[A]wkardnes.S

[*~[R]ose-[B]rennan~*]

Lionblood stalked into the dark clearing, his huge barralled chest contracting to pull in all the air he could and savouring the damp forest scent that was his clan. Then again, many scents were home like...WindClan, ShadowClan and other loner scents; StarClan now all he needed was to be in RiverClan then he would have lived in all of the clans. His shoulders tensed and he carried on pacing, he was restless.

He felt out of place everywhere he went, he was a huge cat, almost like a small lion. His long dark fur around his neck was tough and wiry, underneath you would find hundreds of scars, but if you just looked at his strong pelt you could get a picture of the amount of battles he had been in.

He gave a yawn, showing off his huge canines...not very aptly named, he was a cat after all. He relaxed his claws and let them slide out their sheaths before pulling them back in, he swished his tail in the dirt of the camp and looked around. Thunderclan was relativley well fed compared to the other Clans, it would not be long until the gathering where he was normally admired...or shunned.

[Hawkfeather]

Blazing amber eyes narrowed in thought. The she-cat's tabby pelt was a very dark brown, almost black, in the darkness, with no sun to highlight the golden tints in it. She took another delicate nibble from the mouse she was eating, one that she had recently caught. Hawkfeather had felt that she had contributed enough to the fresh-kill pile and so left the mouse for herself.

Finishing off the rest of the mouse with one snap of her jaws, Hawkfeather swiped her tongue around her bloodstained jaws and teeth, cleaning some of the blood of the dark fur around her mouth as she savoured the lingering taste of the mouse. This leaf-bare had been a good one, if any leaf-bare could be described as such. While quite a lot of the prey had gone into hibernation, enough had remained. And it had been a good greenleaf, so they have plenty of time to stock up on food.

Wondering if such good seasons meant that bad ones were coming, or if they were just lucky, Hawkfeather didn't notice the approach of another warrior. When she finally did, however, her head shot up, pupils contracting. The deputy of ThunderClan was always jumpy when someone managed to sneak up on her, even if it was an ally.

When she finally recognized Lionblood, she let her fur lie flat again, and tried to mask her discomfort by returning to her grooming, licking on one paw.

"Greetings." She meowed, more coldly than she had intended.

[*~[R]ose-[B]rennan~*]

Lionblood whirled around and spotted the dark tabby pelt and amber eyes of their deputy, Hawkfrost "Greetings" he mewed, matching her icy tone but in a much deeper voice and padded over to her, his dark fur around his neck swinging back and fourth as the rest of his tough golden pelt shone and his huge paws hit the ground, although not sending up any reminants of dust.

His amber eyes flicked over her and he sat down beside him and began grooming himself, used to the fact that he towered over his superior. Lionblood sent another glance back to the freshkill pile "This has been a surprising leafbare" he mewed, his deep voice rumbling across the clearing though he didn't inten it to be loud. He curled his tail around himself as he lay down next to her and flollowed her gaze out into the outskirts of camp "A little to easy"

[Hawkfeather]

Hawkfeather stopped her grooming as Lionblood spoke, voicing her thoughts exactly. It proved that she was not paranoid, at least. Or it just proved that Lionblood was every bit as cautious as her. She continued licking her paw, giving an outward appereance of nonchalance, which masked her worries. Hawkfeather wanted what was best for her Clan, and while a relatively easy leaf-bare was good, troubles looming over the horizon was bad.

Finally, the tabby allowed her paw to fall back to the ground. Licking her jaws once again, she looked down at Lionblood, lying down beside her. "I have to agree." She finally responded. Several moments had already passed by. "Do you also think that it signals trouble?" Lionblood may be quite different from most of the forest cats, but he was a good fighter. Great, in fact. Hawkfeather valued his advice. Or perhaps it was just because she wanted to talk with someone.

[*~[R]ose-[B]rennan~*]

Lionblood thought for a moment, moving his tail slightly as his mind buzzed and his eyes furrowed. "I think..." he mewed quietly "I think part of it is just luck, but we should not become relaxed about the abundance in prey; it could dissapear at any time so we must always be on our guard" he gave a little sigh and took a rabbit from the pile, biting into it and savouring the juices that ran down his throat, this was his first meal of the day. Once he had swallowed a bite "Leafbare is not yet over" he mewed after a while "It could still get worse before it gets better...I just hope we get as much prey as we can" he then went back to his rabbit and waited for Hawkfeather to reply.

He remembered a time when life hadn't been this easy, he'd lived in so many different places; ShadowClan, WindClan, his time as a lner and now ThunderClan. When he'd lived alone he had had to fight for every morsel of food he wanted to obtain; be it through physically catching it, or scavaging it from other cats and really having to fight tooth and claw. He sighed, life was easier now, but he would never forget that time and from then on he had always been on his guard and never got comfortable with an easy lifestyle as he always expected it to change.

[Hawkfeather]

Hawkfeather nodded firmly. "My thoughts exactly." She growled. She wasn't angry, or even annoyed, but just...frustrated. Frustrated that there were so many mysteries nowadays. Frustrated that nothing was clear, and frustrated that there were so many cryptic hints, cryptic clues, to what might happen. And frustrated that Leopardstar had not done anything, anything at all.

Her ears twitched as she watched Lionblood finish his rabbit. The tom, strange as he looked, was a loyal cat, or at least he was to Hawkfeather's mind, despite his rather muddled history. Hawkfeather did not care. ThunderClan needed strong and loyal warriors everyday, every season, no matter their past was.

The tabby deputy stood up and stretched, swiping her tongue across her jaws one last time. She looked at the fresh-kill pile, smaller already. "If you are not busy, perhaps we should go hunt? The Clan needs food to survive, and able warriors to provide it."