Just A Hunting Patrol [[Open]]

Littlebrook padded over to where her son, Silentstorm, was sitting by the entrance to camp. "Patrol?" She asked, a warm smile on her muzzle as she sat down next to him. "I'd like to join you. If you don't mind, that is." She teased, wrapping her russet-brown, white, and black patched tail neatly around her paws as she waited for others to join them.

Silentstorm purred softly as his mother made her way to him. "Yup. Of course, Littlebrook." He responded, returning his mother's smile. "Let's wait for others." He meowed, green gaze raking the clearing for any clanmate looking to join a hunting patrol.

His mentor Mudfoot was busy, and Frostpaw was feeling hungry from leaf-bare's lack of prey. He looked at the rather sad amount of prey on the fresh-kill pile and decided to go catch something. Frostpaw spotted a couple warriors forming a hunting patrol. He bounded over and hoped they wouldn't be bothered by an apprentice tagging along. "Hi" he meowed hesitantly, "I'm Frostpaw, can I come hunting with you?

Silentstorm looked up as Frostpaw padded up to them, "Sure, Frostpaw." He meowed, glancing towards Littlebrook who nodded with a smile. "How's training going?" The black and white tom asked the apprentice. It wasn't long ago that he was an apprentice himself, so it was weird to think that he was probably only a couple moons older than the tom.

"May I join?" Flamestrike, the newly appointed warrior, padded over with a bit of hesitance. The tom preferred to hunt on his own since most of the clan disproved of his rogue origins, but he had to join in on patrols sometimes. He tilted his head slightly, waiting for an answer.

"Me too!" Wolfpaw yowled, sprinting over and almost bowling into the other cats. She looked at the group as she stopped, trying to sit up and look serious. The young apprentice had always wanted a chance to go out hunting with Flamestrike. Her mother's apprentice had been like an older brother to her litter and so she bothered him a lot.

Flamestrike sighed in response, waiting for the cats assembled to say something. He wouldn't let the troublesome young apprentice come along unless it was okay with the others. Most of the clan liked her more anyways because she was clanborn, unlike him.

"Good, I think" meowed Frostpaw "I have an assessment relatively soon, I hope I do good enough to impress Mudfoot. Anyway, I need more practice." He watched as Flamestrike slowly approached. Frostpaw had heard of his rouge origins and found it hard to trust him, hopefully Flamestrike would prove his loyalties one way or another at some point. Then Wolfpaw came bounding up noisily. Frostpaw meowed "Hi Wolfpaw, how's Mudfoot treating you?" The ginger senior warrior was mentor to both of them.

Littlebrook nodded in greeting to Flamestrike, "Sure." She meowed to the hesitant tom. She knew his origins made others wary of him, but, honestly, she didn't care where he came from. She knew his loyalties lay with ShadowClan and that's all she needed to know. In a way, she kind of understood. She was half-SkyClan, though she wasn't sure how many of their clanmates actually knew that, or cared, anymore, but when she was a kit to young apprentice she did catch a lot of distrust from others. She tended to let it just roll of her back and wouldn't let her origins define her though. "How's warriorhood suiting you?" She asked the ginger tom, her ever present smile on her muzzle, holding back a laugh of amusement when Wolfpaw came barreling up. Mudfoot's got his paws full with that one. She thought, laughing inwardly.

"That's exciting. I'm sure you'll do great." Silentstorm meowed to Frostpaw. He nodded to Flamestrike as he padded up and his mother began talking to him. He looked over just as Wolfpaw came bounding over to them. "Sure Wolfpaw." He meowed, a slight laugh in his voice. "Alright I think this should be enough for a hunting patrol. Lets go." He meowed, looking over the gathered cats before turning and padding out into the marshy territory.

