{Re: come && find me

[S!LVER {not posting for now}]

Solareclipse crept through the thorn barrier that guarded ThunderClan's entrance with memory-guided paws. A few thorns tugged gently at his calico pelt as he emerged eagerly into the camp. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he could see Rifle's calculating gaze as he still stood just outside the entrance. He seemed to be thinking of something, or someone. The warrior felt a pang of sympathy for the soon-to-be Clan cat when his tail drooped and a sad look overcame his eyes. He opened his mouth to say a few comforting words, but as he did a smell hit his jaws just before it hit Rifle in his legs. Solareclipse's eyes widened at the scent of a kit- where had she come from? The warrior opened his jaws again to catch all the other scents around the three cats. Was there any other cats hiding in the forest, waiting to attack?! But a reasonable voice inside him told him that no cats leading an attack would bring a kit- besides, she had the scent of the woods and berries on her pelt... A curious thing indeed.
The tom made his way back out of the gorse tunnel too quickly, his pelt getting snagged this time by the prickly protection around it. Ignoring the pain of the scratches was easy- he'd endured much worse without wincing before. The warrior scruntinized the little white kit with her black and ginger spots. She actually looked a bit like Rifle. And when she looked up at Rifle with her pale blue eyes filled with admiration, he realized she must be his daughter! Solareclipse shifted his gaze sharply to Rifle. Had he planned on leaving his kit behind? But the look in Rifle's eyes was bewildered, almost painful. And then, as if he scented something, Rifle looked up into the sky. Solareclipse looked up, too, and saw Brinesight. He let out a joyous cry at the sight of his mother, and deeply inhaled her motherly scent that wrapped itself around him. She had stars incrusted in her pelt, like the last time he'd seen her, reminding him that she was a StarClan warrior now and she would never rejoin ThunderClan as a solid form. He felt her cool breath against his face, making his pale emerald eyes water a little bit as it mingled with his warm body. He was too happy to speak, fearing it would shatter the moment. So his mother spoke first.
Dearest Solareclipse, she mewed. The warrior's ears pricked up. For some reason, whenever his mother said his name it sounded way cooler than when any other cat said it. The cat before you, the loner Rifle and his kit, Twig, need the Clan. Remove your dobouts and rekindle your faith in you leader- Froststar will accept Rifle without many complications. There was a slight glint in his mother's eyes as she said this, as if she didn't know if it were true or not. A slight feeling of unease overcame the warrior, but he reassured himself with memories of his mother's honesty and the clear tone in her voice as she continued. (Privatley, he hoped his definition of 'without many' and his mother's were relativley similar.) Please keep in mind that, according to the Warrior Code, a cat can't ignore a kit in need of help. Twig is the perfect opportunity to remind your Clanmates of this. Solareclipse nodded in understanding. His mother sighed, leaving little snowflakes in his whiskers. You've done good, my son. Work hard and look out for your sister at Gatherings... You never know when you might see her there. Solareclipse blinked, and when he opened his eyes his mother was gone.
The warrior looked at Rifle, wondering if he'd seen Brinesight as well or a different cat. He wasn't about to ask the tom, though- if he had seen Solareclipse's mother, he would say something. If he hadn't, he'd probably make no comment. The calico warrior pricked his ears as the loner spoke. I am ready to become a Clan cat, and my little kit is, too. The warrior smiled broadly at his friend's confident statement. Well, than, he meowed. We'll just go to the Leader's Den and have a chit-cat with Froststar, and you'll be a Clan cat! He was about to add "Welcome to the family!" but he decided against it- he'd save that for later.
Solareclipse padded a third time through the tunnel, this time getting through completley unscathed. The tom had an uplifted heart, glad that he was able to see his mother twice in one day. He could almost see Berryfrost climbing out of the warrior's den to greet her brother with her shocking purple eyes. Almost. But she wasn't there and probably never would be- she was only loyal now to ShadowClan. Solareclipse could feel a dark mood tugging at his bouyancy, but he wiped it away forcefully, trying to keep his mind on what was, not what could be. He'd gotten good at that since Berryfrost had left on the day of their apprenticeship, the day that was supposed to be one of their happiest days. But it hadn't been happy at all, for him or her. He'd had to move into the apprentice den without someone to share his excitement, had to sit alone for vigil when he was named a warrior. And all that time in between he missed her fiercely, longed for her most when Brinesight died.
But he wouldn't think of that.
He couldn't think of that.
He had a job to do.
Solareclipse walked across the clearing towords the Leader's Den, and stopped when he was just outside. The tom glulped. He had half a mind to ask Rifle to groom Twig, but he thought that it might help the sympathy his leader felt for the kit and her father. A voice echoed in his head... ...rekindle your faith in your leader- Froststar will accept Rifle without any complications... But as the tom remembered his mother's words, he remembered the unsure glint in her eyes. It filled him with uneasiness as he stood outside his leader's den. I've got to be brave, he told himself fiercely. What will it look like to Rifle and Twig if I'm afraid to speak with my own leader? With his firm, green gaze locked on the entrance to his leader's den, he called out Froststar, it's Solareclipse. I need to see you right away- may we enter your den? The tom hoped she'd catch onto the plural at the end, that she wouldn't be buisy and would be able to speak with them. If she couldn't, what was he going to do with Rifle and Twig? Get them fed, of course, he told himself logically. Nodding to himself, Solareclipse sat outside his leader's den with his tail curled around his front paws and threw a supportive glance over his shoulder at Rifle and Twig.

