Trapped! (Closed)

"Hey!" Birdflight whined and pouted as the squirrel she was attempting to catch ran off before she could even pounce. The calico shrugged her shoulders and moved on. This wasn't the only prey here in the territory. There had to be more elsewhere despite the freezing leafbare. The warrior then began to wander off in a random direction, hoping to stumble upon some unsuspecting prey.

The more she continued walking, the quieter it got. Something didn't feel right but perhaps it was the cold messing with her head. Her green eye scanned the area around her until it stopped at a small pile of leaves and twigs at the base of a tree trunk. She dropped down into a hunter's crouch and slowly crept up to it. There had to be something hiding in there. She could feel it in her bones. She purred lowly as she neared the tree, feeling herself get excited. She hadn't hunted much for quite a while. She missed doing this.

After what seemed like minutes, the warrior pounced. She was now on the pile. She stuck her head into the leaves and tried to look around. Nothing. She pouted once again. She really did think there was something there. Sighing, the calico began to back away but in an instant, she could feel something wrong. She couldn't pull herself away. She was stuck but on what? She felt panic start to rise up in her belly. She desperately began to yank and pull. There was something holding onto her neck. The she-cat thrashed around, scattering all the leaves and twigs away finally revealing what was holding onto her so painfully tight. It was some sort of thin, shiny object. She could feel it digging harshly into her pelt. It was also cutting off a lot of her air. She was starting to run out breath. Oh Starclan! She couldn't die like this! She couldn't leave her family behind! In a surge of adrenaline, she tried to slide her head out. "Ack!" The thing was piercing her neck and getting tighter. She stopped moving and was now focusing on gulping some air. This was horrible. She was going to suffocate to death if this got any tighter.

Blood was beginning to drip down her neck and chest. It had almost fully pierced her flesh and was tearing it's way into her. She was panting and whimpering. She was vulnerable to anything now. She laid herself down, eyes beginning to droop. Breathing was getting harder to do. In another attempt to save herself, Birdflight called out, hoping somebody was near and could try to help her. If she didn't make it, at least she wouldn't pass away alone. "H-Help me! I-I need help! Please!" loudly wailed the calico. Her voice carried out far. It was the only thing left to do. If she struggled more, the object would just squeeze tighter.

It had been only a few minutes of her getting herself stuck but it felt like an eternity. The she-cat was now on her side as she waited and hoped. It was the most comfortable position for her to be in. It probably wasn't a good idea but she never experienced this before. The ground beneath her was now somewhat painted with her blood. If she got out of this alive, she'd be running around for joy even if she was weak and tired. Staying awake was her goal and she was determined to reach it!

Stormpaw had been hunting with her mother and mentor Emberheart together with some other cats on the patrol. She loved going outside of the camp and learning about the forest that was now her home. Excitement always seemed to burst trough her being her eyes shining like the north star when she explored the forest and its beauty. Mother had said that the forest was an even prettier outside of bare-leaf when the leaves came back to the tree's and the forest would go all green. Stormpaw found it hard to believe as she made her way in the white landscape.
Dead leaves cracked beneath her paws when she stopped to smell the air and look back to where she was sure the patrol had been just a second ago.
She purred i excitement as an idea formed in her head what if she sneaked back to the group and surprised her mentor?
She smiled and began to crouch when suddenly an ice chilling plea filled the air. Stormpaw quickly stopped crouching and looked up to where the sound came from. Without thinking she raced towards the origin of the sound not stopping to realize her group must be far behind her now.
She suddenly slipped to a stop when she saw a she-cat laying on her side the ground beneath her drenched in blood.
Fear sprat in her heart as she realized that the older warriors where behind her, what could she do?
She decided with all the willpower she had to walk toward the she-cat, her smell was harder to determine trough all the blood but the pelt was familiar to Stormpaw, probably one of the warriors. She approached the she cat and saw that a small shiny thingy was around her neck.
"hey, umm don't worry a patrol comes soon".
Really what could you say in a situation like this?.

Another patrol. Beartooth was bound to his duty in such a way that recently seemed to make his stomach turn. Never before had he resented the tasks that were presented to him. Even now it was more of a lack of will for anything that prevented the tom from being fully engaged in the patrol. Externally, his stoic expression did not change. It was the deep well of sadness that welled up behind the blank veil of his stare. Today was just as grey and bleak as the rest. With a slight rise in temperature, the snow had melted slightly, leaving everything blanketed in a thin mist. There had been a sprinkling of snow as if to replace what had been lost. Underneath the collected snowflakes, his weight brought him to the hard-packed ice. The entire process was arduous. But he kept going. When they split up, he kept going.

