Beetles {open}

Despite the usual lushness of Greenleaf, prey had been rather elusive, seemingly wanting to stay away from the harsh sun as much as the clan cats did. Patrols came and went, returning with dry mice or the occasional dehydrated squirrel. The forest suffered on the verge of drought as well, with even the largest trees sacrificing their leaves to the sun. Early mornings and late afternoons were the only bearable times of day. As the sun set over ThunderClan camp, it grew active once more, with queens softly ushering their kits out to play, and elders emerging from their dens to socialize in the waning heat.

The apprentice's den had been gutted on Pinepaw's command after finding a spider in his nest last night. After returning from patrol, he convinced his denmates to drag all their nests out into the clearing, searching for any further creatures which would bite at the tom's fur. It was about time for a good cleaning anyway. The ferns which sheltered the den had grown dry, shedding their leaves onto the sand below. It was satisfying to brush them all away. Pinepaw pulled his moss bedding out of the fern grotto with confident teeth, russet pelt glowing blazing red in the evening sun. He walked backwards into the main clearing, pulling his nest alongside him; rump colliding with another cat. Pinepaw grunted and turned around to see his sister, Cedarheart. He let the bedding fall from his mouth, eyes pulled away from his sibling as a beetle clambered out from the moss.

A kittish desire filled the tom, wanting badly to pursue the small creature, to smash it under his paw. Pinepaw's eyes flickered to Cedarheart's, then to his prey. He'd give in to his instincts if it wasn't for his sister's audience. A few more moments passed, the air thick with playful tension as Pinepaw mulled over whether to smash the beetle and sacrifice his dignity, or let the bug go and look rather mature in front of the warrior. A smile crested the tom's face, eyes never leaving Cedarheart's as he exhaled, giving into the younger cat inside him. With a quick flash, Pinepaw's paw jutted out and landed squarely on the black bug, killing it. His sister could tease him all she wanted, but that beetle was his.

Wolfkit emerged from the shade of the nursery. Even though it was cooler, the warm air made her gray pelt prickle. Wolfkit spotted the apprentices dragging their bedding to the center of camp. She started padding over to them, but the sun had made the ground too hot for her delicate, kit-soft paws. Wolfkit settled down in a shady spot and spectated the apprentices. She understood that they were cleaning out their nests for bugs. Wolfkit watched one apprentice smash a bug swiftly and precisely, which impressed her. His russet pelt looked gorgeous in the evening light. Her face felt hot. It's probably just the heat. Wolfkit quickly moved her attention to a small pebble in front of her. She began playing with it, batting it between her paws. Wolfkit looked up at the apprentices again. I'll be an apprentice soon, she thought to herself, then I can make some friends.

Rosepaw dragged the last of her moss bedding out of the apprentice’s den, before collapsing in a heap in the clearing. “Was that really necessary, Pinepaw? You know you could just go fetch some mouse bile from the medicine den to get the bugs out.” Even as she said it, the rosy-brown tabby wrinkled her nose in disgust. Greenleaf might just be the worst time ever. The sun tended to make the usually cheerful apprentice slightly grumpier. Her eyes drifted over to the familiar gray pelt of Wolfkit. Rosepaw and Cherryblossom has rescued the tiny kit from ThunderClan territory about a few moons ago. The apprentice stifled a giggle as she caught Wolfkit staring at Pinepaw with an awestruck expression. Rosepaw didn’t want to break Wolfkit’s hopes, but Pinepaw seemed to have a crush on Thrushpaw. She had first noticed this ever since the battle with the dogs.

OOC: Aaaaaa sorry for this post I’m on mobile I’ll edit it later.

Cedarheart felt Pinepaw and turned around to greet him, but to her amusement she noticed he was heavily focused on a beetle. She grinned watching as he crushed the beetle. ”Impressive. Has your mentor been teaching you how to catch beetles?” she teased with a laugh. Then emerged another apprentice. Rosepaw, right?

”Aw, let him have some fun. You’re only an apprentice for so long. Then you have to be a boring old warrior like me.” Her green eyes glinted mischievously. The young part of her inside still did shine through, especially when she was with younger cats.

That’s when she noticed Wolfkit, staring at Pinepaw. The red in the kit’s cheeks could mean 1 of 2 things. Either it was very hot, which was plausible, or she had taken a liking to the warrior’s younger brother. Not wanting to say anything about, she looked back at her brother. ”So, how has being an apprentice been?” she asked.

