My Time [open to all ShC & TC]

[Iceflash]

Iceflash tested the rough ground of the Thunderpath underneath his paws and stepped off of it casually as another monster rolled by. He flashed his tail and skimmed the clearing, and the other side of the dangerous Thunderpath. A Thunderclan patrol had been by a little while ago, and wouldn't be happening by any time soon.

The clan and his sister. His only loves. There was his parents, sure, but Iceflash was a adrenaline junkie. This little practice of his, stepping back onto the Thunderpath, stepping into every battle and scrap he could, whether it be border wars or rough practice sessions with seniors warriors. Or perhaps when he went swimming circles through the creek, inviting a snake to come and bite him. The carrion place, plenty of rats, but Thunderpath was his favorite, because there was no way for him to ever beat one of the twolegs' monsters. That was the ultimate adrenaline rush

Fallensnow knew about the fight with the rats, but not about Thunderpath. She loved him, and if she knew, she would tell Rapidstar and then... he didn't want to think what might happen. He didn't want to disappoint his clan. He would do anything for them. Standing in the middle of the Thunderpath and shivered when he sidestepped an oncoming monster, shivering as his paws tingled with the rush of excitement that the Thunderpath always delivered. Yes, his sister and him told each other everything. Or at least for the most part. Thick as thieves, the elders called them. Iceflash even kew when they were apprentices about Fallensnow's crush on this Windclan tom. Iceflash had snorted at it. Of course it hadn't gone anywhere. They only saw each other at Gatherings, and without further spark, they stopped greeting each other with warm purrs. Iceflash had never been interested in the she cats, nor had they ever seemed really interested in him.

Why would they? He looked more pretty than most of the burly she cats in their clan. No, he didn't have a mate, nor did he see the need for one. And besides that... he had more obscure tastes...



Yes, no patrols would be by for some time, and he had already hunted for the clan. No one would be searching for him, a whole afternoon of monsters and him.

What fun, he shivered with delight, side stepping another monster, who roared at him as it sped past.

[Vulturepaw]

Toads are disgusting things. They were bloated blobs with warts, quite pleased with their ridiculous ability of expanding their throats. Oh, and that dreadful sound they made! Ribbit, ribbit. If anything, they sounded like they were gurgling rocks. Such a foul creature was always very odd and strange, no matter how many you encounter. And that was the reason Vulturepaw held a fascination for the ugly, hopping things. She spent today harassing such a creature that had unfortunately crossed her path earlier. As hard as it tried, it just couldn't seem to hop away fast enough. The apprentice was quite devoted to chasing it all over the territory, charging after it as it madly attempted to escape the hefty blows from her white paws. "Web-footed, bug-eyed creep!" Vulturepaw mewed with joy as she stretched out a paw ahead of her, swatting at the defenseless animal. She wasn't a talented hunter by any means, and had no interest in catching it as prey for the Clan. Who'd want to eat such ugly prey? She wondered, watching as the force from her blow sent the toad flying through the air and landing ungracefully a few fox-lengths ahead of the apprentice. Frogs are okay, but toads just aren't made to be prey. I suppose I wouldn't mind, though, if I had to eat one. Probably better than eating crowfood. Maybe they taste just like frogs? They look sort of alike. By now the fat little toad had shakily gotten back on its webbed feet and clumsily began to hop away again.

Vulturepaw continued her chase, paws heavily hitting the ground as her tail flowed out behind her. Suddenly, a low rumble nearby made her quickly decrease her speed. The Thunderpath! The apprentice easily recognized the familiar sound of monsters thundering past on the hot, hard path. Desperately trying to slow down, unable to quit her forward motion, Vulturepaw tumbled and fell right at the edge of the Thunderpath. The toad nonchalantly continued hopping across the wide black path until it was aware that she was no longer in pursuit. Seeming to think it was out of danger, the toad crouched on the Thunderpath, blinking its huge eyes in relief. Distant rumbling like thunder spoke otherwise, as a monster came speeding down the Thunderpath. It rolled unmercifully toward the toad, who was blissfully unaware of the trouble it was in. Vulturepaw winced as the monster flew by, her fur buffeted by the force of motion in front of her. The toad's death was quick, so she didn't think it felt much at first. But as she rose to her paws, the splatter on the Thunderpath made her rethink this possibility. "See, that's why I don't eat toads. They're just filled with...gooey gunk. No meat." This speculation was short lived as something else caught Vulturepaw's attention. A white tabby tom stood in the middle of the Thunderpath, merrily dodging and sidestepping monsters as they charged by.

