New Rank, Same Job (closed)

Dawngaze remained restless. Even though things had changed dramatically for her, she didn't feel much different. A new name and nest greeted her after her warrior ceremony, and it was fulfilling, but she was still a ThunderClan cat at the end of the day and she still had duties to perform. Fortunately, she was able to make her own calls instead of waiting for her neglectful mentor to finally give her orders. The gloomy she-cat was close to leaving camp when she noticed Dacepaw, a former RiverClanner. It was strange; Dawngaze knew she had blood in RiverClan, but she didn't know who it flowed in. Any RiverClan cat could be a potential relative, and Dawngaze would have no way of knowing. It was peculiar and also intensely uncomfortable. In fact, the half-blooded warrior didn't even approve of Dacepaw's presence in ThunderClan, but her father - err, Oakstar - had difficulty turning away anyone he deemed innocent. So she sucked up her personal feelings and approached the apprentice with the intention of scouting out how much of a threat she might be to ThunderClan.

"Hey. Come hunt with me."

A starkly beautiful and imposing patched tabby she-cat approached Dacepaw in her quiet focus on the outside of the apprentices' den. She wondered how the Clan had possibly moved the brambles around to reinforce the dens without getting all cut up. The pale apprentice jumped as the warrior's voice broke her concentration, and she immediately turned her bright gaze to the authorative she-cat. "Oh, okay!" Dacepaw replied cheerily, immediately trotting past the she-cat towards the entrance. She continued brightly, "I'm still not a very good hunter, but I'll do my best!"

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but immediate compliance wasn't it. She supposed it was a refreshing change from the usual obnoxious apprentices that she'd shared a den with for far, far too long. Like Houndpaw. Just barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Dawngaze followed Dacepaw out of the camp. "I suppose hunting in RiverClan is not at all like hunting here." She meowed absentmindedly, wondering if the fishing clan ever caught land prey or if they relied entirely on the river. She stole a glance down at her own large paws as she walked. Webbed.

A rustle nearby caught her full focus as she shifted from day dreaming to a hunter's mindset, identifying the accompanying scent as a mouse. Instinctively dropping into a crouch, the large warrior pinpointed the location of her target and stalked as close as she dared through the underbrush. She pounced, crushing the spine of the mouse. She dug a shallow hole without a second thought and stored it away for collection later.

Dawngaze: 117/120

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Pleased that the pretty she-cat was following, Dacepaw struck out into the forest that she still felt she barely knew. Then again, when she thought about it, she wondered how well she knew RiverClan's territory anyways. Dawngaze's comment made Dacepaw's whiskers twitch, and the apprentice answered thoughtfully, "Well, no, not really. Although my friend Magpiepaw told me that warriors catch birds sometimes, and he let me try a bite of vole!" A short while later Dawngaze split away, and Dacepaw watched with eager excitement as the she-cat caught her prey.

"That was neat," Dacepaw complimented, and she turned to look through the forest. She sheepishly turned back to Dawngaze, and she asked, "Can... Can you show me how you did that? I wanna catch a mouse too!"

Well, if Dacepaw was going to be in this clan, she needed to be productive. Dawngaze nodded firmly at her own excellent logic and tried to recall how Beartooth had taught her. He hadn't said much then. She'd have to go off her own experience. "The secret's in the tail. If you hold it completely still, you won't make noise hitting branches or dragging it on the ground." She meowed, dropping into a hunter's crouch. Secretly, it also saved her fluffy tail from snagging burrs and leaves, but it certainly helped her be quieter.

She took a few smooth steps forward as though she was already stalking something else. "I don't like taking too long to stalk things. I find that faster is better, even if I make more mistakes. I just don't have time for that." Dawngaze said simply, sitting up and shrugging.

Dacepaw was delighted when the warrior agreed to show her. Dawngaze stated immediately, "The secret's in the tail." "The tail!" Dacepaw echoed with awe, turning her head to look at her thick tortoiseshell tail flicking behind herself. She immediately looked back to Dawngaze as she explained that it was important to hold it still so it didn't make noise. Dacepaw nodded in eager acknowledgement of her advice, her green-hazel eyes drinking in the she-cat's skillful movements. The demonstration was over almost as quickly as it had begun, but the former RiverClan she-cat found herself nodding eagerly.

"That's so neat, Dawngaze," Dacepaw answered enthusiastically, "I hope someday I can hunt as fast as you."

