a real fine place to start {holly & splash}

[splashmist ★]

splashmist lay in the shade of a big pine tree in vertigoclan camp, her gray fur dusty from rolling in the pine needles earlier. she kept her ivy colored eyes trained on her sons, mottledkit and scorchkit, who were playing with jetfang and lilythorn's litter in front of the nursery. the two toms were old enough now that they'd been all over camp and she was surprised their innocence as "vertigoclan kits" had lasted so long as three moons. a moon ago, her son mottledkit had come to her confused and asked what was meant by the word half-clan. she wasn't sure she had breathed properly since that moment. since she had called her little kits to her side and briefly explained their heritage. they thought it was all a great adventure, of course; despite how huge her son's eyes had been as he'd asked about the meaning of that dreaded phrase. "you're really from tempestclan? that's so cool! i bet you were a fierce warrior." the little silver she-cat had smiled at her tiny son's admiration and not said anything about how her tempestclan kin had bullied her and his clanmates would probably bully him when he was older too. 

the heat of the day made her lazy. most of the warriors were out on patrols or hunting, but as a queen, she was (for the most part) confined to camp. so she was content to lay in the shade and watch mottledkit and scorchkit fight over a particularly large pinecone that had been dislodged from another nearby pine. she knew that lilythorn was likely nearby, also keeping watch on her litter of boys, thunderkit, blizzardkit, and pallidkit. though she and the former deputy had grown friendly with each other in the four moons that splashmist had been a vertigoclan warrior, she didn't have many other friends besides. her life revolved around her sons and occasionally duneshade came to visit them, but that was about it. it was a lonely existence to be sure.

[Hollybreeze ☆]

The small lean tortoiseshell she-cat made her way out of the warriors den and a smile appeared on her face as she saw the five kits playing. Her eyes glance over and saw two of the tom kit's mother, Splashmist. Her yellow glaze soften even more. She was a lucky she-cat tobhave two beautiful sons and roots in Vertigoclan. Yes, some where unhappy, but so what. Hollybreeze was rogue born her self, left under a holly bush by her family.

She walked over to the fresh kill pile and grabbed two mice. She headed to Splashmist and set a mouse down before placing one in front of the queen. "Hello, Splashmist. I don't think we have really talked before, I am Hollybreeze, " she smiled at the older she-cat. "Your kits are adorable. I am extremely jealous. I might have to steal them," she teased.

[splashmist ★]

she smiled and tried to look inviting as another young female approached her, bearing prey. it was nice to be greeted by a small cat like herself; most of vertigoclan were so burly and even beside lilythorn she felt like an apprentice in size. of course, she had been an apprentice a little over half a year ago, so perhaps that was to be expected. the mouse was appreciated and just smelling the scent of the meat made her mouth water, embarrassingly enough. she hadn't been eating as much as she should have, with all of the stress of being a tempestclan cat trying to adjust to vertigoclan's way of life. not to mention her constant worrying over her kits. 

"hi!" splashmist mewed brightly, her mood greatly lifted by the presence of food. "someone's taught you well: never approach a grumpy queen without first offering food," she joked, hoping the other female wouldn't take her too seriously. she really wanted to make friends, and maybe now was the perfect time to start. "we probably haven't talked yet, i've mostly been cooped up in the nursery since i got here," the little gray she-cat said with a grin, glancing over at her sons as hollybreeze mentioned them. "please!" splashmist exclaimed in response to the comment about stealing mottledkit and scorchkit. "they're such a pawful... honestly!" she cocked her head at the tri-colored she-cat and her green eyes twinkled with laughter. "are you hoping to be a mother yourself someday?"

[Hollybreeze ☆]

Hollybreeze chuckled at her comment that someone taught her well. She cocked her head, "Seeing as Lilythorn my old mentor and a great friend I would not dare approach her with out a fresh piece of prey. She might claw my ears off." She joked. She knew that Lilythorn wouldn't harm her. She smiled as she got comfortable and took a bite of her mouse. "Well, if you ever need to stretch your legs or get out for a bit I love kit sitting!" Hollybreeze purred.

