The Shifts of Time

Murkystrike had woken just as the sun began to set, and began the process of carefully pulling away from Mistyfalcon. She didn't want to, but she knew that they'd see each other later. For now, she didn't want to wake her mate, so once she had fully made her way out of their nest, she licked the top of his head gently before glancing around the rest of the warrior's den. Her gaze fell on one of the newest nests, and her pelt flashed with warmth as she saw that her old apprentice, now Emberleap was awake. Had he seen the show of affection? Oh stars above, what if he started teasing them like Moonshine and Rosepaw? She didn't think he would... Well, she had wanted to talk to him anyway. Catching his eye (if she hadn't already, she mused to herself) she gestured towards the entrance of the den before stepping out herself. Shaking her pelt out in the red light of the sunset, she sat off to the side and started grooming her face and ears quickly while she waited for the new warrior.

For all the differences Clan life had brought, Emberleap’s morning—er, evening routine remained unchanged. Force the sleep out of his eyes; make sure the fox skin hadn’t moved from its place beneath his nest; wash his pelt, knowing it would be dirty again before moonrise. As he pulled one of his back paws up to clean out the pads, someone stirred. A look confirmed that someone was his very-recently-made-former mentor. She leaned down to lick another cat's fur. Emberleap resumed chewing, hiding a bright-eyed smile in his paw. His doubts (not that he’d had many) had been thoroughly erased the day after his ceremony by the sight of a certain nest big enough for two, but he figured Murkystrike and Mistyfalcon could use at least some privacy.

When he looked up again, Murkystrike met his eyes. He glanced around to see who she was signaling, tilting his head upon finding no one. Maybe it was him, then. Emberleap stood, patted down the bits of nest that had tried to leave with him, and stepped outside. The sun sank into the horizon, round and burning orange as it went. “Murkystrike, hi,” he meowed, keeping his voice low. “What is it? You…were looking at me, right? I checked, but I didn’t see anyone else awake…”

After a few moments, Emberleap stepped out of the warrior's den and Murkystrike quickly swiped a final paw over her ears. She smiled at his question and nodded. "Yes, it was you I was looking at. I just wanted to ask if you would like to go hunting with me?" The warrior purred, motioning with her tail towards the camp entrance. "Of course, you don't have to. It's only if you'd like to join me, you're more than welcome to go on your own or with someone else. I just thought, it might be nice to go out together again as warriors and friends." She offered, watching the tom's expression. She would still go hunting, even if his answer was no, but having the company would be nice.

He'd guessed it couldn’t be bad news, but a hunting trip? Emberleap’s eyes shone. Though he and Murkystrike were around the same age, unlike most mentor-apprentice sets he saw, he’d assumed making the leap to denmates and friends would be more complicated than this. “Of course I want to!” A hint of a purr crept into his voice. “Honestly, it still feels weird hunting by myself—it’s too quiet, you know? I’d rather go with a…a friend.” To some cats, silence was half the point of hunting; he just found it lonely. Then again, he could count the number of times he’d patrolled alone on one paw. Maybe he'd get used to it. He stretched out his forelegs as far as he could, swiping the fresh smears of mud off his muzzle after he straightened up. “So, were you thinking of somewhere, or do you just want to see what we can find?”

Murkystrike purred at the shift in Pyr- No, Emberleap's, expression. Her eyes softened as he called her a friend, and she touched her tail to his shoulder. "I understand. The quiet is nice sometimes... But I much prefer having a friend along." As they turned to walk out of camp, Murkystrike thought about his last question. "I don't really have anywhere in particular. I think we can just go see what we can find as we meander through the marsh." The warrior purred as she left the camp behind, trotting into the territory. Once out there, she began to look at and scent her surroundings. She had heard a bird early... Perhaps she would be able to find it. Finally, she spotted the starling near the roots of a pine tree. Carefully, she stalked up behind it before pouncing. Claws met feathers, and she swiftly bit it at the throat to prevent it from alarming any other prey in the area. Picking it up, she returned to Pyrik's side.

Murkystrike attempted to catch a Starling (Bird). Catch was successful. -3 SP (237/240)

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 1

“Sounds good to me.” Though Emberleap knew ShadowClan’s territory better than he had a moon ago, he’d gladly take any opportunity to cement the less remarkable parts of it in his memory. He hurried out of camp beside Murkystrike and raised his nose to the air. Soon, Murkystrike’s posture shifted, a telltale sign that she’d spotted something. A moment later, a speck of yellow caught Emberleap’s eye and led him to a bundle of shiny, not-quite black feathers: a starling. Out of habit, he stood back to watch as Murkystrike closed in. Judging by the silence, her pounce hit home. Stepping forward to meet her halfway, he chirped, “Nice catch!” Hunting birds still didn’t come as easily to him here as it had near Asylum or the moor. It was a shame, really, since they tasted pretty good despite how much work it took to remove the feathers—but a Clan cat out on patrol couldn’t pick favorites. Any further practice would have to happen on his own time.

Besides, the marsh had other prey to offer. Something skittered through a shallower patch of mud fox-lengths away, a lizard in pursuit of its own meal. Mentally thanking whatever had gotten its attention, Emberleap crept after it. The lizard darted forward, snapped its mouth closed on a mess of spindly legs and wings—and Emberleap pinned it down, dispatching it with a quick bite. He shook some of the mud off of it, then trotted back to Murkystrike with an expression of subdued triumph.