As soon as Pinepaw drove the first beetle into the dirt, five more came crawling from his nest. The tom dropped the moss, stunned that these bugs had been sharing a living space with him, yet enthralled that there were more targets for his quick paws. Rosepaw's protests reached his ears, and the tom gestured widely to the bugs. "Yeah, yeah." Pinepaw crooned to her statement, taking Rosepaw's nest into his own maw. "But this is more fun!" With a muffled giggle, Pinepaw shook the she-cat's nest out, dozens of beetles flying in every which direction. One landed on Wolfkit, the other on Pinepaw's denmate, and some more on his sister. Beetles! The clearing grew crazy as the small black bugs swarmed every which way. Pinepaw wore a dastardly grin on his face as Cedarheart asked him about his apprenticeship. His green eyes glinted at hers while he ducked under the oncoming bugs. "It's been great, I've gotten to fight, hunt, and may have the best hunting crouch in all of ThunderClan." Pinepaw stuck his tongue out at his sister, recoiling as a beetle landed on it. "Bet I can catch more beetles than you lot!" He proclaimed, dignity thrown to the wind. In the end, he was a slave to his youthful desires.

Wolfkit listened to the conversation and quickly learned the ginger tom's name was Pinepaw. She watched as a warrior teased him. Pinepaw then shook Rosepaw's nest and out came tons of bugs. Wolfkit squealed as one of the beetles landed on her tail. Panicking, she quickly pinned her tail down and brushed the itchy insect out furiously with her other paw. Embarrassment flooded Wolfkit's face as the beetle scurried off. I hope no one saw that.

Rosepaw recoiled as the beetles flew out of her nest. She hadn’t even noticed them until now. Huh. Maybe I should clean out my nest more often. “Okay fine… maybe it was a good idea to clean up the den once in a while.” One of the annoying insects flew onto her paw and she gently brushed it off. Spotting Wolfkit brushing one off her tail, Rosepaw’s eyes gleamed in amusement. “Oh, really, Pinepaw? Best hunting crouch, huh? I’m sure that one of the more… experienced warriors have a better one.” Her eyes shifted towards Cedarheart and Rosepaw grinned at the elder warrior.

Sablepaw held the moss of her nest up high, trying to keep it from getting under her paws as she gingerly made her way to the entrance. Paws damp and sticky, heat cloying under her still-fluffy fur, she tried not to pant, or let the moss come apart, its dry crustiness unpleasant under her tongue. Her ears twitched at the conversation from outside the den, but all her concentration was focused on trying not to drop, trip over, or sneeze at the moss in her maw. Almost stumbling as her head dipped, just a little, a muffled squeak-grunt slipped from between her tightly clenched teeth, and she reflexively glanced down at the mostly-green under her nose.

Just in time for a little black beetle to land on it.

For a moment she went cross-eyed, freezing mid-step. Wha-? And then it turned to face her with its strange little beetle face, moved its legs a little, and flew-

Straight into her eye.

"AAAA!" The moss exploded from her maw in a spray of greenish-brown as she ducked back. Paws flailing, she swiped at her face, before jumping forwards out into the clearing, half-blinded, fur bristling like a spiked bush. She just managed to screech to a halt before crashing into Pinepaw and Rosepaw, sliding to the side, tail waving wildly to keep her balanced. If she'd been lucky enough not to embarrass herself by crashing into them, she wasn't lucky enough to stay on her paws. The world tipped on its side and showed a brief flash of blue studded with wisps of white before she crashed to the ground with an oof.

"Ow." She held a paw over her eye, blinking at the other one lying in front of her face, and the black beetle that had just landed on it. That held her focus for a good couple of heartbeats - an excuse not to look up at the others she'd just humiliated herself in front of. It didn't stop her pelt from warming, though, as she sat up and shook off the black form from her paw. "Where did all these beetles come from?" She mumbled under her breath as she rubbed her eye, keeping her gaze focused near the ground on all the scurrying little bugs scampering around, her ear tips red hot.

Cedarheart grinned. ”The best hunting crouch, eh?” her eyes twinkled as she shared a glance with Rosepaw. ”What about dad? He’s the one who taught you that, you know.” Her conversation was interrupted as a screech came from another direction. She whipped her head around to see what had been the cause. She spotted a sliding Sablepaw, and leapt out of the way before she was ran into. As the younger she-cat sat up, the warrior looked at her. ”You ok?”

Besides the fact that Sablepaw was Quailpaw’s brother, meaning she was Batbite and Minkstream’s child, she didn’t know much about the multi-colored cat. Trying to lighten the mood, she looked at all of them. ”Hey, let’s have a contest! Whoever can catch the most beetles wins!” she offered with a grin.