A Day Well Wasted

 Creekflood - InsanityBiscuit 
 Starlingflight - grandjoy1111 

 A faint groan filled the air, the first few rays of sunlight breaking through the thick coverage of the trees and undergrowth and right onto the face of a certain silver warrior. Faintly agitated, he moved to hide his eyes behind his webbed, paws, a long sigh passing his maw as he found himself now stirred awake. With a hint of reluctance, he pulled his gray paws away from his face and blinked the bleariness from his green eyes, seeming to still be processing where he was at. There was a moment of confusion as he noted he wasn't in the warrior's den, but the familiar feeling of another feline's warmth at his back brought his attention down towards the bicolored she-cat, still sleeping next to him. His whisker's twitched as he recalled the night, giving a soft chuckle at the recent memories before he heaved himself up into a sitting position to stretch out his tense muscles. Creekflood's green optics flickered upwards in an attempt to make out the time, and from what he could tell, it was still relatively early. The dawn patrol was either out or would be soon. With a hum and yawn, he turned and slowly nudged Starlingflight's side, muttering her name in a means to stir her from her slumber.

 She wiggled and attempted to get up but then got scratched in the head by a branch and cursed under her breath then opened her eyes looking around realizing she wasn't alone for once "oh hi" she remembered the night before making a new friend, brought a smile to her face "goodmorning " she looked at the sky "it's a little early don't you think?" She laughed while saying so

 He gave a slight purr of amusement, flicking his tail against her cheek. "Morning," he responded, ducking his larger form down so as not to scrape his head across the branches above him. "It's not if you don't want to answer the dawn patrol's questions about why we're out here alone," he mewed, ear twitching as he nudged her cheek with his nose once more. Turning, the tom carefully clambered out of the bush, cautious not to step on any part of Starlingflight in his exit.

 She flushed "yeah I rather not have to answer their assuming questions" she carefully went after him and tried to not hit her head on the branches once more

 He chuckled softly at her response, stretching out his tense muscles. The silver warrior waved his tail through the air and gave a satisfied sigh as he straightened out his stance once again. Turning to face Starlingflight, he cracked a soft grin before flicking her shoulder with his tail tip. "Feel like hunting to give the clan some time to wake up? It might not seem so odd if we come back in with prey, and while the rest of the clan is finally up and about."

 She nodded "sounds good to me" she sighed "warning I'm not to good at hunting" she chuckled to herself

 He flicked his tail tip against her shoulder, casting her a smile. "I'm sure you'll be fine," Creekflood purred. "Besides, we may not find much out here anyways," he added, nose twitching at the end of his statement. Finally, with a nod of his head, he gestured for her to follow. "Come on. I know a spot where we might come across a mouse or two.""

 She nodded "lead the way!" She smiled and followed behind him

 With a warm smile, he padded through the undergrowth, footsteps silent atop the pine needles covering the forest floor. He moved smoothly through the familiar territory, head ducked down until finally he seemed to spot something. Casting a glance over his shoulder at Starlingflight to make certain she was following, he picked up his pace and trotted down to a slightly lowered area. The small slope was hardly noticeably until you were stepping down from it, finding the ground just slightly lower than it was before. Here, Creekflood came to a halt, eyes flickering this way and that around the area, ears swiveling and nose twitching continuously as he searched the clearing silently for any sign of prey.

 Starlingflight flinched and her tail straightened she lowered herself to the ground but not too close she then moved swiftly and quickly and vanished in between the trees then soon to come back with a small vole "I don't know what I was thinking, that's never happened before"

 He lifted his brows, watching her move, and as she returned triumphant, he gave a warm smile and soft laugh. "Either way, it's impressive enough," he purred before a faint rustling to his left caused his sensitive ears to twitch and his head to turn towards the side. Ears pressing back against his head, he dropped into a basic hunter's crouch and carefully treaded across the terrain, quickly spotting a small mouse nibbling on a scarce morsel in the nearby undergrowth. Haunches wriggling for just a moment, the tom zeroed in then gave a powerful leap, webbed paws outstretched and claws unsheathed. Landing squarely atop the mouse he gave a quick nip to it's throat before it could disturb the silence and lifted it's now limp frame into his jaws as he lifted his head, looking back towards Starlingflight with a lopsided grin and slight shrug.

