Written in the Stars

THISTLEMINT
he/him • oakclan warrior

Thistlemint had been surprised during his breakfast when Wildfrog had come to him in a mad dash, asking to switch her evening border patrol for his midday hunting patrol shifts. More concerned with his flavorful mouse, the dappled tom appeared to be in a lighter mood and found himself willing to humor the tabby she-cat in her plight despite still remaining unsure as to why she wanted to swap in the first place. It wasn’t important at the time, but now as he was at the tail-end of the patrol route with another warrior in his company, Thistlemint began to mull over what could’ve been running through the thick head of his reluctant gossiping companion as she had to know that she would’ve been patrolling with Cinderstorm.

Casting a glance ahead, Thistlemint caught a glimpse of the grey cat in his company despite the dim light of the setting sun filtering through the dusky, dried leaves of the thinning forest canopy. He didn’t have anything personally against the she-warrior, aside from his disinterest in the stalwart-warrior persona she adopted alongside a few other of their clanmates. Nevertheless, it didn’t escape his memory the fact that during the night of the past gathering, Wildfrog’s paws had gotten too big for her pawsteps as she seemed to attempt in acting as a wing-cat of sorts, all without the courtesy of including him in the scheme. Thistlemint never enjoyed being at the mercy of others; he’d rather be the one doing the mental work at the lead.

Still though, he wondered. Why would Wildfrog act in such a rash way? Are she and Cinderstorm close or something? As well as he understood how to make a shy cat swoon, he hardly understood the inner workings of the she-cat’s mind when it came to matters of emotion. He often found little interest and patience in the cats that couldn’t relax and have a little fun, too caught up in their own demons. The thought had him return his attention to his patrol partner with a light pang of curiosity. Thistlemint knew his clanmate was stern and diligent in her duties at the very least, but for the first time, he wondered what Cinderstorm was like in her downtime and if she were somehow any different. The prospect was tantalizing to the harlequin troublemaker as he quickened his pace casually to catch up to the she-cat. In a more mellow tone than most usually heard from the tom in the common areas around camp, Thistlemint meowed, ”That wasn’t too bad. Only the dusk patrol left. Have anything planned after this?” A small smile accompanied his lilting voice in an effort to not sport his usual look of indifference.

From his experience with Irispaw, Thistlemint was well-aware that he likely wouldn’t match Cinderstorm’s wavelength easily. However, if he was somehow able to wedge free the stick so firmly planted in the mud that was the serious she-warrior and appeal to the sliver of her being willing to relax, he wondered how things would turn out if stuck around to find out with the rest of the evening left free.

notes:: hope this was an okay way to start ^^'
tags:: ravenmist4

format borrowed from smith