Rainstripe likes the wall

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe lapped up water from a pool near the enclosure's wall, the coolness soothing her parched tongue and throat. She glanced quickly to her left, making sure that the wall was nearby. Today she had ventured farther away from the protective barrier than usual, about two rat-lengths away, and she was feeling rather nervous. "Be brave," she encouraged herself once she had finished drinking. But she walked back over to the wall, drawing comfort from the familiar feel of the brambles and branches on her fur. She turned so that her tail was facing the wall and her eyes swept over the cats. Only a few others were near the wall, and not the one she was close to. A bright patch of light illuminated her fur, sweaty from the heat. "What's out there?" she muttered to herself, and peered out the small gap. She couldn't see anything, just a bright, intense light shining through. "Nothing, I guess," she meowed. Most cats would find it weird that she talked to herself, but she didn't mind. It gave her someone to talk to, as she wasn't exactly sociable. She shook her hot fur and began to walk towards her nest, but tripped over a small stone lying in her path. Rainstripe hissed in annoyance, shaking the worst of the dust off her fur. "I don't really want to sleep right now- Maybe I'll just stay here for a while," she mewed, sitting down in a cool patch of shade. She wouldn't mind if another cat came up to talk to her, and she would like to talk, but most other cats were in groups of two or three, too large for her to approach. "Now if we had a leader, imagine what they'd be making us do right now! There'd be no time to sit and rest," she chortled to herself, lying down in the sand.

[Gosh]

Spiderpaw padded up to the wall. This was where the water was; where her mother had laid when she was too weak to hunt.
'Maybe I should go hunting after I get a drink,' she thought. 'Perhaps I'll try rat hunting...no, not today.'
Suddenly she felt cool water around her paw, and realized she had stepped into the pool of water. Sighing, she took her paw out, shook it free of water, and then bent her head down to lap up the cool liquid.
She blinked and raised her head. There was someone laying down in the sand. She opened her mouth, about to say something, then closed it. There was nothing she actually had to say. So she lowered her head and continued drinking.

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe's head turned as the scent of another cat caught her attention. It wasn't like she never talked to cats, she just preferred to speak in small groups of two or three. She trotted over to the other cat, but tripped over her paws as she did so. Her fur was now a sandy color in most places from her falling, tripping, and lying down in the sand. "Hello," she said to the she-cat, her yellow-green eyes friendly. "I'm Rainstripe."

[Gosh]

Spiderpaw raised her head from the water again. "Hello," she responded. "My name is Spiderpaw." She wondered idly whether Rainstripe had ever been called 'Rainpaw'.

[duckyaisha]

"Spiderpaw..." the she-cat murmured to herself. "I haven't seen you before. Do you live near the wall?" Rainstripe knew very few cats in the enclosure. Only her mother, really, and now Spiderpaw. She only knew her father Thornfang by name. She reached out with her tail and felt the comforting touch of the wall on her fur. Why would any cat not live here? Many insects lived here as well, as the wall was close to the world outside.

[Gosh]

Spiderpaw answered warily, "I have no home. I wander endlessly. But I usually find my way nearer to the wall just before dark, if that is what you mean." 'Does she actually stay in the same place all the time?' she wondered. She and her mother had never stayed in the same place for long periods of time, unless there was an especially clear, cool, soothing pool of water.

[duckyaisha]

"Oh," Rainstripe replied quietly. She imagined what it would be like for her- being away from the wall, surrounded by cats- it was scary just to imagine it. She moved a little closer to the wall so that the brambles touched her ribcage. Then she switched the topic. "Do you know any other cats?" Her tail was carving out a mark in the sand as it swung back and forth. "You're the only other cat I've met besides my mother."

[Gosh]

Spiderpaw shook her head. "My mother and I kept to ourselves." She wondered then if she herself would always do the same, wandering...

[duckyaisha]

"Well, nice meeting you Spiderpaw," Rainstripe purred. It was nice to know that she now had someone to talk to besides herself. "I'll see you around!" With that, the gray tabby she-cat trotted along the enclosure's wall, her eyes bright. Even though her tail was drooping from the heat and she was panting, the encounter with Spiderpaw had lightened her mood.

[Gosh]

Spiderpaw meowed, "See you around, then!", took another drink of the water, and padded away. 'Rainstripe seemed kind enough', she thought. 'Perhaps there is hope for the Clan to be put back together again...'