sisters of the moor [closed]

The tawny apprentice’s tail twitched. It was almost sunhigh. She didn’t know if that was the best time to hunt, but the camp was almost empty, so it had to be a decent time. Wildpaw needed to hunt some. She had barely brought back any prey during her apprenticeship. But to go and hunt alone? Well, that had worked out so great last time. But she needed to get out on the moor for some exercise. Maybe that was why she was a bit smaller than most of her denmates (though just as wiry). With a sigh, the blind molly stretched, tail curling, and glanced at her den. Maybe another apprentice would want to go. As much as she valued the protection of a warrior, she wasn’t in the mood for an older cat to come along with her. Now, which apprentice to choose? Wildpaw was only really comfortable with Sweetpaw and Clearpaw, and Clearpaw wasn’t in the den. She drew closer to Sweetpaw and murmured, “Hey, Sweetpaw? Up for a hunt?” She was perceptive, and probably heard the reluctance in her voice, but she was also nice enough not to ask. She hoped.

Sweetpaw yawned, eyes half-lidded as she enjoyed the sun on her pelt. It was the perfect time for sunning, and the apprentice was very warm and very content. The camp was quiet, a kind of droswey stillness settling over the clearing. The tabby twitched a white ear as her denmate approached and lifted her head from her paws. "Hunting? Sure." She answers, interrupting herself with a yawn. She pulls herself up with ease and takes a moment to stretch her paws out in front of her. The apprentice hadn't missed Wildpaw's tone, but put two and two together pretty quickly and didn't press. She would never turn down a chance to provide for the clan, running the moor was always an added bonus.

She brushes her tail over her friends back as she passes and pads toward the camp entrance. "You know, Clearpaw would give us an earful if he knew we were heading out like this." She purrs in amusement, blinking as they leave the shade of the gorse wall and break into the vast openness of the moor. Her pace is more of a meander as she decides where to hunt. When they had made it a respectable distance from camp she pauses, tail tip twitching as she raises her head to scent the air. "I think there is a rabbit warren around here." She says under her breath to Wildpaw and drops into a hunter's crouch. She paces forward, and sure enough, a rabbit sits idlely grazing on the newleaf buds, oblivious to the cats crouched a few tail lengths away.

Sweetpaw slinks into the cover the heather, the leaves betraying nothing as they whisper against her fur. She creeps forward on silent paws, inching closer, closer, before she breaks into the open and gives chase. The rabbit whuffs out a startled breaths and flees, white tail flashing. Sweetpaw strides after it, moor grass whipping past as the wind urges her own. There was something about this, the sun, the moor, the chase, that resonated deep within her. This was her element, the purest and wildest form of joy. It connceted her to her clan, those present, past and future. Her strides lengthen for the final sprint before she leaps, claws digging into course fur. It's pounding heart thumps wildly against her paws and she dispatches it quickly. She lifts her head to check her postion, panting happily. It had been a short sprint, and Wildpaw wasn't far away. She scrapes out a little hiding spot for the prey before covering it with grass. It would be a worthy contribution to the fresh-kill pile.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Wildpaw tagged along at Sweetpaw's shoulder as she led the way out of camp, content to let her friend stay in front. It wasn't too windy, and the sun was out. It'd be a great day for hunting. She laughed out a snort at Sweetpaw's remark. "I bet he'd give us a lecture on why we need a warrior with us... which isn't a bad idea, but we can protect eachother." The blind molly sniffed the air as Sweetpaw mentioned the rabbit burrow. "Oh?"

Her friend stalked off to catch a rabbit. Wildpaw let her own ears prick and tasted the air. The comforting scent of rabbit flooded in. This is going well. She dropped into a crouch, locating the rabbit near a patch of heather. It was oblivious to the fact that its kinsmen had just been killed by Sweetpaw. The rabbit jumped a few paces away. Wildpaw froze in her crouch, hoping she hadn't been seen. Thankfully, the rabbit didn't do anything else, and Wildpaw continued on. I think it's a big one.

