when the rain comes {Fawn/Open}

[{Seal}]

Cool newleaf wind whipped white foam from the rapidly undulating gray sea. Gulls and pelicans flapped frantically against the headwind or tried to keep control as they were pushed by a tailwind, heading for solid ground as the salty wind whipped them to and fro. Some were clearly heading for the mainland, where the high cliffs of CliffClan and the white beaches of WaveClan could be clearly seen. Others, too tired or too frightened to go that far, settled for one of the several lush Islands.

In the midst of the stormy sea, a blue-gray head bobbed up and down as powerful legs propelled him up and over the waves. Several times, as a particularly large wave bore down upon him, Splashedfur took a deep breath and plunged beneath the surf, spreading the toes of his paws and clawing at the water to make full use of the blue-gray webbing. He stayed down for several minutes, until his WaveClan lungs burned for air. Each time he resurfaced, the small island was several fox-lengths closer. The going was slow, but Splashedfur didn't mind--he lived for moments like this. Deep, storm-gray eyes were alight with energy and happiness--a cat made for the sea.

Finally, just as Splashedfur was beginning to truly tire, he found himself just a few fox-lengths from the shore of the island. At this point he stopped fighting through the sea and let the tide carry him in. A large wave picked him up and propelled him toward the sandy beach--Splashedfur mistimed his landing and found himself tumbling head-over-paws through the water before landing in an ungraceful heap on the sand. Laughing aloud with joy, Splashedfur sprang back to his paws and cast his eyes over the long stretch of see he had just traversed. "The sea cannot defeat me!" he yowled joyously. "Just you try!" Even as he spoke, a flash of lightning spit the sky, followed almost immediately by a clap of thunder so loud the ground beneath his paws seemed to shake. Slightly alarmed, Splashedfur scrambled back from the beach and into the thick ferns of the island, mewing under his breath, "All right StarClan, all right! You knew I was just joking!" As if in response, another flash of lightning and a growl of thunder rose into the stormy air, and Splashedfur shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Fine, fine, if you won't accept my apology."

Rain began to fall steadily as Splashedfur made his way clumsily through the ferns and palm trees of the island. His large paws, not made for traveling over land, kept tripping him up, but he pressed on cheerfully. Nothing was going to ruin this day for him; Splashedfur lived for storms like this. "But it is a shame it's not safe to catch fish," he added to himself, glancing about the underbrush. "How do those other Clans catch mice?" The gray tomcat stopped walking and plopped his butt down on the muddy ground, gazing through the underbrush for any sign of a mouse or a mole. He swiveled his ears back and forth, but was unable to hear much over the constant rumbling of thunder and the pattering of rain down upon the ferns and the broad leaves of the palm trees. "Ridiculous," he decided as he rose once more to his paws. "Fish don't hear you coming."

Word Count; 557
Muse; pretty good. First time I've ever played Splashedfur
Comments; sorry about the ending. I'm bad at wrapping up posts.
Tags; Jaggedice! And any other CliffClan/WaveClan cats that want to join.

[Fawn]

Jaggedice swerved her course violently to the side as a bright streak of lightening split the sky infront of her. The bright white wings propped on her shoulders were spread out as she caught the wind, propelling her higher into the sky, farther away from where the lightening had struck. This action was answered as another, bigger flash appeared to the side accompanied by a clap of thunder that wracked her mind as it sounded in her ears. She ducked as this happened, afraid once more that it would hit her.

Falling as she was, her reflexes ripped her wings from her side and widened her wing-span. She swooped gracefully back into the sky, spotting the island she was flying towards in the first place. Finally, She thought, her stomach rumbling. I'm hungry, and I have to hunt for the Clan before I do for myself. Her wings automatically aligned themselves as she dived in a spiral towards the speck of land below her. Her blindingly white fur was ruffeled in the wind as she grew nearer to the island. StarClan decided to test her skills as she dove for land and sent a vicous downdraft that shook her course and buffeted the small cat.

Clumsily, she landed in the shallow ocean on the other side of the forest. "Mousedung!", she yowled for the world to hear, spitting at the storm as she drug her wretched, drenched body out of the ocean as water swirled around her paws and dripped from her underbelly. She stumbled around the beach, finally making her way to a clump of grass
sitting down next to it, the thorns poking her back. She licked her paw, then swiped it over her head, quickly drying her ear. Jaggedice's hard work payed off as soon she was mostly dry and she looked around at her surroundings.

She had visited this island before, but never the southern side of it. The trees and bushes varied differant kinds and colors than the northern side she was used to. She had never bothered to learn the names, as she was in CliffClan and it didn't seem like something she should know. "How do WaveClan cats stand water?" She asked out loud. Little did she know that an unexpected --and unwanted-- companion might answer.

