Stonefrost's introduction

[louy]

Looking towards the night sky, a sleek grey cat sat, watching the stars. His amber eyes seemed to scan the sky in search of a warning, in search of something. The battles had been nonstop for half a moon, and now, suddenly, there was a break. Being paranoid, Stonefrost had actually doubled the patrols because of this, instead of letting his clanmates rest. They would need all the warning they could get, for if these cats got into the camp, Timberclan was doomed.

He was sure his leader would have prayed to Starclan now, but Stonerfost simply could not bring himself to do so. No, he was not leaving his fate into the hands of these mysterious cats that he had never seen. But, they were better than the others. They were better than the Eternal Flame. Any clan who would fast for nearly a moon, or would hurt a queen intentionally had problems.

The tom glanced at the fresh kill pile and frowned, his patterned tail twitching. The pile had become dangerously low, and with the patrols the way the were and the break allowed, the clan needed to stock up on food and herbs while they had a chance.

Stonefrost looked around, attempting to spot cats who were awake and not busy. Finally, unable to decide, he called out, "Any cat awake needs to report to me immediately." Once he had called this out, he began to slowly walk towards the medicine cat's den. They herbs must be dangerously low, with all the fighting going on. Two groups. One to go hunt and another to gather herbs. But Stonefrost knew he would not be part of the herb group; he had no idea what any herb looked or smelled like and could only hope another warrior would know.

[Smokeleaf]

Please be empty! Please be empty! Please, my loving, forgiving StarClan, let everyone else be asleep!
Owlpaw slowed his pace gradually as he neared camp, then was walking normally by the time he entered. His chest heaved and breath came out rapidly because of his run, and he struggled to maintain it. His rump met the ground, and he allowed himself to rest at the entrance for just a moment before standing up again and padding forward.
He was hopeful for a moment, thinking that his prayer had been answered, but his heart fell when he saw Stonefrost pacing the clearing. Of course. He'd just left what he thought were the most strict cats in the Clan, only to find himself with the TimberClan deputy. Who next? Their leader?
"Stonefrost?" he called, running toward him while simultaneously making his face as innocent as possible. "Do you need something?"

[louy]

Stonefrost didn't see the apprentice run into camp. From the deputy's perspective, the good apprentice had likely walked in from accompanying the medicine cats, or perhaps hunting. Stonefrost had a tendency to try to see the good in cats.
"Owlpaw!" He smiled. Stonefrost was a rather kind cat, unless given a reason to be so otherwise. Seeing he looked a bit tired, he frowned. "Do you need to rest? I was really hoping someone would go hunting with me, since I think the medicine cats are actually out gathering herbs in the moment of calm." Though he didn't sound concerned, any cat who knew the grey tom well would understand he was genuinely concerned about the apprentice's well-being. However, because Stonefrost was so calculating, many often took this as a sign of disinterest.
"If you really need to rest, we can work around it," a weak clan in a time of rest makes for a lost battle. "But if you're capable, the fresh kill pile is really running low," a glazed look crossed his eyes as he attempted to calculate how many days they had left. One.


ooc// Where was Owlpaw? And who's his mentor?

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: Owlpaw was with Glacierpoint, Windsong, and Wishpaw, kind of. Actually, he started off on his own, and they ran into him. Owlpaw's kind of mischevious, so he tends to do these "projects." At the moment, he was working on something involving a tree.... He doesn't have a mentor yet.
bic:

Owlpaw blinked. On the outside, he had maintained his innocent, eager look, the kind that was pictured on all the normal apprentices. On the inside, however, he was growling, snarling, hissing with all his might. Go out? Hunt? What about his project? Didn't any cat care about him?
He quickly regained control and nodded respectfully. "Oh, no, I'm not tired!" he replied, immitating the quick, eager voice of Wishpaw. "It's barely morning! I'd love to go hunting, Stonefrost."
He thought for a moment about poor Glacierpoint, doing her best to hunt for the Clan with the loquacious medicine cat apprentice chattering away, and wondered if he should tell the deputy about her efforts. Perhaps they could meet up with her, and "rescue" her.
Then he remembered her suspicious glares, and her pointed desire of being on her own. How dare anyone want to be away from Wishpaw? She was perfect, in every way! He quickly decided against it, thinking she deserved being stuck with the others. Besides, Stonefrost was the deputy, and Owlpaw was admittedly very ambitious. Perhaps a few minutes alone with the tom would teach him a valuable lesson; suddenly, this monotonous hunting excursion might not be so bad, after all.
"Euh, is there any other cat joining us?"

