open{halfway to heaven}

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[atrb=background,http://i49.tinypic.com/2drv1o7.jpg] [style=height:220px; width:482px; overflow:auto;] THE world was getting warmer. All around him, Bluesmoke knew it to be so as he watched the trees unfurl their leaves and then watched the sky turn from icy grey to pleasant forget-me-not blue. Blue. Strange how a simple color could mean so many things, from the color of a flower to the color of the sky. It could be a bird's wings or the color in a clanmate's eyes. Sometimes, Bluesmoke liked blue. He liked the peaceful coolness of it. He liked that Shalefall's fur had a blue tint in the dusklight and that sometimes you could lay on your back and feel like the blue blue sky would swallow you whole. In those moments, being blue didn't feel like such a burden. In those moments, it almost felt like a privilege. Other times, being blue felt heavy, clinging too tightly to him, as though he was a snake that needed to shed its old skin. Unfortunately, cats weren't made to shed their old skins. Bluesmoke was blue, just like his father before him and he couldn't shed that, just like the oily smoke clung to him just because of his warrior suffix. Why the leader had deemed -smoke an appropriate name for him, he would honestly never know. The old coot was too far gone by now, wandering around StarClan's forest on the endless hunt. TONIGHT though being blue didn't feel like such a burden. Bluesmoke had kept himself busy through most of the day, dodging his clanmates as he went about his normal hunting routine. Shalefall had been with him until sunhigh when his mate had been drawn away to do a border patrol and help wrangle apprentices. As far as Bluesmoke was concerned, Shalefall could have it. He had no love of apprentices and it had been nice to have some quiet time. There wasn't much time where Shalefall couldn't be found with Bluesmoke and while the blue-grey tom loved his mate, sometimes he needed to be on his own to drift in and out of the shadowy forest and find some semblance of peace. Besides, Shalefall had to have some time to mentor Aspenpaw, a facet of life in which Bluesmoke had no interest. SO, that left Bluesmoke to roam the sharp-scented pines as the sun trundled its way through the sky and sank toward the western horizon. The clouds were painted vivid pinks, reds and blues as the sun descended and the shadows from the tall pines stretched, crisscrossing one another. Bluesmoke trotted through them, weaving between the trunks and picking over knobbly roots deftly. He could remember a time when walking had been such a challenge, back when he'd first had to get used to his new feet. At first they'd been too sensitive and now they barely felt anything all thanks to the fire. It had thrown off his balance and made him clumsy, much to the amusement of his peers. Now though Bluesmoke navigated without really paying attention to where he was going. His body was on autopilot as he slithered through the shadows, not really hunting but not really patrolling either. His thoughts were a quiet hum, trickling from what he had done through the day to what Froststar had ordered for the next day. She'd been trying to coerce him into an apprentice lately, slipping subtle hints to him about being a responsible warrior and doing his part or something like that. WITH the utmost respect the blue-grey tom tuned her out when she got to talking about apprentices. He'd had one, when he'd been a newly minted warrior too young and not bold enough to say no. Fortunately, Bluesmoke had learned since then. Froststar had only ever offered him two apprentices since his first. Both of them had been declined in their ceremony, something he felt mildly bad about but not bad enough to not do it. He knew it embarrassed them and he really was sorry about it but he didn't need some fresh from the nursery kit trailing behind him all day asking why his voice was so rough or his breathing was so raspy or why his feet were weird or whatever else kits could ask. Shalefall seemed to be enjoying mentoring Aspenpaw but Shalefall wasn't...odd. Oddity invited questions, as Bluesmoke had learned through his life, if he learned nothing else. Quite frankly he didn't have the patience for it all. Still...Froststar was getting more and more crabby each time Bluesmoke dismissed her offers of an apprentice. Bluesmoke wondered how long it would be before she forced an apprentice on him and wouldn't let him deny it. COULD she even do that? BLUESMOKE sighed at the thought. She probably could. Not only was Froststar a clan leader, as if that wasn't enough, she was also just stubborn enough to tell him off in the middle of a ceremony and say he had no choice but to take whatever kit she wanted to put with him. How long would he be able to say no before it was technically treason? More interesting questions... SHAKING his head, Bluesmoke slid out of the undergrowth and into one of the rare clearings in ShadowClan's territory. Normally the pines grew so closely together that little sunlight got to the forest floor, let alone a gap big enough to be called a clearing. This clearing, by ThunderClan or WindClan standards would be considered cramped, foliage nibbling at the edges as the fores tried to take back the open space. Looking up at the sky, Bluesmoke was surprised to find that there were stars, little pinpricks of silver, poking through the rich navy of a freshly fallen night sky. He hadn't realized he'd been out for so long. Sighing, Bluesmoke sat back on his haunches and curled his tail so the tip laid over his paws. Tipping his head back, he looked at the newly appearing stars for a few moments before glancing around carefully. Leaf-green eyes skimmed the darkening forest, jumping through trees and foliage for any signs of nearby clanmates. Parting his jaws, Bluesmoke drew the sweet greenleaf night air over his tongue. No clan scents...just the scent of damp spring earth and sharp pines. Casting one more glance around and then at the sky, Bluesmoke's tail twitched in indecision before he stood to readjust himself. This time when he settled to the grass, Bluesmoke was laying on his back, front paws curled toward his belly as he looked up at the stars. SHALEFALL wouldn't miss him for a little while yet and there was no apprentice to hound him every second of every day so Bluesmoke figured he could take a few minutes just to look at the stars... Tagged;; open Singing;; "One of Those Nights" by Tim McGraw Words;; 1169 Notes;; [/style]