A Hunt of Foreboding (CLOSED)

Ever since Scorchclaw was named RiverClan's newest deputy, Shadefang had been in a nasty mood. Why did Jaystar have to choose him the former apprentice of that vile fox Sweet? Well, sure Shadefang was her son, but at least he wasn't trained by her! He could make RiverClan as strong as Ivystar did, maybe even stronger, but no, Jaystar had to choose some nobody to lead the Clan alongside him. He should have been deputy. He should be the one helping Jaystar make all the important decisions and making his Clan stronger.

His anger only boiled hotter when Scorchclaw had the gall to assign him on patrol. Nutfur, the traitor who had helped Sweet try to lead a ThunderClan patrol into the heart of RiverClan territory to rescue their captured Clanmate; Spotfur, the annoying tom who always had the gall to challenge and talk back to him; and Smokewish, the cat who had saved him from drowning as a kit. And the worst part: all three of them were once friends with Sweet! How infuriating!

Oh, well. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't ignore the deputy's orders... yet. Now wasn't the time for that. At least he could take his anger out on his prey while they hunted.

He stalked to the entrance of RiverClan's camp, waiting impatiently for the three cats who would join the patrol he himself would lead. At least Scorchclaw had some sense to ask him to lead this patrol...

Smokewish padded up to Shadefang, who would be leading the patrol she was assigned to go on. He was a very complicated cat, to say the least. She knew he never liked Sweetheart, but she just didn’t understand why. How could someone hate their own mother that much? Ah, well. She was gone now. Smokewish let out a small sigh. Her best friend - gone. Killed by foxes, was that what Ivystar had said? Well, the leader was gone too. And the foxes had killed her daughter, and her son was dead as well... She had to stop thinking like this. She still had Mistpaw and Chillpaw and her mate, Spotfur... and his mate, Nutfur. Why was everything so complicated? She gave her head a little shake to clear her thoughts and offered Shadefang a small smile. ”Hello, Shadefang.” She greeted him with a little flick of her tail.

"Greetings. It's a nice day for hunting. Hopefully the prey is running well," Nutfur commented, dipping her head in greeting as she padded over to the two warriors. Both seemed a bit off. Well, that was familiar. Everyone in the clan seemed to feel that way lately. Smokewish had the same expression she had seen on many other clanmates, grief hid beneath a smile. When she was younger, she hadn't been able to recognize it. Now, probably because she had done that so many times, it was easy for her to tell when a smile was just as much to block out other emotions as it was because a cat was happy. But Shadefang was different. His frustration and anger wasn't hidden. Ever since he was young, she knew he had been rather angry. So it made sense that his natural response to loss would be using rage, instead of friendliness, to block out grief. First his mother had Sweetheart had died, and even though he had hated his mother, she couldn't imagine that he didn't feel the horrible pain of losing her. Nobody realized how much they loved someone until they were gone. She too missed the kind she-cat, and resolved to try to comfort the tom some time that day. In addition, Ivystar had died, and she knew how loyal he had been to her. No wonder he was so angry. Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to talk to him, seeing as she didn't want him to do something he'd regret. All those thoughts, like most of her other feelings, were covered up by a friendly smile. Hopefully Spotfur would arrive soon. A patrol with her mate was something she looked forward to, and hopefully his arrival would end the awkward silence.

Spotfur strode up to the three. "That's all of us. Let's go hunt some prey!" He said enthusiastically. He couldn't say he wasn't a little disappointed not to be chosen deputy, but he had quickly shaken it away. Scorchclaw was a strong cat and that would contradict Jaystar's more mellow personality, and while Shadefang would do the same, he was very fierce and somewhat bloodthirsty, like Ivystar, but much worse. Shadefang being leader was a scary thougt. To add to this, Shadefang was leading the patrol, which was basically a recipe for disaster. Maybe Scorchclaw knew how much Shadefang wanted to be deputy(who didn't? Shadefang was notorious for shoving his opinions on your face, even when they're entirely wrong.) and felt bad for him, so Scorchclaw had the dark tom in question lead a patrol. Yes. That was it. All Shadefang deserved, he got. Pity. Pity for being so dang- so - so- idiotic! A bloodthirsty fleabrained tom, named Shadefang.

(OOC: Just seeing how much these cats miss Sweet makes me so warm and fuzzy inside <3)

Shadefang disregarded their greetings, though he did still give Smokewish the briefest of greeting nods. ”It’s about time you three showed up. You have any idea how rude it is to keep RiverClan’s next deputy in line waiting?” Without waiting for a response, he flicked his tail for the three older cats to follow him further into RiverClan territory.

He stopped by the river and turned to his patrol, standing straight and tall. ”Alright, here’s what I want you three to catch. Smokewish, you can catch a mouse. Nutfur, you can catch a bird. And Spotfur, you can catch a rabbit. Once you three have caught your assigned prey, we can fish for a little before heading back to camp.” He turned and stalked to his favorite hunting spot: the marshy land by the riverbank. He was still rather sore that he was ultimately better at hunting in mud like a filthy ShadowClan cat than fishing like a normal RiverClan cat; yet another reason why he hated his mother so much.

He crouched down when he picked up the scent of frog, and he slowly stalked towards it once he spotted its green body among the mud. Unfortunately, a loud and sudden sound nearby ended up spooking the frog, and it leaped into the safety of the water. Shadefang stood up and whipped around, his amber eyes blazing with fury. ”What was that?!”

