[Open] As Far As I Know...

[.:*Hawkstar*:.]

Been looking forward to the future
But my eyesight is going bad
And this crystal ball
It's always cloudy except for
(Except for)
When you look into the past
(Look into the past)
One night stand...

One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you, only sweeter
One night, yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories
See, he tastes like you only sweeter

~FOB

Time: Late afternoon. Location: Warriors den of StreamClan Camp.

A fit of laughter suddenly broke out deep inside StreamClan Camp. A gray figure that sat poised in one of the nests was rattling with the sounds, the noise so loud, one would think his lungs were at risk. What he was laughing at, nobody knew. Maybe he didn't even know.

His dark violet eyes opened around his absurd noises, blinking away tears of laughter.

This was Smokescore. The newest addition to the swimming Clan known as Stream. An as his fits calmed and his body became rigid, one could see why. His appearance must have pleased the cold leader. His eyes finally became dull, almost drained of life. His muscles were a glorious sight. After escaping, he had done so much training that he had almost made it possible to break muscle. He had earned a great tone. He wasn't too bulky, nor too skimpy. And those dark line around his eyes nearly gave him a devilish appearance.

Oh yes. This cat had pleased that great and terrible leader named after the moon. He had tempted the beast with red meat and won.

Cosmetics would claim him no more.

Rising to his dark paws, Smokescore pulled himself out into the sunlight of day, hissing inwardly at the ferocity of the rays. Temperature: Too hot for my pelt, the gray cat logged, sinking back to put half of his body into the den once more. He sank down into a laying position, glaring about the SctreamClan area.

A smile suddenly cracked over his features again, and he stifled another fit of insane laughter. He slapped a paws over his nose, pushing his face to the dirt as his body trembled and shook, snorts of amusement escaping his mouth.

He wasn't laughing at anything as far as he knew.

[*Beechstar*]

The tabby warrior of StreamClan walked back to his camp, carrying four fish in his mouth. He had just gone out fishing for the Clan and was returning with his catch. He still had a few to bring back, but hadn't been able to carry them all at once.

As he neared the camp, the tom knew that he had to beware of Smokescore. He was one of those cats who had mood swings all the time. One second he was dead serious, the next he was laughing his tail off. It was sometimes annoying. Ok, it was annoying a lot.

Ringtail entered the camp with caution. The coast was clear; Smokescore was in the warriors den. Hurrying over to the spot that Lunarstar had designated for prey, he sat down his fish, leaving the camp again quickly.


When the tom returned again, with the rest of his fish, he could hear uncontrolled laughter coming from the warriors den. It was slightly muffled, but still loud.

There he goes again, was the thought that raced through the toms mind.

He walked into the warriors den, after putting the fish in the fresh- kill pile, and said to Smokescore, "There's prey if you're hungry," and walked back out.

[.:*Hawkstar*:.]

Smokescore's laughing halted as another cat slithered into the open.

Tomcat. Tabby markings. Name: Ringtail, the gray tom logged. Logging had always helped the smokey cat keep a heavy grip on sanity.

"Hey, Ringtail!" he called, his gutturally deep voice near a growl. He pulled himself to his paws, trotting up to the tomcat's side as he exited the den. "What are you doing?"

Smokescore was still new to everything in the Clans. He still raised questions about rules, most likely annoying the fur off of the cat he was asking. But he wanted to get good at this. He wanted to prove himself a good fighter, hunter, and just an all-round good Clan cat.

"I haven't had the chance to speak with you much. Have you the time to talk?" Smokescore blinked his oddly marked eyes. Those eyes of his gave him a feminine touch somehow. They resembled the eyes of Twoleg women, the dark lining that they would apply around their eyes. That stuff had permanently stained his fur. He took little notice of it; it was just how he looked now.

Smokescore seemed like an every-day cat at the moment, all signs of insanity gone for the moment.

[{Lunarstar}]

Lunarstar yawned and opened one eye, watching the sunlight flicker into her cave. She sighed inwardly and stood up, licking her chest fur a few times. Then with one last yawn she padded slowly out of her den, realizing she had forgotten to give everyone a job.

