[ti]Private[/ti]A Day In The Life

[Ava]

Scorpionflame awoke with a start, confused where he was for a moment- until he remembered. He had been made a warrior just recently, and now he was in the warrior's den. It would take a while to get used to it. His nest wasn't as soft as some of the older warriors, but at least it was better than the apprentice nests, which he had grown out of long ago. Sprawled out across his nest, his limbs tangled together like large spider legs, he suddenly noticed how close he was to all the other warriors. Cypresspool, a pretty she-cat who had graduated alongside him, in particular. The MothClan warrior's den, evidently, was getting a bit too small to hold the many, many adults in the clan.

Finally, Scorpionflame stirred, accidentally hitting Cypresspool in the back with his hind leg, and whipping his tail around to hit a lithe tabby tom in the muzzle. He muttered apologies as he stepped on a few slumbering paws and tails on his way out, but many were already awake and out of the den, so it wasn't too much of a problem as he gradually found a path out. 

Grumble, grumble. Scorpionflame was hungry, and his stomach yearned for a nice, plump piece of prey.

The newleaf morning mist was a refreshing change from the hot warrior's den, crammed with dozens of warriors radiating unneeded heat. It cooled him off quickly, and he stumbled over to the plumpening fresh-kill pile, which finally seemed to be growing in numbers as the prey began to resurface from their burrows and the weather warmed up. Scorpionflame gingerly grabbed a plump thrush, barely enough for a big, growing boy like him. His mouth watered as he laid down and immediately started tearing into it, eating it so quickly that he could barely taste it. He had to remind himself to chew, even if he was so hungry that he could barely think straight. 

With nothing else to occupy his mind, Scorpionflame began to ponder being a warrior... and then it drifted to his warrior ceremony... and his father naming him... and... Cypresspool? Why was he so intrigued by her? They had only had a few exchanges, most of which had just been snarky comments to each other when their mentors told them to train together. And yet, he wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know who Cypresspool really was; if she still was that aloof, competitive, snarky character through and through, or maybe if she had a softer side. He decided, finally, that he would try to talk to her a bit more, get to know her better, and spend more time with her. And perhaps he'd make a new friend in the process?

Firefly

[Firefly]

Cypresspool's eyes shot open as she was socked in the back by a paw of unkown origin. "Ouch!" She hissed quietly. She turned around gorggily in her new nest to spot the culprit of this awful crime. "Geez..." She grumbled indignantly. Unable to fall asleep anymore, she got up from her nest and shook out her pelt, watching as a familiar brown tom made his way out of the warrior's den. The warrior's den was cramped an uncomfortable, she'd much rather have her own den.... but that would be selfish of her, wouldn't it? Either way, this den was way too cramped as it is, maybe the clan should do something about it...

Cypresspool stretched and padded her way out of the den, following Scorpionflame, a cat whom she'd known throughout her apprenticeship. It looked like he was rather hungry, and she had to stifle a giggle as she caught the grumble of the young tom's stomach.

"You sound hungry." She meowed nonchalantly as she watched Scorpionflame gorge himself on the prey. She took a shrew for herself and ate a little slower than Scorpionflame. She glanced at him for a couple of seconds and couldn't hold back a smile at how quickly he scarfed down the fresh-kill. She shook her head. Ugh! Why did he make her feel so giggly and lighthearted?!

[Ava]

Scorpionflame gave Cypresspool a little side-smirk after he had swallowed the last bite. He was a bit surprised that she had followed him out, but he shrugged it off. Who wouldn't want to follow such a handsome tom like him around all day? He wasn't opposed to Cypresspool being the founder of his own personal fan club. At the thought, he nearly snorted out loud. There was no way such a proud cat like her, as wonderful as he was, would ever be even slightly fond of him. If he were to have a fan club, it'd have to be apprentices who just loved him so dearly, they'd die of happiness the moment he flashed his oh-so-charming smile at them. What was he supposed to be thinking about? Oh yeah, Cypresspool!

So she was right next to him. Well, not right next to him, but pretty close to him. Scorpionflame paused for a moment as he thought of something snarky to grumble at her, his eyes slightly narrowed in thought. "Couldn't resist coming out after me, eh? Don't be embarrassed, it's normal for all the ladies to love me. After all, who wouldn't love this handsome face?" he chuckled, flashing her an exaggerated smile and winking. 

Firefly

[Firefly]

Cypresspool chuckled and looked around. 
"Ladies? Where?" She meowed playfully and fake-swatted at Scorpionflame. "I don't see any ladies." The she-cat smirked with satisfaction at her joke towards the cocky and proud Scorpionflame. Deep down inside, part of her sort of wanted to claw those 'ladies'... hrmn, but she guessed she wanted to claw a lot of cats. 

