~Nothing Personal.. Right?~

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Adderstrike squeezed through the bramble tunnel, shaking out loose thorns form his pelt and stretching his legs as he waited for Crowflower to appear from the entrance. He glanced up at the sky and secretly admired it's beautiful gold, red and purple colors, along witht the bright sun sinking lower in the sky. To him, it was a perfect sunset. Though of course, the tough deputy would never reveal that to some one else. As he sat patiently in wait for Crowflower, Adderstrike gave his chest a few confident licks.


ooc;; Excuse me for such a short post, I'm out of muse. :B

[dream]

crowflower !

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The small she-cat had no problem fitting through the thorn barrier that guarded their camp. Crowflower was still around the size of most apprentices, in fact, her apprentice was almost as big as her. He was getting older, and he would soon be ready to become a warrior. She was proud of him, but she could only wish should could have been as good a mentor to him as Graywing was to her. When she reached the other side of the barrier, like any cat, she looked around. The newleaf air was crisp, but the smell of life was strong. Greenleaf would be upon them soon, and then the temperatures would be almost unbearable for awhile.

Her yellow gaze traveled up to the sky, and she smiled a bit at the beauty of it. Night time was always prettier than day time, in her opinion. She turned her eyes on Adderstrike, and watched as he licked his chest a few times. "Lead the way." She said with a warm smile.

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[♦ stormeh ♦]

Adderstrike looked up at Crowflower, and shockingly, had an amused, warm gaze instead of a blunt one. "We can just go where our paws lead us to," he suggested, rising to his paws with a quiet grunt. He started toward nowhere, his pace slow and thoughtful. He cast a side-glance at Crowflower. "How's your apprentice doing?" he asked, his expression showing nothing once again. Yes, Crowflower's apprentice looked like he'd make a worthy warrior, and he'd have to speak with Foxstar soon about his ceremony.

[dream]

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[atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/fuotfn.png] Adderstrike's warm gaze took the warrior off guard. The deputy was known for his cold and stoic nature, so it was odd that he would be acting so warm toward her. The two of them were a lot alike, in reality. Both of them were loyal to their clan, but neither of them were big on having friends. Whether he was distant for the same reason as her, she couldn't be sure, but what she did know was that he could have a number of reasons for being distant. That might just be how he was born. At his first statement, she simply nodded and rose to sore paws. For some reason, she felt at ease in his company. It didn't feel like work, and it was nice to spend time with another cat. After all, just because they were spending time together she didn't have to get really close to him. They walked for a moment in silence until he brought up her apprentice. She smiled at the thought of young Mallowpaw. He'd came a long way since they'd first been assigned to each other. She hated to admit it, but she had a certain fondness for the apprentice. "I'm glad to hear you say that. Naturally, I was nervous since he was my first apprentice. He's came a long way, It's hard to believe he'll be receiving his warrior name soon." Something that might take a few cats off guard about Crowflower was that once you got her talking, she actually talked quite a bit. Most cats just didn't talk about things she was interested in.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Adderstrike walked alongside Crowflower, waiting for her reply. In his head though, he was thinking of how Mallowpaw was progressing greatly in his training, and how he would behave as a warrior. When Crowflower finally answered, he nodded blankly. Of course, every warrior who recieves their first apprentice would surely feel the same way as you did. Mallowpaw will make a fine warrior when the time comes, and I'm sure you'll be quite proud of him." he meowed, casting Crowflower a side-glance.

Though when Adderstrike's old apprentice came into mind, he hesitaed for a moment, debatig wether he should tell Crowflower about her. "When I recieved my first apprentice, she was quite the intimidating one, a bit like yourself," he began, snorting at himself mentally at the last part. "Tawnypaw was her name, and I was estatic to greet her. So I know how you felt." he meowed, a slight hint of warmth in his eyes as he thought of Tawnypaw.

