Rowanheart had a very rough leaf-bare, but with new-leaf came a newfound optimism. He’d spent much of the last season moping, rarely leaving his nest except for his patrols and chores. He was usually enthusiastic to do everything and anything, even his duties, but Rowanheart had just seemed like a shell of himself, going through the motions. He couldn’t tell anyone why he’d been so dispirited, which only made him feel worse. He couldn’t tell anyone he was mates with a MistClan cat, Junipernose, or that the kits she’d lost in the first moon of leaf-bare were also his. It felt an awful lot like drowning, or what he thought drowning felt like, keeping these painful secrets to himself.

Somehow, recently, it looked like he’d found himself again - or at least some of himself. There was a slight skip in Rowanheart’s step as he crossed the clearing with Rosewhisker trailing behind him. They’d been assigned to a hunting patrol together. A small one, sure, but they’d both be able to focus on hunting since they weren’t going any farther than the conifer forest around camp. Rowanheart wouldn’t have to be on high alert, scanning the sky every few moments for threats while Rosewhisker tracked prey. He could just be on normal alert. Plus, he got to spend time with Rosewhisker, which didn’t happen often, so he was pretty excited to hunt with her. Hopefully she wouldn’t say anything about his poor hunting skills when he inevitably failed to catch something.

As he slipped out of camp, he glanced over his shoulder at Rosewhisker and said, “This is gonna go great! I’m feeling good about this patrol. But uh, maybe you should take the lead?” A sheepish smile found its way onto his face before he looked forward again. Rowanheart didn’t know where any of the best hunting spots were in the pine forest, but he was sure Rosewhisker knew exactly where they were. “On our way there, maybe you can tell me how you’ve been?” He was aware she liked to focus on her duties, which could get quite monotonous, but maybe something interesting had happened on one of her patrols? Maybe someone had caught her eye? As her brother, Rowanheart should know these things.