time goes bye [open]

[Hopey]

Adderstrike was in a bad mood.

It was unusual for him to be in a sour mood, he'd freely admit that. While he wasn't bouncy-bouncy cheerful, he was known for his mild manner. He was good at the whole listen first before speaking thing. He disliked being the centre of attention, since it made him feel all awkward. He was a warrior, anyways, why should he be in the centre of attention? Save that for the leader and deputy and apprentices who were being made warrior. But anyways, back his personality. No, most of ThunderClan would agreed that Adderstrike was a fairly good natured tom. Sure, he could be rather cold and aloof at times, but he wasn't a bad tom. He loved kits, and ways always visiting the Queens to keep them company. You could say that he was an outstanding ThunderClan warrior, and he was damn proud of it.

So it was very strange to see the young tabby tom stalk into the camp, eyes glittering like chips of green ice, a squirrel clamped in his jaws like a vice. His fur was covered in water, and he was fairly certain that his tail was just one long icicle. Adderstrike was not a graceful cat. He was big, he was bulky, he was built to tackle cats to the ground and make sure they stayed tackled. Grace? Not his forte. But when he saw that squirrel balancing on the log near the river, he just had to go for it. It was very unfortunate that he had managed to slip and fall face-first into the water, though he had managed to get the squirrel. He just wasn't sure it was worth it. He was freezing, and his fur took forever to dry. Adderstrike could feel the ice between his toes, and just sort of wanted to die right there. Although the squirrel was extremely plump for leaf-bare, he was damned sure he wasn't about to do that again.

Hopefully he didn't get sick or something, cuz then he'd never go near the water ever again.

Adderstrike set the dead animal on the fresh-kill pile before hobbling stiffly to one side of the warrior's den, hell bent on drying himself off. Every so often his tail would twitch, and he'd grumble. Drawing his paw over his ear, the tom muttered, "I will never understand how RiverClan does it..."

[/color] And Adderstrike meant it, too.[/blockquote]

[THE s h a d s]

SKY w i s h

[/color]

The she-cat had to hold back a chuckle as Adderstrike walked into camp, obviously wet and freezing, with a squirrel clamped tight to his jaws. The bluish gray feline was just emerging from the warrior's den, having slept in late, in time to see his discomfort and obvious bad mood. She suppressed her giggles and began to walk over to the fellow warrior. She had her share of falling into the river in the winter sometimes, and she knew how it felt. She felt sorry for warrior. She walked across the camp to help, as was her nature to do so. Though she, herself, was independent, she hoped Adderstrike would accept her company. She meant only to keep him from getting sick. Thunderclan could not afford to have any sick warriors. At all.

She said nothing as she walked boldly up to the tom with her usual elegance. She dipped her head to him, showing him the respect he deserved. She gazed into his green eyes momentarily, seeming to ask permission for what she was about to do. She took a couple steps to end up at his side and neck. She rasped her tongue gently against the fur, warming him with her body heat as she did so. She twitched her tail as she groomed the left side of his neck, knowing full well this a little intimate for two cats who didn't know each other. But we can't have him get sick. We just can't. I might have to hunt then... Her stand on fighting and hunting were controversial, and she was known for her refusal to tear her claws into living flesh. "You should start on the other side. I can't do it all by myself." She added a hint of joking in her melodic voice, but didn't stop from her grooming. She didn't even smile. Just a sparkle in her shining blue eyes said that she was joking ever so slightly with the warrior.

His black pelt reminded her of Blackspirit and Poppypaw. Her siblings were long gone now, but she secretly wished for them to come back. Every time a black pelt or blue-grey pelt entered into camp she wished it was them. She got her hopes up every time, only to have them crushed when it was another. Her heart grew heavy with loneliness. She had no one, not even a friend to help her along these days. The only thing that got her up in the morning was the prospect of a new day brought better things. But day after day was the same, filled with the same disappointments. Nothing was the way it used to be anymore, and that was partly what made this so hard. They were so close to each other, all of them were, and yet they separated still because of one cat's single decision. Whether it was Poppypaw's for leaving to begin with, or Blackspirit's decision to tease her into shame.

She hadn't realized that she had stopped licking the tom's fur. She began again, slightly smiling to shake off the gloom she knew had been in her eyes.