[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:54a0f7]Skyfall[/smear:000000]

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A white figure slipped into TreeClan's camp, two mice dangling from his jaws. As he moved with a steady pace towards the freshkill pile, the TreeClan tom took note of a few cats lying here and there, enjoying the sun as it rose to its peak. The ground bellow was still tainted with the gray color of ash, which annoyed this particular tom, for the fur nearest his paws would stain, turning gray rather than white. This forced him to carefully wash his paws, leaving the acrid taste of burnt everything on his tongue. He hated it. But he hated gray paws more.

Today was no exception. As his gaze shifted to the ground, his gaze narrowed, noticing the light grayish color that replaced what should have been white. He snorted in disgust, but continued his path, depositing the two pieces of prey where they belonged. Once that task was complete, he stalked off, tail flicking as he muttered to himself. Picking a spot that seemed cleanest, the snow-white tom allowed himself to settle down. Lifting a paw to his muzzle, he began the gruelling task of washing.

The tang was enough to make him gag. Foxdung. The forest just had to go ahead and catch fire, didn't it. Then it just had to rain, turning everything to wetness. Wetness sticks. Mud sticks. Sodden ash sticks. Does the water do anything to dull the taste? Make it more bearable? Of course not. That would be too easy. Moving on to a second paw, the tom continued his inward complaining about how he hated... Well just about everything.

Finally. With his task completed, and his paws the correct color once more, Skyfall lifted his head and glanced around. He took note of two she-cats lying near each other. One of them, a silver tabby by the looks of it, had her back turned to him, making it so he had difficulty making out who she was to begin with. The other, he recognized instantly. The mute one. Brokenwhatever. Voice. Sound. Bird. Brokensong. That's it. He watched her for a moment as she gazed at her companion with what appeared to be understanding and sympathy. Every now and again, as the silver she-cat gestured wildly with a paw or a tail, Brokensong would bob her head.

When the silver tabby's frame heaved in a sigh and she turned away briefly, the tom was able to figure out just who she was. Lionstar's protege. Or one of them. Hadn't he taken on another apprentice while still training her? Ouch. What's her name... Feather... Is she a warrior? She must be old enough by now. I don't remember her ceremony. She must be an apprentice. For StarClan's sake I remember Brokensong's ceremony. I'd remember Featherwhat'sit's. Must be Featherpaw. Lionstar must really hate her for keeping her back that long. Could be cause she up and vanished, nearly giving him a heart attack.

Skyfall vaguely remembered the silver tabby returning with someone else in tow. Now that he thought about it, Brokensong had dragged someone into the Clan with her as well. The cocky one. The tabby. With a snort he shook his head. Oh yeah, that one tabby among the half billion tabbies in TreeClan. His thoughts had turned sarcastic as he rolled his mismatched eyes. Deciding he had studied the two conversing she-cats enough for the time being, his gaze shifted, wondering if anyone else was around, and if they would provide something interesting for him.

[Fawn]

~SILVERPAW~

Dancing Bears, Painted Wings
Things I Almost Remember
~

"Oh we've already been fed today, but thank you anyway dear."

Silverpaw grunted in surprise through a fat, old squirrel she'd managed to catch in a part of the forest that hadn't been burned down, the aptly named feline dipping her head in a polite bow of departure. I shouldn't just eat it...not to mention it's too big for me to finish by myself. Perhaps she could go find Featherpaw or Brokensong and share it with one of them? Tail lifting into a pleasant arc over her silvery-black shaded back, the pretty apprentice made an about-turn and set off for the apprentices' den, hoping to peek in and rouse Featherpaw from a late nap or see if she might find her sister instead. Silverpaw could not honestly remember the last time she and Rowanpaw had actually sat down together for a meal and sharing tongues.

Halfway across the cleaning, however, the expressive, ever-compassionate leaf-green eyes of Lionstar's younger half-sister settled upon someone. Looking intently, her small features mostly hidden by the hefty squirrel she carried, Silverpaw's limbs seemed to guide the apprentice towards the white, freshly groomed tom who had settled down nearby. Though he was one of the cats she considered very difficult to read, the naturally trusting she-cat felt as if she could pick up an aura of - frustration? Displeasure? - something negative coming off of him, even from the foxlength that separated them. Studying the senior warrior with the mismatched eyes, Silverpaw mustered up the courage to approach, setting the squirrel down in front of him, posture suggesting she was open to refusal of her present.

"I don't know if you've eaten yet or not, but...since your coat is white, it would be a hassle to go out hunting again, right? Mine is almost white so..." She awkwardly drew a small line in the dirt with the tip of one of her paws, glancing over to Featherpaw and Brokensong (whom she had noticed just seconds ago) for strength, having always found it a little difficult to speak to anyone over 20 moons. Not to mention she was speculating on the whole white-coat-dirty-forest thing... He could just be not in the mood to talk and she was just making a fool of herself.
"...so I understand. That's all..."
Great StarClan, why am I such a blabbermouth? Why couldn't I just say 'here, you look hungry, I can't finish it all myself. Do you want it?' Maybe next time I'll just pretend my throat hurts so I can stop embarrassing myself on a regular basis.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:54a0f7]Skyfall[/smear:000000]

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Mismatched eyes landed upon an approaching figure. For a moment, he didn't recognize the owner of the figure, because they were hidden behind the body of a rather large squirrel. The prey was of impressive size, the tom could see that. Blinking his eyes slowly, he watched as the new arrival trotted right up to him, setting the piece of prey down at his paws. With the prey out of the picture, Skyfall's eyes flashed with the slightest bit of recognition. Lionstar's half-sister. Featherpaw's friend. Silverpaw. His ears pricked up as the smaller she-cat piped up.