She blinked against the harsh sunlight and scowled when she saw her sister, Prairiestep. The she-cat was lazing about on a rock. She would pay for that.

"Prairiestep!" Lunarstar called, happily loping toward her sister. Prairiestep scrambled to her paws, eyes wide, and jumped off the rock, bowing her head to her leader.

"Yes, Lunarstar?" she asked, eyes squeezed shut, not allowing her sister to think she was scared.

"Go on a border patrol." Lunarstar meowed simply, and her sister looked up at her in surprise.

"By myself?" she asked, looking over her sister's shoulder at her mate and the insane cat.

"Yes, by yourself. Be back by sunset. Try hunting along the way. And if you get back late you're cleaning out the The Hollow." Lunarstar meowed, turning away from her pitiful excuse for a sister.

That's when she saw two other warriors, Ringtail and Smokescore. Two other cats she hated, for valuable reasons, though. Same with her sister. Prairiestep was weak, scrawny, and nice. She had no right to be her leader's sister. Ringtail was her mate and couldn't lay one scratch on Hawkstripe or Whitefire. He was weak. Smokescore was simply insane. Now that Lunarstar thought about it, she realized there were a lot of cats she hated. Hawkstar for...being Hawkstar, Hawkstripe for leaving her, Beechstar for being so weak and nice and too like her sister. And the list went on.

The black she-cat walked over two her two warriors, just in time to hear Smokescore ask a normal question, and look like a normal cat. Lunarstar was shocked.

"Smokescore! Ringtail!" she called, walking the last few feet to them. She gave Smokescore a sideways glance, attempting to see some sign of insanity. She just shrugged mentally, it'd come soon enough. "What are you two doing sitting here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at them.

OOC: The Hollow is where her Clan poops.

[*Beechstar*]

The tabby was about to answer the insane cats question when Lunarstar hopped out of her den. She sent Prariestep out on a border patrol by herself, and Ringtail rubbed her back as she exited the camp.

When Lunarstar demanded to know what they were doing, the tom calmly answered, "I just went to tell him that I brought back some prey and it was time to eat. I was then going to get you, but since your already here, I just have to go deliver Lavapelt his fish." And with that, he walked over to the prey pile. He grabbed a fish and walked into Lavapelt's den with it.

"Lavapelt, here's your fish." He set it in front of the grumpy medicine cat, who mumbled something of a thank you.

The tabby walked back out into the Clearing and sat down, grabbing a fish to eat.

[.:*Hawkstar*:.]

Smokescore jumped as Lunarstar's voice rang out, and he glances over his shoulder to see the beast stalking towards them. She glanced at him, and he blinked his dull eyes in a silent hello.

Damn. Ringtail's gone. What do I do about her? I wasn't really doing anything! "Uh, I was just stretching my legs," he meowed awkwardly. "There wasn't anything to do so..." That felt like the wrong choice of words to the gray tom. His muscles tensed for a snap from the great leader, but a question rocketed from his mouth before she could manage anything.

"Lunarstar, why are you so rude?"

Log: Watch your tongue around blood-thirsty beasts.

[{Lunarstar}]

Ash's eyes narrowed and her claws unsheathed, but other than that, she had no reaction to the imbecile's comment. He was crazy, the poor guy had no clue how stupid and inferior his question was. She made a quick mental decision about telling him a fake answer, like she did to everyone who asked her that.

"My mate tried to kill me, so I had to kill him." Lunarstar hissed, inwardly smiling; okay, the last half was true. "Now go do something and quit bothering me with useless questions." she added angrily, turning and stalking off, tail and head high.

She padded over to the fresh kill pile and took the largest fish. She found one disadvantage to sleeping late, missing breakfast. Stomach rumbling and mouth drooling, she took it to the large rock her sister had given up. Once Lunarstar finished her fish, she was going to finish her nap, waking up in time for her evening meal. She took a ravenous bite, closing her eyes as the cool fish meat slid down her throat and bounced into the empty cave in her belly.

[*Beechstar*]

After quickly finishing his fish, the tabby grabbed another one and brought it over to Smokescore. He set it next to the tom and smiled.

