the verdant view [closed]

It had been a moon and a half since Summer had drifted onto WindClan's territory and found herself being stalked, apparently mistaken for a hare, by the charming gray tabby named Morningpaw. Though the drifter had continued to drift and wander in that time, flirting and fighting and fleeing and greeting Clan cats and housecats and drifters alike, her mind had welcomed the peaceful fluttering memories of the afternoon spent with the charming, fumbling tabby. She had watched the she-cat hunt, and they had played and flirted in a gentle pool, and they had spent a comfortable while grooming each other's coats dry in the spring breeze and sunshine. It was a good memory, one which Summer would be happy to experience again if possible. It seemed, however, that it wouldn't be possible.

It had been a moon and a half since Summer had said goodbye to Morningpaw. The drifter had slept right through the night of the full moon, missing the pretty she-cat's invitation to see the other Clans or even just her alone privately afterwards. Summer had wandered onto the moor a pawful of times since then, looking hopefully for that familiar gray tabby pelt, but Morningpaw was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like Summer to be so put off by a pretty little she-cat disappearing into nowhere after a good time, but she couldn't help but wonder - had Morningpaw been wrong? Was she not immune to consequences? Had Summer brought trouble to the Clan cat? For a while she had been able to let it go, but this bright, warm spring day found her on the edge of WindClan's moors again, her ginger-cream pelt glimmering in the sunlight as her plume tail flicked behind her.

Summer's blue eyes gazed thoughtfully across the moor, out in the direction she thought that she had found Morningpaw over a moon before. She had been attacked by one WindClan cat for trespassing, but Maplewhisker had been understanding after Summer apologized... She wondered how likely it would be that she'd be able to achieve that same outcome again. She thought to the hare which Morningpaw had so skillfully caught for her - surely the tumble at the end had been intentional, for the she-cat had caught the hare, hadn't she? - and wondered if a peace offering might prevent such a thing. If she hunted for prey for the Clan on the Clan's land, well, they surely couldn't be too angry, could they? Either they might've caught it later or they wouldn't have, and now she'd saved them the trouble. If she found the right cat... perhaps she could exchange a hare for some news about Morningpaw. Maybe even a visit.

Ever since Morningdove had been struck down by Lavenderbreeze, Olivestone had visited the comatose tabby daily to tell her about the things she got up to during the day, notable events, funny mishaps, and the like. Even though Olivestone had a new apprentice to train, she still found her thoughts drifting back to her first apprentice, laying still in the medicine den, cared for by Aspenheart and Softpaw.

The current day was no exception, and though Olivestone was meant to be hunting, she couldn't help but to let her thoughts wander, as they were prone to doing. With a sigh, the deputy abandoned her hunting attempts for the time being and made her way to the closest hilltop, laying down and taking some time just to think.

The drifter's blue eyes narrowed in thoughtful consideration of her plan, and then she nodded shortly, making the decision to delve deeper into WindClan's territory to make an attempt at hunting for them. Summer swept off across the moors, her long slender frame blending with the golden wheatgrasses around her and sticking out sorely among any green. Her senses were attentively tuned to her surroundings. Birds chirped and occasionally flew by overhead; the wind rustled the foliage and brushed Summer's fur; the scent of rabbit and hare drifted carelessly on the breeze. It hadn't taken long for Morningpaw to locate something when they're spent the afternoon together, so Summer hoped some of the same luck might find her. Summer doubted she'd have such an invigorating hunt without the pretty gray cat beside her. For a brief moment the cream she-cat swept her gaze over the moors, hoping to see that shining pelt appear.

Instead, Summer spotted a fat grouse picking through a trampled bush. The drifter crouched, eyes honing in on the creature as she considered her plan of attack. Most likely she would need to just go for it, given the lack of cover. Summer had hunted in many terrains before, but hunting right in the open on known-to-be-owned territory presented a different kind of thrill. She would need to be neat and precise and keep track of her surroundings as well. The lean drifter began to stalk forward, ears flicking intently at every crackle and click and snap of the ground. Closer she drew, and closer, her heart beating. Once it ruffled its feathers and Summer froze, thinking it had seen her or was nearly about to. Nothing, though. Closer... Closer...

