-- mama we all go to hell { lily & lynx }

[→ ottersplash]

ottersplash

There was something odd about the day; perhaps it was the unseasonable cool temperatures, or the way the camp was deserted and it wasn't even sun-high yet. Or perhaps it was the silver and brown tabby emerging from the camp walls- wide awake and alert. For most cats, this would seem like a usual out of camp adventure, but for this tabby in particular, it was a new experience- rarely did the she-cat wake before she had to, and venture out of camp. Stretching her limbs as she went, the VertigoClan warrior twitched her whiskers in delight at the sounds of prey running plentiful throughout the forest. Her tail swished in rhythm with the chirping of the birds that remained scattered throughout the treeline. Perhaps I ought to hunt. She thought to herself, her eyes scanning the territory that lain in front of her.


Parting her maw to scent the air, Ottersplash could feel the rays of the sun that was just extending through the thin canopy overhead warm her fur. She let out a purr of ecstasy, scenting mouse a few fox-lengths to the right. Dropping into a hunters crouch, the warrior wiggled her back end and prepared for a pounce. In front of her was a mouse, clumsily shoving it's food inside it's mouth as it remained blissfully unaware of it's looming death. Pouncing. the she-cat trapped it between her paws in one swift movement, and delivered a killing bite to the back of it's neck. Mouse dangling in her jaws, the she-cat sat down, curling her tail around her paws neatly, and looked around her. Her ears were pricked for signs of other cats, but when she found none, she lowered her head slowly, preparing to take a bite out of her kill. Surely one bite wouldn't kill anyone, right? After all, she was absolutely starving.

[flamingstar **]

flamingstar **

the weather was beautiful, and flamingstar had woken early to the soft chirps of the birds nestled above in the trees that protected vertigoclan camp. next to her laid ghostfoot, snoring softly, and she peered down at his adorable sleeping form with adoration in her emerald eyes. she pressed her nose to his fur before she silently emerged from her den, the early morning sun lighting her pelt on fire. there were no patrols to check up on, and no apprentices to scold; only flamingstar and the rest of the land she and her clanmates lived upon.

she slipped out into territory, nodding to the guards as she went, and spent her time leisurely wandering along the borders before heading toward the inner part of territory. the scents of her clanmates were stale, except for a she-cat who was nearby; ottersplash. flamingstar rerouted to approach the other she-cat, and silently entered the small clearing. the silverand brown she-cat was stooped over a piece of prey that she had just killed. flamingstar watched wordlessly right until ottersplash was bending down to take a bite. "elders fed? and the kits? and, i suppose, lilythorn and splashmist as well..." the she-cat asked, amused, her whiskers twitching as she watched ottersplash for her reaction.

[→ ottersplash]

ottersplash

Perhaps if she had been paying more attention, she would have hear Flamingstar's pawsteps approaching behind her. If StarClan were really on her side, she would have the sense to simply ignore her prey and continue hunting- eating when her clan was fed, like every other warrior. Instead, the silver tabby remained crouched above her prey, tail bent in anticipation, as her mouth watered when she neared. Just as she were about to take a bite, the sound of a cat emerging behind her made her jump, followed by the sound of her leaders voice. Whipping her head up to see Flamingstar less than two fox-lengths away, Ottersplash scrambled to face her, nearly tripping over a pebble buried in the ground. Instantly, she used her back leg to whip the mouse behind her, sitting so that it sat behind her back. "Elders fed? And the kits? And, I suppose, Lilythorn and Splashmist as well..." Ottersplash felt her ears burning. The whole forest felt as if it were on fire. She hung her head. "I'm sorry, Flamingstar. I-I just thought... M-maybe I could hunt better... I-if..." She stopped, acutely aware of how badly she was shaking.


She peered up slowly, afraid to meet the she-cats eyes. She knew she shouldn't have tried to eat it. But it's not as if the rest of the clan were starving, right? It was greenleaf. There had to be more than enough prey to feed the elders, the kits, and the queens. Didn't it make more sense for the warriors to eat first so they could keep up their strength to hunt and defend their camp? What use were warriors if they were too weak with hunger. Speaking of hunger. The marbled she-cat thought, just as her stomach growled audibly. She could still scent the mouse wafting from behind her, fresh and just begging to be eaten. She could feel Flamingstar watching her carefully. She squirmed for a moment, her tail and paws restless, until she just had to do something. Standing up like a bolt of lightning, the VertigoClan she-cat nudged the prey toward Flamingstar, putting it between them. Avoiding the leaders gaze, she buried it in front of her, sitting down in front of it. Truly, it was a bit pathetic.

[flamingstar **]

flamingstar **

flamingarrow purred good-naturedly, stepping closer to the she-cat. "it's alright, i promise," she chuckled, shaking her head. her bright emerald eyes twinkled as she gazed at the dappled she-cat. it was funny; ottersplash was using an excuse even she had used back in her day. ah, how young she'd been, though she still was, but her youth felt different now. she was the age of mating and friendships and - no, not kits; she'd raised some, and away they'd gone. though, deep down, all flamingstar wanted lately was kits. little creamy bundles of joy, with green eyes, or even eyes like ghostfoot's - this wasn't the time for daydreaming.

a polite smile crossed the young leader's pretty face. "i give you permission to eat." flamingstar said, taking a seat near her clanmate, but still facing her. "you remind me of myself, when i was your age." the she-cat mused aloud, thoughts lost in her own past. when she had been just a few moons younger, flamingarrow, as she had been named at the time, had been stripped of her name, turned back into a -paw for a silly infraction of the warrior code. it was a memory that had embarrassed her deeply. what a way to transition back into clan life, after having been saved from maliceclan.

the she-cat sat there, thinking, her whiskers twitching slightly. "after you're done, however, you're going to have to spend some time with me." she added, grinning smugly at the other femme. "leaders get lonely and start wandering if they're not entertained." flamingstar said quietly, still joking, but more solemn all the same. how old was ottersplash? she squinted at the she-cat as if that would tell her. 'heatpaw would have been about her age now.' she thought, tail waving in the air as she waited patiently.

