dont. make. a. sound. -- [Warfrost]

[»» Morningheart]

Morningheart sat at the bank of the river, staring into the watery depths of it. The river was life to her clan. Other clans only saw water as an annoyance, a substance to drink yes, but they could not grasp the full power that it truly possessed. Not only did they need it to drink, but it provided kill which only RiverClan ever took. It let RiverClan have plenty of prey through multiple seasons. Mouses, Shrews, Voles, they all could get away over land. Even more so when it came to rabbits, at the pace they ran, why even bother? No, RiverClan understood the secret. They understood the fish. The fish which they regularly ate also gave them their distinct scent, helping to differentiate them from the other clans. She looked into the river with joy, apprehension even. Morningheart was always shaken when the river would freeze over leaf-bare, those were the hardest times in RiverClan. With their life-blood lost they had to rely on their stores to get them through.

The time was about sun-high, she could feel the heat of it. The light easily broke through the foliage of the surrounding trees. Part of her mind though of sunning-rocks, how it was the best place in the forest to feel the heat. Her thoughts then rested with ThunderClan, how they had taken the territory from them. Any RiverClan cat would be glad to argue over such a subject, but before her mind was taken by the thought of territory she caught a glimmer. Instantly her eyes swiveled toward the direction of the light. Then she saw the fish she had been waiting for. Her eyes stared at creature who had not yet detected her. The fish swam lazily with the slight current. He had not a care in the world, well, Morningheart would change that. She raised her paw above the water, careful not to cast a shadow in the fish's direction. Closer and closer the fish swam to her side. Come on...Come one...just a bit... Then like lightning her paw splashed down into the water. With her claws unsheathed, she felt her claws first dig into the fish's side. As her claws went deeper into the fish, her paw made connection. Then Morningheart brought the fish up into the air, then the ground. Maybe you should be less lazy, next time!, she chuckled to herself in her head. She pushed it behind her with the two other fish she had caught. Today Morningheart was out hunting along with a few other cats. They were placed in other parts of the area, possibly along the river, but there was no certainty of that. She knew that Warfrost was also on this trip. Surely a cat of his stature must have caught something. Her longtime friend was a pretty good hunter, even if he was quite bulky.

She wondered what he thought of her for no reason in particular, she knew she had some kind of feelings for him. Was it love? She wasn't completely sure, but she trusted him far past most cats. Having known him so long, he wasn't so bad, just not very.... talkative. She looked around her, ears pricked for the sound of pawsteps. For all his skills in battle aside, he could never be quite on his steps. This much she was used to. Who could be stealth when they were that big? She sighed to herself, and focused her attention back to the river. She scanned the river banks again and again with her eyes, waiting for that glimmer. She lifted her previously wet paw and licked it clean, with her eyes open. Such a thing felt unnatural, yet she couldn't be happy with ignoring the river for that amount of time. As she put down her paw she caught another glimmer. This fish moved much faster, perhaps a cat had tried and failed to catch it before. She focused in on it's wiggling body. Closer and closer it moved to her, pace picking up. She looked at her paw and noticed the shadow cast. Foxdung!, her mind raced. She decided to go for it. She quickly reached out and grabbed at the fish. Her claws raking the side. It slowed, but was not caught. She pulled back her paw and struck once more. She raked the fish one more time, and it stuck to her. She pulled it up and out of the river. She looked at her pile. Four fish?...This was a good hunt, she thought to herself just as a new scent entered the air. Whipping her head around, she faced the direction of the oncoming scent.

---

Speaking :: 2E4674
Thinking :: 4161A2

Tagged :: Warfrost
Count :: 788 words
Mood :: Calm
Notes :: ehh..my muse died at the end

[Warfrost]

Light and shadow played on the surface and within the depths of the unstoppable river, flowing with a comforting gurgling sound as it pushed itself over rocks in its way. No matter what obstacles lay before it, the river could never be held back. Such a proud thought, being named after a glorious element. RiverClan was much more than the fish-faces they were so often called by outsiders. If only they knew what it meant to be a warrior of the river! The intense skill, the fierce determination, the ability to be calm and wise as the flowing water... RiverClan had earned the right to be named after their life source, and anyone who said otherwise was a disrespectful fox-heart. Warfrost contemplated these things pleasantly as he sat on the pebbly bank, catching glimpses of the scaly, shiny bodies of fish hiding just beneath the surface. His mind, however, quickly changed to other, less trivial matters. Like the significant rustle of someone brushing against the reeds behind him. They'd been there for quite some time, whispering quietly among themselves. Warfrost pretended to not notice these obvious signs of being watched, and merely sat at the river's edge. Suddenly, a soft hiss hushed the many whispering voices, and Warfrost heard paws stalking further down the river, about a fox-length or so. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as a pale grey paw emerged slowly from a cluster of reeds, heading carefully toward the surface of the river. Just a whisker-length above the river, the paw stopped, as if trying to make sure its progress remained unseen. Suddenly, the paw splashed down into the water, did a grand scooping motion, and flicked water right into Warfrost's face. The paw was quickly withdrawn and loud giggling sounded out.

