verge of realization [c]

Dull golden eyes peeked out of a gaunt white face. Snowbriar slid out of her den. It was still disorienting to be in a new position during the night. Being a warrior felt surreal, but similar, at the same time. Her tail twitched as she began a morning grooming. It was dawn. Things were as normal as they ever had been throughout her life. She’d always been someone to desire order, born in a time where tumult seemed to reign. There were little things that were always the same. The way the sun rose each day. Fawnstep’s smile. If that was the only positive she could find, it would be okay. Brighteye’s words had resonated with her, and she was determined to make each day count.

Today, that would start with a hunt. Shrikestorm and her planned this a few sunrises in advance. Their first hunt together since her ceremony. Snowbriar stood, finished with her grooming, and padded over to her former mentor. She had to remind herself that he was not much older than her - a very young warrior when he had took her on as an apprentice. Even if he had been, she was a warrior now, and that meant they were equals (though there was always a part of her that would hold him in respect).

“Hello, Shrikestorm,” she said, dipping her head to the fluffy brown tom. “Did you want to head anywhere specific today?”

Shrikestorm smiled as Snowbriar approached. It wasn't that long ago that his first apprentice had become a warrior, and he still remained very proud of her. It was nice to have someone to trust when everything in their world felt like it was constantly being flipped upside down. Of course, having Asylum guards with them on their planned hunt together was part of that 'upside down' bit, but at least he wouldn't have to be out on the moors alone. It always made him feel as if he was a moment away from being ganged up on and killed. There had been more than one WindClan cat who had lost their lives to those scoundrels, and someday they would pay for it.

"Why don't we go towards Fourtrees and see what we can find?" They weren't allowed into Fourtrees itself, a point of contention among the clan. He was sure it was felt the same among the rest of the clans. Being unable to gather was a break from tradition that most did not appreciate. He certainly didn't. Still, they needed to hunt, and the Asylum shouldn't object to them being near Fourtrees.

“Towards Fourtrees?” Snowbriar hesitated. There was probably a reason the Asylum were keeping them away from that spot, and she wasn’t eager to be the one to find out why. Voice dropping a little, she mused, “So long as we don’t get too close, it should be alright.” Her tail flicked a little subconsciously as she began to lead Shrikestorm out of the territory. It didn’t feel right to be in front of her senior, so she dropped to his shoulder as they walked.

The horizon was blooming with the colors of dawn. It showered their fur with layers of gold and silver. Her eyes strayed to the tom at her side occasionally and she could not help but notice the shining gold his usually brown his fur was. The she-cat looked away and let the wind buffet her face as they walked together, shadows straying behind.

So caught up in her thoughts, Snowbriar barely caught edge of a hare, scampering into a burrow and leaving a scattering of snow behind. Her tail lifted up and she began to stalk towards it. She wasn’t sure how to get the hare out, but it would eventually have to. To her surprise, the hare poked its head out just a moment later. Snowbriar launched herself at it in the moment of surprise from both predator and prey. She caught it and flung it up until it slammed, winded, into the ground. Jaws sank into the warm body and she lifted it up, beaming.

Snowbriar successfully catches a hare for 5sp
Snowbriar
115/120 sp

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Shrikestorm smiled and nodded in approval at the catch. "Remember to bury it in the snow, Snowbriar. It'll keep it fresher for when we come back for it." There was more hunting to do, after all, and they couldn't be satisfied with just one. Nor could he be satisfied in watching his former apprentice catch a hare without him making an attempt. In fact... He slunk down at the sight of another hare, perhaps wondering where the previous one had went. It would soon find out: with a powerful jump, Shrikestorm leapt atop the hare, sinking his teeth into its neck and dispatching it before it had a clue what was happening. Smiling triumphantly, he carried it over to where Snowbriar and her own catch were. "We're having good luck so far, huh?"

The member 'King Falcon I' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Just as quickly as she'd caught the hare, Shrikestorm caught another to match. Snowbriar trotted towards him and nodded as her ears caught his words. "So far. Hopefully it'll continue." The hare muffled her words, and she considered it, wondering what to do with it. If she buried it or left it in the snow, it would get cold. Especially during leaf-bare, the queens, elders, and kits would need warm food. Her eyes drifted over towards one of the pelted cats tailing them, and she marched towards him.