(OOC: @Squirrelnose: So, I wasn’t quite expecting to miss the catch, but since Nutfur was gonna accidentally ruin his catch anyway I guess we can just improvise here if you’d like. :3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Smokewish was a little affronted by his attitude. RiverClan’s next deputy? What was he talking about? His arrogance was so very irritating, but she didn’t let it show. Smokewish padded dutifully after the patrol leader, trying to keep the three cats in her limited line of vision. When Shadefang ordered them to catch something, and then he told them exactly what to catch before stalking away, Smokewish gave a noncommittal flick of her tail in annoyance. What, did he think they were newly-made apprentices who had never been out of camp? She did her best to ignore him, wishing Nutfur and Spotfur happy hunting before tasting the air for her own prey. She caught the scent of a mouse, and it seemed fresh. She followed the trail a little ways until she caught sight of the little white rodent on the floor. She dropped into a hunting crouch, silently stalking the creature. However, it moved in front of her blind spot to search for food. She frantically looked around, trying to see where it had gone with her working eye. By the time she had done that, her paws were rustling the reeds and the thing had darted away. She tried to chase it, but eventually gave it up as a bad job.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Nutfur bit back a retort against Shadefang's rude comment. He was grieving, and that was why he was taking out his anger on other cats. Blaming him wouldn't solve anything. Sighing, she followed the dark colored warrior out into RiverClan territory. When he abruptly assigned them what to catch, she was curious about why. First of all, she had never heard a patrol leader be so precise about what every cat caught, and it wasn't exactly traditional RiverClan prey. Sure, they caught it every so often, but frogs and fish were their more common diet. Oh well. Cinderfall would probably like this. Just thinking about the time he tried to tell her how to lead a patrol almost made her laugh out loud. Shaking her head slightly, she scented the air for a bird. The only two times she had successfully caught one of those was when she was learning how to do so, and when she messily caught the robin that triggered Finchstream's fear of blood. Now, she caught the scent of a duck. Definitely not the easiest catch, but it was worth a try. Stalking towards the bird, she prepared to jump. It was in the river, but oblivious to her presence. So she took her chances and jumped. It took off into the air and flapped away the moment she lunged for it. Mouse-dung. Instead of making her catch, she flopped right into the river. A huge splash ensued, causing a rather loud noise. Getting up, she shook the water out of her pelt, not really minding the wetness. She was RiverClan through and through, after all. But their patrol leader seemed annoyed. Oh, her splash seemed to have scared away his catch. The day just kept getting worse. "Sorry Shadefang! I accidentally fell into the river while hunting a duck. I'm sorry I scared away your catch."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Spotfur flicked his tail, making sure to hit Shadefang with it before leaving to pursue a rabbit. Naturally, he missed, but that didn't make him angry. Rabbits were Windclan f food.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Shadefang narrowed his eyes dangerously at Nutfur, his hackles beginning to rise. He was just getting so fed up with everything, and now that his catch had be ruined his anger began to boil over. ”Seriously?! Great StarClan, you’re so clumsy! I bet you wouldn’t be so awful if you weren’t friends with that fox-hearted Sweet!” And naturally, everything came right back to his mother.

He stalked towards Nutfur, his claws unsheathed and glistening in the sunlight, and he bared his teeth in a battle-hungry snarl. ”I oughta teach you a lesson...”

Smokewish was just looking around for another mouse - had to please Shadefang, obviously, because the arrogant brat would never let her hear the end of it - when she heard a loud splash and a snarl. What?! Had someone fallen and encountered some vile beast? The thought that it might be Spotfur, her beloved mate, sent cold claws of panic to scratch at her chest. She couldn’t lose someone else. She ran as fast as she could towards the commotion, and confusion made her come to a standstill. Shadefang was glaring at a wet Nutfur. Okay, so Spotfur was elsewhere, but why were Shadefang’s claws out? A million and one theories bounced around her head, but the only one that made sense was that Shadefang was angry with Nutfur for some reason. Smokewish darted in between the two warriors, facing Shadefang. She made sure that her claws were sheathed as she glared at him. ”Claws away, Shadekit.” She spoke, using the words she had used when she taught him his first battle move by the river. A snarl curled the corner of her lip. Her tail brushed gently against Nutfur, trying to convey some source of comfort. Where was Spotfur?!

"Thanks, Smokewish, but I think I can handle him," Nutfur told Smokewish calmly, her composure seeming completely calm and collected. The fact that she had mastered that was something she wasn't sure if she was proud of or not. Her hazel eyes gazed at Shadefang, the only emotion she failed to hide being confusion. Why did he call her Sweet, rather than Sweetheart? That was the one thing that didn't make sense to her. His anger and violence was something she had completely expected, though she wished she could have said she was surprised. That sad truth was that he was an emotionally insecure cat that she simply couldn't trust to make good decisions. After a few moments of consideration, she spoke, deciding not to mention his mother in fear of angering him further. "Shadefang, I know you're grieving over Ivystar's death, and upset over the new deputy. But that doesn't mean you have to take all of your emotions out on us. Fighting might seem like the best way to get rid of those vile emotions, but it will only cause more pain. So please, put your claws away. If you really need to express yourself, use your words. Besides, I'm not the one who should be taught by you. I'm older and more experienced that your former mentor, so in reality I'm the one who should be teaching you. Now can we stop this foolishness and talk like honorable warriors?"