touch the s k y ! { falcon }

[Sage]

this move has got me way over the sun
i'm dancing like i'm the only one

Being as opposed to sitting still as most cats were to water, Larksong had, for about the billionth time since she could remember, wandered out of the SkyClan camp by accident - which incidentally was a phenomenon which had reoccurred numerous times in the past as well.

How did something like this happen so often? Easy. A flying something had passed into her line of vision, and unable to help herself, Larksong followed until she could no longer see it. What it was that had been airborne when she spotted it was anybody's guess; the she-cat herself had long forgotten, as something as trivial as a sunlit dust mote was capable of captivating her. And now she was padding through the forest with a stupid grin on her face, her tail lifted and waving behind her like a streamer, her expression one of the utmost oblivious joy.

Larksong was as happy as could be. She hardly ever wasn't, so it wasn't too much of a surprise, but this time she had a reason. In her pursuit of the UFO - as she thought of it, it was an unidentified flying object, after all - she had found herself walking a familiar path, one she herself hadn't gone down it in many moons. Taking note of this, the warrior had immediately decided to visit the place of her childhood.

And of course, had begun to zone out as she neared her destination, resulting in a good deal of surprise when her short journey came to an end. Oh! The she-cat's pale azure eyes widened as they alighted on the object, one just as fascinating as any UFO. "Wow." She breathed, pricking her ears forward and momentarily freezing her limbs for a rare second of total immobility.

Then she returned to life, her rambunctious smile lighting up her face as she circle the tree. The ancient oak was nothing she hadn't seen before; in fact, as an apprentice she had been all too familiar with climbing and getting stuck in its branches, to the despair of her father, who had surveyed her progress like a hawk. Trees and the art of scaling them were a part of SkyClan's identity, after all, one all its cats were proud of, and eventually even the childish Larksong became as familiar above ground as she was on it.

Now Larksong circled the trunk, craning her neck upwards as she both apprehended and admired the structure at once. It had been a long time, as she had never really cared to venture back out to the oak. Thinking back on it, she had no idea why not. She loved the place. It made her feel smaller, more humble, and even a little more serious. And at the same time, it had always - always - made her want to climb to the top. She had never managed it, not even as an apprentice, even though she had been challenged and challenged many others to do so.

Her mind set on this task, Larksong crouched down, her muscles coiling and tail giving one last wild flicker before she leaped, enjoying the feeling of falling through air until her front paws alighted upon the lowest branch. It was quite a jump, and she had to scramble for a while to get her entire body on the wooden surface, but once she'd accomplished this the desire to see the world from a bird's-eye view became an unquenchable flame. Her everlasting perseverance coming into play, Larksong found her next victim and launched herself at it, landing more solidly this time around although she still had to catch her balance, using her tail to steady herself. Then she continued, taking smaller, safer leaps as she began to ascend; as mousebrained as she may be, not even Larksong was stupid enough to dare a huge jump when she was this far above ground.

tagged ;; falcon with spiderfang
notes ;; none
wc ;; 641
lyrics ;; taio cruz, higher

it's taking me higher,
i feel like i can touch the sky[/font]

[falcon]

Spiderfang was trying to find it within himself to give a piece of dung today. He'd already set up patrols, so they'd be out and about, checking the scent markers and hunting so that the fresh-kill pile wasn't miserably small like it'd been when he'd woken up. That had been the start to a not-so-good, very-bad day for him. His tail swished irritably as he scooted up the branch and crouched, examining the space he was about to leap through, in order to land on the branch barely a foxlength above his head. He could make it, he'd climbed this tree so many times as an apprentice that he felt like he had the many twisting turns and winding ways imprinted in the insides of his eyelids, but he wasn't that lucky. No, he still had to think things out when it came to this monstrous challenge. Any sane Skyclanner knew better than to climb the Ancient Oak without some sort of strategy. Or maybe that was just Spiderfang. Everything he did had some sort of strategy or reason behind it, even if said strategy or reason didn't make sense to anyone else. It made sense to him, and that was all that mattered at times, when the clan wasn't at stake. Then he was giving it his all and no one could deny his capability.

