Rise of the Apocalumps

Today will be the day. The day Poppyheart's nieces and nephews would grow to respect, appreciate, and admire him. But most importantly, they would grow to enjoy his company. He couldn't help but constantly remember their initial reactions to meeting him while they were still in the nursery: Frostpaw hadn't trusted him, Flintpaw was only interested in the fresh-kill he had brought them, Nightpaw had been more eager to play in mud, and Sparkpaw simply wanted him out of her sight. But now that they were a little bit older -- and it would definitely help now that Nightpaw and Frostpaw were his apprentices -- the five of them would be able to bond over patrolling the territory. And the best part was, since this was going to be a border patrol and not a hunting patrol, they could all eat whatever they caught. Poppyheart knew a good meal was the best way to win the affection of a young cat, so he was certain he would be able to bond with all four littermates.

After asking Thornstar for permission to take her kits out for the afternoon, and letting Lynxscar and Daisyflame know he was going to cover their training duties for the rest of the day, Poppyheart trotted jovially over to the apprentices' den, where he was lucky enough to find all four littermates hanging out at the mouth of the den. Only Sparkpaw was grooming herself, which indicated that they hadn't eaten lunch yet. Perfect. "Greetings, my amazing nieces and nephews! I have some wonderful news for the four of you: I talked to your mother and mentors, and they've all agreed to let me take you all out on a border patrol! I was thinking we could also catch some lunch and enjoy it by the Highpines!"

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Sparkpaw looked up at the loud voice that suddenly boomed in her ears, her tongue sticking halfway out mid-lick, having been disturbed from her afternoon grooming. Immediately, she felt a groan rise up in her throat and escape through her teeth. Oh, great, the Great Poppyheart was going to pester them again. She rolled her eyes and went back to grooming her paws...

...And she nearly chomped down on it at his next words. She and her littermates were going to be stuck with their annoying uncle for the entire afternoon?! Just when she didn't think this day wouldn't ever end with Daisyflame's insistent teachings on the proper ways to collect moss for the elders' den -- when they didn't even have any elders in the Clan! She opened her mouth, ready to tell Poppyheart exactly what she thought about spending the afternoon with him, when he suddenly mentioned catching prey while they were out and eating it without having to bring it back to camp first. Her mouth quickly shut, and her eyes widened in surprise. That wasn't what Daisyflame had taught her.... "Wait, I thought the queens, kits, and elders were supposed to eat before the warriors and apprentices," she meowed with a bit of surprise coloring her usually monotone voice. Were they being shown an elusive rebellious streak for their uncle?

"Well, yes, it is very important for the warriors and apprentices to eat last ... during a hunting patrol," Poppyheart corrected with a grin. "But this won't be a hunting patrol. It will be a border patrol. So the four of you will be allowed to eat whatever you catch while we patrol the SkyClan border."

Sparkpaw had to admit, she did like the sound of not having to wait until the end of the day to eat. So Poppyheart could be incredibly annoying and insufferable, but if she didn't go with him, perhaps Daisyflame would swoop her up quicker than an owl snatching up its prey and force her to collect more moss for the Clan's nonexistent elders. Plus, she would get to eat something in the middle of the day for a change. Having made up her decision, she gave her uncle a nod. "Just so long as you don't try to feed me any frogs."

"Why would I make you eat something you didn't like?"

Sparkpaw felt pleased in hearing these words. He was actually starting to prove himself a little better than her own father, who would always insist they be grateful for every piece of fresh-kill on the pile as a gift from StarClan. She didn't believe that for a second; if StarClan loved them oh, so much like he said, they wouldn't have created those slimy abominations.

Flintpaw had been relaxing, enjoy the silent companion of his siblings as they all sat huddled outside of the apprentice den. He enjoyed the times when the world seemed peaceful, when the only real noise was the faint sounds of the marsh outside of the camp. But then there was the sound of pawsteps drawing closer that caught his ear, opening up a single eye to see the familiar bright pelt of his uncle trotting pridefully toward them.

He quietly listened to as Poppyheart spoke, both eyes flickering open as he gave a soft shrug at the reveal that they were all going on a patrol together. He didn't have any real feeling toward it - he remembered not quite enjoying his uncle's presence when he was younger but did accept the food he had brought. He knew that Sparkpaw didn't like him all that much but Flintpaw was willing to have an open mind as the two spoke back and forth. He pushed himself to his paws as the two finished their little chat.

