Illusion of Peace [Loudpaw, Murkystrike]

The moon had just risen above the treeline as Mistyfalcon padded toward the entrance of camp. Murkystrike had beat him there, it seemed, and Mistyfalcon waved his tail in greeting as Loudpaw padded over to join them. He'd recently been made an apprentice, and with his own apprentice Mistyfalcon had seen little of his son recently. The patrol would allow them to spend some time together though, and he was looking forward to stretching his legs outside of camp even with the humid greenleaf night.

"How's training been going, Loudpaw?" He asked, following Murkystrike through the camp entrance before falling into step beside her. His ears were pricked, dark eyes sweeping the marshes restlessly as the trio made their way farther from camp. Rogues were still on Shadowclan territory, but so far the clan hadn't been able to pin them down. Nearly killing Murkystrike had been bad enough, and Mistyfalcon was interested in preventing any more ambushes from occurring. Loudpaw was still young, and while Mistyfalcon wouldn't have minded rogue blood on his claws, he also hoped that they wouldn't run into them tonight. He and Murkystrike could hold their own in a fight, but he'd rather not risk Loudpaw being hurt. Fighting and injuries were inevitable of course, but that didn't mean he wanted his kits to have to deal with it.

The deputy grinned as her mate and son joined her, nuzzling Loudpaw's head gently before turning and leading the way into the territory. Her eyes moved constantly, roaming over the bushes and marsh land searching for anything that seemed out of place. Her ears were pricked, listening to their surroundings, and also the conversation going on. She had heard updates about his training, but was curious about what the tom would say for himself as well.

Loudpaw met up with his parents by the camp entrance, giving Murkystrike a quick lick on her muzzle when she nuzzled him. He was excited to spend time with them, yet he wished his siblings were coming on the patrol as well. "Training has been going fine, Flintstar is nice," he said shortly, walking in between the pair of adults, "More importantly, I just saw this huge slug! Er, snail, because it had a shell. The shell was incredible, it was white but with black and brown stripes. Have you seen that before? Because I have not. I think snails are my favorite, there is just something about them." The chatty apprentice wasn't as wary as his parents were, but he was keeping his whiskers spread out. He trusted them to keep him safe.

A quiet purr rumbled in Mistyfalcon's chest, happy to spend time with his family. His lips twitched up into a smile at Loudpaw's words. "Flintstar is a good cat to learn from, he taught me a lot, though he wasn't my mentor." In hindsight, Mistyfalcon would have preferred Flintstar as a mentor to Vinetail. He'd been mercurial and inattentive, and Mistyfalcon had wound up spending more time with cats like Brighteye, Batglow and Ebonysong. Murkystrike ensured that Loudpaw would have someone reliable, and on the slim off-chance of that not being the case, he could always turn to his parents for anything.

"Snails?" He asked, whiskers twitching. And then paused, fur prickling. When he'd opened his mouth to speak, he'd caught a scent... Mistyfalcon stopped, tail barring Loudpaw's path forward as he breathed in again, ears twitching as his eyes swept over their surroundings.

"Fox... And blood." He didn't see either the beast or the blood, but it couldn't be far, and both scents were fresh.

And the blood didn't smell like prey animal.

Murkystrike purred happily as Loudpaw spoke about his training, and the snail he saw. She had never looked too closely at one, perhaps she would have to change that. Before she could continue though, she caught the same scent Mistyfalcon had, and she stopped, fur on end and a horrified look on her face. Her mate spoke first, and she turned to look at him slowly. "Misty.... Misty that's.... That blood scent.... No...." She gasped, tears welling in her eyes, horrified as to what would be in front of them. Condorpaw.... She would know her son's scent anywhere. Fear caused bile to rise in her throat, and she forced it back down. No, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He... Maybe he stepped on a thorn! The scents just overlapped. Maybe there was still time. Scenarios flashed through her mind as she pushed herself forward, stepping into a small clearing. There lay her son's body, covered in blood, a fox standing atop him. Blood and saliva dripped from it's jaws, and Murkystrike felt like her heart stopped as her vision went red. The fox still had it's back to her as she jumped with a shriek, crashing full force into the back of it, forcing it away from her son. He had to be alive. He couldn't be dead. She would distract the fox while Misty and Loud got him to safety, and Rook would tend to his wounds. The awkward angle his body had been at promised otherwise, but she could hope. She had to hope. What else could she do? Tears fell from her eyes as she rolled to her paws, standing to face the fox as it did the same, snapping out in response to her attack. She barely felt the pain from it's teeth as they cut through the fur at her shoulder, too blinded by fear and anger.

Murkystrike used Jumping Strike on Fox, dealing 9 (+3 not focused, +1 Night Finesse) damage and costing 7 SP.
Fox used Iron Bite on Murkystrike, dealing 17 damage and costing 30 SP.

