Old News [Raggedpelt/Linchenheart] L0S0V0

[Malicious]

((I'm always bad with titles, sorry ^^' I just thought it would be a good one for a thread where Linchenheart can tell his old tales))

His amber eyes scanned over the surrounding area, muscles tensed and ears perked to pick up the littlest sound. The tom took a single step foreword, lifting it ever so slowly and placing it back down gently just a few mouse-lengths away. Patch jet-black furr blended in against the shadows created by the trees, making the cat nearly invisible as he approached his target. A robin sitting in one of the lower branches of a tree, chirping a song to find another one of it's kind, had attracted the warrior's attention. His gaze was fixed on it as he took another few steps toward it, careful not to make any sudden movements, since speed attracted the eye.

Raggedpelt had left camp to go hunting, and had discovered that today had proven to be a lucky day. There was plenty of prey out, and so far he had managed to catch a mouse, which he had buried by another tree for safe keeping so that a hawk wouldn't steal it before he could get back to camp. The robin continued to chirp, twitching it's head a couple times to look around. The MeadowClan cat froze, waiting until the bird looked away before placing his front left paw on the tree trunk. After another quick pause, he suddenly darted up the tree unsheathing his claws quickly and using them to dig into the bark and push himself up. Everything went by in a flash... The bird looked down suddenly, screeching before flapping it's wings to take off. The former kittypet reached up, sure that he was just barely close enough to catch it, when it just managed to slip out of his paws.

The tom reached foreword desperately, grabbing onto the branch instead. Mousedung! How could he miss? He was sure that he had it... Curse his bad eye! The black tom frowned as he pulled himself up onto the branch, shaking off the pieces of bark that had fallen onto him while he was holding onto the top branch. At least he could bring back the mouse... He looked around slowly, making sure that nothing else was around that he could possibly catch. Seeing that the area was clear, he darted down the tree and back to ground level, trotting over to the spot where he had buried the mouse.

"I should have caught it... What kind of a warrior looses prey so easily...?" he muttered to himself as he clawed at the ground, unearthing the small rodent before grabbing it tightly in his jaw.

After dropping the mouse off at camp, Raggedpelt decided to go out and attempt to catch something else. For once the apprentice weren't trampling around and scaring off things, so he wouldn't have to worry about fussing at them. Since he didn't have an apprentice of his own to train, the tom decided that it was best to spend as much time as possible hunting. He walked over to the field section of their territory, deciding that anything was easier to catch than a bird. Maybe if he was lucky, he would find a rabbit darting across the land. Again, anything was better than a bird, especially to a one-eyed cat. Other animals would run if they saw a cat, but they were possible to catch up with (even rabbits had been chased down on occassions); birds would just fly away.

"I wonder if anyone else if out here hunting..." the warrior muttered softly, sniffing the air and keeping his ears perked.

((Ugh... Terrible first post... Sorry... I'm always bad at starting threads ^^'))

[Pyro]

It was Foxpaw's day to clean out the elder's den, and at the risk of having to deal with the tom's incessant joking, Lichenheart had chosen today to stretch his legs. Oh yes, he would have relished the chance to give the rambuncious apprentice whatfor, but Cedarstar had already shown the elder what he thought about that. Bah. Lichenheart was loyal to Cedarstar, and so he would be no matter what, but he had to admit...he was disappointed in his leader's leniency. Those roustabouts needed discipline of the strictest kind. They needed to be scared straight. His apprentices had never done such things. They'd been hard workers, and he remembered them fondly.

"No one understands the importance of discipline anymore."

The white elder sighed, trying to focus instead on the task he had set himself rather than the troublemakers of the clan. Cedarstar had not noticed him slip out, so he was confident there was plenty of time for a patrol. He raised his head, scenting the air for strange cats. No strangers...but it seemed that Raggedpelt was out and about as well. Perhaps he could catch a glimpse of the warrior's skills. Creeping forward slowly, hampered only slightly by his limp, he watched as Raggedpelt made a valiant effort at catching a bird to no avail. His ears perked up as the tom began speaking to himself. Perhaps he could do with some company.

