Desperate Times, Desperate Measures [Close]

To be honest, Acornstem wasn't expecting to be on patrols already. She had come to enjoy focusing on just camp matters as she recovered from the grief of losing Cedarstalk but with the harsh season upon them... It was proving harder to not have a reason to go out. They needed all paws they could searching for the few traces of prey that remained but she could only ask so much of her Clanmates so it was up to her to pick up the slack. Leading a patrol, she glanced back at her companions. Curlyfluff was always reassuring face to have along with a patrol and it was decided to bring young Bluepaw. With everything happening, it was harder to find time for mentors to train their apprentices so she had offered to take Bluepaw off of Goldenfern's paws for a hunting patrol.

There was uncertainties on if this patrol would be a success - but truth be told, as long as they could bring back one thing she would be content.

Coming to a stop a good number of fox-lengths away from the Stony Hollow herself, she spared a glance at her two hunting companions. "Remember, keep your eyes and ears out for any prey - but don't be foolish. Stay well away from the Stony Hollow and call out if you run into trouble. We can ill afford injuries at a time like this when we need all paws for trying to keep something on the fresh-kill pile..." She sighed as she spared a glance around, taking a few steps away as she perked her ears - straining for any traces of...Something. Anything!

Acornstem is attempting to locate a squirrel and failed, costing 5 stamina and summoning a predator.

Slowly Acornstem ventured further - careful to steer clear of the Stony Hollow. The silence in the air was almost deafening in its own way - the familiar chirping of birds or squirrels rustling the undergrowth was...Gone. But in the silence, it allowed her to pick up a sound she would have otherwise missed - the faint swaying of a branch above her as its weight changed. Her eyes flickered up, hoping for a bird but her eyes widen at the sight of talons growing closer. A yelp escaped her as she dodged to the side, avoiding the owl straight on but yet its talons managed to slice down her shoulder. She stumbled with a hiss of pain, staring in surprise at the bold creature.

The owl flared its wings as its clacked its beak - hissing as it bent its head. A quick scan of it caused Acornstem's face to darken - it seemed they weren't the only thing to miss the prey that used to run so freely in the forest. The owl was thin - not quite yet just skin and bones but it was clear that it was hunger that was driving it to take on a cat. Acornstem was also pretty small for a full-grown warrior - thought nothing compared to Mottlestar. If the predators were going to be more bold... She would have to stress to the leader not to leave the camp on her own lest an hawk or owl mistook her for an apprentice. She shook her head - no, she had to focus on the situation at paw. "Owl!" she called out thought she had expected that both Bluepaw and Curlyfluff had noticed her face-off by now.

Her tail lashed but her eyes narrowed in thought. In truth...In desperate times, an owl wasn't that much different from a robin other than its size, was it...? "We're killing it - don't let it escape!" she ordered, thought there was a small wince. She wasn't proud that it was coming to this already but it was better than nothing. She would have to speak with Mottlestar about how far they were willing to go - what they were willing to risk hunting...  But for now, an owl would be a good place to start as she leapt forward. The owl tried to strike her with a wing as she approached but she simply lurched forward and bit down on the wing before she reared backwards to pull the owl towards her - and under her before she quickly slammed down with her entire weight onto the bird of prey before jumping away to give room for Curlyfluff and Bluepaw to step in.

Wild owl used Talon Strike on Acornstem, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 stamina.
Acornstem used Snap, followed by Thunderous Stomp on the wild owl, dealing 13 damage (10 + 3) and costing 17 (7 + 10) stamina. Wild owl is stunned for 1 turn.

Acornstem:
48/55 HP (-7)
88/110 SP (-22)

Wild Owl: (Stunned)
17/30 HP (-13)
80/90 SP (-10)
Notes: One, harsh season is in effect so hunting costs 5 stamina and this topic takes place in the Stony Hollow, giving us all a +2 to our hunting attempts. However, Acornstem is suffering from disadvantage due to hunger thus bringing it down for a +1 for her.[/b]

The member 'Honey Badger' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Padding just behind Acornstem and next to Bluepaw, the curly-coated tom nodded at the deputy's words about being mindful of their surroundings as well as bringing back any possible prey. He didn't usually get much time to spend with the deputy and while times weren't exactly "fun," he was glad to be able to support the clan whilst strengthening his relationships, seeing as though they all lived together and were practically one giant family.

Having thought that he caught the scent of some sort of rodent nearby, he veered away from the others and began to follow the trail until the cry of their deputy put him into emergency-mode. Rushing over to the molly, he stood tall and listened to her words whilst his heart raced. He'd never eaten an owl much less any bird of prey before. Of course, he assumed it would taste just like any bird, but knew that it wasn't their first choice of prey and hoped that the these harsh times didn't last too long, for his clan's sake.

"Careful Bluepaw!" he called out before jumping forward and smacking the bird with fluffy paws full of unsheathed claws. The last thing he wanted today was for an apprentice to be snatched up, never to be see again. Leaping back after his swipes at the bird, he let out a huff and whipped his head around to Acornstem. "You alright?" the tom asked, praying that the owl hadn't managed to lay its talons on her pelt.


Curlyfluff used Front Paw Strike, causing -10 HP and costing -7 SP.

