It's all in how you see things(OPEN!)

[thistle.]

Barktail halted before her, his eyes holding a disconcerted expression. Surprise flashed inside him and, even though his Clan mate's words couldn't be classified as cruel, he felt a little hurt. "I was just kidding around, ya know," he muttered under his breath, whiskers drooping. "Can't you take a joke? And you can have your fish back, I don't want anything to do with it." He lashed his tail and turned around toward the riverbank. His legs were rigid as he stalked to his fish and firmly clamped his jaws on its slimy skin; he swung around and trotted away from Ashstorm. He shot a glare at her as he moved past, but said nothing.

It was funny the way Barktail's moods changed so quickly.
One moment he was cheerful and having fun, the next he was feeling offended and upset, and then he wanted to claw her pelt off. The copper male was practically dragged his paws along. His claws were unsheathed and raked the mossy earth. He wasn't really a cat that got infuriated easily, but this time Ashstorm had gone over the limit. Suddenly, he dropped his prey, whipped around, and galloped back.

The resentment building up in his chest was too much for Barktail; with a furious growl he butted the gray feline on her flank, trying to knock her over. She was lucky that at least his claws had slipped back in, or her pelt would bleed. He battered her side as hard as he could, feeling the rage slowly leave him tired and guilty. He stopped and retreated a couple paces, and it took him about a minute to really register what was going on. He had attacked a Clan mate! And even though Ashstorm didn't seem injured, the aggression in which he felt while fighting scared him. "A-Ashstorm? You all right?"

ooc: Oooh, Barky's having a temper tantrum. x3

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The gray she-cat rolled her eyes. Sure. Like the whole 'I'm so much better than you' was a joke. She turned, tail waving slightly, to go back to uncover her other prey. But before she'd gotten more than a few pawsteps, Barktail was back. A strong push to her side nearly made the petite PineClanner topple over, only managing to stay upright by the instinctual gripping of the ground with her claws. Him! Ashstorm's eyes narrowed in shock and anger, but before she could do anything blows, though admittedly no claws, rained down upon her side, causing her to collapse, gasping. She'd been completely unprepared for this. When she'd recovered a bit of strength, she quickly looked herself over. At least there was no lasting damage that she could see, though blows that hard were going to ache for a while. Now that she was sure of no blood on her pelt, her anger came in at full force. Her pale eyes burned with fury as she saw the accursed tom who had done this to her for no good reason. She would not forgive him, not for a long time, at least. "No, you piece of foxdung, I am not all right. I have blows on me that even with Bluestream's help, are going to ache for at least a quarter moon, I'm betting. You had no right to attack me, you filthy tom. I was not asking anything unreasonable. Do not expect me to forgive you soon. Now, I shall go collect my prey, and don't you dare follow me. Don't even try to apologize." With that, Ashstorm heaved herself up, turned, and slowly padded back to get her other, buried fish.

[thistle.]

Gazing after the departing she-cat, Barktail let out a small hiss and spat on the ground angrily. Swerving away, he ran wildly deeper into the forest. He passed his fish and his thrush; he wanted more prey to vent his feelings upon. Then he'd go back to camp, with no intention of ever speaking to Ashstorm again. The copper tom prowled through the thick undergrowth, concentrating on bringing down some fresh-kill.

And then, a minute later, his first target appeared. A skimpy mouse, no doubt a meal that could barely sustain a full-grown warrior, but it was food nonetheless. He pulled back his inky lips in a gesture of silent triumph. It would be an easy kill; one paw could crush its tiny body. Shifting his position, the warrior waited a few seconds more and then, then he pounced. Sure enough, it had a death sentence pronounced on it the moment he had leaped. Barktail purred, picked up the limp creature, and deposited it underneath some brittle ferns. When the sun set and sky was drained of it blue color, he'd come back to fetch all his prey.

Now, if only he had someone to talk to and joke around with. Barktail rarely had such a bad day as this. Spottedfoot probably was already back in camp, so Barktail wouldn't bother to look for him. Maybe there was someone else, someone more... easygoing than Ashstorm, who was hunting nearby. He sniffed the air hopefully.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Feeling better now that she was out of that completely mouse-brained tom's presence, Ashstorm went back to where her prey was. Uncovering her first fish and grasping it in her jaws, she realized she was going to have to make two trips, since there was no way she'd be able to carry both scaled pieces of prey at once. So, off to camp it was. A sudden suspicion that Barktail might steal the other fish popped into her head. No-even he wouldn't be so low, would he? Oh, couldn't he be? said a sarcastic voice in her head. If he could attack a Clanmate there's no telling how low he'd stoop, she realized. Just to be safe, the gray PineClanner decided, I'll bury the other one quickly. Once she'd padded back to the spot, she dropped her first catch and scooped a shallow hole for the other. Pushing the dead prey into it, she fetched a few leaves to put over it. I don't want to cover in dirt again, she thought, or no cat will want to eat it. Those leaves should do the trick, and with luck that moron won't even come this way. Satisfied, the faintly striped cat picked up the other fish again, and began to pad in the other direction back to camp, hoping she wouldn't run into the stupidest tom in PineClan.

