Life goes on, or so we wish (closed)

Sitting beside the camp entrance, Sunflower shivered with his tail tucked neatly around his paws. He absolutely hated the cold weather and the long, drawn out season it brought, but he wasn't one to complain out loud, that was for certain. If only there was something he could do to stay warmer... but he shook away the thought, seeing as though it was nothing more than a fantasized notion.

Today, he decided it would be nice for him and his daughter to spend some time together and go on a patrol. With his father stepping down, Leaftwirl having left, and then the battle against ShadowClan, there was no doubt in his mind that he'd neglected to spend time with the young she-cat, which he felt more than bad about, seeing as though he was her father, for Silverpelt's sake. Of course, one patrol wouldn't bond them together, but was the thought that counted and would hopefully help, or so he prayed it would.

"Hey there Sunflower." Basilpaw chimed as she approached the slender warrior. Her and her father had hardly spent much time around each othet since her kithood. And even than, being labored with warrior duties meant he had been around less than Leaftwirl. She looked up at him with with shining green eyes. Underneath the shadow of her father, she was significantly small, even if she did not feel so due to how he carried himself, and also the fact she was no slowed by such trivial matters such as size. In her life, there had never been anything that made her disappointed in the tom who had sired her. Even if he was meek and cowardly, he still hunted and did patrols like everyone else. Unlike Foxfire, whose nerves were brought around by self-dount, this seemed to be different and much more deeply rooted. To her, he was simply a curious creature. One that the young apprentice was interested in knowing more about. Leaftwirl had loved him once, or something akin, and so she did too, "Hunting today right? I bet we will catch the fattest squirrels in the territory!"

Glad that his daughter had arrived in a timely manner, Sunflower stood up and gave his short pelt a shake. "Y-yes, hunting," the slim-boned warrior mewed with a nod as the two of them exited the camp and into the forest ahead that surrounded them. She was always in such high spirits and he didn't know how she did it, especially after all that had happened.

Walking alongside Basilpaw, Sunflower was fine with the silence, per usual, but deep down knew that wasn't what his original intentions for this patrol had been. He wanted to spend time with his daughter and staying quiet wasn't going to get anything done.

"H-how has your app-apprentice training been g-going?" he honked softly as the two of them walked to nowhere in particular.

Although he seemed like the least qualified cat to lead anyone anywhere, he was both a warrior and her father. Basilpaw followed after, her own slender frame caught underneath the shadow of his thin frame. The pair of them had never been very close. Sunflower was a cat who seemed like he could even be caught unaware by his own shadow, so it was no surprise that having his own kits might have been a bit overwhelming for him. As they padded along, with silence measuring between them, the apprentice contemplated what her parents must have been like in their youth. Usually, she would have chattered on to combat the stillness of the air and yet she now found herself wondering what had lead Leaftwirl and Sunflower to become mates. The older she grew, the more she found her parents to be a strange pair. Leaftwirl had a desire for adventure and life that the tom seemed more than content to pretend such grand ideas didn't exist.

The long-legged warrior's devotion to the clan was unmatched by anything else. Maybe there had been a hint of that in her mother too, perhaps that was what had driven her wild heart back to the battle where her life had been lost. Regardless of what had brought the strange pairing together, it did not change who her parents were and how much she loved them. Even if her love for Sunflower was stretched by how little they were around each other, it did not change. Her ears immediately perked as he spoke in his usual meek matter. He asked about her training. It only took a moment to muse over the few times she had gone out with Foxfire, "It's been great! I should be a warrior before you know it. Foxfire has been teaching me all of the best fighting techniques, and how to hunt as well as he does. I can only hope to be as great of a warrior as he is some day." As she spoke, a purr rose in her voice. The love and admiration for her best friend was obvious in the way she regarded him.

"I, I'm glad," the large eared warrior honked in reply with a meek smile on his muzzle. He knew that in many ways, Foxfire was much like himself, but he seemed to be doing fine when it came to training his daughter, which was more than he could ask for. Not to mention the fact that if Basilpaw wanted to learn something, she wouldn't back down till she learned it, so he didn't find himself worrying to much about the spunky apprentice and was proud of her confidence; a trait that he'd never really possessed. "He s-seems to be doing w-well with your tr-training, I b-bet you're a pr-pro hunter n=now," he spoke through chattering teeth, trying to be at least a bit playful through his suffering from the cold. Great Silverpelt was this cold season ever going to end? If only Greenleaf could've lasted for just a couple more moons... or if only he'd been given a longer pelt.

Opening his maw, the scent of nearby prey caught his attention, which was a coincidence, considering that he'd just mentioned hunting.

Crouching down as far as his abnormally twig-like legs would allow him to, he crept forward, and soon enough spotted a squirrel nibbling on an oak tree nut for it's meal. Luckily for him, it was too distracted to even notice the predator lurking behind the brush. Knowing that Basilpaw would understand where he was wandering off to, the warrior crept forward towards the valuable piece of prey and stopped to wait a few moments, his haunches wiggling back and forth in anticipation. Just a few more moments and he'd be ready... He just had to catch this squirrel, or else he'd be a complete embarrassment to not only his clan, but to his daughter, even more so than he already was, which was the last thing he wanted.

Pouncing, the tom's big and somewhat clumsy paws landed just ever so short of the squirrel and the sound of him landing back in the snow sent the rodent to jump in the air with a squeak. Not having been expecting for such a thing to happen, its sudden explosion of fear spooked Sunflower, causing him to stumble a few pawsteps backward, his ears flat against his head as he watched the squirrel scampered away, leaving nothing but a flurry of snow in its wake. He should've gone after it, but at this point, it almost wasn't worth it and he'd just have to try again.

Sunflower attempted to catch a squirrel and was... unsuccessful. -5 HP

Sunflower
HP: 80/80
SP: 235/240

The member 'Ice' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9