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Post by B-r-e-z-e--->> on May 28, 2009 22:23:49 GMT -5
Shatterfall seemed to go on for awhile, leading Eclipsingpaw into the vast forest of Mapleclan. She pushed through leaves and bushes, but never did she look back nor slow or speed up her pace. It began to look as if she were going to keep on walking forever, and maybe she had forgotten about the apprentice trudging behind her. The she-warrior ducked under a boulder that was situated on top of a shallow dip, just tall enough to let a cat pass. When they came she came back out on the other side, she turned to look at her apprentice.
"Eclipsingpaw," she mewed sternly, "There's a difference between apprentices and leaders."
Her paws kneaded the soft ground at her feet in indecision. When the dirt underfoot was thoroughly sodden she flicked her tail and walked over to a more grassy part of the clearing. Beyond it the trees grew more thin and scarce, the grass more long and willowy. She was careful not to step past a lanky Willow Tree. Her gaze did not look towards Eclipsingpaw, but rather traveled over the expanses beyond.
"You know where we are." Shatterfall stated factually. For Eclipsingpaw should've known it well. The border between Mapleclan and the lands beyond; or more particularly- the loner and rogue lands. Her eyes finally found her apprentice's.
They were sad and wise, but at the same time held some prejudice. It was no secret that she had been captured during the battle between the clans and rogues when the rogues attacked Mapleclan. Shatterfall had been held a prisoner and unspeakable things had happened. In the process, her gnarled leg had been formed. So while she was a good mentor, her view of loners and rogues was more twisted than her impairment and caused her to have a deep mistrust of anyone who affiliated with the fiends.
"Do you ever miss it?"
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Post by » Sacrifice on May 29, 2009 19:04:05 GMT -5
The apprentice, for the most part, hadn't said much on their journey to the borders. She had known where they had been going, it was a path she had traveld many times as a kit, before finally crossing over it, just to see what the world beyond the clan had been like. It was a different world out there, where one wasn't judged for rank or age, rather, they were left on their own. A place that nobody ruled over each other, where everyone was on equal footing until proved otherwise. It was not the rogues who she had learned to respect out of time, no, they were far too foolish for her. Rather, it was the loners who had for a while, captivated the she cat, especially the loner Eve who had taken her in as a lost kit and taught her how to live as an independent she cat. Maybe that was part of the reason Eclipsingpaw was the way she was, she already knew all of these things that were being taught, and hated the fact she was ignored because of it. All she ever had wanted to do, was impress the others ever so slightly with her skills that she had picked up.
Like that would ever happen though, now that she actually took time to look at it.
"Not really. I mean, the leaders may have a -star at the end of their name, and nine lives, but that is usually all that makes them different from us. They may be looked up for because they are considered wise, but there was one thing that I did learn that was stronger then anything else while I was away. And that was the fact in which although they may seem to be our superiors, they are nothing more then everyone else. From the oldest warrior to the youngest kit, they are the same. It doesn't give anyone the right to ignore anyone, be it rank or age."
The words weren't full of challenege as her usual tone was, rather, it was just simply stated, as though it was nothing more then a fact. Some clan cats may think her words were just those of an upset apprentice, in fact, Eclipsingpaw could bet most of them would laugh at her words. Which, only made Eclipsingpaw more distrustful of those who didn't see the truth, of those who thought themselves to be better the the younger ones just because they had a fancy ending, or maybe they had more moons under their belt. Did that really give them that right? Well, this apprentice thought not.
The look that flashed bewteen her mentor and the lands, and then to her own fiery blue eyes was nothing that suprised the apprentice. They had all heard the elders' tales about her being captured, and what they had done to form her leg. That mistrust was only something that could be expected, the absence of it would have caused concern.
Thinking about the question for a moment, Eclipsingpaw shrugged.
"Sometimes I do, especially when the reign of Honeystar is bad. I miss the most the freedom you have, nobody to control your actions, or to tell you what to do aside from yourself. There is nobody to ignore you, our look over you because of your age. You fought for what was yours, and life went on at its own place. I don't actually care for the rogues, I lived with the loners, and it was with them that I grew up, not here. It was here I fled from, the rules, the accusations, and the just general fact everyone looked down at me for my age. I have to thank Eve for rescuing me, for without her I would have died, pride refusing to let me go back to the place I was born. It was with her I learned about others, how to fight, how to hunt, and how to read others when they don't want to say anything. It was my home, pure and simple."
A touch of sadness was evident in her tone, as she turned those fire filled orbs toward the land she once roamed.
"But then, as I heard of the sickness, I knew I had to come back. I wasn't looking forward to being shunned by my family, or the arguments I would have with Bumblepaw. Time smoothed things out between us though, and for the most part, I have been somewhat happy."
A catch in her tone though, had appeared;
"What I miss the most, is the fact that nobody can understand me really. I do try to get along with everyone, but everything I do, I seem to do wrong. There is no pleasing anyone other then my sister, but that is because we are a lot more like our father Darksun then our mom thought. Hot tempers and a barbed tongue."
