successful avoidance [ open! ]

[T. Corpse]

TALONSTRIKE

Talonstrike didn't like to think of himself as a cat who wallowed in his own sadness, but frankly, that was what he was doing. For the past few moons he had been languishing in his guilt, he had been self-absorbed and unable to move forward. He was just going through the motions. Nothing he had been doing was genuine. Something in the back of his head--something that sounded achingly like Marshtail--was telling him to get off his tail and get back to work, but he had been stubbornly ignoring it.

He had a hazy dream the night before where Marshkit had just been born and he'd been kneading at Flowerpelt's belly. She had looked at him, straight in the eyes with a deep stare and he woke up with a jolt. He began his morning with this picture in his mind and a strong determination to remember the good today, not the bad--to try and ignore his mourning if only for a day. Something about the wispy left-overs of the dream kicked him into action, and he spent the day on hunting and border patrols.

The day was a blur of scents and fresh-kill. Considering the season he had brought in a good amount of prey--two mice and two voles. By the end of the day he was exhausted and totally burned out. He felt like he had worked himself harder than he had in moons, and that was a good thing--there was a sort of lazy pride that came with a day's worth of hard work. He had nearly forgotten his dream and had been successful in ignoring the heartache that had haunted him for so long. He'd been religiously avoiding the patch of territory where his kin had been killed and today had been no exception.

He was stretched in front of the warriors den, basking in the weak and dying daylight. It was cold but the thaw was coming. He would be retiring for the night soon, but for now he comforted himself in watching the relaxing rhythm of the camp at work.

[Fahrenheit]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Whitestarmain-1.png] As the sun's crimson light lit up the grassy hills, Whitestar padded into the camp rather quickly. His white fur looked supernatural in the reds and purples of the oncoming twilight, and his amber eyes were widened slightly, matching the uncertain and sheepish expression on his muzzle. Glancing back, he slowed his pace until he reached a halt. The HillClan leader grimaced. "Sorry," he called out again, only imagining what his clanmates were thinking as they spat and clawed at the earth over their lost catch out in the territory's heart. "I didn't know, I mean, ugh, StarClan!" Suddenly a bit more angry, he stomped off towards his den in the bosom of Sky Hill. "How was I supp'sed teh know that y'all were doin' one of those things with the hunting and stuff." Stopping at the entrance to his den, his white paws touching the threshold beneath the dark blue shade of the tree branches, Whitestar paused and turned his rounded head to look over at the warriors' den. He knew he'd seen someone out of the corner of his eye. He recognized Talonstrike's relaxed form, the tom laid out in front of the den. At first, the leader wondered why he was lying there looking so dead and stuff, but then he concluded that he was probably just getting comfortable. Whitestar didn't blame him; the dying day and the birth of night always made him want to curl up. Looking back over his shoulder to where he had come in earlier, he lashed his tail at the invisible hunting party he'd royally messed up before leaving the vicinity of Sky Hill. The leader felt like saying a word to his warrior. Because hey, they were clanmates, right? He needed some advice, and he couldn't find his deputy (whom he'd been looking for before he stumbled upon the hunting patrol out in the wilderness). Padding up to the warrior, he stopped a foxlength away and stared at him, his copper-colored eyes wide and child-like in appearance. "'Ey, Talonstrike?" he meowed rather loudly. "You're a warrior, right?" Whitestar's question was rhetorical, so he continued immediately after asking it, padding a few steps forward before planting his big butt in front of the warriors' den and the lounging warrior. "What's your opin'n on huntin' tactics? I really think that revealin' yourself teh the prey is the best way teh go, ya know. It scares 'em. I'm right, yeah? Be honest, too, Talonstrike. It's like, para... paralyza... tion — or somethin'."

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[T. Corpse]

TALONSTRIKE

He was in the strange state of semi-consciousness, where he was dimly aware of the noises around him but they were as intangible of smoke if he wanted to understand them.
He was in a dream-state but not yet asleep, his breathing was getting deeper and--a cat shouted his name and he jumped. Blinking and shaking his head he opened his eyes expecting at first to see a daring kit or apprentice, only to look into the yellow of his leader's eyes. Briefly surprised he dipped his head and muttered, "Whitestar."

Talonstrike wondered what the white tom could possibly want of him--hadn't he done his share of work during the day? The question sounded almost accusatory to his ears and he was ready to tense up to defend himself. He knew what it must look like, lounging around as cats paraded in and out with fresh kill and reports from the border, but StarClan knew he'd earned a moment's rest. But Whitestar wasn't tense, he didn't look like he was about to scold him so he relaxed again.

