[FIN] Sharing Tongues (Nightfur/Lynxstride)

[belloblossom]

Lynxstride fancied himself a handsome cat - he had to, really, for he was the spitting image of his twin, Harebound, who was often commented on for her beautiful pelt. Of course, Harebound also had a personality, bold and adventurous, that tended to draw others in, whereas Lynxstride was often remarked to be more... aloof. He played everything with a cool head and took opportunities to think things through before charging right into them. It made him a rational, responsible cat, but not quite suitable for the interests of any younger she-cat who were looking to pair up with someone who might promise them tokens of a grandiose nature. The head of an owl is not something you would get as a gift from Lynxstride, but he would ensure you were never hungry as long as you were in his company.

A capable hunter, much like his mother Nutpelt, he enjoyed stretching his skills, but never intended to 'show off' to his Clanmates. As it was, he hunted often in patrols of one or two cats, keeping alongside his family, in particular Harebound or Nutpelt, but today, for whatever whim or occasion, he decided to change his routine. It was long past sunhigh - in fact, the sun had began to make its descent into the day - dusk would be approaching soon enough and with that, the dusk patrol would be sent out. Lynxstride would have to find something to keep him busy with, lest he be assigned to go on that very patrol which he'd rather avoid.

So, he had plucked a squirrel off the top of the fresh kill pile and walk up to the first cat he saw - Nightfur. Placing it at her paws, he inclined his head and offered her a small smile.
"Good day, Nightfur." He told the she-cat. "I'm in need of some company as I eat - would you care to share this squirrel with me?" He asked the older she-cat. @DragonGirl1031

 

[DragonGirl1031]

Nightfur was not having a good day. It started with her having to get up and do a morning patrol. She much preferred night patrols. Then when the patrol had almost been home, she'd gotten a thorn in her paw. The lean queen had limped her way home and had been spending who knew how long trying to dig it out. Anytime someone looked like they were about to walk over and talk to her, she gave them a glare and most had shied away. Her tail gave annoyed flick every time she unsuccessfully tried to pull it out.

Finally she'd gotten the dang thing out, but by then all the prey in the prey pile had been taken. Should she go hunt for herself or just go to bed? Her rumbling belly decided her and she went out. All she needed was a small mouse to fill her belly. Luck was not on her side this day though. Her black pelt seemed to make her stand out and sent all the prey into hiding. That and the sun was blasted hot!

Nightfur finally gave up and went back to The Nest. She found a slightly shady spot and flopped down; too tired to even go over and grab a piece of prey for herself, as it seemed someone had replenished it while she'd been gone. All of a sudden a squirrel dropped down right in front of her. She blinked at it in surprise before looking behind it at the paws and then up the legs to the face of the cat standing in front of her.

It was a tom she'd seen around, but had almost never encountered. What was his name? Bobcat? No. Lynxstep? No. Lynxstride! That was it. It had not been a good day for her, but she bit her tongue. It wasn't his fault. A loud growl erupted from her stomach as he mentioned sharing food. Well she'd have to now. Embarrassed she coughed a moment. "Uh yes. That would be nice. Thank you." She moved over a little bit so there was room for both of them. Nightfur kept glancing out of the corner of her eye at him; wondering what had prompted the tom to approach her this day.

 

[belloblossom]

Lynxstride was perfectly amused by hearing the loud rumble of the she-cat's stomach and he gestured to the squirrel at her paws.

"How about you eat the whole thing, it sounds like you need it." He offered. "I'd still like your company, however. I'll only be a moment." He said andturned to hurry back to the fresh kill pile. Hm, it was looking a little picked over... Well, he wouldn't concern himself with that just now. Not when he had a Clanmate waiting on him. Picking a blackbird up into his teeth and snorting as the feathers tickled up into his nostrils, he turned and hurried back to Nightfur's side, flicking his tail in greeting as he settled across from her.

"You know," He mewed softly at her, gaze shifting around for a moment, before he leaned in conspiratorially. "I don't actually enjoy eating birds very much. I mean, sure they taste great, but why must they have so many feathers to get through first?" He said and rolled his eyes. "What sort of prey do you like best?" He glanced at the squirrel. "We can trade, if it turns out you hate squirrel or something." He added, before unsheathing the claws from one of his front paws and trying to pluck the tedious prey off its carcass. "My father used to tell me that cats from MountainClan - that's where he and my mother grew up, during the times of the drought - would eat and catch fish!" He wrinkled his nose at the thought, though he'd never actually eaten a fish himself, his father had big opinions on how slimy and smelly they were, and this had heavily impacted Lynxstride's view on the matter.

