- As Dogwood followed the trail of Larchstar, he could hear some rustling up ahead of him. As the white Tom padded through some brambles he could see the she cat struggling to carry the bundle towards camp. He also noticed her back was turned towards him and she was blissfully unaware. A perfect time to teach the she cat to always keep her guard up.
The white Tom flicked his tail as he began to get in a pounce stance. He crept towards the cat, careful to place each paw with precision. Once he was finally close enough he took his chance to jump the she cat. He let out a mild yowl and jumped right on her tail. The she cat just about screeched out of her own fur when the cat landed on her tail. She turned to face her fate with teeth bared and claws at the ready. Without actually looking she completely missed and landed towards the dirt right beside the Tom.
Dogwood gave out a loud boisterous laugh and fell over after watching the she cat fail. Larchstar looked up with distress in her slit eyes and smudged dirt all over her muzzle. “I have zero words for you right now other then. Since I’m your leader. Grab that bundle and head back to camp” she said slightly with disgust. Dogwood giggled knowing that she’d forgive him later on. The Tom padded over and grabbed the bundle in his jaws. He looked over to Larchstar as she gathered herself and shook off her fur. She gave a slight huff and looked at the Tom “Alright let’s head out. It’ll be sundown soon so we should get started on as much as we can before dusk.” Dogwood nodded and headed in the direction of camp. As Larchstar followed she stopped along the way to pick up some more twigs and roots that would be helpful.
Once the two cats were back in camp, Dogwood headed straight to the first spot he noticed; a patch close to the nursery tree. Larchstar followed with the first bundle to help the cat. “Alright let’s see here, this is close to the nursery. You see that large oak with great roots and a den entrance?” He pointed his paw towards it; just a few paces to the left. Larchstar nodded in response; that I think will make a great nursery. I’ll have to show you once where done here” he commented.
Both the cats sat close together as dogwood showed Larchstar once more how to intertwine the roots and branches. Creating a sort of wicker pattern to help keep predators out and troubling kits within camp. As Larchstar weaves away she couldn’t help but think of the future. The chaos and drama the little fluff balls would create for the clan. It made her smile a tad and giggle. Dogwood noticed and pawed the leaders shoulder with a laugh. “Whatter you thinkin over there Huh?” He questioned. Larchstar rolled her eyes. “Nothing.... just thinking about the clan growing and little paws running around the camp.” She softly laughed back.
Dogwood gave a bright big grin.” I can’t wait to tell the terrifying tale of feeterina to the kits! I can’t wait” he joked. Larchstar stopped dead in her tracks and turned to the Tom wide eyed. “ what the heck is feeterina?” She questioned. The Tom titled his head to the side with a questioning glance. “You’ve never heard of the story? The deity that lives within an amber enclosed cave with cheese from the floor to ceiling!” He asked shockingly. The she cat pinned her ears and and curled her lip a tad. “What the heck do you wild cats do in your spare time?” She asked with an awkward laugh. The Tom just giggled and shook his head. “You’ll learn soon.” He just continued.
Sometime had passed as they made their way around the barriers and filled in almost all of the large and visible holes. They had ended up in opposite sides of the camp. Once they were done they had simultaneously finished and joined back up in front of Larchstars den. As the Tom stood their awkwardly he started in; “uh well, I guess this is goodnight. We should start fresh and early in the morning to go back out and find some more roots and such to finished off the camp. Then we can get started on the dens later in the day” he continued on. The she cat just huffed and rolled her eyes. “C’mon now, neither of us have eaten and quite frankly I’m starving and it’s crazy that you insist on trying to stay in the warriors den when there’s no other cats in the clan. C’mon I think I have some scraps in my den we can eat and you can sleep in my den again tonight” she stated.
She took off swiftly into the den before he could protest. Quite frankly he actually would have rather slept with the she cat as she had caught his interest more and more as the days passed. So he willingly followed down the hole to be welcomed with the smell of food and the she cat already laying down with her portion. She flicked her tail towards his already laid out and started in on hers. The Tom quickly joined her and devoured his portion of the scraps. As the night went on both the cats slept peacefully with no interruptions.
The next morning Larchstar awoke to a swift coldness to bed fur. The she cat slowest blocked the sleep away as she lifted her head. Looking around with blurry eyes she was unable to make out the shape of dogwood. She quickly lifted her nose to sniff the air. “Hmm, he must have already left without me. Psh of course.” She grumbled. Even tho she had been a former kitty pet the Tom sometimes treated her as a kit not capable of doing things.
The she cat groaned, of course she didn’t really want to get up and do the responsibilities of her. Yet she knew they had to be done and quite frankly she wanted to prove a point to the overbearing Tom. As the she cat stiffly got up; she spread out to stretch her stiff bones. Shaking her pelt she was able to shake some of the haze away from her eyes. She took a second glance around the den, and gave a small grin. Home.
Finally emerging the cave she blinked the sun light away from her eyes. Spotting the white Tom at the entrance of the camp she bounced over. “Where do you think your going? Not on patrol without me right?” The she cat jokingly said. The Tom huffed “well of course not, there’s how many lessons to learn to sleep in on” he countered back. Larchstar have him a glare at his jab. “Well anyway I’m up and ready so let’s go!” The she cat bounded out the entrance and into the wild. Dogwood hot on her heels.
[ word count; 1,184 ]
--inventory
scraps | 1 FP | x1
Mouse | 2 FP | x1
Bird | 2 FP | x0
Mole | 3 FP | x0
Salmon | 3 FP | x1
Ferret | 4 FP | x0
catchweed | usage | x1
dock | usage | x1
feaverfew | usage | x1
Immortality | usage | x1
Tansy | usage | x1
Chervil | usage | x1
Rush | usage | 1
Elder Leaves | usage | x1
--items in inventory used
2x scraps used
--predators:
Fox #1
Wolf #2
Twoleg #3
Dog #4
Lynx #5