Sins of the Father [Hawk]

[Stormbelly]

As the storm blows on out of control…

The faint chill of leaf-fall was heavy in the air, piercing through her thick coat and making her shiver. The leaves crackled beneath her paws, already drying out as leaf-bare crept upon the forest. Stormbelly was just glad the snow hadn’t begun to fall yet; she always hated the cold. It reminded her of when she was a kit in the nursery, shivering as she curled up next to her mother and staring out the entrance of the thicket at the white fluff falling into the camp.

She always remembered sickness, and anxiety, and desperation when it came to leaf-bare. A soft scuttling up ahead took her attention off her memories, and her body tensed, ears flicking forward as the fresh scent of vole caught her attention. She instantly dropped into a crouch, sliding forward silently on her belly, her tail held just above the ground so as not to stir up any leaves. She pushed her way through the brush quietly, catching sight of the vole nibbling on a seed just ahead. She flexed her shoulders, claws unsheathed as she watched it carefully and took another paw step forward so she could-

SNAP!

A twig broke beneath her paw, and Stormbelly jumped as the vole took off into the underbrush. Her whiskers twitched angrily, and she dropped out of her crouch, rising to her paws. “Mouse-dung,” she spat, stomping over to the place the vole had been only seconds before. She’d almost had it too. Stormbelly sighed heavily, her tail waving above her as she strolled back to the path along the WindClan border. The leaves crackled under her brush as she decided an impromptu patrol by herself was better than a failed hunting expedition any day. She already felt like a mouse-brain for missing the vole; she might as well make herself useful somehow.

Her whiskers twitched as she scented something faint and sweet; she turned her head, ears flicking forward as she stepped over a patch of chervil, it’s large leaves curling slightly as it prepared itself for leaf-bare. Stormbelly sniffed it experimentally, then made a note of it for their medicine cat; she was sure it’d come in handy at some point. She wasn’t sure what it was used for, but she’d scented it once or twice when she’d been in the medicine cat den with a bellyache or a cough. Waving her tail in quiet triumph that she’d at least found something good for her Clan, she continued padding along the border, keeping a lookout for any sign of WindClan cats along it.

…deep in her heart the thunder rolls.

[Hawkclaw]

Thornstar had always warned him that relationships were the most difficult battle a tom would face over his life whether it was with queens or with other Clan cats it was better to suffer a hundred hunger pains than to suffer a single heartbreak. Over his many moons Hawkclaw had come to suffer many hardships and each was more painful than the last and this past moon had made even him consider retiring. It was times like now when he was away from the hustle of the Camp that he really thought about his life and what he had missed out on but after a moment of thought he brushed these unpleasantries to the side and tried to focus on the main event of the evening – hunting.

He was painfully aware that the freshkill was lower at this time of year and every step was careful and calculated to ensure a sure hunt. So far he had managed three small mice and a skinny wood pidgeon which he was fortunate enough to stumble on but that was not enough to feed the elders nevermind the readily expanding Clan. Apart from the rustle in the breeze there was not a sound to be heard until an allmighty SNAP from the distance alerted him to the presense of another. The cuss that followed was familiar but already he was making swift towards the noise to inspect what had happened. Upon his arrival he could see the slight form of a grey she-cat picking at the earth beneath her paws.

Hawkclaw slowed his pace unsure of how to approach. It didn’t take a genious to work out who she was with her distinctive scent much like his own. At any moment Stormbelly would turn to see the tom lurking in silence and that would not be comfortable for any of them... taking the initiative the tabby tom cleared his throat and spoke in a low rough voice. “Hello Stormbelly.” He muttered stepping lightly out of the shadows. He tried to break his watch from her, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with every second that he spent in her presence and he was not sure whether it was a good or bad uncomfortable.

In Clan tradition, the next of kin to any cat that has joined Starclan was to share tongues with them one last time before the decended to join their ancestors but Stormbelly had been denied this right when her brother died in another territory. He had heard many mixed conversations on the matter and despite the fact that he had joined another Clan Hawkclaw believed that the pair still deserved the respect though he couldn’t say that out loud. His eyes hardened as he approached, thinking that sympathy would not bid well with her. He did not want sympathy for the son that nobody knew he had lost.

“You are... collecting medicine?” He asked with mild curiosity.

[Stormbelly]

As the storm blows on out of control…

Stormbelly was so caught up in inspecting the ground beneath her paws (it wasn’t all that interesting; it was just a strange shade of brown she couldn’t quite name or place) that she didn’t hear the tom approaching. It wasn’t a good idea to ‘space out’ on a border patrol, but Stormbelly had been assigned to neither a hunting or a border patrol, and really, for all intents and purposes, she was just out for a walk. So when the voice sounded just off to her left, she whirled quickly, her fur bristling and her claws unsheathed in her surprise. When her startled gaze landed on Hawkclaw, her fur quickly lay flat again, and she sighed, her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest.

