Care For Some Company? [Ghost/Open]

[Night]

Singing Bird sat in a spot of sunshine, trying to heat herself from the cold night before. The sun had come up not long ago, but was already trying to heat up the camp the best it could. Bird sighed, her green-yellow eyes flashing in annoyance. She had had enough of the cold weather. Even if the snow was all but melted, the nights still brought frost to the camp before the sun came up. The she-cat's coat was nowhere near thick, and provided hardly any warmth. Stifling another sigh, Bird stood up and walked around the camp. Most of the others were still fast asleep. She had always been an early riser, but that was mostly because she went to sleep a little earlier than everyone else. Bird came across a rather large rock, a little bigger than herself, and quickly jumped onto it before someone else laid claim to it. This was one of her favorite spots in the camp, especially on cold mornings. The rock absorbed a lot of sun, making it a really pleasant place to nap. The warmness of it always gave her more energy, due to the fact that she was as slow as a turtle on cold mornings. Stretching out, Bird let a large grin cross her face. She would lay here for a while until she gathered up the energy to move again, she told herself, and then would try and go out hunting. Opening her eyes, she realized that she wasn't very tired after her long night of sleep. Closing them again, she decided that she would enjoy a nice morning chat. That is, if anyone was up for it.

[Semper]

Annoyed hisses followed Vanishing Ghost out of the den as he exited it without a care of who's tail he stepped on. A particularly irritated tom even tried to take a swipe at his leg, which he easily dodged, though he had to leap to the side, inviting another annoyed hiss at him. Despite the negative feelings, Ghost felt no qualms about waking the slumbering cats; the sun was up, it was time to move. However, it appeared that he was the only cat that believed in the idea, for the camp appeared abandoned. The other felines still slept, curled up in their dens, comfortable and warm. In fact, the ones he had disturbed had probably already drifted off once more.

The chill of the night lingered, hanging in the air and leaving it with a crisp feeling. Though the Time of Falling Snow now drew to a close, its chill seemed hesitant to depart, often returning with full force during the night. His short fur did not protect him very well from its attacks, and the tom shivered as he gazed around camp with sharp yellow eyes. Stretching on the first step, the tom made his way toward one of his favorite spots in camp; every other cat was asleep, and they would not notice if he lounged there, waiting for them to wake. His paws lead him without thinking, and as he walked, his attention eventually shifted from his surroundings to his paws as Ghost lowered his eyes. For that reason, he did not see the she-cat that already occupied his rock.

The tom leapt up, ready to land with perfect poise and balance as always on the hard stone. However, paws hit a living body instead. Startled, Ghost let out a startled hiss and staggered backward, back toward the ground. Once he regained his balance, Ghost peered at the other feline for a moment before recognizing her as Singing Bird. Rather sheepishly, he ducked his head and meowed, "Er.. Good morning, Bird. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

[Night]

Completely focused on warming herself, Bird did not notice pawsteps coming her way. Normally, she would be the only one up this early. When somebody jumped onto her she let out a rather loud surprised squeak, and then a hiss of alarm came from the other cat. Looking over the edge of the rock, she recognized the tom Vanishing Ghost, obviously trying to regain his balance from the surprise of her being here. The tom ducked his head sheepishly, and Bird felt her fur flush hot in embarrassment. "Er.. Good morning, Bird. Sorry, I didn't see you there." Ghost apologized. Instead of snapping at the tom, or getting angry for that matter, the white she-cat instead burst into an uncontrollable bout of very loud laughter, her sides beginning to hurt. She laughed like this for what seemed like forever to her, then finally was able to gain control of her laughter. Her eyes full of sheer amusement, she smiled wide at Ghost. This was the happiest she had felt in a long time. "Oh, it's quite all right, Ghost. I'm guessing this is one of your favorite spots as well?" Bird meowed, giggling a little. She still couldn't get over how funny the whole scene was.

[Semper]

An ear flicked as Bird's loud laughter rang through the still silent camp, eliciting a few loud groans in response from the dens. His lips twitched, more out of cruel amusement at their irritation than their response. Her luminescent smile forced a small one across his face, however. She seemed so genuinely happy, something that the Time of Falling Snow seemed to erase from most cats' minds. It certainly had that effect on him; he put his energy into hunting the scarce prey and into trying to keep warm. Especially with that biting cold that had attacked them this past season. His short fur had provided as much protection as a baby mouse's. His life had not been very enjoyable.However, the new season lessened the strain, as he found himself reiterating his thoughts. They could afford to smile and become a little more care-free now.

