i SKIP a heartBEAT.

[SHADE. :D]

avenspaw

A lithe silver tabby shape was pushing it's way through the bushes in EclipseClan territory. This was not unusual. It was common knowledge that a clan of wildcats lived in this part of the forest. But something was wrong. This cat did not look as sure-footed as he should have done. He looked nervous, as though frightened of being seen, and kept tripping on hidden roots and thistles. This was because he was not of EclipseClan. No. He was a MoonClan cat. Avenspaw couldn't believe hat had happened. Wovenknot had had kits! Three tiny little kits, his kin. But misery filled him, rather than joy. She had refused to let their parents see her kits. And he knew that she disliked him, because he was linked with Secretcalling and Limestone's return... Would he ever get to see his nieces and nephew? Avenspaw had been so confused, so upset, that he had decided to go and visit the only cat that understood. Maplepool.

He wasn't sure what had made him do it. He just remembered their last meeting. He was supposed to be keeping watch. He had been standing on a rock. Then Maplepool had appeared out of nowhere, inquisitive and playful, and told him he was standing on the wrong rock. She had then proceeded to point out a far better rock for guard duty. Avenspaw smiled as he remembered her bubbly, curious face. She felt like his best friend. Maybe she was his best friend. He'd never really had any other friends before. Tripping over another root, he straightened quickly, shook himself, and looked around. He had no idea where he was. Every tree smelt of EclipseClan, but already the scent seemed softer, and more friendly, not like acid was stinging his nose.

But how could he find Maplepool in this confusing place?

[KURI. (happy birfday to me :D)]

"Troutcatcher? Troutcatcher?"

She had searched all day, nor had she told anyone where she was going. She scoffed lightly, if something happened to her, she probably wouldn't be found until the next day. But hey, it might be longer. For all she knew, Troutcatcher could be the one bloodsoaked and helpless, lying on her deathbed while the rest of her Clan did nothing. Apparantly, Maplepool had been out hunting when she disapeared. What were the chances? And were they just not going to send out a patrol? Was she so unimportant now that Crowtalon had died? She was her sister too! She loved her, too! One less warrioress might not seem to matter to EclipseClan, but one less sister matterred to her.

So bitter was Maplepool and so helpless was her search that she barely picked up the MoonClan scent until the last possible moment. Unlike most EclipseClanners, who would have gone nasty and hostile at the slightest trace of another Clan - especially MoonClan, it turned out - Maplepool stayed calm as she tracked whoever was stumbling their way through EclipseClan territory. Soon enough, she could see the faint shape of the cat through the shadows. Dashing foreward, she knew that her scent would be disguised by that of the well-marked trees. When she was even a few foxlengths away from the cat, she knew who it was. This realization made her smile.

It was Avenspaw. He had come all the way here? For what? Was it to see her? She jumped from her spot behind the roots of a tree and pounced on the silver tomcat, roaring as if she was a cat from LionClan. "Avenspaw! What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone serious but a smile on her face. Maplepool had pinned him down with two brown forepaws, but of course she didn't keep him like that. She rolled off him, happy to see her friend.

[/blockquote]

[SHADE. :D]

avenspaw

The silver tabby tom froze. He thought he had heard footsteps. Far away enough for him to flee, but where to? He had no idea where he was, or which way was back to MoonClab territory. He swallowed his fear. Being scared would just draw the other cat faster. The young tom scrabbled on, trying not to make too much noise. He passed through a bush of ferns, the tall plants waving and rustling. He winced at the noise. Suddenly he heard heavy pawsteps. His heart stopped. He had been found! He heard a roar, and then he was pinned to the ground. Fear filled his veins, until the cat spoke. He couldn't believe his sheer luck. It was Maplepool! He blinked up at her, and as she let him get to his paws again, he rose, shaking himself. The apprentice couldn't help beaming, which was odd. He was never usually a very smily cat.

