an I C Y breeze

[ROBIN ;]

Mosswhisker, Shiningheart, Robin, Cherrystar, Eaglefeather.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

Tiny white snowflakes fell down from the pallid cloudy sky. The temperature was unusually low, and it was obvious that leaf-bare had completely settled in. A single blob of silver-grey blotted out the snowy whiteness, picking up his legs as he tried to manoeuvre through the thick blanket of snow. Icy flakes spotted his thick pelt, soon melting into his fur. Blue-grey eyes narrowed, he gave one last burst of speed, and leapt out of the frosty world and into his comfortable den. Tired, he collapsed into his warm nest. It was made up of grasses, ferns and many different types of soft feathers. Slatestar's limbs were numb with the cold and he could hardly wiggle his toes. Liquid soaked every hair on his pelt, and he shivered and shook, attempting to remove at least some of it. He relaxed, calmly watching the snow fall outside. Slatestar began to think.

'I can't do it,' the miserable idea crept into his head. 'I'm never going to be able to lead RiverClan fairly. Lichenstar was just so good - how can I possibly be nearly as good as him?' He sighed deeply, glancing up into the pale sky, thinking of StarClan. The tom remembered his parents, wondering whether they were watching over him now. There was Ospreyheart, his powerful and bold father: always up for any challenge. And there was his beautiful mother, Silktree. They were gone now. He'd met them last in the dream in which he recieved his nine lives. Ospreyheart had granted him courage, wheras Silktree gave him the gift of compassion. How he missed them now. If they were alive, they could help him - assist him as he struggled through his time at leader. He was never a very popular cat; with his average looks and his nervous yet caring personality.

'Come on Slatestar,' he thought slightly irratably. 'You're intellegent! You can lead your Clan, you can, you can...' His thoughts trailed off as he noticed the snow outside slowly begin to decay. Slatestar knew he couldn't just sit in his den all day, and quickly decided that he'd go and get some fresh kill. With a spring in his step he trotted down to the fresh kill hollow. There was a dip in the earth where the RiverClanners kept their prey, and the muscled grey tabby leant down to grasp a fish in his jaws. Raising his head, he allowed the delicious scents to tickle the gland on the roof of his mouth. A thick duvet of snow still coated the ground, and he squirmed slightly as his paw pads grew steadily colder. Slatestar swiftly dropped the fish and bent down once again; but this time to eat it.

Prey was scarce around this time of year, so he decided to enjoy this as much as possible. He rasped his rough pink tongue across the slippery creature, before piercing its skin with his fangs. Hungrily, he bit down and devoured several more chunks of its soft flesh, savouring the amazing flavours. Worries still clawed at his mind, but he tried to distract himself from his thoughts as much as possible. After he had finished his meal, he flicked out his tongue and swiftly cleaned his muzzle and whiskers. Sitting upright, he twisted his ears around, trying to pick up as many sounds as he could. It was a challenge Slatestar loved to do with his parents. Inwardly he was hoping to meet up with another member of his Clan. He did feel like a little chat, despite the weather. He didn't really get to go on patrols or go hunting any more, where he could talk to other RiverClanners.

Slatestar was lonely.

But the fire is, so delightful.

[shiningheart]

((O,o Wow....Long post...))

Ripplestream, warrior of RiverClan, padded into the camp. In his mouth, his fangs were clenched over a pitifully small fish. He grumbled all the way to the fresh-kill pile, where he threw down the fish and picked out an equally small water vole. The steel-gray tom plopped down next to a cat, not even noticing it was Slatestar. "I hate leaf-bare." He growled, tearing visciously into the limp body of the rodent. "It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so StarClan-darned cold!" Almost to punctuate his words, a bitter wind blew sharply through the camp. The snow stung Ripplestream's green eyes, and he had to rub them to make the snow melt quicker.

