At Death's Door (Open!)

[Kathryn]

Sunlight blessed the land, covering her fluffy tabby fur with warmth and love. Icy blue irises drifted over the camp, and the innocent kit crept out of the Nursery and into the light. Basking on the ground, Deathkit’s ears rotated innocently and her wide eyes darted around from left to right to see who was where. Swallowing nervously, the she-cat padded over to the fresh kill pile, staring at it before she tried to climb it. Placing one paw on the rump of a rabbit and the other on a starling, the she-cat almost slipped as she reached up, only for her paw to slide on the scales of a fish. Yelping, she fell onto the hard ground, the pile collapsing on top of her and covering her with dust and dirt. However, not much of it was visible on her dark, oak-streaked pelt, as she was the colour of the earth as it was already.

Sniffing, the kit suppressed a sneeze as she tried to wriggle her way out of the prey pile, but her paws were slimy, making her feel filthy. For a moment she stopped moving under the pile, and then began releasing a series of kit-sounding mewls from her throat. Usually that would summon one of the older cats and they would help her, or so she had learned, but she didn’t like it under the prey pile. It was dark, creepy – not to mention she was under what seemed like a mountain of dead animals. A majority of the prey was stale – on the verge of becoming crow food, still edible though, however it most probably tasted foul. Heaving herself up, she began trying to knock her way out until a patch of light caught her eye. Twisting, she squeaked and then rammed that part as hard as she could; a mouse toppled over and sent the prey scattering over the earth. Poking her head up through the gap, the kit swallowed as she saw the aftermath of her actions. Quietly, the she-cat tried to sneak back into the nursery when something caught her eye. She’d been caught!

[Holly]

Sky blue orbs watched the kit, these eyes belonged to Skyheart. He watched the kit with amusement. When he stood up to go free the kit he saw she had broken free of her trap. He let out a chuckle. Kits amused him and how he enjoyed kits. He couldn't wait until he was a father himself.

"Got a little stuck, Deathkit? You might want to be more careful or you might become part of the fresh kill pile!" Skyheart crouched down beside the kit. He looked over at the scattered fresh-kill pile. "Come and help me rebuild the pile, before you get in trouble." He touched his tail to her nose and padded toward the fresh-kill pile.

When he went to the pile he began to pick up the prey. He started to stack it. he left the smaller prey for Deathkit to grab.

[Juniper]

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[atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/amanda1472/wee2.jpg] Weedpaw was hungry. But then, his entire Clan was starving. However, there were times when the Warrior’s Code seemed like a distant memory. Wouldn’t it benefit everyone more if the hunter was full first? Then he could catch even more fresh-kill for the rest, right? At least, that would be how it was organized if he were in charge. In his perfect little utopia, the hunters were always rewarded first. However, the sunny gold apprentice was determined to be the best Warrior. And that, quite unfortunately, meant he needed to follow the very strict Warrior’s Code. Large hind legs churned the snow-coated ground as he used it for purchase to haul himself up the steep mountainside. His heart was beating uncomfortably in its cage as he struggled to maneuver over the slippery terrain. His claws kept slicing the hard ice, which oozed slushy snow. He raised his small muzzle to the sky with much effort before lowering it. His jaw was so tired now, from clenching the rabbit he had caught. The fur kept shedding into his amber eyes; the rabbit’s delicious flavor made his mouth watery and slippery as well. As such, parts of the rabbit kept slipping out with the pools of drool that formed. At last, Weedpaw stepped into the camp’s boundaries. He was somewhat puzzled to see no cats guarding the entrance of the cave. Where were they all? Silently, he padded past the apprentices’ den and into the cavern where Clan meetings were usually held. Inside, his pawsteps echoed, and voices came from the right. Weedpaw approached the fresh-kill pile and was startled to see that it was moving. Quickly, he flung his catch at the pile and skidded away from it. A petite, pale object emerged from it and blinked at him. “Deathkit? What’re you doing in there? You hungry already?” he asked incredulously. What a spectacle! The usually subdued kitten was certain appearing very odd. Again, he treaded closer to the fresh-kill pile, sniffing gingerly. “Urgh! You smell like crowfood, Deathkit!” he laughed good-naturedly. Wait, crowfood? This pile of fresh-kill was supposed to be, you know, fresh wasn’t it? Bewildered, he stooped closer to take a deeper sniff. Odd. Almost instinctively, he tasted the fresher scent of the rabbit he just caught, barely aware of how idiotic it must have looked to little Deathkit. A great big cat with a tiny head sniffing all the fresh-kill. He half expected her to laugh at him. Just then, more feet padded into the cavern. Taking another sniff revealed it to be Skyheart. The gray tabby ignored him for a while, instead stacking the fresh-kill pile back. Meanwhile, Weedpaw was watching this with a puzzled expression on his comical face. At last, the Warrior had finished with the larger prey. “Skyheart, when was this fresh-kill added? It seriously smells like crowfood,” he meowed, gesturing towards the pile of prey. He glanced about the cavernous room, hoping to see the leader Moonstar or her deputy to ask them about this strange phenomenon. “Weedpaw speaks” Weedpaw actually thinks (rare) Weedpaw does (usually before thinking) Word Count 505 Tags Deathkit and Skyheart OoC Yay, more trouble! Maybe it’s a sign.

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[Holly]

Skyheart- The Loyal

Skyheart hadn't seen Weedpaw until he spoke to him. He looked confused at the apprentice. Had the prey really smelt foul? He wasn't really paying attention. He turned his glaze back to the food and began to sort through it. He let out a growl of annoyance as the smell of crow food hit his nose. Had an apprentice or young warrior been lazy?