"Ho there, Raggedpelt!" he rasped. "Had any luck with prey today? Besides birds I mean...jumpy creatures with too many feathers and not enough meat, they are."

[Malicious]

Raggedpelt continued to look around, able to smell another cat approaching, their scent carried by the wind. Hopefully whoever it was hadn't seen how he had lost the bird... Chances were that if they saw, they wouldn't suspect his vision at all; but, better safe than sorry, and he'd like to keep the 'missing birds' as private as possible. The fact that he had a little bit of pride also meant that he didn't want to be seen messing up by any apprentices or new warriors.

"Ho there, Raggedpelt!"

Ah yes, it was Linchenheart, one of elders that the black warrior had not had the pleasure of speaking to much. He turned and looked at the white tom, amber gaze showing a mix of both disappointment at himself for missing the bird and slight worry that the elder had seen the whole thing. He had heard stories about how good of a warrior Linchenheart had been (as well as how crazy he could get). So far, he wasn't proving to be a very good warrior for the next generation of MeadowClan cats...

"Had any luck with prey today? Besides birds I mean...jumpy creatures with too many feathers and not enough meat, they are."

Yep, he had seen.

"I've had a bit of luck, yes..." the black tom replied, dipping his head respectfully as he answered. His father had always told him to be very respectful of elders, since they had been protectors of the Clan and deserved some time to rest. Even if Linchenheart was still plenty healthy and sometimes 'rest' seemed like the last thing he needed, he was still a former warrior who had done an excellent job of protecting the Clan (at least that's what the warrior had gathered from his father's stories).

"I did run into trouble with the bird, but I figured that I should catch something else to make up for it," Raggedpelt explained, turning to face the white tom completely and sitting down, "Would you care to come hunting? Or were you going to patrol the boarder...?"

He knew that Linchenheart was famous for sneaking out and preforming some warrior tasks, but there was no use in trying to stop him, so why not accompany the culprit instead? After all, there was no harm in letting an elder enjoy his former glory, right?

((Ragged would probably get along better with elders than cats his own age, haha... Probably because he has a bit more respect for older cats, too << but even the character I based him off of *Maliku* prefers to let older demons have their moments of glory :3))

[Pyro]

Lichenheart grunted. "You figured right."

The elder was fond of Raggedpelt. Always respectful...unlike some other cats he could name. And here he was, not trying to slack off in the slightest. Ah, if only Lichenheart were young again. He could visualize himself fighting alongside this cat, so clearly it made his heart ache. There would be no more battles for him, and Lichenheart was not quite fool enough to convince himself otherwise. Staying active was one thing, but defending his clan with his aged body? Ha. Only if another clan was brazen enough to walk into camp. The elder was truly deserving of the title elder at this point in his life. At 127 moons he was the oldest cat in the forest, older even than No-ears of PineClan. And well, if No-ears was starting to fail at such a young age...who was to say Lichenheart had much time left himself? Oh what he'd give to die fighting! As it were, he would probably slip quietly to starclan one night.

"Would you care to come hunting? Or were you going to patrol the boarder...?"

Well forget thoughts of death, here was something. It had been a firm few seasons since he'd been asked to hunt with someone. Unfortunately, with his limp...well, he'd probably scare most of the prey away. He was a clumsy stalker now at best. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure how he had been able to sneak up on Raggedpelt. The warrior had probably been completely distracted by the bird. "I've been patrolling the border, if you'd like to join me instead. I'm afraid I'm not much of a hunter anymore, although, if you'd care to listen I may have a few tips for you."

Practically a mentor again. After Longstep had died, he'd never mentored a cat again. Of course, that was more his fault than anything else. If only he hadn't gone after that dog. Bah. The past was the past.

"Most would think you have to be slow when stalking birds, when in reality, you don't. The longer you linger, the more likely it is something will alert the bird to your presence. Then again, they're hard to stalk no matter how you do it. I never could stand them. You're better off trying for a rabbit or a squirrel any day. More meat and easier to catch off guard."