"Sorry 'bout that, but she doesn't like me anymore. I had to get away somehow." Ringtail looked over Smokescore's shoulder towards the entrance. I wonder when Prariestep's going to be back...

OOC: Sorry so short.

[.:*Hawkstar*:.]

Smokescore was taken aback by the leader's harsh words. His questions weren't stupid. They came from the depths of his soul, and he would only voice things like that if he was concerned.

For half of a second, the gray cat flattened his ears at Ringtail, a look of rage painted into his violet eyes. Standing, the tomcat padded after Lunarstar, and looked up at her as she sat perched on her rock.

"Lunarstar, I don't think--" he stopped himself, shaking his head. "No, I know my questions aren't stupid. And I may not be all there, but I still can tell when someone is lying to me. And you're lying." The tom's eyes were blank, his temporary rage gone, leaving his eyes dull once more. "I thought you were a strong cat. And only the weak are forced into lying, fearing the truth. Apologies, but it is truly... well, it's pathetic. But, I guess if you like to live your life hiding from the truth like a kit from something big and scary..."

Smokescore shrugged dismissively. Turning away, the gray cat took a few good paces before a butterfly fluttered up in his way, giving him a good start. After realizing what his ambush leader was, the tomcat grinned.

And a laugh nearly split his jaw in half.

[*Beechstar*]

The tabby had tried to be nice to the other tom, but couldn't help himself when Smokescore kissed at him and flattened his ears. Ringtail puffed up his fur, flattened his ears, and hissed right back, even though his Clan mate walked away.

Going back to his regular size, the tom turned and walked back into the warriors den. He had nothing to do, and he was tired since he had gotten up before everyone else to go get food, so he was going to take a nap. He clawed out a few loose pieces of moss from his bed before curling up and laying down. He gazed out of the den for a while, and soon he fell asleep for his cat nap.

OOC: The kinda pun cat nap was intended.

[{Lunarstar}]

Lunarstar jumped off her rock and followed Smokescore. "Listen tom!" she spat, claws unsheathing, baring her small yellow fangs. "You could never handle my past. My past is made up of two things: grief and death. Haven't you ever wondered why I never speak of my other sister, Blossomkit, who never got to see the days of apprenticeship? Or why Prairiestep is so terrified of me? Or how I became Leader?"

Lunarstar sheathed her claws as the slid out again, she had to control herself. She wasn't about to lose another warrior. She hissed as the image of a gray, white-spotted she-kit with eyes like Lunarstar's hit her vision. It brought with it the sounds of the kit's mewls of terror and pain, brought back the taste and feel of the blood. Lunarstar's claws unsheathed again as her sight and vision were taken by the night she killed her sister. And the day she killed her Leader.

It was all for power. Just power. Lunarkit/paw/flight was power-hungry, and she had to get rid of the three cats in her way. Her sister, the deputy, and the leader. She had to kill Blossomkit, had to. The stupid little tramp was always showing Lunarkit up. So one day Lunarkit simple murdered her. In front of Prairiekit.

Lionfur. The fool. He was weak, a horrible deputy. He did everything his leader said, followed around Mudstar like a second shadow. The mouse-brain was sexist too. He would have never taken a she-cat as a deputy. So Lunarpaw killed him. It was simple really, after gathering some loners to help. Then, of course, she was the new deputy, and killed her leader.

Lunarstar shook her head and hissed again, managing to knock herself back into reality. She replaced the dazed look on her face with a sneer as she glared at Smokescore. The idiot. Making her think of such pathetic things.

Prairiestep froze abruptly, the fish dropping out of her mouth. She had returned to camp just in time to hear Lunarstar mention Blossomkit. No! she thought as the memory of a bright-eyed, gray and white she-cat came back to her. Bringing with it the memory she had locked deep away within her brain, the memory she didn't have enough emotional strength to fight. With a small mewl of despair, she fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face. And her sight was filled with Blossomkit and Lunarkit, her ears filled with screaming and laughter, and her nose only smelling the musty scent of blood.

