A Leap of Faith - Foxleap X Ryefall fanfic

Chapter 3

Foxleap silently ate his chipmunk in camp, his mind wandering. Littlebird had her kits recently; his grand-niece and grand-nephews. It made him ponder if he would ever have a family of his own. Was he too old to find the right tom? Rye is pretty cute... Foxleap stopped himself from thinking the thought any further. But he couldn't quite get the tom's image out of his mind.

"Foxleap! I want you to lead the sunhigh hunting patrol. Take Shallowstripe and Hawkfeather too," Flamepelt mewed, a hint of a growl in her mew. With a brisk nod, the ginger tom finished up his chipmunk and gathered the other warriors for the patrol.

As Foxleap led the hunting patrol under the midday sun, he couldn't shake off the thoughts that swirled in his mind. The trio moved with the ease of experienced warriors, their senses sharp as they scoured the territory for signs of prey. Yet, Foxleap couldn't get his mind to focus on the task at hand. Shallowstripe shot Foxleap a curious glance. "You seem distracted today. Everything alright?"

Foxleap hesitated for a moment before responding, "Just lost in my thoughts, Shallowstripe. Don't worry about it." Shallowstripe nodded, returning to the hunt. His eyes still held concern, but he didn't press further.

As they reached the edge of the territory, a sudden scent caught Foxleap's attention. Rye's scent. Is he still here? Foxleap wondered, his paws carrying him toward the scent. Surely he would've left by now, right? As the FireClan warrior peered around, he saw the familiar gray pelt with brown accents. Along with his sister, Destiny, Rye was presumably hunting.

Foxleap's heart quickened at the sight of Rye, his presence stirring a mixture of excitement and nervousness within Foxleap's chest. Destiny spotted Foxleap first, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "Foxleap!" She called with a mischievous grin. Rye's head immediately jolted around at the call of Foxleap's name. His eyes landed on the ginger tom, a light blush forming on his face. 

"Keep your voices down! There's a patrol out right now," Foxleap hissed, hesitantly trotting closer. "You two are still here?"

"Yeah, duh. We just got here!" Destiny smirked. "It was mostly Rye's idea. He wanted to stay longer,"

"What? No I didn't!" Rye gave his sister a gentle shove, his ears heating up in embarrassment. 

Foxleap couldn't help but chuckle a little at their antics. "The only prey you'll really find here are chipmunks, some squirrels, maybe a bird or two, and very rarely, a rabbit. If you want variety, I recommend crossing onto the greener side."

"Squirrels? Do any of them fly?" Destiny blurted out, her blue eyes burning for an answer.

"Fly? No, the squirrels don't fly. Or, at least I haven't seen them fly," Foxleap responded, his head tilting in confusion.

"Well, since you know so much about the area, why not help us?" Destiny suggested with a smirk.

"Oh, I really shouldn't. I should technically be chasing you two out right now," Foxleap began, then his eyes trailed over to Rye."But maybe I could help you two, just this once," He shyly added.

Destiny's eyes sparkled with mischief, and she exchanged a knowing look with Rye. "Great! We could use a seasoned guide," she declared. "Lead the way." With a nod, Foxleap began to take the two a bit farther out, closer to the greener side. "Oh look, I think I see something! You two go on without me. Bye!" Destiny darted off, leaving Foxleap and Rye by themselves. 

There was a moment of awkward silence before Foxleap spoke up. "So... how did you learn to hunt?"

"My mother taught us. She was actually pretty good at hunting, especially since she was feeding three kits plus herself," Rye's face practically lit up when he mentioned his mother. "She mentioned that our dad wasn't the best hunter, though I don't really remember him. He died when we were really young." He shrugged.