✝ ... holy water on FIRE __________ » darkheart

the sound of crunching frost roused tallstar from his daze, and his ear swiveled towards the source of the sound. a small, thin, wiry she-cat padded towards him, but he found her strangely familiar. her name... yes, darkheart, the elegant and ginger she-cat who he saw buzzing around the queen's den. no one could catch anything this winter, not even the burrowing rabbits who didn't even twitch an ear. disappointment obviously held his heart hard, but tallstar knew his warriors couldn't be blamed for the lack of food quietly, he stepped off the rock and held his tail at mid-height, leaning down to sniff the sorry excuse for a vole.

instead of insulting her or becoming upset, tallstar dipped down and bit a piece out of the vole, nudging it towards darkheart.  "'It's all I could catch. It's yours if you would like it. You need your strength to Tallstar.'' the ruddy tom merely chuckled at his young warrior and sat, tail curled around his paws. "we do not self-delegate who receives what food, darkheart." his green eyes shone with compassion and a deeper understanding than most cats could grasp. "clans must share, for if we possessed what belonged to us, all would go hungry." he noticed darkheart's shameful gaze and stepped closer, licking her shoulder. "apologies are not necessary. starclan's leafbare is here to test us. we must stay strong even in the face of remonstrance."

tallstar gave her a slightly disappointed gaze. had she not heard what he said? he wanted to share the vole, not eat it himself. of course, the rest of the clan questioned his state of mind at times, because no cat in the history of the clans thought like him. medicine cats didn't become leaders. they just didn't. so why was he here? and what of that dream? thought tallstar as a shudder ran down his spine. the vole looked appetizing, but tallstar could survive without food in his belly. "please, darkheart. take the vole. she-cats need their strength more than ever, now." his kind, green eyes were mesmerizing, as if someone cut out little emeralds and stuck them to tallstar. "i appreciate the gesture of good tidings, but i will hunt for the clan later in the evening."

he'd heard things about darkheart. while her loyalty to windclan remained strong, her passion and love for warriorship lacked the backing tallstar needed in his clan. at the same time, he didn't wish for her resignation, for the elder's den was a miserable place for a young warrior. "how is the warrior life for you, darkheart?" tallstar asked. at one point, he thought twilightstar would appoint the she-cat in place of briarheart, but it seemed twilightstar wasn't as aware of windclanners as he. ''I feel this is the hardest leafbares we have had so far. There hasn't been one day where it hasn't stopped snowing. Prey is scarce is are also using their stupid little minds now. You talk about sharing yet I'm not sure who else would be fond of the idea to share their prey. We are all starving and growing ill. Even our medicine cat is running low on herbs.. cats will die.'' cats will die... the haunting nightmare sprang back to life in his mind and tallstar winced, his eyes clenched shut.

he came to a few seconds later, carefully opening his orbs. the rumbling of darkheart's stomach brought him back to the world and tallheart couldn't help but mrow in laughter. "looks like somebody wants a bite to eat." there was no way he was giving up his mission. "come, now. what if you want kits someday? no food now means a harder labor later."

''Being a warrior is very rewarding Tallstar. Warriors get a little bit of respect in their own way. Having apprentices looking up to you, teaching them what you learned in the past and watching them grow. It's rewarding all on its own. No matter what position you have in the clan its work. Everyone has a job in this clan being from being the smallest kit to a wonderful leader such as yourself. It's worth it.'' but was it? tallstar remembered his youth, the excitement he had about fighting rival clans and proving windclan worthy of praise. he used to play with his denmates as all kits do, tacking, biting, scratching, and dominating, so it surprised him when he had an ominous dream about becoming a medicine cat apprentice. there was a calling, a tug on his heart towards the stars, deities he barely knew but wanted to oh so badly. "i was never a warrior." he took a deep breath in and exhaled, feeling his body relax. "i have no experience." maybe he was just talking to himself. the doubtfulness would not leave.

''Kits eh? Well I would love to have kits someday. Just.. that one tom has to come by and show me he won't leave me or hurt me in order to start a family.'' ah, kits. tallstar could never dream of having a family as a medicine cat, but suddenly now the doors were open. should he risk his passion and devotion to starclan at the expense of having a family? the fact that darkheart mentioned 'hurt' intrigued him, and he turned his head, large green eyes locked directly on her. "bad experiences?" he inquired, saying little more. delving deep into cat's lives did not take up much of his time, but he liked being aware. 

''You said you were going to hunt for the clan later.. would you enjoy some company by any chance? I don't think I'm busy doing anything..'' honestly, tallstar did not want to hunt or do much of anything, but the clan watched him with judging eyes every time he took a nap or made dirt. begrudgingly, he nodded and turned his head away, avoiding her gaze. "i suppose i can go..." despite his true feelings, tallstar needed to obey the warrior code, and starclan demanded all warriors hunt for the good of the clan.