A quiet morning [ open! ]

[T. Corpse]

SUNSTORM

He slept well past dawn, unusual for him, and was woken up only because Whiteface prodded him until he forced himself to his paws. It was cold and the clan would need prey, he thought to himself, and so after a quick grooming session, the ginger tom was bounding out of camp and prepared for a long day of hunting.

Despite all his enthusiasm and energy, he was having no luck: though spring was just around the corner, the ground was still mostly froze and snakes and lizards were harder than ever to find. He was trying to listen for mice but they were proving elusive as well. He meandered throughout the whole territory and saw an occasional winter bird sitting on a rock. He tried catching them but they were too fast or too smart for him.

By the time he'd reached the Shallow Creek, he had only a small and skinny mouse to show for his efforts. He buried it as best he could in the icy ground, and decided to sit and rest for a moment. His fur was fluffed up around him and his eyes were half-lidded, and Sunstorm began to drift slowly closer to sleep.

Then something caught his attention. A sound like scratching made his eyes snap open and his body tense. It sounded just like a mouse. Sliding his paws on the frozen ground, he rotated his body and he could tell that there had to be something lurking around a nearby rock.

It must not have noticed he was there, because the small and rather pathetic mouse was dead in seconds. Pleased with himself, Sunstorm carried it back to his spot next to the Creek and started to eat his breakfast.

[Wolfie]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,348,true]

[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Nightmistmain.png] Nightmist woke up early morning; and after having assigned the dawn patrols, she decided to go hunting herself. The fresh kill pile was low; and she figured she might as well get something done for the clan, even with a hunting patrol out. So, deciding to check out Shallow Creek, first venturing towards Darkened Cave to see if there were any bats available. With her speed and size, she could surely catch some that flew too low. So, making her way towards Darkened Cave, Nightmist bounded out of camp; taking one last look at the low fresh kill pile. As the unusually small Boulderclan she-cat made her way towards the Darkened Cave, she relished the feeling of the cold winds that went against her fur, along with the snowy landscape that came with leaf-bare. New-leaf was on it's way, soon, she figured, but still, she couldn't help but relish the last few moments with the fresh yet chilling leaf-bare. Sure, it brought difficulty to the clan, such as finding fresh kill, but Nightmist knew it was just another way to bring them together, to make the clan stronger. Finally reaching Darkened Cave, Nightmist crept quietly in, her black pelt blending in perfectly with the many shadows in the cave, in contrast to her pelt against the white snow of leaf-bare. Her misty ice blue eyes shine against the darkness, which she easily blended with, focusing on the shadows above. Crawling up against a rock, Nightmist knew she had to scare the bats somehow to bring them down, or to get them flying. At least then, she'd be able to have a chance with catching one. So, making her way towards the top of the flat rock, Nightmist took in a breath and then yowled. The bats almost immediately awoke and went into a worried frenzy, all trying to fly out of the cave. As they passed, Nightmist pounced, her claws snagging on one of the bat's wings. After the fall, the small she-cat kept her hold on the struggling bat before swiftly killing it. 'One piece of fresh kill, so many more to go.' With that thought, Nightmist hurried out of Darkened Cave, knowing the bats would soon return later during the day, or at least, once she was gone. Having buried the fresh kill many tail-lengths away from the cave, Nightmist then made her way towards Shallow Creek, hoping that she'd be able to catch at least something else for the clan. As she made her way towards the creek, she noticed a large ginger tom already there, his pelt sticking out against the soft white of the snow, much like how her black pelt did, though not as obvious. Making her way down, she sat beside the large tom, taking little notice of the major size difference that usually went with sitting beside a clanmate. "Out on a hunt as well, Sunstorm?"

[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

[T. Corpse]

SUNSTORM

"Nightmist!" He yowled, surprised, as the wind shifted and brought her scent to him. He pushed himself into a sitting position and purred softly when he caught sight of his black clanmate--on a cold, unpleasant day like this he would welcome just about anyone's company. He waited for her to get closer and his purr got deeper; he didn't care that she was the deputy--he'd treat her just like he treated any she-cat.

"Yes--I've just started on this mouse--we can share, if you like!" He said a little awkwardly, and shuffled his paws around. He knew it was the polite thing to do--the sort of thing his mother, bless her soul, would have wanted him to do around she-cats but really he wasn't sure. He just didn't know what was supposed to be expected of him around them, really, sometimes he wondered why he made such a big fuss but Whiteface always teased him so he knew he had to extra polite. He nudged the mouse towards her but then felt another surge of embarrassment--should he even be worrying about all this? She was the deputy, for StarClan's sake!

