Leafbare Hunting

Blinking his golden amber eyes open, Copperpaw was met with a light, ticklish feeling on his muzzle. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he could make out the shape of a butterfly's flapping wings, likely sensing that its perch had awoken, flying out of the compact den. 
Sitting up and yawning, the tom pawed at his eyes, clearly not much of an early bird. If he were to wake up before sunhigh, something else would have to rouse him awake- in this case, a wandering butterfly. The fiery-coloured apprentice almost laid back down and continue his slumber, but he decided that being awake now would be better than Mapleleaf having to poke over and over again in order to get him to even sit up. 
As Copperpaw tip-toed his way out of the apprentices' den, the early dawning light that met his fur seemed to offer him energy for the coming day. He could see a few warriors up and about and Marshstorm ordering patrols. 

In hopes of the deputy or someone else noticing him, he sat near the entrance of the camp, waiting for any passing warriors for him to bug about taking him on a patrol. To be fair, instead of annoying any local ThunderClanner, he could've just went and pressured Mapleleaf to take him on a patrol, but Copperpaw figured it would be nice to get away from his mentor for one day and interact with some other warriors.

"Good morning, Copperpaw," Bushfang greeted, padding up beside the ginger apprentice. Responsibility was on of the traits she had to show perfectly, and she had already planned a few ways to do that. One of the main ones being leading a patrol, or even just offering to take an apprentice out on a hunt. Either way, she would be showing traits of a fine warrior and start to gain trust and respect from her clanmates. Copperpaw seemed itching for a hunt, and she knew a good warrior would give him just that. "If you would like, you could come on a hunting patrol with me. The clan could always use more prey to eat." Her tone was polite and her smile friendly, seeming like a casual offer that most cats made quite often. It was exactly that, but she knew this small patrol could hopefully help her to achieve much larger goals.

Harefoot shivered in the cold morning air. He couldn't sit around in the warriors' den hoping to gain warmth any longer, so he exited and embraced the crisp sensation of the chilly leafbare breeze. His short fur fluffed up as much as possible, but it was rather ineffective. The new warrior glanced around, and upon spotting Bushfang and Copperpaw by the camp exit, decided that moving on a patrol would be more use than sitting around camp. He wasn't that responsible, but he was certainly motivated to keep warm. He trotted over to the pair, feeling slight hesitation at approaching a random patrol, and meowed in pleasant greetings. "Hello Bushfang, Copperpaw." He didn't know either of them very well, but he at least new his clanmates' names. "Are you starting up a hunting patrol? Do you mind if I tag along?"

ooc; bro my luck. feel free to come in and attack and let the owl attack you

The corners of his lips started to curve upwards as Copperpaw saw Bushfang approach him; nodding his head in reply to her greeting once she did, "Mornin'!" 

He grinned even wider as the brown tabby warrior continued speaking, "Hey, are you just really good at reading others or are you psychic? Ab-so-lute-ly!" The orange tom laughed at his own joke and hummed at the end of his sentence. The young apprentice jumped to his paws and opened his mouth to tell the she-cat he was ready to get a move-on, only to be interrupted by Harefoot. The small inconvenience almost immediately brushed past his mind, "Heya! Not at all. It'll be good to get more hunting done while the dawn patrol's up and about. That being said, let's get going!"

Copperpaw let Bushfang mostly take the lead, it was only fair. He just wanted to be on a patrol, nothing more, and besides, the she-cat had been the one to offer him up for the patrol in the first place. Before long, they stopped near a small clearing, and that was when the orange apprentice spoke up again. "Alright, this seems like a good spot to meet up." He looked up at the sky, finding that the sun had barely risen since they left. "I propose we all split up and meet back here with our kills before sunhigh, to make things short. About splitting up- don't worry, I won't stray too far from one of you guys. All in favour?" He questioned, grinning as they both agreed. "Good! Let's make sure we can feed the whole Clan after this hunt!"

He waited for the two of them to set off, keeping his promise about staying close to them. Honestly, the tom didn't even want to be completely on his own. What if they... no, it wouldn't happen. It wouldn't happen again. Shaking his head and clearing away the thoughts in his mind, Copperpaw started searching for prey. He opened his jaws to taste the air, and after a bit of creeping around, he scented a finch not too far off. Once he spotted the bird, he stalked towards it, the same way Mapleleaf taught him to. Just before he could leap, an owl swooped in clumsily, scaring his catch away. He hissed in distaste, standing up with a scowl. "You know, finches are nice, but you'll bring back a way better catch than those things...!" He yowled, charging and leaping at the bird, managing to get a grip on it before it could fly away, sending them both tumbling across the snow-covered ground in a mess of feathers, talons, and claws. Copperpaw did his best to tear at the bird with his claws as they rolled over.

