&& when the rain falls. open

[l y r i c !]

¬ Dark clouds, stained with the blood of the sun, lolled across the morning sky. The glow of light turned the dark gray clouds crimson. The sun was still rising, and only just visible over the treetops as the clouds loomed stealthily closer. It appeared today was going to be another one of those stormy days. The crimson sky made a bad feeling settle across the forest. A cold wind was pushing through the bramble screen of the warriors den, making her black fur bristle against the breeze. Warily, she raised her head, blinking in the predawn light. She could faintly see the sunlight through the gaps of the bramble roof of the warriors den. She closed her eyes, wrapping her tail over her nose and tried to fall back asleep. Annoyance prickled her spine when she just lay, blinking in the darkness and trying not to fidget and wake the warriors still sleeping around her. With a quiet sigh of resignation, she heaved herself to her paws. She was never a morning warrior. She could stay up all night if she had to, but getting up early in the morning never made her happy. Carefully, she picked her way around the bodies sleeping in the moss nests around her, and pushed her way through the bramble screen of the warriors den.

As she emerged from the den, she blinked in the sunlight reflecting around her, and squinted as it burned her eyes. When they adjusted she saw the blood-stained clouds in the sky, gleaming red because of the sun. She decided to skip her morning wash. What's the point of washing yourself when you're just going to get snowed on anyways? She thought, twitching her whiskers as she tasted the water, thick in the air. Today was chillier than most days. The wind was cold and blowing consequently, and there was almost no warmth in the air despite the sun rising slowly above the treetops. Another day come and gone, she thought, crouching down with her fur bristling beside the warriors den, hoping to shelter from the wind. Her mind flickered faintly to yesterday's half-warm day. It was warmer than most days in leaf-bare, but did nothing to melt the snow that was burning her paw pads. She gazed down at the frost speckled beneath her paws. It seemed to tear at her feet, but never in her seasons as a warrior did it cut her paw pads. This leaf-bare seemed better than most, but it was only the beginning. Her breath came in rapidly, and fog exploded from her muzzle with each exhale.

It'll be good once we get out hunting and patrolling, she thought, hoping the dawn patrol would be getting up soon. I want to go with them. Her paws itched to be outside, warming up as she ran through the trees. The ground around her grew dark, and as she looked up at the crimson clouds, she saw they were no longer red, but dark gray. They have covered the sun. As she watched, she felt tiny pieces of ice and snow clinging to her pelt. Sighing, she shook her fur and tried to dislodge the clinging snowflakes. Mouse-dung! she thought. Now all the prey will be hiding in their burrows, the snow was steadily falling more thickly, in bigger clumps and covering the ground faster. The ice below was beginning to disappear beneath a new layer of beautiful white snow. Beautiful, but useless. Utterly useless. All snow brings is cold and hunger to everyone, she thought. She had never liked Leaf-Bare, obviously. Not many clan cats liked the season in which they starved for moons and were always cold because there was no place they could find warmth in. The temperates always clawed their way through everything.

She glanced towards the nursery. Hopefully there won't be any kits born this Leaf-Bare. We don't want kits starving or dying from the cold, she thought. Singedpelt shuddered as she imagined tiny little bodies, starving. Closing her eyes, she pushed the thought out of her mind. As much as she wanted her own kits, she would never have any in Leaf-Bare. That would be too cruel. No kit was strong enough to cope with such cold weather. Sighing, the jet black she-cat rose to her paws and began to pace around the clearing, trying to get her blood pulsing and muscles moving. She wished she could get warm, but even in the warriors den, the wind was obviously pushing right through the walls. She blinked as snowflakes drifted into her eyes, and when she looked behind her, she saw her paw prints already covered up by the fresh snow. It looked as though this storm was going to be one of those blizzards. Great. Just what we need, she thought. Her whiskers twitched. Wishing it was Green-Leaf, she continued to pad around the camp, shivering and waiting for other cats to wake up and see the great day.

[Elkheart]

the battle is not always won by the strong

Elkstar twitched in her nest and curled up tighter. She then thought better of it and decided to get up and go on the dawn patrol. She stretched out her muscles and walked out of her den, thankful for her long coat. It kept her warm all Leafbare but made her hot in Greenleaf. It got tangled easily but it warmed her up and she hated being cold.

The leader looked up to see one of her warriors pacing around, probably trying to keep warm. It was Singedpelt, she was surprised that she was up so early, because she normally slept later. Padding over to her she said
"Want to go on the dawn patrol with me?" She dug her claws into the ground as a ice cold breeze swept passed her. She wondered how Singedpelt could stand all of this when she didn't have long fur. When she thought about it, most of her clan didn't have long pelts. She felt sympathetic towards them, they went on patrols and froze their whiskers off for their clan. She then began to think of the other cats that should go on patrol with them. Then something hit her nose, an icy raindrop.
"We should probably move the fresh-kill pile to somewhere warmer to," she said half to herself.

