Free-Flying - [Open]

[Silverstar]

"Is anybody there?"

A sweet, sing-song voice echoed across the clifftop, then grew quieter with each repeated echo until it faded away completely. The voice wasn't sharp at all; it was rather quiet, as if the source of the noise was somewhat shy.

Silverstar wasn't positive as to why she had asked in the first place; she would have the opportunity to do as she pleased regardless. It was almost like an instinct to her at this point in her life; Silverstar was traumatized by a hawk when she was a kit, and she had encountered other hawks on this very cliff.

In response to the meow, a pair of emerald-green eyes popped up over a small, thick bush. The bright, pelt-warming sun danced its rays upon the face of Silverstar, giving the illusion that her eyes were pools of fresh water and were swimming and swishing freely about. Her face was clear, and her light gray fur shimmered like silver under a fluorescent light. Her dark tabby stripes made the silver of her base coat appear brighter against her overall design.

The warm scent of newleaf hung loosely in the comfortable air, reminding everybody that the Clans were at a time of thriving and new life. She took a deep breath through her nostrils and let out a refreshing sigh, narrowing her eyes contently. Although Silverstar enjoyed newleaf, it reminded her of the countless days and nights that she spent with Reedsplash, her deceased WaveClan crush. She couldn't help but feel grief-stricken when she recalled the times when they secretly met, the sun warming the area in the same way that it always did on a clear-skied day. They often talked for the entire night and played games, both in awe when they talked to the other cat. Unfortunately, her fairy-tale ended on the night that they had planned to meet secretly to discuss becoming mates and even possibly forming a family. On his way, Reedsplash was killed by a single fox. Silverstar couldn't help but hate foxes more than she did prior to the tragic event that changed her outlook on newleaf forever.

The lithe she-cat made her way around the shrub when she was positive that there were no other cats around. A pair of wings that closely resembled her pelt fluttered freely on her shoulders. Their colour was precise in response to her pelt colour, and her tabby pattern continued onto each individual feather. She flexed her wings, and the sunlight flickered off of them in the same manner that it did on her pelt. A brave yet playful look appeared on her face, and she bunched her muscles tightly. She launched herself towards the edge of the cliff, gaining speed with each gallop of her paws. Her back paws kicked off of the edge gracefully and as she took to the sky, her wings expanded to allow Silverstar to glide through the air.

Silverstar's wings flapped periodically to station herself at a continuous level. She allowed for her limbs to go limp, and she began to survey the ground below. Her journey took her across the CliffClan territory; it was her unique way of surveying the entire area at once with ease, and she found it much more fun than padding around and checking in with each cat. Often, her check-ups were done at completely randomized times; however, no CliffClan cat was surprised when they saw Silverstar in the air, as it was one of her customary hobbies. Clan cats never knew exactly what she was up to when she was fluttering about, but no cat would have guessed that she used this method to check up on every cat at once!

Silverstar's eyes focused on individual cats; she easily detected the chubby outline of Lightningpaw in the camp. Her eyes flickered from the apprentices' den to the warriors' den, and she nodded to herself contently when she recognized each cat who was standing or sitting next to the fresh-kill pile in deep discussion. She didn't bother taking a peek at the Elder's den - the Clan lacked Elders - and then viewed the entire territory as a whole. She flapped her wings repeatedly and raised herself higher into the sky, allowing herself to have an expanded view. She saw two pairs of mentors and apprentices at the training cliff where she had taken off only moments ago, and she watched them carefully as they started to pick up on gliding with their wings. She noticed that the territory was unusually inactive; did she have a Clan full of lazy furballs?

After taking a quick observation of the general territory, Silverstar chose to end her flying session. She extended her wings to their full potential and prepared to land on a flat plateau with several smaller flat surfaces. As she neared, she braced her legs and paws for the impact of landing. She slowed down as much as possible, then gently landed. She took a few pawsteps forward by force; her landing was much quicker than she had intended, but the entire commotion was done with weightlessness and grace. "I wonder if anybody is here?" she mewed out loud, taking a look around. "Surely the cats of my Clan have gone out to hunt or to patrol since I last saw them!"