[ROBIN ;]

The temperature and current weather conditions weren't exactly desireable to the RiverClan cats. Slatestar certainly didn't enjoy it, anyway. Two light blue-grey eyes flicked over the horizon, shaking his head slightly at the light snowflakes which flew down from the skies above. The tom shivered, but he spotted one of the RiverClan warriors, Ripplestream, which cheered him slightly. Ripplestream had never been one of Slatestar's best friends, and he didn't know him incredibly well, but they weren't enemies and the leader was more than glad to share a conversation with him. He was carrying a tiny, underfed fish which he deposited on the fresh kill pile. Slatestar was glad to see that the warriors were still managing to find some prey, as scarce as it was in the bitter moons of Leaf-Bare.

The silver feline let out a small laugh as the warrior shared his thoughts on the season. "I have to agree, Ripplestream," he mewed, trying to sound as bright and optimistic as possible in this dreadful weather. "Hopefully it won't get any worse, StarClan forbid. But at least the river hasn't frozen over yet. Or have you heard otherwise?" Slatestar asked his question out of pure curiousity, he hoped he didn't sound like he was accusing Ripplestream of not telling him something. The leader hated having to rely completely on his warriors for news, as much as he trusted them, because he felt so unimportant curled up in his nest all day. Maybe he'd go for a hunt after eating. He decided he'd have a conversation with Ripplestream first, maybe he had something interesting to say.

He was about to speak again when a flash of ginger fur caught his eye. He sighed in symphathy as the herbs he was carrying blew swiftly out from the apprentice's jaw. "Hello Dartpaw," he purred, glad to see another member of his clan. "Don't worry, I'll help you collect them later. If you like that is." He turned to the young orange cat, expecting a reply of a nod or a shake of the head. Slatestar tried not to ask him any questions - being mute must be terrible for Dartpaw. He seemed to be managing quite well, though.

ooc:; Yus, I love writing long things for some reason. xD You're welcome, Spot! I shall be the official thread-maker-er if you want, lol. I know, I couldn't resist the Ospreyheart & Silktree thing, hehe.

Ooh, -1 karma? That's new. xD Sorry; just wanted to point it out for some odd reason.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream nodded in greeting to Dartpaw. He tried not to talk to the apprentice. Most of Ripplestream's conversations were either arguments or worries. And it was kind of hard to have a two-sided conversation with a mute anything. So the warrior turned back to Cunningstar with a look of half-wonder, half-curiousity. "The shallows have been completele frozen over. They're safe to walk on, but the rest of the river is still running swiftly." He bit into his vole thoughtfully, now not caring how the frost was setting in on his fur. "It's actually kind of strange. I was even mouse-brained enough to try jumping on the ice, but it didn't even crack."

[ROBIN ;]

The striped feline flicked his bright, blue-grey eyes over to the other two cats. Slatestar's paw pads were freezing as he sat on the icy snow, but he tried to ignore the cold. His mind wandered over to the possible aftermath of this cold spell. How many cats would fall ill? Would there be enough cats for patrols? And what if there was an attack on the clan, or the medicine cat fell ill? Sighing, he shook his head slightly. The leader couldn't worry about things that might not come true. That was not a good sign of great leadership or RiverClan, and Slatestar was eager to prove that he had the ability to lead the clan well, especially through these times of trouble. He considered asking Dartpaw how the herbs were going, did they need some help from other apprentices, how were things going? But inwardly he knew it wouldn't be much use. If he wanted to ask questions he was going to have to speak to Eaglefeather.

He turned his fluffy silver head to the orange apprentice now, who gave him a respectful yet friendly nod. Slatestar quite liked this little cat, he seemed nice enough. Smiling back, he wondered what he could say. Well, nothing really. It must be awful for Dartpaw, not being able to reply. His attention was soon caught by the warrior, Ripplestream. Twisting around slightly, his sensitive ears easily picked up what he had to say. "The shallows have been completely frozen over. They're safe to walk on, but the rest of the river is still running swiftly." Slatestar had to admit, he wasn't surprised by this answer. At these freezing temperatures, part of the river must have frozen over. But he was glad that the deeper waters hadn't yet been affected much by the cold.

