shadows are made with light [c]

The winds and snow signaled it was growing closer to leaf-bare. It was bitter and cold. Frost drifted on top of the river, already high due to the rain. The sun was blocked by ominous clouds, but based on how it leaned towards the horizon, night was coming. Shrikefrost lowered his head so his eyes were on the river. He could feel the breath of his Asylum partner on his shoulder, and more than once gave the cat a side-eye, but he couldn't do anything more about it. The short-furred warrior leapt onto the rocks at the edge of the river. Nearly all of the rogues who resided in RiverClan's camp and territory detested the water and the fish. Fewer could swim or catch fish. They would delight when the river froze over, which was approaching quickly. The Clan could deal with it - they had survived the drought, and the river was gone then. This was fine. At this point, Shrikefrost was one of the best hunters on land in his Clan, since his upbringing had involved it almost exclusively.

Shrikefrost looked over his shoulder. His Asylum companion was watching him, unmoving. Yes, that's how it is, you leave us to do all the work. He could still remember Lyralei's claws extending into Loonwhisper's throat, delicately snagging fur above his vulnerable neck, and the large cat over him doing the same. Suddenly his throat felt sore and pressurized. The tom jerked his head away and placed a paw in the river, testing the temperature of the waters. It was cold. His fur kept in heat, but there was none to be found on land or in water. The tabby curled his tail up in annoyance but let it fall straight as he sat down at the edge of the river. He would fish while the river wasn't frozen over. A very thin, fine layer of snow clung to the rocks like moth to a flame. He brushed it off and focused on the river. He needed to take his mind off of their Clan's situation and be useful. Stop wandering.

Raisha grumbled under her breath as she waited for Shrikefrost to do something, anything. She perked up a little as the tom touched the surface of the water with his paw, and slunk back down when he quickly drew it back. The tabby was sure taking his sweet time, and the standard found it incredibly annoying. He did know how to hunt, correct?

Although she did have her raccoon pelt draped over her shoulders, as she often did, it did very little to keep her warm. She could see her breath billow out in front of her, and her fur fluffed out as a chilly breeze swept over her. She narrowed her green eyes in annoyance, her tail lashing behind her.

”Are you going to do anything, or are we just going to sit here in the cold?” she hissed as she padded over to the tom. She was getting very irritated at this point. ”I know you RiverClan cats are pretty lazy, but not all of us enjoy laying in the cold. So could you maybe hurry up?”

“Excuse-” Shrikefrost broke off as the Asylum cat accompanying him padded over in the most non-discreet way possible. Her claws clicked on the stone, and she was unaware of the shadow her form cast over the water. The fish saw it and scattered around it in an instant, as if they were raindrops pattering off of a smooth stone. He had been waiting for a good bit for that, and had to take a few breaths to compose himself before turning to the cat who had so rudely interrupted his hunting. “You clearly don’t know how to fish,” his voice was a mixture of reproach and frustration, “because you just scattered the fish I was about to catch. And if you didn’t notice the nice little pelt you got there, are you just demented?— because I have short fur and no pelt. If you can’t deal with the conditions of being out, why don’t you leave, hm?”

It was largely toned down for a cat like Shrikefrost. His claws itched to sink into her pelt, but with a flick of his tail he stood up and turned pointedly away from her. “I will show you how a warrior hunts.” And oh, he prayed to StarClan there that he wouldn’t mess the catch up.

And he probably decided never to pray to StarClan again. What else could it possibly be than his luck? The technique was fine. It was good, in fact. Perhaps Shrikefrost should have stuck to land hunting. He had underestimated the speed of the minnow he’d tried to pull out, and it zipped away. The ghost tabby’s paw came arcing up with nothing but the tiniest bit of its tail. His cheeks flamed, and he set his paw down. Before the Asylum cat could say anything, he snapped, “What are you looking at?” His tail lashed fiercely as he stalked away. What a “peaceful hunting session” this was turning out to be.

