Hunting Together, Unwillingly [Closed]

Shimmerdust stepped out of camp with an exhilarated stretch. The last time she was out in the early morning to hunt to avoid bumping into a patrol, she had been spotted instantly. This time will be different. She'll have to be successful this time, right?

She paused in her steps, a vague scent drifting by her nose that she knew was RiverClan. With a frown, she turned back to where it came from, the direction of the camp.

Barren reeds, purposely overlaid and carefully woven into an intricate webbing of finely-made knots, rattling softly under the sudden disruption of movement, the sleek smoky smudge of Jaypaw's lithe shape was the only immediate answer to Shimmerdust's careful pause. Honeyed dark gaze fixed upon the newly-named Warrior, several moments of lingering silence wreathed around the unusual pairing before he eventually cleared his throat. "Are you going hunting?" He eventually inquired, low voice loftily weighted against the cool morning air, the faintest spark of interest evident in the dark depths of his focused stare.

Honeytongue rarely took issue if another Warrior oversaw his handling on a day-to-day basis, and any unfortunate soul who sought to breach the issue of Jaypaw's idle bouncing with Ivystar usually found themselves quickly dismissed by his mother.

Shimmerdust felt relieved that it wasn't someone who would report her to someone or force her to come back to camp. Well, technically she didn't know if he would, she didn't know him well enough. However, he might also be trying to go out on his own-and in any case, he was a hundred percent going to get in trouble for leaving the camp without a Warrior.

"Yes, I am. What about you?" Shimmerpaw asked the Apprentice, her head tilted. She didn't particularly want to hunt with someone else, but if Jaypaw really wanted to tag along, she can't exactly object to that.

"Same as you, evidently." The low and slow droll of Jaypaw's raspy voice laid heavily atop the cool morning air, entirely devoid of concern for the potential ramifications of evading more official supervision while out and about roaming the territory. Willowy shape gliding forward a few paces ahead so that he was only a pawstep or two away from the newly-named Warrior, honey dark gaze  fixed upon her features with a casual intensity, evidently unwilling to be dissuaded from his fixed task of enjoying the early morning peace. "I won't tell if you don't."

Shimmerdust felt weirdly scared, and it makes her embarrassed that she was scared of an Apprentice so much younger than she was. However, the way Jaypaw stared at her just really creeped the she-cat out. It was as if he was staring into her or something...And the way he spoke was as if he was issuing a threat, even though she could threaten him just as much as he could threaten her, if she tried. He was one peculiar cat.

"Of course I'm not going to tell." She informed him. "However, as much as I hate to admit it, if you get found out here alone, you would be getting punished. Since I'm a Warrior by rank, as long as we stay sort of close, neither of us will get in trouble." She sighed to herself. She didn't want to tag along with Jaypaw either, but she wasn't cold-hearted enough to let him just get punished.

Softly feathered ears twitching forward into a pert state of silent agreement, Jaypaw simply closed the rapidly shrinking distance between the pair of reluctant acquaintances, brushing forward through any tendrils of debris in his path- blissfully unaware of Shimmerdust's mounting discomfort with his presence. "That works well enough for me." He eventually concedes with a casual shrug, dark gaze eventually drifting past the older molly and instead focusing on the riverside unfolding around them, "Feel free to lead the way, we can just split up once the actual hunting begins."

Punctuating the listless commentary with a few more steps past the attending Warrior, Jaypaw eventually turned to gaze at his unwilling companion once again, evidently itching to get out and stretch his limbs, get his stagnant blood pounding once again.

Relief pricked Shimmerdust's heart as she saw that Jaypaw was willing to put up with her for the time being. It was a very peculiar feeling indeed. After all, Shimmerdust was already a...Not a full-fledged Warrior, but a Warrior nonetheless. She was absolutely frightened by Jaypaw on instinct, which annoyed the black-and-white she-cat to no end, but it wasn't something she could stop on a whim.

She lead the way with no further words. Both of them seemed determined to not talk much, and Shimmerdust was glad for Jaypaw's lack of chatter. If he frightened her so much and he insisted on chattering, that would be awful to think about.

Hopefully, she didn't screw things up by missing a prey immediately.

A sniff in the air alerted Shimmerdust to a scent. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced to where the sound came from, a nearby stream. She padded closer and saw the tail of a fish vanish.

Shimmerdust hadn't learned fishing very well due to the waters drying up, but she figured learning on the spot worked as well. She took aim at the water and swiped out as a shadow passed by. Surprisingly-and luckily-the fish came out right in her claws. Shimmerdust nipped at it to kill it. No wonder everyone said fishing was the easiest!

Shimmerdust used 3 SP to try and catch a fish!
SP: 117/120

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Idly acknowledging Shimmerdust's presence, and subsequent leadership over the unlikely little outing, with nothing more than a slight flick of a dark ear, Jaypaw quietly made off after the uncomfortable molly.  Meticulously groomed nape fur prickling under the strain of inevitably returning to its unkempt and wild natural state, the angular dark-furred tom more closely resembled an awkwardly gaiting hedgehog as he continued to pace behind Shimmercloud, a soft cloud of brittle debris left suspended in the air after his somber steps and softly flicking tail.

Once the sanctity of the river became visible, Jaypaw was quick to break away from Shimmerdust, seeking out his own placement that prevented any potential disruptions to their quick hunting.

