WindClan Territory

Welcome to the hills of WindClan! We are the swift and loyal cats.

Sweetpetal was lying in the nursery, her belly swollen and round with the kits she'd soon give birth to. Troubled, she licked her belly and sighed. Oh, Ashstar... If you'd been their father, everything would have been alright. she thought depressivly, lowering her head to fit it on her front paws. Breathing in heavily, she attempted to fall asleep.

Thump. Thump. The quick sounds of his heart seemed to thunder through the hills. He kept it low, trying to hide the sense of tension in his heart, which made it beat so quickly. Taking in breath a couple of times, he leaped forwards and gave chase, the hare noticing him and running for it.

His heart seemingly inaudible under the sound of his hard paws hitting the ground, he focused on the white tail bobbing in front of him, and that he'd have to catch it for his clan. Just a little quicker... He thought to himself, although to his dismay the hare vanished into a den. Growling in frustration, he stomped around it several times, sniffing the air and circling the entrance hungrily. Meanwhile, the prey surrounding the area scattered due to his vulanous eruptions. Growling he calmed down and walked off, catching a pitiful mouse on the way back.

*Ashstar padded out of the den, his matter fur clinging to his body in stress. The heat beat his body ragged and you could see his ribs through his thin, unkept pelt. Sitting down, he closed his eyes in frusteration. StarClan, why did you make it so hot. Someone is going to die from heatstroke. Looking into the nursery, he could see the shadow of the bulging belly of Sweetpetal. Sighing, he muttered, "Such a hard time for kit." and sighed.*

Padfoot arrived in camp just then, irritable because of the heat. Padding straight over to the fresh-kill pile he added the mouse he'd got, and sighed. Glancing about the camp, his annoyed and frustrated look shone through. Padding over to Ashstar he flicked his tail in greeting. "Such a hard weather... Barely any prey at all. Missed a hare only moments ago." he said bitterly, realizing how badly the heat would affect the clan.

*Ashstar looked at Padfoot, eyes squinting to see through the light. Sighing, pain shone in his eyes, making him appear much older than he was. "I am going to go hunting all day. We need as much prey as possible. The poor moor cannot shield us from those life threatoning rays. If you are tired, we need you to stay here so you can rest and lead the Clan while I am away. Sound fair?" and swallowed some saliva, his only way to receive water.*

Nodding to thhe suggestion Padfoot glanced about camp. "I'll do. But with the current weather and heat, I would be surprised if there happens to be anything to lead." he muttered and shrugged, aware that most cats would be inside the dens, trying to cool down. "Sometimes, living on the moor can be a real burden." he said with a hopeless sigh, studying the fresh-kill pile at the center.

"I'll move it to the shadows. That way it won't rot in the sun, at least. The lastthing we want is some kind of illness." he muttered and padded over to the pile, systematically grabbing a couple of pieces every time and carrying it over to the shadows of the nursery. However, he thought this job was far too quickly done.

*Ashstar sighed in agreement. When Padfoot mentioned how the moor sometimes was a burden, he flicked his tail and mewed wisely, "I would never think that. We are the closest to StarClan so they guide us the clearest. That is an advantage far better than the cat's who hide in the shadows and sit in the mud. Yes, rest in the shadows. The apprentices and warriors can go into abandoned fox holes on the sides of camp because of the lack of nests." and then dipped his head. Padding out of the camp with a strange, uneven step. Walking onto the moor, he scented the hot, acrid air. The scent of rabbit was no where. Seeing the lake almost all the way dried up, he started to the lake. Seeing the muddy water, he sighed yet lapped it up. It was filthy yet he was too thirty to mind. Noticing a white tailed rabbit eating lazily, he stalked up to it and then broke into a pelt as it started to run. The first strides were excrusiating pain and soon he couldn't breath or move. Collapsing, he fell unconcious. The heat had got to him and now he had fallen ill over heatstroke, barely clinging onto life.*

Padfoot shrugged, although didn't make any further notices on Ashstar's opinion. Yes, we're the closest to StarClan. But it also means we're the closest to the sun too. he thought grimly, not thinking of it as an advantage to live out on the moors. Sighing he gathered his paws and dragged himself over to the warriors den, where he laid down and let out a sigh, trying to get a rest.

Sweetpetal was bored to death, and the sun didn't help much to keep her spirits up. Sighing she got to her paws and continued out the camp entrance, intending to take a quick stroll over the area. Having a white coat, the sun didn't affect her as much as the other cats. Yet, she felt like she was boiled alive. Suddenly she heard a thump and flicked her ears, padding over to where the sound had come from.