[dream]

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[atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/fuotfn.png] Crowflower walked beside her deputy in silence, listening as he spoke. She'd never heard him speak so much. Most of the time he only spoke when it was necessary, a lot like herself. She didn't feel comfortable talking in a large group of cats, but when she was sharing tongues with just one or two cats, she could talk their ears off. Still, she remained silent through everything he had to say. She found it extremely rude for any cat to interrupt any other cat; especially if that cat is a leader. She smiled with pride when he spoke highly of her apprentice. She was very proud of Mallowpaw, and she knew he would go far in the Clan, she was just glad that someone else saw that as well. "Oh, I'm very proud of him." She looked up at the sky, unsure of what else to say. The warmth that had been present in her tone when she spoke of the apprentice scared her. Was she closer to him than she realized? Would it hurt her deeply if he were to die . . . The answer was a resounding yes. She almost pinned her ears back. . . But Adderstrike was speaking again, distracting her. He spoke of his first apprentice, saying that she was a lot like herself; intimidating? Crowflower hardly thought she was intimidating, but she wasn't going to argue. For such a small cat, being told something like that was akin to a compliment. Crowflower couldn't help but notice that he spoke of his apprentice in the past tense. She couldn't remember specifically if the cat had died or not . . Because for the longest time she shut herself completely away from the Clan . . She remained silent for a long moment, unsure of how to respond. Finally, she looked to Adderstrike, "I'm sure you made an excellent mentor. You are wise and calculating in all that you do. Any apprentice would do well to have you as a mentor." She offered him a small smile, and then looked down to her paws.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Adderstrike felt a bit encouraged by Crowflower's praise, then shrugged. "It's my job. Being deputy is no easy feat," he pointed out, feeling a cool breeze ruffle through his brown tabby fur. His pace was slow and thoughtful, matching Crowflower step for step.

"If you had a choice to be anyone else in the Clan, who would it be?" he asked suddenly, looking a bit distracted. Adderstrike wasn't stupid; he knew how cats spoke of him. He knew very well how stern and gruesome he was, but he couldn't help it, that was who he was. Sometimes Adderstrike wished that he could be someone else, someone who was more suitable, someone who was a better fit for deputy. Of course, he wasn't complaining, he love being deputy. But still, it didn't hurt to dream.

[dream]

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb=style, line-height:120%;][atrb=style, width:350px; padding:20px; background:#527365; border-left: 30px solid #2E4038; border-right: 10px solid #2E4038;] and now you'll lead the way show me the light of day nice work you did you're gonna go far kid   The she-cat looked over at her deputy as he started speaking. She nodded knowingly. She knew that being the deputy was hard, perhaps harder even than being the leader. She wouldn't really know, of course, but she could only assume. She continued to walk, beside him but still a little behind him. She never responded to his comment about being deputy because she figured her nod would be enough. She wasn't a very talkative cat, after all. Adderstrike's next question caught her off guard, and she actually stopped to look at him. What sort of question was that? She didn't really know how to respond, and for a moment she just stayed silent and looked at him. Finally, she parted her lips to speak. "Well, I dunno. Maybe I'd be a cat who's never lost any cat." She mewed softly. She would always answer her leader's questions with honesty. She put her head down, feeling a bit embarrassed. She started walking again, hoping that he would just follow her and not say anything.   WORDS 184 TAG adderstrike NOTES finally popped out a response.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Crowflower's response stung Adderstrike like nettles, and he regret asking that question. "I'm.. sorry. But losing someone you hold dearly is sometimes a good thing," he reasoned, trying to get the though of Graywing out of Crowflower's head. Yes, Adderstrike indeed remembered the bold warrior as he fought the fox that killed him. After all, the deputy was the first to hear of the incident.

"It can make you stronger in many ways, and give you more experience as a warrior." he finished, the tips of his mouth turned down in a serious frown as he spoke. Adderstrike only wanted to encourage Crowflower, and strangely even cheer her up.

[dream]

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb=style, line-height:120%;][atrb=style, width:350px; padding:20px; background:#527365; border-left: 30px solid #2E4038; border-right: 10px solid #2E4038;] and now you'll lead the way show me the light of day nice work you did you're gonna go far kid   She dropped her head a bit and listened to her deputy. What he said was true . . . For a stronger cat. A stronger cat would move on, and be happy for their fellow warrior. Graywing was in StarClan now, and he was happier than ever, so why couldn't she be happy for that? Why couldn't she accept that he was better off, and stop wishing for him to magically come back. She felt her stomach drop a bit, she was so selfish. She tried every day to convince herself that she didn't need him back, but in the end she just missed him more. Many cats might think, from her actions, that she was actually in love with the tom cat. After all, she was pining after him, but she'd never been in love with him. She'd thought of him like a father. She brought her yellow gaze back up to Adderstrike. Before she even realized what was happening, her mouth was open and words she'd never said before were slipping out. "I'm so selfish." She scoffed bitterly, "I know that he's in StarClan, and he's happier than he would ever be here, and I know that I should be stronger from the experience. But I'm not. I'm just bitter, and I miss him." Her eyes widened a bit and she quickly looked down at her paws. Her heart was racing, and she swallowed hard. "I-I'm sorry about that, I don't know why I would say those things."   WORDS251 TAG adderstrike NOTES (:

[♦ stormeh ♦]

When Crowflower brought her golden gaze to the deputy's eyes, he found them rather striking for a few moments, then shook the feeling away as she began to speak. Her words shocked him a bit, but he fely a stab of sympathy for her. "How are you bitter? Many of us have lost someone," he argued, bittersweet memories of Tawnypaw flooding into his mind. "and it's not your fault that you miss him. Graywing must want you to be happy, so he does not have to see you upset when he watches over you." Before he knew what he was doing, Adderstrike slightly pressed himself against Crowflower's body in an attempt to comfort her. A few moments later, he realized what was happening, but he didn't move away. He hadn't felt like this ever since Tawnypaw died.

[dream]

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb=style, line-height:120%;][atrb=style, width:350px; padding:20px; background:#527365; border-left: 30px solid #2E4038; border-right: 10px solid #2E4038;] and now you'll lead the way show me the light of day nice work you did you're gonna go far kid   His first statement caused her feel ashamed. Of course, it was true. All cats lost someone eventually. In fact, her parents had even lost kits. But she didn't like it. It hurt too much. Crowflower went rigid when she felt Adderstrike lean into her. For a moment, she thought about jumping away. She hadn't had close contact with any other cat since she'd been an apprentice and she and her sister snuggled at night. He spoke again, this time his words were softer and kinder. Instead of moving away, Crowflower moved closer to him and buried her face into his neck. She didn't know why, she knew she shouldn't be acting like this with Adderstrike . . And yet . . She stayed completely still. No tears were shed, but it felt so nice to just have him there. Someone there to listen and be there for her. "You're right, I know you are." She muttered into his pelt.   WORDS--- TAG adderstrike NOTES (:

[♦ stormeh ♦]

For once, Adderstrike was overwhelmed with all the feelings that ran through his mind and body. Joy, confusion, fear, peace all prickled through his fur. He was shocked that Crowflower didn't jerk away from him, and even more when he felt her cheek press against his neck. "Tawnypaw.." he breathed inaudibly. Crowflower's soft fur reminded him of his apprentice when they had mock-battles during training, and how Tawnypaw was determined to defeat him.

Though his memories ended as quickly as they had came, and he felt more calm and secure with Crowflower by his side. The orange sky was now darkening, it's twisting and twirling leaf-fall colors gradually fading into a deep blue. Silverpelt soon became visible, each of it's stars beginning to shine brighter with every pawstep Adderstrike made. Though, he narrowed his eyes slightly when he made out.. what seemed like lights dancing in the air. As the deputy and warrior came closer, he realized they were fireflies, whispering above a small meadow. This wasn't marshy like the rest of ShadowClan territory, he noticed, and it was concealed by a few bushes.

"Look at this.." he breathed half to himself, half to Crowflower as he pushed through the bushes. Soft grass brushed against his legs, and the ground wasn't muddy or marshy. Adderstrike's golden gaze lifted to Silverpelt, and he silently admired the gorgeous night sky.

[dream]

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb=style, line-height:120%;][atrb=style, width:350px; padding:20px; background:#527365; border-left: 30px solid #2E4038; border-right: 10px solid #2E4038;] and now you'll lead the way show me the light of day nice work you did you're gonna go far kid   The deputy and warrior stayed close for a time, her face buried in his soft fur. Many emotions ran through her being, most of them conflicting. The first was the fact that what she was doing was unacceptable. It was no way for her to behave toward her leader. But it felt so right. She hadn't felt so happy and so complete since she was just a kit. She loved the way he smelled, the way he let her lean into him, everything about it. But it was all wrong. Another thing that bothered her was that she was liking having him close just too much. She could feel that if things continued she would hurt if she lost him. She didn't want to hurt anymore. She felt a little better about it all now that they'd talked it out, but she still wasn't sure. Just as she'd made up her mind that she needed to move away, something seemed to catch his attention in the distance. She looked in the same direction as him, and followed as got up and walked toward it. She stopped and admired it for a moment. It was so beautiful and so unlike the rest of ShadowClan's territory. It was a meadow with deep green grass, and fireflies blinking and flying everywhere. She pushed through the grass, and took a few steps before simply sitting back on her haunches. Her eyes traveled upward, and a small smile appeared on her face.   WORDS248 TAG adderstrike NOTES (: