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Post by Wildheart on Jul 15, 2009 6:55:18 GMT -5
Sensing the Greenleaf warmth outside, a big but aging black smoke limped steadily to the entrance of the Mausoleum, where he settled with some difficulty on the step. Fluffing out his thick fur a little, the Crowclan elder sighed in relief. Ah, lovely, relaxing, peace...
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Post by Rei on Jul 18, 2009 7:39:05 GMT -5
Elmshade padded towards the mausoleum, head bowed. Prey was running well in greenleaf, it always did.
Now if only it wasn't so hot.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief as she entered the shade of the mausoleum. There. Much, much better.
Another sigh alerted Elmshade to the presence of another cat. She turned, and brightened slightly as she saw the black elder. Darkfur had a good tales to tell....if he was in a good mood.
"Hello." Elmshade meowed politely. "Anything I can get you?"
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 18, 2009 7:47:20 GMT -5
Darkfur released a low, long, rumbling sound that could have been growl, yawn, purr of some odd combination. His eyes flickered open and he gazed at the younger cat for a moment before recognition flickered. "Elmshade." Rumbled the elder, sounding neither welcoming but decided less grumpy than he could be at times. "I'm fine. Grandson is bringing me something to eat." He grunted, but his ears flicked in thanks.
At that moment the blue and white apprentice approached with a vole between his jaws. He placed it in front of Darkfur with a smile, which he then transferred to Elmshade. "There you go, Grandsire, eat up. Hello Elmshade, have you been hunting?" He meowed politely, settling down in the shade of the tall weeds growing nearby.
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Post by Rei on Jul 18, 2009 8:01:39 GMT -5
"Orchard Grove, where else?" Elmshade studied the apprentice intently. It was hard to believe a mere few moons ago she had still been training under another cat.
"It's much too hot to go exploring." She commented. "It seems like even the prey's feeling the heat. They move around much less slowly than usual." Oh yes, Elmshade had brought back prey, and plenty of it.
"What about you? How's your training going?" It was always good to know more about others. One never knew when that knowledge might come in handy.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 18, 2009 8:07:56 GMT -5
Twilightpaw nodded eagerly. "Duskcreeper took me there yesterday." Though he was a calm cat by nature, the young tom's eyes shone with excitement. He was a new apprentice and still very much proud to be undertaking training for his clan. He cast a sly glance at Darkfur, who seemed motionless though his eyes remained open. It was the perfect weather for a story, and he had a sudden idea. He winked at Elmshade, hoping she'd play along with him and that his grandfather would rise to the bait.
"Hey, Elmshade, speaking of the Orchard, were you in camp yesterday morning when Whisperpaw was chatting about the fire in the grove that happened all those seasons ago? I didn't quite hear what she was saying about it."
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Post by Rei on Jul 18, 2009 8:17:16 GMT -5
"Glad to know your training is coming along well." Elmshade meowed seriously, wondering what that wink was all about. The tom couldn't be....flirting, could he?
She darted a quick look at Darkfur, and turned back to Twilightpaw just as quickly. Elmshade was pretty sure she was in camp, but she was definitely away from the apprentices. Sure, it might be interesting to listen in on to them at times, but mostly they just nattered away about nothing.
"No, sorry, I don't seem to have heard." Well, there wasn't a need to tell Twilightpaw why she hadn't heard, after all. "I'd be interested to know about it though. Maybe we can find Whisperpaw later?"
That much was true, at least. Elmshade liked to hear old stories, even if she had to stoop to asking apprentices about them. Ah well.
She snuck another look at Darkfur. If the elder knew, then she wouldn't need to go find Whisperpaw. Anyway, the version Darkfur told would probably be closer to the truth...
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 18, 2009 8:27:27 GMT -5
"Oh, well, Whisperpaw didn't seem to know much about it, anyway." Twilightpaw sighed, chest heaving as he did as if he were disappointed.
Darkfur grunted as he sat up and pulled the vole he'd been brought closer to him. "Why should she? She wasn't even born." He grumbled, digging into the vole. Twilightpaw held his breath for a moment, hoping they would get a story out of Darkfur today.
"I was only a seasons out my apprenticeship." Darkfur recalled, between bites, using his paws to hold down the prey as he nipped at it with teeth much blunter than they once were.
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Post by Rei on Jul 18, 2009 8:42:46 GMT -5
Elmshade was about to voice her disappointment when Darkfur cut in. She blinked, holding her breath, fervently hoping for the tale.
Ah, yes, there they go. Elmshade tried to contain her excitement, and instead nodded politely.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 18, 2009 9:01:24 GMT -5
Darkfur continued to speak between mouthfuls of vole meat. "I was in the mausoleum with my brother when Yellowtail ran in, and starting yowling at the top of his voice. 'Fire, the Orchard Grove! Every cat come quickly, there's apprentices trapped in the trees!' It was the worst possible time, of course. The fire had sprung up during a training session of several apprentices, and two had climbed trees when it struck. I ran beside Shadowwhisker, my brother, towards the sharp scent and the heat of the fire. It had raced through the long grass growing throughout the orchard, though it hadn't made it to the trees yet. The two apprentices were barely seven moons and stuck in the tall apple tree."
