Falling Snow ~Open~

[Thornstar]

Thornstar opened her eyes to soft snowflakes falling outside her rocky den. The entrance was narrow, so the chilly air did not reach her warm nest. Moss and feathers stirred when she stood, stretching as she did so.

The snow was the only thing that brought pleasure to Thornstar as she stepped into the biting cold. As much as she hated it, though, the snow really was beautiful. The fresh-kill pile was well-stocked, for Leaf-bare, anyway. With a shiver, the Birchclan leader padded slowly down the icy rocks, wrinkling her nose as she went.

Once Thornstar reached the bottom of the slope, she made her way over to the fresh-kill pile, where she took the smallest vole possible. If cats were to go hungry, she had nine lives. They only had a precious, single one.

[Kiteflight]

Kiteflight yawned as a icy breeze drifted into her den. Her first thought was that that any warrior would have. It's leaf-bare, and we need to work hard. Her second was what came with the leaf-bare. Snow! The freezing slush would make short work of her herbs and plants. All the ones that she used to help heal the clan!

Quickly, Kiteflight prepared for the day. She licked her chest fur, checked up on her stock of herbs, and then scooted her nest of moss in front of the herb store. The moss could keep any cold breeze from hitting her precious supply. "Mouse-dung, I hate snow. Why couldn't we be living in green-leaf right now?" The former Medicine Cat had taught Kiteflight about the dangers of Leaf-bare, since she hadn't been able to experience one of her own. Slow would kill the herbs that Medicine Cats used, and then they'd have nothing to combat sickness and wounds.

Padding out of the den, Kiteflight looked around the Birchclan camp. "Wow," she exclaimed, looking across the white expanse that coated the ground. The warrior's den was piled up with snow, and the nursery looked like a huge fluffy cloud. While glancing around, Kiteflight caught a bit of movement. Turning to the fresh-kill pile, she saw her sister, and leader, Thornstar. The she-cat bounded to the pile to grab a decent-sized shrew, and then to Thornstar, to share tongues. "Hey, Thornstar," she purred. "Would you like to eat together?"

[Thornstar]

Thornstar looked up from her vole just before taking the first bite. "Hi, Kiteflight." The brown she-cat nodded to her sister's question. "That would be great!" Moving her tiny vole so that she could lay next to the Medicine Cat.

The snow had apperantly just started to fall, there was only light patched upon the frozen ground. Thornstar's paws stung slightly, and the cold kept her from smelling the vole's sweet scent.

Thornstar waited for Kiteflight to take the first bite, as a Leader should. The snowflakes rested on her long fur several moments before melting.

[Kiteflight]

Kiteflight beamed and sat beside her sister. While waiting for the leader to say something, Kiteflight licked her cheek. "It's times like these that I really wish things were simpler...But it's great that we can still be sisters, and friends, Thornstar. I really miss the times when we could've trained together, though.." Thinking of something to continue on, Kiteflight bent down and took a big rip out of her shrew.

"Oh, yes. Thornstar, I know it isn't exactly a Leader's duty, but would you like to help me with a chore today? With all this snow, I want to make sure my supply of herbs stays healthy, and doesn't freeze. Do you think you could come on a sorta patrol with me? It would be nice to have some company, especially in cold weather such as this." Kiteflight took a long side-glance at her sister before smiling. "Know what I mean? So how about it?"

[Thornstar]

Taking a small bite out of her vole, Thornstar nodded. Looking back to Kiteflight, she said, "Sure. As long as we can hunt on the way, the fresh-kill pile's getting low." The Birchclan leader's paws felt frozen now, and she was glad for a chance to run. It would send warmth back to her legs.
When Thornstar had finished her vole, she stood. "Let's go, then." It was still early in the morning, but the sun was warm on the young she-cat's back. Shaking the snow and droplets of water from her striped pelt.