.Wandering. [open]

[splash]

S p l a s h s t a r

Warm breezes made the bright green leaves rustle. Birds chirped and sang. Bees and other insects buzzed busily collecting food. It was just another pretty greenleaf day in the forest. Far below the tree tops a gray and white cat was wandering through the forest. Her name was Splashstar and she was the leader of RiverClan. She let out a giant yawn as she stretched her stiff back and kneaded the dirt that made up the forest floor.

It had been a long leafbare and the she-cat couldn't be any happier that it was over. Leafbare meant cold and with cold came sickness. Luckily, her clan had been blessed by StarClan and they had only lost one tiny kit. RiverClan was lucky in another way too. Unlike other clans whose food buried beneath the snow and ice during the cold months the river stayed open and the fish continued to run. No cat had been lost to starvation. Splashstar's face crumpled with concern. Sadly, now that greenleaf was back the humans would return to the river and fish out of it with their strange sticks. Not only did they steal a vital part of RiverClan's food source but they polluted the river with chemicals and trash that could cause a cat to fall ill or even die.

But Splashstar wouldn't let herself worry about things she could not fix today. She pricked her ears to listen to the voice of the forest. It was so pretty here. The trees were tall and filled with different colored greens. The she-cat looked up to their very tops using her bright blue orbs. Suddenly, she spied a bright orange Monarch butterfly out of the corner of her eye. Acting on impulse, the cat lept after it. She sat on her back legs and batted at it playfully. Wow I'm acting like a kit again! she thought to herself. She let lose a small chuckle. Thank goodness her clan couldn't see her out here. They would think that their leader was being a complete mousebrain!

Leaving the butterfly to it's fluttering, Splashstar continued to wander through the area. The warm, bright sun seemed to be reflecting off something in the distance. Hmm... Splashstar muttered I wonder what that is. The she-cat picked up speed until her limbs were stretched to their limit. She hadn't ran this fast in a while and it felt excellent. As she neared the sparking object it became clear that it was a small creek. Letting out a meow of pure delight, Splashstar began to run even faster. Being a born RiverClan cat she loved any body of water.

She continued to run until she was up to her neck in the cool water. Ahhhh. she sighed allowing her tired muscles to relax. After swimming for a bit she clambered out back onto the shore. All of her walking, running and swimming she had worked up quite an appetite. Using the skills that had been passed through generations of RiverClan cats from the great she-cat, River, herself, Splashstar managed to catch a decent sized fish. She brought her catch to a sun-warmed rock to feast. All too soon the meal had been devoured. Using one paw she pushed the remains off the rock and into the creek for something else to finish off. Splashstar yawned and stretched out on her side. Before long, she was sleeping.

Character; Splashstar.
For; Anyone.
Muse; So-so.
Word Count; five-hundred-seventy-four.
Comments; I got lazy towards the end...[/color]

[dawn']

Slowly, the feline slipped through the forest. Her paws making soft noises as she padded along the forest floor. Prey was scented as she opened her mouth to let the soft breeze sweep over her scent glands. The day was quite warm, and it wasn't a surprise to the she-cat that much of the forests prey was out of their hiding places. A rabbit, thinking that it's brown pelt hid her, was standing just to the left of the cat. The smell was strong and the wind was blowing in the direction of the feline so the smaller animal could not scent her. The set-up was perfect...

And although perfect, Dawnheart was not on a mission to catch food, but on a mission to replenish her stock of herbs. Plus, she had wandered out of her own territory and into the loner lands. Oh, what the heck, a snack couldn't hurt. Crouching, Dawnheart slithered closer to the rabbit. She pounced, missing the rabbit by an inch. "Shoot." She thought to herself as the rabbit bounded away. Dawnheart charged after it and although she was not fast, she could run longer than the rabbit could and it eventually tired. The feline caught it, tired, and gulped down her lunch. It tasted good, but she was no Windclan cat. Tired, the she-cat set out in search of herbs, and more importantly, something to drink.

Dawnheart ended up somewhere near a stream. She smiled to herself, glad of her luck to have wandered to exactly where she wanted to go. The medicine cat also hoped that near this creek herbs could be found. Many medicines that she collected liked to grow near water. She also hoped to find some delicious smelling cat-nip, but it usually only grew in two-leg places. Of course, the loner lands might also grow some.

Nearing the creek, Dawnheart scented the area. Her eyes grew wide as she scented the familiar smell of Riverclan. Luckily, all the clans were at peace with each other and since she was not intruding, Dawnheart felt no alarm or even hesitation at moving toward the smell. She followed the scent to a rock where she found Splashstar, the Riverclan leader sleeping on a rock. Dawnheart couldn't help but wonder what the leader was doing so far away from her camp. Dawnheart paused, wondering if she should wake the other she-cat or let her continue sleeping....