Spiderfang didn't mind if the other clans wondered why an anti-social creature like him had been put to help keep charge of his clan, when he hardly spoke out of turn and did little to keep things moving on a social level. Spiderfang didn't consider himself to be there for gossip and interference, that was the queens' job. They could gossip all day as they lied about in their comfortable nests, nursing kits and contemplating the different natures of Skyclan. He left that duty to them. Spiderfang was here to make sure that no clan mate of his died under his watch. He was the perfect soldier in a way, he had a one-track mind when it came to survival and safety. If he was needed to sacrifice himself, at any time for any one clan member, Spiderfang wouldn't hesitate. That was why he was deputy. The lithe black tom launched off the branch, paws outstretched, and landed on the tree trunk next to the limb he'd been aiming for. The tom made an annoyed sound, his long tail lashing again as he glanced down at the ground that seemed so far away now that he didn't have any wood between himself and it. A few tugs of his long, muscular legs and Spiderfang was seated on the thick branch, gazing out on the territory that he was so fond of with a critical eye. So much for grace, good thing I never claimed to be graceful.

His ear flicked, catching noise below him, and Spiderfang glanced down to see another cat approaching the tree that he was seated in. It only took a glance and a sniff for him to know who it was. Larksong. Fantastic. That was sarcasm, of course, for he was a very sarcastic cat. He didn't know the younger she-cat very well at all, having only been made deputy a few moons ago and not having been a warrior for very long before that. She was also young and hadn't been given to him to mentor, nor had she been in any way attached to the cat he'd been assigned to, so Spiderfang had never gone out of his way to talk to her. He rarely did that anyway. Spiderfang, however, knew all of his clan mates well, from watching them and learning how they worked. Spiderfang was good at that, analyzing others from a distance. He knew Larksong to be hyperactive, insistent, and very apprentice-like in her thinking. She seemed to be a perfectly capable warrior, on the other paw, so Spiderfang wasn't going to find it in himself to judge, when she obviously was quite capable. He watched her make her way up the tree, tipping his head and considering the way she moved with a critical air, one much like the gaze he'd cast over Skyclan territory and yet much different.

Spiderfang expected a lot out of his fellow warriors and he expected them to expect a lot out of him too. So he watched her move up the tree and waited to see how she did, approving of her make shorter leaps the higher she went. Strategizing, good. He always liked to see someone with common sense, that was always a pleasure. Larksong was starting to get close to him and he got to his paws, thinking that maybe he'd better make his getaway before she saw him and came over. Glancing around, Spiderfang realized that he'd landed on one of the branches that happened to be rather far away from any of the others, and if he wanted to move at all, he'd have to go down. That direction would lead him directly toward the ascending she-cat. Muttering under his breath, he sat again and tucked his tail around his hindquarters while he waited for her to get close enough so that he wouldn't have to yell. He didn't like yelling. Spiderfang was good at getting the point across without raising his voice un-necessarily. Once she was hardly a limb below him, he leaned over and said, by way of greeting, "You're going to run out of tree eventually, if you don't slow down and enjoy the climb." Nicer than usual, but abrupt. Just his style.

[Sage]

this move has got me way over the sun
i'm dancing like i'm the only one

A hint of blue was visible now through the natural staircase Larksong was ascending. She paused on a branch to apprehend how much tree was left. A good few of minutes of climbing, she decided. The thought would have made some impatient, but it only made her, ever the young optimist, smile. She was so close!

With that inspiring idea resounding through her mind, Larksong looked about for the next, nearest limb for her to jump to. She was beginning to act more cautious as she neared the highest her father had allowed her to go as an apprentice, mapping out all the possibilities of those she could reach and deciding which would be the safest, most effective route. This system of careful behavior was going quite well, tiring her mind as well as her body while keeping her good attitude at its usual heights.

