[Thistledawn]

Originally Posted by Mauve

It was a rather unpleasant day for Shadetail, as the ShadowClan warrior hadn't gotten much sleep. Nightmares of the Gathering battle between the Syndicate and the Clans still haunted him every once in awhile, and much as he tried to rid himself of the dark thoughts that prodded his mind as he slept, they went nowhere but in circles in his dreamland. Fatigued clawed at his muscles and he was pretty sure that his hind leg was strained due to kicking the den's all the night before. So when Halfgaze had set him on this hunting patrol with Ashnose, a tom who he'd seen around but never talked too, Shadetail was uncharacteristically annoyed. He'd been hoping to have a rest day, perhaps go see Daydream to discuss the nightmares that kept him awake - hoping the medicine cat wouldn't hold the same disdain towards him for his heritage that the majority of his Clanmates seemed to.

"Aren't you suppose to be leading this patrol?" he snapped, his yellow eyes narrowed as they were still adjusting to the bright sun that flittered through the pine trees above. He was used to shadows and staying in the shade, both of which were plentiful back at camp inside the warriors' den. He hadn't meant the words to come out as harsh as they did, but nonetheless Shadetail straightened up and said nothing about his tone, instead glancing towards where some scuttle noises and loud croaks were coming from. His ears twitched and the tom parted his jaws to draw in the scent, just to be sure. "Yeah, that seems to be where the prey is," Shadetail replied, pointing his tail towards the rather thick patch of briars that circled the outer edge of the swamp, where the sounds and scents seemed to be protruding from. He wasn't a hunting expert by any means, nor was he an expert in how every little thing ran in ShadowClan - after all, he was still relatively new - but he was sure that Ashnose had grown up all his life here. Shouldn't he know that the best place to start is where you scent and hear the prey? he thought to himself, but made no comment as he watched Ashnose, waiting patiently for the tom to either correct him or lead the way. After all, he was the one assigned to lead the patrol.

Ashnose flinched away from the tom- Shadetail, he remembered. He hadn't expected the tom to snap at him like that, even if Ashnose had acted like a mouse-brain. He bit his tongue, not wanting to say anything to make Shadetail's mood worse. He wanted to defend himself, but thought better of it. Ashnose would prove himself better by leading this patrol with confidence. The ShadowClan warrior let his eyes scan over the other tom once before he looked back to where the prey was hiding. "Okay," Ashnose began, trying to make his voice sound firm and confident. "You go to that side and wait for me to drive the prey towards you." He flicked his gray tail towards the right of the swamp. The tom's command was definite, but uncertainty lingered in his thoughts. He wasn't used to ordering other cats around. He'd gotten nervous all of the sudden and it was throwing him off.

Not wanting to let himself worry any longer, Ashnose set off towards the swamp. He strayed far to the left, trying to circle around the prey. His paws were light on the ground as he tried to be as quiet as possible. No matter what, Ashnose wasn't going to make a fool of himself by alerting the nearby prey of the toms' presence. He waited under cover and let his eyes, his nose, and his ears do all of the work. He waited until he could see, scent, and hear his target. After a couple dozen heartbeats, a chunky looking frog hopped into view. Ashnose's first instinct was to pounce and catch the slimy creature. However, he wasn't entirely sure that he'd be able to close the distance in one leap. The tom had almost forgotten that his Clanmate was waiting not too far away. If he wasn't able to make the kill himself, then he was sure he would be able to lead the frog towards Shadetail. With any luck, the other tom would be able to catch the slippery creature and make the kill. Ashnose crept half a paw-step forward, hoping that Shadetail would be ready to move when the frog headed his way. Angling himself the best that he could to make sure the frog would hop towards Shadetail, Ashnose finally pounced with a hiss of determination. The frog began to hop away from Ashnose as fast and far as it could manage. It was heading towards Shadetail, just like he wanted. Even as the distance between him and his prey grew, Ashnose continued to chase after it to make sure that it didn't stray in the wrong direction.

[ I've been super sick for the past two or so weeks. So sorry for the late reply!! ]