Shrikefrost failed to catch a fish for 3sp.
157/160

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Raisha couldn’t help it. She bust out laughing. ”I’m looking at you, of course! So that’s how a warrior hunts? I don’t know why I was expecting better from you Clan cats.” Standing up and shaking out her fur under her raccoon, she padded closer to the river’s edge, this time keeping her shadow off of the surface. ”Here, let me give it a go. I don’t think any cat can mess up as horribly as you did, anyway, so what do I have to lose?”

As she watched for a fish to come near, she grew thankful for her pelt hiding how much her fur was bristling underneath. She hated water. That was no secret. But she could not resist the opportunity to show up one of these Clan cats. After all, how hard could it really be?

It appeared it was not hard at all, as she mimicked Shrikefrost's movements, hooking a fish and tossing it onto the shore. Instead of nipping it for an easy death like the Clan cats did, however, she stood over it, claws sinking in until the fish finally stopped thrashing. There was an arrogant smirk on her face as she threw the fish over to the Clan cat. The one thing she was not going to admit to the tom was that she didn't even know what type of fish it was. All she cared was that she caught it when Shrikefrost could not. "So who here doesn't know how to fish?"

Raisha attempted to catch a fish, costing 3 SP
Raisha
75/75 HP
197/200 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

It took every single thread of his self-control to not attack Raisha. “Well, if we’re so incompetent, why don’t you just leave?” He didn’t bother saying anything else. There was no point, he’d learned. Cats like her couldn’t get anything past their thick skulls. As she made a remark about what she had to lose, Shrikefrost stopped himself from pushing her into the river at the last second. Raisha caught the fish in what had to be the most disgraceful way possible, and he adopted her smug smirk.

“Who doesn’t know how to catch a fish? Does it matter if that’s your killing technique? A kit knows better, for StarClan’s sake. Ah, excuse me— a Clan kit, I forgot the incompetence of rogues for a moment. Let’s try a more important skill, swimming. The proper way of catching fish.” Shrikefrost would not have otherwise set paw in the icy water, but he was determined to show Raisha up. Without hesitation he dove in. He didn’t let her see his grimace at the temperature of the water. Hopefully she’d take the bait, competitive as she seemed, and sink with the raccoon pelt of hers. The tom didn’t come up for air for a while. When he did, only his nose and eyes came out of the water. Shrikefrost smirked at Raisha and dove back down, this time looking for fish.

Fortunately for him, a pair of carp came swimming by, one large and one small. The tabby closed his eyes and tried to judge the speed of the fish before kicking off of the underwater rocks. If he could catch even one, surely it’d impress Raisha? And moments later, another thought: why do I care about impressing her so much? He attributed it to his (and her) competitive nature, and thought no more of it.

Although his eyes were closed, Shrikefrost could feel both carp getting swept into his jaws as if they had been placed there by his ancestors. He spat both fish on the riverbank and pulled himself out. He would have preferred to stay away from Raisha, but it was too cold to stay in the water without breaks. “I’d like to see you do that. Or any rogue, for that matter.”

Shrikefrost caught both fish for 6sp.
151/160

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6, 7

Of course. Of course it would be swimming. Well, she had swam with her pelt before, and she certainly could manage it again, but for the acrobatics that were involved here, she decided it would be better to go without. So shaking off her raccoon to reveal her calico fur, she slithered into the water, not so different from a snake. ”I should have told you. I am of the standard rank in the Asylum. We are the most versatile of our kind, and a task as easy as swimming is a must know for all of us, even if we do not tend to be near water. This is kitten’s play for me.” Although she spoke all high and mighty, she was quickly running out of breath as the cold seeped into her pelt.

Since Shrikefrost had caught two fish, whatever they were, Raisha decided she would catch three. And as it happened, she spotted a small school of trout with that exact number. Surely that would help prove that she was the superior of the two cats here, and maybe they could go on their way as well. So kicking herself on the rocks, she moved towards the fish with quick, serpentine-like movements, aided by her lean body, and charged with jaws open wide.

The first fish, the smallest of the three, was the first to go. It had not had much time to react before she sank her teeth into it. The other two had been disoriented, and although there was a slight struggle, Raisha soon emerged with all three in her jaws. She spat them on the ground beside Shrikefrost, climbing out of the freezing water. "So what were you saying about us rogues?"

