[Reedfoot]x[Rowanheart] Hunting

[Whiskers]

ooc// This board is specifically for Pyro's cat Reedfoot, though if Pyro has no objection, then I wouldn't mind other cats coming in along the way as well.

bic//

When Rowanheart had asked Reedfoot if she wanted to go hunting with him, he immediately thought of Zoe and felt a strange stir in his heart.

It wasn't a romantic stir-- Reedfoot was pretty, yes, but he had no feelings of love for her at this moment in time. (He doubted he ever would, being a widower and a father already.) It wasn't one of guilt... he knew that Zoe would want him to be happy and certainly wouldn't send ill thoughts to him if he was hunting with a female clanmate. So what was it?

He had puzzled over it for quite some time. He couldn't quite... place his paw on it... it had hidden in the corner of his mind and he couldn't retrieve it. Maybe it's because of stress. Frostpaw. Yes Frostpaw, I'm sure, has caused me to finally go daffy. Oi. I really do need this hunting trip then.

And oh, he did! Rowanheart was looking forward to getting out of the camp without that annoying piece of fluff nagging in his ear or yelling at him, or hissing at him, or messing with his kids, or giving him the evil eye, or trying to unhinge him, to drive him up a tree, to make him lose his wits...

Rowanheart sighed and tried to calm himself again. Why should he be even thinking about the conversation in the woods the other day? It sometimes crept up on him and he felt guilty over a few things he said, but at the same time, he knew they were justified. If only he had someone to talk to about Frostpaw. True, he was friendly and quite popular with the clan-- he was a loyal warrior and a Starclan worshipper after all, so why shouldn't he be? But he didn't have many close friends as he concentrated on mentoring Frostpaw (a growl escaped him as he thought this) and on his sons. Everyone in the clan knew what a dedicated father he was and because of that firm dedication, he never got much change to form true, lasting bonds.

But maybe right now, that could change. Reedfoot was very pleasant and Rowanheart hoped that maybe he could confide in her some of his worries and then maybe listen to some of hers. A friendship could grow out of this one hunting trip, as long as he didn't tread on the she-cat's toes.

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[Pyro]

A reddish brown tabby she-cat walked out of her den, tense as all-get-out. Reedfoot glanced around nervously. A passing cat might have thought it was because of the hunting trip she was going on with Rowanheart, but in reality her concern at the moment was Otterclaw.

Her frustrating brother still wasn't back from his hunt, and Reedfoot was starting to get worried. What if something had happened? ...Or what if he had just curled up somewhere to fall asleep again? It was probably the latter.

The she-cat shook herself mentally. No. She mustn't let that idiot ruin her day. She was going on a hunt with Rowanheart, a rather nice tom who wasn't lacking in the looks department. Reedfoot padded over to the tom, forcing a look of cheerfulness on her face. Another mental shake made the cheerfulness seem natural.

"Hello Rowanheart! Ready to go?" More mental shakes and slaps. Did she sound too bossy? Probably.

[Whiskers]

And here she was now, trotting toward him with a cheerful smile on her face that Rowanheart accepted (despite the slight look of forcefullness) with his own smile. Smiles came easily to him; in fact, making the tom happy wasn't that hard at all. Just give Rowanheart a pretty day, a nice cat to talk to, and he was set, as long as the conversastion didn't wander into a forbidden topic.

He straightened his posture as she came closer and his smile widened over his muzzle more as Reedfoot asked him if he was ready. It was nice, very nice, to spend time with a female who didn't sound so bloody full of herself all the time. And like a spring rain, just her words seemed to lift away any nasty thoughts that pinned him down to the ground. He felt ten times younger now that he was relaxing.

"More than ready," he answered as excitement tickled his toes, "I've been waiting to get out of the camp for what feels like moons now." And he sighed in relief, being very vocal about his emotions and his troubles. Though no one would be surprised by his troubles since everyone knew that Frostpaw was his apprentice and that she was quite a pain in the tail.

He turned and shuffled away from the camp entrance, the territory welcoming him with soft earth to walk on. Leaves brushed at his long red pelt as he manuevered his way farther from camp, but he kept his gait slow and easy so that he and his companion could have a conversation. Meanwhile, the forest began to stir and his body prepared automatically for the hunt. There wasn't much yet, a slight twinge of a scent and a small movement up ahead maybe, but he wasn't near enought to act on either.

