Don't Give Up

[Zelda]

Blackclaw returned to camp, soaked to the skin with sweat, and tears. He limped a little, but not from a wound to the body. A wound to the heart. He could not find his precious Lightstep, his mate. She had disappeared some time last night, and the tom had been out all day looking for her. He let out a long sigh, then coughed. He didn't want to see his kits at the moment, so he hurried to get something to eat. After his meal, he was going to go back out to look for her, no matter what. The tom was not going to give up and assume she was dead.

The apprentice yawned and shook the dirt off her paws. She licked her coat clean of sod clots, then stretched and climbed out of the little hole in the ground. Gingerpaw rolled her eyes.
"Weirdo. No wonder they named you Molepaw."
Molepaw sneezed and shrugged. "You know that doesn't faze me anymore."
Gingerpaw snorted, then stalked away. Molepaw blinked lazily, then put the dirt back over the hole. Her clan would get mad when they accidentally stepped into little potholes while they were walking through camp.
"Hey, you know where mom is?" Molepaw asked, catching up with her sister. Gingerpaw froze.
"No."

[[Nightwood]]

Shadedstar lay silently in his den, listening to water dripping from somewhere nearby. It had annoyed him all night and had prevented him from sleeping. His eyes began to drift shut, his mind becoming fuzzy for a moment. He sprang up and shook himself. It was daytime. No time for sleeping. He crawled out of his den to find Nightwood waiting for him. She seemed agitated by something. He quickly found out.
"Hawkwing and Ravenwing have been out all night! Probably hunting and stuffing their fat little faces." It all spilled right out as if she had no control over it.
Shadedeyes shook his head, unable to hold back the smile. "Nightwood, do I hear you accusing your clanmates of wrongdoing? There's no need to start shooting accusations at others. They've probably just had a little argument and need time alone."
She glared at him for a moment before slinking off, still muttering about them.

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[Amber]

Snowstorm lay in the warriors den. She had only slept a few winks the previous night. She had a dream about her sister, Stormpaw. Why was she having a dream about Stormpaw? She shrugged off the feeling and slowly got onto her paws. She padded outside and saw Shadedstar and Nightwood.

She padded over to the two, to see what was going on. Being nosey, wasn't usually in her nature, but she had overheard the mentioning of Hawkwing and Ravenwing. When Nightwood went off she continued on her way to Shadedstar. "Trouble?" she asked. One word said it all.

[[Nightwood]]

Shadedstar shook his head. "I'm not sure," He sat down and looked up at the sky. "Hopefully things will work out between the two." He looked to her and smiled as if just noticing Snowstorm. "It shouldn't last much longer."

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[Amber]

Snowstorm's light blue eyes stared at Shadedstar. If he wasn't sure what the answer was, how was she suppose to?
"I agree, if things don't, we might have a war inside our own clan." she murmered.
"I just hope you are right. I don't want it to get to the point of seeing bloodshed." the she-cat said, no emotion on her face.

[Panic]

Swifteyes emerged from the nursery. She let out a yawn before walking, almost wobbling, over to the fresh-kill pile. The kits were going to come soon. Her belly was large and it felt heavy. She knew she'd have to pace herself, but that only made her restless. She looked around the camp, wondering if any other cats were awake. Taking a bite from her vole, she sighed. The days seemed lonely without Sealtooth...The medicine cat was always grumbling about something as they shared a morning meal. She gave a weak smile at the memory that would seem happy only to her.

[[Nightwood]]

Shadedstar looked over at Swifteyes as she took her breakfast. He watched as she smiled. "At least someone seems a bit happy." He tried to ignore what Snowstorm had said. He hated the thought of fighting within his own clan.

[Panic]

Swifteyes looked up in surprise. "Oh, Shadedstar it's just you." She let out a sigh of relief. "I was lost in my own thoughts for a moment there..Yes I suppose I am happy. The kits are coming soon and I am a bit excited." She smiled at Shadedstar, trying to let go of Sealtooth for just a moment.

[Zelda]

Blackclaw looked up. He had seen Ravenwing and Hawkwing on his way back from his search. It had kind of doubled as a patrol and a hunt, but mostly he was looking for Lightstep. Deciding to tell the leader about what he saw, he pushed himself up off the ground and padded over to Shadedstar.
He dipped his head and mewed, "Shadedstar, I saw the two on my way back from a...hunt."

[[Nightwood]]

"Were they okay? They weren't fighting or anything, were they?" Shadedstar said looking worried. He always hated the thought of two clan mates fighting, especially brothers.
Nightwood watched him from the other side of the clearing. She could always go talk to Hawkwing if Shadedstar was so worried. He still listened to her every now and then.

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[Zelda]

"Unfortunately, they were fighting, sir." he mewed. "Only verbal right now, but I'm sure it will turn into a physical fight. I'm going back out now, do want me to go to try help them?"
Blackclaw knew he had no time to assist them, but he always puts the clan before himself and his needs.

[[Nightwood]]

Shadedstar didn't answer for a moment and it was clear he was deep in thought. He wasn't sure if he wanted anyone interfering with the brothers as they might work it out on their own. But if anything horrible happened between them someone should be there to stop them. He finally looked up at Blackclaw. "Go ahead and keep an eye on them, but don't show yourself unless you have to. It might be better for them to have some privacy." He hoped he was making a good decision.

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[Zelda]

"Of course, Shadedstar." he mewed, dipping his head, then backing away slowly. After Blackclaw was a few tail-lengths from the leader, he turned tail to him and trotted through the clan entrance.
I'll watch them for a few minutes, then look for her again, then check on the two every few minutes.. the tom decided.

[Panic]

Brokenfang buried the bones of his food, giving a silent thanks to StarClan for the meal. His deep green eyes slowly looked over the camp. All seemed well.

Swifteyes noticed Brokenfang alone in the corner. She padded over to the tom, smiling. "Good morning." She greeted cheerily, leaving her thoughts of Sealtooth far behind. "How are you doing?"

The warrior didn't want to make conversation at all right now. "Fine." He replied, his deep voice showing no emotion at all.

"I'm doing good too." Swifteyes stated, breaking the somewhat awkward silence. "The kits will be coming soon."

Brokenfang simply nodded, choosing not to add to the conversation.

[[Nightwood]]

Nightwood watched Swifteyes as she tried to get a conversation going with Brokenfang. "He's sounds delighted." She muttered sarcastically. Shaking her fur and giving her chest a quick lick, she took a look at the fresh-kill pile to see if it needed restocking. Life was somewhat dull now about the camp, with the usual trouble makers gone and not many cats about.

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