the neighborhood [C]

Adderdawn

That prickling agitation still had yet to leave him. It had simmered somewhat; Adderdawn did not feel like throwing himself claws-first at anything that moved too near to him. Bitterly, he thought of the silvery rogue he'd... encountered recently, and his eyes scanned across the horizon as if willing the tom for a rematch. He could only sigh. It didn't drive every one of his muscles, but the frustration still bit at him like ants dug beneath his pelt. Everything was terrible, as it often seemed to be, but he no longer had the energy to be sad. It was almost ironic; wallowing was somehow more tiring than spinning in tireless circles for hours, muttering to himself about all that was wrong.

Hunting, at least, was a healthy outlet. Adderdawn slowly turned away from the horizon and towards the Clanmate with him. Silverwing was younger than him, by quite a bit, he thought, and he didn't know her well at all. His brain worked, wondering if there was something he was expected to say, or could have said, but nothing came to mind. He found he did not really want to talk with someone he was unfamiliar with, anyway. But if he knew anything of Silverwing from rumor and in passing, she would not let this patrol pass in silence. As if to escape the hypothetical conversation, Adderdawn jogged a little ways ahead, and was pleasantly surprised to spot a hare resting against the shale. Wordlessly, he lowered his body and dragged himself over the stones until he thought he was close enough to rush forward, strides as long as short legs would carry him and claws outstretched.

Somehow, he'd missed the hare. Maybe he'd just gotten rusty, maybe it'd been smarter than him, or maybe the whole thing was poor luck. But whatever it was, the thing looked at him right as he lunged for its, claws just a hair from its back, and went streaking off over the hills. With a quiet hiss, Adderdawn scrambled up and over the rocks. He was going to chase that thing down until it was motionless between his paws. It ran funny, though; mostly straight, and then for some reason it made a harsh jag. One that Adderdawn couldn't keep up with. He hadn't been able to gather his paws into a tight enough turn, and instead of snatching what should have been his catch, he went barreling right into a surprisingly solid barred structure. He blinked a couple of times, confused. He hadn't even noticed it, and it was dark in here; it must have been covered by something. Realization slowly caught up with him. This was one of those cold twoleg traps, but they'd padded the bottom with something that was as equally soft as it was scratchy, and hidden the framing under... whatever things they had at their disposal. Angered and, more importantly, deeply afraid, he wheeled around to race back out, but his paw caught something and the front of the trap suddenly snapped shut right in front of his nose. "Foxdung– Silverwing!" He yowled. If he hadn't wanted to talk before, he would have no choice now. Stars, do something good for once and let me out before someone finds us.