"Maplepool!" he mewed happily. He stepped forward and brushed his muzzle against her's. Last time they had met, they had been reluctant to go too near eachother. But this time it didn't seem to matter. The tom licked the brown tabby's cheek joyfully. "I was looking for you!"

[KURI. (happy birfday to me :D)]

"Oh, you were? I'm flattered," she meowed, eaqually happy. She smiled, which, unlike Avenspaw, was normal for her. Unfortunately, lately things had been far from normal. Maybe Avenspaw was the one cat that could make things 'normal' again. She like that about him... "Say, you do know that if it had been any other cat but me, my stuffy Clanmates would probably have ripped you to shreds?" she pounced on a nearby leaf, letting her claws rip though it's thin figure. "Like so," she meowed playfully, staying stiff and strait like a mentor instructing an apprentice. When the leaf was completely shredded she tipped her head to it. "That would've been you," saying that, she couldn't keep a straight face. She giggled, something she had only done while trying to be annoying. She had never giggled - maybe she had never even laughed - because she was happy.

"So. Did you want to tell me something?" she asked, returning to his side. This was one thing she and her siblings - save for dear Sunflowerpaw - would never be able to do. To sit and talk. Huh, she felt closer to this cat, this MoonClanner, than she did anyone else. Funny.

[/blockquote]

[SHADE. :D]

avenspaw

The silver tabby smiled at her words. It was so refreshing to hear a cat laugh and joke with him. He was ignored by most of the other apprentices, except Clarypaw. The apprentice watched as she seized a crumpled leaf in her claws and tore it to shreds. "Thanks for the super-graphic display, Maplepool," he mewed, grinning. "But I think I'll just stick with you." The tom shook himself and groomed a couple of twigs and scraps of moss out of his usually neat coat, which he had picked up when Maplepool had pounced on him. The apprentice glanced up as the EclipseClan she-cat spoke again. He looked at his paws. "Well..." he mewed awkwardly. "Wovenknot had kits." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He wondered guiltily if he had just ensured that EclipseClan knew all about what MoonClan's deputy had done. No, I can trust Maplepool!

"She's had three kits," he continued. "But she wouldn't let our father see him. She doesn't like me, either. So..." He trailed off, then swallowed and continued. "I'm afraid that she won't let me be part of their lives. But their my kin. And I havn't done anything! Have I?" He looked at Maplepool, as though asking her, his usually calm manner punctured by hurt and fear.

[KURI. (happy birfday to me :D)]

She laughed again at Avenspaw's snide yet polite remarks. He had a charm for that, she decided, making cats laugh even when they were down. It didn't seem as though that talent of his worked when he was down, however, because he sounded a little desperate as he finished telling her about the MoonClan deputy's kits. The she cat flicked her tail symphathetically. It was nice to know that Avenspaw trusted her with knowing things like this; because despite their Clan's rivalries he knew she wouldn't run off to tell the leader about how MoonClan was at a disadvantage. He did trust her, didn't he? She didn't care about starting another war just because the Clan that they competed against most was short of a deputy. Besides... She owed Avenspaw. He had come all the way here to see her, and no matter what she wouldn't tell. Was it that big a secret, anyway? So, Wovenknot had kits. That was what happened to certian she-cats who decide they wanted kits.

"And the leader won't do anything about it?" she asked gently, wondering why on earth Avenspaw wouldn't be allowed to see them. "By the way you talked about your father, attacking her and everything, I can see why she might not let him in..." she thought for a moment, twining her tail with Avenspaw's. It was a simple gesture, but with it she somehow wanted to show him all her tangled emotions. Strangely, around Avenspaw, she was surprisingly normal. No... she was surprisingly herself. "... but I really don't think you've ever done anything to hurt her." If Crowtalon had lived to have kits, we'd probably be in the same position, but for different reasons, she added silently before coming back to her reasoning. "Maybe... maybe she's just trying to block out a part of her past that she's not too proud of. She's not happy about her father coming back, so she's being childish about it and trying to punish him for wanting to bring his kits - you and your other sister - back home." This was insightful beyond what Maplepool was even used to. "She automatically thinks that you are bad news. She's confused and thinks that if you were never born, she would never have to deal with her father again. She... she wants to punish you because she's angry at your parents." her voice became a soft whisper as she brought her speech to a close. "So please, Avenspaw... don't take it personally. She's wrong. You're the most gentle, caring cat I've ever met. Her kits would be blessed to have you in their life."

