╓♥...falling head over heels.╜

[le Dawnz]

Feels like I have always known you
And I swear I dreamt about you
All those endless nights I was alone
It's like I've spent forever searching
Now I know that it was worth it
With you it feels like I am finally home

The sun was hidden under a sheet of clouds today, painting the sky a dull gray. A chilly wind rustled the leaves on the trees and made the river flow faster. Usually, the swishing sounds the willow vines made on a day like this soothed Honeypaw, but not today. And as the golden she-cat ambled along the shore of the river, she could find no comfort in her peaceful surroundings. She merely wandered aimlessly, her only thoughts ones of getting away from her annoying sister, impatient mentor, and the empty memories waiting for her back at RiverClan's well-hidden island camp.

The clouds rumbled angrily, ready to burst. A constant reminder that it was no longer greenleaf. Oddly enough, Honeypaw liked the rain, and welcomed the thought of the clouds spilling over. Anything to distract her from the "anything and everything" that was her life.

The battle at Sunningrocks, though ending in her Clan's favor, had been a personal disaster for her. Along with making an enemy out of a ThunderClan apprentice, she had been reprimanded by her mentor. The dark warrior had called her a disgrace to herself and her clan, fighting so bellicosely in a trivial battle that never should have happened. It was the smokey apprentice's fault! But she felt ashamed knowing that she shouldn't have stooped to ThunderClan's level. Just thinking of that stupid battle made her claws unsheathe grudgingly and sink into the soft earth beside the river as she padded on.

No one understood. No one tried. Not anymore. Honeypaw found herself tired, day after day, from the pretense that had become her life. It was like, when her mother died, something died inside her. She was so tired of it all. She could find nothing enjoyable. Not even warrior training. She couldn't even find the idea that both she and her sister would be warriors soon exciting. Day in and day out, she moved around like a zombie. It took everything she had just to wake up and start the day. When her mother had died, it had been tragic, and she had fallen into a stupor and been left with a void inside. When she finally woke up from her daze, she'd changed, and now, she was sure she could never be the perky, optimistic little kit she had once been. If she was doomed to live the rest of her dismal, pathetic life like this, what good was she to anyone? The apprentice had thought she could take it out on other cats in battle, but it hadn't worked out quite that way. So, what now?

Falling head over heels
Thought I knew how it feels
But with you it's like the first day of my life

Honeypaw didn't know. And right now, she couldn't bring herself to care. She just wanted to escaped, so she called to the rain, beckoning that it fall, welcoming it. StarClan forbid something good actually happen to me. she thought wryly when it didn't come. She wished that one thing, just one little thing, would go right for her, and show her that not everyone was out to get her.

With a sigh, she sat on the river's bank and looked into the water. The churning surface displayed her own mangled reflection back at her. What a sorry excuse for a cat. she thought bitterly. Unable to look at herself anymore, she glanced away and closed her eyes. When she did, something wet dripped onto the apprentice's back. Pricking her ears, she gazed up in confusion. Another drop landed on her nose, sending a cold shiver down her spine. She smiled, her blue eyes unexpectedly brightening. It was that moment that the sky chose to open up and release the rain it had been hiding, pouring it like a watering can over the forest.

The apprentice tipped her head back and closed her eyes, embracing the cold feeling that swept through her now as the heavy rain drops soaked through her golden fur. She just let go of all she held, feeling her grip on reality slipping. Her tense body relaxed, one muscle at a time. First her haunches, then her shoulders, her claws, and finally her eyes. Honeypaw sighed again, contently this time, delighting in the rain. The one thing in the world that seemed to bring her any joy. Her nose twitched involuntarily. Something that she had done a lot as a kit, but rarely ever did now. Only when it rained. The she-cat's smile widened and she laughed out loud at herself. The laugh was lost in the rain, echoing in Honeypaw's ears, but unable to be heard any further than a few mouse tails from her.

She was sure that if Jitterpaw had been there, she'd probably think her sister had gone crazy. Honeypaw never laughed. Not anymore. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh, sweet scent that the rain brought to the world with it, and lowered her gaze back to the river, which was now disturbed by the droplets of water raining down from the sky. Maybe the world wasn't as angry with her as she was with it. Perhaps it pitied her. She didn't like the idea of being pitied, but she wasn't ready to be angry again. Not just yet. She fixed her eyes on the water's surface, her smile fading once more and her ears flattening back against her head as she fell into a daze with thoughts she couldn't quite identify racing through her mind.

