Energy Burst

[ivyy]

.: A small huff escaped the small spaces in Sandfur's mouth that were still open, most of the space being taken up by the large bundle of feathers in her mouth. Her jaw muscles were stretched to hold the plump thrush in her narrow mouth, and it was no easy task. She had only managed to take hold of the bird a few moments ago, the bitter taste of it's blood was still fresh in her mouth. She raised her ears slightly, it seems she had happened across the training hollow in one of the rare moments it was empty. Sandfur's tail flickered mischievously as she dropped the bird upon the icy ground. Perhaps she'll just test the moss, to see if it's frozen or not, to tell the mentors. Of course, she wouldn't say, romp around or anything of that nature.

No, not Sandfur.

.: The earthy colored she-cat was darting back and forth, her green eyes bright with childish glee, a feeling she hadn't experienced in who knows how long. Sandfur could hardly restrain the giggles that were forming in her chest, all responsibility forgotten as she pranced and rolled like a rowdy kit. The moss proved bouncy enough for her to goof around with, if only for a brief instance. Her sprints turned into slower, breathless trotting. The sand colored warrior held her tail high as she stopped, her mouth open slightly. That short while of running, jumping, and rolling full throttle had taken it out of her. 'Perhaps I need to pick up the pace on border patrols,' Sandfur thought 'I shouldn't get so breathless'.

.: As her breathing returned to normal, Sandfur sat. Only when she cooled off from her little outburst did she notice the icy wind, wrapping her tail around her paws tightly in response to the frigid temperature. Even the thick muscles that lined her bones couldn't do much against the freezing breeze. Yes, it was getting on the long moons of Leafbare. At least the first part was over, but it was little relief. Prey was getting dramatically worse as the temperature dropped at a worryingly fast pace. Sandfur gave a little sigh, her eyes unfocused as she recovered from her energy burst. She let her mind wander as she sat in the center of the hollow. No one would know about her little kit-like romp, right?

[Cai]

Whitestar had taken an opportunity to spend a few precious moments alone. He was fiercely devoted to his Clan and he loved the work he did as leader, but it did not change the fact that every now and then, he needed time to himself where he could relax from the constant duty a leader had. He'd slipped out of camp and taken a walk in spite of the cool leaf-bare atmosphere and he had quickly begun to feel quite unburdened. He supposed it was fortunate that all it took to clear his head was a brief walk in open air since he was often pressed with a hundred and one things to do.

Of course, Whitestar could never really stop being leader, even for a moment. His walk had not been going on for long, yet he couldn't resist dropping in to check on the training hollow to see how the apprentices were progressing. He padded silently up to the entrance and gazed cautiously in. His eyebrows raised slightly as he found it empty, quite lacking the familiar hustle and bustle and youthful chatter that usually emanated from it. He frowned slightly, wondering why none of the mentors was making use of the hollow's facilities today, but passed it off as just a quiet spell. He had asked for extra hunting training, after all.

About to leave, Whitestar lifted his paws to turn away, but a little movement and a flash of dusky brown caught his eye. He turned back and was surprised to see that a cat was in the hollow, one he had not noticed at first. The strange thing was she did not seem to be with an apprentice as one would expect. Whitestar blinked at the figure, soon recognising Sandfur, one of his warriors, to be the one padding across the hollow. But his surprise only multiplied when the she-cat started to leap and skip over the springy moss, her face a picture of joyful abandon. Whitestar found himself quite entranced by the sight, unable to take his eyes off her burst of vibrant happiness. He felt oddly stirred by the sight, and yet at the same time slightly guilty for watching in secret. It felt like he was watching a private game of Sandfur's which he had no right to see or impose himself upon, but he could not say a word for fear of stopping her game. He found he almost envied her freedom and was tempted to gambol across the hollow with her, but he held himself back because he could not lose himself here. But it did not stop the image of this carefree she-cat tumbling on the soft moss imprinting itself in his mind as a beautiful thing.

Soon, Sandfur's dance slowed and she sat in the middle of the moss, now calm and serene. Whitestar smiled to himself, and though he wouldn't tell anyone, he felt quite warmed by the experience. It wasn't often that he saw something so unexpected and so innocent, like returning to kit-hood just for a moment. He wondered whether to announce his presence or not, and he dithered at the entrance, wanting to go forth and speak with her but also wanting to just slip away and leave her be. What would he say if he went in? Would not she accuse him of spying, or intruding on what had been a game just for herself?

Quite used to making decisions, however, Whitestar finally threw caution to the wind and padded in with the softest of steps, lightly crossing the moss to stand behind her. "I'm glad to see such high spirits in my warriors, Sandfur." He said at last, though he was surprised at the oddly low, quiet way his voice came out, having intended to speak more jovially. He cleared his throat and recovered quickly, his mouth lifting into a languid smile, a lightly teasing look in his eye. Whatever his tone might suggest, though, he couldn't help but feel an admiration for her free-spiritedness.

