The Whispers of the Past, Open for anyone ^^

[Sailknot]

The day was warm, and Sailknot smiled as he padded down the hill. The strong winds stirred his pelt, and his mouth curved into a smile. The day was wonderful, that was sure, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Of course, then again, if it was thundering that would be good too.

A chuckle turned into a hearty laugh as he continued down the hills. He always had two different sides to himself. One would always be optimistic, like my, how wonderful the day was, and then the other would always remark how much he would love it if the opposite thing happened as well. A smile this time. It was sometimes a chore being himself, though he wouldn't give it up in the world. What he could give up, however, was the knot that was inside him. It was there, always there... How he wished it would finally untangle itself and go away.

A frown came upon him and he stopped his rapid pace to look over the ridge he had reached. He had tried everything to stop the plague that the knot had over him. He had run away from society, made his way through other realms, kept to himself. Nothing had worked. And nothing would work. He took that as a reality now. Nothing would ever rid him of his pain.

The wind sang through the grass, making it seem as though voices were speaking. StarClan itself wouldn't be interested in him, he told himself firmly. Not even the she-cat he loved would ever try to speak to him, even through dreams. Oh the blissful iorny that was his life. It was just like a nightmare, though it never would end. Nothing would end this torture, he was sure.

So Sailknot was content sitting there listening to the breeze, stuck in the memories of the past, and the voices of the wind that spoke them.

[Maplefire]

Maplefire was too concentrated on the lingering scent of rabbit to notice that another Moonclan cat was in the area. Having seen the fresh-kill pile running a bit low, Solarstar had sent Maplefire out to hunt. And now the smell of rabbit was in her nostrils, and she was following it.

As an apprentice she’d had a luster and excitement for hunting, and it had made her more skilled at the task. Yet ever since the incident at the Gathering, the last time she’d gone before she’d been made a warrior, she’d lost her eagerness for everything. Now, she looked just like she was pursuing a task. She wasn’t excited about hunting. It was just something she had to do.

The pretty she-cat trotted easily down a hill, paw steps light and quiet. The rabbit was too far away to make her need to hide her red and brown pelt. Her tail, fluffy and warm in the winter, swept gently back and forth.

If she’d been paying attention, she would have noticed Sailknot’s calico pelt among the heather. But she wasn’t, and thus she didn’t.

Part of her wished she could be like she’d used to be, but she no longer had the self-confidence to try. She was afraid of being judged and disliked. So she didn’t do anything special. She tried to be as normal as possible.

[Sailknot]

A sound caught his ear.

Sailknot lowered himself in the heather, eyes roaming through the stalks, trying to see what had made that sound. It was louder than that of the rabbit that had gone by earlier, though he was in no mood for hunting, and by the scent of it, another cat. He couldn't pick out what Clan they were in due to the heather masking the scents. He mentally sighed. This wasn't going to be one of his favorite things in the world. If he attacked it could be a fellow MoonClanner, and if he didn't, he could be letting a rouge slip away.

As soon as he saw the auburn pelt, he stopped. Only one cat had a pelt like that in MoonClan, he reminded himself. And that was Maplefire. He waited until she went by his small alcove in the heather before he slipped out, following her through the grass. He supposed he should tell her something about his being there, but then again, what would be the fun of that? He shook his head with a bemused smile. Once again he contridicted himself. When would he give it up?

So Sailknot walked along with Maplefire, easily keeping pace with her, eyes sparkling with mirth. He wondered what it would be like when she spotted him, what it would be like if she said hello. He hadn't spoken to her much since a few gatherings back, and only knew her by name, not much else. Cats said she had changed though. Sailknot had shrugged that off at the time. He had changed as well, it certainly couldn't be that bad. However, soon he found himself growing impacient. Wouldn't she turn around anytime this moon?

Sailknot sleared his throat.

[Maplefire]

Maplefire's ears snapped back, rotating quickly at the sound of Sailknot. A second later her head followed, pale yellow eyes wary. When she caught sight of her new companion she relaxed tense muscles. She knew who this tom was.

"Solarstar sent me out to hunt." She said simply, eyes blank. As if that settled everything the she-cat turned back on her original trail, still following the rabbit's scent. If she was lucky, she'd be led to a warren, and the Clan would eat well.

But wait. Hadn't she been taught as an apprentice not to eat baby and mother animals? That would preserve the prey and ensure that there was still enough to sustain further generations of Moonclan cats.

Not another word was spoken to Sailknot; if he wanted to follow her, he could, but she wouldn't care either way. It was as if she's already forgotten his presence. Maplefire was determined to have as little judgeable personality whatsoever, so she stayed blank.