"Hmm," he murmured, after he heard the question. He wasn't surprised by how ridiculous or stupid it was--everyone knew their leader could be like that. He was amused, a little bit, but also wanted to know whose hunt he'd ruined. Sometimes Talonstrike wasn't sure if he should be more critical of their leader or not. After the deaths of his kin he was close to blaming his leader, close to claiming that if only he was more noble or imaginative or smart it wouldn't have happened but he was too strict a follower of the Warrior Code to do that. Besides; he had a guilt complex like no other cat and he trusted that Whitestar genuinely wanted the best for his clan, and would never purposely neglect them.

"An interesting tactic," He said at last, his whiskers twitching in amusement. Sometimes he could resist teasing. He knew that any self-respecting warrior would show more respect, but this was distracting him from things he didn't want to think about. He purred, "I don't know--has it worked for you in the past?"

Pausing to lick some of the fur on his chest, he looked back up and said with complete seriousness: "I think you the word you want is 'paralysis.'"

[moonshine]

Moonshine yawns, dropping a small Robbin on the fresh-kill pile. She stretches and makes her way slowly towards the warriors den, eyes heavy. She yawns again as she enters the den. She spies Whitestar, then stumbles before landing in her nest just inside the mouth of the den. She had picked the spot just inside the mouth of the den because it was a space that was behind a section of rock that juts out at an angle, blocking the wind and such from the nest. The stars are still visible from the nest, though.

"Whitestar..." Moonshine mews, dipping her head. She stumbles again, blushing slightly. She lays her head on her paws, looking out at the stars, not bothering to hide her pink-tinted grey face. She keeps glansing over at the leader, her mentor.

Note: Sorry if this was a little short. Despite the medicine I took a few hours ago, I'm still a bit sick. I think it's a mix of a cold and allergies...

[Fahrenheit]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Whitestarmain-1.png] "Well, no, uh... it hasn't, actually." Whitestar meowed slowly, his eyes averting their gaze to look at a random curling of stems in the grass. He coughed softly, feeling a little awkward. He had attempted his little "interesting tactic" earlier, but it hadn't worked very well in his favor. Or, maybe, he'd unintentionally tried it, but it only wound up in him spooking the prey and causing it to run off like a firefly after it cuts off its light. He still felt rather sheepish for what he'd done; he couldn't get his clanmates' expressions out of his head, their exasperated hisses resonating in his ears. His stomach dropping, he looked at Talonstrike again. It still made him really perturbed, though. All he'd wanted to do was join in on the action! It wasn't entirely his fault that he'd stumbled upon them. 'Cause hey, they were dead silent up in there! How in StarClan's name could he have known that they were there when they were so quiet? Plus, he — plus, he.... "I...." He grimaced. "I kinda made that... — it 'as 'tactic', right? — Yeah, tactic. I kinda made it up. Just now. The leader paused, tempted to lick his chest fur once or twice. Instead, he settled on tightly curling his tail over his paws and looking the other way. "I know it's surprisin', but it was an acc'dent." Whitestar felt the urge to continue, the odd feeling pushing at his chest from the inside, building up tension until it seemed to accumulate in his throat. A sudden thought came to him, though, and he started to speak it, his voice a bit louder with excitement. "'Ey, Talon — oh, wait, StarClan," he clenched his jaw shut and lashed his tail free from around his dew claws. Another thought had struck him mid-sentence, and now he forgot both points. "Hold on," he muttered, lowering his copper-hued gaze to the ground. The sky had fully transitioned from lavender and gold to blue and violet, and the darkness only helped to muddle his thoughts further. "Oh, yeah! You said it's para... para-low... lou... isis. Paralysis!" Whitestar quickly licked a white paw and ran it swiftly over his ear. "That makes meh right, yeah? Like, I 'as liable to scare it off, but it was a, um, theory or somethin'." He twitched his nose. "But anyway," he began again, dropping his latter discussion in favor of the other thing he recalled moments ago. "I 'as lookin' for meh deputy or meh medicine cat teh talk teh, but I found you. Anyway, I had this idea. Uh. Not the one 'bout the huntin' 'n' stuff, but.... "Oh, 'ey, Moonshine." He just noticed his silver-pelted ex-apprentice in the warriors' den. When did she slip by? He was so wrapped up in talking to Talonstrike and formulating sentences that he didn't see her. Blinking a few times, he looked from one warrior to the other.

