fight fight fight [til the break of dawn] x

[SHADE. :D]

// Reserved for Raindance.

The sun shone in the pale sky, a bright orb amongst the clouds. It was unusually sunny for a winter's day, and the bare trees seemed to shiver with pleasure. A golden smudge stood out against the white of the snow that carpeted the CloudClan camp. The morning was still early, and most of the clan still slept. But one cat had risen, unable to sleep, her dreams disturbed by worries and fears.

Haloheart blinked her pale blue eyes, looking up at the clouds. The ginger tabby she-cat sighed, her shoulders drooping as the breath rushed from her body. She twisted around, beginning to groom her sleep-ruffled pelt. She pulled a scrap of moss from her shoulder with her teeth. Haloheart sat back once satisfied her coat was neat. The sun-coloured tabby got to her paws, licking the frost from her white feet. The young warrior peered around, preparing to hunt alone. If she waited too long, Eaglefeather would rise, and she didn't want to talk to him. Haloheart began to pad from the camp, step brisk and head high, in contrast to her gloomy spirits.

[becky]

A bird chirped and fluttered its wings in the distance, then turned silent within the steady flow of the forest. The warm rays of the sun was shining through the branches of the leafless trees, tinting the forest floor a brillant shade of gold among the white snow that blanketed the ground. But despite the suns warm rays, the atmosphere was coated with an icy chill, and the clouds that separated across silverpelt threatened for worser weather to come. Leaf-bare had finally arrived, and was swiftly taking its toll upon the forest . A patch of tabby-striped fur revealed through the brambles, and a massive tabby tom with piercing golden eyes stepped out, lifting his head and opening his mouth to drink in the scents of the forest. At first, he smelled nothing, but then the faint trace of a certain clan mate filled his nostrils, and the tabby pricked his ears. Haloheart, he recognized her scent immediately. Soft, with a blissful fragrance that not one could possibly ignore. Raindance began to pad towards her scent, eager to greet his clan mate.

Her scent was growing stronger with each paw step he took. She must be just outside the camp. he thought with a silent flick of his ears. Suddenly, a strong, thick aroma flooded over him, and it wasn't Haloheart. Mouse. the warrior detected almost instantly, sliding gracefully into a hunters crouch. He spotted the mouse almost the same time he had scented it; scuttling about near a bramble bush. Raindance stalked silently towards it, careful to not make a sound. When he felt like he was close enough, Raindance leapt, unsheathing his claws and digging them mercilessly into the small body of the mouse. Hearing the mouse squeal pitifully was enough to make the warrior pierce him straight through with his unusual long claws. The mouse was dead in an instant. Tail tip flicking contently, Raincloud picked up the mouse in his massive jaws and continued to tread towards camp.

At least I have a reason for being out of camp at such an early hour. The warrior had in fact not woken up for the need to hunt; only to take a walk among the dense trees of the forest. It was a beautiful morning, despite the chilly atmosphere, and the tabby warrior always seemed to enjoy silent strolls within the wintery snow. But not only that, Raindance just needed time to think. It had been a couple moons since he had first stepped foot onto CloudClan's territory, but he had never regretted it since. He enjoyed being a warrior, and living and fighting for his clan. Raindance couldn't have asked for more. But it was the thought of never seeing his sister, Gypsy, that haunted him. Where was she now? Was she still alive? Was she happy? These thoughts was what has been troubling him, ever since he became a strong and faithful warrior of CloudClan. He was happy here, but would he ever get to see his only family again?

Raindance immediately snapped out of his thoughts once he saw the slender frame of a ginger warrior coming up from the hill. Raindance quickened his pace, and once he had approached her he dropped the mouse in front of his paws and lifted his head to gaze at her, awe struck once again at how beautiful this she-cat was. "Hello, Haloheart." Raindance greeted, letting a soft, deep purr rumble through out his body. He could see her distress, plain written on her face, and he began to look at her with concern, wondering what could've possibly upsetted her that he did not know about.

