i wish plant life would grow all around me (c)

Being an apprentice was great. She got to go out in the territory whenever she wanted, spend more time with Mamma and her brothers--and even Hawkmist! She liked him. Not quite as much as her brothers, but it was close. Apprenticeship was still a trade off, since she didn't get to hang out with them in camp as much, but walking together in the territory was nice too. Hedgepaw especially liked normal border patrols, since they rarely ever saw other cats and they didn't have the pressure of being required to hunt. So on nights like this, right after moonhigh, she and Hawkmist could just walk together in the territory and look at all the pretty trees and step on squishy mud. It was still cold, but no longer so much so that it hurt to breathe in crisp air. Now her breath still puffed out white, and sometimes she liked to imagine that she was making little clouds. Some snowdrifts still remained, and she could step in them to clean her paws of mud before tromping along in the cool earth again. She would be content forever like this.

But, what was the fun in that? She was out here with a friend. She could call him a friend, she was pretty sure, since they used to play when she was a kit. Would he still be interested in playing now? Hedgepaw turned her head, glancing up at the tall and lanky tom who was more than twice her size. The ratio of their sizes had stayed about the same since her kithood. She was unsure if he'd stopped growing yet. His fur, shaggy but soft, almost glowed in the moonlight. "Hey, Hawkmist," she said, breaking the comfortable silence. But she made sure not to talk too loud, and to give him a big smile. "Do you wanna play hide-and-seek again?" Hmm. Maybe he wouldn't like the idea of playing while they were on an official patrol. Hedgepaw tilted her head to the side for a second, blinked hard, and then tried again. "What I mean is--do you want to practice being sneaky together? Like, hiding in the territory. In case an enemy cat shows up or something. Totally not for fun at all. It's a real thing, I promise." Glittering green eyes, reflecting starlight, were fixed completely on him and not the territory around them. Not as obviously pleading as the first time they'd had this interaction--but hopeful.

Against the glow of the moon, Hawkmist looked almost ghostlike, a specter against the dark and muddy territory--and yet, the way he bore himself was regal. Hedgepaw felt her heart nearly stop as she waited, hoping for a response. He was a strong, busy warrior. Maybe he wouldn't have time for her anymore. Hard to read, as always. But when he finally turned his head and met her gaze with a familiarly gentle light in his yellow eyes, her grin widened. I got him! He spoke so seriously, as if this really was a training exercise. Then she'd have to take this seriously, too. It was difficult to stop smiling, but she managed to keep the sparkle in her eyes as she nodded with all the solemnity she could bear. "Right! Uh, then... whenever you're ready!"

The moment she heard the count, she scampered off into the darkness, swallowing down her desire to laugh. Hide, hide, hide--but where? It was far easier to hide in such a big space, at least, with all the grasses and tree trunks compared to just a few sparse dens. Wildly her eyes looked around, searching for the perfect spot as numbers counted down firmly behind her. Where to go? There--a half-melted snowdrift and a dark, muddy pine. Perfect for her coloring. With only a few seconds to spare, Hedgepaw pressed her paws into the snow, where they blended in perfectly, and pressed her brown tabby pelt up against the wrinkled base of the tree. In the darkness, and with the matching shades, she should be nearly invisible without closer scrutiny. Silently she counted along with him. Three... two... one! At the very last moment she remembered to press her lips together and squeeze her eyes shut, so that no hint of grinning white teeth nor shining green eyes would ruin her cover. Then... she just had to wait. But it was so, so hard not to smile when she was playing like this! Hawkmist, you're the best.

It was easy, like this, to forget all the scary stories she'd heard. Forget the distant dreams of walking endlessly in snow, of her mother's eyes sticky with sickness, of loud snarling sounds while she held onto her mother's scruff for dear life. It was easy to simply forget about them, as if they'd been nothing but a bad dream. Here in the dark, in the gentle moonlight and brisk air around the pine trees, with her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth locked tightly to keep away the grin that would reveal her hiding place, Hedgepaw was content. She could stay like this forever. Except, she didn't want to. She wanted to be found, and then to be the seeker, and then to go round and round like that forever.

