Let's See Your Moves [Swallowfang & Flameclaw]

[:c a i:]

With confident, long strides, Flameclaw padded out of camp beside Swallowfang, his shoulder significantly higher than the black she-cat's. He smiled easily at her, leading the way to Sunningrocks so they might have a leisurely hunting trip. There would be plenty of easily-caught prey around the rocks on the warm greenleaf afternoon, and so Flameclaw expected a decent haul to bring back.

He wasn't sure why he'd asked Swallowfang to come with him. Probably a mixture of the fact that she was there, that Tigerheart was calling him lazy and that he liked being friendly. He tended to be good-tempered with everybody and couldn't help but spend time with them. He cultivated friendships with most of the Clan; Swallowfang was no exception.

Soon, Sunningrocks came into view, and the hunt could begin. Flameclaw glanced around, scented the air and stretched his forelegs in mock preparation for a hunt. "Squirrel to the left. Mouse to the right. Which d'you want to go for?" He cocked his head to one side, waiting for Swallowfang to choose her prey. Easy pickings, he thought. The two creatures were close by, and probably drowsy from the warmth of the afternoon. He imagined they would make a swift kill, be able to take it easy for the rest of the afternoon and still come back with prey. Perfect.

[[Bit of a sticky post, sorry Yellow. x3]]

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

((It's fine, it wasn't bad. x3))

She was used to this by now. Being a warrior for most of her life had gotten her acquainted with the routine. Quiet paw steps, ears and eyes alert, jaw slightly open to collect and analyze scents. Her dark pelt allowed her to blend into the shadows created by the canopy of trees, giving her a slight advantage over keen-eyed prey. And she would need it if she expected to bring a good amount of food back to camp. Obviously she was much more focused on her goal than Flameclaw was, because the golden furred warrior seemed relaxed and not at all concerned over whether or not he would catch anything. Perhaps he was more confident in his skills than she was. She glanced at the tom after they arrived at Sunningrocks and supposed this was as good a spot as any.

She scented the air once more as he did and caught the prey-scent as well. Squirrel and mouse, she wasn't surprised that this area was plentiful with prey during the warm greenleaf day. And so she would have to try first. Swallowfang wasn't particularly thrilled about that, but she knew she'd have to try to catch something sooner or later. Glancing around, she located the two creatures close by. The squirrel to her left was slightly closer than the mouse, but she knew from experience that she might have better luck if she tried the grounded prey. Mice weren't as likely to climb up a tree and speed away as a squirrel was, so with that in mind she set her gaze to the right.

Body low, tail parallel to the ground, she inched closer. The mouse was preoccupied with a seed of some sort so that would help her. She came within a couple tail-lengths of the mouse, which surprised her, but she kept on staring at it and waiting for the right chance to pounce. Suddenly the mouse noticed her and fled, making a racket in the grass and undergrowth for such a small creature. Swallowfang hissed and chased after it, claws coming within a whisker of brushing its fur before the mouse changed direction and left the warrior face-first in the dirt. By the time she picked herself up again, her tail was bristled up and lashing and she looked utterly furious. She should have had that catch, it was too easy! She didn't know what she had done wrong but she did know that now she was off to a horrible start. "Mouse dung," she growled and dug her claws into the ground, refusing to look at the other warrior.

[:c a i:]

In the meantime, Flameclaw had gone the other way to start stalking the squirrel. It was chewing something underneath a tree, oblivious to everything except its tasty snack, benignly sitting there as if it were waiting for him to catch it. He didn't doubt for a moment that he would, since it was practically a sitting duck. Starting the hunt, Flameclaw lowered his body and, for such a big tom, moved quietly and stealthily, his strong legs carrying him swiftly to the place where his prey sat. If he were a smaller cat, he would have tried to get closer to the squirrel so he would literally be within snatching distance of it, but as it was he didn't risk getting too close and startling it.

His belly flat to the ground, Flameclaw waited patiently for the right moment. The still air let him be sure his scent would not waft towards the little creature, and he sat as still as stone. Finally, when the squirrel was busying itself with another piece of nut, Flameclaw launched himself out of cover like a charging tiger. He looked every inch the big cat, his striped pelt standing out as he emerged from the shadows and his tight muscles flexing in movement. The squirrel screeched in alarm, frantically trying to flee up the tree, but not fast enough. One of Flameclaw's great paws collided with its side and flung it down, allowing him to finish with a smooth and swift kill. Thanking StarClan cheerfully, Flameclaw picked up the squirrel and wandered back out towards Swallowfang, thinking she would have made her kill by now.

"Too easy, eh?" He remarked. "They were half asleep!" Just then he glanced at Swallowfang's empty jaws, and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, apparently so were you! No catch?" He laughed, realising that she hadn't caught the mouse. He came up beside her and set the squirrel down, nudging her teasingly. "Ah well, come on, cheer up. Maybe it was a super-mouse." He stretched lazily, then scuffed some leaves over his squirrel to hide it. He cocked his head at Swallowfang, pondering for a moment.

