another romeo and juliet

[squee.]

new leaf. finally. the camp clearing was completely deserted except for the tiny figure tucked away in the ebony shadows cast by the walls surrounding the camp. her steady breathing and the occasional rustle of the grasses covering the moorland beyond the camp were the only sounds that filled the clearing. icy gaze narrowed against the sunlight, she slowly scanned the nearby shadows and clearing for any signs of life....windclan or not. it had been awhile since she had last checked in with the others, having missed her last meeting because of a battle between the clans. she had chose to stay with windclan during the battle rather than steal away to report- careful not to raise any suspicions. heaving a heavy, annoyed breath- she checked her surroundings again. the clan was out on either patrols or hunting missions....she had just returned from hunting herself. flexing her claws, she weighed her options; she could either sneak off to the others now so that they wouldn't send a replacement for her or she could return hunting. either way, she would have to give up the little peace she had just finally found.

she glanced up at the sky, it's well past sunhigh. she could just make it back to the windclan camp before the dawn patrol if she left now. deciding that would probably be too risky to leave now, she dragged herself to her paws...her gaze locked on the dirt floor beneath her she started for a second patrol by herself. she'd have to make sure the others wern't sending her replacement.

[le Dawnz]

The sun beat down on Hawkwing's back, the warmth sinking through his thick fur to his skin. It was a great feeling, being directly under the sun the way it was on the moore. If Hawkwing looked up, he would see that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. If he looked down, he would see that the grass was greener than it had been since last greenleaf, and he would see the tiny ants crawling toward their ant hill with crumbs easily twice their size on their backs. If he had been looking straight ahead, I mean really looking, he would have seen the rolling hills stretching out before him, and the family of rabbits wandering from their warren.

But Hawkwing didn't see any of that. He was too preoccupied by his thoughts to let anything besides the fact that his paws were leading him back toward camp register in his mind. Leader. he thought. I am WindClan's new leader. He couldn't really believe it. He'd only become deputy a little over a moon ago. The former WindClan leader had only been three moons older than him. And what's more, how could he have lost all nine of his lives in that short moon? It was incredible. In a bad way, of course.

The tabby tom wasn't sure yet if he could handle this. He would try, of course, and give every part of himself to leading his Clan as best as he could, but he hadn't even believed it when he became deputy. And then to become leader so suddenly and in such a short amount of time... He shook his head, trying to clear it. What Hawkwing needed to worry about right now was getting to the Moonstone to receive his nine lives, and making sure his Clan was safe. Maybe once I have my nine lives, I'll feel more like a leader, and I'll know more about what exactly I'm supposed to do. But deep down, he wasn't sure he'd ever feel like a leader.

As he descended the slope into camp, he didn't notice Foxheart creeping up ahead of him on her way out of the clearing. Neither of them were looking where they were going, so what happened next was inevitable.

"Oof!" Hawkwing blinked in surprise, letting his gaze focus on the she-cat before him. He recognized Foxheart in an instant; it's incredibly easy to recognize her when she was easily one of the most beautiful she-cats in the Clan. "Oh, Foxheart! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He ducked his head and gave his chest a brief lick, feeling a little embarrassed to be caught in the doubtful state he was in.

[squee.]

she scented hawkwing only a moment before the tom crashed into her. she had had to clamp her jaws tightly together to keep from lashing out at the tom. you stupid oaf!! you clumsy badger! you're as stupid as mousedung....and you're worthless!!!! her mind screamed, though she kept a careful reign on her temper before she could tear her new leader apart. she urged to rip his throat out then and there, though that would have ruined everything she had worked on. everything she'd ever trained for nearly ended at that very moment. realizing that she had just sent the tom a murderous glare, she shook her head slowly. "oh. sorry, hawkst-wing. i wasn't watching where i was going. the fault is on me." she nodded, even offering a small smirk.

then she realized his mood, a mood dark enough to make this lovely day look grey. her first reaction, ignore it....her second though was to comfort her leader. forcing another smile, she looked over hawkwing carefully...as if just now realizing his mood. her expression turned to worry. "sooooo.....hawkwing. " she muttered, turning her full attention on windclan's newest (and youngest) leader. "why so sad, panda bear?" watching the tom slowly, she realized that his mood was so obvious even the youngest of kits would have realized there was something amiss.

taking a guess, she turned serious now "is it because you dont' have your nine lives yet? that your not hawk'star'? you know....we could leave for highstones now and make it back to meet the dawn patrol. if....it could cheer you up that is. or maybe a bit of hunting." she was rambling now, and she knew it....appearing to be just another mindless queen facing a male.

