Camp [♥x] {oh.how.boring}

[Battooth]

"I just had a dream," he meowed uneasily. "About a she-cat." Maplestar wondered for a moment what he could possibly say. He took a breath and began again. "I was in a forest, only it smelled of SkyClan. A sweet scent washed over me and I saw a pretty ginger-and-white she-cat walking towards me. She talked to me and praised me, and she looked at me as if she was proud of me."

His mind whirred as he spoke. "The only thing is, she was in SkyClan, and I had never seen her before!" he continued. "I've never seen her before in my life and she turns up in my dreams acting like she adores me? What kind of cat does that? Unless I had some bad fresh-kill." He turned to look at Crystalrose, his eyes worried and pleading. "What do you think?" he asked in a small voice.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Crystalrose considered Maplestar's words before closing her eyes and then opening them before she responded. When she started replying, however, what she said wasn't adressing his question directly. "There have been times when the warrior code has been broken out of love," she meowed, looking at Maplestar and willing him to understand. "If she had SkyClan sent on her, she must have some relation to you to praise you like that. It's been my experience that SkyClan cats don't praise EarthClan cats or vice versa, so like I said before, she must be close to you in some way -- perhaps she has some kind of connection."

[/size]

[Battooth]

Maplestar shook his head. "That's the thing though," he meowed. "I've never even met a ginger-and-white she-cat. Sure I've seen them- there's that Flamefoot at the Gatherings, the one who's friends with Mistheart- but this one said her name was Lilypelt. Do you know a cat with that name?" His intense blue eyes burned with the hunger to know more about this strange she-cat who had visited him.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Crystalrose looked at the tomcat leader, feeling his pleading sense of wanting to understand about the SkyClan cat. She herself didn't know who "Lilypelt" was, but she could make an educated guess if she thought about it enough. Meeting his blue gaze with her own chocolate brown one, she meowed calmly and with a sense of seriousness, "I am sorry Maplestar, I do not know."

"Ask her, or perhaps speak to Ivorywing and she can figure it out at the next half moon. Maybe when she comes back from this current meeting, she'll have some answers for all the questions you have," Crystalrose meowed to Maplestar, hoping that he would listen to her advice. In this situation, there wasn't much she could say to help him without guessing completely, but she knew for a fact that perhaps Ivorywing -- who had a connection to StarClan -- would be able to help Maplestar found out the mystery of Lilypelt.

[/size]

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

Rainfeather looked around camp, wondering what to do. She eyed a mouse in the fresh kill pile with hungry blue eyes, but instead she sat down to groom her slver and black spotted fur. She still had to go huntng. She looked around for some cat to go hunting with.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

The tri-colored cat padded out of the warrior's den, looking around for something to do. She was careful to avoid Hailwind, however, for she didn't quite yet want to be sent out on patrol. She would rather favor lounging about Camp before she had to go out into the cold woods. Padding up to the fresh-kill pile, she noted with her green eyes that it was low. She wouldn't eat today -- that was certain. All the better, though, because the she-cat wasn't one that ate too much. If she was absolutely dying of hunger at another part of the day, she would share with another warrior so that they didn't eat too much of the fresh-kill. During these times of the year, EarthClan could use as much prey as they could.

Settling down away from the fresh-kill pile so that the alluring scents didn't draw her, the she-cat began grooming herself to get some warmth into her slender frame. Her fur was puffed out against the cold, so it wasn't too bad, but the harsh winds still blew furiously at her and at all the other EarthClan cats who were suffering as much as she was.

One thing that the she-cat couldn't understand was that if it was so cold down in the forest, how could SkyClan cats even /live/? They were up in a ridge where there was basically no foliage except small clumps of heather -- barely ideal for shelter, much less warmth. She tilted her head to the side, contemplating on how SkyClan cats made it through leaf-bare just as well as the EarthClan cats did. Perhaps they have a good medicine cat. the she-cat thought, Like Ivorywing. Indeed, the she-cat admired Ivorywing, the EarthClan medicine cat. The she-cat knew that she couldn't sit in a den for hours on end and concentrate on herbs and faithfulness to StarClan.

The she-cat went by the name of Mysticflight. It was indeed an odd sounding name, but she thought it was a pretty one nevertheless. Looking around Camp in hopes to avert from Hailwind's gaze so that he didn't send her on a patrol, she continued grooming herself in a rather vain attempt to keep warm.

[/size]

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

Rainfeather walked over to Misticflight. "Hello", She mewed with a melodic voice. "How're you?" She looked once more at the fresh kill pile with hungry sapphire colored eyes. Maybe when Battooth came back, she could ask him to go hunting with her. A warm wave of affection came over her as she thought of the black-pelted warrior.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"I'm fine, darlin', thanks for askin'," Mysticflight responded nonchalantly, "and how're you, might I ask, before I forget my manners?" She continued grooming herself, although she kept one eye fixed upon Rainfeather as she awaited for an answer from the she-cat warrior. Her tail twitched back and forth as a gust of wind passed through the Camp clearing, but Mysticflight's calico pelt was puffed out a bit against the cold so that the winds didn't bother too much. However, they were still cold, and of course, no ordinary cat could avert the winds and freezing temperatures of leaf-bare, no matter how hard they tried.

