A Lion's Pride [Open]

The pre-dawn light was grey and watery, even with new leaf well on its way the early morning still carried the frosty bite of leaf bare. The young tom hissed through his teeth as he pushed to his feet and shook the few stray scraps of moss from his once golden pelt, the angry red lines that now criss-crossed his shoulders and stomach still tugged as he stretched life back into his limbs. Lionstorm pushed clear of the warrior's den and made his way for the camp entrance. Today was the day he had decided, today he would leave camp and return to his duties as a warrior, his wounds would just have to serve as a reminder not to lose again. In the meantime the warrior knew the clan needed to be fed, and he needed to train.

Without a backward glance he raced out onto the moors, ignoring the sharp sting of his cuts as he stretched into a full ground-eating lope, running until he had found a peaceful rise from which to scent his prey, opening his jaws slightly to allow the scents to wash over his glands. He scented the rabbit well before he saw it, but once he had pinpointed the creature's location Lionstorm exploded from his hunting crouch, accelerating the way only a Windclan cat could, crashing into his prey and ending its life with a powerful crunching bite as it's tiny neck bones shattered beneath his teeth.

It was a messy and less than accurate kill, but it was a start for the day, the big tom quickly buried his catch, licking the last traces of the creature's blood from his jowls before glancing around and looking for another kill. All the while leaping onto random shrubs and flexing his claws, soon he'd be tested in battle again, and he was determined that next time he'd destroy his enemies and bring honour to his clan.

Dice.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Acornpaw tilted her head up as she heard large pawsteps make their way across the camp. Quickly getting up, she gave her pelt a few tedious licks before stepping over other cats and trotting towards Lionstorm. Not too many other cats were up, and it would be good to spend some time with her older brother. She quicked her pace as she saw Lionstorm exit the camp. When she got to Lionstorm, he was just burying his catch. "Excuse me," Acornpaw mewed, letting Lionstorm acknowledge her presence. "I hope you don't mind if I join you? May I-" She cut herself off, pricking her twitchy ears up. She signaled Lionstorm to stay quiet with a flick of her tail as she got into a hunter's crouch. Her eyes were focused on a common hare. It looked pretty decent, not too fat, not too scrawny. She rose her tail, observing the hare. It didn't seem to acknowledge the cat, hopping along its way. She crept towards the hare with ease, until it rose up, nose twitching and ears flicking. She started on the hare, swiftly running towards the prey, catching up to it. When she got close enough, Acornpaw leaped, but the rabbit swiftly dodged her, just barely. Her nose and whiskers twitched in frustration. "Sorry, Lionstorm. I guess my limbs are still stiff from sleep."

OOC: Honestly, I have such bad luck with this. The first time Acornpaw went hunting, she rolled a 10 and had to fight a predator. This is her second time, and she fails. I guess she's just not a hunter ^^'

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

OOC: The downside to dice, occasionally we have a run of bad luck haha

Lionstorm nodded as his sister joined him, sitting with his tail wrapped over his paws he observed the young apprentice as she went on the hunt for a hare. He hissed sympathetically when her catch slipped through her paws, she's faster than I thought, the Warrior acknowledged as she returned to him with an apology, "No need to apologise, your technique was perfect and I'm impressed with your speed, true Windclan blood flows in your veins," He added with a wry grin, "Unlike your oaf of a big brother." He chuckled at his own expense, the swelling noise of his purr rumbling deep in his chest, "The only part you forgot to check is the breeze, you were upwind of the hare and so in the end it smelled you too soon, the fact you got as close as you did demonstrates how good you are going to be."

The older cat raised his shaggy head to scent the air again, his wounds seemed to be troubling him less now and the stress seemed to melt away as he relaxed into the familiar pattern of hunting, and he had to admit he was beginning to enjoy his sister's somewhat serious company, if she ever learns to relax. He thought to himself with an internal chuckle. Without a second thought the golden warrior dropped into a hunter's crouch and began to crawl along with his weight in his haunches and his tail held out straight behind him. He adjusted for the direction of the wind, making sure he was coming from the downwind side of his prey. At the last moment he sprang and accelerated with all the speed inherent in his clan.