The grass quivered around her as she broke into a sprint. The rabbit hopped away nimbly, disappearing into a small hole. Scowling, Wildpaw trotted forwards. Her tail twitched as she turned towards Sweetpaw. "Nice catch." She pricked her ears, picking up the faint thumps of the rabbit down the burrow. "Hey, I have an idea. If we can figure out where this burrow lets out, we can flush them out." Her blind eyes sparkled, and tilted her head, waiting to hear her friend's opinion.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Sweetpaw watches as Wildpaw stalks the rabbit, and felt a stab of sympathy for her friend when it disappeared beneath the earth. She trots over, shaking her pelt free of dust and bits of heather. "Thanks," She mews, gratefully and adds, "You would've caught that if it had been braver, cowardly rabbit disappearing that like." She jests with an amused twitch of her tail. She listens attentively as Wildpaw lays out her plan. "Wildpaw, I think you're a genius." She purrs, tail swaying with excitement. She stands back and observes the moor with its swaying grass and blushing heather, the uneven dips and divots of the terrain. Rabbit warrens could be extensive and span miles, or they could be quite small. Luck of the draw it seemed. It would be useful knowledge if they found one of the main entry and exit points. "Lead on, I'll follow you."

Wildpaw nudged her friend with a small smile at her joke. She grinned as Sweetpaw complimented her. Her ears pricked and she inhaled, nodding to the burrow her rabbit had disappeared under. "Well, if you see an obvious place for them to come out, let me know." She tipped her head to the side and pricked her ears, leaning down towards the ground. There was a slight thump-thump-thump coming from under the ground, possibly the rabbit's footsteps. Slowly, she followed the sound, sliding her paws forwards like a snake as so not to trip into a burrow. And it was a good thing she did that, as her paw found a large hole. She flicked her tail at Sweetpaw, indicating for her friend to follow her. She nodded towards the hole. "I think that's a rabbit burrow, but I can't tell." Wildpaw stretched, trying to think of this logically. "Any rabbit burrow has to have a main entrance and exit," she mused, half to herself. "And if they're the main entrance and exit, they're probably bigger than the others. And probably about the same size, too." She returned her sightless eyes to Sweetpaw. "I won't be much use right now, since sight is probably pretty important for this, but I think we're looking for a large hole, about the same size as the one my rabbit escaped into." A hopeful grin appeared on her face. This might actually work!

Sweetpaw followed quietly after the tawny apprentice, ears pricked forward. Eventually Wilpaw stopped at a promising looking hole. Sweetpaw crept forward, and peered at the entrance closely. It certainly smelled like rabbit and was about the same size of the other hole. From the scent tangles and grass ware, it seemed it was a high traffic area for rabbits. "I believe that is what we were looking for." She says, tail twitching happily. "I can double back and make a commotion at that end, and with any luck it should pop up right under your claws." She mews, and makes for the other end of the rabbit warren, mindful of her paws.

There is a rabbit tentatively peeking it's nose from the burrow as she draws near. With little tact and a lot of noise, Sweetpaw flings herself at the rabbit with a battle cry not at all suited to hunting. However it was quite effective in this situation as the rabbit turns tail and flees into the burrow, hopefully charging towards Wildpaw with wild abandon. Just for good measure she dives after it, reaching in as far as she can and swiping threateningly with unsheathed claws for motivation. The commotion would not only scare the rabbit into her friend's claws, but also alert the apprentice that the plan was in motion, as tail signals or anything of the like were useless.

Wildpaw nodded to her friend. She took a step to the side as Sweetpaw headed away so the rabbits wouldn't see her, and made sure her shadow was pointing away from the burrow. She let out a sigh of relief at Sweetpaw's obvious signal, and she waited until she was sure the rabbit was almost underneath her claws, and pounced. The rabbit froze in shock and tried to run back into the burrow, but her aim was true, and her claws pierced the white pelt of the rabbit. She killed it with a small nip to the neck and beamed. She'd done it - with help, but she'd done it. She trotted over to Sweetpaw, mindful of her paws, and placed the rabbit down. "Should we keep hunting, or is this and your rabbit enough?"

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Sweetpaw sat up from the burrow, ears pricked as she watches Wildpaw come trotting back with a rabbit dangling from her jaws. The apprentice purrs happily, tail swaying as she headbutts her friend's shoulder."That worked out well, huh? That one is a nice size too, big for newleaf." She considers weather to return to camp or keep hunting, but neither of them were very big, and the rabbits would be about all they could carry unless they made more trips. Their luck had held so far, no geese interruptions and she wished to keep it that way. Sweetpaw decided that between the two of them, they had seen enough birds to last a leader's nine lives.

I think we've got as much as we can carry." She answers after a moment and pads over to uncover her earlier catch. "Let's go see if any of the queens feel like rabbit today." With the rabbit secure in her jaws and Wildpaw tagging after her, she leads the way through the moor and back to camp. Content fluttering against her ribs as she lifts her head high and weaves through the game trails that crisscrossed the moor like secret paths.