Dive Back In [Closed]

As soon as the tom moved Flowerthorn sat up, turning to face him. Her eyes focused on the tom, but as soon as an apology left his mouth, they narrowed down into a glare. She hated apologies so much, and in this case it wasn't exactly something he couldn't control. She didn't know what exactly had happened but something caused him to retreat into himself for a moment there.

A low rumbling growl came from the she-cats throat as he continued to speak up. She didn't like the way he was speaking about himself. He wasn't allowed to think lowly of himself or even feel guilty for something that seemed to her as a natural response even if she wasn't that good at processing what happened. "Stop it Foxfire. Things happen. I don't know what happened up there to cause this but its not anything I haven't seen before or helped someone deal with it before. Granted I'm not good at it like I used to be.." She said the last part lowly, her mind thinking back to Sagepaw for a moment, before everything changed.

"I didn't call for your help for a reason. I knew how injured you were from fighting in the battle, and I knew it was unsafe for you in the trees." She said ignoring how much the eagle actually did to her. She didn't care. She didn't care if she reopened old wounds. She was expendable. Her life was not worth his. "Its better for everyone in the long run if you stay safe. Everyone would miss you if you died..." She trailed off. She didn't dare to finish the other half of what she wanted to say. She couldn't bring herself to say how no one would miss her in front of him.

She stood and turned away from him. "Let's just get back to hunting." She stated, her voice firm showing that she didn't really want to continue the conversation. Flowerthorn started to pad away, heading for another tree to hunt in.

Foxfire's ears slicked down, figuring that she wouldn't put things to rest so easily. He sighed softly. He knew it wasn't safe for him in the trees, that his balance wasn't like everybody else but his wounds were healing, he was going to be fine. But as she went on, an anger started to bubble in his chest as he slowly turned to look at her. She tried to pad away, to end it there but... "And so what, I am suppose to just sit back while you all put yourselves at stake for me?" he snapped back, his fur starting to bristle as he stormed toward her. "I'm not going to sit back and be coddled because people like me, Flowerthorn! I can't...That doesn't make me better than them! It doesn't make me worth protecting if I don't do the same for you! What if...What if you had died to that eagle, Flowerthorn? Just because I was...I was too afraid of heights to help you," he said, his voice cracking slightly as he stared at her. "As if people wouldn't miss you? I-I would miss you, Flowerthorn. You...I...I don't want people fighting battles for me. I don't...I don't want to be..." he swallowed, nervously looking away. "Please, Flowerthorn. If...If you are going to fight for me, then at least let me fight for you. You...You mean a lot to me, you do, even if I wasn't the best at showing it." He sighed, lowering his head before a soft laugh escaped him.

"At this rate...We are never actually going to go hunting, are we?"

Flowerthorn took a step back, her tail going between her legs, and her mouth drawn back into a snarl as he approached her with anger. Fear and resentment laid in her eyes for a moment before she managed to settle herself down. That she wasn't a cornered apprentice. He wasn't going to hurt her.. At least not on the outside.

She remained in her position scrunched up just a bit, as she listened to him speak. He would miss her? No. No one would miss her. But his eyes.. and the way he was acting... Would he really miss her? She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to. She was just a worthless warrior. Someone who kept them alive and would fight for them even if she died. She was replaceable. She was...

She could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, her eyes managed to shine with another emotion for once instead of her dull uninterested glare. She looked away quickly to hide the change, as her mind raced with the words he spoke and her own thoughts. She didn't understand. She just didn't get it. How could someone care for her? They all proved that they didn't..

She opened her mouth to speak, croaking out a single word. "I..." She quickly closed her mouth again unsure of what to say. Anger and confusion swirled inside her. She didn't know what to do. The biggest question in her mind was 'How could someone care for her?' She couldn't possibly think of what she did to earn it.

She stood and turned away once again. She didn't want to deal with this. She couldn't deal with this. She sniffled slightly before she managed to calm the storm of emotions in her enough to speak again. "Let's just hunt.." She said softly.

There was a sharp pain in his chest as he suddenly recognized the fear, sadness and doubt that laid bare in front of him in her body language. She...Didn't believe him? How could not she believe that he would...That... He blinked, his heart sinking as he took a slight step backwards as he found no words to say, there was nothing to be said for now. He closed his eyes, a sigh escaping him as he gave a soft nod at her nearly timid request to just go hunting again. It hurt, that the fire had been drained from her with the simple acknowledgement that he cared for her. ...Did they both think themselves as not worth it he wondered as he swallowed. "Yeah...Alright," he said, turning and padding away. He...He would have to think about that, try to think of a way to show that he cared. She was one of his first friends after all, he would be devastated if anything ever happened to her.

He however tried to push those feelings, those thoughts, back as he swallowed. He had to focus on hunting, he would have plenty of time to dwell on his feelings for Flowerthorn later. The deputy came to a stop, tasting the air with a soft sigh as he scanned the forest floor around him. There was a flicker of movement, a flash of fur as a gray squirrel scurried near the roots of a nearby tree. He dropped into a crouch, drawing himself forward with a soft chattering escaping his mouth before he launched himself at the unaware squirrel. The squirrel squealed as he tackled it to the ground, ending its life with a swift bite. Slowly, he picked it up and headed back to where he had left Flowerthorn to find a spot to store it until they were done with their hunt.

Foxfire caught a squirrel, costing 3 stamina.

Foxfire:
100/100 HP
267/280 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Relief. Relief is what she felt as soon as Foxfire had stepped away. She hated the fact that she felt this way considering the way things used to be. How she was so kind so open.. so full of life.. but things had changed and it couldn't be reversed. She couldn't go back to how she was it would be impossible.

