a friendly hunt

The tabby deputy sat near the center of the den in her nest, quietly grooming her pelt with smooth, rythmic strokes of her tongue. Her ears perk forward slightly as she grazes over the healing wound across her hind leg. She'd recently led a patrol to chase out a hungry, yet dangerous intruder. It had gone well, but no one left without a scar. Stupid foxes she hissed inside her head. Her whiskers twitch in acknowledgement as another peers into the den. She almost continued her groomin when a familiar scent hit her nose, making her look up with a greeting dip of her head and a friendly purr. Standing, the tabby stretches, linking her long tail over her back and allowing her fluffy white chest to brush the ground. "Good morning Sprucestar. What a pleasant surprise." A gentle purr accented her truthful words as she approached her leader. She'd admit, Aster found herself to be more attached to the tom than most loyal clan members might be. She wonder if one might even say they were more than friends. "I would love to hunt with you Spruce." She'd long since gotten into the habit of calling her clan mate Spruce, he never really seemed to mind the lack of formality. She purred and smiled gracefully to him, brushing her sleek coat against his own as she headed out of the warrior's den and off toward the sparse territory.

Aster offered the Tom a light nod, almost echoing his gentle purr before parting ways with him in the direction of the fresh kill pile, her paws padding rhythmically against the soft earth of the main camp. The tantalising scents of prey cause the deputy's mouth to water and she picks out a small but but plump mouse. Crouching down, she finishes her meal in a few mouthfuls before swiping her tongue over her lips, lifting her paw to clean her face before approaching the handsome Tom. She purrs as she reaches him, rubbing her pelt gently against him as she brushes past and out through the exit, sticking by her leaders side as she exits the camp, smiling gently at the Tom. "Shall we?" She purrs before bounding ahead, mouth slightly open to catch the prey scents.

Aster almost seemingly forgets the Tom as she gets caught up in the thrill of hunting. Though she did remember to gesture him on as she slowed to a prowling walk and veered to the right. Searching for scents, she quickly picked up on the tantalising scent of rabbit and she smirked, lowering herself into a downwind crouch. Intent on her prey, she stalked silently forward, paws moving through the heather like wind from the heavens. Her muscles flexed under her short but thick coat, and her ears perk forward to listen. She soon found herself one pounce away and she found herself collecting her momentum and anticipation into her bunch hindquarters before she springs forward and lands squarely on the creature, tossing it in the air and catching it with powerful jaws, ending it in a killing bite. Purring lightly, she dropped her prey and buried it before continuing on. After gesturing her leader onwards, she assumed he'd be off hunting elsewhere. Therefore she wondered how well her was doing. Being leader, she assumed he would be a much better hunter than her, and as she stalked and caught a meadow vole, she couldn't help but dreamily imagine his muscles flexing as the handsome warrior sprang after a plump rabbit.

Aster spun suddenly to face the Tom, almost territorial before the familiarity of his voice washed over her and she purred gently, smiling sweetly at his praise as she buries her mouse, watching as he buries his rabbit alongside it. She couldn't help but chuckle at this, what was this, future sight? "I just imagined you catching a rabbit. Maybe I can see the future?" She purrs and nudges him gentle, ears flickering before nodding lightly in response to his question. "Alright. On we go" she purred gently, only just noticing that she'd practically said she was thinking about him. Oh well. She blinked at him slightly, her whole body still. Then she smirked slightly, and offered a slight laugh. "Spruce, you're staring. Again" She purrs gently at him before rubbing past his pelt as she headed off to continue hunting.

At his words, she purred in amusement and flickered her tail. "Why? So you can have me nurse you back to health?" She smirked and twitched her ears slightly, almost glowing as her eyes sparked with mischief. "I suppose I could do that." She turned and lead the way steadily across the Moore land, swiping her tail under his jaw in effort to halt his gaping. Winking back at him, she almost forgot he was her clan leader as she dropped into a crouch and stalked onward. The scent of a bird, most likely having flown in from Forestclan no doubt. The warrior perked her ears forward and stalked toward it. Unfortunately it happened to be done here, and took flight, but she was too quick. Bunching up her rippling muscles, the tabby deputy leaped at the fleeing ave and batted it out of the sky onto the ground, serving it a killing bite before carrying it over to Sprucestar and dropping it before him. "I think we've got enough for now" she mewed, referring to her four catches as well as his own. "Maybe we drop off our prey and do something else?"

Aster knew not what the Tom had in mind, but she mirrored his sly expression before collecting her prey and heading back to camp at a steady lope. It wasn't long before the wall that enclosed camp was in sight. Steadying her pace, she flicked her tail as a gesture for her leader to head the way into camp, falling in step behind him as they entered camp. She smiled as she strolled calmly through the entrance before offering her leader a respectful nod and dropping her prey on the pile, delivering some to the queen(s) and medicine cats too before heading back to Sprucestar. "So, what now?"

Aster flickered her ears, wondering what he might have had in mind, however, she was quite open to suggestions. With a slight nod, she led him toward his den and settled down one the soft ground. She was tempted to settle into his nice warm nest and sleep, but he was her leader. She didn't want to push his tolerance of her, even if her seemed more partial to her than the other warriors. "You just can't be bothered giving yourself a wash, can you?" She mewed this cheekily, yet her words were still hinted with a purr. "Alright then" she murmured gently, settling to groom his shoulder with firm but gentle strokes of her tongue. Her maternal side kicked in, and she almost seemed like a queen caring for her precious kit. And in some ways, she felt that way. "Maybe next we settle for whatever's on your mind."