Keeping Promises [Ravenpaw]

The sun had just set when Mistyfalcon made his way out of the warrior's den, careful to not disturb Murkystrike's sleep as he did so. She'd be up soon enough to organize patrols, but Mistyfalcon hadn't wanted to wake her with his own restlessness.

It seemed Mistyfalcon wasn't the only one up before most of his clanmates, at least. He spotted Ravenpaw's dark form across the clearing as he sat, running a paw over his ears with a sigh.

It occurred to Mistyfalcon that he'd meant to take Ravenpaw hunting... And then things had gotten busy. He'd been given a new apprentice, and Mothpaw was definitely persistent in wanting to improve. Her training had taken up much of his time recently, as had the situation with Batglow's 'family.' The rogues had left his friend rattled, and Mistyfalcon was little better truthfully. He didn't know them, and nothing about their actions had given Mistyfalcon any inclination to trust the strange she-cats. Something about the situation rubbed his fur the wrong way, and it was taking a bit more effort than it normally would have to stay focused on what needed to be done.

Mistyfalcon stood and shook out his pelt with a huff. Dwelling on problems would do nothing to solve them, and dwelling on them wasn't going to take Ravenpaw hunting, either. Murkystrike and Moonshine had made their way out of the warrior's den finally, and Mistyfalcon waved his tail at his friend. She looked like she wouldn't mind him stealing her apprentice for a bit.

"Hey, Ravenpaw," He said, padding toward the dark-furred apprentice that Murkystrike had adopted, "Care to go hunting?" He asked. Really he should have taken her a while ago, but today would do, he decided.

Ravenpaw had been woken by dream she could no longer remember. It had left her feeling uneasy, and as hard as she had tried, she couldn't go back to sleep. Instead, she chose to exit the apprentice's den and sit outside. She was currently trying to groom a stubborn spot of fur on her shoulder when Mistyfalcon had approached. The apprentice looked to Mistyfalcon, blinking before his words registered. She had forgotten about their plans to go hunting, but now that she was reminded, she was excited to go.

"Sounds great!" She said, a tinge of excitement in her voice. She stretched and yawned, ignoring the small patch of fur that she was previously trying to smooth.

Ravenpaw seemed excited to finally go hunting with him, and Mistyfalcon offered the apprentice a quick smile in return. "Come on," he mewed, turning to lead the way out of camp.

"How's training been going?" She had Moonshine for a mentor, and Mistyfalcon would hope he had trained his own apprentice well enough that she would have no issue passing on her knowledge and skill to the next cat. It had been a while since he'd really spoken with either Moonshine or Ravenpaw though, and he was curious to see how she'd been faring. If she ever wanted help with anything, she had cats she could turn to aside from her mentor; Murkystrike and himself among them.

As the pair headed away from camp, Mistyfalcon's jaws parted, tattered ears twitching as he sought out prey. The soft scuffling of a mouse was quickly picked up, and Mistyfalcon sank into a crouch as he moved towards it on quiet paws.

Close enough, Mistyfalcon sprang forward, jaws closing around the mouse. He turned to bury the kill, one ear angled in the direction of Ravenpaw as he did so.

Ravenpaw followed Mistyfalcon out of the camp, listening as he asked her about her training. She went to reply, but she stopped herself as the warrior crouched, having noticed prey. Instinctively she crouched as well, letting the warrior catch and start to bury the prey before she replied. “It’s been going well, Moonshine is a wonderful mentor.” She approached Mistyfalcon as she talked, stepping quietly. As she approached she took a moment to scent the air as well, and perked her ears as she heard something nearby. She turned and crouched, moving a bit away from the warrior.

As she got close enough, she was certain it was another mouse, and she pounced, quickly making the kill and brining it back to where the first prey had been caught. She buried it nearby and when she was done she spoke again. “Do you have an apprentice?” Ravenpaw had no clue if he was a mentor or not, she knew there were new apprentices but she couldn’t remember who they had as mentors.

"That's good to hear." He said, falling silent while she pursued her own prey. Another mouse, caught and buried with seeming ease. "Good catch."

"Mothpaw." Not every cat bothered to keep up with apprentice ceremonies and who mentored who. Mistyfalcon could admit to doing as much most of the time. Part of him was still surprised he'd been given another apprentice at all, truthfully, but Murkystrike knew what she was doing and he trusted her judgement. "She's enthusiastic, though training's certainly kept me busy." She learned quickly, and was driven to do better than she did on previous hunts. That was more than Mistyfalcon could have asked for, really. He quietly circled the area, looking for more prey.

Another mouse attempted to scurry past, the little patter-patter of feet against the ground alerting Mistyfalcon to its' presence just as much as the scent had. The warrior leapt, quickly dispatching the mouse and returning it to the spot where they'd buried their previous catches.

Ravenpaw listened as Mistyfalcon spoke, and watched as he caught another mouse going past them. "Better to have a more enthusiastic apprentice than one not willing to learn." She went a little ways off, listening and scenting, hoping for another mouse to add to the three they now had. Instead, Ravenpaw spotted a lizard on a nearby rock, and crouched, moving closer and stepping quietly. She pounced, almost slipping when she landed, and the lizard tried to get away, but she got ahold of it and made the kill, carrying it back. She buried it, and looked at Mistyfalcon, not sure if he saw. She was happy he praised her, but now she felt a bit embarrassed at her near miss.

"True." He agreed. "She reminds me of Moonshine, actually. Stubborn and driven." Maybe not as fascinated by clan culture, as Mothpaw had actually grown up immersed in it, but she shared his former apprentice's drive and optimism. She was almost as chatty as Moonshine could be, too, if somewhat less draining to be around.