Lionstorm ran with a fluid grace that was only slightly marred by his wounds, maybe just a slight hitch in his step that most probably wouldn't notice except those who knew him well. He crashed into the rabbit and bit down hard to end its life. Carrying his prize back to his sister he buried it with the rest of his catch, "Your turn." He mewed at her.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Acornpaw dipped her head in thanks as the older cat complimented her, then started to laugh as Lionstorm made fun of himself. Her ears and facial expression pricked up as she realized what she had done wrong. "Oh, that makes so much more sense! Thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time." 
Acornpaw quietly sat down as she watched Lionstorm hunt another rabbit. Not only was she watching, but observing his stance and behavior. After all, her brother was a good hunter, even while he had some scratches. A prickle of satisfaction ran through her as she watched Lionstorm succeed in hunting yet another piece of prey. Acornpaw nodded as Lionstorm returned to her with the catch.
It took a while for her to find another piece of prey to catch. After observing the open landscape, her eyes finally laid on a big, plump hare.
She dropped into a hunter's crouch, closing her eyes. Her tail rose a little higher than usual. She wasn't going to let this one get away. She watched as the big piece of prey hopped here and there, stopping to sniff the ground a few times. 
Now, check the winds.
She let the wind run through her fur. It wasn't entirely flowing towards her, but it was still in a good enough direction for the prey to not scent her. She crept, crept, and crept, before speedily running after the prey. It leaped away- but it wasn't fast enough for Acornpaw. She leaped, catching the juicy prey in her sharp claws. She threw it up, catching it in her jaws, feeling her prey go limp. She padded towards Lionstorm and dropped it at his paws. "Despite the cold season, this thing has been eating well. Leaf-bare is almost over." She smiled at him, finally dropping that serious look she always had on her face.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Sweetpaw sat down with a sigh, glaring at her own paws. Despite all her efforts, there was no way to work around her clumsiness. Her father often reassured her that eventually she would overcome it but the evidence up to date didn't support his words. 'Well, I guess I can try again tomorrow...'

Just as she lifted her head, ready to return to camp, the scent of a preyhit her nose. Glancing around Sweetpaw noticed a bird a few tail-lengths away that must have flew down as Sweetpaw had been lost in thought. With the bird facing the other way, Sweetpaw dropped into a hunter's crouch. Creeping forward slowly she rememberd all the tips Laurelsong had told her on their hunting patrol and when she felt she was close enough Sweetpaw burst forward, leaping ontop of the bird. It being the first time she had managed to actualy get her paws on her mark, Sweetpaw struggled to kill the bird for a moment but managed to do so before the bird got away.

Looking down at her first kill, excitement filled Sweetpaw and she let out a little whoop of victory as she pranced around the bird. "I did it! My first kill! Dad and Laurelsong are gonna be so proud!" Her spirits lifted, Sweetpaw decided she wanted to hunt more before returning to camp but this brought on another dilemma as she stared down at her kill. 'What the heck am I supposed to do with the fresh-kill while I keep hunting?'

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

OOC: Getting Sweetpaw mixed up with Cherrypaw? :P

IC:
Lionstorm watched approvingly as his sister caught the hare, noting with pride as she took the time to think on his advice and put it into practice. The big tom smiled at her as she trotted back proudly, "It's a good omen I think, new leaf is on its way and with it we'll wash away our defeats." The young warrior stretched out his back, his expression growing thoughtful, "Tell me Acornpaw, do you think I'm a failure as a warrior after what happened with Riverclan?" His tone was grim as he asked the apprentice's thoughts on a problem that had been plaguing him since the defeat.

The shaggy head of the warrior lifted suddenly as he heard the yowl of success from Sweetpaw, raising his own voice slightly he called across to the apprentice, "Nice catch, it's Sweetpaw isn't it?"

OOC: Omg I totally missed that! Nice catch! I mix them up in my head alot

IC: Sweetpaw jumped in suprise as she heard someone call out to her and it was only then that she realized that when she had gone after the bird it had brought her within eyesight of the hunting pair. Getting up, Sweetpaw turned to face the two fully. She immediatly recognized Acornpaw and since his warrior ceremony having happened recently she also knew Lionstorm. For a moment Sweetpaw froze, blushing under her fur as she wondered if the two had seen her little victory dance, but after a moment she shrugged it off. 'It wouldn' be the first time someone caught you goofing off' Deciding to go greet her clanmates propery, Sweetpaw started to pad over to them.

