Kittypet Clanborn - Tales Unleashed

The First Hunt

Thornclaw nodded, his eyes continuing to glow with pride. "No doubt about it," he answered. I then raised my eyebrows as he seemed to hesitate for a moment before leaning in towards me, his muzzle close to my ear. "And I have to admit that getting first pick of the fresh-kill pile isn't too bad, either."

I burst into laughter at those words. "I'm sure that's infinitely worth it!" I purred, then letting out a sigh. "But goodness, it's sure going to take me a while to get used to getting up with the sun like this. How do you manage it?"

I raised my eyebrows with intrigue once again as Thornclaw let out a snort, flashing me a half-exasperated, half-amused look. "Oh, when I was an apprentice, Mousefur would have me up earlier than this," he breathed, shaking his head slowly. "Sometimes it felt like she watched for moonhigh, waited a few moments, and then ran back to the apprentices den to wake me up just heartbeats after I'd gone to sleep!"

I continued to purr with amusement as Thornclaw told his story. "Oh, wow, what a mentor she was..." the tabby tom then murmured, his eyes wide. "Sometimes I'm not sure how I got through my apprenticeship in one piece!"

I flicked my ears, sniffing. "Oh, dear... that's reassuring!" I joked, causing Thornclaw to actually purr with amusement as well. I then gave the tom a light nudge, and I was actually surprised that I felt comfortable enough to even give the gesture. "And even though she clearly did something right in your apprenticeship, that totally seems like a Mousefur move."

With my words, Thornclaw glanced at the ground shyly for just a moment. "Ah, well..." He then looked back up at me, looking amused and confused at the same time. "But how can you tell that that would be a Mousefur move? You only met her yesterday!"

I simply gave the tom a sharp nod. "Precisely."

Thornclaw then let out another purr of amusement. "I have to say, that doesn't surprise me one bit," he meowed, his voice full of laughter.

I then was surprised yet again as he glanced down at the ground once more, then looking back up at me to reveal shy, yet mischievous and teasing eyes. "So..." he began hesitantly. "Was she the cat that stuck out to you most yesterday, then?"

Interesting... not bad at all, but interesting...

As I felt my stomach begin to flutter – not for the first time that morning, might I add – I narrowed my eyes back at Thornclaw. "Hm, who's asking?" I purred, tilting my head to the side. "The tom that threw a hissy-fit as soon as soon as he laid eyes on me?"

I continued to purr with amusement as I watched Thornclaw let out a huff and roll his eyes – definitely not a shocking response, considering I was teasing him about his initial behavior towards me the day before. "Oh, please!" he muttered. "Hissy-fit is a strong word."

"Ah, so you admit that it was some form of a hissy-fit, just on a different level!" I continued to tease, lightly touching the tip of my tail to Thornclaw's shoulder.

Although the golden brown tabby tom's gaze was sharp as he looked back at me, the amusement that was also there was clear. "Hey, even if there was a so-called 'hissy-fit', as you so immaturely like to call it, it didn't last long, did it?"

I looked away from Thornclaw and gave a small shrug. "Long enough to where I could call it a hissy-fit."

"Great StarClan," Thornclaw breathed, and I looked back towards him to see him rolling his pale blue eyes once again.

But then, they seemed to slowly wash over with guilt. "But... I suppose that I've been a bit tough on you, haven't I?"

I immediately flashed the tom a reassuring look, not wanting him to feel even one single twinge of shame. Yes, his initial hostility threw me off at first, but he has all the right to be wary of random cats that his Clanmates bring in from the forest, and even though his behavior had already changed significantly since then, I understood it completely. "Hey, it's okay! Really," I tried to meow comfortingly to Thornclaw, putting the tip of my tail on his shoulder and holding his gaze. "Look at you now – you're taking me out on my first hunting trip, and you barely know me!"