Open to Join Relaxing While Chatting

Sturgeonwhisker took his time as he padded across the camp, carrying a large ball of moss intended for the elder's den. The clan didn't have any active apprentices at the moment, which meant that the warriors had to pick up the slack. Not that he minded - it gave him the excuse to visit his Dame. 

Being careful to not drop any of the moss, he nearly collided with a cat at the entrace of the den - his tufted ears flattening in suprise and then perking up as he recognized his clan-mate's scent. 

"Miwwow-" He spat out the moss before continuing. "Willowspark! Sorry, I didn't see you."

Startled by Sturgeonwhisker’s sudden appearance, Willowspark whirled around her claws digging into the ground. Noticing that it was just her Clanmate, she relaxed, her fur still puffed up with fright. “Don’t worry about it.” Willowspark said, twitching her left ear and letting her fur flatten.

Looking at the moss Sturgeonwhisker had been carrying, she felt the warmth of respect growing within her. It was heartwarming to see some of the younger warriors helping out around camp. Smiling, she flicked her tail, pointing towards the elders’ den.

”It seems like you’re helping with some chores around camp. Do you have more after this? If so I’d be willing to help you. If not, then I’ve got plenty of time to chat over a tasty salmon.” Willowspark said, a bright green leaf falling onto her back, sticking to her cinnamon and white fur.

"Uh.." He tilted his head, thinking. "This is the last load of moss for the elders. I just leave it at the entrace since they tend to like to make their own nests." They weren't kits after all. He understood not wanting to have everything done for him - his sisters often got ahead of him when it came to hunting and patrols. So if he could let the elders have a bit of agency on their bedding - then it was a no-brainer. 

He nudged the slightly dishevealed pile towards the mouth of the den with his front paws. "I was going to check that nothing in the fresh kill pile has gone bad after this. And then I wanted to see if the apprentice den needed repairs." There were a few kits who were close to aging out - it wouldn't be right if their new den had holes in the roof or walls! 

"If you wanna help out with that, it will go twice as fast!" He admittedly, wasn't particular speedy to begin with though.

Ambersmudge returned from her solo patrol. Carrying a medium sized bass, she lunged at in the river before it escaped. Every drop of water drips as she came closer to the Freshkill hollow.

After dropping off the prey she steps inches back and gives an aggressive body shake. Sprinkles of fur escapes from the molly's fur. Dried once again after a good hunt!

"Whoops, it's a good thing no one's around to get soaked," she said with relief, before then turning herself away and looked side by side of the area. It sure is empty...maybe a few of clanmates are snoozing? Or away from here, outside with their own patrol.

Ambersmudge decided then she'll just chill; settling in a shadier spot closer to the tree, positioning into a loaf, with her eyes looking up at a couple of leaves falling down. 

Smiling before turning in the direction of the prey pile, Willowspark flicked her tail. "I'll be looking through the prey pile then. Might as well pick out a piece of prey while I'm at it." Glancing at Sturgeonwhisker for a moment before she left, she wondered if she should've asked him if he wanted anything. Oh well. She'd grab something for him anyways. Maybe a salmon or a trout?

As she walked, the leaf stuck in her fur fell out, crunching beneath her paws. Reaching the prey pile, she spotted Ambersmudge, crouched comfortably in the shade. Oh. It's been a while since I've seen her. Maybe she can hang out with me and Sturgeonwhisker... She thought, gazing at her older sister curiously.

Heading over to the prey pile first and sorting through it, she found that there weren't any that were even close to going bad. Some were even fresh, most likely caught quite recently. Picking out a salmon for herself and a trout for Sturgeonwhisker, she called out Ambersmudge, ready to include her in a nice chat. "Hey Ambersmudge! Wanna spend some time together? I think Sturgeonwhisker might be joining in as well!"

Beckoning her elder sister to follow, she headed back towards the elders den, where she'd probably meet up with Sturgeonwhisker. If not, then she'd head over to the apprentices den and see if he was there. If he didn't want to hang out, she could spend her time with Ambersmudge, of course hanging out with a group was more fun sometimes.