Downy tufts of silky dark fur dragging softly against the cool mud of the riverbank, the young tom carried forth his signature reclusiveness as he settled against the softly sloping earth, carefully keeping his shadow angled away from the idling school of fish. The terse silence continuously peddled forward, a singular dark forepaw carefully raised in the ensuing heartbeats, Jaypaw's dark gaze intently trained upon the lazy currents of the somewhat low river. A silvery arc of droplets was sent sprawling out into the moderately cool afternoon air the scales of the writhing fish flashing brilliantly in the low lighting of the riverside. Carefully dispatching the thrashing creature with nothing more than an idle, practiced nip to the base of the skull, the young Apprentice's dark gaze remained fixed upon the swirling depths of the riverside, hardly paying any mind to his fellow Clanmate just a few tail-lengths away.

-

Jaypaw has successfully caught a fish, costing -3 SP.

Jaypaw
20/20 [HP]
77/80 [SP]

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

It seemed that Jaypaw was having a good time with the fishing as well. And it was a no wonder-fishing was the easiest thing one can do. They should make good use of this before Leaf-Bare arrives, when by the river will apparently freeze over. Then, the river will be useless for fishing.

Honestly, Shimmerdust didn't expect fishing to be so easy. She let her eyes wander away from Jaypaw, confident he could take care of himself, and gazed into the deep waters. She should definitely be more concerned about her own ability to catch a fish herself. Jaypaw probably didn't need her to be concerned about him.

Taking aim at the shadows in the water, Shimmerdust swiped out at another one of them.

Shimmerdust used 3 SP to try and catch a fish!
SP: 114/120

---

Suddenly, one of the shadows moved unexpectedly. The next moment, a large creature rose out of the water, glaring at Shimmerdust. The she-cat gave a gasp as she recognised the creature.

"It's a turtle!" She called out to Jaypaw warningly as she aimed at the turtle's head and swiped. The turtle thankfully reacted too slowly to attack Shimmerdust, but it was visibly enraged.

Worst comes to worst, Shimmerdust has no doubt they could outrun the creature.

Shimmerdust used Rear-Up-and-Slash, dealing 9 damage and costing 15 SP!

Shimmerdust:
HP: 40/40
SP: 99/120

Turtle:
HP: 141/150
SP: 450/450

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 10

An odd quaver against the drowsy current of the river hovered insistently in the shaded reaches of Jaypaw's peripheral vision; a soft crown of cresting water, bubbles and curling caps trembling slightly under the unexpected movement. Practiced and overly precise movements gradually slowing to a curious halt, the dark-furred tom fully turned to peer over at his unlikely companion for the afternoon just as the grouchy turtle fully emerged from its apparent hiding place just below the surface. Mindfully kicking back the purposefully placed display of previously caught fish, the softly pronounced furrow between his sharp brow obviously signaled some sort of dismay or irritation with the unfolding situation- embarrassingly poor timing, of course.

Dark gaze catching in the chilly molten light of the early morning light, Jaypaw's focus remained trained upon Shimmerdust and the blatantly irritated turtle she was currently engaging with, concentration briefly overshadowed by a lingering memory of his last unfortunate battle-centric encounter. Lurching his weight backwards with a surprising abandon for a cat whom was precariously balanced upon a slippery riverbank, the dark-furred tom was quick to rise to his paws and close the miniscule tail-lengths of distance between himself and Shimmerdust. "I hate turtles," was the singular remark that revealed his sudden appearance at Shimmerdust's side, dry irritation palpable in the short assertion. Sweeping forward in a silky rivulet of unkempt dark fur, the turtle hardly had a moment to process Jaypaw's sudden appearance beside it before receiving a particularly coarse greeting in the shape of a vicious strike to its undefended head.  

-

Jaypaw used Front Paw Strike, Dealing -6 in Damage & Costing -10 in Stamina.

Jaypaw
20/20 [HP]
67/80 [SP]

Shimmerdust
40/40 [HP]
99/120 [SP]

TURTLE
135/150 [HP]
450/450 [SP]

The turtle was completely confused. He had just decided to rise out of the water to see what was the commotion up there, and how some fish seemed to be disappearing from the water. The next moment, a pair of sharp claws were scratching him everywhere. His hard shell was doing a good job fending off some attacks, but whoever these claws belonged to seemed to know to aim for his body.

He wasn’t much of a fighter himself, so met with such violent reactions from those above, he instinctively shifted around and dove into the water. Veeeeeeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyy sloooooooooowwwwwwwlllllyyyyy.

Shimmerdust frowned as the turtle began to turn and moved back, bracing herself for some sort of attack. Instead, the turtle began moving towards the water. Seeing this, Shimmerdust gave a soft sigh of relief. She did not want to have to go up against a turtle.

Her eyes then darted to Jaypaw, pleading that he didn’t attempt to chase after the turtle. She had no desire to fight it if it had no desire to fight her. However, if Jaypaw chose to chase it, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. And she would have to help out of obligation. The best possible outcome would be for Jaypaw to not chase the turtle.

---

The Turtle is attempting to escape, however it is possible for the cats to catch up.

Dark gaze narrowing into a fractional sliver of a slit, the tense air was rifle with the unpleasant sounds of the cumbersome turtle attempting to scramble back into the shelter of the currents- the prickling pair of cats left idly dwelling atop the churned up sands. Sharp features tensing under the lingering dredges of irritation, Jaypaw did little more than scowl in the general direction of the slow-going turtle, previous commentary weighing heavily against the stilted silence curling between himself and Shimmerdust. Whiskers twitching in a final display of gradually dispersing agitation and adrenaline, the willowy dark tom eventually cast a sharp stare in the direction of his companion.

"What now?" Jaypaw eventually prompted, low rumble of his voice hardly discernible against the gentle chatter of the river, "Did you catch enough fish to call it done?"