"Oh! I am so sorry! Did that hurt?" Lunarkit sneered, swiping her claws at the gray fur. The wounds were merging until it almost looked like one gaping wound in Blossomkit's side.

Blossomkit weakly raised her head and stared up at Lunarkit, locking gazes with her older sister. Her yellow eyes glazed over momentarily and her ears flicked to the opposite direction, almost as if a cat was speaking to her. Her eyes cleared again and she gurgled, "Yes, Lunarstar. It did." Then she turned her head and faced Prairiekit, her bloodied lips forming the word 'run'.

Prairiekit took a tentative step back, causing the bushes she was hiding in to rustle. Lunarkit turned from her dead sister and faced Prairiekit, a small smile playing across her lips. Looking into her role model's eyes, Prairiekit began to cry, and she ran back to the camp. Never telling anyone what happened.

As the memory cleared, Prairiestep shuddered, the horrible image of her dead sister finally leaving her. With tremors overtaking her body, and the need to spill her earlier meal, Prairiestep made her way silently to the Warrior's Den. She let out a sob as she saw her mate's familiar pelt, and she dropped into a sobbing, shaking heap of fur at his side.

OOC: I meant to say Lunarstar. She was going to be medicine cat. She was talking to Spottedleaf, who told her Lunarkit would become leader.

[.:*Hawkstar*:.]

Smokescore's laugh went out, and he turned to look over his shoulder at the tempted beast. "No, moon-cat, I have no idea about your past. I have no intentions of wanting to know. But something tells me that you would crumple like a leaf at my backward days. Do you have any idea what I have done?" He fully faced his raging leader, not even a sliver of fear in his dull eyes. "Have you any mind on why my eye are like this? Any mind why I run and run and run? Any mind why I'm insane?" A grin was painted onto his mouth, a look of dementia in his eyes. This cat always talked like she was so high and mighty. So what if she had taken lives for fun? It sounded like fun! And if she regretted her days, that was her fault.

"No! You haven't the slightest clue! Because you're too self-absorbed to take a peek at anything else but yourself! You're a selfish beast! That bloody red meat is just too much for you, isn't it? Of course! You strut around, all big and tough, but what for? Because you killed a kitten? Found your way up to the leader post because you could cut? You sound like a normal cat to me, so get your head out of your ass and wake up! You aren't special, moon-cat." With the last hissed sentence, Smokescore spun around and trotted away, the fur on his shoulders bristling.

He had never snapped at anyone. And Lunarstar had probably never been snapped at by someone lesser than her. But that didn't matter. Smokescore just didn't care. He couldn't stand that; cats were all the same, they claw, bite, meow, and have tails. But their cocky attitudes made them terrible. Lunarstar was one of those cats. She could just walk around saying that she was the perfect cat, and that she was the most important and she should be feared because she could kill, and it would be the same thing as what the gray cat had heard now.

His heart suddenly sunk as he continued to make space between him and that gorgeous cat.

Log: Lunarstar isn't what I thought... I really thought that I had a chance, but she just isn't the right one, I guess...

[{Lunarstar}]

With a snarl, Lunarstar raced after Smokescore. How dare he talk to his Leader like that. She jumped onto his back, dropping all of her weight to he center of his back, putting too much stress on his legs. As he fell, she dug her claws deep into his back. With a hiss she brought her head to his ear. "I will only say this once so listen well. I am your Leader. You do as I say, when I say it. If I say jump, you ask how high, not ramble on about something off topic. If I tell you to fear me, I mean fear me...If you enjoy living." she hissed quietly, digging her claws in deeper with each emphasis. "Every time you walk in the forest, remember, I have eyes everywhere. Loners and rouges all bow down to me in this territory. They can hunt here for the small fee of worshiping me and watching whoever for me. Make one wrong move out of my site, and another cat will take my place as your Leader. The rouges have word to do whatever they see fit to you as punishment. Anything[/i]."

Lunarstar straightened, and took one paw off his back. With a snarl, she slashed him deeply in the back of his head. Then got off and went back to her rock, tail high. She made a mental note to tell the loners to kill him if they saw him doing anything Lunarstar would deem as betrayal. She could afford to lose an insane little beast. He was a good addition, but still no Hawkstripe. Maybe one day he'd be able to replace her best warrior, but first he'd have to worship Lunarstar and treat her as his leader, then he'd have to actually get strong.

