Race to the Rabbit Rock!

[Pinedark]

Pinepaw skidded into the clearing just steps ahead of her mentor, having rallied for a burst of speed in the last few feet before the clearing. She made for the rabbit shaped rock and tagged it with her paw, and then flopped on the ground.

Okay, so maybe it would make for sore later when she ran hard and then instantly dropped. But she was tried from that little sprint, and she didn't feel like walking around until she was safe to flop. So she jut went ahead and flopped anyway.

"I wiiiiiin," she purred triumphantly at Loveless. The victorious effect was somewhat ruined, as she resembled a cat pancake flopped there on the cool ground.[/size]

[Loveless]

“That you did!”

His own purr was a loud rumble, yellow hues flickering with pride towards the small gray queen as he loped after her. Snow fell from the sky, settling upon the darkness of his black sections of his fur and briefly giving him freckles of white, before melting.

It was cold, although not freezing, tolerable.

Natural.

Loveless liked the cold weather, he was born further north than here so he was used to it.

[Chainless]

“Greetings.”

A quiet voice murmured softly, her hues upon the figure of Pinepaw. The medicine cat had been watching the two from her rest on top of the rabbit rock – seeking seclusion after the rest of the clan retreated indoors.

For a long time she gazed at the little female, her hues, twin pools, mismatched orbs, calm and reflective – any thoughts or emotions hiding beneath their shining surfaces.

[Pinedark]

Pinepaw hadn't noticed the white cat- she'd been too busy racing to the rock and then flopping where she stood. She scrambled up when the other greeted her, figuring it was a bit disrespectful to greet someone when one was acting like a rug.

"Hullo," she said, a bit shyly, but with a smile. She was used to her mentor, but with the other cats in the clan, she was still a little shy.[/size]

[Loveless]

“Hey sis. Enjoyin’ the day, hm?”

Mischief danced in those yellow orbs, as they fell on the white form of his blood sister. He shifted, padding up so that he could stand beside Pinepaw and introduce the two.

“Piney, this is Chainless, my sister. Sis, this is Pinepaw, my apprentice. Now can’t we all just be fwiends?”

Loveless was in a particularly silly mood.

[Chainless]

“Enjoying the peace, actually. Until you came alone.”

While the words could sound harsh, cruel, they were soft drops of early morning dew from the mouth of the white she-cat, a small smile hinting at the corners. Faint amusement flickered, as she looked to Pinepaw once again.

“Don’t let this rogue corrupt you too much.”

[Pinedark]

Pinepaw perked her ears forward as Chainless and Loveless greeted each other. Why hadn't she known they were siblings? At least it appeared she hadn't been told before. Otherwise she'd of had to admit to forgetting.

"There are a lot of people in that den," she agreed with the white cat in a roundabout way. She'd seen how many had been out here, so it went to assume they'd all gone inside the Nursery Den... assuming they'd followed everyone else. There was much assuming going on here.

"Me? Be corrupted? Nevah!" she laughed dramatically, "Besides, he doesn't seem tooooo corrupting." The apprentice seemed to become accustomed to Chainless relatively quickly- she'd seen the other cat before at least. And there was the fact that Chainless was related to Loveless. Whether this made sense or not, this almost automatically made Pinepaw more comfortable around the white cat.[/size]

How long my posts are are directly related to how tired I am, it appears.

[Loveless]

“Heeeeeeeeeeey! I resent that! You’re my sister; you should be on my side!”

Loveless protested, plopping down with a mock growl of irritation as he gave his sister a playful glare, the tip of his tail twitching a few times.

[Chainless]

“Loveless? Uncorrupting?”

The white she-cat snorted, a soft chuckle escaping her mouth as she shook her head.

“My dear, I’m willing to bet you are the first to ever say that about him.”

She baited her brother a little more, before sitting up on the rabbit rock to smile down at the two. Chainless knew Loveless well; she could easily see how sweet he was on the young she-cat near him. It was adorable in an odd sense, but the medicine cat never really dwelled on thoughts of mates or kits.

To her it was forbidden.

But she wished Loveless the best, after all, he was her brother. She wanted him to be happy.

“I’m not sure how many more could fit in the nursery, actually.”

