eye to eye and nose to nose (Flurrypaw)

[ash]

Stretching her white forefeet and allowing her sharp claws to knead into the frosty ground, Aspenpaw stood up straight and shook out her long coat. Gazing around camp, she noticed that not many cats were awake; the sky was slightly overcast, and she prayed silently that no rain would come. She would hate to be stuck in camp while it rained, and she considered for a moment that perhaps it was too early to be awake, anyways. Well, she told herself, running her pink tongue across her lips, you're up now; might as well stay up. And you might have duties to do. As she strode across camp, she settled before the fresh-kill pile, staring at it with something like hesitation in her green eyes. It was scant this morning, probably because of how early it was, and she did not see anything that appealed to her appetite in that particular moment.

However, she knew that she was being far too picky, and quickly grabbed a small mouse from the top, settling down against the cold ground and tearing into the supple flesh of the rodent with her sharp white teeth. She could hear very faintly the fluttering of bird's wings from the forest, or the soft call of a wren. There was most certainly a peaceful air to camp, but it was not something that Aspenpaw cherished. She did not liking waking up early unless camp was busy, because she hated being alone so acutely. When she had finished her small meal, she sat back on her rear, and yawned lightly. She hoped that soon the other apprentices would be up.

(ooc: sorry it's not very good!)

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

Pale green eyes slid open slowly. Light barely broke through the top of the apprentice's den. Flurrypaw silently cursed himself for waking up so early. Probably because he had gone to sleep so early last night; the moon had hardly risen when he decided to slink away to his nest. He peered around at the other apprentices, all soundly asleep. He closed his eyes again, hoping to drift back to sleep. but every wren call made him more alert. He let out an unhappy grunt and heaved himself out of the warm nest. Shaking the debris off him, he noticed that one nest was empty. He shrugged it off and stretched his tight muscles out. Once he was nice and limber, he trudged outside.

Mouse hit his nose as soon as he walked into the clearing, and he half expected one to run right in front of him until he realized it was a dead scent. He peered over at the meager fresh-kill pile and saw the fluffy white and black accented pelt of Aspenpaw. He had never been particularly fond of the she-cat. She was far too sweet-natured for him. He walked toward the pile and flicked his tail in silent, grudging greeting. He surely couldn't have just ignored her; she was the only other cat awake. He pawed a starling from the pile and sat a few fox lengths away from her, and began to munch on the feathery prey. Every few second his eyes would slide toward her.

[ash]

Aspenpaw's round, short ears perked up excitedly as she heard the ground crunch lightly beneath another cat's feet. She looked up, and her green eyes met with another pair much like her own; she recognized almost immediately the eyes and coat of Flurrypaw. Aspenpaw's mother told her that the casual dislike between them probably stemmed from the fact that they were both the same age, but Aspenpaw knew better. Her irritation towards him was mainly due to the fact that she thought he was far too grumpy, and she didn't like his sharp tongue. Despite this, she never was one to pass up the opportunity to talk or befriend someone; and besides, he was the only other apprentice awake at this point. Leaning towards him slightly, Aspenpaw released a friendly trill; "Good morning, Flurrypaw! How are you?" her long tail flicked pleasantly, and she took to grooming herself after her meal.

Suddenly, Aspenpaw remembered something. Once, when Flurrypaw had somehow became the topic of their conversation, Aspenpaw's mother had shook her head and looked at Aspenpaw with kindness. "He's lost a lot of his family, you know. I think that's why he's so detached from others." Blinking, Aspenpaw settled backwards, as if she had witnessed something particularly shocking. Maybe she had judged him a little too harshly, as she knew herself to do. Sighing, she wondered if perhaps all he needed was a good friend.

She would see, though. From his body language and the look on his face, he didn't seem like he wanted to make friends. Aspenpaw felt that slight irritation bubbling up again, but she attempted to stifle it. "I like starlings. I think they're quite good." She realized how awkward the words sounded as they hung in the air, and she cleared her throat, wondering why he kept glancing at her. Maybe he was just shy.

