open*--the fireflies our only light in paradise

[*- - -sun p o o l~]

The wind howled gently over the river, sending cool air over to the flame coloured tom on the other side. He took a deep breath of relief, glad to have a second of cool air. It had been so hot lately, and he was starting to worry about the possibilities of a fire. He had nearly tripped several times over dead undergrowth, and piles of leaves where forming around every tree. As he plunged his muzzle into the warm river his thoughts continued to dance around in his mind. 'Maybe I should talk to Morningstar about clearing the dead leaves out of our territory, or some place where they won't be fuel for fire.'

Sunpool, for that was the tomcat's name, stood up and swiped a pink tongue around his dry lips. It worried the young deputy that the leaves were falling off in greenleaf. He shook his head trying to clear it of his troubled thoughts. But how could he not worry when all the prey is hiding from the heat? The tomcat let out a great big sigh and figured he might as well try to bring home some prey. It wouldn't hurt and this late at night he might even be lucky.

He trotted through the forest, sniffing the air greedily. He could swear he smelled the warm life of a tiny creature. His bright blue eyes darted around franticly trying to pinpoint the smell. A flash of white flew by and he dropped into a low crouch. There! A white mouse was nibbling on a beech seed, just waiting to be hunted. And Sunpool was determined to catch that mouse. Slowly, pawstep after pawstep he finally made it close enough to spring on top of the creature. Sunpool killed it quickly, not wanting to practice his killing techniques. It was stupid to go back over to Sunning Rocks, but so many animals lived there, he was bound to get lucky again.

After catching a scrawny bird, Sunpool soon became bored, and perhaps a little lonely. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, and even another hunter would bring back more prey. He glanced around wondering if that sudden cat smell was his imagination, or if it was real. His bright blue eyes harden as he became sure that it wasn't his imagination.

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A striped silver tabby she-cat padded into enemy territory. Being a rogue, she was an enemy to everything Clan. She was an outsider, and outcast. Once known as Strangeheart, she was now Arlene. A rogue. At this point, most cats probably wouldn't recognize her. She was getting old. She could be considered middle-aged, though, if you were a Clan cat, you were lucky to make it to this age. She was once a kittypet, so fat and lazy, but now, rogue life had made her slim. Her muscles seemed to work better, though she was nothing like she had been in her warrior days. She was a cat of many toms- mates had come and gone for her. No kits, though. Spottedwing was her only one.

Arlene had her rumors that her daughter's kits were coming soon. She was excited, and could care less that her daughter had broken the warrior code. Arlene didn't approve of Spottedwing's mate, though. He was so crazy. Spottedwing had such poor taste. But she was sure the kits would be wonderful, perhaps growing up to be fine warriors.

The rogue came across a river, and a scent. "ThunderClan." She muttered out loud, and went ahead to see a flame colored tom. "Hello," She meowed, somewhat distastefully. She really didn't care that she was on ThunderClan territory, and probably would be attacked. "Do you know where Spottedwing is?" She asked, her voice rather nasty and rude. Yep, she was becoming an elder.