_** Gah... sorry for how much talking she did there... xD

[(aurora) of the problematique]

:: [ Time ^after time ] ::

Mavericksky

:: [ I'm _{going in} blind ] ::

<sub>Owlish emerald eyes split their lids, blinking several times. He shifted like a snake in an old skin, rearing up on his hindlegs within the darkness of the hollow tree. Mavericksky's ears shifted back as he listened to the conversation beyond his elm. He lifted his paws up out of the large hole in the tree and looked out from his sentry post. "A MoonClan apprentice?"

He jumped from the hole, landing on a treebranch a kittenlength down. The majestic creamy-ginger tom looked down at Maplepool and Avenspaw. "Surely my eyes and ears are deceiving me." His tail swung side to side like a forlorn cuckoo clock.

His deep voice and muscular frame gave Mavericksky the appearance of being a senior warrior, when in fact, he was past two years old. His beautiful kelly eyes trained on Avenspaw like an eagle.</sub>

[SHADE. :D]

avenspaw

The silver tabby tom listened anxiously to his friend's words, his indigo eyes - the same eyes as his father - wide. Avenspaw smiled gratefully at her words. She right, of course. He was just being silly. Wovenknot had no reason to refuse to let him see her kits. He hadn't done anything to her. And he wasn't like Secretcalling. The more he grew, the less Avenspaw wanted to do with his father. From what he could see, Secretcalling had hurt many cats in his lifetime. He didn't ever want to be like that. Avenspaw opened his mouth to reply, but a rustle in the bushes made him freeze. He tensed, ready to jump into the bushes, but it was too late. A ginger warrior had padded from the undergrowth - an EclipseClan warrior. Avenspaw bared his teeth to ward off an attack, but lashed his tail to show he was perfectly capable, and prepared to defend himself.

"We're just talking," he told the tom, not afraid to meet that cold green gaze with his own, warm indigo eyes. "We're not doing any harm." He waited for the tom's verdict, and Maplepool's reaction to his sudden appearance.

[KURI. (happy birfday to me :D)]

Maplepool had never been very attentive. She was surprised - and rather angry - when another EclipseClanner appeared on a tree branch not high above them. It was Mavericksky, a tom she had never grown to love or hate. Maplepool could see which side of the scale she was leaning towards already. She raised her hackles, unafraid to show hostility to her own Clanmate even when Avenspaw did not. "Avenspaw's right!" she yowled at him, her own green eyes blazing with fury. What right did he have to just confront them like this? Since when had he been on sentry there? How much had he heard? Did it matter?! "It's not like anyone back at camp cares about what happens to me! It's not like Troutcatcher cares!" her anger towards the Clan as a whole had finally come out, and right at a cat who, really, had nothing to do with finding her lost sister. Maplepool was quite a sight to behold, her oak-colored fur fluffed up to about twice it's normal capacity.

Still angry but cooling off, she sat down, the hairs on the back of her neck still standing upright. Locking eyes with Mavericksky, she swept her tail around Avenspaw's back paws protectively, ready to fight the ginger tomcat if he pounced.

[/blockquote]

[(aurora) of the problematique]

:: [ Time ^after time ] ::

Mavericksky

:: [ I'm _{going in} blind ] ::

<sub>"I was never talking about you, Maplepool," Mavericksky said calmly. "I said 'a MoonClan apprentice'. I was talking to...Avenspaw, you said his name was?"

