Ask to Join A Rose in the Shade

Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
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Leopardrose’s ears flicked at the sound of his yowl, the sharp note cutting through the otherwise still air. She emerged from the brush a few fox lengths away, her pale aqua eyes narrowing on the disturbed earth where the mouse had vanished.

"Yowling at the dirt isn’t going to make it climb back out." She remarked dryly, her whiskers twitching with faint amusement. Her tone wasn’t cruel, but there was no mistaking the edge in it. Blunt like claws scraped on stone.

She padded closer, her rosetted pelt shifting as she moved with the smoothness of one who had made and missed plenty of catches before. "You gave it too much time. A heartbeat’s nothing to us, but to a mouse it’s the difference between supper and an empty belly."

Her gaze lingered on him a moment, weighing, before she flicked her tail toward the undergrowth. "There’ll be others. But only if you stop tearing up the ground like you plan to chase them into the next Clan’s territory."

Think before you leap. Find the right route. ~Shadefrost
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The young male tossed at annoyed glance at his companion before visibly flinching and dropping his eyes to the forest floor. You're right, Leopardrose. I'm sorry. I just need to stay focused." 

He raised head and scented the air, trying to sort out the different prey scents. Squirrel... Vole... There! A shrew. His mouth watered at the idea of his favorite prey. He flicked his tailed, signaling for Leopardrose to stay back. He crept around a few trees before he spotted it, shuffling in the undergrowth. Quickly he pounced and dispatched it with a quick bite.

He looked towards his clanmate with the shrew dangling from his jaws, as his mouth watered even more. A sense of pride obvious in his stance.

Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
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Leopardrose rose smoothly to her paws as the shrew went limp in Shadefrost’s jaws. She padded closer only far enough to see, her pale aqua eyes flicking from the catch to his puffed up stance.

"Looks like you managed." She meowed with an easy smile. No praise, no critique but simply just acknowledgment. Her whiskers twitched once, and she gave the undergrowth a glance as though already thinking ahead.

"That's one piece of prey more than I have to show for my efforts." There would be plenty more where they came from. She shifted her weight, tail flicking behind her as she turned her attention back to the brush, making it clear she wasn’t about to hover over him. Whether he carried his catch properly or strutted around with it wasn’t her concern.

Instead she focused on a patch of grasses ahead, and her sleek body dipped into a proper hunter's crouch. She stalked carefully through the brush, careful of her paws and avoiding any debris beneath her claws. An ear flicked to the scuffle of wings and when she turned her head she spied it pecking at the ground.

A chickadee.

Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
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The chickadee never had the chance to take flight. Leopardrose sprang from the brush in a blur of silver and sepia, her paws striking true. The bird gave a short, muffled flutter before going limp between her jaws. She straightened and shook a feather from her whiskers, and carried it back with the unhurried stride.

A soft purr rumbled in her chest as she approached Shadefrost. With a quick flick of her ears, she pressed her forehead to his in a brief but friendly headbutt the gesture light and without fuss. "Not bad for a morning’s work." She murmured, voice low with satisfaction as she set her bird down beside the shrew.

There was something in the way he held himself that pricked the part of her that had once leaned so hard on her while she mentored Coyotepaw. "Are you okay?" She didn’t say anything more but if Shadefrost wanted to talk, she would listen on the walk back.

Think before you leap. Find the right route. ~Shadefrost
ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

His ears pricked at the sound of her voice and he realized he had been staring at her. He shook his head, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just impressed. That was a great catch."

His pelt burned with embarrassment. He flicked his tail towards camp. "Shall we head back or do you think you could go a bit longer?" He didn't want the hunting trip to end yet. Leopardrose was one of the only cats he felt comfortable around. With everyone else it was like nervousness overtook him but with her it was calm. He enjoyed it.

Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
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Leopardrose’s whiskers twitched at his fumbling answer but she didn’t press. If he wanted to keep whatever weighed on him tucked away, she wasn’t about to claw it out of him. His compliment earned only a flick of her tail, though the corner of her mouth curved in faint amusement.

"Camp will still be there whether we pad back now or later." She meowed lightly, glancing toward the treeline. Her pale eyes lingered there a heartbeat before she looked back at him. "If you’re not tired I could show you something better than chasing shrews in the undergrowth."

She tipped her head, a hint of challenge in her tone. "There’s an oak I climb when I want space to think. Best view in ThunderClan if you’ve got the claws for it. Up for it?" Her tail swished once as she picked up the chickadee.