Now we're back in camp after crossing paths with Whitestar. Also, I could use a couple of OCs! Nothing too outlandish, just some simple cats. More info at the bottom. Without further ado...
It seemed that no sooner had Redwhisker laid down in his nest and closed his eyes, that he was shaken awake. He blinked groggily, hearing, "Redwhisker. Come on, Redwhisker, wake up. We're going out hunting with Ashtail."
He grumbled, stumbling out of his nest and bumping into the cat who was talking to him. He fully opened his eyes, and observed that it was a bulky she-cat, Sagefrost. Sagefrost was a cat Redwhisker considered his friend, even before the rest of the clan had warmed up to the smaller warrior. She had a completely black pelt, with a white tip on her tail. Redwhisker thought she would've made a fine stalker and hunter too, except she never got used to hunting with her large size.
"Coming, coming," Redwhisker grumbled. The previous leader, Rainstar, had made the two cats hunting partners to cope with their flaws, Redwhisker's poor scenting abilities and Sagefrost's awkward stalking. Even after his death, Sagefrost and Redwhisker continued to go about outside the camp together.
Ashtail, a senior warrior, was impatiently waiting for them at the entrance. "Took you long enough," he said as they were approaching. "We're going to hunt in the woods close to the Mooreclan border, perhaps we'll catch a rabbit. Alright, let's go."
The three took off into the woods, and not long after came to the edge of the woods. They halted at the treeline, looking down the grassy hill to the stream that divided Mooreclan from Greenclan. A few cats were walking down the stream renewing the scent markers, but other than that, the day was quiet. Ashtail split off from the group, going back into the woods.
Sagefrost put a tail on Redwhisker's shoulder, indicating they should do the same. She quietly led him through the woods in an opposite direction from Ashtail, down Greenclan territory toward the lake. After a few minutes of walking, she froze, sniffing the air deeply. On routine, Redwhisker stopped moving as well, letting Sagefrost taste the air. She pointed her tail and whispered, "Three foxlengths that way, there's a robin perched on an oak tree. And four more foxlengths in that general direction is a squirrel on a tree's roots."
Redwhisker nodded, and crept forward, jumping up into the low branches of a tree. He weaved his way up a little bit higher than the robin in the neighboring tree, which he could now see. Creeping out silently onto a branch above his prey, he waited for the robin to stop hopping about. Once it had stopped for a solid heartbeat, he dropped down on it, snapping its neck with a precise paw to the back of its head. He shoved the bird off the branch after a quick thanks to Starclan, then kept along the tree, prowling forward on the branches and coming out on the other side of the trunk. He effortlessly sprung from his branch to the next branch, ending up on the tree above the squirrel.
Creeping down the trunk, Redwhisker hissed as a piece of bark dislodged itself and fell to the ground next to the squirrel. The small animal got spooked, and scampered away. Redwhisker cursed his luck, but was surprised as to what came next.
A huge black paw slammed down on the squirrel's neck, killing it instantly. Sagefrost emerged from the shadow of an oak, a smile of satisfaction on her face. "It's been too long since I've had prey just running into my paws," she smirked, then added in a coy voice, "That was planned, right?"
Redwhisker hopped down onto the soft earth forest floor, and trotted over to his hunting partner, sharing her coy smile. "What are you talking about? Of course that was planned," he snorted, and began digging a shallow hole to toss the robin and squirrel into.
The sun had moved significantly in the sky by the time the two deemed they had caught enough prey. Using their combined hunting technique, they'd caught a pair of robins, a squirrel, three mice, and another squirrel just outside of camp while they were returning. They strolled through the bramble barrier, and were met with a few cats laying around camp and sharing tongues. They got nods of surprised approval at the size of their catch, and deposited them on the fresh-kill pile. Sagefrost picked up two of the mice, and headed to the elder's den, flicking her tail in farewell.
Redwhisker suddenly remembered there were no apprentices, but there was a nursery with a queen to feed. He picked up the recently caught squirrel, trotted over to the nursery and poked his head in. It was pretty warm in there, but then again, it was the middle of the day in greenleaf, that was about as hot as it could get.
He spotted a dazed Grassfur, her spiky tortoiseshell pelt seeming as if it had been neglected. Her three small kits were tumbling around her, playing about and not seeming to notice the heat. She almost didn't notice when Redwhisker went right up to her, and laid the squirrel down in front of her. "I brought you a squirrel, Grassfur. It's a recent kill, so hopefully it hasn't been spoiled by the heat.
Grassfur snapped out of her daze, and met Redwhisker's bright green eyes. She looked at him with a kind but tired look, her kits had obviously been keeping her from getting the rest she needed. "Thank you my dear," she mewed warmly, in such a way that it might've comfort been capable of comforting a fully grown cat. She bit into the squirrel gratefully, then stopped and looked back up to Redwhisker, who had almost left. "Wait, Redwhisker? Can I ask a favor from you?"