A skittering sound made Dacepaw's tufted ears perk up, and her pupils widened as she spotted a small shrew that had popped up on top of a tree root a few steps away. The apprentice dropped into a crouch, so different from the one she had displayed in her first day in the RiverClan camp; her pose was much better, though her tail still stuck up like a pennant behind her. She began to pad forward eagerly.

It darted away when something alerted it, though, and Dacepaw sat upright as a dark, lumbering shape came scrambling through the foliage. This wasn't a cat, was it...? Its claws slashed across both her cheeks and she scrambled back with a start, feeling pain darken her vision as she let out a cry. "M-Mommy-y!" she wailed, immediately starting to try to flee into the underbrush.

Dacepaw tried and failed to catch the shrew, costing 3 SP.

20/20 HP
77/70 SP

---

The tail was an easy thing for the raccoon to spot. It had been hoping to simply get from the twolegplace to the river, and it certainly hadn't expected to run into any cats. It knew the forest was wrought with them, but it had almost made it. Suddenly this fluffy kit-thing had sprang forward, and the raccoon had no choice but to fight and run the other way or else of course the cats would attack it, first. It let out a hiss and lunged for the small one, lashing its claws out. It felt them rake through the flesh on either of it's cheeks, and the she-cat scrambled back with a startled wail.

The Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Dacepaw, using 10 stamina and dealing 20 damage. Dacepaw can no longer fight.

Raccoon
30/30 HP
300/300 SP

Dacepaw
20/20 HP
77/70 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Dacepaw was really too young and pleasant to have really been a threat to ThunderClan - or so Dawngaze decided as she watched the apprentice drop into an imitation crouch. It was... nice to hear her say such a kind thing, and the warrior wondered if Oakstar would let her take on responsibilities as a full mentor sometime soon. Dawngaze realized she'd been holding her breath as she observed Dacepaw hunting and released it when the 'paw suddenly sat up. Was something wrong?

The shape that became startling clear had already struck Dacepaw by the time Dawngaze was able to fully understand what had happened. She let out a shocked gasp and rushed forward, claws extended and lips drawn into a snarl before she even knew what she was doing. The warrior hit the raccoon with the full force of her weight behind her front paws and hoped that it would turn its attention to her instead of chasing down the apprentice.

Dawngaze used Run-and-Tackle on the raccoon, dealing 8(+3) damage and using 10 stamina.

Raccoon
19/30 HP
300/300 SP

Dacepaw
0/20 HP
77/70 SP

Dawngaze
40/40 HP
110/120 SP

Dacepaw's flight was stopped in a matter of moments as she found some of her neck and shoulder fur caught in a thorny bush. The apprentice gasped with shock and pain as her advances were suddenly halted and she was dragged slightly back by her own fur. Behind her, she could hear that the warrior Dawngaze had raced into battle with the strange thing that had appeared, snarling with a fury that rivaled the thundering of the Gorge. The tortoiseshell apprentice scrambled against the bush that had grabbed her, crying like a kit as she tried to wriggle herself free. Dawngaze was in trouble, and so was she - she needed to do something. They needed help!

---

It had been easy enough to chase off the first cat - it really was just a cat-kit - but it was unprepared for the vicious, vengeful attack of the larger, more intimidating she-cat. The raccoon was suddenly sent rolling on its side, scrambling with a squeaking hiss of protest. Pain radiated through its ribs. It scrambled to its paws and glared back to the big cat. It just needed to get past these stupid cats! The raccoon lumbered forward to lash its claws at the warrior, but it was much too quick to get at its face and so the raccoon settled for the she-cat's shoulders and chest.

Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Dawngaze, using 10 stamina and dealing 20 damage.

Raccoon
19/30 HP
280/300 SP (-10)

Dawngaze
20/40 HP (-20)
110/120 SP

ooc; you can chase it off under half health if you want instead of killing it fully!

OOC: i think it would kill me first so I'm just gonna chase it off xD

IC: The slashes hurt much more than Dawngaze was willing to admit or even accept. All that really mattered in the moment, though, was getting rid of this thing and making sure that Dacepaw wasn't too badly hurt. She scanned the brush around her quickly to make sure the younger she-cat was still around and found her tangled in briars. Well... perhaps it was better than her running off into unfamiliar territory. Oakstar wouldn't be pleased at all if Dawngaze lost Dacepaw because of this stupid raccoon.

