Morning Light (open/Amberstar)

[Fairlight]

Daylight streamed down into the warrior's den, falling across the shoulders of the slight tortoiseshell she-cat. Its warmth spread through her silken fur, causing her skin to stretch pleasantly as she rolled in her nest. Her pale, hazel eyes blinked open and stared at the entrance to the den, where the light of morning was already apparent. Slowly Fairlight got to her paws, her muscles eager to move and flex after the long night's sleep in the cold of late leaffall.

Fairlight padded out into the clearing, blinking her eyes to adjust to the sunlight. It was just after dawn, and she figured she had better report for duty before Limefrost came to sniff her out. With a yawn and a long, luxurious stretch, Fairlight made her way over to the center of the camp, just by the oak tree where Amberstar made her den. Pricking her ears, the she-cat glanced at the fresh-kill pile and was dismayed to see it was pretty much empty. I'll be working on an empty belly for now, she thought with an inward sigh.

[Amberstar]

Amberstar emerged from her den, sunlight trickling down through the leafless trees to shine on her pelt. Although it was sunny outside, though, the air was still cold and made her shiver. She sighed and tried to stand under the sun in hopes of warming up a little, but she was utterly unable to do so. She'd be cold, rather she liked it or not.

The ginger tabby turned her amber gaze over to her clanmate; Fairlight. She dipped her head in greeting, and she offered her a smile. "Good evening, Fairlight" she purred. "How are you?"

[Fairlight]

Fairlight could hear pawsteps and turned to see Amberstar emerging from her den. ShadowClan's leader seemed to be affected by the weather--but what cat wasn't, with the chill in the air? Fairlight was fortunate enough to have long fur, which kept her warmer during the colder months. Otherwise it could be a bit bothersome, getting burrs and matts until she despaired over caring for it. But it was helpful now. Kept her from shivering, at least.

Fairlight dipped her head respectively to Amberstar, not bothering to point out that it was morning, not evening. She figured correcting her leader would not get her off on a good paw for the day. "Greetings, Amberstar. I am good, thank you." Fairlight watched Amberstar with a calm expression, her ears pricked forward slightly, wondering if the leader would assign her to a hunting patrol or something. The sooner she could be on the move the sooner she could eat.

[Amberstar]

((Ooc: I'm obviously not thinking...lol....))

"That's good." she said, allowing herself to sit down so she didn't have to stand on her paws. The camp seemed quiet. Most cats were either resting on their off time, or out on patrol. She didn't know. She couldn't sleep if she tried. She was too worried about her clan. The numbers of cats were always smaller in this weather, but it was still hard to feed the mouths around.

"I hope Starclan sends us more prey or warm weather soon" she finally said. Amberstar's eyes revealed her thoughts and worry. "Snowheart's kits are still so young, and I always get so nervous with small kits in this kind of weather."

[Fairlight]

Fairlight remained on her paws as Amberstar sat down. She listened with only partial interest. It seemed as though her leader was worrying about things out of her control, mostly. Fairlight didn't bother fretting over things like that. It was just a waste of energy. But she figured she might as well consider the problem and any possible solutions.

"What about sending out more night hunting patrols? We may be able to find something with a few smaller patrols." ShadowClan was the best of the four Clans at night hunting, that much was known throughout the forest. But it could be dangerous. Still, Fairlight was confident enough in her own hunting skills to know that it was worth the risk if they could continue to feed their Clan well for as long as possible.

[Amberstar]

Amberstar looked at the warrior thoughtfully. Although it was much colder at night and prey would still be hidden, it might be worth a shot. "That might actually be a good idea." she told her. "I'll talk to Limefrost and see what she thinks, and see about setting that up"

[Fairlight]

Fairlight bristled a little at Amberstar's words. It might be a good idea? She thought. As if it were surprising that Fairlight should have good ideas? The she-cat forced herself to relax and even plastered a thin smile on her face, but she was still a bit offended. When were her ideas not good? The nerve.

[Amberstar]

Amberstar noticed her fur bristling and the moment of offense plastered on her face. Part of her felt bad, but she wasn't going to give the warrior false hope. "It's a good idea, don't get me wrong" she said. "But, if it's this cold during the day, it'll be twice as cold at night. So the prey may not be as fast to come out" she explained.