--

Copperpaw used Run-and-Tackle, dealing 9 damage (6+3) and using 10 stamina.


Copperpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP


Owl
41/50 HP
120/120 SP

The member '81556' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Hunting Dice' : 10

"I'm not psychic, you were just being a bit obvious about it," Bushfang replied with a purr, seemingly very amused by Copperpaw's joke. She wasn't sure if being nice to apprentices was one of the things noticed in a good warrior, but she hoped so, or else putting up with him would be a total waste of time. None of her annoyance showing on her face, she simply smiled as Harefoot joined them, nodding in agreement with the ginger tom's words. Leading the other two cats out of camp, the brown she-cat began walking towards a spot she knew was pretty good for hunting. The more prey her patrol brought back for the clan, the better her reputation would become. And of course, that was the entire reason she was on this patrol in the first place. Pausing in the clearing she had in mind, she let a small cheerful smile cross her face as the apprentice started taking charge. While she found it annoying a pretentious, anyone looking at her would think she found it cute. "I see you already have leadership qualities. I'm sure that will make you a great warrior someday. I'm fine with splitting up to hunt here, just don't get into too much trouble." Smiling, she watched as the younger tom began to search for prey, not letting herself roll her eyes until she had turned her back on both the toms. Seriously, why was it considered a good trait to put up with that kind of nonsense? Good thing she would only have to deal with it a little longer. Scenting for prey, she didn't pick up on anything immediately, but quickly caught onto the trail of a mouse. Crouching down, she began to pad towards the small rodent when she heard a loud hiss, causing the mouse to run away. Raising her head, she saw an owl swooping down next to the apprentice, who seemed to find some sort of fun in attacking it. Whatever. Helping an apprentice fight an owl had to be helpful in some way.
"Copperpaw! Avoid it's talons, I'll come help you!" Faking some sort of urgency, Bushfang ran towards the source of the noise, just to see Copperpaw rolling on the ground with his claws dug deep into the owl's feathers. Well, it didn't look like he was being at all cautious. Resisting the urge to sigh and watch the scene play out, she knew it wouldn't look too good for her. Running towards the two fighting creatures, she quickly was able to tell the best time to hit the owl without hitting the apprentice as well. Rising onto her hind legs, she brought she unsheathed claws down onto the mass of blood and feather, digging deep into the owl's flesh and leaving thick, read claw marks. 

Bushfang uses Rear-Up to Slash on Owl, dealing 9 damage and costing 15 stamina.

Bushfang:
40/40
105/120

Owl:
32/50
120/120

Harefoot was content to stay silent and follow behind the pair as they walked deeper into the territory. He listened with interest as Bushfang complimented Copperpaw, wondering if she had a soft spot for younger cats or if she was preparing for mentorship ahead of the game. Maybe he should try to interact with some apprentice more often? But the idea was daunting, so he resolved to deal with that later and focus on the hunt now. He had just caught prey-scent when he heard Bushfang call out to Copperpaw to look out for talons, and he had a sudden flashback to fighting off an owl with Flamerose as apprentices. There were more cats now to protect each other, but he remembered just how hurt and tired they'd been.

Harefoot sprinted back to the source of the voices and found the owl and apprentice rolling on the ground as Bushfang dug her claws into its feathers. He jumped forward with his claws extended, landing squarely atop the owl and holding it down as best as he could with a hiss.

Harefoot used Leap-and-Hold, dealing 8 damage and using 10 stamina. The owl is pinned for 1 turn.

Copperpaw:
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Bushfang:
40/40
105/120

Harefoot:
40/40
110/120

Owl:
24/50
120/120

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

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'Effect Dice' : 1

Grinning as the other two cats on patrol rushed in to help him, Copperpaw found massive enjoyment in wrestling and fighting the outnumbered owl. Mapleleaf had so far been very brief with battle training, so, for now, he was just doing whatever he found fun. "Nice job, you guys...!" He bared as the owl was severely weakened and held down. Its restrained position gave the orange apprentice the perfect opportunity to hit a few blows at its belly, so he raked his claws down the soft-feathered area and smiled slightly as the owl screeched in pain. 

Copperpaw used Belly rake, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Copperpaw:
20/20 HP
60/80 SP

Bushfang:
40/40
105/120

Harefoot:
40/40
110/120

Owl:
17/50
120/120

"Thanks," Bushfang panted in response to Copperpaw's comment, still remembering to be polite to apprentices even while fighting an owl. Harefoot managed to keep the large bird pinned down for a few moments, leaving it open for attack. Some cats may feel sorry for attacking this bird so brutally when it hadn't even attacked them, but if need be she could make up some story about how it would have attacked the innocent little apprentice if they hadn't killed it. Besides, she could always make the argument that prey was prey. And anything that could make cats like her, such as taking down an owl to help an apprentice, was worth taking a bird's life for. Remorse was far from her prominent emotion at that moment. Taking advantage of the owl's vulnerable state, she slashed at its softer stomach, her claws joining those of the ginger tom. As red liquid seeped out and covered the brown feathers, she took a step back, waiting to see what would happen next.