"I personally enjoy frogs," Flintpaw meowed as he glanced between the two. He had already been enjoying his siblings' presence, moving their little family bonding by being in roughly the same spot quietly next to each other to the Highpines didn't seem like that much of a burden - plus they would have the added company of Poppyheart...Of course Flintpaw wasn't quiet sure if he valued the quiet moments that he personally preferred. He turned his gaze to Frostpaw and Nightpaw, wondering if they were eager for this little family outing.

Frostpaw's multicolored eyes narrowed as Poppyheart- ugh -approached, grinning like an idiot. "Look out," She mewed to Flintpaw, her tail twitching as she tried to think of an insult. "Here comes-" Her smirk faded into a scowl as Poppyheart bounded closer. Mama would kill her if she found out she was making fun of her mentor, and from what she knew about clean-paws Poppyheart, he'd probably snitch if he heard her.

The molly's frown deepened as the red tom spoke. "Eat... before the queens?" "Isn't that against the rules?" She chimed in alongside Sparkpaw, making sure that her voice was heard by several passing warriors. "If Poppyheart got into trouble, surely Mama wouldn't let him be my mentor..."
Frostpaw shook herself as he explained, disappointment evident on her face. "Foxdung," She muttered.

Her ears twitched as Sparkpaw spoke. "Mama says we should eat anything, even if it doesn't taste good." Frostpaw mewed haughtily. "Because if we don't, we'll be lumps forever and we won't be able to take anyone in a fight."
The dark she-cat tilted her head. On one paw, any time spent with Poppyheart was time wasted, but on the other paw, if Mama saw her coming into camp with her very first scar, she'd be really proud.
"I guess I'll go," She sighed, pushing herself to her feet. "I have a duty to care for and protect my clanmates, and a border patrol is one of the best ways to do it."

“I like being a lump.” A new voice chimed in as a black tom padded over from the apprentice’s den. His jaws parted in a yawn as he stretched next to his siblings. “Did your mentors drag you into this too? I don’t get it. Why are we hunting during the day all the best prey comes out at night.” Nightpaw huffed, his blue eyes staring at Poppyheart for a moment, openly scolding his supposed uncle before he padded over to Sparkpaw.

“Not like it matters. I can beat you four any day.” He added, puffing out his little black furred chest proudly. Blue eyes vibrant in the shadows of the trees as he poked at Flintpaw. “Come on, what are we waiting for?”

"That's the spirit!" Poppyheart grinned happily, his bushy tail waiving with excitement, when all four littermates agreed to come along, even with their varying degrees of hesitance. Beckoning them to follow with his tail, the russet-furred tom slipped out of the camp and began leading his brother's kits deeper into the territory towards the marshes.

Remembering Nightpaw's comment from before, he looked behind himself to address his apprentice and meowed, "While it is true that ShadowClan warriors specialize in hunting in the dark, it is also a very valuable skill to be able to adapt to any time of day when hunting. This could be good experience for you all! Though, of course, this is not a hunting patrol, so that won't be our main focus. That being said...." He stopped in front of the thicket of marshes, where the distant roaring of monsters could be heard running across the Thunderpath that separated ShadowClan from WindClan. "We can go ahead and hunt for some breakfast here. Once we have all been fed, we can patrol the Thunderpath over by the WindClan border."

With that said, he began searching for his first meal of the day, of course making sure all four of the apprentices were within his lines of vision and hearing. The last thing he needed was for them to get lost, especially since they have yet to learn the territory by heart. Though, granted, no cat learns the territory by heart until they've been a warrior for at least a moon or two, depending on the cat. He came across a mouse and licked his lips hungrily. Stalking up slowly to it, he waggled his haunches before pouncing. He landed on it and swiftly ended its life with a bite to the back of its neck before it could even squeal.

Poppyheart caught a Mouse, costing 3 stamina.

Poppyheart
80/80 HP
237/240 SP

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Sparkpaw flicked her tail irritably. Would her insufferable uncle ever stop talking? Stars above, she already knew how important it was to learn how to hunt during the day, Daisyflame had made sure of that. Honestly, the sooner they got on with hunting so that she could finally eat something, the better off everyone will be. The better off Poppyheart would be, too, or else he would have to deal with four very cranky and unpredictable lumps.