That was, until she became aware of another cat above her. She was too far below it to identify it, and besides, Larksong wasn't that worried about it. If it was a SkyClanner, she would be friendly and start up a conversation while she took a brief break from nonstop climbing. And if it was an intruder.. well, she doubted that, but if it was she'd probably do the exact same thing. It wasn't like anyone from any of the other clans would be able to fight this high off the ground, anyway. Sure, it was something if they'd gotten this far, but it wasn't like they were skilled enough to fight in the treetops. No, that was a skill for SkyClan to keep, and SkyClan only. So she didn't pay attention to how close she was getting to the cat, not even bothering to try and catch a familiar scent. That was, until it spoke.

""You're going to run out of tree eventually, if you don't slow down and enjoy the climb."

"Oh!" Larksong dug her claws in to the limb she'd just landed on to keep from falling off in her surprise. She didn't even need to see the face to recognize the voice. It was one all SkyClanners knew. Spiderfang, the deputy, was looking down at her, no expressions present on his face other than the ones that were usually there. Speculation, Larksong thought, and that certain glint of sarcastic humor in his yellow eyes. "Hello, Spiderfang." Her voice returned to its usual chipper tones. "One second, I'll be right up!"

She bounded up quickly, mind picking out the path that Spiderfang had probably taken and following it. Larksong didn't know much about her deputy, and never approached him. Idolized him? Yes, that she did, but not quite as much as she idolized Ruststar simply because she didn't know him as well. He was a quiet fellow, she knew that just by looking at him, and it was common knowledge that he wasn't the most social of creatures. She also got the feeling that he liked to have everything planned out, to always have a strategy. Too careful for her taste; there was nothing spontaneous about him, and Larksong had always wanted to change that about him. How did she know all that about Spiderfang, anyway? The question she asked herself remained unanswered as she landed gently beside him, making the branch sway despite her light weight and the care she'd put into making it a quiet landing. This was the deputy, after all.

"Oops. Sorry about that." She beamed at him, her tail flickering behind her. In the back of her mind she had decided she knew about Spiderfang only because he was the leader's second-in-command, and she watched the leader like a hawk whenever she got the chance. Oh, and because he had an awesome tail. She was jealous of it, actually.

Shifting her weight slightly as she tried to get comfortable and debated on whether or not she should sit down, Larksong remembered he'd said something earlier. What had it been? Something about going slow and enjoying the climb? "As to what you said earlier, I would but I have to get to the top!" Her sky blue eyes shone with the light of the unfinished challenge, her words a tad more solemn than they usually were because she was tired. "I can enjoy it once I get up there. Although," Her head tipped to the side a little as she thought. "Then I'll have to figure out how to get down. Hmm."

Hardly twenty seconds passed before she awoke from her thoughtful stupor, eyes losing their cloudiness as they focused on him, as bright as ever. "Anyway, what are you doing up here, Spiderfang? Just out for the heck of it? That would make sense. It's quite nice up here, don't you think? Oh! And by the way, I like your tail." Larksong's babbling was back to normal, all traces of exhaustion gone now that she'd been standing still for a minute or two. The opportunity to have a conversation with a cat she didn't know but had always been curious about intrigued her, and she was going to seize the chance while it still stood.

notes ;; hurrr. hope you don't mind lark dominating the conversation a little. x3 i'll try and tone it down.
wc ;; 923
lyrics ;; taio cruz, higher

it's taking me higher,
i feel like i can touch the sky[/font]

[falcon]

