means a bit more now, doesn’t it? [OPEN HUNTING]

The Pine Grove was empty, still, calm, bathed in the light of the waning moon. The ground beneath Frostpaw’s paws was cold, turning her pawpads to ice, and yet she followed dutifully in the steps of her patrol leader, stifling her shivers. It would not do to miss even a single catch. If prey could be sighted, it would have to be killed. Even the slightest slip-up could cost a meal, even a life; the importance of this hunt could not be overstated. Every single time a cat stepped outside of ShadowClan’s camp, they held the future of the entire Clan in their paws, be they lowly apprentice or senior warrior.

Urgency nibbled away at Frostpaw’s stomach like hollow hunger. She was acutely aware of every step she took, every blade of grass she brushed against, every sound in the distance that could mean either prey or predator. Even a predator would be brought back to camp and eaten, its feathers used as bedding in their nests and its bones to reinforce the camp walls, and so, despite the fact she’d never faced anything in battle, not even a fellow kit, Frostpaw almost wished to see the pale silhouette of an owl against the starry sky.

She could feel the tension of the entire Clan sitting upon her shoulders, an enormous burden no-cat, especially not an apprentice, should ever be expected to bear. Her pelt felt tight, her heart hammered against her ribs until it drowned out the rustle of the marsh-grasses. She knew she could hunt. Swiftheart had taught her well. And yet… her paws trembled, ever so slightly, from more than the cold. It was the expectation. If she came home with empty jaws, she would catch sight of empty dull eyes from the nursery, dull pelts, prominent ribs. If she came home with even the lowliest of frogs, toads, mice, rats, even carrion, her actions would bring a glimmer of hope into the eyes of her Clanmates. Logically, she knew this single hunt did not amount to (that) much, but it was impossible to shake the nervous anticipation.

Tonight meant so much. It meant the difference between failure and success. It meant the difference between a young kit sleeping well tonight or kept up by the pain of an empty stomach. For some of her Clanmates, tonight would dictate whether they would eat or go hungry, as they had for days. Each bite that Frostpaw took of her meals, sparse as they might be, tasted like ash in her mouth. A debt unpaid. She could not eat while her Clanmates did not. Even the skinniest of prey was difficult to stomach when she saw better cats skipping meals altogether, but if she brought back something, anything… it would mean everything.

Frostpaw lifted her head and scented the air. Something cold-blooded… lizards? Silently, like a murder of crows, the ShadowClan cats fanned out across the clearing, paws ghosting over the ground. The small apprentice followed suit, turning to her own portion of the clearing and following the prey-scent. She could not mess this up; wincing at the sound of her rumbling stomach (all she’d eaten yet tonight was a fat maggot she’d found scrabbling around in camp), Frostpaw slunk off into the shadows, eyes smoldering with an orange fire.

The sound of scales against rotten wood made her freeze, scanning the darkness, not daring to move. Again; a tiny shadow in the darkness, skittering across a nearby fallen log. Scarcely daring to breathe, Frostpaw fell into a hunting crouch, eyes locked on her target. Minutes seemed to pass before she gathered the courage to move forwards, ever so slowly, each pawstep considered as if it might mean the end of the world. Her heart pounded in her ears. This meant so much. Everything, all her hopes and dreams, the heavy thoughts that hung over her head at night; all of it was pinned on this one chance. Frostpaw fought the inexplicable urge to laugh at how a lowly lizard held its heart in her claws.

Its head shot up, and without a second thought, Frostpaw lunged forwards, pinning its tail and sinking her sharp teeth into its neck. It took a moment to realize that its struggles had faded, distracted as she was by the taste of life-blood filling her mouth, and it was only with a monumental effort that she dropped her prey, fighting the instinct to immediately fill her aching belly. There were others who were hungrier than she. There were others. There were others, and there would be more prey, tonight, if she could find it; she could not let this one success, welcome as it might be, distract her from her ultimate mission.

Frostpaw caught a lizard!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2