Forcing herself not to show nervousness, Snowbriar dropped the hare onto the ground for only a moment so her voice wasn't muffled. "Do you mind holding this until we go back so it doesn't get cold?" To her surprise, the response was a reluctant sigh and nod. The white she-cat's tail curled briefly and she picked her way through the snow back to Shrikestorm. His fur was dazzling in the sunlight, made brighter by reflecting from the snow, and she couldn't help but think for only a moment it was pretty. Another moment later, she dismissed the thought and scanned the area for prey. "We could move somewhere else. I don't scent anything."

Shrikestorm's eyes raised as he watched Snowbriar head over to their Asylum guards. He wasn't sure what she was doing at first, and he had his guard up already. To his surprise, she instead asked one of the guards to hold the hare, and they complied. "Well I'll be," he muttered, shaking his head. That was not the reaction he expected. Well, might as well try his own luck, huh? Picking back up his own prey, he went to the other guard, who also reluctantly took the prey. He could only hope that they wouldn't eat it before they got back to camp. It seemed like something they would do, though, so he was still wary. He at least appreciated Snowbriar's moxie.

"Let's keep going, then. We'll have to avoid Fourtrees, but we can head further onto the moors instead. Hopefully we still have prey by the time we get back." He didn't explicitly mention the Asylum cats, but it was obvious what he meant.

"Do you not think they'll be tailing us the whole way," she huffed, ears flattening. She adjusted her position and marched into the wind, towards the moors, hoping they didn't get too close to Fourtrees by accident. Her curiosity of what could be there was overshadowed by fear. The molly scoured the ground as she walked, looking for any possible burrows, or maybe the pelt of a rabbit or hare. Rarer prey was welcome, of course --

And as she thought that, she saw the feather of a finch, nearly beneath her paws. It wasn't dust or snow covered, or frost, which meant there had to be the finch somewhere around here. Her golden eyes shot to the sky, where she hadn't looked yet, and there the bird was. It somehow hadn't noticed them. The intake of breath through Snowbriar's nose seemed to alert the finch to something, and it paused for a moment, wings beating furiously to stay still in the air. Before it could bolt out of the way, the she-cat leapt up. Her claws snagged the wings of the finch, but that wasn't enough to pull the bird down. It wrestled its wings out of her grip and darted away. She sighed, but catching a bird was a long shot anyway.

Snowbriar missed a bird for 5sp
Snowbriar
110/120 sp

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

"Of course they'll be tailing us," Shrikestorm whispered, quickly glancing towards their guards. "That doesn't mean we should be restricted on our own territory. This is our territory," he finished emphatically, walking side by side with Snowbriar across the moor. Suddenly she stopped, and he stopped as well, following her eyes down towards the feather. A finch, huh? That was a rare sight this season. They quietly moved in lockstep, not wanting to scare away the bird should they come across it. And what do you know: that's exactly what they did. Snowbriar attempted to snatch it, but it was able to wrest its wing away and fly off.

"Ah well, birds aren't the easiest to catch," he reassured his former apprentice, momentarily pressing his side to hers. "It does feel like the moors are much emptier with those intruders around." He just said what many of his clanmates were likely thinking: that things were way too different after the forest had been taken hostage. Their way of life had been irrevocably changed: exactly what Falconstar had warned him about. If only he could convince his clan to see the truth. For now, he could at least see another hare hopping through the snow. With white fur, it could barely be seen against the snowy backdrop, but he could make out its movements, and he went for it. He snuck up on it, then pounced. Yet somehow, despite his moons of honed hunter instincts, the hare eluded him. His paws hit the snow, and it was gone: vanishing among the snow. "Well," he muttered, looking up as more snow fell anew. "That was unlucky."

The member 'King Falcon I' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

"Two hares isn't bad, though." Snowbriar dipped her head back at the Asylum cat who had taken her hare, and he thankfully dropped it without much protest. "...Thanks," she muttered, then picked it up and clenched it between her teeth. Padding to Shrikestorm, she dropped the hare. "It might be best if we get back to camp now, though," she said, ear twitching. "In the case of a predator or the like." Though the numbers of predators had lessened with the Asylum's occupation, she had seen a snake take out Lilacstar with a single hit, and was less inclined to believe they were truly safe. Snowbriar tugged her hare off of the frosted ground as she waited for Shrikestorm to get his. It wasn't an overwhelming amount of prey, but two hares could feed multiple cats, so she'd consider it a success.

"Not at all." Shrikestorm smiled, following Snowbriar over to their guards, where they were able to get their freshkill. "You're probably right, though I can protect you from any predators out here." Was that a bit too confident? Perhaps, but he was sure of it. "Anyway, we'd best take these back." He started to pad back to camp, looking over his shoulder to make sure Snowbriar was following him.