fire in our blood [c]

The sky was just beginning to pinken when Spottedfrog opened her eyes. For a long moment, she lay there, reluctant to leave the warmth of her nest... Leafbare had left them, but the nights were still cold, and the sun had not yet flooded the camp with its glowing warmth. The she-cat draped a paw across her muzzle and nuzzled into it... why was she even awake, anyway? Oh, right. "Dawn patrol," she groaned. Despite the clans being isolated from each other and constantly surrounded by corpse-cats, daily life in SkyClan hadn't changed that much. Whether it was Ashstorm's fervent attempts to keep things as normal as they could be, or something else entirely, Spottedfrog didn't know. Didn't much care, either. She'd isolated herself from her family; Briarthorn, Newtspring, the tuxedo she-cat had hardly said a word to either of them since the night of the last Gathering... last real Gathering, anyway.

The troubling part was, she was beginning to forget what it felt like to have someone to confide in. That was something she'd never worried about, before. Growing up, Newtspring had been her best friend - she could tell him anything, did tell him everything. And while she was away from the clans, she'd had Pigeonsun, and eventually Cedar, too. But those times had come and gone.

Spottedfrog closed her eyes.

She tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use, now. The roiling emotions in her belly threatened to make an appearance with yesterday's dinner, and Spottedfrog lurched to her paws, suddenly claustrophobic. The air in the den was now choking instead of warm and inviting, and as she stumbled out into the pale pre-morning glow, it was all she could do not to vomit. Several cats near the fresh-kill pile glanced curiously in her direction, but Spottedfrog ignored their eyes, standing there with her head hung between her paws until the trembling in her limbs ceased, and she could breathe normally again. What's happening to me? The SkyClan she-cat had never felt weak... not when she was a kit, or an apprentice, not when Beechfang had broken her heart on the way to the Moonstone. Even as she tread the territory outside the clans, each step holding new threats, new experiences... she'd always felt strong, determined, because that's what SkyClan, and Bloodstar had needed her to be... what she needed herself to be to prove her worth.

Pushing those thoughts from her pounding head, Spottedfrog abandoned any inclinations she'd had about having breakfast before leaving. Instead, she pushed herself to her paws and stumbled to where the other cats on the dawn patrol were beginning to gather... only to find that Beechfang was among them.

Great. Just what I need today.

Beechfang had already been waiting near the camp entrance as her patrolmates finally decided to get their behinds out of the warriors' den for the morning. Her tail twitched back and forth with impatience, and her already bad mood only soured further at the familiar black and white she-cat that approached.

With a frigid stare, Beechfang spun and stalked out of camp without a word to her half-sister. Spottedfrog could've stayed gone and the clan would've been better off for it. She wasn't loyal to them moons ago, and Beechfang sure didn't think she was loyal to the clan now that she'd finally made a reappearance. She found that while the dark forest cats were detestable, at least they'd mostly stopped jeering and making snide remarks. Even the liar Shrikestep left her alone for the most part outside of their interaction at the gathering. Too bad Spottedfrog wouldn't leave her be too.

Beechfang's quick retreat earned her a scathing glare from Spottedfrog, but she was still too nauseated to hit her with a cutting remark... besides, it was early, and she honestly wasn't in the mood. Almost reluctantly, she trailed after the party, the tip of her feathery tail barely off the ground. It didn't take long for them to make their way into the heart of the territory, and eventually, to her dismay, the other two cats paired off and went their own way. That left her, and Beechfang together.

She watched them leave, eyes narrowing as she turned to the ex medicine cat. "It seems fate is determined to push us to the point of no return," she said dryly as they walked. She kept her distance from the other she-cat, ears pricked and eyes flicking from bush to bush. Eventually they spooked up a squirrel, and as it darted across their path, she went after it. Her claws hooked it and flipped it up, where she pounced and sank her teeth into its neck. Spottedfrog turned back towards Beechfang. "What do you say we just settle this now? Two enter the forest, one returns. That seems to be in line with the way things are now. Wanton violence, murder without justification. Neither of us are strangers to that."

It was clear in her tone, and the casual body language, that she was probably joking, but as she turned to face her sister, Spottedfrog's eyes showed only grim resignation. The SkyClanner dropped the squirrel at her paws and breathed a half-snort of amusement. "What is it that makes us the way we are?" she asked. "A magnet for chaos and bloodshed. We don't share a mother, but..." her brows drew together, and she shook her head gently. "Nevermind. I suppose it doesn't matter."

