Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by savannahssu
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savannahssu

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Interacting with: @Hazelrah

While Stonefall explained the rouge's arrival and the actions he had taken, Fernstar studied her paws, not wanting to be distracted by any visual stimuli. She had to admit that trained Warriors failing to detect the scent of racoons, especially scents that were recent, was very strange. Sunfur, Maplestream and herself had lived in this harsh, unforgiving forest for quite some time, and had learned the scents of every creature they shared this land with; predator and prey alike. However, there were a lot of possible reasons her Warriors could have missed the scent trail. She knew it was more difficult to recognize and follow scent trails in leaf bare than in green leaf, as they are quicker dampened by snow, ice and other debris blown by the strong winds. Not to mention, there was a lot going on in the Clan right now. She and Blackpelt traveling to receive her nine lives, the rouges showing up, dealing with Frogkit, and Moosepaw's impending Warrior assessment. Being caught up in the excitement and anxiety that was laden in these events easily distracts cats from being as focused as they normally would be. Everyone was exhausted. These things needed to be seriously considered. She refused to be the kind of leader who is hostile, battle oriented and mistrusting of any cat that stepped paw in her camp. Situations like this needed to be approached with tact and cautious optimism.

As her deputy finished his explanation, she couldn't help but notice how hesitant and anxious Stonefall seemed. It was unlike him to be so distant. Raising her head and locking eyes with the young tom, she let compassion shine through her gaze and reassured him. "Stonefall, what happened today was a difficult situation for any cat to handle, but you did exactly what needed to be done. You protected the Clan's most vulnerable, neutralized the situation, and still managed to help the strangers who expressed they needed it. I can't say I would have done much different myself if it was me they had approached." Running her tail over Stonefall's flank as a gesture of comfort, she grinned and meowed, "I chose you for this post for a reason. Your practical and rational thinking are, and always have been above others, and your loyalty is unflinching." Withdrawing her tail and sitting up straighter, she sternly issued her addendum. "What will make you a bad deputy to your Clan is not a lack of skill, but the lack of ability to believe in your skills. A deputy who is unsure of themselves will never make clear decisions and will create more problems than they solve. A cat who is confident in their position within their Clan stands out, and is part of what makes a Clan strong. You need to act like you know you deserve this position; and the skills to uphold it will follow." Hoping her words would grant Stonefall some confidence, she stood and shook the cold from her fur. It was time to figure out what these roge cats wanted with WillowClan. Quietly padding towards the nursery entrance, she looked over her shoulder and asked Stonefall, "Come and speak to them with me."

Pushing her way through the dry, rough brambles, she locked her eyes on the three disheveled looking rouges who laid at the back of the den. A skinny black tom, a white thick furred she-cat and a strong brown tom all turned their heads and stared at her. She stopped a fox length away from them and sat with her shoulders back. Before she spoke, Needletail's words echoed in her mind just the way she had spoken them in StarClan. "With your seventh life, I give you judgement. The decisions you make for your Clan determine it's destiny, and cannot be wasted. Never let pride, pain or desperation cloud your judgement." Feeling a surge of confidence wash over her pelt, she finally spoke. "My name is Fernstar and I am the leader of WillowClan. My deputy tells me you crashed into our camp scratched and startled by a skirmish with racoons. If treatment for your wounds is what you are seeking, then I will consult with our medicine cat and see if we can spare any herbs. However, I would like to know more about you than your racoon encounter. Tell me, where did you come from?"
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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The Elvenqueen An Elven Jedi

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WillowClan Territory


interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart
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To say Spidernose was afraid was perhaps a bit of an understatement, in truth she was more like terrified. Stormheart’s caution hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it gave his fellow hunter the bit of courage she needed to not chicken out and turn back then and there. She may be frightened, yes, but she was also determined, as a warrior of WillowClan she had to do everything in her power to ensure that she both fought and hunted to keep her Clanmates fed. Even if that meant going along with mouse-brained, dangerous plans like this. The brown-and-cream she-cat’s tail bushed out as she did her best to scrabble up the length of the tree trunk, and remained stood on end, although tucked against her body so as to not alert the potential prey in the nests, as she finally reached the branch Sunfur had indicated.

She didn’t dare look down.

StarClan knew how high it was, but Spidernose was certain if she was to glance towards the ground, that the only reason she would see it at all was because it was leafbare and the trees lacked their own foliage. She doubted it would be visible in greenleaf. Oh, StarClan please, please don’t let me fall… she prayed, hoping their ancestors would hear and take pity on her. Her eyes wide, she gripped tightly onto the branch beneath her with her claws to give herself a more secure footing, and squinted downwards to wait for some sort of signal from Sunfur that it was time to scare the birds.