Raisha attempted to catch 3 fish, costing 9 SP
Raisha
75/75 HP
188/200 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2, 6, 5

“You assume I give a goose dropping about your rank system? And I’m glad this is kitten’s play for you, because RiverClan kittens learn to swim from birth.” Shrikefrost picked up the carp as Raisha ducked under the water. Fish didn’t keep like most prey, but it was worth burying anyway. At least the fish would be warmer when they were brought back to camp. He turned, only to see Raisha bragging about the threesome of trout with a snarky comment about it. “Congratulations, you caught a few tiny fish. That’s what I was saying about rogues, you’re bragging about useless things. Yes, you caught more fish, but whose catch is bigger and will feed more? That’s what I thought.”

He stood nose to nose with her, not reaching her head but still standing confidently. ”The difference between Clan cats and rogues is that we don’t come into your camp and nearly kill your innocent siblings.” Shrikefrost’s muscles were tight, and he kept his eyes trained on Raisha’s form just in case she made a move to attack. He didn’t move for a while. She could retaliate however she liked; nothing could justify his anger about his situation. “What I’m saying about you rogues is that you have terrible moral ground, you’re just big bullies who get away with it because of your numbers.”

Shrikefrost turned away after what seemed like an eternity. His tail flicked as he spotted a toad. He liked toad nearly as much as fish, so hopefully he’d be able to catch it. Before he could even pounce, it scurried away, and he made a halfhearted attempt to go after it. The ghost tabby turned back to Raisha with a challenge in his gaze, daring her to taunt him for it. He hoped she was still stinging from his earlier words enough not to do it. If she did, he would actually push her into the river this time.

Shrikefrost failed to catch the toad for 3sp.
148/160

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

”If we wanted to kill you guys, don’t you think we would have? I’m not sure if you realize this or not, but while all of your numbers are very well alive, three of our own have died by the claws of Clan cats. And here we are, and as you have noticed, I haven’t raised a claw against you, even though I very well could. The difference between us, you see, is at the Asylum, we are all family. And here we are, extending that kinship to you. Believe it or not, us rogues are here to help.”

With narrowed eyes, she looked at her fish, then up again to see Shrikefrost miss his catch. ”Mind you, my fish is plenty big, and at least us Asylum cats know how to hunt on land. That was simply pathetic.” With an irritable flick of her tail, she dropped into a crouch, spotting a vole, in which she pounced after.

It seemed her luck ran out, however, as the vole darted away, and she cursed under her breath. "We know how to hunt on land under suitable conditions. This place is nothing but frozen mud." She amended, shaking her paws. "Are we done here yet?

Raisha attempted to catch a rodent, costing 3 SP
75/75 HP
185/200 SP

OOC:Just pointing out, in my previous post I had said she caught trout, not minnows. And sorry my rolls are making Raisha seem so OP xD

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

“Well, it certainly wasn't anyone in RiverClan, or I'd have heard. So, you going to blame me for something my Clan didn't do? I'm blaming you for nearly killing my siblings, threatening my Clan, and nearly killing me myself. If you're truly here to help, why are you incapable of not opening your snake-tongued mouth when I was trying to hunt peacefully? You insulted me and my Clan. I won't tolerate that.”

Raisha did not understand his point, as expected. She went on with the audacity to insult his catch. Shrikefrost's claws dug into the ground. As soon as they had the numbers, the motive, something, he was going for Raisha or the cat who'd pinned him down earlier. He laughed openly as she missed her catch, purposefully exaggerating it, and let his tail flick her nose as he turned around. "Oh, as soon as you miss a catch, you leave? I see how it is. But since you're in such a high and mighty position, I guess I have no choice but to obey." He spoke in a mocking tone and gathered up the two fish he'd caught. He was still aware of Raisha's position in case she decided to attack. If she did, it would violate the agreement between RiverClan and the Asylum. Shrikefrost could handle being mocked well enough to not attack. As long as Raisha didn't go near his siblings (or any rogue, for that matter), he wouldn't be the first one to break the rules.