Cause you leave me speechless
When you talk to me
You leave me breathless
The way you look at me
You manage to disarm me
My soul is shining through
Can't help but surrender
My everything to you...

[OCC] Done. Yes, I fixed the heart! It's all about the combinations. -cracks knuckles- The lyrics above are to the song "Speechless" by The Veronicas. The song really has no relevence (yet) to anything in this post, it was just my inspiration (sorta) when writing this.

[Roxie !]

The river churned and raged, becoming increasingly rougher with the falling rain. It sort of represented the tension between ThunderClan and RiverClan, the tom reflected bitterly. His dark green eyes flashed with unspent fury as he gazed across the border into the enemy Clan's territory. How could this have happened? His tail lashed dangerously. The thieves that called themselves RiverClan had stolen his Clan's territory, and everyone back at the ThunderClan camp didn't seem to be doing anything about it. Did they want to appear weak? Because that was what was going to happen if something wasn't done. RiverClan would think they could go around doing whatever they pleased. Well, they'd have to go through Smokepaw first. His eyes were now narrowed into stubborn slits as he stared across the river, hateful thoughts racing through his mind.

If he'd been leader, he wouldn't have called a retreat so easily. They could have taken those flea-ridden excuses for cats if they'd just fought a little longer, Smokepaw was sure of it! That mouse-brained RiverClan apprentice, especially, wouldn't have gotten away with those snide remarks she'd been making. If those dumb warriors hadn't butted in, I would have ripped her to shreds! The ThunderClan apprentice sulked, hunching his shoulders and glaring vindictively across the border. Smokepaw had always been one to hold a grudge, and now he was finding it very hard to take his Clan's defeat at the recent battle honorabley. No, something had to be done...to satisfy his own anger, if nothing else. RiverClan would see how they liked being stolen from.

He stood up, his grey pelt dark as the clouds above. His raccoon-like tail bristling, Smokepaw padded forward with dark determination, and slipped into the water. The icy water didn't really make much difference, as his pelt had already been mostly soaked from sitting in the rain. Smokepaw knew that he wasn't the best swimmer in the world, but right now revenge was more important. His paws working hard to propell him through the water, the apprentice struggled to reach the other side. How does RiverClan do this so gracefully? Smokepaw wondered as he doggy-paddled. Whatever. They were probably more fish than cat.

Finally, Smokepaw reached the other side, and so entered RiverClan territory. He ignored the instinct to stop and lick his fur dry; it wouldn't do much good in this weather anyway. Besides, he had business to attend. Silver ears perked, he gazed around silently. Smokepaw was going to steal prey. It didn't matter if RiverClan discovered his work; in fact, he almost wanted them to. It would send the message that ThunderClan would not tolerate being stolen from. The problem was, most of the prey was probably hiding in their dens by now. One sign of rain sent those mice running for cover. The apprentice snorted his contempt, and continued sniffing around. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the water's edge. As proud as he was, he knew there was no use in trying to catch a fish. He'd check further downriver.

His ears dripping comically with rain, Smokepaw padded along. No wonder RiverClan are so skinny, if this is the amount of prey they have in their territory. He thought with a smirk, his whiskers twitching. It was then, out of the corner of his eye, that he saw a blur of movement. Tensing immediately, the young tom turned toward the river, where he had seen it. And there, through the rain, he spotted the strangest creature he'd ever seen. It floated in the water, even through all its turbulence(weird word to use? Idk. sounds like they're in an airplane xD), and didn't seem to notice him at all. He was pretty sure that it was prey, and stupid prey at that. Its chubby body was covered in dull brown feathers, its head tinted broccoli-green, and its beak looked as if a two-leg had stepped on it and squashed it flat. The creature kept dipping its broccoli-esque head into the water's churning depths, to his bemusement. *

Smokepaw had never seen a duck before.

It was a big bird, and it would probably feed a good few cats back home...if he could catch it. The mouse-brained thing hasn't even noticed me yet. He thought smugly. But how to catch it? Smokepaw wasn't even going to try diving in after it--much too loud of an approach, and that thing had wings. Fox-dung. Hunting in the forest was so much easier. Narrowing his eyes, he crept along the riverbed, keeping time with the duck's progress. It had to come out eventually, right? Smokepaw never took his eyes off the creature, dipping down behind a few cattails just in case the duck did throw a glance his way.