Silverstar parted her jaws and inhaled to taste the air. The cat scents that lingered were stale from previous times. Silverstar decided to go back to camp and grab something to eat. Not in the mood for flying, - which was quite unusual for Silverstar - she began to pad back towards the badger hole that led to the secretive CliffClan camp. She had to duck at first to make her way in because of her long legs, but she slipped through with ease. Upon entering, she padded to the fresh-kill pile and chose a mouse. She gripped it with her teeth, then brought it to the side of camp to eat.

Word Count?! 1,013
Muse?! Wonderful! This is my longest in-character post that I've ever written.
Comments?! Silverstar is bored. XD I'm not sure if the text colour will be permanent for her, though. Also, my apologies if this post scared you off. XD I rarely manage to write such lengthy replies. Don't feel obligated to reply with something as long.
Tagged?! N/A

[{Seal}]

"Lightningpaw, we are going to have a break tomorrow. No training. Rest up and be ready for more the next day."

[/i]

The lovely words swirled around the fluffy tabby as he slipped in and out of sleep; he lay sprawled on his side, wings akimbo, his chubby belly rising and falling with his heavy breathing. A day off...a day to relax! As if he didn't relax every second he got, anyway. In the back of his mind, Lightningpaw knew his mentor only gave him a day off so that the mentor could have a break from pushing Lightningpaw to work hard. But whatever the reason, the lazy apprentice was glad for the break.

No doubt the sun was already high in the sky by the time he fully awoke..."fully" being a relative term. Yawning widely, Lightningpaw dragged himself slowly to his paws, wings flopped down on either side of his body as if he were too lazy to even fold them over his back--which he was. It was like this that he slipped out of the apprentice den, wings and tail dragging along the cool dirt floor of CliffClan's camp. Every pawstep was slow and heavy, and his half-closed eyes were heavy with sleep.

Lightningpaw stumbled once, nearly fell, and blinked around the dark camp. Not many cats were hanging about inside today--no doubt most of the other apprentices and mentors were working hard on the Clifftop or soaring over the seas, learning to judge the way the odd sea breezes shifted and buffeted. The cats he did see were lazing about just like him, or sharing tongues, or snatching some freshkill from the pile near the center of camp. Among the latter was the familiar, slender silver shape of his leader.

Blinking the rest of the sleep from his eyes, Lightningpaw perked up ever so slightly; just enough to fold his wings neatly over his back and raise his tail. Lazy he might be, but disrespectful he was not--he wouldn't appear before his leader looking like a totally disheveled lump. Besides, he liked Silverstar; she was kind and cheerful, and never seemed to act all formal and serious like most leaders did.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be scolded about his appearance, the fluffy gray tabby ambled over to the freshkill pile and picked up a small mouse. "Good morning, Silverstar!" he mewed; though his tone was bright, the mouse muffled his words.

[/blockquote]
Word Count; 405
Muse; pretty good. Playing Lightningpaw is fun ^.^
Comments; Just one thing--the camp is within the side of the cliff, so I'm not sure she'd be able to see her Clanmates if she was flying outside [/size][/blockquote]

[Silverstar]

Silverstar began her usual eating ritual; she bit into her mouse's skin and teared it to the side, revealing an area of still-warn, red meat for her to feast on. Caught recently, I assume? she thought to herself. The mouse was fresh, and therefore Silverstar enjoyed it more than old mouse. Prey was quite plentiful. After all, Silverstar was the leader; an apprentice eating a day-old piece of prey would be much more reasonable than a Clan's leader doing so.

As Silverstar hunched her shoulders to take another bite, she saw Lightningpaw appear from the apprentices' den. Through the corner of her eye, she watched his display of utter clumsiness and laziness. Too tired to even lift his tail? He fit his reputation of a chubby, lazy furball quite well. She couldn't help but giggle ever-so slightly to herself as he made his way towards her.

Silverstar raised her head when Lightningpaw addressed her. "Morning, Lightningpaw. You seem a bit different than you did back there!" she purred, closing her eyes and flicking her tailtip toward the apprentices' den. She flexed her silvery wings; she disliked going for long periods of time without using them, so stretching them was the only solution.

