an honest mistake (c)

Daypaw still wasn’t used to having strangers in the camp. In fact, she was convinced that she would never be able to get used to it. Ever since the takeover, which had only happened recently, she had been living in fear. She would never able to forget the fact that the Asylum cats had killed Goldengale, an innocent WindClan warrior, as proof of what they were capable of. The apprentice couldn’t help but wonder at every second of the day if the life of a WindClanner would be used as an example by these foreigners. She was already a naturally nervous cat, but this situation definitely made it worse. She made a mental note to stop by the medicine den later on that day to stop by the medicine den to ask Softbreeze for some herbs that would help to calm her down.

Hunting alone was something that Daypaw preferred over patrols. There was always the possibility of her getting lost again, but she had grown ever since her scuffle near Fourtrees. She was no longer a new, inexperienced apprentice. She was familiar with the moors and where each path led, and getting lost wasn’t an option anymore. The Asylum cats had specifically stated that they would have to accompany any Clan cat that left the camp, but Daypaw had completely forgotten about that new rule. Hunting alone in the morning was something that she was accustomed to, after all.

The sun was only halfway above the horizon as she quietly made her way toward the camp exit to avoid waking any of her denmates. A tired expression was etched on her face. Little did she know that today was going to be different than before.

Watching from the shadows was, put simply, a thankless task: in the short time since the Asylum's arrival in WindClan, Thalia had remained for the most part unseen - in part because she didn't want to know if they saw her only as a helpless crying child, or just as much a monster as they seemed to expect - and instead watched over the camp from a relative distance. Still, it was boring - she preferred training, or hunting, or even just sleeping. She watched as a WindClan cat made their way toward the camp's entrance alone, and while the rules were being disrespected all she could think was, Finally, something's happening.

Slipping out of the shadows with practiced grace, she stood directly in front of the WindClan cat. She wasn't wearing her pelt today - there wasn't much of a reason, there wasn't anything special about today as far as she knew - so her pale calico fur and Nightstriker scar were both plain to see; as was her friendly expression. It seemed she'd finally built up the courage to try again to befriend the cats whose home they were staying in. "Going somewhere?" she asked. "Didn't we tell you that you're not allowed to leave by yourself? But I don't have anything to do right now, so that's okay! Whatever you're doing, I'll go with you!"

Daypaw flinched the instant that the Nightstriker made their way out of the shadows. She could feel her heartbeat practically slamming against her ribcage, echoing through her body, as she glanced up at the Asylum cat. She was in no position to act indignant or even plead to head out alone. There was no point in invading the Clans with the intent of “helping” them if they were only going to treat her and the rest of WindClan like inferiors. Daypaw didn’t make any attempts to hide her obvious fear. Whenever she looked at one of the Asylum cats, all she could see was the dead body of Goldengale. The apprentice hadn’t been close to the warrior, but she was still a Clanmate (a dead one, but a Clanmate nontheless). She would never be able to see these cats as friends or family. She would forever see them as what they truly were: villains.

Daypaw opened her jaw to speak, but the smallest squeak of terror escaped instead. It wasn’t like she could argue. She didn’t care about the fact that Thalia had a friendly expression. She saw all Asylum cats as the same.
“Um... with me?” She murmured, her eyes widening slightly.
The bi-colored apprentice paused, planning her next choice of words. Interacting with these cats was like waddling on thin ice.

“Actually, I was... um,” She trailed off, before taking a quiet breath, “nevermind, okay.”
Daypaw came to the conclusion that there was no getting out of this one. She fell into silence as she headed out of camp with the Nightstriker as her companion.

Thalia noticed the flinching, but tried not to pay it any mind - the WindClan cats didn't like her. That was okay, it meant she'd just have to work harder to prove that the Asylum wasn't as bad as they thought it was. So the smile stayed firmly on her face, and she happily followed the other cat out of the camp. It would've been nicer if she had another Asylum cat around, too - someone who didn't look at her the way most WindClan cats did - but she was pretty sure it made more sense to keep the numbers even. To keep from making the WindClanners feel even more on edge than they already did. "So, where are we going? And what are we doing?"

Daypaw quietly glanced back at Thalia, her eyes still betraying every ounce of nervousness that she felt.
“Well, uh, I was just going to do some hunting...” Her voice got quieter as she spoke.
She had no intentions of going into any further details. She didn’t want to have any conversations with this cat, all she wanted to do was catch some prey and then get back to her nest as soon as possible. The apprentice had no idea if Thalia was going to simply sit and watch her hunt or if she’d actually catch some prey, too. The Asylum wanted to assist them, right? With extra mouths to feed back at camp, they’d definitely have to help hunt, too.

