Time After Time [o]

[Shadow Da Smiffster]

It was dawn.

Jadeclaw had been sitting vigil for the first time since he had become a warrior moons ago at the entrance to the camp, which happened to be a rather large burrow entrance. No one had died, no, nothing of that horrible sort. Jadeclaw was just content to offer to guard the entrance to their camp that night. Strangely, the young cat was not too tired; the first time he'd sat vigil, he was exhausted the next day. Thankfully, the nest in the warriors den was much more comfortable then the one in the apprentices den.

Jadeclaw's mind wandered... would he ever be a mentor? He really hadn't been a warrior for very long. It was too soon, he supposed, but Jadeclaw was confident that he was one of the most skilled and loyal members of BlazeClan. Perhaps he would chat with the leader about it later.... His mind continued to wander, this time, his mind focusing on his past. The days that he had been raised inside the human cages...

A shudder rippled down Jadeclaw's spine as a morning breeze picked up. It was cold, and felt sharp against his thin fur. Thankfully, it was not leaf-bare, but green-leaf, the hottest and most pleasant time of the year, or, at least that was how Jadeclaw felt. He supposed the summers were warmer, but with his black fur, the rays of the sun became almost unbearable.

Another breeze picked up, and Jadeclaw watched as leaves from other territories blew into BlazeClan, being carried by wind currents. He stared, entranced for a while. Currents. There were no currents in BlazeClan, but there was the Lake. It was common practice that the apprentices learned to swim, just in case. Never before had he thought that he would be able to swim, or that he would enjoy it; in fact, Jadeclaw remembered that when he first came to BlazeClan territory, the idea of swimming in the the lake, as he was still just a barely an apprentice, was terrifying. Thankfully, one of the Clan cats, the one that acted as his foster mother, instructed him. A purr escaped Jadeclaw's maw as his adopted mom came to mind: Sableheart. Unfortunately, the thoughts turned grim as his actual mother came to mind....

"StarClan, what was her name? Can I not even remember her anymore?" Jadeclaw muttered to himself. He hung his head in shame. Everything that had preceded his life in the Clan was a blur to him now. Perhaps his mind had blocked it out, as it was quite traumatizing, however, the young tom supposed it was better this way. All his loyalties lay with BlazeClan now.

And Jadeclaw was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear footsteps coming from behind him...

[[ vi . ]]

♪ ^♬ _♫    Larksong
x x x

Larksong was falling. Where she was or how she got there, she had no clue. Her petite body tumbled down the deep, dark abyss, and she stared blankly at the black walls, not even screaming or feeling any sort of emotion.

Something slammed against her back, and the she-cat jerked awake. She immediately rolled over and hissed at the clumsy tom who had kicked her just then, his large limbs splayed out in all directions, deep, guttural snores rising and falling from his throat. The she-cat had a strong impulse to kick him back and lie back down, pretending to be asleep; but after several moments of thinking, she decided against it. Narrowing her sharp green eyes and baring her teeth at his back, she stormed quietly out of the warrior's den and darted expertly through the tunnel that led out of their intricate underground system.

The night air was cool, as usual. Larksong exhaled in relief, glad to feel fresh air buffet her sand-colored tabby pelt. Luckily, the wind wasn't strong enough to bring up clouds of dust, but that didn't mean it was completely calm either. She ignored the bits of sand that clung to her recently-groomed pelt and tilted her head up towards the midnight-blue sky. Innumerable stars dappled the clear horizon, surrounding Silverpelt's familiar streak across the sky. They glowed and twinkled brilliantly, as if the deceased warriors they represented were waving down in greeting to her. She grinned back up at them, and was about to murmur a small prayer when she suddenly heard a voice right beside her.

"StarClan, what was her name? Can I not even remember her anymore?" Larksong whipped around to find Jadeclaw sitting there, standing guard. He was too enveloped in his thoughts to notice her presence, she soon realized. Relief washed over her for half a heartbeat that he hadn't caught her in her daydream-y state, but it was soon replaced with sudden, severe hatred and suspicion. Who could he have been talking about? Why wasn't he focusing on the task at hand? But he's a tom. It's not surprising that he's so engrossed that he can't even hear another cat noisily come up behind him. She smirked and silently padded up to him, almost directly next to his hear, and coughed loudly. "Jadeclaw? What do you think you're doing?"

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[Shadow Da Smiffster]

So lost in his thoughts was the young tom, that the footsteps behind him were merely a faint echo, seemingly a million miles away. His heart was aching, aching for his lost mother from so long ago.

But when Larksong practically snuck up on him, no, did sneak up on him, he jumped, his fur standing on end. It was only when he registered the voice as a she-cat from his own Clan that he calmed. With a look of contempt, the tom responded in kind, "I promised to sit vigil for the Clan. I'm just doing my job."

Now, Jadeclaw wasn't lying, but he wasn't much of a talker... especially with those he knew didn't like him. Larksong was one of those cats, though, to Jadeclaw it seemed that she didn't like any toms. Somewhere, he pitied the she-cat, but not enough to let it show on the outside. She was not the only one to have lost a parent. He basically grew up orphaned for StarClan's sake!

"What brings you outside at this hour?" he prompted. "It certainly can't be the good weather, because the sun will rise soon, and we all know how wonderful that is."

BlazeClan cats were forced to go underground during the day because of the intense temperatures. But that didn't matter too much. Because of this, they were strong diggers, and saw brilliantly through darkness, though probably not quite like an OwlClan cat. Larksong didn't exactly seem like she was in the mood to chat, though Jadeclaw could say the same about himself.

