one step at a time ll open

the wind was gentle that day, cool and crisp, but overall refreshing. sunshine filled the ground below, warming it nicely in contrast to the breeze and so all in all it was a rather fine day. fine was something ashenflight would have used to explain it anyway. some cats may go to the extent of calling it wonderful... magical... beautiful even. but to ashenflight it was just fine. there was nothing special about the state of the weather, it either rained or the sun shown this time of year. sometimes the wind could be a little rough, but all in all in this vast moorland it was exactly what any hillclanner would ask for. and for ashenflight, it was fine. nothing more.

a single gray tabby prowled through set of pushes, consealed almost completely by the greenary which was - admitedly - a little strange. a part of him wondered how treeclan could do it - live in permanent isolation of the world underneath the canopy. but to each their own. ashenflight was usually a very solitary cat - okay, he was a solitary cat - that spend his time hunting and thinking out on these moors. as far away from the small pond and the wandering eyes at camp as he could. the tom had never been one for interaction between his clan-mates. his entire family had been that way for awhile. rabbitwind, doveheart, and lambfur. all of them stayed rather close and while the invitation was always there for ashenflight he had declined. at least, that was until rockstep came along. then the invitation was met a little less begrudgingly and there were even a few times where a laugh could be pulled from the straight face of the tabby. but eventually with the death of rockstep and a lover brought the death of the happiness inside ashenflight.

yet no one had truly known about rockstep. the two toms had kept it hidden in every way. not even the mate or kits of rockstep knew and as far as ashenflight was concerned it would stay that way. the she-cat had loved rockstep so dearly that he could not be the one to taint that image of her mate and the kits had been raised so well by the tom in question that he just could not break that perfect image of their father. it would not be fair to anyone. especially not to them. so instead ashenflight withdrew again - from his family and his clanmates. instead he flung himself into the things that had brought him and rockstep closer - hunting mainly. the pond was still too secret for him to visit. it was where rockstep had drawn ashenflight from his shell. where they'd fallen in love. where they'd trained and bonded. and without rockstep there now it was too painful - filled with too many memories.

the sound of scurrying reminded ashenflight what he was doing - withdrawing him quickly from the fond memory he had been reliving. the white rabbit he had stalked was suddenly alerted by a light hiss and instantly irritation flooded his veins. though when the rabbit took off there was no sign of a cat chasing it and as the gray tabby flung himself from the bushes he narrowly escaped the calico cat that had it's sights set on the rabbit now. the scent was of hillclan but it did not seem to make the irritation in his muscles lessen or the need to put the she-cat into her place any lighter. so instead he watched as the rabbit was chased across the moors, nearly lost, played with, and finally killed. he rolled his eyes. oh wonderful. prima donna playing with her food. he thought bitterly to himself and stretched his muscles, green eyes glistening as he watched her pad back this way. the tom fell in step beside her and casually glanced toward the dead rabbit.

"you know, if you spent as much time hunting as you did playing with your food, you'd actually make a difference in hillclan." though the words were harsh it was not exactly the words that could be considered the worst part but rather the way he said them. his voice came off as condesending, could have easily been considered rude and maybe that was what he wanted. most cats that knew of ashenflight were aware that he did not usually play wel with others.

@pebblestep - ### - told you i'd steal it. rabbitwind

proud tabby tom only seemed to lift his head a little higher at her recoil this words. it left him with a chuckle that sounded deep in his throat as she stalked away after attempting to jab at his ego. though it did little good and ashenflight was careful to make sure that she was aware of just how ineffective her remarks were. the tom did not slow his paw steps or avert them and instead continued right along behind her. but did not speak - at least not yet. they padded along in silence for a few moments before the irritation seemed to sink deep within the fem as she spun to face him and instantly the brute produced a sort of ... smile.

"Oh calm down, kit. I'm not going to harm you." He insisted with another mrrw of amusement before padding along still. her speed increased and his did too - a brisk walk was more than enough for the larger tom to keep pace with her. "come now kit, has it ever occured to you that if you've got to defend your actions that there may be something wrong with them?" His question was merely a rhetorical one and did not require any answer but instead slowed to a halt as she picked up her prey as if to head back to camp. "leaving so soon? those will hardly feed anyone back at camp. but hey, if you want to let your day be wasted by some tom who has nothing to do with your business then fine. let it. the world will be a cruel place for you then, kit."

he was only three moos her senior but something about her... aura made him feel like he was addressing a kit. one who had not quite worked out the way of the world. the way it could be cold, unforgiving and take everything you loved if you let it. ashenflight had worked it out long ago - the easiest way to avoid losing what you loved was to not love. love was a complicated emotion and it was not something he bothered himself with anymore. the tabby tom flashed another smile - somewhat kinder than the previous one. he could imagine the fem probably felt very uncomfortable in his presence but if she had half an idea of how safe she was ... well that was a secret for another time. 

"Come on, kit. let's go get some more hunting done. the queens need more than that to eat." he waited for an answer, knowing full well that if he turned his tail he would either have a claw coming for him from behind or a she-cat bounding back to camp and crying about her mishap with the cruel, mean, and nasty ashenflight. then rabbitwind would hear about it ... oh god knew that was the last thing ashenflight wanted. rabbitwind would scold him about being kinder, he would do something to make him realize the error of his ways - or at least try. for some damn reason, rabbitwind had it in his mind that he had to save his brother. but ashenflight didn't need saving.

@pebblestep - 529 - meh. he's a dick.