 She smiled "good catch" she nodded to him "that seemed like a peice of cake to you" she chuckled

 He mewed a thanks, padding over to the smaller feline. He gave a good-natured chuckle in return. "Did it?" He asked with what sounded almost like a nervous laugh. "I think I chose a bad place to land on it," he added. "I scraped a pad on the undergrowth," he murmured, lifting one of his webbed paws and flipping it over. He wasn't wrong, the pad was slightly scraped, but it wasn't anything serious, at the most a slight burning was all he felt in his paw. It was something that would fade quickly without issue as it was only skin deep. With an embarrassed flutter of his ears, he lowered his paw back to the ground and cast a goofy grin in Starlingflight's direction.

 Starlingflight looked at him worriedly "that looks like it hurts..." she mewed "do you think you should go to the medicine cat?" she looked up then down and sighed "maybe some cold water would help it though" she was pondering what to do to fix the situation

 "Just a slight sting. It's only skin deep," Creekflood reassured Starlingflight. He listened closely to her and his ears twitched in thought. For a moment, he seemed to ponder something before giving a faint hum of affirmation. "Cold water might be a good idea," he murmured, shifting how weight from one paw to the other.

 she nodded "do you think the river is nearby?" she wasn't used to going too far into their territory since she tended to normally stay near the camp of fear of running into other clan cats or getting into a border quarrel knowing she would have a hard time hurting another cat. She looked around but it was hard to see in all the trees.

 The silver warrior tilted his head back, seeming to be thinking. His eyes glanced this way and that before he finally seemed to settle on something. "Well, the river might not be," he mewed,  tail flicking behind him. "But I think there's a small stream not too far from here," he added with a slight nod of his head.

 "alright" starlingflight nodded "umm heheh I'll just follow you then" she sighed "i normally don't go to far into the territory "

 He hummed softly, giving her shoulder a friendly nudge before turning in another direction. "C'mon then," he purred. "It's this way," the silver tom cast another glance her way before padding through the undergrowth once again, stepping carefully with his tender paw. Finally, after only a short few minutes, the familiar sound of water trickling nearby drew the tom into a turn. "Here we are!" As the exclamation left his maw, he puffed out his chest and stepped into the small clearing which the stream of subject skirted around the near edge of.

 she looked at it in awe "so..this is what a stream looks like.." she smiled "its so pretty" she covered her mouth after saying so

 Creekflood smiled warmly and gave a deep, rumbling purr at her statement. Ghosting his tail tip across her spine. "You really don't get very far into the territory, do you?" he asked. The tone wasn't crude or teasing, rather, it was warm and inviting, coaxing her into relaxing in his company. He only took a few steps forward to stand by the stream, settling back on his haunches for balance as he dipped his tend paw into the cool water, hissing softly at first at the sensation, but quickly enough relaxing once more and casting a warm smile towards Starlingflight.

 "Yeah I actually have never been this far...I have a slight...aqua phobia?...I also don't like going to far because I rather not get in a border quarrel " she sighed

 The silver tom gave a slight affirmative nod, ears twitching softly. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about the water here. You could wade through it without any trouble. Here it's only really deep enough to go over your paws," he mewed with a soothing purr and closed eye smile. In response to the chill the cool water spread down his spine, the silver warrior's pelt had fluffed out as if to shield from a breeze, making him appear slightly larger than he was.

 starlingflight saw this and looked at him "you doing okay" she padded to his side resting her tail on his shoulders "your suddenly super fluffy" she chuckled

 He cracked a grin at her, chuckling softly. "Fine," he mewed with a soft, almost embarassed chuckle. "It's a bit of a reaction to anything cold," he added with a twitch of his pink nose. He glanced back at where her tail had settled on his shoulders and seemed to relax slightly at the contact, pelt slowly flattening once more, though after the incident, it still held a slight trace of unruliness to it. Creekflood gave another soft laugh at himself, curling his short tail around his paws as best he could.