Summer launched forward with an explosive shove of her hind legs, and the grouse let out a screeching squawk of surprise as it began to flutter and flap to scare off its attacker. Summer was prepared, though, and she batted the wings easily aside to lunge for the creature's neck. She sank her teeth in, holding the bird beneath her weight until it went still at last, and then Summer sat up, unable to suppress a grin. This will be a lovely gift - I'd make an exception to a rule if someone offered me this in exchange, the drifter reasoned pleasantly to herself. "No, where did they say that camp was...?" she murmured, shuffling the grouse under her paws as she glanced towards the heart of the moor - nearer to where she'd met Maplewhisker.

Summer attempted to catch a bird and succeeded, using 3 stamina.

Summer
55/55 HP
167/170 SP (-3)

The member 'sumashira' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

The grouse's shrill squawk pierced Olivestone's train of thought, and she could almost feel the thoughts she had dissolving into fine mist in the confines of her mind. Pushing herself to her paws, curiosity piqued, the deputy broke into a trot as she left in the direction that the cry had come from. The scent of fresh-kill met her nose first, but instead of the warm, familiar scent of a Clanmate, the scent mingled with the tangy and unfamiliar scent of a loner. There was no Clan scent, she knew that much, and she sprinted up to the top of the hill, and stopped at its crest, looking down onto the scene below.

The sight that greeted her was an unfamiliar and pretty- no, focus! cat dragging along the grouse less than gracefully... towards the WindClan camp? The deputy cocked her head as she tried to make sense of the situation, and after a few moments, began trotting over to the loner and her catch. With no hostility in her tone, only curiosity, she called out as she approached,
"Hey! What's going on?"

After a moment of contemplation, Summer picked up the bird in her jaws, raising her head to try unsuccessfully to keep it from dragging on the ground. She hoped the WindClan cats wouldn't mind if it got a little ruffled on the way to them as she hobbled gracefully as she could manage around it. Other than her apparent focus on her hefty cargo, the drifter's posture was unthreatening. Summer wondered if she would be noticed before long with all the noise she was making; all the better, really, she didn't care to look like some desperate fawning kit struggling with its prey. She would gladly release the bird into another cat's paws.

As luck would have it, another cat quick quick to appear, answering her question of how quickly her struggling would be heard. Summer heard the relaxed tone before she saw the approaching cat, and she immediately dropped the grouse to the ground, large dark ears swiveling to the source and long dark-nosed face swiftly following. If she hadn't heard the she-cat's words first, Summer might've thought for a moment that Morningpaw had found her again as she gazed upon the pale-muzzled gray tabby and her glittering green eyes. But no, this she-cat had scars - old and new, ones that Morningpaw hadn't. But still, she was beautiful.

A bright smile spread across Summer's face as she identified that distinct scent of a WindClan cat, and she knew she'd found just what she was hoping for. "Well, hello, darling! I'm so glad you asked; I caught this for WindClan! You are a WindClan cat, aren't you, darling?" she asked, looking over the pretty lean gray tabby with a fleeting glance before catching her gaze again. "Perhaps you could help me. My name is Summer. I made a friend here a little over a moon ago and I hoped I might repay some kindness."

With a tilt of her head, Olivestone slowed to a stop near the loner as she turned to face the deputy, speaking of having hunted... for the Clan? Now, that's a first for me. With a nod and a smile, Olivestone responded,
"I sure am. I'm Olivestone, WindClan's deputy. Normally I'd have to tell you off for hunting on Clan territory, but since you caught the grouse for the Clan, I think I can let it slide. Which one of my Clanmates did you meet?"

She vaguely remembered Lavenderbreeze's jibe of Morningdove having spent time on the moor with a loner last moon, but as there were many loners, Olivestone could hardly make any assumptions about who the loner in question was.

