Growing desperate (closed)

Turtlefur hissed as a second mouse slipped from between his large paws and scrambled into the safety of a burrow. Sighing, he stood up and glanced wearily at the patrol that had followed at his heels. “Lost it…” The warrior admitted, dropping his gaze to his paws in shame.

It was hot and bright out with the sun at its highest point. No wind rustled the reeds. The hunting patrol had been desperate to bring food back to their hungry kits and queens, but it was getting more difficult by the day. He asked a wordless question with his hungry eyes: what hope did they have to survive.

Robinpatch sighed as he watched with a growing sadness and frustration as the mouse Turtlefur had almost caught slipped away back to it's home. These negative emotions were not directed at Turtlefur though. He certainly wasn't at fault for the clan's recent bouts of bad luck during their hunting patrols. The stupid twolegs and their ugly dogs were to blame. The situation as a whole was starting to make them all very desperate for any prey and frustrated with how unfair it all was. They have a clan to feed but just aren't able to provide anyone with anything. He felt utterly helpless and it's the worst feeling ever.

"You tried your best, Turtlefur. None of us have really been able to catch anything since...you know..." the older tom said with a withering smile and a soft shake of his head. "We just have to keep looking and trying...for the clan." he meowed determinedly, tone seeming like he was trying to encourage himself as much as his groupmates. They needed to catch something. The clan needed food. The calico warrior gave the mouse's burrow one last glance before focusing back on the patrol.

A heavy sigh escaped Egretstorm’s maw and she looked tiredly about the reeds and low plants for any sign of prey. A hair, a pawprint, a feather, any rustle. A low buzz caught her attention and perhaps out of desperation to catch something she swiped at a fat dragonfly flying overhead. As according with their luck though, it saw her first and zipped off. “Tch.” Hungry and irritated the usually stocky - now a bit haggard - she-cat rejoined the group, who also had nothing to show for all their searching. How pitiful they all must look standing around like this. She gave an almost self-deprecating snort of a laugh and shook her head.

It was too quiet here, like there was a great storm coming. She prayed to StarClan that that wasn’t the case, that when they returned to camp it wouldn’t be washed away by a sudden wave of dirty water. If it did happen though, it’d certainly chase off the Twolegs and their mangy dogs for a good long while. Silver linings. She gave Turtlefur and Robinpatch a half-hearted smile. “We’ll find something. We’ll find something,” she said to will it into existence. They’d come across something to eat today, come stars or high water.

Jake was searching for prey along the island. His owner wanted him to bring prey for him, but the dog couldn't find anything to catch. He wanted to bring something back for his owner, but nothing was around. At least, until he caught a whiff of cat scent. Recognizing it as the prey he tried to attack before, he began hunting down the location of them.

Eventually, he found the source of the scent. Three of the prey, close to the river. It was going to be a difficult fight, but he had to try to bring at least one of them back for his owner. Launching himself at one of the cats, he bit hard and shook it around. The black-and-orange dog needed to take it down to bring home.

Jake used Iron Bite on Turtlefur, dealing 22 damage and costing 30 stamina.

Jake:
HP: 100/100
SP: 170/200

Turtlefur:
HP: 28/50
SP: 120/120

Turtlefur was grateful that his patrol mates weren’t upset with him. None of them were having luck, it seemed. As beaten down and discouraged as they were, there was nothing to do but carry on and keep trying. Turtlefur sighed. “Well, we won’t know if we don’t try.” The group’s positivity was obviously forced. It was better than pessimism.

A rustle of the cattails nearby signaled life, and Turtlefur froze to listen. Perhaps he’d be able to determine what it was by sound and use the right hunting crouch without laying eyes on it first. But the steps were heavy… very heavy. And fast. The sudden sense of danger came crashing down on him just before the dog did, clamping down on his back and shaking him like a kit with a moss ball. The tomcat let out a terrified and pained shriek. His brain was jumbled from all the shaking and he could hardly tell when the dog had lost its grip and sent him flying because of the swimming sensation in his head. His body ached with the force of the impact, but the stinging pain of the deep gouges in his back were the worst by far.

Turtlefur sloppily rolled and clambered to his paws despite the shooting pain. His brown-patched fur was hanging in clumps off his back. The dog still towered over him. He didn’t have time to yowl a warning to his Clanmates; he could only swipe out at the dog’s head and neck with extended claws and hope he’d strike something soft.

Turtlefur used Front Paw Strike, dealing 9 damage and using 7 stamina.

Jake:
HP: 91/100
SP: 170/200

Turtlefur:
HP: 28/50
SP: 113/120

Egretstorm was getting a sense of deja-vu from all this. She frowned to herself, turning away slightly in an attempt to figure out why, when suddenly there came the thundering of heavy paws and a pained yowl from Turtlefur. She whipped back around to see an ugly creature with the younger warrior trapped in its slobbering jaws. Oh! That’s right, this felt exactly like right before when she and Turtlefur had fought a goose. There was no time to waste. The grey tabby turned her spin into a flying leap — nearly slipping in the mud — and aimed for the beast’s head. Not in an eternity would she let another clanmate fall to a stinking dog. She hissed through her clenched teeth, “Let go you stupid… dog! Eat some crowfood like the cowardly scavenger you are!” She didn’t think it could understand her, no, this was full stream-of-consciousness. “ Go back to your Twoleg with your tail between your legs, you pile of foxscat!” There were a few other colorful things she said that couldn’t be said in front of kits, things she didn’t even know were in her to say. All in all, she was at least a little bit peeved at this situation.

Egretstorm used Jumping Strike on Jake! It dealt 6 damage and used 7 stamina.

Jake
HP: 85/100 -6
SP: 170/200

Turtlefur
HP: 28/50
SP: 113/120

Egretstorm
HP: 40/40
SP: 93/100 -7