The thick-furred leader narrowed his eyes slightly in curiosity as Ripplestream spoke again. "It's actually kind of strange. I was even mouse-brained enough to try jumping on the ice, but it didn't even crack." Slatestar paused for a heartbeat, thinking, before he quickly conjured up a response. "That's odd. I expected it to be frozen, but not that quickly!" An idea suddenly crept into the silver cat's head. Could it be a prophecy from StarClan? The ice was so thick in one area, but just downstream there was no hint of frost at all. Slatestar certainly had never experienced this before in his time. "Thank you, Ripplestream. Are you already on any patrols later? Because I might go and hunt for a bit soon." His eyes strayed over to the pathetic excuse for a fresh kill pile. Suddenly, he bent his head and sneezed. Once, twice, three times. No! He couldn't possibly get sick now! But it was quite likely, in the middle of Leaf-Bare.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream shrugged lightly, finished his fresh-kill and burying the remains. "I'd have to ask whoever's set the patrols. I'm not that good at remembering when I'm on patrols." He chuckled nervously, licking his ruffled chest fur. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to say to the leader. "But if you're asking me to go hunting with you, then I'd be glad to. There's only so much I can do for the Clan in these seasons." He murmured the last part softly, looking up with narrowed eyes against the biting snows.

[Speck•]

OOC: Cinder just told me that he forgot but somebody else already had RC meddie app. so I'm going to move him to TC. Just pretend he was never there, kay?

[shiningheart]

((*blink* How will that affect the thread?))

[ROBIN ;]

ooc:; M'kay. ;D

ic:
Slatestar smiled at Ripplestream as he spoke, not really minding. His memory hadn't been excellent either - especially when he was younger. He remembered once, when he was an apprentice, he forgot about a training session at sun-high and went out to fish. By the time he'd come back, his mentor was so annoyed Slatepaw ended up with extra elder-deticking for a moon. But the silver tom didn't really mind, he liked the elders and he had an icredible liking to the stories they told. The tales of the great Silverstar, who'd saved four kits from drowing. The bold Brackenstar, who had helped an enemy clan in their time of need - saving many lives. Even now Slatestar respected them, even though he was a leader himself.

"Oh yes - it's important to feed the Clan first," he meowed, before correcting himself. "But I bet you already knew that, you are definatlely not a disloyal cat. Do you know how the elders are coping? I heard Whitewhisker had caught a bad cough." Again, Slatestar felt a feeling of resentment. He felt like he was missing everything lately - he hardly knew his Clan. In particular the young cats and apprentices. The tabby didn't even know their personalities much.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream sighed sadly and looked at the ground. "Yeah. I don't know whether she'll be okay or not." He shook the sadness off and shrugged his lithe shoulders. "Then again, I'm not a medicine cat. You'd want to ask Eaglefeather about that." He rose and looked around the camp for anyone they could drag out in this weather with them. "Think we should bring an apprentice with us?" He asked, looking down at the leader questioningly. "You could test their snow-hunting abilities..."

[Eaglefeather]

((Hmm...would you mind if I brought Eaglefeather in? I haven't roleplayed with her for a bit...))

[ROBIN ;]

ooc:; That's fine with me! ;3

The silver tom continued to grin as the male warrior spoke. Now he was with another cat, he felt oddly happy. Content, perhaps. Ripplestream didn't really seem to mind talking to him, which was a positive sign. Slatestar guessed that he would have left by now if the warrior disliked him. So maybe he was doing quite a good job so far? Well, he hadn't been showered with complaints yet soo he felt like he wasn't doing too badly. His bright, blue-grey eyes sparkled slightly in pleasure, but they darkened slightly at the mention of the elder, Whitewhisker. The pure white she-cat hadn't really been herself for days, and Slatestar had to admit he was slightly worried. Ripplestream didn't seem to know much more than his leader when the subject of the elder was brought up, but Slatestar was slightly glad because Ripplestream would probably have heard if she was dramatically worse.

