Blood Is Thicker (C)

In a Clan as small as ThunderClan, it was difficult to not know every cat-- or at least, every warrior. Still, there was a difference between a Clanmate, an acquaintance, and a friend... and Appledapple truly considered Starlingflare a friend. They certainly didn't agree on every point, and they weren't super sappy to each other like an idealized friend might be. But they had each others' backs, they had similar opinions, shared dreams, and most importantly, they always put ThunderClan first. She didn't know why she felt so comfortable about the scarred tom. There was certainly nothing romantic between them. The only real way to describe him was as a friend. And so, when the tortoiseshell found herself on a hunting patrol with him, she felt far more at ease than she would with nearly any other cat. Companionable silence was something that Starlingflare knew in spades. Most of the journey to the hollow where they would hunt was quiet, and she liked that.

Once they finally reached their destination, Appledapple turned to her friend with a fanged little grin. "All right, let's do some hunting. Hopefully your bad luck has run out! As much as I love the raccoon pelt you gave me for my nest, I'd rather get food than fight yet another predator."

The tom didn't really understand why others picked him for hunting. Ever since his eye injury his hunting skills have fallen drastically and in the leaf-bare like this? It was even worse, but when he was asked to accompany Appledapple he couldn't find it in himself to say no. She was after all someone who seemed to understand his ideals better than anyone, so much so that they accompanied each other into the dream world, and even trained together.

He paused as soon as she spoke, breaking the established silence they kept between them on the trip over to the Hollow. "You picked hunting with me, it's not going to go well. Besides fighting predators just seems to be one of my specialties anyway. First the fox, now the horde of Raccoons. Whats next a badger?" He said with a small chuckle.

Appledapple laughed a little at the comment, then shuddered. "Ugh, please not another badger. We all know how that turned out last time." Actually, it had been pretty close to this area when they got attacked, now that she thought about it. What an awful experience that had been... It always hurt to lose, but getting beaten up by a predator three times your size was understandable, she supposed. Either way, the memory wasn't a fond one. She would rather hunt than fight a giant beast, any day. She'd rather fight enemy warriors instead.

Once they finally reached the Stony Hollow, she immediately began scanning the area for prey. After a few moments, gray eyes narrowed, she spotted a small squirrel digging something up underneath a bush. Appledapple flicked her tail to Starlingflare, then dropped into a hunting crouch. She had the drop on this squirrel; she should be able to catch it easily. But in being so focused on the squirrel, she didn't notice that something had the drop on her. A large owl obviously had its eyes on the squirrel as well, and when she got in its way, it swooped down from above to attack her. She broke away from her intended prey with a hiss, watching it scamper away as the predator went for her instead. "Well, that's just our luck, isn't it, Starlingflare?" She unsheathed her claws. "Let's bring this one back to camp instead."

Appledapple tried to catch a squirrel, but an Owl appeared! -7 SP

Owl used Swoop on Appledapple, dealing 9 damage and costing 15 stamina.

Owl:
30/30 HP
75/90 SP

Appledapple (disadvantaged stats):
46/55 HP
103/110 SP

Starlingflare (disadvantaged + disabled stats):
55/55 HP
100/100 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Starlingflare couldn't help the groan that escaped him at the sight of another predator. Of course this would happen. He wasn't even surprised at this point considering his luck, but at least they could eat this one. "Don't you mean just my luck? I told you I attract these things." He told her, as he eyed down the Owl in front of them. He scanned for an opening and as soon as he saw one he leapt at the owl, bringing it to the ground with ease.

Starlingflare used Leap and Hold dealing 10 damage, -15 SP. Owl is pinned for one turn!

Owl:
20/30 HP
75/90 SP

Appledapple:
46/55 HP
103/110 SP

Starlingflare:
55/55 HP
85/100 SP

The member 'Reaper King' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Once Starlingflare had pinned the owl down, Appledapple ran forward to slash at it with her claws. It screeched and flapped its wings, but couldn't get up from under the brawny tom. A few more hits would probably take it down, and they could take it back to camp. "Well, ThunderClan as a whole has pretty bad luck right now, but yours might just be the worst regarding raccoons," she commented. A strike at the bird seemed to do a reasonable amount of damage. Maybe she could add some feathers to the raccoon pelt in her nest. Just then, the owl struggled free of Starlingflare's grasp, but was too slow to fly away.