Murkystrike:
67/80 HP (-17)
163/170 SP (-7)

Fox:
47/60 HP (-13)
150/180 SP (-30)

Loudpaw halted when his father's tail was swept in front of him, why had they stopped? He looked up at Mistyfalcon, confused. The warrior looked as if he saw a starclan cat right before his eyes. Once the startled cat mentioned fox and blood Loudpaw realized he smelled something, Murkystrike did too. She looked horrified, and crying. Fox and blood? "Did someone kill a fox?" he wondered aloud as his mother rushed ahead. Eyes wide, ears forward, the young apprentice ran past Mistyfalcon and after the panicked Murkystrike. He came to a stop within a small clearing, before him there was Murkystrike leaping onto a fox. "Mistyfalcon! There is a fox!" he yelled, not sure whether to help her or not. Should he stay safe or was it expected of him to leap on as well? His legs stiffened, body lowered, tense. His ears flattened, fear and pressure taking hold. He watched as the fox tore into his mother's shoulder, the sight of blood caused him to not hesitate for long. He ran to Murkystrike's side. Unsure of what to do exactly, he slashed at the fox's face. His small body trembling with fear and regret, he knew should've stayed with Mistyfalcon. What if he made a mistake, what if they couldn't protect him?

Loudpaw used Front Paw Strike on Fox, dealing 6 (+1 Night Finesse) damage and costing 7 SP.

Loudpaw:
20/20 HP
53/60 SP (-7)

Fox:
40/60 HP (-7)
150/180 SP

Mistyfalcon's fur lifted as Murkystrike spoke, realizing what he had just realized. His eyes closed for a second, anger and grief burning in their depths. Condorpaw... How had he...? The train of thought was irrelevant now, they had a fox to deal with... And Murkystrike had launched herself at it.

"Loudpaw get back!" Mistyfalcon hissed, launching himself at the fox. He was not about to let it sink those filthy fangs into Murkystrike or another of their kits again. The dark-furred tom landed on the fox's back, clawing furiously. If he had his way, the fox wasn't going to walk away from this fight alive.

Mistyfalcon used Leap and Hold on fox for -15 sp, dealing -10 damage. Fox is pinned for ONE turn.
Night Finesse active, +1 damage.

Mistyfalcon
70 / 70 hp
145 / 160 sp (160 - 15)

Murkystrike
67 / 80 hp
163 / 170 sp

Fox -pinned for ONE turn-
29 / 60 hp (40 - 10  - 1)
150 / 180 sp

Loudpaw
20 / 20 hp
53 / 60 sp

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 1

What had initially been an easy hunt and kill had swiftly become a bad situation. The fox staggered as it was slammed into by an angry cat, likely a friend of the one he had killed. No matter, she would be easy to dispatch. As he turned on her though, a small hit turned his attention to another small cat. An easy target, he thought, but as he started to snap at the young cat a sudden weight landed on his back and he let out a cry of surprise. His jaw bounced painfully off of the ground as he struggled to balance himself, taking a moment to throw off the third cat. How many were there?

~~

The deputy was blinded by grief and rage, hardly noticing that her mate and son had joined the fight. Mistyfalcon's words reached her ears, but she didn't seem to actually hear them as she launched herself at the fox again, wordless shrieks accompanying her strikes. Anger was fueling her attacks at the moment, but she knew it wouldn't last forever. Already the tears were threatening her vision - she had to kill this fox before her grief paralyzed her.

Fox was stunned for one round and is no longer stunned!
Murkystrike used Front Paw Strike, dealing 11 (+1 Night Finesse) damage and costing 7 SP.

Mistyfalcon
70 / 70 hp
145 / 160 sp

Murkystrike
67 / 80 hp
156 / 170 sp (-7)

Fox -pinned for ONE turn-
17 / 60 hp (-12)
150 / 180 sp

Loudpaw
20 / 20 hp
53 / 60 sp

He snapped his attention to Mistyfalcon's words, darting out of range of the fox. He watched his father rake his claws across the beast's back, and took a moment to access himself. He wasn't injured, yet. Despite wanting to help- no. Needing to help, he wasn't about to crash into the fox like his parents did, he needed to stay safe. For his parent's sake. The apprentice took a deep breath to steady himself. His eyes darted around, looking for another approach. An idea came to his head. He raised his paws and brought them down on the muddy ground, splashing the sludge upon the predator's face, hopefully obscuring it's vision for a moment.

Loudpaw used Mud Slap, dealing 3 (+1 Night Finesse) damage and costing 10 SP.
Fox is stunned for one turn.

Mistyfalcon
70/70 HP
145/160 SP

Murkystrike
67/80 HP
156/170 SP

Fox -stunned for one turn-
13 / 60 HP (-4)
150 / 180 SP

Loudpaw
20 / 20 HP
43 / 60 SP (-10)

Murkystrike's cries were gut-wrenching to listen to. For his part, Mistyfalcon fought in dead silence. At the moment, he was solely focused on protecting his family from any further harm. Loudpaw had stayed back... Until he didn't, splashing mud into the face of their opponent. Part of Mistyfalcon wanted to be annoyed with his son for being stubborn and not listening, but he also knew that he would have done the exact same thing if someone had told him to stay back. And anything that distracted the fox long enough for him to do more damage was perfectly acceptable to him.

