Race You to the Top of the Morning

It had been a long night; but Asterflower hadn't slept a wink. Mostly because she wasn't allowed to - she was sitting her vigil, supposed to be contemplating what it meant to be a warrior and serve her clan. Instead, she had shifted anxiously through the night, every bit of fur on end as she continued to think about how brilliant this was, how proud she hoped her mother and sisters were - and hoping that her father, wherever he may have been, was proud of her.

But as the sun creeped it's way over the hillside, another feeling struck her - that of a grumbling stomach that alerted her to the fact that, in all the excitement, she had forgotten to grab something from the fresh-kill pile. It didn't look like there was much left, and it'd be a while before even the dawn patrol was up. There was only one other cat she was certain was even awake at that moment.

"Hey, Graystorm..." She whispered, batting her fellow vigil-mate with the tip of her tail to make sure they hadn't nodded off sitting up. "I think we're good to stop - wanna go nab a rabbit while they're still sleeping?"

"Sure, I'm glad that's over." Graystorm said before saying "Lead the way."

"Come on then!" With kit-like enthusiasm, the new warrior bounded forward, her reddish tail waving in her wake like a floating snake. Windclanners by nature were fast cats, and Asterflower wasn't going to wait for no cat to keep up with her - even Graystorm.

"I thought my paws were going to fall asleep, didn't you?" Asterflower mumbled as finally, reluctantly she slowed so they could decide in which direction they would actually begin looking for some breakfast. " Or that I was going to drift off, and Starclan'd come down and rake my ears a good one. I never thought sitting still for so long could be so hard!" She purred laughingly.

"Yeah. It's hard to stay awake all night when you are just sitting there in the dark with nothing happening and no sounds besides the sound of sleeping cats behind you. To be honest with you I caught myself trying to doze off a couple of times." Graystorm said to her, slowing down to walk beside her.

Asterflower purred delightedly, feeling a little better know that at least, she wasn't the only cat who'd had problems with staying awake and contemplating the nature of being a warrior the night before. "Well, if that was the hardest thing we had to do as a warrior, than the rest of the time should be golden, shouldn't it!" She mewed encouragingly. "'Cause we did make it. Finally!"

Gamboling forward, she suddenly stopped, her ears perking up and focusing in on an interesting sound. "Hear that?" She whispered, body tensed and ready to spring.

"Yeah, but what was it?" Graystorm whispered in return

"I don't know..." She wasn't sure what it was, but she was immediately ready to run. She dropped to a crouch and crept forward, breathing deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to find a scent...

"Wait...it's a rabbit!" She perked up immediately. A rabbit'd be a fine breakfast to bring back to the rest of the clan.

"Then lets go get it." Graystorm said before quietly stalking towards it

Already, she could feel her mouth watering with the thought of delicious rabbit. They could probably get away with taking a few nibbles from it before bringing it back to camp, right? Or they could continue to search for food until they had enough to satisfy their own bellies and bring some back for the clan. Still, it was a little difficult to try and keep her mind on hunting when all she could imagine was the taste of the food before it was even in her jaws.

"I can go sneak around behind it...if you run at it from the front, and me from the other side, we're sure to catch it!" She whispered, and began to slink around, as quietly as she could, belly nearly scraping the ground.

ooc: Sorry I ddn't see your post earlier! Oh and school starts for me tomorrow so I might not be posting as much! Escpecially after the year gets going

ic: "Sounds like a good plan, let's do it." Graystorm said, before quietly starting to run towards the rabbit that would soon become breakfast for the 2 new warriors.

ooc: No problem hun. Trust me, I understand about time constraints. Wait till you get a job and start University....

Asterflower purred delightedly, before remembering that she should probably keep quiet as she ran and stifling herself. It was just so exciting though! They were finally warriors. And she could just about taste that rabbit now.

Creeping around the opposite direction, she could finally see the rabbit - a light brown, fluffy thing. Pudgy as all get-out. Her mouth watered, and before she knew it, she was running, preparing to chase, to pounce.

The rabbit took off, and her after it. Getting within a few tail lengths of it, and impatient for her meal, she leapt - a little too soon. Instead of catching hold of a rabbit, she barrelled into a more solid form.

"Ooof!"

Graystorm hurried over to her and asked. "Are you okay?"

The moorland was filled with rocks, dotting the rolling hills. It was sometimes dangerous for the unwary cats, such as Asterflower, who had barreled into a taller rock, without being able to stop. Flopped over on her side, the world spun for a moment, before Asterflower was left with a throbbing head and a voice in her ears. Luckily, that voice was only Greystorm.

"Of...of course I am, silly." She stumbled, although honestly she wasn't sure. She could barely remember why she was staring up at the sky. One minute she swore she was chasing rabbit, the next - here. "Did we get it? Did we get the rabbit?" She asked, suddenly panicked. It hadn't gotten away, had it? It had been right in their sights!

"Sorry, no. When I saw what happened I came straight over here to make sure you were okay. " Graystorm said apologeticaly but he was glad that she was okay

"Oh..." Her heart sank when she realized they had lost their first catch because she had been so stupid to just rush ahead heedlessly. They had lost their biggest chance at a catch.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, feeling certain that Greystorm would think her just as foolish and stupid for rushing heedlessly forward. But she had just been so EXCITED! They were finally warriors, and surely that meant they were better than ever before. She hadn't been as good at fighting as an apprentice - but now she felt certain that Starclan had given her their blessing, and she was just so determined to use it as soon as possible. But so far she'd only embarrassed herself in front of her friend.

Trying to rise to her paws, she hissed as putting weight down on one of her feet proved painful. "Ow!" She must have twisted it as she'd fallen. Great.