Insomnia [Open]

[A B S T R A C T]

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Kestrelpaw thought, counting the various pieces of wood. To say she was bored was an understatement. Her body felt sluggish, but it was to be expected. It was close to midnight, after all. Kestrelpaw was one to never sleep easily. In fact, she would often have to ask for help from the clan's medicine cat. However, tonight she didn't feel up to it. Instead, she chose to sit and wait for the dawn to approach. Yes, she would be tired. Yes, she would preform horribly. She knew the consequences to not sleeping, yet she didn't care.

Sighing, she stretched out against the sand. She liked the sand, the ways it would absorb the warmth. It made her comfortable. Almost enough to fall asleep. Almost. Kestrelpaw took a lick of the cool water, savoring its crisp taste. Even if it was cold, water at that temperature was always good.

[Songmorning]

Just then, Tinycloud came squeezing through the bushes at the camp border. He was absolutely silent until he tripped on a branch and fell, snapping twigs along the way. Freezing, he waited for a very long moment, not making a sound. His wide, amber eyes wandered over the camp. Desperately, he hoped no one had heard.

Tinycloud hadn't really been doing any harm, but he was breaking the rules by wandering away from the camp at night. He just wanted to do a little exploring in the dark, maybe climb a tree and watch the stars from the top. Still, he knew perfectly well it was against the rules.

But Tinycloud was like that. He could never be kept in order. Some cats said he would change as he grew older (he had only been a warrior for a week). Others shook their heads and predicted that he would never change. They were more likely to be right.

Finally, Tinycloud decided that, since he hadn't heard anything, it was safe to get up. Of course, Tinycloud never hears any soft noises, so the fact that he didn't hear anyone stirring in their beds probably didn't prove anything. Tinycloud's hearing trouble was caused by the shape of his ears, which were folded back on his head. This is how a Scottish Fold's ears naturally grow, but it takes away the advantage of having ears that catch and magnify sound.

Standing silently, the young warrior began padding back towards the warriors den. As he went past the apprentice's den, he glanced inside and started violently, realizing that Kestrelpaw's eyes were open. It was no use trying to hide now, she couldn't have missed seeing him. Tinycloud liked Kestrelpaw, but he was a bit afraid of her because of her short temper and somewhat domineering attitude. Turning toward her with wide eyes, he lowered his voice and pleaded, "Don't tell on me."

[A B S T R A C T]

Kestrelpaw's ears perked at the sound of twigs breaking. She pushed herself up, becoming alert to the things around her. She sniffed the air and could only smell the clan's scent, nothing foreign. She sighed, glad. She didn't want to have to alert someone in the middle of the night. Starclan knew they could be cranky.

Her eyes immediately darted to the movement a few feet away from where she was laying. She watched curiously as a tom, presumably a warrior, come creeping into the camp. Without a thought, she knew it was Tinycloud. A cat could easily recognize his folded ears and bright orange pelt. He seemed to jump out of his skin when he caught her gaze.

Her tail swished a tad, a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "I won't tell, as long as you tell me what you were doing." she said, her voice just as low as his.

Kestrelpaw crept out of the apprentice den and walked toward him. She was smaller than him, but didn't need to look up at him. The only reason she left the warm, comfortable den was only so that they didn't wake any other cat.

[Songmorning]

Tinycloud relaxed. He sat and curled his tail around his paws. Grinning, he replied, "Nothing much, I suppose. I was just doing a bit of exploring. Night is the best time to explore, you see, because you don't have any responsibilities at night. Older cats aren't always sending you off to do this or that chore, you know."

He was vaguely aware that he had answered a bit to cheekily for his situation, but he felt no qualms about it.

(By the way, how can I format my posts like yours?)

[A B S T R A C T]

Kestrelpaw's mind processed what Tinycloud said. "I suppose you're right, and it is fun to explore." She mused.

She too sat, but did not curl her tail around her paws. For a moment, she wondered what it was like to have ears folded to her head, like Tinycloud. She didn't quite understand what it was like to not have as good as hearing as any other cat, and was indeed curious. Was it harder to catch prey when he couldn't hear as well? Could he be just as alert as another cat if there was danger? Would he pick it up? Kestrelpaw hesitated for a moment, before biting back her questions. She figured it would be too rude to ask.

"I envy you." She said suddenly. "I can't wait till I become a warrior. Even though I'll still be given responsibilities and be expected to carry them out," Her eyes glinted with annoyance for a brief second before turning back to normal, "I'll still have more freedom than I do now."

It wasn't exactly true that she envied him, but she did indeed wish she was a warrior already. She disliked the fact that she was to be given orders from the higher ranking cats, not necessarily the tasks themselves. Kestrelpaw was loyal and devoted to her clan, but that didn't mean she had to like the responsibilities given with it.

(OC: There should be buttons on above the area where you write, just above the smilies. The one with B is for bolding letters, I is for making things italic, U for underline, and S for strikethrough. The make the text more aligned, you use blockquote, which is an arrow pointing right. Those are the basics, though. There are more.)

[Songmorning]

"You envy me?" Tinycloud exclaimed, laughing abashedly. Suddenly, he realized he had said it rather loudly, and he clamped his mouth shut and rolled his amber eyes up. "I bet you'll make a better warrior than me," he whispered, "I mean, when it comes to battles...and following the rules."

"Anyway," he mewed suddenly, "Why were you awake? I didn't expect anyone else to be up as late as me." He tilted his head to one side.

[A B S T R A C T]

Kestrelpaw's eyes widened a fraction at Tinycloud's loud statement. "I sure hope I'll be good, but an experienced warrior is better than a new one."

She watched as Tinycloud's head titled, finding it somewhat amusing. Gah, I feel old thinking that, she thought. Tinycloud's voice continued on, almost passing Kestrelpaw's ears. She paused for a moment, relaying his question so she could understand it.

"Oh, uh, I can't sleep easily -- at all really," she started, her voice coming out in haste. "I usually eat some herb that the medicine cat gives me, but I didn't really feel up to it." Kestrelpaw cursed herself for not remembering the clan's medicine cat's name. Must be the insomnia, she thought dryly.

[Songmorning]

Tinycloud raised his eyebrows so that his eyes widened. "You'll be the experienced warrior first," he mewed, "I'll always be the new one." Grinning, he added, "Because new warriors never have as many responsibilities. Anyway, I'm not that good a warrior or hunter because I can't hear anything as well as the other cats."

"I bet you have insomnia now because you started taking the herbs from Robinleaf in the first place," he continued, "You got used to it, and now you can't sleep without it."

Suddenly he realized that it was getting lighter. The first rays of morning were peering over the horizon, changing the velvety black of the night sky to a deep blue with fading stars. The sun had not yet shown its face, but its light had definately appeared. "I ought to get back to the warriors den before anyone else wakes up!" Tinycloud exclaimed, "Um, maybe once cats start getting up, we can go hunting for breakfast." He avoided mentioning that he probably wouldn't catch his fair share of freshkill, but he hurried off back to the warriors' den.