[Pinedark]

"I didn't know that many could fit in the nursery in the first place," Pinepaw admitted, glancing towards the nursery. She saw a few cats leave the den, and was about to shout a hello when three newcomers showed up. Including a dog.

She fought the instinct to bolt into the nearest hiding place, instead glancing from Chainless to Loveless. Of course a puppy wouldn't be in the camp if it were a danger, common sense said. Pinepaw flicked her tail, significantly less freaked out, and tilted her head to the side.

"I think... that might be a first," she commented to the other two cats, still watching the scene over by the nursery.[/size]

I didn't figure anyone might just not notice a dog wandering into camp.

[Loveless]

“Well…now we know!”

Loveless filed that information away for future reference – hey! You never knew when you may need it.

His yellow hues watched the entrance of the young beagle. A…dog?

Oh boy, now the black and white tom was interested.

“Let’s go closer and see!”

[Chainless]

“Enjoy yourselves you two.”

Was the quiet murmur of the she-cat onto the Rabbit Rock, as she gazed at the two with her two-toned eyes. Btu then the medicine cat looked away, her gaze off into the distance as if there was something there that only she could see.

There was a warning. Starclan was crying tears of blood. Chainless needed to speak to Featherstar, and soon, she knew.

[Pinedark]

"Yeah, okay... as long as it doesn't drool on me," Pinepaw agreed with her mentor. Before they went to go see the newcomers, she turned to Chainless.

"'Twas nice meeting you!" she chirped with a grin. Pinepaw saw her gaze off into the distance, and perked both ears forward for a moment, but didn't ask if anything was wrong, not wanting to be nosy.[/size]

[Loveless]

“D’awww, ignore her, she’s in one of her moods.”

The tom pawed at his apprentice, and dearest friend, before he raced off with his tail waving in the air like a banner.

“Let’s go see the doggie!”

He didn't notice his sister slip off and vanish into the opposite direction.

[Pinedark]

"But..." Pinepaw started to say something else to Loveless, but he'd already walked off to see the doggie. She stood and watched for a moment with a bit of consternation written on her face, before shrugging and going after him. She thought he probably would have laughed at her for the look she'd just given him anyway, so it was probably a useless venture. A couple bounding strides and she was walking next to him.[/size]

[Loveless]

"But?”

Loveless stopped in mid-step – almost face-planting the ground. He stumbled ungracefully, before he barely managed to catch himself and save what little dignity he had left.

Dignity?

What was that?

“What were you going to say?”

His attention was completely on her now – fully and utterly hers.

[Onyxdart]

Pinepaw nodded her head in momentary embarrassment. If she'd been human, she would have blushed, as her mentor turned all his attention back to her.

"But your sister looked sad," she said simply. Of course, if Loveless wasn't worried, and he'd known his sister all his life, then Pinepaw thought probably she shouldn't be worried, but I guess you could say it was just in Pinepaw's nature to worry about the worried ones. Wouldn't that be in anyone's nature, though? She thought it made perfect sense anyway.[/size]

[Loveless]

Pain. Pain filled those yellow eyes.

“If you knew Pinepaw…if you knew what she had to endure…”

He then stopped – was this his story to tell?

But this was Pinepaw – and he felt as if he could tell her anything. So he sat down, ready to spin the story.

“Our father…he lost a sister when he was young. She, too, was a pure white she-cat with oddly mismatched eyes. When Chainless was born…he began to brainwash her – attempting to turn her into the cat he had lost.”

The black and white tom was ready to answer any questions Pinepaw may ask.

[Onyxdart]

"Oh... I'm sorry," the apprentice meowed, standing absolutely still. She did have questions she wanted to ask- who was their father? Who was the deceased sister? Why would any father do that to a child?- but at the same time it seemed awkward to her to ask these questions, and unsympathetic. She instead settled for head-butting her mentor's shoulder softly in sympathy, not knowing what quite to say.[/size]

[Loveless]

“It’s alright. That was the past – we have here and not to be happy for!”

He lightly nudged her in return, blinking his eyes to force the pain away. It was and had always been easier for him to do such a feat.

But Chainless?

“If you have any questions….I can do my best to answer them.”