up the creek without a paddle [Sorrelfur]

[badgerstar]

[This worked out better in my head xD But hey, first rp post on RR! *dances*]

It was another dawn without a sun-rise – instead, there was a thick layer of clouds from horizon to horizon. The sky had gone from pitch black to a light, mottled gray, but that was the most light the cats below were going to get today. Heat was another matter though – the humidity in the air of a threatening rain (even though the clouds didn’t look too stormy right now) made the air thick and warm. And cats like Badgerstar, with his long, thick coat, were sweltering already.

But there was prey to be hunted and patrols to be led – and while the WildClan leader was far from claiming the title “most social clan cat” he wasn’t about to let them start calling him lazy either. Old, yes; grumpy, yes; but StarClan be damned if his clanmates started to think he belonged in the elder’s den instead of up on the Great Rock. That was the major argument against his lack of a deputy, after all.

The path down from his high den was worn and well-remembered, so the time between his decision and when his paws touched the soft ground of the camp was short. He paused then for a long, laborious stretch and a rough shake of his pelt. His ears flicked back for a moment at the uncomfortable heat, but then the leader was striding across the half-awake camp.

Many of the warriors were still deep within their den – and that didn’t surprise him. On a day like today, most of the clan would stay around the camp, sharing tongues and relaxing on the warm stones. It was Greenleaf though, and the prey was running well, so he couldn’t blame them. But Badgerstar would make sure to mention to one of the senior warriors that there were still camp repairs that needed doing – that wouldn’t require too much energy today.

The clan leader himself, however, ducked his head into the shadowed warrior’s den and uttered a gruff meow to wake at least one of the nearest warriors. “Sun’s up, you lot should be too. I’m going fishing – who’s going with me?”

[Deleted]

As the heat of Greenleaf had come upon WildClan, Sorrelfur had been of late finding it harder and harder to wake at a timely point of the morning. Thanks to the fact that the tom’s light brown pelt was short-haired, the warmth of the season had the tendency to make his nights so much more comfortable- so much so that he couldn’t help but be sucked into the snugness of his cozy moss nest in the warriors den. This night in particular, he had the pleasure of enjoying a very pleasant dream involving sunshine and a light breeze as he leisurely took part in the hunt of a delectable-looking mouse.

Of course, this dream came to a rather abrupt conclusion at the sudden call from the real world that dragged him back. The colorful world of dreams were quickly cut away and replaced with the blackness of the inside of his eyelids. But even that lasted only an instant before his copper eyes opened to narrow slits, instinctively, to find the source of the call. Since he had been facing away from the entrance to the den as he’d slept, he couldn’t quite tell who had spoken immediately. In his drowsy state, he couldn’t even be sure what the cat had said. Only the last few words had reached his ears with clarity, and they weren’t enough to distinguish an identity.

It took a considerable amount of effort to manage the shift from one side of his flank to the other, but with a slight wince of discomfort the tom rolled over on his back in order to face the den’s opening to the camp. When the tom saw who it was that had called him into the waking world, his eyes snapped wide awake in recognition and his paws worked on their own to pick the warrior up from his nest. “Badgerstar,” he responded in a start, a little too loud for the sleeping quarters of his fellow Clanmates. Quickly realizing his mistake, he flicked his ears down and up and continued by saying in a much quieter tone, “I’m set to go.” Sorrelfur flicked his tail twice to help wake up the rest of his body before taking a few steps toward his leader, who stood just outside the den. “I apologize for sleeping late,” he mewed in a hushed tone.

[badgerstar]

Unlike the majority of his clanmates, Badgerstar hardly ever slept late anymore – although that had less to do with the weather and more to do with sleepless nights that none of them knew about – but, moving on. Still, he wasn’t surprised to find most of the warriors within the den fast asleep. It was hardly sunrise, and with the clouds obscuring the sky, there wasn’t much morning light to wake them. That would be job left for whichever cats woke first – like Badgerstar himself. Fortunately for them, he wasn’t interested in waking the whole den, just one or two of them.

This morning, it seemed the Sorrelfur was the first to react to the leader’s voice (although it took him a moment to register just who had woken him, it seems). Badgerstar himself ignored the surprise in his clanmate, and the overly-loud greeting, and simply gave a small nod before backing up a few steps to let Sorrelfur exit the den – something that the warriors remaining would likely appreciate as well.

His whiskers twitched at Sorrelfur’s apology, but the only verbal reaction he gave was “You’re up now, at least.” He turned away, heading toward the edge of the camp – and paused briefly to flick his tail toward the freshkill pile. “You can grab something to eat if you like, then meet me at the edge of camp.” Badgerstar didn’t glance back over his shoulder to see what the young warrior would decide, but let his paws lead him to where one of the more senior warriors kept watch. Thankfully things had been peaceful for most of Badgerstar’s life – at least as far as protecting the camp itself went – but two or three cats were always chosen to keep an eye on their sleeping clanmates.

While waiting for Sorrelfur, Badgerstar relayed his orders for fixing up the camp and dens (for all those cats that stayed behind today in this heat), as well as his plans for fishing. It would not do for them to not be able to find their leader, should something happen. At least this way they would know to head toward the river to get him.

Once Sorrelfur reached him, Badgerstar stood and – with a nod toward their general direction – started off at an easy lope of a pace. It didn’t make sense to waste time getting out there, and it might help Sorrelfur wake up more. Badgerstar mostly wanted to move in hopes that doing so would get the great weight of the heat off his long pelt. As it was, it didn’t take the pair too long to reach the river, and Badgerstar had led them to a rather calm section of it – perfect for those cats (such as himself) who would never swim very strongly, even if they could manage to keep their heads above the water.

Now the pair just needed to find some fish to catch.