When she arrived at the scene, Ashstar had already collapsed and fallen unconscious, and Sweetpetal's eyes widened. "Oh my StarClan... Ashstar..! Ashstar! Are you alright!?" she said loudly, although didn't expect much of a response. Thinking quickly she ran down to the shore as quickly as she could, her belly being much of a burden to her. There she gathered a piece of moss, and soaked it in the chilly water left in the lake. Dashing back she held the moss over his head, then squeezed it lightly to let the water trickle down his face. She then continued down his body, until he was soaked.

*Ashstar lay there, his breathing getting shallower yet his heart raced so much, it almost jolted him. Then, his body slowed, not even bothering to notice the hot water that came from the moss. Slowing to a complete stop, his breathing stopped and heart stopped. He was losing his first life.
After a little while, he managed to open one of his eyes, dulled in pain. Sweetpetal was just a blurry image to him until a few moments passed and he was a bit more focused. Breathing in a deep breath, he relaxed and tried to move but he was too weak. Opening his mouth to speak, no words came out. Letting his head fall, he just lay there, to tired to move.*

(I lose the first life so quick... XD)

(You KILL your cats very quickly, Snow x3 And having a cat with 9 lives just allows you to kill even more c: ))

Sweetpetal sighed, knowing that he'd just given in to the heat. Shrugging she realized how hard it would be raising her kits in these tempratures, with little water and high chances for fire. Seeing that Ashstar was quite incapable of talking, or even doing something at all, She grabbed his scruff and dragged him under the nearest bush. "Open your mouth widely... You'll need some water." she muttered weakly, sad that she hadn't managed to save his life.

*Ashstar felt his body being dragged across the moor. Feeling slightly cooler as he entered the shade, he weakly followed Sweetpetal's instructions like a helpless kit. Opening his mouth, he managed to keep it open, despite his tounge became quickly parched and was as dry as sandpaper. No saliva was left in his mouth, quickly dried out from the heat. This temperature was even worse than harsh Leafbares. Leafbare was col but water was available and the prey is gone still.*

Sweetpetal smiled slightly, glad she'd managed to make him do something. Squeezing out the final drops of water into his mouth, she ranback for more. While she was running, she prayed that Ashstar would remember what she did now later. That her deeds wouldn't go by forgotten, and that he'd possibly care about her more after the heat finished.

She had broken into a trot rather than a dash now, quickly turning tired because of the huge load she was carrying. The dripping moss clamped in her jaws, she reached Ashstar once again. Smiling she emptied the load of water into his mouth, although made sure he had enough time to swallow it properly.

*Ashstar waited there for her to return, so thankful for her hospitality and care towards him. Thoughts rushed through his head as he thought that he might faint again but willed himself to stay together. When Sweetpetal returned, dripping water into his mouth slowly but surely, he drank it, thristily. Each drop of water seemed to make him feel that much more stronger. After drinking his fill, he had finally mustered up enough energy to stand. Clumsily getting up, he turned to Sweetpetal, eyes sagging in exhastion and mewed rasped, "Thank you so much." and gave a weak smile. Strangely, his eyes locked onto Sweetpetal's pink collar for some odd reason. Turning his gaze back to her face, he heaved a long sigh.*

Sweetpetal smiled as he slowly, but surely, rose. She had an overjoyed moment when he thanked her for what she'd done, and put the moss she'd carried water with aside. "No problem." she said and smiled gently. Her heart sank to her stomach as she found his eyes staring at her collar though. StarClan no! Don't let him be one of those cats who hates kittypet-born cats! she thought desperatly, not wanting him to think she was weak for that reason. "Are you able to walk? Because we better get you back to camp..." she suggested, shuffling her paws and obviously a bit more shy than earlier.

*Ashstar noticed her unease but shook it off. Heaving a long sigh, he shook his matted and filthy fur, an attempt to look somewhat decent. "Yeah, I am ready to walk. I need to do something about this heat." taking gentle steps, he managed to walk slowly but surely on the moor, tilting his head at an awkward position. Glancing at the sky, it had streaks of pinks, yellows and blues. "The sun it setting." he concluded. "It will be cooler at night so maybe we could rest easily." and padded across the moor, looking like a cat who was sleep walking.*

Sweetpetal nodded and made sure she padded very close to him to make sure he wouldn't fall. However, she could feel her pelt grow unnaturally hot whenever she touched the tom's fur. "Well, you can't do anything with the sun, can you? That's just for StarClan to decide..." she burst out, before she had the chance to think things through. Immediatly she shrunk back and shuddered. "Sorry..." she muttered, looking guilty and embarrased. She let out a sigh and nodded. "Too bad I can't hunt..." she muttered bitterly, wishing more than ever she could get rid of the unwanted pregnancy.

