broken crown // p

[Ashfall]

Squirrelbite

Ashfall found himself bored, as he usually did. Or- maybe not bored, just currently looking for something to do. He'd wanted to go on a hunt, but he'd done a lot of that on his own lately, and wanted to find somebody to go with. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen anyone that he'd already known yet, and he wasn't too willing to poke around. It seemed a little rude to go and wake somebody up just so he didn't have to go alone.

From where he was fidgeting near the entrance, he spotted the familiar ginger pelt of a fellow warrior. He was saved! Well- hopefully. If Squirrelbite was willing. Ashfall knew she wasn't quite the most outgoing or socialable, but he still wanted to ask, just in case. "Squirrelbite!" he called, trotting in her direction. "It's me- Ashfall! Or- okay, you probably...already remembered that. Anyway. I haven't seen you since the ceremony!"

[Squirrelbite]

Squirrelbite's body was aching, and yet she had never felt better. Not only was she now a warrior, but Squirrelbite felt like she was unmatched in terms of fighting skills after all the time she spent fighting with Loki. She had injuries on her shoulder, ear, and sides, and the smell of rogue lingered on her pelt, but that could all be explained by saying she'd chased a rogue off TreeClan territory.

Having just finished a squirrel, the reddish she-cat was surprised to see Ashfall approaching her with eagerness. "Hey, Ashfall." She dipped her head, the tip of her slender tail curling. "Can I help you?"

[Ashfall]

"I was going to ask if you were up to-" he began, stopping abruptly when he noticed how battered up she seemed. "Woah. Those look painful." He could detect the scent of a rogue on her, and found himself relieved that at least it wasn't another TreeClanner.

It was still a cause for worry, though. Ashfall didn't understand how she could act so casually when she must have been in a least a little pain. Maybe he should save the hunt for another time. "You okay? What happened?" he asked, his concern clear on his face.

[Squirrelbite]

"Huh?" Squirrelbite was taken aback by Ashfall's reaction, and she took a moment to look at her pelt, wondering if it had gotten any worse in the past few moments. But no, her injuries were the same as they'd been before and it was just Ashfall being dramatic. "Oh, right."

Squirrelbite flexed her toned muscles, suppressing a purr of pride. "There was some rogue trespassing the border, and since he wouldn't leave voluntarily, I chased him out." She explained, thinking fondly of Loki. If only he were a clan cat, then she wouldn't have to make up lies about spending time with him.

[Ashfall]

Ashfall found it somewhat alarming that Squirrelbite almost seemed to have forgotten they were there, but at least it meant that they couldn't have been too painful. "Oh," he said intelligently. "That's good," he commented, somewhat awkwardly. He was glad that they had one less rogue to worry about, but admittedly worried by how proud of it she seemed to be. He'd likely be proud himself if he'd managed to drive away a rogue, though, so he decided to leave the thought alone.

"Hmm. Guess that means you might be too tired for a hunt, though, huh?" he asked, somewhat sheepishly. "I'm fine to go on my own- I just wanted to ask a friend, first. It's more fun with somebody else."

[Squirrelbite]

Squirrelbite scoffed, sure that Ashfall was only second-guessing himself so that Squirrelbite would have to go hunting with him to prove herself. Well, it worked. "I bet I can catch twice as much prey as you, even with my injuries." The wiry she-cat stated boldly.

Standing up, Squirrelbite began to pad towards the camp entrance, turning her head back to make sure Ashfall was following her. "Come on!" She called impatiently. "Prey won't just sit around and wait for us to come to them."

[Ashfall]

"That's a rather bold claim," Ashfall teased back, smiling playfully. Squirrelbite seemed in a rather good mood, in spite of her injuries. Regardless, Ashfall resolved to keep an eye on them, and on her. He didn't want her to accidentally hurt herself by pushing too hard. "Wonder if you can back it up?"

He trotted behind her as she started towards the exit, careful not to fall too far behind. He was already in brighter spirits, now that he had a companion to hunt with. As soon as they were out of the camp, he matched her speed with ease. "It might have to wait for you if you keep moving so slowly," he said with a smirk, before pulling ahead.

[Squirrelbite]

Luckily for Squirrelbite, she was built like a FireClan cat, and could run like one too. Bursting with energy, the lithe she-cat bolted after Ashfall and after several heartbeats she passed him. 

Most of her wounds weren't too bad, but her torn shoulder was starting to ache as she moved. Squirrelbite ignored it, however, unwilling to stop unless she had to.

[Ashfall]

[ im so sorry this took so long, school hit me like a TrAIN rip ]

Ashfall remembered a time when he was one of the fastest cats in TreeClan. Within a few seconds he found that he was trailing behind Squirrelbite, instead of the other way around. He liked to think he was rather long limbed- he lacked the most powerful build of most of the other warriors within the clan. It seemed he was out of practice, though.

He put on a burst of speed of his own, managing to catch up until he was just behind his fellow warrior. As much as he tried, he couldn't seem to quite match her speed. Maybe it should have bothered him, but somehow it didn't. He liked the way that Squirrelbite almost seemed to be having fun. Soon, though, he remembered her injuries- and while Squirrelbite herself didn't seem to notice them, Ashfall didn't want to be the cause of her making them worse. She struck him as the type not to admit that they hurt.

"Okay, okay, you win!" he wheezed dramatically, not wanting to be overly obvious about the fact that he was only stopping so she didn't hurt herself. He didn't want to damage her pride. "I relent- we're going to scare all the prey away if you keep that up, though."