[Justice]

Leaf-Fall 26
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It was getting colder. Leafbare was right around the corner, and with it the end of her first full turn-of-seasons in the clan. Brightpool had found her in Leafbare, and everything had changed from there. Her brother was still a loner, but she didn't fear for him. He'd take care of himself, and she could see him as long as she could get Brightpool to arrange it. But her thoughts were elsewhere today.

She'd noticed one of the young warriors, Sunnyheart, wasn't himself. She knew he was going through a hard time and wanted to cheer him up. Maybe getting out of camp would help. So she approached him, her fluffy pelt keeping her warm along the way. She was happy she was finally starting to look more like an adult, rather than a kit. She was still scrawny, but she had really come a long way from the too skinny apprentice she'd been at leaf-fall's beginning. Firestar's training was starting to mold her into a warrior's shape. That pleased her.

Larkpaw approached the tom, dainty paws picking up a little extra as excitement followed her steps. She was happy today. "Sunnyheart?" She mewled, coming to sit near him once she located the other cat. "Would you mind coming out hunting with me today? I was thinking we could make a sweep of the flooded grasses, bring home a bit of prey?" The fire had made the need to hunt a near constant thing. She had noticed how some warriors were run ragged looking for enough food for everyone. With leafbare coming, she wondered what was going to happen to the clan. Would they starve?

She shook her head and put a smile on her face, wiggling in simple happiness. "What do you say?"

Hellion

[Hellion]

Death doesn't discriminate
between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes

News had spread quickly of Batchaser's death and Cloudyfeather's anguish. Sunnyheart had stood beside his sister and tried to console her but to no success. Fearing that she too would fall into a deep depression had him calling forth the kits she had adopted. A way to remind her that she had so much to care for still.

But that was a few days ago and now that he was alone, Sunnyheart felt sorrow bury deep into his chest.

Was his a fundamental part of Clan life? Loving cats and wanting them happy and safe until they ultimately joined StarClan. Sunnyheart wasn't sure anymore if Clan life was for him. Perhaps he too should join his brother Niko and become a loner, forget about Clan life and worry only about himself. Yet he couldn't find it within himself to leave the only home he ever knew.

LightingClan took him in as a small kit, barely strong enough to stand and protect his siblings. They trained him to be a good warrior, gave him food and shelter on the hardest days of leafbare. He would repay them and stay with them until his last days on earth. The Clan saved his life, so he owed them his.

But that didn't mean he had to devote it right away. In fact, Sunnyheart found little motivation to much of anything. He tried to get up and go hunting but it was difficult. He struggled with focus on the task and felt his mind was easily distracted so when Larkpaw walked up to him and started talking, he didn't register that she was, in fact, talking to him.

When she questioned him again his ears flicked and his attention went to her. "Hm?" He asked before mentally backtracking to fill in the blanks. It didn't take long for him to piece it together and know she was asking about hunting.

"Sure we can go," He told her as he rose up. Perhaps a hunting partner would be nice, someone to help him stay focused.

Sunnyheart

background image | Justice | table by phoenix

[Justice]

"Great!" She chirped, prancing around the tom with light pawsteps as her tail swished around. Maybe while they were out he'd show her a few hunting techniques. Or maybe he'd play with her. Did warriors still play pouncing games like the kits and some young apprentices did? Or was everything about the Code and hunting and patrols? Grown-cat stuff. She was nearly grown herself, but still she thought it would be good to be silly sometimes.

Sunnyheart wasn't much older than she was, and she knew he'd been going through some rough times. Nothing was his fault, life was hard sometimes, and she hoped she could provide some form of distraction for a little while. Hence why she was going hunting with him.

All she really wanted was to prove herself somehow, to help where she could, and to be there for her Clanmates. This was at least a start.

Hellion

[Hellion]

Death doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes

Sunnyheart felt the start of a smile with her excitement but it faded away quickly. She seemed so young and soft, a budding she-cat. In time things would change for her and while he didn't know her that well, Sunnyheart almost couldn't stand the thought of her losing that playfulness.

Pushing away the thought, Sunnyheart took the lead and left the camp with Larkpaw close by.

He didn't know what to talk about but he tried to be engaging. He kept his stride easy for Larkpaw to keep up. Sunnyheart lacked the blood of a Clan cat. He was bulky where most here tall and lean, but this his size gave him a certain gait. It wasn't smooth but it was long. He was able to cover a lot of ground simply because his size propelled him forward. An asset he used while fighting but he wasn't fighting.

Directing his attention back to the task, Sunnyheart paused and looked around the territory. They hadn't gone far from camp, but he was able to scent rabbits most likely lurking in their warrens. It would be a challenge to hunt, not that he minded.

"Do you want to partner hunt? Or solo?" He asked her, turning his attention to settling on the smaller she-cat, his golden eyes a swirling mess of his emotions.

Sunnyheart

background image | Justice | table by phoenix

[Justice]

Larkpaw watched the young warrior curiously, looking him over even as they traveled away from camp. He was big and powerful looking, and she akined the difference between most LightningClan cats and Sunnyheart to be a reasonable one. After all, Firestar's mate Russetfall was a big tom. She actually thought big toms made the best protectors. She thought maybe she remembered someone telling her Sunnyheart wasn't born into the clan, but then neither was she. So what did that matter in the end? Clan born or loner born, they both chose to live and protect and be here now.