He'd startled her, Spiderfang could see her unsheathe her claws and bury them into the bark to keep from slipping. He didn't frown, though he thought about it. Shouldn't she be on her guard? He'd seen her coming as soon as she'd hit the tree, that only made sense. Someone ought to remind her that she needs to keep her eyes and ears open at all times. I shouldn't have startled her like that. He was nit-picking and he knew it too, but it was because he could've been an enemy and he'd've been able to use the advantage of surprise because she hadn't been paying attention. Well, she moved fast enough and her instincts were good, she'd recognized him right off the bat, as he could tell through her chattering. "One second, I'll be right up!" Well, that was going to make getting away a bit hard, he thought, flicking his tail as she made her way up and nearly unseated him. He dismissed that, instead paying attention to her quick apology and shrugging, unbothered. He wouldn't be much of a Skyclanner if he couldn't stay on his own two paws in a tree. That'd just make him even worse of a deputy, and Spiderfang did admit that he liked to keep his reputation somewhat intact.

"As to what you said earlier, I would but I have to get to the top! I can enjoy it once I get up there. Although, then I'll have to figure out how to get down. Hmm." Spiderfang tipped his head, wondering how she was planning on enjoying it when she was tired. He was the kind of cat who'd take things slow if possible, because that led him to discover things that other cats might miss. Being an analyst also helped with that too. His long black tail moved slowly, basically lazily in the warm leaf-fall air, as he seated himself and gazed at her, deciding that she was indeed one of the noisiest cats he'd run into so far. Spiderfang had known that already from seeing her around the clan, but now she was just proving his suspicions right. The tom was opening his mouth, getting ready to say something in response to her earlier words, when she started talking again, at the speed of a twoleg's monster and he shut his mouth, wondering if there was going to be any sense to what she was saying. Probably not, but Spiderfang wouldn't judge when he didn't know her yet.

"Anyway, what are you doing up here, Spiderfang? Just out for the heck of it? That would make sense. It's quite nice up here, don't you think? Oh! And by the way, I like your tail." Spiderfang blinked and glanced at his tail, actually taken aback for once. "Thanks.. I think. It's strange, you're the first cat to notice how great it is." There was the classic sarcasm. His tail usually wasn't the first thing cats noticed or commented on when they met him, if they were still in the commenting mood and not in the downright rude or insulting mood. He tended to put cats into dispositions like that. Remembering that she'd asked a question and it'd be considered polite to answer said question, Spiderfang meowed, "I'm just here, for the heck of climbing trees.. Skyclan cats tend to do that sometimes." His mouth curved into an ironic smile, so she wouldn't take it offensively and somehow, he doubted she would anyway, but he took the effort anyway. "I'll go hunting eventually, I figure the extra prey could be used, but I thought I'd go climbing. Haven't been on this tree in awhile and it has an excellent view." As I'm sure you've noticed. Judging by how eager you're to get to the top.


OOC; That's probably for the best. xD

[Sage]

this move has got me way over the sun
i'm dancing like i'm the only one

She had surprised him, that much she knew. Any other emotions or hints to his mood on his face? Those she missed entirely or ignored - which was really up to whoever was observing her. She managed to hold her tongue long enough for him to finish speaking, although it was a bit of an effort for her, and her tail showed it through increasingly rapid flicks.

As soon as he was done she began talking again. She did not recognize or care about his sarcasm, her eyes lit up even brighter as he responded to her compliment, as if he'd just made her day in every way possible. "Really? I would think it's the thing most cats notice right away. Maybe they were too jealous. 'Cause you know, it is pretty awesome. I think I might even be jealous. Just a little though, so you don't have to worry."

She took a quick pause to breathe and remember what else he'd been talking about. "SkyClan cats do like their trees, don't they? That's a little weird. I mean, why trees? Why couldn't we be like, the clan of flowers? Or birds? It would be awesome if SkyClan cats could fly, wouldn't it? We should all try to grow wings. That way we really would be the clan of the sky!" She grinned at the thought. "Oh, and hunting sounds good. It's always good to have food. Although I always feel a little bad for the prey. Wouldn't you? I mean, nothing eats cats, except for sometimes other cats and dogs. It would be horrible to live knowing someone wanted to eat us." Her face scrunched up. "I mean, think about it. What if the mice ate us instead of the other way around? That would be scary."