[[ vi . ]]

♪ ^♬ _♫    Larksong
x x x

Larksong let out a single laugh before quickly stifling the rest of them when she saw Jadeclaw nearly leap out of his fur like that. She didn't want to embarrass him by laughing in his face; sure, she didn't like him, but she wasn't mean. He seemed to calm down in moments and turned to face her with an expression she couldn't read. This ticked her off slightly, when she couldn't tell what others were thinking at the blink of an eye, but quickly shrugged it away.

"I promised to sit vigil for the Clan. I'm just doing my job." It took some effort for Larksong to hold back a scoff and snide remark here. Doing your job? I wouldn't say daydreaming is sitting vigil. She didn't say that out loud, though, much as she wanted to. Maybe there was even the smallest hint of respect for him inside of her since he was making somewhat of an effort to help the Clan, but that respect was barely noticeable. His question caught her by surprise, but she replied in a clipped tone, "Nothing. I just happened to wake up and needed to get some fresh air."

[/color][/font][/size] She hadn't come out to have a friendly conversation with one of her Clanmates, let alone a tom, but it wasn't like she could just turn around and walk away right there.

"I don't mind the sun,"[/color][/font][/size] she continued, her voice a quiet murmur. "I quite enjoy it, actually. I just wish there wasn't so much wind and sand for it to kick up into our eyes."[/color][/font][/size] She glanced over at Jadeclaw. "It must be because of your pelt color. You probably wouldn't like it as much as others since you get more heat from the sun than one usually would."[/color][/font][/size] Why are you so talkative all of a sudden? she thought to herself, internally beating her mind for its stupidity. You can't let your guard down and be so open. She turned around and faced the clear landscape before her, suddenly fascinated in the rounded hills of dust that dappled the ground. The deep-blue of the night sky was gradually beginning to get lighter just above the horizon, and the stars were just losing their shine. She let out a sigh, watching her StarClan ancestors slowly fade away.
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[Shadow Da Smiffster]

"Did a tom kick you out of your sleep?" he scoffed. "Cuz that tends to be what usually happens in the Warriors den these days. They're all restless because we've been virtually untouched by other Clans in moons, not to mention the prey is abundant, and no one feels the need to hunt. Maybe everyone else is shirking their duties, but I'm not. I'm not going to let our Clan be unprotected for one second."

He turned his intense gaze to the sky as StarClan started to fade out of existence for the daylight, "I still haven't repaid my debt to BlazeClan for taking me in as a kit. I owe them my life. And my life I'll use to it's full potential...." he trailed off, now talking to himself more than Larksong. Really, he was so lost inside himself, that the comment about liking the sun and his fur being dark and therefore could absorb more heat went through one ear and out the other. He was trying so hard to remember... remember his time before he was in the Clan. Who was his mother?

"StarClan, does she walk with you?" he whispered to himself.

[[ vi . ]]

♪ ^♬ _♫    Larksong
x x x

Larksong laughed, wondering to herself whether Jadeclaw had psychic powers or not. That laugh was short-lived, though, and it lacked the emotion it needed for it to be true. She wouldn't allow herself to be amused by a tom. "How did you know?

[/color][/font][/size] she mused, her tone a bit friendlier now. She listened in silence at his next words, "Cause that tends to be what usually happens in the Warriors den these days. They're all restless because we've been virtually untouched by other Clans in moons, not to mention the prey is abundant, and no one feels the need to hunt. Maybe everyone else is shirking their duties, but I'm not. I'm not going to let our Clan be unprotected for one second." For once, Larksong agreed with him, almost 100%. She had noticed lately that the elongated peace between the Clans and prey that was practically running into the warriors' paws was causing everyone to slack off. It displeased the she-cat greatly whenever she saw this happening, but no matter how much she tried to get their fattening bottoms off the ground, they would shrug her off and tell her there was no work to be done. At least there was one] other cat who didn't feel this way.

"I still haven't repaid my debt to BlazeClan for taking me in as a kit. I owe them my life. And my life I'll use to it's full potential...." Larksong waited for the tom to finish his sentence, but when he didn't she glanced briefly his way. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts again, absorbed in his own little world of memories and whatnot. Letting out a long sigh, she gazed up at the stars, which were continuing to quickly lose the gleam they had possessed just moments before, when the sky was still midnight-blue. She was nearly completely spaced out when a murmur suddenly came from Jadeclaw, "StarClan, does she walk with you?"

Larksong nearly jumped out of her fur. Even though the words he had spoken were not very loud at all, they still surprised her. Many things surprised her whenever she let her guard down, even for a heartbeat. Immediately covering up her lack of awareness, she asked in a purposely, extremely loud voice, "I'm sorry?"[/color][/font][/size] It seemed so difficult to talk to Jadeclaw sometimes. He was so spacey and dreamy, the brief flicker of respect the she-cat had felt for him a moment ago seemed to vanish.
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[Shadow Da Smiffster]

Jadeclaw silently cursed himself and his big mouth. Of all the things he had to mutter aloud, why did it always have to be his darkest thoughts? Perhaps the lack of sleep was keeping him inattentive. Perhaps instead of sitting vigil, he should have rested... but no one else would have done it. Except for maybe the she-cat next to him....

Still, the tone in Larksong's voice was insulting. Jadeclaw knew it wasn't her fault though. She didn't know a thing about his mother or his past, but he couldn't help but give her a meaningful glare, "My mother," he said bluntly. "I found this life, and she found the wrong side of a human hand. It's not fair, Larksong. I'll never know for sure if she's up there."

And yet I take the time to come out at night at every moment I get just to see if maybe, maybe I'll get a glimpse of her. Medicine Cats have visions of StarClan, so why can't I? Mother... The tom bit back a sob that was threatening to erupt out of his mouth as he whipped his head back out in front of him. Nope, he wasn't going to lose it here. He was on duty, and Larksong would only try to insult him.