Vulturepaw stared at who she suddenly realized to be none other than Iceflash, a petite warrior of ShadowClan. The stench of the Thunderpath was overwhelming, but she sat down in piqued interest. What in StarClan is he doing? She thought in disbelief. Vulturepaw saw a lot of stupidity everyday. But this act of standing in the middle of a Thunderpath was foolish and suicidal. But Vulturepaw, as slightly sadistic she was, called out over the distant rumble of monster to the tom. "If you get splattered, you won't expect me to stand vigil for you in the middle of a Thunderpath, right? I don't stand vigil for mousebrains, especially splattered ones who get themselves killed intentionally." Such sweet words from such a concerned apprentice. Yeah right. But Vulturepaw still felt herself shiver as another monster rolled past and Iceflash sidestepped it with ease. "Stupid furball!" She hissed, loud enough for him to hear. Truth be told, Vulturepaw knew very little about Iceflash, besides the fact that he and his sister, Fallensnow, were practically inseparable. She often saw them sharing tongues and hanging out together in camp. But never had she truly spoken to him, aside from perhaps the occasional distracted 'hi'. But here he was, prancing about in the middle of the Thunderpath like a dizzy sparrow. Secretly, the Thunderpath intimidated Vulturepaw, but she would rather die than show her fear. So if dared, she'd probably be out there where Iceflash was, doing something stupid so she wouldn't be called a coward. That would be her reason for doing something this mousebrained, but what was Iceflash? Even though she didn't know him well, she didn't exactly see him as the type to try and get himself killed. The tabby apprentice frowned and watched him curiously, tensing as the ground beneath her paws vibrated violently. Another monster was coming, and it was coming fast.

[Iceflash]

The sleek warrior shivered as he slipped past another warrior, relishing the draft of hot air that fluffed his fur as it roared past him. Momentarily distracted by an ugly toad that had hopped out onto the road, he almost stumbled, but caught his footing and turned to see it had already been killed, the remains splattering all over the Thunderpath.

His serenity was broken when a young voice called out to him

"If you get splattered, you won't expect me to stand vigil for you in the middle of a Thunderpath, right? I don't stand vigil for mousebrains, especially splattered ones who get themselves killed intentionally."

[/color]

He couldn't afford to be distracted, so instead of shifting his gaze over to the voice of a young newcomer, her stood his ground, directly to the left of the oncoming monster and raised his tail to feel it's strange coat has it raced past him.

"Stupid furball!"[/color] The young she cat hissed at him he turned his head slightly, keeping one eye on the Thunderpath and one on the young cat, who he recognized as one of the Shadowclan apprentices, Vulturepaw, in fact, she was Rapidstar's apprentice. The little tabby was hunkered down, very close to the ground as though she expected on of the deadly monsters to sweep her off her paws and gobble her up from the spot she stood in several fox leaps away from him.

Her sharp intake of breath alerted him to the very large monster that was moving much faster than most of the monsters that usually blundered their way down the Thunderpath.

He gasped for air, his heart hammering in his chest...

but not with fear. This is what Iceflash lived for. The thrill, the knowledge that it was his skill of perception and agility that would alone contribute to his chances of survival. He saw his opening and planted his paws firmly on the hard, almost rocky road and would have shot out his claws in anticipation if he hadn't known from experience that if he did so, they would be ruined for nearly half a moon. The monster was a heart beat away, and he closed his eyes, feeling the familiar puff of hot air surrounding him, and he dared to shift his tail to the right, just a touch, and as the monster passed, he felt it's slick, fur-less pelt. It was warm and he inhaled sharply, Yes, this would be enough for him for some time. His paws would be warm for days following what had just happened.

The monster gone, he didn't want to move off the center of the Thunderpath, still tingling with the rush that he had acquired, some how deepened by the seemingly intimate touch he and the monster has shared as it had sped wildly past him.

But the feeling could last forever, and he was so drunk on adrenaline, that if he stayed on the path, he would surely be hit by the next monster. He stepped off the dark rock and onto the dirt and flicked his tail, dismissing the inappropriate thought that asked in the back of his mind, would that really be such a bad thing?

He shook his head. No, if he died on the Thunderpath, Vulturepaw would tell the clan and Fallensnow would realize what he had been doing, and then hate the memories she held of him.

