Of Fish and Foul [Closed]

It was a shame really. The water doing what it did, he didn't have an explanation for it, nor did anyone else it seemed. Things had gotten difficult to find clean water, to find prey, and what little prey they did find, they weren't as filling as the fish they were used to but at this point fish were off limits.

Owlcall hoped that the broken pools would have some clean water. If it did that meant clean water for the clan as well as clean water to attract prey. Perked ears counted on the steady steps of his partner behind him, keeping him grounded to the moment and from getting lost in his own head with worry. Hopefully they would find something, anything to give the clan a spark of hope.

It was hard not to feel some semblance of responsibility weighing her down as she followed behind Owlcall into their territory. Her ears seemed to be on a perpetual swivel, but after a time, it felt like she was simply hearing the sound of her own fur shifting much more than she was hearing the sound of anything else around her. Even though there was still the sound of some water flowing by, its state meant that she had resigned to blocking it out. The silence that otherwise happened around them was deafening, and the hollow sensation it brought to the warrior's stomach only seemed to want to grow.

With the familiar sight before her, memories arose. A time with her family when it was much warmer, when she had been much too hesitant to even dip her paws into the water for fear of it weighing her down and sinking her beneath. Such kittish fears no longer floated in her mind, but it was impossible not to recall them as she looked at what now seemed to promise broken dreams more than simply split puddles of water. Her claws gripped at the earth below in an emotion that she could not quite name, but she halted its sensations as soon as she could.

Noting how the pools seemed to be more dried up than usual, Mistwalker's head tilted towards the sky. She hoped it would rain soon, as the slight humidity in the air promised the slightest of chances for it to happen. They needed it for their water supplies, and the fact that they even had to fight to keep a water supply was an ill-omen enough. But there was nothing she could do about it, much as she wished she could. It was not as if that internal fog of her thoughts and being could be externalized, projected and turned into a never-ending source of water for her clanmates. If it was possible... she would have done it already.

"Split and hope to find prey?" She asked, her steps beginning to trail her just slightly apart from the tom. It hurt to have to use the word hope when it came to prey in leaf-fall. That was saved for leaf-bare... not for when the leaves had hardly finished turning new colors.

The brown tom nodded at the she-cat's words. "All we can do." He responded. His blue eyes looked over the territory before turning to the sky, hoping for just the same as Mistwalker did. They needed the rain, especially considering how low the water supply was. Maybe rain will make it all better, maybe there was still time to fix everything. "Keep an ear out, let me know if you are in danger." He told her before splitting off to find something.

After a moment of walking, the brown tom finally spotted something among the dried up pools. A small frog hopped along the edge of the water.. While it wasn't the best tasting thing in the land it was better than starving. It would have to do. The tom crouched down, creeping closer until it was time to pounce. And of course as soon as he leapt, the frog slipped from his paws and dove right in to a small hole, out of sight. Owlcall muttered a silent curse to himself, hoping, no praying Mistwalker had better luck than he did.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Nodding in affirmation at Owlcall's note, Mistwalker split away from the top and moved about the broken pools with ease. There was bliss in the fact that the water didn't look as tainted as that in the river, but it also meant she took extra care not to place a paw or even allow her tail to droop into the waters. Some strange, underlying, paranoid fear at the fact that she could be the one to poison the pools kept her from doing such a thing, and as silly as it was, she took the internal fear seriously.

While she heard the distant shuffle of her hunting partner attempting to go after a piece of prey, the molly herself had her attention fixated upon a similar creature. Its croaking had given its presence away, and it was only a heartbeat later that the warrior had managed to find where it had been. Her steps had rendered it to silence, but even in that event, she had already spotted the green-toned frog. Silent steps meant the lethal feline was able to get rather close to the prey, but just as she was about to strike, a distinct chittering had her freeze. It wasn't so much as a chittering as it was an angry squealing, the long, noodle-esque creature seeming to begin to berate her for being on its land.

Letting out a feral hiss, Mistwalker ensured her own yowl was loud enough of a warcry to alert Owlcall as she launched herself at the rodent. She had fought one before, and loathed their existence. Their tiny, gnashing teeth... she swiped for its face, feeling a primal satisfaction as her claws took hold, but let out another screech as those very tiny fangs dug into her leg. Her good leg, that hadn't been bitten by a weasel, until now. Oh, you little fish- The curses flew from her tongue in an angered growl. It was bad enough they were struggling with prey. But a bloody weasel? Really?


A weasel has appeared!
Mistwalker used Front Paw Strike, dealing 10 damage and using 7 stamina.
Weasel used gripping bite on Mistwalker, dealing 7 damage and using 15 stamina. Holding on for 2 turns! (1/2)

Mistwalker
53 / 60 HP [-7]
128 / 140 SP [-5, -7]

Weasel
10 / 20 HP [-10]
120 / 135 SP [-15]

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Owlcall's head whipped around blue eyes alert at the sound of Mistwalker's yowl. The brown tom was quick to go back to his partner in this hunting trip, quick to notice the weasel that had attached itself to one of her paws. He didn't know if he could pry it off of her paw but he was certainly going to try. Quickly the tom swiped at it trying to knock it free being careful to not hit the other warrior.

Owlcall used Front Paw Strike dealing 7 damage, - 7 SP.

Owlcall:
30/30 HP
68/80 SP

Mistwalker:
53 / 60 HP
128 / 140 SP

Weasel:
3 / 20 HP
120 / 135 SP

His swipe certainly was well-placed, the angry hiss coming from the creature being all that was necessary to tell that it was not a fan of the blow. It only sunk its teeth in deeper, however, and Mistwalker pulled her paw up further, ignoring how it only caused further pain to clamp her jaw around the weasel's throat. She bit down hard enough to take the creature's life, only feeling any semblance of relief once it was forced to let go.

Grunting through the white-hot pain that still seared through her limb, her jaw was clenched as she looked to her clanmate. "...I hate weasels."

Weasel used gripping bite on Mistwalker, dealing 7 damage and using 15 stamina. Holding on for 2 turns! (2/2)
Mistwalker used Snap, dealing 10 damage and using 7 stamina.
Weasel is dead!

Owlcall:
30/30 HP
68/80 SP

Mistwalker:
46 / 60 HP [-7]
121 / 140 SP [-7]

Weasel:
-7 / 20 HP [-10]
105 / 135 SP [-15]

Owlcall studied the spot where the weasel had bitten down on her paw, it didn't seem too bad, but the placement concerned him. "I don't blame you." The brown tom stated. "Despite their size, they do some nasty damage." The tom sat down, blue eyes turning to the dead weasel. At least they had something, but it wasn't much at all. "Do you think you can continue? Or should we head back and get your wound looked at?"

Taking the time to look at her paw as the creature was finally no longer breathing to cause her further damage, a grimace flashed on her face for long enough to give the answer. "They do not heal well if left alone... One already messed up my other paw." Her tail flicked with the agitation of that reality. She hated holding cats back. "I am unable to hunt further, but I can observe if you wish to try and catch more prey?" After all, they needed to be able to bring something else back. "I can assist if another predator appears." Forever too stubborn to fully call it quits. That was who she was.

Owlcall shook his head, the longer they sat out here, the more of a chance for her injury to get infected. "Let's head back, I can venture out again once I know you are safe, and being treated." He knew prey was tough to find at the moment, but he would work himself to the bone before sitting in camp with nothing. The brown tom turned back to the camp, offering the other warrior his side. "Come on, I will assist you on the way back."