Hunting Is Pun[CLOSED]

Mistpaw did not like dusk hunting. Today, however, was a dawn hunting patrol. He'd been up long enough to watch the sun begin to rise and bring light to the world. The morning mists were quiet and peaceful, he supposed, just like him. He watched the last star disappear from the sky. Most cats would call it Starclan. Pfft. A bunch of dead cats, standing around in a paradise beyond the clouds? Impossible. A kitstory that nobody actually knew was real. Well. Hunting, however, was real. And that was what they were here for.

Galepaw was a light sleeper. Some nights were better than others; after a hard day of training, he could stay sound asleep until Emberheart came in to wake him again. Last night had not been one of those nights. Around sunup, he’d heard the whisper of paws and opened his eyes just enough to see Mistpaw leave. Then, before he’d gotten a chance to relax, the news had arrived: He had been assigned to his first dawn patrol. If he'd had any chances at rest, they'd been dashed then and there.

He’d already resolved not to be too outwardly grumpy about it—what if the wrong cat overheard and took him off the patrol entirely?—but the gray apprentice still looked more bedraggled than normal as he flopped down beside Mistpaw, making an indistinct sound likely meant to be a greeting in his denmate’s direction. They just had to wait for Ferretnose to arrive, and then they could be off. It wasn't quite the carefree territory tour he wanted, but until he found someone to sneak out of camp with, it would have to do. Galepaw squinted at Mistpaw, then upward, trying to see whatever he'd been watching.

"Good morning, apprentices!" Ferretnose trilled as she approached the two toms she'd have to wrangle. Being a cat who appreciated the morning dew and the cooler temperatures, she was always happy to volunteer for the earliest hunting excursions. She hoped that, if this particular patrol went well, she'd be considered for the next kit who came around to be apprenticed. She smiled on the thought and wondered to herself when Houndkit was due for his ceremony. She had a little giggle to herself as she turned her good eye to the grey apprentice to her left, who was looking a bit worn down. "Stars, Galepaw, I feel like I need to have a talk with Beartooth about assigning you to hunt too early! You better get some rest this afternoon, before your mentor takes you out again."

She guided the two out of camp and opened her jaws to scent the air. They shouldn't have had to stray too far from camp, though a reliable source of prey was in order since the fox had spooked most of it. "I assume that you two know what you're doing, since Emberheart and Dustcloud aren't tagging along," she began, "Let's go out by the Great Sycamore. All the squirrels will be foraging, and there'll be plenty to find. Just stay away from Snakerocks, alright?"

Mistpaw nodded his head in greeting to both cats. He followed silently and went to go catch a simple mouse. "I assure that I will not be needing help. I do not know about Galepaw, however..." He said in his most teasing voice - which was not very passionate. Mistpaw kept his voice mostly neutral and calm. But, of course, every warrior needed some fun. He let his long tail disappear into the bushes as he staked out a mouse. Though his long tail rustled the leaves, he was quick enough to kill the mouse with a bite.

Mistpaw caught a mouse, using 3 stamina!

77/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

It wasn’t long before Ferretnose approached, confusingly cheery for this time of day. Galepaw attempted a greeting; what he ultimately gave her was half a nod. ”Don’t remind me,” he groaned. Training with Emberheart was almost always interesting, and he knew from experience that he would most likely wake up before this patrol was over, but at the moment, the idea of doing anything requiring that much focus was overwhelming. Thankfully, walking behind Ferretnose didn’t take much focus at all.

Mistpaw’s voice was perfectly even, as always, but his words stuck in Galepaw’s ears. He shot the other apprentice as strong a glare as he could manage (which barely counted as a glare at all), then turned his attention to the twisted roots of the Great Sycamore. Sure enough, the first thing he spotted was a squirrel, absorbed in the berry it was gnawing on. That would be better than some boring old mouse! He crept toward it, being sure to raise his tail off the ground; then he pounced, pinning it down before it could flee. A quick bite, and it was dead. Galepaw grabbed it and padded back to the group, dropping it before his patrolmates with a flourish. "Who doesn't need help now?" he meowed—which wasn't a great comeback, but in his defense... Well, there was nothing he could really say in his defense.

Galepaw attempted to catch Squirrel, using 3 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Galepaw
20/20 HP
77/80 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Ferretnose went off in a different direction, keeping a close eye on Mistpaw and Galepaw while still making sure they didn't scare off her prey. She went through the motions quite mechanically, seasons of practice giving her the muscle memory to stalk critters with less mental effort. Spotting a chattering robin pecking at the ground, she wondered if it was worth a shot. Birds were an often overlooked source of prey, and to find one on the ground was a lucky opportunity. Ferretnose prepared for a higher arc than she was used to and sprung after the bird.

With a flap of feathers, the robin tried to retreat into the air and fell into the she-cat's sharp claws. It was a lucky catch, for certain, and she padded away to rejoin the apprentices. "Now that's hunting!" she said proudly, dropping the freshly killed robin beside Galepaw's squirrel. "You two are shaping up to be fine warriors, that's for sure. Should we move on, or is there prey here yet?"

Ferretnose hunted a bird, it was... Successful!

45/45 HP
157/160 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Mistpaw shrugged and looked at the pile. "Let's try here. Maybe one more piece each?" He left again to catch a squirrel. It didn't even see him coming. He dropped it on the pile.

-3 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

In retrospect, Galepaw should have expected his retort would go unacknowledged. It was hard to get a rise out of Mistpaw, not that Galepaw had tried before. Giving up on his efforts for now, he looked around to notice their patrol leader had disappeared. Before he could wonder where she’d gone, she came trotting back with a mouthful of red and gray-brown feathers and a complement on his and Mistpaw’s hunting skills.

Most of the prey had probably gone. Squirrels and mice weren’t as dull as they looked; Emberheart had told him that when she’d first taught him to hunt. That was part of why being quiet was so important. If you missed one pounce, the resulting chaos could startle off anything in the surrounding area. Even so… ”I’ll find something,” he announced, then marched away from the group.

By the time he spotted something, he'd put some distance between himself and the others. At first, he mistook the object for a small, prickly rock—but upon closer inspection, it was sitting up, and it smelled too much like a vole to be anything else. Galepaw sank down, the tip of his tail twitching. Much like the squirrel before it, the vole didn't notice the gray tabby creeping up on it until it was too late to run. His claws dug in, and soon, he was parading back to Ferretnose and Mistpaw with his prize. He opened his mouth and let the vole fall onto the pile. As little as he was looking forward to carrying all of this back, he couldn't help but be a little smug that he'd made good on his promise.

Galepaw attempted to catch Rodent, using 3 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Galepaw
20/20 HP
74/80 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2