At her question, he nodded, dipping his head low. "Actually, yes, it is," He replied in an almost light tone, voice calm and relaxed. "I can see that it is very popular however. You, Bird, have excellent taste in relaxing spots, I must say." He let his voice trail off and then added, "How are you on this fine morning?"

[Night]

Bird smiled wide at Ghost's comment on how she had excellent taste in relaxing spots. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. She looked at the tom, and was happy that he had chosen to talk to her today. He seemed in a good mood today. Then again, most of the cats in the Tribe had been in a very good mood lately, and Bird guessed it was the season change. Since the weather started to get warmer, the whole Tribe seemed to be in lifted spirits. Their white coats never provided much protection from the biting cold of the Time of Falling Snow, except for those who had long coats. Even then, their fur never soaked up much sunlight as apposed to cats with colored coats. Thus, another reason was born for Bird to hate the Tainted cats even more. Their fur. She sighed to herself, convincing her mind that the reason was rather stupid, and turned to Ghost. "Well, it certainly is a popular spot. I as much as any other cat want to warm myself up in the mornings. These coats don't provide much warmth." The she-cat said, and sighed a little as she finished talking. As Ghost asked how she was this morning, Bird began to purr. "I am quite good this morning. Though, if the cold finally left for good I would be much happier." Bird purred, her voice sincere. She couldn't wait for the hot times, even if she hated getting too hot. It was certainly much better than the cold.

[Semper]

He nodded in agreement, tail flicking lightly. He placed a paw on the edge of the stone and leapt up again, taking care to avoid stepping on his companion. While doing so, he meowed in a pleasant tone, "Since we have agreed that we both have amazing taste in resting spots, I am sure that you will not mind if I join you up here. It is, after all, one of the prime spots, is it not?" He flashed her a smile as he settled down, stretching his forepaws out in front of him. Despite his light tone, Ghost's underlying message was that he had no intention of leaving. If she wanted to stay, then she could; however, he was in the mood for resting on the large flat stone as well, and there was room enough for two to lay comfortably side-by-side. "You are right, however," He added as an afterthought. "Our thin pelts do not provide a lot of warmth. That's probably the reason why most cats are so thrilled when the Time of Falling Snow ends; warm weather will come. I know that's partially why I welcome the end of the cold weather."

An ear flicked as Bird continued, and Ghost nodded again. She seemed in high spirits today, and regardless of what either of them said, the topic seemed to revert back to the warm weather again. The fact amused him slightly, though he supposed that all of the felines had the pleasant weather at the forefront of their minds. It was understandable. However, as his thoughts trailed off, Ghost realized that he really did not know much about his clanmates, for lack of a better word, for a cat having grown up there. Most he knew only by name or reputation, and select few, like Eagle, he knew as a cat. Ghost had always been so focused on getting his revenge on the RiverClan cats to befriend any of his current clanmates. Perhaps now was the time to start...?

[Night]

Bird smiled as Ghost jumped up beside her. "I don't mind at all. Make yourself comfortable, Ghost." She meowed, closing her eyes to let the heat soak in once more. The tom's presence helped the white she-cat warm up a little more, and she was glad for his company. Even though she could be a little anti-social at times, she always felt more at home when she spent time with other cats. Having a mother who had never cared about her had made Bird somewhat scared to talk to other cats. She was often afraid of letting the tribe down, and made it up by trying much harder than she normally would. Opening her eyes, she looked over at her companion with a slight smile. "It's nice to have a little company every once in a while, if I do say so myself." She meowed. "Everyone is usually off doing something else."

(muse was low. sorry for the short post ;w;)

[Semper]

Though he tended to stay off by himself, away from the rest of the Cats of Purity, Ghost had to admit that there was some attraction to... clan life, for lack of a better description. Otherwise he would have left a long time ago. Or would he? That brought up an interesting thought? Why would he want to stay with the Cats of Purity; why had he so far? He had not been born into this group, raised all his life knowing that he was pure. Did he stay for the belief system? Or did he stay for the cats? Really, for all the time he had lived with the Cats of Purity, Ghost realized that he knew almost no other cat as a close friend; it was almost depressing. The white tom's tail flicked as he lounged on the rock, yellow eyes straying from the large stone to his paws, watching as he flexed his claws. Quietly, he found himself nodding in agreement at Bird's words. "Yeah," He murmmured softly. "It's nice to just relax and share another's company. Maybe... we forget what it's like to just.. just let everything go and relax with another cat." It was something he had not done in a long time, quite a long time. Ghost had forgotten how pleasant it could be, even if minimal words were exchanged. He truly was a clan cat.