Mistyfalcon sank his teeth into the fox's neck, intending to do as much damage as he could. If it wound up dying, well, he wasn't about to be remorseful over it. Between a random predator and his family, there was only one choice he'd make every time. Blood flowed freely from the wounds, and Mistyfalcon just hoped that the fox would think better of lashing out at Murkystrike again, or Loudpaw.

Mistyfalcon used Snap on Fox for -7 sp, dealing -11 damage.
Night Finesse active, +1 damage for Shadowclanners.

Mistyfalcon
70 / 70 hp
138 / 160 sp (145 - 7)

Murkystrike
67 / 80 HP
156 / 170 SP

Fox
1 / 60 hp (13 - 11 - 1)
150 / 180 sp

Loudpaw
20 / 20 hp
43 / 60 sp

The fox staggered, trying to stay standing long enough to stop the onslaught of attacks and escape, but as mud flew into his eyes and teeth met his neck he started to flail wildly. Murkystrike shook tears and blood out of her eyes, stalking forward slowly until she stood in front of the fox. For half a heartbeat she paused, knowing that the fight wouldn't last much longer, and she would have to face the bitter reality of life without one of her sons. In the blink of an eye, she had gripped the fox's neck from the opposite side of Mistyfalcon, clamping down until she felt the snap of bones between her jaws and the fox fell limp. Still, she didn't release her grip, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. It wasn't for several heartbeats that she finally released the fox, it's body falling to the ground unceremoniously as she stumbled towards Condorpaw's body, falling next to it to curl around her dead son. She began to groom his fur carefully for a final time, unwilling to return him to camp in his current condition, tears streaming down her cheeks as she set about her silent task.

Murkystrike used Killing Bite. -10 SP.

The battle was over, Murkystrike with the finishing blow. Loudpaw tried to take deep breaths, adrenaline still lingering in him. He stared at the limp fox hanging in her mouth, wondering if it would come back to life. Still trying to calm down, his eyes followed the fluffy she-cat as she went over to a lump in the corner of his eye. He wasn't too concerned, taking a few more seconds to collect himself. Turning his head he padded over to his mother to see what she was curled around. It was Condorpaw.

"Condorpaw! Condorpaw?"

Loudpaw was confused, questions rapidly going through his head. Why is Condorpaw out here? How did he get here? Why is, why is he just laying down? Something is wrong. What happened? Is he hurt? He is hurt. Fox and blood, Condor's blood. Of course! Oh no oh no. Shock washing over him, he stared at Murkystrike silently crying while grooming him, opening his mouth as if he was gonna say something but nothing came out. He just stood there. Is he dead?

The fox finally fell, but Mistyfalcon felt little in the way of relief as he scanned Loudpaw's fluffy frame and realized his son was uninjured. Murkystrike had bounded towards the too-still body that lay on the ground, with Loudpaw following behind. Loudpaw's voice, and seeing just how bloody Condorpaw's form was, made Mistyfalcon's shoulders slump in defeat. "He's gone." He replied dully. He hated to even voice it, doing so only made it seem more real, more painful. Mistyfalcon ignored the way his eyes stung, wrapping his tail around Murkystrike's shoulders.

Foxdung, why Condorpaw? Why an apprentice that had barely started his training? Where had his mentor been, that this had happened? His eyes narrowed, and Mistyfalcon shook his head, trying to ignore the thoughts. There would be time to dwell on that later, for now there were more important things... Like trying to hold it together for his family. He didn't have the words to comfort either of them, and even worse was the idea of having to break the news to Basilpaw and Hornetpaw.

Mistyfalcon pressed against Loudpaw for a moment, gaze flicking between grieving mate and son. They... Needed to get Condorpaw's body back to camp but Mistyfalcon foujnd himself unwilling to voice that. Instead, he leaned forward, silently assisting Murkystrike as she attempted to clean the blood out of Condorpaw's thick fur.

He was so cold already. With each pass of her tongue, she swore his body got colder. It was so different from when he had been newly born into the world, so warm and full of life. She flinched as something landed on her shoulder, only to realize that it was Mistyfalcon's tail. Their son was gone. His words echoed, feeling like a rock in her belly as the reality sank in. Loudpaw's voice calling for his littermate broke her heart, and she raised her gaze to him. He seemed to be in shock.... They needed to get back to camp. Report what happened... Let Basilpaw and Hornetpaw know.... And she had a mentor to face. The thought made her stomach roll with anger and disappointment, making her feel sick. The blood she had licked from her son's pelt didn't help at all, but she swallowed the bitter bile down as she slowly stood, her wound oozing a small amount of blood still as she bumped her head to Mistyfalcon's shoulder gently. "We... We should get back to camp. You take Loudpaw... I'll carry Condorpaw." Her voice was broken, threatened by tears as she lowered her head to grip her sons scruff gently, lifting his small body from the ground. He had gotten so heavy as he grew through the moons, but now he felt light as a feather. He was gone, leaving behind only his unneeded body and his grieving family and clan. As she turned towards ShadowClan's camp, Murkystrike allowed her tears to continue falling.