L.azing {open}

[Wildheart]

Darkstar crouched down in the thick leaves. Ferns brushed her pelt, but she didn't move a mousetail as she sniffed out the vole. Slowly, she made her way forward towards the scratching noise.

With a swift movement, she leaped out of the holly bush and onto the creature. With a bite to the neck, she finished it off and then threw it beneath the birch tree next to her. With the smell of the vole clouding her senses, she almost didn't catch the one strongest smell in the air.

"FOX!" she yowled.

[Talonheart]

hisss scarheart smeld it too but could not move

[~*Leafstar*~]

Hollowclaw's fur stood on its ends as the full force of fox scent clouded his senses. He seemed like he would choke on the smell. He was quickly at the side of his leader claws unsheathed. He hissed waited for the fox to show up. His orange ears pinned to his head as he waited. He could tell the fox was near.... very near.

[Wildheart]

Darkstar's short fur was at the extent of its ability, sticking straight out. She lept forward as the brown animal burst out of the bush. With a hiss, she clawed down its side, but then was knocked backwards by its heavy paw.

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[Thunder]

ooc: mind if i join you?

A steady gurgling sound was the first thing Thunderheart heard when she awoke. A bird chirped an alarm nearby, probably the same bird that had jerked her from the land of sleep back to EmberClan's territory. Her eyes jerked open, level with the rushing water within a cat length of her nose. Swearing, she stretched her limbs. I should be put in with the elders for dozing off like that! she thought angrily to herself, infuriated that she had allowed herself to doze off. Taking a deep breath, she looked around her. She was right by the stream, the trees nearby swaying in a light but snappy breeze. The sun dappled across the ground, casting her in and out of shadows as she slowly fought the mental blanket of sleep. Her fur ruffled, and she shivered as the cold air rushed around her, enfolding her sleep-warmed body.

Thunderheart had somehow dozed off while looking for herbs near the stream, and this put her in an extremely irritated mood. Not that she was angry with anyone but herself, mind, but in an angry mood nonetheless. Looking around her, she saw that a neat pile of herbs was near her left paw, but that some of them had scattered from the breeze. Heaving herself up, she grabbed the bundle in her mouth and started to collect the loose herbs that she could see shifting faintly on the green-brown grass. The wind shifted direction, sending the herb she was about to snag with her teeth flying. Growling in irritation, she leaped after it, trying not to let the herbs in her mouth go as well. She snagged it with her claws, and with a triumphant glint in her eye, added it to her stash. After doing that though, she caught a wiff of something on the breeze that she had not been able to register before with the herbs in her mouth.

Thunderheart flicked her ears, worried. What's that smell? she thought to herself, completely immersed. It smells almost like... fox? alarm shot through her nerves, lighting her eyes with panic. She had rarely been in battle before, and never with a fox, especially by herself! Her best bet was to find a patrol nearby and warn them. There was a strength in numbers that could not be denied. She sniffed the air again, searching for a sign that there was an EmberClan patrol nearby. If not, she'd have to make a dash for camp. Aha! she could smell Darkstar and a few other cats near, but it was in the same direction the fox was. Oh, well,[ she thought, and started to trot slowly towards them, giving a warning yowl that would at least distract the fox and let them get the upper hand. Her herbs lay forgotten by the stream.

"MEERROW!" Thunderheart leaped into action as she burst into the woods. The party of cats was right there: Darkstar, Scarheart and Hollowclaw as well. With a running start she jumped onto the fox's back, not even pausing to think about what she was doing. She sank her teeth into its scruff, holding on with only her claws. Clamping down for only a few seconds, she tore away, using her hind legs to project herself away from the vicious creature. Landing near Scarheart, she hissed and bared her teeth at the fox, her heart beating faster than normal. Her tail lashed out behind her, her claws were flexing menacingly, every fiber of her being preparing to land another blow should the fox try to attack.

[Wildheart]

ooc ;; hehe. not at all!

