It takes two to make a corny kung fu movie (closed for Grey-san)

Hawkpaw groaned at the soreness of his back from sleeping on lumpy rocks all the time. He grit his teeth and stretched out, hearing unhealthy amounts of clicking in his spine. Hawkpaw yawned and then sighed, glaring at the soot filled forest. Glancing around, he spotted Specklepaw's large form. Perhaps they could hunt at the shore and compete to see who could catch more. Or, the two could finally get all the soot out their fur and claws.. and teeth.. and paws.. and nose.. and ears.. He pushed a stone away that sheltered a honey-soaked hunk of springy moss. Grabbing it and holding it out away from his fur, he trotted over to the larger yet, younger apprentice. He finally gave up on denying she was bigger than him, no longer debating it now that it was way too obvious she grew so fast and big. Putting the moss down nearby, he prodded at her side with his fat paw. Last time they spoke, without a fire plaguing them, her father had hit her after her outburst. Barkpaw was held so dearly to him, he didn't entirely care that she got hurt. However.. for some strange reason.. the obnoxious she-cat had a place in his heart too. She had ambition, energy, skill, and enthusiasm. He didn't want to bring it up, just soothe the bruises. The fire made it seem as if it happened a long time ago, she had a hoarse throat, apparently inhaling the whole fire. Maybe some competition and a chance to have a belly with something other than ash and ash filled water and ash filled lungs. Frogs, maybe... or.. the thought made his stomach growl in the most unattractive way- he wasn't sure why he cared that Specklepaw found his growling stomach attractive but he was happy to not mention it again.

Specklepaw awoke with a disturbing rattle in her lungs, the damage the fire had done seemed to never want to leave her lungs. Pushing her large paws under her, her legs still laying in the position they were before. Tears pricked at her eyes as she hacked and her breathing rasped as she struggled, everything felt hot and uncomfortable. Her throat felt raw and her limbs shook, her eyes clenching shut until it all calmed down. Her mouth and jaw was wet with saliva.

Specklepaw was frozen until all to be heard was her rasping breath, she moved to gently set herself down in fear of setting it off again but Hawkpaw caught her eyes. They narrowed and her fur spiked, "What do you want? Come to insult me some more?" Specklepaw spat, her voice sounding like claws on stone. Though despite her sour tone of voice, she noticed the honey soaked moss and she was tempted. She knew it would soothe her throat, and that seemed much more tempting than catnip. Her ears flicking against her head she hissed, "You're using that for yourself aren't you? Don't need to shove it in my face." Specklepaw thought of Hawkpaw as nothing but cruel since that time in the camp, and with him coming to gloat soothing herbs in her face was to stoop low enough.

Getting to sore limbs the she-cat stepped with a tenderness, heading towards the cool water for a much needed plunge. She was no Riverclan cat, but with the constant heat and aching limbs it was a welcome relief. Specklepaw flicked her tail in a dismissive sense as her paws submerged themselves into the water, the crisp coldness making her chest rumble. Slipping in until her belly was submerged she slowly turned on her paws, digging her claws into the wet sand. Tilting her head just right she lapped at the water that splashed against her chest fur, the cool relief pleasant but nothing compared to honey.

Hawkpaw grumbled as she turned away to go in the river. "I actually got it for you,
Specklepaw." He followed into the shallows and huffed. "We should go hunting or something, you need something to stop the eternal hacking if you want something other than toxic ash in your stomach." he swatted the surface of the water with a large paw and then looking at the water fly into the air.
AUGH it deleted itself, here's a shorter version))

Specklepaw's eyes widened briefly as she blinked in surprise, it was for her? Though her belly twinged with suspicion. Slowly making her way closer to Hawkpaw, "I'm not the best at hunting..." She meowed rather reluctantly, looking towards the side with a frown like she was hating herself for not being perfect. "I don't need food in my belly, other cats need it more than me. Like the queens and elders, like the wounded." She meowed scornfully. Though her own wounds seemed to sting to remind her that she had them too, she had ripped into bramble walls to free the apprentice's, Falconpaw included, and was the last out as she shoved them all out. She lost a good share of fur which was patchy at best, her wounds smelling almost of infection.

Though... honey wasn't that hard to come by, despite the forest almost being gone. Bee's would make their hives anywhere. With the thought and the temptation great she softly tilted her head and grasped the honey-soaked moss, pulling it from Hawkpaw's maw she padded until she was back on sunningrocks. Resting the moss on a clean stone she lapped at it, the sweet tang of the honey almost immediately soothing her throat much unlike the water she had lapped at before.

Taking a moment to just breathe the she-cat turned to look at Hawkpaw with a grateful nod, though she was reluctant to admit it.

Hawkpaw nodded curtly in return. "Well, you'll have to get better, elders and the wounded can't hunt for themselves, queens have enough work." Shuffling restlessly, he got out the water before he made a fool of himself slipping on something. He lapped at the river for a moment before padding over to her. "If we're lucky, we might find a few voles burrowing
in the reeds."
He groomed his pelt to have something to do, he just wanted it all to be past them so he could focus on their rivalry! Not this petty mild argument they'd be stuck in for moons.
"How long do you think it will take for us to go back home? We can't stay on these rocks forever unless we become PebbleClan."
Eyy can you post in the barn topic?)