Appledapple used Front Paw Strike on the Owl, dealing 10 damage and costing 7 stamina. The Owl is no longer pinned.

Owl:
10/30 HP
75/90 SP

Appledapple:
46/55 HP
96/110 SP

Starlingflare:
55/55 HP
85/100 SP

The owl was free from his pin, but it wasn't quite free from danger yet. it couldn't quite take off like it wanted, burdened from it's wound. Starlingflare was quick to take advantage of this opportunity and slashed out towards the bird's soft spot, killing it before it could fully take to the air again. Once it was down he looked to Appledapple. "Well thats over with at least. The feathers would make good use for more warmth I suppose." The tom said to the other warrior.

Starlingflare used Front Paw Strike dealing 10 damage, -7 SP

Owl:
KO'd

Appledapple sighed slightly with relief as the killing blow was dealt on the owl. Though she had no doubts of her capabilities to take down such a trivial predator, its arrival had certainly startled her. "Feathers are good, and though the meat is tough, it's edible," she agreed, looking down on the large bird. Despite Starlingflare's "luck," they hadn't been killed by any predators yet. "Do you still want to hunt? I'll let you make the next catch."

Starlingflare shrugged at her words. "Might as well try. I know we aren't leaving with nothing, but I think something besides owl for the younger ones would be better." He told her. "If I can catch something that is..." He muttered lowly, his ears falling flat. He turned away from his companion, single eye scanning the white forest for a moment before padding away so he could attempt to find something.

His ears perked as he heard a sound. He froze in his spot, single yellow eye scanning for the source of the sound as he slowly moved. He didn't want to startle anything. Eventually he caught scent and sight of the mouse that he heard scuffling in the snow, digging for whatever it was. He steadied himself, crouching low.

Another sound of scuffling caught his attention before he could manage a pounce. A raccoon bursting out from some underbrush startling the mouse and the warrior who was trying to hunt it. At the sight of the predator, Starlingflare couldn't help but growl out. "I swear to thorns!" He was quick to react though. Slashing at the creature with rage.

Starlingflare used Front Paw Strike dealing 10 damage, -7 SP

Starlingflare:
55/55
???/100

Raccoon:
10/20
120/120

The member 'Reaper King' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Hearing Starlingflare's growl, Appledapple whipped around to see yet another predator leaping out of the bushes-- and a raccoon, no less. "Wow, you really weren't kidding about your luck," she grumbled in exasperation, feeling her claws slide out of their sheathes once more in reaction. Well, time for more battle. "Let's finish it off, huh?" With that, she slashed the predator's throat open. No reason to leave it alive. If it was dead, that meant one less predator in the forest... and one more pelt to drag back to camp.

Appledapple used Front Paw Strike on Raccoon, dealing 10 damage and costing 7 stamina.

Raccoon:
K.O.

Appledapple:
46/55 HP
89/110 SP

Starlingflare:
55/55 HP
71/100 SP (I think)

It was dead. Another raccoon to add to his long list of Raccoon's he killed. Hopefully he wouldn't see another one anytime soon. He looked over to Appledapple, a small sigh escaping him. "I'm going to try one more time, and then we can go back to camp." If he caught something then great, if not then.. Well he was just more of a failure at hunting than he thought he was, but that isn't surprising.

He stepped away from the mess they made between the two predators, trying to put distance between him and that. He needed to find something that wasn't disturbed by the noise. Once he was comfortable with the distance he searched for a piece of prey. He found another mouse, dropping into the crouch.

Once he pounced, he felt the mouse under his paws. His heart beat picked up as excitement filled him. He finally caught something! He broke out of his moment as soon as he felt it moving trying to escape his claws. He needed to kill it still. He did so, swiftly like he was taught all those moons ago. Happy with his catch, he returned to Appledapple, pride radiating off him.

The member 'Reaper King' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 2