.:Little Promises:. {Private}

Whitepaw | SkyClan | Apprentice | Tom

There was the sharp rustle of leaves as the wind tore at the trees, threatening to shake the leaves away and uproot the trees from the ground. The dapples of jades and emeralds slapped him in the face, the sour taste of plantlife causing him to reel back and hastily spit them out. With a disgusted look, the tom flicked an ear, batting away the abominations. When he had been a kittypet, his owners would often refuse to let him out and now he could see why; these leaves had tasted downright nasty. Sticking his tongue out as if to rid himself of the taste, the creamy Clancat flicked his lushious tail. The heat was bearing down on him and for once, he was thankful that he wore a frosty pelt rather than one of ebony descent. Although most often, he would feel ill from too much sunlit bathing and occasionally he had found himself checking into the medicine cat's den and would often spend that night releiving himself of his meal from before.

Regardless, the sunlight was still bearing down, shifting through the trees at a pleasant pace, clouds dotting it out of the sky for moments, lengthening shadows until it peeked out beyond the clouds of white. The wind had been especially harsh today, tugging at cat's fur who dared to wander out of the safety of camp; although, Whitepaw knew it would tone down eventually. Well, he hoped so anyways. Blinking his scarlet-hued eyes, the albino glanced up towards the sky and frowned, flicking his tail.

He was a disapointment to Skystar; he knew that. So training solo hadn't sounded like such a harsh idea, either, and with the soft tugs of grass beneath his paws he'd almost forgotten his quest completely. Almost, being the key word. With a soft sigh, the soft-furred tom padded through the territory, hoping to at least find something to make his mentor proud - perhaps a squirrel? They seemed to be lush these days and, yes, there one was now.

Whitepaw paused in his movements and glanced up at the ginger-pelted rodent, breezing his tail gently along the ground, disturbing the soft soil before mumbling to himself about squirrels being part WindClan before he moved forward to unsheath his claws and started to mount the tree, being careful not to sink his claws too deeply in the rough bark. With a soft chatter, the squirrel bounded off an overhanging branch and landed softly on its paws, turned to face the apprentice before making its unusual chirping chatter before dashing off.

Not about to be shown up by a squirrel, Whitepaw unhooked himself from the bark, ignoring the bitter sting of pain as it coiled loosely in his paws before he bounded after the bushy tailed fox-pelted creature, making a sharp turn as it bounded away, slipping and sliding in the damp moss nearby the river that parted SkyClan from ThunderClan territory. With a quick lunge, Whitepaw reached out and clamped his mouth sharply around the wild beast and tumbling, and was left sprawled, snorting out dirt as the prey hung limply from his jaws. With an affirmative crunch, the albino assured that it was dead, momentarly relishing as the familiar taste of copper welled in his mouth - despite the shame that boiled inside him. He normally wouldn't eat prey, he much preferred his normal kittypet food - not that he'd admit that to anyone, let alone Skystar.

He breathed heavily through his nose, ignoring the bitter sting of dirt that was plastered deeply into the fur that lined his face, smeared heavily. Blinking his scarlet eyes, he focused in on a shadow across the river that seperated the SkyClan and ThunderClan territory. Was it a patrol? He just watched curiously, flicking his tail, blinking away the dust from his gaze. He ignored the pressure that built in his chest, the tight constriction that sparked hope in his eyes. Then, despite his best intentions, he hoped to see her; her warm teal eyes, her sleek fur, lined with lighter flecks and darker stripes. Forbidding the thoughts from his mind, he moved to retreat to camp.

Deep in the lush undergrowth of ThunderClan territory, as the sun slowly made its' round through the sky and cast deep shadows and sparkling rays of light through the tree branches, a small figure bounded through the territory. Soft, pattering pawsteps resounded from the tiny cat as she made her way carelessly through the forest. Brown was her fur, with darker stripes and a lighter ruff, and a coon-like ringed tail flicking behind. Tufted ears flicked gently as the young apprentice, Owlpaw of ThunderClan, listened for any signs of prey in her journey. She wasn't technically out on a hunting patrol, but there was no reason not to gather prey if she came across it, in her mind.

