On the Plains of Winter (OPEN!)

"Nice, isn't it?" Smokepaw meowed, not bothering to open her eyes. She didn't know exactly who had sat by her, but due to the lack of sound they made and clearly tried to not disturb her, it was probably Stingpaw.
Ever since they found each other right before they had become apprentices they had been good friends. She had heard of great friendships, such as Firestar's and Graystripe's, and she couldn't help but think she and Stingpaw could be like them.


OOC: Yeah, I agree. I do hope more people will join in :/

"Yeah," Stingpaw sighed happily. "Oh I'm so sorry! Were you asleep? I hope I didn't wake you up or anything..."
The apprentice had laid down by now so he could stretch out a little to warm more of his body. The air felt different today, strangely warmer. Deep down Stingpaw hoped spring would be on its way, but according to the older cats winter was only beginning. This had been Stingpaw's first winter, and so far he wasn't loving it.

"No, you're fine," Smokepaw laughed. "I just wish I could have been born at a different time. Training during Leafbare bites. It's so cold and my mother says the days are longer the rest of the seasons."
Smokepaw was imagining the plains in WindClan beautiful with a light breeze. Warm air would be surrounding her as she chased brown colored hares instead of white ones. Oh, how she looked forward to Newleaf.

"I wish it was Newleaf already. This cold weather bites! I don't think I was built to live in this, I'm ready for it to get warm again," the tabby meowed as his mind traveled to sunnier places. He imagined what Windclan must be like in Newleaf and Greenleaf. He couldn't wait to try training in a camp that wasn't full of snow.
Stingpaw realized that he had been zoning out for a while and he tried to awkwardly restart the conversation, "How's your training been doing? Mine's been pretty well but I think it would be better if I didn't have to learn to fight when all the food was hibernating. They've been partnering us two up more recently. I wonder why?"

Smokepaw shrugged. "I'm not sure. We're similar in age, so that might be why. And besides, it's not like you can hunt very well out in the snow," She teased her friend. He was a much brighter color than she was, which was an advantage when they practiced fighting together. She wasn't such an obvious target.

"Aw, that's not fair!" Stingpaw protested, "I doubt I could hunt or fight in any weather right now. My legs are so long compared to the rest of me. It makes everything awkward and clumsy! I hope I grow into myself soon."
The tabby tom slowly opened his eyes to look up at the sky above him. It was cloudy, with only a little bit of sunlight shining through. Stingpaw guessed that meant more snow was on its way, which meant his misery would be prolonged.

The cat's strange gait made a shuffling noise through the snow as he walked. It seemed as though the tom was having a bit of trouble with it, but he pressed on anyway, folding his ears back against the cold breeze that blew across WindClan's plains. His whiskers and tail twitched when he smelled the apprentices; they were downwind of him so he was able to pick up their traces better, even with the snow partially clogging his senses.

The tortoiseshell continued on towards the two, head raised. Their backs were to him but if they were any good at all they would be able to hear him, he was making more noise than he would have preferred in the crunchy snow. He finally came up behind them, leaping surprisingly nimbly up onto a rock near the two, considering he only had three legs. Hobblefoot promptly sat down, curling his long tail around his paws.

"Having fun, you two?" he mewed, surveying them with a mildly bored green gaze. Who knows why the WindClan medicine cat was out there, but whatever the reason was, it must have been a good one.

"Hello Hobblefoot," Smokepaw meowed. "I'm not sure fun would be the word I'd use, but I am quite content. The sun is finally out enough to have let us use the rocks again, thank StarClan." She gave a small purr.
Smokepaw knew others felt uneasy around the medicine cat; the deformity was rare and, as the elders had told her, not easy to live through. Smokepaw could easily see that part. Having only three legs would mean she could not do much. She liked the medicine cat and his grumpy ways, though she was often worried she'd come across as patronizing since she felt sympathy for the tom.

"This cold is horrible!" Stingpaw exclaimed. He had heard the medicine cat coming and wasn't surprised that he had come to talk to him and Smokepaw. Stingpaw really liked Hobblefoot, despite many of the other apprentices being afraid of him.
"How are you doing, Hobblefoot?" the young tom asked, "I hope you've been eating enough! I'd catch you the biggest rabbit you've ever seen if I could, but I'm not very good at hunting in this snow."

He listened to the young cats' comments about the cold with vague amusement, ears pricking up a little before his expression settled back into its usual frown. The tom hadn't talked to these two apprentices that much in their lifetimes, so it was a little surprising and secretly relieving that they didn't seem to be afraid of him like a lot of the other apprentices.

"Just another Leafbare..." the medicine cat mumbled, easing himself down into a more comfortable reclining position. He rolled over onto one side, stretching out his legs with a low, contented purr.

Pressing his cheek against the warm surface of the rock, he turned one eye on the tabby tom, blinking slowly. "I'm as good as one could ever be in the middle of Leafbare, considering my current physical condition..." Hobblefoot sniffed carefully, casting a glance down towards the stump where his fourth leg was supposed to be before continuing. "That's thoughtful of you. I've eaten...enough. You have to be careful to leave enough for the younger ones, and the elders..." He trailed off, watching the grayish clouds in the sky.