"Well scented Weedpaw. This food was brought in last night, I think. Lend me a paw in finding the foul scent," He wrinkled his nose at the scent of the spoiled prey. "We need to get rid of it and any prey that touched it. I just hope that's not all the prey."

[Stella]

{Holly. If i may say so. The word count is 200, you have been posting under that...}

[Holly]

(sorry I'll go back through and fix them.)

[Kathryn]

Deathkit’s ears flattened when Skyheart appeared and she shrunk against the ground, and she knew she would be in trouble. She was waiting for her punishment, but instead Skyheart’s voice seemed... Amused? What was so amusing? She had just spread food all over the floor! What was funny about that? Blue eyes blinked at the tom as though he was alien to her, but when he told her to help pick up the food, she tilted her head. Was... Was that it? Blinking again, the small tan tabby she-kit picked up one small piece of prey and tossed it onto the pile from a distance before picking up another one. Reaching for another, a voice made her lose her concentration and she slipped, her paw slipping into a hole and her kit claws scrabbling for a hold in the earth. Failing to get traction, she tumbled into the hole and landed on her forepaw with a squeak.

Sure it wasn’t a hard fall but she had landed on her paw, and now it was hurting. Pushing herself up to her paws, the silent she-cat blinked a few times, adjusting to the light before she reached up and grabbed Weedpaw’s tail in her jaws before losing her grip again. She was still quite small so the hole was bigger in her eyes. Using her hind paws, she kicked herself out with her hind legs before she flattened her ears and turned away to leave. Crossing the camp to hide out of sight, it was clear as day that she was limping; her paw was bent backwards and her shoulder rose and shook. Deathkit didn’t like noise; but suddenly she turned, her nose lifting into the air and she headed back to the scattered prey. Shoving her nose into the prey pile, she suddenly knocked it down again as she pulled out a piece of crowfood. Pale maggots writhed in the Sparrow’s chest cavity and the powerful scent burst out into the air, though Deathkit seemed undisturbed by this. Death was a natural part of life, and if death wasn’t put to use, it would just be wasted.

“I win,” she dropped it and looked up to Skyheart, curling her tail around her injured paw delicately. Her voice was fairly quiet and cold, her eyes full of innocence but still sparkling with the look that sent shivers through cats’ spines.

[Juniper]

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[atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/amanda1472/wee2.jpg] The ginger apprentice gazed anxiously at the meager fresh-kill pile. It was pitifully small, and to have tainted prey in it as well… He sighed and wondered just how much more reduced their food rations would be tonight. It had been a harsh leaf-bare and they were barely recovering. The first hints of newleaf had arrived though, if that was any comfort. The vast Iceriver was chipping, and in some locations fishing was possible. His eyes questioning, he listened to the older Warrior’s praise without much enthusiasm. “I suppose,” he muttered, flexing his claws as if desiring to rake the hide of whomever was irresponsible enough to do this. The tabby gray Warrior wrinkled his nose at the stench as Weedpaw steeled himself to do this work. But before he could inch one paw closer, a row of needle sharp teeth entangled themselves in his tail and bit down hard. He yelped and twisted around wildly, his eyes wide with alarm. Whatever had been plaguing the fresh-kill must have bitten him! He whirled around to see a bundle of dark tan fur lunge at him and he sidestepped it. It was only Deathkit. Laughing nervously at his embarrassing mistake, he tentatively prodded his limp tail. Luckily the young kit was not strong enough to inflict serious damage. But his tail would suffer tonight. Weedpaw twitched his tail experimentally before approaching the pile of prey again. He noticed that Deathkit was hauling out a young sparrow. He was repulsed by its strong smell. Worse, its body seemed to be teeming with a wriggling mass of maggots. But the kit seemed to be undaunted by this; the golden apprentice was impressed with her courage. He wondered how old she was; she couldn’t be too much younger than he was. “Good work,” he congratulated. His paws grappled a long-dead fish, its sides split open with yet more of the writhing maggots. Somehow he managed to control his repulsion and flung it into a separate pile of crowfood. The golden-furred apprentice glanced over at the busily rummaging cats and offered, “Here, I’ll carry this out of the camp and bury it.” He latched his claws onto both sparrow and mouse, and dragged them through the labyrinth of tunnels. He held his breath the whole way, determined not to sniff his haul. As he passed the sleeping dens, he quickened his pace, uneager to allow the stench of crowfood to drift in. Finally he crossed the threshold of the camp entrance and chose a spot nearest to the Iceriver. He dug deeply, brushing away a thick layer of snow to reveal the frozen ground. His claws worked hard as he scrabbled at its stiff surface. His hind legs pushed against the ground for more purchase. Once he had tunneled a sufficient hole, he deposited the rotten meat in, refilled some of the hole, and streaked back into camp. “Any more to bury?” he asked, panting. “Weedpaw speaks” Weedpaw actually thinks (rare) Weedpaw does (usually before thinking) Word Count 490 Tags Deathkit and Skyheart OoC Gross, maggots.

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[Holly]

Skyheart- The Loyal

"Good job, Deathkit," Skyheart mewed. He dropped his tail on her head real quick. He smiled at the small kit. Then turned to Weedpaw. He nodded as the apprentice took the crow food out. He smelled the prey and there was two more pieces that smelt fine, but touched the crowfood. He the water rat and robin.

"There are these two. They smell fine, but the were touching the crowfood, so it cause illness if eaten. "

He bent down and grabbed the two animals and walked out of the cavern. He began to dig the hole and dropped the two animals into the hole and buried them. He then went back into the den. He looked at Weedpaw. "Looks like their gonna need some hunting down. I think I'm going to head out and hunt. Deathkit try to stay out of trouble, not many other warriors are going to let you out of trouble like I will!" He stood onto his white tabby paws and gave his back a stretched. He stood up and he licked his lips.