Homecoming [Continued]

[Cloudfeather]

Cloudfeather laughed and took off, looking back at her leader. She smiled as she skidded to a halt in the meadow and crouched, glancing around in between the bases of the tall grasses and heather. Her claws dug into the soft soil, itching to run again and chase a rabbit or a bird.

She relaxed her body, making it longer and more slender, her tail hung limply just above the ground. Her spine was stiff and her muscles tensed but she still looked relaxed. She zeroed in on a sound a few tail-lengths away, a scrabbling sound. She slid her paws forward, careful not to hit anything and remain silent. It was a better way to hunt because then the creature couldn't feel her paw-steps.

[Pureyy]

Purestar sprinted after Cloudfeather, easily keeping up with her because of his long legs. When she began to slow down he did as well. He noticed that she was now crouching beside him, I wonder if she has spotted anything yet, he thought.

He turned the other way and crouched down as well, scenting the air. Right away he caught the scent of mouse and rabbit. He decided to go for the rabbit, it was currently in front of him and behind Cloudfeather. He lifted his head just above the heather and spotted the rabbit about twenty tail-lengths away.

He was prepared for a chase and slowly crept up to the rabbit, pausing about ten tail-lengths away. Then, he darted out of his hiding spot and chased after it. He caught it after a few seconds, he was lucky that he was able to get it so soon. He killed it with a swift bite to the neck, sent a quick prayer to Moon Clan and padded back to where Cloudfeather was, to see if she had caught what she had been after.

[Cloudfeather]

Cloudfeather edged forward silently, sliding her paws like she'd taught herself. She could see the mouse a few tail lengths away, her eyes narrowing slightly as she froze for a moment. She studied it and it's mannerisms, watching for any tells that the creature knew she was approaching. In her experience mice could be quite smart, waiting till the last second to escape into and unseen hole.

She inched forward again, slowly and keeping her eyes on the tiny creatures back. Getting within two tail lengths she pounced, catching it easily and killing it quickly. She closed her eyes and sent up a thanks to Moon clan for the nourishment and all they provide before padding back to her original spot.

She dropped the mouse and smiled, shrugging. "Its easy when you have the right technique.", she purred proudly and licked a bit of blood off her draws from the kill bite. She smiled as she glanced around, scenting the air. She wanted to bring a couple more pieces of prey back to the camp before returning. This way when she was out hunting later not many other cats would be from all the prey from this morning. She liked hunting, it helped her focus.

[ber !]

Suddenly, a very sweet, pungent smell of herbs was detected, a clear indicator of the beautiful cat who was about to make her way by. Her nose pressed to the ground, she looked quite concentrated on whatever she was searching for. Her black tail waved in the air, and her white paws crossed a lot of distance. She soon encountered the two cats, following the taste of horserod.

The beautiful medicine cat pushed in between them, sniffing around. "Horserod, horserod.." she muttered. "Now if I was horserod, where would I be hiding..! Ah. I suppose underneath Cloudfeather's paw." Featherpelt nudged Cloudfeather aside quite pushily before tearing her claws into the dirt beside the plant Cloudfeather was stepping on. She soon had it uprooted, and she gave a purr of delight before looking up.

"Hello, Cloudfeather, Purestar. Beautiful day, isn't it?" Featherpelt remarked, finally taking notice of the two cats. She seemed to get quite excited when she was herb-hunting and tended to forget everything else in the forest. Some cats say she would push a snarling badger to the side to get to some juniper berries.

The sweet scent of herbs wrapped around this lovely she-cat's body. Her pelt was white, with a black crown and three big black spots on her slender back. She also had a beautiful black tail. But she was not prideful of these looks, and sometimes forgot that other cats thought she was pretty at all. As soon as Featherpelt turned her eyes to Cloudfeather, a sigh escaped her lips. "Cloudfeather, it isn't fair how beautiful you are," she purred, rubbing her cheek against her friend's.

[Pureyy]

Purestar watched the scene between Cloudfeather and Featherpelt unfold with amusement. Featherpelt could clearly be too focused sometimes, though it is always good to have focused cats in camp. He watched as Featherpelt came upon them and nudged Cloudfeather out of the way to get to the horserod she was looking for. It was really quite amusing and he couldn't help but silently laugh in his head.

"Hello Featherpelt!" he purred, "It's good to see that when you are focused on something, nothing will keep you from getting the job done..." he finished with a chuckle. "We were just out for a quick hunt before everyone else in camp was out and about, what is it like back in camp anyways?" he asked.

[Cloudfeather]

Cloudfeather watched her friend and moved as she was nudged. Her eyes turned shy and slightly embarassed as Featherpelt complimented her and she rubbed her cheek on her friends. She purred quietly as she pulled away and shook her head,"I am not beautiful. I'm an inconveinence. Your lovely Featherpelt never doubt that.", she said and stretched slightly.

Sighing she looked around, the sun barely just above the horizon was still emerging. She smiled since it was still a dark orange color, painting the lands with pastels and exotic colors. She shook out her fur and her gox-like ears swiveled as she looked for prey.

She didn't hear any but knew it was because of them all talking. Her ears suddenly perked as a distinctive cry was heard from the woods. She shuddered, glad the giant bird of prey wasn't near them.

[ber !]

Featherpelt smiled, purring loudly as she looked at Purestar. She ignored the respectful distance most cats would keep from a leader and rubbed her cheek against his like she had Cloudfeather. "Well, better focused and dedicated than distracted and indifferent!" she mewed, her voice like honey. 

Featherpelt turned and looked at Cloudfeather, a knowing smile on her face. "You're about as inconvenient as water on a sweltering hot green leaf day," she purred, flicking the younger she-cat with her tail. She was in high spirits since she woke up since she had a wonderful visit from her dead children that night.

"Purestar, all is well with the clan. You can't relax for one minute, even to hunt! You're like a worried mother with a sick kit," she laughed, flicking his ear with the tip of her tail. "I saw Berryleaf head out early, them Goldstripe not long after her." She rolled her eyes. "They're so perfect for each other, if only they'd actually realize there's stage stage past best friends," the wise medicine cat sighed, smiling.

[/blockquote]

[Pureyy]

"I guess you're always right, Featherpelt... better to be focused than distracted!" Purestar started, "and just because I care for my clan doesn't make me like a mother with her kits! I am the leader after all and I need to make sure everyone is safe, that's all. Wait, that makes me sound exactly like a mother and her kits, never mind." he finished. Well that was a smart move, Purestar thought to himself, yeah, go ahead and make a fool of yourself in front of your clan-mates!

Purestar began to lick his paws, ridding himself of the irritants that were trapped there. Once he was finished with that he listened to what Featherpelt had to say about Berryleaf and Goldstripe. They do seem like they would be perfect for each other, he thought.

"I completely agree with you there Featherpelt, they do seem like a great match for each other but how long is it going to take them to realize that. However, as you are the mother of Berryleaf and I am the father of Goldstripe, we should not intervene! These things must happen on their own, without the pressure of their parents." he decided.