An Early Patrol

[Battooth]

Flamefoot and Mistheart dashed towards the lake, running full speed. They slowed gradually, coming to a halt as they reached the scent markers. Flamefoot glanced across the lake, barely able to make out the far shore, where EarthClan lay. She glanced at her friend and saw Mistheart's eyes filled with a horrible longing. The ginger began talking. "What do you think the next Gathering will be like?" she asked. "I really can't wait. I'll get to see all the cats from EarthClan."

Mistheart realized what Flamefoot said and flashed the ginger a grateful glance. The next Gathering would be great! She would get to see Battooth again! "Come on, let's check the markers furthur down the border."

The two she-cats bounded forward, running towards the east. They ran for a while, making sure the boundary between SkyClan and neutral territory was still there. Flamefoot slowed to a stop, looking curious. "Have you ever wanted to just go in there and snatch that land before EarthClan can? Maplestar should want to start expanding his territory soon, and that's a logical way to go."

Mistheart shrugged. "I guess he might," she meowed. "I don't really care about Clan boundaries to tell you the truth." She thought for a moment. "I guess we should leave it though. If we take it, EarthClan will be angry, and we'll block them from the Mooncave and Mooncrystal." Her thoughts flitted back to Maplestar. She vaguely remembered the huge tabby tom. She remembered how she had had a crush on him when she was an apprentice and he was a newly named warrior. Her tail flicked back with amusement, shaking her head fondly at her memories of life in EarthClan.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Hiding behind a tree, a pair of sapphire blue eyes peeked out from behind the tall trunk, observing what the two cats in her view were doing. She had almost begun to lift up her paws and go to confront the two cats, but fear and timidness kept her rooted to the spot. In her thinking, she had raised a paw, but rejecting the idea of speaking to the other cats, she put her paw down - onto a twig. Wincing at the loud crack that bit into the silence, she instantly recoiled behind the tree, hoping with all her mind that the two cats hadn't heard her.

Sizing up the other cats, she found that they appeared tougher and stronger than she was - not to mention that their size was nearly double of hers. Swallowing nervously, Mai blinked and prayed with all her might that the cats didn't hear the twig crack.

[Agii♫]

Bright, light silver eyes gazed deeply in to the waters of the Lakeside, blinking slowly and easefully. Pulling back her silver lips in a gentle crooked smile, the thickly furred, silky silver she-cat raised a small paw, elegantly dipping it in the cool waters. Bringing it back up, she swiftly pulled it over her soft, sharp ear. Foxflower truly was an elegant, smooth feline, with all of the 'right moves' in her as well. However when agitated, her more stubborn, and attitude-filled voice hissed out. As she washed her ears, she neatly placed them against each other at the ankle, expanding her thick chest and lowering her head to lap up the sweet waters.

She was not going to the Gathering tonight.
Ah, well. Next month she felt would be her lucky one.

With a purr of amusement, Foxflower pulled herself from the edge, turning her bright silver eyes from the rippling waters at her paws, the she-cat ran a rose-hued tongue across her metallic lips. Smiling, she padded over towards a small bush, long feathery tail becoming erect as she scented something odd. At that very moment, a loud crack snapped from behind, and the warrior picked up her head. Blinking, she stepped around, thick shoulders rolling in their sockets as Foxflower sucked in a breath of amusement at the sight.

This most certainly was not a Clan cat.

"Well what're you doin' out here all alone, honey?" she asked gently.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Mai had breathed out a breath of relief when the two cats hadn't realized she was there. She nearly jumped a couple of feet in the air when yet another cat spoke. How did they know she was there? How were they so sneaky? In her neighborhood, she was known for having an almost impeccable sense of smell. All she wanted to do was run away with her lithe paws moving quickly underneath her light frame but she knew that because the other cat had spoken, it would be rather rude to just run away.

How was she supposed to respond? Was she lost? Or was she just fine? What was this cat going to do to her? Not being one for lying, Mai responded after a while, "I'm... well... lost." Her words stammered out and her voice quivered slightly with fear as she looked at the other she-cat, her tail twitching with anxiousness.

Her voice was anything but her normal lilting voice, although it still hinted heavily about her Japanese accent. Looking at the she-cat through her crystalline ocean blue eyes, she observed the cat, trying not to notice the muscles underneath the she-cat's fur as well as the mouth that most certainly contained teeth that would be perfect for biting her throat and ending her life forever.

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[Agii♫]

Foxflower purred with amusement, her long silky tail wrapping around her small lithe paws. Eying the kittypet with concerned affection, the soft-hearted she-cat skirted her over with strong light crystal-blue eyes. "Aw, honey, you're shakin' like a leaf!" The light silver warrior had a strange accent; tough, though around most strangers, highly welcoming and friendly. It was not that she was not friendly or hospitable, merely because of her appearance, she had to keep herself strong from those routy males. Which, she'd admit, were very easy to toy and mess with.

"Well," she began, "you ain't stuck here, sugar. I know the Twoleg area like the tip of my tail." The elegant silver she-cat smirked. "C'mon, I'll walk ya' home."

With a graceful sweep of her long thick tail, Foxflower brushed past the pretty kittypet, beckoning her with her feminine eyes to follow. Without looking back to see if the oddly accented she-cat was following, the warrior pivoted one ear behind her to the tan and brown feline. "So, you got a name honey?"

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Mai's paws automatically began following the she-cat, but she forced them to stop, looking at the cat with wonder. Why hadn't the cat torn her up into shreds? By the scents of the place, it seemed as if this were a territory of some creature - the most probable answer was a cat.

