Icy Rivers [c]

Some of the smaller rivers had completely frozen over, others had ice around the edges. It was clear leaf-bare had taken hold of the territory, a beautiful sight to behold but not much else good came with the frost. The cold, the lack of prey and resources, the sickness. They were all things he had been warned about, and all things he was determined to protect his clan against. There wasn't much he could do against most, but he could hunt, so that was what he would do.

He had just been about to leave camp to go fishing when he noticed a tabby she-cat in the corner of his eye. The loner that had just been introduced into the clan. Bird... something, he believed... With this weather, it might be a good idea to have a partner just in case of trouble. Besides, it felt right to welcome this cat into the clan in some way.

After building up some courage, he padded over with a small smile on his face. "Ah, hello. I'm Ebonyhaze. You just got accepted into Riverclan, right? Would you like to go hunting with me? I'm not sure how familiar you are with the territory yet, but it might be a good chance to get a look around." He offered, gesturing lightly towards the entrance. Talking to cats wasn't his strong-suit, but perhaps if he had a task at hand he wouldn't overthink too much about what came out of his mouth.

Birdsong glanced up at the sound of a nearby voice, inclining her head in greeting to the younger tom that had approached. He seemed a bit unsure, and she could relate to the feeling. Though whether that was because she was an outsiders, they'd never interacted before, or that was just his personality, Birdsong couldn't tell. The introduction was appreciated, however, she'd been working at getting to know her new clanmates, but there were plenty she hadn't talked to yet. "Yes. I'm Birdsong, nice to meet you."

...It would be a good way to get to know the territory better. And with leafbare setting in, the clan would need all the fresh-kill it could get. The smaller streams and the river were already bitterly cold, though thankfully not everything was completely frozen over just yet.

Nodding, the fluffy tabby stood. "Sure, I'm not as familiar with the territory as I'd like to be. Turtlefur and Dewlight have been helping of course, but it's still an adjustment." Turtlefur's patience and continued support had been invaluable to Birdsong. Unlike most loners, she had never trespassed on clan territory except for following along the borders to get from one place to another. She'd been raised in Skyclan, and knew full well how kindly most would take to trespassers on their territory. As such, she'd never seen the inner areas of Riverclan's territory until very recently. She knew that Skyclan had sheltered in Riverclan's camp after the fire, but that had been well before her birth. Birdsong couldn't have imagined how crowded that must've been.

Ebonyhaze's smile grew a little wider at Birdsong's agreement. "Alright, nice to meet you too. There's a nice fishing spot to the west that hasn't frozen over yet, I'll show you." He took a few steps towards the entrance, glancing once to make sure she was following before leading the she-cat into the wetlands.

His long legs made it a bit easier to trudge through the snow, treating it like deep water as he took high and long steps to navigate the new white landscape. Despite the visual change to the terrain, his path was well-rehearsed from how many times he returned to his favorite spots, his path near instinctual as they reached the river. Being close to the beech copse, it housed a few trees to shade over the water. A few tall rocks also decorated the riverbed, making hiding spaces for fish just waiting to be snagged from the water.

"I've always caught plenty here, even during leaf-bare. I think the fish like the scenery just as much as I do." He purred quietly at his own joke before the sun reflecting off scales caught his attention. "Ah, here we go." He crept a bit closer to the water's edge where a fish was hiding next to a rock. However, he was a bit too hasty in his strike. He dunked his paws beneath the surface of the water, the fish just out of reach of his claws. It quickly swam away, leaving him empty-pawed.

"Well, I guess I should revoke my statement. I always find plenty of fish, not always do I catch them. That one was a bit evasive." He took a few steps away from the water's edge, turning his attention to his new clanmate. "Perhaps you will have more luck?"

Ebonyhaze attempted to catch a fish! He was unsuccessful!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Birdsong followed Ebonyhaze out of camp, long legs making easy work of traversing through the snow. She shivered slightly as a breeze cut through her long fur, and she had to wonder how the shorter-furred cat handled the cold. She was grateful for the longer fur, even if greenleaf was uncomfortable.

She settled on the riverbank a couple tail-lengths from Ebonyhaze, eyes trained on the water. A soft splash, and then the dark tom was lamenting his loss. "Happens to all of us." She mewed, "Hopefully... Fishing is more difficult than I thought at first." Her skill at fishing wasn't quite up to paw just yet, and more often than not she found herself compensating with birds and squirrels on the fresh-kill pile... Which she didn't fail to notice was predominately fish, even now.

