Juncostar
shadowclan leader
All giggles and side glances, Juncostar led Fennelsting out into the territory. He clearly had more in mind than just a simple hunting trip, as he'd explained it to the younger tom. Well... perhaps they were hunting; Fennelsting just might not be so happy about what they were hunting. Juncostar wasn't sure if there were even any snapping turtles left in the swamp; it was getting cold, and they very well could've been hiding for leafbare already. Paws tingling with excitement, the tom couldn't help the bounce in his step as they came closer to the swamp. The last time he'd been out here, he'd been fishing for turtles with his brother. They'd had to cut their trip short, unfortunately, when Juncostar had been unable to control himself and swatted one right on the nose.
He didn't regret a thing.
Coming now to the edge of the muddy expanse, amber eyes bright, Juncostar seemed to be vibrating with excitement. "Do you see anything out there?" he breathed, wide-eyed and hardly breathing, as though just the sound of his breath might scare away any turtles that could still be active. "I thought we could come out here 'n see if there's any snapping turtles left," he finally announced, "I can't think of any-cat else who would be better for the job!"
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
He wanted to scream. He'd put so much effort into this joke, and it had flown right over Fennelsting's head. Juncostar released an exasperated sigh, his breath billowing out in a cloud before his lips in the cold. "Fennelsting," he pressed, finally reaching the limit of his patience. "It was a joke," he explained, tone low and deliberate. "We were never going to hunt snapping turtles; we were never going to eat snapping turtles," he went on, shaking his head slowly.
All this time spent trying to bond with the other tom-- all of it wasted now. "I was picking on you, but you're actually no fun at all," he complained, clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Flopping down onto his belly, he dissolved into theatrics once more. It wasn't often he became frustrated with others, but this tom was so dense Juncostar couldn't help the heat flaring in his chest. It was much easier to turn this flash of anger into more jokes than to actually deal with it; he focused on brushing off his exasperation, forcing down the urge to snap at Fennelsting. "And here I thought we could be friends," he lamented, "I couldn't possibly be friends with some-cat who can't appreciate my jokes; I'm wounded, Fennelsting. I'll never recover from this!"
FENNELSTING.
warrior of shadowclan
The spotted amber tom couldn't help but look at his leader like he'd grown two heads as Juncostar spoke of hunting creatures merely for pleasure and fun. Fennelsting might not have seemed like the most rule-bound guy out there, but he was certainly a staunch supported of the part of the code that said prey should be hunt to fed an empty belly and thanks should be given to StarClan after. Had they seriously come out here to hunt turtles simply because they could?
"Well, might not be worth lookin' if you're so worried about keepin' your pelt clean," he commented, wrinkling up his nose as he glanced from the grey tom out onto the swamp again. "Why'd we even come out here?"
He looked surprised as his words floated into the open air, obviously not having realized he spoke them before it was too late. "I-I mean, if you're worried about your pelt, that is. We could've gone deeper into the pines," the young warrior offered.
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
The tom breathed a slow sigh in response to Fennelsting's logical response. It ruined his joke; if he explained it, it'd ruin it even more. Was it so much to ask that the other tom have some sense of humor? "Who said we're eating them?" he countered, "I would never eat something out of this swamp; the mud might get in my fur." With a dramatic flip of his ankle, he brought his paw to his forehead, feigning weariness. "It would be a true tragedy."
Once he'd finished with his theatrics, Juncostar was quick to turn his attention back to the swamp before them. His whiskers twitched as he studied the land. His companion was right; there were patches of frozen mud, and what little life he could still observe was limp and receding. "'Worth lookin', right?"
FENNELSTING.
warrior of shadowclan
The young warrior had no idea why Juncostar would personally ask him on a hunting trip, let alone why it would just be the two of them. They'd never been close, definitely not after whatever the older tom had said during that meeting moons ago to determine how to handle the bear, though Fennelsting honestly couldn't recall what exactly had been said. But though he might have had these reservations, and his yes might have been a bit hesitant, he still said yes. That's how he found himself trekking alongside his grey leader into the swamp.
Fennelsting stopped beside Juncostar and gazed out into the swamp, eyebrows furrowing a bit as he was asked if he saw anything. "Why would there still be snapping turtles out?" He wondered, the jab flying right over his head. "It's so cold, and some of the swamp is frozen over. 'Sides, turtles are more effort to eat than they're worth."