Unfamiliar Territory (Closed for Ink)

Pansyface trotted into the sunlit SkyClan camp, a mouse and a sparrow clamped in her jaws. After a hard morning out hunting, the gray and white she-cat was looking forward to a brief break, and a meal. Dropping her offering into the fresh-kill pile, she examined the options she had until she decided on taking a decent-sized vole. With a satisfied purr, the young warrior turned and trotted to a sunny patch of ground nearby, laying down and tucking into her prey.

Hawkstrike returned to the camp with a huge smile on his muzzle, carrying a squirrel and a bird for the fresh-kill pile with his chest puffed out and elegant steps. Most SkyClan cats wouldn’t see his catch as something extraordinary at all, some of the most experienced hunters would probably even see it as a bit below average for a fully grown warrior like him…but for Hawkstrike this was the closest thing to a perfect catch he ever had. He never had been a good hunter after all, and all his life before joining SkyClan he had been hunting toads, lizards and the occasional rat from the Carrionplace, making fast prey like the squirrels tricky to catch, and birds had been a constant pain for him, this being the first one he managed to catch…good thing he usually went to hunt on his own, as otherwise other cats probably would start to suspect.

After placing the two pieces of prey down he decided to grab a rabbit from the pile, since Lilyheart gave him his first rabbit it had become his favorite kind of prey. He couldn’t really put his paw on the reason behind it. Was it because it was the first prey he ate that wasn’t a toad, a lizard of a stinking rat? Was it because it was the first prey he didn’t have to eat on his own without being constantly judged or glared at? Or maybe because it was the first substantial meal he had after being forced to nearly starve to death for several moons?

Shaking his head to get rid of such questions, not wanting to think on his past anymore, he looked around camp before spotting a sunny patch not far from his position, walking towards it without thinking and noticing that there was someone else already there “Hum…mind if I eat here?” He meowed politely, smiling at Pansyface.

The sound of approaching paw-steps alerted her to Hawkstrike's presence, the gray and white she-cat glanced up from her prey with a friendly smile. Ever since that hunting patrol with she, the tom, and their mutual friend Lilyheart she had begun to feel more comfortable around the brown tabby newcomer. Patting the ground beside her with her tail, she purred; "Not at all, I was hoping for some company." As the tom settled down, she noticed his unusually bright expression, tilting her head curiously. "You seem happy today." A soft smile enhancing her features, she went back to eating her vole as she listened.

Hawkstrike smiled and sat at Pansyface’s side, placing the rabbit between his paws before taking a quick bite with a smile, it felt like if he hadn’t eaten for days and his stomach felt more than happy when it received the food. As soon as he was asked about his mood he almost puffed out his chest with pride again, though tried to hold back the best he could to not look stupid doing so “Oh, it was just a really good day hunting, that’s all” He purred with a huge smile before giving another bite to his rabbit. He was trying to make I seem casual, but the pride on his voice and posture was more than enough to make Pansyface that he was way beyond happy with his catches “Talking about good days, how is yours going? Anything worth telling?” His eyes went from his meal to the she-cat he was talking to, tilting his head slightly as he waited for her answer.

Despite his casual tone, Pansyface noticed that Hawkstrike seemed a lot more proud of his catch than most other cats would be, and couldn't help but chuckle; though she managed to hide it behind a paw. With a knowing glance, the sleek bi-color she-cat purred; "I can see that, you look like an apprentice who just made their first catch." With a smile, Pansyface took another bite out of her vole before answering, her tone a forced shade of happy. "Oh it was okay, just the same old thing. Hunting in the morning, training Duskpaw until a little while ago, and now here." Though she enjoyed her time with the energetic apprentice, lately Pansyface had been feeling a bit bored, missing the days when she was free to explore to her heart's content. Granted, that was how she had gotten in the most trouble, but still! Ever since she had left the nursery for the first time she had longed to explore everywhere and everything she could, but now the busy routine of a warrior was starting to drag at her. Stifling a sigh, she tried to push away the thoughts of the past; those always involved a certain RiverClan tom who could turn an okay day into a terrible one.

Hawkstrike took another bite of his own rabbit as he listened to Pansyface’s words. Being such an skilled actor, to the point of successfully fooling the whole clan without any issue so far and even act in ways that would easily reveal the identity of any other cat trying to keep up with the whole lie that his life as Hawkstrike was, he could tell without any trouble that the she-cat’s happiness was forced and there was something she was hiding from him. Though true that he was one of the bigger liars on the forest at the time, if not the biggest, he couldn’t help but fall on the hypocrisy of demanding truth from those around him. This wasn’t the exception.

Narrowing his eyes and slightly tilting his head, he locked his gaze on Palegaze’s eyes “You don’t sound exactly pleased, is there anything wrong?” His words were soft and kind, though behind the worried act he simply wanted to know what she was hiding. The scar of betrayal still ached underneath the physical form that coated his darkened soul, making him be wary of anyone that dared to hide any kind of information until he could make sure there wasn’t anything against him between those secrets.

Pansyface was surprised when the tabby tom met her gaze and asked the question it seemed no one ever asked her, no matter how much she wanted them to. She had always thought of herself as a good actor, but clearly not good enough to hide her deep discontent from Hawkstrike. Ever since she had left Bouncepaw she had wished to find someone who she could share her unconventional, and probably slightly disloyal, dreams with....but now that the opportunity presented it's self she hesitated.

Flicking her murky green gaze down to her paws, the patched she-cat squirmed uncomfortably. After a few moments though, she spoke in a low, melancholy tone; "It's just....I always thought that living the life of a warrior would be much more....exciting. Ever since I was a kit I always dreamed of exploring beyond the camp walls, and when I was an apprentice I did that to my heart's content. Now though....I've seen everything I can. I feel stuck in an endless loop of hunting, training, eating, sleeping....and then wake up and do the same thing all over again the next day! I just.....I don't know, it's stupid." Flushing under her pelt, Pansyface turned away from her friend, pawing awkwardly at her prey. You idiot! You can't just lay all your pathetic make-believe problems onto another cat like that, especially one that you barely even know! Fully prepared for Hawkstrike to either ignore her or get up and walk away, the she-cat didn't turn back to face him.