[squee.]

OOC// This is Dawnie not wanting to keep having to log out and log back in as me then log out again and log back into Lineh's account... again. So... yeah.




Hawkwing tipped one of his ears flat to the side, in that way that he does without realizing it, and listened to her take the blame. He was about to protest when she continued, having obviously noticed his tense mood. She took a guess at what was bothering him, and while that wasn't exactly it, it wasn't that far from the truth either. Her concern flattered him, but he didn't want her to know just how worried he was.

The tom shook his head. "No, no." he replied, then edited, "I mean, yes, I need to visit with StarClan as soon as possible, but I'm not... I'm not sad. No. Just a little..." He stopped, unsure whether or not he should even be sharing this much information with her. Leaders don't usually express their worries to their warriors. Then again, he wasn't expected to keep it all in was he? How was he suppose to deal with it when he couldn't even talk to anyone?

But wouldn't telling her mean showing weakness? Leaders are suppose to be strong and show no fear in times of hardship, because the Clan has to be able to turn to them in the worst of times for support and leadership. Would admitting his doubts to Foxheart shatter what little respect she might have for him before he even received his star name? Or would she understand?

Right then, Hawkwing was beginning to doubt his new found status even more than he had been before.

Acting on impulse, no longer trusting himself to make a descision he wouldn't later regret, he decided to share his thoughts with this she-cat. Just this one. Perhaps he would feel lighter after voicing his worries. "I'm just, you know, a little distracted." he admitted with a sheepish smile. "And anyway, I probably shouldn't leave without first telling the rest of the Clan."

His mind raced ahead to his departure. It should be tonight or tomorrow, because the gathering would be upon them soon enough. He considered his warriors, wondering who to take with him. He realized WindClan had no apprentices to make the journey with them. It saddened him to think that the ranks of his Clan were slowly dwindling. There had been far too much bloodshed and too many unneccessary deaths lately, and not just for WindClan. But Hawkwing couldn't help but feel something bigger was coming, just over the horizon, waiting to strike at the worst moment possible...

But he was probably just being paranoid. Just the same, he wanted to be prepared. And to do that, he would need his nine lives, and a little more confidence in himself.

[le Dawnz]

[['tis lineh. on dawneh's account. dont ask.]]

the moment he spoke, she knew something even deeper than just getting his nine lives. he wasn't sure of his leader powers. that had to be it. foxheart had to literally bite her tounge to keep from grinning like a fool. that was it- the fearless hawkwing wasn't sure of himself. just as the last leader wasn't sure of himself- he wasn't sure if he could lead his clan through this tough time......and it was at that very moment in the previous leader's life that he had been too distracted. foxheart had spent her entire day tucked away in a fox-den to hold the scent of a fox. that very day she had ripped the mighty tom's throat out completely.....he died choking on his blood. and the clan blamed a fox.

now she was faced with a new challenge, hawkwing. the others have not given her any new orders on how to act. nothing. she could easily kill him on the way to highstones....but what if the others had bigger plans for the young tom? for once, foxheart was at a loss.

hearing the last half of his explination, she shrugged carefully. "new leader jitters, eh?" she smiled slowly. "do you think emorystar was sure of himself when he was thrown into the very same spot? or any of the other great leaders before him? no body could prepare themselves for suddenly facing an entire clan's worth of problems. especially at a time like this." she answered, surprising even herself at how sure she sounded at this. this was diffrent, before her words seemed hollow...even to her but this time she had meaning. her words had a meaning....interesting.

"for what it's worth, i think you just might be one of the greatest to lead windclan." she added slowly. and i need to get to the others as soon as possible. the sooner i kill you the sooner i can crush this clan.. nodding at the last thing she said, she shrugged slightly again. "of course we could always hunt and then leave for highstones at sun-down. thay way we could travel in the shadows." she suggested. the shadows...all the easier to hide in....all the easier to kill you in my dear.

[le Dawnz]

The tom pricked his ears in surprise. He hadn't expected her to see that far into his head, let alone give him an encouraging, if not almost passionate, peptalk. But when she explained that it was her opinion that he might be one of the best cats to lead WindClan, it was too much. He definitely wasn't sure of that. And he'd had no idea Foxheart paid that close attention to him before now.