The ginger tom remained motionlessly, his ears flicking slightly but that was all. "Young man, it's foolish to come bumbling into the territory like you did. Our camp recently had three apprentices and a kit stolen by three rogues that had snuck in. I regret to say that our sentries were being...rather lax."

His green eyes flickered over to Maplepool disdainfully before returning to Avenspaw. However, he was yanked back when the she-cat exploded in anger. Mavericksky's tail flicked up and down.

"Your sister was probably taken by a rogue, Maplepool, no doubt the same ones that took Brackenkit and the others," he said softly. His eyes narrowed. "And by doing what you're doing right now, fiddling around by talking to Avenspaw here, another rogue could've slipped by. Our warriors should be patrolling, not chatting like everyday is a Gathering at Jay's Hollow." His voice rose slightly at the last sentence.

He leapt down to a lower branch, keeping calm as Maplepool puffed up.</sub>

[SHADE. :D]

avenspaw

The silver tabby tom did not look away as Mavericksky's eyes locked with his. He was not afraid to stand up to this tom, but he didn't want to start a fight. He bristled slightly at the tom's choice of words. "I wouldn't devulge such key information to an obvious criminal like myself," he mewed in his usual calmly sarcastic way. "I may just run back to my olders and betters and let it all spill out. I am a MoonClanner, you know." The tom shook his head. He scorned the rivalry between EclipseClan and his own clan. It was pathetic, when he thought about it deeply. As a kit, he had wanted nothing more than to rip EclipseClan fur, but that was only because of what he had heard from his clan. Avenspaw blinked as something hit him. They were poisoning their own kits. That was why this fued had gone on so long.

Avenspaw watched as the ginger tom spoke to Maplepool, but said nothing more. It was not his place. He knew he should probably leave, but he didn't want his friend to get into trouble. It would be his fault if she did.

[KURI. (happy birfday to me :D)]

"I'll have you know that I was hunting before I found Avenspaw here," she hissed, his calm air only frustrating her more. It helped slightly that Avenspaw wasn't angry, and it was a good thing that Mavericksky hadn't jumped to attack them yet. She slid her claws into the pulpy earth, her dark brown form blending in with the ominous forest around them. EclispeClan... could she even be proud saying she was from a Clan such as this anymore? A Clan where mothers were slaughtered by their own sons and where rogues were just allowed in the territory? She knew, in the back of her mind, that the rogue had not simply been 'let' in. But she was bitter and angry, so at this point that dark little corner of her conciousness was being shut out by her much louder voice of reason... that wasn't all that reasonable.

"Is this all EclipseClan is made of?" she yowled, snarling. "Ridiculous warriors who think that there's no time in the world for anything but patrolling and fighting? I was not assigned any kind of sentry duty. No cat will even spare me a passing glance anymore!" The she-cat finally felt herself calming down, deflating back to normal size again but never looking away from Mavericksky.

[/blockquote]

[(aurora) of the problematique]

:: [ Time ^after time ] ::

Mavericksky

:: [ I'm _{going in} blind ] ::

<sub>At Avenpaw's goading words, the slits of the tom known as Mavericksky screamed over to the other male. "And what validity would our three missing apprentices and a kit have over the fact that your leader is on her last life and your deputy is a mother of three kits, MoonClanner?" the ginger tom said bluntly.

He dismissed Avenspaw and returned to Maplepool. His ear twitched. "We have had too many deaths in our Clan to do anything else but patrol and fight!" he thundered. "Do you think you are special, Maplepool? We watch you because Crowtalon was killed by the Tribe and Troutcatcher was taken by some rogue, plus Amethyststar's death by Corbyn. Are you so selfish and blind as to see that EclipseClan cares about each and every warriors? We aren't StarClan; we can't be everywhere at once!" The ginger tom leapt from the branch majestically.