 She looked at his paw "does it feel better?" She seemed worried about his paw

 Creekflood cast her a warm, reassuring smile. "I think I'm gonna be just fine," he purred, lifting the paw of subject from the cool waters of the creek and flipping it over so that Starlingflight had a clear look at it. The silver tom was right. The small scrape for the most part was unnoticeable aside from a thin, chalky looking line in his pad, but otherwise, any sign that Creek had done anything to his paw would most likely go unnoticed. "No need to worry, love," he added, gently nudging her side, the choice of nickname not crossing his mind as he purred warmly. "Though I will be honest, knowing you care so much is flattering," the warrior added with a slight drawl to his words, chuckling ever so softly as he set his paw back upon the ground.

 Starlingflight flushed "I just don't like seeing others hurt that's all.." she looked away and thought to herself 'that was a weird choice of a nickname '

 "It's certainly an admirable trait," he mewed, trailing his tail across her back for just a moment before he pulled it back towards his form and shifted his weight. Taking a quick glance at what little of the sky he could see between the thick trees, he let his brow furrow and nose wrinkle ever so slightly, seeming to be trying to place the time as best he could. "We should probably be heading back before someone notices we haven't been there all night," he murmured, tone ever so slightly disapproving of the thought, however he chose not to fully express this, after all, they couldn't spend all day out and about when the clan needed as many paws it could get. With a slightly over-dramatized sigh, the tom stood up and waved his tail through the air, a faint chuckle rumbling in his chest. "We should head back and get our catches before something or someone else does," he purred, eyes alight with that familiar energy once more as they settled on Starlingflight.

 "Of course" she smiled her earlier blush disappearing for a moment as she took the lead and weaved through the trees quickly to where they buried their prey.

 He followed after her at a leisurely pace, tail swaying behind him as they weaved through the undergrowth. They hadn't gone far, so there was a low chance of their prey having been dug up by anyone or anything, which seemed to satiate any thought of slight worry that might have crossed his mind having left their catches as they had. Creekflood hummed absentmindedly as they emerged back into the clearing they had been hunting in, shaking out his thick silver pelt once in the slightly more open space, a warm purr rumbling in his chest in place of the current companionable silence.

 She jumped forgetting he was with her "oops sorry I forgot you were here " she laughed at herself

 The tom chuckled softly, flicking her shoulder with his tail tip, a smile spread across his maw. "Not sure if I should be flattered or insulted," he joked, eyes alight with mischief as he padded past her, their shoulders brushing as he moved to dig up their stored prey. The silver warrior held his usual light-hearted air, occasionally glancing around for any disturbance to the territory around them before he refocused on Starlingflight. "I suppose we should be getting back to the camp. Someone's bound to notice we're not there with how long we've been gone. And we certainly don't want to be starting any ghastly rumors, do we?" he added, arching a brow in the she-cats direction, the trace of a smirk across his maw as he awaited a response of any kind from the dark pelted she-cat.

 She flushed at the mention of that "Yeah that would be very... troubling" she smiled then but if they do notice we'll have an excuse she pointed her tail tip to the prey

 "That's true I suppose," he mused, ears twitching in amusement. "Still though, you know how some of the queens and elders can be," Creekflood purred warmly, a low rumbling chuckle resonating in the depths of his chest.

 "Yeah I guess so" she said confused "I never spent much time with queens or elders when I was little though so I don't know really?" She laughed at her little out spurt

 He chuckled softly at that. "They like their gossip," he purred. "I can understand it though seeing how they're cooped up in camp most of every day," he added, tail swaying behind him in a leisurely pace.