Silverstar's attention suddenly found itself elsewhere. "Why aren't you training with your mentor, Lightningpaw?" she questioned in a softer tone, tilting her head to the side somewhat. "I would have expected to see you learning how to defend yourself from eagles or learning how to catch fish... or something other than lounging around," she commented. Though Lightningpaw was somewhat lazy indeed, and everything seemed to scare him out of his pelt, Silverstar knew that he had a willingness to learn if he tried hard enough. Silverstar knew that suggesting that Lightningpaw did something was out of the question; he probably wouldn't do it without his mentor dragging him by his paws to the clifftops or plateaus. Silverstar's eyes glimmered with amusement. She took another bite of her mouse, then sat up, awaiting Lightningpaw's response.

Word Count?! 351
Muse?! Eh... not my best.
Comments?! Ack, sorry about that; I wasn't very sure as to how the camp could be seen. ^^ I had thought that it could be seen from above.
Tagged?! Lightningpaw

[{Seal}]

"Why aren't you training with your mentor, Lightningpaw?"

[/i]

Silverstar's words caused the fluffy young apprentice to stop in his tracks, just a few tail-lengths from where his she sat. He blinked slowly in bewilderment, having difficulty wrapping his mind around what she had said. The idea that mentors and apprentices were supposed to train nearly every day was appalling to him. Was that really how it worked? When did apprentices get to sleep?

And then he decided she must be joking. That had to be it! Perking up once more, Lightningpaw continued the last few steps before settling down a few mouselengths away form Silverstar. Ever the polite one, he dropped the mouse by his forepaws before mewing, "Oh, we trained yesterday." At that, feeling as if the whole issue had been settled, he dug into his mouse (since Silverstar had already begun to eat).

The fresh flavor burst in his mouth, and Lightningpaw's eyes fluttered closed as he reveled in taste. Eating was perhaps one of his favorite past-times, and today was no different. He had devoured half the mouse before he looked back up at Silverstar and mewed conversationally, "So, what have you been doing today?" Respectful he might be, but he did not have any reserves about chatting casually with his leader. Not to mention the fact that he'd rather prefer to keep the conversation away from training and catching fish--the very idea of having to navigate the unpredictable air above the sea and dive into it was completely appalling.[/blockquote]

Word Count; 245
Muse; eh, so-so
Comments; hmm...maybe Silverstar could guilt him into a training session, since there aren't currently any warriors to actually be his mentor?[/size][/blockquote]

[Silverstar]

Silverstar's eyes opened a bit wider, revealing two orb-like spheres of emerald. She twitched her whiskers and purred in amusement. "Oh, really? You trained yesterday? Mmm, so did the other apprentices and their mentors! What about today?

"Lightningpaw, you're supposed to train everyday!" Silverstar raised her tail and flicked it over Lightningpaw's left ear. "For StarClan's sake, Lightningpaw, please tell me that you haven't found yourself accustomed to the habit of taking a few days off. You should be working your fuzzy little hindquarters off diligently, day and night. Aren't you going to do anything at all today?"

Silverstar continued to eat her mouse as she thought of a reasonable solution for Lightningpaw. Suddenly, she looked up. "Lightningpaw, you've seen the warriors come and go from camp everyday, yes? A noble warrior works daily to provide for the Clan. Unless you have plans on becoming a medicine cat apprentice, consider following their lead," she suggested.

Word Count?! 163
Muse?! Alright, I guess.
Tagged?! Lightningpaw
Comments?! Sounds good to me. Ack, I'm not the best with dialogue. I find it a bit hard to reply to.

[{Seal}]

As Silverstar began to scold him, Lightningpaw felt his attention slipping away as he longed for the darkness and silence of the apprentice den. To his credit, he kept his eyes on his leader and did his best not to let it show that his mind was wandering, but he just couldn't help it. She sounded so much like his mentor that it made him wonder if all warriors talked this way once they finished their training.

"Unless you have plans on becoming a medicine cat apprentice, consider following their lead."

At that, Lightningpaw's eyes widened and he sat bolt upright, fully awake. Medicine cat apprentice? He shuddered in horror at the very thought. They had to work harder than anyone! All the herbs and treatments and illnesses they had to memorize...Lightningpaw wasn't sure he'd last a day as a medicine cat apprentice. Silverstar's words sounded like a threat, although any other cat would have known that they weren't, and he stared at her with wide, frightened eyes. Could a leader make an apprentice become a medicine cat?