Warfrost flattened his ears and sighed softly, whiskers weighed down by heavy drops of water. The large black-and-white tom turned, quickly causing the laughter to cease. A devious thought entered his mind, and the warrior faked a look of puzzlement. As casually as he possibly could, the warrior began to stroll back in direction of the camp, obviously looking as if he was going to get something to eat in camp before returning. Instead, once he was safely out of sight, he backtracked skillfully. Warfrost was absolutely terrible at the element of surprise, but he just needed to get a few fox-lengths away and then in all his bulky glory, charge in on those troublesome apprentices. No doubt that when a huge cat comes bursting out of nowhere, you'd be frightened too. Paws leaving deep imprints in the moist ground, Warfrost inched ever closer, freezing every time his large muscles disturbed the unruly reeds around him. About two or three fox-lengths ahead of him sat three apprentices, laughing wildly. The first was a skinny dark red tom Warfrost recognized as Otterpaw. The second was a small dark brown she-cat that Warfrost knew as Volepaw; but against his former knowledge of her, she didn't seem very shy at all right now. Yet his yellow gaze locked firmly on one cat in particular: Pebblepaw. The pale grey tom was cocky and disrespectful, and he was a troublemaker. His mentor was lazy and foolish, and Warfrost had acquired a dislike for both of them. Pebblepaw snickered and loudly meowed to his companions, "That'll teach him! Warfrost isn't as tough as he pretends to be. Other cats might fear him, but he's just a mousebrained fool!" Volepaw giggled and added, "Did you see his face? He looked like a fish with no idea why it can't breathe on land!" She did a silly impression of his confused expression, puffing out her cheeks and crossing her eyes so that she looked somewhat of a fish. The three apprentices fell to the ground in laughter.

Warfrost couldn't stand it anymore. With a vicious snarl, he lunged forward, powerfully landing in the midst of the three apprentices. His round paws hit the ground hard, sending up a grand spray of mud. The young cats scrambled away, eyes wide in terror and surprise. Warfrost flicked his tail and stared down at the apprentices. "Perhaps," the tom rumbled in that deep voice of his, "you should hunt more and cause trouble less. It won't get you into such bad situations." Pebblepaw, however, seemed to have a sudden surge of confidence and remarked, "Are you threatening us, ugly?" He looked at Otterpaw and Volepaw for support, but they seemed to sense that Warfrost meant business. "Threats are used to either intimidate or anger your opponent. I'm informing you of the miserable position you are in. Now, you can go back to camp and find something helpful to do, or stay and receive a lesson about what happens to bratty apprentices." Otterpaw and Volepaw seemed to get a hint and scampered off toward camp, but Pebblepaw remained, skeptically challenging the large tom. There was a swift movement of a hefty paw flying through the air, a loud whacking sound, and a painful cry from Pebblepaw. The apprentice writhed on ground, face smashed into the mud. "If I was you, I'd learn respect for your Clanmates. They're the ones who'll be protecting your flea-bitten pelt in a battle, but if you keep acting like a mousebrain your Clanmates might think you as...disposable. Don't make your own kin your enemy, you mousebrained fool." Pebblepaw spat out bits of mud and grass from his mouth, and sobbed out incomprehensible curses as he bolted toward camp.

Warfrost watched him go, quite pleased with himself. A sudden splash to his left drew his attention swiftly from the fleeing apprentice. There stood none other than Morningheart, a fellow warrior who had spent a lot of time with him as an apprentice. She had just fished some prized prey from the river, and he was slightly amazed at her catch of four fish. He heavily walked over, reeds rattling as he walked by. There wasn't real need to mask his loud pawsteps- it wasn't like he was trying to sneak up on her or anything. "That's quite a catch you've got there, Morningheart." He praised her, padding over to her side and sitting down. "You always were a great hunter. I, on the other paw, have the misfortune of casting large shadows on the water. Apparently fish aren't polite enough to simply flop up on shore and land at my paws." He lightly joked, gently nudging Morningheart with a bump of the shoulder. His yellow gaze drifted from her back down to the river, where a sudden flash of light green caught his eye. Unsheathing his claws, he prepared his muscles to grab for the fish. Plunging a large paw into the water, he scooped the fish into the air. It wiggled midair, until it heavily hit the shore. Briefly dazed, it stopped flopping around long enough for Warfrost to attribute a killing bite. Although a rather small trout, it would make a nice meal for any cat in the Clan. Distractedly staring down at the fish, Warfrost began in a mischievous tone, "Morningheart, have you ever heard of my completely efficient way of catching fish with your teeth?" It was an old joke he used that lead up to a playful prank that he often administered on Morningheart, out of the blue pushing her from behind to make her plunge headfirst into the water. With a rumbling purr, he questioned in mockingly sweet innocence, "Would you like me to show you how it works?"