A little of what she said was true. He suspected most leaders felt the same way he did when they first became leaders. But he doubted it was quite as serious. At least the leaders before him had had time to prepare, acting first as deputy in order to learn how to lead justly and how to handle difficult situations. Hawkwing hadn't had much time to learn anything of the sort. He hadn't expected to be thrown into leadership so soon. Now that he thought about it though, he began thinking he was feeling a bit sorry for himself now. That wasn't exactly it though. He was more worried about the Clan. Did they really need such a restrained and worrisome leader at a time when the tension in the forest was stronger than ever?

Well, it didn't matter now. If he succeeded in getting his nine lives and his star name, he would be WindClan's leader whether he thought he was ready or not, and he would have to do the best he could to lead it through the harsh times ahead. The tom was only grateful that leafbare was behind him, which meant diseases like greencough would be rare if not nonexistant throughout newleaf and greenleaf, sparing his Clan from further suffering and destruction.

Hawkwing managed to reign in his thoughts and put on a more confident face that would be less likely for the rest of the Clan to see through. He decided to let Foxheart believe she'd cleared up his worries for the time being. And so he let a wall build up around him, to keep his unruley emotions inside. He would find some way to let them out later. Giving her a smile and an appreciative nod, he replied, "Thank you."

He glanced across the clearing toward their food stores. "Yes, hunting sounds like a good idea. Our freshkill pile is still scarce from leafbare, but today all the prey will be out stretching their legs and warming their fur." He looked up to the sky briefly, and then turned his gaze back to Foxheart. "If the night is as clear as it is now, I will announce it to the Clan and depart for Mothermouth at sunset." He felt good about his descision. Maybe he wouldn't be as horrible a leader as he thought.

[squee.]

foxheart watched silently as a million diffrent emotions crossed her soon to be leader's face. she could read every bit of doubt and every bit of worry...though when he forced a fake smile, more likely for her sake than his- she said nothing. as a spy, she was trained to read one's emotions carefully....but now she wasn't a 'spy' was she? she was a warrior of windclan and they do not read that far into anyone's emotions. perhaps if they learned this simple trick....spies such as herself wouldn't be able to live in a clan like she is now. forcing herself not to roll her eyes at the tom's attempt to hide his emotions, she decided that flattery would be best for now.

"yeah. but if you don't lighten up, you can hunt alone." she retorted, putting an obivious fake serious face on now. "with your current state the mice will walk right by you and you'd completely miss them." she added, only half joking on that. but perhaps it would be easier just to let him stay distracted...she could slip away without him noticing her quick disappearance. no. she would have to stop thinking about the others before she ended up as distracted as he.

then suddenly- her thoughts were no longer her own. 'the new leader huh? doesn't look like much to us. either way, get on his good side....anyway possible. learn the secrets of windclan and then finish them. quickly.....before we are forced to replace you.

her eyes widened and for a moment a look of utter confusion mixed with real fear took her expression. the others. they finally contacted her...and by that last message they were growing stronger still. shaking her head, she turned her gaurded gaze to hawkwing...get on his good side...anyway possible....learn his secrets. did they really mean...?

ignoring that thought, she turned her gaze on the tom one more time. with a sly grin, her gaze slid to the camp enterance. "and if you don't hurry up......i'll catch all the prey while you're left here to mope!" without leaving him time to dwell on that thought, foxheart was on her paws and racing toward the camp's enteracne....headind for the moorlands.

[le Dawnz]

Her response surprised him, causing his eyes to widen slightly and his mouth to form an unexpected O. Her "serious" expression nearly made Hawkwing laugh out loud, it was so funny. "And if you don't hurry... I'll catch all the prey while you're left here to mope!" With that, she dashed past him, her silver fur brushing his own tabby pelt closely, and up the slope out of camp. He turned and stared after her, still a little shell-shocked. Then he finally came to his senses and smiled - a real one this time.

If Foxheart was trying to cheer him up, he had to admit that it was working. She was doing and saying all the right things. If he wasn't so trusting, and hadn't had no way of possibly knowing, he might have been suspicious. But he didn't, so he wasn't.

Before then, he and the she-cat hadn't ever really spoken much. He'd known she was friendly, but he'd had no idea how bubbly her personality could be. She didn't seem like the type. Hawkwing could tell she was far deeper than she was letting on, so it made it that much more obvious that she was working to distract him from his... distractions.

He couldn't help letting out an amused 'mrrow' before gathering his muscles beneath him and bounding after her. If this is how he would feel everytime he was around Foxheart, the tom couldn't help wanting to be with her much more than he ever had before.

