|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Dec 9, 2011 0:20:35 GMT -5
The chill in the air bit into the she-cat's skin, undeterred by the long tortoiseshell fur that stirred faintly in the biting breeze. It was the quality of the cat's fur that was to blame, probably. It was silky and smooth and looked beautiful, but it was less practically than the scruffy, rough long fur. Less warm, in any case. Fairlight sighed softly as she shook herself out, glancing around at the Greenleaf Twoleg-place. It was devoid of Twolegs for the moment, but Fairlight still felt nervous there. Twolegs were bad business--every cat in the Clans knew that well enough. Moving forward into the clearing, Fairlight lengthened her stride so that she was taking ridiculously long steps, stretching her muscles out. She tucked in her chin and squared her shoulders, enjoying the feeling of her muscles constricting and lengthening as she moved. Glancing at a nearby oak tree, closer to the ThunderClan border, Fairlight darted towards it and flew up the trunk. Her claws dug into the bark easily, their points sharpened by similar exercises every day. The she-cat curled herself into the nook of one of the tree's boughs, tucking her paws into her chest fur and shrugging her shoulders against the cold. Looking out over the clearing, Fairlight wondered at the lovely view she had of it. Glancing to her left, she found she could just see the lake glistening from beyond the tips of the trees. It's pretty. She reflected as she rested her muzzle on her paws. I could stare at something like that forever... She thought, flicking her tail languidly as her eyelids grew heavy, threatening to shut completely.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on Jan 15, 2012 1:56:10 GMT -5
Shadowmask padded through the undergrowth, stealthy...silent. His pale yellow eyes swept side to side and his nose detected the scent of a clanmate...but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was furious with the disrespect that Reedstrike had shown him on the border. She had no right to undermine a senior warrior. A kit should know better. Her anger gets the best of her. She has inherited the traits that have been the downfall of Shadowclan...that have tainted our past. Shadowmask sighed. He already missed having Stardust as his apprentice. He had to accept the fact that she had grown and was her own person now. Would she still let him look out for her? I may have to be more secretive about making sure she is safe. he thought sadly.
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Jan 23, 2012 8:24:39 GMT -5
Fairlight was just about to doze off when she thought she smelt something, or heard something. The faint rustle of movement, a hint of ShadowClan scent. Pricking her ears, Fairlight peeked out from the tree and thought she saw someone walking through the edge of the pine forest, just to her left. The cat wasn't moving quickly, so it was possible it was just a Clanmate that was hunting. Still, Fairlight didn't want to run the risk of being discovered slacking off. She sighed, perturbed by the thought of leaving her roost. But she forced herself to dig her claws into the bark and lower herself bit by bit until she was landing softly on all four paws in the clearing. She instinctively moved away from her Clanmate, hoping to look as if she had some purpose if he managed to catch sight of her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on Feb 26, 2012 2:34:11 GMT -5
Shadowmask paused, surprised of how unaware of his surrounding he was. His senses were usually much more acute. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air. "Fairlight." he meowed in his deep, soft voice. "It's just me, Shadowmask." he meowed. The tom opened his pale yellow eyes and continued to slowly walk forward, his thoughts still troubled.
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Feb 26, 2012 20:00:39 GMT -5
Fairlight heard the quiet voice and turned to see him. He was closer than she would have thought. Tipping her head to one side, the she-cat wondered what was wrong with the tom. He seemed a bit... listless, to say the least. Distracted, maybe. Fairlight stopped moving and just looked at him.
"Are you... okay?" She asked, the whiskers above her rising slightly. She was not exactly the most sociably adept cat, but she at least wanted to help if she could. The Clan generally saw her as arrogant and full of herself, but she wasn't. She just had a kind of big mouth.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on Mar 9, 2012 17:36:37 GMT -5
Nothing betrayed the tom's surprise but a twitch of his whiskers. No one ever asked if Shadowmask needed anything, or how he was feeling. He was quite strength in the clan, and he usually was the one approached when other cats in the clan had problems. They trusted his silence. He kept to himself much of the time, and other cats had a difficult time reading his emotions.
The pale-eyed tom hesitated before saying "There was almost a battle on the border with Riverclan today. There are always insults hurled at times like those, but I haven't seen such hostility and disrespect without reason for a long time." he meowed.
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Mar 23, 2012 9:10:54 GMT -5
Fairlight nodded knowingly. Respect was something that most cats lacked when it came to the other Clans. From a rational standpoint, it seemed logical to Fairlight that any respect given to the cats in one's own Clan should, on any peaceful day, be extended to rivals. But she was less hot-blooded than most warriors, so it should not have surprised her to be feeling in contrast to her Clanmates.
"These things happen," she meowed matter-of-factly, "Especially when prey is just starting to turn up again. You can't expect young, hot-blooded cats to find a rational approach to a border issue." Fairlight didn't really realize that she may have been sounding preachy, talking down to a warrior that was much older than she was. But while Fairlight was clever and very rationally minded, she lacked a few cue social skills that made her seem very arrogant at times. She remained oblivious, of course, but that was the reason most cats didn't like her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on Apr 10, 2012 23:39:26 GMT -5
Shadowmask sighed. "It wasn't just that...they were completely undermining my authority...both sides were undermining their senior warriors." the senior warrior raised his pale yellow eyes toward Fairlight in the tree. "Are younger cats finding weakness in age? We never would have done such things when I was younger." he meowed. His voice was even, but there were subtle hints of disappointment and sadness in it.
