RiverClan Territory

[BEAR.]

..

[Ever]

@Crow
Birchstep watched his eyes carefully as he reacted to her offer. She figured he would be excited, and the smile on his face and hasty 'yes' told her she was right in believing so. She let off a little purr of encouragement for his efforts as he corrected himself and tried to regain a calmness. The maine coon herself felt alive with nerves, as if they were meeting for the first time. The nerves you got when you were too close to your secret crush for the first time. It was almost a silly feeling after all they were through, though she'd never been able to explore the giddiness she'd always felt around Crowfoot before. So in a way it was a fresh start, a new meeting. they now actually had a chance at a relationship, a chance to be something and work this out. it was hopeful and only made her smile widen a little more as she took a step closer to the tom who was so familiar, yet such a stranger to her now.
"Let's get back to camp then." She said softly, now standing beside him, taking the first step forward. they weren't far from camp so it wouldn't take them long to return, the perfect distance to break the ice that had formed between them. Which they have needed for a long time. A start at regaining their friendship, their relationship and exploring what they could possibly be. Birchstep found it difficult to keep her thoughts and dreams under control. It was nice to have those thoughts, those hopeful dreams for the future, it was a good sign that she was returning to the old cat she once was. Not that'd she ever completely heal from her past, but her personality most definitely would with time.

[Ever]

@Hexict
Crimsonmoon refocused on the water quickly after making sure her catch was dead and close behind her. the thrill of getting the first catch pumped through her body, sending little shivers of excitement throughout her. It made her skin prickle, her fur raising. She heard a splash across the water and her eyes jerked to the sound without thinking, seeing Pastblaze pull a nice plump fish from the river. Her smile faltered a little as she realized they were at tie game and she needed to focus more now that ever. Her intense red gaze refocused on the darkening waters of the river, pupils large with excitement. It seemed as though time held as still as her body while she waited for her next catch to come into view. When it finally did, it took everything in her to keep from lashing out too early once again. This fish, she could already tell, was one of her favorites. It's sides shone under the water, a rainbow of colors reflecting the lingering sunlight. Her breath stopped as she prepared to lash out, and swiftly she struck the fish in the side. it almost slipped away, but her claws had caught it and she flung it quickly out of the water. The wriggling and thrashing of the fish caused an outer claw to tear painfully, though she made no wince to let the silent forest know of her pain. Once it was flopping along the dry ground, she pounced on it and ended it. Resuming her silent hunt, hoping to hear silence from her challenger across the water.

[Crow]

@Ever

Originally Posted by Ever

@Crow
Birchstep watched his eyes carefully as he reacted to her offer. She figured he would be excited, and the smile on his face and hasty 'yes' told her she was right in believing so. She let off a little purr of encouragement for his efforts as he corrected himself and tried to regain a calmness. The maine coon herself felt alive with nerves, as if they were meeting for the first time. The nerves you got when you were too close to your secret crush for the first time. It was almost a silly feeling after all they were through, though she'd never been able to explore the giddiness she'd always felt around Crowfoot before. So in a way it was a fresh start, a new meeting. they now actually had a chance at a relationship, a chance to be something and work this out. it was hopeful and only made her smile widen a little more as she took a step closer to the tom who was so familiar, yet such a stranger to her now.
"Let's get back to camp then." She said softly, now standing beside him, taking the first step forward. they weren't far from camp so it wouldn't take them long to return, the perfect distance to break the ice that had formed between them. Which they have needed for a long time. A start at regaining their friendship, their relationship and exploring what they could possibly be. Birchstep found it difficult to keep her thoughts and dreams under control. It was nice to have those thoughts, those hopeful dreams for the future, it was a good sign that she was returning to the old cat she once was. Not that'd she ever completely heal from her past, but her personality most definitely would with time.

Crowfoot smiled almost giddily with her purr, tail twitching with restrained eagerness. With an almost-silent laugh, the tom bounced on his paws, clearly ready to get going with Birchstep at his side.Although, honestly, the former didn't matter much- he enjoyed running, but this was infinitely more about her than the activity they were doing together. Yes, he'd been hurt when she'd blamed him for everything that had happened- but those memories were pushed to the side, mood at the high point of its swing. These mood swings were new to Crowfoot- he'd always been the stable one, able to keep others calm, and now he was in need of calming himself. But he supposed that was what love did to a cat. It was more than worth it, although just a few moments ago he'd thought differently. but that was before he knew Birchstep was happy. Well, at least happy enough to fake it, as there was no way to tell whether this purring and smiling was purely for his own benefit. Dismissing the thoughts from his mind, the tom gave the Maine Coon a sideways smile. "Let's go," he purred, bounding forward in a small leap before spinning on his heel to grin at Birchstep, emerald eyes twinkling as only she'd ever been able to make them do.

