Long Way Down

[Vincenzo]

Pebbles and stone tumbled down the rocky hill as a pitch black tom made his way, implanting his paws across the ground every step of the journey. His paws ached slightly but that didn't hold him back any, he had dealt with more pressing annoyances before than this. He simply ignored it and gazed around. The tom's mind went blank as he kept on going without thought. He didn't know what he was thinking but he figured it was something good. But that joyful thought was cut short as he felt one of his paws step on something that had crumbled below it. He didn't realize it until he stood looked down. He was at the edge of a cliff that looked as if sliced down the middle perfectly. Gazing down the stony abyss he mumbled "That would have been one hell of a way to die." he uttered rather candid.

It seemed as though it went down far, and there was a small river at the end of it. The stream was almost unhearble all the way up to where he was. "Well that would have been embarrassing." he turned around and trotted on, making sure to watch his step this time. He didn't want to die like some idiot.

The cat was named Salem, but for the most part he called himself Veck. Kept him out of alot of trouble when others never realized no one by that name really existed. And weirdly at the moment he was very mild-mannered about walking across this dangerous hill side. But then something changed his mood, he suddenly became cautious. He lowered his nose to the ground and sniffed.

There were other cats than just him roaming this place. And recently.

[Tiny]

It looked so pretty out here, she could just imagine that not too far from here would be a pretty flower she could give to one of her siblings. Usually she didn’t go anywhere without them, but today the young she-cat was wanting to surprise them. Her siblings thought of her as the cat who was least likely to succeed at training, she knew they may not say it to her to her face, but they had to be thinking it. Everyone did. She knew she wasn’t the brightest cat sometimes, she just saw the world in a different perspective. That wasn’t such a bad thing was it?

With a squeak of excitement, Rainpaw realized she had wandered further away than she had expected. Sure she had been shown the borders before, but it wasn’t as if she completely remembered them. Or as if she remembered half of the territory. She had spaced out on the tour….Her paws were now just leading her to wherever they pleased. The apprentice had no clue where she was or where they were going. Maybe this could qualify as an adventure? Her siblings HAD been telling her to get out more and try things on her own. Would they be proud of her for this?

Now she was at the point of being able to see the cliffs and there was a large grin on her face. It was such a long way down. She wondered if cats had ever tried to leap off and fly. That would be interesting. Maybe there were cats who lived at the bottom and could talk to her from below. It struck an idea in her mind and Rainpaw bent over the edge. ”If anyone can hear me down there, can you tell me if you’ve ever see cat’s fly?”

[/color] she mewed.[/justify][/blockquote]

[Vincenzo]

Veck turned his head hearing another voice back the way he came. "What the?" he spotted another cat at the edge of the cliff he was just at. He watched her without moving, silently he attempted to walk away. Speak of the devil man, this couldn't be coincidence. He continued to look behind himself every few seconds just to make sure he wasn't spotted, but truth be told the small cat looked like she didn't even know where she was. Not to mention she looked bedraggled. She wasn't no stray. Not a clean one anyway.

Veck made sure to watch himself as he slowly got away. Incase he himself would fall. He still wondered why anyone would make themselves home out here. Breaking into a house was just as dangerous but way more safe in some ways. But then again he had been walking for miles. Someone had told him that if he walked far enough Veck would find a small town to call home. He only hoped the low life trash wasn't lying, because he could hold a grudge like no other. Veck turned around to make sure he wasn't being followed. Never could be too cautious around here. But his accusations were safe for now. He was alone. He chuckled slightly and kept moving.

But that’s when he heard the something that sounded like an earthquake. Turning around and running back against his better judgment he came to a stop upon a rocky mound as large rocks began tumbling down towards the small kitten. Veck's conscience went blank for a second and he acted purely on impulse and without hesitation he launched down the rock mound. Small sharp rocks pierced his paw pads every step of the way but his adrenaline kept him from caring. The small cat was now staring wide eyed at the rocks moving closer to her. "Idiot!" he shouted as he crouched down quickly and leaped forward, the force causing even sharper rocks to go deeper into his paws. Knocking her out of the way harshly he was sent rolling as a boulder smashed into his side. At that point time seemed to slow down. His eyes moving so fast for any option of survival. Without a second thought he latched his clawed grip onto the edge of the cliff. Hanging loosely he ducked as more stones were sent zooming over his head. After that he took his other legs and held on tightly to the side of the cliff. His paw pads stung, and the knife-like edge dug deep into his chest as he pressed himself against it. Even though he couldn't see her Veck knew she was safe, but he sure as hell wasn't. "Hey! Get help, now!" he shouted angrily as he gritted his teeth trying to hold on. Fighting the pulsating pain wasn't too easy and time was of the essence.

[Tiny]

Rainpaw was so enamored by the view she had been completely absorbed into her own little world. But this wasn’t new…this little cat seemed to live in this world most of the time. Those close to her just tended to play along. It was easier that way. And Rainpaw was such an innocent little creature. Why would anyone want to bring down someone who was constantly so cute? She was a rare find, one of a kind cat. She could feel the wind in her fur and almost for a second she thought she was flying.

She felt the ground shaking and instead of being scared, the apprentice thought it meant the cats had heard her from below and were trying to answer her. Letting out a delighted squeak, she became light on her paws as she bounced around. Only when the rocks were approaching her did she begin to wonder what was going on, and she became quite scared. Then a cat came out of nowhere and pushed her out of the way. Was this one of the flying cats? They were real! But it seemed as if she herself could not fly. Instead of flying when she was pushed, she did a few tumbles. Well….there went one dream of hers crushed.

Then she heard the cat talking and she padded closer, so she could get a look at him. ”Why don’t you fly into the sky just like you did saving me from the rockfall of doom?”

