{OPEN} lost and found

[NIGHTPELT]

[atrb=width,447,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][bg=000000] It was a chilling morning, just as it had been for the past three moons. The camp was covered with a new layer of soft snow, something kits may find enjoyment in playing with. But, for most others, it wasn't particularly a welcoming thing. The snows of leaf-bare meant that food was in less abundance and that was never a good thing for the clan. Then, whatever fresh-kill could be brought back for the others were thin and stringy. It wasn't something any Clancat was thrilled about, but, as always, they would brave the frosty moons until new-leaf came. Unfortunately, a black-pelted she-cat had no time to think too much on such things. Residing in the split rock of the camp, the dark shadow inside scampered from one side to the others, her quiet mutters barely audible. Her tail flicked faintly with irritation as she continued with her silent rantings, clearly unhappy with some matter or another. "Oh, come no. Surely I couldn't be out of dock leaves already.", she muttered to herself, her attitude clearly giving the answer to anyone who could possibly be watching. Nightpelt had been sure she still had some left no more than a few days ago, and, from what she could recall, she hadn't used any more since then. Growling with frustration as she finally stilled her paw steps, the she-cat let out a loud huff. Her ears twitched above her head as she continued to think, trying desperately to remember where she had put the leaves. "I know I didn't use them all,", she whispered quietly to no one in particular. "They have to be here somewhere." Sighing softly as she closed her yellow eyes, she hesitantly sat herself down, her tail wrapping around her paws as she thought. Her ears continued to twitch as she searched through her memories, knowing that she had to find the leaves. During the time of leaf-bare, many cats, especially the elders, had problems with sore paw pads as the dampness of the snow could make them cracked. As she became lost in her memories of the past few days, she failed to notice the figure who had stepped inside. Even if she had, Nightpelt would have paid little attention to them as her eyes snapped open, a faint smile sliding over her muzzle as she quickly stood once more. Purring softly with satisfaction, she was more than happy to find that the dock leaves were more or less right where she had left them a few days prior. They had in fact fallen from their place and mixed with the beech leaves that she had recently collected. Still oblivious to the feline behind her, she quickly stooped down to pick up the leaves she had spent so much time looking for.

[/size][/color]
[/td][/tr][/table]
[/center]

[Deleted]

[style=background-image:url(http://i47.tinypic.com/fxxxdl.jpg); width:460px; height:466px;][style=height:65px;][/style][newclass=middleimage]width: 352px; height: 360px; overflow:auto; font-family: georgia; font-size: 9.5px; color: 87645b; background-color: 1a0803; text-align: justify; padding: 10px; line-height: 105%; -moz-transition: all 1.0s ease-in-out; -webkit-transition: all 1.0s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 1.0s ease-in-out; opacity: 0.0;[/newclass][newclass=middleimage:hover]width: 352px; height: 360px; padding: 10px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 9.5px; overflow:auto; line-height: 105%; color: 87645b; background-color: 1a0803; opacity: 0.9;[/newclass][style=width: 372px; height: 380px; background-image: url(http://i47.tinypic.com/fd7ol1.jpg);][classy=middleimage]needle sharp claws dug deeply into the sticky and dry moss bedding, rolling it deftly into a neat little ball that would be easy to carry out and dispose of. granted, it didn't make as neat a ball fresh moss did, and fresh moss most definitely smelled better than mouse bile, but he did the best he could given the circumstances. earlier, a young freshly minted apprentice come into the elder's den to tend to heatherfoot, a old battle-scarred she-cat with achy joints and a missing paw that had quite a story behind it... although every time hawkpaw was around to hear it, some of the details had changed, like the time of day it had been, the place, and what had lobbed the paw off in the first place, but oh well. the apprentice had come in with an attitude, and while heatherfoot tried to be civil, and even offered to make it worth the apprentice's while with a story, one thing had led to another and poor heatherfoot had ended up with a good bit of her fur and part of her nest soaked in mouse bile... not a fun day for heatherfoot in the least. what made the icing on the cake though was that the young apprentice had rushed off in a frenzied hurry, leaving the crippled elder to wail pitifully, barely able to move out of her nest thanks to her joints. in moments, hawkpaw had raced into the elder's den, and after hearing the story had dedicated himself to fixing what his fellow apprentice had mucked up. it had been fairly early at the time, and hawkpaw had been one of the first up, intending to do some solo hunting for the clan before meeting redberry for training, but the incident had erased all his plans. there were others out hunting anyway, and hawkpaw was the only one who had answered heatherfoot's wails. the elder would come first, then he'd be left to his own devices to do what else he needed to do. first thing he did was calm the elder down, talking calmly and gently as he helped her to stand to her three remaining paws, allowing her to use him as a crunch as he led her over to a bare area of the den. first things first - he had to get the bile off of her fur.

