The Life of a Warrior

[pheonix]

A muffled yawn appeared from the entrance of the Warriors Den. Moments later, Duskclaw stepped out. His gaze traveled over all the cats that were in the camp, and a slight smile grew on his face. Ah, this was the life. No matter what was happening, he would never regret becoming a warrior. Through thick and thin, he was happy with his lot in life, and that's all that mattered. He stretched out in front of the den, then moved over a bit so that he sat in the shade. His tongue slipped across his thick fur with ease, occasionally catching on a rock of piece of shell, which he pulled out without complaint. He really should start checking what was under him before he slept. Duskclaw sat up straight once more, and did another once-over on his surroundings.

He thought of going out for some hunting, but wasn't quite sure of whether he wanted to wait until he was fully awake, or go now. Even if the prey was plentiful, he couldn't chance scaring off what he could have caught. A Warrior always thought of his Clan first... His thoughts turned to the Warrior Code, which he recited in his head easily. If you had been living by that code for a good two or three years, you would know it by heart, too.

[Kitty]

Gingertail sat up from her seat next to the fresh-kill pile, where'd she'd just been demolishing a cold mouse left over from the night before. Someone would need to go hunting again, and soon. She wondered if she should, then shrugged and began her grooming. Between licks, she scanned the camp with her big green eyes. She noticed Duskclaw by the warriors den and, without even stopping to think about it, pranced over.

"Hey!" she greeted him, plopping down on the ground beside the tom. "Whatcha doing?" she asked conversationally, then continued with her not-so-thorough grooming, pausing only every so often to take a breath. Her paws were itching to get out of camp. It had to be so boring there...She sighed nearly silently. She found her thoughts wandering from one thing to another, unable to focus on one thing for too long. Ohh, what a pretty cloud. Is that a bug? Ew, it's huge. Hey! I missed a spot on my tail! It was a wonder she was able to focus on hunting long enough to catch anything, especially fish.

[pheonix]

Duskclaw looked up from his own grooming as Gingertail made her way over. His tail twitched slightly, impressed by how the she-cat could be so energetic all the time. "Hello, Gingertail. I'm not really doing much. Just grooming a bit, as I've just woken up." With his own little sigh, he toyed with the idea of going out and hunting with the she-cat sitting next to him. A glance over to where she had come from confirmed his suspicions, and so he stood up. "Would you like to go hunting with me? We could grab a few others, and replenish the fresh-kill pile." He suggested, shoulder shifting as he stretched them.

[Kitty]

Gingertail looked up from her grooming to the tom, disengaging herself from her thoughts. "Sure, that'd be fun!" she agreed. "There's not much left over there," she meowed sadly, flicking her poofy tail towards the fresh-kill pile. "Let me finish up here. Then we could try and find a couple more cats." She began cleaning even faster than she was before. The ginger she-cat hurriedly finished up. "Where will we go hunting at?" she asked. "Fishing? I think fishing would be fun. Don't you agree?" She began a pointless story about how she once fell into the river while fishing, and with an effort shut herself up. "I got all wet..." she ended lamely. Flicking her ears, she sat up from the crouch she'd ended up in. "So, let's find some more cats!" she announced enthusiastically.

[pheonix]

Duskclaw nodded, and turned to watch her as she groomed. "Fishing would be pleasant." He added at the end of her rather pointless story. "It happens to the best of us at one point." Came the second remark, as he tried to make her feel better. The story hadn't been fantastically interesting, but it was nice of her to share her thoughts. "Yes, it would be nice to have a few others to go out with." Duskclaw stated, feeling a bit stupid after saying it. She probably already knew that. Shaking his harsh thoughts away, he smiled kindly to her, and turned slightly to stare out into the middle of the camp.

[Kitty]

Gingertail grinned back. At least he seemed somewhat interested in her story. That was better than some cats. "So, who else to go hunting with?" she asked. "We'll catch more with more than two cats, but I guess if we can't find any other one we could go by ourselves." She had to admit that the idea didn't really appeal to her; she'd always found hunting more fun with three or four cats. More friends to joke around with and talk to. Hunting couldn't be all hunting, no talking, could it? No, she refused to believe that. It was one of the things that made her enjoy it so much more than fighting: you actually talk during it. What was the point of striking up a conversation in the middle of a battle, when you were trying to avoid getting your ears or your tail bitten off? She couldn't find one. The she-cat realized her thoughts had been straying again and quickly refocused herself. "Any ideas?" she added onto her statement.

[froststream]

Icefeather opened his eyes slowly. He had been awoken from a deep and refreshing slumber. Irratibly he scratched his ear, shook the moss from his long pelt and set to grooming it. He licked, pulled, flattened and twisted his fur into the best he could. Tufts were still everywhere. All the knots were out, but these cow licks were permanent. His mother was really the only one who could actually make him look presentable, but after he became an apprentice she stopped. He looked foolish being groomed by his mother anyway.

Icefeather was always cranky in the morning, until he had something to eat. He ignored his messy pelt and crept into the sunlight. Being the youngest RiverClan warrior, he felt he had to prove himself. He blinked a few times at the light, then swifty loped towards the fresh kill pile. His gangly, long legs stepped quicker until he was there. The scent of the prey made his mouth water. His stomach growled loudly. He was hungry, he really was.

Icefeather glanced over his shoulder and snatched a small water vole. He devoured it in two swift gulps. No more until he actually hunted. He licked his lips and stood, flicking flies away from his ears.

[Kitty]

"Icefeather!" Gingertail trilled loudly across the clearing to the tom at the fresh-kill pile. "Wanna hunt? Me and Duskclaw are going hunting soon and we need another cat or two!" She trotted quickly over to the tom to stand beside him. "Shouldn't you clean your pelt, though?" she asked, looking over his messy fur. "I mean, it's kinda clumpy and a mess right now, but it that's the way you like it..." She shrugged, letting it go. "Whatever you wanna do." She looked back towards Duskclaw, debating about whether or not to sit by him or Icefeather. She padded to halfway between the two toms and sat down there instead of having to make a decision.

[froststream]

Icefeather purred at Gingertail. He licked a small tuft from his chest, but it immediately stuck out again. He smiled and turned to sit next to Gingertail. He enjoyed the she cat's company, even if she was so energetic. He checked his pelt again. Glossy and healthy, knot free but.... So much for the tufts. They would just have to stay. Sometimes it was frusterating, but today he was in a good mood. He couldn't be bothered.

"Sure," he purred to Gingertail. "I'd love to."

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

((Would you guys kill me if I did the time skip now? It will be evening, after the patrol, and Willowstar will be having a Clan meeting.))

[Kitty]

"Sure, come on!" Gingertail jumped up and turned towards Duskclaw. "Let's go out now!" she announced. "We've got another cat!" She trotted over to him and circled him a couple and ended up sitting beside Icefeather again. "Jut tell me when you're ready to leave!" she meowed, and started cleaning her paws, unable to sit idly anymore. She was pleased that herfur actually flattened down when she groomed it. No offense to Icefeather. It wasn't his fault his fur didn't, but what could he do about it?

((Fine by me. ^_^ That post was pretty short, anyway. I guess it doesn't help that its after 2, though.))

[froststream]

Icefeather smiled. The wind ruffled his fur even more, giving him a playful and humorous look. That was almost how he looked all the time, so it didn't matter. Icefeather yawned again. He wasn't completely awake, and his stomach growled. "I'm ready to go anytime," he said happily, standing. A good hunt to loosen the muscles sounded perfect. He was starting to get bored sitting around in camp. He also felt the need to cool off in the water. The sun was hot for a day like this.