Visiting Boulderstar (Holly/Aikoa/B-Claw)

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Jetpaw blinked at her.

"They've served the Clan faithfully until they are old and are less capable. So we make sure they are comfortable. It's not a matter of survival. It's a matter of respect." He meowed, somewhat offended by Lychee's tone. Did she not think the elders deserved the care they recieved? Well they did. He felt his fur bristle a little at the thought that someone would think otherwise.

[Brambleclaw]

"Respect, I see." She said with a nod. That was fair. And besides, they probably did have a story or two that was worth her time. Something about moons, stars, suns, and maybe a little Clan history too. She'd be happy if they could teach her more about the Clan.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Jetpaw sighed and padded across to the feshkill pile, biting into a mouse and padding towards the elder's den. He motioned to Lychee with a flick of his short, stubby tail to follow. Most cats - younger ones, usually - laughed at Jetpaw because he was somewhat funny looking. He had long ears that weren't exactly large, just long and narrower than most cat's, and the fur on his head and nape, and some along his spine, grew ridiculously long so that it flopped down over his face and prickled along his neck awkwardly. He had large paws and strange streak marks on his fur that looked like lightning bolts. Even so, he had a cute face and happy, glowing eyes. Rumor had it that his unknown mother had chewed his tail off, since he'd had it unnaturally short all his life. But he ignored all the rumors and jibes. It... it didn't... matter. He padded into the den and smiled at the elders.

"Are you here for a story?" One of them asked.

"No, Emberfur, I'm just coming to bring you this mouse." He meowed, purring. She smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Jet. You're so cute." She meowed, ruffling his thick head fur in a friendly way.

[Brambleclaw]

Lychee followed Jetpaw into the den, not at all acting shy or embarrassed. She flicked her tail and sat herself down, licking a forepaw.
"Emberfur? Nice to meet you. I'm Lychee." She said softly, a friendly smile across her face. She was a dull greyish color with five darker stripes along her neck and back. Her eyes were a slightly lighter version of the dull greyish color, and her fur was medium in length and mostly neat and clean. She was a very pretty cat, in a way.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

OOC: Just to let you know I made Emberfur up so feel free to rp her too -.-

BIC: Jetpaw began cleaning the bedding as Emberfur smiled at the young she-cat.

"Hello, Lychee. It's nice to meet you, as well. I heard a bit about you and your sister. So you came from Twolegplace, did you?" Emberfur asked curiously.

[Brambleclaw]

[[Hehe, if you made Emberfur a real cat I could make her mate, Lizardfire...]]

"In a way." Lychee nodded with a sigh. She saw something stir at the end of the den, and a dusky brown tom with golden ringlets sat up, blinking his watery green eyes.
"Oo dere?" He asked in a strange accent.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

OOC: Eh sure. We need more elders anyway ^.^

BIC: Emberfur turned and pricked her ears slightly. She was a soft grey, almost looking as if she'd once been white but had had ash spread across her pelt, and her belly and the backs of her legs, as well as her paws and most of her tail and neck were white. Her left ear was, as well, and a strange flame-shaped white snip on her face summed it up. Her contrastingly amber-red eyes were probably what had mainly given her the name 'ember'. Besides that were the ginger streaks that formed more flame-like markings on her fur.

"It's a new apprentice named Lychee. How about that?" Emberfur purred. Jetpaw looked up and blinked then continued on with his task.

[Brambleclaw]

"New 'prentice name Leechpaw?" The tom blinked with a frown. His dusky brown fur looked like it was slowly fading away into the dust. His eyes were milky and long-since losing their vision. He could barely distinguish shapes now. More dragging himself than walking, he pulled his wrinkled face up close to Lychee.
"Wut kine uh name iz dat?" He asked, his nose twitching as he put his face only a hairswidth away from hers. Lychee quickly pulled away, and the tom coughed musty air from his lungs. His golden ringlets were more like rings of dirt in mud now, fading grey and away. His face was wrinkled like his skin and his fur was gone in some spots. Tail kinked and joints stiff and sore with arthritis, he sniffed and caused his nose to twitch even more.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Emberfur gently touched the other elder's pelt gently, purring.

"She hasn't recieved a proper name. One of the warriors told me her and her sister's ceremony will be later. It looks like she's made friends though. That's good." Emberfur purred, smiling at Jetpaw.