[Ever]

The happiness that radiated off the tom was contagious. It sunk deep within her, infecting her with a contempt of her own. One unlike she had ever been able to achieve in her solitude. She had definitely been able to heal, find peace, but not happiness. Though a jolt of fear and anxiety made the fur along her spine prickle nervously as she felt a realization that her happiness depended on Crowfoot in a way. Though as she caught his gaze, she knew that things were the same for him too. The way his eyes lit up when he looked at her was evenly reflected in her own, though at the moment hers were stained by her fears. Soon she would reach his level of forgiveness and forget the past, be able to live in the present and only look towards the future. She was excited for it, longed for it, was fearful of it. It was such a strange mixture of emotions and it overwhelmed her a little, causing her smile to falter as they fell into a walking pace and she looked away from the tom. Her short burst of purring had ceased as well and a silence fell upon them like a thick blanket of snow. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. It was borderline awkward, because there were so many things un-discussed that darkened their relationship still. A shadow that burdened them still. She glanced over at him once more, her look curious and questioning, wondering what was going through his mind. If deep down he was angry at her, if he hated her a little even. She wanted to believe he did, because he deserved to, but she doubted it. A small sigh passed her lips and she looked away. it was too difficult to look into his eyes as she said it, for the embarrassment was overwhelming. "I'm sorry." She whispered softly, her voice quickly carried away by the breeze. Though she was sure he had heard it, and she knew it was a pitiful way to have said it, but she didn't know any other way to apologize for her past actions.

[Hexict]

Originally Posted by Ever

@Hexict
Crimsonmoon refocused on the water quickly after making sure her catch was dead and close behind her. the thrill of getting the first catch pumped through her body, sending little shivers of excitement throughout her. It made her skin prickle, her fur raising. She heard a splash across the water and her eyes jerked to the sound without thinking, seeing Pastblaze pull a nice plump fish from the river. Her smile faltered a little as she realized they were at tie game and she needed to focus more now that ever. Her intense red gaze refocused on the darkening waters of the river, pupils large with excitement. It seemed as though time held as still as her body while she waited for her next catch to come into view. When it finally did, it took everything in her to keep from lashing out too early once again. This fish, she could already tell, was one of her favorites. It's sides shone under the water, a rainbow of colors reflecting the lingering sunlight. Her breath stopped as she prepared to lash out, and swiftly she struck the fish in the side. it almost slipped away, but her claws had caught it and she flung it quickly out of the water. The wriggling and thrashing of the fish caused an outer claw to tear painfully, though she made no wince to let the silent forest know of her pain. Once it was flopping along the dry ground, she pounced on it and ended it. Resuming her silent hunt, hoping to hear silence from her challenger across the water.

Pastblaze's ears flicked as he heard Crimsonmoon's next catch, and started to rock on his paws as he waited for his next catch, each heartbeat feeling like an hour to the tom. His gaze never left the shimmering surface of the water. Though he was tempted to see how his opponent's fish were, whether they were good prey or not, and to see how much more time they had for their little competition. He could tell by the fading light on the water that they were running out, but the sun had already started it's set before they had even started. The silver warrior blinked as he saw about three fish heading his way - they were small, but looked like a good catch. He picked on to target, and prepared himself for another strike into the cooling water. Pastblaze lashed out his paw towards the tiny fish, and felt aggravation as the started to evade them, but at the last second he twisted his paw and was able to hook one of the fishes' with his outstretched claws. Giving a smile, and flung it onto the land and instantly killed it. It was disappointing in size, but at least this one hadn't gotten away like the other two. As he turned back towards the river, Pastblaze allowed himself to look at Crimsonmoon, and stiffened a bit when he saw her last catch, his orbs lingering on it's shining rainbow scales. His blinked and forced himself to return to their competition, not wanting to get sidetracked nor intimidated.

