Climb Every Mountain

[Onyxdart]

The rocks were nice and warm, even though it was only the morning. Ivory's claws scrabbled on the rocks as he climbed ever higher, heedless of a loan soaring hawk. He was no tiny cat to be threatened, except maybe by an eagle.

He looked up, panting, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Nope, no eagles. This seemed like a good enough spot to stop, though. He stood there, tail wagging, and looked down off the rock pile before he laid down and sprawled. This was one of his favorite places, even though the cats didn't seem to be too fond of it. He tipped his head back and barked at the hawk as it circled over, but it was unconcerned. Ivory considered seeing if he could catch that hawk if he just climbed all the way up, but that would take too much effort.

So instead, he stayed put, still panting, eyes half closed in the bright sun.

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[Coyotesummer]

“Hot up there, brother?”

A single voice called up as the slim glossy blue-black she-cat padded from the underbrush, deep yellow eyes glancing up at the coyote with a smile on her face. There never seemed to be enough time anymore when she could simply speak with Ivoryshard, or for the two of them to relax sprawled in a heap waiting for evening when it would be cool enough to hunt.

With the war’s causalities, a loss of much needed warriors, Coyotesummer had been pushing herself to her limits trying to hold up a large part of the void those losses had caused. She was tired though, a lot now, and it likely showed clearly as she yawned and lay down at the base of the rock pile Ivoryshard had decided to chill on – not even bothering the tricky ascent to join him up there. “Supposed to be a meeting later. Sunsetfire wanted me to make sure you knew to be there.” She didn’t know why, however, but even so she had followed the orders given to her.

Hm. Must be apprentice time; those two young ones of his were certainly getting big enough. “Maybe you’ll get an apprentice, heh~” With eyes half-lidded, Coyotesummer plainly teased her canine brother and comrade, looking back up at him from her lower position. Overhead, a lone hawk still circled, likely looking for prey. Wasn’t it supposed to be Leafbare? Geez. It never seemed to get cold around Stealthclan.

[Onyxdart]

The coyote looked down at his sister and grinned, ears forward. With a yawn, he stood up and leapt down the rocks to visit her, tail waving. He was friends with all the cats, but he still loved his sister the best.

"A meeting, huh?" he asked, licking her squarely between the ears and then flopping in the dirt next to her. When they were younger, much younger, he and the others would all sprawl out in a pile and sleep. Sometimes in the clan when it was quiet, they'd use each other as pillows if the sun was out and warm.

"Yeah, right, give the big scary dog an apprentice. They may tolerate me, Coyote, but I dunno about an apprentice," he said matter-of-factly. The cats were used to him, and most were really nice, but he didn't know about the kits as much. He tended to wander away from camp a lot, and hadn't been around the kits as much, except Sunsetfire's kits, for a little bit, when he'd brought the tom-kit back to camp with the little she-kit following.

"I'll be there, though, since he asked. Where have you been lately, I've barely seen you?" he asked.

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[Coyotesummer]

“Ugh, slobber.” Coyotesummer shuddered playfully at his customary lick, right dab between her ears, and then swiped at the spot with her paw to get the imaginary ‘yote spit off of her. This was joyful, it really was, she had always been close to her brother. Since they joined the clan she’d felt as if they were becoming more distant [perhaps if only on her end] and she didn’t like that suggestion at all. The she-cat plopped right over onto her side and reached out with both front paws, prodding Ivoryshard’s side. “Yeah, a meeting. I think Sunsetfire’s going to formally announce Chainrust’s return, probably apprentice his kits, and…well, I don’t know what else really.”

Of course, in those days she had been lucky enough to be the one on top of such heaps – Flint had been insistent on that. No big coyote’s smushing her feline daughter, oh no~

Flicking her ears back at Ivoryshard’s words, however, Coyotesummer rolled over onto her belly and gave him a good long look, “While I may have been joking about that to begin with, Ivory, you know what you said isn’t true. Sunsetfire trusts you and counts you as a member of the clan. I know other clan cats trust you too – you, after all, have done as much as the rest of us in keeping everything running smoothly.” She didn’t want to think of the clan only just tolerating her brother, and woe to the cat, friend, ally, or not, that ever dared to say it to her face.