Word count: 402
Muse: Interesting, so far.
Comments; Sorry guys! I've had writers block for a week now. :/ Also, the center code isn't working on my computer.

[{Seal}]

As Splashedfur stumbled through the thick underbrush, the rain began to grow lighter and lighter. Before long, only a slight drizzle remained of the heavy downpour, although the sky was still blocked by thick, dark clouds and the wind still bent the palms to its whim. Newleaf storms were often like this, the old warrior knew--strong one second, easing up the next. Now would be the time a wise cat would make the swim back to the beaches of WaveClan, but Splashedfur had never pretended to be wise. He had just arrived, and a little let-up in the weather wasn't about to make him leave. But still, it didn't hurt to catch a fish or two while the rain was taking a break (although the lightning lighting up the sky as frequently as ever).

Splashedfur broke free from the ferns and stepped out onto the wet sand of the island's small beach with a sigh of relief--he was not a fan of vegetation. He frolicked (yes, an old cat can frolic) down to the water's edge and flung himself into the stormy gray waters with a kit-like mewl of joy. And then he set to work doing the thing he was best at--fishing.

Within a few minutes three small fish lay in a heap on the sandy beach, their lives ended by Splashedfur's claws. Splashedfur's blue-gray head was bobbing up and down on the waves as he searched for one final fish when something big hit the water a few fox-lengths away, sending droplets of salty seawater flying in all directions. Startled, Splashedfur (never a particularly brave cat) ducked under the surface of the water and stayed there for a few minutes as he waited for whatever it was to leave. He had no question as to whether it was a fish or not--any fish big enough to make that kind of splash wouldn't be in such shallow water.

Finally, as Splashedfur's lungs burned for air, he popped his head back above water and took a deep breath--or would have, but he saw something that surprised him so much that he inhaled a mouthful of the ocean and spent the next several seconds choking on saltwater. For the the thing that had struck the water with such force was the last thing he had expected--a CliffClan cat!

The white and brown she-cat looked pretty bedraggled as she plopped down further up the beach and began to groom herself. Splashedfur tilted his head to one side, paws churning strongly as he fought the undertow trying to drag him further out to sea, and watched her. What was she grooming for? Sure, the rain had let up for now, but it was no doubt about to start pouring once more. Young she-cats are ridiculous, he decided with an amused snort before propelling himself toward the beach. This time his landing was not nearly so ungraceful--he rode a wave in and gently touched down in water just a mouse-length deep. After giving his body a quick shake, Splashedfur trotted toward the CliffClanner, head and tail high.

"How do WaveClan cats stand water?"

"Oh, we don't," Splashedfur mewed cheerfully, coming right up behind Jaggedice and plopping himself on the ground. "It's all a myth, didn't you know? We hate water." He was teasing, of course, and had conveniently forgotten that other Clan cats didn't enjoy teasing as much as WaveClanners did. "I think the real question here is how you CliffClan cats stand heights. Absolutely terrifying." As comfortable as if he were in his own camp, Slashedfur ran his tongue over a forepaw and brushed it over his ears to clean the salty water off.

Word Count; 605
Muse; dead. Took the AP Chem exam today
Comments; that was a lovely post! You don't look like you have writer's block ^.^
Tags; Jaggedice! And any one else who would like to join ^.^

[Fawn]

The rain had lightened, and the thunder had stopped shaking the sky with it's powerful roar. Good, now my wings won't get wet. Jaggedice said this silently and bitterly as she licked her paw and drawed it over her ear, looking over the sharp waves as she pondered about WaveClan cats. Her stare cut through the waves, but she didn't notice that they were. Suddenly she saw something that looked like it wasn't part of the ocean. What is that thing?! She thought, then continued to freak out as she realized it was a cat-- A WaveClan cat. Oh how she hated water, and the thought of a cat spending most of their time in the ocean was appauling. She shook her doubts away as the tom cat landed gracefully-- Unlike herself-- on the beach and walked briskly towards her, looking relaxed. He had apparently heard the question she accidentily said out-loud while wondering.

He mewed cheerfully, not worried at all about the young cat infront of him. "Oh, we don't," His eyes were twinkling, as if he was kidding. To Jaggedice, the joke didn't make any sense. She stared at him blankly as the cat continued. "It's all a myth, didn't you know? We hate water."

[/b] He said this the same way, then seemed to realize that she didn't understand as she rolled her eyes and flicked her tail in annoyance. He seemed as if he thought he owned everything in eyesight.

