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[daisy]

A cold, mud-coated Cricketpaw slithered into camp. His stomach grumbled with every step he took, making him head straight to the freshkill pile to satisfy himself. He had left that morning without telling anyone, thinking he would return by the middle of the day and his absence would go unnoticed. But by the time he made it to camp, the sun had already set and the stars were out.

He selected a small rabbit from the pile and plopped down to start eating. He would probably be scolded for doing this without hunting for the kits and elders first, but at this point he figured he was already going to be in enough trouble for leaving camp all day and this act of selfishness was feeble compared to that.

He was so tired he could fall asleep while eating. Cricketpaw had spent the day exploring the territory- which mostly including chasing rabbits and bugs and rolling around in the grass. It was easy for him to lose track of time, with his short attention span and curiosity. When he realized how late it had gotten, he raced back to camp as fast as his legs could carry him.

Sighing, he finished his meal and then went to work at cleaning off his fur with his tongue. He probably looked like a monster with all the mud caked onto him.


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[pit]

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Wrenpaw had been dragging her paws since the first rays of light hit her tired eyes. Running around all day hadn't helped one bit, either. Her shoulders ached from dashing around the moors, chasing her elusive prey. One rabbit had taken quite a long time to finally capture, and when the apprentice finally sunk her teeth into it, she used more force than necessary, as if the hare would still feel it. It hadn't, of course, but it helped her let some steam loose.

In the end, she had wracked up an impressive three rabbits. The newly changed season had aided her today, as the flowers were popping up here and there and the quick beasts had been out to munch on them. Wrenpaw let her gaze wash over her catches. Two were of fairly decent size, the other was a bit small for her taste, but it was prey nonetheless. She dipped her head to grasp them in her tired jaws. The apprentice almost had all three shoved in her mouth before she choked and coughed one of them out. The thing got an icy glare in return. Sighing excessively, Wrenpaw rolled her eyes. Where was Foxpaw when you needed her? She always seemed to be around, why not now? Rolling her shoulders, she decided she'd have to come back for the smaller hare. With a shift of her paws, the she-cat took her time, strolling back to camp.

She was just a few steps into the dip she called home when she spotted possibly the dirtiest cat she had ever seen. Wrenpaw screwed up her face in disgust as she padded to the muddy beast. To make it worse, he was almost drooling on his stupid rabbit as if he might pass out any second. She held down the smirk that threatened to break on her lips. Rabbits in tow, she trotted heavily toward the fresh-kill pile before setting her catches down. Wrenpaw gave herself a self-satisfied nod and turned toward Cricketpaw. She then noticed he was attempting to lick clean his coat. Her lips pulled back at the image.

"Don't do that, you mouse-brain!" she barked at him, taking a seat a safe distance away. "You'll get mud all in your mouth." She gave him a pointed look before standing up to shake out her long pelt. "Come on, Cricketpaw. I need to go back to get a rabbit, and then we're going to find you a puddle to wash off in." There was no debating in her tone. Wrenpaw gently shoved him with her paw to get him moving before stalking off toward the camp entrance.

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[daisy]

Cricketpaw rose to his feet, almost laughing at how disgusted Wrenpaw sounded as she gave him orders. He shook out his filthy pelt once, sending bits of dirt and grass everywhere around him. "Alright, alright." He said with a sigh, trotting after the she-cat with a slight grin on his face. He was secretly glad that Wrenpaw had invited him out of camp again. If he had stuck around for a few more moments, there was no doubt in his mind that some warrior would find him and scold him for being away from camp all day.

Looking back at that decision now, Cricketpaw felt a bit guilty for it. He knew it probably wasn't the smartest or safest idea, but sometimes he just needed some quiet time on his own. The camp was almost always a busy place, especially for an apprentice that was endlessly running around with errands to keep him occupied. Being absent from camp meant he had neglected his duties as an apprentice for the day, but more importantly (in Cricketpaw's opinion) it meant there could have been some great danger in the territory and he wouldn't have even been there to defend his clan. Windclan could have been invaded by enemies or attacked by a swarm of badgers and he would have been gone for the whole thing. Even worse, he could have gotten hurt or injured out alone in the territory with nobody to help him. He shook away any thoughts of the past, promising himself that he would never leave camp alone again. Maybe not until he was an experienced warrior.

Cricketpaw followed Wrenpaw to the camp entrance, grateful to have her with him this time.

"Anything important happen while I was gone today?" He asked, catching up with the young calico and flicking his tail.

notes: wow so this is a really late response >.> sorry for keeping you waiting!! i'm probably not making a very good first impression here but i promise my replies aren't usually this slow. i've had exams the past week or two so things will get better now :P
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