Hunter; Gatherer [Closed]

Beartooth was determined to hunt by himself today. Companionship was something he silently always desired, but now, the idea of being near any cat made him uncomfortable. After what Ridgelight had done, he was directionless. The only solace was burying himself into the typical routine of a warrior. Although he had initially planned to slip out in between border patrols, it seemed as if Marshstorm had other ideas. Mosspaw needed to do some herb gathering. And with the fox that had recently been on the territory? Better to take another warrior. Ferretnose, a newly named warrior, was available to join them. His face was a neutral mask that hid the idea he was fairly displeased with the company. However, Mosspaw's hopeful nature and pure spirit was often one he found comfort in, even if the scent of herbs reminded him of Pricklebush. Leading the way into the territory, he nodded to Ferretnose and meowed, "We will stay fairly close to camp and stray outwards if prey is slow."

Ferretnose nodded affirmatively at the older warrior. It still felt strange, to be addressed as an equal... as a cat with some level of autonomy. Beartooth was understandably quiet lately, and it would be incredibly mean of her to push him. Besides, there was a fox to worry about, and it was better for him to keep his eyes on the prize, if not Ferretnose herself. Even so, she didn't want to exactly want to exclude him from the merriment, either. She was pleased to find that Mosspaw was joining them, and she purred as the tortoiseshell she-cat moved to the group.

"Mosspaw!" the small warrior chirped as she shifted to look at Mosspaw from her better side, "Is Pricklebush giving you problems, the old sourpuss? Let me know, and I'll box his ears a little for you." Ferretnose beamed as she ribbed the younger medicine cat.

The younger warrior allowed Beartooth to take the lead, and she tailed him, keeping a watchful eye on Mosspaw as to not accidentally leave her behind. She had no idea what a medicine cat apprentice's duties entailed, but Ferretnose figured she had it handled. Pricklebush must have been happy to have an apprentice to run errands for him!

Having been caught up suddenly with a question about herbs, Mosspaw came trotting from the fern clearing. She smiled at the patrol she was to be joining, comprised of Beartooth and Ferretnose, and purred in return as the she-cat called to her. "Hi Ferretnose! How have you been? Enjoying the warrior life?" She chirped in response, her tail waving happily. "Nope, he's been fairly quiet recently, honestly. He's probably just overworked and worried, having to go back and forth to RiverClan. I'll take him a bird to eat when I get back, so he can line his nest with feathers and hopefully get some good rest."

She followed the two warriors out of camp, and as they left the safe confines of the ravine she felt the fur on her back prickle slightly. Ever since what happened with Ridgelight and the fox, she couldn't help but feel that there were eyes everywhere. Despite being a medicine cat, if she got her claws on that fox again she wouldn't let it leave unscathed. Today was a different day though, and she hoped with all of her heart that the fox was long gone, far away from the clan territories. As they padded through the woods, she would occasionally stop to nose at a small growth at the base of trees, or bunches of fully grown herbs which she deftly picked and wrapped in a leaf. It wasn't long before she the leaf bundle she had started had some herbs delicately placed within, carrying it with her. She gazed at Beartooth's back from her place walking behind him, feeling torn. Part of her wanted to reach out and try to offer words of comfort, another part knew she couldn't hope to be able to achieve that, and he had seemed content to remain alone recently. So she settled to stay quiet for now, and see if he made the first move.

ooc; guys im so sorry I meant to post here earlier ahhhh

Pricklebush. He teeth clenched slightly as the sound of his name. When would the medicine cat's name no longer drudge up feels of inadequacy and pain? When would he no long wince at the sound of his adoptive brother? Blizzardshine had shown him love in his youth and it was that love which he had forged for her kits. It was something that had become knit to the very fiber of his soul. Underneath his hard exterior, all of the scars, and the ice that had seemed to settled deep in the cavern of his chest, Beartooth was a simple and loving creature. He couldn't easily let go of the brotherly love he had formed for Pricklebush in their kithood, even if the pale tom hated him.

As the pair of she-cats exchanged words, he settled into the normal routine of the hunt. Something scuttled at the roots of a tree ahead. His gaze zeroed in and he fell into the familiar crouch. Hunting was not his strength, but it was a familiar enough routine. Creeping forward, the warrior bunched his muscles in preparation to spring forward. The fluffy tail was visible just over the patch of foliage. He had to calculate the position of the squirrel just right as he leaped. Somehow, he managed to catch the creature and squashed it underneath his heavy paws, crushing it and sinking his paws in with one motion.