Oh great. Another cocky WaveClan cat. typical. Her paitence was almost spent as the rain decided she was too dry and started to crash down on the two cats. She shifted position to where her wings were streched out above her shoulders, sheilding her head from the water. " Oh yes, very well. It would seem you do hate water since you WaveClan cats spend all of every day of every moon swimming and catching those foul-smelling fish." She said this like a WaveClan cat would, and was aware of it. Oh well, he may realize how annoying it is when people tease you. She flicked her ear as a drop of freezing cold water landed on it. "It's cold." The she-cat noticed with a shiver, shrinking back into the shelter of the trees as her wings started to do nothing to sheild her from the storm overhead.[/size][/justify]

Word count: 438
Muse: unenthusiastic. I had three projects to finish and in the middle I decided to finish this post.
Comments: Thanks Seal! ^.^ Your post was good too.

[{Seal}]

Unsurprisingly, the she-cat looked rather taken aback by his tone, and Splashedfur's whiskers twitched in amusement; he seemed to have that effect on any cats outside of WaveClan. Why this should be he had no idea, but he rather enjoyed the startled looks he received. When Jaggedice responded in a pretty decent attempt at a teasing tone, the old warrior's ears perked up and his eyes brightened excitedly. Now, at last, he had found a WaveClan-like speaker! He did not realize, of course, that Jaggedice was only speaking to him that way to annoy him; he did not know that CliffClan cats rarely spoke in such a manner.

"Oh, but you see, we usually just fall in the water," he went on, tail flicking in the direction of the sea. "We don't actually get in on our own. And the fish, well, they like to jump into our mouths. Kind of annoying, actually, if you ask me. I'd much rather be chasing pigeons around." His eyes rested on the she-cat's wings at the last, his nose wrinkling ever so slightly at the very idea of holding something so bulky and inconvenient upon his back. Feathers belonged to birds. But webbed paws, well, they were natural.

"It's cold."

[/i] The moment the she-cat made the comment, Splashedfur realized that it really was. Even his thick gray fur, sleek from his fishy diet and made for keeping out cold water, was not enough to keep the chill from creeping to his skin. Shivering slightly, he motioned for the she-cat to follow him further into the forest, beneath the shelter of the broad-leafed palm trees.

When they were relatively protected from the rain, the blue-gray tomcat settled himself on the ground and mewed amiably, "So, what brings you here? Rather dangerous flying in this weather, isn't it? Haven't you ever seen a seagull struck by lightning?" Of course, Splashedfur had never seen a seagull struck by lightning either, but it was fun to pretend he had and fix the CliffClan she-cat with an exaggeratedly serious stare.

[/blockquote][/size]

[Fawn]

"Oh, but you see, we usually just fall in the water. We don't actually get in on our own. And the fish, well, they like to jump into our mouths. Kind of annoying, actually, if you ask me. I'd much rather be chasing pigeons around." He flicked his tail towards the ocean as he said this, and it sounded so matter-of-factly that Jaggedice couldn't bear but smile at the ridiculous comment.

She looked around to see where Splashedfur was pointing for her to follow. She spotted the small patch of protected sand covered by palm trees. Her paws trotted after him, but her mind thought she might hjust stay where she was. She decided to follow him, as he seemed friendly enough.

On the way there, Jaggedice couldn't help but notice Splashedfur's paws. They're absolutly giant, She thought, Made for a bear. She looked over her back, staring at her own blessing. Then elagant white wings were soaked to the bone, and she absent-mindedly pressed them close to her back. I wonder how WaveClan cat's walk with those things, they look like you would be clumsy using those paws.

She shook this thought away, then said as an answer to his comment, "Oh, I dread the day fish let cats catch them. Then maybe birds will sleep in cat nests. hah!" She snorted, then plopped down on the sand next to Splashedfur, as the two cats had come to the strip of sand.

Splashedfur gave her a side-ways glance, then continued. "So, what brings you here? Rather dangerous flying in this weather, isn't it? Haven't you ever seen a seagull struck by lightning?" The sound of his voice echoed in her head. Why am I here? I don't know. An impulse, I guess. She squinted her eyes, trying to remember. " I'm not sure why. It was just an impulse, I guess. And a seagull? struck by lightening? Never."

[{Seal}]

What a remarkable turn of events! Splashedfur could not suppress as light purr of amusement to hear the CliffClan warrior teasing him back and meaning to. Satisfied, he twitched his whiskers and tucked his large, webbed paws beneath his chest as his stormy gray eyes gazed out at the powerful waves breaking against the beach, and throwing white spray into the sky.

