take me p l a c e s {Ember/Dust/Rat/Open}

Before he strode away from the spot where he had buried his proud, proud kill, he looked back for a moment to stare at the mound of earth that had risen from the flat surface that it once was. With a defiant huff he flung one of his back legs through the unscarred earth below his paw, throwing one last paw of dirt over the little rodent. His eyes glistened, he was happy. Shortly after he turned his head to look in front of him, head and tail held high. He started to happily plod through the reeds, he was no longer after prey that scurried the earth he was now after the fish that swam in the lake nearby. Happily he strode on ward, occasionally stopping to scent the world around him, and also to re-orient himself with how far he was away from the lake. When he was about just a few rabbit leaps away from having the lake within his sight, he stopped and opened his mouth. He let the rich scents of the forest and the even richer scents of the lake wash through his mouth, he could practically taste the fish that dared to swim too closely to the shore in the warm shallows of the Greenleaf lake. However, another scent hit his nose as well, one that was familiar to him, one that he had known since he was very small. Embersky? he tilted his head to one side, clearly confused as to why his sister was all the way out here at such an early hour, then he remembered- He didn't see her enter the warrior's den last night like she did normally with a large group of the other queens in Riverclan after spending hours sharing tongues after their meal.

He was thoroughly confused to his sister's appearance this far away from camp What is she hiding now? he asked himself tentatively. He knew he shouldn't get involved in his sister's doing's, she knew she was older than him and therefore nothing she was doing was his business. Suddenly a pang of worry ripped through him like a badger's claw and his mind whirled with worry Was she attacked? Is she okay? Though Ashenmask didn't treat his sister the best back at camp or on patrols, deep down he truly cared for her, and he would never want to see something happen to her, it would tear him to pieces. He normally viewed himself as her silent protector, often hiding it in the way he constantly bullied her. While it was fun because she looked different from their siblings, looking like a carbon copy of their mother- the same long ginger fur, the same body shape fully grown, and the same kind eyes that Ashenmask remembered all to well from when he was a kit.

He shook himself, trying to affirm that his sister probably just wanted to be alone. He stopped again, drinking in the scent of the world around him, his mind wandering from it's original thoughts as the smell of the fish in the lake enticed him, he stood for a moment picturing the strange silvery creatures that swerved around the sea grass, their scales shimmering like the sky above them, reflecting and refracting all light around them. He closed his eyes for a moment, picturing himself over a small pond filled to the brim with the strange silver creatures, swimming and weaving around eachother in circular motions, his eyes glowing hungrily in his reflection as he waited patiently for the right moment to strike. The swirling of the many silvery creatures was beginning to make him dizzy, he couldn't understand why, but suddenly one of the silver creatures broke off from the pattern swimming right into his reflection, finally he pounced, swooping a large smokey black paw into the water, feeling it's slimy scales on his paws, he flung the creature over his shoulder and out of the water. His tail lashing to-and-fro and he whipped around to pin the flopping creature to the ground, and then with a swift bite he was pulled from his daydream, laying in the reeds, his tail lashing back and fourth with a mouth-full of plants. Quickly, and slightly embarrassed, he spit the plants back onto the ground, running his tongue around his mouth, clearing bits of dirt from his teeth and spitting them out. He lashed his tail harshly in one direction "I need to stop behaving like a kit sometimes. That went a little too far.. he mused to himself, shaking his head.

Quickly he turned in the direction of the lake once more, and in the direction from which his sister's scent came from. Slowly he crept forward through the reeds, head and tail held high as to night display his embarrassment from his little quip previously. As he pushed his way through the last clump of reeds he finally saw the flaming red fur for which his sister was named. He realized that her back was turned to him, her head was facing the lake intently. As soon as she herd a sound from his direction she whipped around and let out a feral hiss. He flinched slightly but continued to walk forward, a sly smile stretched across his lips as he did so, he heard her speak rather softly and apologetically "Ashenmask you scared me." he was rather taken aback, usually when she spoke to him it was like he had smelled of badger dirt and crowfood and he had killed a kit of hers. Now her voice was soft, almost like she was not completely all there in the moment. His face shifted from stern and commanding to soft and worried when they made eye contact. He let out a soft purr "There's something wrong isn't there?" His purr of affection turned into a stern sharp question in the middle of speaking. Ashenmask narrowed his eyes slightly. He was worried for his sister, but he didn't really know how to show her that he was. Therefore he must hide it.