Clearly his throat and twitching his ears back and forth he decided that he might as well treat her like any old warrior, not like some flighty Nursery queen--even if she was young enough to be his daughter, she was still a high ranking, trusted warrior, and that should be good enough for him. "Horrible day for hunting," He commented, lightly, fishing around awkwardly for something to say.

He gazed out across the creek, silent for a few uncomfortable moments, his tail twitching behind him. His ears were warm with embarrassment--StarClan help him, he would never understand how to interact with she-cats.

[ blah forgive how awk/two dimensional this was :c I'm still adjusting to his character! ]

[Wolfie]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,348,true]

[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Nightmistmain.png] Nightmist purred at the awkward large senior warrior before her; good naturedly of course. "Ah, difficult time to catch prey, huh?" she nodded towards the scrawny mouse before them. It wasn't to say Sunstorm was a horrible hunter or anything, but that it was very difficult to catch plump, nice prey for the fresh kill pile. However, when it came to battle skills, Nightmist knew she could never doubt Sunstorm on that; Sunstorm was a true warrior. A brief pang of sadness overcame her as she remembered Darkpelt's dedication to the clan, his ability to fight for his clan, to protect it. Sunstorm reminded her of her father in that way; both were senior warriors ready to lay their lives for the good of the clan. When Sunstorm cleared his throat, Nightmist was brought back to reality, her previous thoughts disappearing from her mind like a frightened bird in flight. "Horrible day for hunting" Nightmist nodded her head, "Yes; StarClan seems to be giving us many tests today," her quiet, soft mew carrying with the frigid wind. "But we will get through this; these times will only serve to make our clan stronger, and for that we should be thankful."

[/color] Her misty ice blue eyes looked up towards the sky, as if she were looking at StarClan, well, the left half of StarClan anyways. She glanced towards Sunstorm, who seemed to be, uncomfortable? The senior warrior was gazing out at the creek in front of them, his tail twitching ever so slightly.

Nightmist purred good naturedly again; the senior warrior was very amiable, and he reminded her very much of her father; for their warrior spirit if anything. "Still, in these tough times, the clan needs all they can get."[/color] The small black she-cat stood up, glancing at Sunstorm expectantly.

"Care to join me on my hunt?"

[ Note: ] It's fine, it wasn't a bad post. Sorry for my short post though; couldn't think of much else to put. :\

[/center]
[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

[T. Corpse]

SUNSTORM

Sunstorm wasn't sensitive enough or smart enough to notice her sudden change in emotions, and even if he had he wouldn't have known what to do. So he remained silent as her memory wandered; his gaze didn't once flicker back to Nightmist but instead was fixed at some point in front of him. His tail continued to twitch and he shifted about, keeping fluffing his fur up yet again. Sitting so still for so long was starting to make him cold and he began to shiver.

His ears twitched toward her as she started to talk again and he sent her a little look. "Well, StarClan can save their tests for another day," he muttered under his breath--he was normally optimistic, but it was almost Newleaf and he was sick of all this frigid cold nonsense.

He was glad that she was talking like a deputy because it would make it easier for him to treat her that way--no silly gossip or... other she-cat talk. He mumbled an agreement and shifted his weight around again, feeling like time was stretching out infinitely in front of him. He didn't know what to do with this! If she were anyone else he would butt up against her for warmth and would start talking incessantly about his hunt, or how he'd slept like a rock or something of that sort. But he just wasn't comfortable doing that with her.

"Yes!" he yowled, suddenly loud and shrill, when she suggested a hunt. That was something he could easily deal with. He stood up, unaware of how rude he had been. "Where do you want to start? Here?" As if he hadn't just scared away all the prey, "Either way, let's get going!" Sunstorm said, sharply.

[ Your post was fine! quality over quantity, right? c: ]

[Wolfie]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,348,true]

[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Nightmistmain.png] "Yes!" Nightmist laughed slightly before standing up also, following the senior warrior's actions. Shaking her head slightly, she looked up at the ginger warrior, amusement in her eyes. He seemed much like an eager apprentice, probably because this was something he could do; or perhaps because it didn't involve much talking? Either way, Sunstorm was eager to hunt for his clan, other reasons or not, and Nightmist couldn't help but be amused at this. "Where do you want to start? Here?" Nightmist sniffed the air quickly, whether he meant it or not, his sudden yowl scared away the prey there, sending them scurrying back into their homes, safely hidden away until they left. "Either way, let's get going!" Nightmist shook her head, amused at the senior warrior again. It's been a while since she hunted with someone who was enthusiastic about it, though she was almost sure Sunstorm was looking forward to hunting for a totally different reason. Still, he was excited about hunting, and that's all that mattered at the moment. "Hm, how about we make our way towards Rocky Hillside. We'll see what we can catch on the way too. Does that sound like a plan?" the small black she-cat asked her clanmate. Lifting up her head she tried to find any scents of prey. Finding none, she figured they must be a ways off, and so, flicking her tail against the shoulder of Sunstorm, a challenge in her eyes as she glanced back at the warrior, Nightmist turned and bounded towards Rocky Hillside, keeping her eye, ears, and nose open for anything that might alert her of any prey. 'Let's see who can catch the most prey, huh, Sunstorm?' As she bounded towards Rocky Hillside, Nightmist couldn't help but smile. It's been a while since she went hunting with someone, and even longer since she made a challenge during hunting and was having fun with it. It was surely too long, and she figured it was long enough for Sunstorm as well, as far as she knew. [ Note: ] Yes, yes, you are correct on that. Ooh, how will Sunstorm react to the hunting challenge?

[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

[T. Corpse]

SUNSTORM

Sunstorm was too oblivious and too nervous to notice her amusement--and of course he hadn't noticed how he'd been acting like an over-eager apprentice, either. He was a little notorious for acting like well, a kit, out on patrol in the Clan but he'd never noticed and now wasn't going to be when he acted his age. Especially around a she-cat he had no idea what to do with.

"You're the deputy," He said, a tad bit uncomfortably. He wasn't sure how to respond to that, as if she was asking permission to hunt where she wanted. He knew how he'd respond if one of his friends had asked that question--he'd have yowled something friendly and bounded off without hesitation, and then everything would be perfectly dandy and he wouldn't have to worry about if what he was doing was okay or not.

Sunstorm wasn't very good at being conflicted.

He turned to follow her out towards the Rocky Hillside, a little upset that his nice, quiet and productive (not really; but it fit with his "oh poor me" mantra to think he'd been productive before Nightmist had shown up) had been ruined by all these pesky thoughts. He was a simple cat. He hated it when things weren't black and white, easy to follow. He liked things that were like the Warrior Code: do this, not this. There is no room for error. With Nightmist, both a she-cat and deputy it wasn't quite the same--if only the Warrior Code told him how to act here! (Sunstorm conveniently ignored that it did, technically. That and he wasn't very good at reading between the lines.)

Another thing he hadn't noticed was that this had turned into a competition--he normally couldn't do things like that with the warriors he hunted with, anyway, since they were either like Whiteface and too lazy and unconcerned to try that hard or thought that such suggestions were kittish. So he wasn't on her cheery, enthusiastic wavelength as she bounded off--he was feeling glum and a little disappointed.

He was silent for a long while before parting his jaws and breathing in the warm scent of lizard. He immediately stopped and his ears swiveled this way and that, his tail lashing. It took a minute to pinpoint it but soon he had forgotten Nightmist and was sniffing quietly around until he saw it perched a top of a rock, attempting to sun itself in the weak sunlight.

Sunstorm's whiskers twitched, and he was on it in seconds. It lashed back and forth but he killed it swiftly enough. He purred, then buried it, feeling satisfied.

[Wolfie]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,348,true]

[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Nightmistmain.png] Nightmist looked back, and saw Sunstorm disappear quickly; and she laughed slightly, before catching the scent of a lizard. Crouching, she focused on the scent, before realizing that there was another cat around. Sunstorm. Nightmist's tail flicked in amusement, of course they'd be hunting the same prey. So, instead of going towards the lizard, Nightmist disappeared into the shadows and scented for another prey. Finally, she caught the scent of a mouse; then hearing it scurrying about the leaves around it, Nightmist crouched to the ground, her body as still as can be in the shadows. The only thing that said she was there was her scent, which the mouse hadn't picked up on and her misty ice blue eyes. Stalkinh forward, Nightmist waited until the mouse was busy sniffing around the ground for food to pounce. Once she saw it, she bolted out of the shadows and pounced onto the mouse before it could get a chance to even run. One thing she learned to use to her own advantage, the thing she used as her own style. Her speed. Picking up the mouse, she made her way to where she knew Sunstorm was, pretty sure he caught the lizard, as the scent still lingered in the area. As she stepped out of the shadows, she purred as she saw Sunstorm burying his caught piece of prey. "Good catch." she praised, before burying her own mouse. Flicking her tail, her gaze turned towards Sunstorm. "So, do you want to stay here? Or try continue on towards Rocky Hillside?" After all, they hadn't gone very far from Shallow Creek. Wondering whether Sunstorm would choose to answer or not, since the last time she suggested it, he told her she was the deputy. Purring slightly, Nightmist smiled at the ginger warrior, "Where do you think there'll be more prey?" She changed the question, so instead of him giving his opinion on where they should hunt, he'll just be giving his opinion on the best place to hunt. That should at least be something he could answer, without having to worry about her rank, especially since leaders and deputies ask for opinions like this all the time. Her tail flicked as she paced slightly, looking at Sunstorm with expectant eyes.

[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

[T. Corpse]

SUNSTORM

His tail twitched, and he looked away. This time it was more like she was asking his opinion, not trying to get him to take the lead, so he didn't immediately jump up and grumble about how it was her decision, but still. His tail twitched and he stared at her for a moment, then finally shrugging. "Well. I don't see why all the prey would run off." And Sunstorm was right: neither of them had made a whole lot of noise when they caught their prey and there hadn't really been a reason for everything else to take off.

But for another moment he continued to stare at her, saying nothing, as if waiting for her to give the signal that it was okay to hunt again. If only Ghoststar was still deputy! He always knew where he stood with their leader--even if he wasn't Clanborn, he was leader now, so it hardly mattered--and it was so much easier hunting with him. They got along, there was no reason to worry if what he was doing was right. But now that he had to hunt with Nightmist...

Sunstorm shook himself, took a deep breath and pinned the other cat with a hard stare. "So, does this count as a patrol, or what? Am I scheduled to do borders, today or anything else?" He prompted her, trying to force all the discomfort out of his voice, though his words came out gruff and after a moment his glare lost its strength and he looked in a different direction.

Another few beats of uncomfortable silence passed, and he thought that maybe he should go and try hunting something, but again, he wanted to know if she would agree with his decision. He wished this were easier! If only she were a tom--but she wasn't, and now he had to deal with all this mouse-dung.

[Wolfie]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,348,true]

[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Nightmistmain.png] Nightmist looked at the senior warrior amused; he was older than her, by many moons, and yet she couldn't help but think of him as the new warrior who had a run in with the clan deputy and decided to join. She remembered that, the feeling of discomfort when she was around such skilled warriors who had a great importance in the clan. Sunstorm seemed this way to her, though she knew it wasn't because she was the deputy, since he got along fabulously with their leader, Ghoststar. Glancing at him Nightmist nodded, "I see no reason they would run off either. We weren't as noticeable as badgers." she mewed thoughtfully, a hint of amusement in her soft voice. Nodding, almost to herself, she turned towards Sunstorm, her eyes taking in his movements, reading his feelings. Yes, he reminded her very much of a newly made warrior hunting with the leader, or deputy. She figured it was because she was a she-cat, and Sunstorm was obviously a tom. Nightmist knows he doesn't have this problem with everyone else, and not Ghoststar, but she never really saw him with a she-cat. Perhaps he found it discomforting to be around them. Sitting down patiently, the small black she-cat stared at her clanmate, thoughts swarming about her head. Shaking her head slightly, she purred. "Sure, so long as you catch more than that lizard, I think you'll be fine. No need to worry, there are other warriors and patrols to send out anyways." Slowly getting up, Nightmist turned away, looking towards the shadows of the trees. With a nod of her head towards Sunstorm, and a flick of her tail, Nightmist bounded towards the direction she was facing earlier. "Would it be ok if we bury all our prey here, so they'll all be in one area, Sunstorm?" she paused running, just before she melted into the shadows around her, misty ice blue eyes looking at the ginger tom. She had planned to do that anyways, but perhaps when they were done hunting, they would be able to get their prey easily, especially since the low prey caught during leaf-bare. It would be advantageous, so she just wanted to give the warrior a heads up, if he wanted to do the same.

[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]