"We are one unit, and one weak link can break us all. I admit that EclipseClan isn't the purest Clan of the forest, but dammit, we can get better." He stomped his paw on the ground. "You can't lose faith just because something bad happens to you; you have to be strong for the others, because that's how a Clan works. If you want to go off and think everyone's against you, go ahead and leave.

"But you're wrong." Mavericksky stared at her, panting slightly.</sub>

[SHADE. :D]

avenspaw

The silver tabby's indigo eyes narrowed at the tom's words. The calm apprentice rarely got angry, but this was too much. EclipseClan now knew their secret. He, Avenspaw, had devulged the information that Wovenknot had had kits. He bared his teeth, his eyes slits. How did this tom know that Firestar was on her last life? How dare he speak of his sister like that! "No doubt my sister's private life will be scattered all over the forest by tomorrow," he spat, losing his cool as he rose to Wovenknot's defense. He turned away, calming down, as Mavericksky spoke to Maplepool. After he had finished, Avenspaw turned to his sister. "I'll go," he murmured. "I will see you again." The second part was barely a whisper, for her ears only. The silver tabby shot Mavericksky a calculating glance, then darted into the undergrowth.

As he ran, guilt throbbed in his chest. The wretched tom was bound to run to his leader with the news that Wovenknot had had kits. Had he given EclipseClan the upper hand in their endless rivalry? As Avenspaw's silver forepaws touched MoonClan ground, he sighed inwardly. How do I get myself into these messes?

[KURI. (happy birfday to me :D)]

Maplepool's gaze was still sharp, but her ears were flattened in a mixture of anger and submission. He flicked Avenspaw's ear as he left, frustrated. Mavericksky had been listening the whole time! Don't get lost, she murmured to Avenspaw just as he dashed off. She meant it in more ways than she could explain. Anger was stewn around her like barbed wire. There was no stopping Mavericksky from having her confined to camp, or worse, there was no stopping him from revealing Avenspaw's secret. Maplepool thought over the ginger tom's words, herhead bowed.

Her head was murky. She didn't understand what she wanted, but she knew very well that she didn't need to drag Avenspaw into this. She was through with glaring at Mavericksky but right now she couldn't think of anything else to do but glare. Unsure of how to reply to any of his notions about how one weak link - Maplepool knew that on some level he meant her - she turned to another issue instead. Don't you dare spill Avenspaw's secret, she hissed before falling silent once more.

We were not doing any harm. she muttered again, trying to avoid the fact that everything the other warrior had said was true. After a few more heartbeats of tense silence, Maplepool gave in, murmuring, Where am I supposed to be keeping watch? in response to his last comment.

[/blockquote]

[(aurora) of the problematique]

:: [ Time ^after time ] ::

Mavericksky

:: [ I'm _{going in} blind ] ::

<sub>"We don't have the time of day to be wasting our efforts to finish off Firestar for some foolish one-up on our self-proclaimed rivalry. Maybe since Amethyststar and Shadestar no longer rule and Razorstar and Thornstar and soon Firestar no longer rule, Fernpelt can forge an alliance with Wovenknot," Mavericksky said icily. The tom turned away, paws silent upon the earth. "Just because you weren't doing harm doesn't mean someone else won't. I won't take chances anymore. I'm done giving cats the benefit of the doubt."

The lithe tomcat leapt up onto an alder tree, nimbly climbing onto a branch. He stared down at Maplepool with war-speckled green eyes. "If your friend comes, warn him about our veterans. Solsticesong is beside herself at the loss of Brackenkit. She may seem gentle and calm right now, but if she saw Avenspaw, she'd kill him." He lunged onto another branch and scuttled into his sentry position in an old owl hole.

"Catch the scents if you can. If not, do a circumfrence of the territory and return to camp." Mavericksky's beautiful eyes faced over the territory like a guardian spirit, his ginger pelt dappled with sunlight. He would keep the secret, but he wouldn't use it to black-mail either cats. However, the next time this happened...</sub>