out of control[OPEN]

[deJENerate]

`Keep your hopes up high

and your head down low

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Light scattered over the surface of the water, sending broken shafts of sunlight into the forest. A small but chubby she-rat foraged in the fallen pine needles close by, tiny whiskers twitching with her sniffing efforts. Suddenly, the rodent stood erect, eyes wide with terror. She turned her head side to side, searching for the obvious danger she felt. The creature took off towards a burrow close to the bank, but was cut off by a monster. She was flung into the air, tail swishing for balance or anything. She slammed into the ground hard, dazed for a blindingly frightening few seconds. A flash of ginger fur was the last thing she saw before her attacker ended her life. Don't play with your food, Sunny, his raiser's warm voice flowed through his mind. He audibly growled, still angry with his "mother's" deception of his entire being. 'That was the past, though. I must move on,' he told himself.

In his semi-unconscious state, the brute had accidentally pierced the prey with his ultra sharp claws. Crimson fluid oozed from the marks and stained his white paws. He hung his head, deliberating. He didn't want to bring this bloody excuse for a meal back to the Clan and identify his anger issues, but he didn't want to keep it from them either. As he was deciding, he silently sent up a prayer of gratitude to StarClan for this life. His belly growled hungrily after tasting the rat's juicy flesh. Instinct won over and he crouched to ravenously tear into his catch. A torn vein sloshed a load of uncoagulated blood onto his mouth and paws. He placed a paw over the culprit in attempt to prevent making a larger mess.

After finishing, the tom licked his jaws and scraped dirt over the remains. Blood-stained paws led him to the water's edge. He lowered himself, thoroughly cleaning his forepaws. The large ginger and white tom stepped back, receded to his haunches, and began licking the excess moisture from his anterior limbs. A fierce golden-green gaze settled on the water's surface. The tom fondly admired the familiar looks and sounds of the liquid flowing over the stones in the stream. Small groups of needles swirled in in miniature whirlpools caused by the unlevel rocks.

A flame-colored head shook violently from one side to the other, throwing away the starstruck look he no doubt had. 'If they saw you looking at the stream like this, they'd think you belonged to RiverClan,' he scolded himself. He gave one last longing stare at the water and turned to leave. A crack of a twig stopped him. His fluffy orange bodice swirled to face the general direction of the sound. Mouth open, receiving a strong cat scent, though he wasn't entirely sure who it was. "Hello? Who's there?" he asked into the forest, not sure how much the cat had seen.

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[WHISKEY}}]

Wildfire stood a few fox lengths behind him with an eyebrow raised and asked, "What are you doing?" She looked at her deputy up and down and then found her self in a sitting position. Tilting her head to the side she asked, "If you dont want to share I guess thats okay.. but if you keep looking at the stream like that you might fall in. You doing okay?" Looking at her deputy again he seemed a little.. out of place from the last time she had seen him. He was just appointed deputy not long ago, maybe the stress was getting to him now?

[deJENerate]

`Keep your hopes up high

and your head down low

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Tufted ears flicked forward, aware of the presence of another feline. Hefty paws shuffled so that he was facing the potential threat. A sigh sounded from the parted lips of the large tom, somewhat relieved that the cat was a fellow ShadowClan warrior. The recently appointed deputy did not know this she-cat too awfully well. He knew who she was and who her parents were and a few specific details about her, but he was not entrusted with her entire life story or anything of the sort. This lovely cat went by the name Wildfire. She was at least five moons younger than he, so they shared the apprentice den for no more than one moon. Sundance could remember her warrior ceremony. She had no siblings that he could recall, but that didn't mean much. Wildfire looked at him almost condescendingly. He had to make sure that he didn't make a show of his slight anger from her expression.

Then the dreaded question came, as much as he wished it hadn't. "What are you doing?" Immediately, thoughts flew through his mind. What should he say? How should he react? Should he tell her his secret liking for water? Would she make fun of him for it? Annoyance shot through him, but he tried to keep it from being obvious. "I--I, uhm.." he stammered. Great, now he sounded dumb. He was supposed to be a figure that cats could look up to for guidance, but right now he sounded like a babbling idiot. Sundance attempted to play off his fumbled words as him just pausing, waiting for her to continue on. She relieved him by continuing to speak, "If you don't want to share I guess that's okay.. but if you keep looking at the stream like that you might fall in. You doing okay?" He scoffed slightly at the thought of falling into the flowing water. It seemed rather amusing.