[Sailknot]

The she-cat said nothing more than a sentance, and Sailknot frowned. Wasn't she supposed to start blabbing his ear off? That was how everyother she-cat in the Clans carried on a conversation. He followed nontheless, determined to figure out why she was so concealing. If he could remember correctly, back to one of the few days he had spent as an apprentice in MoonClan, she had been vivid and full of life. What had happened while he was gone to make her this way?

Of course, then again, he had been changed too. He was once full of life as well, without a care in the world, and now his feelings were tangeled and his mind was full of questions that would, most likly, never be answered. Love was perhaps the only thing he could think of that would change her this much. Love and the loss of a loved one.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked after a while, a smile brightening his maw. "I'm dreadfully bored, and you look like you could use some company."

Despite what her reply was, he would follow. Sailknot wanted to know what had happened to Maplefire, and the only way to find out how, in his mind, was to spend time with the she-cat. Besides, there was nothing else to do but look to the past, and he was certainly in no mood for that.

[Maplefire]

“Do what you want.” Came the almost bored reply. But no, boredom was still an emotion, and this she-cat’s voice lacked most of that.

Her paw steps were light, barely stirring the ground underneath as the smell of rabbit got stronger. She was on the right trail- good. She’d thought that she’d merely been following a stale scent, one that would disappear and leave her in the middle of Moonclan territory with nothing to show for it. Yet, as she dropped her lower jaw to take in more of the smell, she knew that she was tracking a flesh-and-blood rabbit.

The trail wove into a large tangle of briars. Maplefire frowned, slowly coming to a stop and sniffing the edge of the thorns. Very clever- there were multiple rabbits in here, taking refuge from the nearby gathering of hungry predators. Smart prey. This would be a challenge. The auburn-hued warrior began to slowly circle the briar patch, sniffing the edges and searching for any way she could get in.

Multiple spots seemed to be good, but only rabbits could make the sharp turns these small briar tunnels entailed. A talented cat might get through, but these tunnels were designed to make exiting completely different from entering, even if it was the same door. If Maplefire tried to get in and succeeded, she’d probably be stuck inside and wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed.

Completing her circuit, the warrior sat down to think. “Hm.”

It seemed she’d forgotten about Sailknot. Again. Or she simply didn’t care.

[Sailknot]

Sailknot stopped and watched as she circled the briars. Rabbit scent was almost overwhelming as he sat there, though he resisted the urdge to plundge right into the briars, instead watching as Maplefire circled them. She showed no emotions in her actions, no feelings in her voice. He wondered breifly once more what had happened to her. It was, oddly enough, hard for him to simple brush her off his mind as he did many others. Perhaps it was because she was different, just like he was. Perhaps it was because she had seen the horrors love could bring if not watched carefully.

He looked at the briar himself, and then over to Maplefire. She had forgotten about him, apperantly, though he didn;t forget her. Shaking it off, he moved to an entrance, looking at the twisting path with a cautious eye. He wouldn't get out of the tangle unscathed. There would certainly be some difficulty in that. But, perhaps, it would be worth it for the rabbits that were hiding there.

With a subtle shrug of his shoulders, Sailknot dipped to the ground, slowly inching towards the opening of the briar. "Here, I'll try to get some, you catch the ones that get out." He said, nodding towards the other entrance by Maplefire. Without wiating for her reply, he plunged into the tunnel.

It was narrow and he had to manuver quickly in order not to get hit by the barbs. He could smell the rabbits now, and there was once right by the entrance to the small alcove inside the briar. Perfect. Using the momentum gained as he sped through the tunnel, Sailknot flew through the air towards the unsuspecting rabbit, claws unsheathing as he flew through the air. The rabbit was soon dead, and Sailknot didn't waste anytime in launching himself at another rabbit. He made sure to block all of the other entrance besides the one that Maplefire was next to with his body.

The second rabbit was dead, and he turned his gaze to the others. They wasted no time in moving out to the only avalible entrence. Sailknot smiled. It should be easy picking for Maplfire.

He turned his attention back to the other entraances. Now how was he to get out of this?

[Maplefire]

Maplefire blinked, a brief flicker of surprise flaring in her eyes as Sailknot plunged into the briars. Was he mad?

As the rabbits fled from their safe home in terror, a few almost bolted straight into the watching she-cat. She had to latch her claws into them, killing the animals, to keep them from bowling her over. She had come out to hunt, after all, and she was going to bring back fresh-kill.

As the rabbits left, Maplefire padded up close to the briars. She could barely see his shadow in among the thorns. “You shouldn’t have done that. There was a way to get them without becoming trapped. Do you ever think before you act?”

How was she going to get him out of this?