she rarely visited the river anymore unless it was part of her border patrols, as leisure time was rarely exercised anymore. busy is as busy does, she always thought.
but... tonight... there was an orange sheen over the clear (albeit lowered) surface of the river. birds were taking wing, sending droplets of flame-colored water onto her gray tabby fur. she watched the sunset on the river with calm, somewhat-blending amber eyes. inside, her heart sang.
life seemed so good -- greenleaf had been hot and dry, but life was still good. especially for Smokingleaf, whose early-life-sufferings had prepared her for a much harder future.
but she wasn't an optimist.
not by a long shot.
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Jul 19, 2011 23:53:08 GMT -5
Graystorm left the camp at a leisurely pace today. He had offered him self for a patrol around dusk but he was not needed today. Apparently a lot of warriors wanted to go out on this beautiful night. Even though he wasn't needed for a patrol Graystorm decided that it was too nice to retire for the night. He headed out, feeling slightly down that he wasn't needed. It was suspicious that more and more cats were telling him that they didn't need him on a patrol or hunting party. Was he really that annoying to have around. They seemed to dislike his quiet nature and irritable responses.
It was bound to happen. They had tolerated his attitude after his sister's death... but now they ignored him whenever possible. He had even heard some of them comment on how he should have gotten over it by now. He had gotten over it, but his quiet nature and refusal to talk to others made it seem that he was still... depressed. With a sigh, he walked towards willow river. There was something about watching the sunset from this place that made him relax and ignore all worries.
Graystorm was looking forward to sitting by the river alone. He might even catch a fish or two. Graystorm walked to the river but tensed when he arrived. There was another cat there. Graystorm was relieved to see that it was only Smokingleaf. That was okay, she wasn't a cat to get overly chatty or ignore him like he had greencough.
He padded towards her and sat several fox lengths away and stared at the orange sky. It was so... beautiful tonight. He looked sideways at Smokingleaf with his yellow eyes and wondered what she was thinking.
|
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Jul 20, 2011 19:29:54 GMT -5
trying to hide her curiosity, Smokingleaf glanced over as a tom lumbered towards her. well, not towards her, necessarily. he clearly wanted to enjoy his patrol-less evening as well. and what a beautiful sunset across the river it was. she could hardly fault him -- she was doing more of the same, after all.
stretching her back limbs, she briefly closed her arms. even her thin eyelids glowed orange -- and she was seeing sunspots with her eyes closed.
she knew Graystorm was not a chatty tomcat. few toms were, but there were some. Smokingleaf wasn't a chatty she-cat, either. she didn't want to leave a complete silence between the two, although they were experiencing serenity on different planes.
"I wonder why you and I didn't get assigned to evening patrols," she meowed. she really did wonder that.
small-talk wasn't really her thing.
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Jul 21, 2011 11:13:34 GMT -5
Graystorm blinked his wide yellow eyes as Smokingleaf began to speak. He tilted his head to the side as he considered her question. "Yes..." He murmured, "I wonder..." Graystorm was about to leave it at that... but then he felt like he should have atleast one friend within MistClan. He closed his eyes and gave a slight sigh before speaking again. This time pretending that his sister was standing there too. He had always spoke better when his sister was around. Maybe she was watching from StarClan now... Silverpaw
Graystorm rolled onto his back and lay there thinking for a moment before saying quite bluntly, "They don't like me that much." He turned his gaze back to her. "But they probably just thought you deserved a break, no one in the clan could possibly hate you. You're too kind." He tried to end this with laughter but it just turned out awkward so he stopped. What he had just said was probably true, no need to joke around about it.
|
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Jul 21, 2011 17:30:09 GMT -5
the tom rolled over on his back, eyes on the sky. he seemed lost in thought -- or was he? Smokingleaf trained her strange amber eyes on him, running her tail through the short grasses on the bank of the river.
"They don't like me that much." she blinked -- not in shock at the news, but surprised that he would admit that to her. he went on. "But they probably just thought that you deserved a break; no one in the Clan could possibly hate you. You're too kind."
she kept her silence for a moment. idly, she dipped a paw into the orange waters, almost expecting to pull it up and be gold-footed. as it was, reality was much more boring. she was left with a single soaked paw, stained a darker gray than the rest of her fur.
thoughtfully, she nodded. "Oh, yes, I'm sure the Clan's all just dying to have me around. Hell, they probably want me on a pedestal." as she spoke, she allowed a purr of self-amusement rumble under her words. "And you, you silly outcast; why do you even bother coming into camp anymore?" she held a dry tone, then stood up, shaking her wet paw loosely.
