Hear this news, bear my gold [Closed]

The water had returned to the creek. Dawnhawk had heard it at first from afar, but now that he was here, it was clearly flowing again. That meant prey would be more plentiful. Since he was on a hunting patrol, he figured he would bring back a substantial amount of prey despite how tired he had been lately. As he waited patiently in a tree that had managed to withstand the worst of the fire, he glanced up at the sky, waiting for the sun to rise just enough to cast a harsh light from the east, but not so high up that he couldn't have it directly at his back. He was a brighter pelted cat and he had learned to hide in the sun rather than the shadows. He rarely missed when he used this strategy. Maybe something would hear him coming, but if it looked for him, it would see nothing but light. It wouldn't be too long now before he would be able to make his move.

Dawnhawk watched with deadly intent as many different kinds of prey came to drink, but he refrained from trying to hunt too early, lest he be spotted. There were rabbits too... even a few hares. Maybe the lesser amount of underbrush was attracting the giant rabbit cousins to Skyclan territory. He'd caught plenty of rabbits... but what about a hare? That was a prey item that he would want an audience for. Surely another patrol would be coming along soon? If one didn't show up, then he would just have to settle for bringing a hare back to camp and drop it onto the fresh-kill pile. It was almost as good as allowing others to witness his hunting prowess. Almost.

What once had been a dense, green forest was now a near-desolate wasteland. The ferns and brambles that at one time had covered the forest floor in SkyClan's territory were no more, but luckily for Wolfcall, the ashy background of the charred, blackened foliage actually helped the dark tom blend in better, and his hunting had been affected little. He was returning now from another successful hunt, meandering slowly back towards the SkyClan camp with a pigeon and a starling hanging from his mouth by their wings. Truthfully, he was in no hurry to return - every moment spent out in the forest was another opportunity to stumble on to something, anything, that pointed to the abductor of SkyClan's missing kits. No one was infallible... no one was perfect. There had to be SOMETHING... he just had to find it.

Eventually, he would. But today had been fruitless on that front, and he'd resigned himself to returning home empty pawed. So with heavy paws and a heavier heart, he made his way for home.

As Wolfcall's form seemingly materialized out of thin air amongst the field of ashes, Dawnhawk felt a twinge of jealousy at his ability to seamlessly camouflage in this place. There were bits of paler ashes around that he might have been able to hide in, but with the gold in Dawnhawk's fur it made it nearly impossible still. Still... it didn't seem like Wolfcall had noticed him yet either. Though the soon-to-be leader had plenty of prey, he looked less than thrilled. He was down in the dumps for some reason... why? Dawnhawk only had to take another moment to think to figure out why. Oh right... brats are missing from every clan. A small smile came to his face for just a moment, but it was gone just as quickly. Oh well, for them. The thoughts of the missing kits were quickly pushed aside when a hare crept into Dawnhawk's vision.

The ivory and gold tom had caught several rabbits with relative ease but a hare... this was a different challenge. Dawnhawk was quick to become bored when things got too easy. He needed something new... and catching a hare in front of Wolfcall would be just as fun as catching that rabbit in front of Spottedstar before the fire happened. Another to witness the skill and prowess of the best hunter in Skyclan... What an honor for Wolfcall that this would be!

Dawnhawk allowed the hare to get to the water and bend it's head to drink before he carefully and silently brought his paws beneath him, ready to spring...

He kicked off of the branch... only to have it crack a bit from the force. Though he almost landed directly on the giant rabbit... the hare leaped up into the air out of reach. Dawnhawk gave chase, the hare putting on a burst if impressive speed right passed Wolfcall. Realizing how pointless it would be to try to catch it at this point, Dawnhawk slid to a frustrated stop in front of the new leader. A growl rumbled in his throat, but he sighed it away and made eye contact with Wolfcall... albeit with some embarrassment now. That was the first prey that he'd actually missed. As much as it angered him... it brought him an amount of excitement as well. A new challenge... catch a hare. In the meantime...

"...Hi." He said with a toothy grin to the dark tabby. "I was really hoping to catch that in front of you but... I see why typically Windclan gets those." He was doing whatever he could to recover his lost dignity. But oh boy did that failure sting.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Wolfcall was ready to fight the moment the crack of the branch split the air. His claws extended, the hair on his neck standing on end, and he dropped his prey at his paws, a snarl bubbling in his throat. But then the golden and white form of his grandson descended from the sky, and the hare he hadn't even noticed - mostly because he didn't bother trying to hunt them - leaped away and sprinted for cover. He forced himself to relax, realizing how silly it was of him to expect an enemy clan to attack him in the heart of SkyClan's own territory. Surely he would have scented something amiss. But Dawnhawk smelled like SkyClan, and had blended right in with the rest of them.

Tilting his head slightly at the tom's explanation, Wolfcall forced a smile. "You don't have to try and impress me, Dawnhawk. Though that would have been quite the feat." He squinted up into the sky, eyeing the branch that he'd fallen from. "You know, hunting hares and rabbits from the sky is... harder than it would be from the ground."

Wolfcall himself favored hunting on the ground, and knew the little tips and tricks to surprising the long-eared beasts. "I could show you sometime, if you'd like."

"You don't have to try and impress me, Dawnhawk. Though that would have been quite the feat." Yeah I know... Dawnhawk thought bitterly. Oh well.. he would have future opportunities to try to catch a hare he supposed. Too bad that attempt had gone so badly. He sat down slowly and noted the pigeon and starling at Wolfcall's feet. He was going to offer to carry one of them back when Wolfcall began to speak again. Dawnhawk blinked and turned his head slightly to the side.

"I hunt from the sky because my pelt is bright. I can only blend in on the ground with the sun at my back, or the moon even on some nights." Dawnhawk then got back to his feet and swished his tail once, thinking. After a moment he nodded at Wolfcall with a small smile.

"I am always willing to learn though. If you can catch a rabbit or a hare, I'd love to watch." He was highly visible now, but come leaf-bare and this supposed "snow" he heard the elders talk about, apparently he would be just as hard to see as Wolfcall was against ashes.