Daypaw didn’t feel like asking, though. It didn’t matter. As long as they finished quickly, everything would be alright. Without another word, she lifted her nose to scent out any prey. Hares and rabbits were common WindClan delicacies, so the she-cat wasn’t surprised when she spotted a rabbit poking around a tiny shrub. Chasing after the quick creatures could be embarrassing, especially if she missed, but there was no harm in trying. Daypaw made her way towards the animal, ensuring that her paws made no sound and her breathing wasn’t too hard. Finally, when she came within an appropriate range, she used her legs to push herself off of the ground and directly towards the rabbit.

The oblivious animal was instantly pinned underneath Daypaw’s unsheathed claws as she skillfully landed on top of her target. She wasted no time as she cut off its life with a quick bite to the neck. Fortunately for her, that catch had been successful. The bi-colored she-cat used a paw to nudge the prey towards the small shrub that it had been near. She’d pick it up when it was time to leave.

daypaw successfully caught a rabbit! It cost her 3 sp.
77/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

"Okay! Hunting it is!"

Thalia was, admittedly, not a particularly skilled hunter - it was a skill she was working on, the stealth and patience being useful assets even with her Nightstriker skillset, and because they needed as much prey as they could catch with so many more cats to feed - but Scouts did most of the hunting, and Standards often helped as well. But she wasn't going to tell this cat, whose name she still didn't know, that she wasn't any good. After their difficult introduction, she thought it was probably best not to give them any indication of her true weaknesses.

She was, however, blessed with a keen eye for small details - something that aided her in long stretches spent keeping watch for anything suspicious - and that skill aided her now as she caught the flash of a rabbit dashing past. Right, patience - slowly, she made her way toward it, at least mostly confident that she could do this.

At last, she pounced - and in a surprising stroke of luck, the rabbit didn't escape her paws; instead held down as she delivered a swift bite to its neck. Burying it for later retrieval, she returned to the WindClan stranger with a cheerful smile.

Thalia attempted to catch a Rabbit, costing 3 stamina. The attempt was, miraculously, successful!

Daypaw
SP: 77/80

Thalia
SP: 197/200

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Daypaw couldn't help but watch the nightstriker as she went to make her own catch. She couldn't help but be thrown off whenever Thalia spoke with such enthusiasm. Deep in her heart, she figured that the stranger was making an attempt to be kind. She felt her gaze soften a bit as she silently glanced down at her paws. She could only imagine what it would be like to move into a new home full of unknown cats that wanted nothing to do with her. It made Daypaw begin to feel somewhat sympathetic. However, any trace of condolences in her eyes drained away and was replaced with fear once again when the scene of her mentor grooming the limp, lifeless figure of Goldengale replayed in her mind once again. These cats hadn't moved in, they had forced their way in. Being hated, shunned, and feared by WindClanners was the consequence that they would have to pay no matter how cheerful or kind they were.

Daypaw wasn't a cold cat, though.
"Nice catch." Was all she said to Thalia, trying to conceal any emotion she felt within her shaky voice.

Alas, her turn to hunt rolled around once again. Daypaw was surprised to smell the distinct scent of a sparrow when she lifted her nose slightly into the air. Birds were something that she enjoyed to eat, but they definitely weren't as plentiful in the moorland in comparison to other parts of the forest. This was an opportunity that couldn't be missed. Birds weren't something that she could chase after like rabbits or hares. They had the ability to take flight and find safety far easier than land prey could, but it was worth it to at least try to catch one. She sucked in her breath and lowered form close to the terrain as she approached the winged creature that had its brown back turned towards her. When it was time to leap, Daypaw began to second guess herself. Perhaps going after rabbits would be a safer bet. Giving up on a tiny bird in front of Thalia would be awfully humiliating, though. This was her own territory and she was supposed to have the upper hand.

