Hunting

The sounds of kits mewling and warriors talking in their dens faded away as Cherryheart walked out of the camp, with Thistleclaw at her side. The rain started to cease as the pair walked on, looking for scents. The clouds refused to part and there were some very faint wisps of fog.

Thistleclaw brushed Cherryheart's tail with his as the two cats padded out of the camp and into the misty woods. Although the rain and fog were easing up a bit, and the rainwater had washed away most of the scents, hunting seemed so irrelevant. He was really just happy to be with the cat he had fallen in love with.

OOC: i guess i write cheesily as well. Cheeeese!

Although there weren't many scents, Cherryheart was sure she wouldn't be able to smell them anyway. Thistleclaw's sweet scent was going through her. It was in her brain, in her lungs, pulsing through her blood. It was then that she realised that it was in her heart, and she would never be able to remove it.

No amount of rain could wipe the smile off his face at the moment as he padded along the rain-soaked floor. He opened his mouth to say something, when the faint smell of carrion and mouse mingled together drifted across his scent glands, making Thistleclaw wrinkle his nose. He saw the carcass of a mouse lying on the ground a foxlength away, probably dead for several sunrises already.

"Want to get to someplace more sheltered? The prey might be better there." He suggested to Cherryheart, nudging her fondly and pointing his tail to a deeper part of the woods.

"Sure. I think i can smell vole over there," Cherryheart purred as she pointed with her tail. She then wrapped her tail around Thistleclaws, purring loudly as they wandered off into the denser trees.

Thistleclaw twined his tail with hers, and opened his jaws, scenting the vole after she pointed it out. When they walked into the thicker canopy of trees, he nudged her muzzle with his nose affectionately, and padded off, catching the scent of mouse under a bush, probably sheltering from the rain. Crouching, he padded stealthily towards it and darted into the bush, emerging a moment later with a small brown-furred mouse dangling limply in his jaws.

OOC: Can it be almost night now?

"Nice catch," purred Cherryheart affectionately. "Follow me. I know a place where we can eat it." She meowed as as she dissapeared between some trees. She led Thistleclaw to a large tree, which had a split in its roots. Two cats could easily fit in the hollow nook in the tree's side. It was also sheltered and had some moss in it. The enterance was concealed by some braken.

OOC: Sure :D

IC: He smiled in thanks, unable to respond with his mouth full of mouse, and nodded, following the she-cat as she led him to a sort of fence of bracken. They entered through a gap, which led to a tree with perfectly split roots. Moss lined the curve of the roots, making it an ideal spot for resting and eating fresh-kill. He lay down next to Cherryheart, tan-and-brown fur mixing with her tortoiseshell-and-white. He dropped the mouse on the ground in front of him, and pushed it towards her with his front paw.

"Thanks," purred Cherryheart. As she took the first bite of the juciy fresh-kill, it started to rain agin, but this time itwas extremly heavy. As she moved over to give Thistleclaw a bite, she meowed "Maybe we should stay here for the night. If we go outside to get back to camp, we'll be wetter than a RiverClan cat by the time we get there," while looking up at the torrentieal rain.

Thistleclaw took a bite of the mouse, chewing slowly to think. She had a point there. It was almost almost dry here, except for a few trailing raindrops. "Yeah, we should." He agreed, glancing warily at the rain and the faint rumble of faraway thunder. It was very nearly nightfall, and they wouldn't be able to go back if they tried. The setting sun was completely blocked by the clouds, as well. He pressed closer to her, letting her body heat and fur warm and comfort him.

Cherryheart sat up. The tips of her ears just brushed against the roof of the den. She rearranged the moss beneath her into a more comfortable position and setteled down. She had a few more bites of the mouse and snuggled into Thistleclaw's side. As she was drifting into sleep, Cherryheart thought about when they where apprentices, and how different Thistleclaw is now. She was glad that things had turned out the way they had, rather than the way she thought it would as an apprentice, because, right now, there was no-one else Cherryheart would have rathered to be with.

After he finished off the mouse, Thistleclaw's jaws gaped into a huge yawn. He rasped his tongue over Cherryheart's ear, laid his head down near hers, and closed his eyes. But as tired as he was, he couldn't sleep. Whether it was the thundershower outside of their cozy den, or her mere presence that was preventing sleep from claiming him, he didn't know. So he leaned his head into the soft fur of her neck, letting her familiar scent wreathe around him, not caring if he could sleep or not anymore.