Smokepaw opened her eyes and gave a small nod. "Yes, they do come first. I'm just happy there are no kits right now; I've heard that this temperature is never safe for a small kit," She meowed. She was fond of kits, but could never imagine herself having some. They would probably hate her in the end.
The she-cat noticed the clouds in the sky and gave a small grimace. More snow was coming. It looked like it was coming from the east, where most of the terrible weather came from. She wondered if the good weather would come from the west by that logic, but she never asked. She was full of curious and idiotic questions.

Ooc: Bump :)

Leafbare was one of the many reasons Shadeclaw missed the city. It snowed less there, and even when it did, there was always some strange Twoleg-thing that could warm a cat that lay next to it. Here in the territories, there was nothing like that: only the rocks and the sun. The grey tom had been constructing the temporary Leafbare dens all morning in the camp, but had, by chance, stumbled upon a large patch of dock while out on a brief hunting trip, and had decided to seek out Hobblefoot and help the old medicine cat bring as much dock as possible back to his den.
Shadeclaw padded wearily through the snow, shoulders hunched, following the scent of Hobblefoot. As he bounded through a dense tangle of bushes, he found himself falling into the wide open landscape of the WindClan territory. Stopping for a moment, Shadeclaw lifted his head and turned his gaze towards the clouds. He payed no attention to the clouds and instead shut his eyes, letting the wind comb through his thick pelt.
At that point, the tom heard familiar voices carried on the wind and recognised Smokepaw and Stingpaw, and then Hobblefoot. Setting off in that direction, Shadeclaw was faster now, the snow thinner and his path easier to follow.

Smokepaw heard the quick footsteps of a full grown cat and looked around to see Shadeclaw coming their way. She always thought he was a bit of an odd cat, but she supposed that came with witnessing the death of his family. After Whiteheart had been hit by a monster right in front of her, she couldn't speak for days. She saw the tom carrying plants and stood up when he got closer.
"Do you need any help Shadeclaw? We were let off of den-making duty early, but I'd love to get my limbs moving," The pretty apprentice meowed. Though the sun was warm, working her body might make the temperature even more bearable.

Ooc: Hey Roo, you want to have a small plot twist and make Shadeclaw Smokepaw's mentor? She only has a few more moons before she becomes a warrior, so it would be an easy transition for Shadeclaw because he won't have to do all of her training. Or if Meg wants you to do Stingpaw, I don't mind :)

Ooc: Sounds great Smoke. It would be an interesting mentor-apprentice relationship, considering their similar past experiences, so I'm up for it ;P

Shadeclaw scrambled up the side of the rock and sat beside the cats, placing his herbs down and giving his coat a quick lick as he did so. "I was looking for Hobblefoot," he began, turning to the medicine cat, "I've found quite a large patch of good dock near the RiverClan border. It's still on our territory, though, of course. I thought you might be running a bit low on herbs, you know... because of the snow..."
The warrior spoke roughly and awkwardly to the cats. He knew he was a bit of an outsider and never held much hope of gaining any kind of respect from the clan cats, even the apprentices. But, for some reason, helping Hobblefoot with his herbs always made him feel a bit more included in the clan, so he did it whenever he could.

Ooc: I'm going to wait for someone else to reply to this, but I'll PM you about maybe doing a private thread!

Ooc: Bump ^.^

Stingpaw looked up at Shadeclaw as he spoke. Stingpaw always felt awkward around the tom, but still treated him with respect.
"If there's more dock out there I wouldn't mind going to help carry some back! You were lucky to find anything growing in this weather. We should take as much as we can get," he said. "I'm sure Smokepaw would like to come, too."
The tabby apprentice winced as he realized that he had pretty much just volunteered Smokepaw without even knowing for sure if she wanted to help. He glanced at her to see if he had upset her.

Ooc: Hey Roo, we're you thinking of making Shadeclaw the medicine cat apprentice? Lou hasn't been on in a while, so I'll be e-mailing her shortly. He could keep the name Shadeclaw and once he becomes medicine cat receive a slightly different name :)

Smokepaw sat up with her friend. Though he hadn't asked her if she wanted to help out, she didn't mind much.
"Yeah, I'd be glad to," The she-cat purred.

Ooc: Yeah, sounds good. These hps need to be filled and I've never played a Med. Cat before, so that should be interesting x3 Have you had any word from Lou?

Shadeclaw couldn't help a small, fleeting smile brush over his shadowy features. Looking down at the apprentices, they reminded him of his own kits, with their eager little faces and bright eyes. He pushed all that away, and the smile with it, nodding thankfully to the young cats.
"Alright, well... this way," he said, clearing his throat, "Best to get those leaves into the camp before they freeze."
The ragged tom leapt down from the rock and walked a couple of paces in the direction of the dock before stopping and looking over his shoulder for Smokepaw and Stingpaw.

Ooc: Not yet, so I'll give her before the end of the month before I retire Hobblefoot and he'll become a background elder or something :p

Smokepaw grinned, standing up and shaking some of the snow off of her pelt. Moving around might be enough to get her blood flowig and her body warm.

Thistlestar sat with his back to the wind listening quietly to the sounds of his clanmates. His fur rippled gently and he gave himself a quick grooming before striding out of his den to the fresh kill pile. The tom flicked his whiskers and picked out a small skinny rabbit to leave the plump ones for the clan as he had hunted at dawn.

Lightfeather was pacing back and forth wondering if she belonged in the clan. Soon she grew tired and she slumped down into the heather sighing. She soon she felt hungry so she stood up one more time and went to hunt. Soon she smelled a rabbit and raced towards the scent.
(please ignore the other posts)