the incoming storm [closed // plot]

A brisk morning wind whipped throughout the SkyClan camp, causing Redfall to flatten his ears and fluff out his medium-length fur. Even in the shelter of his den and comfort of his nest, he could feel the gusts, and could hear the shaking of trees and leaves from those gusts. Deep gray clouds promised rain. Redfall would've liked nothing more than to curl up in his nest and wait for the incoming storm to pass, but he had a job to do, and he hadn't been working much (at all) earlier in the day. Gazing around the den, he wondered if anyone would be willing to hunt with him. He'd gone with Bloodstrike recently, Swansong and Sunflower were out, and he wasn't willing to drag someone he didn't know out into this cloudy weather-- and as he watched, the misty layer of fog overhanging the camp dissipated as fat raindrops broke through. Which left one option: Wrenspring. The two weren't on good terms exactly, but surely he'd be okay with hunting? They both had to do their duties as warriors, after all. Prodding Wrenspring's flank with a claw, Redfall coughed a few times. "Not the best conditions to hunt, but I don't want to go alone. Feel like coming, Wrenny?"

The prodding of a paw woke the warrior with a start. His head snapped up, breaking the perfect circle in which he had rested. Green eyes were met with the coat of Redfall. An uncertain gaze was glaring against the russet tom's pelt. It took a moment of him blinking several times before registering the question that had been asked. Admittedly, as much as he hated facing the fact of it, the concept of patrolling with Redfall made his pelt prickle uncomfortable. They had hardly spoken, was it a good idea? Despite the flicker of uncertainty, he found himself nodding. We are warriors after all, with a duty to uphold.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Wrenspring rose to his paws and shook put his coat, "Where were you thinking of heading? Might be best to stick to smaller trees, you know?" Obviously Redfall knew that. The warrior felt stupid for even mentioning it. There was a slight shake of his head. What a daft thing to say. Thankfully, a rumble of thunder to accompany the symphony of raindrops interrupted his thoughts. Underneath the cover of the trees they would be able to avoid the bulk of it. Unfortunately, the shade of leaves wouldn't be able to overshadow the shifting feelings inside.

After a hesitation, Wrenspring rose out of his nest and shook himself out. Redfall’s tail twitched at his question, but he reigned in his annoyance and said, “Yeah. I just want to get out quick, catch a few things, and get back before this storm is that bad. There probably won’t be anything fresh after the rain.” Despite his best efforts, his voice was monotone, conveying a bored and annoyed tone rather than his actual emotions. Squinting his eyes against the raindrops, Redfall trudged through the camp entrance beside Wrenspring. Wind battered his face, and for a moment he considered going back to camp, before pushing the idea away. It wouldn’t look good if he woke Wrenspring up only to turn tail at the first sight of rain.

He stopped a few minutes later near a grove of small trees, eyeing a quail in the branches of one. It seemed... weird that they still hadn’t talked about the Gathering in the few moons that had passed since, but the event still felt fresh in Redfall’s mind, and he didn’t want to bring it up right now. Sighing, the ginger warrior went for the quail, hauling himself up branches until he was just below the bird. Making sure he was balanced, with a large leap, Redfall snagged the quail’s left wing in his claw, and brought the injured bird down to his branch. Killing it with a quick bite, he jumped down next to Wrenspring and started to make a hole to bury his prey in. Digging in the usually solid ground was made easy by the rain, and in no time Redfall buried the quail and waited for Wrenspring to go off. He wanted things between he and his friend to be normal again, but that would mean talking about the elephant in the room, and Redfall wouldn’t be the one to initiate conversation, at least right now.

Redfall caught a bird, costing 3 sp
197/200 sp

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

The annoyance in his voice was obvious, and the flicker of his tail only further underlined the silent tension crackling between them. It was as thick as the feeling of lightning that flashed through the sky. As they padded from the den, fat droplets of rain thrummed against the earth and pattered against the thick coating of leaves above. His natural instinct demanded that the thick coating of water be flicked away with another shake of the pelt. But it was futile under these conditions. Thankfully, his coat wasn't as thick as his denmates. Wrenspring almost made a remark about it, yet a look at Redfall's face made it die away in an instant. Before he was able to conjure something else witty to say, there was a flicker in Redfall's gaze. He followed it to find a quail. Ah, right, this was a hunting patrol and not a time for him to skulk around like a saddened kit.