Her dull blue eyes followed him for a second as he started to hunt once again. An apology sitting on the tip of her tongue. Her heart begging her to speak it, to say something. To show that she just wasn't a warrior ready to die at any given second, but she couldn't. That is all she was in her mind. A fighter, a hunter, a warrior, someone to give up their life any second as needed.

The pale warrior turned away before finding something to hunt herself. Bunching her muscles she jumped back into a tree, her paws carrying her steadily. Her mouth open for any scent that came her way. She froze the second she scented a robin. She readied herself and followed the scent until she was close enough. As soon as she was, she pounced. As soon as the bird was in her paws she swiftly killed it. The limp bird hanging from her jaws as she returned to the ground to bury it somewhere.

Flowerthorn attempted to catch a bird: Successful

Flowerthorn:
117/160 SP

The member 'Reaper of ChristmasFuture' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

A soft sigh escaped Foxfire as he came to a halt, having hidden his squirrel and was ready to go hunt again but...His eyes flickered close as he leaned against the trunk of a tree, a bit surprised at how...Tired he felt. Not from the hunting or even the tussle with the bird. But...The fight with Flowerthorn. It was like that burning moment of anger toward her had sapped all of his energy. Why? Why couldn't she understand how important she was? Why did he have to be so important. He didn't want it - he didn't want anybody risking their lives for him, much less Flowerthorn. She was...She was important. To him, at least. He could feel his heart squirm at the thought, half aware that there was something more at play but he ignored it as he opened up his eyes and pressed on into the territory.

He wasn't that much more eager to hunt but he might as well give it one more shot before seeing if Flowerthorn was alright with heading back. One squirrel wasn't enough to justify the fight that had just sparked between the two. He huffed, taking in a deep breath as he scanned the forest, ears perked as he watched for any sort of movement. The faint sound of fluttering caught his attention, turning to see a robin settling to peck at the scattered leaves - perhaps trying to find a last good meal before the coldness truly settled in. He watched the robin for a couple heartbeats before he started to stalk forward, paws careful to avoid the leaves that dappled the ground before he drew close enough and made his leap.

There was a flash of movement that startled him mid-leap, a blur of gray taking out the robin as he was left to clumsy land where his prey had been. He glanced up, surprise flickering in his eye at the sight of a raccoon holding the bird in its jaws as it turned to stare at him. There was a long beat of silence as the two just stared...And then the raccoon dropped the robin with a snarl, throwing itself at the warrior. Foxfire yelped in surprise as he scrambled backwards, claws raking into his shoulder as he tried to duck out of the way. Pain flared through him as he winced, opening his mouth to perhaps call out to Flowerthorn...But hesitated.

"...Why," he suddenly growled to himself, ears pinning back as he snarled at the raccoon. "Why do others have to fight for me. I'm not worth it. I'm not..." he drifted off, wincing at himself as he was sudden bombarded with terrible thoughts that had been lingering in his mind for so long. Tears started to stream down his face, angry at himself and the world as he suddenly let out an anguished cry and threw himself at the raccoon. There was no more words to be said as he rammed into the predator, sending the two rolling head over tail as he tore at the raccoon in pure blind anger of his situation, of everything. It didn't take long for the two to break apart and as the deputy prepared to throw himself at the raccoon again - it took the first move in disappearing into the undergrowth. "No!" Foxfire snapped, fur bristling as he took a step after it before he froze.

His breath came fast as he tried to calm down the sudden anger that had burned within him, closing his eyes as he ordered himself not to go chasing after the beast just to work off the rage that had consumed him for a couple heartbeats. He...He was so tired. He hated having others fight for him - he hadn't wanted to call out for help lest things had taken a turn and Flowerthorn ended up... He could take care of himself, he didn't want the others fighting over him. He...He was...He wasn't fine. He hated this. It was his position as deputy that made him worth it but he didn't deserve any of it. What good had he done? What... He took in a deep breath, opening his eyes as he scanned the clearing...Gaze falling on the forgotten robin. He slowly approached, staring at it before he leaned down to pick it up.

Slowly he made his way to where he had left Flowerthorn, dropping the robin as he glanced around for any sign of her. "Flowerthorn? I...I think its best we head back now," he meowed, his voice lacking any energy as he glanced at his bleeding shoulder. He knew that Flowerthorn would ask about it - be angry that he hadn't called for help but...Well, she hadn't bothered to call for help when she had been attacked. They both had their own reasons, and he wasn't in the mood to fight about it anymore.

Foxfire missed a robin, costing 3 stamina and triggering a predator encounter.

Wild Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Foxfire, dealing 20 damage and costing 10 stamina.
Foxfire used Jumping Strike on Wild Raccoon, dealing 15 damage and costing 20 stamina.

Wild Raccoon fled at half-health.

Foxfire:
80/100 HP (-20)
244/280 SP (-20)

Wild Raccoon:
15/30 HP (-15)
290/300 SP (-10)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Flowerthorn ear's perked up as soon as she heard her name. Her gaze turning towards the ground as Foxfire approached where she was. She jumped down, the robin in her maw. Her eyes looking at him, looking him over until she noticed the fresh wound on him. That wasn't there earlier.. He was unharmed.. What..?

Her ears flattened as she let out a low growl, but said nothing further. She didn't want another argument not right now now. If there was she couldn't guarantee she would stay in the territory for the next few days. She looked around for a moment making sure everything was clear before she nodded to him. A silent way of her telling him to lead the way back to camp. She didn't have anything else to bring back but the robin, so she was a bit disappointed in herself. She could have done better. She should have done better.