Why Should I Worry (Open)

[Swifty]

There was nothing better than relaxing in the rays of the sun that shone down on the Heatherclan camp. A content sigh escaped the form of a steel colored tabby cat as the feline stretched out it's limbs before carefully rising to his four paws. Letting a long yawn stretch his jaws wide, he took a moment to scan the camp, wondering who was around that might want to take him on a patrol of some sort. Steelpaw had been stuck in the Heatherclan camp all day and he was tired of laying around doing nothing. He really wanted to stretch his legs and was hoping a border patrol was being put together soon that he could join in on.

There didn't seem to be too much going on in the camp at the moment and his light copper eyes searched for someone to talk to. One thing Steelpaw hated was being alone and bored. Sure there were times when being left alone was okay but he had been left alone all day and he was definitely itching for someone to talk to. Maybe even a she cat to compliment. A small smirk began to make it's way across his silver and ivory muzzle at the thought and he started strolling through the camp in a more determined effort to find someone to keep his attention.

The sun was beginning to set behind the horizon and it cast quite an array of colors across the sky that he couldn't help but admire for a moment before continuing his search for a companion. He began to wonder where his brother and sister were. They were the normal companions he would search for but he hadn't seen either of them all day either. Shrugging his shoulders a bit as he dismissed the thought of their earlier whereabouts, he cleared his throat before letting his paws carry him towards the fresh kill pile that was moderately full but could use a bit more restocking. He looked through the pile a bit in search of something small that would fill him up and keep him content until the morning.

[jamz]

The butterfly; the very epitome of beauty and grace in the animal kingdom. Its wings are lighter than feathers and its flight is like the dan- splat! Moonflight caught the butterfly between her paws with the precision only moons of practice could achieve. She let out a little sigh of happiness at her triumph and lifted the paw that had the butterfly squished on it. The underside of her paw was covered in the dust from the butterfly's wings and its body lay broken. But Moonflight felt no regret at the sight; she had done much worse while hunting for real prey. Oh yes, she often made mistakes during hunting due to her... abnormal tendencies and would more often than not mutilate the mouse or bird or whatever until it was complete unrecognizable and thus inedible to most. This was just one more annoyance for Heatherclan though After all, Moonflight could do much much worse if she wanted to. With half a wing still stuck to her paw Moonflight sauntered back into the Heatherclan camp with a proud smirk on her face. Butterflies were the butter of the wind, whenever you thought you had it, it just slipped right out of your paws. So catching one was yes, an accomplishment. And boy did every Heatherclan cat scatter at the sight of that little smile on her lips. They knew her intentions, and they were to talk the ear off of any unaware cat in the vicinity. Luckily for Moonflight, an apprentice named Steelpaw was headed toward the fresh kill pile and he seemed to be oh so unoccupied that Moonflight simply had to speak with him about the day. She bounded towards his direction; her legs flailing in the air in an uncharacteristically, and not to mention ungraceful, way. "Hey Steelpaw!" She panted, padding on up to him. From chasing the butterfly to practically flying over to Steelpaw, Moonflight couldn't help but have her shoulders heave to and fro and her breath to practically have a voice of its own. Moonflight licked her lips and smiled at him. Her smile was kind of dopey, as if it made her appear "not all there". Of course that was totally untrue, Moonflight was very much "there" but simply chose to enjoy life rather than wallow in the serious masks so many cats seemed to put on these days. Even apprentices were beginning to grow a hard look to their eyes and it made Moonflight fear for the future of her clan. What if they became like Galeclan? Oh the horror at such a thought was enough to make Moonflight outwardly cough in uneasiness. Galeclan was certainly not the most charming group of cats; what with their sneers and hisses, who could ever come to like them? But of course, Moonflight being one to, surprisingly, look at both sides of the equation, figured that they must have their views on Heatherclan as well- they were probably grotesque and deranged but hey, stereotypes were stereotypes. [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480,true][bg=000000]

[Swifty]

Just as things were beginning to look even bleaker than before, the pattering of a cat's paws caught Steelpaw's attention and he turned his head around so he could see who it was that was scampering across the camp. As soon as he turned his head to the side, he jerked his head back in surprise to see Moonflight standing right next to him all of a sudden. He let his surprised expression slip away and stood upright once more, tilting his head to the side a bit as he took in the sight of the new feline that had come over to speak to him. She seemed very much out of breath and simply said hey before trying to catch her breath. Steelpaw waited a few moments to give her time to recooperate before replying as well.

"Hey there Moonflight... What's up?" he asked her, a bit of confusion and uncertainty on his face as he wondered what she could have been doing earlier that would have made her so out of breath. His first thought would have been that she had discovered a clan trespassing or there was trouble and excitement filled his belly a bit at the thought of getting to show off he rather fine tuned fighting skills but the excitement quickly faded as he realized that Moonflight was alone so she hadn't been on a patrol or anything like that. She was probably just entertaining herself in some strange way or another.

As she continued to suck in deep breaths of air, Steelpaw glanced around to see if there was any other cat nearby that he could use as an escape route but none appeared so he simply sighed and got comfortable, figuring that this conversation as well as her regaining her breath would probably take awhile. Conversations with Moonflight normally weren't brief and they usually weren't much of a conversation at all since she did most of the talking while the other cat had to fight to get a word in. Though that didn't seem to be the problem now, only because she was out of breath. That would change very quickly.