She returned the creature's glare, eyes cold and menacing with just a dash of bloodthirsty hatred. The fleabag would regret laying claws on a cat today. Dawngaze moved enough to protect her face, but still felt the sting of torn flesh on her chest. Her fur was thick but not impenetrable. She wanted it gone and to get the message well enough to never come back, so she decided to do something dramatic enough to get its attention. Dashing away for the briefest of moments, Dawngaze sprang up the nearest tree trunk and launched off, twisting in the air and planting her front paws squarely into the raccoon's jaw and neck with as much power as she could muster. It was very dramatic.

Dawngaze used Tree Spring on the raccoon, dealing 8 damage and using 10 stamina.

Raccoon
11/30 HP
280/300 SP

Dawngaze
20/40 HP
100/120 SP

One moment, the raccoon was flashing its claws out rapidly at the she-cat's forelegs, and the next the cat had suddenly darted up the trunk of a tree. With its blurry eyesight, the raccoon could only rear up and flail with confusion and concern, trying to locate where the creature had disappeared. In only an instant the cat came slamming into its, and the raccoon felt the air squeezed from its lungs as the warrior threw it against the ground. The predator writhed and flailed on its back for a moment before scrambling to its paws, fleeing with some hisses and spits over its shoulder as it bolted away from the warrior and the scene of its humiliating defeat.

Raccoon has fled the battle.

---

The sounds of fighting continued near Dacepaw, but her fight was only with the dang thorn bush. The more she scrambled, the more she could feel them ripping at her fur and threatening to tear out tufts or - worse - poke right into her neck and shoulders. The kit felt warm blood on her cheeks.... She'd never bled like this before. She'd only had a day of battle training! She didn't understand how everything had gone so horribly wrong. She was aware suddenly that the fighting sounds had stopped, and hesitantly her struggling slowed. "D-Dawngaze...?" Dacepaw whimpered, trying to turn her head to find her companion. The thorns pulled at her shoulder, and one snagged her ear. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as her cheeks.

Body tired and wounds stinging, Dawngaze stared after the raccoon to make sure it was heading away from the direction of camp. It hadn't been glorious but it was necessary. She was a warrior now, after all, and was responsible for the weaker members of the clan. She turned and scanned for Dacepaw and found her tangled rather deeply into the thorns. "I'm still here." She reassured the young she-cat, adrenaline completely depleted from her system. Now she had time to think. The warrior examined Dacepaw and then instructed her calmly: "Don't flail around or you'll get tangled up worse. Try backing out the way you ran in. When we get you loose, I'll take you back to camp and Mosspaw or Pricklebush will handle your cuts." She said calmly, pressing down a few branches of thorns with a front paw so Dacepaw wouldn't brush against them.

The warrior's voice sounded somewhere nearby, much to Dacepaw's almost instantaneous relief. The she-cat drew closer and the apprentice was nearly able to glimpse her in the corner of her eyes as she wriggled. The warrior instructed her to quit wriggling. Immediately the tortoiseshell did so, sitting helplessly in the tangles. Dawngaze spoke further, telling her to try to back out the way she'd come in. Dacepaw sniffled and mewed pitifully, "O-Okay, Dawngaze." The she-cat braced herself, taking in a shaking breath before she began to carefully edge backwards. Almost immediately she felt one of the tightest tangles in her neck loosen, though the thorns bad touch at her ear further.

"Oww," Dacepaw whimpered, "Why's this so hard?" The only way out was back, though, and so the young apprentice pressed on, wincing at each jab and sting but no longer stopping. Within moments she was free, though the stinging in her pelt and the tuft of tri-colored fur hanging in the thorn bush were clear evidence that her own silly battle hadn't been without its consequences. The apprentice looked shamefully at the warrior, feeling her tears stinging the bloody cuts beside her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked, sniffling.

"Thick fur makes just about everything more complicated." Dawngaze meowed simply in response, her own thick tail gently swaying behind her. She had certainly lost her share of fur in brambles and against trees, and even left some behind on the occasional hunt. Never mind the incident with Mottledspark of RiverClan all those moons ago.

Now that Dawngaze could get a real look at the damage the raccoon dealt, she wished she'd stripped the fur from the pathetic creature entirely. The marks were certainly not life threatening, but likely stung quite painfully. Her own marks were annoying but not of any consequence. "A few scratches, but they're pretty shallow. I'm fine. Let's go back to camp." Dawngaze tilted her head in the direction of the ravine, and after making sure Dacepaw was fully detached from the bush, started home at a rather swift pace.