"No, it's fine, Wildfire," he said smoothly. "I was just looking at the water. I have some sort of fascination for it," he admitted a little shyly. "And I'm doing quite alright. I'm still a little spacey, but I guess I'm handling it," his raspy voice mewed. A small smile curled his lip up on the right side. "It was kind of short notice, you know? Me being chosen, I mean. Cracklestar probably should have picked another cat for the job." Being modest wasn't typically his thing, but he wasn't used to this kind of attention. He had been trying to lay low since his discovery of his parents' deception.

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[WHISKEY}}]

Wildfire tilted her head to one side and mewed, "Sundance Cracklestar saw something in you she didnt see in any other cat. Thats really nice. You stood out to her and showed her your best. Therefore she felt as if she could trust you to help her lead her clan, let alone take it over when she dies." She padded up next to her deputy and looked down into the water at her reflection. She then turned her eyes to his and went on, "You have any idea how hard cats work to get to being deputy? They wait moons for your oppertunity. Some dont even get it. Maybe being deputy isnt all about if your mother was deputy or brother or sister or father. Its just.. fate. If the leader sees something in you that she doesnt see in another cat your bound to be deputy. some leaders know when your just a kit. Its something leaders are able to pick up. dont ask me how but its pretty amazing I think."

[deJENerate]

`Keep your hopes up high

and your head down low

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Her encouraging words sent shivers down his spine. His fur radiated with heat from what he could only identify as embarrassment. The sincere praise that flowed from the she-cat's lips almost made him angry. He concentrated on slowing his pounding heartbeat as she spoke. As he began to calm down, Sundance realized that he had no reason to be mad at Wildfire. She was only trying to help him understand. That's what he wanted, right?

She padded towards him, peered into the water, and gazed deeply into his eyes. Her eyes were blue flames, burning intensely into his amber gaze. An ear flicked to the side self-consciously. She was so honest and forward. His tail tip twitched back and forth. Do you have any idea how hard cats work..? Those were the words that really stuck with him as she spoke fluidly.

"There were so many cats who had better qualities, who did anything she needed, who took up deputy jobs when necessary." He droned, not really meaning to. "Who were full Clan." His voice had diminished to but a whisper. That was a touchy subject with him. His mother's betrayal still bore heavily on his shoulders. Sundance glanced up at Wildfire, pain glazed over his eyes.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those sullen thoughts. "I apologize. I should feel gracious for this growth opportunity, but instead I'm here questioning my worth." The tom suddenly realized that he trusted this she-cat. He was laying his emotions down already, and this was the first time they had had an extremely meaningful conversation. That bothered him slightly, but he told himself that he would get over it soon. "Thank-you so much for talking to me about this, Wildfire. I really appreciate it."

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[WHISKEY}}]

Her whiskers twitched as her deputy spoke. She sat still and shurgged. "It was no trouble at all. so what if we have cats are full clan blood. Apparently that doesnt bother Cracklestar if she picks a cat who has half clan blood. She doesnt look at those sorts fo things. Yeah she hates cats and..other clans and loners and rouges and what not. But.. she is able to look past all that stuff. Why cant you?" Her blue eyes dug into his as she looked at him with a serious face.

She got up and turned around and mewed, "I'm gonna go hunt a bit. Would you like to join me? Gets a few things off your mind when you hunt. The prey is like your problems as I see it. Make that one piece of prey all your torubles and worries. When your hunting it, your looking to kill. when you finally get ahold of it, you kill it in one bite. you look down...and its gone."

[deJENerate]

`Keep your hopes up high

and your head down low

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The soft whisper of wind aimlessly twirled around the pair of cats. Sundance sighed; he sometimes wished he could be as invisible as the air or as lovely as the stream. But he had a job to do. He was the ShadowClan deputy, regardless of his past. He must step up and become that place holder in the Clan. It shows extreme dishonor to decline an offer to be deputy. Not that he'd want to decline. He just wished that he had had more of a warning prior to being chosen. It had come as a shock to his Clan; he actually heard a few small gasps. But as the cats of ShadowClan saw Sundance stand and move to Cracklestar, they must have seen something in his powerful stance and respectful pose. Because they began cheering. They cheered for him.

I'm gonna go hunt a bit. Would you like to join me? Wildfire's question jarred him from his thoughts. He nodded eagerly and stood from his position. Forearms outstretched and tail end in the air, Sundance let out a massive yawn and released the tension that had been building within him. He shook debris from his pelt and looked to Wildfire for guidance. He hadn't really gotten the idea through his head that he was a leader of sorts. Plus he was rather kind to all she-cats. "Ladies first." He stated, bowing ever-so-slightly before her, looking up with his shimmering amber eyes. Sundance gave her an encouraging smile and nodded.

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