over the creek | coyote

[Howlfire]

"Hey, do you want this jay with me Coyotepaw?" There was an immediate reaction after she said this where Howlpaw blinked and realised her mistake. Coyotecrest. He was a warrior of SkyClan now. "Sorry, I meant to say Coyotecrest."

The cream tom had been in SkyClan - and by extension Howlpaw's life - for a while now. Despite how long she had known him they hadn't really spoken much beyond a few passing pleasantries if they walked past each other or happened to be on patrol. He always seemed nice enough to her and certainly Blazestar nor Thistleback had ever said a bad word about him in her presence. "Still getting used to the name but the offer still stands if you were interested?"

@Coyotepaw ​

 

[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

Coyotecrest had recently returned from a hunting patrol and placed a vole within the fresh kill pile when he heard someone call out to him. Lifting his gaze he spots Howlpaw across the way inviting him to share a meal with her. Although she fumbled through her words, correcting herself for misspeaking his name. A small smile decorates his features as he shakes his head once. "Don't worry about it. I'm still getting used to it myself." Green eyes flicker down to the jay locked between her paws and he offers a shallow nod of his head. "I think i'll take you up on that offer...I haven't eaten yet today." Stepping past the fresh kill pile Coyotecrest lowers himself down beside her before chiming back in. "Did you catch this one yourself?" He asks curiously. Despite being so close in age and sharing brief pleasantries when passing by one another he felt as if he knew next to nothing about Howlpaw outside of her being Blazestar's daughter. ​

When you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[Howlfire]

To her relief, Coyotecrest isn't slighted by her mishap with his name. She lets out a small sigh of relief and lets the tension she didn't know she'd built up release from her shoulders. After a moment, he consents to sharing the jay and settles down beside her, with Howlpaw moving a little to accommodate his presence better. "The jay? Sadly, no," Howlpaw responded with a shake of her head. Though given how much of a rare and impressive-looking bird it was she almost wished she had, if only for the bragging rights alone. "Alas, I caught the fat juicy pigeon on the fresh-kill pile," Howlpaw explained, gesturing to the pigeon that was just visible from their seated position. "Caught it up in a tree. Didn't even know I was there until it was too late."

She took a few bites before looking at Coyotecrest wondering if he was fond of hunting in the trees or climbing for that matter. Howlpaw knew he had WindClan blood but he had lived in SkyClan for most of the time she had known him. "Do you hunt in the trees at all? I know the clan is known for its climbers but it often surprises me how many don't actually like it." Howlpaw chuckled.​

 

[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

He admits to not being the one to catch vibrantly feathered avian. Instead, she gestures towards a hefty pigeon laying within the pile and his brows rises slightly, clearly impressed. "I think I'd rather eat that than this." The tom huffs in good spirits, allowing his smile to remain as he glances from the pile back to Howlpaw. "It really is a great catch though." He couldn't remember the last time he'd tried his paw at hunting birds. But seeing her pigeon in the pile gave him the push he needed to try again at some point. After she takes a bite of the jay he leans in to take one of his own.

His chewing slows considerably the moment she questions his hunting style, and by proxy his windclan heritage. Swallowing his mouthful, Coyotecrest offers the apprentice a shallow nod of his head. "Yeah I do." He begins, flicking his tail behind him. "I like to go after the squirrels up there. Although I have to admit it is a lot easier to chase them down while on the ground. There aren't too many things here in the pines that rival my speed." The tom muses with a sheepish smile. He didn't want to sound as if her were gloating, but it was true. The rabbits over in the hills put up more of a challenge than the ground dwelling prey that could be found here.​

When you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[Howlfire]

When he commends her for her catch of the pigeon, Howlpaw can't help but puff her chest out a little in pride. Despite her own resignation that she had only caught a mere pigeon, hearing someone else talk about how impressive a catch it was instantly brightened her mood.