Skyfall watched the silver apprentice carefully, taking note of the way she seemed unable to meet his gaze. Instead, the she-cat drew a little line in the dirt, probably because of the embarrassment she was feeling. With a slight tilting of his head, the TreeClan warrior listened to the words she spoke. Interest sparked in his gaze, leading the tom to nod his head in slight appreciation. Finally! Someone who understands. It wasn't so much that Skyfall minded getting dirty. If it was for the sake of the Clan, he'd dive right into a mud puddle. It was constantly looking unclean that bothered the tom. He couldn't possibly look professional when his coat was plastered with mud.

"Thank you, Silverpaw." His voice rumbled out. It was quiet, but he somehow managed to have a tone that implied the pride of a warrior, He wasn't trying to put on a show for Silverpaw. It was just the way his voice had become. He often sounded a little bit distant. "This is much appreciated. A wondrous catch as well. Most impressive. " His tail flicked slightly, moving from off of his paws before he continued, gesturing towards the squirrel with one of his decent-sized paws.

"I humbly accept your gift, however... Surely you'll honor both of use by taking the first bite?"

[Fawn]

~SILVERPAW~

Dancing Bears, Painted Wings
Things I Almost Remember
~

The older warrior's voice carried such resonance that Silverpaw literally felt it through the ground to her paws and midway up her forelimbs; resisting the urge to take a few steps back to minimize impact (fearing this might be seen as rude), her attention finally refocused back onto Skyfall's words rather than their surprising effects.
The first bite? Is that...alright? Well it must be if he said so...

Despite her initial cautions when it came to adults, Silverpaw could not help but feel warmed by the compliments, grateful that her intuition had paid off and she'd been able to hopefully brighten a fellow TreeClanner's day. Well, it IS a rather large squirrel. I'll eat a little and he can have the rest. Graciously dipping her small chin downward, Silverpaw conceded, stepping within closer proximity to the alabaster male, however the platinum and black-shaded apprentice felt her heart lurch sideways for a moment.

Perhaps it was due to being under the authoritative, experienced mismatched eyes of Skyfall, or perhaps it was just her nerves acting up, but Silverpaw suddenly felt as if she'd forgotten how to eat something covered in so much fur. All awkwardness of movement and fleeting of gaze, Silverpaw lowered down to the plump squirrel and made to tear into it's flank, but only ended up with a mouthful of dense rodent fur. Sputtering as it clung to her whiskers and around her whiskerpads, Silverpaw hastily swiped her left paw and then her right over her muzzle, trying to rid it of the offensive outer layer of squirrel pelt.

Mortified beyond belief, Silverpaw couldn't bother looking up, having left somewhat of a bald patch on the fresh prey. "S-Sorry. Maybe I can take the second bite instead?" He had a bigger mouth, stronger jaws and probably a better tolerance for squirrel fur than she did... I'm never usually that messy when it comes to eating! Oh thistles and thorns, why did that have to be in front of a grown warrior? Would he say something to Lionstar? Something along the lines of 'I think your little sister needs remedial lesson, she forgot how to eat yesterday.'

How embarrassing. How seriously embarrassing.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:4e91dd]Skyfall[/smear:000000]

~~~~~~~~~

Skyfall's posture had relaxed slightly as the smaller she-cat had agreed to take the first bite. He watched her passively, not wanting to burn her pelt with his gaze. He noticed how nervous the little silver she-cat seemed. Though he thought it a little bizarre, he didn't bring it up, not wanting to put the spotlight on her. Some might think this particular, some-what long-furred white tom to be almost rude, a loner of sorts. It was true that he didn't have many close friends. His sister, Swandive, and his parents were probably the only ones Skyfall interacted with on a daily basis. Even Lionstar, whom Skyfall held a great amount of respect for, was not someone the tom spoke to often, if at all. It would simply be because the lion-like tom was often busy. Skyfall had no intention of being rude, however.

Focusing his attention back upon the silver she-cat, the tom waited for her to take the bite he had invited her to take. When she finally did so, he was almost startled by her sudden reaction. A slight amusement lit his gaze as he watched her spit out a mouthful of squirrel fur, but he was quick to hide it. He listened to her intently, give a slight dip of his head, not that he thought she saw it. His strong voice rumbled out again as he spoke up. "But of course. The second bite works just as well."

Rising to his paws, Skyfall took a step towards the squirrel, bending down to take his bite. His teeth sunk into the squirrel's skin, getting past the fur that was left after Silverpaw's attempt. After successfully grabbing himself a bite and tearing the squirrel open, the large white tom took a step back, allowing Silverpaw to step forward once more. His tongue swept over his jaws, the taste of the squirrel quite satisfying. It was rather amazing how you might not notice you were hungry until you began eating.

With a wave of his tail, he invited Silverpaw once more to take a bite. "It is rather delicious. It would be a shame for you to miss out on such a wonderful catch, Silverpaw." And then Skyfall waited patiently once more, his mismatched gaze flashing up briefly towards Featherpaw and Brokensong. The pair was still where they had been, though the tortoiseshell tabby's pretty gaze was no longer focused upon her companion. Instead, her eyes were on him. This caught the attention of the silver apprentice who'd been talking to her. Now Skyfall had not only a pair of hazel-green eyes upon him, but also a pair of sharp blue one.

Fantastic. He thought tom himself, before lowering his bi-colored eyes back down to Silverpaw.