Hunters Be Hunted (closed :: FOR HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS PLOT)

Clio paused, her pale blue eyes sunked and desperate from exhaustion. Shuffling onto her aching paws, the lead Hunter turned to look over her followers, biting her lower lip with worry. They were strong, but the countless days of walking in hunger had brought even the strongest to their limit. She summoned Dianne and Daphne by her side with a groan, blinking into the shade of the barn looming in front of her. Warmness called from inside, and Clio wanted to lead her cats straight inside and away from the cold night wind, if it weren't for the uncertainty of what lay inside. The gray and white she-cat puffed her fur to keep awsy the cold, wondering whether her sister was holding up well. Leona was slightly slimmer and mistreated amogst the Hunters, and she had most likely been excluded from the moments when her brave followers hudled together for warmth.

"Do not fret, Hunters! Artemis has guided us to this barn, and we will sleep this night here! Wait just a few moments, for we must be wary of dangers. Tall-dwellers might be here, too." she announced, as her mkst trusted bats, Dianne and Daphne came to her to check the barn together. Maybe it would be better than before. They had been forced to make this journey when their Sanctuary had been taken away by those skinny and huge beasts.

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Leona sat aside from the cats, gazing blankly in the cold night. The sky was gloomy with clouds, and the she-cat's pads hurt from the journey from home. The brown tabby sneezed, shaking her head. She had most likely caught a cold, but who even cared about her? Leona had gotten used to the hateful behaviour of her fellow Hunters, but regreting the birth of Leona and her love for Jack asn't how she would've solved it.

"Stay safe. There is nothing wortn dying for in that barn." she murmured quietly to herself, fearing for her sister.  Maybe there wasn't anything inside that place that could hurt them, but only the Godess herself knew how much Clio put herself through for her Hunters. Leona felt slightly guilty that she was a stain on her sister's name. How could she have followed the rules, to not fall in love.

Maybe it was something wrong with her.

Daphne limped into the barn once more, carrying a scrawny shrew. Her paws had grown raw when they were making the grueling journey. She met the eyes of Clio before placing the rodent down and clearing her throat. "Clio, I'll start hunting in the area, perhaps these wetlands can wield a bit more prey for us. The tall-dwellers here seem to raise their own prey, would you rather me hunt that instead? It might anger them." she gingerly placed her sore paws on the cold ground. The she-cat held back a cough and waited for her answer.

Esme shivered from the cold, pressing against her sister for warmth. Ever since they had been forced to leave their Sanctuary, they had been driven from place to place. Finally, Artemis had seen fit to guide them to shelter. Since the tall-legs had taken over the land, there hadn't been any fit place to stay. Hopefully this would be a good place to take a rest and to find food. Maybe Callisto could resume teaching her to hunt- she liked the older she-cat, and she seemed to know everything. She expressed her feelings to her sister Luna. "Hope we'll stay," she murmured quietly in her low, melodic voice. She was a cat of little words, but her sister and Callisto always seemed to know what she meant. Ever since the incident with the dog, she hadn't spoken more than a few words at once, but it suited her very well.

Camille shivered, a surly expression crossing her face. She wasn't the cheeriest of spirits at the best of times, let alone in this bitter cold. Well, at least they'd found some form of warmth, in this farm. Thank Artemis. Hopefully this place would be bountiful in food, and even if it wasn't, she hoped they wouldn't move on as quickly. She was aging, and though she could hunt and fight like every one of her younger counterparts, long journeys were taking tolls on her aching paws. This place would be just fine for now, even if there were others nearby. "Tell me, Clio - how long will we remain? My paws need to rest," she called out, before adding in a low murmur, "-unlike you annoying little younguns'. "

Clio nodded to her second in command. "Take care now. Do not hunt their prey, or the tall-dwellers will chase us out, Dianne. As for our new home, we will camp here for now." she announced louder to the group of Hunters, flicking her tail for them to follow as they made their way inside the barn. Inside, it was much warmer, and as be eyes adgusted to the dark, she could see the huge, black and white animals that the tall-dwellers raised inside. Quietly, she motioned tbe cats to follkw her while she clambered on the hay arranged in packages by the owners of the barn, and up to higher ground. 


The attic of the farm was lighted by the moonlight filtering inside from a large opening on one side of the wall. Again, she went for a spot away from the window, somewhere where the wind would be less bitter, amongst piles of fresh hay. "Here, Hunters. Let the tall-dwellers not find us here!" she raised a prayer to Artemis, thanking her for the luck they had.


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The climb was a hustle as she stayed behind all the other cats, just to make sure Amara didn't get into any sort of trouble. When she reached their new home, last, she walked to her sister, seeing her in deep prayer. She murmured a thank of her own to The Godess, before the brown tabby ventured towards the fresh piles of hay and started harshly trying to settle it down to make a nest.