He broke off suddenly to hack violently. Twilightpaw's eyes widened. "Grandsire! Are you all right?"
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Post by Rei on Jul 18, 2009 9:41:42 GMT -5
Elmshade was just getting settled when Darkfur suddenly started his violent, hacking cough. Elmshade sprang to her paws, concern apparent in her eyes. "Darkfur! Do you need me to get anything?"
Seems like the story would have to wait.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 18, 2009 9:56:01 GMT -5
Darkfur coughed up a small patch of vole fur. Impatiently, the old tom flicked it away crudely with his paw. "For Starclan's sake, could both of you relax?" He grumbled, voice sounding normal. "Just a furball, nothing more."
Twilightpaw breathed a sigh of relief, though he kept it quiet. He really cared about his grandfather, grumpy though he might be. He couldn't imagine the clan being without the elder he cared so much about.
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Post by Rei on Jul 18, 2009 10:00:54 GMT -5
"A-ah, well." Elmshade sat back, licking the ruffled fur on her chest to cover up her embarassment. At least nothing was wrong, but she still kept a wary eye on Darkfur.
"So....what happened next?" She prompted.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 19, 2009 2:58:36 GMT -5
Twilightpaw watched the older tom too with care and worry in his eyes until Darkfur resumed his storytelling. "Where was I? Oh, the two apprentices were completely trapped, the fire surrounding their tree. So of course they were left with no option but to jump. They broke three legs between them and were in the warrior den for moons, but they recovered. Luckily rain put out the fire before it burned down the whole grove."
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Post by Rei on Jul 19, 2009 3:09:43 GMT -5
"Ah..." Elmshade watched Darkfur with wide, curious eyes. Must have been painful for those apprentices.
"So....do you have any more stories? Maybe about the crows?" Elmshade tried not to sound too eager.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 19, 2009 3:20:21 GMT -5
Darkfur grunted, licking his lips. "You young cats, never satisfied with one..." He grumbled, but it appeared he was in quite a good mood today - for him - and stretched out, getting comfortable a he began another tale.
"One Leaf-fall when the days were short and the nights cold, my brother got separated form his mentor. He had been on a city assessment, watching how well he navigated in the buildings when on his own. He took a wrong turn and wound up in a part of the city he didn't know. He wandered most of the night, simply growing more and more lost. Then all of sudden he heard a caw. It was a crow, though he knew not if it was of the Crowclan flock. The bird cawed again and swooped low over my brother's head. Then it winged along, keeping low so it could be seen. It led my brother safely back to camp - but once on the border of the cemetery, it disappeared completely. Or so my brother swore."
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Post by Rei on Jul 19, 2009 4:21:03 GMT -5
Elmshade nodded thoughtfully. "Did you ever discover why the crow helped him, even though it wasn't from Crowclan's flock?" She asked. This was strange. Although CrowClan didn't hunt birds most of the time, only the crows allied with them had ever gotten close to Elmshade.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 20, 2009 3:25:12 GMT -5
"We didn't." Admitted Darkfur, Twilightpaw paying close attention. "My brother didn't get a close look at it, and one crow looks much like the the next." The elder continued. Twilightpaw, who was an avid listener and sat perfectly still while the story was being told, ventured a question. "Did your brother ever get lost again?"
Darkfur shook his head. "He was quite shaken, and because he got lost he failed the assessment, and tried to learn his way around better after that."
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Post by Rei on Jul 20, 2009 10:25:57 GMT -5
"The crows are quite secretive...." Elmshade mused to herself, tail waving lazily from side to side. "I wish I knew more about them."
Well, Darkfur probably knew that already, considering the times she had badgered him to tell her stories during the course of her life.
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Post by Wildheart on Jul 21, 2009 3:19:38 GMT -5
Darkfur was rapidly tiring of the conversation. The warm sun was making him drowsy, and his yellow eyes blinked slowly several times. "Mmm." He grunted non-committaledly.
Twilightpaw stretched and turned hopeful gaze on Elmshade. "Hey Elmshade, were you heading back to the Orchard Grove today?" He asked her, eying his half-asleep grandfather as he spoke.
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Post by Rei on Jul 24, 2009 7:43:09 GMT -5
Elmshade eyed Darkfur thoughtfully, but turned her attention back to Twilightpaw anyway. "Hn, maybe." She meowed vaguely. "I was just out hunting for a bit. Was planning to catch some rest here. The Clan has plenty of fresh-kill already. No use catching too much. It'd just rot anyway." Elmshade never did get why some cats insisted on hunting all day until they had more fresh-kill than the Clan could eat. What a waste.
"Maybe I'll head out later again." When it's nightfall and not so hot.
At times like these, Elmshade really envied TunnelClan.
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