luck catching pray.

[CROOKY]

The tom nearly blended right in with the bark of the tree. Nothing moved only his whiskers which shoot a little at the sight of the black bird scratching at the roots of the tree. The bird seemed to be preoccupied with getting a worm that was sticking out halfway of the dirt to have smelled the cat lying just beyond the tree.

Sedgefoot decided that he was going to try out a move that he had seen one of his fellow warriors attempt the other day while on hunting patrol. He slid his paws across the dirt so that it didn't make a walking sound but instead a slithering sound. It worked! The bird was looking around for a snake that it did not even notice as he slid even closer to the bird.

Finally he was in position and leapt to pin the bird down. He landed perfectly and slammed the bird to the ground. Right as he leaned down to finish the kill with a swift bite to the throat the bird let out a frantic caw. Frustrated Sedgefoot killed it at once. darn it! I bet all the birds around heard that! How could I be so careless I'm not an apprentice anymore! He scratched at the ground a little frustrated before he picked up the black bird and tried to scent where the other cats on the hunting patrol had gone. Perhaps they too had had some luck catching prey.

[Deleted]

Seriously, the day couldn't go any better. Prey was just asking to be caught as it practically fell into his paws. At the moment the feathers of a thrush were in his mouth as he made his way to the rally point where everyone stored their cache before leaving to go back to the clan. He had caught his kill right in time as a horrible screach filled the air. The thrush had had no time to even listen for it was dead moments before. Overall, Foxflight had acquired a fair amount of prey. He had a few voles, a squirrel, and now this thrush. Thankfully greenleaf was looking promising by prey standards and Thunderclan at the moment wasn't going to starve.

At that thought though, Foxflight couldn't help, but think to the leadership of his clan and how he dispised the inconsistantcy of it all. Thunderclan was meant to be strong as were the other clans. With leadership going willy nilly to any cat whom had a connection to the leader they weren't going to achieve that status in his eyes. This was the whole reason to his plan to overthrow all the leaders of all the clans. The tom already had many followers from different clans ready to ally themselves for the cause. His eyes gleamed at the memory of the many clans looking up to him in the willow tree. Something great was going to happen for he could feel it ripple from his paws to ears.

While being lost in thought, he had made his way to another Thunderclan cat on the way to the cache. Bllinking, he looked at the male as a name swelled up to the front of his mind, Sedgefoot. The tom had a black bird in his mouth with eyes gleaming. Foxflight put down his catch and meowed a hello. "Nice to see you Sedgefoot. Seems you've gotten lucky," he motioned towards the bird with a smile on his face. The future didn't matter at the moment so much as the present.

[CROOKY]

When Sedgefoot finally caught up with one of the other warriors he was a little dismayed at how much he had already caught. All I got was this scrawny blackbird! He was very disappointed in himself. He had always excelled in fighting over hunting. He recalled back to when he was an apprentice and his brother would be catching twice as much as he did but his brother could never beat him at battle training. Must try harder at hunting! He thought again.

He grunted at the other cat. "If you call letting the bird squeal and letting all the other prey run, lucky." He shook his head and sat his blackbird down before sitting down. "My paws are about to fall off and all I have is this measly blackbird." He commented. He thought about how the new leader would see his dwindling hunting abilities. The last leader had understood that he was simply gifted with fighting abilities over hunting but this new leader had come out of nowhere. He was almost wary of it. It seemed that in Thunderclan these days they were not following the warrior code. The deputy had not taken over for the last leader in fact the deputy had gone missing out of nowhere leaving Thunderclan to just be taken over. That was not the Thunderclan way. They were supposed to be the strongest clan and an example to all other clans of how to follow the code that had been laid out for them.

He had heard rumors of this plot to overthrow the leaders but he sniffed it off. No, Starclan has a plan! Otherwise why would they have allowed the leaders to get their nine lives in the first place? They must know what they are doing! He thought stubbornly. No matter what he thought of the cats that were in leadership they had been placed there by Star clan and it was not for him to decide. Yet.

He looked back over at Foxflight. "You seem to have been much luckier than I!" He said pointing with his tail to the warriors small pile of prey.

[Deleted]

Silversong was just prepared to leave the camp to hunt for some prey. She wasn't on patrol or doing anything else, so she thought 'Might as well make myself useful'. She bounded through the tunnel and outside the camp. A swift breeze lightly brushed her face carrying the scent of grass, and flowers. Let's not forget the amounts of prey. She took of within seconds, everything looking like a blur as she swiftly ran throughout the forest. She soon came to a stop and sniffed the air to scent a wood mouse nearby. She dropped to the ground silently stalking forward. Always putting one paw quietly in front of the other. She lifted up her haunches slowly preparing for the jump. She pushed up on her hind legs and landed squarely on the mouse. She quickly bit the neck, causing it to die. She quietly said a prayer to Starclan then picked up the mouse. It was a plump one and would be good for the clan. Quickly digging a hole and burying she walked off to find some more prey. She soon saw a brown pelt flash across the woodland floor. She walked forward quietly to see who it was.

She crossed a pile of leaves to see he was gone. She lifted up her head and sniffed the air for his or her scent. It was one she was familiar with 'Sedgefoot', she guessed he was on patrol and soon followed the scent and came up on Foxflight and Sedgefoot. She cleared her throat to let them know she was here and mewed in a friendly voice "Hello, Foxflight, and Sedgefoot. Nice catch you both have.".

[Deleted]

He considered the warrior in front of him as he downed himself at his catch. Foxflight nodded understanding, but at the last bit of the comment he moved his tail to touch him comfortingly. "Don't worry, everyone has a bad day. Besides, you do a lot better at other activities. Everyone has their own niche," he said with a friendly smile. Poor Sedgefoot was really trying his best, but had ended up with considerably less than he had. It was rather sad, but like he had said. Everyone had their rough days. For Foxflight, it was just a lucky draw. Thinking about it though, he probably would've lost his thrush if he hadn't killed it before the call from Sedgefoot's catch reached him.

A familiar smell alerted him of another's entrance before she had even cleared her throat. His eyes peeked throught he forest to reveal Silversong. She had the smell of a fresh kill upon her coat and so he realized their hunting patrol was over. They had caught more than enough, especially if Silversong had been hunting too. He dipped his head at her form as it came out and said hello with a compliment. "Nice to see you, Silversong and thank you," he politely replied. A twitch in his whiskers as he took a glance at the male beside him made him feel a bit mischevious. "Sedgefoot here though, was a real Thunderclan champ. He's got a pretty big black bird that I'm severly jealous of. I mean look at it! It's like ten times my thrush," he exclaimed while prodding the warrior forward. He couldn't help it. Silversong was a pretty she-cat and Sedgefoot looked like he needed an ego boost after his hunting trip. Hopefully that would do that trick. Foxflight had no intention of that being considered rude because he genuinely meant every word.

[Deleted]

Silversong glanced at the black bird and gave an approving smile. "Its a very beautiful bird. It looks well fed and would supply a perfect dinner for the kits. They should be able to eat that easy and be well fed." she gave a smile to Sedgefoot, considering he looked a little down. Talking to both toms she said "Were you guys on hunting patrol? I didnt mean to interrupt it.". Her tail moving to the side with the breeze. She decided after she finished talking she would go catch one more prey then head back home. She would need to join a patrol for the day then help out around camp. She was in a good mood and hoped to keep everyone else in a good mood.

[CROOKY]

Sedgefoot nodded quickly to Foxflight. He still felt crummy but it felt nice to have someone at least acknowledge that hunting wasn't his forte. He sat up and licked the tip of his tail before he scented Silversong walking into the clearing. He quickly put his tail down. He could smell that she too had caught some freshkill for the pile. He had to force his ears not to push back in embarrassment.

At Foxflights compliment he closed his eyes a little bit sending him a pointed look. He did much better at hunting then me and he knows it! He thought to himself but couldn't say anything before Silversong too complimented his blackbird. He was forced to accept the compliments it seemed so he gave up denying it.

He nodded at Silversong. "Thank you, I hope that the kits will feast well tonight" He joked and looked at Foxflight. "Well I guess our hunting patrol is over then isn't it? At least I know I'm not catching anything else today. You luckily have the whole forest running to your paws." He joked lightheartedly. He wanted to pay back the compliment that he had paid him and felt much better with his clan mates. Starclan knows how life would be if no one supported one another.

[Deleted]

Silversong’s tail laid down touching the ground, she prodded her paws into the ground. Averting her gaze to the side, then facing them again.

“Well if you guys are ending your hunting patrol. I was still going to head out hunting for a few more pieces of prey. You could join me if you want Sedgefoot.”.

She was a little nervous asking another warrior. She wasn’t used to asking people to going hunting with her. She only dealt with
them when she was assigned to patrol or hunting. Tension was building up in her shoulders. Before she realized it pain shot down through her back and to the tip of her tail. She did her best not screech and it worked she didn’t. Her fur was just sticking up and her back was arched, all the tension now gone. The pain slowly disappeared and she began to relax again, her fur lying back down. She shook her head back and forth then stared back at the two awaiting for Sedgefoot’s reply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At that time Swiftshadow was just leaving camp.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Swiftshadow was just exiting the tunnel. He stretched his muscles then soon picked up on Silversong’s scent. It was stale but she passed through here today that much he knew. He dashed off following her scent to see where she went. He came to a stop soon and crawled under a large tree trunk. He soon came to where she caught her prey and smelled it, as fresh as the spring breeze. He continued on following two scents now. Hers and the mouse that she had killed, He came up right at her side and crashed into her as she was just relaxing. He tumbled over and bounced up quickly.

“Sorry Silversong I didn’t mean to crash into you!?” posing that as a statement and question he hurried to her side and helped her up. Only just noticing Sedgefoot and Foxflight. He nodded a greeting to them then back up a few mouse lengths and sat down.

[Deleted]

Foxflight's eyes glimmered in amusement as the tom shot him a glare with a softness to it. His compliment hadn't been empty at all, but full hearted. Silversong's words agreed and he could almost see the tension in his partner's fur fall immediatly. Having a clanmate compliment about your specific kill was always rewarding and it showed that no one was missing any achievement you made.

Sedgefoot's reply was a great one and he was glad to have set it up some way. The joking attitude proved to him that his clanmate wasn't as grumpy as he had been. Best to have a non-grumpy cat when you had to sleep next to them. Actually, there was something more about this tom that made Foxflight instantly feel so comfortable around him like they were lifetime friends. Hopefully that could be the case soon, he needed more friends. Not necessarily ones that agreed with his ambitious side either. He just wanted a honest to goodness friend, especially since she... It was to hurtful to think like that.

The tom's voice then came towards him and he pricked his ears surprised. Sedgefoot had inserted a compliment towards Foxflight as well. The furball, he thought jokingly. "That's an over exaggeration I think," he said with a smile. "Yeah, I think we are about done too."

A meow from their female counterpart drove his eyes towards her. She was going to go hunt a bit more, which would make Thunderclan fatter, and she was offering Sedgefoot a chance to go with her. Nervousness was surrounding her, but he couldn't help, but think she might fancy the tom.

Before he could give any expression towards Sedgefoot, the female in front of them did a wierd thing and cried out in pain. He took a step towards her as her cries stopped and all that was left was a poofed up body. "Are you alright?" He couldn't do anything else to make sure because another cat entered and crashed right into her. Foxflight blinked, confused as to what had just happened.

[CROOKY]

Sedgefoot had stood up to leave with Foxflight when Silversong asked him to go hunting with her. He almost tripped sitting back down as quickly as he could. He looked at Foxflight and then back at Silversong. Did they set me up? He thought to himself. This seemed like too much of a coincidence to have just happened. But then he cleared his throat.

What did he have to lose? A fun time with another cat? Starclan knows he needed a little break from the routine. He had been so focused on the routine day in and day out since it had happened. No today he would focus on having fun and worry about feelings and such like that later. Right when he moved to open his mouth and reply however the She-Cat looked almost like she was in pain.

He looked a little concerned and turned to Foxflight to see him asking if she was alright. He grumbled a little to himself. Bet he begged her to take me off his hands He thought. Oh well, your stuck with me now He though mischievously. Not but a few seconds after that thought another tom ran into the picture running straight into Silversong. This time he stood up looking to make sure everyone was okay.

After everyone seemed settled down he leaned down to pick up his bird. "You know I think I am done hunting for today but perhaps later we can all go on a patrol? Shadowclan has been getting pretty shifty with the border lately. I would love to get a chance to show them to respect it."

[Deleted]

Silversong shook her head up and down as she stood up walking around in a daze, she fell right down to the ground.

"Swftshadow how many times have I told you not to follow me?" She posed this as a question. Watching the toms expression. 'Really though whats with him and crashing to me all the time...' she grumpily thought. She shook her head before she heard Foxflight say 'Are you alright?'.

"Yup just fine, just a little dazed but i'm still up and running." she shook her head and everything began to stop spinning. Today was just not her day. She sighed and waited for the tom to answer. She laid dow on the ground and crossed one paw over the other in the front of her chest.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Swiftshadow glanced around nervously, considering he didn't mean to bump into their conversation. His ears went down as Silversong posed her question 'How many times have I told you not to follow me?'. A few minutes pasted as he sat quietly looking at the warriors. He was about to answer when Sedgefoot said 'You know I think I am done hunting for today but perhaps later we can all go on a patrol? Shadowclan has been getting pretty shifty with the border lately. I would love to get a chance to show them to respect it.'.

He waited until Sedgefoot said his little statement before answering his question "Since you became an apprentice.". He flinched after he said that thinking she was going to smack him or something.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Silversong sighed after both toms answered sequentially. She knew nothing could be done about either.