"I don't know why you have this notion that the Clan doesn't like you. Should I ask, or will you willingly tell me?" she fixed her strange amber eyes on him, the sunset flashing within them instead of outside of them. instead, the surface of her gaze swam with the gentle ripple of the water.
all throughout this, her voice was kind. it rose higher here -- she was asking a question, after all -- but she didn't lose her sweet facade. was it a facade? she wasn't sure. she was truly curious -- she didn't know much about Graystorm, after all.
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Jul 21, 2011 18:04:48 GMT -5
Graystorm blinked at her blunt words. 'I don't know why you have this notion that the Clan doesn't like you. Should I ask, or will you willingly tell me?'
"If you have failed to notice, I am one of the most anti-social cats around." He drawled. "And sometimes my temper gets the better of me." He let his gaze travel towards her wet paw, wondering why she had dipped it into the river. "Cats of all clans tend to avoid me because of this. I've heard them complain about me once or twice when they thought I wasn't around."
He rolled over onto his stomach again and also dipped the tip of his paw into the rolling river. It created slight ripples cascading out from where is paw had touched. Soon though, those ripples were lost by the rushing water.
"Not all cats avoid me, surprisingly." He mused, thinking of both her, Smokingleaf, and Whirlpool of FireClan. "Just most of them." He purred. He had accepted that he was anti-social long ago, and even before that he had accepted that cats didn't enjoy the one-sided conversations they often had because of him.
"They don't hate me..." He mewed. "I'm just hard to be around sometimes."
|
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Jul 21, 2011 18:28:55 GMT -5
"If you have failed to notice, I am one of the most anti-social cats around." pause. "And sometimes my temper gets the better of me."
she thought a moment. did he really? there were quite a few cats in MistClan with tempers; it was a proud Clan. but... perhaps she had heard something about it.
he continued. she was pleasantly surprised to see Graystorm delicately dunk one of his forepaws into the water. his expression didn't change much, as his voice rushed over her like a weakly flowing creek.
"Cats of all clans tend to avoid me because of this. I've heard them complain about me once or twice when they thought I wasn't around."
she savored his words, running her mind over them as she would her tongue over a small, sodden piece of fresh-kill. she let her eyes leave his face, wandering over the river as she spoke.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not all that... observant... of what who thinks of who. Cats are judgmental. And, hey, who's perfect?" she flicked her tail good-naturedly.
she continued to listen, rolling onto her back as he had. the small blades of grass felt good, but she wasn't completely comfortable with her belly exposed. still, she held the position.
"I don't find you all that hard to be around, to be honest," she spoke. "And, hey, I can get along with cats, but I don't make it my prerogative, either!"
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Jul 22, 2011 20:59:09 GMT -5
'I don't find you all that hard to be around, to be honest,' Graystorm blinked in shock. Maybe it was because the she-cat was able to get along with almost any cat. Graystorm stood up and walked closer to Smokingleaf, a little mesmerized that she didn't find him hard to be around. Ever since Silverpaw's death cats had avoided him like green-cough. Few had made the effort, wasted, to talk to him. Graystorm liked the way that he was able to talk to Smokingleaf easily.
"So," He mewed awkwardly and stuggled to find the right words. "What are you doing out of camp at this time?"
|
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Jul 23, 2011 9:55:00 GMT -5
she rolled over onto her flank as Graystorm stood and padded a bit closer to her. she couldn't help but flick an ear, partially in surprise and partially because she was somewhat, oddly pleased.
"So, what are you doing out of camp at this time?" he found his words, and Smokingleaf was glad he had. but she didn't quite know how to answer him.
"I, ah, I needed to clear my head." she gave a guarded answer. "I used to come here often, as an apprentice."
she flicked her eyes back to the water. the sky was losing its fire, and the water became flat again. this was usually when she felt like mourning the most, but she didn't reveal anything but through eyes that clouded.
"What about you, Graystorm?" she shook her head, clearing her mind. "Why is it cats step lightly around you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Jul 26, 2011 0:28:51 GMT -5
The gray tom accepted Smokingleaf's guarded look as he asked her why she was out at this time. Some secrets were better left alone.
Graystorm blinked at the pretty she-cat. "I think... its my fault. Ever since Silverpaw... died. I avoided everyone, and I think they just got used to leaving me alone." He watched her with interest, wishing he could hear what she was thinking. He couldn't deny, she was a very pretty cat. Her silver like gray fur was long and swaying in the wind and her eyes seemed to sparkle with the reflection of the water. Graystorm started, did he actually think that? He was never one to find other cat's pretty, it never happened.
((Holy CRAP, so sorry for the SUPER crappy post Dx I promise I'll do a better one next)) |
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Jul 28, 2011 11:24:47 GMT -5
ooc; No worries, Feather. x3 the sky was cooling. Smokingleaf felt a faint, nostalgic sadness at the flattening dark. she listened to Graystorm calmly, but her aloof persona slowly melded into a concerned one. she felt no pity for Graystorm -- he was a handsome cat, and an intelligent warrior; he drew no pity from her.