Redwhisker turned around in the nursery, fairly easily due to his small size. He asked, "Sure, Grassfur. What would you like from me?"
The black and orange queen sighed heavily, gently pushing a few bouncing kits off of her belly, "Well, it's been an awfully long time since Longears came into the nursery to watch the kits. He accidentally stepped on poor Poppykit's tail, and now he's frightened he might hurt another kit. Would you do me the favor of watching my kits while I went for a stroll in the forest?"
Redwhisker felt sympathy for the queen, it must not be easy to be in her position. He gladly gave a "Yes," and walked over to the kits while the relieved Grassfur got up, shaking out her fur and trotting to the nursery entrance, slipping out.
The kits hadn't noticed their mother was gone, they were wrapped up in seeing who could snap a stray stick that wound up in the nursery. Of course, they were making little to no progress due to their size, they had only opened their eyes a few days ago. Redwhisker laid himself on the ground next to them, purring in amusement as he saw all the tiny bite marks in the stick. He decided to get their attention after a moment, and he picked up the stick from where the kits had it, eliciting cries of confusion, took it between his jaws, and snapped it cleanly, letting the two broken pieces fall in front of him.
Redwhisker's action seemed to grab the attention of the kits as they stared at him in awed confusion. To his surprise, even though each of the kits had different pelts, they all had varying green eyes. He shook off his surprise, and swept his tail around the speechless kits, chuckling to himself. There were two she-kits and a tom, the first and biggest of the she-kits was an orange tabby with murky green eyes the color of a fern. The second she-kit was white with splashes of orange on her back, her eyes were a dull green, like the color of dried grass. The runt of the litter, a solid smoky black tom with long ears, had the brightest blazing green eyes he had ever seen on a kit. They reminded him of his own.
The biggest kit, the ginger tabby, was the first to close her wide open mouth. No sooner had she done so, she asked, "Where did Grassfur go? How'd you break that stick? What's your name? Are you an apprentice?"
Redwhisker chuckled from the curiosity of the kit, and replied, "Slow down, ask your questions one at a time. But first, what are all your names?" He had a notion as to which kit was which, but he wanted to be sure.
"I'm Gingerkit," the first she-kit said. She pointed to her sister with her tail, saying, "That's Poppykit, and the black one is Leafkit."
"Are you… our dad?" Poppykit questioned Redwhisker in a shy voice, pulling her tail under her forepaws. He recalled that their father, Longears, had accidentally stepped on her tail.
"No, I'm not your dad. I'm Grassfur's friend, and I'm taking care of you until she gets back. She just went out for a walk in the woods," Redwhisker explained, then tilted his head to his side and began grooming his shaggy fur.
"Leafkit, stop staring!" A squeaky kit voice came from in front of him, but he could tell it wasn't directed at him. Still, he was curious as to what Leafkit was staring at. So he stopped mid-lick, and turn to face the black kit with big ears. The kit was staring right back at him, his wide emerald eyes stuck on Redwhisker's identical ones. "Leafkit," Gingerkit said impatiently, "I told you to stop staring!" With that, the she-kit swatted at Leafkit's big ears and playfully tackled him, keeping her claws sheathed. Leafkit squealed as he was bowled over by his sister, and the two began to playfight.
Poppykit huffed, and merely curled up against Redwhisker, not wanting to play with her siblings. She asked in her squeaky kit voice, "Wait, what's your name?"
"Redwhisker," he replied simply. His head thudded down suddenly, he had become very tired. He hadn't slept very long the last night, and had been drained from his hunting session. Last night, that's right, Redwhisker thought. He remembered meeting with Whitestar and agreeing to meet on the half moon. He also remembered the strange omen he saw on the gathering oak. I'll talk to Morningheart when I wake up, he thought while yawning.
"Does that mean you're a warrior? But you look like an apprentice in comparison to the other warriors we've seen," Gingerkit's voice came into his thoughts, she had Leafkit pinned on his back and had paused the game.
"I'm just a small warrior. It doesn't mean I'm less capable though," he sleepily murmured. He was vaguely aware of Leafkit turning the tides and rolling Gingerkit onto her back, both playfully shrieking as they tumbled around. Poppykit pressed against his belly and dozed off about the same time he did, his tail subconsciously wrapping around her to block any incoming wrestling kits from disturbing her sleep.
Alright! So, if you do wish to submit an OC or cat you've come up with, here's a small set of guidelines:
-Clans: Greenclan, Darkclan, Streamclan, and Mooreclan
-Please don't give a cat a name like Frozensparkle or Kangaroopaw.
-List a cat's role within the clan(elder, warrior, etc.)
-For Greenclan, the nursery, apprentice's den and medicine den are not accepting OCs. It might impede on the story.
If you'd like to submit an OC, please do so over private messenging. And I can't promise that all cats will be included in the story.
Anyway, leave a review if you enjoyed the story! It really helps me out!