[Malicious]

"I've been patrolling the border, if you'd like to join me instead. I'm afraid I'm not much of a hunter anymore, although, if you'd care to listen I may have a few tips for you."

Raggedpelt couldn't help but smile when his invitation to hunt was turned into Lichenheart's invitation to go patrolling. He had forgotten about the other cat's limp, which made it harder for him to hunt... Sort of like the tom's bad eye, but not nearly as simple to learn to get around. He nodded slowly, his amber eye widening slightly when he heard that he could get some tips. As much as he didn't like younger warriors and apprentices, he did like to listen to other cats talk, and would especially like to hear a few hunting tips from a senior member of the Clan. Lichenheart had something that the warrior wouldn't have for many moons, and that experience.

"Well, I'll join you on patrol if you tell me some of these tips," the black tom agreed. His father wasn't much help when it came to teaching about actual warrior tasks and not just the structure of the Clan and the general faith. His mentor had taught him plenty when he was younger, but there was always room for learning more. It was ignorant to assume that once training was done, learning was as well... The tom's father had admitted not knowing things in his old age before he died, being surprised a few times and learning more every day even after moons of being a warrior.

Raggedpelt listened as the white tom explained about birds, and why stalking them slowly wasn't always the right approach. That did indeed catch his attention; he had always assumed that a slower approach was a better one. Well, the elder had certainly proved that his tips would be useful ones. Well, he did have a hundred and twenty-seven moons to figure out how to hunt, so no wonder he knew about it...

"I never knew that..." the warrior admitted, looking up at the sky as he thought about the birds. They did seem to look around an awful lot, and always seemed nervous, so that seemed quite logical, "Well, I guess I'm going to learn a lot today... Which border did you want to patrol first?"

[Pyro]

"Right then son, let's be off."

Lichenheart trotted off back toward the border, calling over his shoulder "Figure we'll swing past Stream to make sure they ain't getting uppity and work our way around from there." Cedarstar hadn't really made too big of a fuss over StreamClan and their new aggressive policy toward borders, but that was no reason for not being careful. True, even Lichenheart doubted they'd try something, MeadowClan being as esteemed and at peace with all the clans as it was, but oh, just to catch one of them setting a single toe out of line...Hehehe. Made him feel young again just thinking of the mess he and Raggedpelt could get into. A real, good ol' fashioned border scrap.

"Now I could harp about the virtues of rabbit all day if you let me, but I'll keep it short and just say you should try focusing on them. I'd wager you could keep up with one with that build of your's, and all it takes is a glancing blow on a back leg when you're close enough. They get to goin' so fast that a move like that'll send them trippin' and spinnin'. Easy pickings for a pounce."

Now what other knowledge could he pass on about hunting...Bah...his thoughts were getting a little muddled. It'd been so long since he himself had even tried to hunt, that the grand majority of his own knowledge about it was seeping away. He could only remember bits and pieces; short bursts of brilliant memory, while the rest was lost to him. Oh well. It wasn't like he needed it anymore...it'd just be nice to remember everything so he could pass it on.

Better change the subject. They were on the StreamClan border now anyway.

"What do you think about all these tensions?" Always nice to hear things from a young voice. Personally, he felt that tensions were only natural. However, if he was understanding the apprentices and Cedarstar correctly, it seemed that tensions between certain clans were rising beyond the natural territorial grudge matches. He could have sworn Foxpaw told him (on one of the rare occasions when the whippersnapper was truly helpful) that on a gathering past, a pineclanner had attacked a fogclanner. And whent he moon was bright, full and high in the sky no less! "I've been told that our neighbors are starting to actively turn on each other."

[Malicious]

"Figure we'll swing past Stream to make sure they ain't getting uppity and work our way around from there."

Raggedpelt nodded, following the elder as he made his way over toward the other Clan border. He didn't expect to find much at the border, since their Clan was normally associated with peace. Even if the other Clan was starting to get a bit more aggressive, he didn't expect them to start a fight; especially against a neighbor which was in no real position to attack on their own, however it was strong enough to fight back if a situation arose. Cedarstar didn't seem to mind the other Clan either, but recently there had been some debate on the leader... The warrior had preferred to keep his nose out of that business, however; he rarely got involved in politics.

