Something For Your Mind [C]

The sky was dusky, the deep, deep blues of night giving way to a softer purple. ShadowClan was still awake for now, milling around. It wouldn't be long before the last few border patrols left, and they'd return with the dawn.

Webshadow, unfortunately, was assigned to none of them. He was restless, anxious, irritable, and had seen far too much lately to stay in camp. He paced a circle outside the warrior's den, then extended his range to walk a little path between the den and the freshkill pile. Soon enough, he got bored of that, too, and he stamped a paw against the earth and pinned his ears against his head.

Nose wrinkled and scowling, the dark tabby lifted his head, looking for any warriors not already set to leave. An equally dark pelt caught his eye, and after a bit of shifting his weight and kneading his own paws and curling and uncurling his tail from his side, Webshadow made the decision to approach.

"Mistyfalcon?" He called hesitantly as he drew nearer, blinking rapidly as he looked the other tom over. "Hi. You aren't busy, are you? I know it's late, but... but do you want to go for a walk? We can check borders or hunt while we're out, too, if you want."

dice roll

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Mistyfalcon lifted his head at the sound of pawsteps approaching, dark gaze settling on Webshadow. Even he could feel the restless energy all but radiating from the other tom, and Mistyfalcon stood, shaking out his pelt. Was he busy? Not really. Unless being alone with his thoughts counted. The rogues were still around, so it wasn't like any of them could go out on their own, and it irked Mistyfalcon. He missed going for a solitary run in the pine grove to clear his head.

"Sure," He responded, "Hunting would do some good." He added, glancing towards the fresh-kill pile. Of course, their hunt was likely to be interrupted by the rogues, but Mistyfalcon would be perfectly happy to dig his claws into one, if needed.

Oh, thank StarClan, Webshadow thought with a grateful sigh. Mistyfalcon would be good company– he was a quiet cat, which was much appreciated. Dipping his head, Webshadow turned on his pads to lead them out of camp.

There was... there had been a lot happening, as of late. More than once, the tabby opened his mouth to bring it up, then quickly thought better of it, keeping quiet and focused as they ventured through the marsh. As much as he was a cat who could appreciate comfortable silence, this was anything but– the weight of recent events was palpable, and it itched at Webshadow's fur. "So– mm. Did you.. did you hear about the Gathering?" He mewed hesitantly, ears pricked for the sound of prey– or approaching rogues. Being outside eased him a little, but especially after the loss of his father, he felt exceptionally on edge on their territory.

Mistyfalcon kept pace with the younger warrior as they made their way out of camp, ears pricked and on alert for signs of both trouble and prey. An ear twitched at Webshadow's question, and Mistyfalcon shrugged.

"Not much... Some drama with Skyclan and Riverclan, again? It's always something, never liked going to gatherings." They were too crowded and there was too much petty nonsense involved. After Asylum, he'd gone out of support for Murkystrike, but since she'd become deputy and grown more comfortable in her position, she didn't need him there. And with the rogues about... It was better to have capable warriors around camp, just in case.

Mistyfalcon fell quiet as he picked up the scent of mouse, and with a twitch of his tail he slipped into a crouch and stalked towards the little creature. Once close enough, he leapt, and quickly buried his catch between the roots of a tree.

Webshadow nodded slowly as Mistyfalcon spoke, stopping where he stood as the other warrior dropped low and crept away. He worried the ground beneath his paws while he waited, tail waving restlessly behind him, and he looked relieved when Mistyfalcon returned with a mouse. He gave it an acknowledging nod, then turned away, ears lowering.

"Drama... I guess, yeah." With stiff shoulders, Webshadow started forward before stopping only a few steps away, gaze fixed firmly on the ferns for any little sign of movement. "The– Mistyfalcon..." His ears raised slightly, and the dark tabby looked towards his companion with a somber expression before he suddenly turned away, dropping into his own hunting crouch. He slipped off, melting into the distant shadows as he trailed the scent of a lizard. With the little thing in sight, he pounced, experienced claws meeting the base of its neck.

Picking it up by the tail, he returned with his catch, joining it with the mouse ftom earlier. Webshadow returned his eyes to Mistyfalcon, focused intently on the other's muzzle. "The– one of the Great Oaks, it got struck by lightning. Just... split it in half. I think– I think someone from SkyClan was up there." His whiskers twitched, the only movement of his rigid body. "RiverClan's medicine cat, she was going on about how... what'd she say? About how Wolfstar attacked her, I think. How SkyClan deserved justice or whatever. Then the lightning, then– then we came home." Ears and tail drooping, Webshadow gave a heavy sigh, looking wearier than he had. "It was really bad, Mistyfalcon. It almost makes me worried."

Webshadow attempted to catch a lizard. Catch successful!
-3 SP.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Webshadow began to speak, then cut himself off in favor of hunting an unfortunate lizard, swiftly joining the mouse from earlier.

"Lightning?" Mistyfalcon asked, blue eyes narrowing slightly. There was a part of him that wanted to be skeptical and call it coincidence, but Mistyfalcon had been raised on tales of the Righteous Few. Thornstar had died to Starclan's meddlesome powers, as had plenty of others. Supported by Starclan or not, the Righteous Few had still been tied to Starclan, and Mistyfalcon was inclined to be distrustful of the dead cats making reappearances just to play with the living. He was suspicious of them in general, really. The dead needed to stay that way, as far as Mistyfalcon was concerned.

A soft rustle near the roots of a pine, and Mistyfalcon slunk forward. A vole, blissfully unaware of his presence until his fangs caught it by the neck. He buried it, an ear flicked in Webshadow's direction as he began to speak.