Hawkwing's long legs moved swiftly under him as his brown gaze swept the moore, searching for his clanmate. It wasn't long before he caught site of her, her tail held high behind her. He realized he was catching up quickly, and would soon be upon her. When he did, he came up beside the she-cat, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, and asked, "Where are we going?"

The direction she was headed in could break off between three different hunting spots: the mooreland, the stream, and the scattered rocks. Or maybe she was planning to pass by these hunting grounds on her way to the breezy hilltop at the edge of their territory. Either way, Hawkstar was sure they would catch plenty of freshkill. And in the mean time, he was just enjoying stretching his legs with a good, flat-out run.

[squee.]

even the wicked could enjoy running carelessly through the lands, letting the wind rush through one's fur. for a moment, she closed her eyes and let the scents and sounds of the moorland reach out to her. the feeling was great, even to foxheart. though she was really enjoying herself for what seemed like the first time in many, many moons...her mind raced with a million thoughts. exactly what did the others want her to do with hawkwing? why would she have to bother getting on his goodside....why can't she just kill the stupid tom.

she had to resist the urge to cast a glare over her shoulder at the very tom in question- he was dangerous. he compromised her entire mission and she knew it. for some reason, foxheart was attracted to the tom.....and she didn't like it, not even in the slightest. something like this could destroy everything she trained for....everything she lived for ever since her parents had been murdered.

hawkwing caught up before she had much of a chance to work out any of her problems, and for that she cursed him........agian. his voice broke into her thoughts "the stream would be a great spot." she replied, instantly slipping into her cheery disguise. she changed her direction to that of the stream without another word. it was then that she forced herself to stop thinking about fox and to start thinking about foxheart-screw the rest. if she started to worry over her clan's plots now she'd be distracted, and everyone knows that being distracted is bad when it comes to being a wicked little spy.

then, a sly grin crept into her expression again. "last one there is a lopsided badger." she replied suddenly. her muscles bunched, now sprang loose as she tore off in the direction of the stream...this time her thoughts didn't slow her down. she ran, full speed ahead, with all the carefree-feelings of a kit.

[le Dawnz]

Hawkwing nodded, smiling as he ran beside her, keeping the pace easily. He lifted his head higher, letting the wind ruffle his fur. How those crazy ThunderClan and ShadowClan cats lived under trees the tom will never know. He loved the yawning mooreland, the wide open sky stretching above them. It was pure freedom. True, they were more exposed than the other Clans, but that meant that so were the other Clans if they dared enter their territory. Other cats could be seen approaching from miles away when a cat was watching from the high hill above camp. And WindClan cats were swift enough to catch prey without needing the undergrowth to hide under or the wind to disguise their scent.

"Last one there is a lopsided badger." The tom turned to see Foxheart smile slyly at him before shooting past toward the stream. He grinned mischieviously, excited by the challenge. Hawkwing had always been the fastest of the apprentices when he was still in training. Stretching his legs out infront of him, he raced to catch up with the silver she-cat. His tail flew behind him, providing balance so his speed didn't knock him off his feet. He could see the stream now, flowing down toward the river the way it always had. He wasn't sure anymore if he'd passed Foxheart or not. He wasn't paying attention anymore. Hawkwing was just enjoying the moment.

He reached the water's edge far too soon. Instead of slowing down and stopping as he should had, he kept on running. And when he reached the shore, he bunched his haunches beneath him and leapt into the air. His time hovering over the stream had to have been in slow motion. That's what it felt like, anyway. He scanned the opposite bank, looking for nothing in particular. The second his paws hit the sandy ground time sped up again.

He stumbled a step, the momentum shoving him forward, before steadying himself. And then he remembered. He'd seen a squirrel on this side of the pool. Lowering himself into a hunter's crouch, his eyes scowered the area for his prey. And there he was. He flicked his tail to Foxheart, in case she hadn't seen the tiny gray creature. It was further away from the line of trees behind it than a squirrel normally ventures, which made it an easier target. The tabby advanced on the creature silently, setting his paws down as carefully as he could. When he was three foxtails away, he sprang at it with his claws extended. The squirrel saw him at the last second and tried to make a quick get away, but it was too late. Hawkwing sank his fangs into it's neck, killing it cleanly and instantly. He thanked StarClan for the prey under his breath before taking it up and padding back toward the stream to meet Foxheart.

