The Start of Something New {Closed}

The wind whispered harshly through the trees. Shuddering at the chill that bit into her thin pelt, Tigerleaf huddled into a ball of brown tabby fur. The young warrior was currently sitting on one of the lower branches of an oak tree. The eclipse's arrival had ended leaf fall all too quickly. Of all the seasons, leaf bare was definitely her least favorite. Apart from the cold that her short fur was not adept at defending against, the forest that was usually so calming had been rendered bleak and empty. One could argue that the bare skeletons of trees standing silently in the frosty air had a certain beauty to it, but Tigerleaf would not be convinced. Exhaling, the striped she-cat grimaced when she could see traces of her breath. It was at times like these that she envied her fluffier clanmates. The sky that day was empty as usual. If she stared hard enough, would she be able to catch a glimpse of Silverpelt? It was a faint hope that budded within her chest, but she eventually became convinced that the action was pointless. She was worried about her family; where were they, if not in the sky?

Along with two of her clanmates, the SkyClan warrior was actually supposed to be on a hunting patrol. A freshly-killed blackbird had been buried at the base of the oak. Once again, she had been forbidden from leaving camp alone, all because of Lichenmask. It was unbearable to be around other cats for such a long timespan. As soon as they had split up to hunt, the young she-cat had internally breathed a sigh of relief. After catching her share of the prey, she had speedily climbed a tree to the present moment. She had never been comfortable around others. Ashpaw's presence had made everything better, but with his death she had become even more withdrawn. At this rate, it was quite possible that she would spend the rest of her life alone. All things taken into consideration, perhaps that was for the best.

A small and indecipherable noise escaped a certain large warrior. It was getting colder yet he couldn't feel it under the masses of long, dark fur. His large paws, with combined weight, caused a trail of indented paw prints to appear behind him as he walked. The tom was on a patrol with two other den mates or was supposed to be. Often than not, the male broke off from his group in search of an area that provided him the much needed tranquility. This time, however, he did catch a nice squirrel. The evidence was in his jaws.

It felt like countless minutes had passed as the tom endlessly walked without a destination in mind. His stoic face not giving away what he was or had been thinking. As the dark-furred warrior began approaching a decently sized oak tree, he slowed down when he spotted a familiar pelt on one of the lower branches. His golden gaze never seemed to leave the she-cat as he walked up to the base of the tree. He huffed and placed his squirrel down, getting ready to climb. The tom-cat got up on his two back paws, making him seem like a mini baby bear. He then gripped the trunk and slowly went upward. Once he was right under Tigerleaf's branch, he made a slight grunting sound to try and get her attention. When he had seen her from the ground, she looked to be lost in thought and rather cold, evident from her shivers. Despite not looking it, Condorshade was surprisingly gentle and kind, misunderstood in many ways. He usually never showed this soft side of him. He already made a reputation for himself and was very willing to keep it. He was known as the intimidating giant. It often made him snort in amusement seeing apprentices scurry away when they cross paths with him.

When he didn't get a response, he climbed a bit higher and looked over. There was just enough room for him to snuggly sit by the warrior's side. He wrinkled his nose and scrambled to get on the branch. Once he managed to get on it, his fluffy fur was somewhat encapsulating the smaller cat. He had also slightly startled her. Anyone from the ground might've found this scene funny. Condorshade hummed a greeting, a content glaze in his eyes. It was a small struggle to stay on the branch but the warrior had somehow managed to get an iron grip on the bark. His tail was hanging off the branch, swinging side to side. It was imitating the wind flowing through the bare trees. It was peaceful and Condorshade liked it.

Caught up in her thoughts, Tigerleaf missed the signal Condorshade tried to give her. She was only shaken back to reality when the branch she had been sitting on bobbed gently. With a start, the young warrior turned. Her yellow eyes widened in shock at the sight of the large tom clinging to the oak's trunk. His approach had gone completely unnoticed to her. Already, he was beginning to climb unto her branch. Several thoughts flashed through her mind during that moment. She was satisfied being alone. She didn't want company. Rather unfortunately, when she tried to put them to word, her vocal cords seemed to freeze. As much as she wanted to speak up, she didn't know what to say. Due to her hesitation, her clanmate ended up settling by her side. The striped she-cat flinched as Condorshade's fluffy pelt almost swallowed her up. She would have edged away from him, but the warmth of his fur was quickly to change her mind. What she'd give to have fur of that length during the cold seasons. Reluctantly, she accepted the additional "coat" that was offered her. Had he noticed that she was cold? The possibility was a surprising one. Glancing down, Tigerleaf made out the prone form of his squirrel on the forest floor.

