Rifle Me Down ~~ Grandmother

[Deleted]

[For @kelcey1902]

Leafheart was hating what Cloudclan was making the living cats do. Cloudclan needed cats, this was necessary she knew, but it sent her into a rage whenever someone brought it up. Of course, there weren't many people around, and even fewer of them could hold a steady conversation with the temperamental she-cat. These games went against her morals, and Leafheart never did anything that went against her morals. So let Moony and Loony have her fun and deliver her messages, Leafheart would have no part to play, and when the poor aching 'competitors' arrived in Cloudclan after facing whatever torment was thrown, well big whoop. Maybe she'd show some sympathy, maybe not. It really depended on the poor suckers that landed her and whether they irritated her or not. Most of the time, they did.

Sighing in boredom, Leafheart flicked her patched tail back and forth over the ground, watching the shadow follow it like a stupid little toy. Why didn't shadows just leave? They were kept around, but weren't needed. She didn't understand it. 

[Deleted]

As the achromatic feline slipped from behind a massive oak, her paws skirted along the ground. There wasn't a sound - her pelt brushed nothing and her steps were light, barely there. Finally, she arrived just behind her granddaughter, Leafscar, and tapped her lightly on the shoulder with her tail, attempting to startle the younger cat. Without a care to whether or not her plan worked, Iceshard stepped in front of the brindle she-cat.

Hello sweetheart, the white spirit meowed, her eyes glittering. Lately, the feline had been in a weird mood. She knew CloudClan was having issues - their numbers had been dwindling over the last few seasons and as one of the elder spirits, she was one of the ones who had had to take on more of the duties. Not that she was the only one. Without enough cats to fulfill CloudClan's required operations, every dead cat had to do more and more.

Still, she felt terribly about what they did to correct this problem. What she did to correct it. Sentencing seven cats to death? Brutal deaths no less? CloudClan hadn't made the cats die peacefully in sleep - oh no, no, no. One was hit my a monster, another died of poisoning in the water. Iceshard had been one of the ones to sentence these cats to death - and she would have to live with it for the rest of her days. Which.. would be awhile.

[Deleted]

Ears pricking, Leafscar whirled as a voice sounded behind her. She wasn't surprised by the intrusion, but hadn't realized that the other spirit had gotten this close. It was astonishingly hard to have privacy when you were dead, she had found, though realizing her grandmother the warrior swallowed the harsh rebuke that had been forming. Green eyes flared then settled as she dipped her head to the white, older warrior. "Iceshard...Grandmother. I did not recognize you," she murmured apologetically with a half-hearted shrug. She wasn't in the mood for politeness today.

She well knew that her goody-two-shoes granny wasn't happy about the challenges either, no one truly was. Except perhaps Peachwing, or maybe that was just Leafscar's loathing of the she-cat talking, wishing it on her to add another reason to hate. She had been one to speak outright against the games, not that she had been listened to. As one of the older spirits, you'd think she'd get a tad of respect, but whatever.

The calico female split her mouth in a yawn, not that she needed to. She was going through the motions, filling up time before she would have to speak again. Conversation, even to treasured family, was never one of her good points, not since she had died. As a live cat, Leafscar had proved a much more open and jovial person, named Leafheart for her kind nature. Now Leafscar by her own changing due to the ragged scar over her neck from the fox that killed her, she was more subdued and more sarcastic, with no real friends so as to speak of amongst the stars. Well boo hoo her, self pity was something she hated, and was loathe to put it on herself.

Sitting and inviting Iceshard to do the same, Leafscar cocked her head inquisitively. "What brings you about, grams?"

[Deleted]

Iceshard rose a kitty eyebrow at the term "grams," but flicked the thought away. It wasn't anything to concern herself with, she was dead. Not getting any younger, but not getting any older, either. At that thought, a sly smile spread across Iceshard's mouth, her eyes glittering with self induced amusement as she gazed upon her granddaughter.

Oh nothing, grans, the achromatic feline meowed, the bad pun making her ears twitch. Heh.. I was just checking in. I've been doing it with everyone - a lot of cats around here seem to be pretty pissed off. Especially with me, she meowed, pulling herself upward and clearing her throat. This conversation was going to be a major drag - with Leafheart's fiery temper and Iceshard's tendency to defend herself and her actions.. would it ever end?