She nodded her head when she mentioned if Hollybreeze wanted to be a queen. "More then anything.  I love kits and I want some of my own, but the toms here are slightly frustrating, especially Lionwhisker! " Hollybreeze huffed as her tail lashed slightly. "I guess it would also be nice to have roots, like you, I am not Vertigoclan born, but mainly I want daughters and sons of my own. I want to see them achieve. " Her glaze soften mention of kits. "What is it like being a mother?"

[splashmist ★]

splashmist nodded at the knowledge that lilythorn had been the young she-cat's mentor. it made sense given the circumstances. she was silent for a few heartbeats as she began to dig into the mouse, enjoying the food and ever grateful that hollybreeze had come over to chat. splashmist herself had always been a little shy, especially back in tempestclan, where initiating a conversation was like asking to be gutted. "oh! really? that'd be great, hollybreeze," she purred, taken aback by how friendly the tortoiseshell was. "i've left them with lilythorn and jetfang a time or two but i feel bad asking lilythorn to watch them when she's already got three of her own!" it was true, the one time she had been watching the five kits all on her own had felt... hectic at best. her own son, scorchkit, was the biggest troublemaker of them all, while mottledkit was the loudest, bouncing around camp asking every warrior he met about their private affairs. he may as well have asked them where they made dirt. luckily, they didn't seem too put off by the young tom's enthusiasm. 

"lionwhisker, eh?" splashmist looked at her new found friend curiously, prompting her to tell more about the tom. she didn't think she'd gotten to meet him yet. "and tell me about it. duneshade says the dumbest things sometimes," she commented, speaking of her own mate and her son's father. the pretty silver cat grimaced at hollybreeze's remark about roots. "well... roots. i guess it's nice knowing where i came from, but i worry that your clan... my clan now, i guess.... won't accept me for them. i mean... dreamstar is my cousin. what if flamingstar or heatherjaw thinks i'm going to betray vertigoclan?" she confessed her anxieties very quietly, glancing away with a pained look. 

she tried to get herself together after being briefly overcome with emotion, smiling at hollybreeze's mention of not being vertigoclan born. "well, then you and i have that in common," she said, sounding glad for the shared background. "it's... wow. well, it's definitely a little scary. i worry about them getting hurt, y'know?" splashmist laughed as she watched mottledkit tussling with one of lilythorn's sons. "but it's also amazing just... knowing that something so good came of all this. that i can raise them to be strong warriors and that i can be a better parent to them than my parents ever were to me."

[Hollybreeze ☆]

Hollybreeze smiled at Splashmist. "It's no problem. Like I said I love kits. I can understand not wantin v to have Lilythorn watch all five, but ever now and then the old she-cat can handle it! Don't tell her I called her old either," Hollybreeze purred.


When Splashmist spoke of Lionwhisker her tail flickered. "He's one of the most irrating toms I know. His brother Tigerstripe is a good friend of mine. Just Lionwhisker seems like he has to prove himself and he's not the friendliest either," Hollybreeze snorted. She chuckled at her statement on Duneshade. "That is a tom for you." She smiled brightly.  


"You are loyal where your heart is," Hollybreeze mewed, "And that, for some strange reason, is with Duneshade. So if it means coming to Vertigoclan to find your loyalty then I welcome you fully as my clan member, " Hollybreeze mewed gently. "Once you prove it to them, then the clan will see it too." 


Hollybreeze smiled again, "Then, I guess we are gonna be great friends then, hih." She nodded her head in understanding.  "I think any queen wants best for their kits or at least should. I understand wanting to be better then your parents. Mine left me under a holly bush. If Vertigoclan hadn't found me I would be dead. Thats why I was named Hollykit I guess." Hollybreeze mewed as she thought of her kit days, "Do you think you will have more?"

