Hunting in the Shadows

Scorchfang purred to himself as he waited at the camp entrance for his older brother and the cat whom he dedicated to help find a way to communicate without words. He knew it would be a bit of a challenge for Curlyfeather to hunt without her hearing, but he knew she could find the motivation and determination to give it her all and succeed in the end. And when it came to hunting with Crowfur, he was always thrilled to spend time with his older brother. However, thinking of Crowfur always had him thinking of Lilacfall as well. He wished he hadn't been so cold and distant around her when he was an apprentice. That was just another guilt of the multiple piling on his shoulders that he'd have to live with until the day he died...

Crowfur walked up to his younger brother, a fake smile plastered on his face. His golden eyes were dull, occasionally looking around. His large coat of fluffy black fur hid a thin, malnourished frame with some odd muscle to it. He was very large a few battle scars evident throughout his body and face. "I'm here little bro. Let's wait for Curlyfeather." The warrior flinched as he mentioned the name of his mate's sister, a long time rival turned friend. He felt horrible after he was told that she had lost her hearing entirely. He did his best to communicate with her but he hasn't been hanging out with her lately. After Curlyfeather's incident, his heart completely shattered at the news of Lilacfall's death. His sister was very dear to him and just thinking about her brought him to tears. The warrior was in no way fit to be going out as he hadn't had anything to eat for at least 4 days. He had been drinking water excessively, his way of coping with the many hardships in his life. The tom was seated next to Scorchfang, one of his last remaining relatives apart from Owlpaw and Wildkit. All three of his brothers weren't blood related but by adoption. His true siblings, Tuftpaw and Leafpaw, and his half siblings, Lilacfall, Oakpaw, Wildpaw, Spottedpaw, and Snowpaw, were all deceased. He shook all thoughts out of his head as he began to wait for Curlyfeather.

"I'm here." Curlyfeather padded up to the two toms, jaw grinding in frustration. The sound of complete silence wasn't peaceful like some cats might think. It was lonely and painfully empty, almost enough to drive a cat insane. But hunting and proving herself to her clan was almost enough of a drive to make her forget about her pain. She padding towards the exit to camp, making sure the brothers were following. "You ready?"

Scorchfang smiled at Crowfur as he approached. He noticed that his older brother seemed to be a bit off in character, though, but before he could question him Curlyfeather appeared. He blinked sympathetically at the she-cat when he knew she wouldn't be able to hear his greeting. However, an idea suddenly came to mind. With a smile, he lifted up his tail and swished it back and forth once, slowly mouthing the words, "Hello, Curlyfeather." Perhaps he could begin to help the she-cat begin developing tail language to replace speaking, and then the other Clan members could adapt tail language and use it to communicate with her as well.

Once he was sure the two cats were ready, he led the way into the pine forest. Stopping by a spot in the forest near the marshes, he turned back to Curlyfeather and, with another friendly smile, stuck out his tail in the same position he would when stalking on prey, mouthing the words, "Let's hunt."

Crowfur nodded but said nothing. A clear frown on his face. He turned and went his own way to hunt before anybody could ask what was wrong. The large warrior soon found himself in the hunter's crouch, ready to pounce on a rabbit, which wasn't commonly found in Shadowclan. He wasted no more time as he quickly lunged to try and catch the thing. The warrior succeeded and caught the chubby rabbit. He hid it in a nearby bush and went to go find some more prey.

The member 'Middy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Curlyfeather noticed Scorchfang's smile and tail movement, for a moment a bit confused. Then it hit her. He was saying something to her. After thinking for a moment, she realized that was the tail position for when stalking a mouse. That was probably what he was trying to tell her. Hunt a mouse. She smiled and nodded at him, starting to feel hopeful that she had actually been able to communicate with him successfully. Maybe deafness wouldn't be as bad as she thought. She sniffed the air, quickly catching the scent of a mouse. After trailing the smell a small distance, she saw the tiny brown creature. Mice were pretty easy to catch, so this wouldn't be to hard. Crouching down, she shifted her weight so it was distributed evenly on each of her paws. Not daring to do anything that could unbalance her, she stepped forward one step, then another, pretty sure that she was being silent. Soon, there was only one more step needed before she could pounce. Confidence was a poison. With her last step, her stance shifted slightly, causing the mud underpass to make a squishing sound that she couldn't hear. The mouse suddenly perked up, and the warrior knew she had only a moment. She pounced, managing to bite the mouse's spine, though it took a swing with her claws to make a killing blow. She let out a sigh as she picked the creature up. That was way harder than it should have been.

The member 'Squirrelnose' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Scorchfang was paying too much attention to Curlyfeather to really notice his older brother's mood. He purred with a smile as the deaf she-cat managed to catch the mouse she stalked. Hopefully she would learn to adapt to hunting with no ears. Then she would be unstoppable; the most popular cat in the Clan!

He turned to his own hunt, sniffing out a pair of crows quarreling over food. He licked his lips and stalked towards them. Perhaps he would be able to catch them both! He leaped at them, but the crow facing him saw him and let out a caw of alarm before taking off, completely forgetting its fight. The other took flight as well, and though Scorchfang leaped as high as he could to knock one of them out of the air he was just a bit too slow. He hissed in frustration, his tail twitching irritably.

The member 'Yoshachu' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Hunting Dice' : 9

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#2 'Hunting Dice' : 4