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Apr 11, 2012 23:15:44 GMT -5
Fairlight narrowed her eyes and thought about his question. Weakness in age? Well, that of course depended on the age. An elder may have less skill at fighting and hunting, since their motor functions were often impaired. But a senior warrior certainly should demand respect, or so Fairlight thought.
"If young cats find weakness in age then they are mousebrained as well as hot-blooded," she meowed in her calm way. "Every cat can learn from experience, or they can learn from the experience of others. I prefer to listen to and remember the lessons I am taught by my superiors. Without that knowledge I would risk making the same mistakes. Learning from history starts with learning from those who have experienced more than we have." Although Fairlight may have been quite young herself, she did sometimes feel older. Old in spirit, as her mother used to say. She had always been more logically minded than other cats, and she had a great deal of respect for all strong-willed, loyal, intelligent cats.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on Apr 20, 2012 1:48:45 GMT -5
Shadowmask blinked his eyes closed and lowered his head, nodding. "At least there are still young cats yet in our clan that follow the code. You do Shadowclan a service, Fairlight." he meowed softly in his deep voice. "I fear hot-bloodedness runs in Shadowclan's veins. It has gotten us in trouble many times in the past." he confided.
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Apr 25, 2012 11:13:39 GMT -5
Fairlight flushed a little, surprised to hear a compliment. She didn't get them very often. Not sure how to react, the she-cat dipped her head as well, acknowledging the other cat's words, even if she wasn't sure she believed them. ShadowClan didn't seem to notice her presence, and when her Clanmates did notice her they were usually angry for some reason. But it still felt nice to hear a cat say it. When Shadowmask mentioned how the Clan got into trouble, Fairlight twitched her whiskers and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"Every Clan suffers from the heat of our warrior blood," she said. "ShadowClan may only seem to suffer from it more, though I am sure this is not the case. Even so, it would be good for cats to see the benefits of approaching a situation calmly, without jumping to conclusions or leaping into a fight when it is not necessary."
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on May 28, 2012 23:08:44 GMT -5
Shadowmask nodded. "I agree...but it seems almost impossible to show our clan that the merits of these thoughtful actions outweigh the aura of weakness they feel it displays. Shadowclan's history has been bloodier than most in recent times. I fear we still let those shameful cats of the past sway our actions by acting so defensive and eager to fight--as if we are always daring the other clans to say something condescending about us. It would be more productive simply to act nobly, to show we are greater than those who came before us by the way we live than to try to force a show of strength through condescending words and an eagerness to fight...though I fear I am alone in this way of thinking."
Shadowmask lowered his gaze again. He almost found himself bringing up Shadowclan's young leader to his clanmate, but was that appropriate? He was a senior warrior and needed to show his support to Eclipsedstar, but still....
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Jun 3, 2012 14:29:57 GMT -5
Fairlight shook her head slightly.
"No, not alone," she meowed. "Though outnumbered perhaps. I believe that all cats, whether warriors or not, instinctually show strength over restraint. Might is favored because it dissuades potential threats. But the truth, I think, is that quiet strength alone shows that a cat is strong. Fluffing out one's fur and boasting of strength only shows that a cat has no confidence, and invites the very strife that the cat wishes to avoid." Fairlight glanced at Shadowmask, wondering if he thought she was being arrogant. Most cats didn't like to listen to her. They thought she always thought she knew better. But Fairlight merely saw things the way they were, and said them as equally bluntly. It seemed to get her into trouble a lot, but she didn't know what else to do in the end.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magicheart on Jun 28, 2012 23:37:56 GMT -5
Shadowmask slowly blinked his pale eyes. "There is truth in what you say. Perhaps, I have been unfair. I was so alarmed at how some of our young warriors acted today that I forgot how wise many of our warriors are. I hope you will pass this lesson on to your apprentices and keep tempered blood in Shadowclan veins..." the senior warrior yawned and stretched. "Still, I cannot help but be concerned. Hopefully, these warriors settle down with age...in the mean time, our new, younger leader could probably use the help keeping them in check on border patrols and the like" Shadowmask hinted.
|
|
|
|
Post by .:Lion:. on Jul 1, 2012 22:34:45 GMT -5
Fairlight tipped her head slightly. She preferred hunting on her own, personally, but if their leader needed help then she was willing to put in the effort needed. Despite her appearance, Fairlight did really care about the Clan.
"I am glad that Eclipsedstar has our Clan's support. We will need to be united under a strong leader in these times. Time will tell if we have that leader now." She had the sense that Eclipsedstar would do well. But Fairlight was not one to make assumptions, so she would be waiting to see what happened next among her Clanmates. Still, whatever happened, she would support her leader.
|
|