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WillowClan Camp


interacting with: @PrankFox’s Duskwing, @Shadow Dragon’s Blackpelt
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Frogkit’s cheeks puffed out grumpily as the medicine cat continued to scold her, and the kit let out a very overdramatic huff through her mouth, rolling her eyes up towards the sky before they met the black tom’s again and she muttered sulkily. “Well maybe if you told me which ones that was meant to be, I wouldn’t touch ‘em then. Cause I’d know not to!” StarClan above, save the entirety of WillowClan from this kit’s curiosity. Some part of Frogkit knew deep down, however, that messing around in Blackpelt’s herb store while he was out of camp was bad. But how else was she supposed to see what it was like? He never let any other cat go in there, if she tried asking him before he simply shoo’ed her away like she was some sort of annoyance.

She only wanted to learn! Her tail had continued to lash, as the medicine cat’s tone did not seem to be helping calm her down in any way, but thankfully when Duskwing spoke, her ears did prick up and she quickly turned away from Blackpelt to face the warrior instead. The angry glint in her kit-blue eyes seemed to die down, then, and she looked down at the ground, suddenly more apologetic as Frogkit mumbled a soft: “Oh. I just wanted to see ‘em, honest, I didn’t mean to mess ‘em up.”

Frogkit shuffled her paws to and fro for a few moments, and then finally looked back to the medicine cat, and though her apology was hesitant, it was no less genuine-sounding. “Sorry, Blackpelt...I won’t do it again.”
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by savannahssu
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As Spidernose scaled the large, dead tree behind him, Sunfur turned to Stormheart, and announced the slight modification of his hunting plan. "Stormheart, hunt in nearby areas and see what you can catch. If Spidernose and I don't succeed at bringing down a bird, at least we will have something to bring back to camp. Catch anything you can find; snakes, mice, voles, rats, squirrels. . . Whatever you catch, bring it back to the roots of this tree and bury it under the snow. If Spidernose or I need help we will yowl as loud as we can." Gesturing with his tail for Stormheart to go, Sunfur circled the tree Spidernose was scaling and assessed the canopies above. The tree Spidernose was climbing had long reaching branches that crossed with the branches of others nearby, this would make leaping from tree to tree much easier than relying on strength to close a large gap between branches. If Spidernose can startle the birds from their nest, they will settle on other branches, and hopefully, drop their guard. As he scaled the tree closest to the one the birds nested in, he once again cursed StarClan for giving him a flaming orange pelt. I stick out like a kittypet in a Clan battle! Trying to push the irritation from his mind, he realized he would have to rely completely on stealth if he wanted this to work.

He climbed until he reached the same height as Spidernose and noticed the nest of birds he heard from the ground. The two birds were sitting facing each other in their nest, pecking at their feathers. He positioned himself at a diagonal angle from the nest, closest to the trunk as he could possibly get, in order to retain his balance on the thickest part of the branch. His hind legs were strong, and if he could pin the bird to the branch and land a killing bite, it wouldn't stand a chance. He crouched as low as possible and unsheathed his claws, digging into the branch below him, ready to launch himself forward. Turning towards Spidernose, he arched his tail over his back in the direction of the nest. Now.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by PrankFox
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When Frogkit actually turned to look at Duskwing she knew she'd gotten through to the young she-cat. She could've been much more harsh, but based off of the way she reacted towards Blackpelt, force was not the way to go with Frogkit. Moosepaw had been much the same way, quiet, reserved, and responded well to explanations rather than being told what to do. She gave a nod and surprisingly gentle smile towards Frogkit as she apologized. "Thank you Frogkit, I'm sure Blackpelt appreciates that," she sent a pointed look towards their medicine cat to not make this any worse, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to prepare for Moosepaw's warrior assessment tomorrow morning." She gave a nod towards Blackpelt and took a few steps away before turning back to Frogkit, "Remember you can sleep in the warrior's den until those strangers are gone if you like. Just don't be loud."

She turned her attention to the rest of camp and could still see Moosepaw sitting nearby Highstump and padded over to join her apprentice. Sleep could wait until she was sure he would be able to sleep as well, and judging by his response to Fernstar he was nervous. She settled down next to the fluffy tom and tapped him on the flank with her tail before wrapping it tightly around her paws in an attempt to stave off some of the chill. "You feel prepared for the assessment tomorrow?" She gave him a reassuring glance, "And it's alright to say no or that you're nervous." She had a plan for what she was going to do for Moosepaw's warrior assessment. It would be somewhat more difficult to do in leaf-bare, but she knew it would only further prove to both Fernstar, and Moosepaw himself, that he was ready for the responsibility of being a fully fledged warrior of Willowclan.



Stormheart gave a nod to Sunfur, "Alright, be careful. Those branches don't look super sturdy for someone bigger than Spidernose." He definitely didn't want to hear the sound of breaking wood and come back to find one or, Starclan forbid, both of his clanmates with broken bones. With one last glance up to where Spidernose was perched up in the tree he turned and padded off in the direction that Sunfur indicated. He had little hope that he would actually be able to find anything, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to give it his all for the good of the clan. He was hungry and he imagined the rest of the clan would be as well; they needed this freshkill desperately. Especially with those strangers in camp, they had even more mouths to feed.