The other she-cat's approach was purposeful but relaxed, and Summer could tell she was thoroughly considering the drifter's explanation. With a nod and a smile she accepted it and introduced herself. A small alert of recognition rang in Summer's mind at it, and she rolled the name Olivestone over her thoughts trying to place it. Certainly she'd remember if she'd met such a calm and collected WindClan cat. A deputy... Oh! Summer's blue eyes widened, and she immediately mrrowed with something like awe, "Oh, my dear, you are Olivestone?"

Memories of the drifter's afternoon with Morningpaw had produced the source of Summer's limited knowledge of the she-cat before her: Olivestone, deputy of WindClan and Morningpaw's... Well, the word escaped Summer. It was something with an m - like master. Master Olivestone? No matter, the point was that this cat knew the she-cat that she was looking for personally, and quite well. "Morningpaw spoke very highly of you when we met," Summer purred, her bushy ginger tail curling slightly as she thought of how charming the young she-cat had been when she was excited. "It is such a pleasure to meet you, darling."

Olivestone was almost taken aback as the loner seemed to recognize her name as well as her status, and for a moment, she briefly wondered how the loner had come about the information, that is, until Summer name-dropped Morningdove, and everything suddenly made sense. Olivestone nodded along, almost flattered that Summer knew so much about her.
"The one and only! I'm not surprised that Morningdove told you that much about me. It's nice to know that she speaks highly of me as well, especially considering how highly I think of her." She gave a small chuckle as she added, "What all did she say about me?"

With a smile, Olivestone sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws, tilting her head a little as she took a good look at the loner before her. She had to admit that Summer was a beautiful cat, her flame-points striking against the cream fur of her pelt, not to mention the loner's blue eyes seemed as if they could see to her very core. Even though Summer's pelt was ruffled from the hunt and from dragging the grouse she'd caught, it didn't diminish her beauty in the slightest.

The pretty she-cat nodded in confirmation of what Summer said, attaching a face to the name and position that had been introduced to her as Olivestone. The deputy was smiling in no time, purring about Morning...dove? Summer's ear flicked at the name, a non-intrustive indication of interest, and she wondered if she and the gray tabby were speaking of the same cat. Olivestone thought highly of Morningpaw, though; they had to be the same. The WindClan deputy sat, and Summer took it as an invitation to do the same - some cats found it to be a sign of respect to address each other from an equal level, after all - nudging the grouse ever so slightly forward for Olivestone to take right away if she so chose. However their conversation turned out, the grouse was theirs. She really had caught it for Morningpaw's Clan! And the further it was away from her tan nose, the less her mouth would be tempted to water about it.

Summer giggled lightly at Olivestone's request to know what had been said, teasing, "My, my, darling, you like to delve right into the gossip, don't you?" She laughed. "I suppose admiration is hardly gossip, though." She grasped for whatever little information she could glean, or at least infer, from her moon-ago conversation with Morningpaw. "I believe Morningpaw used words like "amazing" and "leader" and "honor". She told me you fought a goose when she was still a kitten! It wasn't so much what she said about you but how she said it. You know her - she was happier than catnip whenever she mentioned you. She hoped I might meet you a few full moons ago, but I slept right through Morningpaw's generous invitation."

Obliviously unaware of what had transpired, Summer brushed off the missed opportunity with no guilt whatsoever. She had, however, at last been forced to acknowledge how Morningpaw herself had been absent from her drifting. The ginger drifter's tail flicked, and she looked at Olivestone warmly. "Sometimes drifting delivers me to the right destination anyways," Summer mused with a purr.

As Summer described the manner in which Morningdove had spoken about her, Olivestone smiled, glad to know that her former apprentice thought highly of her enough to brag about her to a stranger turned friend. She caught the ear flick at Morningdove's name, and the deputy opened her mouth to explain.
"Morningpaw is Morningdove now. The way the Clan hierarchy works is that apprentices train under a mentor, and take the suffix -paw, until they become full warriors, then they take a full warrior name. I was Olivepaw before I became Olivestone. Morningdove was an apprentice when she met you, and right after the full moon, she became a warrior and took her full name." Well, 'took' is an overstatement. It's not like she was awake to actually take her oath.

