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Post by Jekyll on Apr 14, 2018 11:50:15 GMT -5
Pepper's sleep was fit full. Since her mother's death she had had nightmares and now was no different. She was running across a barren landscape, her mother in the distance with a large dog over her. Pepper was trying to reach her in hopes of saving her but her body gave out and she collapsed. She then watched as her mother was killed and she was too weak to even get up to help her.
Pepper woke up with a yowl. She looked around and realized she must have been scratching at her nest for it was now in shreds. She took deep breaths, willing her heart to calm down and her fur to lay down. Looking around her den she could make out the hollow on the other side where her mother's nest had once been.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 7:08:34 GMT -5
As he dozed, his mind wandered to various other worries he had. Talking to Vixensong about the den and the sick cat, to their leader's old age and diminishing memory, to...various other things. There were plenty of things on his mind, he supposed; this was the least of his problems, though it certainly managed to be a frustrating one to deal with. Unfortunately, it seemed his peaceful doze would be awakened by a yowl, and he startled awake.
It took him a moment to get his bearings, but once he had, he sat up and shook himself off. By now, some of the snow had melted and patches of the grey ground were visible, but the grey sky above promised more snow later in the day. Redfeather snorted softly and shook his head, before his gaze flicked to the gorse bush.
From the noise alone, he could assume that Pepper would be awake. That meant that they would be moving soon, with any luck. Once he'd blinked himself a little more awake, he stood up and arched his back into a stretch. Something clicked and he felt significantly better for it, rolling his shoulders before he sat down again, tail absently moving back and forth.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 8:28:58 GMT -5
Pepper sat in her den feeling awful. The fitful sleep had done nothing for her and her fever was still present. She then remembered RedFeather and sighed. I'll just act like I'm feeling better. I can't back out of our agreement. She stood and stretched before gazing around her den once more. Seeing her mothers old hollow she padded over and sat beside it, trying to imagine her mother sleeping inside it. Her black fur moving up and down as she breathed in and out steadily. Pepper smiled at the memory before standing and padding over to the entrance of her den. Turning back once more to look at the hollow the words she would say next caught in her throat. "Goodbye... mother."
With that she made her way through the entrance of her den and scrambled out from under the gorse bush. When she saw RedFeather she put on a false air. She acted like she was just fine and did her best to keep her legs underneath her. "Hello RedFeather. I guess you wish to leave now."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 9:20:53 GMT -5
His ears twitched as he waited, eyes narrowing. When the loner finally emerged, he rose to his paws and shook out his fur. Against the primarily white background, he was an easily-missed cat. It would've been ideal to hunt in, had there actually been any prey around. But that wasn't the issue at paw, and so he refocused his attention to Pepper and snorted quietly, shaking one forepaw free of the snow.
"Yes," he said bluntly, beginning to pad towards the border. "Come on. It's not far."
Once she was over the border, she would be out of his fur. Redfeather could then go back to camp and report what he'd found (and had gotten rid of). It was a good plan. He'd rested by now, so he expected that he'd end up on a patrol later. He kept a relatively slow pace so that she wouldn't fall behind, keeping an eye out for any potential prey for him to take back to the Clan.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 9:25:01 GMT -5
Pepper nodded and followed the tom. She stumbled now and then but righted herself quickly, trying to cover the fact that she wasn't any better than before she had rested. She kept her ears perked for any sounds of something close by but she was looking down at her paws, making sure she didn't trip over anything. She flicked her ears before taking a deep breath. "Thank you again. For not leaving me for dead back there. I know I'm weak and so I'm a burden and I always felt bad because of it."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 9:41:06 GMT -5
Though he heard the other cat stumble, he didn't stop. As he'd said; the border wasn't that far, and if she couldn't even travel short distances, well. He didn't know how she'd survived without her mother. DuskClan couldn't afford to feed a useless mouth nor could they afford to spare herbs on a cat who was likely to die anyway; it was easier to get her somewhere where she might be able to provide for herself while also ensuring that she didn't take any prey from the Clan.