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

"Er...Morning, Aspenpaw." He figured the she-cat would want to talk to him. There was no way of getting out of this one. "I'm fine, I suppose. Could have used more sleep." He grumbled the last part more to himself than her. He finished his starling, stood, stretched, and laid back down in his original position. "I surely hope you do. Fur clad prey aren't exactly abundant." he stated, bleakly. His wit was lacking today, maybe because of how early it was.

His gaze slid toward her again, and this time, their gaze met. His eyes flew down to the ground. He was slightly annoyed with both himself and Aspenpaw. "What are you looking at?" he snapped.


(Ooc: I've got nothing.)

[ash]

Licking a patch of askew silver fur on her shoulder, Aspenpaw looked up when Flurrypaw began responding to her. It excited her that he seemed fine with speaking with her, and she let a purr build in the back of her throat. With twitching whiskers, she sighed as he shared his bleak thoughts with her. but that was okay, she reminded herself; he just seemed that way naturally. Besides, she didn't think he meant it so personally. "I do love a good squirrel or mouse, but of course mice are so difficult to find once it's snowing. Squirrels not so much, though. And rabbits don't seem to be too incredibly difficult to find when the weather changes..." she trailed off, shrugging her thin pair of shoulders, her whiskers twitching warmly. Yawning, she stood up and stretched again, and then she moved somewhat closer to Flurrypaw, settling back onto her haunches.

When he finally did snap at her, she was surprised and extremely taken aback. Shrinking away slightly, she stared at him with confusion in her eyes. After she finally recovered from the pure surprise of him snapping, she seemed to grow defiant. "What's your problem? Why are you always so grumpy?" she glowered at him slightly, forgetting her earlier intentions to attempt and befriend him. Swallowing, she looked at her white feet now. She wished she knew what his problem was.

Aspenpaw was so angry with herself. She had let him get underneath her skin, when she had vowed to herself that she would not. but then, he was already doing that to her when they first spoke. She didn't even know why she was so desperate to try and make friends with him...

(ooc: Ohh, Aspenpaw. )

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

Flurrypaw huffed angrily. "What's my problem? What's your problem? No cat asked you to try to talk to me." he spat. His neck fur rose off his shoulders. It had startled him how close she had gotten. Why couldn't she just be like every other cat and keep a safe distance. I won't let her get close. I can't take another loss like that. a voice spoke in the back of his head. Why was he thinking like this? All she had done was talk to him about fresh kill. He felt kinda bad, getting mad at the overly friendly she-cat. but something told him that if he didn't turn her away now, she'd keep pestering him. He attempted to smooth his fur and stood. "I'm going hunting. That pile couldn't feed a single fox, none the less a whole clan. Have fun thinking about birds. Or whatever you she-cats do in your free time." he grumbled and plodded toward the exit of the camp.

[ash]

Bristling, Aspenpaw stood up, taking a step backwards. "I was simply trying to be friendly, something you obviously don't understand. We're Clanmates; we're supposed to be kindly to one another." Aspenpaw's voice was bubbling with fury, and she swallowed roughly when he decided to leave camp. She resisted the urge to growl at his comment about she-cats, and she lifted her chin up proudly. "I'm sure your mentor will be pleased that you took it upon yourself to leave without permission," she shot back, sweeping her tail to the side as she stalked off. She was tempted, even after their conflict, to follow him out and see if perhaps he was just being so moody because of the reason she thought he was.

Aspenpaw had known him for being moody, for always using his wits as a defense. Perhaps it was because of the losses he had suffered. Feeling a sharp pang of guilt in her belly, she looked over her shoulder and sighed. Should I go apologize? but then, what would be the point? Still, despite his rudeness, she felt that she owed him one.