The gray and white warrior's face clouded over briefly as she considered this new thought. "Sorry. I don't mean to be depressing. Depressing things are sad." She giggled softly at herself. "But that was kind of a given, huh? Hey! I know. You should come with me to the top of the tree! And then I can help you hunt. Two cats catch more than one. What do you think, Spiderfang? Will you come?" Larksong looked up at him, her blue eyes large and innocent.

notes ;; ---
wc ;; 380
lyrics ;; taio cruz, higher

it's taking me higher,
i feel like i can touch the sky[/font]

[falcon]

Spiderfang could tell she was getting impatient to speak, and as soon as he shut his mouth, she was off about his tail. He made sure he wasn't gaping at her like a fool, because he certainly felt like one at first. He'd never heard someone talk so much about a tail in general, especially not his. And he'd definitely not heard someone praise anything about him for more than a few strained seconds. Spiderfang did stare at her incredulously for a long moment, deciding that it was not likely to bother her, seeing as she'd skipped right over the sarcasm like he'd been completely straight with her. Spiderfang tipped his head, blinking at her, in what was probably a stupid fashion, but the tom finally got his bearings when she stopped talking to breathe, and he wouldn't have gotten a word in edgewise if she'd even stopped long enough for a normal cat to breathe. Spiderfang knew he was staring now, and blinked again, wrapping this fantastic tail of his around his haunches and not even noticing the tip waving lazily as he watched her curiously, fascination aroused by this nonstop talking. How does she come up with all this stuff to say? Is there no filter in her mind, it just goes from where she thinks it to her mouth? What a strange creature, it's no wonder she's known for how much she talks, I don't think I've gotten a chance to breathe loudly yet.

When she did stop, now on the subject of cat-eating mice, and Spiderfang wasn't sure how she'd gotten there in the first place, he managed to keep a straight face and reply, with complete seriousness, "I think we'd just have to learn how to be better at running away. Or flying away, as you suggested." He remembered that part, and was proud of himself for doing so. He had a fairly good memory, nothing to boast about, but this proved him to be a genius. How else could he describe being able to recall what she'd said fifteen seconds ago? Genius. She'd paused and he was now getting his own thinking done, without her chattering. He'd never really thought about the possibility of having the food chain switched around, it just wasn't a thought that had ever crossed his mind. He didn't think about other possibilities or realities often, not when they didn't directly correlate to whatever he was doing and didn't provide a solution to whatever problem he was trying to fix. The idea of mice trying to eat them made him chuckle anyway, the thought of a mouse pouncing on Ruststar or Silverstar was incredibly amusing. It was such a ridiculous idea, but one that made him laugh. He stopped doing so in surprise, the noise sounded almost rusty and out-of-place, coming from his maw.

Spiderfang's face was straight, but he was slightly confused inside, because he didn't laugh. Rarely ever did he laugh. He could count the number of cats on one paw who'd heard him genuinely laugh in pure amusement, and not in derisement or something less pure. He wasn't a very pure cat, sins came easy for him. In response to her words about depressing being the same thing as sad, the lithe black tom said, "I think they're meant to be the same thing, really." "But that was kind of a given, huh? Hey! I know. You should come with me to the top of the tree! And then I can help you hunt. Two cats catch more than one. What do you think, Spiderfang? Will you come?" He tipped his head and thought on it, glancing upward toward the tree top, and considered how much he actually wanted to accompany her. He'd just.. laughed. Like, really laughed in amusement. And while Larksong did talk a lot, Spiderfang couldn't help but be interested in her chatter, it was almost fascinating how she pulled what she said from nowhere. Because, seriously? Cat-eating mice? He'd never heard of such an imagination and it made him curious. He flicked his tail, keeping up the pretense of thinking while he glanced upward to judge the distance and then back down to her. "I'll come." He said, finally, smiling a little at his next words. "But, on the off-chance that you insist we have a race, you must let me win. That's my only condition. I have a reputation to keep up, as deputy, and I can't have a youngster like you beating me on a tree I've climbed more than the number of moons I've lived." That was probably a lie, but he didn't really care, Larksong didn't seem like she was going to be taking him seriously anyway.