After a short pause of frustration with the feathers, he looked up from his project to Nightfur.
"Actually... Nightfur, you were born in MountainClan too, right? Your dark fur makes you look younger, I think, so I forget that you're closer in age to my parents than you are to me." He flicked his ears in embarrassment. "There's nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. I like mature cats more. They're not as, um, awkward." Lynxstride mewed, awkwardly. @DragonGirl1031

 

[DragonGirl1031]

Nightfur was at a loss. Awkwardly she cleaned her face as the tom offered to let her have the whole squirrel and went to get himself something else from the prey pile. He was being super kind and she wasn't sure how to handle it. She knew she tended to be a bit aloof with her clanmates. She did like it here, but sometimes it was hard to fit in. There wasn't anyone she was really close with.

She politely waited while he fetched his own meal, despite the instance from her stomach and the saliva building in her mouth. "Thanks," she mumbled awkwardly once he got back. She flicked her ears in amusement as he talked about the feathers. "Maybe, but save them and they make great stuffing for nests. Really good once the wind starts to blow cold."

Nightfur shook her head. "I'm not picky, food is food." She started in on the squirrel making quick work of the first half before she paused. "We would eat whatever we could catch. Lizards, fish, slimy things, things in the water that had hard shells but weren't fish." She didn't much care for the wet or slimy ones since it then got all over her paws.

She got the second half of the squirrel into her belly as he realized that she'd lived back then and experienced it all first paw. "It's fine Lynxstride." Things just got awkward again. Come to think of it, she didn't see him mingle with many others in the clan. He was almost never on the night patrol. Was he saying he liked her because she was older? That wasn't really a good reason to like someone she thought.

 

[belloblossom]

Lynxstride listened to what Nightfur had to say and nodded his consideration of what she'd mentioned about the feathers.
"That's a good suggestion. I've seen my siblings, Owlsbane, mostly, using feathers in her nest. Is that something you like?" Lynxstride glanced from the black feathers to Nightfur's dark pelt. "These would probably look nice with your nest, if you wanted them. Not all of them though, cause now I want to try it out. I've just been using moss this whole time. Feathers! Ha, I feel so foolish for not thinking about them. You could even call me feather-brained." He said with a wink and then immediately felt stupid for winking. Who even winks at their Clanmates? Ugh, he was totally messing up this whole interaction.

So much for being an aloof, clear-headed thinker, Lynxstride, he chastised himself inwardly. She's never gonna think you're cool now. Great going!

He offered a tentative smile towards Nightfur before he focused back on what she'd said before, about the prey in MountainClan.
"Lizards? Now that's something I really can't imagine. Scales in general seem so foreign, compared to all the feathers and fur-prey we eat here in TreeClan." He said, trying to move his tone back to something more conversational. "Did you decide to join TreeClan, over StoneClan or LostClan, during the split, because you like our prey more?" He asked. Was that too personal? Well, too late to back out now. @DragonGirl1031

 

[DragonGirl1031]

Nightfur considered his question about the feathers. After she eyed them for a moment she shook her head. "As downy as they would be, I find the quill tends to poke into my fur when I roll over. I don't need feathers all over when I climb out of my nest. Someone might mistake me for a bird!" She gave a genuine laugh of amusement as he called himself feather-brained. When was the last time she'd done that?

"I pre-fur fur," she smiled at the pun as she waved her paw at the discarded fluff from the squirrel around her. "Very soft, fluffy, and warm." Nightfur patted it to prove her point. "Plus I'm NightFUR. So clearly fur is just the way to go." What had gotten into her tonight?

"Mmmmm they aren't that bad? The smaller the lizard or snake, the smaller the scales. Just provides a little extra crunch. Would you like me to catch you a lizard so you can try it?" It would be kind of funny to have this young tom try something she grew up with.

Nightfur took a moment to think about it. "It wasn't the prey," she temporized. When she'd considered the other clans, none of them had seemed right for her despite her family still living with one. And loner hadn't appealed to her at all. "They just didn't seem to fit."

