Owlstar
He listened to Hawktalon's explanation of the patrol, head cocked slightly, ears pricked. As he suspected, Hawktalon's report was positive. Now to figure out how much of that was actual skill, and how much of it was favoritism. He trusted his senior warriors, and if it had been any other cat, he would've taken Hawktalon's words at face value, but Owlstar had seen blood ties triumph over loyalty many a time after Shadowclan's fall. "Good to hear he knows his way around the territory well enough." He cast a glance over at the prey they had brought back. Some decent catches, nothing incredibly challenging, but nothing too easy. With a slight flick of his tailtip, he glanced at the pair, considering what to say next. "If his hunting skills are also up to scratch, that only leaves one skill left to test." A quick smile wound its way across his muzzle. Owlstar hadn't gotten to have a good spar in a few moons, the clan being mostly too busy hunting and simply surviving leafbare. He had kept up his training, of course, but comparing practicing his swipes on a log or stump to practicing with another cat was laughable. Of course, he still had a prize to give Palewind, but when he had finally gotten that over with, he could organize a training session for the clan.

Realizing he had gotten distracted for a moment, he looked back over at thw two cats. "Unless Thrushtail has you guys slated for another patrol, you should be free to stay in camp. After Palewind gets her prize, which I'd like to do right after her patrol gets back, I'd like to get some battle training going." Owlstar, his part of the conversation over, looked back at Hemlockshade, squinting slightly against the weak sunlight. His friend was lounging on the warm rock, and Owlstar wished he could join the other tom up in the sun, but he recalled how damp his den was, and the rather musty bedding, and knew he had to buckle down and clean it. No point in making the apprentices do it, not when the warrior's den was in a similar state. With a slight pang, he remembered the countless hours he, Hemlockshade, and Yewpaw had spent cleaning out the elder's den, joking with each other, sharing small stories and complaints. He walked back over towards his den, muzzle wrinkling slightly at the prospect of carrying his old bedding. He had always hated that chore.

Toby
He had calmed down, fur smoothing back as he waited, but the appearance of a seemingly massive cat, covered in some sort of rumpled yellow thing, starting down at him from over the fence was definitely startling. Swallowing, Toby kept up to join the cat on the fence, beckoning Aureum closer with a slight flick of the tail. The stranger's mew was loud, with a strange sound on the back of his words. Toby hadn't heard many different accents in his life, with even Gentlebreeze, one of the clan cats, speaking pretty similar to him. Summoning his courage, he looked up at the stranger, getting his fur to flatten as he sat a little straighter, not bothering to hide the curiosity from his voice. For a moment, he worried. He hadn't masked Gentlebreeze's scent, but this was just another kittpet, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. "Hello! I take it you're new to the neighborhood? I haven't seen you around here before!" Toby smiled, partially to himself. He definitely would've remembered seeing this cat around, he was almost the size of a small dog!

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Jay

The tom's unblinking gaze faltered when Toby spoke and he paused to lift one front paw, shaking damp leaves from his claws. He craned his head down to face the new cat again, confused by the new scent that clung to the felines fur. It smelled earthy, like wild plants - not the ones in his garden at all. Jay tilted his head slightly to hear the other cat, staring at him. 'Sort of? My housefolk came here a few moons ago, I just haven't really been let out much.' The large cat motions a paw to the house on his side of the fence. The house was large with chipped old bricks and many see through places in the wall.

Jay pauses to think of his next words and tries to block out the unusual earth scent from the stranger. He trailed his gaze over the neighbour's houses and seemed to be expecting another cat to show up; there had been another cat here last sunset, atleast he thought. It had been raining and he was able to look out the window just before dinner. He swore there was another cat. 'Where is the other..?' The tom meowed, turning his gaze back to the smaller cat. He didn't seem to realise how the unblinking stare didn't scream "social" with these house cats.

He scraped his claws against the wood to get a grip, his massive form making it harder to balance on the thin fencing. The yappy barking of a dog inside his housefolk's place caught his attention, but the feline didn't move. He sighed half heartedly and refocused on the neighbour. That dog only barked when the nofurs left, so Jay knew he had time before he should go back in again. There's a lot of neighbours to meet!

