. Tainted . Thoughts .

[ber !]

{ OOC: Time is around 11:00 AM. }

Brilliant sunlight seeped through the thick canopy of trees, casting a bright spotlight on Oakstar's pelt. His emerald eyes shined brilliantly as he purred in content, ruffling out his fur to absorb in the warm rays. He began bathing himself, watching his pack busy at work. He got to his paws and trotted over the freshkill pile. He snatched up a nice looking plump vole and slinked over to a patch of shade.

The tom slid to his haunches and dug his sharp teeth into the warm flesh. Obviously it had been caught recently. His mouth watered and he teared a piece of flesh off it, eating it happily. He finished the vole and crunched on the bones, purring loudly.

Ah, solitude. It was simply a blissful state of the mind, for he knew he could never truly be alone. Oakstar revelled in the thought as long as he could before his spirit slowly drifted back to reality. He'd been alone practically all his life (or so he thought he had), so he became quite fond of the wonderful state of loneliness.

With a grunt the tom lazily sat up and began lapping his salmon pink tongue over his fur. He heard the normal sounds of the rainforest: the birds singing, the crickets playing their songs, and the small trickling of a river and very faintly the sound of a roaring waterfall.

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[Christmas Tea]

Juniper wandered out from her den and stretched for a while. She noticed the freshkill pile, and slowly but eventually came to it. Her mouth was watering with the fresh scent of food. she snatched up a mouse with her right paw, and began to eat it. She practically swollowed it whole, now satisfied with her hunger, she became bored.

But then, she noticed her leader, Oakstar from the corner of her eye. She smiled kindly and padded over to him. "Hello there. My brave leader." Juniper smiled even brighter, and giggled some. "May I?" She look at the ground beside him, jesturing if she could lay down next to him.

[ber !]

Oakstar lifted his apex in surprise at Junipertail's appearance. He gave a small smile and dipped his head in welcome. "You may," he yawned, then continued cleaning himself. With a grunt he finished then looked to his deputy. "How was your sleep, Junipertail?" the tom asked, blinking his emerald eyes softly.

His mind unwillingly drifted to Blackstorm, wondering where the warrior was and if she was back from her hunting patrol. With a jerk of his head, he shook the thought away. He smiled brightly at Junipertail, admiring her beauty.

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[Christmas Tea]

Juniper was smiling as she laid down next to Oakstar. She kind of stared at him, until she actually noticed that he was talking. "Not really." She looked down, and a glimpse of sadness conquered her eyes. "I keep having these terrifying dreams, and I don't know what they mean." It was clearly obvious that it was bothering her deeply, but she quickly brought the happiness back.

She licked her paw slightly, but right then, she felt as if someone was watching her. She didn't know who, or even what for that matter. Juniper figured it was probably one of the other clan mates. So she turned her attention back to Oak's dazzling eyes.

[ber !]

Oakstar blinked slightly, frowning at his deputy's troubled facade. His dreams had been peaceful, mostly just of him sunbathing or hunting or relaxing, so he didn't know what it might mean, or if it meant anything at all. The tom shook his apex slowly, thoughts drifting to Blackstorm again. Maybe she is being troubled by nightmares also? he thought silently to himself, staring at the ground for a second before looking up to his deputy.

"There has been some border trouble, dear Junipertail," Oakstar mewed, blinking his emerald eyes at her. "Rogues have been causing trouble and harassing the border patrols. Did you have the same trouble?"

No matter how hard the leader tried, he couldn't stop his mind wandering back to Blackstorm, and he let out a snort of annoyance at himself.

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[Ink]

And so enters oblivion. It walks with a lurch in its gait, a drooling length of blood pooling along its ankle. Its because oblivion is a mouse brain. On her hunting patrol she had seen a bird, a very large bird. In her furious attempt to catch the macaw the feline had slammed full force into a sapling. Having almost revealed her secret the she-cat had stumbled with her catch back to camp. The warriors she had led out called shocked exclamations and praise. She herself hadn't heard a word of it. Pain does weird things to oblivion. It fills it with color, sound, meaning. Blackstorm had struggled through her haze of demented lust to race back to camp. Blue bird hanging heavily from her jaws oblivion now walked through the brush. Wincing as she set her injured paw to the dirt, she fought back against the need to slam it down as hard as she could.