Almost irritably, her tail flicked back and forth a few times, swishing up littered, dying leaves the clumped from area to area, before it settled and she sighed, “Been here and there, you know. Patrolling, hunting for everyone…you know, the typical things. It just takes up more time now that we’ve lost warriors.”

“What about you? What have you been doing lately?”

[Onyxdart]

Tolerate had been a poor choice of words, as had not identifying who "they" were. Ivory pawed at Coyote's tail when she rolled over to correct him.

"I didn't mean they, the clan, I mean they, the kits more than anything. I think the adults trust me, they're all great," he said, his tail waving against the ground as if to pacify his sister. It was a dog thing, that tail wag. And truly, he was happy here. He didn't need a canine pack to be friends with, he was pleased as punch in Stealthclan. And he was ecstatic that Chainrust had come back.

"That'll be fun! Mmmmm, I've been around. Mostly I wander around you know, and hunt. I chased a rabbit the other day, that was fun. And I chased some birds," he said. Actually, he wasn't sure how he stayed busy. But he did! And when he slept at night, he was always tired enough to sack out for a whole long night. It was a good life. And there were always things to chase and rocks to climb.

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[Coyotesummer]

Smiling at her brother, Coyotesummer flicked her tail teasingly out of his way as Ivoryshard pawed at it, even while she listened to her words. Ah, she had made a quick assumption…and have been shown to be incorrect in it. Her ears flicked back shamefully for a moment, a silent apology to the coyote, before she again spoke, “Ah, now I see. I’m sure they’ll warm up to you though…who couldn’t? Just slobber over them a few times, it always works~” Winking at him, Coyotesummer let out a laugh and stretched, about as relaxed as she had been in quite some time.

Chainrust’s return hadn’t honestly affected the she-cat much, they had never said more then one or two words towards each other in the time she’d been a part of the clan, nor did Coyotesummer even really try to make the effort to get to know the quiet tom any. She had been friends with Highway, who was gone now, and had liked Quintessence more then quite a bit but he…

She didn’t know what happened to him. Left with Ivoryshard and the calico tom in charge of protecting the camp during the war, the honorable thief and vanished and she hadn’t seen him since.

“Oooh, did you catch it?” Quickly derailing that train of though as she didn’t like where it had been heading, the blue-black feline wagged her own tail as if she too was a coyote, unable to help the particular little traits she had picked up from her adoptive family. “You should chase one into camp sometime; that’d make quite the stir.”

[Onyxdart]

Ivory flicked his ears back sadly and stopped wagging his tail.

"It got away, into its hole," he admitted, crestfallen. But a second later, his tail was stirring up dust again, thrilled as he was at the thought of chasing a rabbit straight into the middle of camp.

"Ooooh, I should do that. That would wake everyone up!" he laughed. He continued batting at Coyotesummer's tail for a second before bouncing to his feet. He then bowed his front half down, tail waving with his hindquarters up in the air, and slapped the ground with his front paws before darting forward to lick Coyote up the side of her face and bounce off again. He bowed just out of reach again, as if inviting her to try and catch him, and barked. He'd never been able to sit still for very long.

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[Coyotesummer]

It got away? Daaw. “Well, there’s always another day to try to get it.” She didn’t like seeing her brother sad, even for just a moment. It only took a second though for his crestfallen looking to vaporize, his tail beating the earth once again. For a moment, Coyotesummer eyes his wagging tail – tensing just slightly as if she planned to charge and attack it…but such a tempting thought subsided quickly enough. She wasn’t an idle kit anymore, able to play with her brother at whim; there were duties now that she had to carry out.

