Maybe
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Post by Maybe on Jan 3, 2013 16:52:48 GMT -5
Briarstar's ears were pricked, straining forward to catch any sounds from the eerily silent forest floor. Her patrol padded quietly behind her, fanning out to cover more ground. The leader stopped, lifting her muzzle to the sky and sending up a silent prayer to StarClan. Please StarClan, send us your guidance. The clan's bellies grow hungry, and newleaf is so far away. She closed her vivid green eyes for a moment, opening herjaws to take in every scent of the surrounding forest. Her ears swivelled to the left, where a muffled thump told her one of her warriors had made a catch. She didn't need to look to know that it was a mouse that had fallen prey to one of her hunters' claws. The succulent prey scent wafted toward her on the chilled leafbare breeze, and made her mouth water and her belly grumble longingly. No, the clan must be fed first. I will eat only after every cat in the clan has been fed.
Pushing her hunger to the back of her mind, Briarstar opened her eyes and scanned the forest floor, alert for any tiny movement. As if StarClan has heard her prayer, a small rustle in the bracken to her right caught her attention. With a brief flick lf her tail, she signaled to one of her warriors to move around to the other side of the bracken. Once her warrior was in position, Briarstar dropped into the hunting crouch and crept forward. Then, with a mighty leap, she swiped her eager paw into the bracken, making brief contact with a large fluffy mass. With a loud rustle, a fat rabbit leapt out of ita hiding place and raced in the direction where her other warrior was waiting with outstretched claws. Briarstar held her breath, praying fervently to their warrior ancestors that the warrior would make the catch.
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Post by #Trigger on Jan 3, 2013 17:49:57 GMT -5
Brr! Was it just him, or did it drop another ten degrees? A tremble shook through his body, fluffing up his coat. He hated this leaf-bare. It was just too long and cold! Not to mention the lack of prey was driving him up a tree. Speaking of trees, was there a bird up there? No, no. That was just a lone leaf. And here he thought he might have a potential catch...
A thump perked his ears, amber mixed with flecks of green scanned the winter wonderland of a territory. Someone in the patrol caught something! Oh, thank Starclan! He crept forwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of what the catch might be; however, a rustle stole away his attention. He crouched, watching his leader's body language. A flick of the tail. Gotcha. He slipped over to the other side of the bracken, his long fur leaving only a faint trail in the growing snow. Brushfire lowered himself to the ground, stilling himself.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on every twitch of the bracken. And there was his prize. He pounced, unsheathing his sharp claws just before digging them into the rabbit's pelt. Oh, this one was a feisty one! He dug his claws deeper, following its movements until he was able to bite down on its neck. The taste of blood washed over his senses, and he stood there, looming over the rabbit until it slowly stopped squirming.
The young warrior released the limp rabbit, licking the blood from his lips. He sheepishly grinned, glancing over at the kicked up snow stained red. Whoops. The rabbit squeaked a lot, so the rest of the potential prey probably went back into hiding. For now. Such a sloppy kill. He would need to work on that, but hunting when you're almost belly-deep into snow is a bit hard. Sitting down by his kill, he ruffled his fur in an attempt to keep warm. "This one was probably hoarding all the food from the others." He kept his voice low to keep any of the remaining mice, rabbits, and any leftover birds from fleeing, softly chuckling to himself.
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Maybe
New Member
[M:-200]
Posts: 18
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Post by Maybe on Jan 3, 2013 18:17:54 GMT -5
Briarstar exhaled her pent-up breath in a huge gust, ruffling her whiskers and sending out a massive cloudy puff into the air. She couldn't keep the grin off her face as she took in the blood-splattered snow and the look of pride that Brushfire wore on his young face. She gave him an approving nod, and flicked her tail for the rest of the patrol to gather round. She lifted her head and spoke to them, keeping her voice soft so as not to scare off any more prey.
"Alright, that was a great catch, Brushfire, despite being a bit messy. I think we should keep moving toward the Great Sycamore, there's bound to be more prey hiding in the undergrowth," the leader said, flicking her ears as she got up and led the patrol in the direction she had mentioned. "Oh, and Brushfire," she called over her shoulder to the young tom, who was a few tail lengths behind her now. "Bury that rabbit in the snow here. It's much too big to go dragging around." She said this with a slight edge to her voice, but her eyes were alight and a small smile played upon her features at the mention of the rabbit's size.
Shaking her head good-naturedly, the small she-cat led her patrol north for a few minutes until they came to an area thick with undergrowth. Letting her gaze sweep over the forest floor, she signaled with her tail for the patrol to spread out and begin again the search for prey.
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Post by #Trigger on Jan 3, 2013 18:46:49 GMT -5
Brushfire lowered his head, chuckling a little more to himself. He couldn't believe he was so messy today. Normally he was a lot better at hunting, but he could only blame the snow for now. If it weren't for the white, cold world, he would be hopping from rock to tree root, easily swiping up prey left and right. But, no, he would have to deal with this for now.
