A Heartbreaking Goodbye (Stormsy)

[Deku]

(Stormsy, here's that thread I was PMing you about. I know they don't know it's goodbye, but I couldn't think of another title. This is going to hurt me probably a lot more than it's going to hurt you. Hawkpaw had a nice father/son relationship going on...)

Sorrelwhisker padded to the entrance to the nursery and looked in for his mate, Squirrelfire. It didn't take too long to spot her ginger fur, and he made his way over quietly. "Hey Squirrelfire. I know you don't like sitting in here with nothing to do. Do you want to go on a hunting patrol with me? One of the other queens might take care of the kits while we're gone..." He mewed softly, watching the squirming kits with the most love a father could have.

[Stormsy]

<< Squirrelfire >>
A purr rose from the she-cat's throat as her mate approached her. "Sorrelwhisker!" she squeaked, running up and nuzzling his cheek. "Thank StarClan. I mean, I love these kits a lot and all but seriously I need to get out of this stuffy old camp! I'm going absolutely crazy," she complained, licking his cheek a few times. "In case you couldn't tell, yes, I would love to go on a hunting patrol with you."

<< Maplepaw >>
The apprentice was fast asleep on her day off -- until of course, the sun's rays hit her in the face. The fluffy she-cat stretched her jaws in a wide yawn and stumbled out of the apprentices' den -- to see her parents having a conversation only tail-lengths away. Maplepaw opened her eyes a bit wider and padded over, yawning again. "Hey guys, what's going on?"

[Deku]

(*reads Squirrelfire's reaction* O.O Stormsy, you're making this hard for me...)

Sorrelwhisker:

Sorrelwhisker chuckled at his mate's excitement. "That's what I thought. When you were in the nursery the first time, you couldn't even imagine staying in the nursery for a single day." He licked her cheek a couple of times in return and then turned to face Maplepaw. "We're about to go on a hunting patrol. You're welcome to come along if you want, and if your mentor says so."

Hawkpaw:

Hawkpaw had been wandering around camp, bored out of his mind. Actually, he had hoped to see Cherrypaw, but that obviously wasn't happening today. The ginger tom looked up to see Maplepaw, Sorrelwhisker, and Squirrelfire all talking together. He couldn't hide is curiosity and bounced up to them. "Hi! What you guys talking about?"

[Stormsy]

OOC: Oh, I'm going to make this as hard as I can for you!

<< Squirrelfire >>
"There's just so many kits, and having to go to sleep without you around is torture!" she sighed, pressing her nose into Sorrelwhisker's neck fur. She looked up when Maplepaw approached, nodding at Sorrelwhisker's words to show that she agreed. She turned as her second kit from her first litter hopped up, energetic as ever. "We are about to go hunting. Why don't you come with us, if you aren't busy? It can be a family hunting trip!" she purred, eyes lighting up at the idea of being with her whole family besides her youngest kits.

<< Maplepaw >>
Maplepaw smiled, a smile full of joy. She hadn't been hanging out with her family too much recently, and this would be the perfect time to catch up. "Yeah, I have the day off for training, so I would love to go!" Her excitement only grew when Hawkpaw stepped up with a curious tone. She listened to her mother speak then added, "Yeah, Hawkpaw, come with us!"

[Deku]

(I thought you agreed to this! You better make the most of this... Don't worry though. He'll visit in dreams x3)

Sorrelwhisker:

Sorrelwhisker nodded his agreement. As far as he could tell, today was going to be a great day. A day to catch up with his family. "Come along then. Might as well get this trip going." He padded out of camp, looking behind every once and a while to make sure they were all keeping up.

Hawkpaw:

"Yay! Of course I'm coming! It's my day off too, so let's go!" He ran out of camp after his father. 'This could be better than meeting with Cherrypaw.' He thought.

[Stormsy]

OOC: Doesn't mean I won't be upset D: haha

<< Squirrelfire >>
The ginger she-cat kept right next to her mate, hardly only a step behind. "Where have you thought of going?" she asked with curiosity, her eyes gleaming.

<< Maplepaw >>
Maplepaw walked just behind her parents, starting up a chatter with Hawkpaw. "How is your training going? It's so exciting for me!"

[Deku]

(Wait, did we say a badger or a fox?)

Sorrelwhisker:

"Probably the Fallen Oak. There's plenty of prey there. Especially in Greenleaf. It will be the perfect place for hunting." He mewed. "Sound good to you?"

Hawkpaw:

"Well, I've kind of got a lazy mentor, so I haven't had any real training sessions. I've been training myself, and I've had a few friends to help as well." He immediately thought of Cherrypaw and sat in silence for a moment then mentally shook it away. "What's your favorite thing to do then?"

(Oh yes. Hawkpaw has a teensy weensy crush on Cherrypaw, he just doesn't know it.)