There was the flash of a little white tail as a bunny darted past seeking shelter from the rain. It was a rare find on their territory, given the fairly sparse undergrowth, but occasionally Skyclan cats were given the opportunity to channel some inner Windclan. He darted off after it, springing more than sprinting towards the critter. Paws skidded through mud and he found himself topping over. The rabbit disappeared down a hole as quickly as it had raced past him. Now sticky with mud, the tom laid there for a second and blinked up at the tree cover, dazed from everything that had just happened. After a moment, Wrenspring got to his paws and shook himself off underneath a break in the tree tops and a shower of rain. Trotting back to where Redfall had been and showed up just in time for his denmate to leap down with a catch.

"Nice catch, Redfall! It's good we will have something to bring back. I, uh, wasn't exactly successful. Doing crazy things like chasing down rabbits doesn't exactly work out well in the rain." Wrenspring let out a nervous laugh, twitching his whiskers in emphasis. It died down in his throat and he glanced down at the mud. For a moment, he forgot about his drive to hunt for the clan, and a big sigh left his lungs. Now or never, "It still bugs me, if I'm honest Redfall. Even if we've gotten our names and such and time has passed... we're just never together anymore. And that bothers me too. Almost like a burr in the pelt." His teeth clenched at the end, failing to hold the words he'd freely dropped. Maybe Redfall didn't hear them under the rumbles of thunder. Perhaps he missed it. Green eyes glanced up to try to read his friend's expression.

Wrenspring failed to catch a rabbit, costing 3 SP.
197/200 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Watching his friend scamper off to chase the rabbit, Redfall snorted in slight amusement as Wrenspring bumbled over his own paws and fell into the mud. Turning his head away to scan the thundering horizon, Redfall's ears swiveled back just in time to catch Wrenspring's last words: like a burr in the pelt. He didn't hear any other part of it, and assumed his friend was talking about something that annoyed him, so shrugged and turned around to face the other warrior, dismissing the wisps of the words he'd heard as nothing more than a meaningless complaint. "Didn't hear you. I'm going to try to catch one more thing, you can do the same if you like, then I'm heading back. It wasn't a good idea to head out here right now." Flicking raindrops from his ears in a futile attempt to dispell them, the russet warrior scowled as more pitter-pattered onto his fur.

Sound and scent almost impossible to use with the thundering rain, Redfall had to rely on sight. He eyed the smaller but leafier trees, where birds might be hiding, and the roots for homes of mice and rodents. On the lookout for movement, the flash of something strangely green in the surrounding dark storm caught his eye. Focusing on it, he squinted, move movement revealing a frog. More of ShadowClan's prey, but he might as well try. Maybe someone would like it. Dropping into a practiced crouch, the ginger warrior stalked a few paces forwards, mud pulling his legs down. Eventually, with a soft snarl of anger, Redfall sprang, tossing mud into the air behind him. His front paws pinned the creature to the ground, and he killed it with a bite to the neck, turning and dropping it next to his quail.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Wrenspring frowned. His denmate hadn't heard him against the squall. Maybe this was Starclan's way of telling him that it was hopeless, that no matter how tactfully he sought to find common ground. The rain droplets beat down relentlessly, soaking his fur. Ears and tail drooped as a noiseless sigh broke from his maw. The idea of seeking out more prey caused him to instinctively life his maw into the air but the realization scenting would be impossible quickly dawned on him. After a few moments of fruitless searching, the gray and white tom determined most of the prey had already been smart enough to take shelter. Only a few stray creatures were still fleeing back to their dens. With this in mind, he finally relented and sought to catch up to Redfall again. Once he was close enough, the warrior shouted louder now, "We should go back soon Redfall, there's nothing out here!"

Through whatever slivers of luck he still had, Redfall's ears managed to catch Wrenspring's shouted words. Nodding briskly, the tabby started to head back. He tossed his frog towards the gray and white warrior and took the quail for himself. No words were exchanged between the two as they headed back to camp. Redfall tucked the fresh quail under the sodden pieces of the soaked prey pile. A kit would get a good meal out of that. Or maybe him, later. He studied Wrenspring out of the corner of his eye as he padded towards their den. Things were complicated. Greenleaf heat, the gathering, the subject of loyalty. He pushed them all off to the side, and now they were like ticks, determined to cling onto him. But he would talk with Wrenspring later, he told himself, as he had many times before. When we're alone, when it's not storming. Redfall tucked himself into a tiny ball and pressed against the wall of the den, closing his eyes and shutting himself off from the world.