“Are you kidding? Could you just picture the look on their faces?” Almost bemused, the she-cat watched the coyote’s display and play bows, taking in even the lick all in good stride. A heart’s span of moments passed as she resisted the part of her begging to give in, just a few moments indeed, before she leaped to her paws and darted towards Ivoryshard with a laugh – leaping up to pounce at him.

So much for duties. Even a warrior needed a little fun~

[Shadow Spirit]

Russian blue fur was an unusual color for this valley. Few cats since the noble Bluestar of generations before had been the color of spring evening skies, but Tsunami was not from this grand place. She'd been born far away from here, in a land so marshy it may has well have been under water. She'd been given her name based upon water, just like all of the other cats in their group. River, Stream, Tide, Pond...but they were all dead now. The flood had wiped them out...only she had been large and strong enough to swim to safety. Ever since then, her tongue had been sharp as thorns, barbed and deadly to all.

It was with this disdain for sentiment, this attitude toward the world at large, that she had become a member of StealthClan. Her only real friend, a loner she had picked up along the way, was Daemon. The skittish little fuzzball was Tsunami's complete opposite, and they only thing that kept her from making a remark that would end the tolerance of her clanmates. They walked together now, into the middle of Coyotesummer and Ivoryshard's play.

"Do all StealthClan cats act like kits on a regular basis?" Tsunami asked the wind, scowling at the antics of the coyote and she-cat amongst the stones. "Well actually, this one here's a dog, so I can't really compare..." She twitched her tail irritably, wishing there was something she felt she could do. All this time in the clan, yet no one seemed to notice she even existed, let alone sent her on patrols. Most of her day was spent stocking the fresh kill pile and making sure Daemon wasn't eaten by anything.

The patchy brown and white she-cat was already on edge...by nature. Once a kittypet, she didn't really understand clan life yet, but she wanted to. It was her full intention to integrate herself completely into StealthClan, but her jumpy nature made it very difficult. Nowadays, she acted as a mediator between Tsunami, her very best friend, and any other cat who came in contact with her. Ah, life was grand...Xanax anyone?

"Dear me Tsunami, could you please not be so short with everyone?" She flattened her ears in worry, hoping Coyotesummer wouldn't claw their ears off...or have Ivoryshard eat them.

[Onyxdart]

The coyote was about to counter-pounce his sister and give her the drenching of her life, but another couple of cats appeared, interrupting their play. Ivory waved his tail hesitantly at Tsunami- he knew she was cranky, but it didn't stop him waving his tail at her whenever he saw her, like he did with everyone.

"You would not say that if you had ever played a good game of tag," he informed her, laying down sphinx style, "Also, I am not a dog- I am a coyote- and she deserved the break. So speak for yourself." Ivory knew how hard his sister had been working, and she needed the break. He was worried that genius comment would make her feel silly for taking some time to play, seein as how she'd been hesitant in the first place.

Seriously, some people were just so... serious. Life was too short to be serious! He looked at the other cat with Tsunami, and waved his tail against the ground.

"Don't worry, I won't let Coyotesummer eat you. It may be hard! But if I have to, I'll just sit on her," he joked. Clearly, this other cat was just trying to get everyone to get along. Ivoryshard could sympathize with this feeling- he hated discord.

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[Coyotesummer]

A sudden sharp voice stilled the glossy blue-black warrior immediately from her play. Coyotesummer had been reserved in joining such play with her brother, that was true, and…she knew it had been wrong. Of course it was wrong. She should have given the message to him and immediately gone right on back to camp, and volunteer for yet another tedious, solitary patrol.

Dark yellow eyes looked between Ivoryshard and the two new cats for a moment, hesitated, and then she sank to the ground. “I’m sorry.” Her reply was immediate, it was no different then it would have been should Sunsetfire had been the one to catch her – although he may have simply allowed her to continue in her much needed relaxing play, “I’ve been patrolling a lot lately…I just wanted a little break for a moment..”