"Maybe a couple more pieces, and then we can sit out in the sun before it goes down completely." He said, glancing up at the rapidly lowering sun. It would set soon, and that would be a signal to return to camp. "Good luck! But I'm sure you don't need it." He grinned cheekily at Swallowfang, winked, and set off to find something else to catch.

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang heard Flameclaw's voice again that told her he was back after trying his own catch. From the cheerful tone she guessed he had caught the squirrel, which only ticked her off more. There were several cats in the Clan who would laugh and tease her for missing such an easy catch but at least Flameclaw wasn't trying to be completely smug. Who was she kidding, it was still humiliating ether way. She grunted in response to his nudge and, at least trying to maintain some dignity, responded, "Fine." She didn't want to stay in a grumpy mood the whole time, whether or not she managed to catch anything. She would just keep trying, and she was glad to hear that he would be going off on his own for the rest of the time. That meant he wouldn't have a chance to laugh if she missed another piece of prey. "I'll meet you back here," Swallowfang meowed breezily, covering up her irritation at her mistake and becoming determined to focus more on her hunting.

Once he had gone his own way to find some prey, Swallowfang scented the air again and started following the trail of a vole. It led out of the forest, along the sun-warmed stones and close to the edge of the river. A water vole? She crept low to the ground as she followed the scent, shifting uncomfortably with the hot sun against her black fur. Soon she saw the vole, sniffing among the reeds that were growing at the bank of the river. The reeds would make it difficult, but their cover would also hide her from the vole's view. She would be able to get much closer this time. Once she was within a tail-length or two, she paused and mused over the best direction to go at it. However she didn't get a chance to think much because the vole darted out from the reeds and headed for cover. Sunningrocks! If she didn't get it it would disappear in between the stones and be out of reach. Swallowfang darted after it, this time putting on an extra burst of speed, and managed to snag her claw into its fur. Then she brought herself on top of the prey and bit its neck to kill it.

Yes, she caught something and now she would have at least one piece of fresh-kill to bring to camp. She kicked some earth over her kill and remembered where it was buried so she could get it later. Unable to scent anything else in the immediate area, she started to wander back toward the forest. It was just as likely that prey would be hiding in the shade of the woods as well as near Sunningrocks, or so she assumed.

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[:c a i:]

Unfortunately, Flameclaw hadn't had as much success with his next chase as he had in the first. He had stalked a mouse all the way up to within a foxlength of it, but then the wind changed and the rodent was gone before he could even say "mousedung". Not put off by this miss, Flameclaw strode off in search of better quarry, and he nosed around some rocks to see if he could pick up a scent.

He soon did, because a sparrow landed not too far from him, emitting a tempting scent that he couldn't ignore. With patience as he began his hunt again, Flameclaw slid along the ground on his belly, inching forwards. He crept and crept until the scent of sparrow was so strong that his mouth almost started watering. He could see the details of its tiny wings, and its sharp little beak pecking at the ground. Practically close enough to just reach out and-

"Mousedung." The sparrow flew away, blissfully ignorant to his ever having been near it. He hadn't messed anything up, he hadn't somehow given himself away. Luck simply wasn't with him, and for some reason he seemed quite unable to catch even the slightest thing. "Must be contagious." He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes at the thought. Maybe Swallowfang was having better luck now. He hoped so, or the pair of them would have a rather stingy haul to bring back to camp.

After wandering around for a few minutes, Flameclaw found no traces of any further prey and had to give up on the immediate vicinity. He stretched briefly, then set off into the forest to see if he might find something better there. As he went, he realised with amusement that he was actually heading along the same path Swallowfang had gone, because her scent wafted to him from all around. Increasing his speed, he managed to catch up with her, a vague smile crossing his face.

"Hello again," he chuckled. "Catch anything?"

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang hadn't had much more luck apart from that vole. Since padding further into the forest she had followed the scent of squirrel to an area with very thick undergrowth and had spotted the creature underneath some ferns. Surprisingly it hadn't realized she was there, so she moved closer even knowing it would be hard to get at it. At last it started to move away from the fern and Swallowfang chased after it, but it quickly escaped up a tree and out of reach. She could have climbed up after it but it would have been a waste of energy, so instead she tried to find something else.

She was scenting the air again when suddenly Flameclaw was beside her again, smiling cheerily in that odd way he always seemed to be in a good mood. Glad I managed to catch something, she thought and said, "I caught a vole earlier. What about you?"

((Terrible post e.e Sorry.))

[:c a i:]

Flameclaw shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "No luck," he replied. "A couple got away from me. Good job one of us is proving she has hunting skills, hm?" He chuckled lightly, bumping amicably against her briefly. He wasn't particularly concerned by the slow hunting afternoon, since two pieces of prey wasn't a complete failure. They would have something to bring back to camp to feed a couple of cats, and there would be other hunting patrols bringing more back too.