Emberleap attempted to catch Lizard, using 3 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Emberleap
40/40 HP
117/120 SP (-3)

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 2

"Thank you!" Murkystrike purred, flicking her tail happily at the compliment. Carefully burying the bird, she stood to look where Emberleap had gone. She watched silently as he crept after something carefully, and in almost the same moment both cat and prey made their attacks. Murkystrike met him halfway to look over his catch and smiled. "Nice, a lizard! That was a great catch. It didn't even know you were there!" She mewed, flicking his shoulder with her tail. "I buried my bird over there, if you want to put your lizard with it." She offered, turning to look around again. Both catches had been relatively silent, perhaps their luck would last. Her ears twitched as she heard rustling, and her head turned in the direction of it. Her eyes landed on squirrel weaving about the sparse undergrowth, and she slowly approached it. A stick crunched under one of her hind paws and she froze, but the damage was done. The squirrel turned and spotted her, and she tried to leap for it but her paws crashed an inch away from it's tail as it darted away and up a tree, chattering the whole time. Scowling at the small creature, she turned back to Emberleap empty pawed. "Well, that was... Not great. Let's move on, that squirrel created enough racket to keep everything else out of sight for a while. I'm sorry, Emberleap."

Murkystrike attempted to catch a Squirrel, catch was not successful. -3 SP. (234/240)

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 7

A smile nearly wide enough to make him drop the lizard flitted across Emberleap’s face. “Thanks,” he said once he’d adjusted his grip to speak. “Lucky for me, it was busy hunting something else.” While Murkystrike returned to her search, Emberleap scanned the marsh until he spotted a mound of recently overturned earth. A few moments’ digging uncovered the starling. He laid his catch in the mud beside it and began to back away, pausing when he noticed something jutting out of the lizard’s half-open mouth. A thin, crumpled wing: evidence of its fleeting victory. No good for the prey pile, though. He poked at it with a paw in an attempt to dislodge it—

Something snapped behind him. Instantly the mottled tom whirled around, prepared to launch himself at whatever fanged or feathered or quilled beast had found them, only to see Murkystrike glowering at a squirrel’s tail as it vanished into a mess of pine needles. Emberleap blinked, pelt flattening itself out as he processed the situation. “I’m just glad it’s not a porcupine again!” Honest, yes, but not particularly reassuring. He tentatively bumped his shoulder against his friend’s. “It’s okay—I mean, it happens, right? Besides, there’s still a lot of marsh we haven’t covered. It’ll be nice to just walk for a while.”

"Hey, luck has quite a bit to do with hunting, skill can only take you so far." Murkystrike purred as Emberleap moved to bury his lizard next to his starling.

Emberleap had clearly been surprised by the noise, and Murkystrike's ears flattened in embarrassment as his fur started to lay flat again. As he mentioned he was glad it wasn't a porcupine, she chuckled softly. "Yes, me too. I do not wish to have quills stuck in my chest again." She mewed, smiling a bit as he bumped his shoulder to hers. "I suppose you're right.... There is a lot of marsh left, and this is quite nice." Leading the way further into the territory, she looked to Emberleap. "How are you adjusting to the warrior's den? Are you enjoying it?"

The two of them set off deeper into the marshland, Emberleap half a pawstep behind. At Murkystrike’s question, he hummed, head tilted to the side. He knew his answer, but how to phrase it…? “More than the apprentices’ den, for sure! I pretty much grew up in one crowded den after another, so it’s nice to have some of that back. And to not be the oldest cat in there anymore,” he added in a lighter tone. Though he and ShadowClan’s younger apprentices had been civil with each other at the very least, his Asylum upbringing wasn’t the only source of awkwardness there. Maybe he didn’t belong with the warriors just yet, but he certainly fit in better.

He padded forward for another moment before glancing at his friend again. “So…you and Mistyfalcon?” Immediately, a sheepish smile flashed across his face. “I promise I won’t mention it again—I just wanted to ask.” It seemed too obvious to be anything but the truth, but without Moonshine and Rosepaw's comments, he might not have known what to look for. Asylum’s training hadn’t left much room for that sort of thing. How Spark and Shira had managed it, he’d never understand.

Murkystrike purred along as Emberleap answered, brushing her tail to his shoulder gently as he spoke. "I'm certain it wasn't easy. I'm very proud of you for sticking it out though. You're a magnificent warrior, and I'm proud to be your clanmate." She mewed, smiling at him as he continued. Her ear flicked once and she felt her pelt warm under his gaze. She noted his expression and relaxed a little bit, nodding. "No no, you're fine to ask, don't worry. Yes, Mistyfalcon and I are officially mates." Saying it out loud made her tail curl happily. "Mistyfalcon already knows, but I had liked him for a very long time.... He was always so brave and patient..." She mused out loud before refocusing on the present. "I never thought that someday it would actually happen." She admitted softly.

Proud of him. Emberleap felt his face heat and wondered if he’d ever stop being surprised to hear that. Sure, he was competent enough to keep himself alive, but so was everyone else. He’d never been a cat others could be proud of. Fortunately, the conversation moved on before he could spend too long marveling over it. The embarrassment in his smile faded into a kind of fondness as Murkystrike confirmed his guess. Her and Mistyfalcon, indeed. He wasn’t sure he could call Mistyfalcon a friend and hadn’t allowed himself to think of Murkystrike as one until just tonight, but they were both important to him in some odd, undefinable way; he liked seeing them happy, even more so knowing they’d found that with each other. Saying that aloud was probably too much... Definitely too much. Emberleap stared at his paws, dark ears flicking back, until his mind handed him something less thuddingly direct. “How did it happen? You already seemed pretty close when I met you…”