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"I think we should head back now." Cicadapaw says, turning her head slightly to glance at the other warrior. The border was already marked, so there was no use sticking around.

"Owlstar would probably want us to come back soon, since he has to give out awards." She added as an afterthought, recalling the leaders words. It was probably best to head back; she didn't want to delay the ceremony any longer then it already had been.

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Palewind

The she cat nodded.” Go gather your bird then. Perhaps Mudpaw and I will be able to catch something while you do so.” She stated wanting to give the other apprentice one more chance to catch something before they left, although she didn’t want to just say Mudpaw so no irritation or embarrassment came to the young Tom. She watched Cicadapaw turning her attention to Mudpaw again.

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So they were going to hunt then? Well, what was the point of even making it sound like an option? It seemed Palewind's mind was made up, and that irked her a bit.

"Okay." Cicadapaw shrugged. It was to be expected, she supposed. Apprentices didn't have much a say, expected to follow orders given to them. Even so, a small part of her would've liked to be listened to, same with the border. It was already marked, as she had said, so why'd they even go check it out? The entire thing was ridiculous, and she turns away.

"I'm going to head back to camp then." And then she walks off, allowing a sour expression to cross her face once her back is turned so no one sees.

The ginger colored 'paw heads to the spot she left the bird and collects it before making her way back to camp. From the border to camp was a pretty straightforward path; she only had to make a slight detour to the area she'd left her bird. Though even that didn't take too much work; and she's back to camp in no time.

She pads through the entrance and drops the bird off. She assumes that once the other two come back, the awards ceremony will happen. She looks around camp at everyone whose there so far, noting mentally to herself that everyone looks like they're there.

(Cicadapaw never turned to Mudpaw btw, wasn't sure if there was confusion or something but when she turns, she's facing Palewind)

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Nettlesnap

The tom rasped his sandpaper tongue over his damp pelt, whiskers twitching every so often. Pawsteps caught his attention, making his ears swivel to locate the source of the sound, eventually lowering when he set his gaze on Cicadapaw. Oh. Nettlesnap scrutinised every detail, watching Cicadapaw from his perch upon a rock. He was still a little annoyed at the she for getting to go on patrol so he said nothing. She seemed irritated already, anyway.

His eyes flick to the prey being dropped off, attention drawn to the fresh kill. His paws itched to run towards it and he had to remind himself there was no competition for food. Atleast not with these clan bloods.

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Cicadapaw feels eyes on her pelt, head turning to see Nettlesnap. There's a moment of awkward confusion as they look at each other, gaze broken when he looks at the fresh kill pile. Was he... hungry?

She pauses before she drops the bird fully, grasping it by its wing before she heads his way, head dipping politely towards the older cat.

"Hi Nettlesnap. Are you hungry? I caught a bird earlier, you could have it if you'd like...." She trails off, not sure how the interaction would go. She hadn't ever really spoken to Nettlesnap before, and she wasn't in a bubbly 'lets talk to everyone' mood at the moment. But she figured she should at least give it a go, using the time to try and shake off the figurative cloud that was forming over her head.

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Nettlesnap

His head raised to face her, confused. He'd been too focused on the food to catch her question and took a second to repeat it in his head before he understood it. She was offering food..? He hesitated for a moment, debsting whether this was a trick question or a joke. Cicadapaw didnt seem like that type of cat, though. 'No, I ate earlier.' Nettlesnap eventually managed to reply, the lies on his tongue spiking his throat as he spoke. Last thing he ate was that mouse - but what if the prey was tainted? And he would be killed? The bird's scent was purely feathers and earth but he couldn't shake off his suspicion.

The scrawny tom shook himself off and met Cicadapaw's gaze again, forcing his eyes away from the prey he felt so drawn to. He felt the need to change the topic and avoid confrontation, hoping the apprentice wouldn't catch on to his lies. 'What happened on that "patrol"?' Nettlesnap meowed, curiosity gnawing his mind. Cats didn't come back from a patrol looking like a disgruntled hedgehog, especially not apprentices.