[[Haha, happy Sandfur turns him on. x3 Sorry that's such a fat post; you can skip whatever bores you. ]]

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[ivyy]

.: The light was beginning to heat up. Well, if you could call the measly rays heat. Unfortunately, it was only the barely warm sunlight that Leafbare so lazily provided. Oh yes, Leafbare seemed to reserve all it's energy in wait of the night, preparing itself for the right time to freeze everyone's fur off. It was only in this time of year that the heavily muscled, thickly furred warriors of ThunderClan bedded down so close together. It was almost suffocating. Thoughts like this appeared in Sandfur's mind as she simply sat, listening to the life around her. They didn't last long, morphing into other subjects at random. She was too serene now that she had disposed of her excess energy to think about much.

.: Sandfur didn't realize she was not alone until she heard the quiet thudding of paws on dew soaked moss. The morning's frost was long melted, but the springy substance was still somewhat moist, adding a small squishing sound to the unknown cat's pawsteps. Sandfur hesitated a moment, prepared to twist around and give the pesky little peeking tom an earful. But what if they didn't see a thing? She could lash out claws bared at some innocent cat who just happened upon her in her recovery. She waited another short moment, her tail uncurling from it's place over her paws. She turned, her yellow/green eyes eager to discover the cat who may or may not have caught her in an unspeakable act. No cat would ever take her seriously if they knew she was capable of being joyous. What a horrifying thought... No it would be some apprentice who had ran ahead of her mentor, Sandfur would be able to keep a young one quiet easily.

.: Whitestar. It was Whitestar. There was an explosion in the she-cat's head, which included quite a bit of profanity, to make a long list of violent words short.. Drat. Dung. Son of a She-fox. Sandfur was not happy, no, this was the worst possible scenario. As the strikingly white tom spoke, and it became apparent he had witnessed her frolic. Whitestar spoke in a low, thick voice surprising Sandfur slightly. She cleared her throat at the same exact moment Whitestar did, causing her already red ears to bright to a furious shade of red. She didn't dare raise her voice to the Leader of ThunderClan, let alone inject an ounce of sarcasm or anything that could be disrespectful. She may have a pride, but her appreciation of authority was far greater.

.: "Whitestar." she breathed, speaking his name assuring her it really was him. It was just her kind of luck. "I uhm- I was just getting back from hunting." Sandfur said with a slightly nervous smile and a bow of her head. The tip of her tail flickered about at her side, though she managed to keep the rest of it relatively still. With any other cat, she would be yowling at the top of her lungs, but something (aside from his position as leader) kept her from reacting that way.

It was just her kind of luck.

[Cai]

Whitestar took one look at Sandfur's uncomfortable and flushihng face and broke out laughing lightly. He shook his head at her, feeling both amused and rather unkind for having made her so embarrassed. "I'm sorry to have intruded, Sandfur. The last thing I'd want to do is stop you enjoying yourself." His words were genuine, but he couldn't keep from chuckling as he turned around and padded towards the hollow's entrance again. He seemed to change his mind for a second and paused on his way to glance over his shoulder at her. He tipped his head to one side, considering, a small smile on his face. "I did mean what I said, though. I'm glad to see my warriors in high spirits." Whitestar said sincerely, before the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile again. "It lets me know I'm not doing such a terrible job that everyone is constantly miserable."

"Now, are you going to stay here for round two, or would you like to accompany me back to camp?"

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[ivyy]

Sandfur could hardly keep still as Whitestar began to chuckle, she could hardly resist the urge to spring up and run away out of embarrassment. The grainy brown she-cat watched quietly and Whitestar stood, her heart beating at a slightly quickened pace. Well, perhaps it was a good thing Whitestar was the one to catch her, she knew for a fact he wouldn't spread it around camp. Whitestar wasn't one for gossip, Sandfur managed to figure that from her cautious observation. She had always felt a kind of fascination with Whitestar, even when he was still a warrior. She blinked twice, trying to clear her head of all her small, pointless thoughts.

Whitestar spoke to her smoothly, 'Well, at he's not embarrassed.' she thought, pushing herself into a standing position easily. "Yes, You are doing a good job." Sandfur said stiffly, mentally cringing at all of her awkward replies. "I was feeling quite giddy, actually. I had just caught a bird you see.." she continued speaking, almost rambling on, trying to defuse her own nerves. After a few moments, she merely stopped, tutting at herself for being so strange. She probably looked like a psycho. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled, watching as Whitestar smiled and began padding over to the entrance.

"Now, are you going to stay here for round two, or would you like to accompany me back to camp?"

