Trouble with Thorns (Pawsfun)

[Trickle]

-Nightwhisker-

What luck.  Nightwhisker had been in pursuit of a rather large squirrel.  Honestly, it was the biggest one she had ever seen or tried to hunt. She had first seen it in the trees, chattering away about something.  The young warrior thought about scaling the tree to get it, but that wouldn't work because it would notice her way before she could get near it.  So, she had waited until it came down before she went after.  And man was the squirrel fast, as soon as it hit the ground the dark she-cat had lunged for it.  Her claws had snagged its rear leg, but it still managed to run.  Naturally, she chased it, knowing it would tire out with a wound.  And of course it had run in to the Thorn Bushes.  

Nightwhisker was now pacing back and forth in front of the bushes.  She could hear the squirrel in there, it was clearly caught somewhere on the thorns.  The idea of wriggling in there to get it really didn't appeal to her, but there was no way she was going to let it get away.  So, she took a deep breath, lowered herself to the ground and slowly crawled forward.  The thorn bushes were lifted a bit, so she was able to get under jut fine.  but, it was going to be getting out that was the problem, but that could come later.

The she-cat could see the squirrel, it was thrashing around in the thorns only hurting itself further.   The sight actually made her sad, for she never wanted to see another creature suffering.  So, she pushed forward, feeling the thorns scratch along her back.  As soon as she reached her prey she quickly angled herself to snap her jaws down  on its neck.  Now came leaving the bushes.  She was able to make it out almost all the way.  but, her back leg got caught in a tangle of thorns and vines.  

Nightwhisker let out a rather pitiful sound and bit down harder on the squirrel.  The thorns did hurt quite a bit, for they twisted in to her skin the more she tried to pull out.  It seemed as though she had become the squirrel. but, luckily she had a voice. "Uh Hello?"  She called, almost awkwardly, "Is there anyone there!?   I need some help!"  She could only hope that someone would hear her.  She was sure they would, she did come out with a patrol after all.  

Tag: Leafnose (@pawsfun)

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What's that noise? Leafnose wondered. The young warrior had been hunting, and his victim, a squirrel, had been alerted.

Leafnose turned around to where the sound had come from. It came from the thorns. Leafnose was glad his squirrel hadn't run into it.

He padded up to the bushes and peered through them. He could see a struggling shape- a cat, female, from what he could gather.

He made up his mind, sliding under the bushes, wincing as thorns snagged his pelt. Finally he came to the bush where the cat was. He reckonized her as Nightwhisker.


"Need help?" He asked, not waiting dor her to answer. "Stay still," He commanded, working on the fur. He tore it away, leaving a clump of fur on the bushes.

"Sorry," He apologized, spotting the squirrel in her jaws. "Nice catch," he commented, already leaving, assuming she would folow him.

"I'm Leafnose. You are Nightwhisker, correct?" He asked, popping out and sitting down.

OOC: You may list Leafnose as Nightwhisker crush anytime, however I will not list her as Leafnoses crush until at least one more thread.

[Trickle]

She didn't have to wait long before she heard the coming pawsteps of another cat.  She peeked out from under the bush, stretching out as far as she could to be able to spot who was approaching.  She could just see the familiar appearance of a tom who she wished she knew the name of.  She always felt bad when she didn't know the name of one of her clan mates.  He had wriggled his way in to the bushes without a word until he had reached her.  "Hi." She mewed, sounding embarrassed.  He had asked her if she needed any help and she opened her mouth to reply but she sharply told her stay still, so she did without a second thought.  She could feel him pulling away at the snagged thorns and that didn't hurt much.  but, she jumped when he yanked out a good tuft of fur.  The tom apologized shortly and then started to back out.  Nightwhisker followed suit, picking up her squirrel as she did so.  