[Pyro]

"Well then, I'm glad I can help you get out." Her smile was more genuine this time. Reedfoot followed the tom out of camp, trying her best to look on the bright side of things. Otterclaw would no doubt return with prey to make up for his unusually long hunting trip...Lest he feel her wrath.

Reedfoot tensed as she caught the scent. She forced herself to relax though. As fast as she was, if she made a mistake, there was no way she would get the prey, if there was any there. That, and the fact that as they got closer, the scent began to seem stale. If she pounced on air, she'd look like a fool, something Reedfoot liked to avoid.

"So, how's your mentoring been going? I hear Frostpaw is a pawful." she whispered.

[Whiskers]

A small, friendly chuckle eased from his mouth as Reedfoot asked him about Frostpaw. Pawful? Oh what an understatement. What a hilarious understatement. But he nodded vigorously as he suddenly quickened his pace and fell into a crouch. He had scented.... what smelled like vole. His eyes flicked back and forth as he whispered back his answer.

"Yes, she's quite a pawful... in fact, she tires me out completely..." he moved forward with surprising light steps for a tom his size, "And it's going terribly. It seems she never knows how to shut up about this and that. She'd rather jabber my ear off about how ridiculous Starclan is than actually learn anything." He stopped suddenly and let his words hang in the air. They were bemused things, and Rowanheart was surprised that he didn't spit them out like they were poisoned.

A scurry ahead was all he needed to tell him the prey was close enough. His leg muscles tensed and he felt the potential of his pounce quivering in his legs and paws. Rowanheart slowed his breathing until he was sure... absolutely sure... he could catch this thing. He pounced and hoped to Starclan that he would succeed. He didn't want to look like a fool or an inexperienced cat. Yes, he was a good hunter, but not great. It always involved a conscious effort on his part while other cats could do it in thier sleep. He envied those cats.

Lucky for Rowanheart though, he had been patient enough and the vole was his. He crushed the throat with his paws and then carried it back toward Reedfoot. The next step was by far his least favorite-- burying the prey. Urgh. He was definitely no Meadowclan cat; digging up the ground with his claws was a task indeed.

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[Pyro]

Reedfoot's tail lashed involuntarily. "I heard Frostpaw didn't really believe in starclan...But I didn't...Hmph. What's ridiculous is how she could even doubt their presence." The whisper was half to herself, but it wasn't hostile. The words contained something else. Disbelief? Shock? Acceptance? Or perhaps just a simple statement. It was hard to tell.

She fell silent as Rowanheart approached the prey and killed it. The she-cat noted, with a slightly amused expression as Rowanheart set to the task of burying the prey. As a female, she was naturally more suited to the task of making dens, and subsequently digging...Of course, she was no meadowclan cat. They were like moles when it came to digging.

Reedfoot wasn't so bold as to offer assistance. After all, that would make it seem like she thought herself superior or Rowanheart incapable of preforming simple duties...Two things she did not want to imply. So instead she went with, "Nice kill." A compliment, albeit a short one.

She scented the air, though she knew that no more prey would incredibly nearby after the vole had just been killed, however quiet Rowanheart was.

[Whiskers]

Rowanheart's claws scraped against the earth and he made a comical face. The dirt was all over his claws now and though he hated to be thought of as "soft", Rowanheart also hated being dirty. Zoe used to tell him he acted just like a kittypet when it came to keeping his claws, his teeth, his pelt in good order and the comparison drove him up a tree. There was nothing wrong with keeping clean, he thought, but still it always gained him a laugh and he was sure Reedfoot would be no exception.

He wiggled his toes and claws in annoyance, trying to loosen the dirt from his pads. At the same time, he stored the vole away in his sorry looking hole, pushing the dirt back over the small dead animal. In the end, it was a clumsy attempt and Rowanheart gave up with a rather apprentice-like shrug of indifference. (Because honestly, he had given up on digging a looong time ago.)

He concentrated, instead, on Reedfoot's words about Frostpaw. It made him feel absolutely warm inside knowing that he wasn't alone. Well.. he knew he wasn't alone, he was in Fogclan after all, but it was nice to have confirmation sometimes.

