(( Also someone should come help Streambreeze. Lonely boy can't get
hunting right today. ))
Streambreeze set the dead bird inside of the nest, trying to think
of how he would get down holding it. "Okay, think Streambreeze...
What would Smokypelt do? Actually, that's a terrible idea. What
would Bluestar do?" He heard a loud SNAP! "Uh oh," he
meowed, grabbing the nest between his jaws and leaping to a lower
branch.
The thick-furred tabby landed clumsily, but didn't drop anything
from inside. Whether it was the eggs or the bird. He set it down in
front of himself. "Now all I do is wait for another cat," he mewed,
hearing shuffling among the grass. "More prey? Oh StarClan help
me!"
His ears angled toward the sound as he sniffed at the air. "I don't
smell anything weird," the tom whispered. Streambreeze kept himself
still as possible.
Reedtail practically exploded out the entrance of
StoneClan's camp, any thought of hunting with someone gone with the
breeze that ruffled his already messy fur. The tabby was especially
susceptible to this predicament, as he had longer fur than most.
Another one of the joys of being Reedtail. Abandoning his obnoxious
lope, the tom adopted a quiet, almost silent trot, head low to the
ground while he searched for a scent trail. It wasn't long before
he picked up the aroma of a shrew, the smell alone causing the
brown tabby to salivate a little. Aware of the angry feeling in his
stomach, hunger caused by his last meal being that of yesterday's
breakfast urging him to catch it for himself. Reedtail got a handle
on his impulses and stopped thinking, beginning to carefully stalk
his prey.
Dunepaw slowly and gracefully slid down from her perch in the
cave's wall, slipping over to the fresh-kill pile. There wasn't
much there yet, but that didn't discourage her, the fawn tabby
fervently pawing through the pieces of prey. Most of it was cold by
now, but Dunepaw picked out a still lukewarm pigeon that had been
insulated by the other pieces of fresh-kill. Glancing at the
apprentice den, the sand colored she-cat wondered if she should
offer to share it with warmp- any of the other apprentices.
Dunepaw silently corrected herself, forcing down her feelings for
the sliver-grey cat.
Gingerwing gave Warmpaw a light lick on her muzzle, and padded off.
It was a small sign of affection that they shared. Warmpaw let her
tail run along his side as he walked off, showing another bit of
affection. He padded to a rock, hopping up and laying down on
it.
Warmpaw licked her lips, and continued to stare at the pond. Her
little stomach hummed, and she sighed. Dang, she was really
hungry... She shook her head, and went back to staring at the fish.
Berryfur trotted back to camp, 2 mice in her jaws. She dropped one
in the fresh kill pile and took the other to share with her
sister.
~
Honeycomb ate the mouse with Berryfur, glad to be finally away from
all the important herb stuff. She licked her jaw and thanked her
sister, watching her leave the den. Sighing, she continued to sort
out herbs.
Streambreeze saw his Apprentice with Goldenpaw and Smokypelt
suddenly appear. "You honestly could've let me ave some quality
time to myself, but you didn't. Annoying apprentices," the gray,
Senior Warrior snapped.
"Sorry, Smokypelt. But Streambreeze is up here and we need to help
him get his prey down," Sunpaw meowed, dashing over to the tree.
"Hi, Streambreeze! You can toss down any prey you caught, and then
bring the nest down too."
Bossy, much? Streambreeze thought, amused. "Alright, watch
out for falling birds!" He took the dead bird from the nest and
tossed it to his waiting apprentice. "Now, how will I get this nest
down?" he asked himself almost silently.
He fastened the sticks and twigs between his jaws and kept a firm
grip. He lifted his head so he wasn't facing down or up, but in the
middle. He climbed down with his head in the same position. He
nearly dropped the eggs out, but he thanked StarClan that it didn't
happen. Streambreeze set the nest down and purred happily.
Dunepaw's gaze flicked to
Berryfur as they walked past, but quickly returned to the now
present Warmpaw, looking longingly at the fish. Gathering the
courage that normally filled her, now seeming to flee from every
hair on her now ruffled pelt. "H-Hey, Warmpaw, this is a pretty fat
pigeon...we could share it, if you like." The sand colored she-cat
dipped her head, tail low to the ground.
The brown-tabby tom narrowed his eyes, crouching low to the ground
as he slowly and silently drew closer. The shrew was less than a
mouse-length away from him now, practically ready to jump into his
outstretched claws. Reedtail chose the moment to strike, jumping
out and killing it with a swift bite to the neck. He grinned to
himself, before remembering his manners.
"Thank you, StarClan, for this life, I swear I will take no more
than I need."
"Oh! Alright, thank you very much, Dunepaw." Warmpaw said, ripping
her gaze from the waters. She knew she could snatch a fish from the
water, but decided against it. She turned, and smiled at Dunepaw.
She looked at the bird, and her stomach growled again. Her face
heated and she looked away.
Gingerwing rolled on the rock, and stretched out. His tail flicked
back and forth, and he purred. He closed his eyes, his throat
humming.
Dunepaw felt her ears heat up
in delight and embarrassment, then picked up the pigeon again.
Padding out of the cave, Dunepaw glanced back to see if the grey
she-cat was following her. The apprentice wasn't about to let her
time with Warmpaw get interrupted by Sunpaw or Goldenpaw, and fully
intended making the most of the their small interactions, even if
she could never muster up the courage to confess to the pretty cat.
Sprawling out in a patch of sunlight, the sand colored apprentice
set down the pigeon once more, and waited for Warmpaw to come out
of the camp.
Reedtail caught a finch and a squirrel before deciding he had
enough, and began to pad back to the camp, ferns and grass blades
tall enough to tickle his belly. Looking around for a moment to
make sure nothing was watching, the tabby took off into a sprint,
making sure the three pieces of prey stayed firmly lodged in his
maw, while not getting damaged by his needle-sharp teeth. Slowing
down as he reached the camp, Reedtail was quick to set down the
fresh-kill and suck in some much needed air.
She couldn't see a single cat in sight!this was great!
But it was kinda chilly outside.she was hungry.she looked
around.WERE IS WHAT THEY CALL "FOOD PILE"?!?! She thought
Warmpaw sat for a moment, then realized Dunepaw's absence. She
stood, looking to see Dunepaw leaving the cave. She scampered to
follow, slipping through the hole with ease. She blinked at the
light, and padded to Dunepaw. She curled up beside her, her tail
curling a bit. She blinked, and looked at Dunepaw with a soft
smile. 'So cute...' she thought, and her face heated up.
Dunepaw returned her smile, a
silent longing betraying her in the tan apprentice's yellow eyes.
Nudging the plump pigeon forward, the she-cat dipped her head to
Warmpaw. "You can have however much you want,, don't worry about
me."
Once Reedtail had gotten his breathing back to normal, and cooled
down despite his insulating fur, the tom picked up his finch again
and trotted over to Gingerwing. Seeing as the other tom was the
only other warrior he felt close to, friendship or no, he was an
obvious choice to offer to share a meal with. "Hey Gingerwing, you
want any?" Feathers muffling his meow, Reedtail flicked his plumy
tail to emphasize his greeting.
Warmpaw smiled, but shook her head. "Are you sure? I won't eat
much.." She said softly, tail curling. Her eyes sparkled like the
lights in the night sky, and she looked down at the bird. Blinking,
she licked her lips and bit her tongue.
Gingerwing looked down at the other tom, scooting over to make room
for him. A small smile resided on his lips as he nodded. "Yeah.
Come on up here." He said, his tail whipping a bit. He exhaled
lightly.