Who Wants to Hear a Story?

[Koisplash]

(Private to Quickpaw.)

The sun was high in the sky, around the time that apprentices and warriors would either be going out to train or returning to camp for a quick meal and a break. Koisplash had spent most of the morning awake, moving around rocks to catch some early sunlight. But with that done, there seemed to be nothing else to do.

Well, except for one thing.

The willowy tortoiseshell-and-white cat peered out the den. Kits and apprentices would also probably be coming in at this point, the kits for stories and the apprentices for picking off ticks. She tried not to be quite as sarcastic as she usually was with them, although the tick-picking practice was usually pointless with her. She rarely had ticks.

It wouldn't hurt to tell a story if she was asked for one now. She had quite a lot, and talking at length had never been one of her weaknesses. Besides, it would be something nice to do.

[Quickpaw]

Quick-kit opened bright blue eyes, noticing a calico elder watching the nursery. He cocked his head, blinking at her, before waddling towards her. "Hello," he said quietly but cheerfully. "I'm Quick-kit, who're you?" He wondered if there were any good stories - he'd heard that the elders usually had some good stories.

"Do you have anything interesting to tell?" He squeaked hopefully, perking his ears.

[Koisplash]

Well, it had to be a sign of her not being quite that old, because her hearing was still sharp enough for her ears to prick at the sound of a voice. A kit's voice, to be precise.

Koisplash turned towards it, smiling. Maybe it was her age, but she'd grown a little fonder of kits than she'd been when she was a warrior young enough to think they were mostly annoying. However, it probably said something about either the Clan or her that he didn't recognize a former deputy. Most of the new generation had probably never heard her name in relation to the deputy at all.

"I'm Koisplash," she replied, inclining her head. "A former deputy of TreeClan, as a matter of fact. So yes, I suppose I have quite a lot to tell, and at least a bit of it's bound to be interesting."

[Quickpaw]

Quick-kit's blue eyes widened. "Koisplash? The deputy—" her next words confirmed his thoughts. "Oh! I've heard of you before. The queens gossip a lot, especially Leopardfire." He grinned, pawing at her softly. "I never thought I'd meet a real life deputy!" He sat down, looking up at her. This would make it ten times better.

"I'm all ears!" He exclaimed gleefully, pricking his ears to listen. "I'm Quick-kit by the way, and my mother is Lionstrike."

[Koisplash]

Koisplash blinked, then smiled and couldn't help laughing slightly. "I bet they do," she replied. "But yes, well, here I am. Getting a little old, of course, but better late than never, right?"

She inadvertently thought of Beechstar then, and felt a pang. He had passed away quietly, ninth life now on to CloudClan, but the memory of his body was still fresh. But that also led to thinking of Waspwing, and Feralheart, and she immediately shook those thoughts away. She had a story to tell for a kit, and being sad about it wouldn't help either of them.

"Quick-kit, huh? That's a nice name," Koisplash commented with a grin. "I bet you'll live up to it when you're a warrior."

Lionstrike. The name was familiar, but only because she knew it from hearing of the newly appointed queen. She hardly knew anyone new in TreeClan these days.

"Well, what would you like to hear?" she asked. "Any particular battles?"

[Earthblossom]

The apprentice stepped quietly into the elder's den with some moss. She placed it down and turned to them, "Are you guys doing a story? Can I stick around to hear it?" she mewed quietly but excitedly, she had never heard a story before even in her kit-hood.

[Quickpaw]

(Earthblossom - this is a private thread, meaning you cannot post)

Quick-kit shrugged. "Old age doesn't seem that bad! Besides, you look like a regular warrior to me! Maybe a little older - a Senior warrior," he was raised to be polite, and besides, he wasn't the best source to ask. He was a kitten, and he couldn't tell age apart too well. The skill would come as he grew. 

"Really? You think?" He asked, looking up at the green eyed female. I hope I'm fast! Maybe even the fastest! The idea was far-fetched, but he was high-spirited and optimistic. Who knows? Hah! What if I was as slow as a turtle. My name could be Quickturtle!

"Hm, I don't know the names of the battles. Your most interesting one," he smiled. "Oh! Or the fire!" 