He kept his ears pricked and kept his steps as quiet as he could through the snow. He came to a pause next to one of the other large trees in the area and scented the air, mostly stale from what he could tell, but there was something fresher there. He pricked his ears and faintly picked up on the sound of scuffling paws against the snow. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but at this point any freshkill was good.

Unfortunately there was no underbrush to hide in, but once again he was thankful for the color and thickness of his pelt. The white blended in much better than many of his other clanmates and allowed him to creep across the ground with careful steps to peer around the trunk of the tree. The sight of an, albeit scrawny, squirrel digging underneath a small bush was enough to set his mouth watering, but the clan needed to eat first. He sunk low to the ground, now uncaring of the faint chill of the snow on his underbelly, and took the few steps needed to close the distance and leap across the ground to pin the bushy tail of the squirrel to the ground. A swift bite to the back of the neck ended the chittering that was beginning to come from it, and he pushed down the temptation to yowl in triumph. It wasn't much but it was a start.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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WillowClan Territory


interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart
___________________________________________________________________________


The cream-and-brown she-cat watched and waited as Sunfur then ordered Stormheart to circle back a little and see what else he could try and catch, leaving the remaining two members of the hunting party to focus all of their energy on the birds. Spidernose felt a vaguely uneasy shiver creep its way down the fur on her spine, prickling like ant bites, as she remembered the incident with the snake (even though the bite had turned out to be pretty harmless in the end) the last time she and the ginger tom opposite her had hunted together.
She really hoped this time they would have much more success.

She’d been watching the birds as they preened, her muscles poised to spring the moment the other warrior gave her the signal. Blue eyes shifted from the prey across to Sunfur as he crept up to join her and she spotted his tail signal, raising hers to give it a quick flick towards the tom as if to reassure him that she understood the order. Here we go.
The she-cat flexed her claws to make sure none of them had gotten caught in the hard, frost-laden bark of the tree, and when she was sure that she could make the jump, gave a few wiggles of her hindquarters and then launched herself across the gap between the two branches to land beside the nest, hissing loudly and swiping at the birds to scare them towards Sunfur.

Spidernose hoped they would go the right way, and that Sunfur could grab at least one. Maybe if she was lucky, her balance would hold out and she could snag the second one and pull it back down to pin it to the branch before it could fly away out of their reach...
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by solokolos
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Moosepaw


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The apprentice’s mind was an absolute buzz, and he found that he was trembling. He tried to force himself to stay still, but concentrating on it seemed to make it worse. This was what he’d been training for over the past 5 moons. Yet still the change seemed too soon. Was he ready? DId every apprentice feel this unprepared on the eve of their assessment? If so, how did anyone become a warrior? Even the majestic Fernstar was an apprentice once, right? That seemed wrong. The leaders, deputies, even warriors were far too confident now to have been as unsure of themselves as Moosepaw currently felt.

Moosepaw wasn’t normally one to get stuck in his own head, but even so he found himself lost in thought staring up at Fernstar. Fernstar moved off of the Highstump, but Moosepaw’s eyes remained fixed on that spot. Eventually he was snapped out of his stupor by the touch of Duskwing’s tail. His mentor sat beside him, looking composed and graceful. The contrast between the two of them stripped Moosepaw of a little more of his hope that he’d pass the assessment. He paused at her question, and his troubled eyes were cast towards the ground once again.

"I don't know how anyone is ever ready."
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by savannahssu
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Turning to face the she-cat, Felix padded a few tail lengths forward then sat with his tail carefully wrapped over his paws. Lowering his eyes as the leader spoke, he lifted a paw and began licking it gingerly, surprised that it was still open despite being here since sunrise. Although he was only paying his wound any attention to appear convincing, he began to notice that it did actually hurt a little. Maybe I overdid it with the thorns earlier. . . Setting his paw back on the ground, he made eye contact with Fernstar, dipped his head and meowed, "I'm Felix. I apologize for disrupting your camp so suddenly, we weren't paying attention to where our paws were taking us as long as it was away from the raccoons." Flicking his ears back towards the rear of the den, he introduced his friends. "The white she-cat is Heather, and the brown tom is Otis. We all came from the Twoleg village just outside your borders." Letting his voice lower and his eyes cloud with anxiety, he muttered, "And we don't plan on going back." His mind began to race as he prepared to tell the story he had conjured. I can't mess this up. "My life as a kittypet had always been nice; I was always safe, had a warm place to sleep, and good food until my house folk took in a smaller Twoleg. Things were never the same after that." He pinned his ears back and raised his hackles as he went on. "It chased me around the den, pulled my fur and almost deafened me with it's terrible shrieking. And the worst part is, my house folk never disciplined it! All they did was coo at it and stroke it like a queen with newborn kits. After a while, I started leaving the nest every morning and spending most of the day outside to avoid it. But sometimes, they would go to sleep and leave me outside after sunset. Of course they would always come outside and yowl for me in the morning, but things weren't the way they used to be anymore." Letting his hackles fall, he let out a sigh. "About a quarter moon ago, the small Twoleg startled me while I was asleep and out of pure fear, I swung my paw out and raked its flesh with my claws. I knew then that I couldn't stay there anymore; my house folk would never have forgiven me and I didn't want to be there any longer. So I left and became a loner." Sitting up a little taller, he felt genuine happiness flutter in his chest."That was when I met Heather. She had been living on her own for some time before I left my house folk, and she taught me how to hunt and defend myself." Turning his head towards the beautiful she-cat, he let a grin spread across his muzzle and meowed tauntingly, "Well. . . Somewhat." Heather began nervously licking her chest, casting fleeting glances up toward him every few heartbeats. Turning back towards the Clan leader, he noticed that Otis had padded forward to sit beside him and began to address Fernstar.

