[Phoenix]

Ever wonder what happened to the mouse-rock? Spin-off of Heart of Stone and makes more sense if you have read the rp.

What lovely weather. It was sarcastic and cynical. Wind blew across StoneClan's territory with the ferocity reminiscent of those large cats in the legends, whipping her fur across her face. She could just imagine the knots forming in it and sighed. Though appearance was not high on her priorities, she preferred to have flowing fur rather than a nest of tangles. It had been a mistake to come out here. No prey in its right mind would venture from their warm dens, and Honeynose found herself wishing that she had had the same sense. But no, she had decided to try her luck, and now she was paying for it.

Stalking across the scrublands with the wind to her side, she reached her limit when a particularly large gust nearly blew her over. Legs braced themselves as she held her ground, annoyance peaking. That's it! I'm turning around and going back to camp. Once she regained her ability to move, she turned and began to retrace her steps back to camp. I don't know what Falconleap was thinking, asking me to hunt in this. Hailstrike and Eagle-- Is that a mouse? A small gray form had caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and the warrior whipped her head around, peering into the wind. Where is-- Ah, there we go. The second look told her otherwise; it was just an odd looking rock. Really, she should turn away and continue back to camp, but...

Collecting pebbles was a closely guarded secret of her's, and a hobby she thoroughly enjoyed in her free time. Of course, this rock was bigger than the average pebble, but its resemblence to a mouse was uncanny. Honeynose did not want to just leave it there, completely unappreciated. Perhaps she should actually check it against a real mouse, just to make sure that she was not more insane than usual. That's what Warhawk would advise, and at the thought of her hot-headed late brother, her throat tightened. Swallowing, she shoved thoughts of him away, having enjoyed the distraction from the hole that his death had caused. However, that plan was foiled by the fact that there seemed to be no prey running about; by far, this was one of the worse hunting trips she had done. That meant there was only one way to check. Picking up the stone and grunting under its weight, she continued on her way.

Normally, she did not make a habit of parading through camp with a rock in her mouth, and it was not a common sight in StoneClan. It would earn her more than a few strange looks, and though she did not care about that, it would require her to respond to more than a few awkward questions, which she was less than inclined to answer. Stopping at the entrance, she decided that she would set the rock off to the side and upon finding a mouse in the prey pile - they were not uncommon, surely one would be there - return to the stone and compare the two. Gently, she set her prize down, glancing back at it as she walked away, shivering at the odd coincidence.

As she had hoped, it did not take long to find a mouse. It was a decent sized catch, and she found her self commending the warrior who had caught it. Padding out of camp with a piece of prey had earned her a few odd looks, though not as many as carrying a rock into camp would have, but her awareness of them was small. They were easy to ignore, just as all looks were. Eyes latched onto the now familiar form of the rock, and she sped up slightly, eager to test out her theory. Upon setting the mouse down by the stone, she nodded, satisfied with her sanity.

Of course, the stone did not have a tail, but the other end, the nose, rounded off in the same way as the mouse's. The size was the same, and if she used her imagination, she could picture little paws and ears on its rotund form. It would make a healthy little mouse. Approaching paw steps distracted Honeynose, and she looked up to see a patrol leaving camp. In a brief greeting, she nodded to the two warriors and apprentice. Tumblefur returned the greeting, moving past without a second glance. The reactions of Hailstrike and her apprentice confused Honeynose.

Instead of giving the stone a brief glance, Granitepaw stared at the rock, and she resisted the urge to curl a protective paw around it. His expression was thoughtful, if not slightly wary. Hailstrike also gave her rock an odd look, but it was considerably shorter and less obvious. Something reminiscent of a snort left her, and as she turned to look at Granitepaw, Honeynose could have sworn there was a ghost of a smirk on her lips. The other she-cat slowed down and lowered her head, muttering something to Granitepaw, who's eyes widened as he turned to look back at the rock, his discomfort obvious. Then he sped away, hurrying to catch up with Tumblefur, who had continued on without them. Honeynose watched as Hailstrike let him go before glancing back at the stone herself; shaking her head, the hard-working warrior moved on.

Smokeface's first daughter stood there, completely lost for words as she wondered what had just happened. Yes, it was a rock, and yes, it resembled a mouse. Did it really require a reaction of that scale? Brushing away the confusion, she smiled fondly down at her little mouse-rock, petting it gently with a paw. At first, she had not thought that she would keep it, but how could she let it go now? There was an amusing memory attatched to the mouse-rock now, one she would revisit every time she saw its smooth, gray surface. As tenderly as a mother would her kit, Honeynose picked up the rock and began to retrace the familiar steps to her pebble collection, the plump mouse forgotten. Perhaps the hunting mission had not been a compete failure after all.