I could use a break. [open!]

[Crystal]

viper.

Viperheart pulled herself out of her mossy nest and walked out of the den, not caring to groom the bits of moss out of her fur. Her eyes looked around camp drowsily, narrowed slightly. Their pale green depths were dull, as if the light of life had left her. The she-cat limped over to a clump of toadstools, keeping her twisted paw above the ground. These days, if she placed even a little bit of pressure on the paw, it would shoot burning pain up her leg and through her whole body.

As Viperheart settled down next to the fungi, she yawned widely flashing dangerously long fangs. She lay on her side, waiting for the dreary to part and let the sun shine down to warm her flank. She sighed and awaited someone to come and start a chat with her. Maybe she would be nice this time.

[[ m i r a g e ]]

The young tom sulked into the camp, his ears flattened and the whole air about him filled with displeasure. He was not satisfied at all with Fadedstar's way of running things; many cats where aware of his need to wreak havoc, and Snakebite was in trouble again. Clear as day, no cats would really bother trying to befriend him; the warrior knew that it would be useless if any of his Clan mates did make the attempt.

His eyes were lowered for the longest time, but when the tom's gaze finally shot up he was practically in front of Viperheart. Tipping his head to the side, the male took a long, hard stare at her, as if in disbelief that he had fallen into her presence. However, a moment later his face was once more masked; the venomous expression that flashed by was quickly discarded for a fake contentment. "Ah, hello there Viperheart, how have you been?" The tom's meow sounded light and friendly, as he did not know the she-cat's personality well; she was always changing. He knew nothing of her kithood, the warrior being his senior, and played safe his words.

[Crystal]

viper.

Viperheart's tail flicked back and forth slowly as she dozed lightly in a corner of the ShadowClan camp. Her boredom was obvious, as was her tiredness. Just as she was about to drift off into a light sleep, a voice shattered the silence that had gathered around her.

"Ah, hello there Viperheart, how have you been?" came the voice of another ShadowClan member. Viperheart opened her eyes, immediately narrowing them when she saw Snakebite, another warrior like herself, standing in front of her. Her eyes were neutral, though in truth, Viperheart was surprised that she had neither heard now smelled the tom coming towards her. His greeting hung in the air, taunting her to reply with a greeting just as cheerful. But the she-cat didn't feel so joyous and answered with a flat and expressionless voice.

"Good morning, Snakebite. I am quite well, and you?" Tail still flicking back and forth, the older cat awaited Snakebite's answer, her gaze unwavering.

[- LOST .]

______________The sky Faded with the dying sun, revealing the hidden Star .!

Leader of Shadowclan .!____________________________

I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted,
Surrender to nothing, or give up what I,
Started and stopped it, from end to beginning,
A new day is coming, and I am finally free.

It was strangely calming, to slither the night undetected. Each paw placed carefully before the other in a prowl of the shadows. Pale blue eyes were narrowed menacingly, peering there was a nip to the winter air, as the feline figure was pleased not to have a run with frozen lungs.

The moon made it's climb into the sky, it's pale wash sweeping over the vast land of Shadowclan territory. The stars glistened brightly in the blackened night. It was almost a lush onyx black pelt lain upon the sky, had not for prods of sharp claws to tear at the fur, and reveal the light poking in from behind. Such a concept could certainly not be true, of course, as when daylight rolled around, such a black pelt was none.

The tom prowled through the frozen grasses, his breath coming in hazy billows, as though he'd taken in a lung full of smoke. His paws wound silently over the hard, cold earth, body low in advance upon the unsuspecting creature. It's long tail trailing the brown critter, stretched as though a feline had taken their paws and stretched it like putty. This was a mouse, it's fur painted a lush dusty brown as winter came upon the mighty clan.

However the vision of the plump creature faded in the hazy fog, and Fadedstar felt the panic of loosing his catch set in, followed by the furious as it was not in his paws. With an irritated hiss, the pale tabby lurched forward, leaping blindly into the fog. The form met his claws and a satisfactory purr rose in his throat. However when he looked down, he could not see his paws, and with a blink of confusion, the scenery chanced.

Fadedstar was not out in the Shadowclan marshes. His eyes widened as the confines of his den became clear, some of his moss bedding gripped in his claws. So he'd been dreaming. Perhaps it was a subtle reminder, his mind telling him that leaf-bare was indeed coming, the days of leaf-fall were growing colder, accompanied by morning frosts.

A yawn forced it's way up the tom's lungs as he staggered to his paws. Shaking scraps of moss from his pale gray pelt, Fadedstar glanced to the mouth of his den. Pale dawn light washed through the mouth of the leader's den. Fadedstar didn't spend much time in hear, only to sleep, usually. The warriors den was always better suited, he thought. With the warmth of others, and being able to share tongues with den mates. You didn't often get that here.