In a calm voice, Otis meowed, "I'm Otis. I was a kittypet too, but I didn't have as hard of a life as Felix did. I left my Twolegs because I wanted a different life than the soft uneventful one I had. I wanted to hunt for myself, feel the wind in my fur and fight like a real cat. I ran into Heather and Felix at the edge of the village as I was venturing into the forest. We figured there was safety in numbers and that we would stand a better chance of surviving together, so we decided to travel with each other." Standing up and shaking out his pelt, he flicked his whiskers with irritation and muttered "But it turns out that raccoons are tougher opponents than we thought." Felix was pleasantly surprised when Otis dipped his head and removed a piece of loose fur that was hanging from his chest with his teeth. He pulled it from the tangles and matts of fur around it and let it drop to the den floor. Trying to hide his malevolent excitement, he busied himself for the moment by examining his body and glancing at the wounds he had inflicted on himself. Now THAT is convincing! Otis went on. "Of course we would be very grateful if you chose to use some of your herb store to help us with our wounds, but we understand that your Clan comes first and we will move along if you would like us to. I'm sure we have been far enough away from where we met the raccoons that they wouldn't know where we had gone, and we could head further into the forest and make a camp of our own." Felix studied the leader and her deputy, trying to discern their thoughts after what they had been told. It doesn't matter what they say. We will do what we came here to do.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by savannahssu
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Sunfur tried with everything he had to contain his excitement as the birds fluttered chaotically away from their nest and landed on two different branches a few fox lengths from where Sunfur was crouched. One of them was on his branch. He crept forward, placing each paw as delicately as possible as he inched closer to the bird. Worry sparked in his pelt as he felt as a gust of wind rake through his fur and he realized that any heartbeat now, the bird would catch his scent. I'm not downwind! The bird twitched its feathers against the wind then jerked its head in Spidernose's direction. I have to try now or it will get away! He used every ounce of strength in his hind paws and launched himself towards the bird. He was barely able to sink his claws into the thin skin of the bird's wing and pulling downwards, he slammed the bird down against the branch and delivered a killing bite that cracked the tiny animal's spine. Triumph flooded through Sunfur's pelt and he nudged the bird off the branch to land on the snowy ground at the base of the tree. Slowing his breathing, he scanned the barren tree for the other bird, but it was gone. He had hoped they could catch both of the birds, but maybe he had been too confident. Whatever the case, he was pleased they had caught even one.

Digging his claws into the trunk of the tree, he clumsily slid down the tree until he was a few tail lengths from the ground, then jumped down landing in a deep swath of snow. Trudging towards the base of the tree where the ground was clear, he gazed up the tree and meowed happily "Spidernose you can come down! You did a great job!" He padded a few paw steps around the tree to retrieve the bird and buried it under a heap of snow. Fernstar will be so pleased! Focusing his senses, he opened his mouth to taste the air. If they could figure out which direction Stormheart had gone, they could tail him and see if they could catch any prey he may have missed. Sunfur hoped the tom had caught at least 2 pieces of prey to add to the bird he and Spidernose caught, but in a leafbare as harsh as this, he didn't know what was realistic to hope for. The Clan was cold and hungry and now that they had trhee loners in camp, there were even more mouths to feed. Although, he thought Those loners have survived until this point, they can hunt for themselves. Why should we sacrifice our prey for strangers when our warriors and apprentices need it? Irritation pricked in his paws and he shook himself from this thoughts. Where else might they be able to find prey?
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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WillowClan Territory


interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur
___________________________________________________________________________


The birds startled just as Sunfur had said they would, and in a flurry of wingbeats and shrieking they erupted off the branch they’d been perched on and fluttered away. As they whipped past her, the she-cat tried to lunge out with a paw and snag at the feathers of the second bird, but she wasn’t quite quick enough and her claws passed through empty air as it got away. Spidernose spat a curse softly, but clung to her perch tightly with her other three paws, she didn’t dare risk trying to rear up onto her hindlegs on such a narrow branch and at such a height, if she fell it could spell disaster. Yes, the Clan was hungry, but one tiny bird wasn’t worth her life.
So, she just hunkered down for now and prayed Sunfur would manage to grab the other one, at least.

