Eventually, creeping a few steps closer, Floodfate caught sight of the prey. It was a good find. He slipped after her in case she spooked the prey, crouching low to the ground and pulling himself forward in long, smooth movements. He was a warrior, and he wasn't going to be the one to scare the squirrel, so he kept an eye on the ground and felt around carefully before he took each step. It was slow and distracting, but his focus would pay off if she failed.

Then Darktalon was re-emerging with a mouth full of squirrel, and Floodfate was genuinely surprised. She had caught it. Maybe she wasn't so useless after all - she had found this spot, after all, and now she had a catch.

"You're a slow hunter," he said, apparently lacking praise today.

His ear twitched, thinking all prey startled easily, and she didn't need to move quite that slowly. There was no reason to say it aloud: she had caught the prey in the end, so what did it matter if she took ages to creep upon it? Floodfate stopped and stared down in surprise as she nudged the prey his way.

"That's your catch," he told her, reluctantly pushing it back with his paw. "You bring it into camp. Flamingstar will be happy to see you contributing."

Floodfate eyed her. What game was she playing here? The selfish tom wasn't going to argue with her, and he would be happy to take the prey in himself. He had only given it back to her because he didn't want any unsavory comments about his behavior reaching Flamingstar's ears. He thought she was going to take the excuse to leave and run straight back to camp, though, not try and hang around longer. Maybe she didn't realize it was an option.

The gray-and-white tom turned away from her. "We don't need to stay, I do. You can take that back to camp and show it off."

Why was she so determined to stay at his side? Floodfate was a lot. No cat wanted to spend this much time with him, not even his own family. The last cat to care for him this much was his mentor, and that was so many moons ago it was just a distant memory. What was she trying to do here? He didn't doubt she was playing tricks on him now, but he couldn't place his paw on just what she was expecting to happen.

"Camp is that way," he said, flicking his tail back the way they had come. "If you want to go." He didn't make her leave, not this time; instead, he turned back to the hunt. Floodfate stalked on deeper into the territory, staying on the solid land she had found and away from the treacherous mud. His ears were tuned in, listening for the sounds of prey, and despite his reluctance, for her footsteps.

She followed.

Floodfate was surprised to find a knot releasing in his chest. He hadn't realized how anxious he was about her decision. Darktalon was a prisoner, stuttering and soft, but she was still good company. He must be desperate to be relieved she had decided to stay with him. Though he didn't say a word to her, he did slow his step just a bit so that she could keep up with him without much effort.

Finally, the fresh scent of a vole reached his senses. It wasn't his favorite type of prey, but it would have to do. Floodfate stopped and focused on the scent, then prowled after it carefully. Every small step closed the distance between them once he spotted it, scampering along over the top of the mud. He summoned his breath and shot forward, catching up in a few quick strides and tackling the prey to the ground. One swift bite ended the vole's life.

"Not much," he responded dismissively, "especially if you know them well." Squirrels had been harder to find in his old territory than water voles, so he was used to creeping after the ground-dwelling prey. They were stout and meaty, and even if they were a bit shorter than squirrels, he preferred not to be picking tail hair out of his teeth all night.

"Now we both have one. Flamingstar won't be too upset with us."

Floodfate stared at her blankly as she tried to speak around the prey, wondering what she was saying. He couldn't decipher the sounds she was making. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered back. "Let's just get back to camp, okay? Maybe Flamingstar will be so pleased with you, she'll make you a full warrior instead of a prisoner."