Watching Poppyheart beginning his hunt, she immediately turned to her littermates and meowed, "Hey, after we're done eating, we should pull a prank on Poppyheart. Show him just how careless he's being when addressing us the way he does. We'll teach him not to annoy us and treat us like little kits." With a sly glint in her eyes, she turned away from them to hunt for herself. Like her uncle, she had also tracked down a mouse. Thanking StarClan that it wasn't a slimy frog, she stalked up slowly and carefully to it, and after tensing up her muscles, she leaped. She successfully landed on it, and before it could squeal in terror, she plunged her teeth into its throat. Lifting up her head to lick up the blood from her lips, she then nestled down next to her fresh-kill and began to eat.

Sparkpaw caught a Mouse, costing 3 stamina.

Sparkpaw
20/20 HP
77/80 SP

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

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#1 'Hunting Dice' : 5

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#2 'Hunting Dice' : 5

Ah, well at least Nightpaw seemed happy enough to go out with their uncle. While Flintpaw understood why his sisters wasn't fond of Poppyheart - he hadn't been all that fond of him when they had first met him - he at least found his uncle's energy to be...Something. It felt so different from the other cats in ShadowClan and he had grown to somewhat enjoy it, even if it could get on his nerves sometimes. He turned to follow after his uncle, not interested in listening to Sparkpaw's or Frostpaw's moaning about the situation.

Once they were in the territory and was allowed to go off on hunting, he glanced at his sister as Sparkpaw whispered softly to the ground. "Prank?" he echoed, seemingly almost confused at the word. What would ever be the point of that? He didn't mind of his uncle spoke to them but didn't have time to voice any more concerns before Sparkpaw was off - and he slowly turned to go hunting himself. He tasted the air, quickly pin-pointing a lizard that was sunning itself on a twisted, gnarled root. He dropped into a crouch, padding forward on silent paws. He wished it was night - his dark colored pelt was better suited for it but nonetheless, he stalked forward until he was content enough to make his leap.

It happened so fast, the lizard suddenly racing up the trunk of the nearby tree and leaving Flintpaw to awkwardly land on the now empty root. He huffed as he straighten up, glaring up at where the lizard had disappeared before he turned, unsure if he was to try to catch another or meet back up with his family.

Flintpaw missed a lizard, costing 3 stamina.

The member 'Honey Bagel' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Frostpaw's ears twitched in annoyance as Poppyheart spoke. Blah, blah, blah. She almost cut him off, but she knew that Poppyheart would most likely be reporting back to mama after the hunt, and she doubted that Thorn would let such disrespect slide.

She turned her green-and-yellow gaze towards her sister. A prank... "But mama-"
Frostpaw paused. If anything went awry, she'd always be able to step aside and let her siblings take the fall... Her eyes narrowed. "Sure." She mewed.
And with that, the large apprentice was off trundling through the marsh, searching for prey.
Suddenly, a lizard skittered across her path. Frostpaw jumped in shock, then changed directly after it, barreling through the undergrowth. It took her a while to realize that the lizard had disappeared into the foliage shortly after she started her chase. She shook her head, embarrassed, but grateful that nobody had been around to see her mistake.

Frostpaw missed a mouse, costing -3 stamina

Frostpaw:
20/20 HP
77/80 SP

The member 'BOO! jk it's just Drippy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Nightpaw’s muzzle wrinkled as Poppyheart spoke about it being a good thing to hunt during the day, for practice no less. His head lowered as his eyes glared sullenly at the mud covered ground. Everything was just so much… less… during the day. He looked towards his siblings as they bickered and huffed. The idea of a prank though. He looked at his sister with a grin.

“What kind of prank?” He asked, then watched as his other siblings attempted to hunt with a wince as they failed. He shook his head in determination, lowering himself to the muddy forest floor as he crept through the mud carefully. The scent of bogged water deep in his lungs, interrupted by a scent distinctly wetter. The croak gave the toad away as he shifted his posture. He could see it. The eyes poking out of the mud as it waited for prey.

He leapt for the toad, pouncing on it and pulling it free of the muck as he looked back at his siblings who had failed with a confident smirk.
“Don’t worry. Someday you’ll be half as good as me.” He declared as he placed his toad down next to Sparkpaw and began to eat.

Nightpaw caught/missed a Toad costing -3 stamina
20 HP
77 SP

The member 'Candy Corn Cays' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 2