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Solarblaze, a brown spotted, proud and loyal Raceclan warrior, lowered his restless haunches as he watched an oblivious bird from a patch of tall grass. His long, slim tail slowly, but excitedly, swayed side to side behind him as he shifted his weight on his paws. He flicked an ear as he listened out for any sounds that could indicate the presence of something more than the small cardinal.

He breathed in deeply and took in all of the surrounding scents. It smelled like euphoria to the young warrior; alongside the tasty scent radiating from the bird, he could smell the damp dirt he stood on, the sharp, emerald blades he hid in, and various herbs that grew in patches throughout his clan's territory. Various, towering trees crowded the area, and hid the darkening sky from those on low ground. Solarblaze raised his nose slightly upward as he picked up on the trails of various other prey that had undoubtedly come out of hiding from the storm. He grinned a toothy, daring smile. Today was going to be a good day to hunt!

He extended his sharp claws and began to creep toward the bird. As Solarblaze crept through the thinning patch of grass, the bird spotted him. It swiftly spread its wings and took flight, but Solarblaze was swifter. He pounced from the grass patch and, with his extended, sharp claws, he managed to take hold of the bird while it was mid air and he were mid jump. Solarblaze landed gracefully on his four paws and crushed the animal in the process. He leaned down and picked his prey up in his mouth; he proudly held the deceased cardinal in his maw.

He grinned at his accomplishment; the red bird may have been on the small side, but that was expected from that breed of bird! And, Solarblaze was sure his clan would appreciate it, anyway.

He held both his head and tail pridefully high in the air as he began his short journey back to camp. He never did go far - not when he was alone. Solarblaze's tail slowly swayed back and forth as he trotted toward home. As he made his way to his destination, thoughts of what prey *he'd* get to feast on raced through and filled his mind. Solarblaze had grown tired of consuming skinny, fatless multi-day old carcasses. He wanted the taste of a fresh kill to generously fill his mouth - to coat his rough, pink tongue!

He couldn't help but begin to drool over the fantasy idea of taking delight in eating something as flavorful as a fat rabbit, or plump bird. Solarblaze audibly sighed through his nose as he pictured what a more realistic meal for him looked like. He envisioned a skinny mouse with a sickly appearance waiting for him at the bottom of the prey pile.

Younger warriors weren't allowed to take off of the top, after all, no matter how much work they put into refilling it. The freshly caught prey were for the sick and injured, queens, kits, and mainly, the clan's elders. Solarblaze didn't think this was fair in the slightest! However, he never dare do anything to go against the clan-wide rule. The punishment wouldn't be worth it.

•••

The moment immediately following when he had arrived within camp, Solarblaze was stopped by a senior warrior, Rookblood. She gazed at him with hardened eyes, though she wore a gentle smile. The signals her expressions gave off were never completely understood by Solarblaze.

"Ah, I see you've caught a cardinal," Rookblood remarked. Her voice was rough as sandpaper from the shouting she'd done throughout her years as a warrior. She nodded toward the prey pile. "It's small, but will do. Take a wing feather as a trophy of your successful solo hunt, then drop the cardinal atop the prey pile. You may help yourself to a prey to devour. You've earned it, Solarblaze."

"Thank you, Rookblood!" Solarblaze enthusiastically cheered in response. Momentarily, he closed his eyes and dipped his head out of respect for the senior warrior. After he was sure he had dipped his head for a long enough moment, he opened his eyes and raised his head.

Solarblaze wasted no more time; he rushed to carry the small, red bird to the prey pile. As he stood in front of the prey pile, he dropped the deceased bird to rest atop the dirt. He dipped his head and stared at it from above as tried to decide upon the best feather to pluck and call his newest trophy. After deciding on a right wing feather, Solarblaze ruthlessly ripped it from the bird's wing. He tangled the red feather into his brown fur to ensure he wouldn't lose track of it. It was a prize more worthy than a tasty, fatty rabbit!

Despite the unlikeable prey he was to take from the pile, Solarblaze's mood remained high within the sky. He was proud of himself for having offered his clan something to eat! Most solo hunts he had attempted in the past had ended in failure - or worse, punishment due to a mindless accident. Solarblaze seemed to have perfected the ability to recreate accidents he had done in the past. Today, however, was different! It marked a new era for Solarblaze. An era that promised success!

He lifted a sickly, almost inedible mouse from the bottom of the pile, then stood straight. Solarblaze carried the distasteful mouse carefully in his maw as he trotted toward the spot he usually sat and ate. Most days, he would sit and lay beneath a dead tree that had fallen over, but not crushed, the clan camp. It give him a feeling of exhilaration - to know the tree could fall at any moment, even if unlikely, as he sat beneath it. The grass that received permanent shade from the manner of how the tree was laid above it left it feeling softer than average grass.

