"28, 29, 30! Ready or not, here I come!" The instant his eyes opened, his paws carried him at a near sprint through the territory. A giddy joy bubbled inside of him as he looked briefly to both sides as he went. When he thought about dates, this never would have crossed his mind, but he was having a lot of fun already. It reminded him of the same joy he felt when he played games with his children. Absently, he wondered if Anemoneshade felt that way too.

His pawsteps reverberated around him as he entered the Old Ruin, purely by chance, and he shifted into a stalk to mask the sound. She has to be here.It was too tempting a hiding place to ignore. Although, the ruins did give him the chills. Creeping forward he eventually noticed something small sticking out of one of the crevices; its white color contrasting against the neutral greys and browns of the area. He blinked at it for a moment, thinking it might be a flower, until he tiptoed closer. Fur? He lit up into a fit of giggles, quickly losing any of his earlier stealth. So much for sneaking up on her now. "Anemoneshade, are you in there?" he called, craning his head to peer inside the crack.

Naturalgift grinned as the she-cat's laughter escaped the hiding spot, and he stepped back to allow her to exit. "It was a great spot," he confessed. "If the fur wasn't there, I don't think I would've found you." Blue eyes followed Anenomeshade's movements as she got into position to count, and he had to force himself to turn away. As fun as the game was, he couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea for a first date. It didn't give them much time to get to know each other, and he was concerned that if he didn't make a good impression here, she might search for a different tom. Shaking his head, he reminded himself that the date didn't have to end after they were done playing. They'd have plenty of opportunities soon enough.

"Yep! I'm ready. No peeking, okay?" he teased and then started back the way he came. This time he wasn't concerned with stealth, focusing more on getting a head start, and he didn't think hiding in the ruins was a good idea for him. As it was, his fur was mostly white and fluffy, which made it just as easy for some to get stuck on a rock. His footsteps echoed loudly as he neared the exit. Where should he go? Before he could answer his own question, a low rumble reached his ears, almost immediately followed by the ground beginning to shake. "What?" the warrior stopped in his tracks, not immediately realizing that it was some kind of tremor.

Everything was shaking. Blue eyes darted up to the ceiling, following the descent of granular particles. He gasped at the sight of the shifting rocks above and jumped back in time to narrowly avoid its collapse. Mounds of debris sealed off the entrance to the ruin, but Naturalgift was too preoccupied now to understand the severity of that. Everywhere walls were caving in and a mist of dust blinded him. In the process of dodging the path of a fallen rock, he leapt to the side, where his paws slipped on rubble. Thrown off balance, he tumbled over, stopping only as his head collided with something painfully solid. Then everything went black.

It may have only been a few moments later when his eyelids slid open. His skull ached as he took in the eerie silence of the aftermath. At least it was over. "Naturalgift! Are you okay?"

"Anemoneshade," he answered, quieter than he meant to, but the words echoed anyway. He lifted his head off the ground in what felt like slow-motion and gave himself a quick onceover. No other wounds that he could see, but he felt a warm liquid trailing down his forehead. "I'm over here," he shouted, not sure how to respond to her question.

His vision blurred the longer he held his head up so he allowed his chin to rest on the ground again. He didn't know she was there until her paw touched his forehead and his eyes moved in her direction. She looked scared maybe? Squinting to help clear his vision better, he followed her gaze down to her paw and internally cringed at what was there.

As she settled down next to him, Naturalgift accepted her warmth gratefully and dragged his chin until his cheek was resting against her fur too. The volume of her voice didn't help the pounding in his skull, but it made feel more relaxed somehow. They were in this together and even if they were both hurt, they'd make it through in the end. "Alright," he muttered. "Your paw. Is it okay?" While he waited for her response, he worked on opening and closing his eyes until their surroundings were clear again. He knew he'd need to be able to stand when she was ready, and he hoped this would help him stay conscious for the task.

Naturalgift hummed, feeling more optimistic about the situation and happy she was handling it well. A few more minutes passed, and while he wasn't feeling much better, he was beginning to worry he might fall asleep if he didn't get up. "Okay, I think I'm ready now," he said as he pulled away from her. Even that simple movement felt painfully slow, but he willed himself on and pushed himself to his feet. His vision swam in and out as his eyes traveled around them, so he stopped and returned his attention to Anemoneshade. "You can lean on me if it's easier. I'm not sure how much use I'll be otherwise." Despite the severity of the circumstance, a small laugh escaped him. "Might take me a while to see much in here." strawberrycupid

"That's a good idea. I'll try to focus on that," he said as they started walking slowly through the ruins. Naturalgift's eyes were open, but he kept them glued to the floor to watch for rubble while he focused the rest of his senses on pinpointing an airflow. Nothing strong reached him, but his fur gave the slightest of a ruffle to indicate a breeze. "I think we're going the right way. Can you see anything?"