[splashmist ★]

splashmist grinned cheekily at hollybreeze, thinking of the beautiful cream-furred queen that shared her den. "i won't," she promised sincerely, never one to gossip. she had never really been one to have friends either, especially female friends, really. her only friend per se had been her mentor islandsplash, and she hadn't seen the orange cat in moons, not since she was just made a warrior. the first cat her own age that had been her friend was duneshade, and that was that. she'd never really gotten along with the young she-cats in her clan; they had never been anything like hollybreeze. it seemed every one of them was as nasty as the last. she shuddered as she remembered them tormenting her, from when she first became an apprentice to even later on as a warrior.

"not the friendliest, eh?" she took a small bite of her mouse and thought about it. "well.... is he cute at least?" she giggled, glad for the chance to talk with someone about non-serious matters. "i know! all they do is walk around with their paws in their mouths. toms are such a pain." she rolled her eyes, her mate's stupid yowling about "being his own tom" and whatnot still fresh in her mind. she grinned when hollybreeze described her being with duneshade as "some strange reason" and decided she was definitely going to like this she-cat. "my loyalty is to my kits and to my mate, and they belong here, in vertigoclan. so here i am!" she grinned and then murmured almost to herself, "there was nothing for me in tempestclan anyway." 

"i hope so!" she took in the brief explanation of hollybreeze's history in silence, turning it over in her mind. then the she-cat's next remark caught her off guard. "more?" splashmist blurted out, her pretty green eyes widening. her fur burned as she thought of she and duneshade having another litter and she said sheepishly, "maybe... i'd like to spend some time as a warrior though. i mean, my warrior ceremony was only last leaffall and not long after i was pregnant with those two troublemakers," she meowed fondly, nodding to the two little toms in the distance with pallidkit, thunderkit, and blizzardkit. "i want to get used to being here and prove my loyalty before i have any more," she decided aloud, not having realized that was just what she wanted until now. "but... i'd like to." splashmist's whiskers twitched. "if duneshade is up for it, of course."

[Hollybreeze ☆]

"Thank you! I think Shadedpaw would be upset if she lost her mentor, Hollybreeze purred. She took another bite out of her mouse. Then, nearly choked when she asked if he was cute. "Him? He is... well I guess he is, but it is not worth his moodiness! " Hollybreeze muttered as she let out a sigh. She could not crush on him.

"Well I am happy you are here," Hollybreeze purred as she playfully nudged the she-cat's shoulder. "Now I have someone my age to gossip with. If any of these cat give you trouble though, tell me." Then, nodded her head, "I can understand wanting to be a warrior for a bit. It is wonderful not to have kit stress, but I think the little bundles are worth it."

[splashmist ★]

"i've always wanted to be a mentor," splashmist mewed thoughtfully. "i wish i could mentor one of the kits. i'm too new here though." trying to be optimistic, she added, "i'll need time to adapt to being a vertigoclan warrior anyway." she supposed it would probably look bad if she requested to mentor her own son. like she was trying to raise him to be disloyal to vertigoclan or something. she wouldn't blame flamingstar for not wanting to risk it. the leader as well as vertigoclan's warriors had already been far nicer to her than tempestclan ever had been, and she was an outsider to them.

"well, don't settle for anything less than you deserve!" the gray tabby said seriously, despite her light tone. she grinned when the other she-cat nudged her, gently pushing back. by now she had finished her mouse and wondered if she should get to burying the remains. it was overwhelming how sweet these cats had been to her, hollybreeze in particular, offering to stand up for her. she almost wondered if any of the cats would give her trouble at all. maybe every vertigoclan cat was this nice. "i will. i'm not much of a fighter," she admitted. "surprising, i know, coming from tempestclan. i guess that's why i never really fit in there."

[Hollybreeze ☆]

Hollybreeze purred, "it is fun as long as you get along with your apprentice. I hear stories of cats not getting along and its sad, but some cats are just pains." Hollybreeze looked over at the kits. "Maybe your next litter? I think the only reason they would not allow you is just the fact you don't know the territory yet. If you want I can show you around sometime. "


Hollybreeze knew she was going to like Splashmist.  She seemed to understand Hollybreeze and vice versa.  "I won't.  Plus he has called me a rogue on dawn patrol. I won't have it.," she said simply.  "Well I think you fit here perfect and any that say otherwise are mouse brained." She purred as she finished off her mouse.