But then he was talking to her and she blinked owlishly at him, having sunk into her thoughts for a moment. "I'm not a very good huntress yet, but usually I chase the prey towards another warrior. I'm fast, but not very good at the catching part." She was working on it, but she knew to be honest when doing a hunt with another cat.

"So, partner hunt." She took a breath and let it out slow. "Sunnyheart? Do warriors still get to play?"

Hellion

[Hellion]

Death doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes

Sunnyheart nodded along when Larkpaw explained that she struggled with the catching part. it seemed they were going to be a good match. Sunnyheart's major flaw was in his speed. He wasn't nearly as fast as he needed to be to catch anything. Normally the prey escaped him simply the prey was faster.

For a moment he was looking forward to the hunt. There was a good chance they would come home with something other than little mice in the fields.

"I'll hide and you chase. I'll go near that bush and you can chase them toward me when you can," He directed, pointing with his tail toward a bramble bush a few fox-lengths away. It wouldn't be too difficult for him to grab them when they went past he just hoped Larkpaw didn't stumble while running.

As he prepared to leave for the bush, he paused upon hearing her question.

"Um...I guess...I used to play with my..dad.." He told her his voice getting softer at the old memory but he forced himself not to dwell on it too long. "You can still play as long as your duties are done every day," He told her after a moment's pause. Sunnyheart lingered for a moment longer before heading off toward the bush so he could wait for the hunt to start.

Sunnyheart

background image | Justice | table by phoenix

[Justice]

"Good idea." She stretched as he came up with the plan, head tipping when he answered her question about play. She felt bad when his tone went soft, feeling like she hurt his feelings. "I don't remember my parents, my brother Shadow raised me." Maybe someday she could talk to him about his parents, learn what it was like to have them since she just didn't know. But the hunt was on. Later she'd see if he'd be amiable to pouncing practice, seeing as she lacked acceptable aim to actually catch her own prey.

Larkpaw stalked, keeping her body low as she went right up to the warren and waited a moment before creeping away. When the rabbit came out to see if the predator was gone she lunged at it, prompting the long eared creature to bolt. She corraled it towards where her hunting partner lie in wait. She pushed her furry form to faster speeds, making sure the rabbit couldn't head back to its warren to hide.

Her thoughts narrowed down to the beat of her paws on the ground, to the fluffy rump of the rabbit and how to get it to Sunnyheart with his big body and better hunting skills. Like she'd told him, she was fast but not much else. She practiced every day on honing that speed into something she could control, so that she didn't go nose over tail every time she tried to chase something. Everything else could come later.

The rabbit made a beat towards the bush and Larkpaw kept powering forward, leaping over it and out of the way so that her partner could pounce.

Hellion

[Hellion]

Death doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes

Sunnyheart settled himself in the bramble. He was careful not to get too close which would prevent him from launching forward. Once he was comfortable he lowered himself and hid. The best part of a partner hunt was he had to do the muscle and his partner the sprinting. Sunnyheart wasn't built like other LightingClan cats. He was far too broad of shoulder to run at any decent rate. His clanmates easily out ran him on a daily basis. No matter how hard he trained Sunnyheart wasn't fast.

But he made up for it in brutish power. He was able to smack down a rabbit with a single blow. While it didn't kill the rabbit outright, it would daze the prey and make it easier for Sunnyheart to finish the job. Aggressive as his tactic was, Sunnyheart got results.

Feeling a little tense, Sunnyheart flicked his tail against the grass to ease some of the tension. His maw opened to taste the air for any sign of Larkpaw or a rabbit. He didn't have to wait much longer.

He could see a rabbit sprint in his direction, Larkpaw right behind it and close. If he wasn't so focused on the task at paw, he'd be impressed with her speed. Rising up slightly Sunnyheart waited for Larkpaw to be clear before he jumped forward. Sunnyheart collided with the rabbit and rolled with it. A messier kill because of the momentum of the rabbit but it was done.

Turning to Larkpaw with the now spent rabbit in his jaw, he smiled around the fur in his mouth.

"Good job," His praise was somewhat muffled but the sentiment was there.

"Again?" He asked as he took on the task of burying the rabbit to be picked up later.

Sunnyheart

background image | Justice | table by phoenix

[Justice]

She slid to a stop in just enough time to see Sunnyheart take the kill. She cheered, prancing around in a circle before presenting herself to the hunter. "You too." She was breathing a little hard, but nothing a few moments wouldn't fix. Her stamina was getting better. And he wanted to have another go! Firestar would be so impressed if they brought home a few extra bits of prey. It was going to be leafbare soon, and the fire had really taken much of their hunting grounds. It was lucky they'd even found the warren with its rabbits.

"Absolutely!" She purred, prancing around the large tom gleefully as she let her breathing come back under control. "Maybe just one more from that warren? I don't want them catching on to our tactics." Or over hunting the warren and killing off the rabbits before they could make new rabbits. There were, thankfully, a few other bunny warrens nearby. "How many can we bring back?"

Hellion