Sleeping Toms Lie...(Open to 1)

[yoko]

A dark cold night is to be expected in this season, as the days grow shorter and the nights grow long. Long nights are useful for many things...Tonight, Ravenflight had decided to take off from the camp. He found the presence of his fellow warriors rather irritating, what with the mood shifting to good work ethic. No longer could the white and black tom lounge openly around camp. No, he had to repair dens, and fetch food, and go on border patrols. What was worse than anything was that it was not only Rain-dung and Ivy-covered-brains calling the shots. There were some warriors that would go out of their way to scold him too! The self-proclaimed Second Deputy was his own brother. Father would be so proud! NOT!

So to get out of the scrutinizing eyes of the Clan, and out of the earshot of the bossy warriors, Ravenflight had come out to the Pine Forest, to his favorite place, the decrepit log. A tree that could not have fallen terribly long ago, for its bark was still fairly strong and it made little noise when Ravenflight leapt onto it. The dark-wooded tree had fallen awkwardly onto a large bolder, and yet it was because of this that Ravenflight so delighted in the tree, which, rather than falling flat onto its side. The tree remained suspended at a sharp angle, flat enough to lie on, but sharp enough to be above the ground by a considerable difference. As ShadowClan was not generally regarded as a Clan of tree-climbers, this height was rather interesting to Ravenflight and he claimed this tree as his own.

So there he lay from sunset into night's darkness. His eyes were tightly closed. He lay there like a raven with snowy wings. The snow's light dusting on his mostly black pelt had gone unnoticed in his heavy sleep.

[Heathclaw]

Lightheart was on Moonhigh patrol. Yep. That's what Ivytooth had assigned him to, right? Moonhigh patrol. It was either that or Sunhigh patrol... but that couldn't have been it- that started right after he finished training Ashkit. Ivytooth must have known he couldn't make it to Sunhigh patrol. So she must have assigned him to Moonhigh patrol. ...So why wasn't there anyone here?

Although it wasn't as though Lightheart particularly minded. Solo patrols were more effective anyway. It was easier to go off and explore the territory that way. After all, wasn't that the point of patrol? He padded along softly in the soft night's snow, his mostly white-pelt blending in with his surroundings- with the exception of a few coal spots of black. As he walked, he craned his head from side to side, looking, observing, pondering, and walking into the occasional tree.

That was how he'd bumped into Ravenflight, actually. Or at least, into Ravenflight's tree. What caught his attention, of course, was that the tree was sideways. That prompted him to inspect the tree further, and that led him to notice Ravenflight sitting up there.

And that put a very mischievous idea in Lightheart's mind, one which involved a snow-covered pine cone and his clanmate's forehead. However, while he was making his way a quarter's way along the log, pine cone tucked under his chin to implement this plan, his paw slipped in the wet snow, and he slipped and fell plumb off, letting out a loud wail of dismay as he flumped against the fluffy white ground.

"Ooof... owowow... not one of my better plans," groaned Lightheart. "Hey, Ravenflight! Are you awake? I need your help to rearrange my spine..."

[yoko]

What was that? A juicy mouse in the distance. Look how it scampers across the snow, pretending as if it might actually escape the claws of its natural predator! A huge black and white cat with feather-like clusters of fur and big black wings. Yes, Ravenflight sat hunched on the edge of the fallen pine, leaning over the edge to look at the delicious morsel. In moments, he eased forward so smoothly it appeared a suicidal dive! But no, his wings scooped the last breath of air and he soared forward, claws outstretched to grasp the small mouse. Unfortunately, another's claw befell the mouse. Ravenflight stopped abruptly and glanced furiously at the opposing hunter, but his gaze widened instantly for what he saw was not unpleasant. A dark, lovely, she-cat with a rather voluptuous figure stood lazily over the mouse. She looked down with her covetous eyes and mewed,

""Hey, Ravenflight! Are you awake? I need your help to rearrange my spine..."

The tom smirked enticingly before he realized that that sound had not come from the she-cat....

Ravenflight yawned. Dreams are such a lovely thing. They prevent one from becoming entangled in the stupidity of reality. But eventually stupidity calls. Ravenflight glanced over his fallen tree to see none other than his Clanmate, Lightheart, lying flat on his back in the snow. Apparently, he had fallen.

With a tired growl Ravenflight replied, "I'll rearrange your spine alright! Waking me up like this!"

Empty words, as surely the tom would not waste his time and talent on such a thing. Yawning still, he tread down the side of the tree with expert balance and proper caution against the snowy slope. He jumped down lightly and stood over the fallen tom, smirking.

"This position suits you rather well, actually," he mewed with a snicker.

