Seize Your Moment {Closed}

This really sucked.

Her unsheathed claws agitatedly scraping the dry soil of the sandy camp floor, Laurelsong waited for her 'guardian' to appear, patience rapidly waning.  How long had it been now since Brindlestar had confined her to camp?  Too long, for something she had convinced herself to not be her fault.  It was Sparkpaw's dumb choice to prance up to the edge of the Gorge, she had just tried to get him away from there, but would he listen?  Of course not!  He had never obeyed her, not in the way a truly promising apprentice should have!  Now that the furball had gotten himself killed, she was having to take the blame!  A growl rumbled from deep within her throat; embarrassment festered in her bones like an incurable infection.  Her other apprentices taken away...confined to camp like a lowly kit...having to be led around by a more senior warrior...it was humiliating!  How had they seen through her bluff?  She had clearly underestimated the intelligence of Brindlestar...

Swiftstep hurried over to the she-cat with focused amber eyes. Once he got to her, the tom dipped his head as a quick and formal greeting. "Sorry for having you wait there. Let's head out now!" he meowed while giving her a small smile. Despite what she did, he wasn't going to treat her any different. He did notice her acting a bit odd before he got to her but it might've been his imagination. He brushed off his slightly worried thoughts.

Swiftstep

Over the course of her punishment so far, she had been led around like a blind kit by the most senior warriors...but she hadn't yet had the pleasure to patrol with the new deputy.  As the sandy-brown tom came into view, Laurelsong couldn't help the way her claws sunk into the soft ground below her.  That was supposed to be her.  Yet, here she was...disgraced, her reputation tarnished, her life in disarray...  She hated it.

Standing up, the she-cat fixed an icy stare upon the tom, and with an abrupt flick of her long tail turned her paws towards the camp entrance.  "It's fine."  Her voice reflected an unrestrained curtness, but her words were civil.  "We're patrolling the RiverClan border, correct?"

OOC: Ahhhhh sorry for the fricken long wait :( School is already killin' me but at least it's Senior year :D

IC: Swiftstep nodded while offering another friendly smile. He had noticed Laurelsong's odd behavior, especially around him. Did he do something to offend her before? The tom wasn't about to bring it up. She looked stressed enough. "Let's head out shall we?" he meowed in a gentlemen-like tone. The deputy began to walk out of the camp, beckoning for the she-cat to follow.

Eventually the pair found themselves walking close, but not too close, to the Riverclan border. Swiftstep had been chatting away as if they had been the best of friends. However, Laurelsong had remained silent through it all. "Seems like there's no trouble at this border. Good thing we didn't need to chase some troublesome Riverclan apprentices away right?" The tom had attempted to lighten the mood. In his mind, nobody would really dare cross this border because there was a big chance of falling into the gorge and meeting a painful demise. The comments were the only things that he could really utter out of his mouth that moment. The warrior's silent behavior made the tom a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't used to total silence from another cat. He hoped she felt okay.

(occ: It's okay, I understand ;D)

Laurelsong trailed behind the sandy-brown deputy as they departed from camp, a vicious resentment burning like molten fire through her veins.  Her hatred towards this tom, the shining example of WindClan strength and brilliance, was more than she had ever felt in her life...overcoming even the raw spite she had once felt towards that idiot tom Stoneheart.  This cat...him, the one she was being forced to trail behind like a misbehaving apprentice...had stolen everything she had ever wanted in this world!  What did Brindlestar see in him, she wondered?  What about this wiry, hazel-eyed warrior had impressed her so much to pass up her?  Had her efforts been in vain?  Had the countless hours of patrolling and repairing dens and battle training been for naught in the end?  She felt as if she was being ignored, thrown under the rug, belittled...shamed.  Memories of Sparkpaw's vigil returned to her in a flood, of the leader's harsh stare as she revoked every apprentice Laurelsong had worked so hard to train and reduced her to...to this!  A prisoner, in her own territory!

As she walked through, staring down at her paws shaking with unimaginable loathing, she remembered what Nectarleap had said to her just a few sunrises ago, overlooking the moor like they had once done in their far-away youth.  "I'm confident you'll find a name for yourself without needing to become leader or deputy."  Heh...you've always believed in me Nectarleap...to a fault even.  Maybe this time though...you're right.  Still...how would she be able to do that?  Not many warriors became well-known throughout the clans without either gaining a high rank, killing someone, or dying.  It would have to take something big, something heroic, something...noble.  The ticked tabby she-cat finally looked up, barely aware of the fact that Swiftstep, this whole time as they had traveled, had been chattering away like a songbird in New-leaf.  Maybe...I can be victorious after all.

They had arrived at their destination.  The rancid scent of RiverClan's border marks marred the ground like a trail of blood...which had been the cost of moving this border in the first place.  Beyond it, quite a few fox-lengths away, lay the Gorge.  Laurelsong tensed as she remembered how Sparkpaw had fallen from the sheer cliff, never to move again.  Nectarleap had almost fallen there in their apprenticehood as well, but luckily he had been saved by herself and Stoneheart.  The only useful thing that cat ever did...  She re-marked their own border silently, staring off into the distance where RiverClan and ThunderClan territory lay.  I've experienced a lot here...I never really realized that before.  The lithe she-cat's ears pricked as Swiftstep, once again, tried to lighten the mood she had forcibly created, and for the first time since they had left camp, she looked upon his face.  It was bright, brimming with happiness and optimism, confident that whatever was going on would resolve itself with the right words and gestures.  You wouldn't understand...how could you, once you've gained the one thing I've been pining for?  She didn't respond, merely flattening her ears slightly in a blatant sign of her discomfort, and looking away back towards the Gorge.