Once she was out, she dropped the squirrel.  "Thanks, the mousebrained thing ran in to the thorn and got caught."  It was only after she had said that that she realized she had done the same thing.  Once again, her ears burned with mild embarrassment.  Nightwhisker sat down as he did, her thin whip-like tail streaming out behind her.  She nodded as he introduced herself, Leafnose.  She could have guessed that.  There was an interesting marking on his nose that just happened to have the appearance of a leaf.  And he had even gotten her name right.  "Yes, I'm Nightwhisker."  She gave a cat-like smile.  "Thanks for getting me out of there,  I probably would have been stuck there for quite some time if you werent out and about."  Nightwhisker looked back at the thorn bush and then back to Leafnose.

OOC: Alright, I think that is a good rule to abide by c;

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Leafnose glanced up as she came out of the bushes. His tail tip twitched as she talked about the stupid squirrel that had actually done the same thing as her. He decided against saying anything. She had already realized, from the look on her face.

"Yes, I'm Nightwhisker."
Leafnose sighed in relief. He was not sure what he would have done if he had gotten it wrong. It surely would have been embarassing.

 "Thanks for getting me out of there,  I probably would have been stuck there for quite some time if you werent out and about."  

"It was nothing," He responded. Now it was his turn to be embarased. His pelt buned as if it was Greenleaf, which it was, but that wasn't the point.

"You scared away my squirrel and I inverstigated." He replied. "I am not a hero or anything."

Unknown to him, his squeezing through the thorns had left him with a clump of fur sticking up on his head.

[Trickle]

"Oh! Well I certainly didn't mean to scare away your squirrel... I am sure there is another one around here."  She looked at him sheepishly, "I can help you find one if you want."  Her eyes wandered about his face for a moment, but then settled on a little tuft of fur that was sticking out on the top of his head.  She opened her mouth and then closed it again.  Should she tell him? Should she not?  If she had a clump of fur standing up right on the top of her head she would probably want some to tell her.  

"Uh, you have a little tuft.." Her voice trailed off as she lifted her paw and wiped it over the top of her own head to show him where his tuft of fur was. "Right here."  Nightwhisker couldn't hold back the giggle that rose from her.  "Looks like the thorns thought you needed a different look, hero."  The nickname rolled off of her tongue with ease.  Her sing songy voice seemed friendly and joyful as she spoke.  Hero seemed to fit him, especially since he claimed to not be one.  but, any-cat who does a small deed was indeed some sort of a small hero.  

[Deleted]

"That would be great!" Leafnose flushed at how enthusiastic he sounded. "Of course, you don't if you don't want to,"

He stood up, ready to start searching for prey, when a burst of giggles alerted him.

"What?" He turned around, grinning sheepishly.

"You uh, have a tuft of fur sticking…" She mewed, bursting into giggles again before finishing. Instead she just rubbed the top of her head.

Leafnose flushed, rubbing it down again.

"I'm not a heo," He protested.

He seemed to be burning up, though he had no idea why. No other cat had ever made him feel like this, not even when one told him his fur was sticking up like a thistle.

Pondering this mystery, he sat down again, pelt still burning. Eventually he decided that he was just too hot. The only other reason would be…

No. Leafnose was not in love.

[Trickle]

Nightwhisker continued in to a little fit of giggles as he grudgingly fixed the silly little tuft at the top of his head and denied being a hero.  She had also noticed the enthusiasm in his voice when she offered to help him hunt some more.  This tom made her smile, the way he just handled himself was entertaining and even a little cute, if she dared say that.  Most cats would just be stoic and unswayed by her ways, but he seemed to be impacted.  It made her feel all warm and happy inside.  She stood up and crept over to him, to make sure he actually patted down the tuft well enough, who knows maybe it will stick back up in a moments notice.  "Sure you are!"  She wasn't tall enough to see if it was fixed enough, so she just sat back down, a bit closer and in front of him.  "No point in denying it."  The young warrior shot him a quick smile before standing back up.

She moved over to the fat squirrels body and began to push dirt and leaves over it.  Nightwhiskers mind buzzed a bit for some odd reason.  Perhaps she was just plain happy to be spending time with another cat that she didn't know well.  Or maybe it was just her overall happy disposition.  Surely she would figure it out with time.  Either way, she would be telling her sister about this.  All these thoughts in her mind as she covered up the squirrel.  

