days like these [C]

A cloud of dust followed in Dayquill's pawsteps as he trotted into the stony hollow. For the first time in a few moons, he felt good; the ever-present weight on his shoulders had been lifted, at least for the moment, and new-leaf's warmth filled him with energy, made his paws feel light. He had skipped a little ways ahead of the rest of the patrol, hoping to find and catch something before the other warriors caught up with him. It was silly and kit-like, wanting to show off like that, but he couldn't help himself. And when a robin had lighted on the stones in front of him, he knew he'd made a good choice. He dropped into the familiar crouch, drawing himself forward until it was in range, then shot forward, claws closing around its wings. A nip to its neck, and it stopped thrashing. A purr rumbled out of his chest, and he lifted it gingerly to carry it back.

Most of their patrolmates had already dispersed, and he realized with a start they'd made it to Snakerocks sooner than he realized. Guess I should be careful. Shrugging, he sought out Mottlerose, his catch still dangling between his teeth. "Look what I got, Mottlerose. Good omen for the rest of our hunt?"

The member 'downfive' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Patrols were something that Mottlerose sometimes dreaded, sometimes loved. It was truly a coinflip whether or not she was enthusiastic about them, in all honesty. In this instance, she was a bit excited, and that excitement rumbled beneath her pelt warmly. Getting to interact with clanmates she often didn't was something she took pride in. Stoatstar had led the clan to be a very close-knit family, and even with his disappearance, it was something she prided herself on continuing. Her amber gaze had watched as Dayquill seemed to dart away to grab a catch early, and with ease he seemed to do so.

A warm smile rested on her maw as he came back to show it off. The apprentice-like youth in some of the warriors was something she would never tire of. "Certainly a good omen. Go ahead and pick the spot we'll be storing all our kill, hm?" She hummed, dipping her head in acknowledgement of his catch. Once he would go to set it done somewhere, Mottlerose herself would move to seek out a kill of her own. Birds were often plentiful prey within the clan, but her gaze settled on something different. A squirrel.

As it scurried by, Mottlerose would attempt to catch it. Her movementes were those that had been practiced for ages. But even then, the experts still missed sometimes. The creature seemed to have just enough speed to get away, and Mottlerose puffed her tail in frustration for just a moment at her missed catch. Shaking her head in slight disappointment at herself, her head craned to search out her clanmate. "Seems like I need to wake up more." She mused with a chuckle.

The member 'Kitty' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Mottlerose's pride in him made Dayquill's ears warm, and the warrior nodded wordlessly, scratching a hole in the thinning greenery to leave his catch. When he lifted his head again, she had set her sights on prey of her own. Blue eyes wide with interest, he watched her as if he had never seen his seniors hunt before. He always watched the older warriors with a sort of reverence; even if all his motions were the same, theirs felt so much smoother than his own. But even with Mottlerose's practiced steps, the squirrel darted away from her, chittering. With a soft smile, Dayquill returned to her side, tail flicking once against her flank. "Guess so. Not one for dawn patrols?" The teasing edge to his words made him quail as he spoke them, ducking away from the molly with a poorly stifled, nervous little sound. Am I even close enough to Mottlerose to tease her about that? I mean, she won't get mad, but...

Shaking himself, he padded further into the hollow, venturing closer to the crags where adders were said to lie. "Have you ever actually run into a snake here? I never have," he mused, hoping his comment about her missed catch would be forgotten. "Everyone says it's so dangerous, but... I guess I don't see it. Have you? Seen a snake, I mean?" As he spoke, his ears swiveled, picking up on the sound of little claws scrabbling against stone. A mouse was scratching its way up to a higher perch, and Dayquill dropped low at the sight of it. Creeping forward, he was about to spring when another noise caught his attention. It was... scraping? He hadn't noticed that before. Whatever it was, it had disturbed the mouse, too- his catch darted off, disappearing out of sight in a flash. The golden tom's ears lowered, and he let out a grumble of frustration, but his irritation was swiftly replaced with panic when the scraping sound turned into hissing. As quickly as his mouse had appeared, an adder shot out of a dark hollow. With no warning, and faster than he could back away, the serpent struck out, fangs catching in a foreleg and sending the warrior backpedaling with a yowl of shock and pain.