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When he says he ate already Cicadapaw nods, and takes it as that. She figured that he must've eaten while she, Palewind and Mudpaw were gone. The way his gaze flickered to the bird was a bit odd, was something wrong with it? There was a little bit of dirt specks on the wings from it's time on the ground, but cats didn't eat the feathers. It was a small detail to stare at, but it was the only one she could think of.

She thinks that's going to be the end of it, until he asks about the patrol. Her tail droops slightly, not good at concealing her emotions. She drops the bird at her paws so she can speak properly, voice not muffled with it in her jaws.

"Nothing really." She scuffs at the ground as she talks. "We headed to the border, and I caught a bird on the way. We were supposed to come back, but Palewind decided to stay out longer with Mudpaw to hunt. I decided to just come back." There's a hint of grumpiness in her voice when she speaks about Palewind staying out longer, but she fixed her tone to sound casual.

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Nettlesnap

He tilted his head to one side, his eyes narrowing. 'Oh. The border? Why?' The tom watched Cicadapaw curiously, his thoughts trailing off. 'I thought they already did that scent marking thing you guys do.' He motions a paw at nothing and looks at the apprentice as if to check she understood. Why go to the border when there were already the markers?

He wasn't going to question his friend's decision, but Why. 'Really? If they stay out any longer they'll get their paws turned into sludge..' The tom joked half heartedly, glaring down at the thick soup of mud below the rock he had found safety on.

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Mudpaw

Mudpaw had hoped to return to camp with Cicadapaw, and was just about to agree with her when Palewind spoke up.

”Go gather your bird then. Perhaps Mudpaw and I will be able to catch something while you do so.” He watched as Cicadapaw makes her way back to the camp before turning to Palewind.

He looked worried, his ears flattening and his tail touching the ground. "Are you really sure about this, Palewind? I've never hunted before, Owlstar and the Clan must be waiting for us to bring you your prize."

(Omg guys super sorry for the late reply life outside just really got busy)

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Palewind

The she cats ears fell back.” Oh please Mudpaw I could fall off the face of the planet and not a single cat in that camp would bother to try and find me. If you’re not confident enough to try and catch something we can go back. I wanted to give you the same opportunity Cicadapaw got to catch the bird.” She stated which everything she said to either be true or somewhat true, it seemed to her that every cat in the camp would always find something wrong that she did rather than anything good. The only praise she had gotten was when she killed the beaver and even then she didn’t do that on her own. The she cat rose to her paws and beckoned the apprentice to follow with her tail.

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Cicadapaw nods, feeling a mild flare of irritation. "Yes. Hawktalon and Sootpaw already marked the border, their scents were there. I told Palewind, but she said we should check anyways" Though standing at the border for a few heartbeats probably didn't qualify as checking. If they had, they'd have to walk a large section of the territory, something that would've taken ages to do.

She smiles a bit at his words. "It is a bit muddy out there." She agrees, the joke managing to quell her annoyance. She didn't want to seem like a whiny kit, after all. She glances down at her paws, noticing that they're indeed looking a bit dirty. Ah, she'll definitely have to groom them later. Hopefully with some time before the ceremony. She wasn't sure how Palewind and Mudpaw would be gone, hopefully not too long.

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Mudpaw

After pausing briefly and contemplating, Mudpaw bowed his head and made a decision towards Palewind. "I suppose there's no harm in giving it a shot." he murmured, dragging his small, black paws against the ground beneath him as he hesitantly followed Palewinds steps" Now, what's our plan?" he inquired, directing his question to the cream-colored warrior. They would just hunt quickly and go back to the camp, it wont be that long. Mudpaw thought.

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Nettlesnap

He flicked an ear in acknowledgment, focusing on getting down from the rock. A /bit/ muddy? The tom huffed and leapt onto drier land, the black tip of his tail brushing against the mud. He hid a shudder and lowered his ears in annoyance, briefly forgetting Cicadapaw was there. His gaze flicked back to her when she replied positively to his comment, feeling a swell of pride and stifling a satisfied purr. He brushed himself off and padded a little away from the mud before speaking again. 'Very. You probably have time to get rid of it, though. Unless you have anything better to do whilst waiting for the ceremony to finally start..'

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