Thinking and fishing

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream crouched at the edge of the river, a paw poised above the water. A silver fish was a fox length away. He waited for it to get closer. The fish swam closer. 'Just a bit more...' He thought. Ripplestream's paw flashed out and the fish sailed through the air. He lunged at it and killed it with a single bite. He sighed and looked into the water. "I wish you were here, Mistypaw." He whispered, mostly to himself.

[mosswhisker]

Spirngpaw skipped lightly into a small sunny clearing. He could hear the river just beyond the trees. At the edge of the clearing lay a small patch of marigold, "Just what I was looking for!" Springpaw's high pitched voice rang. "Maybe after I gather these herbs I could hunt a little. The clan needs it," the small tom thought out loud as he bent his head and carefully snipped the stems of the marigold.

The dappeled brown and gray pelt of Springpaw shimmered in sync with his light, bouncy paw steps. He was heading towards the river, when suddenly a strong wind blew through the trees, ripping the orange petals of the marigold right out of his jaws. "NO!!" Springpaw dashed after the floating herbs and gave a weak leap every now and then to try and reach the marigold. The medicine cat apprentice saw the floating petals nearing the ever flowing rive,"No! If they get in the River their ruined!". He gave one final leap and managed to grab the stems of a good number of herbs. Unfortunately, so concentrated on the herbs, he did not notice the other cat below him below him, and only at the last moment was he able to twist away. "Oh no, Ripplestream! I'm so sorry, I didn't interrupt you did I?" Springpaw crouched over his herbs and bowed his head in an apologetic manner.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream blinked at Springpaw. "No, no." He shook his head. "It's alright. I was....almost done here anyway." He flashed another paw into the river and hooked out another fish. "Do you need any help with the marigold?" He asked, nodding to the herbs at Springpaw's paws.

[mosswhisker]

Springpaw sighed."Yes, please, that would be nice."He flinched at the sight of the slimy, squirmy fish floundering on the grass beside Ripplestream. Then something hit him,"Are you sure you're okay? You looked a little... distant earlier," Springpaw asked cautiously, pulling a couple herbs closer to him.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream nodded slowly. "Yeah....I'm just....Just thinking about my sister, that's all..." He murmured dully, memories of Mistypaw flashing through his mind.

[mosswhisker]

Springpaw gave Ripplestream a sympathetic look. "I see. Losing a part of your family is hard; hurts more than any wound you can recieve in battle, and it can't be healed by using herbs as physical injuries can." The small mottled tom took a step towards the warrior and let his tail rest on Ripplestream's shoulder. "I'm sorry I can't help that much...What happened to her anyway?" Springpaw mewed slowly, trying not to agitate the gray warrior.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream gave a sardonic smile to his paws. "I was always a problem apprentice." He took one of the fish in his mouth and lugged in on his back. "I always talked back to the warriors. One day, I got into a bad fight and was sent out of camp to sleep in the cold. But when the evening patrol returned, they reported a fox dangerously far into our territory." His smile turned into a frown. "She came after me and found me dangling from a tree branch with a fox snapping at his heals." He shook his head rapidly. "She died that day, protecting her useless brother Ripplepaw."

[mosswhisker]

Springpaw's amber eyes were wide and vicarious. He opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words. He closed his eyes for a moment, replaying the story in his mind. "No one would think your useless Ripplestream. You are a warrior, you hunt and fight for the clan." Springpaw mewed gratefully. "Your sister chose to come save you, and now, she is living in a safer place forever watching over you." the mottled tom meowed, trying to comfort Ripplestream.

((XD sorry, not a very good post. lol))

[shiningheart]

((eh, this one is worse.))

Ripplestream sighed before giving a forced smile at Springpaw. "Thanks." He meowed, looking for the other fish. Apparently, he hadn't killed it as much as he thought he did. For the steel-gray tom could just see the fish swimming awkwardly away in the river. "Mouse-dung!" He cursed, glaring at the silver gleam of the water.

[mosswhisker]

"Bad luck! You almost had it!"Springpaw meowed. He placed his delicate paws gently next to the River bank and sat down, "Its been awhile since I last fished, but what can it hurt, right?". The dappled brown tom rose a small paw over the clear, rushing water, careful not to let his shadow touch the water. A flash of silver slowly entered his range of sight, and shot his paw into the water, scooping the fish up and out of the water. Springpaw winced at the fish suffering, and, with his eyes closed, dealt it a finishing bite. "Ugh, how do you do it? Be a warrior that is,".

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream shrugged, all thoughts completely evaporated from his mind. "Simple: it's fresh-kill. In order to survive, we must take the life of the prey that feeds us." He meowed, looking at the marigold again. "Now, thank StarClan for it's life."

[mosswhisker]

Springpaw bent his head over the fish and sent a silent prayer to StarClan. "You're right about the fresh- kill thing, StarClan gave us this river full of fish for a reason," he mewed submissively, "But what about battles? I know that its all for the good of the Clan and that everyone has to fight eventually just because of they're loyalty to their leader, but how do you deal with the thought of hurting, maybe even killing, another cat?"

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream shrugged. "You don't." He gathered the marigold into a sloppy pile before pushing it over to Springpaw. "We don't usually fight unless there's a reason to. If it's prey-stealing, then that hurts the Clan. If it's trespassing, it's stealing territory that could be used to feed the Clan. If it's just to feel flesh under our claws, then we're all psychotic." He grinned a bit to show he was joking. "Of course, I'm psychotic already, so what do I know?" He meowed, shrugging a bit.

[mosswhisker]

Springpaw purred in amusement. "It sounds like fun when you say it like that!" he mewed jokingly, "but, I know I'd never be able to go back to being a warrior even if I wanted to." He bent his head and picked up the dusty marigold. "I should probably take these back to Eaglefeather," Springpaw meowed, bowing his head politely.

((Dont really know what else I could post...))

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream nodded his agreement and picked up some spare marigold. His eyes scrunched up at the bitter taste of his mouth. "You don't understand why I fight, and I don't understand how you can STAND these FOUL herbs!" He hissed in disgust across the marigold.