The warrior got to his feet, but the tabby leader remained seated, slightly confused. But then Ripplestream spoke, and Slatestar nodded quickly. "Snow hunting," he purred. "Great idea." He leapt up onto his paws too, but he hesitated slightly. "Perhaps we should wait, just a little? The majority of the apprentices will probably be sleeping now, and I don't want to disturb them. RiverClan needs all the rest it can get in these freezing months."

[Eaglefeather]

A flicker of cream and brown movement twitched at the entrance of the medicine cat's den. Eaglefeather slowly stepped out of the dead, twisiting branches that gleamed with flakes of snow, planting her chocolate brown paws through the layers of white as her crisp blue eyes scanned the nearly deserted clearing. Snow drifted lightly through the air, which was quiet and still. Most of the cats were still sleeping warm and snug in their dens, dreaming of a warmer tommorow and a filling meal.

Eaglefeather could not say as much. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately. There was always some cat that had an ache, or was cold, or had a runny nose, or a fever of some sort. Eaglefeather stared at the drifts of snow that drifted past her nose, wondering how something so beautiful could be so deadly. The cold that leaf-bare brought always sent many cats to her den. It was the worst time of year, in her opinion, for she was always flooded up to her shoulders with the responsibility of finding enough herbs to last the winter and making sure the cats that developed fevers or coughs lived to see the end of the cold season.

She blinked a few times as drifts of snow fluttered close to her face. Eaglefeather's blue gaze drew to two cats sitting on the other side of the clearing. Through the thickly cascading snow the two fuzzy shapes could easily have been mistaken for a rock or a log, and she had to stare for a few moments longer to make sure they were indeed cats. When she had identified who the cats were, the siamese she-cat lifted herself to her paws and padded delicately across the clearing, avoiding the deepest patches of snow by following a rapidly fading trail that wove through the clearing.

"Good morning, Ripplestream, Slatestar," the medicine cat meowed, dipping her head respectfully to her new leader. Then, she lifted her head after a brief pause and looked at the silver tom cat. .

[mosswhisker]

((May I join as well?))

Springpaw was awakened by his mentor's sudden movements. His big yellow orbs watched her leave the Medicine den without a word. At first the mottled gray- brown tom didn't want to move, it smelled cold outside and it was warm as a fox den inside his nest.

Eventually, Springpaw lifted himself up out of his nest, his skinny body struggling with exhaustion and hunger. He grasped what little strength he had and slithered out the den. As he assumed, Springpaw was nearly knocked back into the Medicine Den by the strength of the cold. Then, Springpaw's sun bright eyes saw the leader, then more warriors, and then Eaglefeather. I wonder what's going on? I hope nothing bad, that's the last thing we need, he thought with a pang of fear.

Slowly, Springpaw crossed the clearing towards the group of cats, admiring and fearing what the snow could create. Still moving, he lifted his face to the sky and watched the brilliant white specks dive straight towards him. I wonder where they come from... Springpaw mewed to himself. Suddenly, the small tom felt himself run into something much bigger, and furrier, than a snow pile. Springpaw jumped back to see his mentor, Eaglefeather. "Oh, I'm so sorry Eaglefeather! Ididn't-- I wasn't paying attention!" he quickly apologized, his ears burning with shame that he had to go and embarass himself in front of not only his mentor, but the new leader as well.

[shiningheart]

Ripplestream knew he shouldn't. He knew an apprentice day-dreaming in the weather, and the medicine cat apprentice at that, could be dangerous. But the tom couldn't help the violent laughter that shook his steel gray form. "Nicely done, Springpaw." He meowed to the young cat, an amused purr clear in his tone. "I don't think even I ever managed to run straight into a cat when I was your age." Then Ripplestream had a thought, tying into what he and Slatestar were just talking about. "Hey Eaglefeather," he meowed, turning to stare the medicine cat straight in the eyes, "do you think you can check out the river? The shallows are completely frozen over, and we," he flicked his ears to his leader, "were thinking it could be a sign from StarClan."