[{Otter}]

Sometimes thick fur could be a real pain in the tail...but not now. Leafbare was falling fast and the first snowfall was no doubt already on its way. An icy wind shifted the thick ginger fur of the she-cat as she emerged from the warrior's den. She shivered slightly and withdrew into the warm den. Several minutes were spent in taming her thick pelt, flattening any rowdy fur and picking pieces of moss and feathers off her belly.

Yes, yes, there was much to be done. Vixenfang gave her chest one last, quick lick before she rose, fluffed up her fur, and ventured out into the cold morning. The sun was already rising, the last rays of crimson receding from the eastern horizon. She gave the cold air a quick sniff, and no dangerous scent reached her nostrils. All was well for now.

Dawn patrol. She had been deputy for eight moons now, but Vixenfang still sometimes forgot her duties. The cold breeze shifted, bringing to her the scent of Elkstar and Singedpelt. Vixenfang's deep amber eyes swept the clearing until she found the two, and at once the small, scrawny she-cat padded closer. "Morning, Elkstar," she mewed, dipping her head in respect to her leader. "Singedpelt," she added, nodding to the she-warrior. A drop of freezing water landed on her ear, and Vixenfang flicked her head in annoyance. Great, rain. She hated rain. Especially cold rain. Another drop landed on her forehead, then her paw, and she rolled her eyes and decided not to worry about it. Her fur could be cleaned later.

"Were you two going to go on the dawn patrol?" she asked in as positive a voice as she could muster. When talking to just warriors, Vixenfang was perfectly fine with telling them what to do and what patrol to go on. However, when Elkstar was in the mix, she just wasn't quite sure what to do...old habits died hard, and she couldn't help but refer back to her leader.

[l y r i c !]

Singedpelt halted her pacing as a cat emerged into the clearing. Her eyes fell upon Elkstar, the clan leader, emerging from her den. As the warrior padded from her den, Singedpelt dipped her head respectfully to her leader, and waited for her to speak. The dawn patrol? of course i do! she thought, beginning to knead the ground with her freezing forepaws. At the leader's next words she glanced towards the prey pile at the other end of the clearing. She understood what Elkstar meant. It was in the center of the clearing with no tree branches to try and protect it from the rain, sleet, and snow. The fur of the remaining fresh-kill was beginning to get soggy, and sleet was clinging to the fur of the creatures in the pile. No one likes soggy fresh-kill, she thought to herself. Especially when it's have frozen anyways and doesn't have any taste, she frowned. The taste of frozen food was disgusting. It tasted of splintered wood, and didn't fill anyone's belly. Blinking, she turned her gaze back on her leader. "Why don't we move it closer to the warrior's den? The branches are thicker there, and the ground slopes upwards so the ground-water will be harder to get to it," she suggested, blinking towards the bushes.

Another cat interrupted her, and she turned her attention towards Vixenfang, her deputy. She dipped her head respectfully once more. Although early in the morning she found herself cranky around other cats, she had enough common sense to know being rude around the clan leader and deputy wasn't going to help any cat. Yet she felt a prickle of concern about being out in the forest with the two greatest cats in the clan. What if she made a fool of herself? She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her leader and deputy. Pushing the thought from her mind, she blinked calmly at Vixenfang. "Yes," she answered the question. "We also have to move the fresh-kill pile out of the rain," she added, wondering if the she-cat had heard anything from her former conversation. As she spoke, the sleet began to pound down harder, freezing her black fur into clumps. Pelting against her eyes, she squinted , trying to see through the torrents of ice pelting from a now light gray sky. In leaf-bare, storm clouds turned to a light gray, and even a white color when it snowed and sleeted. In leaf-bare, the clouds remained dark gray and black as it poured floods of snow onto the ground awaiting below.

The wind was blowing even harder, which made her fur bristle. For a heart-beat she was ready to just forget the prey and go out hunting in order to flee into the trees that would hopefully protect her from the storm and wind. What's the point of leaf-bare? she thought, annoyed with how cold she felt. And if leaf-bare isn't bad enough, it brings sickness along with it, she thought. Her nose already began to itch, and she had the urge to sneeze. Closing her mouth, she breathed in slowly to prevent herself from sneezing. Ice was making her whiskers freeze. Shivering, she wrapped her tail tightly around her paws, bristling against the cold. "Should we wait for any more cats?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Or can we just head out now?" She secretly hoped they would head out now, but she didn't give any sign of it rather than shivering her fur off. Let's go. Let's go! She repeated over in her head. Too bad they can't read minds. She kneaded the ground with her paws again, trying to warm them up and waited for an answer.

[Elkheart]

Elkstar

Elkstar nodded to her deputy and said "Get some Warriors to move the fresh-kill pile under some coverage. Singedpelt suggested near the Warrior's den." She glanced at Singedpelt and hoped she liked the way she gave her credit. With a flick of her tail she started to pad out of camp.