Bushfang used Belly Rake on Owl, dealing 9 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Copperpaw:
20/20
60/80

Bushfang:
40/40
95/120

Harefoot:
40/40
110/120

Owl:
8/50
120/120

Although Harefoot wouldn't have condemned the other two for attacking the bird first, he was still unaware that the owl was not the original aggressor. Either way, he was solely concerned with surviving the encounter and perhaps taking back another owl as a prize to feed the clan. He still wore the wicked clawmarks on his back from his first encounter with such an animal. His grip was quickly slipping from the thrashing predator, and Harefoot quickly abandoned his attempt at holding the owl down in favor of striking it hard in the face with his hind legs as he hopped off its back.

Harefoot used Back Kick on the owl, dealing 10 damage and using 15 stamina.

Copperpaw:
20/20
60/80

Bushfang:
40/40
95/120

Harefoot:
40/40
95/120

Owl:
0/50 (KO)
120/120

Copperpaw stood up as Harefoot successfully dealt the finishing blow on the owl, staring down at the viciously clawed bird with pride glowing in his golden amber eyes and a determined grin on his face. The heat of battle still flared throughout the young tom's body, but he felt very little exhaust after the tussle with the owl. He assumed that was because the other warriors standing in front of him had dealt most of the damage, and the orange apprentice looked at them, realizing he should probably compliment them. "That was awesome!!!" he shouted. Normally he would've been quieter as to not scare off prey, but from the owl's screeches, he figured that every mouse and squirrel in the area had probably heard it and ran off elsewhere. As he said his praises, Copperpaw was still completely oblivious to the fact that three cats had practically just ganged up on the poor thing and so ruthlessly attacked it. "I can't wait to go back to the Clan and show them this! You guys did GREAT, I'm super grateful that you came here to help me." he looked up and beamed at them, but when he did, he also realized how far the sun had come. 


"Hey, uh, I don't know if you guys just wanna go back to camp after this fight, but we still have quite some time to hunt other stuff. Would you prefer we just bring the owl back to the camp and get the patrol over with, or do you want to get a few more prey in the area while we're at it? That is, if there still is prey in the area..." He chuckled guiltily.

ooc: if your cats choose the latter, we'll each just hunt one more thing and then end the topic. ya'll can end it now, though if you do, this topic will only count as a battle topic

"I think it would be okay if we kept hunting for a little while," Bushfang decided, looking over the three of them as if she had just noticed none of them had gotten hurt in the fight. "None of us seem to have suffered any injuries, so we're still in good shape to hunt. We should probably just move a little to where the prey still is." Smiling warmly, she began padding a little off to the right, back to where she had scented prey a minute or two prior. Once she had her back turned to them, she let the smile drop from her face as she scented the air. Copperpaw talked to much, got way too excited over little things, and was overall just completely annoying. She didn't know how his mentor could stand him, because most other cats didn't seem to have her ability to completely change her personality in front of different cats. As she scented the air, she caught the trail of a squirrel. Good. Those were easy to catch, and fairly big. Following the smell a bit further, she spotted the scampering rodent scurrying down the trunk of a tree. As an apprentice she had realized how well being a dark drown tabby let her blend in with the tree trunks, so she pressed herself against a tree and waited for it to come a bit closer. Oblivious of the danger, the squirrel kept going along it's route, almost close enough for her to pounce. The moment it was within a tail-length of her, she leaped for it, claws out stretched in a silent ark over the snow. It saw her right before she landed, but only made it about a whisker before her claws came down on it's back, immobilizing the creature just long enough to deliver a killing bite to the back of its neck. The rodent went limp in her jaws and she picked it up, smiling as she trotted back over to the toms and placed the squirrel next to the owl.

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 5

Harefoot was admittedly a bit winded from the fight, but he didn't want to return back to camp empty-pawed. He decided a quick hunt would be good, provided he didn't run into anymore trouble, and split off from the group with a silent nod. The loud tussle had echoed quite loudly through the bare trees, and he had to travel farther than he would have liked to catch even a whiff of prey. When he did, the brown tom paused, located the thin squirrel that was the source, and crouched. Harefoot, quick as lightning, pounced on the unsuspecting creature and killed it swiftly before bringing it back to the rest of the group. Seeing that Bushfang was successful as well, he nodded and flicked his tail in the direction of camp, a silent question if they were ready to return.