I swear that cat thinks the clan's his personal fan club....
With a flick of her tail, Cypresspool finished off her fresh-kill and stretched, ready to do.... something, anything. She was kinda bored. Might as well make the first day as a warrior count.
"Hey, wanna go do some hunting? now that we're warriors, we have duties to uphold... hrmn, maybe we could find something fun to do while we hunt, maybe a competition?" Cypresspool suggested. 
She observed some young she-cats standing by the entrance of the camp, no doubt part of the most recent patrol. They were older than her, but definitely young. Are those the cats Scorpionflame was talking about...? She growled in her mind. No, wait, why am I even worried about that?! Nevertheless, her eyes were fixed on the she-cats, eyeing their every move, though she didn't exactly know what she was looking for.

Ava

[Ava]

Scorpionflame's eyes widened in excitement as he vigorously nodded. A competition? Psh, easy! He would win without a doubt, especially against such a skilled, wonderful, amazing, gorgeous, smart... wait, what was he doing? Cypresspool was an opponent right now, nothing else. And so, as he smirked at her and agreed to her details, he noticed the group of she-cats that Cypresspool was practically giving the death stare to and knew immediately how to get under her skin.

"Yeah, a competition sounds nice. Don't feel bad when you lose, though," he purred smoothly, flicking his tail as he rose to his paws and already began to walk to the exit of camp. As he passed by the she-cats, he smirked and winked at them, winding between them as they practically drooled over him. He didn't say anything, just dragged his tail along one of the she-cat's flanks before he returned his attention back to Cypresspool and continued on walking out. "I told you the ladies love me. You seem to be more of a challenge, though... maybe I'll thaw your icy exterior one day, how's that sound, dear?" 

Still wearing a grin, he quickened his pace, flexing his muscles as he sniffed the air and tried to find some sort of trail to follow. After a few mindless moments, he caught the scent of a rabbit and stealthily stalked it until it came close enough. He pounced, landing right on it and nipping its spine with ease before returning to Cypresspool and dropping it on the ground, burying it. "Did that do anything for ya? Stir up even the slightest bit of affection from that cold ol' heart of yours? Tug at your heartstrings?" he murmured with a chuckle, knowing full well how unamused she would probably be. Cypresspool didn't seem to want to admit anything just yet.

Firefly
 

[Firefly]

Cypresspool's expression remained neutral, but she was burning up with rage inside as Scorpionflame passed by the she-cats who were drooling over HER Tom- Err, Scorpionflame.... oh hell no! She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of getting a visible reaction out of her, however. Not yet anyway. She wasn't that easy!
"Heck yeah, I'm a challenge. No use loving a cat who can't help himself. I need him to prove that he's worth my affection first." She remarked. Cypresspool watched him dart off, surely after prey and soon enough, Scorpionflame returned with a rabbit in his maws. Ah, the competition.
Cypresspool noticed the tom rambling on, asking if he had impressed her yet.
"What's so impressive about a warrior catching prey? Isn't that what we were trained to do? Come back when you win...." She smiled mischievously and ran off into the forest, starting the compeition fo rgood.

[Ava]

Scorpionflame dipped his head to her, nudging her face a little bit before he spoke. "Yeah, well, I sure am graced with the opportunity to gain your affection, Your Majesty," he purred, bowing down as if in a playful stance like she was alpha over him. As soon as he was finished with his only partially-sarcastic remark, he dashed away, veering slightly away from where she had begun to run off to.

And now, Scorpionflame was in the zone- pretty she-cat or not, Cypresspool was going to lose. Just because he might like her a little bit doesn't give her an advantage when it comes to competitions. There was no way he would end up making a fool of himself in front of her. Dedicated and wholeheartedly ready to kick some she-cat butt, he lifted up his nose and searched the air for any trail of prey whatsoever that he could find. Within a few more strides, he caught the faintest whiff of thrush and immediately followed after it. As he came upon it, he flashed a grin as he noticed its size- it was large, likely male, and it was rather overweight, probably from having a successful winter. He dropped into a skillful crouch, slowly creeping forward until he was right beside it, watching it nibble on a little speck of some sort of seed. Time seemed to freeze before he pounced at just the right second, emerging from the undergrowth that had previously hidden him and landing right on the fat thrush. His claws sliced a bit too clumsily, making the thrush bleed a little bit too much, but Scorpionflame quickly took the thrush in his mouth and started heading back to regroup before heading out again.

Firefly

[Firefly]

"You better bow..." She muttered, smirking. Quickly, she pounced off to start her half of the hunt. No way she was gonna let some silly tomcat beat her.

Cypresspool stalked along a quiet puddle, making sure to stay low to the ground as she spotted a crow attempting to pick out water-skaters off of the surface. She lowered her striped body against the tall grass, using her pelt as camouflage. Suddenly, the crow's head poked up as her tail swished against the grass, tipping her location off. However, before the crow could react, Cypresspool was already leaping through the air, swiftly putting an end to the black bird's life. She thanked StarClan for the fresh-kill and buried it nearby- she'd pick it up later. The young she-cat resumed her hunt. No time for rest... looking up, she noticed a squirrel, deeply invested in cracking open a nut. Slowly, she stalked up the tree, using her tree-climbing skills to silently scale the tree.

"Closer.... closer..." She became hyperfocused on the hunt, forgetting where she began, forgetting about the others, forgetting about how tall the tree was, forgetting about how... tired... she was getting...