He flicked his whiskers and asked the apprentice, teasingly, “Are you so afraid of twoleg monsters?”[/color]

Then seeing the fear in the apprentice's eyes, he realized that when the last monster had rolled past him, he had been on the other side, out of her line of sight. The poor she cat had probably panicked for half a heartbeat before she realized he was alive. He smiled warmly at her, trying to think up an excuse.

Well, this was going to be tricky...[/blockquote]

[[ooc: so, just to clarify, cause it sounded kind of odd how I phrased it, when the last car goes past, Iceflash was on the other side of the car that Vulturepaw was on, so it might have appeared to have been hit by the monster before being seen again after the monster was gone.]]

[Vulturepaw]

The shiny monster sped down the Thunderpath, growling with rage as it charged toward Iceflash on huge black paws. Iceflash disappeared as the monster rolled over where he was standing. Vulturepaw felt her fur bristle and her blood run cold.Where is he? She didn't have much care for anybody, but it was just common instinct to feel panicked and concerned when you think a Clanmate just got killed. The large monster sped away, and Vulturepaw's stormy grey eyes searched for a distinct furry white splatter on the hot path. Her gaze landed on the familiar white tabby coat, but Iceflash was far from being a squashed corpse. In fact, he seemed quite drunk on the rush that nearly being ran over gave him. At first, Iceflash seemed to be stuck in place, until he bounded over to Vulturepaw. In a teasing voice, he meowed, "Are you so afraid of twoleg monsters?" Vulturepaw turned her dark grey gaze upon him, and a faint rumbling could be heard. But it was no distant roar of a monster speeding down the Thunderpath. This was a enraged growl that grew louder and louder. The apprentice arched her back, fur rising in her uncontrollable anger. Her lips were drawn back into a wild snarl, and she unsheathed her claws. Vulturepaw's eyes flashed with rage and she screamed, "You stupid mousebrain! Crowfood-eating foxdung!" Shaking with her anger, the she-cat flung herself at Iceflash, yowling loudly. "How stupid are you? Go back out there and get yourself actually ran over this time, fleabag! I wanna see your cowardly pelt spilling guts! If you want to die, do it! Side-stepping monsters is oh-so-cool, huh? Let's see you actually let one run you over, you foolish furball! Cut the macho junk, crowfood!" Vulturepaw, in her lack of battle training or experience, was driven only by fury. She didn't really care if she had hurt him or not in her frantic flailing of paws, but she hoped she had.

Backing off, the she-cat panted heavily, anger still warming her fur and causing her eyes to have a stabbing glare fixed solely on Iceflash. "I'm not afraid of monsters, I'm just smart enough not to prance about in front of them like some dazed butterfly." The apprentice seemed to slowly be calming down, but there was still a passionate hatred burning in those stormy grey eyes. "I wish you had gotten killed." She muttered sourly, turning away to glare at nothing particular. Her claws sheathed as her tail continued to lash. "Mousebrains like you don't deserve to live." Vulturepaw hated to admit that Iceflash had scared her. She still remembered the bloody bodies of her family, when she was just nearly moon old. It was a distant and faint memory, but the shocking reality of it all still felt like claws kneading at her stomach. Even as a kit she had had nightmares, reliving the vision of their corpses again and again. Goldenheart hadn't known she already knew her real family was dead, which was why she probably didn't seem too shocked when her adoptive mother had told her. Vulturepaw didn't want to experience seeing another dead body; it would just become a ghost to haunt her in her sleep again. She didn't actually want him to die or have died, but what sickened her more than the thought of his body crushed on the Thunderpath was the thought of him being so reckless with his life. Didn't he even care? Didn't he even think about the pain he'd cause the Clan and those closest to him? "What would happen to your sister if she lost you?" This nearly inaudible whisper was simply Vulturepaw thinking out loud, not directly toward Iceflash. Shakily, the she-cat rose to her paws and lifted her head up high, suffocating these feelings of sorrow and worry beneath her pride and "I-don't care" attitude. To be truthful, she was probably just as reckless as Iceflash, for the sake of adventure. Getting into things she shouldn't. Starting and getting into fights. Stirring up trouble where there shouldn't be. If anything, she'd probably get killed doing something just as stupid as standing in the middle of a Thunderpath. But her personality disallowed her to feel sorry for what she said, and she gazed thoughtfully over at ThunderClan's territory. Vulturepaw wanted him to feel guilty for what he had done and know in shame that she was not happy with him. Not at all.