The she-cat nodded and followed the rest inside with her prey. She left it on one of the high stacks of hay and set out to brave the cold once more. Her paws burned from the chilled environment. Daphne stalked the damp earth, claws leaving shaky lines in it. She was lucky at first, catching a thrush and a frog that croaked loudly. Then, as she hid the prey in some broken reeds, she caught a couple of voles. She sent a silent prayer of thanks for the lucky find and looked at the four pieces. She sniffed around as minnows flashed in the water. A few unsuccessful swipes eventually caused her to just have painful freezing steps. She scented the air once more in hopes of finding something else and spotted a sparrow, it hopped among the beetles without a care. The brown cat began to creep forward and it noticed. It took to the air but, it was too late. Long talons hooked into its leg and she dragged it back down, giving it a quick bite. Her attempt at fishing as well as her sloppy kill with the sparrow alerted anything else so she gathered her prey and limped on numb paws into the barn. With a leap, she dropped her catches in the pile she made and nearly fell back to the ground, wavering. She would wait to eat, the others needed it, if there wasn't enough, she would sleep another hungry night. This was her responsibility, taking care of those under her. "Hunters, I have found prey! Come quickly and eat, you all need to gain your strength back." She knew that this wouldn't be enough, not after what food they had lacked, she jumped to another hay bale to watch and make sure each of them took something.

Ooc: mobile

Amara sighed, looking around at the mess that was the barn with distaste. She understood that Artemis worked in mysterious ways, but couldn't she have lead Clio to somewhere less foul-smelling. It reminded her of that time that she'd nearly fallen into one of those ground caves that the tall-dwellers built onto their black paths. The stench was burnt into her nose for days.

"I think, I'll go find my own prey. I think I saw some mice just outside." The she-cat said, looking at the measly catch that Daphne brought in. She appreciated that effort but with winter came thin, gaunt prey that barely had any meat. She preferred to feast on fatten dwelling mice. As she left, she brushed past her mother, purring warmly into her ear. "I'll bring you back something."

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Luna was quiet too, preferring not to cause a fuss but instead go with the flow. She was just grateful that they had somewhere to sleep, the Goddess was kind indeed. "We have to trust that the Goddess knows what's good for us, Esme. Don't fuss." There was a slight element of light playfulness that was reserved only for her sister in her voice, she preferred to be more neutral or stoic around the other hunters. She felt that she still needed to prove her place considering the fact she didn't know how to hunt or any healing arts yet. She was just a mouth to feed, and she was well aware of this fact.

Dianne sighed. "Is this really where we are supposed to be? I mean, I do not question the judgement of the Goddess, but are we supposed to stay inside the Tall-dwellers hunting grounds?"

Clio purred by the Dianne's side, a dry and worried pur. "We will find a better home, one day. But do you think would've resisted long enough to get there? Doubtlessly, our journey was far from easy, and we need a few days to rest. Then we will take action, but by then, we will know what cats we are dealing with here."

Daphne stretched as her eyelids became heavy, she resisted the urge to sleep, wanting to know that all was well before she did. Her fur was fluffed up against the cold and her paws were shaking from being soaked in the freezing river. She wouldn't mind if they had found a place that was entirely warmed like being at their mother's side or laying out in the sun with a warm breeze. These thoughts made her colder and sleepier as she yawned.

Callisto followed her companions calmly as they entered in the warm barn. Now, the warmer place was quite welcoming and it appeared to be good enough for them to stay for a while, but the brown she-cat hoped they wouldn’t stay here forever. The proximity to the tall-dwellers was more than enough to make her feel really uncomfortable and she didn’t want anything more than to stay as far from the as possible after they destroyed their home. She climbed to the spot that Clio had chosen to take refuge during that night and nodded in approval. It was far enough from the tall-dweller’s reach for them to be bothered and protected from the cold of outside “For how long we’ll stay here?” She asked calmly to their leader before Daphne’s voice reached her ears. Now, she was tempted to walk towards her and eat, and her stomach soon backed up the idea, but in the end she smiled and shook her head “You need it more than me, I can just catch something later”.

With a heasitant nod, she stood and leaped to the lower haybale. The copper-coloured she-cat picked out one of the voles to eat, if everything went well with the others' hunt, they might have enough to sleep with decently full stomachs. She listened to the obnoxious sounds of the strange tall-dweller's foul outside as she carried her vole to the hay she had previously lain in. Taking the first bite of the catch reminded her how hungry she was and caused her to focus more on it than the loud noise outside.

Dianne looked around at the group. As she assured herself that all was safe, at least for the current moment, she slumped into a pile of hay in the corner. Peering up, she noticed how the strange solid water that the Tall-dwellers put over holes in the den kept the light in, but not anything else. As if to prove her point, she flinched as she watched a sparrow fly into it and land outside. Peering out, she saw that the bird was still stunned, and without getting too close to any monsters, finished it off. Dragging the bird inside, she placed it gently onto the small pile and murmured a thanks for it's life. She called out, "I caught a bird, if anyone wants it!"

Esme gave her sister a shy smile before opening her mouth to scent around the place. Her mouth watered when she smelled a vole- Luna's favorite. Without saying another word, she padded off into the snow, dark black pelt sticking out against the frosty white backdrop. Soon, she found it- hiding, shivering, trying to strip any remnants of meager warmth from a scrawny, leafless bush. Checking the wind, the young Hunter made her way, silent as a sparrow, behind the small animal, then a clawed paw flashed out- and missed. Barely. The small animal started to scamper away, but the black she-cat's other paw lashed out and got it by the tail, drawing it to her for a quick snap of the neck. Hopefully Callisto didn't see that- that was almost my fourth failed hunt this moon. Come on, Esme, get it together! She picked up the vole, giving silent thanks to Artemis, and brought it over to her sister.