"Nobody from Shadowclan was hurt, that's what matters." He replied, "I can't imagine what Riverclan's medicine cat apprentice would've done to be attacked by Skyclan's leader, though knowing Skyclan... Their deputy mistook Moonshine for her father and attacked a border patrol we were on. They aren't known for their even tempers." Quite the opposite, in fact. In some ways, Mistyfalcon could respect that. They weren't cowards, and weren't afraid to fight for what they thought was right, however foolish and unnecessary.

"It seems like every gathering has been more chaotic than the last, recently." And that was precisely why Mistyfalcon avoided themm. And with Vea's rogues skulking about, he had the perfect excuse to do so. Shadowclan couldn't leave their camp unguarded. The drama involving the other clans was worrying, truthfully, but hopefully Shadowclan would not be swept up in it.

Webshadow dipped his head as Mistyfalcon spoke, intent gaze darting back and forth over the soft earth as he listened. "Right, but..." What was there to say? Maybe what had happened hadn't really been a big deal, and recent events had just left him shaken. But still, nothing about it sat right with him.

"Nobody from ShadowClan was hurt." He echoed distantly, tail-tip twitching as he thought. "SkyClan's rough, I guess, but doesn't it– it's... strange, isn't it?" Finally, Webshadow looked up, pale eyes searching and intense. "I mean, the RiverClan cat looked really, really bad. I– I don't know, and she clearly had something against SkyClan. I think they said something about WindClan?"

Admittedly, he hadn't been paying much attention until the shouting started, and even then he'd been more focused on finding a way out than staying for the explosive chaos. "Whatever it was, something happened. It– doesn't it worry you? We've got our own problems with... with rogues, but..." He shrugged, looking suddenly sheepish as he started to pad away. "Something just feels... off. So much of everything, lately..."

Webshadow's words trailed away as he padded away, sights set on another mouse. He made the catch with ease, nipping its neck and bringing it over to join the rest of their prey. "I just hope they keep it to themselves, next time. I don't like that StarClan had to intervene."

Webshadow attempted to catch a mouse. Catch successful!

-3 SP.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Mistyfalcon listened as Webshadow spoke, unsure of what he could really say to be comforting. He was stressed about what had happened clearly, while Mistyfalcon... Wasn't overly concerned. His concern was for Shadowclan and Shadowclan only, and what went on with the other clans wasn't anything that Shadowclan needed to drag themselves into, in his opinion. A mouse poked its head out from between the roots of a tree, and Mistyfalcon didn't hesitate to pounce on the unfortunate creature.

"It's troubling... Hopefully whatever is going on there stays outside of our borders." He muttered, "The rogues are one problem too many. Hopefully we can deal with that issue sooner rather than later." They wouldn't give up, and Mistyfalcon refused to consider that just handing over one of their own clanmates would make them go away.

"True." Webshadow sighed, winding further off into the marsh. Mistyfalcon made a good point– ShadowClan wasn't involved, so he really shouldn't worry about it –but he couldn't shake the nerves that crawled under his pelt.

Hopping onto the raised roots of a tree, Webshadow turned from his distant spot to look towards the older warrior, his head slightly tipped. "R-right, but... I don't know. I just... I feel like it might end up coming– coming to us, you know?" The tom dropped his head again, huffing. "Maybe I'm just... shaken and restle–" Cutting himself off, he snapped his head back up, ears pricked high. It sounded like... had the branches above him moved?

He only had a moment to crane his neck back, to glimpse two wide golden eyes zeroed in on him before the boughs rattled again and great wings unfolded above him. Webshadow yelped, attempting to hop off the root he'd perched on, but heavy talons caught his shoulders mid-leap. The tabby thrashed against the massive bird's grip, tail lashing furiously and paws cycling furiously in an attempt to connect with any part of its body. Even if he didn't feel any of his strikes meet, something between his thrashing and his weight was enough to get him dropped unceremoniously to the ground– and the owl followed suit, landing opposite him and arching its wings, beak clacking furiously.

Owl used Swoop on Webshadow, dealing 9 damage and costing 15 SP.

Webshadow
31/40 | 94/100

Owl
30/30 | 75/90

"Maybe... There's little point in fr--" He began to say, when movement from above caught his attention. Abandoning his attempt at a reply, Mistyfalcon lunged forward, claws flashing toward the owl as it dived at Webshadow. A quick swipe from the tom sent the bird careening to the side as it released Webshadow, and Mistyfalcon spared a glance towards his clanmate before aiming his claws at the bird again.

Mistyfalcon used Jumping Strike on Owl for -7 sp, dealing -9 (+ -3) damage.
Night Finesse active, +1 damage.

Mistyfalcon
70 / 70 hp
153 / 160 sp (160 - 7)

Owl
17 / 30 hp (30 - 9 - 3 - 1)
75 / 90 sp

Webshadow
31 / 40 hp
94 / 100 sp

Soon enough, Mistyfalcon was throwing himself at the great bird, and Webshadow watched for a moment in stunned shock before it kicked in that he was in the middle of a fight. He bounded forward just as the owl struck out at Mistyfalcon in a flurry of talons, and the tabby sunk his teeth into an outstretched wing, wrenching it away from a snarl.

Owl used Talon Strike on Mistyfalcon, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 SP.
Webshadow used Snap on Owl, dealing 9 (8+1 with Night Finesse) damage and costing 7 SP.

Webshadow
31/40 | 87/100

Owl
8/30 | 65/90

Mistyfalcon
63/70 | 153/160