Curlyfluff:
HP: 60/60
SP: 133/140

Owl:
HP: 10/30
SP: 80/90

Bluepaw was eager to get to try more hunting!  His first lesson on hunting he had missed all the prey and had only managed to catch a leaf.  Goldenfern had been very patient with him and he felt bad that he had not caught anything.  Maybe today he would get his chance to take something real home and he would give his first catch of fresh kill to Goldenfern just as he promised he would.


As they left camp his mind recited through all the pointers his mentor had given to him.  He was gonna do his very best to do just that.


All his focus on how he was gonna hunt and being very new relativly speaking to this compared to his much more knowing clanmates he was the last one to have even noticed the owl coming at his clanmate.

IT all happened SO fast one second he was ready to go and try and improve his hunting and both the deputy and warrior were by his side and the next second they were fighting back some big owl!!

His eyes went wide with terror.

He had been really bad with his spar practice against goldenfern too... stars?? could he do anything right he wondered?


He stood there frozen staring unable to move for a while his mouth feeling dry as ever.

But the words his mentor spoke came back to him.:

""Bluepaw, what if... you were out on patrol, with Greenpaw, and a two dogs rushed at you. What would you do if they attacked Greenpaw? If they- if- if Greenpaw died, would you be able to live with yourself? Because such things can happen, Bluepaw, and they have,  That's why I have to teach you how to fight, because losing someone you love can be the most painful things in the world. And that's why you can't give up yet. Do you understand me, Bluepaw?" (-Goldenfern by Tiny)


Her words rang clear in his ears now, this was exactly what she had been speaking of.  He did his best to push down his fear but he was still terrified fur all puffed out sticking up all over


He forced himself to move forward, Goldenfern was right: he wouldnt be able to live with himself if one of his patrol mates got hurt from this!

He wanted to end this owl quickly so that this could just be all over he squeezed his eyes shut and did his best to dive at an angle to attack the birds weakest spot.

Bluepaw attempts belly rake rolling dice

An awful flashback happened, this is what went wrong in the practice spar he had with his mentor!! he had again miscalculated the timing and found himself right in the way of the owls talons.


With a terrifyied yelp as the talons clawed him up he squirmed trying to get away!

He could feel blood running down his fresh wounds and he whimpered in a lot of pain.  He was sensative and not at all used to any of this.  The only spar he had was not this painful and he had no real battle experience from this.

He breathed heavily scampering away as he got loose from the owls grasp.  "Im gonna die!!" the apprentice feared silently


Scampering backwards tripping over his own paws he retreated until he was shivering in fear cowering behind Acornstem and Curleyfluff

attack failed!  Owl countered for -5 dmg to bluepaw


Bluepaw:
15 / 20 hp (-5)
40 / 60 sp (-20)

Owl:
HP: 10/30
SP: 80/90

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

Acornstem's ears twitched as Curlyfluff raced to her aid - giving him a brief look as he questioned if she was alright but it was hardly time to reply in the thick of things. Her eyes widen however as Bluepaw tried to bravely lend aid only to be welcomed by the owl's talons. She leapt forward as Bluepaw managed to slide free, taking shelter behind the warriors but she shoved the owl to the ground in an effort to keep it well away from the apprentice.

The owl hissed, wings flaring as it slashed out with its talons - catching Acornstem on the cheek with a sharp claw. With an angry grunt in return she reared up - only a brief moment and not enough for it to scramble away - and brought down both of her paws straight onto the owl's head - ending the struggle with a sickening crack as she managed to break its neck.

Wild Owl used Talon Strike on Acornstem, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 stamina.
Acornstem used Upright Lock on the Wild Owl, dealing 12 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Acornstem:
41/55 HP (-7)
78/110 (-10)

Wild Owl:
0/30 HP (-12)
70/90 SP (-10)

She drew away, panting heavily. "...To answer your question, Curlyfluff - I am fine," she meowed, but it was followed by a wince as recent injuries. "A few cuts but...Nothing too deep - we can't afford to turn back already." Her swung around to look at Bluepaw thought, expression dropping at the sight of the blood staining his pelt. "I'm sorry, Bluepaw - I didn't expect..." she let out a heavy sigh. "You were very brave, trying to help like that." She glanced over at Curlyfluff with a soft frown. "Can you keep an eye on the owl? While normally I wouldn't think of it... Its still a bird at the end of the day - a big one at that. We can hardly turn up our nose to it."

There was a long pause before she sighed, turning to scan the area around them. "I'm...Going to see if I can find anything. Bluepaw, stay close to Curlyfluff. I'll be back in a heartbeat," she meowed - starting to circle around the Stony Hollow. She wasn't honestly expecting to find anything - but a faint sound caught her ear. She perked up, being on high alert in case it was another predator but sniffing around led her to finally spot a mouse. Her eyes widen, quickly dropping into a hunting crouch as she stalked forward...And without a sound, made her leap.

A few short while later, she was padding back to the ground with a look of relief in her eyes as the mouse hung limply from her jaws. It wasn't much - a mouse couldn't feed much but it was something. If anything, enough to settle her stomach while leaving the bigger prey for the ever-growing apprentices. "Well, at least we can say that this wasn't a complete failure," she noted with a sigh as she dropped the mouse next to the owl and looked at the other two with a small smile.

Acornstem attempted to locate a mouse and succeeded, costing 5 stamina.

Acornstem:
41/55 HP
73/110 SP (-5)

The member 'Honey Badger' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1