Pick Me Up (open)

[lakeripple]

brooksplash

[/color]

hey confusion
won't you hang up
my life is in ruins
so why don't you hang up[/center][/font]

Life is short. Some cats say that you should live each day like it's your last. Others say to full tilt party till your done. Still others tell you to be productive and make a name for yourself, one that your Clanmates will honor long after you're dead and gone.

Brooksplash says to just go ahead and kill her already.

If it wasn't for her daughter, the warrior probably would have already suicided. That way she could be with her mate in StarClan, both of them, the one she had her daughter with and the forbidden love she had with the previous EarthClan deputy.

But she stayed so that she could protect Pondshine with every one of her gasping breaths. The only one of her biological kits to survive past kithood, Pondshine was her pride and joy. But Brooksplash was sure that as soon as her daughter picked a forever mate, and that day might be sooner than anyone expected, she would go ahead and kill herself. The tom would protect her daughter. And if it was Smokeshadow, like she expected, then she could die in peace because she knew that he would go to the ends of the earth to keep her daughter safe.

But that day wasn't here yet. Brooksplash lived on, trying to put on a happy face each and every day. The river was her only pick me up. The sound of the water was soothing and she could feel great satisfaction when she collected a huge pile of fish.

Dipping her paw back into the water, Brooksplash flipped a fish out and quickly nipped it near the spine. She watched as it instantly stopped moving, and flicked her tail sadly. Yes, life was short and so easily taken. It was hard to keep. Death was... easy. And someday it would be everybody's turn to feel just how easy it truly was. Everybody died.

As Brooksplash leaned down and started eating, she thought to herself, that someday she would too, finally.

[Spottedshadow]

The little energetic tabby ran towards The River. She was out and about, technically with no mentor to train her, Mistpaw had to pick up what she could. She would sometimes head over to the training hollow and learn some battle moves. She was falling behind though, her father taught her the hunter's crouch in his spare time. She ran and ran. Mistpaw looked up just in time to see Brooksplash fishing the river. Skiddening to a halt, Mistpaw looked at the glum warrior with concerned blue eyes.
"Hi there Brooksplash, why do you look so sad?" she asked in an innocent voice.

Mistpaw sat on the ground and licked a burr out of her light brownish-grey pelt. "Do you think we can work on my fishing?" she asked, her blue eyes gleaming with hope.

Muse;; Pretty good, but it's short...
Tags;; Brooksplash

[lakeripple]

Brooksplash looked up as a tiny tabby she-cat tumbled toward her, all left paws. She smiled. Mistpaw, Lakeripple's daughter. The ex-queen had a soft heart towards the little ones. Especially Mistpaw, with no mentor to train her. It was sad.

She purred, trying to cover up her emotions. "I'm not sad Mistpaw. Just... thinking. I have a lot to think about." She twitched her whiskers good-naturedly and flicked out another fish, biting it hard and turning toward the apprentice with a gleam in her eye.

"Of course we can work on your fishing. Let me see what you know!" Brooksplash flicked her gray tail slightly, letting it splash across the water. "But it won't be too easy..."

[Spottedshadow]

Mistpaw sighed slightly. Despite Brooksplash's words, Mistpaw couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in her clan was sad... Oh, well, if they are sad they can talk or not, depending... she decided. Suddenly filled with excitement. Mistpaw resisted the urge to bound up and down and scare away all the fish. Her first real, kinda, training secession! Mistpaw crouched at the edge of the water. She stared in the depths, waiting for a fish to appear. Seeing the shimmery scales, Mistpaw flicked out a paw, attempting to scoop the fish like Brooksplash did.

However, something went terribly wrong. Mistpaw's strike missed. Her beige paw swished through the water and continued. Blue eyes wide with fright, Mistpaw tumbled into the river. Quickly she started to swim. One of the rare Waterclan born cats, Mistpaw had the already natural ability to swim. She reached shore quickly and sank onto the ground. "So," she began in a fearful voice. "What did I do wrong?"

Muse;; It's all right...
Notes;; Sorry for the Delay...
Tags;; Brooksplash

[lakeripple]

Purring happily for a moment, Brooksplash regarded Mistpaw with a sarcastically thoughtful eye. She remembered her previous apprentice, Silverpaw, and wondered where the silly cat could have gotten too. She should have been a warrior by now.

"Well, for starters..." Brooksplash chuckled softly, her gray fur bouncing with her laughter. "You fell in the river! At least I know you can swim though. That takes some pressure off."

Stepping up to the water, the motherly she-cat rolled her eyes and prepared to fish. "Watch Mistpaw. Watch closely." Brooksplash raised up her paw, keeping her shadow off of the water, her eyes staring intently at the creatures below.