OOC: This is fun, even though our kitties ended up hating each other. x3 Hey, maybe I could stick Swallowpelt, my other cat, in.

[thistle.]

ooc: Sure, that'd be great, seeing that Barktail and Ashstorm are unlikely to interact with each other unless someone else comes along. Or did your post signify Ashstorm leaving the thread?

[Cloud of Diamonds]

OOC: Well, she's on her way back...or she could be gone. Depends on whether you want to have him run into her again, I'm fine whatever you decide. But if you want, I'll put in Swallowpelt, long ago before she had her kits. x3

[ZEBRA ! [used to be toasty]]

Jaynose padded through the trees. The close growing pines gave warmth in the cold season, and it was great for hunting! He inhaled the smell of woods. It was a great smell, to Jaynose. Mixed with the scent was a vole. He followed the smell, until he was face to face with the small mammal. Not every day you see prey with fur in Pineclan. He gathered energy in his back legs, and sprung onto the small animal. He bit the neck, making the vole fall limp. He took the small animal by his scruff, and dug a hole in the dirt. He put the vole in, and covered with a small amount of dirt. He trotted off to find something more common. A vole might not please the Pineclan cats! He took another sniff. This time it wasn't prey. It was his own clan mate. He crawled under the brambles and saw the grey pelt of Ashstorm. He didn't say anything, or move though. He wanted to see if they where talking about anything interesting. He moved his ears forward, to hear better. Nothing much. He jumped into the clearing, and meowed "Hey, hey, hey! How ya doing? Doing anything fun?"

[Cloud of Diamonds]

She stopped suddenly in midstep, one paw hanging comically in the air for a moment before she set it down. The fish in her mouth threatened to slip, and she hastily lowered her face so she could put it down. For a moment she'd been terrified it was Barktail again, but she soon recognized the voice of Jaynose. She breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it wasn't the copper-pelted tom. Her gray-furred neck, shoulders, and head all turned and an expression of pleasantry was on her face as she turned back to face him, green eyes bright. "Hi there, Jaynose! Good to see you!" Ashstorm wasn't just being polite. It really was a delight to see someone who hadn't made her almost bleed recently. And after that whole episode, talking with someone would really help, she felt. "Well, I'm not really doing anything exciting right now, just taking a fish back to camp, and then I'll fetch my other one. But I'd happy to chat for a bit, if you like." The little PineClanner knew a good conversation, despite the stinging in her side she was trying to ignore, would enable her to relax. Maybe she could even tell him what had happened. Not right away, though. No cat would like that dumped on them first thing. She sat, bending for a moment to lick her side before sitting down on the leafy ground.

[Pyro]

Hunting. Why was it always mousebrained-badger-stinking-hunting. She'd never become a warrior if she was constantly forced to show failure (nevermind that hunting was an essential part of being a warrior). If only they'd send her on a patrol...Preferably along the Fogclan broder where confrontation was most likely...Then she could show what a good fighter she was, truly, not just through playbouts with her mentor.

So lost was she in her thoughts that she nearly rammed into Barktail. Rather than apologize, she decided to cover up her mistake by putting it on the warrior, despite his seniority. "Eh, mousebrain, watch where yer steppin'" Her words whipped out in her cajun-accent, sharp and full of convincing anger.

[thistle.]

Sure, he was getting a little lonely and bored, but he didn't expect to find another hot-tempered she-cat. And an apprentice at that! What happened to all the respect warriors got nowadays? The copper-furred tom jumped away from Harepaw as though she was made of poison; he turned and snapped grumpily, "Listen, kiddo. I'm not in the mood for your insults, and you were the one who crashed into me." On a second thought, he added, "Shouldn't you be with your mentor?"

Teaching had never appealed to the large warrior due to the responsibilty that came with it. He would much rather carry out his regular duties and laze around after than have to train a mouse-brained youngster about hunting, fighting, and the warrior code.

He sighed and slumped onto the ground. He was feeling quite hungry and tired; Barktail could barely fight the lingering temptation to devour his recently-caught mouse, however pathetic it was. He looked up at Harepaw and, resentment leaving his mind, raised his eyebrow cockily. "You wouldn't tell if I ate this lil scrap, right?" A teasing note had entered his tone and he winked.