Sharing Tongues - September (OPEN)

Drops of rain pattered endlessly on the foliage far above ThunderClan’s camp. Soft echoes of thunder groaned in the distance as the storm began to relent from a day of wretched weather. Oakstar watched from his den as most of the clan stayed tucked up in high and dry places. The prey pile was wet and damp, as was just about everywhere in the middle of camp. A great paw deep lake seemed like a swamp.

It reminded him of his former home for a brief moment. Without much thought, he padded out of the den. The white tip of his paw squished easily into the mud, covering it in the brown sludge as he pulled it out, leaving a pawprint.

It was a kittish game.

… but it was fun. Despite the rain, and the clan watching, he placed his other paw down next to where he had made the first mud print, then watched as his second one was now paired with the first. His tail twitching with amusement as he smiled, then flung himself up in a leap to land squarely in the mud, then looked up to the cats watching, ears flattening and head ducking a little in embarrasment.

Mistwalker couldn't help but giggle quietly. Being around Grayleaf had allowed him the freedom to show much more emotion, and to be honest it didn't feel bad. Oakstar realized they were watching and looked embarrassed. Mistwalker put on his serious face and walked up to him. "Leadad..." He started, acting just as embarrassed at first."You need some different paws in there!" He Leapt into the mud, splashing himself but making paw prints. It was a great idea on Oakstar's part.

The rain as of late didn't bother Dacepaw in the least, though she noticed quite quickly that her Clanmates seemed to be getting soaked and miserable much more quickly than she. The former RiverClan cat didn't realize that, though she had stopped eating fish over a moon ago to try to keep from offending Houndpaw's sensitive nose, her thick fur was still built up with the oils from her diet growing up. The rains easily rolled off her shoulders and back and onto the floor below, and her large almost webbed paws proved immensely useful for walking in the muck. She didn't struggle nearly so much as her friends and Clanmates did, but the reasons why didn't even occur to her. It was probably why she'd been able to go on so many patrols recently; no one else wanted to get wet!

Dacepaw was in camp now, though, and it seemed that many other cats were as well. Oakstar appeared from his den, his face looking quite curiously at the muck that had amassed in the camp in the rainstorms. The soft sound of thunder in the distance drew her attention to the silence that was broken in camp as the large dark tabby tom squashed his paw into a muddy spot, then pulled it back out. A grin slowly spread across Dacepaw's face as she saw Oakstar put down a second paw in the same way as the first. The tip of Dacepaw's tail was twitching; she could see the glint of mischief in her leader's eyes. Was he about to...?

The massive tom was suddenly pouncing into the mud, and Dacepaw's tail flung up and a squeal of glee escaped her. "Oh! Oh me too, me too!" the tortoiseshell proclaimed, and she too dashed from where she had been resting out of the rain. She took a running leap to try to land just before Oakstar, but she found that, as she landed, it was much more slippery than she'd anticipated. With a yelp, Dacepaw's feet slipped out from under her, and she landed awkwardly on her back, sending up a spray of mud. Dazed, she looked up to see Oakstar, and she immediately giggled. "Ehehe, hi, did I get you gross?" she checked playfully.

His head tilted as his son strode forward. Rain water still falling onto his pelt as he watched his son leap into the mud with him. The pale tortoiseshell coat of another cat was all the warning he had before mud splattered over his head and chest with a shout of surprise.

Then, he smirked and pulled up a paw to press it to Dacepaw’s forehead. He looked up at Mistwalker and bounded over her to grab his shoulders and pull him down into the muck with a playful ‘battle’ yowl that ended with a purr as he felt his paws slip and stumbled onto his side with a laugh.

Falconwing, watching from not far off, under the shade of the warriors’ den, laughed aloud. In times where death and destruction were frequent, she was glad to know the Clan could still have a little fun. She raced towards the puddle, leaping in and spattering mud over her own pelt, still chuckling. So what, if she got a little dirty? She had a short, tight pelt, and the rain would help in washing it off. She leapt like a fox in snow from one patch of muck to another, grinning, looking at the marks she left behind her.

She stared brightly at Oakstar as he smirked down at her, a kind and almost fatherly look in his eyes. Still, it was a fiendish look, too - they were playing, after all. The leader lifted a mucky paw and began to reached towards Dacepaw's mottled head. The apprentice, still laying on her back in the mud, let out a squeal of delighted protest, trying to squirm away from him, but his "strike" hit soundly in the center of her forehead with no trouble. A great muddy mark was left where he'd pawed her.

Dacepaw giggled and began to roll clumsily to her paws. Oakstar had moved on to tackle his son, laughing and yowling like an apprentice. The large dark tabby had tackled Mistwalker but fallen victim to the same thing that had claimed Dacepaw, losing his paws from under him and collapsing to his side. "My turn to give you a muddy mark!" she sang, splashing through the muck only to spring rather ungracefully towards her vulnerable leader with a wild and playful look on her face.