Darkstar recovered from the blow instantly. She jumped up, but jumped back as the fox thrashed around, looking at someone behind him. A flash of fur erupted from the undergrowth, and the black she-cat was surprised to see Thunderheart, the medicine cat tearing at the fox's back. Darkstar sprung with a yowl as the medicine cat jumped away.

She clawed the fox's belly as she dodged underneath. She waited until the fox bled and growled until skipping back around to the front of the fox, slashing it's nose. She backed off again with as hiss as it barked and lashed out a paw.

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[Sacrifice]

[Idea here Wild. You know how I want to replace Illusionbreak? What about if I kill him in this thread, and then you have Darkstar make whoever I'm going to make to replace him deputy following his death?]

[/blockquote]

[Wildheart]

[o.o good idear. go for it ]

[~*Leafstar*~]

Hollowclaw lashed at a paw with unsheathed claws. He hissed dodgeing the fox's move so it didn't hit him. He looked at Darkstar" Are you okay?" He was wondering if there where more foxes then just this one. Hollowclaw was hoping there wasn't though.

[Sacrifice]

He had been out simply wandering through the forest, trying to ignore the constant buzz of his thoughts, simply trying to get away. To get away from here, to get away from his life, just to get away from all his problems, as invisible as they were to the outside. Head bowed, the small black and white deputy of EmberClan could only trudge along, looking at the dying plants, the forest no longer such a brilliant hue of green it had once been. Winter was coming, and there was something telling him that this was going to be his last season, a voice that no matter what he did, he couldn’t quiet. He hadn’t ever seriously considered StarClan; he had lived in doubt for so long, but almost overnight, it was as though he was destined to change his mind, something that he was fighting every pawstep. No patrols had been lead had seen this in the deputy, they couldn’t follow someone so weak, and it seemed as though with ever new patrol, going back got harder and harder. After all, what did he have here? No mate, no family anymore, and being the quiet cat that he tended to be, very few friends anymore. It was as depressing as it got.

Head and tail low, it seemed all that Illusionbreak could do was wander the empty forest, ears twitching as he caught the scent of Darkstar and a few other clan mates.
They wouldn’t want to be bothered by me. The small tom thought to himself, turning to walk away. He had scented Thunderheart as well, it seemed as though the little group was really growing, making the tom smile slightly. The clan had grown so much, it was simply amazing. Watching kits grow to adults, sworn on keeping the clan safe even if it cost them their own life in the process. He missed that endless energy, that raw power that he had once had. When had he gotten so serious? Things hadn’t always been like this, there had been a time when he was just like the rest of them, eager and ambitious, his life goal to protect his clan, and he had done his best. He was happy, but almost in the same way, he wasn’t. It was as though there was a part of him that was longing to be someplace else, someplace where he didn’t have to try and be something that he wasn’t quite so often.

Lost in his own thoughts, he almost missed the barking laugh of the fox. Or the yowl from Thunderheart. Before he even knew what he was doing, Illusionbreak was running through the forest, flying over the fallen trees with speed he hadn’t had since apprenticeship. He had one single drive; he had to stop the fox. Nothing else mattered; this was what he had to do. All the voices in his head had quit with their constant murmur; this was the first time in moons that he had been totally alone in his own head. Ears flattening against his skull, the apprentice sized deputy cut to the right suddenly, knowing exactly what would be happening down below, he had been in his fair share of battles, be them clan or rogue. Faster and faster he ran, breath coming out in sharp gasps as exhaustion began to tighten its grip on him. Refusing to be beaten, Illusionbreak’s grey eyes narrowed further; as he pushed with everything he had left, seeing the light at the end of the forest of fern leaves not too much farther away. He had only one shot at this.