[Sage]

this move has got me way over the sun
i'm dancing like i'm the only one

Larksong had been planning on going off on every little thing he'd said and done, right down to every detail on his surprised face, wry comment on flying, twitching tail, and happy, albeit odd-sounding from what appeared to be lack of use, laugh. But all those thoughts vanished into thin air at his last words.

"I'll come. But, on the off-chance that you insist we have a race, you must let me win. That's my only condition. I have a reputation to keep up, as deputy, and I can't have a youngster like you beating me on a tree I've climbed more than the number of moons I've lived."

It made her happy. So happy a small purr of satisfaction made its way from her throat. It wasn't just the usual hyper, overenthusiastic way that her ecstasy usually appeared as either, but the legitimately glad, warm, fuzzy kind of happy that came when one was proud of another for achieving something, or if one was in love - that sort of happy. Not that Larksong was falling in love with her deputy! No, she was a bit of a loose cannon, but she was a little young for that. She was just happy for him because it seemed to her like he'd done something he didn't usually do. At least, he didn't look the type to laugh often, and as far as she could tell, Larksong saw no sarcasm in the laugh. But then again, she wasn't very observant when it came to crude humor. "Yay!" She squealed, bouncing a little in place - which on a tree was really just moving herself up and down with vigor - until she noticed that she was making the branch sway precariously and if she continued it would most likely result in the limb breaking and both herself and Spiderfang falling to their doom. She smiled sheepishly at the realization. "Whoops."

Suddenly an idea dawned on her and, as was usually the case, the thought went straight to her mouth almost as soon as her brain had time to think it up. "Oh, this will be so much fun! Thank you thank you! I promise I won't be too annoying. I'm just excited. I mean, think of all the things we could do! Something fun, like a competition! Oooooh. That's a good idea! We should have a race! And you should let me win, because, you know, you've probably climbed it before, right? Or have you not? Because I haven't either so it'd be kind of interesting to see who can make it up first. Probably you, since you're older and have more experience and stuff. Not that you're old. Well, even if you were, it'd be kind of cool. Elders can have nifty stories sometimes. Oh, wait. You wanted to win. I guess you have a point. You do get priority as deputy and all... Well scratch that then, I don't want to race just so I can try to lose, that's not as fun as when it's a real competition - not that I like competing, 'cause I don't really, but it's fun when the cat you're competing against is nice and better than you are, so that way you learn whether you win or lose."

Larksong again had to take a moment to breathe, having talked a remarkable amount in that short moment, even for her. "Whoops." She repeated. "So much for not being annoying." She grinned, but shyly this time, like she really was embarrassed about her childishness and lack of ability to stay still. "Maybe we should just go up at a similar pace? That way we would get to talk. I mean, I don't know very much about you even though you're my deputy. Haha, that sounded kind of weird. But I thought it would be kind of nice to know more about the cats leading the clan - it is my clan after all, and it seems like it'd be nice to get along with the superiors. Ruststar I know about already, I've been watching him practically since the day I was born. Well maybe not that early. Since the day I could see. And I don't know about you, you look observant, so I guess you probably know some stuff about me already, huh?" She giggled, then almost immediately moved on to another topic. "Well we should get going if we want to catch some prey before we head back to the camp, everyone's probably wondering where we are." Larksong stretched a little, a very limited action considering her location, straightened up, and looked to Spiderfang. "Lead the way!"

notes ;; excessive dialogue, sorry. annoying larky is annoying. xD
wc ;; 811

it's taking me higher,
i feel like i can touch the sky[/font]