"And I would love to do some more hunting with you.  I need to redeem myself anyways."  Her tail flicked back and forth and she turned once more to face him.  And as she turned to him she just noticed that he didn't have a tail.  Her head tilted to the side a little bit.  "Oh you don't have a tail."  She said, almost dumbly.  "I mean, uh , I didn't notice that before. Not that there is anything wrong with not having a tail! I mean, it might make it hard to climb...  but it looks good on you, some cats can't pull that off."  Boy, where her ears burning.  How many times was she going to say something stupid to Leafnose?  Her recovery of her previous statement had not helped her case.  'Some cats can't pull that off'?!? As if he had a choice whether or not he had a tail.  She wanted to go crawl back in to the thorn bush.  

"I'm sorry."  She squeaked sheepishly, "We should get to hunting yea?"  Her eyes were looking everywhere and she struggled to make direct eye contact.  

OOC: oh my gosh they are so cute I am just giggling at my computer! xD Also ESTABLISHED MEMBER NOW WOOOO

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OOC: I know! *Squeals like little girl*And congratulations!

Leafnose felt happy as she said she would love to hunt with him, his heart swelled as she moved closer to him. He blinked as she turned away. A hero? Him?

"If I'm a hero, then I'll protect you," He mewed, before realizing what he just said, " I mean, the Clan, not… you know…" He stammered. How had that come out of his mouth?

He kept burning up as Nghwhisker said he looked good. "Ahh, it's not much of a problem," How could he explain he hated hights? He was LeafClan! He didn't like hights, but he would climb if he needed to.

Awkwardly he turned around. Awhwardly he mewed "Are you coming?"

[Trickle]

The more they talked the more Nightwhisker wanted to crawl in to the thorn bush, not because she didn't want to talk to him, but because the more she talked the more awkward she made both of them feel.  but, some of the feelings weren't awkward, some of them were just plain warm and pleasant.  Especially when he claimed that he would protect her, er, the clan.  She looked at her paws, feeling a little silly.  Like an apprentice that had an undeniable crush on someone.  but, surely, she was too old to have 'crushes' or maybe not.  She honestly didn't know.  It was all just a big mess of confusion. 

She watched as he stood up turning to go walk, but looking back at her.  Nightwhisker didn't even realize she was just sitting there until he asked if she was coming. "Oh! Uh, yea sorry!." The she-cat spring to her feet and bounded after the tom, quickly meeting his stride.  They had walked for a little while in silence and she had opened her mouth to strike up conversation but her paw caught on a root and she careened in to him, nearly knocking him over.  Her face smushed in to his shoulder as she flailed to regain her balance.  She did only seconds later but looked about as frazzled as any cat could be.  "Oh great Starclan! What is going on with me today!"  Nightwhisker huffed, trying to get her frazzled fur to settle down.  "I promise, I am usually a lot more... normal."  Her brow furrowed for a moment and she looked over at him, only moving her eyes. 

OOC: Oh thank you! c:

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The more the two walked, the more self-conscious Leafnose felt. The silence was unbearable, but breaking it would mortify him. His pelt was burning, his brain was buzzing; It's just the heat, He told himself.

The tension was soon broken by unexpected fall. Her paws tripped over a root, and she fell onto his shoulder, knocking him over on top of her. The contact filled him with warmth.

"Yeah, I'm usually more normal too," He said awkwardly too. He realized the position they were in, and quickly started to get off, but not before he caught sight of her eyes.

He stared at them, mesmirized, not realizing he hadn't gotten off.

[Trickle]

Nightwhisker felt the weight of the tom on top of her and wriggled around around a little bit.  It was when he started talking that she just accepted the fact that she was once again stuck, although being caught by him was better than being caught by thorns.  In fact, it was leaps and bounds better than thorns.  In a way, the pressure was comforting, but at the same time uncomfortably hot due to the weather.  Being half on her side and half on her back, it was easy for her to crane her head to look at him.  He had begun to lift off, sounded just as frazzled as she looked, before their eyes met. 