*Ashstar didn't feel uncomfortable about their pelts touching. Feeling no sence of romance around her, he thought of them as a Clan friendship. Twitching his whiskers in amusement as she said that he couldn't do anything, he mewed, "Well, I can let our Clan be protected from the harmful rays." and sighed. When she mentioned how she couldn't hunt, he nodded and mewed, "But, kits are a good thing for the Clan anyways. We will need them to let the Clan survive when we all pass on to StarClan. It all works out." and smiled. Seeing the camp enterance ahead, he quickened his pace.*

Sweetpetal frowned and shrugged. "Of course..." she muttered, barely audible. She didn't want it to be audible, anyway. Her spirits were higher when he said kits would be a good thing as well, and her eyes twinkled with admiration. "Too bad I don't want these." she muttered, again almost inaudible. As they reached camp, she steered off to the nursery immediatly, not wanting to make herself more of a fool in front of Ashstar.

Her cheeks burning and her tail twitching with annoyance at how stupid she'd seemed, she flopped down in the nest and sighed, hopelessly in love, hopelessly pregnant and hopelessly bound to a life alone. The fact that she was pregnant probably sent out bad signs for every tom. Nobody tried to mess with a queen like that.

*Ashstar heard her mutter a few things but decided to let them go. Padding into camp, he watched Sweetpetal head to the nursery, a strange feeling whirling in his chest. Shaking it away, he procceeded cautiously up to his clearing on top of the ledge. Laying in his nest, thoughts rushed blew through his head like a violent wind until one stop the twister of memories. You like her. Snorting like an apprentice at this thought, he tried to tell himself that was not true but deep inside his heart, the truth shone like the summer sun, brining light to the parts of his heart covered in shadows of grief. At this realization, he curled up in his uncomfortable nest and began to sleep. Dreams of hope and love poured into his mind like a melting pot of determination to win her heart.*

(Huzzah!! XD)

Icefeather whisked her tail back and forth, scanning for any toms she could patrol with. Why should she patrol with she cats? What was the fun in that?

Gorsepaw's whiskers twitched with mixed emotions as he watched Icefeather. She was obviously looking for a tom to patrol with. "Thank StarClan she can't bother me like she does the toher toms." He mumbled.

Pollinpaw was in the clearing looking for Gorsepaw. She wanted to know where he was. Her tail lashed across the ground as she sat there.

Quietecho came out from the warriors den and stared at Pollinpaw for a moment, but then back around the clearing. She decided to go hunting right now to pass time by. So she left camp and into the moors. She sniffed the air for prey.

Pollinpaw saw Gorsepaw and felt excitement strike though her. She padded over to him and asked him nicely,"Do you want to go hunt with me for a bit?" she shuffled her paws as she stared at him. Her eyes softly gleaming in the light.

*Ashstar felt rested after losing his first life, his mood had brightened and he felt like a caring cat unlike a depressed leader. Sitting in his nest, he looked over the Clan and noticed how some cats were padding around camp, expecting to join a patrol. Standing up, he swiftly skidded down the slope down from his ledge. Once he was on the camp clearig soil, he padded up to Icefeather and mewed, "Wanting to join a hunting patrol? I need to stretch my muscles." and smiled, something he usually never did until he had found love for a cat.*

Padfoot noticed Ashstar entering camp empty handed and frowned, wondering if his leader had decided to keep something from him. He'd hunted for such a short amount of time, he could barely think of what could have happened. The mystery just developed by the fact that he'd returned with Sweetpetal. Shrugging off he padded over to Icefeather and Ashstar. "Would you mind if I joined you? I think it's better if we cooperate instead of hunting single pawed." he said and glanced at the two apprentice, Gorsepaw and Pollinpaw. "Maybe those two as well?" he suggested, tilting his head to the two youngsters.

Icefeather gave her leader a pretty smiled and stood up. "I'd love to!" She purred softly, flicking her tail to touch his shoulder. "We leaving now?" She asked with another of her smiles. She looked at Ashstar and she sucked in an excited breath. He had never asked her to hunt with him before. This will be... interesting. I can tell. Padfoot came up to them and Icefeather's tail drooped with disappiontment.

Gorsepaw looked up at Pollinpaw and grunted. "Ok." He meowed and got to his paws. "He looked at her sharply and flicked his tail. "Lead the way." He meowed, amusement sparkling in his eyes, not hearing Padfoot.

*Ashstar turned to Padfoot and nodded. "Thst sounds like a wonderful idea." looking towards Gosepaw and Pollinpaw, he fluke his tail for the two apprentices to come to him. Turning to Padfoot, he gave a silent comment of worry as he furrowed his brow. He had to talk to him about his loss of his first life. I will wait until we are alone. I don't want to worry the Clan by announcing Incarelessly lost a life. Waitig for the cats to gather, he prepared to go hunting again, hopefully not loading another life in the heat.*