stormclouds !

[green ! [old ghost]]

Stormfoot found very few things odd, simply because they might be normal to someone else. And if someone else found them normal and she called it odd, that might create some sort of misunderstanding or animosity between her and the other. So, to prevent this, she kept and open mind and hardly referred to things as odd or weird.

That being said, Stormfoot found this very odd.

Cloudstar and herself, the deputy and the leader, leaving clan to go hunt. Or at least, that's what Cloudstar had said. Stormfoot suspected her leader had some sort of ulterior motive to this outing. He probably wanted to talk or... talk. Hopefully talk. Stormfoot liked talking – she could deal with talking. If he brought up any other alternative (like exploring something potentially dangerous), Stormfoot didn't know how she would react. She already reacted poorly earlier, when he had asked her to accompany him. Only recently had she gotten over the forced crush she had on the tom, so her heart still jumped and she got a little nervous whenever they spoke one on one.

Which was ridiculous. She was his deputy, she shouldn't react in such a manner.

Nevertheless, here they were, padding out of camp on the way to whatever Cloudstar really wanted to do. The sun was high over head, actually starting to go down a little, and it made one of the smaller streams near them glisten. Stormfoot's attention was drawn to it, and it didn't take her long to pick out the silver scales of a fish. With one glance to her leader, she slipped out from behind him, creeping over to the river and making sure not to disturb the fish as she followed it downstream.

Her paw flicked, the prey flew out of the water, and in the next second she had it on the stream's bank, watching as the last bit of life drained from it.

Well, Cloudstar had asked her to accompany him on a hunt.

[Crowzerplorodon]

There was a difference between asking someone to hunt, and asking someone to hunt.

For Cloudstar, it all depended on how he acted when he asked you.

If he was smiling, but still rather leader-like, he just wanted to hunt with someone he didn't mind.

If he was nervous, he needed to talk with you, and he obviously held you in high regard.

If he looked rather put off, but kept his air of authority, you were in trouble.

If nothing seemed particularly special about his behavior, then you were screwed, because he was either pissed beyond belief or extremely proud. And if you couldn't figure out quick enough, you could mess up.

In this case, he had asked Stormfoot out with him to hunt because she was his deputy. Putting a senior warrior in charge and then spending the afternoon with the cat he could trust the most was something he needed to do sometimes. The hunt was just a hunt, though as they padded further from camp, he realized there were some things that needed to be discussed. Namely, the three kits who would be apprentices very shortly. He himself hadn't put much thought into mentors. But maybe his deputy would have a better idea.

He turned, surprised to see Stormfoot actually hunting so early. Once the fish had been caught, he stepped over, keeping his paws light. "Impressive," Cloudstar murmured, voice low. "That was a nice find." He hadn't even seen the fish himself.

A bird overhead caught his attention. A hawk, to be specific, bringing his mind back to his previous thoughts.

"The kits are going to be apprentices soon," he said, following the bird with his dull, green eyes until it had disappeared from sight. "And mentors are required. I myself... Have not given much thought to it, as I don't know the kits too well." He should have taken the time to get to know them. "You wouldn't happen to have any thoughts?"

[green ! [old ghost]]

Impressive? Had Cloudstar really just... Stormfoot felt her face heat up, and she kept looking at the fish in front of her, trying to disguise how she took that as more of a compliment than she should. "Thank you." To Stormfoot's pleasure, she managed to keep her voice quietly respectful, not overly gushing like she felt inside.

As Cloudstar continued speaking, she realized she had been right about his intentions. This wasn't just a hunting trip. Though she hadn't prepared for the topic of conversation, and stared blankly at the river in front of her. Mentors for the kits? Did it particularly matter? Kits should just be given mentors who could successfully train them. Not much thought was needed to put into who should be paired with each individual cat. Maybe Cloudstar just thought that way. It was mighty considerate of him, Stormfoot supposed, covering the fish she had caught before turning back to Cloudstar, having successfully composed herself.

"Redtail is a senior warrior, and is without an apprentice," she said, uncertain of how the proposal would go over. "And Rabbitheart is without one... He might be taught some responsibility if given one?" Immediately, the deputy regretted her choices. Redtail wasn't too poor a cat (if a little depressed) but Rabbitheart just wasn't mentor material. He had just been one of the first apprenticeless cats to come to mind. She took a deep breath, debating on going back on her choices. "I'm not sure about a third."

[Crowzerplorodon]

Cloudstar ended up taking a seat, wrapping his tail around his paws. He had struck up conversation, and now they were going to see it to the end before continuing their hunt. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it really was an important topic, and one that the two of them should have discussed far earlier. Perhaps he should have invited Spiderstorm on this hunt as well. Then all three of them could have discussed her kits. Plus, it would have been good for the queen to get used to warrior duties again, and a hunt was the best way to work into that.

He straightened his back when Stormfoot spoke, taking in her suggestions with a thoughtful glimmer in his eye. Redtail had been a cat to cross his mind. He was one of the more well rounded cats in the clan, and an apprentice would do well under his paw. “I agree that Redtail is a suitable candidate,” he said, tail flicking in pleasure. If they both were in agreement about that, it meant there was just two more cats to picked. His whiskers twitched in amusement at the mention of Rabbitheart, but the leader felt that Stormfoot had a point there. “You bring up a good point,” he mused. “An apprentice would bring Rabbitheart some more responsibility. Perhaps one of the stronger kits?” Hawk-kit and Batkit appeared more... stable than the other, Mothkit. One of them might excel under a cat like Rabbitheart. “And under the topic of cats in need of responsibility, we could give the third to Goosefur.”

There was the briefest of pauses where the hawk from earlier caught his attention. His lips twitched upward ever so slightly.

“Hawk-kit for Goosefur, and Batkit for Rabbitheart, as they are the... strongest of the three kits. That would leave Mothkit for Redtail.”

[green ! [old ghost]]

ooc| crow says this is done. :D so... done!