prey of the season (c)

Hunting patrols made Daypaw extremely nervous.

Having to hunt with other cats made her feel tense and safe at the same time. She would be safe if a predator or a cat from another Clan decided to make an attack. She was tense because missing a catch meant messing up in front of her Clanmates. When she was anxious, it was difficult for her to think rationally. Not a single cat was perfect and everyone was bound to miss prey every now and then, but Daypaw was still convinced that she had to land every single leap that she made in order to be a somewhat successful apprentice. On top of those worries, she still felt as if her hunting crouch was off somehow. No matter how much she tried to straighten her form, nothing felt right. As if she wasn't already strung up about the situation, today's patrol included the deputy.

Daypaw had felt a sour feeling rising in her throat once she was called to join the deputy's patrol. She'd have to try even harder this time. Despite the fact that she was padding over to the camp's exit, she couldn't feel her paws. They were numb and shaky as she sat down to wait for the others. Her attempts to hide any form of a scared expression from her face was ineffective. Her yellow eyes were wide as she glanced around camp, wondering where her patrol companions would be. Silently, she began to wish that Downtuft was here. She wasn't as fearful around her mentor as she was with other cats. The apprentice decided that she simply needed to suck up her timidness and keep going. What kind of warrior was afraid to go on a hunting patrol? Definitely not a good one.

Maplewhisker stood at the camp entrance, the crisp air of leaf-fall making her shiver.  She could feel a colder chill on the wind, warning all it hit of the approaching leaf-bare.  Hunting patrols were very important especially now, as their prey would soon be hiding in their burrows as the cold of winter came upon them.  Sitting down, she spotted one of the cats she had called for the patrol, Daypaw, walking over.  She knew her to be Downtuft's apprentice and, though they were in the same Clan, didn't know much about her.  The one thing she could tell was the amount of nervousness coming off the young cat, so much so that Maplewhisker was surprised that she was able to not show it much.

As Daypaw sat next to her, Maplewhisker decided to bring up some conversation while they were waiting for the others.  As deputy she wanted to be approachable.  She was still the same cat that she was before her promotion, just with a different role in the Clan.
"How is your training going?" she asked her, "Is Downtuft treating you well?" Maplewhisker knew that her kin wouldn't treat his apprentice bad on purpose, but he could be a bit prickly around those who weren't his kin.

Lilacpaw raced over to where her patrol had started gathering. She had entirely forgotten Zinnia had told her she would be hunting, and she was completely out of breath by the time she arrived. Although it was a bit of a shock to find that her mentor had not yet arrived. Maybe she was not late after all!

"Sorry it took so long! I may have forgotten about patrol, but I'm here now! I'm so excited, I'm going on a real patrol! With the deputy! This is going to be so much fun, right Daypaw?" She turned to the fellow apprentice, but was taken aback. Why did she look so nervous? It was just a patrol!

"Hey, you alright? I know it's a little scary with the whole kit thing, but don't worry! We've got Maplewhisker and Zinnia, they won't let any cat take us, don't worry! And if they try, I will claw their ears off!" She laughed, standing on her back paws and slashing her front for effect. Those cats didn't stand a chance!

Zinnia had a long-standing history of falling asleep when left unattended, and it so happened that this trait had struck her again while waiting for a patrol to begin. Upon blinking her eyes open once again, a quick glance skyward told her she'd once again dozed off at an inconvenient time, and she made her way over to where the rest of the patrol was already waiting. "Sorry, everyone," she greeted, still a tiny bit sleepy. She shook her head slightly, as if that might wake her up more. "I'm not too late, I hope? Ah, Lilacpaw - I suppose you probably shouldn't follow my example in this case, but I'm sure you know that well enough already."

Daypaw turned her head to face Maplewhisker. The words were stuck at the back of her throat as she attempted to answer the deputy's question. Downtuft had been treating her well, and she admired her mentor's ability to train two apprentices at once. The apprentice was unsure if she'd be able to even train one apprentice when she was given her warrior name in the future.
"It's... it's been going pretty well. Downtuft is a great mentor," She forced the answer out of her mouth, putting on a respectful smile.
She would only be polite to keep the conversation going while the two waited for the other cats that were scheduled to be apart of the patrol.
"You've done really well as the deputy so far," Daypaw praised the older she-cat, "How has it been?"

When Lilacpaw approached them, Daypaw looked over to direct her smile towards her fellow apprentice. She and Lilacpaw had completely different personalities. One was more energetic, one was quieter. She hadn't had a ton of opportunities to speak directly to her denmate, though. The bi-colored cat made another hasty attempt to clear any sort of worry from her expression. This patrol would definitely be full of cats that were a bit more talkative than she was, so she had to put on a talkative front.
"Yeah, sure! It'll be lots of fun, I bet we'll defeat anything that gets in our way!" Daypaw exclaimed.
Inwardly, she felt sick to her stomach. Of course, she had to be reminded that kits were still missing from the camp. How was she supposed to focus now?