Currently, Mai was faced with a difficult choice. Did she truly want to go home now? Had she gotten her fill of freedom? Was she wishing to stay out here in the wild where it was cold and which cats almost double her size spoke to her? Or did she want to live her own, usual soft life - sleeping on a rug in front of the fire and recieving food and declicious, creamy milk? Thoughts and pictures flitted through her mind as she remembered her Twolegs. Although they had been loud and boisterous, they had cared for her. After a while of standing there and thinking, she made her decision.

It rather pained her to say the words, but she knew that they were coming from her heart and that they were true. Her decision was something she would endure - whether it was good or bad, she would make do with whatever happened to her. "I-I-I," she began, her voice shaking with fear. She paused to regather herself, then began again. "I don't want to go back," she blurted out quickly, surprised that her voice actually had a hint of confidence to it when she said the words in her accented voice.

"My owners called me Mai," Mai responded to the she-cat's latter question, looking intently at the other cat through her deep azure eyes.

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[Agii♫]

Her long, silky, bushy tail stopped undulating at that moment, and she turned towards the pretty she-cat. Tilting her head she surveyed the feline once more. Her sharp-and-soft foxy features became gentle for a brief moment before Foxflower pivoted her rounded ears forwards curiously. "Ya'know you'll never be able to go back," she said soberly.

Picking up her coquettish attitude, the silver, thick-coated warrior padded lightly past the kittypet, brushing past her as she headed back towards the bush they had originally started at. "You're going to have to be ready for an adventure, Mai," she added with a wink and a smirk.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Mai looked at the other she-cat with wonder, tilting her head to the side. Wasn't leaving her owners adventure enough? "What will I have to endure?" she asked in a lilting tone that still embedded her Japanese accent within.

Dainty paws fell on the ground as she fell in step with the she-cat, stealing sideways glances of excitement and wonder. Her crystalline blue eyes were filled with joy at finally finding a new place, but also with a bit of mourning at having to leave her home. Right now, if she had continued to live with her Twoleg owners, she would've been curled up beside the fire with a warm bowl of creamy milk placed in front of her.

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[Agii♫]

Pulling back her thick lips in a sly smile, Foxflower whisked her bushy tail against the other she-cat's own silky, tan and chocolate coat affectionately. "Honey, you're goin' to have to go through Northstar to get in this world in the first place. She's more welcoming than a lot of other leaders 'bout lettin' kittypets like you in the Clan." The metallic warrior let her gaze dull for a brief moment, sapphire eyes dropping to her elegant paws as they padded deeper into the heart of SkyClan territories. Indeed she had already broken the warrior code more than several times; it was her nature to be a stubborn, overly-motherly cat.

"Oh, darling, you're shakin' like a leaf!" she noted as a breeze of cool winds caught between her own thick coat, making her tremble slightly. Whiskers twitching uncomfortably, Foxflower picked up her pace slightly. "The name's Foxflower," she added matter-of-factly.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"Foxflower?" Mai meowed, attempting to say the she-cat's name. It sounded uneasy and rather akward on her tongue. "Where did you get a name like that?" she asked, looking at the she-cat. What kind of name for a cat was that? She could understand the "flower", but she had thought that foxes were one of a cat's many mortal enemies.

As Mai followed Foxflower, the scents of the unfamiliar territory washed over her and hit her as if she had run smack into a brick wall. "Where are we?" she asked, fear hinting in her voice slightly as she remembered Foxflower's early comment about having to go through something known as Northstar. What was Northstar? Another cat? Some type of creature? A star pointing the direction known as North? What kind of names did all these cats have?

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[Agii♫]

"Outta my way!" she chanted in a sing-song manner, picking up her small paws excitedly, as she waved her thick silky tail in the air good-naturedly. Landing with a smooth chuckle, the silver she-cat trotted with ease furthur into the camp, slowing her pace so as to keep the distance from between her and Mai short in case of any Clanmate disputes with the new kittypet.

Well they'd just have to go through her, then.

"It is, but we're all named like that." Foxflower read the quizzical expression upon Mai's face. With a laugh, she responded. "'Flower' I'm sure you can understand. 'Fox' I've been named because of my foxy appearance! Gets all of those toms goin' wild, though," she winked. "Only the leader can have their name with 'star' in it. Northstar's a tough one, but really she's jus' like us girls. Gotta stick together, y'know?"

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Mai nodded as if she understood, but she didn't truly comprehend what the she-cat was attempting to tell her. Instead of dwelling upon the topic, Mai decided that she would change it to a topic that she understood more about or that she had a question about. She still pondered over the names, but at least she understood that the suffix 'star' was there only for a leader. A leader? What was there to lead in these forests?

"Where are we going?" she meowed, the anxiousness still hinting in her voice despite the fact that she now felt that Foxflower wasn't going to eat or do anything to her besides speak to her and let her face this cat known as... Northstar?

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[Agii♫]

This she-cat was obviously very new to this, and Foxflower had expected this.

Whisking her tail in yet another fox-like motion, the silver persian smirked. "If Northstar ain't busy, I'll ask her if you can join. Okay?" she replied.

((Oooh Lord! W.B. DDx))

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"...Join? Join what?" Mai inquired, feeling rather stupid. She didn't like feeling so helpless and so lost. Shaking her head to clear herself of bad thoughts, she continued following Foxflower, still pondering how cats could have names such as this current she-cat had.

((o.o; P'rhaps we should be moving to SkyClan Camp soon with these kittehs.))

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[Agii♫]

"The Clan," she replied, turning to the kittypet with a wise glint to her seductive ocean-like eyes. All the while as she set her gait to a showy trot, the she-cat warrior felt no anxiety of having this new Mai accepted into the Clan. Her boisterous and highly confident attitude emitted from her thick silvery coat, and even she, the diva of all cats, had no worries in this.

Mai would become a rightful and fierce new warrior; along with a great companion.

((Indeed we shall))

(( -moving FOXFLOWER to SkyClan CAMP- ))