Edge of Torment [Copperfox]

The sun slowly made its' way above the trees as Smokefeather made her way along the frozen creek that ran through Skyclan's territory. Dull, red-rimmed eyes scanned the snow-covered territory, the search for prey something that had become automatic while she was out of camp.

Her pelt was ragged, thinning fur patchy and dull from stress. Unkempt, but Smokefeather couldn't bring herself to care like she once might have. She was tired, so very tired... And yet she had hardly slept at all for the past... however long it had been. Days blurred together, and what little sleep she did manage was quickly broken up by nightmares. She'd eventually given up on the concept sometime after Featherkit and Mountainkit... She saw little point in trying.

Her paws were restless, and she'd never be able to relax if she stayed in camp. Not with the Asylum there, not with Dawnhawk or his kits there. They looked at him and even the sight of them in her peripheral vision was enough to make her stomach churn. A tiny, rational voice in the back of her mind told her the kits weren't their father, that they were just as innocent and pure as Featherkit had been. That rational voice went ignored, and so Smokefeather went out of her way to avoid them all as best she could manage. They were the only cats her senses weren't completely dulled to, the precious few who could draw a reaction from her.

The soft scuffle of a squirrel in the branches of one of the trees had Smokefeather's ears twitching, and she moved silently towards it. Leaping into a branch, Smokefeather carefully leapt from one branch to another, and finally her claws dug into the squirrel's gray fur. She killed it before it could make any sound of alarm, and silently dropped back to the ground to bury it.

Copperfox had never tracked anyone or anything so fast in his life. Especially impressive was that he did it at a dead run. He ended up spooking a quail out of it's hiding place, and as much as he wanted to ignore it... he couldn't quite help himself. He leaped for it, as it was flying in the direction he was going anyway. The quail got away, right in time for Copperfox to startle a snake from it's sleep. With a swift (also comical) reaction, Copperfox barely touched back down on the ground before he was up in the air again. His fur floofed out in all directions as he spat in surprise. The snake reacted just as swiftly, curling up and hissing it's distaste for a cat to come barreling out of nowhere.

"Oh begone with you! I need to find my mom!" Copperfox yowled at it. He extended his claws and took a swipe, attempting to dispatch it.

Copperfox used Front Paw Strike, dealing 11 damage and -10SP

Copperfox
60HP / 190SP (-10SP)

Snake
Ded c:
-1HP / 80SP (-11HP)

And with the snake's head swiftly removed from it's body, Copperfox went immediately back to racing towards Smokefeather's scent. Once he caught even the tiniest hint of her form, a mixture of excitement as well as dread overwhelmed him.

"Mom! Dad is back! Blossomstep too! And the Asylum is gone! Their leader died!" Maybe she didn't notice that the asylum cats had retreated from where they had been watching her. He couldn't blame her he supposed. They were more or less background shadows after awhile. He slowed to a stop beside her... and noticed how horrible she had looked lately. He hated to have to tell her what to expect when she got back to camp.

"You should know something first... dad is... Well... he's going to need time to adjust to clan life again I think. He startles easier than I remember and... he... " Copperfox's excitement was dying fast. He sighed and forced himself to get through it. "He's got some pretty shocking changes... So just be prepared when you see him."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Because snakes are slippery bois and I can't roll dice again, this is a dice roll.

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

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'Effect Dice' : 1

Dull eyes landed on Copperfox as he appeared beside Smokefeather, unusually energetic about... Something. Smokefeather set the squirrel down, ears twitching back slightly. Asylum... gone? He'd said dad was back, and it took Smokefeather's tired brain entirely too long to parse his words. Her eyes slid to the side, seeing no traces of the rogues that accompanied her outings. Their presence had become more like background noise as time wore on... But there was no trace of them now. For the first time in moons it seemed like they were alone in their own territory. It must've been true, then, Skyclan was free. For a moment, there was a flicker of emotion in Smokefeather's eyes. The barest hint of a smile...

And then Copperfox continued to speak. The spark of relief she had felt died, even faster than her son's excitement seemed to.

Expecting Bloodstrike to be perfectly healthy upon his return had always been unreasonable. She had known that. the entire clan had known it. How could they have expected anything less with how he'd been beaten so badly before the Asylum had dragged him from camp? Her eyes closed for a moment, the scene playing out as if it had only just happened rather than been moons ago.

Breaking him down physically hadn't been enough for them, apparently. A weary, defeated sigh escaped Smokefeather as her gaze returned to Copperfox.

"I'm sorry." She rasped quietly, "I need a moment." Her voice wasn't quite as hollow as it had been when she'd spoken to Blossomstep in the wake of Featherkit's death, but it was close.

Copperfox inwardly cringed when he saw his mother's hope emerge, then fade just as quickly. His ears air-planed out and he was quiet for several seconds. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to warn you first." He glanced around for something to do. The quiet tension was a bit much for him at the moment. A mouse scurried by, thinking the cats were distracted, he supposed. He jumped for it immediately, much as a fox might. His name was fitting after all. The mouse was caught easily in his claws and he dispatched it swiftly. He carried it to the root of a tree and buried it. "We can hunt for a moment if you want time before you go back." He offered, wondering if the help would be appreciated.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

He'd wanted to warn her... When was the last time she'd had a warning about anything? Before she could say anything, Copperfox was darting off, leaping for a mouse. Smokefeather managed a small smile at the sight of the successful catch, he'd grown into a fine hunter.

"Thank you." She responded quietly to the offer of hunting. Briefly, Smokefeather touched her tail to his shoulder before turning away, eyes lifting to the trees in search of prey.

It didn't take long to spot a sparrow sitting among the branches, and Smokefeather silently scaled the tree, skillfully navigating the branches before her claws dispatched the sparrow. She turned, burying the sparrow alongside the squirrel she'd caught earlier.

There was a part of Smokefeather that wanted to go running back to camp... But she couldn't seem to muster the energy to make that happen. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what fresh horror awaited her. She'd wanted Bloodstrike returned for a season now, yet now that it had finally happened she felt hollow.