Cherryheart felt Thistleclaw rest his head into her neck and she lovingly licked down a stray tuft of fur behind his ear. She then started to purr loudly as her eyes closed and the tides of sleep overcame her.

Thistleclaw smiled, his thoughts starting to become muddled with tiredness. He briefly felt her tongue against his ear, and with another yawn, he felt sleep lap at him, his head still resting on Cherryheart's back. He was completely happy. Consciousness slipped away, her face the last thing on his mind before everything went black.

When Cherryheart opened her eyes again, it was sunny and warm. She crept out of the warm den and scented the air. She caught the scent of a vole and soon she had found it and killed it. She brang it back to the den where Thistleclaw lay and lay down beside him, dropping the vole at their feet. She started to lick Thistleclaw while waiting for him to wake up.

Thistleclaw slipped through the forest so silently, he could have just been a dark brown shadow. He followed the scent of a vole, and another scent, one he knew very well. He entered a clearing, and saw the she-cat that he loved so much, her beautiful tortoiseshell fur gleaming in the sunlight, the vole completely forgotten, until it wafted past his nostrils again.

His eyes shot open, as the scent of the vole grew stronger, Cherryheart's scent realer and even more beautiful in reality. He stretched out in a luxurious yawn and looked up to see Cherryheart, giving him gentle licks. He purred deeply, his whole body vibrating, making the she-cat shake as well. "'Morning, Cherryheart." He mewed drowsily.

"Good morning," Cherryheart purred to her mate.She looked at the vole and meowed, "Lets eat. Speaking of which, before we go back to camp, we might as well get some prey first for the clan."
Cherryheart nudged the vole over to Thistleclaw as she said this.

Thistleclaw felt the warm sunlight streaming into the den and blinked the sleep from his eyes, taking a large bite from the vole. "Here, have some," He said, getting up. "I'm going to see if I can find anything to bring back. I can't let you do all the hunting." He grinned, flicking her ear gently with his tail and bounding out of the makeshift den.

When he was on the outside, he scented the air. There was a good amount of prey this morning, he guessed it was because they were savouring the break from the rainstorm. Parting his jaws slightly, he caught the scent of a squirrel and stalked towards it, keeping his belly low to the ground and gliding towards the scented prey. Focused on the scent, his hind paw snapped a small twig and the squirrel bolted out from near a bush and scampered up a tree, but Thistleclaw was too fast for it. With a pounce, he unsheathed his claws and managed to snag the squirrel's bushy tail with them. He dispatched the animal and thanked StarClan for the good luck, then padded back into the den, dropping the squirrel in a corner. "There. We were lucky, to have found even this much." He said, giving his mate a gentle lick on her head.

As she finished off the last scraps of the vole, Thistleclaw came back in. As he licked her, she nuzzeled into his side. "I'm lucky to have found you," she whispered, just loud enough for Thistleclaw to hear.

OOC:cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!

Thistleclaw smiled, and lay down next to her. He buried his muzzle into her neck fur, and murmured, "I love you, Cherryheart."

OOC: Short... running low on muse... need cheese to refuel! >:O

OOC: its like: He buried his muzzle into her neck fur and started coughing. "hairball," he spluttered.=3

IC: "I love you to." meowed Cherryheart, relishing the moment.

OOC: *coughdrowningincheesecough*=3

OOC: Pahahahhaha XD "He snorked up a bunch of fur and choked to death." O.o

*chokes and drowns in cheese* T_T

IC: He leaned in to Cherryheart once more, and closed his eyes, reliving last night's events. He felt so light-hearted and carefree, like nothing in the world was wrong. For a moment, he just let her scent flow through him; he was in total bliss.

OOC: hehehe=3

IC: Cherryheart had eyes only for Thistleclaw. She couldn't even smell the squirrel anymore, she was so immersed.

OOC: He all of a sudden spluttered and started to cough up something. "hairball?" the other one asked. "no," he said as he coughed up a yellow ball. "cheeseball."

Thistleclaw purred, a deep, reverberating noise that came from deep inside his heart. He resumed giving her loving licks along her long, soft fur, drowning in her scent. Without even thinking about it, he twined his tail with hers and leaned in closer, their fur mixing with each other's so that it was impossible to tell where his brown fur met with some of the brown patches on her's.

OOC: That actually made me laugh out loud. XD

OOC: =3!!!!!!! Doesn't this look cute: =1 !

All of a sudden there was a faint crack of a twig snapping. Cherryheart jumped at the sound. "It's probably a patrol," whispered Cherryheart. "We should get back to camp."