She broke her thoughts away from her former apprentice's comatose state back in camp by the word "goose". With a chuckle, she flicked her tail and happily obliged to tell the tale.
"The goose story is true. Before I was made deputy, I took her out of camp to show her what hunting was like. I was able to catch a rabbit, though the catch was a bit messy. I actually rolled over the rabbit, though I did still catch it!" she laughed again. "Morningdove- Morningkit then, really wanted to try to catch something, so we found an injured rabbit, but right as she went to chase it, the goose showed up. I had to fight it off, and it actually almost carried her away. For that, I actually killed the goose, and its feathers still line our nests today."

Then she registered that Morningdove had invited Summer to visit the past Gathering.
"Honestly, you probably wouldn't have enjoyed the Gathering very much. There was a lot of fighting. All of the scars I have now are from that conflict. It's hard to explain, and even harder to believe, but a small group of StarClan, which are our dead Clanmates, got really angry about codebreaking, and since leaf-bare, had been terrorizing us. This last Gathering, we defeated them, though..." the deputy paused for a moment, unsure of how to break the news. "...well, Morningdove got injured really badly by one of them, and is now comatose. We don't know when she'll wake up, of if she will at all."

Olivestone flicked her tail again as she realized she'd talked a lot, and that the conversation had gotten depressing. "Ah, I talked a lot, sorry about that. I also apologize for being the bearer of bad news. If you'd like to visit her, I'm sure you could, with my invitation."

The Clan cat seemed to be pleased by what she was hearing, and Summer was glad she didn't need to exaggerate the truth too much to be genuine and pleasing to Olivestone. The gray she-cat was gracious enough to explain why she had said "Morningdove" instead of Morningpaw, and the drifter was amused and interested by the explanation and thankful for the clarification. "Morningdove," Summer echoed back in a warm, soft voice, testing the name on her lips. Her smile was even brighter, and she purred, "That's wonderful news, darling, I'm sure you must be very proud to have her follow your pawsteps so beautifully!" She understood that much more about the Clans now, despite that she would never truly understand. What a strange tradition, to change your name every few turns of the moon. They aim for excellence, though; they've each an end goal to attain rather than aimless tradition-keeping and stuffy codes.

The drifter listened with intent and joy while Olivestone detailed the goose incident. The mention of rolling right over the rabbit to catch it stuck clearly in Summer's mind; a beautiful, different stunning gray tabby pelt and shining paler green eyes. Morningdove certainly was your protege, wasn't she? Summer thought with a slight wry twist to her smile. The drifter laughed, listening to the WindClan cat's tale of kittish adventure and suspense. She nodded once firmly as Olivestone expressed that she killed the goose for trying to harm Morningdove, and she interjected shortly, "Good riddance to it." Summer had found a feather or two from a goose to put in some of her short-term nests, but she wondered how a whole nest of goose feather down would feel. Her toes wanted to curl contentedly at the thought.

Summer tilted her head as Olivestone started once more, mentioning the Gathering that she'd missed. "Oh?" the drifter checked, leaning forward a little to further convey her interest. She could see the sparkle of grief and concern welling up in the depths of Olivestone's bright spring-grass green eyes and sensed the truth that would be given before it was revealed. Summer was used to cats being crushed by the brutal ways of nature - she rarely let herself become attached enough to be injured by one's passing, but she was very familiar with that sort of loss. Summer fully expected Olivestone to express that Morningdove had been killed - death was death, regardless of the cause. This wasn't the first time Summer had heard mention of the evil spirit cats. It wasn't hard to believe that something that could create so much fear could also create pain and death.

But then, Olivestone revealed that Morningpaw wasn't dead. Comatose. A sleeping, restless state. Summer's eyes widened and she whispered, "Oh, my..." The WindClan cat apologized for rambling and bearing bad news, and Summer simply shook her pointed head briefly. "Nonsense, darling." Then an invitation was extended, and Summer's ears perked up. "I'd love to visit her, darling. It's not all bad news - she is a cheeky little thing who pushed me into a pond. At least I know she won't do it when I see her next," Summer pointed out with a dry dark laugh. Within her, and clear on her face, there was a sense of relief: Morningdove wasn't dead. Sleeping wasn't dead. Comatose wasn't dead.

