Sprouted
Skyblossom, Anycat Who Wants to,
An evening hunt escalates to an aimless stroll in the woods, where Skyblossom loses track of time and her fairly good sense of direction. A little lost, she waits for somecat, anycat, to find her.
ThunderClan Woods
21
Stepping carefully so as not to snap any twigs or crush any leaves, Skyblossom crept towards the rabbit, preparing to push herself forward with her hind legs. Leaping forward, her claws unsheathed, she fell right where the rabbit was, tripping before bolting after her prey.
The forest flashed as she ran, but despite that, she kept her eyes on the rabbit, pushing herself forward whenever it felt like she was slowing down. She couldn't afford to miss a chance to catch such a plump rabbit when the cold leaf-fall winds were basically only a few fox-lengths away.
Darting in-between trees, she glanced to the right, spotting something brownish-gray and thinking it was the rabbit. Contemplating her choices for a moment, still running forward at full speed, she tried to stop to turn to the right, but instead found herself on the ground after running into a tree. To her surprise, she was completely fine, probably because she had slowed down a bit so that she could turn.
After a small break, she stood up, still slightly shaken from the impact. Walking casually through the forest, taking in her surroundings, she found that there wasn't anything around her that looked quite familiar. She was in ThunderClan territory, but she couldn't tell where in their territory she was. All around her were trees, leaves, moss, and rocks, all normal things to find in ThunderClan territory.
Sitting down with a small huff, she decided to wait for somecat to find her, and if they didn't, she'd just have to find her own way back to camp. Lying down on some moss and leaves, Skyblossom closed her eyes, listening to the distant chirps of birds. "I'm going to be scolded quite a bit when I get back, aren't I?" She said, saying her thoughts aloud since there wasn't anycat to overhear her.
A little while later, Skyblossom found herself wandering through the forest, the sun slowly beginning to fall beneath the horizon. Before long, twilight falls, leaving her with no choice to wait for somecat to notice that she wasn't in camp. Lying down in the leaves, exhaustion took over, leaving her unable to get up. Slowly letting her eyes close, she wished for somecat, anycat, to notice that she wasn't there. To notice her.
Hi! I play:
Skyblossom of ThunderClan
Forest
Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
──●◎●──
The forest had begun to darken into dusky shades as Leopardrose picked up the trail. Her scent was easy enough to track as well as a rabbit trail torn wildly off course. It was all messy that almost made her whiskers twitch with disbelief. She stepped over another patch of disturbed leaves, pace brisk.
She felt familiar with this sort of wandering and with twilight creeping through the trees, even ThunderClan territory could become disorienting for a tired warrior. "There you are."
Leopardrose emerged between the undergrowth, silvery charcoal coat caught what little light filtered through the canopy as she looked Skyblossom over from ears to tail. Nothing seemed unusual...no obvious injuries. "Are you alright?" With a tail flick, she stepped closer. "You haven't hit your head or anything, right? Camp's back that way..."
With a smile to hopefully loosen the tension, Leopardrose continued. "C'mon...Let's get home. I caught a mouse earlier, we can stop by the pick it up on the way."
FROM RIVERCLAN:
Cottonbright, ♀ Anxious Senior Warrior
Nettleplume, ♂ Cynical Medicine Cat
Merryaster, ♀ Insightful Warrior
Otterwhisker, ♀ Adventurous Elder
Tangleloon, ♂ Whimsical Elder
FROM THUNDERCLAN:
Bravesong, ♂ Gracious Elder
Leopardrose, ♀ Striving Warrior
Wildcry, ♀ Fierce Elder
Rimepaw, ♀ Rough Apprentice
FROM WINDCLAN:
Cloudflare, ♂ Suave Senior Warrior
Barleyswipe, ⚧ Ornery Elder
Heatherpaw, ♀ Sincere Apprentice
Smokekit , ♂ Assured Kit
FROM SHADOWCLAN:
Palestar, ♀ Stern Leader
Honeyglow, ♂ Reserved Elder
Emberdust, ♀ Artless Warrior
Duskmantle, ♂ Opportunistic Warrior
FROM WHITEHART & BEYOND:
Ahryndae, ♀ Princess of Camelot
Lelouch Von Noon, ♂ Marquess of Noon Cattery
Kosmo, ♂ Visionary Feral
Montgomery (Monty), ♂ Sentimental Semi-Feral
Sprouted
Perking up at the sight of a familiar face, Skyblossom twitched her ears, the word mouse very appealing to her despite her preferences on prey. Standing up and ignoring her sore muscles, she followed Leopardrose cheerfully, the thought of food and the comfort of the warriors' den making her forget any social anxiety she may have had since she separated herself from the others at a young age. Hoping to make up for her former mistakes, she followed her Clanmate through the trees, the path no longer feeling twisted and lonely.