[Koisplash]

(Earthblossom, Quickpaw is right. Sorry if it wasn't clear, I'll edit the post to clarify.)

The tortoiseshell-and-white cat paused to think. The battles of the past were still clear to her, but the names were starting to all blur together in her mind. Now that she thought about it, none of them had really had anything great at stake. Yes, events would have turned out differently then, but the outcome would always have been the same--the Clans still at each other's throats, then cooling down with some awkward tension at the Gatherings, perhaps allying, before the cycle began again.

The fire, however, was different. It seemed so long ago, but Koisplash would never be able to forget it. It was etched in her mind as permanently as marks on a stone. Most of the Clan nowadays had been born after the fire. Those who had been there to remember it when it happened were now either dead or nearly so. The idea that cats would forget the fire that had completely turned the Clan upside down, had driven it from its home to another, was unbearable.

"The fire--now, that was something," Koisplash sighed. She lay back down in her nest, black-tipped tail wrapping around her. "Sit down and I'll tell you about it. Not many cats nowadays were there when it happened, so just remember this. We can't forget it."

[Quickpaw]

Quick-kit grinned, ears perked with excitement. "Okay," he murmured, plopping down on the ground, wide blue eyes trained on the elder. I wonder what it was like. Maybe I'll get to see the old camp as an apprentice! He thought. It seemed like forever until he'd be named an apprentice. Well, that sucks.

"Don't worry! I won't forget! That's why your here, right? To tell all of the kits about it?" He asked, tilting his head. He couldn't grasp the idea that the old female wouldn't be around forever.

[Koisplash]

(Quickpaw ohhh my god i'm so sorry for the lateness i didn't see you reply and i forgot ooooohhh my godddd)

Koisplash shifted slightly, moving to get comfortable and placing one paw atop the other. At least her bones weren't creaking, she thought. Not much, anyway. She was definitely getting old enough for more white to start making its appearances.

She had to smile, however, at the kit's enthusiasm. She reflected wistfully on her own kithood, as fuzzy and far away as it was in her memories now. How different the world had been back then--so large and beyond her understanding. It was a wonder how kits wanted to be older and now elders wanted to be younger. This elder, anyway.

"Yes, you have a point there," Koisplash replied, unable to keep a laugh out of her voice. But she coughed, trying to sound serious again.

"But this...now, this was different," she said, as solemnly as she could. She took a breath before going on.

"It's been said that the fire began with a lightning blast during the storm the night before it happened. No one knows where that lightning struck, but it hit some tree, somewhere nearby, and that was all it took.

It started slowly. So slowly, no one noticed until the smoke began. But by then, the fire had arrived--an unwanted guest, but there all the same. The prey noticed first, all the mice, the squirrels, the birds and the voles--they were running, and initially, we didn't realize why. Waspwing, the medicine cat at the time, was the first of us to notice. He ran into camp to warn us all, but it was too late. The fire was already spreading."

Koisplash paused only to take another breath. It'd been quite a while since she'd talked so much.

[Quickpaw]

[its fiiiine, don't worry <3]

Quick-kit pricked his ears, listening intently as the calico began to speak. His eyes grew wider and wider as she told her story. CloudClan, that sounds terrifying! He thought in alarm. Those warriors must have been so brave! He watched Joisplash in awe and amazement, marveling at how courageous she must have been.

"Wow!" He murmured as she paused speaking. "How did you not get burned? Or trampled by animals? There must have been a lot!" He said, blinking up at her curiously. "You must have been so brave, that's so cool."

"What happened next?" He inquired eagerly, flicking his tail tip in excitement. 

[Koisplash]

The elder couldn't help but smile at the kit's enthusiasm. "The animals were faster than we were," she replied. "And the fire was already spreading, then..."

She gave a small cough before she continued. "We started running. No one could do anything but run. I ran to the dens--the warriors' and the elders'--to warn them, to wake them up before the fire could burn them. The queens had to herd out their kits, staying behind to make sure warriors could carry them safely.

I was desperate. I could only think of getting away somewhere, anywhere, until I remembered the river on the IceClan border. It was nearest to the old camp. As deputy, I shouted--for everyone to go to IceClan, where the fire couldn't touch the water. Of course, that had problems of its own, later."