((an. ordinary .day)) ;

[SHADE. :D]

The sun was unsaully bright for so deep within EclipseClan's hunting grounds. The bright rays cast shimmers of light to reflect off the glassy surface of Eclipse Lake, and the creatures in the undergrowth raised their heads to soak up the rare warmth on their pelts. The sky was a calm, light blue, dotted with the occasionally fluffy white cloud. The sun seemed to make the clouds waver and shiver, though in actual fact they were not moving an inch.

Silently, Pantherstealth crept out from beneath a heavy-leafed bush. He bared his teeth in anticipation. A young rabbit sat a few fox lengths ahead of his paws, sniffing at the grass as it warmed itself on he sun soaked ground. The mottled brown warrior crept closer, moving one deep black paw carefully, then the other. The rabbit still did not detect him, waving its ears as it chewed on a seed. Pantherstealth pounced, long, hooked claws unsheathed. Landing on the rabbit's back, he rolled the fat creature over and slashed its belly with his sharp claws. Before it could squeal he sank his fangs into its unprotected neck, killing it instantly. He tossed it aside, licking blood from his paws. He then scraped dirt over his catch with his hind paws, then sat at the banks of the lake, waiting for Glacierstripe to join him.

[trissea]

Glacierstripe bounded ater her uncle, strides long and fluid. Her lucid blue eyes scanned the undergrowth with satisfaction: prey was running today. The sun beat through the near inpenetrable tree-tops, touching the ground in a phenomenon not well-known to the deep forestry. Her silver pelt shone in good health, and she appeared behind Pantherstealth in a flurry of ferns, barely noticeable by the little animals. She stepped silently beside him.

A slight rustling in a nearby hawthorn bush pricked Glacierstripe's delicate ears, and she leapt after the vole, claws outstretched. She caught it squarely in the back and killed it swiftly, carrying its limp body to Pantherstealth and his rabbit with a moderately triumphant look deep in her icy gaze. The sunlight dappled the ground, and Glacierstripe was suddenly aware of how alive the forest really was.

[SHADE. :D]

The dappled warrior twitched his whiskers in greeting to the young silver tabby. "Good catch," he mewed, sounding casual and laid back. His shoulders were relaxed and his ears not pricked. He didn't appear to be hunting at all. But when the scent of thrush reached in, the brown warrior's eyes lit up. As the fat bird stepped closer, he pin pointed it. It was hidden in a thick bush. The tom leapt up suddenly, launching himself into the leaves. There was a rustle and a hiss and Pantherstealth reappeared, carrying he thrush and nursing a bleeding paw. He threw the dead bird down by the rabbit he had caught earlier, then sat down on the grass. A sharp thorn was lodged in his pad. The tom fixed his teeth around the thorn and pulled it out before spitting it away. The tom drew his tongue over the wound several times. "Ouch," he mewed.

[trissea]

Glacierstripe winced when Pantherstealth pulled the thorn out of his pad. "That looks painful," She meowed, her eyes glinting in sympathy. A young squirrel scurried to the shelter of a tree root, and Glacierstripe pricked her ears and froze. She waited for it to turn away from her, and then she crept foward on silent paws.

She leapt and caught the squirrel by its tail. It pulled out from under her and scurried frantically up the tree. With an exsasperated hiss, the she-cat scrambled up after it and killed it with a sharp bite. She slid down the tree, with the squirrel in her jaws, and set it down.

[SHADE. :D]

Pantherstealth licked his paw several more times before gingerly setting it back down on the soft, springy grass. He stood up, experimentally putting his weight on his foreoaws. He winced as pain thumped through his torn pad. "It's sore, but I'll be okay," he assured Glacierstripe. He watched her a moment, twitching his ears in understanding as he saw her drop into a crouch. His long, mottled brown tail flicked in pleasure as the young silver tabby caught the squirrel. "Well done," he mewed cheerfully.

[trissea]

OOC: Oh, LOL, I forgot this thread exsisted! Sorry!

Glacierstripe thanked Pantherstealth happily and plopped down next to him, feeling the warm sun on her pelt and closing her eyes for a moment. She could hear the forest breathe; the little animals scurry and the birds chirping. She could hear Pantherstealth's breath, and feel her heart beat steadily in her chest. She opened her eyes, and looked up into the endless canopy of green for a heartbeat, then blinking and turning to Pantherstealth.

