The Flood Plain

[Ahava]

[glow=chocolate,3,500]The young she-cat followed a scent, a most familiar scent that she has adored since birth. Strong and ever flowing, the current of wind washed over the riverstone belle. It\'s cold refining spray dancing through the fibres as the river dances among the cat tails implanted in it\'s swampy bed. Her long, flowing tail followed the currents, never moving of it\'s own accord save for the gentle flick at the tail-tip. Bright, vivid sapphires traced patterns, burning stone, leaf, and twig into her memory, forever learning as she has always done-- by sight.

Her pace was slow and steady, yet a resuming briskness that was similiar to that of the river itself. Never ending and forever flowing, her strides brought her to the place her nose loved to taste. River! The running liquid spun a cool web across the loam, prickling her fur with hidden excitement. Splash!! The movement was unpredictable, yet frightenly beautiful as the bengal she-cat leaped into the welcoming embrace of the water as if meeting a long lost friend. She swam, a graceful picture of life and still life living as one, until she drew herself out, her coat running little rivulets of her own. Upon her face was a smile, a smile as honest and true as the river she loved.[/glow]

[Shadow Spirit]

OOC: Head swims after trying to read pretty post through the glowyness...@_@

Lucid grace formed the steps of the MistClan leader. Her tall, lithe body weaved in and out of the rocks with ease, never once slipping on the slick granite. Padding to the river to drink and catch fish, she was startled by the sounds of splashing. What cat in their right mind would swim in the river when it was swollen and chilled by snow melt?

"Who goes there?" she called, stepping up to the river bank. "You are swimming in MistClan's territory..."

[Ahava]

Is this any better.... -_-... probably not...

[glow=chocolate,1,500]Startled, the young bangle she-cat swam to the opposite shore, the chill just now being noted by the niave dame. She darted up the land, towards the nearest cover she could see. In her wake she left a wet trail, but most likely the stranger would have no need to follow it, for she probably witnessed the fleeing cat.

Scrambling beneath a bush, the she-cat froze for a moment, thinking she was safe. Her nerves, mistaking a clattering rock of her own making as one from a pursuer, continued to run, leaping at the next tree and, rather ungracefully, began to climb up it\'s trunk[/glow]

[Shadow Spirit]

Lillystar admired the she-cat's agility, but she wished that the stranger wouldn't run. She came swiftly to the bottom of the tree that the escapee had fled to and sat down. Looking up into the branches, she smiled.

"There is no need to fear me...won't you come down and talk with me?" she asked calmly.

[Ahava]

[glow=chocolate,1,500]Ahava-- the River-- stared down at the cat, safely tucked into her perch on the lowest branch. Her brown head, framed by a band of white around her neck, and decorated with the small rosettes that was the customary trademark of the bangle cat, looked down upon her pursuer. She shivered, both from the cold and fear, and slowly opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it, and shook her head a confirmative no. Thrashing her tail for balance, she walked a ways further from the trunk, the silver of her left hind flashing from time to time as it moved.

Crouching on this place, she looked down to the unfamiliar queen with bright, apprehensive blue orbs. She didn\'t know what to think of this female, she didn\'t know what good and bad cats looked like, smelled like, or even felt. She assumed; however, that the stories her mother told her as a kit were at least somewhat true, otherwise this possible evil kitty would be all black, with scars, and glowing red eyes. Leaping, Ahava landed gracefully, with nothing sort of an \'oof\' puffing it\'s way out of her lips. A few more steps and the beautiful she-cat felt comfortable enough to turn around and sit, her the darks of her pupils dilated to encumber any movement if it was taken. \"Hello,\" she chirped, however faintly, a whisper at best to greet the unknown stranger.[/glow]

[Shadow Spirit]

Lillystar realized that in her effort to calm the she-cat, she hadn't introduced herself. Feeling a bit silly, she straightened up and spoke once more.

"My name is Lillystar and I am the leader of the clan that governs this territory, MistClan," she explained.

[Ahava]

[glow=chocolate,2,500]The she-cat, content with the fact that this stranger wasn\'t going to get too uncomfortably close, nodded to the hailing, paused, shifted both nervously and comfortably in place, before giving her own.\"My name is Ahava... From the River Cat Family.\"

Her haunches squiggled again, unsteady, unsure, and always shy Ahava. Her passions were a slow welling deep like the river she was named after. She was soft and compelling, a deep ancient river that rushes only as fast as there was need; unlike the youthful rindles of its fellows. She did not gurgle with gossip, nor splash with spontaneity, nor cut through the fatherland with fatuousness.

She was taciturn, tranquil, and tactful. The exact opposite of many fellows. When she was present, she was the cool rain that poured after a hot summer\'s day: both a relief and a blessing. She only grew nervous when something overflowed her pallete, as the river when there is too much rain. She never drifted from her course but a hair\'s breath a century. She was permanet, pale, and polite. She was the river.[/glow]

[Shadow Spirit]

Lillystar had never heard of such a family.

"Rivercats, huh?" she said, thinking to herself. "So what business brings you onto my clan's territory?"

[Ahava]

[glow=chocolate,2,500]Ahava blinked, slowly. She didn\'t know what a clan was. She assumed it was the name of her family, but apparently it wasn\'t... Or was it? She didn\'t quite understand her puzzlement of her family name. It didn\'t make much sense... But whatever it was, she didn\'t have the courage to outright ask such an embarrassing thing.

\"I came for the river,\" she answered, her voice a dreamy wisp as she looked down the slope, expecting to see the silvery, snaking body behind the cover of reeds and other such water plants.[/glow]

[Shadow Spirit]

Lillystar was actually thrilled to hear that. If she was fond of water, then this she-cat could be a good asset to MistClan.

"My clan is the group of cats that are like my family, I am their leader and we all live together in our territory's camp..." she explained slowly. "We're not all related, but we all work together to hunt, raise our kits and protect our home."

[Ahava]

[glow=chocolate,2,500]Ahava blinked in surprise, lifting a paw to her lips to hold back a gasp. Had she really been that obvious? Surely she wasn\'t the most brilliant of masqueraders, but she certainly wasn\'t that obvious. Blinking her thanks, Ahava gave her pad a comforting lick before she returned it to it\'s rightful position. \"It sounds wonderful, Miss Lillystar. How... May I come with you... to see how this fa--clan works?\" Ah... innocent Ahava... It\'s gonna get her into trouble one of these days...[/glow]

[Shadow Spirit]

The tall she-cat smiled fondly at the tentative bengal. Her golden eyes shone with understanding for this wayward stranger. Even though she was so well-liked now, there had been a time when she too was brand new to MistClan.

"You are welcome to come with me into the camp, and see what life is like," she said, turning and walking toward the waterfall. "The entrance is through here..." she explained, sitting and waiting for Ahava.

[Ahava]

I\'ll just post in the camp. ^_^

[Zeporah]

In ~The Light Underneath~