She was only a fox-length away from her kill when she realized she should probably bring it with her. Turning to go back, Sweetpaw hadn't been thinking to watch her step. As her paws were crossed she managed to trip over a rock, throwing off her balance, and onto the ground she went with a suprised yelp. After a moment the shock of the incident wore off and with a sigh Sweetpaw untangled her paws and pushed herself back up, her ears lowered in embarassment as she remembered her audience. Watching the ground in front of her paws intently she padded the rest of the way, picking up the bird in her maw, before turning around and making her way carefully over to the two other cats.

Dropping the bird at her paws, Sweetpaw sat down and smiled at the two. "Hiya! Yup, I'm Sweetpaw. Your Acornpaw's older brother Lionstorm, right?" As she spoke to the tom she gave a quick smile and nod of the head to Acornpaw, not wanting to be rude.

"Indeed," Acornpaw replied to Lionstorm. Her fur fluffed up in surprise when Lionstorm asked her if he was a failure. A failure? How could he think of himself in such a cruel way? Acornpaw narrowed her eyes at Lionstorm. "I don't ever want to hear those words ever come out of your mouth again. You aren't a failure. That fight was unfair. We mostly had newly appointed warriors or normal warriors fighting, while RiverClan had more experienced warriors. You're not a failure, you're so much more than that. Don't ever think those thoughts, because they're wrong. You're a kind cat who would protect his own clan to death. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise." 
RiverClan is really going to get it now. Not only stealing our herb supply in a time of great need, they make my brother feel bad about himself. I hope Ivystar rots in a hole along with her supporters. RiverClan would have never fought if she hadn't commanded them to. Why couldn't she have asked her allies? Why WindClan?
Acornpaw turned at the sound of a proud cat's yowl. She wasn't entirely too happy that the brother-sister bonding moment had been interrupted, but she was glad to see more prey being caught. She caught Sweetpaw's gaze and smiled as she started to pad towards the two. A glint of amusement shone in her eye as Sweetpaw tripped, but quickly faded as she got back up. 
"Hello, Sweetpaw. Yes - this great warrior is my older brother." She gave a friendly nudge to Lionstorm and silently nodded with approval at Sweetpaw's respect. "Nice catch." She nodded at the bird. "WindClan will surely be well-fed when we bring back all this prey."

Lionstorm nudged Acornpaw affectionately, "Thank you," He mewed under his breath, the young she cat was far smarter than he, and he knew it. For all that he was the elder and a full-fledged warrior now, Lionstorm knew only too well that he was the brawn of the family but not the brains, "I'll try to keep that in mind." He informed her, hoping it would alleviate her distress that was so plainly written across her features, he made a mental note to talk to Quailfeather, she'd been present at the battle she'd be able to reassure him of his combat prowess.

The large tom looked at the newcomer with a friendly smile, banishing his darker thoughts to share in the enthusiasm the younger cat brought. "Windclan will do well from our catch, you can bury it if you like and join us?" He mewed encouragingly to Sweetpaw, "I think I'm of a mind to catch something else before I start some battle training if either of you are interested? Of course you'll have to mind my wounds." The warrior said with a chuckle as he gestured with his nose to the angry red lines that criss-crossed his pelt, some had begun the seep with sluggish blood after the exertions of the hunt had cracked the scabs.

Without another word the golden tabby fell into the hunter's crouch and raised his nose to scent the air, eager for the scent of warm prey. As he caught the scent of hare, Lionstorm exploded from his haunches accelerating to top speed as only a Windclan cat can. The ground flew under the heavy smacks of his paws as he raced the smaller creature, it's brown fur blending well with the surroundings, but not well enough to throw off the keen amber gaze of the hunter. In those moments he felt as close as any cat could to his Lionclan ancestors, his brown mane rustling with the breeze and his large, razor sharp teeth bared in an imitation of a roar.

With a loud yowl the thorn sharp claws of the Windclan warrior sunk into his prey, crimson life flowing freely over the dark surface of his natural weapons, and his teeth sinking deep into the smaller creature, ending its life swiftly. Lionstorm rose proudly, the hare dangling from his jaws as he trotted back to his companions, as he dropped it with the rest of his catch to bury he grinned wryly at the apprentices, "Don't do it that way, it's a waste of energy, I just enjoy the run occasionally."