Beartooth was returning from one in a many series of patrols. It was a decent, he supposed, to be able to busy his paws of his own accord. Although, Ferretnose had helped him to realize that he could not do every single one on by himself. There had been some adjustments to be made, of course, but it seemed the deputy had gotten in the rhythm of organizing the patrols. As he slid through the gorse tunnel, tendrils dragging at his medium length, tabby coat, the tom's green gaze landed on the strange scene ahead of him. It appeared Oakstar was leading them in some game in the mud. His coat had already collected several droplets of rain but he had yet to lose any memory of his pelt underneath a blanket of mud. His mentor had always been a strange cat; there was both kindness and wisdom wrapped up in the older tom, but he had always possessed the joy of a kit, which was something Beartooth did not understand. He simply watched from a distance, nodding ever so slightly to the group with the intention of padding past. There were still several duties required of him and seldom any time to play about. Nor did he see the appeal in such an action.

Mossbloom's head poked out of the ferns to see.... Mud. Mud everywhere. Why was it flying? Looking towards the source, she saw a very muddy Dacepaw splashing and sliding right for a similarly muddy Oakstar. A smile split her face as she prepared to step out, when a very clean (comparatively, at least) Beartooth entered the camp and took in the scene. She watched as he seemed to skirt around the edge of the chaos, an idea glimmering in her eyes. Well that certainly won't do she thought, sneaking up behind Beartooth. The mud was slick, and seemed to suction her paws, but learning to hunt on the shore of the distant lake had been something she had not forgotten. The mud sucked at them there too, and she had managed just fine. One paw step at a time, the distance closed. At one point she thought she saw one of the others watching her out of the corner of her eye, so she flicked her tail once, a signal for them not to reveal her presence to the ThunderClan deputy.

Soon, she was close enough. A deep breath forced her sides outward as she called upon her training so many moons before, and with a quick and calculated bunching of muscles sprang into the air, aimed right for Beartooth's shoulders. Her training had not abandoned her as she landed neatly, just as she had wanted, sending both medicine cat and deputy sprawling into the mud. Finding her feet in the slick mud, she started laughing. It had been too long since she had laughed like this, and she scrambled to Beartooth's side. "Hiya, Beartooth! Didn't think you could sneak by, did you?" She asked, winded from the effort and from her laughter, eyes sparkling with joy.

The deputy had been contented to pad away from the scene. His eyes were trained on a small mouse in the fresh kill pile. It would revive his strength for the rest of the night before he drifted into an easy sleep. Instead, he found a weight falling onto his back and his legs were rendered useless in the slippery much of the camp. Within moments, his face was planted firmly in the mud and his underbelly was soaked. Flecks of mud also splattered various other spots on his coat. Beartooth was ready to leap back onto his paws and face whatever deadly foe had been able to tackle him so successfully. Instead of a vicious foe, the tom's ears were met with the sweet and cheerful sound of the medicine cat. He rolled onto his side and glanced up at her, blinking a couple of times. Although his maw was mostly wrought with shock, there was a flickering of a frown at the discomfort of the mud. But Mossbloom's contagious smile abolished it as he rose to his paws, "I did not know I needed to be involved." The rough voice was matter of fact. He wasn't sure what she wanted from him. But it seemed every cat there was already coated in a layer of mud. Glancing from his massive paw, to the she-cat a couple times, the warrior finally raised one over-sized forepaw and slapped at the brown water, spraying the calico with it.

Grayleaf padded out of the nursery to a rather uncomfortable sight. So much mud everywhere. What in the name of StarClan was going on here? Even the high ranking cats of the Clan were involved in the atrocity, and the queen was not happy with it. They weren't kits anymore! They were cats with responsibility, there was no time to play! Although perhaps Nightkit would enjoy having fun in all of this?

"Nightkit sweetie. Come look at what the Clan is doing! They are playing without you! Don't you want to join them!" She purred to her adopted kit. She then saw Mistwalker and, with a smile, pounced on him as Oakstar pulled him into the mud. She couldn't help but laugh. Mistwalker brought out a new light in her that wasn't usually there.

Green eyes lit up with joy and the thrill of being able to take down her opponent in the mud, she lowered her nose to Beartooth's shoulder quickly. Ignoring the flickering frown for the few moments it lasted, she purred. "Well, you don't have to be, but I wanted you to be, and now that your muddy you might as well!" She exclaimed, tail curling slightly as she watched for his next move. His gaze traveled to his larger-than-normal paw, then to her, and back a few times, and slowly Mossbloom caught on to his plan. His paw raised and slapped onto the water, splashing the mud all over her and the area around her, and all she could do was close her eyes and mouth. Once the impact was over, green eyes peered out of a brown face, mud coating her chest and front almost completely.

She smiled, her teeth gleaming for a moment against the mud before rearing back and jumping into another nearby puddle, her legs sliding out from under her as she sprayed mud and water along the deputies back. Laying on her back, she stretched out her legs and grinned again. "It's going to take moons to get this out of my pelt!" She claimed, but the amusement in her eyes seemed to not mind that one bit.