"It's worth a try, though"

[Fairlight]

Fairlight stiffly dipped her head, her jaw clenched. It may not have been the best idea, but Fairlight sometimes had good ideas. No, she had them very often! She had plenty of them! Why should Amberstar suggest differently?

"Perhaps," she meowed at last, her voice deceptively calm. "But it's worth a try. You could send cats who have thicker fur, like me. We don't get quite as cold." She blinked slowly, not really caring whether or not Amberstar adopted her plan or not. She just wanted her leader to recognize she could think things through.

"Besides," Fairlight added coolly, "Bats sometimes come out at night. They aren't too hard to catch if you put your mind to it."

[Amberstar]

The ginger she-cat nodded her head to her. That was pretty true, about the long fur. "Good thinking, Fairlight. Tonight, why don't you, Wolfpelt, and Dustcloud all go? You three have the thickest fur out of all of the warriors, so you all should be able to keep the warmest" she told her.

Then she thought about what she said about bats. In all of her time being alive, she had never eaten a bat. She had never had to before, even in other leafbares. She wasn't going to argue it, but inside she found it rather odd. "Anyways," she went on "why don't you go tell Wolfpelt and Dustcloud about this? That way you three can prepare yourselves for tonight" Amberstar added, her eyes moving to the warrior's den where the two brothers were relaxing and talking to eachother.

[Fairlight]

Fairlight dipped her head to her leader, feeling gratified to have her plan be recognized. She doubted Dustcloud or Wolfpelt would thank her for the idea in the cold of the leaffall night, but Fairlight hardly noticed things like that--both the cold and her Clanmates' feelings. So she wasn't concerned much.

"Yes, Amberstar," she meowed. And then the she-cat turned and made her way to the warriors den. Wolfpelt and Dustcloud sat speaking to each other, looking as grumpy as they always did. Or perhaps it was just the vibe they gave out.

"Wolfpelt, Dustcloud," Fairlight said with a nod to each. "Amberstar wants us to go out tonight on a night hunting patrol to bring in prey before the morning."

[Wolfpelt]

Wolfpelt just stared at Fairlight for a moment. Was she being serious? Amberstar never sent out night patrols before, or, at least not in this weather. He glanced over at his leader with a questioning look, but he could tell her his clan mate wasn't joking around. She was being serious. With a sigh, he shrugged then nodded his head to her.

"Alright," he said in his usual monotone. "I guess so." his voice was clearly boring and uninterested. But, if it's what Amberstar wanted, he guessed he'd have to do it.

[Dustcloud]

Dustcloud just stared at Fairlight as his brother spoke. Was this she-cat serious? She couldn't be! If she thought he was going to give up his warm den to go stomping around the forest, she must have bees in her brain. He rolled his eyes at her. Annoyance was clearly plastered on his face.

"You're kidding, right?" was all that he could say.

[Fairlight]

Fairlight was relieved that the tom agreed so easily. She could tell that he didn't like it, but he would just have to live with it. The Clan was first and foremost, and if serving their Clan meant using their thicker fur to go find food in the chill of night then it was a duty they would have to perform. Fairlight was never particularly irked by weather, though, so she cared little. The she-cat dipped her head to Wolfpelt, thinking that Dustcloud probably would go along with his brother, most likely. Or at least she hoped. She was in no mood to argue with anyone, which she would doubtless have to do if Dustcloud proved difficult.

When the tom spoke, she blinked at him.

"Why yes, I am," she said breezily. "I came all the way over here to pull your leg and make you think that we were going to serve our Clan by trying to find food when prey is scarce at a time it might be more readily available, but I was just kidding all along." Her sarcasm was not particularly evident, except in the twitch of her brow and the ice in her smile.

[Amberstar]

Even from a distance, Amberstar could hear something going on by the warrior's den. She sighed and made her way over to them, seeing that Dustcloud obviously didn't want to do this, and that Fairlight was using her talent of sarcasm to tell him that she was serious.

"Ok, that's enough" she hissed. "Fairlight is right. You three will leave when the sun sets to go looking for prey. This may be our only chance in feeding the clan more than the pitiful amount that we barely have. Do I make myself clear?" the ginger she-cat asked, eyeing Dustcloud as she spoke.