Mistyfalcon wasn't going to comment on the near-miss. It happened to everyone. He wouldn't have chosen to go after a lizard, but that was more his own pickiness and dislike for the creatures that were such common prey in Shadowclan territory. The thoughts were pushed away quickly however, the scent of vole catching the warrior's attention. He followed the scent in silence, finally spotting it in a clump of long grasses. Dropping into a crouch, Mistyfalcon crept closer and pounced. The vole tried to run, but Mistyfalcon's paw coming down on the end of its' tail prevented the attempted escape and it was buried like the rest of their catches had been.

Ravenpaw watched as Mistyfalcon caught a vole, and she sat down as he buried it. "Sounds like Moonshine." She looked out into the forest, deciding to take a small break before she went after any more prey. She had rarely ever been out into the territory without it being training or a patrol. She listened to the sounds of the forest, relaxed and happy. "I wanted to say thank you, for telling me about Murkystrike's time with Asylum." She turned to look at the warrior before she continued. "I may have told you that when we talked, but I appreciate you talking to me about her, and other things."

Ravenpaw sat, and Mistyfalcon padded over, sitting as well. They'd caught prey already, so so he wasn't going to complain about it. An ear flicked at Ravenpaw's words, and Mistyfalcon shifted his paws, not quite sure of what to say. That was something of a habit, and not one he minded... Usually.

"You don't need to thank me for that," He shrugged, offering Ravenpaw a smile. If he hadn't told her, Ravenpaw would have probably found out from someone else. He thought it fair she knew, at least, and Mistyfalcon for all his usual gruffness, didn't mind talking with Ravenpaw. He wasn't good at it by any means, but that was beside the point.

Ravenpaw paused for a moment at Mistyfalcon's words, but came back with a playful response, "I may not need to, but I did anyways." Her tone was light, but the words still held meaning. The warrior may not realize, but Ravenpaw's gratitude wasn't just for telling her something she would have probably found out, but also for talking to her in general, and showing some acceptance of the apprentice. She looked towards the buried prey, not wanting Mistyfalcon to feel awkward in any way, as she wanted to try to make him like her if he didn't already. He didn't seem very open, so Ravenpaw had no way to know. "How much prey should we catch?"

((OOC: Ahhhh Raven not knowing that he likes her is so sad I love her! Misty is awkward and shy and has Zero Clue lmao))

The corner of his mouth twitched, threatening a smile at Ravenpaw's words. "Oh, fine." His tone was the typical gruffness, though there was a hint of warmth at her stubbornness in thanking him as well.

"A pawful of mice won't last long, though I've seen patrols bring back less. Might as well hunt a bit more. It wouldn't hurt." Mistyfalcon was hoping that their hunting wouldn't be interrupted by an owl, but if that happened, the clan would be well fed.

((OOC: Awww, that’s okay. Ravenpaw isn’t bothered by it at all, but she likes Misty and that’s good enough for her.))

Ravenpaw nodded, and looked into the forest, her ears listening for any sign of prey. They had been still long enough that some prey might have gotten closer. It took her a moment, but she heard something off to her right. She gently turned and stalked towards it as quietly as possible. When she got close enough she pounced, and quickly dispatched the mouse. She brought it back, burying it with the others and tilted her head. “So many mice, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many get caught.”

"I swear they've been breeding like rabbits recently... More prey for us." He did have to agree though, catching this many mice wasn't something he could remember doing with just two cats on a hunting patrol. Mistyfalcon turned from the growing stash of fresh-kill, ears twitching as he scanned the surroundings once more for prey. Not a mouse, surprisingly, but a frog caught his attention. Maybe he and Ravenpaw had spoke too soon, he thought, a faint smirk tugging at his maw before he returned his focus to the frog and began stalking towards it. When he leapt forward, the wind shifted slightly... And the frog darted into the marsh. Mistyfalcon's claws came down a second too late.

Maybe the rabbit would've been an easier catch, he thought wryly, turning to search for more prey. Bemoaning the missed frog wouldn't add anything to the kill pile, so he'd do something productive instead. Like finding another mouse. All the while, he was conscious of Ravenpaw's whereabouts, making sure not to stray too far just in case something went wrong.

Ravenpaw watched as the frog got away, and she continued to listen and look for more prey. Maybe a mouse, maybe something else, but either way, more prey was better. She stepped quietly and carefully, listening for any sign of more prey that was still out. Hearing some scuttling nearby, she turned her body towards it, making sure they prey wouldn't detect her before she got to it. Ravenpaw stalked forward, crouching even low as she got close enough, ready to leap. She kept her eye on the shape of a vole, and pounced. The vole had no idea she was there, and she went back to their many kills with it, watching Mistyfalcon as she buried it.

Ravenpaw returned with a vole, and Mistyfalcon nodded in approval, "Good catch." He mewed, turning back to search for more prey. He inhaled, picking through the scents of the marsh and the occasional Shadowclanner that had passed this way sometime last night. The recent scent of mouse lingered nearby, and the dark-furred tom followed it. It wasn't long before his ears caught the soft scuffling of the mouse looking for food of its' own, and he silently crept toward it. He leapt, pinning the mouse with a forepaw as he bent down, fangs catching the mouse by the throat.

Mistyfalcon padded back in the direction of their growing pile of fresh-kill, glancing up toward the sky to track how long they'd been out here. A while, he realized. "Think we've caught enough mice, Ravenpaw?" He waited until she was no longer hunting anything before speaking, a glint of amusement in his eye as he glanced down at their catch.