Condorshade was a quiet cat. Most times, his intimidating presence was enough to speak for him. With his massive size and seeming lack of emotion, Tigerleaf knew that some of the younger cats avoided him. He was the kind of cat that she tended to shy away from. Even now, she had not quite gotten over her difficulty with social interaction. She had never wanted to speak to him on the off-chance that he snapped at her and that provided further emotional scars. It had been ages since they had been paired up on a patrol. Now, however, as they sat quietly side by side, it occurred to her that he was a little different from what she had expected. Instead of the awkward atmosphere she had been expecting, the two cats seemed to share an invisible comfort. If it was going to be like this, perhaps his company wouldn't be so bad. Letting her guard down just slightly, Tigerleaf murmured, "Don't you.. want to hunt anymore?" It was a lame attempt at conversation after too long a pause, but since when had her attempts at conversation not been lame? Flicking the tip of her tail, she waited for a response.

Condorshade stared straight ahead, sighing ever so softly. When the she-cat next to him asked a question, the tom tilted his head to show that he had heard and was thinking of what to "say." The large warrior muttered out a soft but deep "No." His golden gaze was now directed right at Tigerleaf, eyeing the she-cat as if he were directing the question right back at her. He wasn't one to speak long sentences. Condorshade wiggled his nose as a particularly strong gust of wind flew past his face. To be honest, he loved this type of weather. It made him feel alive. He often sat alone in the territory when there were windy days. Feeling the wind while having his eyes closed made him feel as if he was flying.

Condorshade took his time to answer, something that Tigerleaf didn't particularly mind. While he mused, she turned her gaze down to her paws. Needle-like claws dug firmly into the soft bark. She flexed them absently, her eyes fixed on some distant, invisible sight. When he spoke, it was almost startling. His answer was a monosyllabic one; his voice deeper than she had expected it to be. She glanced back at him. Twitching one ear, she simply replied, "I see." The fluffy tom was staring at her, his bright gaze intense. Her eyes widened slightly when she understood the unspoken question. She hesitated briefly before replying, "I've already caught something." Her voice was quiet; hopefully he was able to hear her. The start of the "conversation" having gone well enough, she continued. "... Do you think StarClan can see us right now?" The question slipped out in a thoughtful murmur. Lichenmask's power had affected every cat in SkyClan. Perhaps she was curious about someone else's opinion, as one could only ponder over so much on their own.

OOC: I deeply apologize for this extremely late post. A lot of things are happening in my life so I rarely have time to post. :(

IC: Condorshade nodded slightly, indicating that he heard her response. The warrior wasn't expecting the question the she-cat beside him asked next. Did he think Starclan could see them now? Despite their silence, they could probably see the clans but couldn't reach them. He slightly tilted his head as he thought. After a few moments passed, the large dark tom grunted affirmatively followed by a nod at Tigerleaf's question. As he had done before, he looked at her, directing the question back. Might as well see what she thought of the situation.

Condorshade's affirmation was faintly comforting to Tigerleaf. It might have been foolish, trying to glean a form of security from this tom that she barely knew, but she was at a loss. For the past few days, she had been struggling to understand why StarClan would even allow someone like Lichenmask to exist. Surely her family would not condone such actions as the purging of the innocent. They would not... It was a belief she clung to firmly. She could not bring herself to believe anything else. Were they voices that had been lost in a crowd? Sometimes, dwelling on such things alone became almost stifling. Condorshade was more or less a stranger, but he was also a clanmate. If at least one cat believed that StarClan had not completely abandoned them, then maybe--just maybe--it was true.

As expected, Condorshade also wanted to know what she thought. Tigerleaf frowned just slightly, kneading the branch with careful claws. "I don't know..." She admitted, "I--I'd like to think that they can. It means I'm not alone." Another chilly gust chose that moment to sweep past, and the striped warrior instinctively huddled deeper into Condorshade's fur. When she realized what she had done, she started and awkwardly shifted away.

OOC: same here; I apologize for the lateness ^^;

Condershade's long fur ruffled lightly as a chilly breeze swept past them both. The tom kept staring straight ahead but he twitched his ear to signal that he was listening. He felt the she-cat snuggle closer but then shift away. The black, gray, and white warrior huffed and pressed himself against the smaller cat. There was no need to be bashful. It was pretty cold and short pelts like hers couldn't produce enough heat like his. As his fur encased her lithe body, a tiny smirk made its way onto his face. He didn't know why that happened but it did. It was rather soothing and serene. Just like he wanted it to be.