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[SHADE. :D]

Haloheart's paws itched to hunt. The ginger tabby shook her slender frame lightly, ridding herself of the last traces of cloying sleep. Haloheart blinked her clear blue eyes, the orbs swivelling to take in the whole scene. Her lips parted slightly, and she drank in the scents. The small tabby tensed as the scent of a trush reached her nose. The golden coloured she-cat dropped into a crouch, the stance skilled and agile. Haloheart pinpointed the position of prey with a flick of her ears and a twitch of her nose, her long, ginger-striped tail raised. She crept forward, paws brushing the grass silently. Her azure eyes fixed on the grey-flecked bird, and she prepared to pounce. With a low hiss, Haloheart pounced on the bird, her teeth snapping at its neck. With a twist of her jaws she killed it, silvery claws sinking into its feathers.

Haloheart straightened up, the bird hanging from her mouth. She dropped it, scrraping a shallow hole in the earth with sheathed forepaws. In it she placed the dead bird, before replacing the dirt. The slender ginger tabby she-cat licked the dust from her paws, and gave her shoulder a couple of self-conscious licks. She felt the eerie presence of being watched. Haloheart turned, scanning for other creatures. Her small paws kneaded the grass as she did so, her ears pricked up high. She jumped as a high-pitched squeal hit them, her eyes wide with fright. Crouching, Haloheart waited, bristling. She relaxed as Raindance trotted into the clearing, and stood up. "Hi," she mewed, forcing brightness into her tone. She noticed the concern on the large tom's face, but did not elaborate on how she was feeling.

[becky]

Raindance flicked his ear sideways when he heard a bird's call loud as day above him. He glanced up at silverpelt and was surprised to see a hawk soaring above them in slow, graceful circles, glaring down at the two CloudClan warriors. Raindance shuffled his paws uneasily. Even though he was a strong, full grown warrior, it still unsettled him whenever he saw a hawk. Ever since that day when he had been a kit and had wondered out of his den, only to face a hawk swooping down on him, he had never stopped having nightmares about it. He was lucky that his father, Tiger, had been there to save him. At the sound of Haloheart's voice, Raindance swiftly snapped out of his thoughts and glanced back at her, still wondering what was making her so unhappy. "Would you like to hunt with me?" Raindance mewed, gazing at her softly under his studious deep amber gaze. Maybe if he spent more time with her he could figure out what was wrong, and even maybe make her less upset.

OOC - Blah! That post really sucked. >_< I am so museless at the moment. Sorry.

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[SHADE. :D]

Haloheart's ears flattened as the harsh cry of the hawk ripped through them. She stared up at the bird, green eyes narrowed. She knew that hawks were trouble waiting to happen. They snatched helpless kits, and unlike local foxes and badgers, there was nothing that could be done to stop them. Each time they tried, the crafty bird slipped through their paws. Haloheart gave a soft hiss under her breath, vowing to rip out a mouthful of feathers and flesh for Flightkit, her dear sister, who had been taken by a hawk.

The slender ginger tabby looked up, surprised, at Raindance's suggestion. The she-cat looked at the grass before her, blue eyes clouded with confusion. Most of CloudClan remembered only her days of depression as an apprentice, and disapproved or sneered at her for it. Haloheart gave a little sigh - perhaps Raindance was just like all the others, but he was trying to get close to her to exploit her even further. The small warrior shifted her snowy white paws. Or maybe - maybe - somebody actually wanted to be her friend. Yes, she had friends; the family type of friend. Outside her kin, Haloheart had no one. The ginger tabby lifted her head, blue eyes grazing Raindance's. "Okay," she mewed, her voice quiet and soft. She tried not to make his offer sound as much of a surprise as it truly had been, but her tone was gave a lot away. Haloheart looked down, feeling a hot flush grace her skin like spring blossoms on a pond.