 

[belloblossom]

Lynxstride was delighted, his eyes round and a smile on his face when he got Nightfur laughing. Well, maybe this wasn't going as badly as he'd been worried about after all!
"You say they may mistake you as a bird, but I'd argue that could be a good hunting technique... Hmm, well actually, maybe not. Larger birds tend to be predatory, so disguise or not, you may not be able to get too close to any prey." He chuckled. "Best to stay as cats, then."

When she mentioned that she preferred furry animals, he made a point to tuck that information away. He felt as though he'd won somehow, without knowing it, by bringing her the squirrel initially, even if it's purpose was to share it than as a gift to start.

He flicked his ears in surprise at Nightfur's offer catch him a lizard and his eyes gleamed with interest.
"Oooh, yes please." He accepted. "Maybe I could go with you, when you go lizard-hunting? I was only ever taught how to apply my hunting techniques in the trees, really. It would be interesting to see if your hunting methods are different, since you grew up in the mountains. If that's okay with you, that is."

Lynxstride nodded his agreement when she spoke about how none of the other Clans had fit her interests.
"I could never imagine leaving TreeClan, why would any cat ever want to?" He mewed. "As far as I understand it, LostClan is for cats who don't know who they are - and they don't follow SunClan's path, so they're no better than loners, honestly and StoneClan, well, they're just what remains of MountainClan. With so many memories of what they left behind, I would find it hard to move forward. TreeClan is the only way to go, because we don't let out roots drag us underground. We can climb up into the branches and be the closest to SunClan." He purred loudly, clearly remembering the times his parents had taught him similar sentiments. "We're the best. I'm glad you joined us, Nightfur."

He turned his attention back to the prey he was set to eating, having talked himself into a hungry spell and let silence wash over him. He didn't have to be talking all the time, but as he swallowed down his prey, he found he was more naturally inclined to keep the conversation going.
"When's the best time to hunt lizards?" He asked. "We could go tomorrow, if you're free then. If it's an early morning affair, I'd better know now, so I can go to sleep earlier, heh." @DragonGirl1031

 

[DragonGirl1031]

Nightfur nodded. She never wanted to be anything other than a cat. Being a cat was just..... purrfect.

She smiled as he showed interest in learning to hunt lizards. "You'd be welcome any time. Perhaps we can interest a few more to come along and let the whole clan get a taste for lizards if we catch enough." Truth be told there was always so many running around the rocks. And the best part? They didn't even really need to catch the lizard. Just grab the tail and it left its tail behind. She couldn't wait to shock Lynxstride with this information. Nightfur grinned to herself.

"I'm pretty happy here. So I don't think I would want to leave." It was sad there was even a LostClan. Maybe someday someone would show them the way? She nodded. "I'm glad I did too."

She finished up the scraps of squirrel in the silence that settled over them. Nightfur considered when the best time to go would be. "Very early morning. If we can get into place before the sun rises we can watch them come out. They like to bask in the morning sun." She rose to paws.

"Thanks for the squirrel. I'll go and see if any of the others are interested too and then I'll turn in. Good night Lynxstride."
@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Lynxstride wasn't totally sure what he'd been expecting, or even hoping for. Maybe he'd been looking for some unexpected company, or maybe he was seeking more of a private outing. Whatever the case may have been, when Nightfur announced that she was going to seek others to join their lizard hunting outing, his tail drooped. He stared after the black she-cat as she turned and left him with few parting words. Had he offended her? Was there some reason why she didn't just want to spend the morning with him? Had he been too pushy?

Racing thoughts clouded his mind and he turned to seek out the company of a cat he knew better: Harebound, his sister and his twin. Maybe she could help him sort out all his jumbled thoughts. Or maybe, more accurately, she would scold him for trying to step out of his league with the older she-cat who was old enough to be his mother. With a weary sigh, he sought her help out anyway. He certainly couldn't go to sleep with all his thoughts spiraling around his paws as they were - besides, if Nightfur was going to bed... they were both warriors; they shared the same den. He didn't want to look like he was stalking behind her; he already felt as though he'd been made a fool of! It was time to seek out someone his age who might be able to give him some advise on the mental goings-ons of elders. @DragonGirl1031

(And with that, this RP is wrapped up and finished!)