"Well if you don't want to go hunting Sedgefoot..." she turned to Swiftshadow and posed another question "How about you Swiftshadow. Wanna go hunting?".

_________________________________________________________________________________________

He bounced up and answered in his apprentice voice "I wanna go hunting with Silversong.". He was a warrior but he loved being around Silversong she was fun. He bounced around her waiting for her to make the first move.

[Deleted]

It had taken a few moments of jaw dropping phenomina for him to get back into what was happening. His quick eyes noticed Sedgefoot's evil grin at his question before and even later on. This tom was someone he could click with. He was seeing how he could get back at Foxflight and was messing around with him already. Sedgefoot was a clever tom and hopefully they could become friends later on, especially if they shared the same humor.

Realizing that the she-cat's friend was striking up a conversation and seemed into it, Foxflight's shoulders relaxed, but disappointment racked him. He had just set Sedgefoot up with Silversong and it had been working before this male had come into the picture. Then Sedgefoot even commented that they were about done with hunting and such.

He sighed and uncovered his prey from where he had stashed it. It was a bit much for him to carry in one trip, but he didn't want to ask for help from Sedgefoot fearing it would upset him. "I agree. It's time to get going back to camp. Silversong, don't catch too much. We don't want Thunderclan to get as fat as Riverclan," he joked.

Then he went about trying to figure out how to fit all his catch in his mouth. He'd just have to take a bit of each, not the whole, and perhaps he could do it. It wasn't pride holding him back from getting help, but the genuine fear of his clanmate taking it wrong. After looking for a bit he realized it just couldn't be done. "Sedgefoot, mind helping me a bit," he asked in a friendly tone.

[CROOKY]

Sedgefoot laughed at himself because it was all that he could do in this awkwardness. Finally Foxflight asked him for some help. Thankful to have an excuse to leave this awkward situation he almost answered straight away but then stopped himself. No we won't make this too easy for you just yet. He thought to himself and then looked innocently at the cat with his head tilted to the side. "Help you? I thought you were Starclan's Incarnate hunter." He snorted out of his nose and then leaned down and took a piece of Foxflights catch into his mouth and then turned to head back towards the camp. As he was padding along he couldn't help but think that Foxflight and him had potential to be good friends. That is if he can survive my sarcasm. He thought to himself.

[Deleted]

Sedgefoot's laugh was music to his ears. He had successfully cheered up this tom enough that he could laugh at life. Foxflight grinned to himself as he waited for Sedgefoot to help him, but instantly the look the tom gave him put him on edge. He wasn't going to make this easy for him at all. With an innocent look that mirrored that of a kit, Sedgefoot questioned why he should help 'Starclan's Incarnate hunter'. If it had been any other cat in any other situation he would've gotten a bad taste in his mouth, but this cat was playing around. Hey, it wasn't Foxflight's fault if the whole forest decided to descend upon his claws. The forest was full of available prey at the moment because of the season. Sedgefoot had been unlucky, but that wasn't something that could put him below Foxflight because he had been in another part of the forest and he had a different set of skills.

Sedgefoot snorted at his joke and Foxflight felt giddy, the kind where he pushed back. "Whatever are you talking about. You seem to be Starclan's favored," he said in the same tone as Sedgefoot had produced as he flicked his tail in the she-cat's direction. Foxflight would've finished the sentence with 'favored with wooing the ladies', but didn't think it was a smart thing to do in front of the group. With that, he chuckled a bit and then picked up part of the prey just as his clan mate had just done.

Soon they were padding off in the direction of camp. Thunderclan wasn't going to go hungry anytime soon when food was in need, but it still was ravenous for a real leader. That he couldn't provide at the moment, but he was pretty sure that he would have a friend in Sedgefoot pretty soon even if it wasn't because of his political views. In fact, he still had the feeling they could be great friends and Starclan knew how much he needed one in his complicated life. The sarcastic tom had been fun to be around had had allowed Foxflight to loosen up a bit. It reminded him of how he used to act as a kit...until the one day when he had been an apprentice and gone too far. That had changed everything on how he acted and how easily it had been to get friends.

[CROOKY]

Sedgefoot almost choked on his peice of pray laughing at his joke and when Foxflight fired back her almost couldn't help but spit the prey down for a minute to take a deep breath. He leaned down to pick the prey back up, "Well..." He said slyly with his tail twitching back and forth and casting Foxflight a devious look. "We can't all be as handsome as me" He said before picking up the prey and padding alongside Foxflight back. This seemed the begining of a beautiful friendship!

-end?-