Summer's plume tail flicked, and she meowed, "Well, Olivestone, your Clan must really love and respect you. I am certain that not every group of cats would let their companions bring home drifters, no matter wht their position. You must tell me about yourself, darling. Everything I know is from our friend Morningdove and what precious information I've been blessed to glean from our discussion." Summer smiled warmly, looking invitingly at Olivestone. It was one thing to receive the invitation; Summer wanted to be able to make use of it.

Flattered that the drifter was actually interested in in what she was saying, Olivestone couldn't help but smile at Summer's words. Her thoughts swirled as the drifter asked her to talk about herself, and every time she tried to pinpoint a topic to start on, the thought slipped away. A few moments later, she finally managed to pin down a starting thought in her mind, and opened her mouth to speak.
"Well, um, you already know my name and my rank, and my Clan, but I'm actually not Clanborn. I was born to a loner who died shortly after giving birth to my brother and I, and we were raised by our late fathers after they found us and brought us into the Clan. I remember a little bit about life outside the Clans, but I quite like Clan life. The Clan is like a family of sorts. They rescued me, they raised me, helped me grow into the cat that I am now! Then Ravenstar chose me to be his deputy, and it's a huge honor to be a part of the leadership of the Clan that made me who I am. I truly love my Clan and everyone in it."

Olivestone flicked her tail as she grasped for another topic to talk about. It didn't take too long before her thoughts drifted to her Clanmates.
"Oh! Uh, I have a mate, and her name is Zinnia! She actually used to be a loner too, but instead of being raised in the Clan, she comes from a faraway group called the Garden, and left there to wander and see the world, before finding WindClan and deciding to stay. When I asked her to be mates, I knew that I had to find a really special gift for her." taking a breath, the deputy paused before continuing. "For reference, I don't like tunnels. Anything enclosed feels suffocating to me. Being under trees, being in tunnels, twoleg structures, they all unnerve me. Anyway, back on track, I forced myself to go into the tunnels to try and find something I'd only heard about in legends from tunnelers past. The legends speak of natural caves deep in the earth that almost glow and sparkle with colorful stones that grow from their walls. Long story short, I actually found one. It took me going to the lowest known point in the tunnel system, and I found one of the little caves all by chance. I snagged my claws on a rock sticking out from the tunnel wall, and it sounded hollow beyond the wall. I dug in, and grabbed a few of the stones and brought them back to the surface. I'd never felt more relieved to see the surface after being underground that long!"

She finished the story with a chuckle, flicking her tail.
"The things you do for love, I guess. I'd much prefer to feel the wind on my face and the sun on my back. Sometimes I even wonder what it'd be like to fly."

She glanced up at the sky, before looking back at Summer. "I sure talked a lot about myself, how about you? I'd like to get to know you better, too."

Summer smiled as she saw Olivestone's eyes glimmer with thoughtfulness, considering the drifter's offer to share about herself. How much had the pretty gray tabby gone through in her life to be so lost for words at where to begin describing herself as a cat? It was really quite charming to see the consideration on the Clan cat's face, the anticipatory silence stretching between them. It could've become awkward if it carried on too long, but Summer suspected that Olivestone merely had much to sift through to present a satisfactory and accurately representative face of herself. The drifter had patience, and it was often rewarded. When Olivestone began again, the first and most interesting piece of information was that she hadn't been born in WindClan - or any Clan. Summer's sky blue eyes widened, glimmering with interest. It seemed the moor Clan really was friendly to drifters and outsiders. It certainly served to further improve Summer's opinion of them as a group and as individuals that they would take in orphaned, abandoned kits.