The member 'JJ' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

"You can't help from starting foxdung, can you?" Beechfang growled in annoyance, "I'm here to hunt, not waste time and energy trying to talk or interact ith you." She added over her shoulder. Spottedfrog had always been a thorn in her side, one that Beechfang had been glad to be rid of when she'd left the clan. How unfortunate that she'd returned.

Determined to ignore her half-sister, Beechfang continued forward, searching for prey. The thought of turning and sinking her claws into Spottedfrog's sorry pelt and finishing what she'd tried to start was tempting, very tempting. Beechfang refrained, however. Fighting with Spottedfrog, no matter how cathartic it might've been, would only cause more trouble.

Catching sight of a blackbird, Beechfang crouched, stalking towards it. Leaping towards it, she felt a thrill of satisfaction as she felt the tiny bones of the bird's neck snap between her fangs. She turned, and her mood immediately soured as Spottedfrog spoke up again. "We aren't alike." She stated flatly, burying the bird at the base of a tree. Her tail lashed. "When things get tough for the clan, you run away. You picked a great time to come back, how long before you leave again?"

Beechfang attempted to catch a blackbird for -3 sp. Catch was successful.
107 / 110 sp

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

"It's a good thing I don't give a fox's tail what you want, Beechfang." Spottedfrog mused, watching as her half-sibling moved off to catch a blackbird. She waited until the pale she-cat returned, and then continued following, keeping her ears and eyes out for prey. But Beechfang's final comment made her stop in her tracks, brow furrowing and tail lashing once in... disbelief? Anger? Surprise? She didn't quite know.

With all the chaos happening the exact night of her return, and her subsequent self-isolation, it hadn't actually occurred to Spottedfrog that no one actually knew why or where she'd gone. Her ears plastered against her skull, and her feathery tail lashed once. "I didn't run away, Beechfang." Did she really care if Beechfang knew the truth? That was a mystery even to her, even as she stood here with the sister she'd hated since the night of her journey to the Moonstone, and who had hated her since the first breath she'd drawn in this forest.

"Pigeonsun..." the mention of the young tom's name made Spottedfrog's heart sink in grief, but she paused only a moment before continuing. "There was a dog... it spooked him while we were hunting, and he ran on to the ThunderPath. The monster came out of nowhere, it struck him, and the Twolegs in its belly took him."

She dropped her head between her shoulders, the memories flashing before her eyes. "I... let them take me, too." Deciding to skip all the in between - because she didn't think Beechfang cared, anyway - she sighed. "When he was better, we escaped, and we came back. As soon as we could." She leveled her gaze with her sister's. "I didn't run away. I don't run. And I would do anything for my clan."

She didn't care what she wanted? Well, at least Beechfang could say the feeling was mutual.

Beechfang's gaze remained hardened and skeptical as Spottedfrog denied that she had run from the clan. The mentioned of Pigeonsun made her waver slightly, and Beechfang let out a low huff, tail twitching slowly back and forth. Pigeonsun had been a good warrior, she'd liked him. "He was spooked by a dog? And ran? Why didn't you fight it off?" Dogs were filthy beasts, but not ones that Skyclanners ran from. Ever. Spottedfrog continued, and with each word Beechfang's mood soured. "Did you even try to get him off of that Thunderpath? Do you know how many cats are taken by twolegs that don't return?" She turned and spat. Spottedfrog was a fool. A cowardly fool. Dad would be so proud of you. Beechfang thought sarcastically. Not that it really mattered what dad would've thought. Bloodstar was dead.

Beechfaang stalked forward, tail lashing back and forth. She wasn't really in the mood to continue hunting now, but she would do so anyways. The call of a wren grabbed her attention and Beechfang turned towards it, forcing her lashing tail to still and her fur to lay flat as she stalked towards the plump bird. It was oblivious to the turmoil and drama, unlike Beechfang. Too bad the bird was about to be dinner for one of her clanmates.

Pouncing, her claws hooked into the wren's feathers, fangs snapping at a delicate throat before the bird could so much as squawk in alarm. She didn't bother to say anything more to Spottedfrog as she turned and buried the catch.