Zinnia was the last cat to join the group. She dipped her head quickly towards the older warrior. Now that the entire patrol had gathered near the exit, Daypaw wanted to begin as soon as possible so that they could finish quickly. She lifted her nose as the four of them headed out of camp, trying to focus solely on the scent of any potential prey. She didn't want to wander too far. Getting lost and attacked near Fourtrees had been a big enough lesson for her. It didn't take very long for the smell of rabbit to drift into her nose. Rabbits were awfully fast, and if the she-cat ended up missing, she couldn't imagine how embarrassing it would be. Daypaw took slow and quiet steps towards the rabbit and held her breath to ensure that she wouldn't be heard. Almost instantly, the rabbit raced off. Confusion struck her. Had she done something wrong? Perhaps she had misplaced a paw. A large, abnormal shadow looming over her dragged her out of her thoughts.

A horrifying sight was in store for her the moment that she looked up.
"Th-th-there-" Daypaw stuttered, her paws becoming numb, "There's an EAGLE!"
The large bird was making its rounds, circling the patrol with its shiny talons out and ready to make an attack. It narrowed its merciless eyes as it lowered itself towards the ground and aimed for the first cat it came into contact with: Maplewhisker. Daypaw couldn't help but close her eyes as the bird's talons came into contact with the deputy. She knew that the warriors would probably be able to hold their own, but she couldn't just stand there. What if the eagle went for her next? She held her breath once again as she charged forwards. The eagle was huge, and the size difference became more noticeable as she closed in on the target. She leaped without thinking, shoving the bird over and sending it straight to the terrain.

eagle used "swoop" on maplewhisker, dealing 20 damage and costing 20 stamina.
daypaw used "run-and-tackle" on eagle, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

daypaw
hp - 20/20
sp - 70/80

maplewhisker
hp - 80/100
sp - 280/280

eagle
hp - 54/60
sp - 180/200

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Maplewhisker padded out of camp after the rest of the cats in the patrol joined her at the entrance.  The crisp leaf-fall air was slowly giving way to the piercing chill of leaf-bare.  She hoped that sickness would not be brought into the camp, as there would be limited herbs to heal those who got it.  The ground was dry beneath her pads, reminding her of the dryness of the past greenleaf.  There had been a drought, causing many of the small streams in WindClan territory to dry.  She was already anticipating the upcoming newleaf, though it was a long ways off, and the snowmelt that she was sure would happen.

Looking up ahead, Maplewhisker's thoughts were cut short by the dark form above them, marring the otherwise clear pale blue sky.  A shadow crept over them, getting larger as it swooped down over them.  The sound of beating beating wings was pierced by Daypaw's scream.  Maplewhisker had heard of fights her clanmates had had with eagles, though she had never had to battle one herself.  It was humongous, compared to the small speck they might often see in the sky.  She flattened her ears as the beast shrieked.  The eagle flew closer, so fast that she had nowhere to run.

Maplewhisker's jaw clenched as the eagle's talons sliced through her pelt, pain searing through her.  The felt warm, sticky blood oozing from the wound, dripping onto the moor beside her.  Though it hurt, she had to push through the pain to the battle at hand.  She raced toward the bird, leaping up to score her claws down the creature's back


Maplewhisker used Rending Front Paws, dealing 17 HP and costing 25 SP.


Maplewhisker
80/100 HP
255/280 SP (-25)

Eagle
37/60 HP (-17)
180/200 SP

Lilacpaw couldn't help it. She let out a cry of terror, almost as high pitched as the bird's. She had not actually fought before, and seeing the eagle attack Maplewhisker caught her off guard. And the blood on her deputy's pelt made her feel a little sick. She swallowed the urge to gag, instead staring with wide blue eyes.

She knew she had to do something. She knew how to fight. So why was she having such a hard time figuring out what to do? The eagle was hurting Maplewhisker! She couldn't just let it do that! But did she really have what it took to hurt it back? Could she really do that? Sparring with cat's in her Clan, at least she was confident no cat would be hurt. But this?

Reaching out a shaky paw, she batted at the bird, not even extending her claws. A squeal escaped her maw when she realized she had made contact. Oh stars, she really just did that!

LILACPAW USED FRONT PAW BLOW, DEALING 4 DAMAGE AND USING 5 STAMINA
Eagle
33/60 HP
180/200 SP

Lilacpaw
20/20 HP
75/80 SP