Maybe, miraculously, the ThunderClanner would have had some luck, if the winds hadn't changed. It was difficult to smell much through the rain, but here, in unfamiliar territory, every suspicious scent seemed to stand out. But when the damp breeze brought the scent of a RiverClan cat nearby, it was only a moment before Smokepaw's concentration broke. He didn't have the longest attention span in the world, after all. And if there was a RiverClanner around, he wanted to be the first one to attack. His fur bristling, the reckless tom slowly emerged from his hiding place, glaring harshly in the direction of the scents.

As he slunk closer, he spotted her. Among the willows, sat--Smokepaw held back a snarl of recognition--the golden apprentice he'd fought earlier! He could hardly believe it. Time for a little payback. Wondering how to approach this situation, he lowered his head slightly. I could just attack her...the mousebrain probably wouldn't even see me coming. Smokepaw mused. But wait. He'd come here to flaunt, hadn't he? It might be fun to provoke her a little first.

Bunching his muscles, he sprang up into the lower branches of a nearby willow, his green eyes boring into Honeypaw coldly. "Well, well, if it isn't RiverClan's pampered little princess." Smokepaw hissed arrogantly. "Do you always let warriors finish the fights you can't handle? Afraid you were gonna break a claw?"

OOC//Mwahaha, I had every intention of posting with Badgerstar, but at this point I think Smokey would be much more fun.

*=Sorry about that xDDD. I was SO hyper, and I had a little too much fun with that description.

[le Dawnz]

The rhythmic sound of the rain falling lightly over the churning water was disturbed by a loud splash, breaking Honeypaw from her trance. Gazing down river, she saw a duck rising above the water making quite a spectacle of itself. It was quacking profusely as it flapped toward the opposite shore where a patch of reeds probably hid its nest.

Stupid creature. Was it so confident that it wouldn’t be caught that it felt the need to announce its presence to everyone. Then again, ducks usually only made that much noise when they thought they or their nest was in danger. So besides providing food for RiverClan, they also provided a fairly reliable alarm. And this, of course, made Honeypaw think twice about taking it back for her Clan.

Erecting her ears alertly, she stood and glanced all around her, revolving her head slowly to take in any change. The atmosphere was tense now. She saw a dark flash from the corner of her eye, and then heard rustling in the tree above her. She pinned her ears back and lowered her body the ground. She could feel the fur along her neck spiking despite the persistent rain trying to keep it flat. She could smell the faint aroma of ThunderClan. Then she heard his voice.

“Well, well, if it isn’t RiverClan’s pampered little –” She didn’t wait for him to finish. She launched herself up into the willow at the smoke-colored apprentice, her claws unsheathed and her lips pulled back in a snarl. The golden she-cat’s task was to drive the intruder from her territory, and to ensure that he wouldn’t come back. So her first move would be to knock him from the tree, then give him a few scratches he would not soon forget. She didn’t care for his taunting anymore. It didn’t matter what he said. He’d humiliated her enough, and she wasn’t going to let it get to her anymore.


OOC// Haha. Angry Honeypaw. Anyway, I totally agree! So much fun! xD And don't worry, we're all like that sometimes. ^_^ Anywho, UGH. I hate it. It's way to short. But I'll just have to deal. I can't think of anything else to say. Dialouge, entrances, and revelations are so much easier to make into super long posts. The whole battle scene thing is... not so much. lol

[Roxie !]

OOC// Yeah, battle posts are...blah. They don't give you much to work with. Oh well...

Smokepaw's bushy grey tail raised haughtily, but he barely had gotten the words out of his mouth when Honeypaw pinpointed his position and sprang at him. His emerald-green eyes widened slightly in surprise--he hadn't quite expected her to attack immediately, but he supposed he should have after what had happened at Sunningrocks. For the two apprentices, it had been more than just a territory battle; it had been a fight fueled by their furious rivalry and their pride. Smokepaw had to wonder if it'd ever really end.Not until I beat her--for good. He thought darkly. The shadowy tom didn't have time to think anything else before his enemy was upon him.

Very well. If she didn't have anything else to say, then they'd fight. Seeing as he hadn't been ready for her attack, Smokepaw didn't have a lot of time to react. He reared slightly, shifting his weight into his hind legs, but Honeypaw still landed her blow. She sent him flying off the tree branch and hurtling towards the riverbank below. The tom instinctively unsheathed his claws and tried to cling to the she-cat's pelt as she pushed him. He hit the ground roughly; luckily the branch hadn't been too high up, but it still knocked the wind out of him. Praying that his slight shift would give him the chance he needed, Smokepaw tensed his leg muscles and threw his hind legs upward, using the weight he had proportioned there in an attempt to flip Honeypaw off of him.