She returned her focus to the water, staring down at a fish hiding among the rocks. The water refracted light, something that Birdsong still struggled to get used to. Her hesitance had cost her more than a pawful of fish recently. After a moment of carefully judging where she needed to actually strike instead of where the fish seemed to be, her paw shot forwards, and Birdsong suppressed a shudder at the feeling of the cold water as her claws hooked the fish and sent it toward the bank with an awkward movement. She leaned forward, fangs catching the fish by the throat.

"Foxdung, the water's cold." She grumbled, shaking a few droplets from her paw.

Ebonyhaze gave a nod of understanding. He grew up with fishing, grown to know each technique and rule by heart, he could see how a cat without those could struggle a bit. Especially since the river likes to play tricks, not showing where the fish was exactly. "It's tough to wrap your head around it for the first time, but you'll get it."

He watched the she-cat stare into the water. Her technique wasn't bad, it just lacked confidence, something he could empathize with. He grinned as he watched Birdsong shoot for a fish, dragging it out of the water with a bit of stiffness. "See? You just gotta trust yourself." Easier said than done, but it was something all cats hard to learn... when it came to fishing at least. Prey wouldn't wait for you to gather your wits.

Ebonyhaze nodded to her assertion as he scanned the water for more fish. "Yeah, much too cold to do any proper swimming as well. I used to like getting in the water to fish. Sometimes they would mistake me for a shady spot to hide if I was still enough and it made fishing a little easier. It's really refreshing when the weather's warm too." His eyes caught onto a fish swimming along the waterbed, tensing his muscles before reaching under the water once more. Another miss, his paw getting stuck on dome debris and letting the fish escape. Ebonyhaze frowned, apparently the river wasn't feeling very kind to him.

"I'm going to try moving closer to the reeds here, perhaps the vegetation will help me out a bit." He said, rising to his paws to try and find a better spot. However, just as he slunk into the water flora, an angry hiss caused him to backpedal. A raccoon stepped out from the reeds and cattails, its fur fluffed up in fury at the cats encroaching on its fishing spot. "Birdsong! A- Ack!" The raccoon lashed out before he could get his warning to his companion, its strange paws swiping at his face.

He retaliated, snapping at a paw and catching it in his jaws. This wasn't how he was planning this patrol to go.

Ebonyhaze attempted to catch a fish, but summoned a predator instead!

The Raccoon used Quick Swipe, costing -10 SP and dealing 8 Damage.
Ebonyhaze used Front Paw Strike, costing -7 SP and dealing 7 Damage!

Ebonyhaze:
17/30 HP (-8 (-5 from hunting))
73/80 SP (-7)

Birdsong:
60/60 HP
140/140 SP

Raccoon:
13/20 HP (-7)
110/120 SP (-10)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

((OOC: Fixed your hp/sp values, you subtracted the -5 from the hp rather than sp))

"Can't do that with much land prey... Once a bird or squirrel spots you, it's over unless you're quick enough." She chuckled, "I hope to." She mewed, determined to prove herself to the clan as well as improve her fishing skills. "Skyclan's territory had a small creek, barely enough to get our paws wet most of the time" Probably not even close to being able to dunk your head into the water when it was hot out, of course. "That does sound refreshing." She agreed. She nodded at his decision to move along the riverbank, turning to do so as well. Splitting up a bit would help their chances of finding prey, especially with her rather clumsy attempts at catching fish. She'd settled back down with a paw carefully raised, pale green eyes scanning the water for signs of prey.

Startled by Ebonyhaze's called, Birdsong spun, fur bristling. It seemed as though they weren't the only ones searching for food... And raccoons were ugly, mean creatures. Birdsong sprang forward, claws flashing for the raccoon's filthy pelt. She'd never been one to enjoy violence or combat in general, but she understood that sometimes it was necessary. And defending a new clanmate from a predator was something necessary.

The raccoon fell quickly beneath their paws, and as much as Birdsong had to admit she would always be grateful for Ravenclaw's training. They'd disagreed on combat, her mother had enjoyed it far more than Birdsong ever did, but that training had been important, too.

"Are you alright, Ebonyhaze?" She asked, eyes flicking over to see the blood dripping from his wounds. A frown tugged at her lips. "Perhaps we should head back... Don't want those getting infected." They hadn't caught much prey, but she wasn't sure if he'd want to continue now that he'd been injured. It was his call, however, and Birdsong would... be okay if she didn't have to interact with the clan's medicine cat just yet.

Birdsong used Jumping Strike on Raccoon for -7 sp, dealing -10+3 damage.

Ebonyhaze
22/30 HP
68/80 SP

Birdsong
60/60 HP
133/140 SP (140 - 7)

Raccoon dead
0/20 HP (13 - 13)
110/120 SP