With her eyes closed, it was pitch black dark. A nagging thought at the back of her mind whispered that the sound of Hawkmist's pawsteps might be getting farther away, that he might be abandoning her, that when she finally opened her eyes she might be all alone. But Hedgepaw bit her tongue and wished the thoughts away. They had no reason to be there. When had Hawkmist ever let her down? The sound of his large paws gently pressing pine needles, the distant noise of his breath huffing white into the air... Those kept her reassured despite the chill and the darkness. She'd be fine. He'd find her any minute, despite how good her hiding spot was, because he was Hawkmist and of course he'd find her. And if he gave up he'd tell her, he wouldn't just leave. How many times now had she heard his steps come closer and then retreat? She must've hid good. It was so hard not to giggle--

Thump. A big paw landed--softly--on top of her head. Hedgepaw jumped at least an inch off of the ground in shock, but then laughed immediately. It felt odd to pry her eyes open after nearly a minute or two of squeezing them shut as tightly as she could. For a moment, she saw stars, bright shining spots all popping into her vision with enough brilliance to stun--and then, she saw Hawkmist. Glowing against the light of the moon. His eyes twinkling like Silverpelt.

“Well done.”

Hedgepaw blinked up at him, clearing the blindingly bright after-spots from her eyes. Then, she smiled. A wide grin spread across her face, nearly hurting her cheeks. For a moment or so she just stood there, smiling up at him as if he were the greatest thing in the world, as if his brief praise was the culmination of her entire life up to that point. And maybe, even just in that moment, it was. And maybe, for the next few moments, it still would be.

But then reality encroached, and she remembered what playing hide-and-seek meant. As if to clear the bees out of her brain, Hedgepaw shook her head quickly, soft fur whipping around her face. Forest-green eyes still bright, but slightly less dazzled, she grinned back up at Hawkmist. "Okay! Now it's your turn! Go hide and I'll come find you." Pointedly she closed her eyes again and turned her back, though it was obvious that the smile hadn't gone away by the way it still turned her voice upward. "One..." she began, pointedly and slowly. "Two..."

It ought to have been scary, with her eyes closed. But Hedgepaw wasn't scared of the dark. She was used to it--the night was what she'd grown up in, and besides, what was there to be afraid of when she was with someone else? Especially Hawkmist, or Silverhawk, or strong warriors like them. She had nothing to be afraid of, even with her eyes closed. So she kept them firmly shut and did not peek, even when she heard faint rustling sounds behind her. "Sixteen, seventeen..." Wait. What came after seventeen? Whoops. Hopefully Hawkmist wouldn't notice. She shook her head and skipped it. "Seventeen... Nineteen, twenty!" With an enthusiastic grin, she spun around, eyes eagerly searching the surrounding area. She hadn't heard his pawsteps go too far; obviously he hadn't left, and of course he wouldn't abandon her. He would never do that. So she just had to look around this little area thoroughly, and she'd find him.

It shouldn't have been as hard to find him as it was. He was more than twice her size, after all, and he was bright white! He couldn't curl up real small like she could, and in the darkness it was usually pretty easy to see him. But it took Hedgepaw several minutes of careful scrutiny to find him. Because there was a lot of snow. Her ears were half-pinned back in concentration as she walked around in a circle, staring at each inch of moonlit snow as if it would suddenly look back at her with a yellow glimmer. With the dim lighting, though, it was very hard to distinguish the texture of melting, porous flakes with the soft fur she knew she was looking for. Eventually though, she saw a distinctly triangular patch that could only have been an ear. A closer look revealed Hawkmist using the same strategy she had, folding every part of himself in as close as possible and closing his eyes to remain unseen. He was so good at it! Despite the brightness of his pelt, it had taken her a long time to find him. She stopped for a moment, considering what she should do. He'd dropped his paw on her head, but her paws were so little they'd barely make a difference. She could just speak out and spoil the fun, but she'd rather do something cool like he did. As she thought, though, their first meeting came to mind.

Slowly, trying to act casual--if not for the smile on her face giving her away, though he couldn't see it--Hedgepaw walked around to the other side of Hawkmist. Then she dropped into a hunting crouch, waggled her haunches, and pounced on the tip of his tail. Just like right before the first time they'd played hide and seek. Only this time, since she was a bit bigger, she made sure that she wouldn't hurt him by using claws. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed, voice bright with laughter. He probably didn't like her getting too close to him, if she recalled correctly the way his pelt fluffed up when most cats were in what Mamma called his "personal space," so she got off the tail quickly once he'd been alerted. Green eyes sparkled in the darkness, seeking his gaze. "That was really good! I almost didn't see you, even though you're bigger'n me so you had to work lots harder." Hmm. It was hard to remember that he might not want her to get too close, 'cause she was so used to pressing up close to her brothers all the time. So before she could do anything crazy, she leaned in--booped his cheek with her nose--and then backed away, still grinning. "Thanks for playing with me. I have a good time whenever I'm with you! You're so nice and so brave."