"He's fine," Wolfpaw meowed quickly to her mentor's other apprentice, but added in a grumble, "I just wish we did more battle training." If Eagleheart were my mentor I bet we'd never stop practicing battle moves! She dug her claws into the ground, a bit frustrated. Her ears perked up as an idea hit her, "We should battle sometime, Frostpaw!" The grey she-cats eyes shined in the thought of being able to be thrown back into the heat of battle, even if it was just a mock battle. The young apprentice walked next to the slightly older tom, instead of padding next to Flamestrike for once, as they followed the warrior out of camp.

"I-it's good," Flamestrike stuttered back to Littlebrook, a little shocked by the she-cat's kindness. Despite being a part of the clan since his kithood, he had never really gotten the chance to speak to the older warrior. I guess I've been hanging out around the wrong cats... He remarked to himself internally, still surprised by her kindness to him, despite him not being clanborn. After a moment, being reassured by her kind tone, he relaxed and added, "It does feel good to finally be able to be a full warrior." For moons, the flame orange tom's ceremony had been delayed. He was moons older than the apprentice, despite being only been recently given a warrior name.

"Thank you" Frostpaw meowed to Silentstorm for his compliment.

"That sounds great!" exclaimed Frostpaw to Wolfpaw as the patrol headed out of camp. "I definitely need more battle practice." He raised his nose to sniff the air once they were further into the territory, and picked up the scent of a frog. He began to stalk through a patch of brambles towards the prey.

Littlebrook smiled reassuringly when Flamestrike stuttered his response, pretending she didn't notice, "I'm glad to hear it. I remember when I was just a young warrior. You're always tired, though it's worth it." She meowed, laughing softly. She got her warrior name when the Dark Forest had taken over, and it had given her the confidence she had needed for the battle. She glanced off to the side when she suddenly got a whiff of a lizard. She nodded to Flamestrike to let him know where she was going in the middle of their conversation, before heading off towards it.

Just a few moments later Littlebrook was padding back with a lizad in her jaws. She stopped to bury it before falling back into step next to Flamestrike. "I know what you mean," she continued where they'd left off, "It kind of gives you a sense of.. purpose and confidence, at least for me." The she-cat meowed, laughing towards the end. She used to be extremely self-conscious of her small size, but now she embraced it. It was one of her assets, and she was glad to have it.

Silentstorm nodded to Frostpaw's thanks as he lead the way out into the marsh and around the territory. He was content with staying quiet and just listening. It was always interesting what you could learn when you're quiet. Lots of cats didn't expect him, a quiet tom, to be listening, but he was. It wasn't because he was nosey. It wasn't like he went out of his way to listen to others conversations. He just tended to not participate in conversations, and others usually never started any with him anyways, which was fine. He smiled as he listened to his mother talk to Flamestrike. She was probably the cat he looked up to the most. She was always so kind and thoughtful of others. Never leaving anyone out and never quick to judge. He always strived to be like her, but he wasn't sure that was possible. His ears perked slightly at the sound of rustling in the nearby brush and he flicked his tail as he went in pursuit of the prey that was hiding there.

ooc: do you guys wanna use the hunting system or no? (also sorry this is so late ;-; schools killing me)

occ: I don't care. I'm a little confused with the new change because I literally just finally figured out the last one lol

Lizard hit Flamestrike's scent glands while Littlebrook and him were speaking, so he was not surprised when she slid away from him. While he was still working on becoming a better hunter, the young tom had an amazing nose. It was the one thing he gave himself credit for. Once, Thrushstar had complemented him on it and he had never forgotten. A soft smile crossed his features when Littlebrook returned. After she had buried it and returned to his side, they returned to their conversation.

"Nice catch," He meowed, dipping his head to the smaller she-cat. While his voice was even and low, their was a hint of rare enthusiasm in it's depths. The older warrior was not only kind, but he admired her skill. After she finished speaking about being a warrior, Flamestrike agreed, "I get what you mean. That has been a big thing for me as well. Being an apprentice for so long almost sapped away all my confidence and purpose..." The tom trailed off, a little shocked with how much he had shared. Typically, the long leg cat spoke very little and didn't share much with other cats, especially ones he didn't know well.

