Enjoy the little things [Tawnystripe]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,350,true]

[atrb=background,http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9797/bern.jpg] Hollyshade’s ear twitched, she tilted her head in order to listen more closely to the mellow and relaxed voices of her clanmates, this was her favorite time of the day: sharing tongues. For reasons unknown to her the act of licking fur after an abundant meal made the cats of her clan drop the biggest news and juiciest gossip. She was hidden in the shadows that the nursery cast out, it was a perfect hiding spot, right in plain sight just like she liked it. This whole thing was a routine, normal ShadowClan cat spent the afternoon grooming each other, Hollyshade spent the afternoon listening intently to those cats talk. She yawned, not much had been going on lately, except for the whole barn adventure Foxpaw and Skypaw had gone to… or the mysterious loner named Crank… or the usual drama that plagued relationships… she sighed, no news meant no fun. Hollyshade placed her muzzle on her paws and thought about her sister’s new apprentice Foxpaw, she asked herself if Tawnystripe needed help with her mentoring skills… a laugh bubbled on her throat. She wondered if her sibling was destined to be part of a mismatch or if this was her leader’s idea of a good joke. The black she-cat proceeded to slowly get out of her hiding spot; she stretched and padded to the fresh-kill pile with the usual silence and grace that gained her the name of “The Best Tracker of ShadowClan”. She chuckled, the name had not technically been assigned to her but she was sure everyone in the clan thought the same way as her. She stared at the pile: a vole, a frog and a blackbird; Hollyshade raised her paw and pointed at the three kills trying to decide which one to take. At the end she took the vole, too lazy to remove the feathers from the bird and not in the mood for frog. With the food in her jaws she went back to the shadows where she felt more comfortable, away from the sight of others but with a good view of their movements. She licked her mouth and took a bite from the vole; she chewed it and smiled enjoying the taste of meat on her tongue. Unlike most warriors she was never in a rush to finish her food, she liked to savor it; every bite was chewed carefully and relished to the fullest. And man did she love it. A purr escaped her throat when she finally swallowed and went for the next bite. Hollyshade really liked to enjoy the little moments. Nothing could ruin it. It was perfect. Her whiskers twitched, it would be better if she could get some details out of her sister about the barn thing or out of the apprentices. She smiled to herself; she had some planning to do. word count: 476 words. tags: Tawnystripe. notes: Still testing the waters with Hollyshade Oh, and this takes place a few days after the barn adventure… hope you don’t mind.

[/i] annoyed.

The whole of ShadowClan seemed to be in the clearing that evening, even the kits and elders. There was a low hum of chattering from every which way, making her ears twitch as she lay stretched out beside the warrior's den. Everyone gave her a wide berth, knowing full well how she liked privacy and having personal space.

All of it made for the perfect evening. Tawnystripe hated how content she felt, watching her Clanmates share gossip and words. Nothing seemed very new, not since the little misadventure of two of their apprentices. Tawnystripe found her whiskers twitching, just the slightest bit. Hollyshade wouldn't be happy about the lack of new dirt. Almost absent-mindedly, Tawnystripe sweeped the clearing with her eyes, looking for the dark pelt of her sister.

She didn't see her. Which meant the other warrior was hiding, and likely wouldn't be seen until she wanted to. Tawnystripe huffed, part ways in amusement and part ways in exasperation. Okay, Hollyshade was pretty boss when it came to staying hidden and seeing without being seen. Didn't mean she had to show it off... Perhaps hypocrisy was also an unfortunate fault of Tawnystripe's... [/size][/blockquote][/ul]

<sup>Her eyes were locked on her source of information aka her sister, she looked pissed, but then again Tawnystripe always looked pissed. She smiled for it always contrasted with her lighthearted attitude, she remembered when her sibling got angry at her for hiding without really realizing she was hiding. Good times. Hollyshade grinned one of her mischievous grins and decided she would give Tawnystripe one good reason to be annoyed, it was her specialty after all. The warrior almost absentmindedly bit and chewed the fresh-kill in front of her. And if she doesn't claw my ears off I'll ask her about the barn adventure... She thought as she gulped down the last piece of vole.

The warrior's den.

Getting to that part of camp without being seen or heard was tricky since it had been strategically placed so you could see all of the clearing from there. Hollyshade calmly buried the remains of the vole and scanned the area trying to decide which hidden path suited the situation best. She could follow the usual and slink through the thorn barrier's shadow... Or she could make everything much more complicated by slipping from den to den until she reached her target. Easy or complicated. Her whiskers twitched a little at the obvious answer. She would go for the simple, not only did it offer more chances of success but it would get her close to Tawnystripe without being detected. Which was precisely what she wanted.

She crouched and slipped away from the nursery, with steps resembling that of a mouse she went to the barrier's shadow and smiled, it always felt good to sneak around. With care and precision she slowly got closer to the warrior's den, perking her ears in case someone dropped something juicy or if one of her clanmate's got dangerously close. This process continued until she could clearly see her sister's signature pelt. Tawnystripe looked tense and for a second she wondered if she saw her trick coming. She smirked, no matter how many times she jumped on her sister she always got a good reaction.

Hollyshade took a silent step forward and leaned closer to her sister's shape. She was so close she could make sense of the stripes that covered Tawnystripe's pelt. The black warrior took a deep breath and with all the strength she could muster she screeched "Afternoon, Tawnystripe!"</sup>