"I think... its my fault. Ever since Silverpaw... died. I avoided everyone, and I think they just got used to leaving me alone."
she blinked slowly, then sighed quietly. Ah. Silverpaw.
"I know that death can make a shell out of you," she meowed absently. she twirled an idle paw in the blackening water again, but its coolness didn't help her racing mind.
"But there's an important lesson in it somewhere. Not that I think StarClan means for cats to die; they don't control falling leaves or rippling water." she withdrew her paw, sitting up. "They just want us to take what we can from our fallen friends and family, I think. Memories, lessons, teachings... you name it."
she wasn't sure if she believed what she was hearing or not. if any cat had told her she would be having this strange conversation -- personal -- with Graystorm, the lonely, hard-assed cat she'd always somewhat been interested in -- she would have laughed hilariously.
now she wasn't sure. she only glanced at him, amber eyes glinting, wondering what he was thinking.
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Jul 28, 2011 19:25:59 GMT -5
Graystorm blinked in surprise at her words, they were comforting in a way. He watched in silence as she rambled on about StarClan. He didn't know what to believe when it came to StarClan. He didn't worship them like some cats did, but he did believe that they were there. Smokingleaf's description matched his own thoughts amazingly well.
"True..." He meowed. Graystorm looked back at the running river, its water was splashing up onto the bank creating a slight mist that kept him cool. Earlier he would have been relieved by the mist, but the air was getting cooler and it would soon be dark. Graystorm stood and brushed the moisture off his fur and moved so the mist was no longer touching him. In doing this, Graystorm moved closer to Smokingleaf where the water wasn't moving quite as fast. There were also no protruding rocks to cause water to splash in many directions.
"I understand what you mean, that maybe StarClan couldn't control what happened to Silverpaw. But it still..." Graystorm trailed off, keeping the last thought to himself. It still hurts, despite him accepting that she had joined StarClan, despite all the time he had spent without her now. Despite the fact he was over grieving for her death, it still hurt to think that she would have been a great MistClan warrior if alive now.
|
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Aug 1, 2011 17:55:32 GMT -5
she listened and nodded. he didn't seem to be able to voice his pain, but she knew that despite her meaningless, hollow, rehearsed words about StarClan, Graystorm would feel as he had felt. "Of course it still hurts," she muttered. she suddenly felt foolish. who did she think she was, giving a grown warrior a lecture about StarClan?
"Sorry. I don't know why--" she stopped, feeling somewhat better about her folly as Graystorm moved closer to her. Smokingleaf sighed. "--it's not like I don't know how you feel. But, I don't know. I suck at comforting people. And you've probably had plenty of awkward half-hearted comforting." she chuckled lowly.
she noticed, too, the fine mist that spritzed the part of her tail that had lain where Graystorm was. she absentmindedly tucked it closer to her paws; nighttime and mist and stars were part of Smokingleaf's average day-to-day routine, but... Graystorm was not. and she felt like she was being stupid and generic now. why bother? he'd heard it all. his sister's death was a tragedy, and there was no sugarcoating it.
|
|
|
|
Post by F E A T H E R on Aug 3, 2011 19:18:48 GMT -5
Graystorm let out a laugh. "Oh yes, I've had plenty of awkward conversations about Silverpaw." He mewed. "But yours wasn't too bad." He teased.
Graystorm stared out at the rushing river, its swirling depths entrancing him. Graystorm then turned his eyes towards Smokingleaf and purred softly. "Thank you for talking to me Smokingleaf. I'm really glad you did because lately..." He trailed off, not even believing that he was talking this much in the first place. What had gotten into him? Finally Graystorm finished his sentence, knowing he couldn't leave the pretty warrior on those words. "...lonely"
|
|
|
|
Post by -- Desolation. on Aug 4, 2011 19:01:07 GMT -5
she was somewhat stunned. their conversation was almost too predictable, too perfect. and... too spot on. eerily so. when he trailed off, she flicked her ears, knowing already what he was going to finish with.
"Lonely."
how did Smokingleaf know? well, she only knew because it was the same word that bounced off of the walls of the warriors' den, the same words that fell from the mouth of her glaring reflection, the same phrase that had lately become her mantra.
she looked into his eyes, satisfied that he'd confessed that to her. that had to be a start... although she wasn't sure to what.
"It's no problem, Graystorm. And... hell, I don't get to talk to many cats. Too bright and chipper for me." she flicked the tip of her tail, then rested it on his gray flank. "Anyways, I know what it's like to be lonely in your own Clan."
|
|