He stretched out in the soft, patchy grass. Solarblaze dropped his mouse on his front paws, then leaned down over it and began to eat it. The majority of his meal seemed to consist of hard, heavy crunches, rather than juicy, tasteful munches. As he chewed through the skinny prey's bones, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a fellow warrior approaching him.

"Hello, Rabbithop," Solarblaze sighed. He wasn't particularly fond of the she-cat, and rather, he found her to be bothersome to linger near. There was a fine line between fun competitive and pushy, but the she-cat never seemed to acknowledge it. She would always hop over the line and continue on with her day! Rabbithop refused to understand how aggressive she was, even after Solarblaze had told her time after time. He could remember having those type conversations while they were still young apprentices. Solarblaze opened his mouth to continue speaking, but Rabbithop interrupted him.

"Hey, Solarblaze! You're still eating your mouse? I swallowed mine whole," Rabbithop excitedly boasted. She lowered herself to sit beside Solarblaze, then curled her tail around her front paws. "I hunted mine, actually. It was delightfully fresh! Oh, and before you ask, yes, Twanywatch gave me permission. I didn't get to keep a trophy, but I'm still happy! What about you? Your mouse looks like it's miserable."

"I'm enjoying my food," Solarblaze hissed. He didn't know if he believed she'd gotten to eat prey she'd hunted, but he didn't feel up to arguing about it with her. "You didn't even taste yours, did you? Scarfing it down? You're like a mindless dog who rushes through everything."

"You think I'm like a dog? I think I can be mean and viscous, but I'm glad to hear you believe I'm beyond viscous, and that you think I'm a large predator!" Rabbithop proudly purred. She leaned against Solarblaze and had the biggest smile on her face as she did so. "I must be the most feisty cat in the whole world for you to say that. Thank you!"

Solarblaze grumbled something under his breath in response to her enthusiasm. He took the remainder of his small mouse into his mouth, and ate it. There was no joy in his last bites, and that was all thanks to Rabbithop's mere presence, let alone what she had to say. She always had to twist his words, which bothered and annoyed him.

"You're not the most feisty cat!" Solarblaze snapped. He jumped to his feet and faced her, his eyes wide. "You haven't faced your first monster, have you?"

"A monster?" Rabbithop whispered with a slightly confused tone. She turned her head slightly to the side as she gazed into Solarblaze's golden eyes. "What monster?"

"You can't be the most feisty cat if you don't know what a monster is," Solarblaze dismissed as he shook his head in response to her obliviousness. "A monster makes loud, roaring noises, and unexplainable putrid scents follow it. They're huge - at least five foxlengths tall, if not more! I've seen one before. It was consuming everything in its path - grass, flowers, trees, everything! Even rocks! And worst of all, those disgusting twolegs were working with it. There was one who was getting a ride from it! When that twoleg got off it, the monster laid down to take a nap. It was scary!"

"That does sound scary," she whispered, but her words were lost to the wind from how quiet she was. Rabbithop stared into Solarblaze's eyes with an expression of utter disbelief on her face. Her whiskers drooped and she tensed up at the idea of such a thing existing, let alone being in their forest. "And you faced it, right? You stood up to the beast??"

A glint of deviousness sparkled in Solarblaze's eyes as he realized he had an opportunity to one-up Rabbithop. He didn't like to lie, but he believed it was okay, so long as spoken sparingly. It wouldn't be a total lie - he'd mix half the truth in it, and then it would be as though it were no lie at all!

"Of course, I did. I stood up to the beast, and though my tail was tucked beneath my hind legs, I puffed out my chest, and exposed my teeth. I pinned my ears in a defensive manner. In my readied battle stance, I roared at the shiny monster. The monster must never have heard a roar as good as mine, because *it* turned tail and began hurrying away!" Solarblaze explained with widened eyes. He lowered his haunches to sit down in front of Rabbithop. He smiled pridefully at her, then raised his nose to the air. "And that's how I scared a monster away from the forest."

"I didn't know you were as brave as me. No, I think you're braver!" Rabbithop's eyes twinkled at Solarblaze's story. She smiled excitedly at him, and pranced to her paws. "Does anyone else know what you've done? Or is it a secret? I think such actions warrants popularity, if you ask me. You should tell the other cats!!"