[»» Morningheart]

Morningheart heard the rapid running of pawsteps of an apprentice in the distance. The scent of his newfound fear was evident at the moment. In fact she could smell some three fading fear scents in the distance. She recounted in her head what their hunting party was supposed to consist of. There was her, Warfrost, Otterpaw, Volepaw, Pebblepaw, and another cat or two. She shook her head to herself. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"That's quite a catch you've got there, Morningheart", Warfrost said to her. "You always were a great hunter. I, on the other paw, have the misfortune of casting large shadows on the water. Apparently fish aren't polite enough to simply flop up on shore and land at my paws."

[/i]


Warfrost was right next to her and nudged her on the shoulder in his joking manner. She smirked at him slightly. Her eyes shifted down quickly as another fish started to come near her and Warfrost. She noticed that Warfrost had raised his paw to strike first. All right, I'll let him have this one, she thought to herself. The fish came closer and closer, finally Warfrost struck. His paw came down, scooping the fish right out of the water and onto the dry land near them. His paw had made quite a ripple in the water, sending hundreds of tiny droplets around them. Many, of course, landed on her and him. She didn't really mind, RiverClan cats were so used to the cool feel of water she didn't even bother to shake it off at that moment. She watched him move after the fish to finish it off. The killing bite was swift and likely painless for the fish. A humane way for the thing to go, even if it was fresh-kill. There was a bit of blood spatter on his muzzle that she noticed. She just let that go, he could groom himself, she wasn't about to be a nagging queen here.

"Not bad, though, Warfrost. Not bad at all"[/color], she complemented his technique right before he spoke again.

"Morningheart, have you ever heard of my completely efficient way of catching fish with your teeth?", he said smoothly. She quickly stepped side-ways, just a hair, and just out of range. She was well aware of what he did to her when they were apprentices. She was not about to be the butt of a joke by this big cat. Then he decided to follow up with a deep purr as he spoke, "Would you like me to show you how it works?" She chuckled a bit at that.

"I'm not sure Warfrost, but I know you have used my technique on those apprentices. I must have taught you very well.", she smirked at him. "Pebblepaw was a truly big threat indeed, and truly afraid to create that strong of a fear scent...I'd joke more, but I'd be afraid to challenge great and mighty Warfrost!", she joked at him, putting some emphasis on the end. They were pretty equal when it came to a battle, yet they fought so differently. Morningheart came in quick, fast, and efficient. She is in a fury, yes, but it is one that is a work of art. Taught to her by her mentor before her. On the other hand, Warfrost was an utter tank. He knew he was large, and he used that to his advantage every single time. She was glad that at least she had long claws compared to any other cat, it gives her a bit more advantage in a fight. Yet, she doubted Warfrost would need such a thing. She noticed that there was a bit of an indentation on the ground from where Pebblepaw, who was known to be loud, hit. There was quite some force behind his paw.

She turned on her back paw and looked back at the forest. She saw one last sliver of an apprentice's tail before he or she, she wasn't sure, disappeared from any kind of sight. She turned back at Warfrost, "What was it they did, exactly? That made you slam 'em down? I'm surprised I didn't hear all of it. But, I'd like to hear it from the warrior himself."[/color], she asked Warfrost. She wasn't being scolding in what she said, she was simply curious at what set him off. She might want to warn the apprentices for next time not to say it. She worried that another apprentice would set of Warfrost, and unlike her fury, is a lot easier to provoke.