[thornwhisker]

Paws danced wildly around the small hollow where apprentices usually trained with their mentors. Today was different, today Honeypaw was alone. Leaping into the air, the she-cat twisted, a cream-colored paw lashing out at an invisible enemy. "That that, Galeclan scum!" She hissed, tail lashing as he landed and quickly spun around. "That's enough for today, I suppose." She mewed to herself, making a point to pad towards the other side of the clearing and unbury a small vole that she had managed to catch, her first kill alone.

It seemed like moons before Honeypaw sprinted from the farthest border all the way back to the Heatherclan camp, but Honeypaw gathered herself outside of the gorse tunnel and pushed her way into the clearing. Padding lightly towards the fresh-kill pile, the she-cat dropped her vole and turned to talk to her brother who was sitting no more than a few fox lengths away. Suddenly, Moonflight entered through the gorse tunnel and padded quickly towards Steelpaw. Ears flattening, Honeypaw's whiskers twitching. Moonflight was weird and Honeypaw didn't exactly favor her company. Managing a polite smile, the small cream-tabby she-cat padded up to the pair of cats and meowed a greeting. "Hi Moonflight. Hey, Steelpaw. Staying out of trouble, right?" She meowed, bumping her shoulder against his playfully. "Hey, what do you say we find Batpaw and go for a run?" She suggested, tail curling.

[jamz]

With one last gasp, Moonflight sucked in the air as if it were her very last breath. Her exhale held tones of complete and utter bliss as she plopped herself down and pawed at a small mouse that seemed very alone amongst the larger birds and voles. She wasn't all that hungry but with a gulp of distaste she lifted the mouse and took a slow bite out of it. For some reason she just hated the thought of such a flimsy little thing mixing with the more... acceptable food choices. Ahh but she was simply peevish about these little things- it was just another quirk among the many that resided in her strange little mind. Moonflight peered up at Steelpaw from where she sat hunched over the remaining mouse. He was quite large for an apprentice and would most certainly reach the ends of his growth spurts soon. If not then Moonflight wouldn't be surprised if he became one of the best warriors in the clan. Wouldn't that be exciting... she thought to herself, looking at Steelpaw suspiciously. Moonflight wasn't one to enjoy cats that were better than her even though more than half of the clan was, technically, "better" than her when it came to strenght and well... everything. except speed. That was her one, true asset and was also one of the things that made her tolerable in Heatherclan. As she muched on the mouse, still staring at Steelpaw, she began to notice another scent that was somehow similar to Steelpaw. Ah yes, it was his sister Honeypaw. She was a lovely looking she-cat and now Moonflight turned her attention to her, looking her up and down quizzically. Her eyes flickered away from her examination to the she-cats eyes at the mention of a run. "A run, you say?" Moonflight said, her tone heightening. With a smile she purred,"Nothing like a good run my dear. The wind in your fur, a yowl on your tongue". Nostalgia hit her like a brick and she added hastily,"Now add in some fighting and you really get a kick in your step". She rolled over and remembered when she was just an apprentice; causing trouble even back then, she came across another cat... surprisingly enough it was a Galeclan apprentice. The fight they had would make even warriors cringe but of course that was how Moonflight perceived it- as one of most brutal battles in history. Eventually the two of them went their seperate ways but as they parted curses were being thrown around and sobs of pain from little scratches on their ears could be heard. It was quite a sorry sight for any outside witness but like I said, to Moonflight it was the most epic thing to happen between the clans. With a sigh she uttered,"Someday, I bet you any amount of prey you want, we'll see a war". Moonflight heaved herself up and brushed herself off before reverting back to her smiley self. "So, how about that run?" [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480,true][bg=000000]

[Swifty]

Steelpaw felt the presence of his sister even before his light copper eyes landed on her as she came over to sit beside him. A soft purr rumbled up from his chest at the sight of his kin and he chuckled a bit when she asked him if he was staying out of trouble which he had been today thanks to not having anything to do.

"I couldn't find trouble on a boring day like this if I wanted to." he retorted with a deep hmph escaping his chest. When his sister spoke once more, asking him if he wanted to go on a run he opened his mouth to reply when he was suddenly interrupted by Moonflight. Closing his mouth and looking quizzically over at the other she cat, he listened to her reply before changing his mind and deciding not to go on the run. If Moonflight was going then he would be headed the opposite direction. He found himself scanning the camp clearing once more in a desperate search of a forming border or hunting patrol. Anything to get him away from this slightly off her rocker she cat.

"Actually... I think I'm gonna have to pass this time. I was just about to see if the evening patrol needed another cat. You two have fun though." he replied, slowly rising to his paws and backing away from them as he went. Just before he was clear of the two she cats, he gave his sister a teasing wink and nudged her with a paw with a 'good luck' sort of look before turning and slowly heading the other way, still curious to hear the rest of their conversation before he was completely out of ear shot. A slight smirk spread across his face as he pictured Honeypaw's face, knowing that she would be stuck going on a run through Heatherclan territory with just her and Moonflight for company. It almost made him chuckle once more but he stifled it, knowing that if he could still hear their conversation then they would definitely hear him.