Dark Days and Icy Eyes (Open)

[shadow]

The shadowy ShadeClan camp seemed an unlikely place for dawn to break, much less be able to tell it was sunny. Still, after years of living in this place, Marblepelt could tell plenty well that the sun would soon be rising high. Slipping out of the warrior den the ivory she-cat looked around the camp. Her icy gaze made an apprentice across the clearing flinch and quickly make his way back into the den. Marblepelt snorted softly. Wimp. It seemed it took a lot for cats to look her dead in the eye. Froststorm, Cliffedge and Icegaze, her own kits, were just about the only ones that could since Tigerstripe had died. Frowning, Marblepelt tried to bite back the bitterness rising in her belly. Whining about his death wouldn't make him come back and it would just make her more irritable.

Lashing her tail in ill temper the deputy sniffed a mouse in the fresh kill pile before selecting a scrawny starling. Taking it over to a shady gorse bush, the snow-colored she-cat settled herself there with the starling before her but untouched once it was laid down. Instead of going into her meal, Marblepelt was watching the gloomy camp clearing before her. Across the clearing Marblepelt could see the apprentice den near the nursery where Marblepelt had spent several moons with her own litter of kits. Poor Dewkit, Rainkit and Stripedkit had never seen outside of it. When they'd been buried Marblepelt had kept a neutral face and saved her mourning for more private places. It had been harder when Tigerstripe had been found dead but she had done it.

Cats in the clan thought she was emotionless or simply soulless. Let them think that. At least when someone died she didn't loose her head like some cats had. Murder, sickness, betrayal. It was all the same in the end but no good came of panicking. You would only get justice if you kept your head. No one, not even Marblepelt's apprentice Pebbletail had fully understood that. Of course every cat had their breaking point. Marblepelt just had a high tolerance for idiots, drama and death and a good mask.

Flicking her tail the deputy began her meal until she raised her gaze a few moments later. Someone was watching her. Marblepelt's fierce gaze flashed around the gloomy clearing in search of the watcher.

[Duskstar]

A pair of soft blue eyes gazed out from the Warrior's Den, the usual darkness of the clearing greeting them. It was a slightly chilly morning, as most were in the camp of the Shade. Many cats would say they like the sudden warmth from the sun of the outside world in the morning, but Icegaze would say otherwise. All that did was hurt her eyes and make morning an even harder time when getting up for a Dawn Patrol, or just waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep. The warrior jumped as her mother looked right at her, only to sweep her eyes across the rest of the clearing.

Stretching slightly Icegaze poked her head out, followed by her seemingly perfect ivory body. Then suddenly the she-cat turned back around, seeing their was no one but Marblepelt in the clearing as of yet. She didn't want to be alone with her. This was an odd thing for Icegaze, seeing as she and her siblings were the rare ones in the clan that could stand her icy glare. Sighing softly, a white paw jabbed Cliffedge hard in the ribs. "Come on you lazy furball." She purred softly, followed by another hard jab. Icegaze had been waking up her brother like this ever since they were tiny kits, and she always found it amusing when he woke up grumbling at her.

[shadow]

Marblepelt watched Icegaze carefully, lazily licking one of her paws as she watched one of her remaining kits try to rouse Cliffedge. Ah did that bring back memories from her nursery days? It had always been the same, one of the traditions or habits of waking up. Lashing her tail back and forth, Marblepelt subdued a purr of amusement and kept her cool facade up as she watched. Soon enough Cliffedge would wake up and grumble like he had ever since the kits had started moving around and waking up on their own. When the kits had been younger, Marblepelt remembered letting them jump all over her and sometimes that was how she'd woken up, surrounded by six kits wanting her to wake up for some silly reason. Ah but only three remained. That thought stirred a common bitterness that burned Marblepelt's belly.

The clan had been astounded, quietly of course, that she had allowed herself to be a queen to Tigerstripe when he'd been alive much less when someone walked in and found six kits jumping all around her. Not many cats in ShadeClan were happy to see Marblepelt approach them but back then it had sometimes seemed Marblepelt could light up the day for her kits. No one could fully temper her personality though and the kits had known she had an icy bite. Too bad she couldn't go back to the nursery with her little ones and make sure Dewkit, Rainkit and Stripedkit lived.