Sandfur smiled slightly, "Oh, whatever you'd like. I don't know if you could handle energetic me." she said, almost flirtatiously. She turned, walking in the opposite direction with a small smirk on her lips.

[Cai]

Whitestar waved his tail lightheartedly, glancing over his shoulder. Sandfur still seemed embarrassed. "You don't have to explain, Sandfur, you're quite entitled to a bit of fun." He said cheerfully. He'd paused at the entrance, and if the truth be known, he was expecting Sandfur to come and join him to walk back to camp. That was what most cats did when he invited them to walk or hunt with him, either out of pleasure at spending time with the leader or out of fear that he would reprimand them for not doing so.

Apparently, however, Sandfur wasn't most cats, and, having recovered herself, she didn't come to join him and instead replied with a tone which was distinctly... playful? Flirtatious, even? She turned her back on him and began to move away, sashaying back deeper into the hollow and in doing so, she presented him with a rather clear back view that he pretended not to notice.

Whitestar raised his eyebrows, a slight smirk forming on his face. I don't know if you could handle energetic me.? Well! That had the most unmistakeable ring of a challenge. Whitestar found his competitive streak surfacing and, never one to walk away from a challenger, he chuckled to himself and turned around again.

"I do believe that was a challenge, Sandfur." He said, voice low and silky. "And I can't have you challenging my authority now, can I?" He said teasingly, sidling after her to stand back on the moss. "I'm afraid this means one thing and one thing only," he said as he stood in front of her, calmly crossing one paw over the other, though a mischievous gleam - one which he usually kept hidden for the purpose of maintaining appearances - lit up his green eyes.

"And that one thing is-" He was a bit startled by the flirtatious tone his own voice had taken on. It was really quite unusual for him to flirt with his warriors, but apparently the hint of a challenge brought it out of him. "-Game on!" He leaped lightly at her side, paws outstretched, initiating a very clear acceptance of the challenge. The only way to settle this was to spar!

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[ivyy]

Sandfur was grinning to herself idly as Whitestar responded to her obvious challenge. She turned slowly, so that her side was facing the strikingly white tom. She threw a sideways glance at him, as if her previous words weren't enough. He hardly needed to speak, Sandfur knew what her flirtatious challenge would provoke. She didn't know why she was acting so boldly.. Well, she would have no problem being so forward with a fellow warrior, but with the leader. This was something new. Maybe she'd regret strutting her stuff later on, some part of her mind knew this for a fact. But a larger, more flustered part was making all the decisions.

She anticipated Whitestar's attack moments before he even lifted a paw, her muscles tense and ready to move. Her tail stayed low to the ground, flickering back and forth at whim. It may be a sparring match, but it couldn't stop that warm fuzzy feeling Sandfur got in Whitestar's presence. She felt his paws make contact with her ribcage, and with a quick twist her went sailing over her, the sandy brown she-cat crouched low to the ground. Joy filled her features as she avoided her opponents move, if she won a mock fight against Whitestar, imagine the bragging rights she'd have. It was just too good to pass up. She'd have to give it her all.

[Cai]

Whitestar landed easily, his relaxed half-smile never fading from his face. He was a warrior with far too much battle experience to be easily shaken during a spar and he would not be unseated easily. Though he was relatively young for a leader, he had already seen and done more than many cats had by their sixtieth moon, and that made him strong. He was not ThunderClan's leader for no reason, of course. No, he had had to earn his place at the top through a lot of painful practice and many mistakes. Mistakes he hoped never to make again. Sandfur was a few moons younger than him and a little smaller, though she was clearly a tall and strong she-cat with an admirable build. Something which Whitestar certainly didn't notice in an unprofessional way at all. He was merely appraising her as an opponent.

Whitestar already knew Sandfur to be an accomplished battler. She'd proved invaluable to ThunderClan in the past and her real strength did indeed lie in the battlefield. Whitestar had undoubtedly had more exposure to battle and strategy than her thanks to his early introduction to Clan politics and to inter-Clan negotiations, but he was no fool. He knew not to underestimate any opponent and he made sure he did not get sloppy. Sparring as a leader was slightly different to sparring as a warrior, after all, since he did have a reputation to uphold, though he couldn't help but enjoy himself as if he were just an ordinary warrior as he mock-fought with Sandfur.

In one fluid movement, Whitestar began his next offensive smoothly, his paws barely resting on the ground before he was skirting around Sandfur's side, disguising his intended direction heavily before he turned sharply and struck out swiftly at the she-cat's body with his right forepaw. He kept an eye on his opponent at all times, because constant vigilance was vital during any fight, be it practice or real. He was attacking, and yet at the same time he was on high alert lest Sandfur try and launch her own attack anytime soon. He smiled a secret smile, for once leaving the burden of leadership at the door as he immersed himself in their complex game.

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