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[T. Corpse]

TALONSTRIKE

Talonstrike had been enjoying teasing Whitestar but his purr died in his throat when he saw the change in his expression. He wondered if he'd been too disrespectful or forward. His whiskers twitched and he too looked awkwardly away, thinking that even if Whitestar acted like an excitable apprentice sometimes that didn't mean he should be treated one. He imagined that his leader maybe struggled with his clan's perception of him--Talonstrike had been on more than one patrol that turned into gossiping--mostly harmless, but still--about Whitestar and how he sometimes didn't act like the other leaders, how he was just... different. He frequently changed his mind about whether or not it was undeserved, but he felt guilty now that he hadn't treated him with the respect a clan leader deserved.

Listening more closely now, he was sure that someone's hunt had been ruined and maybe his leader felt bad about that. For a moment Talonstrike just angled his head and eyed the white cat, curious and interested. He wanted to ask who wouldn't be bringing back any fresh-kill with them but knew better. After a moment, all he said was "Everyone makes mistakes," though he was thinking that it was lucky that it was no longer Leafbare or else the other cats wouldn't be very forgiving.

The next time Whitestar lost his train of thought, Talonstrike repressed much of his amusement and instead met his leader's gaze respectfully. He had to remember to keep himself in check. And it felt like, a moment later, he was put in his place. Whitestar mentioned that he had been looking for either Willowheart or Frostfur and that felt like a dismissal. Talonstrike ignored a flicker of disappointment and looked away. After a moment he said, in a neutral voice, fit for a warrior to use with his leader, "I could try and find them, if you like. I'm not sure if they're on patrol, or--"

Just then he was interrupted. He glanced up as the younger warrior stumbled into the den and straighted, angling his ears towards her. "Moonshine," he said, as way of a greeting. He frowned at her, his eyes glancing down to her paws. Had she hurt herself? That was the only reason for her to stumble; the den was clear of any debris that would cause her to trip.

"Are you all right?" He turned away from the other tom to address her fully, dimly aware that he should probably allow Whitestar ask these questions instead. His voice was concerned and he leaned forward to sniff at her lightly, then said, "If you hurt your paw, you might want to see Willowheart--she'd have something for you."

He ignored how she kept stealing looks at Whitestar--had he missed some piece of gossip or drama?--and waiting patiently for her to reply.

[moonshine]

"I'm fine," Moonshine mews quietly. She smiles slightly at Whitestar, wondering if her mentor had realized her feelings toward him. She blushes slightly. "I just... Lost my ballance, that's all..." She sits up and wraps her tail around her paws. "Thank you for your concern Talonstrike. I apreciate it." She turns her kind smile on the more experianced warrior for a moment before looking back at Whitestar. When her eyes meet his, she quickly looks at her paws, blushing. She moves one forepaw in a circular motion through her nesting material. The smile on her face turns shy when she meets Whitestar's eyes. Her grey pelt shimmers when the light touches it. Her bright blue eyes shimmer like stars when the light reflects off them.

Note: sorry this is so short. I'm watching Man vs Food right now. Also, I'm kinda... not sure where to go with this...

[Soul]

Frostfur

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The golden sky had melted away into a dark blue, and was continuously getting darker as each moment passed. The long white and dark pelt of Frostfur, snuck through the grass near the fallen oak His pelt didn’t help him blend into the surroundings. The green incoming grass was stating to come back to life from the cold of leaf-bare. With the prey returning, the clan would have to be on the look out or any morsel they could get back to camp. Everyone was still hungry after a long leaf-bare. He wasn’t sure what he was even sneaking around for. There was no prey nearby, or at least he didn’t think so. With a sigh he started on his way back to camp. There was no use staying out late, especially since he always awoke before the rest of the clan and took a walk. The excitement of a new day welled in him and he started to walk faster until he was at a running speed.

He raced back to the camp to get ready for a new day; a new beginning as he always though it to be. The next day would never be just like the last; therefore he tried to make his days as different as possible. Only doing one thing the same every day, a walk in the morning before the clan got up. His duties started early and he needed to be fully awake and aware of what was going on around him.

As he pranced back into he could see three cats; Whitestar, Talonstrike, and Moonshine. His heart raced from running, but from Moonshine also. He had liked her for a long time, and he wasn’t even sure she noticed. It’s not like he was trying to get her to realize it, just that sometimes it was accidentally obvious. He knew she liked Whitestar, and he wasn’t about to try and change her views. After shaking his thoughts out of his head, he walked up to them. ”Hello everyone.”