"Can you tell a story please, Emberfur?" Jetpaw asked eagerly.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Emberfur chuckled. "Which one?" Jetpaw thought for a few moments, but he just shrugged.

"I don't know. I can't remember which ones I liked." He muttered. She laughed softly.

[Brambleclaw]

Lychee smiled.
"I'm curious about the Clan's history. Know anything about that?" She asked with a frown. That other elder was sure strange.

"Oh, hehehe, silly me. Namez Lizzzardfire." He said with a crooked smile that revealed his lack of teeth. He nuzzled Emberfur back slowly, his body shaking as he stretched himself out.
"Dun mind meh. Jus im vury ole. 'Most hunderd munz." He said with a tiny nod as he pulled into a tight ball and stared at Jetpaw strangely.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Emberfur purred and stroked Lizardfire's flank with her tail tip.

"And still kickin', right ole tom?" She laughed. The old she-cat turned to Lychee and smiled.

"Sure, I know some things about the Clan's history. There's lots of it, too! Recent history, legends, stories of noble leaders. It's all pretty interesting. My first few moons in here would have driven me crazy had it not been for the other elder's stories." She said.

[Brambleclaw]

Lizardfire nodded and smiled.
"Sturee keep dee ole hed up hi-ee." He said with a dull smile. "Id tull der sturee if ew cud undestan meh." He said with a sigh, smiling to reveal his lack of teeth and the reason for his funny accent. Half his tongue was missing, too, which didn't help.
"Embur wuz meh 'prentice." He said with a grin. "'N meh mate." Lychee smiled at the tom's strange acent, but didn't mention the fact that she hadn't understood half of what he had said anyway.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Emberfur laughed.

"Yes, he is somewhat hard to understand, isn't he? But your just so sweet." She purred, rubbing her head against his neck gently. She turned to Lychee and grinned in a friendly way.

"So what sort of story can I tell ya?" She asked amiably.

[Brambleclaw]

"Truth. Start from the beginning of the Clans, if you could." Lychee asked with a smile. It was sweet to see two cats who truly loved each other, and could overcome any obstacles. Lizardfire smiled, not at all hurt by his mate's words. Obviously he understood that no one else could understand him. It made him that much more sane and reliable.
"And as much detail as possible if you could." Lychee added with a smile.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Emberfur nodded.

"Ah, I see. What rich and colorful histories bind these Clans in their traditions." She said quietly. She looked at Jetpaw and smiled.

"So has this furball told you anything?" She asked. He had used to ask about the same stories all the time.

"A little. About how the Clans were originally made." He meowed. Emberfur nodded.

"Ah yes. Then I shall start a little beyond that. The Clans were founded on the belief that the cats could not survive in that territory... this one, anyway, on their own. Four cats wanted to lead the new Clan though - Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow. I find it ironic that the Clans had to be named after their first leaders but I suppose that's just how things work." Emberfur chuckled.

[Brambleclaw]

Lychee nodded.
"ThunderClan had Thunderstar, WindClan had Windstar, etc. I get that much. But why fight in the first place? And why were there so many cats to begin with?" She asked as she pondered the thousand other questions in her head at the moment.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Emberfur nodded.

"A very good question. You're clever, Lychee. I like that." The old cat purred. She looked up and closed her eyes.

"Cats have always had a sort of... territorial aspect to their nature. In the beginning, the cats wanted all they could get, so they fought and bickered constantly. As I understand it there were many wild cats, too many to count some say. All of those cats in this small territory probably was what led to so much friction." She meowed thoughtfully.

[Brambleclaw]

"Why didn't some cats leave then? I bet there was plenty of land. And any fight should have kept the cat count down, so how come they let there be so many cats before deciding to fight?" Lychee asked. She still didn't fully grasp what was being said here. After all, hey had all the land in the world for them. Why stay and fight instead?

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Emberfur chuckled.

"All I have for you are theories, my little philosopher. I cannot say why only how. I suspect most cats of that time were as arrogant as they are today," she meowed, flicking the indignant Jetpaw on the ear with her tail tip, "And none of them wanted to leave. Perhaps some did. Perhaps others fought and died for what they believed was thiers. I cannot say. It was a very, very long time ago. A time when there were less thinkers, like yourself." She meowed, smiling.

[Brambleclaw]

"I guess they're just tales." Lychee agreed with a sigh. That meant they may not even be real. But she'd figure it out one way or another.