As Owlpaw made her way leisurely through the forest, she scented the air. The stale scent of squirrel and mouse hit her nose, but also a much more fresh scent. Picking out the scent easily as squirrel, much more fresh than the one she'd previously scented, she decided to follow it. I might as well bring something back to camp on my way if I'm going to be out here for a while, Owlpaw thought with a small shrug to herself as she turned in the direction that the scent was headed. Moving smoothly into the hunter's crouch with her tail sticking out behind her, the young apprentice made her way swiftly and silently towards where she figured the squirrel was hiding out. Soft pawsteps gave no sound now as she stalked along the scent line, her teal eyes narrowed in careful concentration.

As the scent suddenly grew stronger, Owlpaw drew close to the ground, pricking her ears and opening her mouth, the latter to help scent better. Pinpointing where the squirrel was at, the young she-cat crept silently forwards, listening carefully as she slowly but surely began to hear the sounds of a critter softly scuffling at the base of a nearby tree. If it was a squirrel, the quest was surely for nuts and seeds at the tree's roots. As the squirrel's head popped into view, Owlpaw stilled, growing slowly closer to the ground, more of her weight resting on her hind paws as she prepared to spring. Suddenly and unexpectedly, though, the wind switched directions, sending her scent whistling towards the rodent. Its' ears shot up, and it perked up instantly, looking her way, and Owlpaw silently cursed the wind before she released the tension in her legs, flinging herself forwards towards the squirrel.

Owlpaw's front paws hit solid earth, though, as the squirrel had already shot away before she landed. Letting out a soft hiss, Owlpaw ran after it, taking note of how close to the border she was now as she chased the fast critter through the undergrowth. Why hasn't it taken to the trees yet? Has it got bees in its' brain? Owlpaw thought with frustration as she gained, her paws barely touching the earth.

Suddenly, though, Owlpaw found herself close enough to pounce. However, just as she was about to, the squirrel shot up a tree. Owlpaw leaped after it, clawing her way up the tree and hissing in frustration as she clumsily raced through the branches after it. Obviously not expecting her to follow, the squirrel stopped and turned, as if checking to see if she had followed it up- but the last thing it saw was her claw flashing out and catching it on the head as she pulled it towards her, biting it swiftly on the neck and killing it without hesitation. Thanking StarClan for its' life, Owlpaw finally sat down on the branch, panting, and took count of where she was.

Owlpaw found herself looking at the river that separated ThunderClan from SkyClan. Her tail, which hung from the branch, flicked once as she noted how far she'd come in her endeavors with tracking the squirrel. She looked over the border just in time to see a white shape tumble from a tree, a squirrel in its' mouth. An amused purr resonated from Owlpaw's maw, her whiskers twitching and eyes sparkling playfully. And here I thought SkyClan did well in the trees, Owlpaw thought jokingly as she eyed the figure across the river. The unknown tom seemed to notice her across the river, and her tail tip twitched slowly back and forth as she let her paw hang freely, the squirrel clamped under the other against the tree branch. As the tom started to turn to leave, Owlpaw decided to make note on his work hunting. "Hey, nice catch over there!" she called, a smile on her muzzle as she stood up on the branch, hopping down from the tree and padding towards the river, where she sat on the bank with a soft thump.

Don't look at her and she won't notice you, he repeated it like a mantra, purposefully casting his gaze away when her eyes settled on him. Don't say anything, don't say anything. Just leave. The frosty tom flicked his downy tail, trying to remain passive and unsurprised when she had turned her attention to him, as if he was spoken to everyday. So much for that, he heard his inner monologue huff before he dispersed of the nagging voice. He threw his gaze from her, opening his maw to drop his catch and subconsciously rub a paw along his dirt-covered face which he had obtained during the implant on the ground. "Er," he began, his voice barely above a whisper before he cleared his throat and finally looked at her, trying to ignore the twisting in his gut and the heat that rushed to his face. "You saw that?"