[squee.]

crystal gaze narrowed with burning annoyance, both with herself and the tom that had hardly managed to beat her to the stream. she already knew that hawkwing was almost famous for his speed, but what windclan didn't know was that foxheart had forced herself to practice running...if only to be better than that stupid tom. as part of her training, foxheart was forced to race other cats from the others and she probably could have beat the tom or at least made it a tie if only she could be fox again. she shook her head almost violently at that thought, what was she trying to do...blow the entire mission just because she wanted to go back to her own clan?

as the tom landed on the other side, she forced a fake smile again, false amusement flooded her gaze. she sat crouched on the other side of the stream as hawkwing stalked a squirrel and then eventually killed it. standing up, she smiled, but said nothing as she scented the air. almost instantly she scented rabbit, making her instinctively drop into a crouch again. silently she snaked through the grasses that surrounded the stream, though she couldn't see the rabbit..she relied on it's scent to lead her. pausing to scent the air again, she leapt forward- her outstretched claws hitting their mark. in one swift motion, her jaws locked onto the rabbit's scruff, teeth scraping the bones of the creature's delicate spine- silently killing it with the lethal blow.

a moment before she picked up her prey, a stale but annoying scent assaulted foxheart's senses.aspenleaf! the windclan deputy had obviously came this way at least once today on a patrol judging by the lingering scents. the thought of the deputy almost instantly darkened foxheart's mood again, her gaze narrowing once more. the deputy was the only cat in the entire windclan that didn't trust foxheart and not only that but the females argued and often- though they are always careful to hide arguements from the clan leader, they did fight quite a bit.

drawing in a deep breath, foxheart calmed herself down by reminding herself that aspenleaf would be the first to die in this pathetic clan, she would die horribly and it would all look like some sad accident. perhaps foxheart could throw her off a cliff or something, the thought of the deputy's demise brought a twisted grin to the female's features. snatching up her prey, she bounded back to the shore-line where the dirt was softer. quickly she buried the prey so that she could return for it later. scenting the air agian, drawing in the scents of the forest just beyond their land and scents of the moorland they had just arrived from. nothing- the prey-scent was stale...but another troubling scent filled her keen nose. she turned to hawkwing. "do you smell that?" she growled, her gaze scanning the lands "there's a badger nearby." she turned her crystal gaze on the brute, awaiting his orders and hating every second of it........

[le Dawnz]

The stream has grown. Hawkwing noted. He supposed it was only natural that the stream would expand now that bareleaf had melted away. Perhaps he should tell the clan to keep an eye on it. Was it possible that the water could break from the shore and pose a threat to WindClan? He’d never thought about it much before now. Emorystar and Windsong had never mentioned the stream except when appointing patrols checking the border, and it wasn’t close to the camp, so it probably didn’t cause much of a problem. Chase prey from their dens maybe, but the more he thought about it, the more his concerns seemed silly.

He shook his head sharply, clearing his mind, and trotted toward the stream. Bunching his haunches beneath him, he leapt across the water from a standstill this time, and ended up close to the water’s edge on the other side. He decided that a running start was safer when the brook was this wide. He looked up in time to see Foxheart padding toward him from behind the bracken with a rabbit clenched firmly in her jaw. He smiled as best he could with piece of freshkill in his mouth and stepped forward to meet her.

Her expression was slightly frustrated, and he wondered why. Before he could drop his squirrel and ask, she was tasting the air once more for prey. The tom hadn’t scented anything on the way there, but he hadn’t been paying all that much attention. In the next second, she turned to glare at him. He almost took an involuntary step backward, momentarily startled by the force of her gaze. ”Do you smell that?” she growled. But he couldn’t smell anything beyond the squirrel in his mouth and their own WindClan scent. He set the still creature on the ground and sniffed. He detected a badger’s foul stench almost immediately. ”There’s a badger nearby.” she said, echoing his thoughts. He narrowed his eyes. Great. This was just what they needed. A badger.

What should he do? He stopped trying to think about it from a leader’s perspective, and look at it simply as a warrior. First of all, Hawkwing and Foxheart had to make sure the badger was nowhere near camp. Badgers were notoriously vicious, and liked to prey on helpless kits. They needed to find it and chase it from WindClan territory before it could do any damage. Tasting the air again, he tried to locate which direction the scent was coming from. He could tell where it had come, and where it had gone, where it had paused and where it had broke into a clumsy lope. Scratching dirt over his freshkill to keep the smell from attracting other predators, he turned to the left and flicked his tail. ”Come on.” he replied, instructing Foxheart to follow as he bounded forward in the direction that the badger’s odor was strongest.