Hearing her Clanmate call for her, Spidernose’s ears pricked and she slid carefully back down the tree trunk to join Sunfur on solid ground once more, much to her own relief. The she-cat shook her fur out, her tail curling upwards at the praise. It worked? it must have or Sunfur wouldn’t be so happy, surely. So, this time she mewed out loud, glad that their hunting party had finally managed to catch something for the fresh-kill pile, however small. “It worked! Nice job, Sunfur! We should try and grab a few more prey pieces if we can though...maybe Stormheart’s managed to find some mice, or voles?”
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by PrankFox
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Duskwing could tell she had startled her apprentice out of his thoughts and felt a small pang of sympathy for the younger tom. She knew he tried to maintain a level of poise and confidence even if it was difficult, but she could also see the anxiety bleeding through. It was a lot of responsibility; going from having a mentor guide every step to being a warrior. Not that he would be alone of course, but she knew the spike of responsibility. Especially in leaf-bare when they needed all cats to be working at their full potential.

The tip of her tail tapped gently against the ground from where it was wrapped around her paws. She couldn't say she was surprised by his response, "I don't know that anyone ever really is, but with experience comes confidence and more of a feeling of being ready. You've done nothing but impress me with your skill and willingness to learn and improve since you joined Willowclan. That's all any of us can ask of you." A small smile curled across her face, one that she rarely showed to anyone in the clan, "Besides you're not alone in this clan and you never will be. Even though you'll be a warrior of Willowclan you will always be my apprentice. Anything you need I will do my best to help you."

She stood and stretched out her paws one by one before looking intently at Moosepaw, though her tone was somewhat teasing. "You should try to get some sleep before tomorrow morning. I know you'll do well, but I can't have you falling asleep on your paws during your warrior ceremony." She was practically dead on her paws and wanted more than anything to sleep through the rest of the night without interruptions.



Mentions:

Stormheart quickly buried the squirrel he caught under the roots of the nearest tree, he'd take everything back at once to where Sunfur and Spidernose were, and scented the air again. Once again the air was somewhat stale and the scent of prey had left. He sighed but his ears pricked when he heard the sound of chirps and fluttering wings. Hopefully that meant his clanmates had been able to successfully catch at least one of the birds. He'd go a bit farther out then loop around back in the direction of the tree. With luck the further away from camp he went the better chance there would be of some prey lurking about. Sunfur and Spidernose should both be able to catch up with him with little trouble if they decided to do so.

He padded past the tree with the squirrel and kept his jaws slightly parted to pull the air into his mouth. It took a few minutes of slow plodding through the snow but he caught scent of what he was fairly certain was a mouse. He moved to keep himself downwind and hunkered down in the snow to keep himself as hidden as possible. He peered through some prickly underbrush to see where a mouse had dug itself a burrow under the roots of the tree. He positioned himself in the spot he felt would work best to pounce through the underbrush and dug his claws into the ground. They needed as much as they could get and he wasn't about to let his bulky frame stop him from getting through.

A moment before he leapt forward a second snout poked its way from underneath the roots and he froze in place. He couldn't catch both of them by himself, the second was sure to flee back into its burrow the moment he jumped out. Should he go for just the one and hope the second came back out or should he wait until Spidernose and Sunfur caught up to him? But there was the chance that they could scare both of them off if they didn't know. He sat a moment in indecision before he decided to wait a moment and hope the other two caught up. If they could get both at the same time they might be able to head back to camp and he could finally sleep.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by savannahssu
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Sunfur nodded his head decisively. Following Stormheart would be a great way to make sure they didn't miss any prey that was nearby. Stepping out from under the canopy of the pine trees, he opened his jaws to taste the air for Stormheart's scent. The jarring cold of the snow on his pads sent a shiver through his fur. The energy he had exerted catching the bird had made his temperature rise in contrast to the cold, and now, paws deep in snow, it was all gone. Struggling to muster more energy out of his exhausted body, he turned to Spidernose and meowed, "Stormheart went this way." He padded around the right side of the trunk of the tree the birds had been in. "We can head in that direction and see what we can catch, then after we catch up to him, we can head back to camp. I want to cover this area very thoroughly. As we make our way through this denser brush, place every paw step very carefully. Whatever Stormheart didn't catch is going to be very on edge and easy to startle. Keep your ears open and scent carefully." He turned and nosed his way through the first bramble. I pray StarClan will bless us on this hunt. . .