Tuning into what his leader was saying, he swiveled his ears forwards. The Great Sycamore? Yes, that should be a good hunting place, as long as they don't try to go into the tree. But the undergrowth... Yes, perfect. So far their hunting was decent, with a little mouse and a surprisingly plump rabbit. At least the kits and queen could be fed from the rabbit. Brushfire gazed down at the rabbit, lowering his head more so he could nudge it with his nose. He scrunched up his nose, swiping a paw over it to clean off the blood that came from the rabbit.
His head shot up when his leader addressed him. He nodded, standing up and picking his way over to an area of snow that wasn't disturbed. Carefully, he dug out a hole just big enough for the rabbit, picking it up by the scruff of its neck and dropping it into the snow. The tom then covered it over with snow, making sure he could still faintly smell its scent before leaping over the hiding spot. With that done, he quickly caught up with the group. Only to be signaled to spread out again, of course. He opened up his mouth, taking in a deep breath. He could smell the prey, some mice and... Oh, there were a few up in the tree, probably hibernating squirrels. So, where were the ground prey hiding?
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Post by Snap on Jan 6, 2013 14:44:11 GMT -5
Thistlepelt quietly trotted through the dense snow behind his clanmates. The older tom kept his eyes forward, but his ears flicked to the sides, waiting for any prey to make itself known. He knows it is much harder to hunt in leaf-bare, because the snow slows down a warrior's movements. So when a slight crunch of the white fluffy stuff caught his attention, he froze, like the riverclan's lakes this season. His eyes searched the ground, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it might be, scurrying around.
A dash of brown-gray fur ran beside him, he pounced at it, bringing it into his outstretched claws. It struggled for a mere second before hanging limply. Thistlepelt opened his jaws, grasping the mouse's body lightly in it. His head shot up, though, as he heard scuffling. Briarstar had just chased a surprisingly large rabbit in the opposite direction.
Brushfire was waiting at the other side, he knew, and he made his way slowly, through the snow, behind Briarstar. He watched the young warrior wrestle with the stubborn thing, flinging snow and blood drops this way and that. The rabbit had made some kind of squeaking noise before it gave up under the tabby warrior's claws. Thistlepelt flicked his tail happily. Brushfire did a good job, and that rabbit was quite plump. It would feed plenty. He heard Briarstar briefly address Brushfire to hide the rabbit. Thistlepelt quickly threw in his mouse as well.
He nosed some snow over his catch and padded back towards the patrol. The Great Sycamore was bound to have some good hunting.
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Maybe
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[M:-200]
Posts: 18
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Post by Maybe on Jan 7, 2013 14:57:19 GMT -5
The small she-cat crept silently over the snow-dusted earth, delicately lifting her paws so as not to make a sound. She was hyper aware of her warriors around her, the young warrior Brushfire to her left and one of her senior warriors Thistlepelt to her right, a few foxlengths behind her. Both were skilled hunters, and she was glad she had chosen them for this morning's patrol. Briarstar leapt lightly onto a large Sycamore root, her small body landing weightlessly on the dry bark. She flung her tail outward, steadying herself as she planted her paws firmly on the root, her claws gripping the bark. With a twitch of her ears, she signaled to the patrol to stay still, her eyes trained on the ground below, where a small scuffling sound caught her attention. She kept as still as a rock, only the slight twitching of the tip of her tail any indication that she was about to pounce.
Then, with a mighty leap, she shoved off from the root with her powerful hindquarters, her front claws extended. A bird's alarm call was cut off short, and a flurry of snow was sent into the air. A heartbeat later, the ThunderClan leader padded out from behind the tall root, a scrawny sparrow in her jaws and a triumphant smirk on her pretty face. She dropped the bird at her paws and sat down, running her tongue over her lips and using her front paw to chase away a few downy feathers that clung to her whiskers.
"Now that's how you catch a sparrow!" she purred, her voice quiet but full of mirth.
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Post by #Trigger on Jan 7, 2013 17:31:43 GMT -5
Brushfire closed his mouth, trembling and slight pain at how quickly the wind froze his mouth. He would have to keep his mouth open for shorter periods of time in this weather. Where was newleaf when you needed it? He ruffled up his fur as the icy wind buffed him, turning his head in a failed attempt to shield himself from the wind. He looked up just in time to see the signal to stay still once more.
His muscles tensed as he watched his leader's form. It took all of his willpower to keep himself from moving even the slightest inch until Briarstar leaped off the root. His ears perked at the short alarm squawk, picking up nothing but silence soon after. The young warrior grinned, swaying his bushy tail back and forth against the snow when the she-cat reappeared with a sparrow.
