Why hello there, kind stranger (CLOSED for Tara)

As the sun rose, Shrikesong left ThunderClan camp. She felt like she could bring back a couple pieces of prey for sure, maybe even more, on her solo hunting patrol. And she didn't think that Badgerpaw would mind sleeping in today either. As the brown she-cat walked past the canopy dappled with reds and yellows and oranges, she made sure to stay alert for some prey. Eventually, she was able to scent a mouse. Realizing that the prey was close, the young she-cat went into her hunting crouch and began to stalk it carefully. Avoiding the patches of leaves on the ground, the younger she-cat got closer and closer to the mouse. Just a little closer... When she got close enough, she pounced at the tiny rodent, killing it with one swift blow.

Burying the mouse in the ground, the young she-cat looked around to see where she was. She seemed to be right next to the Fallen Oak, which meant that she was much farther away from camp than she would have liked to be. Still, it was still early, and she probably could look for at least one more piece of prey for ThunderClan. The brown she-cat stared up at the canopy. ThunderClan territory in leaf-fall had some sort of ethereal feel to it, almost like if it was part of StarClan that forgot to float to the stars with them. Birds eventually flew to the upper branches, obviously staying too far away for Shrikesong to catch any of them, chirping and singing pretty songs to one another. "Wow. The forest can really be beautiful sometimes," she said.

The last thing Shrikesong expected was another cat to respond.

Dawnhawk was always out during early morning hours. He didn't hunt like other cats did, because unlike the brown she-cat wandering closer to the fallen oak, Dawnhawk was an ivory and gold pelted tom. He didn't blend in very well with the colorful landscape on Thunderclan's territory, nor the ash-ridden waste that now made up of Skyclan territory. Funny how the fires seemed to stop right at the border of Skyclan and Thunderclan, as if Starclan themselves had let Skyclan homelands burn and spared everyone else. Well... Dawnhawk had every intention of undoing everything that Starclan held dear... one step at time.

He had been sitting high up in the trees with the early morning sun at his back, blinding anyone who tried to look up to see him. This was how Dawnhawk hunted... his name was quite fitting. He watched as the brown she-cat buried her mouse and commented on how beautiful the forest was. Dawnhawk's tail tip twitched as a slight annoyance pricked his skin at her words. The forest on her side was beautiful, sure. But Skyclan territory was still recovering and would be recovering for decades.

A bird flittered too close to Dawnhawk's leaping range, not able to see him as he hid in the light of the sun. Without a word or a single sound, he dropped off of the limb that he was on and aimed his claws right at the bird's body; A robin, it looked like. Fortunately for the robin, it moved just in time out of his claws... but Dawnhawk spotted a snake slithering over the fallen oak toward the brown she-cat. It was directly on the border... so... why not take it out? A swing of his tail had him shift his weight to land upon the snake instead.

Dawnhawk used Sky Drop, dealing 10 damage and -15SP

Dawnhawk
45HP / 145SP (-15SP)

Snake
Serpentine Movement Failed! Snake is dead!
0HP / 80SP (-10HP)


And just like that, Dawnhawk squashed the snake under his claws, immediately severing the head as it flopped to the Thunderclan side of the Fallen Oak. The pale tom smirked at it, then set his eyes back on the brown she-cat.

"Beautiful... and dangerous." He said smoothly, his voice like honey. He held no threat in his voice for her however, as she was still on her side of the territory. Wait... right he didn't care if she came over the Skyclan side. He had no respect for Starclan or the warrior code. He did know that most cats unfortunately did, so Dawnhawk would stay on top of the fallen oak for now. "Dawnhawk, your local pest control from Skyclan!" He dipped his hears toward her once, an exaggerated bow that was not meant to be taken seriously. "And... you? I think I've seen you at gatherings but we've never said hello..."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Rolling for serpentine movement because the forum won't let me roll another die using the same post so lets goooooooo!!

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

"Wow. The forest can really be beautiful sometimes." After she said those words, she realized that SkyClan was just beyond the border, the beauty drained by the roaring flames that ravaged SkyClan's territory. A painful reminder for the SkyClan cats there. It looked like the Fallen Oak was the only thing preventing SkyClan's flames from spreading to ThunderClan. It made her feel lucky.

When another cat spoke up, Shrikesong turned towards him. It was a white-and-gold tom, with sparkling blue eyes and a smooth voice, one that pulled the young she-cat in. He was sitting on the Fallen Oak with a snake in his claws, an impressive piece of fresh-kill to have caught. The tom introduced himself and bowed flamboyantly before asking Shrikesong what her name was. Without hesitation, the young she-cat spoke. "My name's Shrikesong, warrior of ThunderClan," she said, talking to the mostly white tom. "It's nice to meet you, Dawnhawk." The ThunderClan she-cat wanted to talk with him for a little while before going back to camp. "How is SkyClan doing? The recovery from the fire's going well, I hope?"