[/size]

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

I'm fine", She mewed, still thinking about Battooth. "You wouldn't happen to know if Battooth is interested in any she-cat, would you?" She asked carefully, hoping that it wasn't completely obvious that she liked Battooth.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"Not that I'm knowin' of," Mysticflight responded breezily and dreamily, "he's bein' busy with this mentorin' of Lilacpaw, I guess." She looked around Camp in search for the tomcat warrior, but found that he wasn't there. The first thought that entered her mind was that he was out mentoring Lilacpaw. She gave a nod to herself as she realized that Lilacpaw wasn't in Camp either. "Yep, Lilacpaw an' Battooth have gone out to go try some trainin'," she meowed.

[/size]

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

"Oh", Rainfeather's melodic voice was filled with dissapointment. "Well, I guess I'll see him later. Want to go hunting with me?" She asked, her paws suddenly itching to go out hunting, and to get her mind off Battooth.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Mysticflight nodded in response to Rainfeather's invitation. "We should probably be bringin' another cat with us to help us go fetchin' s'more prey," she suggested, looking around for another cat that could go hunting with them -- preferably a rather skilled one. Her eyes sought out for Crystalrose, but found the she-cat warrior occupied with speaking to Maplestar. Mysticflight was thinking about offering Shatterwind a spot in their hunting patrol, but one look at his gloomy and unhappy composure in his current mood, she didn't want to force him to go with them.

"Hailwind!" Mysticflight called out, suddenly spotting the black pelted tomcat deputy. He looked up and quickly came bounding over to them, looking eager to fulfill his deputy-duties. "Want to go on hunting patrol with us?" she asked, gesturing with a flick of her tail towards Rainfeather to explain why she had used the word 'us' instead of 'me.'

Although Hailwind had wanted to solve a real problem like a leader, he was subdued to going on hunting patrol with other cats. "Sure," he meowed, glancing in the direction of the fresh-kill pile. It certainly was low on stock; perhaps a hunting patrol would do some good.

"Then let's go," Mysticflight meowed, not bothering with the fact that Hailwind -- being deputy -- should have been the leader of the patrol.

[-MOVIN' MYSTICFLIGHT && HAILWIND TO THE FOREST]

[/size]

[Battooth]

Maplestar nodded absently to Crystalrose. "I guess Ivorywing'll help the most," he meowed. "Thanks for the advice." He touched his nose to the pretty she-cat's ear and purred, feeling slightly relieved. All he had to do was wait for the medicine cat to return. Although Crystalrose's idea about the strange ginger-and-white she-cat being closely related to him struck more than a few bells in his head. Why did he remember the she-cat, even if the memory was vague?

--x

((back from hunting))

Battooth trotted back into camp empty-pawed. He hadn't managed to catch anything on the way back, but he figured that even Lilacpaw's mouse would be helpful. Things were starting to get very difficult, what with leaf-bare approaching. The fox that had moved in would be having the same difficulties with prey shortages that EarthClan would be having, and hunger made creatures bold. Battooth wondered how long it would take for the fox to decide that a camp full of cats was a nice meal.

Tossing the thought away like bad fresh-kill, Battooth sat down near the fresh-kill pile to wait for Lilacpaw. He began grooming with quick, brisk strokes, and stopped every few seconds, his tongue still sticking out, waiting for his apprentice.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Crystalrose nodded as Maplestar spoke aloud, obviously thinking to himself. She wrinkled her nose slightly to herself, but only slightly so that Maplestar didn't see. It was rather strange in her mind -- having Maplestar touch noses with her. She blinked, patient chocolate brown eyes looking around for the return of Ivorywing from her speaking with StarClan.

Soon after Battooth's arrival at Camp, Lilacpaw bounded in with her mouse. Tossing it in the fresh-kill pile, she eagerly looked around for her mentor, finding him grooming himself. Bounding up to him, she asked excitedly, "What're we going to do no-ow? What're we going to do-o?" she asked, bouncing up and down with delight of having a mentor as well as her usually hyperness.

[/size]

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

When Rainfeather saw Battoth appear, she wanted to stay in camp. "I think I'll stay behind, actually. Sorry" She mewed to the retreating figures of Mysticflight and Hailwind. She walked over to Battooth. "Hi, Battoth, hi Lilacpaw" She mewed to both of them, although her blue gaze was fixed on Battooth. "How was training?" She hoped her pale silver fur was shining; maybe Battooth would find her attractive.