thanks to her joints and her lameness, heatherfoot wouldn't be able to walk far enough to the nearest waterhole in order to wash her fur out, and with the snow outside it was probably frozen anyway, so hawkpaw did what he had to: he slowly and meticulously began to lick the bile from her fur, forcefully fighting back his gag reflex as he made sure there was no bile left on the elder she-cat. it had taken a while, but he finally managed to clean her completely, and then he turned his attention to her nest. he left then, heading into the forest to seek out fresh moss, and after making a short side trip to quickly wash out his mouth from any remaining bile before returning with the clean fresh moss, he made a comfortable nest for heatherfoot to lay in, helping her once more until she was able to lay down in it, a fresh clump of moss with cold water and a songbird sitting nearby for her to eat and drink from. that then brought him to now, the final step; cleaning out the bile soaked moss. it had taken a good while out of his day to complete all of it, and he would be having the taste of bile in his mouth for who knew how many days, yet he'd not given a single complaint and had been kind to the slighted elder the entire time. and yet... 'i still say we shouldn't have let him in here, you know what cherrysong says about that apprentice.'

[/color] a particularly cranky and superstitious elder tom whispered nearby, just loud enough for hawkpaw's ears to pick up, but if he did hear, he made no indication that he did, his ears not even twitching at the name of the she-cat mentor who had abandoned and betrayed him. the elder kept the whispering up for a few moments longer before a snarl pierced the air, and a vicious glare narrowed in on the snide tom. 'how dare you.' another elder hissed loudly, her tail lashing behind her as she kept her denmate fixed in her glare. 'you don't know fresh-kill from foxdung if you believe what cherrysong of all cats says. that she-cat abandoned her clanmate and apprentice, yet hawkpaw here just cleaned mouse bile off of his with his tongue instead of going to get cold water that would've only caused her pain.'[/i] the kindly elder then moved over to where hawkpaw was standing, placing her paw down in front of him to stop him from attempting to pick up one of the bile coated moss balls.

green eyes lifted up to stare at the she-cat in curiosity, his maw opening to ask why she was stopping him, but all she did was shake her head in refusal. 'that apprentice can get his tail back here and clean this up with his mouth. you've done more than enough.'[/color] she mewed, gesturing calmly towards the now comfortably sleeping heatherfoot before flicking her tail towards the exit, casting a glance at his paws as she did so. 'your paws must be sore right now, and i can see you've got an injured claw. dug the fresh moss from in between rocks did you? go see nightpelt right now.'[/i] indeed, it had been the only place to get fresh moss from at this time, in between the small crevices of rocks and trees, and he'd ended up hurting his paws in doing it, but ignored them in favor of caring for heatherfoot... he'd hoped no one would notice. raising his head up to stare at the elder, he opened his maw for a moment in an attempt to protest, but the glare that the older cat gave him in return had him shutting it before he could speak. sparing a concerned glance back towards heatherfoot, he thought for a moment, wondering if he needed to do anything more, but again the elder she-cat brought his attention away. 'she'll be fine, let her sleep - you go see nightpelt before i drag you there myself. i'm certain she'll have something for that mouse bile taste in your mouth too.'[/i] even with the threat and the promise of relief from the taste on his tongue, hawkpaw hesitated to leave, but finally nodded in consent and began walking back out of the den, hesitating just once at the entrance... just encase. by now, the day was beginning to get into full swing, warriors and apprentices alike bustling away. a whimper escaped the young small tom as he placed weight on his broken claw, the snow doing nothing for his sore pads as he walked towards nightpelt's den. part of him wondered if he should just head back to the apprentice's den and rest until the nasty taste of mouse bile faded and his paws eased off, that way he wouldn't have to bother nightpelt, but something told him that the elder would probably tell his brothers about it and he'd rather not have them telling him the same thing... besides, his claw was beginning to hurt really bad.

