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A crisp wind whispered through the trees, refreshing to a cat that had been cooped up in camp all day. Some of the snow had melted throughout the day, so hunting would be easier. Ashflame's day was going awful. He had been assigned to a hunting patrol with his sister so that they could "sort out their differences". So what if they had been squabbling in camp, completely disrupting the life of others in the clan. That didn't mean that they should spend more time together. Trudging along, Ashflame looked over at Hailstrike and smirked. The only good thing that came of this was that she was just as annoyed as he was.

The silence awful, and Ashflame couldn't stand it. Deciding to break the awkward silence he said, "So where do you think we should go?" It was a lame excuse for conversation, but they didn't have a whole lot in common. Sighing he kept going along, following a bit behind Hailstrike, just in case she wanted to take the lead of where to go.

[Phoenix]

This is humiliating, She decided finally. Humiliating, unnecessary, useless and irritating. Doing her best to ignore the idiotic tom trudging along beside her, the she-cat forced her blazing ire to cool to a low simmer. Those emotions had been what had gotten them in this mess in the first place; returning with eyes blazing and claws slashing would only prove to further convince them that they still needed to reconcile and result in more of these outings. Pointedly keeping her narrowed eyes facing forward, she intended to let this silence stretch on for the rest of the patrol. She had nothing to say to Ashflame, her dear brother, and if he knew what was good for him, he would have nothing to say to her.

As always, the tom seemed to lose intelligence with the passing day, and completely ignoring the silent, hostile vibes that clearly emanated from her, he spoke up. When he paused slightly in his stride, she took the offer, striding briskly ahead of him, still not deigning to respond. If they wanted to measure success in the amount of prey brought back to camp, then it would be best if she went off to the left and he went off to the right. With Mr. I'll-Die-If-I-Get-My-Paws-Dirty as her shadow, a successful hunt would be a thing of the past, and if she returned to camp with empty paws because of it, she would not be held responsible for her actions.

"Anywhere where there's prey," She returned sharply, not even turning her head to grace him with a look. Stifling a sigh of frustration, she found herself asking once more how her brother could be so utterly useless. They obviously were not thinking when they decided to send him on a hunting patrol. Hunting required effort, talent and patience. Ashflame had none of those. He was lazy, vain and far too overconfident for his own good. Closing her eyes for a moment, she stopped abruptly before turning sharply. Ice blue locked with bright yellow as she meowed, "We're here to sort out our differences and get along. I have no desire to fight with you and lengthen this..." Torture. "...patrol. Success would be easiest to obtain if you went that way and I went this way. We can meet up later."

[Deleted]

Even after trying to cause some kind of conversation, so matter how stupid, his sister refused to try. This sent him into an even fouler mode than before. The fact that he had tried, but his sister wouldn't bothered him. Not that his try was that great, but Ashflame didn't see that as the main problem. What he saw as the main problem was walking right in front of him.

Eventually Hailstrike responded, but the response got Ashflame even more agitated. Obviously we are here for prey. I was trying to sort out our differences! Then she went on to say more obvious things, and soon Ashflame snapped. "With that kind of attitude we are never going to be let back into camp." In a lower tone he muttered, "You'll also never be able to find a mate." Going back to his normal tone of voice he continued, "We need to sort this out now. We can hunt after, I'm sure we'll be able to get enough prey in a short time." 

[Phoenix]

"I heard that," She shot back instantly, indifferently speaking over his other words. Sensitive ears flicked, pivoting back toward him, and part of her was amused at his pathetic attempt at an insult - or perhaps to hurt her feelings? - while the other part could not help but be exhasperated. What made him think that she, who obviously devoted every fiber of her being to StoneClan's well-being, would want to find a mate and get shoved into the nursery, heavy with kits? She had no desire to raise any of the little beasts, even if they were her own, and she refused to become attached to a tom who would, undoubtedly, eventually demand some. Friends, like Eagletalon and Hawkwing, were fine. Mates were out of the question.

Icy blue eyes turned from peering around the desolate landscape to pin him with what she hoped was a neutral look, though it resembled something closer to a glare. Heaving a sigh, she looked at him, counting to ten and praying to whatever cat stood up there in the stars for the patience that would better his chances of surviving the encounter. "Alright," Hailstrike bit out sharply, tail twitching behind her in an agitated manner, jerking sharply through the air. "You want to talk, Ashflame? Talk." Her sudden decision was not born of any desire to have a heart-to-heart with her dear brother, for she did not think she could care less about what he wanted to say. This was simply to appease him for the time being, which in turn would allow her to escape to the privacy of her own thoughts and the open, empty expanse of StoneClan territory.

[Deleted]

To Ashflame's surprise Hailstrike actually reacted to his mate jab. He knew she never really considered becoming a queen, so the quick reaction confused him. Her tone didn't show any anger though, so he pushed it aside. Thinking about what he would say next he wondered if that was a bad way to start this conversation. Then anger filled him because it wasn't his fault Hailstrike was as irritable as an uncomfortable badger. It wasn't his fault Hailstrike wanted to find a flaw in everything he did.

Turning his head he was startled by Hailstrike, the sharp tone evident in her voice. He was confused to why she was suddenly willing to have this conversation. Then he noticed her eyes glaring and sighed. She probably just wanted to get rid of him. Anger swelled through him again, this time stronger and more evident on his face. 'Well if she wants me to talk I will...' Then he started, his tone obviously annoyed, "Look, Hailstrike. I don't want to do this either. I would rather be back in camp talking to Larchdance or Ghostflower, almost anyone but you. But instead I am stuck here with you. So in order to make this quicker for both of us I just want to ask you one question." Pausing he looked at his sister and decided to continue. "Why do you hate me for what I choose? You always find something wrong with what I do... It's... Whatever..." He didn't care whether or not she thought what he said was stupid, and didn't expect a heart-felt answer. Ashflame was just glad he got that of his chest. "Now, why don't we do what you suggested and go are separate ways before we tear each other to shreds."