Don't Stress Yourself (CLOSED)

Scorchfang was overjoyed. His punishment of being confined in camp for a moon has finally expired, and now he was allowed to join patrols again! He went straight to work, organizing patrols and volunteering to go on as many as he could. Thus far, he had scheduled himself for a hunting patrol with Curlyfeather, Snakeblaze, Goldenpaw, and even Littlestar herself, followed by a quick border patrol along the Thunderpath separating ShadowClan from WindClan with Olivelily. This was going to be so much fun!

...Wait, no. Hunting patrols and border patrols were serious business. Sure, it was newleaf now, but that just opened up more potential threats to their way of life. The prey was becoming plentiful again, but that didn't mean it was completely plentiful. And there would probably be more appearances of foxes, badgers, and other predators coming out of hibernation. Not to mention the Twolegs, the enemy cats, the rain that just might turn into a flood, the hotter season of greenleaf coming along next with its potential droughts and forest fires...

"I can't let myself be distracted," Scorchfang grunted to himself. "I have to stay strong and focused. I've already lost too much time with that stupid stunt I pulled as an apprentice. I can't afford to lose myself to pleasures and fun."

"Ready?" Culyfeather asked, her usual irritated tone in her voice. There always seemed to be something to be annoyed about now. Her apprentice should be a warrior by now, and she was convinced it was her own fault. Everyone brought back more prey that her every day, even apprentices. Whenever someone acknowledged her faults, she would flip out on them. Just Scorchfang's words that she couldn't hear were a reminder of how horrible her life was going. All she knew about the situation was that she was going on a patrol with the deputy and some other cats, but didn't feel like putting the effort to find out. Simply understanding what cats someone was talking about took so much energy and time, and she had decided that it simply wasn't worth it. Padding over the the dark tabby, she waited for whoever the other cats were to arrive. Surprises couldn't be too bad, could they?

Snakeblaze headed over. He wanted to join a hunting patrol, because he wanted to make sure he was a better hunter, for Ferretpaw. "Yes." he answered.

Goldenpaw hopped over to the rest of the gathered hunting patrol, ready and raring for her day out catching prey. "Hi Dad!", she greeted Scorchfang first. "Hi everyone! Isn't today such a great day? We're gonna have so much fun hunting together! Let's go!"

Littlestar was the last to arrive, quietly making her way towards the gathering group with a smile. Life was seeming to calm down a little bit, and though she knew it wouldn't last very long, she decided to just bask in the tranquility. New-leaf was here and prey was running well. It was such a good contrast to how her leadership had started, and she was thankful for it.

Finally arriving to join the group she gave each of her warriors, and Goldenpaw, a small nod of greeting. "I'm ready when you are, Scorchfang." She responded, her blue eyes watchful but friendly. The serenity wasn't the only reason for her appearance on the patrol. She wanted to see how Scorchfang was doing with being deputy and his punishment finally being lifted. She was sure everything was fine, but it didn't hurt to check.

Scorchfang nodded respectfully to his leader, then gestured with his tail for everyone to follow, mostly for the sake of Curlyfeather.

He led the patrol deep into ShadowClan territory, close to the deep marshes, and he stopped and turned to his Clanmates. First, he addressed Curlyfeather, flattening his tail and speaking, ”Let’s hunt.” Then, he swished his tail to the others and said, ”Stay close.”

Finally addressing the rest of the patrol, he began giving his instructions, trying to pretend as if Littlestar were just another warrior. ”We will hunt here. Goldenpaw, I want you to stay close to me, Snakeblaze, or Littlestar. The three of us must keep Curlyfeather in our sights at all times. Should a predator attack, we can let Curlyfeather deal a blow or two so she doesn’t feel left out, but keep her safe nevertheless. Let’s see how much we can catch.” He nodded to dismiss them, then began padding off, gesturing with his tail to Curlyfeather to follow him.