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[Fahrenheit]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Whitestar2main-1.png] Whitestar stared at Moonshine, her silver pelt standing out in the darkness of dusk almost as much as his own, white as snow fur. He was fixing her with a perplexed expression, though, concerned a bit over her small tumble. Talonstrike had handled the questionnaire (which he didn't mind at all), and although she'd dismissed his concerns as unneeded, he had to wonder if there were some gnarled brambles or roots in there. He couldn't have the Warriors' den so disorderly. He'd have to get someone to clear it out or something. Golden eyes lowering to watch the she-cat's paw make patterns in her nesting material, it took the HillClan leader a moment to remember Talonstrike's offer — the one he had been making before he'd been cut off. Looking back over at the tabby tom, he swished his tail delightedly and started to meow: "It means a lot that ya'd offer, Talonstrike, but n'aw, ya shouldn't. You're all comf'table 'n' all, and I'd hate teh send ya back out." His gaze softened a bit, and he contentedly let his snow-colored tail curl over his paws. He loved it when his warriors showed loyalty and generosity toward him. It not only inspired him, but it made him feel sure of himself for once. Not that he normally wasn't, but with all the slight fears he held over other cats not taking him at least somewhat seriously, he relished the times that he got obvious respect from his peers and subordinates. And also, it meant a little something extra coming from Talonstrike in particular, although for whatever reason that was due to he did not know or could even come close to placing. "Oh!" he started, head perking up. "I keep on forgettin'. My apologies, Talonstrike. Oh, 'n' Moonshine, you too, I guess." Bending over quickly to run his tongue over his tail, he meowed in between licks: "'Bou' meh huntin' ta'ics. I 'as thinkin' th't we shoul' — Ahem, 'cuse me, you two." Breaking from washing his tail (hey, it was a compulsory thing!), he straightened up and continued earnestly, his head craned forward ever so slightly, talking to his audience of two as if they were discussing the fate of the Clan and its loyalists themselves. "I was thinkin' that I should institute 'em new huntin' tactics. Not the ones I was talkin' teh ya 'bout earlier, though, Talonstrike," he made sure to correct and remind quickly, head shaking a little before speaking again. "I was watchin' these two 'paws a few moons ago, and they were doin' this 'ere thi —" Eyes darting off to the side when he saw sudden movement in the camp, elation immediately bubbled up in his stomach when he saw the unmistakable brightness of his deputy's fur. Frostfur was just the cat he'd been looking for all along ever since he'd left that hunting patrol back in the hills (a hunting patrol he'd doggedly ignored when and if they'd traipsed back into camp). Now that he was here, he could really get into what he'd been wanting to discuss. Not that he probably wouldn't have settled it all just fine with simply Talonstrike's and possibly Moonshine's guidance. He was remembering how helpful the senior warrior could be; it was too bad that they kept on getting disrupted, but it was the good kind of interruptions that led to even better things. At least, that was how Whitestar chose to see it then. "'Ey, Frostfur!" he meowed. "This is perfect. All right. So. I saw th'se two 'paws a few muns — moons —ago 'n' they were doin' this weird thin' with their paws. It's like what we do, but they did it in water. Ya know? When I saw it, I 'as like, 'woah, that'd be nice if we did it'." Unsheathing his claws and letting them dig a little into the ground, he grimaced and looked sadly at Talonstrike, suddenly disappointed. "I'd 'ave teh show y'all what they did near water or somethin'. Ugh, it's such an awes'me idear, too!"

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[moonshine]

Moonshine smiles in a friendly way to Frostfur when the deputy walks into the den. She stops moving her paw when Whitestar mentions the apprentices and the water. She tilts her head slightly. "You mean fishing?" she asks quietly. "Or were they swimmig? Or just playing around in the river?" She thinks back to her own apprentice days, when Whitestar had been the deputy as well as her mentor.

They had gone on a patrol near a river and Moonshine--then Moonpaw--had started splashing around in the water. She had even caused a fish to splash onto the grass, but still wasn't sure how that had happened. It had been a fluke, and hadn't happened since.

"Fishing is more of Brookclan's specialty," Moonshine reminds her leader. "Swimming as well." Her voice is quiet, slightly quieter than it had been when Talonstrike had adressed her. When her eyes met Whitestar's, a light pink crept into her grey cheeks, but she doesn't look away. Instead, she smiles a shy smile, one commonly seen on the faces of other she-cats when looking into the eyes of the tom they were crushing on. She wasn't sure if Whitestar was oblivious to her feelings, but she hadn't asked.