[splash]

S p l a s h s t a r

The pretty gray and white she-cat remained curled up on the warm, flat rock sleeping soundly. The bird song and gentle winds created a soothing, irresistible lullaby that swirled in eddies around the area of forest known as the loner lands. Splashstar was caught up in a rather pleasant dream.

She was a tiny apprentice again with a healthy body so brand-new. The air was full of RiverClan scent, the best scent in the world to the she-cat. Her mentor, Weaselnose, had his back to her but his head was turned over his shoulder to look at her. His broad, black nose that gave him his name was twitching in amusement at his always-curious apprentice. "Hurry up Splashpaw! he called to her. Eager to know where he would take her, Splashstar felt her dream self run to catch up to him. But then the dream changed.

It was the nightmare that haunted her constantly. It switched so quickly from her happiest of memories to the one that changed her life. Weaselnose was replaced by the tom Splashstar had once fallen in love with. The she-cats' bright blue eyes took him in with horror. His tall, muscular frame with tense with anger focused at everybody. Tan and brown fur stood up in a ridge along his spine. His green eyes were filled with fire so unlike the eyes that Splashstar had trusted. Yet they were the same. Spread out in front of the tom was three kits. Two were already dead, gone to join StarClan when they were less than three moons old. Their entrails were spread across the grass. Scarlett blood stood in contrast with the green and brown earth. One more body lie with the others but this one still contained life. The tiny infant cried out when she saw Splashstar. Pure agony ripped through Splashstar as her mate looked first down at the last kit and then at her. A cruel smile was spread across his face as he used long claws to tear the kit to shreds. "No! Splashstar screamed at the tom No, no, NO!

Splashstar's moaning and writhing shook her awake. She lie on the rock panting heavily until she realized it had all been a nightmare. Well, not a nightmare, a memory. The emotional pain twisted the she-cats face. Longkit, Fishkit and the last to be murdered by her own father, Honeykit, had died moons ago but the pain still tortured Splashstar. How much longer could she bear the dead weight of this pain? If it weren't for her clan, Splashstar would have left to find Driftpelt. The pain of death would be better than the pain of a mother who's children had been tortured to death before her very eyes. Not a day passed where she wished she had gotten back to the nursery sooner. Not a day passed where she didn't think of all the lives lost to the cat she had trusted. Not a single day. But that was what made life. All of the regrets, the should haves, could haves and would haves that haunted all cats minds. Did Driftpelt regret slaughtering his friends and kin? Did he miss her? Splashstar stared at her reflection in the creek. Somethings she would just never know.

A sudden updraft swept over the land and Splashstar caught the scent of a ThunderClan cat. Now what would a clan cat be doing out here? Splashstar thought to herself. After all, she had come here so nobody would bother her. Worries of an attack flashed through her mind. Had she been followed so that ThunderClan could ambush her leaving RiverClan leaderless? Quickly, she put that out of mind. The clans were at peace and ThunderClan had no quarrel with her or her clan. At least not one she was aware of. Splashstar arched her body into a stretch before turning around to see who was there.

Splashstar recognized the green eyed tortoiseshell she-cat instantly and couldn't help but let out a purr of amusement. She had no reason to be frightened at all. It was the kind, loving ThunderClan medicine cat who Splashstar recalled was named Dawnheart. The ThunderClan she-cat stood about two foxlengths away from the rock where Splashstar had been resting looking rather hesitant probably due to the fact that she hadn't been expecting to find the RiverClan leader this far away from home sleeping. Oh foxdung! Splashstar thought She must have seen my whole 'episode'. Splashstar's ears turned hot in embarrassment but she acted as if things were normal like she did every single day. Keeping her cool, Splashstar dipped her head in greeting before speaking. "Hello Dawnheart, Splashstar gave the medicine cat a small smile "what are you doing all the way out here?" Splashstar allowed herself to sit down. I sure hope I haven't frightened her...

[/color]

Character; Splashstar.
For; Dawnheart.
Muse; Great!
Word Count; eight-hundred-and-two.
Comments; Thanks for replying!

[dawn']

Just as the pretty she-cat found the rock with the Riverclan leader sleeping on it, she heard a small sound that sort of sounded like a cat in some slight distress. The sound seemed to come from the same direction, and from the very cat that had looked so peaceful just a moment before. She must be having a dream. Dawnhearts own dreams sometimes took a turn for the worse and she often woke herself up from hearing herself or kicking the wall of her den.