She fluffed up her fur and once again thanked Starclan for it. The rain was starting to fall faster, Elkstar could tell they didn't have much time left until it starting snowing. She started to pick up her paws more and march to the pulse of the rain. Remembering she wasn't by herself she looked back to make sure Singedpelt was following. She slowed down a little because her pace was getting off beat.
"Lets catch some prey while we're out," she suggested and breathed in the dry air. When it hit her lungs she had to cough to push away the uncomfortable feeling it gave her. But, under all of the rain, she detected the mouth-watering aroma of bird. She could tell it was blackbird. Scanning the forest she spotted it digging through the hard earth near a tree root. She crouched into the hunter's position and crept forward until it was in leaping distance. Then she sprang forward and stretched out her claws. She landed right behind it with her claws tearing down its neck. It didn't even have time to let out an alarm call. She prayed a quick thank you to Starclan then covered it in the few leaves she could find in between two tree roots. She then began to pick her way towards Sunningrocks, trying to find cover with every step.

[{Otter}]

((I'm gonna repost this in a new thread so that you guys can have your own ))

"Get some Warriors to move the fresh-kill pile under some coverage. Singedpelt suggested near the Warrior's den."

"Good idea," Vixenfang mewed, her eyes drifting to Singedpelt as she dipped her head to the she-warrior. "The freshkill should be pretty dry over there, and if any enemy is drawn to the camp because of its smell, they'll walk right into the warriors' clutches." It wasn't likely that any fox or raccoon would be coming into the camp to take the freshkill, but you never knew...especially when half the prey had been drowned by the rain.

Ginger head dipped in response to her leader's command, and Vixenfang's deep amber eyes watched the two cats tread out of the camp. The rain continued to fall, the fat, icy drops drenching her to the bone until she shivered slightly with cold. But rain couldn't stop the Clan from doing their duties, and it was time to awaken the cats who were still sleeping, warm and cozy, in the warriors den.

Mud squished beneath every pawstep as the scrawny ginger she-cat made her way back to the den. With one glance inside, Vixenfang's mind drifted to the wonderful idea of sleep...sleeping warm, dry, and comfortable beside her Clanmates. The thick leaves of the bush would stop most of the rain, though even the warriors den was not safe from all wetness.

Eyes hardened and Vixenfang shook her head roughly. Enough of that. She was the deputy now, and there was work to be done. Poking her head inside the dim den, she studied the steadily rising and falling of warriors' flanks as they no doubt lost themselves in all kinds of interesting dreams. Well, they were about to get a wakeup call. Literally.

[l y r i c !]

Singedpelt's gaze flicked back to her leader when the she-cat spoke. Dipping her head, she acknowledged that she understood Elkstar's way of giving her credit for the idea, although she really didn't feel that proud because it seemed a bit too obvious she felt as though her comment was unneeded. Her tail flicked calmly as she nodded a goodbye to Vixenfang before she began to follow her leader into the forest. The ground felt soft and squelchy beneath her paws, and made an uncomfortable feeling prickle on her belly where the fur touched the wet earth, and her paws. As she padded under the trees, most the of the sleet no longer met her pelt, which made her feel a bit better. But any drop of precipitation that hit her fur was still freezing and made shivers run down her spine. Prey. Yes, hunting will help us warm up, she thought, approving Elkstar's decision with a flick of her whiskers and an unvoiced thought. When her leader paused, dropping into a crouch, she immediately fell into a quiet crouch of submission, backing away so her paws wouldn't make any sound on the ground as she waited for the she-cat to make her catch. When the black-bird was brought down, she was surprised that she hadn't even noticed it. Then she felt her nose, stuffy from the cold, and shook her head trying to clear ice from the tip of her muzzle.

We're hunting around SunningRocks, she thought. Her eyes narrowed. Was that something pecking its way through the roots just up ahead? Her heart began to quicken with excitement. She wanted to bring home prey for her clan. She could see it's brown fur against the ferns, and recognized it as a mouse. Scrawny, but still a mouse and enough to feed at least one clan mate. Her eyes narrowed as she dropped into a crouch, muscles tense, tail out just above the ground. Say good-bye, little mouse. It's time for your life to be sacrificed for the good of ThunderClan, she thought, feeling a pang. Did the mouse really want to be killed just to feed an animal it never even knew? She pushed the thought away, focusing on her task. Stop being a fox-heart! She told herself sternly. Her stalking brought her close enough to see it's paws on the icy ground, nibbling on a tiny seed. Luck must have paid it's part, bringing that food to lure the mouse from it's hole. Tensing her muscles, she sprang, landing on its neck and snapped it immediately. The mouse had no time to squeal or struggle before it lay limp beneath her forepaw. Feeling a bit of warmth returning to her body, she trotted through the ferns and buried it near Elkstar's catch. She wanted to catch more than a scrawny mouse, but because it was nearing leaf-bare, she knew if she was unable to catch anything else, no one would say anything bad to her seeing as it was always hard to catch anything during this season. She padded towards the rocks by the RiverClan border, hoping to find something there. She made sure to stay out of the direct path of Elkstar in case her leader was stalking another creature.