hunting [s]

Everything had settled down- at least, as much as it ever did, and Dawnfeather was keen to be out and about. It was early morning, as it ever was when she was able to choose the time to patrol, and she was pirouetting among the trees- on the ground, as of now, sizing up each tree and looking over it, checking to see if it was safe. The golden she-cat had one of the best pairs of eyes in SkyClan when it came to the trees, and she was keen to provide this service to the Clan. Everytime she saw a limb hanging loose, or a young sapling about to topple, she carefully clawed at the wood until it broke. The larger trees were more of a problem- but most of the ones that were going to fall had already done so. There were just a few, old, old and decrepit ones that still swayed ominously in the wind, but she marked their bark near the base with her claws and hoped whoever came after her would get her message.

She was testing out the springy limbs of a young willow, not too far from the river, when she scented it. Fox. It was unmistakable- musty, without the unbearable stench of a badger- dangerous, but not in the all-encompassing way the scent of a dog put her on alert. Silently, carefully, with a gracefulness of an ethereal ghost, she glided along the branches, feeling her claws grip the rough wood. It was comforting, to pick her way amongst the twigs. No tree-flying, not until she had thoroughly tested each tree in the territory. For now, hers was the slower, more careful climbing of many of her Clanmates.

The chit-chatter of a blackbird caught her attention and she slunk towards it, eyes narrowed. A leap- a spring- up in the air and then down again, sharp claws pinning it by its wing to the branch. Dawnfeather quickly ended its suffering with a sharp bite to the neck and then continued slowly on in the trees, keeping a look-out for the fox she’d scented.

Dawnfeather attempted to catch a blackbird, attempt was successful due to Moonlit Creek’s bonus to hunting rolls.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Her slow, cautious pace led her at last to the springy, drooping beams of a willow, leaning over the creek. It was running high, today, and she could barely make out her reflection in the hurrying waters. It seemed to chatter to her, like the blackbird she held in her mouth had, and with an amused purr Dawnfeather carefully stashed the bird away in a hollow, for later.

Willows were hard to traverse, and these that hung over the creek were no exception. Dawnfeather neither scented nor saw the fox she’d smelt earlier, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t lurking just downwind, and so she stayed in the trees. They were safer, even when weakened by an earthquake; she knew how to handle herself in the trees.

The glint of shining feathers caught her attention, and Dawnfeather slunk forwards, fixated on the proud male starling that sung out to the world. She carefully, slowly, gracefully pulled herself upwards and forwards, until she was just above the starling, who still hadn’t noticed her.

It would never know what ended its life so quickly and almost painlessly. Dawnfeather picked up the slain bird in her jaws and headed back to the tree hollow to stash it away. Starlings… weren’t they Beechaunt’s favorite? She made a mental note to pluck a few feathers and leave them by the border. Her aunt would know who left them.


Dawnfeather successfully caught a starling.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Finally, when she’d seen neither hide nor hair of the beast she’d scented earlier, Dawnfeather leapt down to the ground, shaking out her pelt with a half-amused purr. She’d caught enough for the morning. The creek called to her, with the melodic, soothing sound of water rushing over stones, and she wound through the rushes and drooping willow branches to its edge. It was running high, higher than she’d ever seen it. A single paw gently splashed the surface of the water.

Holly would’ve liked this, the light reflecting off the water and splashing their coats with droplets of sunlight. Muddy would’ve liked the softness of the reeds that brushed against her back, and the herbs that she could faintly see on the other bank. Prima would’ve liked the soothing sound of the creek- but more than anything she would’ve loved spending time with her family. Wasp- Wasp might’ve complained a bit, at first, but it would be all in good fun. Smokema and Beechaunt would’ve liked, she thought, to just sit in silence. Stag- who knew what sort of cat Stag would’ve grown into? A wonderful one, Dawnfeather thought.

A single tear dropped onto the surface of the creek; yet it kept rushing on, unperturbed.

Dawnfeather sat alone at the water’s edge, ignorant to the faint ripples that told of fish below the surface, starting blankly into the waters. With her sight fogged by tears, she could almost, almost see the faint shapes of her kin and friends next to her… a sign. They- they would watch over her, if they were truly gone, or return when they could, if they weren’t.

She just had to hope on.

rolling to catch a fish lol, unsuccessful

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7