His eyes were the same shade as her, but seemed to hold something much deeper the more she looked.  As cliche as it sounds, Nightwhisker does believe that the eyes are windows to the souls.  For a moment, they both seemed lost in the depths of each others eyes.  Then the she-cat ruined it when she blinked, feeling her eyes drying out.  She awkwardly cleared her throat, but then cast a playful smile up to the tom, swatting gently at the side of his face, "What're you staring at, hero?"  Her voice was quiet as she looked up at him.  Of course, she knew what he was staring at because she was staring at the same thing on him.  This didn't make her ears burn any less.

[Deleted]

Leafnose jerked out of his trance and glanced away.
"Nothing," He tried to mew, but it came out as a squeak. What's wrong with me today? He wondered. It felt kind of like what his friend had described when he was an apprentice and he had a crush. It had sounded so mopey and soppy that Leafnose had vowed never to fall in love. He tried to never lie, so it hopefully wasn't love.
Of course it isn't love, He comforted himself.

[Trickle]

Nightwhisker squinted at him for a moment, but still had her friendly expression on. "Alright, nothing must be pretty interesting." She teased lightly before pushing the tom cat off with a little huff, then she breathed in dramatically as if she had not been able to get a breath in the past few moments. "Oh, I thought I was going to suffocate under that fur of yours."    The she-cat turned, but swatted at his shoulder with her tail before bounding off.  "I bet I can catch a squirrel before you do!"  She called behind her, bounding away but looking back to see if he was following.  

She just could not put her paw on the reason Leafnose made her feel so happy.  Usually, if she was being brushed by another cat she would bat their ears and tell them to get off right away.  but for some reason she was just fine with the close contact.  It made her mind hurt to think so hard about these emotions.  Of course, it wasn't love. It couldn't be, love at first sight didn't exist.  but, there was certainly something.  Bounding off made it easier for her to clear her mind, but there was apart of her that just wanted to keep thinking about it.  

[Deleted]

Leafnose flicked his tail. He narrowed his eyes.
"This means war," He said, half joking. He bounded after her, sniffing the air. He detected a scent. Squirel?… He bounded off, strangely relucant to leave Nightwhisker.

Leafnose crouched as he saw the creature. He hissed, and pounced on it, killing it.

He ran back to Nightwhisker, eager to get to her and see if she caught one first.

[Trickle]

Nightwhisker heard his challenging words just before she had left and how she thought back on them as she dropped in to a crouch, ready to take down yet another squirrel.  This one was not as massive as the one she had caught earlier, in fact it was a little scrawny.  Perhaps it would be a good deed that she got rid of it, that way the stronger squirrels could better pass on they're bloodline.  Then she thought again, she wouldn't want to be gotten rid of if she was weak.  She still aspire to have kits and to not have them because she was considered weak would be awful!  

It took her mind a moment to recover from it's random tangent.  By the time it had, the squirrel had moved up the tree near her a bit.  Nightwhisker flicked her tail in irritation, why must her mind float off like that!  She was going to lose that game and that just wasn't acceptable! Especially when she was the one to toss it up. So, with a swift moment, she leaped up towards the tree.  The squirrel chattered in surprise and started to scamper further up the trunk.  but, it's efforts were halted, for the warriors teeth had found purchase on its fluffy tail.  She quickly dragged it down with enough force to smack it on to the ground.  It went still, but she gave it a killing bite just to be sure.  Now she just had to make it back before Leafnose did.  

She turned tail and bounded to where they were going to meet.  Nightwhisker thought for sure that she would win this, but as she approached she saw the tomcat standing with a squirrel already.  She huffed through her nose and skidded to a stop, dropping the squirrel.  "How did you do that so fast?" She exclaimed in minor awe.  "I mean, I thought my hunt went fast even though I had to chase it up a tree a little."