- - and i can't stand it {stone/cloud}

[cloudpaw ★]

ever since the clan leader had come back to camp sporting a deep gash on her foreleg that she called a rat bite, cloudpaw had been itching to get out and investigate the deeper parts of the fen, where apprentices weren't supposed to go alone. out on the far side of the territory, where crossing the border meant entering unknown territory, was a dangerous, boggy place with deep, hidden pools and dangers unexplored. some told of massive, scaly creatures with huge jaws, and birds twice the size of ravens, with stranger feathers and even stranger cries. he wasn't sure what he would if he encountered one of those sorts of things, but he knew he had to see a rat. he had heard that they were fat, smelly weird things with hairless tails and hungry eyes, but he really needed to make his own judgements on them. it was incredibly, insanely, important to him. 

he'd only been an apprentice for two moons, so it was acceptable enough that he had yet to see a rat. however, he didn't want to wait any longer. cloudpaw doubted he could simply ask an older warrior to bring him back one as a trophy, so he was just going to have to go and find one for himself. he slept until dawn in his den in the hollow tree, and then he very quietly sneaked out of his mossy nest, sure that no one could possibly have seen him. yes, he was a brawny, long-haired, pale-furred tom. and yes, he was clumsy as a one-legged squirrel. but for some reason, he was certain no one had noticed him slipping out through a small gap in the camp wall, made much bigger by his large frame being drug through it.

[stonestrike **]

before the morning fog could dissipate, stonestrike was out wandering, his paws dancing across the damp grasses of the fen, the small, boggy pools dotting tempestclan territory. there was a slight breeze, and the humidity had yet to rise, for the sun had not yet been up long enough to boil the water-filled air to an uncomfortable point. greenleaf was pretty, yes, and the heat was occasionally sickening, yes, but something about the lushness, the plumpness of the prey, the endless days - it just fit with stonestrike. it truly was his favorite season.

as he moved about territory, various scents hit him from time to time. stale scents of old patrols, the occasional water vole or reptilian prey, a specific scent caught in his nose, and the tom couldn't shake it. therefore, he followed it. before much time had passed, a certain fluffy apprentice was in his sights, and stonestrike strode to meet the other tom. "good morning, cloudpaw!" he boomed jovially, his tenor voice like music. "what brings you out so far in territory?" he asked, chattering half-mindedly. "especially, come to think of it, without any sort of escort!" the tom glanced sideways, a smile on his face as his pale eyes met the - oh - pretty, pretty eyes of his male companion. oh. wow. really. stonestrike blinked, hard, unable to shake the utter handsomeness of the flame point's face and eyes. instead, he looked away, acting perkier than usual, waiting for the apprentice to say something back as he walked in step with him.

[cloudpaw ★]

a loud voice nearly made the big flame-point tom leap out of his fur. he was so startled he whipped around to stare at his clanmate, long, cream-colored fur puffed up as he exclaimed, "g-good morning!" the tom had yet to really fill out yet, but as apprentices went he was a pretty burly tom, and his fluffed out fur gave him a slightly wild look, his sky blue eyes round with apprehension. when he took in stonestrike, his fur lay flat and his posture relaxed in an unspoken "oh, it's you." 

cloudpaw stopped walking and studied the other tom. he was a lean cat, not too old for a warrior, and one of his denmates brothers, come to think of it. the way the warrior spoke made him wonder if he could perhaps get away with not directly answering the questions at all, thus not giving away his less-than-holy intentions. "you startled me, stonestrike," he meowed, deciding to give his plan a try as they fell into step beside each other. the tom was already walking along with him; not much chance of him making cloudpaw go back to camp at this moment. "you're looking good," he meowed casually, trying to seem nonchalant as he scented the foggy morning air, searching for the distinct reek of rat. "have you been getting some extra training in lately or something?"


ooc// dang stone ur fine, been hitting da gym babay?