After some time a scent finally drifted to his nostril. Then was when he lifted his head and heavy-laden eyes opened slightly. This was something he had seldom smelled before. It caused his fur to stand on end and managed to capture the attention of his piddling mind. Little prey scents came his way, and the few that drifted through his scent glands was lost underneath the unusual smell. Beartooth slowly followed after it, although it was already fading because of the frozen flakes of ice. He padded on, somehow managing not to cross paths with any of the other patrol members, which he didn't even stop to question. A deep sense of protectiveness drove him forward rather than curiosity nor fear of the unknown. Eventually, something caused the ice to settle in his veins. Blood. Within, the warrior couldn't fight the shrinking feeling. His pace quickened until he broke through the deadened branches that masked the scene ahead.

Stormpaw was already there. He'd been too far away to hear when Birdflight's wailing had begun. But as the shape of the warrior came clearly into view, his heart skipped a beat. Of all the cats who could have been there, blood pouring down onto their coat and sticking it together, it had to be Birdflight. The sinking feeling in his chest threatened to fall him to the ground. His claws struggled to grip the earth below as he stumbled towards the she-cats. There she was. The clawmarks over his eye seemed to sting as he stared into the empty socket, drunk in the scarlet drops that disturbed the pure white ground. Oh, great Starclan. Although his faith had died with the exiled cats, it was a habit that brought such a desperate thought to mind. Aspenpaw. Birdflight. His own scarred face was retribution for the chain of events started by his own monstrous nature. But that did not conjure up in his mind like the sightless faces, it was something he hadn't seen yet.

"Stormpaw. What happened?" His voice cracked without breaking, raw as it rumbled out, as he fought his way through the snow, closer to her. Beartooth wasn't quite conscious, not quite awake, as he finally leaned forward to fight at the strand with his teeth. Birdflight couldn't be lost. Paws rooted firmly to the ground as his enlarged fangs fought at the strange thing that held his clanmate captive. Those teeth undoubtedly grazed her fur, aggravating the wounds already there as he continued in desparation.

As Emberheart drew closer to the cry for help, she shivered in horror as she thought about what they might find once they reached the source. However, seeing her Clanmate in such a state, and her daughter witnessing this horrifying display, were far worse than anything she could have imagined. She stopped in her tracks at the sight. "Birdflight..." She shook her head, turning to face Stormpaw (anything was better than watching this, anything), and waited for an answer to Beartooth's question. She tried to take a step forward, to assist her fellow warrior in trying to free Birdflight, but faltered each time, and once more averted her gaze. "What... What happened here?"

Harefoot padded wordlessly beside Beartooth, brushing slightly against him as they walked. He could tell his friend was unlike his normal self... or perhaps his past self. The moody silence was the new normal. But Harefoot had been overwhelmed with his new responsibilities and distracted by the simultaneous freedom of becoming a warrior. Maybe they'd talk soon. For now, the dusty tom was happy just to be walking next to his oldest and closest friend.

They went their separate ways to cover as much ground as possible while looking for prey. Harefoot lifted his nose to scent for something to catch when he'd distanced himself enough, but the first smell he caught was concerning: blood. Fresh, and that of another cat's. Dashing through the icy bushes and undergrowth in the direction of the blood-scent, the young tom stumbled upon Birdflight and the rest of the patrol as they meowed questions that no one had the answer for. He gasped, appalled by the blood that continued to well up on the she-cat's pelt, and kept his distance for fear of a similar thing happening to himself.

Stormpaw was on the brink of crying when the older warriors arrived, the blood, the cry of Birdflight everything. It was way to much for the young she cat to handle. She looked at her mother who was now standing in front of her "I..I don't know what happend" she hiccuped trough her tears now pouring down her face "there is so much blood and it looks so painful and I just don't know." the last sentence was berly hearable trough all the sobs and tears. Stormpaw wanted to just go back to camp and hide, she felt so small in this situation, so useless. She wanted to help the she-cat but what could she do? Atleast Emberheart was here so everything would be alright right? She would know what to do.