 She smiled "well that's true, " she sighed and tripped over her tail "oops.." she got up "I'm sorry, I guess I am a bit clumsy" she chuckled halfheartedly at herself

 Momentarily, his green eyes widened, and he quickly moved to support her as she tripped if she needed it. However, as she righted herself, he let his own form ease. He gave a small laugh with her comment, gently nudging her flank with his hip. "No reason to apologize," Creekflood purred. "Happens to the best of us," he added in a pleasant mew.

 She chuckled "I guess so" she purred and flicked her tail away from her walking path "I think I should try to not trip over it anymore " she laughed

 He gave a warm purr. "That might be a good idea," he mewed, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side. His ears twitched and swiveled as the moment eased into back into it's original mood, relaxed and laid-back, and the adrenaline that had sparked to life, running through his veins settled down. "Come on," Creekflood mused, gently, playfully batting at Starlingflight's ears. "Let's get back to the camp. Maybe pick up something to eat when we do," his last sentence seemed to be accentuated by a quiet grumble of his stomach, earning an embarrassed laugh from him that slowly faded into a clearing of his throat.

 Starlingflight laughed "well somebody's hungry!" She purred and flicked his ear with her paw "sure   It would be nice to not have your loud grumbling stomach complaining for a long time " she laughed

 The tom gave a mock look of offense towards her, leaning back ever so slightly. One of his paws lifted and pressed against his chest before he began to speak. "It's not loud or complaining, simply a normal bodily function," he mewed back, though his facade quickly faded as a grin split across his maw and he placed his paw back upon the ground, a deep, rumbling chuckle filling his chest.

 She laughed "woooaah nice vocabulary you have there"

 He laughed with her, giving her a playful shove, careful not to put too much force behind it. "I do try," he mused, nose twitching as he lowered his head to pick up the mouse he had set down earlier to speak clearly.

 She nodded realizing the sun was setting "how long were we out?" She flicked her tsk worry in her eyes as she began to walk a bit faster

 He paused, his own gaze lifting and a frown crossing his maw. "All day it would seem," he mewed, brow furrowing. "Better hope everyone was to busy to notice or we just might end up with a mouthful of a lecture when we get back," he added, giving a halfhearted chuckle at the thought.

 Starlingflight laughed "true." She smiled feeling more comfortable around him she decided to show her playfully side , she booped his nose with her tail to distract him "race you to the camp!" She then ran off

 The silver warrior blinked and receded backwards for a moment at the sudden contact, however the second Starlingflight turned and ran, he gave a loud, short laugh and quickly followed after as best he could. He certainly recognized himself as being relatively slow, but he still found some fun in a chase. "That, my dear," Creekflood started in a huff as he bounded after her. "Is cheating," he finished with a heave of his chest. The tom kept close on her tail, however it was clear that his heavy steps wouldn't get him much closer unless she slowed down or some kind of miracle befell him.

 She chuckled and slowed down "fine then I'll make it even" she purred though being called 'my dear ' had flustered her her blush wasn't too visible under her thin fur

 He gave a huff of a laugh in response, now finding himself shoulder to shoulder with the dark pelted she-cat. His paws landed heavily atop the soft terrain, scattering pine needles and a few leaves across the forest floor as he moved. He was fairly certain they weren't far from camp, so he didn't feel quite so rushed to return. Occasionally, the silver tom would cast a glance in Starlingflight's direction, mind too preoccupied to come up with anything to say at the moment.

 There was a small bit of awkward silence for a while then starlingflight decided to speak "we should do this more often" she panted starting to get a bit tired after all the running, she slowed down her pace her paw slightly sore from all of the running .

