we could be heroes!! {toad & mu}

after what seemed like forever of him laying there on his belly, his orange eyes finally honed in on a small frog, camouflaged among the reeds poking up from the stream bed. he slid forward on his stomach, big paws hanging over the edge of the bridge, a short distance from the water; only a few fox lengths. his haunches instinctively quivered as he made ready to pounce down onto the clammy creature, either for hunting or just for fun. it didn't really matter to mushroompaw.

before he could pounce, however, a flat face poked out from a shrub near the water and big round eyes honed in on him. the big white apprentice startled, his fur standing on end from the shock of the cat appearing in such a way. he let out a short yowl. just as he recognized his aunt, toadface, he was sailing over the edge of the wooden platform and crash landing in the water with a great splash! the stream at this point wasn't even deep enough to cover his head, but it did soak his belly fur, a rather unpleasant feeling indeed. the frog he'd been watching let out a loud croak and hopped away, vanishing beneath the now muddy surface of the water. "t-toadface!" the apprentice exclaimed, dripping wet, shivering a bit in the cool newleaf morning.

he stepped out of the stream, promptly shaking out his fur. "i was trying to catch a frog," he mewed sheepishly, embarrassed by his yowl and fall into the stream. "were you trying to scare me out of my fur?" mushroompaw added goodnaturedly, half-smiling at his kin.

Fletcher

mushroompaw let out a groan and flattened his ears as his aunt licked his head, but he couldn't help but grin up at the silly warrior. it had been pretty funny seeing her poke her head out like that, surprising as it was. "think so," he murmured in response to her question, beginning to lick his wet fur with vigorous strokes in order to dry it out more quickly. 

he stifled a laugh as toadface wrinkled her nose at the wind. "i had to get out of camp before sharpfrost found me and made me do training all day," he confided, orange eyes round with a bit of fear of his stern mentor. the day was too beautiful and bright for training under his mentor's harsh commands late into the evening. he wanted to chase a butterfly, munch on a frog, go for a swim, race through the reeds!

"you did look awfully awkward flattened out like that." the big white and orange apprentice growled softly, but he knew she meant no harm. he turned his face up to her with a pouty expression. "you looked pretty silly yourself, poking out like that!" mushroompaw exclaimed plaintively, shaking out the last of the moisture from his downy coat. "will you show me how to catch a frog, toadface?" he blinked at her with wide eyes, the kitten-fluff still evident about his features. "pleaaaaaaaaase?"


Fletcher

as his pleas were rewarded with a "for sure!" mushroompaw let out a squeak of excitement. his aunt was loads more fun than his mentor! the big white apprentice bumbled into the river after toadface, feeling the cool water re-soaking his belly fur; it was warmer now though, so this time it felt kinda good. the morning was heating up with the sun and the sky had turned azure, spanning endlessly. 

"she doesn't need to find out... right?" mushroompaw gave toadface a cheeky grin. sharpfrost was always so busy, he doubted she'd hear of his aunt teaching him how to hunt frogs. it was pretty minor, after all. it was worth it, and he knew he'd take the blame in a heartbeat even if his mentor somehow found out about it. the young tom sighed, dropping his round amber-flecked eyes. "i wish you were my mentor instead," he mrrowed, cautiously following her deeper into the water. it was very slow moving and shallow, but didn't seem to be quite the place for frogs. he remained there as toadface scanned the bank, trying to follow her eyes in their hugeness as they darted about. 

after a bit of looking, he spotted one of the dark brown creatures hiding among the cattails at the edge of the water, just a couple foxlengths downstream. it was just floating there among the stalks, seemingly oblivious to the two cats nearby. "there's one," he whispered, as quiet as he could in his excitement.


Fletcher