[Mauve]

Originally Posted by Thistledawn

"Good catch!" Ashnose exclaimed. He let out a small sigh of relief and thanked StarClan that the two of them were able to make the catch. He would have been so embarrassed if this hunt started going downhill right from the very beginning. Making the catch was the first step to making up for that mouse-brained mistake earlier. The ShadowClan warrior let his gaze rest on the frog for a few heartbeats, silently thanking it for its life. Ashnose and Shadetail would bring the frog back to ShadowClan later and it would fill hungry bellies. StarClan had blessed the two toms and ShadowClan with this frog. The British Shorthair couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising practically from ear to ear.

Flicking his tail towards the catch, the gray tom mewed, "Alright then. Let's put this somewhere and then see if we can find something else." He padded past Shadetail and away from the swamp. He figured they'd have scared away all of the other marsh prey by now. Ashnose looked to the trees, hoping there'd be an unsuspecting squirrel or bird. But as Ashnose passed Shadetail, he caught the scent of something strange. He stopped, sniffed again, but couldn't smell it anymore. Figuring it was nothing, the amber-eyed tom shrugged and kept padding forward. I hope our next catch is just as easy, the warrior thought to himself. If his first time leading a hunting patrol went well, perhaps he'd be chosen to lead more patrols. This was exactly what Ashnose was excited for when he was an apprentice.

Suddenly feeling awkward about the lack of conversation, Ashnose glanced over his shoulder at Shadetail. He was silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say, but still feeling the need to exchange words with the other tom. "It's getting pretty cold, don't you think?" It was poor small talk, but the British Shorthair was struggling to come up with anything else. It was relevant, however. He'd recently added more padding to his nest in order to stay a little warmer. He also found the chill sending shivers down his spine every once in awhile. It didn't help whenever there was a breeze too.

For a moment, Shadetail had been proud to be apart of this hunting patrol. Him and Ashnose made a good team, he had to admit. As he buried the deceased frog, he began to let his mind wander. This was how he wanted it to be - working side by side with his Clanmates to ensure the continuation of ShadowClan. It's why he had decided to join ShadowClan after the Dusk Syndicate had been disbanded. He didn't want to live a life without structure, and the tom had always admired how the Clans did things - build relationships out of respect instead of fear. Followed a cat based on their principles and ability to lead others, not how many they had killed, and how widespread they were feared. Shadetail didn't want that life, but it had been the only one he had known growing up in the Syndicate. Once that had came to it's end, it made him question which direction he wanted to walk in - to live alone as a loner? Or to fulfill his long desire of joining a wild Clan?

The rest, well, was history.

But that all shattered down when he felt Ashnose pause beside him. He didn't have to look up to know the tom was scenting him. Was he trying to search for the Syndicate scent? He knew every cat in ShadowClan was aware of his heritage. The thought infuriated him, made his toes curl, and Shadetail growled a little under his breath, loud enough for the other tom to hear if he'd decided to listen close. The tom didn't comment though, at least not right away. As Ashnose continued forward, turning and muttering something about the weather, Shadetail felt something snap. "Scenting for something?" he growled, turning and facing the other tom with narrowed yellow hues, and ears flattening back. He didn't bother to respond to his pitiful attempt at small talk - no cat in the Clan truly wanted to "small talk" with Shadetail - they always had an agenda. Usually, he wouldn't have commented on it, and pushed away the thought that perhaps Ashnose had just been checking for other prey. But with the weight of his Clanmates opinions weighing heavily on him, this seemed like a brick rather than a gentle feather.