She didn't know who exactly Dawnhawk was. All she knew was that he was a charming cat, which part of her fell for, but the other part stayed wary. Who knows what he's hiding behind that smile, the wary part of her said. He could be a fox-hearted, manipulative, snake-tongued monster for all you know. You've got to learn about him more. But the other part of her was already in love with him, which made things complicated. The she-cat did keep a straight face worthy of a warrior, despite her emotions desperately trying to pour out of her. Focus.

Unfortunately for Shrikesong, Dawnhawk had a very keen eye for spotting even the most subtle tell-tale signs of infatuation. Her admiration for him had not gone unnoticed. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as the still writhing snake body began to curl itself around his paws. Dawnhawk hardly even noticed and didn't bother looking down at it. He'd killed enough snakes to know that even after cutting off their heads, snakes could still move around.

"We're doing fine, thank you for asking. Plenty of prey is returning and the forest has recovered enough to give us enough herbs to get us through leaf-bare." Even if this hadn't been true, he certainly wasn't about to tell Shrikesong about any of Skyclan's weaknesses. His tail tip twitched slowly back and forth as his brain went to work on how to play games with this Thunderclan she-cat. He had met Rosepaw here moons ago, before the fire... and she'd had quite a crush on him as well. He'd charmed her enough that she even took him into Thunderclan territory and showed him a few things. He knew Thunderclan territory better than any Thunderclan cat would have liked.

"Forgive me for asking but you seem fairly young still. You are a newly named warrior, Shrikesong?" He tested her name on his tongue. A shrike... it took him a moment to place what that was, but he recalled it being some kind of small bird. A carnivorous one. Did this she-cat live up to that name as well as Dawnhawk lived up to his? Well... he was actually quite talented in singing and his warrior name very easily could have been "Dawnsong". However, Spottedstar must have seen the ferocity in Dawnhawk's personality to have given him the warrior name that he now proudly held.

"You can probably guess why my warrior name ends in hawk," He nodded at the snake body coiling around his paws, still pinned beneath powerful claws. "But why song for you? Do you have a good singing voice?" His words rolled off of his tongue smoother than silk and without a trace of mocking or ill intent. She would fall for him like many other she-cats had, including that one Rosepaw that he knew. This was a game that he thoroughly enjoyed.

When Dawnhawk spoke again, Shrikesong nodded. "That's good to hear," she said with a smile. Of course, the young she-cat immediately thought of Cedarheart, and of her own relationship with Smallbean. That relationship turned into kits, namely her and her siblings. And it seemed like the young she-cat was falling down the same rabbit hole that her mom once had. "Yeah," Shrikesong replied to Dawnhawk's question. "The last gathering I was in, I was still an apprentice!" She thought that it wouldn't hurt to share that interesting bit of trivia. That was stupid, Shrikesong, her thoughts growled. You need to be more careful sharing stuff with strangers. Definitely don't share anything very important to him.

The brown she-cat looked down at the snake that Dawnhawk had clearly control over, then looked back up at the handsome tom. She preferred to look at his face anyways. "I don't think that my name has anything to do with my singing ability, although I could try. I think that the logic is that shrikes are songbirds, which makes Shrikesong something like, well, a name like Heronflight or something." Her mind flashed back to the gray tabby tom who had the same name. She wondered what he would think of her falling for Dawnhawk. He wouldn't like it, obviously, she thought. "Would you like me to try to sing for you?" Taking a deep breath, the young she-cat sang.

"I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world."

He listened to her explanation of her name and he nodded once, satisfied. Hawks hunted at dawn and dusk... just like he did. From atop of trees no less. His warrior name had been a fitting one... and when Shrikesong sang a few lyrics... he couldn't help but smile. One of his weaknesses was singing as long as the voice was decent. Her voice flowed well and she seemed fairly confident in her abilities to just sing for a random tom she just met. He actually... quite liked that about her. She had his attention now, far more than the other she-cats he'd had the pleasure of wooing.

"You have a good voice!" He complimented honestly. The lyrics too just seemed so... her. At least, the little bit that he did know about her. "I have a talent for singing as well. It's unfortunately a rare talent in my clan. Are Thunderclan cats as... musically inclined as you, or are you like me and just special?" The snake seemed to finally stop squeezing around his paw so hard and was starting to fall limp. Creepy little things... able to constrict several moments after death. Still... it was a trait about the scaly string creatures that he admired. Fight to the last breath and even beyond...

Now since she had shown him her talent, Dawnhawk fully intended to respond in kind. He inhaled deeply to rejuvenate his diaphragm and what he always referred to as "his singing muscles". "Well I won't leave you hanging. I'll give you a sample of my talents as well." He straightened himself up to allow efficient oxygen flow and to project his voice as clearly as possible. He'd experimented a lot during his boring time as an apprentice and had learned the art of acoustics quite well.

If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Calling out father oh, stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn on and on the mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky
And I see fire, inside the mountain
I see fire, burning the trees
And I see fire, hollowing souls
And I see fire, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you'll remember me

He decided to stop it there, feeling as if he projected his voice quite well. "I know it seems a little dark but..." He gestured with his tail to the burnt forest around him. "It's pretty much part of our history now."

