here today and gone tomorrow (open hunting)

Despite threats of war, despite looming troubles, and despite the way her family was slowly crumbling from the inside, SkyClan still had to eat, so Bubblebeam still had to patrol. It felt odd, to act as if everything was normal, but it was really the only thing to do. Old dead leaves coated in frost crunched beneath her paws on their way to the Moonlit Creek. She could still remember moons ago when Uncle Rain took her here for her first-ever patrol. She'd been so excited then--excited to learn, to hunt, to grow. It was difficult to swallow down the bitter twist of cynicism that now, having reached the place she'd always wanted to be, she found that it wasn't where she wanted to be after all. She didn't even know where she did want to be, which was hardest to stomach. She ought to have been happy with her family. Happy with her Clan. But she wasn't. And she didn't know why.

This was a hunting patrol, not a think-about-your-feelings patrol. She lashed her tail once and fixed her gaze on a bird, hopping around on the ground next to a bush--probably looking for its own food. Quietly she dropped into a hunting crouch, practiced so long ago with Rainfrost and Crookedlight's helps. Soft paws stalked closer. Thankfully, it seemed that she could do one thing right. The snow muffled her steps until it was too late. Bubblebeam pounced, and ended the bird's life with a quick bite. Its scent ought to have watered her mouth, but her relationship with hunger had been odd ever since the leaf-fall of starvation. Instead, she offered a single blink towards the sky--acknowledgement, maybe? Not really thanks--and pushed the fresh-kill under a pile of frosted pine bristles to return to later.

Bubblebeam attempts to catch a bird... Success! -3 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

name. uwubers timezone. EST discord. @ uwubers code.kiikko

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

"Nice catch, Bubblebeam." Stoneheart had joined the patrol, feeling distinctly out of place among the younger she-cats. She didn't know either of them that well, though they were Wolfblossom's granddaughters and to her observations from a distance were more like their grandmother than they were Sunfire or Falconmoon. They were each new warriors, and each seemed uniquely ill-suited to the hot water Skyclan had found themselves in.

Not that any of them were suited for it. But thinking about it caused a pit of dread to form in her stomach. So many good, innocent cats were going to get hurt because of one cat's selfishness. Multiple cats' selfishness, really.

Honeydew's voice was a distraction, thankfully. "Even the more experienced warriors don't always catch things. All we can do is keep trying... And hope that leafbare ends sooner rather than later." She mewed softly, then fell silent butt movement caught her attention.

A squirrel was on the ground, and Stoneheart was quick to carefully stalk toward it. The wind shifted slightly, and with a quiet curse the warrior leaped forward, claws snagging in the squirrel's fuzzy pelt. She had caught it, but it had been a near thing.

"I'm just glad there's actually prey in the forest... Leaffall was not a good time to hunt."

Stoneheart attempted to catch a squirrel for -5 sp. Catch successful.
135 / 140 sp

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Miserable thoughts were pushed away like the parting of clouds when Honeydew padded up. Bubblebeam smiled and returned her friend's gesture with a gentle bump of her soft gray forepaw. "Well surely your streak of unfortunate luck can't continue this long, right?" she said lightly. "As long as I'm a good charm and not a bad one. You've got this." But whether Bubblebeam was bad luck or it was just fated to be, the bird managed to escape. She winced as Honeydew dropped back down. Hopefully it hadn't been caused by her bad mood and moping earlier. She wanted nothing less than to cause trouble for anyone else. "Sheesh, that's unfortunate. I'm sorry, Honeydew. Hey... but at least it wasn't an owl, right?" Pale-green eyes glanced behind her when she heard Stoneheart approaching. Bubblebeam knew little about the older warrior, but she seemed nice enough. "Right. Everyone has bad days. But we're not starving anymore like leaf-fall, so it could be much worse." Even attempting the familiar sweetness of optimism tasted strangely sour these days. Her mouth twisted slightly when she tried to get rid of the odd feeling.

A loud crash caused her to flinch and spin around, eyes seeking wildly for the source of the noise. For some reason, her first thought was a ThunderClan patrol--though they were deep in the territory. Then the terrifying beasts that had chased them from the lake flashed into her mind, followed by foxes charging camp. But thankfully all those images were blinked away when she saw Foxtrot, Thymelight's father, tussling with an enormous bird. Was that an owl? She'd never seen one before. Bubblebeam tried to lower her hackles that had raised in fear, tried to make her fur smooth down from its standing on edge, but she couldn't make her ears stand up from their slicking back in shame. "Mouse-dung. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so, so sorry!"

Well, there was nothing to be done. Though she felt her heart beating rapidly and her breaths speeding up, Bubblebeam put herself between the owl and Honeydew. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I-I'll help." With a few quick pawsteps, she made it to the scene of the chaos. Foxtrot was doing well--but obviously he could use some help. She hated unsheathing her claws, but she did so, aiming a swipe at the enormous cascade of screeching feathers.

Bubblebeam used Front Paw Strike, dealing 8 damage and costing 7 stamina.

Bubblebeam:
40/40 HP
93/100 SP

Owl:
14/30 HP
75/90 SP

Foxtrot:
41/50 HP
113/120 SP