As they made their way away from the tree trunk, Sunfur was disappointed that he had neither scented or heard any prey in the brambles or snow. He had heard birds in the sparse trees above their heads, but he knew that neither of his Clanmates would be up to the bird stunt he and Spidernose had performed earlier. He worried that they may not have a choice if prey continued to be as scarce as it had been recently. Eventually, they made it to a very tightly woven section of undergrowth. He opened his jaws and his ears pricked as he smelled mouse. Dropping into a hunter's crouch he scanned the shallow snow around him and finally saw one of the mice scratching at a patch of frozen earth the snow had been scraped away from. As he was about to leap, his eyes lifted for a heartbeat and he met eyes with another cat, concealed in the other side of the brush. The look in the cat's eyes seemed both excited and urgent. Stormheart?! Had he been about to catch his mouse? Why hadn't he pounced yet? Was something wrong? He widened his eyes and twitched his whiskers aggressively, hoping Stormheart would understand his confusion.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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WillowClan Territory


interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart
___________________________________________________________________________


Spidernose nodded her head in agreement, keeping low to the ground so if there was any nearby prey it would be less likely to spot the hunting warriors, she padded along beside the tom, whispering back. "Yeah. We can't really afford to turn our noses up at any prey, no matter how small, with leafbare setting in and all. We need all the fresh-kill we can get."
The she-cat kept pace with her Clanmate, slowly and carefully lifting her head to open her jaws and taste the air every few pawsteps. She was disappointed, however, to find that all she could smell was faint traces of bird. They were more likely than not all spooked up into the branches from her and Sunfur's earlier stunt and Spidernose didn't much feel confident enough to pull it off successfully again.

The brown and cream she-cat let out another sigh as Sunfur pushed through the brambles to head further in, and once the other warrior's ginger tail tip had disappeared into the brush, she ducked inside after him, her ears pressed back as she began to worry that all they'd have to show for their efforts was one tiny bird for the entire Clan. That just wouldn't do, and she hoped Stormheart had had a bit more luck. When the scent of mouse filled her jaws the next time she took a pause to taste the air, Spidernose froze beside Sunfur.

Blue eyes met blue as she, too, noticed Stormheart and her whiskers trembled slightly in confusion at the grey tom. What was Stormheart doing? Why hadn't he caught the mouse yet? Glancing across at Sunfur, she noticed the other warrior twitching his whiskers and appearing just as confused. Spidernose's brow furrowed as she tried to think about what might have given their Clanmate pause. The she-cat tasted the air again and realised that the smell of mouse was quite strong. That made sense of course, the prey was right in front of them, but what if…

She turned to Sunfur and mouthed "What if there's more than one??", subtly flicking one ear in the direction of Stormheart and the visible mouse and hoping that the senior warrior would understand what she was hinting at.

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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by solokolos
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Moosepaw


Interacting with: @PrankFox
Moosepaw took comfort in Duskwing's words. As he listened, he had to admit he did feel a bit better. Her compliments caused him some embarrassment, and he lowered his head and ears in response. Moosepaw was still worried of course, but he wasn't as keen on hiding away tomorrow. The apprentice was grateful that he had such a fierce and competent mentor; she always offered praise when he did well, and helped him improve when he was seen to be lacking. The rare smile comforted him too, and again he felt a tad embarrassed.

Her suggestion that he get ample sleep seemed like a lot to ask. Moosepaw found the idea of sleeping an insurmountable task, he was almost sure he would just stare at the top of the den or clean himself nervously all night. Regardless Moosepaw nodded dutifully, knowing that if he didn't start trying to sleep soon, he would be awake in his nest all the longer.

"You are right. I really do need some sleep. I appreciate you coming to me, and your kind words." Moosepaw said, trying to put some confidence into his words and he found he did have more than before she spoke. He stood slowly and stretched out his stiff back legs before heading to the apprentice den to sleep. It seemed strange to him that this might be the last night he spends in the apprentice den.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Shadow Dragon
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Shadow Dragon Lord Of Shadows

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Blackpelt: Camp, Medicine Den

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Blackpelt frowns, and quietly pads his way over to the newcomers. "No one touches my herbs except me. If you want your wounds treated, I'll help you. If not, stay out of my den. Eat the wrong herb, and it may very well kill you. Understand?" His eyes seem to bore into Felix and Otis, but he doesn't include Heather. Supposedly. He seems wary of them, untrusting. "Where were these racoons? I may need to treat some of your wounds if one of them was infected with anything." His eyes are half slitted, and he seems to be sizing them up, despite his small size. Something's off here. They don't smell like racoons. Why would they want to come into our camp otherwise though? We have them far outnumbered.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by PrankFox
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PrankFox Disaster Master

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Duskwing could tell her words got through to Moosepaw, if his lowered head was anything to go by. She was glad for that, she didn't consider herself to be the best with words but when it came to her apprentice she put forth as much effort as she could muster to be a reliable mentor to him. She'd been on her own for a long time before she found WillowClan and the support they offered made going about life that much easier.

She twitched her whiskers in response and gave him a nod, "Of course. Don't hesitate to come to me if you need anything." She watched him pad off to the apprentice's den and nodded to herself. He'd do just fine and he would make a fine mentor for his clanmates one day.