In another subconscious attempt, he moved one of his paws along his ears and dusted himself off, lowering his deep scarlet gaze to the ginger piece of prey. Sweeping his tail along his paws he glanced up at her again, and took notice of her placid nature and almost pleased expression. The light gently lit up edges of her deep tan fur and really seemed to brighten her eyes and - he stopped that train of thought quickly, his ears burning as he dug his paws into the ground, looking for another conversation starter. The grass felt cool against his paws as he finally tried to attempt at a conversation, "You call this a great catch? Um, no. I mean, you managed to catch that almost with a single twist of your paw, it was so skilled and ... stuff." His voice trailed off and he swallowed nervously, tilting his mouth up in a slightly crooked smile. "I mean, that was great; actually, you're great." He stammered and a soft whisper of fur on fur sounded as he folded his ears. "I just, uh, think you'd be great at anything. Wait, no, um, that came out weird, uh, I mean.." He could feel the fur along his neck bristle slightly with nervousness and he found his tail curling slightly.

"Um. I think I better go, yeah, but I uh, make things awkward, again," he meowed, trying to trample down the pounding that fluttered through his chest, and forced himself to lower his gaze and he picked up his squirrel, trying to calm the bundled nerves that threatened to make him say more stupid things. He didn't mean to utter such causalities in her presence and very much preferred to simply think these lines when he spotted her occasionally. He hadn't meant to say them outloud and to her. Right now, he felt like such a fool.

As the tom spoke, Owlpaw noticed his eyes. They're so red, she thought with an innocent curiosity, though she wondered why she'd never seen eyes like that before, even when she wasn't living in the Clans. With her rump on the sandy riverbank, Owlpaw swiftly curled her tail about her paws, causing a rush of air to sound like a hiss as she covered her petite toes with its' fluffiness. Owlpaw's head tilted to the side curiously as she noted his awkwardness- his nervous posture and habits that seemed too jittery for normal. Not to mention the way he kept stumbling over his words, which she found to be very amusing. She wouldn't say anything about that, though. Owlpaw knew what it was like to not be able to control your blabber. This guy, though, just seemed unable to formulate anything that sounded good to himself, something she'd been horrible at for as long as she could remember too.

As she formulated her response, Owlpaw couldn't help but wonder why he had been staring at ThunderClan territory anyway. Maybe he heard something over there, or maybe he'd seen something weird. It couldn't possibly be because of me. I wasn't making that much noise... I think, Owlpaw thought with a small frown to herself. Her bushy tail tip flicked once, and her paws kneaded the ground. Owlpaw couldn't help but examine his snowy pelt again, what with it being so contrasted to hers, and wondering how he got any hunting done with that white pelt glaring through the undergrowth.

"A twist of my paw? It was more than that, I think. I barely caught it. If it hadn't been such a mousebrain and stopped in its' tracks I would have never caught it," she told him simply, her translucent white whiskers twitching as she spoke. "At least you seemed to have some sort of plan as to what you were doing. I was clueless." As he started stammering things that he formulated as 'coming out weird,' Owlpaw let out a soft giggle, her shoulders shaking with the lightness of it. "Don't be nervous, it's not like I'm gonna come over there and bite your head off or something," she commented with amusement, her teal eyes lighting up with her laughter. "You don't gotta leave. Am I really that bad of company? I mean sure I'm from ThunderClan, I know we smell bad and all but really," she teased, her eyes narrowing playfully. "We're here now. The least you could do is stay and have a chat with me. I've got no friends to talk to back at camp," she explained with a flick of her tufted ears, wondering suddenly and quite randomly how quiet one would have to talk to be unable to be heard over the lazy body of water that separated them.