"Right," he didn't disagree with her. If anything, he agreed; she was weak and a burden. She was the sort of kit who would've been taken to the Medicine Cat den to pass peacefully. It was easier to give them a peaceful way out than to force them to suffer. There was a sort of cruelty about keeping a cat who couldn't even fend for themselves alive, and a sick cat couldn't be a Medicine Cat, whereas disabled cats could be. It was just a matter of figuring out the quality of life, he supposed. "You don't need to thank me. I'm doing my duty in getting you out of this territory. That's all."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 9:50:48 GMT -5
Pepper nodded but in doing so stopped watching where she was going and tripped over a root. She hissed in pain as she hit the ground and sat there for a second to make sure she had't really hurt herself. Taking a deep breath she struggled to stand and felt nausea wash over her again but she shook it off and took a few shaky steps forward. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 10:04:05 GMT -5
Redfeather glanced back when he heard her fall, but didn't move to aid her. Instead, he waited until she rose again. This was going to be a long journey for such a short distance - he could still see the gorse bush. His eyes narrowed and he looked at her, ears half-flattened. It was lucky that he was a patient cat, but he didn't really enjoy things that dragged on.
"We've barely gone a few paces," he said, tail flicking to the gorse bush. "Come on, we need to get moving."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 10:13:18 GMT -5
Pepper hung her head as she followed the tom. Hr mother use to sugar coat things and so Pepper had never had someone be so upfront with her about how weak she really was. She continued on in silence, her thoughts drifting to her dream. She hadn't realized it but she started to cry after a little while, the thoughts about her mother too much. She kept moving and soon even her tail was dragging on the ground behind her.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 10:38:11 GMT -5
Though Redfeather couldn't pick up the pace, he was glad, at least, to be moving. His ears half-flattened as he heard her...crying, but he didn't turn around, nor did he stop. It wasn't that far to the border, and at least the gorse bush was out of view, now. He could see further around them now that the fog had cleared (for the most part), and he perked his ears as he paused briefly to get his bearings before continuing onward, tail swaying as he moved.
"We're about halfway there," he said, to keep an update on the situation. "As I said - not that far at all."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 10:45:38 GMT -5
Pepper said nothing for a few moments before letting a breath. "Okay." Her voice cracked a bit and she immediately fell back into her memories and thoughts afterwards. She was aware f her surroundings, the wind in the trees, the dew on her fur from the fog, but she didn't enjoy any of it. She was now leaving the last place she had ever seen her mother at. The thought ripped her heart to shreds and her tears fell more freely.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 10:59:31 GMT -5
He twitched an ear but did not stop. The crying was easy to block out, and he instead focused on himself. The cobwebs on his forelegs seemed to be frozen; he bent one leg a little further to test this, and it fell off to prove that yes, it was. He snorted and shook the other one off, and reminded himself to see if he could find any cobwebs that weren't frozen on his way. To do this, Redfeather checked sparse bushes from time to time, though he didn't find anything. Looked like he'd have to go to the Medicine Cat den to get some.
The scent of the dawn patrol told him that they were at the border. Admittedly, the scent was starting to die down now - becoming stale due to the snow and the time of the day. He padded towards it and stopped, turning to look at Pepper.
"Here we are. The trees get thicker once you get further in. There are lots of places to hide, and from what I remember, mice are pretty common over there." he told her.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 11:04:38 GMT -5
Pepper looked up, her eyes red from crying. The trip to just the border had caused her fever to go up again and now that she was out of her thoughts she found that she was breathing heavy and that her legs hurt, her strength fading quickly. Looking at the thicker trees she felt a sense of dread. She had no idea what was over there and so didn't know when she would be able to find a place to rest.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 11:18:13 GMT -5
He narrowed his eyes at her and continued to wait. Redfeather had already done plenty for her; all she had to do was leave. The fact that she was just standing there, regardless of emotion, made his tail lash back and forth. It wasn't as if beyond the territory was scary - if anything, it was welcoming. DuskClan's territory was an ominous place where few dared to tread; beyond the territory, he knew that in this direction, there was potential for greenery. He hadn't really bothered going past the border that far, aside from explorations when he had been younger.
