maybe i'll sleep when i'm dead [open]

[Dawn]

Despite the chilly air, water still flowed steadily down towards the waterfall in the BrookClan camp. The steady flow wouldn't last long into leaf-bare though, soon enough the water would be frozen solid and the waterfall would be a pillar of ice, tracing a solid path back towards the sources at Moss Falls.

Usually used for battle training, Moss Falls was empty, due to the increased volume of hunting and border patrols that always proceeded the harshest season. So now, the battle cries of training apprentices were absent and the air was filled with the powerful sound of crashing water as the liquid poured down the mossy rocks and boulders.

It was Honeypaw's favorite place to go when she wanted to be alone. The light golden tabby she-cat picked her way carefully over the soft rocks, her delicate paws finding purchase easily as she leapt lightly from surface to surface. There was the occasional sketchy patch, a rotting log or an unstable rock, but for the most part, Honeypaw had learned the safest path to tread here should she want to sit just beside the silvery sheet of falling water.

When she reached her destination, Honeypaw sat back and curled her tail over her paws. She sat on a flat rock, coated in green and brown moss. She could feel the flecks of chilly water hitting her pelt, but they didn't penetrate the wiry fur.

She had found it necessary to leave the camp this morning, Patchpaw was becoming more and more annoying lately. Honeypaw had never lashed out at her sister, and didn't want to start now, but it was becoming harder to fight. With any other cat, Honeypaw would probably just tell them to shut their traps, but she couldn't say that to her sister. Especially not sweet little Patchpaw.

She let out a huff of frustration, sinking her claws into the moss as she glanced up at the sky, slightly obscured by now barren trees. "What's the matter with me?"

[/color] She asked herself out loud. She shook her head, looking away from the sky. The answers didn't lie there. She looked over her shoulder at the continuous flow of water, finding comfort in it as she had from the moment she had been able to walk out of the nursery and admire the powerful deluge that poured into camp.
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[pretzel]

Risa was not an unintelligent cat.

Sure, it may seem that way sometimes, especially when she entered the territories of other cats uninvited. But she had prophecies to deliver and lives to safe and she wasn't about to let petty things like boundary markers stop her from doing her life's work.

That was the stubbornness in her.

And so it was that she found herself watching a young she-cat pick her way down the slick moss-coated rocks. Sunrisa herself sat a good distance away from her, upwind, and wasn't at all surprised the she-cat hadn't scented her. The thick coating of mud on her ginger fur kept her scent tied to the scent of the woods.

"What's the matter with me?"

Risa followed the young she-cat's gaze up to the sky, shaking her head. These ridiculous cats and their notions of 'StarClan' and 'warrior ancestors.' Asking them for help would be no good. Those dead cats had no fruit to bear.

Risa turned her startling blue gaze back to the young cat for a moment before speaking, her voice raspy. "Well, talking to the sky is usually not a good sign," she meowed. A silence filled the air after her words, and she waited for the Clan cat's undoubtedly angry response.

[Dawn]

"Well, talking to the sky is usually not a good sign,"

Honeypaw jumped as an unfamiliar voice reached her through the peaceful air. She looked around, hackled raised, momentarily unable to find the source of the words. She felt her tense legs trembling slightly, with the increased flow of adrenaline through her body. Where had the creepy voice come from? Had she imagined it?

But then she saw the source; an unfamiliar cat coated in mud, sitting a ways upwind from her. She felt her warrior instincts kick in and took a step forward on her rock, careful not to step off into the water below. She kept her shoulders and head high, and her eyes focused and clear. "Who are you and what are you doing in BrookClan territory?"

[/color] She hissed, her amber eyes fixed on the other cat.

Great StarClan she wished she had her mentor or someone here. The chances of her being able to fight off an intruder, who may or may not have backup hidden around the woods, were not very good. Egretheart would know what to do… if only she was here! But she shook that thought off. She needed to be able to think and act for herself in tense situations. She just needed to play this right and if worse came to worse, she knew the fastest route back to camp to fetch help.
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[pretzel]

The Prophetess picked her way easily over the mossy rocks, down towards where the young apprentice stood. She could see the she-cat's raised hackles, the clear warning signs that she would attack. Risa stopped just out of range of the other cat, knowing that she would be quick enough to get away should the Clan cat attack.

"I am Risa, Daughter of the Moon. And you, my dear apprentice, are Honeypaw, Daughter of the Spotted Robin." She titled her head inquisitively, as if hearing a voice from a long ways off. "I'm here for you, darling," she mewed, returning her full attention to the ginger cat in front of her. "I have a message for you."

She padded closer to the young cat, keeping her appearance as non-threatening as possible. It was one of the main reasons cats ever listened to her; they thought she was too scrawny to cause any damage, so they were willing to hear her out. "You've been annoyed with your sister lately, haven't you?"

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[Dawn]

Honeypaw felt the tension in her legs increase as the strange cat came closer. She didn't have a threatening stance or approach, but Honeypaw was still wary of any strange cat in her territory. If she had learned nothing else during her short lifespan, it was to take nothing for granted and trust no one without a reason to trust them.

"I am Risa, Daughter of the Moon. And you, my dear apprentice, are Honeypaw, Daughter of the Spotted Robin."

Honeypaw felt a chill go down her spine. How did this strange loner know her name? Or anything about her really? "How do you know my name?"

[/color] She growled, her eyes narrowing slightly, in an attempt to make her look more frightening than she really was. She didn't think it would work all that well, but she might as well try.

"I'm here for you, darling, I have a message for you."

Honeypaw felt a tad of anger pierce her otherwise shocked tension. Darling? Really? What was she, a kit? "Oh yeah? And what's that message?"[/color] She snapped, momentarily pushing her tension aside and letting her agitation come forward. "What great message do you have to share with me, oh wise Daughter of the Moon?"[/color] She asked, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"You've been annoyed with your sister lately, haven't you?"

Honeypaw felt some tension return, but she kept eye contact with the other cat, not willing to let any fear or wariness show. "What's it to ya?"[/color] She spat, her claws scraping against the rock as this Risa came ever closer.
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