mr. brightside ~ Flycatcher

[Flamestar]

The storm that had disturbed the clan earlier that morning had passed, and the clan life was resumed back to normal. Flame wasn't too sure how to help out yet, but it didn't seem anything immediate needed to be done, so she slipped out of the camp and into the forest to explore for awhile. She had a faint idea of the basics of the territory, but she knew it would take a lot of repetition to get used to where everything was, and where all the borders were. The day before, she had found where the Skyclan border was, but that was simply because an apprentice had strayed too close to the Thunderclan border.

As she trekked through the forest, she took mental notes on how to get back to the camp. It would surely be embarrassing to stray too far away and get lost! The fiery Molly glanced around to see if anyone was within eyeshot, then she lowered herself into a hunting stance. She winced as her shoulder wound was pulled tightly. "I hate dogs." she grumbled irritatedly, before returning to a normal walking position. When would she be able to hunt like a normal cat again?

Flame ventured deeper into the undergrowth, but she wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into someone. She jumped back, licking her chest fur embarrassedly. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention." she exclaimed, her gaze falling upon a grey figure. "Oh! Flycatcher, hi!"

//
@Flycatcher
​

[ IT DOESN'T HURT ME ]​

 

[Flycatcher]

With the early morning storm having passed, Flycatcher was free to return to his daily duties. He had considered taking Smolderpaw for some training but had decided against it, opting to let his apprentice rest after the training they went through the day before. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he ran the younger tom ragged. So instead Flycatcher headed out on his own, hoping to bring back something to camp.

He would walk carefully through the undergrowth, mindful of where he stepped, lest he slipped in some mud or splashed through a puddle and disturbed some prey. Speaking of prey, he wasn't having much luck spotting anything to hunt. It seemed like most of the forest was still hunkered down in the wake of that passing storm. Instead, what he did wind up finding - or rather bumping into - was another cat. Flycatcher had looked to the side momentarily and had completely missed Flame stepping into his path, where they promptly bumped into one another. Flycatcher pulled back in surprise, shaking his head a little following the collision. He hadn't realised it was Flame at first until he looked back to see who it was and found himself looking at a familiar ginger form.

"Don't apologise!" Flycatcher told her reassuringly. "There was no harm done. See, I'm fine." And for a bit of further emphasis, he spun around on the spot to prove he was unharmed. When the spin was finished, he looked at Flame curiously. "What are you doing out here, Flame?" He asked, inclining his head to one side as he spoke. "You didn't get lost did you?" He hoped his second question wouldn't come across as condescending but he was genuinely curious, especially given that Flame was new to the camp and had spent much of her time here cooped up in the medicine den. He hated to think of her batting lost in the woods not long after Cinderfrost had permitted her to go outside. ​

 

[Flamestar]

The ginger she-cat would relax as he claimed to be alright. She couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he spun around to prove that he was unharmed. At least it had been him that she bumped into, instead of another clanmate, like Meadowflame. The other Molly seemed nice, but she also seemed like she could have a sharp tongue if she wished.

His next question was a justified one. Was she lost? Flame cast a glance over her shoulder, double checking that she was indeed wasn't lost. With more certainty, she would shake her head and flick her tail in the direction of the camp. "The camp's that way I believe, but this is the farthest this way I have gone so far...so I could get lost if I go much further!" she added the last bit with an amused twitch of her whiskers.

Her jaws parted to ask if he would like to join her, but quickly pushed the thought away. If he were out here too, surely he was doing something already, he didn't need to add showing the newcomer around to his plate. ​

[ IT DOESN'T HURT ME ]​

 

[Flycatcher]

To his relief, she was not offended by his question, and despite his concerns she might not have known where she was, she even correctly pointed out which direction the camp was. Even if she had to double check to be certain.

At her following comment about potentially getting lost if she walked much further, his whiskers twitched in amusement with her. "The forest does get thicker if you carry on walking that way. And the trees all start to look fairly similar after a while so I wouldn't fault you if you did get lost," Flycatcher chuckled. Even now he sometimes got confused about where he was in ThunderClan territory due to the similarity of certain stretches of their land. "When I first came to the forest with my family, I was not used to seeing so many trees before. I would get so lost sometimes when I went on walks that it's a miracle I didn't wind up in the marshes." Of course, there was the thunderpath in between those two lands so even if he had wandered far enough to come across it, he would have known when to turn back. Flycatcher looked around momentarily before looking back at Flame. I could join you if you want?" He offered kindly. He did not want to forcibly join her on her exploration so left the offer open for her to accept or not. "I was trying to hunt but I think all the prey are still hiding after that storm, so it's not like I have much else to do."​

 

[Flamestar]

"Marshes?" she could copy, her shoulder fur twitching as she imagined the wetness underneath her paws. The forest floor here was bad enough after the storm this morning! She couldn't imagine accidentally coming across that area. There must be a lot of the territory she had not seen yet from the way he explained it. The Molly would give her shoulder fur a quick lick down, then raise herself to her paws as he offered to join her. "I wouldn't turn down company...as long as you don't have anything else you have to do. I'd hate for you to get in trouble because I can't find my way around.." she would shyly.