A faint smile had appeared slightly, as she thought of her father, mother, and siblings. They were the whole reason she had come back to this clan.
"The feeling of family, even if I only get it between my family, is the main reason I stay. Nobody else cares for me really, and I even get ignored by the leader. It is just frutserating to no end, to see all these other cats accepted and loved, while I always remain on the outside, trying to fit in, to get along with everyone, but failing every time I open my maw."
Her tone was netrual throughout her whole little thought process, and it remained that way as Eclipsingpaw's bright blue eyes were focused on the outside world, as though memories that weren't seen by the outside were flooding by, a time of better things, and better places. Something that she had left, but found that she didn't always want to go back too. It was a confusing life, but what in this world wasn't confusing?
Turning slightly, she looked back at her mentor, letting the silencw hang between them.
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Post by B-r-e-z-e--->> on May 29, 2009 22:06:45 GMT -5
There was an elapsed silence that collected and grew. The breeze that had picked up to rustle the forest stopped, and everything around the two seemed still. The air wasn't necessarily tense, but it was still uncomfortable. Shatterfall's gaze didn't falter as she looked into Eclipsingpaw's eyes searchingly. Finally, a sigh was snatched away by the air as it left the she-cat's mouth.
"You really are only thinking of yourself, aren't you?" her mentor said with trouble, "You love your family, yes, but not your clan it seems. What is the point. You might know how to hunt and fight just as well as any other warrior, yet your heart isn't quite in it. Don't think I haven't noticed."
She paused for a moment, testing the brain in her mouth carefully. Her muscles tensed a little as she thought more on it, but suddenly she relaxed, as if she believed what she was about to say wasn't worth getting worked up over.
"Eclipsingpaw, to get your equality in the clan, you have to not only be good at skills such as hunting and fighting, but you also have to manage to win others' hearts. And has it ever occurred to you that perhaps Honeystar ignored you because she didn't hear or see you?" she shook her head impatiently, "You can't take offense at every action one makes. You must take this slowly. Ease your sharp tongue and warm up some. The loners live alone. Have you ever noticed that? People aren't surrounding them. In a way your personality isolates yourself. Think on it."
She diverted her attention to pad over to a rock that sat in the sunlight. Stepping gingerly on it, she leaned back on her haunches so that her spine was exposed to the warming heat. Her eyes closed in enjoyment. She seemed to have completely forgotten Eclipsingpaw for the moment, but she opened a slitted eye and glanced at the young cat's direction.
"Come over, Eclipsingpaw. The sun is out, and I fear there are dark days ahead. Enjoy this while it lasts."
((20MT to you Sacrifice for that post. It was epic! 0.0)) |
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Post by » Sacrifice on May 30, 2009 11:42:51 GMT -5
There was only a shrug from the apprentice at her mentor's words, although there was another sotry behind them. Something only a very few cats knew, and maybe, part of the reason the older apprentice was who she was.
"There is yet another reason behind that. It was when I had first run off to the loners, and mys sister became sick. Word travels fast, and although we were at odds, it wasn't as if I was going to sit there and maybe let her die without going to say my goodbyes. So, I went to see her, but everything was too late. Refusing to let her die, I asked StarClan to let her live. It was a bold choice, and maybe I should have just left Bumblepaw in peace."
Voice trailing for a moment, as a distant look appeared in the blue orbs of Eclipsingpaw, she had to shake herself to go on with the story, tone hardening in obvious anger toward what had happened.
"Sure enough, a warrior came. Only, he was really still an apprentice. Stripedpaw was his name, and he was nothing like I'd heard in the elders den. I was insulted to no end, and made a fool of. It was during that time that I just lost everything I had felt toward anyone else aside from my extended family. What is the point of trying, when I got ridiculed by a StarClan warrior? Aren't they suppose to be the kindest warriors? So, without a glance backward, I didn't need to see the smug face of that apprentice anymore, I left. Bumblepaw lived on, and everyone lived happily ever after."
Snorting slightly, Eclipsingpaw turned her gaze away from her mentor, probably the first cat she had ever told this story too. It was one of ancient pain, but something that had needed to come out, like an old wound festering, needing to be lanced or forever poision the body it occupied.
Ah yes though, it seemed that they had finally circled back to the main problem. Fire flaring up in the bright eyes of Eclipsingpaw, she spoke in a low tone, tail twitching slightly.
"Unless she is deaf and blind, she would have seen or heard me. I spoke loud and clear when I said I would join, and I stood right in front of Honeystar as I greeted everyone. She just doesn't like me, so I'm simply returning the favor."
Was there ever going to be a discussion where there was no temper involved? One thing was for sure though, Eclipsingpaw as going to be a very grouchy elder. Future apprentices, beware.
Sighing slightly, still a bit worked up over everything that had happened already, it was going to be a really long day it seemed, Eclipsingpaw easily leapt up to the sunny rock, letting the rays warm her silver blue grey pelt. For the time, things would be alright. Nobody knew how long, only that sometime, things would get worse. Especially if Honeystar didn't accept Clopar's offer. Everyone would die.
((lol. Thanks.  )) |
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