Whiskers quivering as Fadedstar tried to shake of his drowsiness, his numbly padded forward, shouldering out of his den, and into the clearing. At first glance, Fadedstar assumed it was morning, though he didn't put much thought into it. The clearing was quiet, calm, however there was indeed a spark of life within it's depths. Two felines spoke quietly to one another, the smokey tom narrowed blue eyes, reading their faces as he gathered up both names. Viperheart, the she cat was always one to be cautious with, so Fadedstar liked to think. She was unpredictable, and you never knew what you were to get with this she cat. She could have a sharp tongue if she wanted to, and Fadedstar knew all to well of Viperheart's seemingly random mood swings. He had to, Fadedstar was leader of Shadowclan, it would be unwise not to know his clan mates like he would den mates.

The second felines, however, was a tom. Fadedstar instinctively felt his shoulders tense under a pale tabby pelt. Snakebite. It was easy to remember a tom like this warrior. Snakebite almost seemed bent on causing trouble, trouble as in war, any way he could. Fadedstar trusted this tom's loyalty, of course, but he'd learned to be cautious about taking him to such places like gatherings. The last this Fadedstar wanted was one of his warriors starting nonesense.

Holding his breath, the tom debated just turning around and returning to his den. But after a long soothing breath, Fadedstar straightened up, put a faint smile upon his lips, and trotted to join his clan mates. "Greetings." The leader meowed calmly with a slight dip of the head, blue-green orbs flickering between the two Shadowclan warriors.

|| ooc; ||
Ahah, I got too lazy to type up a whole new post. x]
But if you don't mind me joining...?

[Crystal]

viper.

Viperheart looked up as her leader approached. She dipped her head to him respectively; even if she was rude to other cats, she'd never insult a cat of higher status."Hello Fadedstar, how are you?" she asked, keeping her voice level. The sun finally broke through the thick clouds, though only slightly. It shone down, the light splayed on the ground pale and meager, bringing no warmth with it. Once again, Viperheart's eyes narrowed. Her ears flicked at a passing fly that decided to hover near her head, and her tail dragged in the dust as she brought it to her side.

[ooc: Of course, no problem Lost. I have no muse today though.. -_-]

[[ m i r a g e ]]

(Yay for lack of muse!)

The tom shrugged slightly, and flicked his ears to acknowledge the she-cat's words before responding. "Oh, so-so. Hunting should be well today." The tom's tail curled around his paws and Snakebite made short, friendly conversation, the idea leaving a sickening feeling in his gut, though none of it was displayed in the tom's expression. The leader approached shortly after, and the tom turned quickly and dipped his head in respect, his own dark thoughts wishing against the action.

"Greetings yourself, Fadedstar." His ears pricked, but the young tom was clearly playing around, taking no real interested in the approach of the Clan leader. A leg moved from underneath him as Snakebite stretched, his eyes never leaving Fadedstar, intent on the leader's action. To him, it looked as if ShadowClan was having a lack of communication, but this was quite alright with the warrior, who himself would rather not reveal all that he was up to. Then, Snakebite cast his glance from side to side, feeling a slight disturbance.

He knew he was not trusted.

In fact, the tom didn't expect that any reasonable cat would be foolish enough to believe that a leader could be fooled by one of his loyal warriors. Still, Snakebite continued to display a contented, if not cheerful, expression towards both cats, hoping to lead confusion. At least, if they were mildly disturbed themselves, it would distract from his troublesome actions if only for awhile.

[Crystal]

[ooc: I'm going to wait until Lost posts.]

[- LOST .]

______________The sky Faded with the dying sun, revealing the hidden Star .!

Leader of Shadowclan .!____________________________

I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted,
Surrender to nothing, or give up what I,
Started and stopped it, from end to beginning,
A new day is coming, and I am finally free.

Viperheart greeted the leader with a respectful nod, and with a growing smile, the smokey tom dipped his head in return. "I'm doing quite fine, and yourself?" Fadedstar chimed, setting a ligh hearted vibe into his fur. He glanced to Snakebite at this, inviting the tom into the question as well, if he pleased.

Snakebite nodded in greetings as well, and once again, Fadedstar returned the slight dip. He grinned slightly upon the tom's words and shook his smokey pelt, placing his rump down and tucking his fore paws under his chest. Giving his chest a quick lick, Fadedstar looked back to the two warriors. "Not much going on today, eh?" He mused, though the lenient calmness that angulfed him was rather relaxing, the leader liked to think.

|| ooc; || Lol, now I have no muse! xD Sorry for the late reply, by the way.

[Crystal]

viper.

Viperheart calmly licked her paw and scrubbed her face lazily before setting it back down with a shrug. "Yes, there's not a whole lot to be done nowadays. But a short break is nice once in a while, don't you think?" replied Viperheart, her tone plain. She flicked her ears and looked up at the thickening clouds, hating the smell of rain on the breeze.

As the pine's tree tops swayed in the wind, Viperheart's pale green eyes scanned a leaf as it lazily spiraled down, gently reaching the ground and settling there, a couple tail lengths away from the three ShadowClanners. She muttered something inaudible to herself before stretching out on her stomach, feeling the dusty ground rub against her belly fur. Her pale orbs looked at the two toms, waiting for one of them to finally respond.