Animation Source Forums

Firestorm gave a nod of respect to Mousefur, who was passing by. The day seemed to have been good. She stood in front of the tunnel and kept guard. Dustpelt dipped his head respectfully at her when he passed her by, with a piece of fresh-kill in his jaws. Firestorm suddenly felt hungry, but knew she couldn't eat anything till her vigil was over. I just hope Emberpatch and Cloudfur get back by dawn. she thought.

Cloudufr curled up in her temporary nest and stared at the ceiling. Today is just not my day, she thought. First Eaglefur and then the whole thing with Silverstream. She sighed, knowing that she would have to go back to camp in the morning and face Emberpatch and Eaglefur. She grimaced at the thought of apoligizing to Eaglefur. She didn't want to apoligize to that arrogant tom, even if he did like her, which she still didn't believe. She pushed all her thoughts to the back of her head and curled up tighter against the cold. She sighed one more time and fell asleep.

Firestorm shook the water out of her fur. When the rain had started, she had crawled under the cover of a bush while she kept vigil. I can't wait till tomorrow. she thought, half happily and half bitterly. The rain poured for longer and soon stopped. Firestorm fought the urge to curl up and go to sleep. She got up and took up her position by the tunnel entrance. She kept her eyes and ears open for any sign of cats coming, but mainly for her two best friends.

Cloudfur jerked awake as raindrops splashed her fur. She gazed up at the hole in the roof as the rain came down harder. She growled and stood. She stepped away from her nest which was ripped apart from a bad dream she had been having. Might as well go back to camp now, she thought. She shivered as she padded out into the sodden forest. Man it's cold, I wonder how Firestorm is doing on her vigil. As she neared the camp, she kept her ears pricked for Firestorm and Emberpatch. She came to the entrance of the camp. "Firestorm?" She called into the rain. The rain was falling heavily now, creating an sheet of water that only allowed Cloudufr to see a few feet in front of her paws.

Firestorm put her ears up as she heard Cloudfur call. "I'm over here." she called back, hoping that Cloudfur could hear her. Now she just had to wait for this rain to get over so that Emberpatch could come back.

Cloudfur pricked her ears as she heard a faint call through the rain. She padded towards the noise and almost ran into her. "Firestorm! There you are! Is Emberpatch back yet? She could get lost in this weather, or ambushed by other cats." Cloudufr said, trying to shake the water off her pelt to no avail.

Firestorm shook her head. "She isn't back yet." her face was filled with worry. Luckily for her, daylight was approaching, so she felt like she wasn't breaking the warrior code by speaking when she was supposed to keep vigil. "I'll go look for her as soon as Mousefur relieves me." She stepped back to let Cloudfur curl herself into a ball. All this time, she hoped that Cloudfur wouldn't snap because she had broken the warrior code. Is it a bad omen? she wondered.

Cloudfur saw the worry on Firestorm's face. "Don't worry, you didn't break the vigil. The sun started rising a little while ago." She smiled at her former apprentice. "I wouldn't have talked to you if I thought it would break the vigil. I am going to find Emberpatch." She touched her nose to Firestorm's ear. "See you later." She said as she padded off in search of Emberpatch.

Firestorm looked up as Cloudfur left the makeshift den. You're not going anywhere without me. she thought fiercely. She looked up as Dustpelt came up. "Your vigil is over." he told her. "You can talk now." Firestorm dipped her head respectfully as Dustpelt smiled at the ginger tabby warrior. She immediately ran after Cloudfur.

Cloudfur looked at Firestorm as she ran up beside her. "Vigil over?" She asked with an amused purr. She continued padding forward, but stopped when she reached a clearing. She opened her mouth to let the smells of the forest glide over her scent glands. "I can't smell anything but rain and plants, there is no way we are going to find Emberpatch." She said with a frustrated sigh.