Her young voice rang suddenly through the warm, restful air, and a sudden breeze toyed and carried it to any who would hear it. "Do you want to hunt more, or go on back to camp?" She queried the dappled tom with searching blue eyes. She flicked her tail at a lazy bluebottle fly buzzing around her in wait for the other cats' answer.

[SHADE. :D]

Pantherstealth lifted his shouldes, then let them fall. He shook his muzzle. "I don't mind," he replied, lashing his tail as a bumble bee buzzed near his ear. He swatted it, pinning it to the earth for a moment before letting it go. The dappled tom watched its awkward, pained flight away from the two cats. "We could always hunt more," he suggested. "Anything to get away from the camp. Amethyststar's been a wreck since her kits were born," he said scornfully. "Not that I blame her; if I'd broken the warrior code like that then I'd be pretty confused, too." The tom swiped his tongue around his jaws, angry at his mother. He wished his father, Wolfwing, had still been alive. "Scrawltale keeps mewing in her sleep, 'Aspenkit, Aspenkit', always the same. It never stops!"

[trissea]

The gray she-cat nodded symphathetically at Pantherstealth. She remembered Shadestar and Wolfwing, his parents, but only vaugely. "I know, what's that all about? That was so long ago, why does she still dream about it?" She asked, her blue eyes looking over the tom and then supplying more confusion. Why? She didn't know.But she knew it kept more than her up at night. Of course, Scrawltale had been her mentor and had trained her well, so deep inside her she felt bad talking this way. But she brushed it aside. She was a warrior now, and she could do what she pleased.

[SHADE. :D]

Pantherstealth nodded. "Can't say I blame her, though," he mewed. "I know what it's like to lose kin." The dappled brown tom shuddered. He had lost his sister, and brother, Oblivionpelt and Serpentsong. He still had one sister, though; Daintyfoot. "Then again, you'll know what it feels like, too." Pantherstealth remembered when he was an apprentice and Glacierstripe was a tiny newborn kit, her father Ebonysky being killed. Ebonysky had been Pantherstealth's half brother. And, more recently, when Glacierstripe and her siblings were apprentices, Pantherstealth remembered their beautiful mother, Jinxdancer, dying of wounds from the battle with MoonClan.

[trissea]

Glacierstripe nodded again. Yes. She hadn't really remembered her father too much, but her mother-- she had to blink back bitter tears. She didn't deserve to die the way she had. She would've been proud to see her children recieve their warrior names.

She stopped thinking then and grinned at the tom, her icy eyes glittering mischiviously. "First one back to camp with all their prey in thier mouth gets first pick of the fresh-kill!" She meowed, leaping to her paws and stuffing the vole and squirrel as far into her jaw as she could. "MmFph?" She meowed through a mouthful of fur. "Ready?"

[SHADE. :D]

Pantherstealth looked up at the sky. He had once doubted StarClan's existence, but he now knew that they were truly there. They had to be. His siblings needed Wolfwing to protect them, and Pantherstealth knew his father would stop at nothing to do so. New energy surged through him at Glacierstripe's challenge. The dappled brown tom seized his fresh kill, flexing his muscles in preperation. "You bet!" his voice was muffled. The lithe tom dashed in the direction of the EclipseClan camp, muscles pumping.

[trissea]

Glacierstripe leaped after him, her eyes sparkling and her legs pounding the soft earth with no sound. She kept herself low to the ground and trusted her paws, concentrating on speeding up. Her heart pounded in her ears and she could feel the blood rushing in and out of her legs. She felt so- so alive. She kept speeding up until she was next to Pantherstealth, burshing pelts in a race to the finish, her ears pricked and her mind focused on the end.

[SHADE. :D]

Pantherstealth felt Glacierstripe's soft silver pelt brush his, and increased his pace. He watched in disbelief as the silver tabby overyook him. The dappled tom skidded to a stop and sat down, dropping his fresh kill. He was panting hard, his flanks rising rapidly up and down. He flashed his sharp white fangs at Glacierstripe in a grin. "Well done," he mewed breathlessly. "Your fast." The brown tom took a few moments to catch his breath, before pulling a burr off his shoulder and getting to his paws. He shook himself and turned his amber gaze on Glacierstripe.