Under the shade of a boulder (c)

Opening his maw and yawning for a solid couple of moments, Fuzzpaw rolled over onto his back and stretched out his limbs, spreading out his paws and unsheathing his claws. Today Silverwing was busy with Russetpaw, or something, and so he finally got a chance to just relax. The Leafbare sun, though not extremely hot, still warmed his dark grey pelt as he laid near the edge of WindClan's little makeshift camp. It wasn't much, but he supposed it was better than sharing it with every-cat like they had when he was a kit. At least now, he could get some space to himself to lay back for a little while, before some-cat drug him off to do something.

Letting out an anything-but-graceful burp, the plump apprentice situated himself over onto his side.. He'd just finished his breakfast which consisted of a vole and he couldn't quite tell if it had been enough to satisfy him just yet. Fuzzpaw hadn't done any training this morning, so perhaps that was why he wasn't quite as hungry as he usually was. Not moving, he turned his gaze over to the fresh-kill pile and let out a sigh. It was too far away and he was far too comfortable to be bothered to go grab something else from it. Not to mention, if he did go over there, he'd probably end up having to make conversation with some-cat.

Shadepaw was bone-weary. For once, her energy was depleted. Her paws ached, her shoulders were sore from sparring and her joints were beginning to protest the cold weather. It was just growing pains, hopefully the last of them, but it still made her feel ancient and grumpy. She was young and alive and supposed to be killing stuff, but really all she wanted right now was a nap. A blustery leaf-bare breeze tore through her downy fur and the dark tabby tucked her head against the wind. She growled quietly and stalked over to her nest, tail lashing, and plopped down with none of her usual grace. She rolled over. She stood up and circled then flopped back down. She rolled over again. The elders were fed, their camp was as secure as it could be given the circumstances, training was done, the fresh-kill pile was stocked, and nothing needed to be done. She curled her tail over her nose as the wind raked through her pelt again. Normally the sting of the wind made her want to run forever and not look back, now it just made her shiver. With a low growl, she heaved herself to her paws. It was useless, something wasn’t right and she needed to fix it. She was about to start her standard routine of pacing until she figured out what was wrong when she noticed a blob on one end of camp. Fuzzpaw, probably being useless as usual and taking a nap…....

She sat down and glared at him from across camp. He looked, really comfy. Nestled in a little patch of sun, with his ridiculously thick pelt that was probably really soft, all rounded edges and stillness. She was fierce and strong and independent, always moving, always working, always a strong shoulder to lean on, always a flash of fangs and snarled taunt, and she was really, really, tired. The dark she-cat stalked over to the prey pile and picked out a hare that still had some fat on it, not quite as scrawny as the rest this time of year. She grabbed it roughly by the throat and stalked toward where Fuzzpaw had settled down.

Every roll of her shoulders was menacing, a threat in every purposeful paw-step. She was a predator zeroed in on her target, lanky and leaf-bare lean, with a hare clamped so tight in her jaws she would’ve killed it through pure force had it not been long-dead. Shadepaw dropped it on top of the older apprentice’s paws and snarled at him for good measure. All of her energy narrowed down on trying not to shiver. She was strong and fiercely loyal and downright dangerous, but also she had been raised on uncertainty and shifting homes, on destruction and terror and unease. She was independent and steadfast and trying her absolute best to be stronger than her lanky legs and weary frame allowed. She was a WindClan apprentice, she should be unruffled by the wind, lean into it with her whole heart, and be at peace under the open sky. At the end of the day, she was just another apprentice who was growing too fast and working too hard.

“Say anything and I’ll send you to StarClan so fast you’ll still be choking on your last words.” The tabby snapped and promptly curled into his side. He was really soft, and warm, and comfy. She laid her sharp chin over his cushy shoulders. His fur was shorter than hers but so much thicker. A slow, reluctant purr crawled out of her throat. Okay so maybe he wasn’t entirely useless.

Having been drifting off again, the thing that brought Fuzzpaw back was the scent of prey and then sudden movement against his side. Opening his eyes, the plump tom couldn't believe it; prey on his paws, and Shadepaw... she was snuggled against him? Clearly, he was in a dream. No... prey in dreams never smelt this appetizing, he would know.

Not daring to move, let out a huff in reply to her harsh words. She was still just as prickly as ever.

If he was being honest, he wasn't big on sharing space and for a moment contemplated pushing her away, but he stopped himself, for several reasons. One being that she had brought him food, which he was oh so ever thankful for, and two being that she had helped him escape that trap... even if she was still the same irritable molly, he supposed the least he could do was let her rest against him...

Continuing to not move but keep his gaze on her, he realized that her warmth against him was more than comfortable... or maybe that was just the sun shining on them, seeing as though he had found a good spot to relax. Still, he couldn't help but wonder why in the world she had even chosen to get to close to him, respectively speaking. Maybe she bees had filled her brain? Well, whatever the reason was, she had brought him a meal. Clearly, she had the right idea on how to get on his good side, even if she was still all sour.

"Thanks," Fuzzpaw mewed stoically as he reached forward and grabbed hold of the hare that she'd brought him. After all that she'd been doing for him lately, though always reluctantly of course, maybe, just maybe, she wasn't so bad after all?