---

Speaking :: 2E4674
Thinking :: 4161A2

Tagged :: Warfrost
Count :: 760 words
Mood :: Calm, Curious, Amused
Notes :: Did Warfrost just pimp slap Pebblepaw? Hahahaha xD

[/size][/blockquote]

[Warfrost]

The sun, high in the sky, cast a beautiful shimmering effect on the river as it gracefully flowed by. RiverClan's territory was just so tranquil- how could a cat survive in such territories like ShadowClan's? Warfrost flicked his ears, slightly disgusted by the thought of sharing his territory with diseased rats. Morningheart's gentle voice brought him out of his distracted thoughts, however, before he could make up a reasonable list of why RiverClan was better than ShadowClan. "I'm not sure Warfrost, but I know you have used my technique on those apprentices. I must have taught you very well.", The black-and-white tom narrowed his eyes playfully as she smirked. "Pebblepaw was a truly big threat indeed, and truly afraid to create that strong of a fear scent...I'd joke more, but I'd be afraid to challenge great and mighty Warfrost!" A dark chuckle escaped his muzzle, and his tail lashed. "As you should be! I doubt you could have taken part in this," At this point Warfrost sat straight, chest puffed out comically. "powerful amount of skill!" His teasing show of hostility and menacing power faded into a light laughter. "Oh yes, a very big threat indeed. Probably bigger than anyone you could take down, oh wise and powerful Morningheart." Warfrost deviously teased, chuckling as he noticed Morningheart had scooted further away from him after implying the joke they had shared as apprentices.

The bulky warrior grew quiet as he listened to Morningheart curiously ask, "What was it they did, exactly? That made you slam 'em down? I'm surprised I didn't hear all of it. But, I'd like to hear it from the warrior himself." Swiping a salmon pink tongue over his muzzle, washing away the small drips of blood from his earlier catch of fish, the tom gave a thoughtful answer. "It was merely the teaching of a lesson they aren't soon to forget. I simply had to beat it into Pebblepaw's thick head to get my message across. Pretty much they "secretly" splashed water at me and then were given the impression was I weak and harmless." Warfrost seemed to study his paw as he flexed it, repeatedly unsheathing and sheathing his claws. "I had to correct this misunderstanding. Pebblepaw has been influenced by his mentor, as all apprentices are, but his mentor is lazy without much acknowledgement to the rest of his Clan. I found it necessary to teach Pebblepaw this, since his mentor won't do it. Perhaps now the young tom understands that although his Clan is his family, they aren't to be taken so lightly either. Even a kittypet has claws, so you must always take caution." The tom flicked his gaze upward from his paw to Morningheart, ears attentively directed at her now purposefully. "Perhaps you thought I was too harsh?" He reflected her own previous curiousity, although he didn't seem to have any remorse behind his words, like worrying if he'd done the right thing or not. No, Warfrost was content with his actions.

That was the thing about Morningheart. Although they were totally different in stature and method, the two warriors would be fairly matched in a battle. One couldn't really beat the other, unless they found the small ways to tip the scale in favor of themselves. Like finding the other's weaknesses and trying to get around the strength that made up for them. It was a blessing from StarClan for them to contribute their strength and skill to the same Clan; nobody would see a true battle unless they saw these two fought. It would never come to that, though. Certaintly these two beasts of battle would never turn against each other. RiverClan must be proud to have such finely trained warriors. Yet in the depths of Warfrost's mind lied a whole different cat, a rare prescence nobody had ever seen before. It wasn't like a double personality like Deathkit's or Morningheart's kill-switch. It was the true heart of his soul: dark and twisted with sins. You could mask it as best you can, and could go on living your whole life without anybody else knowing this other side, this true side. But no matter what you did, it was always there. Who you are at the heart is unchanging, and it's bound to reveal itself sooner or later, like a deceptive attacker in the shadows. And in this part of his being, Warfrost caculated and observed Morningheart. She didn't see past his clever lies, but he knew that if she ever found out, she'd automatically be marked as a threat to him. She was probably one of the select few who was actually equal to his intelligence and strength. Yes, Morningheart was much of threat, but that was only if she was aware of what was actually happening beneath the surface. The less she knew, the more harmless she was.

Between Morningheart and himself, one could observe a similarity that couldn't fully be observed by the naked eye. No, it was something that had to be felt. Something that could be sensed as you stood close to them. The immense power you knew existed behind their friendly smiles and warm tones. The ability to cause so much destruction if they wanted to. It's a rather exciting yet intimidating feeling, standing before such contained power. Imagine, if you will, immersed in a friendly conversation with a seemingly kind and polite man who you know to be some sort of war general. Sure, he'd be a completely normal person, with emotions and human flaws. But when you get to thinking about all that experience, knowledge, and skill in warfare you might find yourself secretly in awe. A man capable of so much enjoying a little bit of chitchat with you while he's simply visiting the land he's been fighting for overseas. So hopefully now you might have a rough idea about how it might feel to stand next to Morningheart or Warfrost.

unfinished, due to me suddenly becoming pissed off and loosing my muse for this post somewhere along the way./