The black tom listened carefully as the elder spoke about rabbits. He preferred to hunt those, since his speed made it easier for him to continued chasing it even after his cover was blown (unlike with the birds). While a cat couldn't necessarily outrun a rabbit under normal circumstances, he was able to chase it down in enough time to where it didn't have a chance to build up speed. He nodded as Lichenheart explained about getting their back legs, which would be easier than having to worry about getting close enough to pounce on the whole thing.

"What do you think about all these tensions?"

Raggedpelt paused and blinked a few times. He was expecting to hear another tip, but instead was caught off guard by a question. He usually needed some time to think about things before answering questions, and didn't always like snapping to decisions since it left more room for error. However, he was being asked about his opinion, and this wasn't some sort of pop quiz. What are you worrying about? the tom asked himself mentally, continuing to make his way toward the border after the elder, This isn't a test, you can't fail. You need to learn to answer other cats; you can't just keep quiet or you'll seem even weirder.

"I... I haven't thought about the tensions much..." the former kittypet sighed, looking foreword at the border. He hadn't really been paying much attention to outside affairs, since he had been concentrating on improving his own work in hunting and patrolling for the last couple moons, "I wouldn't know much about how normal tensions are compared to this, since I didn't exactly grow up with it..."

"I've been told that our neighbors are starting to actively turn on each other."

"...Well... That's unfortunate..." Raggedpelt added, unsure of what else to say. He perked his ears, sniffing the air around the border before finishing his statement, "Do you think their fights could start some conflicts over here, though...?"

[Pyro]

"Well, tensions between the clans are normal, of course." he said. "But not to this extent. We should be thankful that no one's tried to pick a fight with us, not that they have any real reason to. Thankful that PineClan's getting the brunt of things."

Lichenheart paused in his walk to gaze over the Streamclan border. No sign of any of the fish-eaters, but someone had said they'd disguised their scents to get into Pine...hmph. Well. He certainly hoped that Meadowclanners could tell the difference between one of their own and a stranger. Satisfied, he continued on, keeping up a brisk but not strenuous pace. His limp was somewhat pronounced, but as always a bit of exercise did the leg some good, nevermind what Aldernose said about rest.

"So, where did you grow up then?" the elder would admit that he was a bit out of date when it came to knowing all of his clanmates. Names, e knew, but the actual cats? Once they graduated from kithood and became apprentices they rarely wanted to hang around the elder's den. At 6 moons it became a place of work for them instead of a place of stories and rest, and having done their duties he could sympathize with them. Work was a part of life though, and it could only be good for them to get used to it.

Still, he did wish he got more visitors. He used to have so many cats to talk to...

"Was it far from here? Or were you a local?"

[Malicious]

Raggedpelt listened as Lichenheart explained about the tensions. He had become well aware of the fact that StreamClan were strict with their beliefs in StarClan, and that PineClan didn't believe in them at all. They seemed like exact opposites. He didn't expect them to get along, but from what the elder was telling him, it seemed as though these problems were escalating. He wasn't exactly used to Clan tensions, so he would have to learn to piece together what he heard from others. Since there were other cats who seemed plenty concerned with the tensions, then it made sense to think that things were at risk of going terribly wrong.

He watched as Lichenheart paused to look over the border. The warrior padded over quietly, looking around as well and sniffing the air. He wasn't exactly good at spotting things, but his sense of smell and his hearing were great because of it! He knew that cats who were completely blind often had wonderful hearing, or ones who couldn't smell who had wonderful sight and ears. The tom wouldn't have guessed that any good could possibly come from loosing one of his eyes when he first had to learn to cope with it; now, however, he was well aware of how great his hearing had become.

"So, where did you grow up then?"