[→ ottersplash]

ottersplash

Oh man, I'm going to be confined to elder duty for a mo- The she-cat stopped, mid-thought, shocked by Flamingstar's permission to eat. The grey warrior stared down at the mouse, and her head tilted down as she glanced up at her leader, her eyes twinkling. She swallowed, trying to keep from salivating all over the prey. "T-thank you, Flamingstar." She said, dipping her head to show her gratitude. She scuffled a bit closer to the mouse, though her paws still felt slightly shaky. Glancing up one last time, the she-cat took a bite out of the prey, almost falling over in sweet, sweet ecstasy. Her ears perked up as her leader continued to speak. "After you're done, however, you're going to have to spend some time with me." Ottersplash sat up immediately, giving a quick purr of delight. "You say it as if it is a burden." She said simply. "But it's not." She shook her head, smiling at her leader with soft, affectionate eyes. She absolutely adored Flamingstar, she was such a strong, poised leader. "Besides," She continued, taking another bite. "I'm sure you have a lot to teach me."


Reaching down to take one last bite, the grey and brown warrior finished the mouse with a gulp and sat up, licking her face clean. She twitched her whiskers and stared at her leader, her expression curious. "Do you just want to stay here and chat or go hunting or..?" She let her voice trail off, shuffling her paws awkwardly. She didn't want to bore her leader by just sitting here, but the she-cat wasn't quite sure how well she would be able to keep up the conversation. After all, how much of young, annoying her could the wise leader possibly stand? 

[flamingstar **]

her purr was warm, and it rumbled softly in her throat as her emerald eyes watched the young she-cat's demeanor change instantly. "you're welcome." flamingstar murmured softly, pulling her tail down and wrapping it just around her paws. as ottersplash spoke, the fiery she-cat shrugged. "i never know what to expect, so now i know, don't it?" her eyes twinkled, and she smiled at the other girl. after the warrior had finished eating, she asked flamingstar what she wanted to do. "oh! yes, hunting. i'd rather be doing something than sitting around." the she-cat said dismissively, though she knew she'd spent many days lolling about.

her mind drifted back to the days she'd spent lying on the outer hills of vertigoclan's old territory, laughing and lazing about with a certain white tom whose red eyes had once given her violent flashbacks. she chuckled to herself, opening her eyes and gesturing for the she-cat to follow. "let's go find some adders, eh? help us be light on our toes."

[→ ottersplash]

ottersplash

Shock rippled through the marbled warriors pelt at her leaders suggestion. She struggled to hold back an audible gasp as her leader suggested they go adder hunting. Her whiskers twitched as she thought about her response carefully, something she didn't quite always do. "As much as I'd love that," She began weakly, giving a feeble look to the fiery warrior, "Don't you think that might be a bit dangerous? I'm only just a warrior." She said, suddenly regretting it. She wanted Flamingstar to think of her as strong and skilled, not some weak, young warrior who was barely older than a kit. The grey she-cat rubbed the ground with her paws, her tail swishing. "But," She said slowly, thinking. "If you think it might help me with my warrior training, I see no reason why we can't." She let her voice trail off, lifting her head to look at her leader with pleading eyes. She was terrified of the suggestion- that was for sure. She didn't even know if she had ever seen an adder, let alone faced one. Suppressing another shiver, the she-cat remembered the tales from the elders, and she had to work hard to keep her gaze unwavering as she maintained a stare with her leader. "After all, you are really skilled, Flamingstar. I could learn a lot from you." She said, voice sweet as sugar.

[flamingstar **]

flamingarrow burst into amused purring, articulated by a sharp giggle. "puh-lease, ottersplash. i was an apprentice when i took on silly tasks such as adder hunting." the leader teased good naturedly. the ginger she-cat cocked her head to the side. "you are a warrior, sweet. you've no reason to worry, honestly." flamingstar explained, smirking lightly at the younger she-cat and shrugging. self-doubt was a terrible thing, but flamingstar knew what it was like. as an apprentice, she'd been so full of it, and even as a young warrior, she still suffered.

it wasn't until after she'd lost her kits and learned to live independently that she learned to overcome it. she was stronger than she thought she was, and smarter too. she opened her mouth to say the same to ottersplash, but was surprised when the other girl was crooning to her sweetly. "oh!" the ginger femme gasped, blinking, before snorting. "i can teach you how to fight dirty, how to lose a tom and how to gain one, and how to single-handedly get kidnapped by a bunch of rogues." flamingstar chuckled, tapping ottersplash on the nose with her tail. "or i can teach you self-confidence, and the art of overcoming." the leader purred warmly, looking at the younger she-cat with a smile.