sisi ni sawa (WE ARE THE SAME) [cream/open]

well, fine, i can do this! he'd thought, determination sending a surge of energy washing anew through his veins. what was his assigned mission? well...err...even lambpaw wasn't sure about that. barkstep hadn't exactly deigned to spare him the details. with a soft grunt of annoyance the fluffy male picked up his space, kicking up foliage as he ran.

wind streamed through his whiskers, and frustration with his mentor finally began to melt away like morning mist as he sprinted across the
sloping land of skyclan. maybe he could hunt! he'd been practicing his
technique the past few days, and he liked to think he was improving with every passing attempt. and what would barkstep think when he'd delivered a whole load of prey back to camp? excitement burned beneath his pelt at the very thought. not so useless now, huh?!

skidding to an abrupt halt, lambpaw at once took to a hunting crouch, his small hackles shifting as he eyed a thick scrap of foliage a mere few mousetails ahead. tasting the air, drawing in the thick scent of rat
musk and perhaps the subtle taste of a nearby wood pigeon, the tomcat could hardly keep himself still. his claws unsheathed and sheathed restlessly, he pawed, impatient, at crackling leaves and sticks as he awaited the appearance of his quarry. but nothing emerged - lambpaw could almost swear that he'd caught sight of a pink tail slipping back into a hole, but by the time he'd leaped to investigate, it had disappeared.

the small apprentice couldn't contain a sigh of disappointment. maybe he was being too noisy; he'd probably scared away all the food within a five mile radius. whiskers twitching, he irritably shook out his pelt and began to make a beeline for camp - what will barkstep say when i return empty pawed? he couldn't help thinking, surprised at his desire
for approval from the prickly warrior. he brushed away the thought with a whisk of his tail, and bounded back up up the slope, nose constantly twitching on the alert for prey.

there was a sudden snap - his ears flicked, his head swung to the left, a small growl bubbled up from his maw. but then voices soon accompanied the rustling, soft, feminine mews and frantic squeals of - his nose twitched again - rabbit!

and that scent! he knew it anywhere. he took off at a run again, squeezing himself between a small gap under thorny rose bushes, and as he emerged, pelt tangled and dusted, his waning growl at once turned to a welcoming purr.

creampaw and maplepaw perched in a clearing, their smells familiar and warm. and beneath maplepaw's chest was a rabbit, its legs kicking feebly, its eyes wide and its breath emerging in thick, frantic gasps.

...and, of course, as usual, maplepaw was messing around, doing who knows what.

"maplepaw," the tom sighed, exasperation tinging his mew. "we're meant to eat our food, not make friends out of it." he glanced over at creampaw, confusion written on her countenance. sadly, he wasn't exactly surprised that maplepaw was chattering happily away to her plump and easy meal; it was just the sort of thing his sister was known for. "don't worry about her," he meowed, with an exaggerated roll of his eyes; "she does this sort of thing all the time."

despite his harsh words, there was a playful edge to his tone, and honestly lambpaw couldn't really be angry at his sister. besides, she had caught a pretty good piece of prey! a mingling mixture of envy and admiration tugged at his heart, and soon his previous annoyance was forgotten. "oh man, i bet your mentor's gonna praise you for that catch! hey, can i have a bite too?"

alpine crescendo