To show that he was going to wait until she was gone, he sat down and curled his tail over his paws. Worst come to worst, he'd get someone to help him. It would be a matter of chasing her out or something more sinister, and at this point, he really wasn't bothered which option another cat went for. He was giving her a chance, and hew knew it.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 11:42:35 GMT -5
Pepper glanced at the tom as he sat down and let out a sigh. "If you come by here from time to time, I'll give you any extra prey I manage to catch that way the kits in your 'clan' will have a better chance." She then lashed her tail. "Don't even fight me on that either. You've dealt with my weakness, sickness, stumbling, nightmares, and crying in just the past few hours. I need to be able to repay that all." She then took a few shaking steps forward and silently prayed she managed to find somewhere to bed down soon.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 11:48:46 GMT -5
"Focus on helping yourself, first." he said firmly, one ear twitching. "You don't need to repay anything, though. Just this is enough."
Though he supposed he'd been harsh - that was just how he was. Redfeather wasn't really that frustrated with Pepper, all things considered. He'd just ignored what he hadn't want to deal with - in what world was that kindness? He rolled his shoulders in a shrug and shook the thoughts out of his mind, head tilting back a little to watch the territory beyond. With any sort of luck, it would hold herbs and prey for the she-cat to survive.
Or maybe she wouldn't. Only time would tell.
"Goodbye," he said, only because it felt polite.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 11:53:24 GMT -5
Pepper looked at the tom and suddenly she was fearful of never seeing any other cat again. "RedFeather... do you maybe want or really do you mind coming by the border every few days. Just so that I can see and talk to another cat. I had my mother all my life and now I have no one." She glanced toward the forest. "Please. That way my loneliness won't be too much and I can still get on with my days." Her blue eyes shone with hope.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 11:59:45 GMT -5
(Awesome! can anyone rp?)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 12:04:58 GMT -5
[ i can ^^ i have pinestar, vixensong & cinderpaw all open. ]
Were there not other loners she could befriend, or was she automatically attached to someone who did the bare minimum to help? His nose twitched a little and he considered it thoughtfully. It was a way to keep track of her, he supposed; to make sure she wasn't poking into DuskClan territory, and to ensure that she was actually feeding herself.
"Sure," he began slowly. "I can come during the day, between patrols."
It felt like he was doing something that was taboo - but making friends outside of the Clan wasn't really a big deal. As long as he was loyal to the Clan; and it wasn't as if they'd be unaware of this cat. It seemed fair enough.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 12:07:27 GMT -5
(I dont mind would you please start?)
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 15, 2018 12:11:20 GMT -5
Pepper perked up at that and before she could stop herself she had padded up to him and nuzzled his face. "Thank you!" She then realized what she had done and took a few steps back. "Sorry." With that she turned around and padded to then over the border. Looking over her shoulder one more time she smiled before disappearing into a clump of bracken.
Pepper padded out of the clump of bracken and sat down for a little bit to catch her breath. She then stood once again and started to pad around, looking for anything that could act as a den for her. After a little while she found a large oak with tangles of roots and underneath some of the larger roots was a small shallow opening. She testing the dirt before gathering up what strength she had left and digging. Once the den was a big enough to hold about two cats and she could stand without her ears touching the roof she sat down, breathing heavily. Looking back out the entrance she sighed and then circled on the ground before laying down to get some well needed rest.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 12:19:59 GMT -5
[ sure, starling ~ here you go ]
There wasn't much prey on the pile. Well - truth be told, there was one piece of prey remaining. She'd seen her brother leave earlier, but she doubted he'd find anything; though the snow was now melting, it wasn't as if reptiles were going to flock to the non-existent warmth. Vixensong sighed and picked up the vole. It was cold, but not frozen; it was likely left from the hunting patrol from the morning. She'd have to send another one out soon.