With a small smirk playing across her mouth, Lunarstar jumped back on top of her rock. She laid down and watched through narrow eyes at the trail of tears leading to the Warrior's Den. Perfect.[/color]

[.:*Hawkstar*:.]

Smokescore yowled in surprised pain at that moon-beast attacked him. His body collapsed, and he felt his ribs creak under the extra weight. His claws fumbled in the dirt as he tried to pull himself free. His tail lashed, his claws flexing.

And when he was released, he fell startlingly silent. Not a single sound parted his maw for what seemed like forever. The silence buzzed in his ears, resurfacing a painful memory.

"Help! Anyone? Where am I?" A panicking young cat trembled in the confines of his tight holder, his head stuck out and his eyes forced to remain open. Something was burning his eyes.

"Relax, little one. You'll be here for a long while." A voice called. The trembling cat mewled in fright, earning a purr from across the room. "It's okay, I've been here for a long time, too. It's fine."

"Who are you?" The gray cat demanded, peering into the dark to see another cat. Their pelt was dull, as were their eyes. They seemed to have little muscle build-up, and their eyes were clipped open just like the kit's.

"Don't have a name, but they call me 7673. And I think you are 76653. Or do you have a name?" The strange feline asked, her tail swishing freely, her yellow eyes curious.

"I-I-I... I don't kn-know," the kitten rambled. "Why can't I blink? It hurts."

The she-cat across the room smiled sympathetically. "Welcome to cosmetic testing, dear. They don't want you to blink. They don't want you to be free, either. We are left here overnight so they can see how this stuff will work with humans. And it looks like you're the new eyeliner tester."

"But... But, I'm scared. Why am I here? Why aren't I at the shelter?"

"Ah, shelter cats are always the most panic-filled. It's okay, sweetie. I'll always be here for you to talk to... Promise."

Suddenly, Smokescore was on his feet, racing from the confines of the Clan camp, wailing at the top of his lungs. She wasn't always there. She lied. She had left him two weeks later, dying of old age. He had been alone. Alone to ponder her number.

Her number had been 7673. And it meant Rose. She was the flower of love; like a mother. And he had been left alone.

Reaching the belly of the forest, Smokescore ran himself into a tree on purpose. "You lied! You lied! Rose! I hate it here!" He sank down onto his belly, his forehead still pressed to the tree. "... I miss you, Rose. I never got to tell you what your name was... I miss talking to you. You're my best friend... My only friend."

He was silent for a few heartbeats. "Log," he meowed slowly, "Suicide isn't a terrible thing. It is only something that others use to get away and find the better parts of our lives. And maybe, just maybe, I'm considering it. Love is for fools, and I was an idiot to feel it towards Lunarstar. She's beautiful, but she's a beast begging for that chunk of meat."

She's beautiful... Just like Rose was. They both have yellow eyes...

[{Lunarstar}]

Lunarstar raised her head as Smokescore ran out of the camp. She was on his trail in an instant, she'd have to see what he did, considering she never had a chance to tell her loners about him. For all she knew he could be meeting some other Clan to plot her demise.

Hidden in shadow and brush, Lunarstar padded after the gray tom, rolling her eyes at the sounds of one of his episodes. She stopped as he hurled himself face first into a tree. She shoved her face into the ground, holding her mouth with her paws to try to hold in the bitter laugh she could feel coming. She managed to stiffle it, then turned her attention back to Smokescore.

Aww, so sweet. He had himself a girlfirend. Lunarstar thought, rolling her eyes. She listened to his pathetic ramblings about suicide.

"To think, you called me weak. At least I'm not tempted to kill myself because I can't handle what life throws at me." Lunarstar called, stepping out of the shelter of the trees, her voice levely pitched, not rising or falling. She walked over to him and the tree, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the pathetic sight. She looked the tree up and down, then laughed.

"How do you plan on committing suicide with a tree?" she asked.