[Ever]

Crimsonmoon refrained from looking up when she heard another splash in the water. She didn't want to get distracted by her competition when the time was running out quickly. Though nothing came and she could feel her chest tightening with anxiety. They had both caught two fish, but whose would be the larger amount of prey? She licked her lips and tried to see through the dark murky water but it was impossible with how little daylight remained. A small sigh escaped her maw and she finally sat up and looked across the river. It was even hard to pick out Pastblaze's body along the dark river edge. "I can't see anything anymore, I think it is time to be done. Need help bringing your catch over?" The last sentence was announced in a mocking tone almost. More of a nervous tease that she needed to get out to break the silence and try to instill some last bit of confidence in herself. Maybe it would make him more nervous than she was to see who the winner would be. Though she had caught a fair two fish, one dull green that was smaller and a nice fat rainbow trout. They would make nice meals, if there was plenty of prey on the fresh kill pile she would take the trout for her own meal. Well half of it anyways, it was big enough to feed two cats easily.

[lone]

~for @Sleet~

Cloudpaw padded into the territory, the white apprentice looking around calmly. She sat down for a moment, looking back at the camp entrance before heading deeper into the territory. Her thoughts were mixed, hunting and the new friend that she had met not long ago. She was looking forwards to meeting him again...after all, she loved to meet new cats and play with them. Cloudpaw's senses were higher than they usually were as she prepared to hunt, her ears swiveling in the direction of any small noise. A leaf crunched under her paw and she jumped, startled before realizing that there was nothing to be worried about. She was glad that no one was around to witness her embarrassing display. Cloudpaw licked her maw, feeling really worried that someone might have been watching her. She hated embarrassing herself, especially in front of her clanmates. The white apprentice's blue eyes scanned the area around her, her ears pinned flat against her head and she shifted form paw to paw as she did when she was nervous. She was now hoping more than ever that another cat wasn't watching her, as she liked to keep up her 'cool' standards for as long as she possibly could. Besides, if Smokepaw's here he's going to change his mind about me being so confident, Cloudpaw thought worriedly. She had been planning on giving the tom some pointers on not getting embarrassed, but if she was going to get so worried, what was the point? Cloudpaw sighed, and swished her white tail once more as she calmed herself and her senses went back to their usual, heightened mode as she began to pad forwards once more, a little more cautiously this time. The she cat looked around as she did so, her eyes following any small movements, her ears swiveling around to follow any sound again.

[Sleet]

Smokepaw padded tentatively into the clearing. Would Cloupaw come? Was she here already? Was she behind him? He swiveled his head around, checking to see him she was coming out behind him, but saw nothing. As he turned his head back around, he caught a glimpse of her through the bushes, just as she gave a small jump. A smile spread across his face. He purred quietly, and pushed his way into the open. The apprentice padded up to his new friend. "Hi Cloudpaw," he greeted her. Smokepaw surprised himself at how unreserved he felt with her. "Ready to go hunting?" He asked.

[lone]

Cloudpaw nearly jumped again and caught herself just in time. "Oh! Smokepaw, you startled me. I was just...waiting for you," she smiled a little sheepishly. Did he see me earlier? she wondered, although she didn't speak her question aloud. She gave a small smile and a chuckle, and fell silent a moment afterwards. She appeared to be deep in thought, although her mind was racing to figure something to say to make the situation less uncomfortable for herself. Smokepaw, on the other hand, seemed to be feeling great! He looked as though he were feeling a lot more confident than he had when she had first met him. "Yeah, I'm ready," she answered after hearing his question. She grinned broadly, her eyes sparking with an almost mischievous glint. "So, how's it been going?" she asked, beginning to head further into the territory once more. Her senses were still as heightened as before, and nothing was escaping her notice. She was careful not to ignore Smokepaw however, glancing over towards him to make sure he was following. It wouldn't do at all to leave him behind...no, that would be very embarrassing indeed. Cloudpaw yawned, suddenly tired although she wasn't quite sure why...perhaps it had been too early of a morning for her. The white she cat glanced back at Smokepaw once more, letting her guard down on her senses and hoping that nothing would sneak past her...that would be even more embarrassing than her previous slip up. Oh well, I guess I should be thankful I didn't forget his name, she mewed with a slight shrug. That was one thing about Cloudpaw; she always seemed to be looking on the bright side of things. It helped her stay more confident and focused.