At that moment...she realized that she had become what she had hated most in the world.  Weak.  Submissive to fate, forcing herself to be smaller than she was, less important, less intelligent.  A warrior not worthy of WindClan.  It was now, that another phrase from Nectarleap chimed within her mind, resounding with a great resolve and understanding that the tom had no idea of at the time he had said it...but oh, how true it was now.


Before the tom had time to react, Laurelsong sprang, her dark eyes blazing like tongues of hungry green fire.  Her sharpened claws were out, almost overextended from their sheaths, as she bowled Swiftstep over and pinned him firmly to the ground just over the RiverClan border, one paw placed on his chest, claws scraping skin.  If any cat were to describe what Laurelsong looked like at this moment, the only word could've been absolutely crazed.  Her jaws were slightly parted in a malicious grin that spread across the whole of her twisted face, no sign of domestication left within her wild eyes.  The fur along her spine was slightly prickled...but she didn't look angry.  Her tail lashed as if in excitement, and her ears were high and pricked intently...she was enjoying this.  Satisfaction read on every crease of her face, and when she spoke her words were coated with honey...failing to conceal the poison within.  

"Oh, and it seems you've been caught now little troublemaker, by the true heir of WindClan!  Did you really think for a second Swiftstep that everyone in WindClan would be pleased by that fox-heart's idiotic choice?!  You may have won over the dumb side of our clan, but luckily I've seen sense!  I know that the only way WindClan will survive is to make a few changes in their management department...starting with you!"  Baring her fangs, the overtaken she-cat bent closer towards her victim, and looked him eye-to-eye as her voice dropped to a deranged whisper.  "Oh my, but your family was so proud of you, weren't they?  I'm sure your dear mother and daughter rejoiced that day...hmm, but I have to wonder..."  Pulling her head away, she glanced over at something in the distance as she spoke, echoing the tone of kit-like curiosity...though she was the farthest thing from innocence.

OOC: Sorry for the late reply! :(

IC: It all happened too quickly. One minute, the brown tom was listening to what Laurelsong was saying, the next minute, she had him pinned at the edge of the gorge, a wild look in her eyes. The tom was stunned and confused. He quickly recovered as he feared for his life. How could he get out of this? The deputy felt a sudden surge of courage and used his strong back legs to push the she-cat off. This proved to be effective but a wave of guilt washed over him as he realized he had thrown Laurelsong off of him and into the gorge. 'Just like she wanted to do to you.' Swiftstep, in his mind, wanted to think of a reason to why he committed such an act to his clan-mate. 'She threatened to kill you. Maybe do worse once you had actually died.' The tom scrambled up, flinching a few times to the new scars he had acquired when the former clan-mate tried to find a grip when Swiftstep pushed her off. The tom looked into the dangerous gorge to see if he could catch a glimpse of her body. He was shaking nervously. He hoped Starclan would forgive him for what he did. It was for self defense after all. Amber eyes widened when he noticed a figure shakily rise and get away. Laurelsong lived. The cat's ears flattened as it dawned on him that he was still in danger of encountering the ex-warrior once more. With trembling legs the speedy feline dashed to the direction of camp. He'll have to certainly tell Brindlestar about this. The clan may have to be warned as well.

Laurelsong's maliciously triumphant grin at Swiftstep's silence was punctured by an abrupt, very powerful pressure in her stomach.  Before she quite realized what was happening, the lithe-bodied she-cat was being flung backward, even farther over the RiverClan borderline, and right up to the edge of the Gorge.  She had lashed out as he threw her to her doom, claws scrabbling to find a hold on the deputy's face and neck, but they only managed to tear at the skin as she felt herself flying backward, hitting the edge of the Gorge so hard it took her breath away, before feeling herself begin to slide off of it's rocky edge.  "No!"  Her yowl of desperate defiance was amplified by the echoing qualities of the stones walls she was surrounded by, her body in midair for what only felt like a heartbeat before she crashed down, sinking beneath the churning waters that had claimed many others.

She though, was one of the lucky ones.  Her mouth filled with water as she felt her side pierced by a sharply pointed stone, but the pain was not too intense for adrenaline to hide.  Her lungs constricting, she fought her way towards the surface, her untrained paws kicking feebly through the water for a while before she managed to find a rhythm.  Every second, another breath lost...almost there...just one more...  With a huge gasp, the she-cat's angled head broke the surface of the river, coughing up the mouthful of water she had taken in.  Her strength starting to wane, she kicked out toward the pebbly bank, and made it just in time before her legs collapsed under her.  The ripples from her fall breaking over her muzzle, the WindClan warrior breathed deeply where she lay, recovering just enough energy to stand up and hobble unsteadily away towards the trees of ThunderClan territory.  She dared a glance back; Swiftstep's silhouette stood for a moment at the top of the Gorge, before bolting off back onto the moors that were her home...or, used to be her home.  She couldn't go back now, she had failed and Brindlestar would never believe any lie of hers against the word of Swiftstep.  An enraged growl emanated from her chest; soon, they would all know of what she had done.  Her parents would be shocked and disgusted...and sad.  They had suffered too much...if only she had won.  She could've made WindClan better for them to live out their lives in peace.  As for Nectarleap...for the first time, she felt her heart twinge with guilt.  He had believed in her, more than anyone else ever had...and she had just let him down, and betrayed his trust forever.  Her best friend...he would become like all the others.  Believing a lie.

"T..this isn't the end...yet."  Her words taking the form of a grimly uttered oath, the moorland cat vanished into the trees and shrubs, on her own for the first time in her life.  She knew though that, really, it had always been this way, just her against the world.  Well...this time, the world was gonna loose...she would not make the same mistakes twice.