It was hard to tell if she believed him or not about the seagull. Shooting her a mischievous, sideways glance, the gray tom said with as much seriousness as he could muster, "Oh, yes, it was rather dreadful. The poor thing was flapping pitifully in the stormy sky, and a bolt of lightning shot right through him. It lit his feathers on fire!" he forced some amazement into his tone, as if he were reliving the moment in his memory. "It fell right onto the beach, and we all crowded around it. An apprentice decided he might try and see if it was good to eat. It was fantastic! We all tried a bite and realized that lightning-struck birds are delicious. Best meal I've ever tasted." He gave a deep, nostalgic sigh, tail shifting across the wet ground as he tried to read Jaggedice's expression. "I suppose lightning-struck winged cat would taste good, too, but I've never tried it myself."

[Fawn]

"Oh, yes, it was rather dreadful. The poor thing was flapping pitifully in the stormy sky, and a bolt of lightning shot right through him. It lit his feathers on fire!" His voice was full of amazement, but Jaggedice still didn't belive him. "It fell right onto the beach, and we all crowded around it. An apprentice decided he might try and see if it was good to eat. It was fantastic! We all tried a bite and realized that lightning-struck birds are delicious. Best meal I've ever tasted. I suppose lightning-struck winged cat would taste good, too, but I've never tried it myself."

Jaggedice stared at him in horror, started being a CliffClan cat again, and took him seriously. Her stood up as soon as her sore paws could get her up, then ran far into the forest. She looked around, and quickly found a tall tree that seemed like it would be a good place to rest before she went back to her clan. "Too bad I didn't get to hunt," She muttered as her claws dug deeply into the stiff trunk and hauled herself up onto one of the higher-up branches. She sat down carefully, taking caution not to lose her ballance, and sighed. Still not remembering why she had even came there that dreadful, stormy day, she looked around, her wings catching the steel breeze and she felt like leaving the island that moment. Her mind however, protested. First, she wanted to figure out why she was here. Second, she wanted to do what she was here for. Third, her wings were soaking wet and wouldn't stay in the air long, though she could usually could fly in rough conditions. She could see the long beach, with the confused tom cat she had abandoned sitting down where he was before she had left. she could see the violent sea, tossing and turning with grey foam on the surface. Finally, she stared at the sky above her, hoping she could get to it soon. A huge clap of thunder scored the quiet harshness of the island and a strike of lightning shot down near the beach. Her mind churned as wildly as the waves while trying to figure out why she had come here. her earlier words echoed in her head. Just an impulse, I guess.

[{Seal}]

The fun was over, it looked like. Splashedfur gazed after the she-cat in bewilderment; it appeared he had taken his little joke far too far, and the teasing capacity of this CliffClanner had exploded. "My bad," he mewed to himself, rising to his huge paws and padding clumsily after her. Ferns parted around him as he stumbled through the forest, ears pricked forward as he listened for a sign of her. Not only was it not wise to leave this cat with the wrong idea--imagine a war starting between WaveClan and CliffClan because Jaggedice thought Splashedfur had threatened her!--but he was also curious to see just how long he could converse with her before he got a scratch across the muzzle to bring home with him.

Splashedfur came to a stop just beneath the tree Jaggedice was hiding in, though it did not occur to him to look up. Why would a WaveClanner ever look up? He was always looking down; down into the depths of the ocean; down at his big, webbed paws. "Well, Jaggedice," he mewed into the afternoon, sniffing the damp air in an attempt to discover her scent, "I wasn't really going to eat you, you know! I'm harmless, really. A harmless old, clumsy WaveClanner!"

((I know that sucked, sorry! I had to get something out there so you could reply ^.^ Sorry it took so long!))

[Fawn]

Jaggedice sat silently in the tree, as still as stone, with her ears perked to try and hear any sign that the tom was coming. She tried to breath as quiet as possible, but after running, she was tired and was breathing laborily. Her tail tried to twitch, but she stopped it because she was not in the mood. Suddenly, she heard Splashedfur come through the ferns quiet clumsily, and emerge in the small clearing where her hiding-tree was located. she stiffened, and tried to be as un-moving as possible. He walked in, seeming to search for her, looking around puzzled.

He apparently had seen caught her scent, but didn't realize she was in a tree. He past her hiding spot, a couple of times. Then he called out to her, but in the completly wrong direction. "Well, Jaggedice, I wasn't really going to eat you, you know! I'm harmless, really. A harmless old, clumsy WaveClanner!" she smiled, and let out a mrrow when he said this. She knew, now, at least, that he wouldn't harm her. before that, well, she couldn't have
been sure at all. "Well, Splashedfur, did you know that I don't like to be teased that much? That's because I take things seriously as some of those 'grouchy old CliffClanners' do." She then jumped gracefully out of the tree, and sat down quickly and put her tail over her paws, grooming her fur.


(( It wasn't that bad! And mine was worse, I have alot of homework to do tonight. Oh well, I think it's long enough ^.^))

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