"Oh well. Meet you back on Sunningrocks in ten?" Flameclaw rolled one muscular shoulder as if it were sore, then nodded at Swallowfang with a half-smile. He darted off into the undergrowth in search of more prey, and it was not long before he was on the trail of a little sparrow, flitting down from the safe heights of the tree to feed on the ground. Flameclaw decided to take a risk and charge from quite a distance. He was fortunate, and managed to swipe the bird almost out of the air as it took off in a panic. He snagged its wing and dragged it down, his jaws finding its tiny throat. He thanked StarClan for the kill and gently picked up his prey, heading towards the warm stones of Sunningrocks to see if Swallowfang had beaten him there or not.

She hadn't. There was no sign of her yet, so Flameclaw deposited his kill next to the squirrel from earlier before he settled himself on the heated rocks to wait. The early evening was drawing on, bringing a gentle sunlight which hit his pelt and made it shine golden. Stretched out in the sun with his great limbs neatly folded, Flameclaw made for quite a majestic image. That is, until he spoiled the effect by rolling over like a boisterous kit...

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang nodded back at Flameclaw, the only agreement she needed to give as the tom disappeared again into the forest. She had only caught that vole so far and she aimed to catch at least one more piece of fresh-kill before returning to camp. So she padded further into the territory with her jaws slightly open. Soon she caught the scent of mouse and instinctively crouched down. It didn't take her long to spot the creature, sniffing around underneath some ferns but in plain sight. Keeping her paws light, she eased forward and advanced on it, making sure to stay upwind. But she wasn't watching herself carefully enough, because she accidentally stepped on a rather noisy leaf that had fallen to the forest floor, alerting the mouse and sending it scurrying out of reach. She didn't even have time to attempt to chase it before it was gone. "Mousedung!" She cursed out loud, shaking her head side to side and lashing her tail.

After a few more unsuccessful attempts and then unable to scent any more prey, Swallowfang gave up and decided to just meet up with Flameclaw. She had that vole, at least. When she returned to the edge of the forest and looked out at the sun-warmed rocks, she simply rolled her eyes as she approached. "You must have caught a lot if you can afford to roll around like a kit." The jibe was good natured and she had an amused tone despite not having much success herself. She padded past the small collection of prey Flameclaw had found and dug up her own vole, then placing it on the pile. "When do you think we should head back to camp?"

[:c a i:]

Caught in the process of rolling over, Flameclaw looked up at Swallowfang with twinkling eyes as he started to chuckle. He lay back with his paws in the air, sighing a relaxed sigh, creating the amusing sight of one of ThunderClan's biggest toms lolling around on his back apparently without a care in the world. A low, rumbling purr started up as the big tom enjoyed the last rays of sun, laid out on one side. Whatever concerns ThunderClan had, everything felt peaceful in the slowly setting greenleaf sun. He didn't question Swallowfang about her prey, but left her to lay down whatever she had caught before coming to join him.

"Hmm, I caught enough. Embrace your inner kit, Swallowfang. It's good for you." He chuckled and turned back over to rest his belly on the still-warm rock underneath him. "Back to camp? Whenever these stones stop being warm." He replied simply, half closing his eyes as he gazed out into the horizon, the sky streaked with warm colours from the sunset. "Unless you want to get rid of me already, of course." he added as an afterthought, deep golden eyes fixing sidelong on the she-cat beside him. "In which case, you are of course free to go back!" He hoped she wouldn't leave, though, since it was hardly as much fun to relax in the sun alone.

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Inner kit? Great StarClan, she couldn't even remember her kit days. Where was the honorable, mature warrior she had always seemed to know Flameclaw to be? He enjoyed goofing off a little too much and she suspected that could get irritating rather quickly. But he had caught more prey than her- not that that was much of an accomplishment- so she had to give him some credit. But acting like a kit? Not likely for her. He didn't seem to want to go back to camp yet so it looked like she would have to stick around or go back to camp on her own. Neither proved particularly appealing, and there was the chance of their fresh-kill going cold if they didn't bring it back soon, but she was already here. She could stick around for a little while.

So without a word Swallowfang leaped onto the nearest boulder, easily steadying herself with her tail and pulling her claws in so they wouldn't get torn on the hard stone. The heat on the rock was already warming her paws, and her black fur trapped in warm sunlight just as quickly. She lay down on the stone, feeling heat seem in through her belly and supposed this wasn't such a bad idea. "Nice sunset," She said, unable to summon anything else to say. She wasn't a soft queen who admired pretty things or spent the time to observe things like the sun setting- usually much more concerned with Clan life and such- but she could admire the splashes of color across the sky that were so different from the usual blue.