"We don't take days off a lot," he mewed hurriedly, shifting his wings uncomfortably. "I didn't ask for one. My mentor just said to take a day off..." he wasn't trying to get his mentor in trouble, of course, but what else was he to say? He did not want to be sent to the medicine cat under any circumstance.

A sudden idea popped into his head, but he brushed it away at once. If he were to ask Silverstar to take him out, wouldn't that show her that he didn't want to be a medicine cat? He didn't like training all that much, and certainly wasn't any good at it, but he did genuinely try...when he was able to keep his mind focused. That's an awful idea, he scolded himself, shooting a quick glance toward the camp entrance. I don't want to train more!

He had run out of things to defend himself with, and he lapsed into awkward silence, hoping Silverstar let it slide.

Word Count; too lazy to check it
Muse; eh
Comments; nadda

[Silverstar]

"Really?" Silverstar heaved herself up from a somewhat slouchy position to an alert sitting position. She was now intent on solving the question that peeved her: why? "Is that so? Well, I fail to see why your mentor would do such a thing unless he was extremely busy. You mean to tell me that he said, 'Hey, Lightningpaw, we're not doing anything today.' and simply went off on his own?" The muscle above Silverstar's right eye twitched ever so slightly, like a human would raise its eyebrow at a puzzling question or an unfitting statement. "Like I mentioned earlier, Lightningpaw, apprentices should be training, or at least working for the Clan, every day of their apprenticed lives. Oh... you have so much to learn! Even when you become a warrior, you'll still be in flight training for a few more moons. The worst that you could possibly be doing is wasting perfectly fine days like so."

Silverstar's attention flickered to the mouse that lay in front of Lightningpaw; he'd already begun to eat it. "Lightningpaw, have you hunted for the Clan yet today? Apprentices aren't to eat until they've brought some prey back to the Clan. I don't recall seeing you outside of camp today; I just got back from my own personal flight patrol of the territory," she stated. She followed Lightningpaw's gaze towards the camp entrance, and the worried expression was clear on his face.

"I have an idea!" Silverstar announced, waving her tailtip excitedly. "I can take you our training today, Lightningpaw. Forget what your mentor said; I'll teach you something that you'll enjoy today. Finish your prey first, though; you've already begun to eat it, and stopping would be wasting valuable food for the Clan." She failed to mention the fact that Lightningpaw was only six moons old and ate nearly as much as Silverstar herself, a young-yet-old leader who was active in her Clan as much as the next warrior. "So, what do you say? Of course, if you'd rather replace my nest and mope around all day, that works as well..." Silverstar didn't know why she'd bothered asking, for she knew that Lightningpaw wouldn't likely have the nerve to deny his leader's request. She flexed her wings once more, then began to dig her claws into the ground and retract them as she awaited an answer.

Word Count?! 411
Muse?! Bad at first, better towards the end.
Tagged?! Lightningpaw
Comments?! Wow... she just did exactly the opposite as Lightningpaw hoped. xD

[{Seal}]

A groan nearly escaped Lightningpaw, but he shoved it back down just in time. Truth be told, he would most certainly rather clean Silverstar's den and "mope around" the camp all day, but he knew better than to agree to something like that--it would let his leader down, and he didn't want her to think poorly of him. It wasn't as if he wanted to be a bad warrior...he just had a hard time progressing past his natural apathy. A complete lack of ambition was not necessarily a good trait for a CliffClan apprentice to have.

Even so, he almost laughed aloud when she mentioned the part about "something he'd enjoy." Lightningpaw didn't enjoy training. He hated heights, so he hated flying practice. And what else was there for a CliffClan cat but to learn flying? Sure, his mentor took him to the Clifftop and taught him to stalk mice and other ground-animals, but that was just as awful as flying, if not more--in those instances, he had to run, and Lighntingpaw was a far worse runner than flyer.

But it didn't really matter what he wanted. Not if Silverstar was determined to keep him from having a day off. Heaving a soft, regretful sigh, the chubby, fluffy tabby shot another glance at the camp's entrance before forcing down the rest of his mouse--he had suddenly lost his appetite.