She…didn’t know these two cats? No, that wasn’t it…she knew she had seen them around before, but she didn’t think that she had ever really properly introduced herself to them. “My name’s Coyotesummer and this is my brother, Ivoryshard. I’m going to head back on patrol in just a little bit, would you two like to join me?” It was a tentative question – the two she-cats probably had better things to do then to keep her company on the dusty trails.

Besides, Coyotesummer was still getting to know how to react around other felines; she had been raised by coyote’s and understood the canine’s ways better then that of her own true kind, which was most often anymore why she remained solitary. It didn’t mean she was going to be unfriendly towards her own clan mates however, even if one had a wicked sharp tongue.

Then, “Me? Eat someone? You’ve lost it Ivory.” Coyotesummer made the most disguised face she could at that comment, wrinkling her nose and mock shuddering at her brother’s joke.

[Shadow Spirit]

The Russian Blue she-cat raised a brow curiously. A cat...with a coyote for a brother? Was StealthClan completely crazy? Ah well, at least things would remain interesting. Tsunami's temper only got worse when she was bored. So this was Coyotesummer...well she could see where the first half would have come from. It didn't take a genius to understand she'd been raised with the rambunctious whelp beside her. Though summer...that part was harder to understand. When asked if they would accompany her on a patrol Tsunami actually faltered a bit. No one had ever even said hello to her apart from Daemon and Sunsetfire, let alone asked her to go somewhere with them.

"Hrm...well I guess we have nothing better to do...Daemon?" she said, looking to her friend.

Skittish, yet curious, the little brown and white she-cat nodded to Tsunami. They would accompany this Coyotesummer on her patrol, and who knows...maybe they would become friends? Perhaps the Xanax could wait...

[Onyxdart]

Ivory shard put his ears back at his sister's reply to Tsunami. He'd known she was going to react that way. If one of his pack had scolded that way, he would have been on them in a second- it wouldn't have been their place. But it was different with cats. You couldn't just pin someone to prove your authority. And being the biggest and the strongest didn't necessarily mean anything at all. Sometimes it was confusing and annoying.

"Can I come too? Maybe I can find a rabbit," he said. Tsunami had no idea how right she was in thinking that Ivory kept life interesting. With the curiosity only a young coyote could quite manage, he sure kept things from getting mundane. But really, when he said that, he'd meant, "Maybe I can find a rabbit and chase it right into the middle of camp just to give everyone a really thorough workout before a long boring meeting full of words and sitting still." He expected, of course, that as they had spoken of rabbits earlier, Coyotesummer would catch his drift. He slapped the ground with a paw playfully, and wagged his tail.

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[Coyotesummer]

Luckily enough, the Russian Blue’s reply to her question hadn’t retained its former sharpness to it – perhaps Coyotesummer was on to something? The warrior smiled and looked between the two other she-cats, as if attempting to gauge their true feelings on such an invite, but really…did it matter? She rose to her paws and flicked her tail in her feline version of her brother’s tail wag, glancing at the canine.

“Heh, sounds like fun.” She winked at the young coyote, before glancing back at the she-cats and padding a few steps towards the underbrush. “Let’s go?”

Hm. Where was she going to track through this time? Coyotesummer allowed her attention to fall away from the other three, looking around. Well, she could say for a certain fact that the petrified forests hadn’t been patrolled for a while…at least not by her. Personally, she never really liked the place – the ancient, dead trees gave her the creeps.

[Onyxdart]

When Ivory was given the OK to accompany his sister and the other two females, he bounded forward on feet like springs, tail wagging ninety-to-nothing. Then he put his nose to the ground and followed the scent of a rabbit in the direction of the old petrified trees.

Then he turned around to his sister, waiting for her to lead. "There's a rabbit this way," he said for her information, although she would be perfectly capable of smelling the rabbit too if she put her nose to the ground and smelled it the way he was currently doing. He sneezed, and yanked his head back as he inhaled something tickly and got dirt all over his nose.

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