A quick scan of the camp told her that most everyone else was either already asleep or busy dealing with the stranger's that she'd been keeping an eye on earlier. She still didn't trust them, their story didn't entirely add up and there was something about them that unnerved her even if she couldn't quite pin down what. Fernstar and Stonefall were actively dealing with them though so that left her free to sleep until morning, hopefully. She padded to the warrior's den and curled herself into a tight ball of dark ginger fur before letting her mind finally drift off.



Yellow eyes were fixed firmly on the mice as Stormheart tried to figure out a plan to catch both of them if he could. They were likely to be slow because of the weather, but he wasn't exactly the quickest on his paws either and the burrow was likely nearby. He didn't have the energy needed to figure out something as coordinated as what Sunfur had done, and he was about to resign himself to just catching one of them when he met with two pairs of eyes across from him.

He could see the confusion on both his clanmate's faces and tried to figure out how to tell them that there was a mouse that was outside of their line of sight without making too much noise or moving. He saw Spidernose turn and mouth something to Sunfur and hoped that the other warrior had realized the situation. Just in case, he made eye contact with Sunfur first, and then Spidernose, and gestured to the mouse that all three of them could see with his tail before swishing it around to point at the opposite side of the brush that was hidden from them. It wasn't a clear signal, but he hoped it at least got the point across.

Part of him wanted to wait to see comprehension on their faces, but he was afraid that waiting any longer would mean that both of the mice would get away, and even if only one of them got it that was better than losing both. Hopefully they'll understand what I'm doing. He crouched down low and made sure to telegraph to the other two what he was planning on doing; angling his body towards the mouse they couldn't see. He waited just a moment longer before leaping forward to slam his paws down on the mouse which quickly snapped its neck with his weight.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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The Elvenqueen An Elven Jedi

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___________________________________________________________________________



WillowClan Territory


interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart

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Although they were too far away to communicate aloud, especially if they didn't want to startle their prey. Stormheart did seem to realise that his fellow hunters needed a bit more direction, and the she-cat's whiskers twitched as she spotted her Clanmate's tail flick. Her blue eyes squinted and she tried to make out what he was gesturing at, but the underbrush was far too thick and she couldn't make out even a silhouette from this distance. Spidernose waited another tail shake, just enough to figure out which one Stormheart would be aiming for.

The grey tom turned towards the thicket, and she exhaled in relief - it'd be much easier for them to catch this one than to leap blind into a bush. They couldn't afford to wait any longer. As Stormheart pounced on his prey, his paws and tail stirred up leaves and caused the other mouse to sit upright, dropping the shrivelled berry it had been eating. Spidernose hissed, wiggling her hindquarters and launching herself at it without hesitation. 

The mouse was going to run and she had to act first, think later, and pray to StarClan that she could hit the right mark and wouldn't lose it - or if she did, that Sunfur would cover her. She landed full-force on the frozen ground, her jaws flooding with the scent of mouse as the claws of one paw managed to snag the tiny rodent's tail and pin it to the frozen floor. YES! Got it!  With one final movement, Spidernose too delivered a killing bite to the mouse's spine, straightening up to look back at Sunfur over her shoulder. The mouse dangled from her jaws, and Spidernose's tail stuck straight up, the she-cat letting out a triumphant purr.  

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WillowClan Camp


interacting with: @Shadow Dragon’s Blackpelt, @savannahssu for the rogues, in case you want them to try cause trouble with this hehe ;)

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Although the conversation seemed to have moved on, Frogkit didn't want to go back to the nursery yet, not when everybody was out here and there were so many interesting things happening! A little unsteady on her small legs, she skittered after the medicine cat as he crossed to talk to the rogues. Though Frogkit thankfully seemed to have enough sense to stay behind Blackpelt, which would hopefully prevent her from getting hurt.

She looked up at the bigger tom, her ears and her tail shooting upwards as she chirped eagerly. "I could help, Blackpelt! Honest!" she insisted, her eyes shining. "Pleeeeaaaseeeee, just tell me what herbs I need to get and I'll bring them, I won't touch anything else!" Frogkit promised, bouncing on the spot as she waited for an answer.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Shadow Dragon
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Shadow Dragon Lord Of Shadows

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Blackpelt: Camp, Center

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He sighs, and glances at her. "Humm....." He thinks about it for a moment. "Fine, come with me. I'll show you which ones I'll need. But don't touch anything, ok? Most of my herbs need to be freshly applied, so I can't let them get crushed yet." He flicks his tail, gesturing for her to follow. He quietly pads along, keeping himself between Frogkit and the three strangers. "Frogkit, make sure you keep the other kits and apprentices stay away from those three, ok? They're up to something." He leads her into his den, and carefully sorts out some herbs. "Ok, we need this, which is marigold, and one poppy seed each. Got it?"
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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The Elvenqueen An Elven Jedi

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WillowClan Camp ---> Medicine Den ---> Nursery


interacting with: @Shadow Dragon’s Blackpelt, @savannahssu for the rogues
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As the older tom turns to look over her again, Frogkit’s eyes seemed to get even bigger, her ears lowering as she tried to look as adorable as possible in the hopes of getting Blackpelt to agree. “Pleeeeaaasseee Blackpelt? I’ll be a great helper, honest!” the tiny kit purred, and as the tom did agree her tail shot straight up in a mixture of surprise and delight. “Oh! Oh! I won’t, I promise! Only what you show me, and…and I’ll do exactly as you say!” if Frogkit notices the older cats being distrusting of strangers, and the way the medicine cat is shielding her from their view, she doesn’t mention it.

