Shield Yourself [Open Hunting]

Tallshadow’s large ears turned to catch Tigerdance’s call. The press of the traveling cats had started to feel overwhelming, hunting seemed a productive way to escape the crowd for a bit. He crossed the distance to the deputy in a few long loping strides, golden fur ruffled up against the cold. He dipped his head respectfully to the tom, looking over his shoulder for a moment at the unfamiliar terrain stretching out in every direction. It was strange to be so clueless to the land, and the young warrior felt a little out of touch with the world. A hunt would give him a chance to explore a bit as well, maybe ease the sting of uncertainty that nagged at him like an unhealed wound.  “I’ll join you, hope you don’t mind a familiar face.” Tallshadow gave the deputy what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He didn’t envy the leadership in a time like this, and he was thankful they had all done their best to keep WindClan functional despite the long moons of constant unrest.

Tallshadow glanced down at his apprentice, a little surprised that she had joined them. The young molly seemed a bit..absent sometimes. It concerned him a bit. Maybe he should ask Lavendercloud if Berrypaw had always been this way. He brushed his long tail comfortingly over the cream she-cat’s shoulders.  “Berrypaw, I'm glad you decided to join us.” He purred, trying to smother the worry rolling around under his ribs. Her blank smile was always a little unsettling, even if he was getting used to it. It was different from Pantherpaw’s normally stoic and unchanging expression.Iit was like the young apprentice wasn’t fully there most of the time.  “A hunting patrol will be a good opportunity to learn, and the clan always needs more freshkill. You can practice the hunting crouch you’ve been working on.”  A full patrol would be good for Berrypaw as well, lots of cats to learn from, and lots of cats to look out for her.

The tall tom greeted Finchspeckle with a dip of his head. He hadn’t interacted much with her, but he did respect Nectarflower a good deal. A familiar flash of thick gold fur had the young warrior grounding his stance purely on instinct. She had body-slammed him so many times it was an unconscious reaction. He purred softly, shoving Goldenpaw back just as hard. He shook his head, bemused at her energy. He wouldn’t trade it for the world, even if the golden molly was downright mouse-brained sometimes. “Rabbits would be nice.” He sighed, feeling a pang of homesickness. One day they would return to their home lands, and hopefully they would be teeming with rabbits. Tallshadow gave Goldenpaw an affectionate rub as he passed.  ”Happy hunting, and try not to do anything hare-brained this time.”

He ducked away from the anticipated swipe of her paws with a chuckle and focused his attention on his apprentice.  “C’mon Berrypaw, keep up, we don’t want Goldenpaw to eat all the rabbits before we can catch some.” He moved off in a different direction from the deputy, hoping to find something for Berrypaw to catch. He was mindful to shorten his strides so the much shorter she-cat could keep up. The warrior crouched down in a thick clump of grass, beckoning with his long tail for Berrypaw to do the same.  “There is prey here, can you smell it? That’s rabbit scent.” The golden tom eased his way carefully towards the small shape of the rabbit foraging in the grass. The rabbit poked it's head up and swung it's beady gaze around to stare right at him. The rabbit darted off into the unfarmilar terrian, vanishing from sight in a few heartbeats. He retreated back to Berrypaw. Your turn, remember to stay light on your feet, and hope you have better luck than me."