"Oh, no!" Solarblaze fearfully exclaimed. His heart jumped into his throat as he pictured being assigned to apprentice tasks for moons on end for coming up with such a juvenile story. "You can't tell any other cat. I heard rumors the monster can hear when you talk about it. If we talk about it too much, then it might come back. I get to decide who does and doesn't get to know. It's my secret, Rabbithop, and you can't share it!"

"But, Solarblaze, I just think if..." Rabbithop frowned at him, but relented. At least she could admire him, even if no one else. She simply believed he deserved the highest of praise for his courageous actions! "Okay. I think it's so cool you did that! Thank you for telling me!! We're going to have to go out and do more things together so I can learn from true greatness - you!"

The thought of dragging Rabbithop through any sort of thing he could otherwise do solo didn't particularly cause Solarblaze to feel excited. He let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes at the idea of it.

"You can't," Solarblaze casually stated as he raised himself to stand. He didn't understand why Rabbithop was oblivious to the fact he didn't want to hang with her. "Monsters are more likely to come back when cats hunt in duo groups. It's strange because not solo or any other group size effects their likelihood to return. I don't think it's a good idea for you to hunt with me."

"You can scare it away if it comes back!" Rabbithop excitedly cheered. She followed his gaze across the camp and caught glimpse of the deputy. If Solarblaze had been looking to see if he could spot the deputy, he must have wanted to head out of camp again! "I think it's a great idea. I want to learn from you, anyway, so if the monster returns to this forest, you can teach me how to properly frighten it. Right now, I don't have anything else to do, so I think it's the perfect time to go!"

Exasperation continued to take over Solarblaze's mood. From annoyed, prideful, fearful, and now back to irritated, Solarblaze did not have the required attitude to go out to do any activity with Rabbithop. He let out a huff, but Rabbithop didn't feel even the spark of discouragement; she didn't seem to notice how annoyed Solarblaze was.

"I don't know," he mumbled in response. Solarblaze cleared his throat as he glanced toward Tawnywatcher, the clan deputy. "I don't feel like heading out right now. Especially not when I know I will have to deal with the monster. Why are you so enthusiastic about the potential to face it? They're deadly! And they're bigger than bears, so you should *not* take the information I told you lightly."

"I want to, though. The fresh rain could have scared it far, far away and into hiding?" Rabbithop softly asked, a tone of hope to her voice, but frowned at Solarblaze's distastefulness. "How long ago did you scare it?"

Solarblaze let out another irritated huff in response to Rabbithop's constant questioning. He was tired of describing this in-depth lie to her, but didn't know how to break lose from the interaction. He didn't want to be talking with her at all! Solarblaze had been sat with nothing to do but speak with this aggravating she-cat warrior for what felt like one hundred moons!

He didn't want to spend time with her, but also didn't want to cause a scene and attract more attention. Realistically, Solarblaze knew he couldn't trust Rabbithop to not squeal his lie, even if he had warned her not to, to every feline that was willing to listen. She'd probably yell it out at a frog if she had the opportunity!

"Fine, Rabbithop," Solarblaze angrily flared. He raised himself to his paws and his tail was held motionless in the air. He casted her a sideway glare as he, otherwise wordlessly, began to trot toward the deputy to seek permission to leave camp.

Although Rabbithop felt twinges of uncertainty and doubt blossom, she silently followed Solarblaze along. Her tail was only held high enough in the air to avoid dragging it through the dirt on the ground. She followed him, and only stopped when they had approached Tawnywatcher.

"Tawnywatcher," Solarblaze respectfully greeted. He dipped his head and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and raised his head. "Me and Rabbithop want to race in the thick foliage outside of camp. May we have your permission to leave?"

"Dark clouds are forming overhead. Beeflight believes the storm will be an unfortunate one. You may leave, but ensure you return before it begins to storm heavily. The tickling sprinkle of light rain should be your signal to begin your return to camp. Don't go far enough you will not be able to make it back in a timely manner as it sprinkles," Tawnywatcher agreed with a reasonable request. She looked from Rabbithop, then returned her gaze to Solarblaze. "Stay away from the boundary lines. Those are too far from camp for you to visit. I don't want to hear that you have crossed the borders. Otherwise, stay out of trouble. Stay away from predators. A duo of inexperienced warriors is no group set up to hunt anything aside from a measly prey."

Solarblaze let out a slight sigh as Tawnywatcher's words bled into a short lecture. When he and Rabbithop were finally given the full clear to leave, he was quick to turn away from Tawnywatcher. Although begrudgingly, he padded away and took his leave. Rabbithop was quick to follow and pad alongside him.