Whirling around quickly, she followed him as fast as she could. She wouldn't tag along if he didn't want her to, but first she needed to get this off her chest. "Hey, Flurrypaw! I'm not going to pester you anymore if you don't want me to," she panted, knowing that she needed to get that out first, "but I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I should've held my tongue...I'm sorry I snapped at you." Her eyes were filled with nothing but sincerity, and since she was still breathless, she sat down on the frigid ground.

(ooc: hopefully this is okay! if not, just tell me and I'll tweak it. )

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

Flurrypaw had hoped she wouldn't follow, but low and behold her heard rapid paw steps behind him. He whirled around, mouth open ready to yell at Aspenpaw. but she was already blabbing out an apology. He was actually rather taken aback by her sincerity. He shrugged. "Whatever. I...I guess I'm sorry too." He mentally kicked himself for saying that aloud. He really had felt bad for making her upset. He sat and curled his tail over his paws and his whiskers quivered in the cold. Why was he suddenly so worried about what she thought?
"Why don't you try to catch something with me? I could do it myself, but it'll be faster with two of us." He pointed out, attempting to hid his interest.

(ooc: I can change it tomorrow if this is no good. but I must go. I'm falling asleep typing. xD)

[ash]

Pleased with his reaction, Aspenpaw purred, "Apology accepted. And yes, I'd really like to go hunting with you." Aspenpaw couldn't stop herself from so overtly displaying her happiness, and as she stood back up, her tail curled joyfully. "Where so you think we should start? I wonder if we could find a good rabbit." Always the optimist, Aspenpaw trotted off in front of him; she then turned to look back, and murmured, "Well, let's not wait." She was excited at the prospect of being one of the first cats up to hunt for the Clan, and she wondered briefly how her mentor would feel about the fact that they were doing this. They wouldn't mind, surely; they weren't doing anything dangerous or troublesome, in fact, they were doing the opposite. Feeding the Clan.

Aspenpaw decided that, when she returned to camp, she'd definitely have to share with her mother that she had befriended (or at least slightly so) the young gray tom. Stifling a yawn, she gazed out at the crisp, cold forest, listening closely for more birdsong, rustling, or anything that might reveal where prey was.

(ooc: no, it was fine! sorry, this reply isn't very good.)

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

Flurrypaw was almost pleased at how happy she seemed. He had to stop the purr that threatened to rumbled in his throat. How long had it been since he had purred? Seeing her happy..well..it made him happy.
He flicked his ears and stood. He wasn't going to let his warm thoughts get the best of him. "The prey's not going anywhere, mouse brain." His tail twitched in amusement at her impatience. He opened his mouth slightly to check the scents around them. Stale squirrel, chaffinch, and wren. He sighed; none of these would be good enough to feed the clan anyway.
"Let's just head further away from camp. No prey with even half of your intelligence would be near with so many cat scents." he teased, his tone more friendly than sharp. Thought it still held some distaste.
He brushed past her, and his grey pelt just barely skimmed her white. Had he meant to do that?

[ash]

"Okay," Aspenpaw agreed, flicking her ears and giving him a playful growl when he teased her. Shaking out her coat, she started to walk beside him; when his coat brushed hers, she paused, tilting her head to the side. Aspenpaw was the type of cat that considered physical contact a regular, ordinary thing, something that occurred with multiple cats in her daily life, but for some reason it gave her cause to stop when he brushed up against her. She wasn't sure exactly why, that she was aware of, but whatever the case, it made her unspeakably happy. She had gotten slightly distracted by this when she perked her ears quite suddenly; she thought, as they walked into the deeper parts of the forest, that she could hear a bush rustling. Inhaling deeply, she realized that she could smell a hare. Sending a strategic glance at Flurrypaw, she dropped into a crouch, setting off in that direction.

She hoped he would get her little hint, and she looked back at him briefly. This was a very, very lucky find, but it was not theirs yet. Aspenpaw's soft feet made little noise on the cold ground, which she was thankful for. At least her feet wouldn't give her position away.