Flame waited for him to decline, but when he didn't, she would begin to follow him. There was something oddly comforting about quietly trekking through the forest with Flycatcher. All of her new clanmates had been friendly, but their personalities ranged from hesitant to overly excited. Emberstar seemed to trust her so far...she wasn't sure how Howling Wind felt about her yet, but she hoped to one day gain her trust as well.

Suddenly, she smelled a trace of mouse. Her ears perked, and she quietly flicked her tail in the direction of a nearby tree. Determined to not miss this catch with Flycatcher watching, she lowered herself into a hunters crouch. She quietly creeped downwind of the mouse, then with a powerful kick off her back paws, she launched herself at the mouse, killing it swiftly. Immediately she winced as the pain from her shoulder caught up with her, but she drew her head back with pride. "I was right...haven't lost my touch." she declared, referring to her conversation with Meadowflame a few days prior. "Want to share?" ​

[ IT DOESN'T HURT ME ]​

 

[Flycatcher]

Flycatcher smiled faintly when she consented to let him come with her. The way she looks at him makes him wonder if she expects him to not follow along, but he is quick to brush away her concerns that he might have something better to do and assures her that he would gladly tag along.

He leads the way for a while, with Flame falling in behind to follow him. Despite Flycatcher leading, he is keen for Flame to explore at her own pace, and whenever she wants to stop and explore, he will stop and let her explore. Flycather doesn't see the mouse until after Flame catches it, but when she flicks her tail in the direction of the tree, his gaze travels over to that spot. He takes a moment to pick up the scent but then it hits him. Mouse. He lingers behind to let her do the catching but watches with interest to see how she'll do. After she had left the medicine den, she had told Meadowflame that she had loved to hunt, so he was intrigued to see how she would perform. In truth, he's not expecting a clean catch, at least not while she's still recovering, so he's very impressed when she turns back and declares she hasn't lost her touch after making a clean kill.

Flycatcher nods a little in approval. "Nice catch," He commends her as he takes a step forward. He pauses to consider her offer before nodding. "Sure," He says and settles down to share the mouse with Flame. After his own hunting failures, it's nice just to settle down and have something nice to eat and enjoy it in good company. After they've finished the mouse, Flycatcher takes a minute to let the meal settle and licks his lips contentedly. "Your mother taught you well," He compliments.​

 

[Flamestar]

Once she had eaten her share, she would sit back and wrap her tail neatly over her front paws, then draw one up to her jaws to give it a few licks. "I didn't really have much of a choice...my mother had a hurt front foot, so once I was big enough I did the majority of the hunting for both her and I" she responded softly, before glancing at the healing wound on her shoulder. "Besides...it must've been old or something...I'm a lot slower with this dumb wound. I'd like to line my nest with that dog's pelt!" Her tail flicked irritatedly as she imagined tackling the slobbery pooch.

After a few more moments, the tabby rose to her paws, and waited for him to follow. She didn't realize it, but they were headed towards the direction of Shadowclan. "So...were you born here? A Thunderclanner I mean." she would ask, glancing at him.​

[ IT DOESN'T HURT ME ]​

 

[Flycatcher]

He nodded quietly in understanding as Flame explained the situation with herself and her mother. It must have been hard having that kind of responsibility thrust upon one's shoulders at that age, but Flycatcher had to give her credit for doing so. Whatever skills she had picked up had clearly paid off. "Don't sell yourself short, Flame," He told her kindly when she attempted to talk down about her abilities. "Besides, you'll have plenty of opportunities to prove your hunting prowess in the future. I'm sure you'll be catching all sorts of prey once you've fully recovered."

After a few moments had passed, Flame rose to her paws, and Flycatcher quickly followed suit. They began walking again, this time in the direction of ShadowClan which was quite ironic given that Flame did not seem to know about the marshes. "No, I was born elsewhere," He responds cooly, when she asks if he had been born a ThunderClanner. It was a bit of a vague answer but an honest one too; Flycatcher had little memories of his first home, due to his family being on the move so much when he was younger. "We lived beyond these woods but my parents liked to wander a lot and we eventually wound up close to what is now SkyClan territory. My family and I lived as rogues for a long time but we eventually joined Rain's group once my parents grew tired of that life due to conflict from another rogue we once considered a friend." Flycatcher paused and gave Flame a glance. "Ah, you wouldn't have known Rain, would you? He used to lead one of the two groups that inhabited these lands. There was the marsh group which lived in the marshes, and the pine group which lived not far from here and was led by Rain. There was a large battle between the two groups fairly recently, I'd go into it more but that might be a better story for another day," Flycatcher explained, pausing to laugh. "Put it this way, from that battle the five clans were born."​