“Oh, it’s just you, Hawkclaw,” she said faintly, shifting uncomfortably on her paws as his intense gaze landed on her. He always made her so uncomfortable; every time they interacted, he just stared at her like she was some kind of ghost or something. It made her self-conscious and fidgety, and like now, nervous. At his question, her fur bristled in silent alarm, and she quickly shook her head. “N-no,” she mewed quickly. “I was only sniffing this plant. It smelled familiar; like something that could be used in the medicine cat den, but I forget the name.” A lie, to be sure, but Stormbelly didn’t want to tell Hawkclaw the truth. “I was just…” Out hunting? Patrolling the border? Looking for herbs that I can‘t even name? Acting like an idiot kit? “…going for a walk,” she finished lamely, wondering if he’d arrived in time to see her miss her vole.

It was an embarrassing miss, she decided, and one that she was most certainly not proud of. Even a kit could’ve caught a vole at that distance. She fidgeted uncomfortably on her paws, before she flicked her tail in the direction of the border. “Coincidentally, I’m walking along the border. Might as well keep a lookout for any trespassers while I’m out, right?” Okay Hawkclcaw. Go away now. And stop staring at me. She wished he’d leave; his gaze made her nervous and she didn’t like the unease prickling the back of her pelt every time those eyes landed on her; like there was something missing that she wasn’t aware of…like he had something to tell her, but didn’t know how.

“Um…” When it was clear he wasn’t going to move, Stormbelly sighed mentally, and resigned herself to her fate. “Would you like to come along? Two is better than one when half-heartedly patrolling the border, don’t you think? And besides, it might be nice to have some cat to-” Talk to? “-keep me company.”

…deep in her heart the thunder rolls.

[Hawkclaw]

Doubt whirpooled in his mind as the grey cat stated her reasons but he knew well to hold his tongue. Her mother was the same, very proud and stubbor n and it seemed in all the moons he had watched his daughter the apple had never fallen far from the tree. The old tom settled on his haunches, doing his best to avoid the pained expression that crossed his maw whenever the pain of age attacked his hind. This was distraction enough at least to drop his gaze from her and release some of the tension was that practically oozing from the two but she remained sharp and to the point as always. “...Chevril? Chervil? I was never good at herbs. Left that to the Medicine cat. Grey-, I was always told that I should be an expert in the field considering how much I’ve consumed in my life.” He managed an apologetic smile at hi terrible sense of humor but he was sure he had saved himself just in time for the mention of Greyeye.

Perhaps he was being a little emotionally slow but she seemed to warm some or at least she was being polite enough to offer him to accompany her of her patrol. He hesitated, if this was tom strategy then she was only offering to get him off her case but if she was being genuine then it would be rude to decline – if there was anything in between the line then he was completely oblivious. “I will be pleased to accompany you. Wildstar has me leading late patrol so it will be good to have some ground... if you don’t mind.” He added completely discarding his handsome freshkill pile which he promised himself to collect later. Lifting to his feet steadily he approached her slowly with his tail hanging loosley behind him and nausia rippling through his fur threatening to give away this well-practiced game.

[[ other, I'm really, REALLY sorry it's so short! I'm kinda trying to babysit my 5 + 3 year old sisters on top of everything else >.> Next one will be better I promise! ]]

[Stormbelly]

As the storm blows on out of control…

“Ah, yes,” Stormbelly mewed, sounding somewhat uncomfortable discussing something she considered her ‘undercover hobby.’ “Well, you should probably be a bit more careful so you don’t end up in the medicine cat den in the future,” she chided, wondering why she cared. She told herself it was just because he was her clan-mate, but she and Hawkclaw hadn’t ever spent much time together.

He always made her so uncomfortable and she always felt like he…had something on his mind he wanted to share, but couldn’t. Stormbelly turned and beckoned with her tail, paws padding along the border line. She left the sweet smelling herb behind, it’s scent still clinging to her pelt in a pleasant way. “Wildstar asked you to lead a late patrol?” she asked, trying to sound curious but feeling only hesitant. “Any idea who else is going along?” She just hoped it wouldn’t be her.

If Hawkclaw was there, she wasn’t sure she wanted any more awkwardness with him. It sounded…almost painful. Stormbelly winced to herself, keeping her face angled away from Hawkclaw and gazing over the border, as if waiting for something to happen. “What were you doing out here anyways?” she asked thoughtfully, now truly curious as to why he was near the border.

“Were you hunting?” She winced again as she thought about her own failed attempts earlier; she really needed to brush up on her hunting skills, but she just couldn’t muster the energy right now.

…deep in her heart the thunder rolls.