Her stomach clenched as she made a sloppy jump forwards. The bird was given an easy escape, and it quickly fluttered away into the morning air. The sound of its wings beating echoed in Daypaw's head, practically mocking her. Hot embarrassment rushed through her veins as she sat up and turned around, unable to look Thalia in the eye. Mistakes happened, but she certainly hadn't planned on it happening in front of a stranger.

daypaw failed to catch a bird! It cost her 3 sp.
74/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Thalia watching silently as the little bird flew away; paying no price but a couple of its feathers. A bold escape, surely, but she wasn't going to chase after it - not when she'd spotted another rabbit, one who wasn't even moving especially fast. This would be an easy catch, and a helpful one - not one, but two rabbits? That was sure to be a benefit to all the cats under the Asylum's care.

Thanks to her earlier success, she was feeling a little bit bolder; and so she was a little less patient as she made her approach and pounced on her prey. Any pride she felt upon making contact was short-lived, though, as the rabbit pelt fell to the moor and revealed a slightly miffed black-and-white cat. "Oh, it's Oreo... Sorry about that!"

From the expression the Asylum cat gave her as he gathered his pelt, it was plain to see that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

"...I'm working on it, okay?"

The (still seemingly annoyed) scout dashed off without another word.

Daypaw remained silent as Thalia decided to go after some more prey. It seemed like she was going after a rabbit, a big one at that, and the apprentice figured that it would be good if they went back with not only one but two rabbits. However, when the “prey” revealed itself to be another Asylum cat, Daypaw’s eyes widened in shock. Her gaze then dropped down to stare at her paws as she shuffled them against the flat, grassy terrain. The awkwardness of the situation made it difficult for her to think of anything to say.

Instead of speaking, she decided to go after the nearby hare that she spotted out of the corner of her eye. Hopefully, this catch would be more successful than the last one. She made sure to not drag her paws or tail as she slithered her way towards the tall-eared creature. This time, she wasn’t going to think twice. With another strong push, she leaped forwards and towards the hare. Satisfaction flooded her pelt from the tip of her ears straight down to her paws as she landed on top of the animal and killed it swiftly and effectively. That officially made two successful catches. She dragged the hare by its ear over to the rabbit that she had caught before and let them lay beside each other.

That was when she glanced back at Thalia.
“Hey, uh...” she found herself speaking almost involuntarily, “...well, maybe you could try focusing on scent. Rabbits and Asylum cats have different smells... you could try sniffing the air before going after prey.”
That was what her mentor had taught her when she was first learning how to hunt, and scent was an important staple in hunting. She didn’t quite know why she had decided to give the Asylum cat advice, but perhaps it was for the best. It wouldn’t hurt WindClan to bring in more prey.

"You don't have to take my advice though, I don't mind... I might be wrong anyways." Daypaw finished, her voice still quiet and frail. Her intent obviously was not to seem too demanding.

daypaw successfully caught a hare! It cost her 3 sp.
71/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

"I've tried it before. That doesn't work," Thalia said simply, lashing her tail. She didn't bother explaining the whys and hows of it all - these cats were somewhat hostile to them, still, and as much as she wanted to be nice to their newfound family, she knew that the Asylum's secrets were safer if they stayed just that - secret. Asylum cats typically masked their scent when donning their pelts, but if this WindClanner hadn't already pieced that together then she didn't need to know about it. "It's sound advice, though, and it would probably help most cats more than it does me - you really shouldn't doubt yourself so much. Nice catch, by the way!"

She retrieved the rabbit she'd managed to catch, prodding at it with one paw. "Honestly, I'm just not a very good hunter. I'm trying to get better, because I know it's important, but... It doesn't really work out a lot of the time. But I guess that's why I'm a Nightstriker instead of a Scout, or even a Standard."

Thalia was speaking to her as if Daypaw knew what ranks like Scout and Nighstriker were supposed to mean. During the short amount of time that the Asylum cats had been residing in WindClan, she had barely learned anything about their ranks and their way of life. She simply wasn't interested in learning about these invaders. All she could do was politely nod as if she knew what was going on. It seemed inefficient to have cats that couldn't hunt at all while others could, but she wasn't about to say that in front of Thalia.
"That's okay, I understand. I'm not that good at figh-" She paused, stopping herself from continuing her sentence.
Saying that she was a weak fighter in front of the very cats that had used sheer force and threats to take over the Clan was an awful decision. If the Asylum ever ended up turning on WindClan, then Thalia would know exactly who the easy target would be.

"Um, anyways, I think we caught enough. We can go back, now." Daypaw softly told the Nightstriker before picking up her two catches by their ears.
It was difficult to not let them drag around the ground as she started to lead the way back to camp. Hopefully she wouldn't have to worry about being assigned to any morning patrols due to the fact that she brought in a good share of prey.