There’s a bounce in the kit’s step as she skittered after Blackpelt, blinking curiously at his whispered words, she whispered back: “But…howcome? They don’t look dangerous or nothin’. Just hurt?”
Any discussion of the rogue’s motives was probably best kept for the other Clan members, Frogkit was inquisitive and willing to learn, but she was also still just a kit and likely didn’t even understand the concept that strangers might be here to hurt her Clanmates instead of to ask for help like they’d said. It hadn’t occurred to her at all that the rogues might be lying about why they were in WillowClan’s camp.

Thankfully, she was easily distracted by being in Blackpelt’s den again and she watched attentively as he pointed out the herbs they would need, nodding along to confirm she had understood the instructions. “Marigold, the…the yellow flower one yeah! And one poppy seed each. Just one!” she chirped back proudly, her tiny paws reaching out to gather each portion of the herbs into a little bundle for one cat, following the medicine cat’s examples. And she was…surprisingly good at it. Huh. She really was interested in helping him and wasn’t just trying to be annoying and get under the tom’s paws.

Once they had the herbs prepared, Frogkit carefully picked up one of the bundles (she wasn’t big enough to carry more than one, yet.) and trotted out of Blackpelt’s den and back towards the nursery to give the medicine to the rogues there. She set the bundle down in front of them, puffed out her chest and purred proudly. “Here ya go!”
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by savannahssu
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Interacting with: @The Elvenqueen @PrankFox

Sunfur blinked in surprise as his Clanmate burst from the bushes next to him and in what seemed like no time at all, turn back to him with the second mouse dangling from her jaws. He was surprised Spidernose had acted so quickly at Stormheart's signal. He thought he had understood what Stormheart was trying to communicate to them, but he hadn't been sure enough to act on it yet. He shrugged it off. That was what his Clanmates were for; where one cat lacked, another made up for. They made each other stronger. He rose from his crouching position and let his excitement shine through his eyes as he bounded up to Spidernose. "That was amazing! You were so clever and fast on your paws! I don't think I could have done any better myself." Attempting to ignore the chilling winter air seeping through his fur to his bones, he shook out his pelt and turned back the way they had come. Gesturing over his shoulder with his tail for Spidernose and Stormheart to follow, he felt fairly good about the amount of fresh kill they were going to return to camp with. A bird, two mice and a squirrel would be enough for whichever cats were awake to have some, and the dawn hunting patrol could simply catch what they had eaten, if Fernstar gave them permission of course. But with what they were about to return with, he didn't see a reason why she wouldn't. As they neared the tree where he and Spidernose had caught the bird, he veered slightly and meowed, "You guys go on ahead of me while I retrieve the bird. Get back to camp and I'll catch up. Maybe I can manage to snatch something up on my way back." Opening his jaws to taste the air and make his way back towards the trunk of the large tree, his mind began to wander. What were those strange loners doing here? Would Fernstar turn them away? He didn't know what to make of the situation, and he was sure he would lose sleep over it.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by The Elvenqueen
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The Elvenqueen An Elven Jedi

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___________________________________________________________________________

WillowClan Territory ---> WillowClan Camp


interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart
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The she-cat ducked her head a little at the older warrior’s praise, but despite her mild embarrassment she couldn’t quite stifle an excited giggle of her own. At least they would return to camp successful, and no-one’s bellies would have to be empty tonight thanks to their efforts. That’s what made living in a Clan so wonderful. As Sunfur gestured for them to start making their way back, Spidernose set the mouse down between her paws once more, so she could adjust her grip and carry it by its tail instead, that way she wouldn’t have to deal with her own stomach rumbling quite so violently if the scent of the prey was a little bit further from her nostrils while they walked back.

She nodded in agreement, knowing that they shouldn’t be trying to stay out in the cold too long and should probably get back to their warm nests, once they’d deposited the fresh-kill on the pile, that is. She fell into step with Stormheart, just behind Sunfur, and looked up again as the ginger tom told them to head back to camp. She mewed around the mouse tail clenched between her teeth, her words slightly muffled, but still legible. “Alright, Sunfur. Take care though, don’t stay out too long, you’ll catch cold.” before she nodded to Stormheart, and took off at a brisk trot until they arrived back at camp. She thought she spotted Frogkit’s hindquarters slipping back into the nursery and with a sigh made a mental note to check her little sister wasn’t causing trouble later.

For now, however, she padded to the fresh-kill pile to set down the mouse she had caught, and looked around for Stonefall, wondering a little if he might like to eat with her, if he wasn’t busy.
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