Birdflight felt that all hope had been lost until she was greeted by the site of familiar faces. It was Thunderclan patrol! Oh Starclan! She was going to be alright. Stormpaw was the first to be seen. Next came Beartooth. Then Emberheart. Finally, it was Harefoot.

"I-I was hunting out here for a w-while when I spotted a pile of leaves an twigs. I t-thought maybe a mouse might've been hiding in there so I stuck m-my head in to take a peek. When I tried to back away, t-this thing grabbed my neck and I got stuck. I-If I struggle too much, it'll squeeze harder." explained the calico as she flinched in pain from the tugging Beartooth was doing. It hurt but he was trying his best to free her and she greatly appreciated his efforts.

Emberheart swallowed her fear and stepped forward to investigate more closely. Whatever it was that Birdflight had been caught in, she was confident in that there had to be a way to save her. "You're going to be okay," she promised as she looked more closely, praying that it wouldn't be a lie. "We'll get you out of there."

Now that she had a closer look at the thing that had caught her fellow warrior, she could see that it was shining, silver, and thin... Unlike Beartooth, she didn't immediately begin tugging at it, for fear of making it worse. Instead, she studied it carefully, trying to see if there might be something that appeared different from the rest. If there was, she couldn't see it. Holding back a sigh, she stepped back and looked to the ground in silent defeat, only to see something poking out of the ground. A slightly closer inspection revealed that it was connected to the thin silver thing, holding it in place. "We need to get this thing out of the ground!"

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

In his desperate state, the bulky warrior didn't notice her flinch. His teeth worried fruitlessly at the silver strand. As he attempted to tear away the seemingly unbreakable thing, it cut into the soft flesh of the roof of his mouth and gums. Soon the taste of metal overwhelmed his senses. Their blood and the taste of the wire soon managed to break through his conscious and make him aware just in time to hear Emberheart speak. Beartooth stopped with a soft, exasperated grunt that cut sharply through his nostrils. The snow underneath his massive paws was thrown. Sides heaved for a moment before the tom was able to focus on the older warrior's words. There was a swimming sensation in his head. Everything seemed far away. But eventually, his gaze traced Emberheart's to the stake that poked up from the ground.

Without a word, he loped towards the wooden protrusion as quickly as his paws would allow with the dragging slurry of the flakes and ice. The muscles in his shoulder coiled. He shuddered slightly from the tension but failed to realize it. And his pad slammed against the top of the wood. In turn, the stick shook but failed to yield. With another grunt, Beartooth heaved his paw forward once more smashed into its target. As he did splinters embedded themselves into his pads. The tabby did not realize. His mind was focused on only one goal: freeing Birdflight. He didn't think much over if this was the best route or really anything past the futile attempts. Already he owed her so much, more than she knew, he couldn't fail.

Harefoot watched, hypnotized by the dripping blood, until Emberheart's cry snapped him out of it. He spotted what she was talking about at once, now bloodied with Beartooth's self-destructive efforts. "Beartooth, wait! Stop hurting yourself, please! There's got to be another way." He meowed, pressing up against Beartooth's side in an effort to push the larger tom away. Emberheart had said to get it out from the ground. 'Maybe... it's worth a try...' Harefoot extended a paw to pat the disturbed ground around the stake, as though it had been placed there and did not grow up from the earth. "Emberheart's right, we should try to pull it up. Carefully! Birdflight's still stuck to the other end!" He meowed in desperation, scraping at the ground around the stick.

Stormpaw wasn't sure if she could be much help, she was not sure about anything right now. This was not something she had learned to help the warriors right now. Then she remembered something small from when she was a little kit and together with her twolegs. Some of the twoleg kits would poke something in the ground to get it out again always yelling enthusiastic. She saw what Harefoot was doing and mimicked it on the other side of the stick still shaken en sniffling about the whole affair. She kept on scrapping the ground around the stick until she could see the end of the stick "I I think that if we are careful we could pull it out right now..."

Birdflight bit her tongue to try and soothe the pain she was in. She had to be strong and not struggle too much. The she-cat watched on as her clan-mates made progress in freeing her. She was almost out! They just needed to pull the thing out of the ground together. "Pull it out t-together. Maybe it'll be easier." said Birdflight with a strained voice. Talking sure drained what was left of her energy.