[Stormsy]

OOC: Badger I believe so that the rest couldn't fight it off... *sigh*

<< Squirrelfire >>
Squirrelfire nodded. "Yup, that sounds great! It's so good to be out with you again," she meowed, pausing for a second to look back at the two apprentices. "And to be out with them, too. I just hope the younger kits will be fine alone," she added, unable to push back that mother's worry. The ginger she-cat smiled to herself, truly happy with how everything was currently, and nudged Sorrelwhisker with her shoulder playfully.

<< Maplepaw >>
"I've been around the territory, and I'm starting to learn hunting. I love hunting already, and I can't wait to catch my first piece of prey," the small ginger cat enthused, her eyes gleaming. "We can hunt as a team! Like, one of us scares the prey into the other's paws!"

[Deku]

Sorrelwhisker:

"The kits will be fine Squirrelfire. I brought you out here so you wouldn't have to worry about them. Don't tell me you care more about the kits than you do about me." He mewed, feigning hurt.

Hawkpaw:

"Oh, I've heard about cats doing that! I've also tried chasing a squirrel up a tree, but that didn't go so well. It was just too fast for me to catch it." He bounced from paw to paw excitedly before looking ahead to Sorrelwhisker and Squirrelfire. "Are we almost there?"

(Remember when Sorrelwhisker did that with Squirrelfire? He chased the squirrel up the tree? That was awesome. Oh noes! Memories! Got to get rid of them!)

[Stormsy]

<< Squirrelfire >>
"Well, to be fair, I didn't give birth to you," the she-cat joked, nudging her mate again. "I love you all equally and wouldn't be able to stand being apart from any of you," she added in a more serious tone, her eyes darkening as her mind flicked to her other kit who had mysteriously gone missing. Squirrelfire quickly forced herself to change her thoughts, though it was hard when they had another kit renamed after her. She glanced back as her son asked her a question and meowed, "Just a bit more walking then yep!"

<< Maplepaw >>
Maplepaw flicked Hawkpaw with her tail and smiled. "It's okay, I've heard that most cats can't do that until they are warriors and have mastered tree-climbing." She followed her brother's eyes to her parents and listened to Squirrelfire's reply with a small smile. "This is so exciting, actually!"

[Deku]

Sorrelwhisker:

"Oh come on Squirrelfire. That's hardly a valid excuse." He looked ahead to see a large oak tree lying on it's side. He looked back at Maplepaw and Hawkpaw and grinned. "Actually, we're here." He stopped walking and turned around, waiting for the two apprentices to catch up.

Hawkpaw:

"It is exciting. Have we actually ever been on patrol together? I honestly don't think we have, which makes it even more exciting!" He bounced up next to his father and halted. "Are we going to split up or something?"

(Stormsy)

[Stormsy]

OOC: Sorry, it's rare I get on for more than a minute during the week anymore :/

<< Squirrelfire >>
The she-cat twitched her tail, stopping a tail-length behind her mate. It seemed like she could smell something in the air, but she wasn't entirely sure, so she just ignored it for the time being.

<< Maplepaw >>
Maplepaw purred in agreement at the 'excited' description. "Yeah, I think this is a first, but it's cool!" she meowed, also turning to her parents when Hawkpaw asked about splitting up. She didn't know if that was a great idea, but then again, she was just an apprentice, so what did she know?

[Deku]

(It's fine Stormsy. I like how you said Maplepaw doesn't think she knows anything x3)

"Alright then. We'll split. I'll go with Maplepaw and Squirrelfire can go with Hawkpaw." He meowed, beckoning with his tail for Maplepaw to come to him. "We'll hunt on this side." He gestured to the right side of the fallen oak.

[Stormsy]

<< Squirrelfire >>
Squirrelfire smiled and twitched her tail, signaling for Hawkpaw to follow her the opposite way of her mate and she-kit. "Alright, let's test you first. Can you smell any prey near us?" she asked when they had gotten far enough from the other pair.

<< Maplepaw >>
Maplepaw followed her father, looking up at him with wide, happy eyes. She nodded as he spoke, then began to sniff around for prey.

[Deku]

Sorrelwhisker:

He watched his kit gently as she searched. "Do you smell anything Maplepaw?" He whispered, just in case there was prey nearby. He didn't want to be scaring it off.

Hawkpaw:

Hawkpaw bounded over quickly towards Squirrelfire and followed her a bit away from Sorrelwhisker and Maplepaw. At his mother's question he sniffed the air quietly. There was a hint of squirrel and a bit of mouse too, but there was something else. Something didn't smell right. He walked a bit more opposite of the way they had come and the smell grew fainter. "Yes, I can smell a bit of mouse and squirrel." He debated about telling her of the odd scent, but decided to push it away. 'Maybe it was just a pile of crow-food.' He thought.