He stopped when he detected the scent of mouse, and he crouched down, parting his lips into he pinpointed his prey. He began to stalk forward slowly. He pounced and landed on the rodent quickly, killing it with a swift bite to the spine. He placed the fresh-kill down and buried it, then nodded to Curlyfeather, letting her go next. He would watch her pinpoint the next prey with scent and sight, then allow her to catch it, without intervening, even if she missed. He wasn’t going to let her believe she couldn’t provide for the Clan on her own.

(OOC: We’ll hunt in order of arrival. I’ve taken my turn, so Squirrelnose will go next, followed by Winterpaw, then Lord of the Wood, and finally Sunlit. To keep this patrol from taking forever to complete, we can each have two chances to catch prey.)

The member 'Yoshachu' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Curlyfeather was a bit surprised that Littlest herself was going to be on this hunting patrol. Probably to check on Scorchfang or something like that. Maybe it would be worth it to put in some extra effort sometime. Not really paying attention to Snakeblaze or Goldenpaw, she just paid attention to the deputy's tail signals. Other than Cedarstorm and Nettlesting, he was the cat she was the most grateful for. Always remembering to tail signal to her without blatantly not talking. Though she would never admit it, his help was something that she needed, and was glad that she had. Following after him, she understood where to go, to start hunting, and to stay close. When the dark tom started speaking, she didn't even try to follow along. When he finished hunting, she started. Scenting the air, she caught the trail of a reptile. Following the smell a few steps, she quickly spotted it. Her lack of hearing only seemed to help her sense of smell and sight. Crouching low, she padded towards the frog. Unfortunately, she made the same mistake she always did. Stepping too loudly. Something must have caused a noise, and the frog noticed her. It began hopping away in an instant. Stubbornly, she chased after it, but it was much faster than she was. Cursing under her breath, she stomped back towards the patrol.

OOC: Darn the disabled hunting system.

The member 'Bishop Squirrelnose' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Snakeblaze gave a respectful nod at Littlestar. He headed out. He wasn't a bad hunter, and he'll prove it. He looked around at the other patrol members. He perked up his ears. Lizard. He ducked down low and started moving in on the sound. He hid behind trees as he neared the reptile, and it was in sight. The lizard was in a small clearing and about a tail length away from him. 'If I stalk towards it, it'll see me... I have to make the move here...' he thought. He took a deep breath before speeding towards it in low, quick leaps. He landed behind it and took another leap at the lizard with reflexes as sharp as a snake. Before the lizard could run, he launched his teeth into the lizard's throat. He smiled a bit before going to bury it near a tree's roots.

The member 'Minister Winterpaw' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Goldenpaw was ecstatic that she would be hunting with both her father and their leader Littlestar. Taking her cue from her father, she had learned hunting must be more of a serious business than she would usually hold herself to. But with the leader among them, she wanted to do her best to stay quiet and make sure nothing got away from her or her clan mates.

Staying close to her Scorchfang, the little apprentice lifted her nose to the wind. When she caught the scent of a frog, she stalked after it. Getting close and patiently watching to see that it was not getting ready to hop away, she finally pounced. Catching it in her claws, she reached down and bit the back of it's neck to make sure it was dead. Holding the the frog in her mouth, she hopped over to her father to show him her catch. Whispering, although still bouncing, she said to Scorchfang, "Look I already got my first catch today!"

The member 'Lord of the Wood' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Littlestar padded behind the patrol with a kind of quiet thoughtfulness. Scorchfang was doing a good job so far, and he seemed to be adjusting back to full deputyship nicely. That was good. She shook out her short, tortoiseshell fur like she was shaking away that worry. Finally, as they parted ways to hunt, she waited for everyone to go off in their separate directions before she began tracking a mouse. As she came upon it, her mouth watered slightly. New-leaf was here and the prey was getting plumper. It was nice to not have to worry as much about if her clan was eating. Pushing away the thoughts, she crept closer to the rodent before finally leaping and finishing off the fat creature.

The member 'Sunlit' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8