[ogrins]

RIFLE
The tom sighed as Starbreath left him, the mist's curling tendrils drifting away. Solereclipse had darted into camp, perhaps to check something. Rifle's bright green eyes drifted down to his kit, and he bent down to give her a lick. As he nuzzled his daughter, he whispered gently in her ear. "Don't worry, little Twig. You will never be alone again." The little white kit seemed lost for words, but nodded. Rifle flicked his tail gently, indecating for Twig to follow him, and looked up again to see where Solereclipse had gone off to. He was back, watching the two of them casually.
Well, than. We'll just go to the Leader's Den and have a chit-cat with Froststar, and you'll be a Clan cat!
Rifle smiled. Finally, he would have a family for both he and his kit. They would be well-protected and fed, and they would have the support of everyone else in the clan. It might take time, but Rifle knew that Twig needed this even more that he did. He was determined to make this clan-thing work. And Starbreath had confirmed that he must become a Thunderclan cat too.
Something about Starbreath was ageless... like, pure wisdom from years of experience. Rifle stood up and walked oward the bramble barrier that Solereclipse had passed through three times already. He glanced behind himself to see Twig following closely behind, and felt a pang of pride. She seemed so alike to him already. And yet she still had that stubborn sense, from her mother. rifle looked up and found himself in a camp, with dens made of weaved brambles and other things. In the clearing was a pile of prey, and a few cats were picking up or dropping off pieces. Some of them looked up and saw Rifle and Twig. One looked completely bewildered at this sight, but the others jsut watched calmly, their eyes narrowed in thought. Rifle ignored them and glanced back at Twig, who was following him steadily, every couple of moments sweeping her sploted head aroudn to get a good view of everything. Rifle smiled and followed Solereclipse up a rock that led to a cave-like den, with a barrier of hanging plants, like at the enterance. Rifle sat down gently and wrapped Twig close to his paws, for the little she-kit was already started to chase off pebbles and play as though she wasn't tired at all.

TWIG
Little Twig felt the presence of mist and heard lullings in her ears. She couldn't see her daddy anymore, but she knew he was there. She hadn't moved. The whispers called gently to her, repeating words over and over. Apprentice, Clan, Starclan, Thunderclan, Fresh-kill, Gatherings, Apprentice, Windclan, Shadowclan, Thunderclan, Riverclan... She had no idea what the words meant, but felt comforted by them. She knew that as long as she stayed with daddy, she would be fine. After all, that's what her mother had said. Twig looked up and found herself looking at Rifle again, his long tounge rasping over her forehead and ears, licking them gently. The mist had cleared away and Twig saw another tom, a grand one, bounding through a barrier of plants with thorns and talking to Rifle. She didn't hear exactly what he said, but it didn't matter. Rifle had crooned to her.
"Don't worry, little Twig. You will never be alone again."
She smiled and bounded after him, his tail flicking gently. It looked like fun to bounce on, but suddenly weariness filled her paws, and she padded along behind quietly. As she passed through the barrier, she came into a wide clearing with little dens around. In the center of the camp was a pile of prey, much bigger than the tiny morsels that her mother had brought into Twig's birthden to feed herself. Twig suddenly wanted to try one, but then she noticed the other cats seated around the pile, dropping off food or biting into their own morsels. So we all share here? Good! I won't go hungry again... Twig remembered the times she couldn't find any berries to munch on, so had to try other things. She much preferred berries, but she had never tasted meat yet. Perhaps it would taste better...But she made no move to eat their prey. Something about hte uneasy gaze in their eyes kept her closer to her father. He had accepted her without any questions, just like mother had said. She was suddenly climbing up a slope and stopping outside a den-like cave... Twig nearly wanted to fall asleep, but there was too many things to look at now! She kicked at a couple rocks and bounded toward the edge of the rock, looking down. It gave a nice veiw of the whole camp, and the white kit looked at the other cats as they whispered and muttered to themselves.