 Taking note of her slowing, he did the same, moving more at a trot rather than a run now. "I'd like that. This has been fun," he mewed, casting her a wide smile.

 she nodded "I don't think I've ever done something like this before...its...strange for me to be this comfortable around someone, I think this is the most fun I have had in my whole life" she laughed

 He chuckled warmly, flicking his tail against her shoulder. "Well, I'm certainly honored to be apart of it then," he purred, gently pressing his flank against her's for emphasis before he stepped back into his original place at her side.

 Starlingflight flushed at the sudden contact and looked down she laughed with him for a bit noticing they were finally back in camp "oh we're back already" there was slight disappointment in her voice

 Creekflood's own gaze flickered back to where they were, his brow furrowing. "So it would seem," he mused, his own dismay evident in his faintly accented voice. However, that familiar flicker of warmth sparked to life in his olive hued eyes. "Hey, if things don't get any busier, I can try and take you to that spot I was talking about last night, so you can see the sky. Get away from camp for a little bit again."

 starlingflights face brightened "that would be great!" she covered her mouth startled by her outburst "oops I did it again" she laughed at herself nervously

 He laughed with her, resting his tail across her shoulders. "Don't worry about it," he purred. "No reason to apologize. Besides, I like your enthusiasm," he mewed, shooting her a teasing wink.

 She flushed then laughed "well not many liked my enthusiasm as a kit but that's understandable since I was very hyper"

 "Well now," he drawled. "That's not overly uncommon among kits. Being ad young as they are and new to the world it's understandable that they're excited and hyper about most everything. Though I'm sure it can get tiring for the queens," he chuckled softly at the last comment before straightening his posture. "Sorry, I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

 "It's okay I like your rambling" she smiled at him glad that he understood her

 He returned the smile, giving a nervous laugh that ended in a faint clearing of his throat. "Glad to hear that," he mewed at a much softer tone. Slowly, almost reluctantly he let his gaze flicker back to the camp. With a faintly over dramatized sigh, he practically let his shoulders deflate. "I suppose we should be getting back into camp before the clan think we've eloped," he joked, softly smiling.

 She flushed at the thought and stuttered "y-yeah good idea, so tomorrow then? To the place where you can see the sky really well?" She smiled looking forward to another afternoon with

 "That'll work for me," he responded, nodding his head to accentuate his statement. With a final smile, nudged her cheek with his nose. "Come on then. Before it gets dark on us," he mewed, using his tail to gesture for her to step through the camp entrance first.

 Starlingflight nodded and stepped into the entrance waiting for him to follow her she smiled and cocked her head

 Creekflood closely followed after her, ducking his head ever so slightly to make moving through the entrance a tad easier for himself. He returned Starlingflight's smile as he stepped through the entrance. The silver tom was cautious not to step on the she-cats paws, his ears perked atop his lowered head as he carefully maneuvered so as not to step on her tail or the backs of her paws.

 For some reason creekflood being this close to Starlingflight flustered her, she didn't understand why but for now she pushed the thought into the back of her head as they made it into the camp earning some suspicious looks from other cats.

 Feeling their clanmates prying eyes on them, Creekflood felt a slight prickle across his skin and moved to shelter Starlingflight from the stares of those around them with his slightly larger form. It wasn't much, but it was something. His brow was furrowed and nose wrinkled in concentration, as being as close as they were, he had to be cautious not to step on any part of her. He paused for a moment by the fresh kill pile, dropping the mouse he had caught earlier and quickly grasping a vole in it's place, almost as if to make a point to anyone still paying attention as to where the two had been most of the day.

 the stares seemed to look away and Starlingflight breathed a sigh of relief "thank you" she smiled "shall we eat before we go to bed?" she points to the fresh kill pile with her tail tip

 He nodded his head and cracked a smile in her direction. "Anytime," he purred before letting his gaze follow her tail tip. He gave a deep, rumbling chuckle. "It might be a good idea," he mewed, nudging the vole he had already plucked from the pile in her direction almost as if making an offering.