The reason Moonshine hadn't confessed to Whitestar yet was mainly because she wasn't sure if she could get the words out. Then again, when had an apprentice fallen for their mentor? Moonshine was confidant in pretty much everything she did; hunting, teaching when apprentices sought her out, patroling, and she considered herself a decent fighter, although she hadn't gotten much chance to test that. The one thing Moonshine wasn't confidant about was toms. She had never managed to get her mind around the way their minds worked.

Moonshine turns her gaze to her paws again, her paw moving in small circles in her nesting material. It was just something she did when she was nervous.

[T. Corpse]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Talonstrikemain-2.png] Talonstrike dipped his head in Moonshine's direction, but was still a little worried--he didn't know the warrior well but she didn't have a bad reputation in the Clan, so he wondered why she was acting so hesitant and afraid if she wasn't ill or hurt. Even if it was a little obvious from her coy, embarrassed nature that she was attracted to Whitestar, Talonstrike would have never guessed--the concept of love, attraction, and flirtatiousness were so far from his mind that he really didn't think about it all or recognize it in other cats--or even in himself. When he was attracted to another cat--and who had caught his attention since Flowerpelt?--he tucked those thoughts away because he doubted that they could ever really help him. "It would be no trouble," He murmured to Whitestar, shrugging. His tail swished back and forth and he kept his eyes fixed on the white cat's. Talonstrike was a storm of activity lately and probably would have jumped at the chance to do something else--the more he was doing, the better. Then after a second, he added, more quietly, trying to sound nonchalant. "I'm always willing to help--you should know that." And then his leader was talking again about hunting tactics, and Talonstrike bit back a purr of amusement. If there was one thing a cat could always count on him for, it was wandering in circles around the point, and taking forever to finally get there... but normally Talonstrike didn't mind too much, so he watched, whiskers twitching as he watched. Another scent floated into the den and he was prepared to ignore it as another cat coming in to sleep for the night, but he was quickly proven wrong. Blinking, Talonsrike dipped his head to the newcomer. "Frostfur, hello," he spoke with careful, measured respect. He felt just a bit uncomfortable, talking to both the leader and deputy at once--he was a little insecure and because of his recent doubt about himself he didn't think the high ranking cats of his Clan really had any business talking to him. But he'd take it in stride. "I, er--" He said, in reaction to Whitestar's attempt to describe a new hunting technique. "I'm not sure I know what you mean." He finished, narrowing his eyes. Talonstrike turned to look at the she-cat and was glad to see she was started to act a bit more sensibly. "Moonshine, that's true. But just because BrookClan does it, though, doesn't mean we couldn't learn." Talonstrike shrugged. "Though," he conceded, "We don't really have a lot of water in our territory, so..." [ what post order do we want to follow? ]

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[Soul]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/2d8i77m.png] Frostfur welcomed the warm sensation of standing near Moonshine. Looking back it was obvious that she liked Whitestar, or at least to him it was. He tried to notice as much as possible when it came to her. Although she may never know the feelings he had. As long as she was happy he didn’t care what happened to himself. He would often get lost in thought about something to do with her. Just seeing her made his fur hot, and he tried really hard not to look at her to much. It would seem weird. This was weird to him. He never thought of anyone like her. She was special to him and he wished he mattered like that to her. For now he should focus on his duties and not on one individual. It’s hard for him to focus when he has the attention span of an apprentice. It's not like she would probably ever share the same feelings. He shook his pelt to throw the thoughts out of his spinning head. Nothing would ever happen. Frostfur wanted to laugh a little at Whitestar and his inability to explain whatever it was he was talking about, but he held his tongue. Knowing that it is best to try and help. ”It’s not often that you find Hillclan cats in water, but maybe you should show us what you mean.”

[/b] Today, after all, seemed quite peaceful, and there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in the territory. Although it was getting late, Whitestar would have to show everyone another day.