[S!LVER {not posting for now}]

OOC:

Hey, Ogrins, I really do want to reply, but we have to wait for Frosty to reply with Froststar first... You know what I mean? If we kept posting about how we were waiting for Froststar, it would get maybe a tad... Redundant? ;3 So, we just have to wait.
Sorry!

[froststar]

[Oh gawd, i'm so sorry guys. There's been some really important tests at school and I didn't have time to say bye...Sowwy ):]

Pale blue eyes blinked in the darkness. The only light came from a shaft at the entrance of her den. Froststar shifted over onto the other side of her flank. Hunting had worn her out, she had caught quite a bundle, and eaten when she had gotten back. It had been gorgeous in the forest - the sun filtering through the trees, a bright spark. The trees had turned a beautiful jade in the sun.
She was disturbed from her daydream when she heard a soft mew from outside.

"Froststar, it's Solareclipse. I need to see you right away- may we enter your den?"

The lean grey-white she-cat got to her paws and mewed, "Yes, of course, Solareclipse. Come in."
She could smell two other cats with him, and their scent was... not ThunderClan. Nothing that she knew of. Who was this that Solareclipse had brought to their clan? Her eyes were full of curiousity as she waited for him and the two stranger cats to enter. She flicked one ear to listen out for their arrival, her long, graceful tail curled around her front paws.

[S!LVER {not posting for now}]

Solareclipse's ears swiveled as he caught the lightly breathed words of comfort from father to daughter: Don't worry, little Twig. You will never be alone again. His fur prickled with embarrassment and he felt like he shouldn't be there, interrupting the moment between Rifle and Twig. His pale green eyes focused on something in the distance in the other direction as he thought about other things, trying to give as much privacy as the two cats by his side could get. He thought about Rifle's words, 'you will never be alone again.' It was a gift and a curse of being a Clan cat. Sometimes Solareclipse would give anything for a moment to himself without the scents of the Clan around him, or to be able to go to his sister without getting in huuuuge trouble. Glancing at the young kit and her father, feeling the instant love and connection between the two, he silently asked StarClan to never let what happened with him and his sister to happen to the two by his side. They deserved to have only good things happen to them, because it sounded like Rifle had had an incredibly rough life already. His mate was nowhere to be found but at least he could be with the adorable little Twig. Solareclipse was happy for the them, he really was, but he envied them. Before he could get it in his head that the warrior code could be tossed aside for a night so he could meet his sister, he licked a paw and ran it over his ear. What was taking Froststar so long? It wasn't like it was really late at night or anything. Shouldn't she know that he didn't do well when he was left alone with his thoughts? What was so hard about-
Yes, of course, Solareclipse. Come in. He almost jumped out of his skin, not expecting to be interrupted in his thoughts like that. He cleared his throat with dignity and looked back at Twig and Rifle.
Doing a quick one-over, he mewed around his tongue Alright, guys, let's go see Froststar.
With what he hoped was a graceful, dignified walk, he stepped into Froststar's den. It was dimly lit, what with him blocking whatever light that usually came into the den from the entrance, so the first thing his green eyes trained on was the icy blue eyes of his leader. He blinked once, the only sign that he was taken aback, and continued into Froststar's den. Solareclipse sat down and curled his tail around his front paws, his eyes alight with determination as he met his leader's eyes. The tom cleared his throat and spoke. Good day, Froststar, he murmured, dipping his head in respect before continuing. He took a moment to think about what he would say to his leader, how to put "I found Rifle and Twig all alone so can they maybe join ThunderClan?" less bluntly, and more respectfully. A little less cut-to-the-chase-ish. He closed his pale green eyes briefly and sighed. There are two cats here who would like to meet you, Solareclipse meowed, locking his intoxicating eyes on Froststar's once more. They are from outside the Clan, and they would like to join. They're all on their lonesome, he added, and one is a kit. And the warrior code says we always have to help a kit in need, he thought silently. But he figured that Froststar would already know this and him telling her wouldn't be necessary.

OOC: Ah, shmee. I'm done the post. Blahhh