[/color] she asked, her head tilting to the side in curiosity. Innocence was such a gift. Rainpaw heard him mention getting help and she nodded. ”Okay! I’ll ask my butterfly friend if he would mind helping. He likes to flutter around and land on my nose.”[/color] came her response.

And that is exactly what Rainpaw did. The young apprentice was now in search of her butterfly friend. Now where was it that she had seen it? Was it hiding from her? [/blockquote][/justify]

[elf - - -]

There had always been a responsible side to Littlesnow, very little saw it, but many knew she did have one. From the day she was fifteen moons and birthed her first and only litter of kittens on her father's wishes, she had taken the responsibility of mother to her ktis and modeled it to her liking. So when Littlesnow had found out her father had been murdered and had seen Cranepelt's paws, she had hurriedly covered for her brother and thanked him many times.

Now she was given the responsibility of training a future warrior of Gorgeclan, and whoever had thought this wise was wacker then a wasp in a bee hive. So the day she touched noses to Rainpaw she felt the responsibility of a mother once more creep into her bones, mixed with her warrior smarts and here she stood, pacing back and forth, her whiskers twitching. Where was that little ball of fur, she should of known Littlesnow didn't like her wandering off. But then again, apprentices did those things.

She sure did. So with a soft sigh she padded out into the forest and picked up her apprentice's scent. It was easy to track threw the territory and it was only a good many, to many to count - cat-tails that she heard the rumble and the yowl and panic spread threw her. 'Hey! Get help, now!" Clearly that was a male's voice and then the distant sound of her apprentice's voice; 'Why don't you fly into the sky just like you did saving me from the rockfall of doom?' Well mouse dung.

Paws pelting towards the direction of the sound, she heard her apprentice speak once more. 'Okay! I'll ask my butterfly friend if he would mind helping. He likes to flutter around and land on my nose." Amusement fluttered Littlenose's heart as she stumbled onto the scene, and then a smile grew as she padded towards the tom clearing hanging. Rainpaw was safe, she could see that, and with a blink of her bright eyes she meowed.

'I'm gonna help you up, then I'm going to thank you.' She meowed, leaning over to grasp the tom's scruff and pull him up. Her tiny frame, while tiny, still holding some muscles. In fact, to many looking cats Littlesnow could be described as only a good few moons older then Rainpaw. Blue eyes wide and taking note of the tom she had pulled to safety. 'Now, kind sir, thank you so much for saving my apprentice!" She meowed happily, pressing her nose to the strange cat's pelt. Happiness blossoming from her as she turned and grinned at her apprentice.

'And please refrain from running off Rainpaw. You know better.' It was soft, still warm and yet it was filled with regret as Littlesnow snick a look at the black tom.

[Vincenzo]

Veck held tight onto her and pushed up with his back legs. Once up and out of danger he struggled to stand up on his paws. They were bloody and left crimson tracks as he stumbled over to the small cat named Rainpaw. He made himself look subtle and before anyone knew he bunched his bloodied paw up and sent a swift and strong punch to the apprentice's face knocking her down. "You little moron..." he mumbled wincing in pain as he shook his paw. And with that Veck dropped to the ground and closed his eyes, pressing his paws against his deeply gashed chest. He felt like on of his ribs were broken, and had small rocks imbedded into his paws. "Tell you what." Veck coughed and took a deep breath "I'm kinda dying so if you could help me I would appreciate that." he spat blood as he finished. Wow, he was really messed up wasn't he? A loud ringing in his ears and throbbing at his side didn't seem like he was in good condition.

He felt as though he was going to black out, but he forced himself to open his eyes and keep them from shutting. He couldn't believe he risked his life for such a idiot. He was becoming soft. It was pathetic. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel some pride. He could only imagine that his sister was proud of him, but Veck wouldn't even want to know what kind of an failure his father thought he was for risking his life.

[Tiny]

The moment she had been given Littlesnow as a mentor, Rainpaw had been apprehensive about it. Sure she was excited to be an apprentice, but was she really ready for all of this? Her siblings were already apprentices and had encouraged her greatly, much like they still do. But the she-cat could not have asked for a better mentor. She needed a mother figure in her life. Her siblings did good when it came to protecting her and trying to be the parents for her, but it just felt off. The apprentice had felt this connection with her new mentor and really enjoyed spending time with her.

By the time Littlesnow had arrived, Rainpaw was so focused on trying to get her butterfly friend’s attention she had not noticed. Her tail was twitching as she tried her best to get the butterfly to pay attention. When Littlesnow began to speak to her, Rainpaw looked to her mentor only to watch her friend flutter away. Her face saddened and her ears fell. All she wanted was someone to play with…and now she was being scolded too. She wanted to reply to her mentor, but she couldn’t remember why she was out here in the first place. Oh wait! ”Sorry, Littlesnow. I wanted to show everyone I’m not a mousebrain and really can do things on my own sometimes. I can be smart sometimes, I promise I can!”

[/color] she added. Rainpaw had heard the other cats in the clan, some of the fellow apprentices. She knew they talked about her. Usually her siblings stuck up for her, but how long would that last?

Rainpaw had not expected what had happened next. She was busy sulking at being scolded to notice that her hero had been pulled up and was coming straight for her. The little apprentice was taken aback by the blow. She let out a startled mewl and scrambled up, cowering a bit in fear. Being struck down had not hit her quite as hard as being called a moron. Now that was the worst thing for her. She wanted to run to Littlesnow and be comforted by her mentor. But the words that had been spoken to her kept her rooted in the same spot. If her siblings would have been here they would have probably joked around saying that having that blow to the head may have knocked her brain back in the right place. [/blockquote][/justify]