If she started screaming in lustful agony in the middle of camp she would find herself in trouble. Feathers shooting straight into her nose, the tawny pelted cat found it hard to remember where the food was kept. With smaller prey she would have just sniffed it out, she could never remember where it was- she didn't care enough to remember. But now she had a huge bird half suffocating her and her scent glands. Staring in silent worry around her, the girl caught sight of two cats laying with food. Food... Yes there it was! Just beyond them. Her brown eyes didn't focus in on the cats, all she cared about was dropping this thing clamped in her jaws. Great Moonclan! Who decided bird's where to have this many feathers? She felt as if she where half swallowing them. There was a reason why she- Blackstorm- stuck to eating rodents and the like. Furry things she didn't have to pluck before eating.

Slipping past the conversing cats, Blackstorm found that she could place enough weight on her bloody paw to keep her masochistic wants happy and not over load it. Made perfectly happy by this the warrior dropped her prey, shook one head and spun around. Tail coming up in rare display of emotion the girl turned her almond eyes on the two felines she had just limped past. Oh... Oakstar and Junipertail. How odd. Suspicion flared momentarily, but she beat it back with a stick. No they where her friends, if not friends then clan mates. And that was good enough... right? Ah well. Letting her tail drop back into its accustom low holding she nodded ot them, fully ready to just waltz right on past.

[ber !]

Oakstar looked up and smiled slightly at the sight of Blackstorm. He then quickly dimmed his facade, growling slightly to himself. He inhaled deeply, and caught a whiff of cat blood... His emerald eyes trailed down to Blackstorm's injured paw. With a grunt he looked up to her. His gaze was stern, revealing no emotion. "Blackstorm, your injured," he mewed smoothly, his facade leader-like. He grunted and jerked his head, signaling for her to sit down so he could examine it. He got to his pads with a nose twitch and sniffed at it.

Oakstar's nostrils flared at the scent of blood, and he gazed at it almost hungrily. He shook his apex to get rid of the thought. "Why don't you sit and rest it here?" he suggested, sliding to his haunches next to Junipertail, tail wavering slightly. His emerald eyes looked down at his best friend, then up to one of his best warriors.

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[Ink]

Slightly surprised by the her leaders want to help, the Bengal warrior stared at him with her brow furrowed. "Its fine, Oakstar..." she mewed quietly, ears twitching. His insistence had her seated beside him though. embarrassed she watched silently as he sniffed at the dimming blood. It wasn't that bad a cut, just a small gouge from a rather agitated sapling branch. But she stayed seated and let him look over it by himself. The scent seemed to have him off his rocker for a moment, and she twitched. Was he like her? Was he very much like her? Or simpler then that far of dream. Would he understand her, her and her broken need? The need to know she was still alive? "Thanks" she mewed in an uncharacteristically weak voice.

Letting her ears slowly slump forwards she nodded to his question. She would sit and rest here. Not like anything else was going on. Her patrol had brought back plenty of prey, and one had gone out right after hers. Their clan would be taken care of. Slowly settling herself into a crouch the she-cat watched Oakstar's tail twitch. He seemed unnerved by something. Had she done something to make him like this? Or was it Junipertail making moon eyes at him? She offered a small weak smile before it slipped off her pretty muzzle. She in truth was a beautiful she-cat. Her tawny pelt rippling with neat onyx stripes. It made her thin body stand out, the only issue where her eyes. The cold brown stare that made so many cats shrink away from her. Then again her personality made many a warrior stare at her in horror.

Personally she couldn't wait for the first cat to find her beating herself bloody in the woods. So far she was safe, going out at night, having been interrupted the night before she was glad for this new injury. But the blood was fading, at least the pain still stung up her leg arching into her brain. Blinking at the two cats she wondered what they had been speaking of, but didn't ask. Oakstar had asked her to the current not the past. So with a slight tip of her head she asked a simple question. " How was your patrol, Junipertail? No trouble I hope?" she sounded uncertain even to herself. She was no good at conversation. Never had been and probably never would be.

[Christmas Tea]

Juniper answered gently to the leaders question. "I actually have not seen any rogues on the border. But when I do, I will make sure those mouse brains don't come back." She grunted at the fact that she actually had to be on patrol, but she hoped Oakstar would think it would be towards the rogues.

She watched carefully as Blackstorm entered the camp. Juniper immediately was consumed by worry. She didn't want to say anything though, so she let her emotions roam her gorgeous orange tabby face. She had examined her hurt paw for a while, maybe should could help. "I am no medicine cat..." doubting that she could actually help, she just sat, hoping the warrior would be alright.

Juniper warm heartily smiled at Blackstorm. "My patrol went fine, thank you." She nodded very calmly. "I didn't spot any rogues... yet." She found herself giggling, though she didn't really know what for. Juniper really loved the way that her clan mates and she got along. For once, it made her feel loved, and like she had a family. A smile rose upon her delicate muzzle.