Beartooth attempted to catch a Squirrel. The catch was successful. -3 SP

Beartooth
HP: 60/60
SP: 200/200

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Sometimes, it felt as though hunting was the only thing Ferretnose truly excelled at. She loved the thrill of tracking a creature through the undergrowth, listening for the drumming of its heart and paws, and leaping through the air to catch it. She noticed a vole not too far from her paws, with a squirrel scent farther away. Not willing to risk a perfect shot, Ferretnose bunched her haunches and leaped for her catch.

... Ferretnose came up empty, misjudging the distance between the vole and her paws. She heard the squirrel nearby scurry up a tree in alarm. She huffed in frustration. She shouldn't have tried to catch something she couldn't even see yet. She hoped that Mosspaw was having better luck with her herbs, considering they don't move or hear your pawsteps.

Ferretnose attempted to catch a rodent and failed, costing 3 stamina.

Ferretnose
40/40 HP
117/120 SP (-3)

The member 'Grizzly [frisbee bear]' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Having been left to herself as the other two cats that accompanied her went to track some prey, Mosspaw scented the air. Hints of squirrels and mice brought up painful memories, so she quickly pushed the thought aside and began to pick out the scent of flowering buds and plants. Her eyes landed on a bush with spiky leaves and dark blue berries. "Juniper!" She said quietly to herself as she trotted over to it. Juniper is good for bellyaches... Giving strength, and... umm.... Calming cats? I think?" She recited to herself, noting to ask Pricklebush about that last tidbit, she didn't want to be wrong. Deftly nipping a couple branches with fully formed berries off of the bush to fully sort later, she wrapped them in her bundle as well before continuing on her way with the patrol.

The tabby tom had missed his clanmate's hunting attempt as he went to bury his own catch. Perhaps if circumstance were different, the warrior would have felt come semblance of pride for being able to secure any prey for the clan. Fighting had proven to be this warrior's main skill and hunting had never been something his paws were built for; their impressive size did not ease the process of skillfully sneaking up on any creature. After the squirrel's fluffy tail disappeared underneath a layer of earth, Beartooth turned towards the rest. His maw gave no indication of a successful catch, and rather wore the usual flat expression that his over-sized fangs allowed for. His gaze turned towards Mosspaw who was eyeing a bush with spiked leaves. Once he noted the bush bore no thorns, his pace slowed slightly. He'd considered assisting her had that been the case. As he approached, Beartooth just barely caught the last of her words. Calming cats? It was very rare his mind wandered to thoughts beyond his current objective but he found himself how many berries it might take to heal his soul. With a flick of his ear, the idea was gone and he turned to scent the air, "There isn't much around here." He concluded after a moment. The tom looked over to Ferretnose for some input. Beartooth was a cat who hardly ever considered making decisions for himself, so even as a patrol leader, his need for direction fell on the younger warrior.

Ferretnose nodded, looking in the direction of the missed rodent. Small prey wasn't exactly her specialty, but the way Beartooth spoke, it seemed like he had trouble as well. At least Mosspaw was finding what she had come out for.

"Maybe the timing is wrong," she said softly, "That fox means trouble with prey, lumbering about with its stink. I'd hide, too. If we move closer to Twolegplace, there might be some squirrels fat from scrounging on twoleg food... right?" She lifted her eyes to Beartooth and realized it may have been a mistake, speaking of the fox. She dug her claws into the ground and prayed he didn't take it too personally. "Unless you have something better, Mighty Patrol Leader," she added, more light than her last comment.

As she collected the herbs, she noticed Beartooth approaching from behind her slowly before he scented the air and turned towards Ferretnose. She finished collecting the berries she needed, then scented the air herself, nodding in agreement. It had been a while since she hunted, but her nose was still good, just more focused on picking out herbs rather than prey, but there was not much around. "I agree, it might be best to head towards Twoleg place. I can check on the catmint that's growing there as well, that way we're prepared when leafbare comes back again." She shuddered as she thought of facing another leafbare, she had been born in the midst of it and the memory of being trapped in that snow bank still haunted her occasionally. They needed to be prepared though, in order to fight off whitecough or, StarClan forbid, greencough.