Just a Short Patrol [Birchflank | Pearnose]

[Spade♠]

Pearnose pushed her way past a fern, wincing at the wet streak the dripping leaves left on her side. She turned in an impatient circle before calling out behind her. "Hurry up, Birchflank!" The pale furred warrior was eager to get their rainy patrol over and done with. At least after this, no one could say that Pearnose didn't get her pelt wet for the sake of the Clan. Not that that was a thing any cat was saying anyway, but that wasn't the point. She gathered herself up next to the drunk of the tree to get out of the drizzle while she waited for her mate to catch up.

[Deleted]

Birchflank came bounding after Pearnose a few moments later, he had been held up by another warrior trying to send him on a patrol. His springing pace sent moss and mud flying in all directions, but he quickly slowed to a trot, not wanting to get anything gross on his short-tempered mate's pale pelt. "Sorry about that dear, another warrior was trying to send me on a border patrol! Hm, how about, after we each catch something, we can go find a dry spot?" His friendly mood wasn't going to be ruined by a bit of rain, not that he liked being wet, but the ginger and white tom could tolerate it.

[Spade♠]

Pearnose snorted jealously when Birchflank explained how he'd been held up. "Well I'm sure you told them you were already busy doing much more important things!" she huffed, puffing out her chest. She flashed her mate a smile to show him that she was joking, at least partly. She let out a light purr and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds nice," she meowed. Catching some prey, not too much, and then settling in out of the rain. Hunting was her specialty, at least that's what her name would have others believing. She lifted her nose to scent the air. Everything was rather muted under the rain, but she still managed to catch a whiff of mouse. With one last look at Birchflank, she slipped off after it. Truthfully, she hadn't been expecting the mouse to even be out of its burrow, but once she drew close she saw the small brown creature shuffling around in the leaf litter. The pale warrior crouched down and hardly hesitated before pouncing and killing the mouse with a swift bite to its spine. She trotted back to where she'd left Birchflank with the mouse hanging from her jaws and her tail held straight up.

[Deleted]

Birchflank simply chuckled and shook his head at his mate's immature tone. "Of course I did." His voice had a hint of laughter, which he struggled to restrain. When the pale huntress turned away from the scarred warrior to go catch the prey, her mate found a dry enough spot to lie down on, with his orange tail curled neatly around his dirt stained paws. Birchflank knew that Pearnose wouldn't be too happy about him not finding something to hunt, but he was having a slight dilemma. He wanted to hunt for his clan, to keep their bellies full, but unlike the other clan cats, Birchflank wondered if the prey in his stomach had a name, a family, kits. One time when he was a younger apprentice, Birchflank had tried to follow a mouse home and talk to it, though of course it was all in vain. And it only got worse after he became a father, and lost one of his kits. The kit had been born weak and ill, she had soon died. The heart wrenching feeling it gave him was near unbearable, and he didn't want to give that pain to any other creature, be it a shrew or a dog.
Birchflank felt more than a little guilty when Pearnose came trotting back with a limp mouse between her sharp teeth. "My turn?" He anxiously mewed as he sat up. "Nice catch, by the way, quick."

[Spade♠]

Pearnose dropped her mouse at her paws and nodded. "Yeah, your turn, but..." she paused as if uncertain about what she wanted to say. "Is there something wrong?" There had been something in the tone of his voice when she returned that didn't quite sound right to her. Usually, she didn't really bother with listening closely to her Clanmates, but she made a special exception for her mate. She scraped a few soggy leaves over her mouse to keep it kind of dry while she went to have a seat beside him. She briefly nuzzled his cheek. In case the worried tone she had thought she heard wasn't there after all, it was just a sign of affection. If it was there, then it was that plus her attempt at comforting him.

[Deleted]

Birchflank let Pearnose's question sit in his mind for a moment while she buried the rodent in decaying leaves. Was something wrong? No, not really, but it wouldn't hurt to tell her anyway. He leaned into her gentle nuzzle, trying to grab courage in it. Birchflank was amazing at small talk, but he was never good at talking about problems, even if they were the smallest of issues. He turned to face the beautiful she-cat that seemed slightly concerned about him, and opened his mouth, but his meow came out a squeak. He could feel his ears growing hot with embarrassment, but he gave it another try, and this time his vocal cords decided to cooperate with the tom. "What if that mouse had a name? Kits? A family...? I know, it's mousebrained, but what if we make our prey's family hurt because they didn't come home one day...?" This was a very touchy subjet for the warrior. The tom turned his face away from the dilute ginger and white she-cat, and tightly squeezed his green eyes shut. He almost dreaded his mate's reaction. 

[Spade♠]

Pearnose sighed. Was that all that was getting under Birchflank's pelt? She wasn't annoyed or irritated, she just had been under the impression that his concerns were easily resolved. "Well, of course they have mates and kits and... well... that's just why we don't take more than we need, isn't it? Why we don't waste prey and why," she tilted her head up to look towards the sky, "we thank StarClan for their lives." 

[Deleted]

Birchflank gave a little smile at Pearnose's comforting words. Brushing his worry, he replied: "And then one day, they will see each other again in the stars." It wasn't the first time that had been said to him, he knew what small phrase would come next, so he said it himself.

(OOC: Sorry it's so short! Suffered from writers block!)