[ber !]

Oakstar stared at the blood before ripping his gaze away and getting to his paws. His claws kneaded the ground as anger struck his veins, coarsing wildly through his body, warming him from his nosetip to his tailtip. It was a random anger, brought back from his childhood once again. His emerald eyes blazed with fury and he let out such a snarl, it was enough to startle and scare the coldest of cats. His pelt bristled, and there he stood. A picture fearful enough to scar the toughest wild cat.

Pain struck his eyes, putting out the fire in them. He slid to his haunches, fur lying down on his back. He sheathed his claws and slumped to the terrain, embarrassed that the two faes saw his outburst.

They started when he was a kit. The outbursts, that is. The secret he held still struck his body, making him quiver and burdening his entire beating. The night of his mother's death, heartbreak and depression had crazed her. She murmured in her only remaining son's ear her ideas, what she was going to do. He screamed and cried in protest, but she left anyways. He still remembered racing after her until his small body was completely exhausted, but he kept pushing himself. He watched his mother trot slink into the bear's den, and the tom kit screamed, he begged her not to go, but she had already disappeared into darkness of the den... He still could hear her cry echoing into his ears. "I love you, Oakkit!" she had shouted, somehow knowing her kit was there. "Grow strong, be yourself. I love you more than anything, Oakkit," she had yowled, then a terrifying bear roar was heard...

He dragged her body back to the den, crying the whole time. He let the clan believe she had died of heartbreak, considering the bear had just slammed her into the wall of the cave, giving her a concussion but not drawing any blood. Anger had swelled in his little body that day, anger at what she had done and that he didn't save her...

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[Ink]

The snarl surprised her, and with a grunt she found herself back on her paws. Dark brown gaze fastened on the tom cat beside her, Blackstorm let them narrow. Accustom to this, to his random outbursts she sat back down easily. Her eyes closed before opening to find her iris's turned towards him. Ears twitching towards him she did not speak, for she didn't think he wanted to hear anything about it. Tail curling away from her side it whisked out to brush across her leader's shoulder. Hoping she wasn't passing a boundary she let the black tip rest there for a moment before wrapping her long ringed tail about herself once again. Shuffling slightly she set her belly down on the dirt, happy to feel the cool mud under her belly. Fur brushed sideways she stretched out her for legs and set her chin down upon them.

So right now their jungle had little to fear, it would seem other clans suffered more from this problem then them. Brown eyes narrowed in her quiet tired state, Blackstorm felt her tail twitch back out to brush against Oakstar's side. Silent comfort, maybe. She understood his frustration. It made her feel closer to her leader, and in her normal emotionless state she felt an odd twinge of happiness. Closing her eye's she let her ears slump towards Junipertail. She wondered if the deputy felt as tired as she did. Then again the deputy hadn't run full on into a tree. Well she still got the bird, didn't she? Its blue body slumped amongst the other colorful bodies of the forest life that fed her clan.

Tail tip rising and falling against the warmth of the body it touched, Blackstorm brought a paw up opening her eyes again. With a lick she drew the wet appendage across her ears and brought it back. Moving on from her paws to her chest the Bengal warrior made swift fleeting motions across her fur. She was beautiful, and grooming softly she made her pelt shine. Turning away from her washing she lifted her striped face to stare at Junipertail. Was the deputy sure of everything? How was she to know where the rouges where- or what they where after all many would be large cats. Ears tilting slightly in question the warrior sneezed, before setting her head back on her paws.

[ber !]

A sudden tranquility crept slowly into Oakstar's body, relinquishing the pain and grief he had felt previously. The peaceful feeling started at his shoulder, where Blackstorm's tail had brushed against him. As she continued, it spread throughout his body, anger dissolving. He let out a soft purr and flicked his tail lazily, stretching his body out across the ground. His tail softly flicked at Junipertail's hinds, then at Blackstorm's tail before it continued dancing out behind him.

The purr continued on as he shut his emerald orbs. The past is the past, let it go, a voice murmured in his head, and despite the fact he knew he couldn't stop the outbursts, he obeyed it for now. He had his own pack and great warriors, so why did he refuse to turn away from the past?

Because the past brings the future, and nobody can prove that wrong.

Oakstar opened his mouth, tongue curling as he inhaled deeply, then snapped them back in a yawn. He let a paw slide out to gently touch Blackstorm's tail before stretching his fores out in front of him, lying on his stomach.

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