Her ears flick hearing a familiar voice across to the fresh kill pile, with a quick glance at her sister. "Oh, Heyy Willowspark! yeah sure, would love to spend time with the both of you!" Ambersmudge needed some company anyways. It is great to chit-chat with her sis and the younger warrior at the elder's hollow den. 

Soon, Ambersmudge stands back up and shook away the leaf that fell on her head. Then hurried after Willowspark with a smile. She skipped bringing her own food to the hang out. Since the molly wasn't really hungry after eating a prey piece around morning.

Sturgeon managed to avoid getting roped up in any long winded arguments with the elders and found his way towards the apprentice's den. He paused outside, picking his way around the edges of the brush, examining it for any holes where mice or bugs ate through the careful weave. Finding nothing lacking on the far side, he doubled back and finally noticed the pair of she-cats approaching him. 

He waved his tail in greeting before squeezing his way into the den. Did he really fit in here only  few moons ago? The roof seemed a lot lower than he remembered. Sturgeonwhisker scanned the inside for any small, pesky intruders, and found that there was a small gap between where the den met the great Twinwillows - some small critter had wormed it's way in ages ago and left a small hole. 

He'd go collect some new grasses and twigs later. The damage wasn't anything too hazardous for new apprentices. If he didn't get around to it today maybe he could even teach the kits - apprentices - how to repair the den walls! 

He popped his head out of the den as Ambersmudge and Willowspark came within speaking distance. "There's a small hole near the back. It's not anything dangerous - I can fix it later."

He wrestled his shoulders out of the den and shook out his medium length fur - flashing a somewhat clueless smile at the pair. He wasn't used to having so many cats looking at him. Usually he directed others to his sisters; who all shone radiantly. Especially Hailstrike and Merryaster. He was okay with sitting in the background in comparison. "So uh. What's the plan?"

“Ambersmudge just came back from hunting and I invited her to join us. I brought a trout for you since I didn’t know if you wanted anything. We could probably hang out in the shade by the prey pile. There’s enough room for at least five cats.” Willowspark said, her final comment slightly sarcastic since she was sure that an intelligent cat could find a way to fit more cats than that.

Standing where she was, awaiting the answers that the others would give her, Willowspark wondered if any of them had a better idea. Lounging by the prey pile would most likely be good, since they probably wouldn’t wake anycat taking an afternoon nap, but….

"Hello Sturgeonwhisker," she greets the tom with a smile. Standing beside Willowspark while looking at him. Ambersmudge then tilted her head, as she hears him speaking about a hole in the den, "A small hole at the back, you say? Oh my. It's a good thing you have noticed that." Perhaps I could bring the resources he'll need. Next time when I go patrol again-

No...she shakes her head. Sturgeonwhisker is a warrior now, Ambersmudge reminded herself, old enough to search the resources himself. Fix up that hole inside the den on his own. 

For now, Ambersmudge looks at Willowspark with a nod, "Yeah! A sweet shade spot by the prey pile, perfect for us to hang." Agreeing with the choice of area her sibling picked. Someplace for the three of them to comfortably chat and rest. 

Sturgeonwhisker purred at the smell and offer of the fish. "Well I take up the space of at least two cats, but I'm sure we could make it work."

He flopped down on his side in the shade, grooming out a imaginary mat in the fur on his shoulder before sitting up and peering at the two she-cats beside him. "You two were on patrol? I know that Coldstar has been sending more and more out by the river these days." Not that he care much what their leadership decided beyond the murmurs of promotions for the younger warriors in the coming moons. 

”I went on a solo patrol a while ago to make sure no cat had crossed the border, but otherwise, I haven’t been sent out much today. I’ll probably go out on a hunting patrol later too.” Willowspark said, settling down close to both Ambersmudge and Sturgeonwhisker.

”Probably the most I’ve been assigned these past few days are hunting patrols and small border patrols. I went on the dawn patrol recently as well…” She continued, recounting the past few days as well as she could.

”What have you been up to recently, Ambersmudge?” Willowspark eventually asked, her ears twitching at the small sounds around them.