"Okay, Silverstar, I'm ready," he mewed as cheerfully as possible, though no one would have been fooled. He gave his shoulders a few licks as he readjusted the wings across his back, then glanced over at his silvery leader. The sooner we go, the sooner I can sleep, he thought, though the thought was not a mean or resentful one--merely regretful. He would so have enjoyed sleeping.

Word Count; 297
Muse; so-so
Comments; Just so you know, I'm banking a lot on this! My goal for Lightningpaw is for him to end up LOVING to fly (especially because I plan to have him lose/cripple a paw once I have the freshkill to buy it) and I'm hoping Silverstar's lesson starts the spark! Also, if you WANT, maybe Silverstar could take over Lightningpaw's training? Since there isn't actually a mentor, and our made-up one is clearly lazy?

[Silverstar]

"Are you sure, Lightningpaw?" Silverstar mewed, amusement flickering in her eyes. "You don't seem too eager to get out," she stated. She thought through her head what she could teach Lightningpaw for the day, then decided that it would be a good idea to simply ask. "What do you know so far, Lightningpaw? I'm thinking about simply revoking your mentor and training you myself," she admitted with a solemn expression. She stood up and flexed her wings, then stretched out her tall limbs one by one.

"I assume that I'll either be taking you hunting or for flying lessons, considering you're afraid of everything else. Ah... have you tried to catch fish yet? I can't actually do it perfectly yet myself, but I might as well teach you if you'd like." Silverstar's thoughts wandered into her young warrior life, when her mentor continued to teach her how to catch fish from the surface. Though she was capable of doing so, she wasn't very good at it and often failed to catch anything. She rarely dove into the water, for she despised the heavy feeling it left on her weightless wings. She hadn't a clue how she would manage to teach Lightningpaw, but it was worth a shot. After all, she gave Lightningpaw a choice, and he didn't have to pick fishing.

"May I suggest flying? That's what I'm best at. Hunting works too, though. I killed a hawk earlier today." Silverstar flicked her tailtip towards the fresh-kill pile. "Maybe you won't be able to kill a hawk quite yet, but you could probably use some reinforcement. You're only six moons old, for StarClan's sake... you couldn't have learned that much yet!" After realizing that Silverstar was mostly talking to herself, she stopped and waited for Lightningpaw to make up his mind as to what he wanted to do.

Word Count?! 325
Muse?! I'm on Skype with my friends, so I'm not very focused.
Tagged?! Lightningpaw
Comments?! Silverstar talks waaaay too much. xD

[{Seal}]

Well, he was in for it now and there wasn't much he could do about it. If Silverstar was determined to teach him something (and have him like it), and if she really did care about what he thought and what he wanted to do, he might as well take advantage of that.

What do I hate the least? he wondered, for he most certainly couldn't imagine what he liked the most, since he had no love of any type of training. Did he enjoy hunting across the Clifftop? It was certainly the easiest form of hunting for him, although that wasn't saying much. It was easy to be clumsy when stalking mice on the ground and dealing with your bulky wings; but CliffClan cats were expected to be clumsy on the ground, so it wasn't such a bad thing. But did he really dislike that part of training the least?

No, not if he was honest with himself. Ground-hunting might be easiest, but it most certainly was nowhere near enjoyable. What about flying, then? Lightningpaw was terrified of heights; he found himself cringing every time he crept out of the camp and clawed his way up the ledges to get to the Clifftop. His massive wings were clumsy and bulky, although he knew his mentor had expected his wide wingspan to make him a natural flier. If he was ever to be a great flier, however, his time had certainly not yet come.

Although the idea of flying was terrifying, especially alongside someone as skilled as Silverstar, it was slightly less horrifying than the idea of spending the day on the Clifftop, ambling over the ground in the hot sun. There was no way to weasel out of training with Silverstar today, so after a moment he turned to the silvery leader and mewed politely, "Maybe we should go flying?" He might have preferred to say "I would like to go flying," but he wasn't much for lying. "My mentor and I have been working on small flights over the Clifftop; we haven't flown over the sea yet." And thank StarClan for that, he added in his mind, hoping Silverstar would recognize his total inexperience and go easy on him.