A fish darted towards the two cats, and Brooksplash gracefully flicked her paw into the water, turned it into a scooping position, and in the same second flicked the fish out of the water. It landed with a wet squelch on the ground, and Brooksplash turned and bit it in only one spot, right below the head, to end it's pain.

"You see, there's a trick to it. You can't be slow, and you have to know exactly where you're going. There is no time for a change of mind. The instant your paw breaks the water, you must be scooping up a fish, using your claws to hold on if necessary. If you wait, your prey is gone and you are falling in." Brooksplash fixed Mistpaw with a disconcerting gaze. "Understand?"

[Spottedshadow]

Mistpaw nodded and watched Brooksplash like a murder watching his victim. Her blue gaze was so intently fixed upon the warrior that she jumped when the silvery fish landed on the ground next to her. Mistpaw could only gape in awe. She didn't know if she'd ever be that good.... But I'll try my best! she thought excitedly. Mistpaw nodded again. "Yes, Brooksplash, I understand," she meowed.

Mistpaw took the question as an invitation to try again. She stood at the edge of the water, holding her paw the way Brooksplash did. Mistpaw tried her hardest to keep the shadow off the water, but it wasn't quite perfect... Despite the imperfection of the shadow, a fish soon swam toward her, minding it's own business. Mistpaw watched the fish closely. The moment it came into her reach, Mistpaw flicked her paw in the water, mimicking Brooksplash's movement. However her paw merely scraped the slimy skin of her desired prey.

"Dang it!" she shouted and thumped on the ground. "I'll never get it...."

Muse;; It's all right, it's a little short...
Tags;; Brooksplash

[lakeripple]

Brooksplash watched carefully as Mistpaw tryed to catch another fish. Her eyes peeled apart every movement, watching for any mistakes. It wasn't to hard to realize that the apprentice was going to miss again. But it was expected anyway.

"Mistpaw, it's only your second try!" She shook her head slightly, tail flicking in thin amusement. "You'll get it soon, but not if you keep up that attitude. Look at your mother, Lakeripple. I was a senior apprentice when she first started her training, and I was there the first time she tried to catch a fish. She fell in the spring mud. But now look at her, deputy and one of the best fisher's I'll ever know." Brookpslash paused for a second and chucked softly. "Except for me, of course."

Stepped towards the young cat, Brooksplash nudged her to her feet. "You're not reaching in far enough. You must be careful, while being fast. It's something that you learn from fighting. Here, stand there." Brooksplash went back to the rover as if she was going to fish again, but she kept her eyes on Mistpaw. Then, fast as a wink, she lurched forward, back to Mistpaw, and hooked her paw under her stomach, like she was a fish.

[Spottedshadow]

Mistpaw let out a surprised yelp at Brooksplash's attack. Mistpaw leapt instinctively into the air. She turned herself around in the air. She wasn't quite sure the senior warrior was attacking her, but Mistpaw wasn't going to go down without a fight. She landed a ways away from the gray warrior. "Really?" she asked. Mistpaw was distracted again. Her attention span was smaller then a rat's and she forgot completely about the warriors attack. "Was she really that terrible? I highly doubt that, Momma is and was the best apprentice, warrior, and deputy!"

Mistpaw was proud of her mother. She was proud of her father too. Most apprentices that Mistpaw knew would probably be extraordinarily jealous if their mate's were deputy, yet they had to stay a regular warrior. Mistpaw herself would probably. That's why I'll never fall in love, Mistpaw thought. However, the young cat failed to realize that sometimes that choice wasn't hers to make...

Muse;; It's all right...
Tags;; Brooksplash, Lakeripple, Eagletalon

[lakeripple]

Impressed by the apprentice's fast reflexes, Brooksplash nodded distractedly before she knew what she was nodding for. Suddenly embarrassed, she shook her head and laughed. Jeez. These young ones sure could take a former queen by storm.

"Did I say she was terrible? No. I said it was her first try. It was to be expected. I ended up with a fish on my head." She shivered, still remembering the feel of scales through her fur. It was not a pleasant sensation. "What I meant was that she grew much since then. And," she added in an afterthought with amusement as she looked down at Mistpaw. "Lakeripple will be the first to tell you that she was not the best apprentice ever."

Turning back to the river, Brooksplash beckoned with her tail. "So, with that in mind, try again. The fish have had a bit of a respite and will not be as expecting. Perfect for someone who's still learning." She flicked her whiskers and sat down, the fluffy fur on her belly keeping her warm against the wind.