He could only hope that a RiverClan patrol wouldn't stumble upon the scene. Even Smokepaw, cocky as he was, knew he wouldn't be able to take on half a Clan. He'd have to make this quick. Only problem was, Honeypaw had the advantage. This was her territory, and she knew it a lot better than he did. He'd just have to do as much damage as he could, and then make a break for it. But he'd need battle strategy. Perhaps if Smokepaw could make her angry enough, it might make her fighting clumsy and blinded by rage.

He glared up at the RiverClan apprentice, smirking. "What's the matter, hot-head? Fish got your tongue? Aren't we supposed to banter a little?" Smokepaw hissed teasingly as he struggled.

[le Dawnz]

Honeypaw couldn't help smirking when her attack hit its mark. Her outstretched claws dug into the tabby's flesh as they hurtled from the tree branch and slammed into the ground. She couldn't deny the pleasure that she felt when she saw his shocked expression and his body jolted beneath her when he hit the floor of the riverbank. But she pushed it back, remembering that he was and intruder, and he needed to be driven out.

But then she suddenly found herself tearing away from him, her claws still inbedded in his fur. The pain in her stomach told her that he'd finally counter-attacked by shifting his weight and trying to throw her from him with a sharp kick. These thoughts only took a second to process, and she managed to sink her claws in deeper so they would hopefully rip away when she flew backward.

The next thing she knew, the golden-colored apprentice was on the ground. She leapt up to face Smokepaw, her eyes narrowed into slits and the fur along her neck fluffed out to make herself look bigger. She glared at her opponent, hating him. She hated him for being ThunderClan. She hated him for invading her territory. She hated him for making her miserable life that much more miserable, and for making her a disappointment in the eyes of the only cat whose opinion really mattered. But mostly, she just hated him.

"What's the matter, hot-head? Fish got your tongue? Aren't we supposed to banter a little?" A growl rose in her throat. "Banter is for immature, mouse-brained kits pretending to be warriors when they're really no more useful than crowfood. Now get out!" She crouched down, leaning her weight into her haunches, and sprang at him again. She dove for his paws, hoping to knock his legs out from under him.

[[OOC]] My God! Now I know why I've been avoiding replying. That was horrible! Ugh.

[Roxie !]

OOC//No, no, don't worry. Like I said, fighting threads are hard. We should probably plan out where, exactly this one's going xD.

It worked! His kick landed, and soon Honeypaw was flying off him--though not without giving him a few scratches as she went. It seemed she had been quick enough to dig her claws deeper, and Smokepaw let out a snarl as he pushed her off him. Even so, the ThunderClan apprentice wasted no time in scrambling to his paws. He ignored the slight stinging in his side now, and focused on the fight before him. His opponent had landed a few feet away, but she quickly regained herself and stood up as well.

There was a single, tense moment in which they faced each other, glaring furiously. Smokepaw could feel the hatred rising from the she-cat in almost tangible waves, and he met her furious gaze unflinchingly. He hated her right back, a loathing that made his claws sink into the soft riverbank and his tail lash violently. He wasn't even sure how it happened, but from the moment he had met Honeypaw, Smokepaw had been sure of one thing: they were, and would always be, enemies. And the silver tom didn't really think to question the matter. The fact was, he was always angry, and hatred came quite easily to him. This was just another example.

She insulted him now, taunting him with words of her own and calling him a kit. "Make me, if you can!" Smokepaw responded scathingly when she ordered him to leave the territory. "This dump isn't worth defending! Is that why RiverClan had to take Sunning--" Before he could finish, Honeypaw was leaping at him again. But this time, Smokepaw refused to be knocked to the ground. He reared up, his claws lashing as the RiverClan apprentice attacked, but she was faster than he'd expected.

She hit him hard, despite the fact that he had reared his forepaws upward, and Smokepaw realized that he was losing balance. With what coordination he could muster in the small amount of time he had, he moved quickly as he fell, hoping to crash down on his enemy's back. Smokepaw's teeth bared viciously. This was more than just a border fight for these two apprentices, and he knew Honeypaw was equally aware of this.

[Roxie !]

OOC// Bump..