(ooc: sorry, this isn't very good. :c hopefully all of this is okay!)

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

Walking along, somewhat happily, Flurrypaw almost failed to notice that Aspenpaw had stopped and crouched. He froze, not wanting to sabotage her catch. He opened his mouth to taste the breeze and caught a trace of hare, and crouched as well. This way, if she scared the hare out, the very least he could do was chase it down. Had it been any other cat he had argued with or had spite for, he would have kept walking and made a bit of noise in hopes of scaring off the prey. What made her any different?
He peered forward at her, noticing her long, white fur. She wasn't very camouflaged. but his grey pelt almost mixed with the dirt around them. He would have made a snarky comment about this, but he didn't want to upset her. Whether this was because he didn't want to upset her over losing prey, or just upsetting her by offending her, he didn't know. Why has letting himself getting worked up about this?
He blinked and cleared his head. He opened up his mouth, trying to pinpoint the hare's scent. If she didn't make a move soon, he was.
but she had slowly began to creep forward, and he admired her stealth.


(ooc: I hope this is okay. >_<)

[ash]

Aspenpaw could see the vague outline of the rabbit's head behind the dry bush, and her ears pricked forward intensely as she drew even closer to her prey. She could see Flurrypaw out of the corner of her eye; she was relieved that he was backing her up on this hunt, and she would have pondered over his helpfulness if she wasn't in the middle of hunting. From this angle, she would be able to drive the hare in Flurrypaw's direction, but if she pounced from where she was, she would risk losing this opportunity. It was an easy decision to make. Shooting towards the right, she managed to cut the hare off when it tried to run in the direction opposite Flurrypaw; it took off towards him, and Aspenpaw pursued it.

She reached out, her white legs stretching as far as they could go. Her claws were unsheathed, and she realized, anticipation running through her bones, that they had this.

(ooc: oh god, this reply is so terrible! I wanted them to catch it together. xD)

[☀Dawnfeather☀]

Flurrypaw's eyes narrowed as he saw the rabbit pelt toward him. He unsheathed his claws and awaited the approach. This catch was certainly theirs. Aspenpaw was right on it's nubby tail and he was sure she had it. Even still he bunched his muscles, ready to leap at it just in case. His gaze flicked to Aspenpaw, and he noticed her muscles rippling under her white coat. She was very well built.
He mentally shook his head. This rabbit was important. It could feed a few cats. He was quite sure the rabbit hadn't even noticed him, as he blended with the dirt, because it hadn't veered from it's original path. It was at least a tail length away from him when he made a short leap, pinning it down with big grey paws. He gave it a swift bite to the neck, and sent a silent thanks to StarClan. Triumphant, he looked up at her. "Great job, Aspenpaw!" His eyes filled with admiration.

[ash]

Excitement was pulsing through the young she-cat's body, and she felt a surge of joy whenever Flurrypaw finished off the hare. Unable to conceal her happiness, she looked down, and then said bashfully, "Thank you, but it was teamwork. Quite obviously, I wouldn't have made the catch without you!" she was practically bursting with pride, and she walked over to Flurrypaw, allowing her white coat to brush against Flurrypaw's gray one. "Should we head back? Or would you like to hunt some more?" Aspenpaw was surprised by the intensity of her affection for him, especially since they barely even knew each other, and they had only now started getting along anyways. Sitting down almost awkwardly, Aspenpaw glanced at Flurrypaw from the corner of her eye.

"So," she began, kneading the ground slightly, "I could tell you more about myself, if you'd like, now that we're...friends. If you consider us friends. I understand if you don't," she added in quickly, looking at him with a somewhat distressed expression. She was rambling now, and she felt her anxiety gradually increasing. "Just, like...what you like to do? You know, um, if you like to hunt more than you like to patrol borders...I don't know."

Well, this was awkward.