Hunting

[Roseleaf]

Roseleaf felt a little restless in camp, so she decided to go hunting out in the forest. She headed towards a tree that usually had lots of prey, and almost instantly spotted a vole. She began to stalk it, and accidentally brushed against a frond of dried bracken. Mouse dung! She tried to speed up and catch the small animal, but her old injury prevented her from moving fast enough.

[Greenlily//Topaz]

Greenlily was out on another hunting trip, enjoying the time out of camp. But her thoughts were still on Wolfstar, and no amount of hunting would fix it. She was glad for the distraction upon scenting Roseleaf nearby. She heard the she-cat hiss in frustration and came over to see what was bothering her. "Hey Roseleaf. Why so peeved?"

[Roseleaf]

Roseleaf looked up from the spot where her vole had disappeared, and saw that Greenlilly was padding towards her.

"Hey Roseleaf. Why so peeved?" Greenlilly meowed.
"My old injury is acting up again. I missed a vole." Greenlilly gazed at her sympathetically. "Come on, you can always catch another." Roseleaf nodded glumly, and headed back into the underbrush, with Greenlilly following behind.

[Greenlily//Topaz]

Greenlily felt bad for Roseleaf. Her own injury from the hawk attack she'd suffered as a kit had healed well enough that it didn't pain her. The only proof that it had happened at all was the long scar down her left flank. But Roseleaf had been a rogue when she was attacked by a fox, and so her injury hadn't been treated immediately. As the two she-cats stalked through the forest, searching for prey, Greenlily felt glad that she was able to focus on someone else's problems rather than her own for once. She'd dedicate her time to helping Roseleaf feeling better than focusing on her own issues.

[Roseleaf]

Roseleaf stopped. I thought I heard something. She pricked her ears, and sure enough, a tiny rustling noise could be heard in the ferns. Greenlilly heard the rustling, and stepped aside silently.

Roseleaf stalked the creature silently, careful that her movements wouldn't trigger her injury again. She was only a few rabbit lengths away from her prey, a shrew, when a loud noise startled it. She took a leap, and caught the shrew before it could escape.

Suddenly, she became aware of a sharp pain in her flank. Greenlilly saw her wince, and asked, "Are you okay?" Roseleaf nodded, and looked around to find whoever had scared her prey. She saw a clump of tawny fur in the undergrowth.

"Sorry for scaring your prey Roseleaf. I didn't know you were there," Birdpaw meowed.

"No harm done." Roseleaf tried to get up, and found that any small movement sent pain lancing up her flank.

[Birdsong]

Batflight had sent Birdpaw on her first solo hunting assignment, and she was determined to do well. If only a certain tabby tom weren't stealing her focus. Lately, Sprucepaw had been consuming all her thoughts, and she'd finally come down to this; she was going to tell Sprucepaw how she felt. But how? It was as she was trying to figure this out that she stumbled upon her mother, Roseleaf, and another SunClan warrior, Greenlily. "Sorry for scaring your prey, Roseleaf. I didn't know you were there," Birdpaw meowed. Roseleaf brushed it off, but cringed in pain. Worried for her mother, Birdpaw asked, "Are you all right? You're not straining yourself, are you? Should I fetch Doveheart?"

[Roseleaf]

Roseleaf tried not to wince as she got up. "Don't worry about me Birdpaw. I just stepped on something. Shouldn't you be hunting?" Birdpaw rushed back into the woods, leaving Roseleaf and Greenlilly alone.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Greenlilly asked. Roseleaf nodded. She carefully bent down to pick up her prey and began to head back to camp, with Greenlilly following. Roseleaf dropped her prey on the fresh-kill pile, and headed towards the warriors den. She suddenly felt tired enough to sleep for a moon.

[Birdsong]

Birdpaw had willingly bound away at her mother's words of obvious dismissal. She still needed to figure out what she'd say to Sprucepaw. As she stalked through the underbrush, her thoughts ranged far and wide. She'd already decided that she would ask to speak with him privately--that would certainly be most comfortable for the two of them, and if it was outside of camp she'd be able to make a speedy get away so that if he rejected her he wouldn't have to see her cry. So maybe the next time they went hunting together? Yes, that would do. Now that that was settled, all Birdpaw had to do was decide what she was going to say. But what would that be? There was the simple "I love you", but that would undoubtedly scare him away without something leading up to it.
Oh, StarClan, what should I tell him?