But feeling rested from his nap, he found enough generosity in his heart to roll the tom onto his belly and nose Lightheart's side.

"What are you doing out here?"" he grumbled.

[Heathclaw]

"I'll rearrange your spine alright! Waking me up like this!"

Lightheart enjoyed a quiet laugh at this. Ravenflight was one of the more blustery cats in the clan, and Lightheart knew not to take him completely seriously. Then again, Lightheart never took anything completely seriously, did he? "Hey, thanks! I knew I could count on you!" Lightheart replied, as the tom jumped lightly off the log towards him. But the next thing Ravenflight said made his ears pop straight up.

"What do you mean this position suits me well? What have you heard? Has Ni- oof!"

Ravenflight had shoved him back onto his paws, and had thrown a gruff question at him. Ah! A change of topic! "Uhm... Moonhigh patrol! I think that's what Ivytooth put me on, right? Are you on Moonhigh patrol too, then? Hah. Slacking off on the job, then? I approve! Although, sleeping during a snowfall isn't the best idea. You look like me!"

He made a motion to get up, but his paws slid out from under him again, and he fell flat on his face. He grinned as he looked back up at Ravenflight, "Aheh... a little assist, please?"

[yoko]

Ravenflight looked wide-eyed as he processed what Lightheart was saying. Utterly disturbed by the idea, he pounced on Lightheart's sudden decision to start scolding him about Moonhigh Patrol...Wait....there was no such thing! Unless his goodie-paws brother suggested it to Rainstar....Great, more waste of his sleep. All the same, in the wrong or not, Ravenflight was not a cat that liked to be scolded so when Lightheart requested his assistance, Ravenflight responded by turning around and kicking snow at the tom's face.

"Mouse-brain, there's no such thing as Moonhigh Patrol. Ivytooth was either playing a trick on you or you messed up the orders in that bee-hive head of yours."

Harsh as this might have been, he immediately turned back and set the tom right by firmly gripping his neck scruff and yanking him off of the ground.

"Stand up properly, Lightheart," he growled through his fur-filled mouth. "And come along. If you're going to patrol at night, I might as well show you a thing or two."

[Heathclaw]

"Pff! Hey!" Lightheart managed as he took a face full of snow from his clanmate. He floundered a bit while Ravenflight shouted at him, and then he felt teeth digging into his neck fur and dragging him onto his feet. This, of course, caused more frantic floundering, more kicking up of snow, and upon his release, his flailing paws drove him into barreling straight into a nearby tree.

"Oog.. urf..." groaned Lightheart, staggering back and falling down onto his side. However, he jumped back onto his paws an instant later, with no desire to repeat that experience again. "Alright! Err... so, where are we going? What kind of amazing Moonhigh patrol secrets d'you know? D'you do this often? Are we hunting..." he looked around shiftily, and then whispered, in an excited voice, "owls?!"

[yoko]

Ravenflight scowled. Was Lightheart always this mouse-brained or did he just seem particularly so because Ravenflight hadn't been around him in a while. His ears pricked at that last suggestion Lightheart made. Hunting owls? The idea struck his fancy. Perhaps Lightheart wasn't so dull-witted after all. But wait...as exciting as that idea may have been, Lightheart was sure to ruin it somehow.

Well, so long as he had means, why not play with his company a little. "Owl hunting," he smirked. "That's precisely what we'll do. Now, as leader of this little patrol, I'll lead. See if you can keep up!"

And with that, Ravenflight shot off into the distance, tail streaking behind him. He smirked, knowing he was about to pull a rather mean trick. The cold burned his nose. The occasional snow flakes in the breeze whipped against his cheeks. His paws were numb, but he was moving fast enough to not be cold. He didn't glance back once, relying on his ears and peripheral vision to guess where Lightheart was.

[Heathclaw]

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Lightheart was no fool. Ravenflight... Ravenflight wasn't particularly what any cat would call friendly, especially not towards fellow toms, and for him to have gone and taken one of Lightheart's suggestions somewhat-seriously meant only one thing: he was planning something. Not that Lightheart minded one bit- Ravenflight could do as he wanted. After all, as the self-proclaimed king of pranksters, Lightheart knew he'd find a way to get back at him. And besides- the experience might even prove to be educational!

"Haha! A race is it? You're on! You'll never beat m.. hey!" cried Lightheart, chasing after his rapidly fleeing clanmate. He'd run this snow covered route many times before, but rarely in the black and white blur that was a darklit snowscape. "Huh... huh... Hey, ravenflight! Don't go crashing into any trees, or I'll run right past ya!" Lightheart yowled as a warning. And he would, too. In this dark snow-filled setting, cats with pelts like theirs melted right in with the landscape.