Mintdust and Needlestar

Morning light filtered through the woven branches of the warrior's den. Mintdust blinked her eyes open and her jaws parted in a yawn. Her sleep filled eyes wandered around the den. I'm sure gonna miss this place... She thought quietly to herself. But she was not sad about leaving this den. It had only been a few days since she had discovered that she was having kits and she was ecstatic about it. Nobody knew yet. Today she was going to tell Needlestar that he was going to be a father.

Mintdust pushed herself up from her nest and shook the sleepiness from her limbs. She sat down and groomed her fur. She noticed only a few nests were empty. Must be the dawn patrol. She silently hoped that Needlestar hadn't decided to join them today.

Gently stepping to avoid stomping on someone's tail, Mintdust made her way out of the den. In the clearing, the apprentices were beginning to awaken. A few of them tussled while the others watched. Mintdust scanned the clearing for her mate, but figured he must still be in his den. She bounded across the camp and poked her head into his den. "Needlestar? Are you in here?"

Needlestar woke up facing the den wall.  The packed dirt wall that lay between the roots of the great pine tree above him was just now being lit by the rising sun.  The black tom cat uncurled his tail from his nose, arching his back as he stretched his legs.

He heard his mate's greeting, his ear flicking in recognition.  He got up and turned before sitting back down on his haunches, drawing a paw over his face.

"Yes, my dear," he drawled, "I'm here.  What is it, love?"

Mintdust's ears pricked forward as she watched Needlestar stir. She purred and greeted him with a headbutt. "I was thinking we could go out hunting and spend some time together," she purred.

Needlestar returned the headbutt, his signature smirk pasted on his muzzle, a small purr escaping his chest at the contact from Mintdust. He wound his head around hers as she talked, more than content to just sit in his den like this with her. But he couldn't always have what he wanted. And besides, it was greenleaf! Prey was abundant and the Clan needed the strength during this season if it was to survive leafbare. Needlestar nodded at Mintdust's suggestion to hunt.

"Hunting sounds like a fabulous idea on a day such as this."

Mintdust lept up with her usual spunk. "Great! Let's go!" She gave his cheek a quick lick and then turned and practically bounded to the camp entrance. She nodded to the dawn patrol who had just returned and quickly told them she and Needlestar were going out hunting. They had no news to report and slowly made their ways back to their nests to catch a quick nap.

Needlestar chuckled at his mate's enthusiasm.  She never seemed to have a lack of energy.  He stretched quickly, his claws sliding out as his back arched, before padding after Mintdust into the morning sunlight.

Needlestar shared a quick word with the returning dawn patrol before slipping out of camp with Mintdust, his long tail flicking her on the ear playfully as he passed.

"Now what is it that you really wish to discuss?" he asked after the pair was sufficiently far from the camp.  Needlestar walked to the edge of a clearing, one side mostly pine and the other oak.  He sat down, wrapping his tail around him, his emerald gaze intent and questioning.

Mintdust padded along flanking her mate. They came across a small clearing away from camp where Needlestar decided to stop. Mintdust flicked her ears at her mate's question. "How did you know?" she asked, a hint of playful irritation in her voice. "Whatever, it doesn't matter," she meowed, looking her mate in the eyes and a smile slowly playing across her face, "We're going to be parents."

Needlestar blinked a few times at his mate's declaration.  Parents? Of course he knew what it meant, but he just couldn't believe it.  

"We... you're- We're going to have kits?" A genuine smile spread across the leader's face as he hopped up, seemingly a kit again himself.  He laughed, joyous, and ran a quick circle around Mintdust before rubbing his head with hers. "This is fantastic darling!"  He broke their contact, locking his emerald eyes with her own green ones. "You have just made me the happiest cat in the whole forest!"

Mintdust rubbed her cheek along Needlestar's and purred loudly. "I found out the other day. It's going to be wonderful, isn't it?" She was so excited to be a parent. She always had a soft spot for kits and finally her dream was coming true. "So I'm guessing we're not going hunting now since you knew it was just a way for me to lure you from camp?" she said with a playful smile.

"You will be the greatest mother any kit could ever hope to have," Needlestar murmured to Mintdust.  He smiled tenderly at her. "You go back to camp if you wish.  I told the dawn patrol I was hunting.  It would be quite shameful and such a bad example to the apprentices if the leader didn't keep his word."  He gave Mintdust another quick lick "Can't have that now can we?"

"Oh, don't think that I'm useless now that I'm pregnant!" Mintdust teased, "Do you really think I'd pass up hunting?" She flicked Needlestar's nose with her tail and bounded off through the trees. Before long she located a couple of birds pecking at the ground. She dropped into a hunting crouch and slowly inched forward. Her paws moved silently over the leaf covered ground. She was careful not to make a sound. When she was almost upon the bird she chose, she bunched her hind legs up underneath her and sprang forward. The birds scattered, but she managed to snag one's wing with her outstretched claws. She pulled the bird to the ground and swiftly killed it with a blow to the neck.

Needlestar chuckled as he took off running after his mate.  He crouched as he saw Mintdust's tail lower and began to creep forward.  He lay in wait while Mintdust crept closer to the birds.  He saw her muscles tense before springing.  He followed her capitalizing on the chaos that ensued, snagging one of the birds that tried to fly away.  His claws sunk into its flesh and brought it down to the ground at the base of the tree it had tried to escape into.  He grasped his kill in his jaws and turned to Mintdust.

"Wonderful catch, love."

Mintdust giggled at the way her mate's voice sounded with the bird in his mouth. She placed her catch on the ground. "Same to you," she purred, "Should we keep hunting or should we head back to camp?"

"Let us return," Needlestar said around his mouthful of feathers.  "It's greenleaf.  There will be more prey tomorrow and the next day.  No need to while away the entire day hunting."

{Should we just post in camp?}

[That is, what one would call, a good idea.]