coming up to the rock face where nightpelt's den stood, the young tom limped slowly inside, his green eyes landing on the rather young medicine cat almost immediately in spite of the darkness. a small smile crossed his maw as he watched her, remembering some of the days when he and she used to play as kits while they shared the same den. now, she was the medicine cat of thunderclan, and he? well, he was still a lowly apprentice with an apparent curse upon him... he stood there for a moment longer, wondering whether he should or should not bother her, before he cleared his throat and spoke. 'nightpelt?'[/b] he mewed.[/classy][/style][/style][/center]

[NIGHTPELT]

[atrb=width,447,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][bg=000000] With a clump of dock leaves bunched in her mouth, the she-cat was sure she looked pretty silly as she jerked her head up at the sound of the voice. Ears pressed forward, her eyes were quick to light up a the sight of Hawkpaw. Giving a muffled greeting through the clump of leaves, Nightpelt quickly trotted over to a faint dip in her den where she placed the leaves down. She in fact had to take a moment, though, as many of the leaves actually stuck to her tongue, much to her dislike. Shaking her head faintly as she finally got the leaves out of her jaws, her smile quickly returned before she happily trotted up to him. "Hello, Hawkpaw," she purred in greeting, gently touching her nose to his own before resting back on her rump. "Is there something you need?" The she-cat's eyes quickly ran over her friend's form for any obvious signs of injury or illness. From what she could tell, his breathing seemed even and smooth, his eyes weren't watery or crusty and neither was his nose. She couldn't see any obvious cuts or injuries on the tom, but he had obviously come here for something. Unless...perhaps he wanted to visit her? Nightpelt took a moment to ponder that thought before deciding that such a reason wouldn't be a realistic one. Hardly anyone would come to visit her in her den unless they were in need of herbs or some kind of treatment. So, surely, the tom before her would be the same. It was a bit of a saddening thought, but the dark-furred medicine cat made sure not to linger on such things. It was her duty as a medicine cat to care for the others in the clan, not worry about her own personal business. But, of course, there would be times where she would miss being a younger she-cat when she would run around and play with the others or simply share tongues with her clan mates. Now, though, she would more often than not find herself in here, caring for the sick or injured, or going off to look for the herbs she needed to keep her clan members healthy and strong.

[/size][/color]
[/td][/tr][/table]
[/center]

