Old Man Ash Takes a Walk (open)

It felt like moons since he'd felt smooth pebbles under his paws. Sickness had kept him confined to the camp, unable to do much else than throw up whatever food was given to him. Sure, eventually he'd gotten better, but many of his clanmates were still ill. Some of their territory had been taken over by Windclan, which he knew wasn't his fault, but the black dotted white tom still felt responsible for the incident. Currently, he was the highest ranking healthy cat. Oh what a joy that was. He had no leadership skills, what was he supposed to do?

Well, hunt for one. Either for yarrow, or for actual prey, it didn't matter. Ashcloud gazed at the Leaffall-fast river without much fear, searching for any fish below it. There! The warrior's claws immediately flew out, his paw a blur of pale fur as it sliced through the water. Contact. With a force almost surprising for his small frame he tugged the fish out of the water, using his other front paw to grip its gills. Careful not to lose it, he swiftly bit down on its skull, it having no neck whatsoever. He sat back to admire his catch and nearly yelped at the pain in his shoulder. Had he dislocated it? Again? Well, it could be fixed easily. Taking the bass in his jaws, he made a move to go back to camp, but paused when he thought he'd heard a sound.

Cautiously tucking his catch in the reeds, he called out somewhat warily. "Hello?" It could be a multitude of things, an enemy cat, a clanmate, or maybe even one of those foxes he'd fought in his youth. "Are you trying to sneak up on me?"

Cedarfur walked along the reeds, searching for mice or any prey. He was not very happy about sharing territory with RiverClan, but his Leader's order he had to follow. He stopped when he saw a RiverClan tom, and watched with curiosity. After the RiverClan ct caught his prey and heard a twig snap under Cedarfur's foot, he gave a sigh. "Hello. Sorry to bother you." The extremely tall tom said with a dip of his head, trying to show respect. Besides, this wasn't his territory, so the RiverClan tom could do what he pleased.

ooc-was debating whether to post Trout or Cedar... ;w;

Ooc- I think I've got an idea.

Ic- The older tom had mixed feelings when a Windclan cat came out of the territory. It didn't feel right, it brought up near-dead memories. He felt like he should know this cat, something about him triggered in his brain. "No, I was about to head back." His mouth half opened for a moment before a possible explanation came to mind.

"I am sorry if this is intrusive, but," Yeesh, that felt weird. "Do you know a cat named Pebblelight? She's an... old friend. We haven't talked in ages, is she still around?" Oh how he wanted to say "daughter" instead of "friend". He tried to appear somewhat nonchalant, with moderate success.

Ooc2- Congrats, Cedarfur, you just met your granddad.

Cedarfur was about to be on his way, when he heard his Mother's name. "Pebblelight? Uh, yes. She was my mother." Sudden grief struck his heart, he remembered his mother's death.

Willowpaw skipped across the pebbles. Although she was warrior age she was still an apprentice, so that meant she could still act differently. She never had a proper kit-hood so she was usually really mature and quiet. Seeing Ashcloud she smiled sweetly. "Hello Ashcloud. Lovely day today huh?" She diluted Gray and black calico meowed. See glanced at the Windclan warrior. Wow he was tall!! "Hello." She meowed politely to the elder cat, remembering her manors.

Cedarfur looked down at the apprentice. Great, now I have to deal with an apprentice? I was just about to discover why this cat knew Pebblelight! He thought, but game a smile and a nod. "Hello little one." He said kindly, although he wished she hadn't shown up, at least for a few more minutes.

"Hey Cedarfur wait up!!" Came the voice of Snakepaw. The brown striped Tom padded over. He wasn't as tall as Cedarfur but he was a little taller than the average cat. The brown Tom glanced quickly at the others. "Hello." He meowed.

All Ashcloud could do for a heartbeat was blink. The word "was" told him she was dead, as well as the flicker of sadness on the other cat's face. He swallowed the feeling of sickness in his throat. "I apologize."

The cat here, right in front of him, was his grandson. He couldn't find an exact feeling for the situation he was in. No cat alive knew, could know. He couldn't portray his grief if that was true, as it would appear strange and unfounded. Thankfully, the arrival of an apprentice distracted him. "Hello, Willowpaw." Another apprentice appeared, this time from Windclan. The white warrior stretched on the grass, wincing slightly at the twinge in his shoulder. He'd have to ask Wisteriapaw to push it back into place if she wasn't too busy or sick.

Cedarfur smiled when Snakepaw showed up. "Hi Snakepaw. Getting to know your clanmates more?" He said with a smile, though he still wanted to know who this tom was to Pebblelight. "No need to apologize. Might I ask who you were? I mean, to Pebblelight? I promise, I won't judge or anything. I understand that many cats have affiliates from other clans." He said kindly to the older tom. Curiosity was eating away at Cedarfur's pelt.

His tail swished once. Not only did the question stress that he should answer, but he knew the apprentices probably wouldn't leave out of curiosity. If Ashcloud told the truth, there could be a chance of the Windclan leader's son finding out. He knew he was a vicious cat, not only to other clan cats, but to halfbloods as well.

"She did not know who I was." That was true, at least. "I was... asked... to watch over her by her mother." That was kind of true. He couldn't say much more than that, being as vague as he was.

Kestrelpaw could not have come in at a more awkward time. The very large apprentice, whom has recently hit a growth spurt, stumbled behind where Cedarfur was. "I'm sorry." he said, straightening up. Training with Falconstar had done his muscles well, and he was filling nicely. He looked like an older cat... besides his baby face of course. Awkward tufts of baby fur still clung in some places.

Cedarfur gave a smile and looked down at his son. "Sorry for what?" He tilted his head. He didn't want to sound naggy, but the tom needed to know the truth about this cat. He would probably see him again, so it could be best to ask in a more private location.

OoC:: That means.............. Ashcloud...... is his great grandfather....


Kestrelpaw purred and rubbed against his father, whom he had gained his height and size from. "Interrupting. Who is this, father?" Kestrelpaw asked, turning his attention to the RiverClan cat.

"Uh, I actually don't know." Cedarfur tilted his head. "I'm Cedarfur, I don't think I got your name." The tall tom sat down, feeling somewhat defeated by the fact that he didn't find who Pebblelight was truly to this cat. "Well, anyway, I'm sorry WindClan has to share RiverClan territory." He gave a respectful nod.

Ooc- I often forget how old he actually is...

Ic-"It must have been her mate that was so big," He couldn't help but think. Neither of them nor his mother could have dreamed of being even marginally taller than someone else. "Nice to meet you, though the circumstances are not favorable. My name is Ashcloud." It was good that the other tom had dropped the subject for the moment. "I'm sure Falconstar has his reasons that aren't simply because you have grown too large." That surprise encounter, so far into the territory... his clan truly was weak.