Word Count; 371
Muse; decent
Notes; poor, scaredy-cat Lightningpaw ^.^

[Silverstar]

Silverstar's emerald eyes widened in surprise and the fur on her back had risen when Lightningpaw suggested flying. Though it was more than obvious that Lightningpaw hated most forms of work, he was terrified of flying and seemed to dread it. Flying, of all things, was something that Lightningpaw would not have suggested to his own mentor.

"Really, Lightningpaw? I recall being told that you hate flying," Silverstar said, an amused look prying its way onto her face. She couldn't help but let out a mrrow of laughter. "Fair enough, I suppose." Perhaps Lightningpaw had finally overcome his fear of heights or had suddenly discovered the joy of soaring gracefully above the clifftops. Or perhaps he had finally developed a sense of maturity and wanted to prove the best towards his leader.

She couldn't help but notice the worried expression that Lightningpaw portrayed when he mentioned how far he'd come along in his flying training. "You've not been over the sea yet? Then maybe I'll take you, and you can see what you're missing. You'll have to get over your fears eventually!" she exclaimed with a cheerful voice. Her tone shifted to a less-squeaky tone and she said, "Do you know how my former mentor taught me to fly, Lightningpaw?

"My mentor grabbed me by my scruff and dropped me because he disliked me. I was only seven moons old. He assumed that I would surely die, and he could blame my death on me. Do I look alright to you?" Silverstar turned in a circle, stopping to highlight each of her limbs, her wings, and her tail. "I'm not missing any limbs, nor are my wings deformed... and I certainly am not dead. So, we'll be overcoming your fear of flying today by taking you to fly across the sea."

Silverstar was content with her decision, and it was obvious that she wouldn't change her mind. She stood up and shook her pelt out, then bounded towards the camp entrance, waiting for the unwilling apprentice to follow.

Word Count?! 350
Muse?! Average
Tagged?! Lightningpaw
Comments?! Oh, the pushy and confident Silverstar. xD

[{Seal}]

Whatever qualms he might have with his mentor, Lightningpaw realized then that circumstances could be a lot worse. Sure, his mentor was pushy and seemed to expect way too much out of him, but their relationship was nothing like that. For a brief, uncharacteristically serious moment, Lightningpaw found himself wondering, If that happened, how in StarClan's name did she manage to turn out so cheerful and...okay?

The seriousness passed, however, and he reminded himself of the kind of day he now faced. If he thought his mentor was hard to resist, how much harder was it going to be to get out of working now that Silverstar was training him? She seemed to think he was capable of flying out over the sea...well, he was pretty confident he would end up a huddled mess on WaveClan's beach, but there was no way he could say that to Silverstar without her thinking he was just trying to get out of training (which, technically, he was). Therefore, the chubby gray tabby reluctantly followed his leader to the camp entrance, wings and tail dragging as the familiar wave of laziness washed over him. He glanced briefly toward the apprentice den, and his entire body longed to curl up in his nest and sleep the day away like he had expected to do.

There was nothing for it now--he was far too polite to do anything so rude as ask not to be personally trained by his leader. Most apprentices would give their right paw for an opportunity like this. He reached the camp entrance and, with a great deal of unease, moved up to stand beside the silver she-cat. The entrance was crowded with two cats standing side-by-side, especially when one accounted for the big wings flopped down on either side of Lightningpaw's body. "The sea is bright," he mewed conversationally as he gazed out across the ocean; he blinked heavily as the bright newleaf sunlight sparkled and glittered off the gently undulating, deep blue surface. A cool, salty sea breeze buffeted the camp entrance as it always did, tugging at Lightningpaw's fur and feathers as if to say, "Come on, leap into me! See if you can follow the birds. I dare you." A braver cat might have risen to the challenge, but Lightningpaw shied from it as he took a small step back into the dim safety of the camp.

"Are we going to climb up to the Clifftop?" he asked after a moment, though even voicing the suggestion took a great deal of effort. All the young, lazy apprentice could think about was the faster they got to the Clifftop, the faster he could fall to his doom and be done with the whole thing. I wonder what it's like with StarClan...

Word Count; 464
Muse; pretty good
Comments; *ahem* the "give their right paw" is a foreshadowing ^.^ Haha, I wonder if I should add "morbid" to the list of negative traits :) Feel free to launch right off the cliff if you want--Lightningpaw will follow somehow.