Dayquill attempted to catch a mouse... and summoned an Adder! -3 SP.
Adder used Serpent Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 SP. Serpentine Movement is in effect!

Dayquill
34/40 HP (-6)
97/100 SP (-3)

Adder
15/15 HP
65/75 SP (-10)

The member 'downfive' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

She shook her head, chuckling along with him as he joked about her dislike of their early-morning patrol. A look of concern flashed on her face as he then seemed to duck away from her, almost as if he expected her to strike him with her paw in response of jesting with her. It was the farthest from the truth. Sure, they weren't the closest of clanmates, but she had no problem with joking around in that manner with anybody. "No, I'm quite an old geezer. I quite prefer to be curled up in my nest until sun-high." She stretched to only further her joke, elongating her body as long as possible. Honestly, it felt amazing, and she swore she felt a few joints pop. Surely, she wasn't actually getting that old... Maybe she was. Motherhood at the very least took a role on any cat.

Mottlerose gave one more little laugh as she then followed Dayquill, her head tilting at his question. "I've seen them before, just not here... Actually, when I was first learning to hunt with Minnowfin..." She trailed off as the memory filled her mind, and next she blinked, Dayquill was off after the mouse. It was almost painfully amusing to then hear the hiss of a snake, but it seemed that instincts would kick in long before her amusement could. Be careful what you wish for should've been written in the stars for him at that one. The yowl of her clanmate sent her into action faster than anything, her ears immediately perking towards that direction and legs carrying her.

She launched at it with an open jaw, moving to close around the adder to yank it away from her clanmate. Unfortunately, it seemed to be much faster and prepared, as its body coiled out of the way before she could snap at it. The tortoiseshell hissed right back at the snake, defensively standing next to her clanmate. "Carrion!"


Mottlerose attempted to use Snap on the adder! Due to Serpentine Movement, it didn't hit, and cost 7 stamina!
Dayquill
34/40 HP
97/100 SP

Mottlerose
60/60 HP
130/140 SP (-7)

Adder
15/15 HP
65/75 SP

The member 'Kitty' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5

Thankfully, Mottlerose dove in after the snake on his behalf. All his hissing and flailing had managed to shake the snake loose from his foreleg, but he wasn't lucky enough to have stunned it when he knocked it free. It writhed away from the tortoiseshell's teeth, skating across the rocks with a defensive hiss. "I shouldn't have said anything, huh?" Dayquill tried, but his voice was tight, strained from the tension in his jaw. The adder's bite had sent pain searing up his leg, and he couldn't lie and say the sight of his own blood didn't make his head whirl a little. Ears pinned, he struck out at it, claws flashing in hopes they would connect. But, spitting, the adder danced away from his attack, and the tom spat right back at it. "Don't you dare." His tone was hardly threatening, and he heavily doubted the snake actually cared enough to listen to him- nevermind the fact it probably couldn't even understand him -but Dayquill hissed the threat anyway. As if in retaliation to being told what to do, the adder's body snapped forward again. This time, it didn't bite down to hang on, just a quick flash of teeth against Mottlerose's paws and it was recoiling again.

Dayquill attempted to use Front Paw Strike, and missed due to Serpentine Movement. -7 SP.
Adder used Serpent Strike on Mottlerose, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 SP.
Down also took -3 SP from Dayquill because they forgot about their hunting roll. Oops.

Dayquill
34/40 HP
87/100 SP (-10)

Mottlerose
54/60 HP (-6)
130/140 SP

Adder
15/15 HP
55/75 SP

The member 'downfive' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5