"Thank you, Leopardrose." She whispered, slightly embarrassed that she'd gotten lost in her own territory. Smiling slightly, her silver-blue tinted gray fur glowing in the dim light, she hoped to become closer with the she-cat.
I'm still probably going to be scolded when I get back to camp, but at least it gives me a chance to become closer with Leopardrose. She thought, flicking her tail and twitching her nicked white ear.
As they walked, she suddenly spotted a squirrel nibbling at some nuts beneath a tree. Alerting Leopardrose, she dropped into the hunter's crouch despite her exhaustion. She had taken a small rest, so the least she could do for the Clan was catch something in return for the trouble she caused.
Pushing herself forward, she pounced on the squirrel, managing to kill it with a swift bite to the neck. Turning back to Leopardrose, she smiled as much as she could with the piece of prey in her mouth. Proud of herself, she walked cheerfully back to camp with Leopardrose, remembering the mouse on the way.
Yes! Squirrel was her favorite! That made the day feel so much more worth it despite all the turmoil it had caused her. Of course, Leopardrose's arrival had much the same effect. Maybe today wasn't so bad after all...
Hi! I play:
Skyblossom of ThunderClan
Forest
Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
──●◎●──
Leopardrose slowed slightly as Skyblossom fell into step beside her, content to let the younger warrior match her pace instead of hurrying her along. "You say that like I dragged you out of a river. You just got turned around, don't worry." She tried to assure her.
Still the gratitude settled warmly somewhere beneath her ribs, awkward and unfamiliar enough that she disguised it by nosing aside a low hanging branch. As they walked and before she could say anything further, Skyblossom abruptly dropped into a crouch. Leopardrose stilled at the tension and her postrue shifted on instinct.
She remained quiet to allow the younger warrior space to hunt the squirrel freely. And then her pounce landed true! "Nicely done!" She meowed, almost a purr. Moving freely now, she padded towards the furrow of leaves where he had buried her mouse.
"You know, most cats would have called it a day after getting lost for half the afternoon but you still stopped to hunt." Her eyes flicked sidelong toward the squirrel dangling proudly from Skyblossom's jaws. Her lighter maw dipped, scooping up the brown furred mouse between her teeth, a tail giving a flick as she led the way back in the direction of camp.
FROM RIVERCLAN:
Cottonbright, ♀ Anxious Senior Warrior
Nettleplume, ♂ Cynical Medicine Cat
Merryaster, ♀ Insightful Warrior
Otterwhisker, ♀ Adventurous Elder
Tangleloon, ♂ Whimsical Elder
FROM THUNDERCLAN:
Bravesong, ♂ Gracious Elder
Leopardrose, ♀ Striving Warrior
Wildcry, ♀ Fierce Elder
Rimepaw, ♀ Rough Apprentice
FROM WINDCLAN:
Cloudflare, ♂ Suave Senior Warrior
Barleyswipe, ⚧ Ornery Elder
Heatherpaw, ♀ Sincere Apprentice
Smokekit , ♂ Assured Kit
FROM SHADOWCLAN:
Palestar, ♀ Stern Leader
Honeyglow, ♂ Reserved Elder
Emberdust, ♀ Artless Warrior
Duskmantle, ♂ Opportunistic Warrior
FROM WHITEHART & BEYOND:
Ahryndae, ♀ Princess of Camelot
Lelouch Von Noon, ♂ Marquess of Noon Cattery
Kosmo, ♂ Visionary Feral
Montgomery (Monty), ♂ Sentimental Semi-Feral
Sprouted
Cheerfully walking towards the camp, Skyblossom spoke, feeling more energetic than usual. "When squirrels are involved, I don't have time to question whether or not I should pounce." She managed to say despite the squirrel in her jaws, continuing after that hastily. "Of course, only in my own territory."
As she walked, the silence became slightly unbearable, so she spoke up, her voice muffled because of the squirrel she was carrying. "How... How did they react when I didn't come back to camp? Were... Were they worried?" She asked, looking down at the ground with sadness in her eyes.
Surely her Clanmates were a little worried? Or... Maybe they didn't even care? Ever since she was a kit, she'd been so distant, mostly her own doing, but what if she had tried to connect? Would they have treated her like kin? Or would she have been just the same?
Freezing in her tracks for a moment, she wondered briefly what life would have been like if her mother had been there. Would she have been able to play with her as a kit? Would she have gone on lots of hunting patrols with her as an apprentice? Would she have been able to speak about all of her daily adventures with her if she were still alive?
Shaking her head, she took a step forward, leaving all of her previous thoughts behind. She was going to live her life happily, whether her mother was here with her or not. Besides, surely there were cats out there who would want to be her friends! She just had to open up to her Clanmates first!
Hi! I play:
Skyblossom of ThunderClan