"You feed the clan before you feed yourself." Specklepaw muttered, reciting the warrior code as she shook out her pelt showering the pebbles around her. Once Hawkpaw padded up to her she nodded softly before leading the way towards the river side along Thunderclan's burnt territory. "The forest will regrow with time, we just have to be patient with it. Shoots are already sprouting from the ashes that's for sure. But until then we might just have to learn how to fish." She meowed thoughtfully.

He sighed, "Hey, hey.. I get it, Almighty StarClan Warrior. I'm just saying that you have to make sure you can feed the clan." he scented the air, sneezing harshly at the dirty air. "Well, let's skim the river then.." he chuckled softly at the idea of fishing. "Welcome to PebbleClan then, we fish and have aches and pains~" he said as if he were trying to get WindClan to trade WindClan territory with the Thunderpath. He stared off into the territory past the she-cat and then turned away to focus on the shore instead of the destruction that used to be his home. He silently hoped his family was okay.. His ears picked up scuttling but, he needed to wait for Specklepaw. If Falconpaw wasn't so deathly afraid of her for some reason, he'd force the bony tom to help. He had the best awareness, they could all learn. He questioned Falconpaw about it but, the tom shushed him and darted off.

Specklepaw snorted but it was not without humour. Small ears flickered to the sound of scuttling, the she-cat turned to look with Hawkpaw to see if he knew. Nodding she crouched down on large paws ears pointing forwards as she stilled until her eyes laid on the water vole, hips shifted and wiggled as she prepared to leap. But with large paws and stiff joints it would be no good, as she leaped the vole noticed the abnormally large she-cat and scurried. The she-cat was running after it in an instant, she was neither the fastest either. The vole dodged to the side just as a tree came into view, Specklepaw tried to avoid it but it was too late, she smacked head first into the tree.

Stumbling back the she-cat gave a few hefty lashes of her tail as she rubbed her head. Unsheathing her claws she slammed heavy paws into it, the already weak structure of the three shuddering and chipping away into bits of charcoal.

Hawkpaw watched her take chase and followed behind slowly to see if she'd catch it. When the vole fled to the side and she hit the tree head on, he winced. The must have hurt for sure. He shook his head, figuring she wouldn't want his comment on her mistake. The tom slipped into the reeds nearby and sniffed around. A loud quack broke the rustling of the reeds and his ears rotated forward, he held his breath. Low to the mud and water, he spotted a large duck. Disbelief filled his brain, a duck could totally help the clan! It swam in circles in in deeper water just ahead. Launching without a thought, he latched onto the duck's neck with his teeth, claws gripping a wing. The duck honked loudly, flailing and splashing water until the apprentice bit the throat. The struggle drove Hawkpaw under water with the water foul in his grip and he was beginning to panic. Thrashing churned water and bubbles as Hawkpaw struggled to reach the surface but, he was just out of reach. It hindsight, pouncing into water was pretty dumb..

Specklepaw had seen Hawkpaw stalk away and decided to follow him, the possibility of learning his hunting techniques so she could be relatively useful, the thought irking her. So when Hawkpaw stupidly went after a duck like a mouse-brain, she was watching. Snorting at the idiocy of the tom, her head pounding in response. But she couldn't help but feel proud for the tom, a duck was a rarity in deed; so much so that she never recalled having any.

So once the tom had killed the duck and he sunk into the water, she was on her paws in an instant. Fur bristling the she-cat didn't care for the fact that she didn't know how to swim, she had to get him out! Specklepaw launched into the water, water surging over her pelt as she paddled with big, strong strokes. Though her thick fur was trying to suck her into the depths below, reluctantly Specklepaw opened her mouth to grasp the mouse-brains scruff. Water filled her mouth as she did so but she didn't stop, turning towards the surface the she-cat kicked as hard as she could.

She didn't know how but she managed to do it, her head broke the surface and she resisted to loosen her grip on the toms scruff in fear of loosing him and having to go back under again. Once she dragged Hawkpaw onto the shore she dropped him and started heaving and hacking some more, legs feeling stiff and rattling like pebbles on a thunderpath. Specklepaw looked akin to a drowned rat, and she felt like one too. Rage exploded in her chest in belly, her throat on fire as she turned on Hawkpaw "I never took you for a mouse-brain! Sure we need the food but for the cost of your life? No way! You've got to be the most... mouse-brained apprentice in the whole forest!" Specklepaw roared.

The tom felt teeth grab his scruff and hoist him closer to the surface, he silently hoped it was a RiverClan cat that had seen him and jumped in. However, he wasn't so lucky it seemed. Squinting in the water, he could see a large paw that could be no one else's but Specklepaw. When they broke water, he coughed at the uncomfortable feeling in his head from water that had forced itself through his nose.
Hawkpaw slumped in the pebbles, his heavy fur soaked thoroughly and rivulets of river water streamed down his face. He finally let his iron grip of the duck go and shakily stood up just in time to get roared at by the large apprentice. "H-heh.. At least I got it, right? Thanks for getting me out." he rasped out before coughing again. His side stung from the duck scratching him and trying to escape.

"Yeah, whatever. Best be getting back to Sunningrocks or we'll catch our death by morning." She spat, the anger in her belly still not quenched. Tail lashing she grasped the duck in stiffening jaws, her limbs feeling sluggish and lax; unable to really strike hard even if she tried. Specklepaw was tired, the cold water making even her blood feel slow and sluggish. Swimming when one had never swam before was tiring as well, the days hunting excursion already having drained her of energy.

Looking back Specklepaw made sure Hawkpaw was following, hoping that he wasn't going to do anything mouse-brained again.