[SILVERPAW]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0px,true][atrb=style, background-image: url(http://images2.layoutsparks.com/1/94182/the-ring-trees-dark.gif); width: 450px; -moz-border-radius: 20px 20px 20px 20px; border-radius: 20px 20px 20px 20px; border: 3px solid #000000; opacity: 0.9;][STYLE=font: 20 Norican; margin-top: 5px; color: #E5F9EE; margin-left: 90px; margin-right: 90px; margin-bottom: -30px; width: 350px;][/style] [classy=texty][STYLE=background-color: #; padding: 8px; opacity: 0.9; text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12px; color: #E5F9EE; height: 250px; width: 400px; margin-left: 20px;]it was never fun to have to clean out the elder den, even less fun to get rid of their ticks! every apprentice would dread the order from their mentor, telling them to clean out the elders because there was sure as hell going to be one grumpy elder with ticks, leaving one poor apprentice to get his paws covered in the sickly mouse bile. unfortunately today, silverpaw had been that poor apprentice. once he had went into the den, heatherfoot - the three-footed cat who told nothing but annoying stories of how her paw was cut away, changing it every time it was told - spotted him and called the apprentice over. silverpaw wasn't in a good mood today; his sleep the previous night had been bad and he wished badly to hurry and get back to it. this elder seemed to know as well, and instead of letting him off with the job she asked him to do the horrid task of cleaning ticks. ”must i?” he groaned, rolling his amber eyes before turning to stalk out the den. he grabbed the mouse bile from the medicine cat, letting her know just how much of an off mood he was in today, before returning to the elder den with a lash in his tail. he practically threw the stick of bile-soaked moss at heatherfoot, before roughly scraped through her fur, ignoring her whines to tell him to be gentler. like hell! she ruined his morning by having ticks, he'll ruin hers by clearing the ticks out his way. he was being careless with the bile, and it dripped onto the she-cat's pelt as well as her nest, but that didn't matter to silverpaw as long as the ticks were gone and he could finally leave. the old bat could clean herself up if it was really causing her so much distress. it did take a bit longer than the cat had hoped, but he had managed to successfully tackle the ticks before leaving the elder den without another word, leaving camp to get the first water hole he could find and wash his paws. ”nasty stuff,” he hissed before finally returning back to his camp and, more importantly, his nest for some well-deserved sleep. he could faintly hear heatherfoot's whining, and rolled his eyes before curling into a ball, tucking his muzzle underneath his paws. he lay like that for a good while, waiting for the clutches of sleep that didn't seem to want him any more. typical, he thought, growling lightly to himself before stretching his form out and laying on his back, eyes still closed as he expected sleep to return. a movement in the den disturbed him though, and the tomcat peeked open an eye just as hawkpaw walked past, heading for the elder den. silverpaw snorted in both amusement and contempt, with just that little touch of envy. he had it in his head that wildstar preferred him, or any other cat, to her own sons! she dumped silverpaw and his brother off to a foster mother like they were disposable, and he hated her for it. suck-up! he thought, directing it toward hawkpaw as if the cats could read each others' minds. still he watched, waiting for something good to possibly happen. elders were gossipers, and he had a feeling that maybe one would grass him in. yet it didn't look as though hawkpaw had any clue as to who caused the mess in the elder den as he padded out with the ruined nest. it didn't look like he was collecting any water to wash heatherfoot though; perhaps he decided she could lick it off like silverpaw thought? after a good while of watching the elder den entrance, silverpaw got bored and rolled back onto his belly, accidentally rolling off his nest and into the den wall. ”ouch!” he hissed quietly, shuffling back into his nest and turning to rasp his tongue along his flank. a twig had poked him there, and it had hurt too! luckily it didn't look cut, so he wouldn't have to go see the medicine cat again. he had a feeling she'd want to ask how cleaning out the elders went, and he didn't feel like talking much. although as he returned his attention to the elder den and away from his side, silverpaw noted hawkpaw leaving the elder den again. a few warriors and almost all the apprentices - par himself - were out in the camp, be it talking or organizing patrols. silverpaw momentarily watched the deputy as he organised a hunting patrol, longing to go along before deciding he'd get the next one. the silver tomcat was surprised that no cat had came in to make him do something, and let him rest in the den like some elder.finally giving me a day off? he thought with a chuckle, once again watching hawkpaw as he made his way to the medicine den. uh oh! if he asks about the mouse bile, nightpelt will surely tell him it was me, he thought, narrowing his amber eyes. he wasn't scared of hawkpaw giving him into trouble, or anyone for that matter. just the fact that he'd have to sit and listen to his mother who didn't wish to be his mother giving him a lecture made him grumble. grudgingly, the tabby stood himself up and trotted from the den, hearing a couple of jokes from another apprentice who called him a lazy elder. silverpaw smirked at him before retorting and walking away, leaving the apprentice dumbfounded as to what had brought on the bad mood. it was true that usually silverpaw liked to joke around with his fellow apprentices, but today his bad mood still hung over him like a dark cloud and he wasn't in the mood for playing. the den he was heading too wasn't far from the apprentice den, and the cat made it there in good time. in fact it seemed as though hawkpaw had only just managed to say hi, and nightpelt was asking the question she asked almost all the cats that entered her den; ”is there something you need?” silverpaw took this as his cue, and sauntered casually in the den holding a smirk on his maw. his tail flicked cockily behind his back as he walked right up beside hawkpaw, nudging him 'playfully' with his shoulder, although probably a little rougher than any friend would do it. ”hawkpaw, i thought we were gonna head out hunting together, maybe get a little competition going, eh? come on, or the prey will be sleeping by the time you start!” he lied, getting into the smallest of playful crouches before nudging the apprentice away from nightpelt and toward the entrance, hoping to get him away from the she-cat before either of them could spill any beans of the mess he made in the elder den. is that mouse bile on his breath!? [/style][/classy] [STYLE=font-family: georgia; italic; font-size: 8pt; color: #E5F9EE; 8ext-align: center; text-indent: 15px; letter-spacing: 3px; width: 350px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; margin-top: -5px; border-radius: 8px 8px 8px 8px; -moz-border-radius: 8px 8px 8px 8px;] Table by Yori from BTN [/style]

[newclass=texty]height: 300px; width: 450px; opacity: 0.0; text-align:center; text-align:justify; font-family:arial; font-size:12; text-align:justify; -webkit-transition:all 0.7s ease; -moz-transition:all 0.7s ease; -o-transition:all 0.7s ease; overflow: hidden; margin-left: 35px; margin-top: 20px;[/newclass]
[newclass=texty:hover]height: 300px; opacity: 0.9; overflow: auto; -webkit-transition: 0.6s; -moz-transition: 0.6s; -o-transition: 0.6s; transition: 0.6s; width: 450px;[/newclass]