 She looked at him "for me?" She was confused why anyone in their right minds would offer her food, but mabye that's just it , mabye he's crazy? She liked crazy sometimes

 "Of course," he mewed. "Who else?" He asked, a slight glimmer of amusement in his eyes and the faint trace of a smirk on his maw. He nudged the vole just a tad closer before plucking himself a small mouse from the pile and gesturing to a corner of the camp where the two could eat in peace.

 she nodded and picked up the vole walking after him then sitting next to him she sat close to him for some reason then started to eat the vole.

 The tom settled comfortably alongside Starlingflight, a relaxed sigh escaping him. He quickly scarfed down his mouse, occasionally pausing to pick a few stubborn pieces from between his teeth. As he finished, he gave a satisfied hum and leaned back, taking in the feeling of Starlingflight's company and the cool afternoon breeze.

 she sniffed the air for a second then smiled happily "it doesn't smell bad anymore" she laughed

 The tom paused to sniff at the air once more. She was right. He let a breathy laugh pass his maw at that. "You're not wrong," he mewed, tucking his paws beneath his chest. "We might just be able to get another good nights sleep actually in the camp this time."

 she nodded "yeah that would be nice" she smiled at the thought then remembered how lonely she always was in camp, she looked down at the thought and a frown began to form on her face.

 He seemed to quickly pick up on her frown, and one of his own crossed his maw. Ducking his head so as to nose her chin and lift her head up, he offered her a soft look of concern. "Is everything alright, love?"

 when he called her 'love' she completely broke and turned into a blushing mess "I-I'm fine" she looked down trying to hide her blush "I...just don't want to be lonely..."

 He lifted his brows. "Is that all?" He asked, leaning back ever so slightly. Gaze softening, he offered her a warm smile. "Well, seeing how we'll be in the same den, you can move your best closer to mine, or I to yours tonight, if you'd like," he suggested, laying his tail across her back.

 "Okay," she nodded her blush becoming slightly visible under her fur

 He smiled, that familiar kit-like energy running through his system once more. Letting his gaze flicker to the sky, he noted how dark it had gotten and found that most of the clan was already retreating to their dens. "Come on," he stated. "Let's go ahead and take care of that so we don't have to worry about disturbing anyone else with moving everything around," he mewed, flicking her ear with his tail tip before he began padding to the den. Occasionally, he would cast a glance over his shoulder to make certain she was following.

 She smiled and followed soon padding ahead of him to situate their nests she quickly looked up "finished!"

 His brows lifted at her work. With a smile, he gave a short huff of a laugh. "That was fast. I'm impressed," he purred, padding over to her side once more, ask the while, being cautious to step around the other warriors already in their nests.

 she laid down "wow its so much more comfy then I remembered..." she smiled

 He chuckled softly, settling down beside her. "I find sometimes good company can make things seem that way," he mewed, resting his head gently atop his paws, his shoulder brushing against her's with their closeness. The silver warrior seemed to relax once more, a content sigh passing his maw and his ears falling slack as he practically deflated. Any sign of stress that he may have been carrying simply seemed to melt away, yet when it came down to it, he still did what he could to stiffle any of the oncoming yawns he felt rising to his jaws.

 She chuckled at the stifling yawns and smiled "tired are we" she turned to him trying to surpress a laugh and looked at him

 He glanced up at her, giving a huff of a laugh. "What?" He drawled. "It's been a long day," the tom mewed, tail swaying behind him for a bit before he brought it back to lay at his side.

 She smiled and closed her eyes silence filling the room though she wasn't planning on going to sleep until she knew he was asleep "goodnight creekflood"

 He returned her smile, purring warmly. "Goodnight, Starlingflight," he mewed, slowly letting his senses calm and his form relax into his nest, back pressed up against Starlingflight's as he had the night before. It wasn't long til the Tom found himself drifting back into a restful slumber.

 She smiled and turned around nuzzling into his fur she didn't understand the feelings she felt but she knew 2 things for sure, that she just made herself a new friend, and he is super warm and fluffy