OOC: Don't worry about it ;P

[Night]

Bird nodded at Ghost's words, and found them somehow extremely inspiring. She watched him closely, her green-yellow eyes curious. She smiled slightly when he finished talking. "I completely agree. A lot of us aren't too friendly with each other. In fact, most are either angry or sharp-tongued. It's stressful trying to hunt down those disgusting clan cats. That's why I prefer to stay here at camp." The white she-cat purred, flicking her tail. She looked at Ghost, and her eyes softened. "Don't worry. Some of us, like myself, are here to talk to. I've often got nothing better to do." Bird laughed, stretching her legs out in front of her with a satisfied yawn. She felt a lot better now than when she had woken up. She then adjusted herself to lay on her belly, and swiped her long tail playfully over the tom's ears. Since she had woken up a little more, she began to feel a little hungry. What she wouldn't give for a nice fat piece of prey, but that would have to wait. After all, most of the tribe hadn't even woken up yet, let alone gone out hunting. She rested her eyes on Ghost and smiled, purring reassuringly.

[Semper]

No, he did not feel a flicker of indignation burst through him when she called the clan cats disgusting. No, he did not. He was no longer a clan cat. He was hated by his birth clan, wanted dead, for what he had done. Adamantly, he told himself that, as if he could force away the emotion with pure words and willpower. It did not work nearly as well as he would have liked. His tail flicked, twitching in the air, displaying the irritation directed at himself, and he forced it to lie flat and still. That done, he found disgust slowly replacing the irritation; hardly an upgrade. He should not be feeling like this. It should have stopped seasons ago. It had stopped seasons ago. Why did it return? Why now?

Forcing a smile onto his face, while this thoughts remained distracted, he turned back toward Bird and nodded in response, realizing that he had missed what she had just said. When in doubt, smile and nod. Bird filled the what-would-be awkward silence with her shifting, and he watched as she got comfortable, adjusting his position so that he was propped up on his side, facing her. Out of no where, her tail came up and batted at his ears. Instinctively he ducked, but a second too late; it still, sucessfully made contact. A playful spark flickered through Ghost, distracting him from his previous troubled thoughts. His smile became genuine, and morphed into something closer to a smirk. Yellow eyes locked her's, he rose into a more comfortable position for the action, and raised a paw, batting at her nose.

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[Night]

Bird watched Ghost curiously as he seemed to drift off into his own world, and a small frown crossed her face. His tail flicked as if he was irritated. Had she done something wrong? But then he seemed to come back into reality, and a smile crossed his face. He simply turned to her and nodded, and she smiled back, a little concerned for him. He hadn't said anything back like he normally did. What's up with him? She thought to herself, but looked at him out of the corner of her eye to see his eyes sparkle with playfulness from her recent act of her tail messing with his ears, and saw his smile grow larger to almost a smirk. She squeaked as Ghost batted playfully at her nose, and began to laugh hysterically until her nose started to twitch, and she let out a really loud sneeze. Bird rubbed at her nose with her paw and laughed as her sneeze echoed around the quiet walls of the camp, and turned to look at Ghost with her eyes full of amusement. "That was some sneeze!" The she-cat giggled, still rubbing at her nose a little. She batted at the tom's face with her paw and laughed, her tail lashing playfully.

[Semper]

The sneeze did not startle Ghost as much as it would have had he been unable to see the signs. The twitching nose, the crumpling of the face a moment before... if he had still been lost in thought and had not noticed them, then her sneeze would have made him jump. But he did and had a second's warning; not enough time to make any dramatic movement. The loud sound echoed around the camp, which was strangely still devoid of most cats. He followed its trail with his eyes, casting his gaze across the area. An ear flicked, amused, as the low sound of grumbling caught his attention. Lazy things, He thought, though with slightly more fondness than disgust. "Yes, that was some sneeze," He agreed amicably, ear twitching again. Turning back to Bird, Ghost saw that she was rubbing her nose with a paw. However, he was not prepared for that paw to lash out and bat him on the nose. The tom flinched back instinctively, but controlled his other reactions in favor of flicking his tail and starting to attack her's with it. He kept his yellow eyes locked on her's, and the small smile on his face. At this point though, it had morphed into more of a smirk; Ghost did not smile. He smirked.

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