gunpowder and open flames [auburnflame]

[Johnnyflame]

LIVE AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW​

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OOC- this is gonna take place after Skyclan rejected Riverclans plea for help, but before Kuiper shows up at the border.

For the most part, Johnny liked to keep himself busy when he was with Skyclan. After all, he only spent the days with them, and since he couldn't dedicate all of his time to the group he tried to make what he could give them stretch as far as he could. If he wasn't tagging along with a patrol or watching cats spar at the sandy ravine then he was practicing his climbing and hunting methods out in the pine forest. Often he returned with sore paws and aching muscles. It didn't bother him though- if anything, it was a sign that he was putting in the effort deserving of being called a 'warrior', a title he still wasn't sure he should have the right to carry yet.

Today though, in a rare instance of downtime, the patched tomcat had made his way to the Rockpile. It was a sunny day, the sky blue and clear and lacking any wind, and so Johnny had allowed himself to bask in the warmth of the sun, lounging atop one of the flatter rocks with a content expression. It wasn't often he could find it in him to sit still like this, especially alone, but he found he didn't mind it all that much right then. As much as he liked Skyclan and was steadfast in his decision to join, there was so much information to process about the clan and it's cats that it was unexpectedly welcome to have a quiet moment where he wasn't forcing himself to memorize facts, names, and other information.

@Auburnflame
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[Auburnflame]

Sauntering under the tall pine he walked, blazing fire of his tail swishing loosely in sync with his stride, Auburnflame had taken it upon himself to stroll around the territory. He'd been on a hunting patrol earlier in the day, nearly missing his footing on a thin tendril-like branch whilst trying to catch a mature warbler. Luckily he had adjusted right as he snatched the tanned avian within his clutches just as it tried to take off. It was a messy catch, but a catch nonetheless. Now with his boredom itching at mismatched paws, he strided forth with a little less bounce in his step than normal. His mind had lingered on the past events, wondering how RiverClan was fairing during their battle. He worried over his cousin, Apricotflower, who now resided in the wetlands—was she fighting? Was she alright? Then a light colored warrior with a set under bite washes over his psyche, listening to his words of conviction against Blazestar. The RiverClan apprentice who had thought out of desperation, tried to sought out help. WindClan invaded their home, and now ThunderClan had done the same.
He felt a great pang of empathy for them, but had been one of the ones to keep his mouth sealed while Blazestar made his decision. He wasn't going to fight this fight, wasn't going to potentially fight his children nor his ex-mate. Auburnflame sighs, halting for a moment as he tries to sort through it all. Such a muddied mess everything was. His ears flick and a familiar scent drifts over his tongue, one he was still growing used to putting a name with. Johnny. He follows the scent of the other male, a pleasant trill reverberates his vocal chords as he spots the torbie tom sprawled along the Rockpile. "Hey, friend!" He calls to him, his tufted cheeks spreading as a toothy grin spreads across his maw. He takes no time in commandeering an unused spot of the rocks for himself. He settles down, relishing in the warmth of the stone from the radiant rays of the sun, sighing in content as it kissed his skin. "This is nice." He commented casually, a purr slipping from him. "How're things? Settling onto clan life well?"
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[ SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY ]​

 

[Johnnyflame]

LIVE AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW​

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OOC- okay, because I suck and took way to fucking long to reply to this, I'mma switch out the old drama of denying riverclan help with the new drama of cats disappearing more recent drama, just so that we aren't stuck in the past, if that makes sense??

"Oh, hey Auburnflame!" he called, perking up a bit as he noticed the other and returning a lopsided grin as they plopped down on a rock nearby. "Aye, it is! he agreed, stretching out dramatically across the warm stone beneath him. "Natures way of making it up to us I suppose- all the hard work, that is." he chuckled. Being a warrior was no easy feat. He was always on his paws, often working muscles he hadn't paid attention to in ever, so it was nice to have a place to just relax his sore muscles.

Their next words would bring a nod in response. "I think so. It was more my twolegs I was worried about, but they don't seem to mind that I've been wandering off until dark, so long as I come back before the lights go out for the night." Which really had been a weight of the tabbys shoulders. "I'll admit I picked a damn interesting time to join though. I knew you guys didn't exactly have it easy out here, but I wasn't expecting something like Kuiper and then the twoleg traps. I don't regret joining or anything, but it really put things into perspective, you know?"

Most cats - Johnny included before living it himself- expected that the hardships of clanlife were restricted to the obvious; struggling to find prey and shelter, occasionally having to deal with predators. But there was so much more that went into it, so many more details of hardship etched onto the page that one couldn't truly see them all until they were the ones putting lines to paper themselves, not just reading the story but writing it with every move they made.

It made him respect the clan cats all the more.
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