singing through the trees [closed]

By the light of sunset, Mudfrost pulled herself onto the shore and shook what felt like half of the river off her fur. RiverClan though she was, something about leaf-fall’s insistent chill made the water seem to linger. But it was still better than being in camp. There, if she let her attention falter at all, her gaze would drift to the nursery and Ivybrook, and if there was anything Mudfrost hated, it was feeling helpless. She was a warrior. Her name was proof that she wasn’t helpless. Yet Ivybrook’s grief was too big for Mudfrost to comprehend, much less fix.

Tracking wasn’t her strong suit. Even so, the scent that drifted past her nose was too strong to miss; it tore her right out of her train of thought. Mudfrost squinted into the trees to find a small, bushy-tailed shape. …A squirrel? Maybe she really did need to brush up on land hunting before leaf-bare set in. She wasn’t sure she believed parts of the river could freeze over, but she wouldn’t let herself be useless in the event that they did. The calico settled into a crouch—and the squirrel, oblivious to her presence, wandered deeper into the forest. Mudfrost stifled a sigh. ThunderClan’s scent was so strong here; the squirrel had almost certainly gone past the border.

…Then again, she could handle herself. A fight might help her work the restlessness out of her limbs, if it came to that; if it didn’t, well, a successful hunt was never unwelcome. Mudfrost crept forward into the tangle of leaves, branches, and ThunderClan, her eyes fixed so intently on her prey that the rest of the word was hardly more than a blur.

The grief that hung over the ThunderClan camp was so thick it was almost palpable. It had been days - how many, she didn't know for sure, and the medicine cat was long since buried, but Pricklebush's death had changed, what seemed like the very foundation of ThunderClan itself - shaken every cat to their core.

The apprentice hadn't really known Pricklebush on a personal level, but from the peripherals of living in the same clan, she knew he was a good medicine cat, and that he had been loved. And it showed, in the suffocating sorrow that drenched her to the bone and made even the faintest leaf-fall breeze cut like a claw in the darkness.

Rainpaw couldn't cope. She had to get out - away from all this anguish and distress, and so into the forest she slipped as the sun sank below the horizon, bathing the forest in shadows. The moment she was away from camp, she felt better. Here, there were no stifled sobs, no hunched shoulders and tormented eyes. Here, there was only her, and Rainpaw finally was able to let herself relax. Immediately, she felt guilty - she knew that Ferretnose would be angry that she'd left camp alone, but she suppressed the guilt with an angry snort, claws digging into the dirt as she quickened into a sprint. Her mentor could get angry all she wanted, Rainpaw didn't care. Ferretnose had been distant and distracted ever since the medicine cat's death, anyway. She probably wouldn't even notice.

There was no rhyme or reason for the direction Rainpaw chose. She had no destination, and so she ran blindly, pale fur glistening in the moonlight. Eventually, she halted, panting, and let her haunches plop to the ground in exhaustion as she took account of her surroundings. This is the forest near Sunningrocks, she decided, climbing to her paws. Might as well check the border. But as soon as she neared the border, a scent drifted to her on the wind. Rainpaw's eyes narrowed. RiverClan. This wasn't a border scent, this was a live cat-scent, and it was close. Ducking into a crouch, Rainpaw crept forward, following the trail, until, upon poking her nose through a clump of ferns, she saw the white-and-calico pelt of a RiverClan she-cat, on the ThunderClan side of the border.

"INTRUDER!!" the apprentice shrieked, barreling full-force at the she-cat in a rage-induced gallop.

Rainpaw used Run-and-Tackle, dealing 9 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Rainpaw
20/20
70/80 (-10)

Mudfrost
36/45 (-9)
160/160

She had prepared herself for the possibility of a fight. This was not the same as preparing for the reality of someone rocketing out of the ferns directly into her side. Mudfrost barely had time to turn toward the (presumably ThunderClan) cat who’d discovered her before the impact sent her tumbling. Branches and leaves crunched under her as she rolled. Tail lashing, she popped back to her feet on the uneven ground and faced her opponent, a gray-and-tan scrap of bristling fur closer to the nursery than the warriors’ den.