She waits for his answer about his own hunting preferences with interest, taking another bite of the jay whilst he confirms he did hunt in the trees and by the way he described it was actually quite proficient at it too. "So who taught you how to climb? Surely not Blazestar?" She laughed a little before continuing. "I've seen his attempts to climb and it's not the best." As she let that comment lie momentarily, she pondered who else might have taught him to climb. She knew Thistleback was something of a father figure to him and wondered if he had passed down any knowledge to him. Howlpaw considered asking him, but given Thistleback's still recent disappearance, she didn't feel comfortable bringing him up at that moment. "I agree with you that it's easier to hunt them down on the ground. Especially here in SkyClan. There's a lot of undergrowth in ThunderClan territory that can make it hard to stalk prey unless you know what you're doing."​

 

[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

Coyotecrest's shoulders bounce with laughter as Howlpaw jokes about her father's poor climbing skills. "No, it certainly wasn't Blazestar. He even told me personally that he would assign different warriors off and on to help teach me to climb." He reassures her, eyes crinkling with mirth. As his laughter begins to die down a fleeting somber mask glazes over his features. His mind settles on Thistleback, the prickly dual toned urchin that'd been with him through thick and thin. "Thistleback," He begins softly. "He was the one that gave me the strong foundation in climbing." Coyotecrest murmured with a firm nod of his head. It still ached to think of the missing tom, but he could not allow that sadness to drown out his hope that the purple collared male would return some day.

His gaze brightens a tad when she admits that it is easier to hunt along the ground for her as well. Perhaps it was her thunderclan blood that made the task so much easier much like his moorland heritage. However, he'd never quite thought about how difficult it must be to hunt within such dense foliage."There's a lot of undergrowth in ThunderClan territory that can make it hard to stalk prey unless you know what you're doing." "You must be really proficient at it then. Although I shouldn't be surprised." His tail flicks at his side as he tilts his head wearing a questionable expression. "What was it like, going over to thunderclan off and on when you were younger?" ​

When you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[Howlfire]

Coyotecrest confirms her suspicions that Thistleback had been his primary mentor in climbing among others. Howlpaw does not miss the sombre expression that passed over his face as thoughts of the tom pass through his mind.

Rather than mention the missing tom again, Howlpaw allows the conversation to flow easily onto the next topic. of hunting. She laughs when he says she must be proficient at hunting on the ground in the manner she had described, before ducking her head briefly to one side in a show of embarrassment. "I wouldn't say proficient exactly," Howlpaw finally admits. "In the short time I was apprenticed to my mother, she taught me what she knew about hunting, and Redstorm only bolstered that knowledge. I guess it also helps the undergrowth is not as thick here in SkyClan as it is in ThunderClan." His following question gives her pause for a moment, and she ponders her answer. That time when she lived between two worlds seemed so long ago now, but despite all that had happened since then, she could look on those memories with fond feelings. "It never felt strange to me as a young kit. ThunderClan and SkyClan were equal parts my home, to me travelling to and fro between them and living in them was normal. Even leading up to the day I had to choose between them, I still thought of both as equal parts my home." Even if a SkyClan cat accidentally murdered my sister. "I used to feel bad about choosing SkyClan when so many of my family lived in ThunderClan. But seeing their reactions to my choice and how they treated Fireflypaw and I made me certain that this was where I was supposed to be."​

 

[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

Coyotecrest listens quietly as she explains the normalcy she felt when traveling between both clans at one point in time before finally choosing a single side. His brows pinch together momentarily and he offers a slow nod of his head. It must have been difficult, but he fully understood the hardship of making life altering decisions. "I think I can venture off to say that I know how you feel." He murmurs low, using a single cream paw to nudge the jay closer to her. "It's no secret I had to choose between wind and skyclan at one point. I saw how both sides were willing to fight over me...I didn't want Thistleback and so many others getting hurt over my family drama. So I followed Sootstar back." His gaze travels around camp, distant in his reminiscing. It felt so long ago now, but the terrors he endured there still haunted him off and on.

"The hunting and stuff, it felt natural. I am a windclanner by blood. But the atmosphere was nothing like skyclan, like home. I missed the pines and you guys everyday." Frosted green eyes shift back to Howlpaw as a ghost of a smile touches his lips. "So when I left and came back, I didn't regret my choice either." A low, airy huff filled with enthusiasm fluttered from his nose as he crossed cream paws. "We're more alike than I'd previously realized." ​

When you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[Howlfire]

When Coyotecrest claims to understand her feelings, she does not rebuke him. Other than her brother he is perhaps the only other cat who knows what it is like to have a paw in two worlds and be forced to choose. Granted, their situations were not entirely the same, but there were enough similarities there that she could not ignore it.

"Mhm, we are," Howlpaw mewed in agreement, also marvelling at the similarities between them. "Both of us were forced to make a hard decision that few others would wish to make even at a great personal cost to ourselves. But we endured, and now look at us. We're here and we're thriving."​