"I know... I've tried to make her see... I even shared my personal experiences about Starclan with her." Rowanheart answered Reedfoot with a sigh. "I feel like a failure, honestly. I can't get her to concentrate and respect me because she thinks I'm a fool for my belief. Therefore, we hardly train at all. I doubt she'll ever be a warrior if this keeps up."

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[Pyro]

Reedfoot tried not to smile...After all it would be a little hypocritical, seeing as she was the same way, if not more extreme. Of course, she was less willing to make cleanliness a joke...A fact that she pounded into the heads of a few cats, including her brother. But that didn't stop a rumor or two from spreading about the lengths she would go to inorder to keep up her appearance. The one that had a hint of truth, not that she would confirm it, was that every week she went to a hidden stream...and bathed in it. Now, she did bath in a stream she had found in a more densely foliaged part of fogclan's territory...But only when she was particularly dirty.

The she-cat briefly considered taking Rowanheart to the stream, as he didn't seem to like the dirt that covered his paws but decided against it. She didn't know him that well and besides...What if he told the rest of the clan or made fun of her? Bathing in a stream was pretty weird. Even if one did like to keep clean.

Her thoughts turned to what Rowanheart has said about Frostpaw. The situation was getting more ridiculous by the second...And her opinion of him dropped for a split second. No matter what his beliefs, Rowanheart was the warrior and Frostpaw was the apprentice. No matter what she thought of him and starclan, she still needed to give him respect!

"Rowanheart...You're hardly a failure." she said, her face turning slightly softer. "You have to put your paw down. No matter what she thinks, you're still the mentor and she's still the apprentice. She needs to give you the respect you deserve, no matter if she believes in starclan, howling hares, or nothing at all. If anything she should commit herself to the warrior code and keep her mouth shut." Speaking of keeping mouths shut...Reedfoot shut hers instantly, fearing she had started to get a little too heated and pushy.

[Whiskers]

Rowanheart nodded slowly as she talked, because she knew she was right-- but he had already done this. If only Reedfoot could see him in action. Then she would see that he did put his paw down and he put it down very hard. He anchored his feet into the floor and tried his best to contain his apprentice, and he tried every day... he was just very unsuccessful.. Frostpaw hardly needed a firm paw. She needed a... a... herbal remedy to calm her down or something. Or a collar, or maybe two mentors instead of one. He could really use the help, actually.

But that didn't mean what Reedfoot said was wrong. She wasn't informed with everything, she hadn't watched all their sessions and she wouldn't know how authoritative Rowanheart was with Frostpaw. Frostpaw just had an aversion to obedience. She seemed to instinctively resist being told what to do. She disobeyed everybody, not just him.

He still sighed though as he thought about their sessions. The thought was painful. "Believe me, I think I have been firm with her. Perhaps not tough enough. She's getting worse after all... yesterday she damned me. Me. For telling my son to go back to camp too." He ground his jaw just thinking about that conversation. It made him so angry with her all over again. "Yes, I suppose I'll have to be more strict than I am, even now, as clearly whatever I am doing isn't working."

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[Pyro]

Hm...What a dilemma...Frostpaw sounded worse than Otterclaw and his apprentice, Blackpaw. The two of them together was nothing but trouble.

"What if you gave her a...a real surprise? Something that would shock her into obedience? Maybe..." She trailed off as her eyes gained a sort of distant look. Obviously she was thinking, and thinking hard. What could he do to get Frostpaw to listen? To show her the importance of obedience and following orders?

"It could be something really simple. Like fetching herbs. If she's like what I've gathered from listening to you, she'll probably refuse for some reason or another. It would have to be a good herb...Something that helps to cure a sick cat...Then, a few days later, maybe I could pretend to get sick and need the herb. Only we won't have it because she didn't get it. Then I could fake my death and you could chew her out a little bit. Then after a day or two I could come back and we could use the whole 'What if blahblahblah had really happened' concept." The plan seemed a little extreme and ludicrous...But maybe it was just ludicrously extreme enough to work.

"We'd have to get the clan in on it though...Or at least Owlstar and Hailstorm."

She waited tensely for his answer. What if he called her crazy?