Summer swept her tail around over her paws, focused while Olivestone explained further how she’d come to be WindClan’s second-in-command. The she-cat shared more of herself in the form of her mate, another drifter who went by the name of Zinnia and had been just as seamlessly welcomed into Clan life. There was a whisker of disappointment to learn the pretty she-cat was devoted to another, but it was probably for the best since she was so fond of Morningdove, after all. Summer was impressed, but much less surprised than once she might’ve been, to hear briefly about the other group of loners from where Olivestone’s mate came. She was more surprised to hear Olivestone’s tale of daring: her search for the perfect token of affection for Zinnia. ”Oh, my, you did?” Summer cooed with awe. She leaned in further, her eyes sparkling like the gems which Olivestone referenced. She’d heard of such things and even seen them - often in upwalker collections - but for a cat to find one in the wild was remarkable beyond imagination.

Furthermore, though, Summer took note of “the tunnels” which Olivestone had mentioned. Perhaps they’d be something that Summer could utilize in one way or another. When the WindClan cat had finished with a pleasant chuckle, Summer made a trill to express her delight. ”They say fortune favors the brave; what a reward for facing your fears, darling!” she remarked, delighted by the tale. Even if it did happen that Olivestone had stumbled on the thin wall by accident, she couldn’t have done so if she’d not faced the tunnels. The drifter followed the WindClan cat’s gaze up to admire the sky for a moment, thoughts drifting pleasantly from deepest depths to unknowable, glistening heights. Summer turned her face back swiftly when Olivestone turned the attention of the conversation towards the drifter. She laughed gently and purred, ”Oh, nonsense, darling, you talked about yourself the perfect amount. You’ve a gift for storytelling.

“Me, well, I’m really just a drifter, darling. I couldn’t point you in the direction that I was born in at this point because I’ve crossed my own path and taken so many twists and turns so many times,” Summer told her companion, sitting up straight and rolling her shoulders back regally. She looked with a wry grin and meowed, ”I remember my birth place, of course, but it was nothing, mm… special to me. Especially not now after seeing so many different territories and horizons from mine. My mother and father didn’t understand why I wanted anything they weren’t giving me, but they aren’t really drifters - not the way I am. I wasn’t content to watch the same sunrise and sunset; no matter how the colors varied and the clouds drifted, darling, it always felt the same. So I left. Like a bird from the nest, I did fly, Olivestone, and wouldn’t you know it,” her eyes sparkled playfully, ”the wind caught me.”

Summer laughed melodically, thoroughly amused by her joke and reference to the pleasant reception she’d repeatedly received from WindClan. Shaking her head gently, the pale she-cat continued, still smiling, ”Of course, darling, I’m not fresh from my birth place. I’ve traversed the four seasons, made a few friends between here and there, seen a few unpleasant things, met a few unpleasant cats, but haven’t we all? The Clans are certainly something - I haven’t wanted to stay around the same territories in quite a while. There’s so much to learn from the Clan cats. How was it for you, dear? Do you remember having to learn how to be a Clan cat rather than a drifter?” She tilted her head curiously, suddenly even more delighted to have met this beautiful she-cat.

A smile crossed Olivestone's face as Summer's flattery, and she listened intently as the drifter told her about her travels and how far she'd gone, that she wouldn't have been able to point the way back to her place of birth even if she'd tried. The deputy was intrigued by Summer and how many stories that she must hold from her life of vagrancy, and she almost missed the question directed towards her.
"Me? I was brought into the Clan when I was pretty young, so I don't remember too much about being a loner. I was only a moon or two old when WindClan brought my brother and I into their fold, so most of my memories from my kithood are of the Clan. Since they raised me from as young as I was, I had little trouble integrating into the order and hierarchy that Clan life provides."

With a shrug, Olivestone continued, "When I think about what my life could have been, I find that I like my life better as it is now. Of course, hearing about lives and lifestyles other than my own are interesting! It's nice to talk to cats from all walks of life, to broaden my scope of what the world is like beyond Clan borders."

"Sometimes Zinnia tells stories about the Garden, and I love hearing about them! What about you? Do you have any tales you've learned from places you've been?"