Let's hit the D A N C E F L O O R [open]

[Howlingwolf]

The touch of Mistfall's tail on his shoulder startled Howlingwolf, but he quickly recovered his composure. He inched away from her a little, trying not to make it look like he was a bit uncomfortable with her proximity to him. Howlingwolf made it look like he didn't care about other cats, but the reality was he just felt too awkward around them to put any effort into being friends with them. Well, that, and he was pretty apathetic towards... life. In general.

"We could go down that way," Howlingwolf meowed noncommittally in response to the question Mistfall posed. The tom glanced into a bush, as if he were making up an excuse for putting the distance between them.

[Mistfall]

Mistfall saw Howlingwolf inch away from her and she felt a little discouraged, but she pushed that away and smiled. Okay. she mewed following Howlingwolf. She hadn't really seen the Tom with other cats before, except for his siblings. He was probably a little ant-social. She couldnt help but wondering if he had any friends, or if he considered her a friend. She considered him a friend.

[Howlingwolf]

Howlingwolf led the way down the slope and into the territory of Fourtrees. The tom looked up at the huge oaks that surrounded the leader's rock--the Great Rock--and a tiny smile pulled at the edge of his mouth. There was something about nature, about his home, that he loved more than anything in the world. If there was one thing that seemed to lift the apathetic feeling he lived beneath it was the beauty and familiarity of the forest. That was partly why tied him to the Clan. His loyalty was bound up in the forest, his home. Without it he probably would have went off on his own moons ago.

Howlingwolf glanced around and then looked back at Mistfall. "Doesn't seem like much is going on here," he said.

[Mistfall]

Mistfall shook her head. There usually isn't anything going around, but I just wanted to make sure. We don't usually patrol over here. she mewed. She looked at Howlingwolf who seemed to be smiling. She had never seen him smile before, and for some reason, a memory of Dustpaw tugged at her mind. It was when her and Dustpaw had come here alone. He had been standing before the Great Rock, smiling.

Mistfall shook the memory from her head and flicked her tail. Race ya to the top of the Great Rock. she challenged.

[Howlingwolf]

Howlingwolf looked over at Mistfall with a start of surprise.

"But... but only leaders stand on top of the Great Rock," he meowed doubtfully. Then he thought about it and shrugged. It was sort of a stupid rule, so what did he care?

"Okay," he meowed with a nod. "Let's do it!" The tom lashed his tail and crouched, waiting for Mistfall to go so that she could have a bit of a head start.

[Mistfall]

Mistfall shrugged. Ive always thought that was a stupid- Howlingwolf cut her off, but he agreed. She smiled and crouched down, and leaped ahead. She reached the bottom of the Rick and scaled to the middle point. She looked back at Howlingwolf. Youll never catch me! she caled, a slight pure in her voice.

Mistfall had long legs and a skinny body, which helped her run and climb fast.

[Howlingwolf]

Howlingwolf darted after Mistfall, his muscular build helping him to run quickly over the sloping turf. But he was not as quick as Mistfall because of his bulkier build, so he arrived later at the base of the Great Rock. Crouching, the tom sprang up onto the rock and dug his claws in, propelling himself upward with the strength that ThunderClan cats possessed in plenty.

[Mistfall]

Mistfall lept to the top and gazed down at the gathering place like she was a leader. I love it up here. she whispered, glancing at Howlingwolf. She sighed, but looked at Howlingwolf. She needed to ask. Did you know Dustpaw? she asked, her ears flattening to her head.

[Howlingwolf]

Howlingwolf managed to get up to the top of the rock just after Mistfall. He stood on top of the smooth stone, feeling it beneath his paws and imagining all of the leaders that had stood there looking down at the Clans before him. He glanced at Mistfall as she spoke and agreed that it was a great view of the clearing. He was just about to say it would be good to go before they were spotted when she spoke again. The question caught him off guard a little. He thought about the name and tried to remember a cat that fit it. Realization sparked and he nodded slightly.

"Yeah, the one that fell. What about him?" he asked.

[Mistfall]

Mistfall sighed. I was just asking. Did anyone ever find his body? she asked, looking at her paws. She missed Dustpaw so much, it hurt to think of him. She looked around for something to do to get her mind off of Dustpaw.

Hey, wanna climb one of the trees? she asked.

[Howlingwolf]

Howlingwolf looked at Mistfall through slanted eyes. He wondered what her design was in asking so many questions. But he supposed he remembered her being somewhat close to Dustpaw. Howlingwolf tried to remember the incident. He had not been a part of the search party, but he had heard cats talking of it.

"No, he was never found," he meowed, just as Mistfall spoke up again and mentioned climbing the trees. Howlingwolf flexed his jaw, a little perturbed by the continual quick change of subjects. But he looked up at the oak trees and shook his head.

"There aren't enough branches. I tried to climb them once in my youth and almost got a broken shoulder for my troubles," he meowed.

[Mistfall]

Mistfall nodded. I didn't think so… but don't you think thats a little odd? Oh well. she mewed. When Howlingwolf answered her question, she leaned forward to nudge, but remembered he didn't like to be touched.

Ive climbed one before. she mewed, looking around for the one she climbed. She pointed with her tail to the one on the far side. That one. It was fairly easy, scince it has more branches then the rest. she purred.

[Oaks tend to have a lot of branches, that are thick.]

[Howlingwolf]

OOC: Yeah. At the top. You'd have to climb almost the entire tree to be able to make it. If I were a cat I wouldn't try. Believe me, we have two oak trees right in front of our house, and our cats have never tried to climb them before.

Howlingwolf glanced at the tree in question and frowned. There were more branches, but they were still high up in the tree. It probably wouldn't be impossible to climb up it, but it would really put too much strain on the leg muscles climbing down. It would be more risk than a climb was worth, really. The tom shrugged.

"You can climb 'em if you like, but I don't think it's worth it." He thought about her other question but didn't comment. He supposed it was odd not to have found a body of the dead apprentice. But he hadn't been on the patrol that had gone searching, so it wasn't as if he could comment on the terrain or the probability of the body being found. What did he know? And, frankly, what did he care?

[Mistfall]

Mistfall flicked her tail in thought then nodded. She didn't want to climb it alone. Well, she had before, but her and Howlingwolf were on a walk/border patrol.

Alright. Let's go check ShadowClan. she mewed, shaking out her tabby pelt and she jumped down the rock in two leaps. She looked up at Howlingwolf and flicked her tail, to tell him to come. She smiled, and started to walk towards the most hated Clan.

[Howlingwolf]

Howlingwolf said nothing. He didn't really want to go near ShadowClan, but it was probably a good idea, even if it took them near the Thunderpath. Howlingwolf shivered at the thought of the acrid black path that ran between ShadowClan and ThunderClan. His Clan may have been named for it, but he did not like the Thunderpath one bit. He never would.

"It's quiet," he meowed at last, glancing about him. The cold tended to drive away prey and made the forest seem so desolate sometimes. A faint hum sounded in his ears and he glanced through the trees to see if he could spot one of the monsters on the Thunderpath.