Tigerblaze looks over to Pudgepaw real quick, chuckling and shaking his head as he saw her go to work on that mouse. Then he turns his head back to Honeyleaf. "Eh, it was fine enough. Should probably be careful near Glenclan and Creekclan territory in the future...And, sure, I'll go hunting with you, Honeyleaf." He smiles. "Lead the way."
She let a purr rumble in her throat at his response, she was glad the gathering went fine, but she was really happy about the fact Tigerblaze had accepted her offer. "How about we head towards...hmm...Straightflowers, perhaps?" Honeyleaf suggested as she began to exit camp, a unusual tone to her voice.
(Honeyleaf exits to Straightflowers)
(OOC: @tigerblaze I'm going to go ahead and have Honeyleaf just post in the Straightflowers, if thats okay.)
Tigerblaze blinked a bit at her tone. Was she-? She quite possibly was. And, if she was, well- Honeyleaf was one of the she-cats he liked best in the clan. Grinning a bit, he nodded. "Sounds fine with me~" He then followed right after her.
Honeyleaf returns to camp, a particularly pleased look on her face, and a dead groundhog held tightly in her jaws. She wasn't happy about just the groundhog, oh no, she was happy because of some news that she had to share. She purred, placing the groundhog's hairy carcass in the fresh kill pile. After placing her catch, she looks at the camp entrance as if she was waiting for a certain cat's arrival.
And, shortly after Honeyleaf, a certain deputy comes in, and places his big 'ol opossum on the fresh-kill pile, not being able to help but grin a bit...Although, he shook his head. He shouldn't be getting a swell head.
"Hey, uh, everyone, Honeyleaf and I have a bit of an announcement to make."
As the white and gray tom walked into the den, he instantly noticed the increase of cats. It seemed everyone had returned from the gathering. Taking his crow to the pile, he placed it upon the already caught kills. His head turned towards Tigerblaze as he called the attention of everyone in ear shot.
The tom made note of the two distance between each other. The older tom gave a chuckle and tilted his head to the side, "I have no doubt this is exciting news Tigerblaze."
He had a huge smile on his face, and he was about to tell them the news, when he saw Pudgepaw nearby. She was so big now. Now was probably as good a time as any.
Anyway, looking around him, he smiled. "Well, first off, Honeyleaf and I are having kits~ And, second, I think a certain apprentice has grown up since I first trained." Smiling at Pudgepaw, he went over to Mintstar, and whispered something to her.
"Mintstar, I believe Pudgepaw is ready to finally become a warrior."
Pudgepaw was just licking the excess mouse of her whiskers when Tigerblaze returned. Immediately, the exhuberant young apprentice lept up at his announcement, bounding forwards to congratulate him.
"Yay for you Tigerblaze! I wanna meet 'em. It'll be fun having someone else to play with." Of course, Pudgepaw had barely noticed her change in growth of maturity - she simply thought of how much better it would be to be around cats smaller than she was! In age as well as bulk.
She purred at Pudgepaw's enthusiasm, picking up a crow from the fresh kill pile and beginning to pull the feathers out of it so she could take a few bites of its chewy flesh. She continues devouring some of the crow, after she was satisfied she places the remaining amount of prey in the pile. "We don't exactly know yet...But don't worry, you'll get to see them." She responded.
He couldn't but look back over at Pudgepaw. She was still acting a bit like a kit, but, he was fairly sure she would mature as a warrior. Smiling, he walked over to her. "Yeah, and maybe you'll even get to mentor one of them in the future too." Wouldn't that be great, his former apprentice mentoring one of his kits? He thought so. Anyway, since noone else was sampling his opossum, he went over to it, and started eating a share of it.
The tom purred as he guessed right. Watching the happy couple pained his heart. Flashes of his former mate plagued his thoughts with grief, but he didn't wish to show it. He promised her he would be happy and he planned on doing do.
"Congratulations you two. I hope you have strong kits."
The massive tom made his way to the group of three and took a place beside his house-mate. Her perkiness brought a light to his heart.
"And I'm sure you will be a great mentor at that," Patchpelt said with a deep laugh.
Pudgepaw purred in delight at her mentor and housemate's praise. She had never thought about how she wanted to be a mentor one day - but it still felt like she would be very, very far off day.
"You really think so?" She repeated, a gleam of excitement in her eyes. "I would take the best care of them, honest!" She padded around, wondering if it would be impolite of her to ask if she could go out and do something with Tigerblaze - mark some territories, or...something. Her paws felt tired, but the rest of her was ready and rearing to go.
Although Butler had been productive in the early hours of the morning, he had decided to rest when he realized that the others might not be back for some time. He was roused from his light slumber when he heard voices. Emerging from the medicine cat's den, he realized many of his Clanmates had assembled. The Gathering must have been over for some time -- he had overslept.
As he approached, he spied Fluffy and Pudge. He gave a curt nod to the tom and focused on his other housemate. Immediately Butler was taken aback. The last time he had seen Pudge, she was just a youngster -- some grown stranger had taken her place. Butler frowned, deciding he did not like this change. She had grown up so fast, right under his whiskers. Where was that fluffy little kit he had known?
Mercifully, though, it seemed she was still the same in spirit. Butler had overheard some snippets of the conversation; his attention now turned to Tigerblaze and Honeyleaf. He eyed the she-cat with an especially scrutinizing gaze.
"What's this? Kits?" he said, frowning in concentration. He wasn't aware that the two cats had regarded each other like that, but then again he had missed much in his brief absence. Butler's face softened somewhat and he purred. "My sincerest congratulations to both of you. It's about time we had some little ones running around."
Something flickered in Butler's eyes then. It was as fleeting as dew at sunhigh, but undeniably there for a heartbeat. Almost like a flinch, as if he had been pricked by a thorn. He quickly delved into a dutiful speech to Honeyleaf, though, dismissing the near unnoticeable twinge of pain. His intensity as a medicine cat took over.
"It is of the utmost importance that you reserve your strength. Refrain from any strenuous activity: hunting, fighting, sprinting, and so on. In fact, it may be in your best interest to stay within camp boundaries. Also, make sure to eat. Queens do not need to maintain a slim figure -- I will have none of that nonsense. Now," Butler fussed, clearly set on leaving no opportunity for error. "We must first get you situated in the nursery. You must be comfortable in the new setting before the birth takes place, as unfamiliar environments are a main stressor for new mothers."
"And you must absolutely not get stressed!" he stressed.
Butler could be a stick in the mud sometimes, but there was no doubt that her clanmate had a serious knowledge about the world. He knew exactly what to do to make others feel better - both physically and mentally. And Pudgepaw was as eager to help him and she was her other clanmates.
"Ohh...could I help with that?! I bet I could. I'll make sure that Honeyleaf has the best nest, and...and never gets stressed, like...ever!"
She began to wonder if she could actually bring her plush nest out of the den from home - or one like it. It was the softest thing ever - she bet kits would love it too!
The large tom chuckled at his house-mate. As he gazed at her, she felt pride and yet a sting of sadness. Pudgepaw was around the age that his kit would have been. Being her house-mate he viewed her as his own even thought she wasn't.
Glancing over at the fresh-kill he noticed that the groundhog and the opossum were looking rather foul. The only thing that seemed somewhat appealing was the crow that was caught.
Walking over to the kill pile, he took a share of the crow and gulped it down in a few quick bites. Licking his lips clean he glanced back at his project. Some of the opossum had been consumed.
"Pudgepaw, interested in a hunt?"
When they cleaned it out all that would be left is a bite of crow for one cat. The pile would need to be restocked and Patchpelt wasn't aware of anyone out on a hunt at the moment.