The black tom froze, his good amber eye widening slightly as that unexpected question was processed. Deciding that stopping completely and staying dead silent would likely trigger some suspicion, he continued to walk, trying to think of something to answer with. He didn't exactly like telling others that he was a kittypet, nor did he really want to explain about his past. He knew that most cats were well aware of his past, but while many tried to seem accepting there were others who tried to put him down because of it.

"Was it far from here? Or were you a local?"

"I came from... um... Twoleg place..." Raggedpelt replied, lowering his voice just slightly. He didn't really expect anyone to like hearing that, and it had even chased a few potential friends away in the past when he was an apprentice. He didn't understand why Clan cats didn't like kittypets, but he knew that they often started rumors of the wild cats 'eating bones' or even 'killing off each other for fun'. Maybe that was the reason they... The warrior shook his head, not wanting to get off topic.

"...My father was from the Clans... My mother was a kittypet..." he added, trying to get over the thoughts of being ridiculed. Lichenheart was an elder, not some immature apprentice with nothing better to do than tease the new guy. It was silly of him to worry.

[Pyro]

"Twoleg place, eh? Nothing wrong with that. I was a loner myself before I joined Forestclan."

Lichenheart was, despite his words, a bit put off to learn that Raggedpelt was a kittypet. It ignited in him that age old prejudice: kittypets were weak. Lesser than cats who lived their lives in the wild. He was quick to smash such feelings, though. Raggedpelt was a Meadowclanner now, and Starclan willing, a meadowclanner he would stay. He was a capable warrior, Lichenheart was sure: He had to be to pass the apprentice exams. Sure, his hunting could use a bit of tuning, but they could all do with a bit of practice every now and again. Certainly, Lichenheart was no fine hunter these days. All he had was knowledge. All of the knowledge with barely any of the skill.

But to learn that Raggedpelt's father had been from the clans...It almost made the elder's fur bristle. Mating outside of your clan was a grievous offense, and he'd have torn right into Raggedpelt's father had he been there...In fact...hadn't he, once? The elder shook his head, muddled. He had too many memories to be able to distinguish one from the other these days. Ah well. He wouldn't hold his father's mistakes against Raggedpelt. The tom had proven himself to Cedarstar, obviously, and that was enough for Lichenheart.

"And she is a very fine she-cat, I'm sure." he said with a nod. "But you would do well to remember..." the elder shook his head with more vehemence this time than before. He wasn't sure he wanted to get into this discussion with Raggedpelt. Definitely not when the tom had probably heard it all before. "Be proud of where you came from, but do not lose sight of where you are. The clan should always come first."

[Malicious]

Raggedpelt let out a small sigh of relief as Lichenheart mentioned being a loner before he had joined the Clans. He continued scanning the border, keeping his ears perked mostly to listen to the elder. He knew that loners were supposed to be tough while kittypets were seen as weak, but perhaps he would understand what it was like to join a new and even strange-at-first world. The warrior tried to tell himself that he was no longer a kittypet, anyway, and that he did what most of them couldn't. He could never see soft-hearted Lily being a warrior, or even hunting for herself for a week.

"And she is a very fine she-cat, I'm sure."

At that statement, the black tom let out a small snort. Iris was anything but 'fine'. She was absolutely insane, cruel and mean-spirited; he never understood how his father could ever like her, let alone love her and go against his Clan's wishes for her. He scowled as he remembered her. Any kittypet would have been driven to life as an alleydweller or loner with a mother like her.

"She was far from fine," he muttered, turning back to look at the elder. She was his mother, so he couldn't hate her... he could just get as close to 'hate' as possible for him. He tried to forget about it, however, and realized that what he thought about her would probably be frowned upon by many other cats; that was the last thing he needed. He listened carefully as he was given more advice, nodding slowly as he listened to show that he understood. At least it wasn't another lecture on how life in the Clans was going to be more difficult... as if he hadn't already figured that out, and gotten used to it.

"The Clan will always come first," Raggedpelt replied, trying to give a small smile, "You don't have to worry about where my loyalty lies... I wouldn't dream of going back; this is my home, now, and my Clanmates are my new brothers and sisters."