Dawnheart watched as Splashstar woke from her sleep and got up, stretched, and looked over at her. The medicine cat wondered if she should ask the leader if she had had a bad dream, but she also didn't want to seem rude or cause Splashstar to be angry at her. Dawnheart enjoyed the peace within the clans of the forest. Without the fighting, her job was just to cure belly and headaches and minor scratches, not gashes in cats flesh torn by other cats. No, the peace was much better, so the feline decided against asking the leader what was wrong and pretended to not have seen it.

The Riverclan cat greeted her, and Dawnheart did likewise, dipping her head in respect. "Splashstar, it's good to see you." She said in her always-friendly tone. And it was indeed good to see her. They had not met since the last gathering and even then they did not speak much to each other. "Oh, I'm just out wandering, collecting herbs. I was hoping to find some cat-nip. It doesn't grow much in the forest, I thought I'd have better luck closer to the two-legs." Dawnheart replied to Splashstar's question, although she couldn't help but wonder why the leader was out here, especially alone. She figured a medicine cat out looking for herbs was an alright excuse, but she wondered what the Riverclan cat's was.

"And yourself? Why are you out here?" Yes, Dawnheart couldn't help her curiousity, so she had to ask. The she-cat was always curious, and she liked to know what was going on. She hated being left out of things, or having secrets kept from her. Of course, she didn't like keeping secrets either, but as a medicine cat, she was obliged to do so. The dreams sent by Starclan were for her alone to interpret. Lately, though, she had not been having many dreams. She took this as a good sign, however, since it meant that nothing bad was to happen to the cats of the forest.

[splash]

S p l a s h s t a r

Splashstar felt a spasm of pure relief when Dawnheart didn't bother her about her brief fit. ThunderClan lucked out on a medicine cat. Splashstar decided. It was a shame that RiverClan had lost their previous medicine cat a few moons ago and a new one had not been appointed yet. With the clans being peaceful however, it was not an urgent matter. Although Splashstar hadn't been destined for the secretive life of a medicine cat, she found their work fascinating. It must be a very satisfying job, the RiverClan leader thought to be able to heal your clanmates in their times of need. But Splashstar knew these very special cats had their own struggles. They could never have kits nor fall in love. They could never feel the adrenaline rush of going into battle and feeling the flesh of your enemies in your claws.

Dawnheart's voice brought Splashstar back to reality. She noticed the ThunderClan dip her head in greeting and respect. "Splashstar, it's good to see you." Dawnheart's tone was friendly and Splashstar couldn't help but feel friendship towards the other cat. That's the hard part about this life, Splashstar thought grimly You can be a cats best friend and their greatest enemy. How long would it be until Splashstar was battling a ThunderClan cat that Dawnheart had to treat? As much as Splashstar hated to admit, the peace wouldn't last forever. "Oh, I'm just out wandering, collecting herbs. I was hoping to find some cat-nip. It doesn't grow much in the forest, I thought I'd have better luck closer to the two-legs." Dawnheart answered Splashstar's question easily. The RiverClan she-cat felt her face crumple in worry. Was their a sickness in ThunderClan? Although the clan wasn't her own, Splashstar knew that four clans must be in the forest. "There isn't sickness in ThunderClan is there?" Although the Riverclan leader was aware that Dawnheart could not go into detail about any sickness that ravaged her clan, Splashstar hoped that she would at least warn her in case it spread to RiverClan.

But Dawnheart's green eyes showed not worry and concern for her clan but question instead. Splashstar braced herself to answer them. If she wanted the tortoiseshell to be honest with her she had to be honest as well. "And yourself? Why are you out here?" The question contained curiosity but it was polite and gentle. Splashstar hesitated with her answer. If she told the cat why she was here then she would be admitting her weakness and fragility to a rival cat. But Dawnheart is a medicine cat, Splashstar reminded herself She has no reason to spread my secrets around. Plus, she has been nothing but polite and kind to me. Splashstar closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. More pain flooded her as she prepared herself to cope with telling what happened that horrible day. "Remember a few moons ago when our old clan leader told about Driftpelt, that warrior that tried to destroy RiverClan?" without waiting for a response from Dawnheart, Splashstar continued "Well, he," Splashstar swallowed back a choke of grief and forced herself to continue "He was my mate. He tried to kill me but before he did he killed my three kits right before my eyes. I came out here to be away from my clan. I have to seem strong for them. They depend on me!" Splashstar felt a shudder pass through her. She knew that Dawnheart couldn't completely understand the pain of a mother who's kits lives had been snatched away nor could she understand the pressure put on a leader but she knew that the cat could at least sympathize. And it would be nice to be able to talk to a cat about it. One who didn't trust her to get everything right. One who she didn't have to order around. To be able to share her pain with a cat who didn't look to her as a leader.

Character; Splashstar.
For; Dawnheart.
Muse; Alright.
Word Count; six-hundred-sixty-one.
Comments; Dawnheart is such a sweety![/color]