the start of forever [c]

Days after he'd returned from the Moonstone, Lichenpaw found himself on a hunting patrol. He didn't particularly enjoy hunting, because obviously, the prey never stood a chance against his prowess. Darkspirit had trained him well, though, and he did enjoy tracking... if a threat to ThunderClan ever made its way on to their territory, he was confident he could track it for miles, and, honestly, probably take it on himself. Though... he still hadn't beaten Darkspirit in a spar and that was annoying, but a small setback at best! Eventually, he would come out the victor, right?

Once the hunting party had split to do their own thing, the apprentice stumbled across the scent of a rabbit, and that's what he was after. Sure, he could find a squirrel or a mouse or something, but those were too easy. He wanted a challenge. Lichenpaw had been tracking it for some time when the scent of SkyClan reached him. He paused, lifting his head... he hadn't realized he'd come to close to the border. Curiosity seized him... of course, Darkspirit had taken him on a patrol of the entire territory, and he'd marked borders, but he was here alone this time... he could take his time looking.

Suddenly, the crack of a branch underpaw had him sinking quickly into a crouch. The rabbit! It was close. Border forgotten, exploration put on the backburner, Lichenpaw wove through the undergrowth towards his prey... one paw in front of the other, silent, tactical, his pelt blending in with the shadows cast by the trees overhead. He saw a flash of cream fur ahead through the foliage, and grinned, adjusting his stance in preparation for a sprint. He made the calculations in his head, bunched, and then exploded forward, legs churning beneath him as he beelined for his target. He seemed to catch up quickly, to his surprise... except then the smell of SkyClan was growing rapidly closer, and as the border came and went beneath his paws, Lichenpaw put on the brakes.

He didn't stop quickly enough, though, and as he accidentally crossed the border, trying desperately to stop, he managed to slam right into the rabbit... except it wasn't a rabbit, it was another cat, who was sent into a full tumble by the momentum of his charge. Together, they went head-over-tail once or twice before coming to a stop, with Lichenpaw on top and nose to nose with the other, apprentice-sized she-cat. He blinked down at her, a sheepish grin crawling across his face. "Hey - you ain't a rabbit."

When he noticed that the she-cat was trying to get up, Lichenpaw leaned back, allowing her to slip from beneath him more easily. He shook his pelt and flopped down on his haunches, head tilting slightly as the SkyClanner went on her tirade. Pale green eyes stared at her, squinted slightly with unrestrained amusement. "Aw, listen, it was an honest accident," he told her earnestly. "See, I was trackin' this rabbit, and then I saw ya, through the bushes, y'know - your coat does look awful rabbit-like, an', I, well I mean that as a compliment, cuz I really do like rabbits, but anyway... I was tracking this rabbit, and I tried to stop before I crossed the border, really, I just... well, I didn't."

Lichenpaw grinned again. "But then I got to meet ya, so, worth it?" He lifted a back leg to kick lazily at an itch behind his ear, then straightened and looked her in the eye, "Oh, I'm Lichenpaw - who're you?"

"Aw, no, you smell nicer'n a rabbit," Lichenpaw grinned. He whipped his tail to curl around his paws, kneading the grass beneath him gently. "It's nice to meet ya, Juniperpaw. Even if it's under weird circumstances. An' I'm sorry for scarin' ya, too."

Thankfully, the SkyClan she-cat's anger seemed to have abated, for now at least, which meant the odds she would run home and tell on him were slightly reduced. Lichenpaw wasn't super worried about it... he knew that Mottlestar would probably realize it truly had been a mistake, and no one had actually been harmed, so there was really nothing to tell. But regardless, even he knew that tempers between the clans had been running hot lately, and anything that could contribute to that was something that he had no desire to be a part of.

Speaking of which... the fact that he was still standing three fox lengths inside the SkyClan border was probably not ideal, and if the rest of his patrol came looking for him - or Juniperpaw's, for her - it was bound to get ugly one way or the other. So he popped up, and leaned in to gently headbutt Juniperpaw's shoulder, giving her a nice slow blink as he pulled away. "Anywho, I should prolly get back on my side of the border, huh? See you around?"