Brushfire couldn't help but softly chuckle, shaking his head and finally allowing his muscles to relax. "That's a mighty fine catch you got there, Briarstar." Kicking away some snow with his hind paws, the tabby tom sat down, giving his aching limbs a short rest. He didn't need to be sore while hunting, especially after that thrashing the rabbit gave him. Those things were tough!
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Post by Snap on Jan 7, 2013 20:48:49 GMT -5
The older tom followed the the two with his head downwards, gaze on his paws. He hated this kind of snow. There are different types of snow, you ask? Well of course! He growled to himself as his large paws fell through the white crystals again. This was the kind where the chill air of leaf-bare had made a thin frozen layer over the buried snow. And every single step he took, it would feel as if he'd stepped on solid ground, until he put more weight on it and he sunk to the bottom. Maybe it was just him, but he really, really despised snow.
Thistlepelt blinked quickly and managed to stop himself from bumping into his former apprentice. Lifting his green gaze, he found Briarstar balanced gracefully atop a thick, gnarly root of a tree. The dark tabby searched for what she was stalking until he caught a glimpse of it over Brushfire's head. The bird was totally oblivious, and so when the leader pushed herself off the root to pounce, it had little to no time to struggle. The tan she-cat looked mighty pleased with herself as she whacked extra fluffy feathers off her face. Thistlepelt broke into a grin as Brushfire complimented her. "Indeed," he added.
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Maybe
New Member
[M:-200]
Posts: 18
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Post by Maybe on Jan 8, 2013 14:35:55 GMT -5
Briarstar grinned playfully at the two toms, swishing her tail with pleasure at her catch. Even after serving her clan for so many moons, receiving her nine lives, and leading her clan to greatness, the simple pleasure of hunting was never wasted on her. With a purr that emanated from deep within her chest, the she-cat ruffled up her fur, bracing herself against the biting wind. Using her small white forepaws, the leader dug a small furrow in the hard-packed snow, then nudged the bird into the hole, covering it up with a fresh layer.
She could tell that her warriors were cold. Brushfire's fur was fluffed up so that he looked twice his usual size, which was saying a lot, because the young tom was already broad-shouldered enough as it was. Thistlepelt has a fine dusting of frost on his graying whiskers, and she could sense the older tom's reluctance in the snow. He's always hated leafbare, she thought, smirking to herself at the thought of the tough, battle-scarred warrior hissing in annoyance at the season's first snowfall.
She lifted her head, vivid green gaze sweeping the forest, ears pricked for any sign of prey. They had already caught a good amount, and the wind was starting to bite a little too deep into her fur, but luck was on their side this sunrise, and the small tabby she-cat wanted to see just how long their luck would hold.
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Post by #Trigger on Jan 8, 2013 16:54:47 GMT -5
He shivered, tensing up the muscles in his back as the wind continued to nip and tease him. Those snowflakes just wanted him to make a fool of himself in order to get warm, didn't they? Well, he always made a fool of himself, especially when he got another one of his crazy ideas about adventure, but the snow made his sense of adventure nullify. It also made him feel old with aching bones and sore muscles.
Plus, he looked like a ball of fur, His tabby pelt was already rough and long, but ruffling it just made him look ridiculous. Greenish brown eyes narrowed with distaste at the thought of how he might look. He really shouldn't care since he's strutted into camp before covered in mud, pebbles, and dried grass. Ah, the days of the apprentice. He rather missed it.
Brushfire shrugged off a layer of snow that had accumulated on his shoulders. He tilted his head to the side, ears flicking back and forth. He really shouldn't hear any prey with these winds, and most of what they ate was too light to actually send a crunch when they walked. The tom sighed, dropping his head. "Got any old prey locating tricks, teach?" He asked with mild sarcasm, glancing over at Thistlepelt.
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Post by Snap on Jan 8, 2013 17:41:15 GMT -5
Thistlepelt watched as a gentle smile crawled across his leader's gleaming face. Clearly she was lost in her own thoughts of some kind. He can't help but notice she does that often. Rolling her tense shoulders brought on by the chill, he swiped his tongue over his frozen nose. Oh! His nose was really cold. A hard shudder shook the tom and he fluffed up his fur, in a futile attempt to gain some body heart back.
Blinking, the tom glanced around the surrounding, snow-covered land. They had actually caught a decent amount, but he knew it wouldn't last long in the camp. Bellies would be hungry when the trio would drag their haul back to camp. And hungry bellies need the food. Just another reason to hate leaf-bare, he groaned inwardly.
Flicking his ears toward his ex-apprentice, Thistlepelt grinned and let a low chuckle flow out of his jaws. "Actually, I don't. I usually just stand still and listen." He tilted his head to the side, his gaze flicking forward momentarily. "Lots of good things come when you just listen." Blinking, the older tom bumped his shoulder with Brushfire. "Luck helps a lot in these situations, too."
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