Firstly, she was trespassing. Secondly, RiverClan would survive whether or not she brought a squirrel back tonight. There was no real harm in turning tail and heading back to Sunningrocks. Except this was a matter of pride (an apprentice thought she could chase her off?), and the first collision had brought a moon of frustrations boiling to the surface. She wasn’t going to run from a fight she knew she’d win. A glance over her shoulder confirmed what Mudfrost had already known: the squirrel was gone, startled away by her opponent’s caterwauling. With a snarl—”You scared it off, vole-brain!”—she rounded and brought her paws down on the smaller she-cat’s head.

Mudfrost used Upright Front Paws, dealing 11 damage and using 20 stamina.

Mudfrost
36/45 HP
140/160 SP (-20)

Rainpaw
9/20 HP (-11)
70/80 SP

Recovering from the blow to her head with a furious hiss, Rainpaw backed off, putting distance between herself and the RiverClan cat. "Yeah, well it was my squirrel to scare off, anyway!" she snarled, making a half-circle around Mudfrost as she simultaneously looked for an entrance or an exit. It had been pure adrenaline and anger that drove her to attacking the she-cat, but now that they were face to face and on even ground, Rainpaw was starting to regret it. Her head stung from the blows of Mudfrost's paws, and she wasn't sure she could take another one like that. She had underestimated how much damage a full grown cat could do to an apprentice.

Gritting her teeth, Rain prickled, every hair standing on end in an attempt to make herself appear bigger. But she didn't get an opening to run and so she stood her ground, waiting until just the right moment... and then darted in, leaping on to the older cat's back and using her smaller size as an advantage, just as Ferretnose had taught her. Her claws raked Mudfrost's shoulders as she clung to the calico she-cat's form.

Rainpaw used Leap-and-Hold, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Rainpaw
9/20
60/80 (-10)

Mudfrost
30/45 (-6)
160/160

Rainpaw cannot be injured for one turn.

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 1

For a moment, Mudfrost thought the single blow might have been enough to chase the apprentice off. Unfortunately, she was mistaken. Rather than go sprinting into the trees, Rainpaw began to circle around her. Mudfrost turned her head to watch, eyes narrowed as she watched for anything that might give away Rainpaw’s next move. Even if victory was a near certainty, her opponent’s smaller size and inexperience didn’t mean she could afford to be reckless. After all, she was only a moon away from apprenticeship herself. If she came back to camp all scratched up from a cat half her size… Well, she doubted anyone would notice, and she was a decent liar, but she would know what had happened.

Tired of watching Rainpaw stalk around her, Mudfrost took a step forward—and Rainpaw leaped. Next thing Mudfrost knew, claws were digging into her shoulders. Thin streaks of red bloomed through the lighter patches of her fur. With a wordless hiss caught between pain and fury, Mudfrost shook herself down to the end of her tail in an attempt to dislodge the apprentice.

Mudfrost is no longer pinned.

Mudfrost
30/45 HP
140/160 SP

Rainpaw
9/20 HP
60/80 SP

Digging her claws into the warrior's pelt for one final blow, Rainpaw used the momentum from Mudfrost's flailing to leap to the ground. She skidded to a halt several fox-lengths away from the she-cat and whipped around, coat fluffed up to make her appear larger. She slicked her ears back, mimicking Mudfrost's hiss with one of her own, and half-flattened to the ground, preparing to leap away if the larger cat came at her again. She was tired and in pain, scratches adorning her head where Mudfrost had clawed her, but she wouldn't back down.

Rainpaw used Front-Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 Stamina.

Mudfrost
24/45 HP (-6)
140/160 SP

Rainpaw
9/20 HP
50/80 SP (-10)

After one last swipe, the weight on her back abruptly vanished. As she found her center of balance, Mudfrost’s vision cleared to reveal a crouching, bristling Rainpaw, still stubbornly present and ready to fight, attempting intimidation despite her injuries. Had the situation been different, Mudfrost might have found something worth admiring in that determination. As it was, it made her next move all too apparent. The squirrel didn’t even matter that much anymore. Once she ended this, all she wanted was to be back in RiverClan territory, hunting without interference—the sooner the better. Sinking into a crouch of her own, she sprang forward to strike at Rainpaw again.

Mudfrost used Front Paw Strike, dealing 9 damage and using 10 stamina. Rainpaw can no longer fight.

Mudfrost
24/45 HP
130/160 SP (-10)

Rainpaw
0/20 HP (-9)
50/80 SP