Time seemed to freeze as he entered the light, right above the fox. Darkstar was picking herself up, and nobody had been killed.
Yet.
Some part of his mind whispered, but there was no time to pull back, Illusionbreak had already jumped, small form hitting the fox in the side, claws and teeth flashing as he went for the throat. The fox, having been watching the ground cats, didn’t have time to turn, and Illusionbreak felt his claws connect to something. Grinning, he pulled his claws, but as he did so, he fell, and although the fox didn’t have much time, it did have enough time to rip the underside of the tom to shreds as he fell. The tom and the fox seemed to hit the ground at the same time, one with a spark of life still in its eyes, the other bloody and dead. Correction; they were both covered in blood, their own and the others. Shakily standing to his feet, Illusionbreak had pretty much gone as pale as the dead, though he took a long moment to stare at Darkstar, before a small smile flickered across his maw. There was no regret in his eyes; no bitterness in his smile.

He finally understood everything. As starry cats surrounded him, telling him he had only moments left, he broke eye contact with Darkstar.
”It has been fun, old friend. Thanks for giving me the experience. I’ll see you in StarClan.” He said quietly, before he crouched down, and curled up slightly, letting his spirit leave his body. So it seemed it was true, StarClan was real. Staring down at the clan cats, he was among them but they couldn’t see him, Illusionbreak gently brushed against Darkstar, before fading away, as he knew he was suppose to. He would watch from the sky now, and hope that the right deputy was named. There were so many good cats in the clan, but maybe someone from the outside would be better…

It was the end and the beginning for Illusionbreak.

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[Wildheart]

Darkstar watched with wide, horrified eyes as her deputy and friend faded into darkness. For a moment, Illusionbreak's pelt brushed hers, and she knew that he had found his way.

She pushed her nose into his fur, almost losing it for a moment, but then she pulled back. The mask covered her face once again, and she swiped an unsheathed claw at the fox, even though its life had left. It was the fox's fault. She couldn't tell herself anything else.

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[~*Leafstar*~]

Hollowclaw didn't know the deputy well... but he was still a clan mate. He couldn't believe that this fox had killed such a skilled warrior. Walking up to Illusionbreak's body he dipped his nose to his pelt. "May you find peace in Starclan's paws." He stepped back and lowered his tail on Darkstar's shoulder. "We need to take him back so the clan may know what happened." He really didn't know how to handle his leader that well.

He stood up on his paws keeping a lookout in case there were anymore foxes. He knew they should send a patrol to make sure there were no more on their territory.

[Thunder]

(gahhh sorry guys school and then no muse, seriously. This is a 300 word drop from my last post -dies-)

Thunderheart froze. Everything had happened so fast. Illusionbreak... was he dead? She padded up to him slowly, still in shock. No heartbeat. There was absolutely nothing she could do about it -- what a horrid, horrible feeling this was. She was useless. She might as well go back to camp after she collected those herbs that she left on the shore of the river. "He is in StarClan's paws now..." she said, looking up to the sky. Why couldn't I have responded faster? I may have been able to save him if I hadn't been stuck in a trance... she sighed. Perhaps she was getting too old for this. If she couldn't save a life because she was just standing there in shock, what good was she to the Clan?

Tail down, Thunderheart started to go back to the river to collect the herbs. Somehow she had not forgotten that in the midst of all this. The sky was a tantalizingly bright and cheery blue for her grim mood. She felt as though she could summon a thunderstorm with all of the anger and self-disappointment that was rolling around in her mind. Lashing her tail angrily, she realized dimly that the breeze probably blew the herbs away. There were a few leaves and stalks wandering rootless around the small field, and she grabbed them. First Illusionbreak, now I can't even focus on collecting herbs! She headed back to the clearing, disgusted with herself.

"Darkstar, you better make sure you pick the right deputy," she said gruffly through the herbs, trying hard to hide her grief, "If you pick the wrong one, I'm sure Illusionbreak will have something to say about it!" Without a look back, she started walking towards camp, her muscles stiff with grief and age. It was not her job to bring back the body, like she would be able to anyway with her muscles that have never seen warrior training. If I ever see another fox... it will be very sad it had been born once I am through with it.

[Wildheart]

Darkstar looked down in surprise at her medicine cat. Her hollow green eyes, the only sign of her grief, studied the medicine cat. "I won't let him down, Thunderheart."

She turned back to the camp entrance, sliding into the camp with a pressed back sigh as she looked back at her deputy. She ran over to the High Rock.