Marblepelt shook herself and sat up. No need to play the "what if" game. If she did that she'd end up snarling at some innocent bystander whom happened to be her own daughter at the moment. No need for that. With a bitterly thoughtful expression glinting in her blue eyes the ivory deputy returned to her small meal, ears pricked toward Cliffedge and Icegaze.

[Fadingstar]

Cliffedge had been enjoying a nice dream of hunting down a squirrel somewhere, suddenly a hard jab at his side interrupted this wonderful dream. Still he refused to budge though a small groan was audible. When another hit his side he hissed and grumbled something about mouse brains and squirrels. Lifting his heavy form from the curled position he had been in a moment before he stretched out as far as he could, his pale green eyes half closed still.

Then sitting up he playfully batted a paw at his sister, yawning all the while. Cliffedge was a heavy sleeper and it often took him a while to wake up, until then he was a grumpy furball wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Pricking his ears he gazed out into the clearing thoughtfully. Only Marblepelt and Icegaze were awake besides him.

His stomach growled a few moments later after staring at nothing in particular absent mindedly. Crossly he stood up and padded slowly over to the fresh-kill pile, taking the plump mouse Marblepelt had sniffed at a while ago. Picking it up in his jaws Cliffedge padded over to sit beside his mother nodding his head to her in greeting, crouching down beside the mouse he dug into it, breaking its bones as he went. Soon none of it was left and Cliffedge licked his chops thoughtfully gazing at his mother beside him, she seemed slightly unnerved and he had never been very good at telling what had done it to her.

[Duskstar]

Icegaze purred at her brothers grumbles and groans, easily dodging the "attack" he lashed out at her. She remembered the exact same cat doing the same things back in the nursery long ago, and though she doesn't remember her other littermates; Stripedkit, Dewkit, and Rainkit, she was sure they would be the same way. "What if they were still alive today?" Thought the female warrior, "Would they be doing what Cliffedge and I have been for moons?" Icegaze tried hard to imagine what it would be like having the three kits in the nursery with them. Stripedkit most likely looked more like Tigerstripe, Dewkit the same as Marblepelt, but with green eyes, and Rainkit with blue. This prediction may or may not have been true, but this is how Icegaze pictured them.

Sighing and yawning softly, she followed Cliffedge out into the clearing. The sun was starting to rise over the tips of the trees, sending a small amount of light into the camp, but not enough to warm it. But being used to the cold Icegaze preferred the chill, seeing as it would wake her up in the morning. After a few moments of just admiring the morning the warrior sniffed through the fresh kill pile, poking a few pieces of prey with her paw. Nothing really looked appealing, so Icegaze chose a small vole. Not exactly filling, but, eh, she wasn't that hungry anyway. Taking the small body in her jaws the warrior padded over to her mother and Cliffedge, settling down next to Marblepelt and taking a bite of her prey. As the juicy fluids of meat erupted in her jaws, Icegaze closed her eyes, enjoying the flavor as if it was the last thing she would ever eat. When they opened she noticed Cliffedge had finished his meal, but she was used to being the last one finished eating. It was that way when they were kits as well. Icegaze took another bite.

[shadow]

Marblepelt, trying to focus on her own meal, was a bit surprised to notice Cliffedge walking toward her, followed shortly by Icegaze. Of course, Cliffedge being Marblepelt's only surviving son and practically a replica of Tigerstripe endeared him to Marblepelt, softening the edges of her ragged persona. The former queen inclined her head to her son and daughter as they settled down to eat beside her. She knew Cliffedge probably noticed her flickering thoughts in her expression but she was glad he didn't mention anything. She had an image to keep up, the ice-cat of ShadeClan as some called her. The ivory she-cat snorted mentally at the very idea and stretched, flicking away the few remains of her meager meal. Extending her front legs, unsheathing her claws and arching her back the sleek blue-eyed deputy stretched luxuriously before settling once more into a sitting position, tail curled about her paws.

"I have to take out a dawn patrol" she informed her young. "If either of you would like to join me you may."

Of course Marblepelt would never admit to forgetting to arrange a patrol. She would merely claim she had planned to do it alone should anyone ask. Yes that was her little white lie. Really the deputy was searching for Jaggedstar. The leader had been missing since the night before and it made Marblepelt nervous. Perhaps StarClan had called their leader away to dream? He would have returned by now. The deputy's gaze roved to the leader's den, her sharp gaze practically boring into the den as if willing Jaggedstar to be there if she focused hard enough.