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[Fahrenheit]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Whitestar2main-1.png] "Swimmin'? Yeah, I s'pose." Whitestar shrugged, his dark eyes lowering to look at the ground. His thoughts wandered a little bit, recalling that memory of watching BrookClan cats hooking fish with their paws, the floundering creatures like little dancing slivers that sometimes blinded a cat in the bright sunlight if one looked too closely. The two apprentices seemed mighty good at what they were doing, and the HillClan leader couldn't help but want to somehow pass that onto his Clan. It'd be pretty awesome if his apprentices were snapping fish out of water, and he couldn't help but really like the image that he got from that thought. "Oh, but wait! They weren't swimmin' — c'mon, Moonshine, I know wha' that is." He shot the silver she-cat an irritated look, but it melted in a matter of seconds into one of simple contemplation. "It's the firs' thin' yeh said. Fishin' is wha' it is. Yeah, that. They were—" A bit frustrated, the large white tom lifted himself onto his back legs, his front legs airborne. He looked pretty much like a fat squirrel alert to predators on the ground, sitting upright with bushy tail curled over. "Like this!" Whitestar exclaimed excitedly, desperately wanting to get his point across, totally unaware (and uncaring) of whether he was looking like an utter fool or not in front of his warriors and deputy. He moved his front legs, the right punching out and then the left scooping under like an uppercut. This was disastrous. Whitestar slipped up, and he wound up falling over. The leader caught himself with his paws, though, but he was a bit shaken. Lashing his tail, he straightened himself up. Coughing, the HillClan leader bit down any embarrassment and instead went to tucking his tail close to his haunch, a gesture that immediately made him feel secure. "It 'as like that!" he meowed, nodding. "I'd be liable to do it with s'me water, yeh know. Or even better, we could go teh BrookClan and see it fer ourselves." Standing up, he looked over at his deputy, Frostfur. "Like yeh said, I'll show it teh yeh. We're goin' teh their camp tomorrow! Just the, uh, one, two, three... four of us." He blinked slowly, a little too pleased with his decision. "Frostfur, yeh can 'ave a good time with Moonshine. It's a win-win siternation." Whitestar lifted a hind leg and scratched his ear, his pink tongue sticking out a bit while he satisfied the itch that nestled between the base of his ear and his head. He then looked at Moonshine, his gaze transitioning from his deputy to the female warrior. He knew that they were twitter-pated. He just knew it. There was no getting by him! Frostfur's head was always in the clouds, and hey, Whitestar could notice a budding romance in his Clan and others with the best of them. It was easy to recognize in Moonshine, too, and he just had to assume that she felt the same for him. Although, admittedly, she looked at him a lot, and 'him' as in Whitestar. The leader didn't think much of it, though, for he was HillClan's top authority. Didn't all cats swoon in his presence, or was he being too pompous by thinking that? Well, cats were looking at him. That's all he knew. Plus, Moonshine was his former charge. How could she like him that way? Seriously, just ask Ivorywing. "Talonstrike!" Whitestar meowed suddenly, "You've been on meh lil' trips 'n' stuff aroun', 'aven't yeh? Yeh must've." Talking to the senior warrior directly, he kept going with: "When we go, yeh gotta 'member teh treat teh Clan with teh utmost dignities and respects. If yeh wanna learn somethin', yeh gotta be open-minded. I know you're a pretty 'umble tom-kitty, but all teh same. If they says teh go and eat s'me fish, yeh eat the fish. If they want yeh to bend over backw'ds and pledge allegiance teh the moon, yeh do it. The only time yeh can draw teh line is if someone starts comin' on teh yeh. Stranger danger 'n' all that. Yeh got a fine body there, so yeh best be careful."

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[moonshine]

Moonshine listens closely to Whitestar, tilting her head slightly in confusion when he hints about her and the deputy. When her leader mentions obeying Brookclan, she stands and narrows her eyes. "They are not my leader," she says coldly. The edge in her voice was strange to any cats who had known her for very long. "If they are teaching something, then I will listen. I will not, however, let my dignity and the dignity of my clan be brought to shame if they will not tell me what I want to know!" For once, Moonshine was being very vocal around Whitestar.

Moonshine starts walkig closer to the leader, finally realizing that he was, is, and always will be clueless about her feelings for him. "Besides, we're only supposed to go across clan lines durring a Gathering." She walks past Whitestar, stopping to shoot him a hard glare. "You of all clan members should know that. If we cross anytime other than the full moon, we'll be treated with suspission and threats. They'll never teach us anything. We know enough. We survive. We don't need to learn their secrets in order to survive." She starts walking again.

"By the way, I'm not going," she hisses, not looking at the others. "I'm not interfering with the other clans without the promise of peace under the full moon. If we cross at any other time, we can be treated as they would treat a rogue who wanders into the territory." She turns and shoots one more glare at Whitestar. "Just because you're leader doesn't mean you can ignore the laws of the land while the rest of us are still tied to them." She pads outside, ignoring any protests from her clanmates.