"Anytime. Anyplace. I will take you one," The grey she-cat challenged her fellow apprentice, eyes glinting in anticipation. She watched Frostpaw disappear in pursuit of some unseen prey. Wolfpaw raised her nose into the air, tasting it for any new scents. All she could pick up was Littlebrook's lizard and the frog scent she assumed Frostpaw was after. A growl of frustration rumbled in her throat. She couldn't wait to see greenleaf for the first time. As many older cats had told her, there was way more active prey outside of the cold months. But it was all she had ever know. Wolfpaw waited for Frostpaw to rejoin her, flexing her claws impatiently, and trying to keep herself amused despite the lack of prey to hunt.

Frostpaw was glad to have found a battle practice partner in Wolfpaw. They could speed up their training if they worked together, and he was always glad for an excuse to hang around a pretty she-cat. Stalking through the undergrowth, Frostpaw came up on the frog he had scented. With a quick pounce and bite, he set of back to the patrol with a skinny frog in his jaws.

He returned to hear Littlebrook and Flamstrike discussing becoming warriors. He looked at them with undisguised jealousy. "I know I'm close but if feels like I'm going to be an apprentice forever."

ooc: Yeah I'm a bit confused about it too lol

Littlebrook purred in thanks to Flamestrike's compliment. "Thanks." She listened intently as he shared his feelings about the topic of being a warrior with her. She nodded in understanding. "Yeah I imagine it would have. Not sure what's up with Thrushstar these days.." She meowed softly, trailing off, her features saddening a bit. She couldn't help but think about Lightningstrike. It still made her angry to think about what Thrushstar did. Sure he had made mistakes as an apprentice, but he was an apprentice. He hadn't known any better. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Frostpaw's comment. She laughed quietly in amusement. "I know it feels that way, but you'll be a warrior before you know it." She meowed, a knowing look in her deep blue eyes.

"I was literally an apprentice forever and I made it," Flamestrike joked with a rare light in his eyes, "You're a fine apprentice. It won't be a long time." After moons of watching cats be made warriors without him, he was glad to finally have the opportunity to watch ceremonies now as a warrior. He couldn't wait to watch Frostpaw join their ranks soon. It wouldn't be long now.

As for Wolfpaw, he couldn't imagine she'd be too far behind. The young she-cat had done surprisingly well in her first couple moons. He was even more shocked that she hadn't been giving Mudfoot trouble. Her attitude usually got her in trouble.

"Are you planning on catching anything today?" He teased the grey she-cat, who instantly tensed up.

"I'll catch more than you," She shot back instantly with a glare. Wolfpaw flicked her tail to Frostpaw, beckoning for the older apprentice to follow her into the marsh grasses. It would be easier to hunt if they were a bit off from the group. Besides, she'd rather not have the warriors be witness in case she failed at all. And maybe Frostpaw could teach her a couple of tricks too.

Frostpaw ducked his head, embarrassed at complaining about the wait when Flamestrike really had waited for an unnaturally long time. The ginger warrior continued to tease Wolfpaw, who snapped at him and headed away, signalling Frostpaw to follow her. Frostpaw was surprised, and shot a glance at the warriors so they knew he was going with her. He dove into the undergrowth after Wolfpaw and caught up with her. "Have you scented anything?" Frostpaw asked.

"Not yet," She growled lightly, a bit frustrated with herself. The she-cat's fighting and hunting skills were far superior to her nose. It always aggravated her that it was her weakness. Of course, like any cat, she had a decent sense of smell. But her clanmates always seemed to catch more than her. Not like she would ever share that with another cat.

Her ear twitched at a soft sound and swiveled in an attempt to pinpoint the noise. Quickly, she found it. This time a satisfactory growl left her throat. A tiny toad rested in the mud. Within moments she was close enough to attack. Claws sank with satisfaction into the rough skin. Barely a good meal, but it would do. She padded back to Frostpaw, chest puffed out proudly.