Actual Dawnhawk's Voice singing this song

Shrikesong smiled. When she sang, it allowed her to externalize her emotions, her thoughts. It seemed like another way to channel her imagination and creativity. "Thank you," she said to the white tom. "This was my first time ever really singing, but I do remember faint memories of my mom singing to me." When Dawnhawk asked her if other ThunderClan cats sang, she shook her head. "The clan as a whole doesn't sing very often. But I'm sure that there are other cats, in both my clan and yours, who probably would be great singers if they just tried, like me." Her flaring emotions on Dawnhawk - both her infatuation and her suspicion - mellowed out a little, especially after he sang.

Despite the grim lyrics of the song, Shrikesong liked the melody of the song. His singing voice was rich and full, which she thoroughly enjoyed. "Yeah, that makes sense," the young she-cat said. She couldn't fault him for singing about the fire. It devastated SkyClan's territory, and it would take moons for their territory to truly return to normal. I guess there's a lot of stuff that happened in the past that we can't control. "Well, nobody can change the past, not even StarClan. The only thing that can be done is to accept what happened and begin to heal." That was advice that she learned from her mom a couple days ago, which she wanted to pass on to Dawnhawk. "So, do you have any other interests other than singing?" Maybe she could learn a little more about Dawnhawk than she already knew.

"Other talents? I'm a decent actor I think. You never know when those skills will come in handy." Dawnhawk finally picked the snake body up in his teeth, excused himself for just a moment, and buried it under the ash and dirt by the root of a tree. A moment after he was done, he hopped back up to the fallen oak. "Do you know a she-cat named Rosepaw? She might be a warrior by now but I talked with her moons ago before the fire went through Skyclan territory." Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her at any of the gatherings either. Maybe something had happened to her. Hopefully he didn't just strike a nerve anywhere... it could potentially hurt his progress with this she-cat.

Or... maybe it would help it. She was trying to figure him out just as much as he was her. So she could sing... that was a breath of fresh air. She seemed to have a fairly positive outlook on life too... so innocent? She was young. Maybe he could play his games with her like he had done on other she-cats. If nothing else, he certainly had a talent for breaking hearts. He preferred the stronger, bush-hunting she-cats of Thunderclan and the sleek look of Riverclan she-cats. Shadowclan she-cats he hadn't been too sure about. They seemed so... dirty and smelled of carrion. Windclan she-cats would be fine if they weren't so leggy and tall. He couldn't have a she-cat taller than him... that just wouldn't do.

Shrikesong nodded understandingly. Acting... the young she-cat thought. She thought that was true, which scared her. As far as I know, he could be acting all nice to lure me in. But the young she-cat pushed that thought away, since she still believed that she couldn't just ruin a relationship with a bad feeling. I don't think that he's that bad of a cat. When the tom mentioned Rosepaw, Shrikesong blinked. "Rosepaw's in StarClan now. She died to a fox attack a couple moons ago." The brown she-cat thought that it would be a good thing to share to Dawnhawk, since he apparently didn't know. "I guess you knew her well. She's probably watching over you and me from the stars." The young she-cat jumped up on the Fallen Oak, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

Upon hearing what had happened to Rosepaw, Dawnhawk frowned. That was unfortunate. He liked her, but this was the forest. The forest was cold and cruel and anyone could die at any time. He nodded once in thanks for the information. "Foxes sure have been killing a lot of cats lately." He said with his nose wrinkled in disgust. "A fox killed my sister, our medicine cat and one tried to kill my mom and my brother when they were out on patrol. We lost Swansong too... I'm starting to think our clans should work together to try to wipe these creatures out." Maybe the fox population had gotten too high. Maybe the cat population was too high. Dawnhawk didn't know, but quite a few cats had died to foxes lately, especially over in Skyclan. She hopped up onto the fallen oak beside him and he only smiled encouragingly. They were both on neutral ground now.

"I imagine it will only get worse in leaf-bare."

When Dawnhawk said that the two clans should work together, the brown she-cat nodded in response. That was a pretty good idea. Helping another clan during a time where we "Maybe you can ask Wolfstar and I can ask Nettlestar or something. Assuming that it's okay with her, I'd be happy to support you guys in driving out the foxes." Was she being too nice? The brown-furred warrior wasn't sure, but if anything she could ask her mom for advice. Nettlestar could probably give me good advice as well, but... I'm not sure if I want to share stuff I talked with Dawnhawk with her. She hated that she felt somewhat safer to share information with a cat from another clan than her own leader.

As her eyes drifted from Dawnhawk to the sun, the she-cat realized that she had spent a little more time with the white-and-gold tom than she wanted. "Oh! It's almost sunhigh. I think I should be going back to ThunderClan camp now." The young she-cat paused. "Want to meet back here tomorrow night?" she said, smiling at Dawnhawk. She liked being around him, and even though her brain was screaming not to go back to meet him again, the young she-cat wanted to see him again someday soon.