[louy]

Stonefrost smiled, "Good. A good warrior is always up early, ready to go out on a moment's notice." Stonefrost's analytical gaze noticed nothing amiss in the tom's facial expressions. If there was one thing the deputy was awful at, it was reading other cats.

"As far as I can tell, it will just be us." The grey tom looked around frustrated as he frowned slightly. The clan was falling apart. He couldn't rule a disembodied clan. Anger flared in eyes, but only for a moment. There was no need to worry. He'd fix this all.

His eyes frowned for him as he glanced over the apprentice in front of him. This clan was even at the point where it was hard to keep a mentor for an apprentice, what with all the fighting going on. But that would be dealt with once more food was retrieved.

"I guess we ought to leave now," his tail twitched. Might as well attempt to do some mentoring, "Where's the best place to hunt, Owlpaw?"

[Smokeleaf]

Owlpaw blinked. Say what? A pop quiz? I didn't agree to this, he thought angrily. I don't even want to be here in the first place, mouse brain!
"Well, um..." he pondered, his eyes flickering back and forth. Had he ever been told the best place to hunt? He'd noticed some of the places where the medicine cats wandered, but he'd never really paid attention to the warriors. He was usually on his own, be it working or hunting. He bit his tongue, then said the first thing that came to mind. "The forest!"
Did I really just say that? He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see any disapproving glares and thought again. Where had he hunted the most? He'd been out with other warriors before, and they always took him to their favorites. Which one was most popular? "I mean... the Lookout Oak. Right?"

ooc: I don't know if that's right. I just know its not the Rabbit Warren. ( =

[louy]

Stonefrost was used to long pauses in converstations. He wasn't fully sure if he made cats think (which he hoped for), made them confused, or if they really hated talking to him. Not that it really mattered.
"Very good. There really is no 'best spot,' but every cat seems to have his or her own opinion. It really shows how you think as a warrior, and who you'll group with." In actuality, Stonefrost was simply talking to talk. Sometimes, he said his thoughts aloud without meaning to.
After another silent moment of thinking, the grey deputy realized that he rarely ever saw Owlpaw- he always seemed aloof and alone. Perhaps the apprentice was up to something, or perhaps Stonefrost's mind was thinking much too quickly again. The tom opened his mouth to confront this problem, but quickly shut it again, not in the mood for an arguement. Not many cats were up yet, and they all needed their sleep.
So instead, he simply began to walk out of camp, towards the Lookout Oak, intending to keep a closer eye on this one.

ooc// I dunno, that's why I asked you xD

[Smokeleaf]

"Actually," Owlpaw stammered, "do you mind if I check up on something first...?" As the deputy moved away, however, he knew his request had been ignored, and he stumbled after him on eager feet.
As much as he hated "teamwork," or whatever these sentimental mousebrains called it, Owlpaw loved showing TimberClan just how amazing he was. While he'd never show any of them his "projects"--they wouldn't understand--he hunted and trained for battle like a true warrior! At least, that was his opinion.
Speaking of which, he thought as they began their trek through the forest, it seems he's taken mine. Judging by their direction, they were headed toward the Lookout Oak. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to taste the sweet fresh-kill on his tongue. Once he knew he couldn't force the memory back, he opened his eyes again and remained alert. Who knows what great prey they could stumble onto, and he didn't want to miss it! More importantly, he didn't want to miss what cool hunting moves Stonefrost might show him.

[louy]

ooc// This'll be short.. Not sure how to respond to that.

bic//
Stonefrost blatantly avoided Owlpaw's request. The apprentice had already said he'd join him, he wasn't backing out now. While he noticed some inner conflict going on, the deputy didn't press the subject. He'd know if he needed to.
As they approached the hunting grounds, he looked at the brown apprentice. "Do you hunt more for mice or birds?" He wanted to know what style the younger cat preferred before he started.

[Smokeleaf]

Once again, Owlpaw was surprised at how the deputy asked for his opinion. When he was a kit, cats spoke to him, but many grew suspicious of him as he aged, and tended to just drag him along. He thought for a moment before replying, "Mice." He didn't like all the feathers on birds, and he didn't have a use for them yet in his project.
"But," he added quickly, "I was hoping you might show me how to do it. I mean, I know how, but everybody does it a little differently, and I'd like to see how you do it. You know, to combine tactics, and make them better."
This was the truth. He wanted to be the best, and he had the chance to learn from many different cats. Owlpaw was not one to let an opportunity go by, so he widened his eyes to look more innocent, then glanced up at Stonefrost hopefully.