Her gaze flicked to the leader's den and she considered giving it to Pinestar, but it was around about now that he'd be asleep. The next viable option, of course, was the nursery. After a moment's hesitation, she padded towards the nursery and pushed her way in, ears half-pinning as she entered. It was a place she didn't really like entering - she supposed for the same reason she disliked the Medicine Cat den. They were minor issues that could be pushed aside, at least. Her gaze flicked around briefly before she caught sight of Dawnwatcher, and she approached the younger she-cat and dropped the vole beside her.
"Here you go," she said, before she sat and curled her tail over her paws neatly. Though she was Deputy in name, she felt like she was acting like a leader. It was a worrying thought. She trusted Pinestar, but his old age was...well, it was just that. He was old and determined to die, not retire. "How are you doing?" she asked, simply to hold a conversation. "If you need any more moss for your den due to the cold, you're free to ask. I think we have some."
It was a chance. Everything seemed to be a chance. Ah, well. Hopefully the snow would pass; sooner, rather than later.
[ - ] When Pepper nuzzled him, he shrunk back and frowned a little, ears pinning against his skull. Redfeather didn't respond to her apology, instead waiting until he was sure she was gone. Once that was done, he rose to his paws and pounced away, able to go at his own pace. It was a relief, and he could go back to the Clan camp, now. But first - hunting. He pounced into the sparse woodland to find some prey, keeping his gait light.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 13:19:22 GMT -5
Up until that point, the young queen had been dozing. A ball of fur in her nest, she was the clan's sole queen at the moment so had the entire den to herself save for Shallowkit and Ghostkit, who didn't take up all that much room. The swell of her stomach dwarfed the usually slender shecat and this was all very new to her, the attention was something she didn't think she'd ever get used to, but hoped it wouldn't last too much longer, for her kits were due very soon. She hoped they would hurry up, the effort of pregnancy was taking its toll on the lithe shecat.
Dawnwatcher looked up at the sound of a voice, her ears twitching forward as she was roused from her doze. She sat up with some struggle, and licked her lips at the sight of prey to fill her hungry belly. "Thankyou," she meowed in a quiet voice, never one for being overly social, but she attempted to make effort. She had become lonely since moving to the nursery, and whilst her mate made an effort, even the usually shy queen was beginning to feel all too alone in an important time. "You didn't need to bother yourself," she chuckled.
"I feel like I swallowed a warrior," Dawnwatcher replied, angling her ears back towards her belly with a grin. "How are you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, meaning it rather than making an attempt at conversation for once.
Sighing, "The clan is busy enough without worrying about silly me," she added firmly. Not wishing to cause any more bother than she already felt like she was causing, not being able to hunt for herself any longer
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 8:38:56 GMT -5
Once she was settled comfortably, Vixensong twitched an ear at the young queen, nose twitching a little. The scent of the nursery was warm compared to the bitter cold outside, but she decided not to focus on that too much. For now, she'd take the time to relax for just a moment before she went back to her usual work. It was best not to take too long, but she'd be fine for now.
Her tail-tip twitched at Dawncatcher's words and she tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing.
"I'm fine," she said. "You're a queen, which means you get more prey and more attention by default. The Clan is busy, but that doesn't mean you aren't important. You carry some kits from the new generation, and if they do not survive then DuskClan's survival chance over the seasons may not be as high as it could be."
Was that too serious? Ah, well. She was the Deputy, not a professional queen-comforter. Vixensong didn't really know what to say to those who put themselves down - she didn't really respect it, but she dealt with it as it came. Sometimes it was like that, she supposed.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 16, 2018 8:43:55 GMT -5
Hi))
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 8:48:28 GMT -5
salut
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 16, 2018 8:49:30 GMT -5
How are you?))
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 8:51:23 GMT -5
i'm decent, have to do some things relatively soon. how about you?
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 16, 2018 8:54:37 GMT -5
Okay I guess. Worried about my mom))
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Post by *α΄Ώα΅αΆ€αΆ°αΆα΅Λ‘Λ‘α΅Κ³* on Apr 16, 2018 8:54:53 GMT -5
(I'm on! For a bit during class. Should be on again in an hour though.)
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