horizons on fire [c]

A few days had passed since SkyClan's big move to the new camp, and despite the considerable upgrade in locations, the move had done little to improve Sunfire's restlessness. There were walls around the clan, there was enough prey to go around - barely, with Leafbare's entrance, but more than they'd seen in moons - and Smokepetal seemed to have at least somewhat figured out how to treat the symptoms of this illness... but Falconmoon and Graywind were both still very sick, in the days following the move, even Sunfire had to admit that he was starting to feel worse. Leaving to find Ploverpaw had been his priority, and still was... but the scattered snowfall had covered any tracks the clans had made coming here, and if he left now, Sunfire wasn't sure he'd be able to find his way back, especially in his condition. The exhaustive efforts to see SkyClan relocated had taken their toll. He was spent.

But that didn't stop him from trudging through the snow in the early hours of this morning, Rosepaw at his side. A fresh coat of white covered the ground, and sparse flakes still drifted slowly down around the two cats as they made their way along the treeline, listening for any signs of prey - or foe. Sunfire glanced sideways at the calico she-cat. "You're more familiar with this territory than I am. Where are the best hunting spots?" By how dark the sky was, it looked like it wasn't going to stop snowing any time soon... and that meant prey was going to start settling down for the long haul, to hibernate out the storm. SkyClan was no longer on the brink of starvation but nor could they afford to miss any meals. They had to find prey before there was no prey to find.

Rosepaw shivered slightly as she followed Sunfire through the snow. The cold of leafbare was fast approaching, much to the clan's dismay. Rosepaw could see the droop in Sunfire's tail, and his pelt seemer duller than it had when she'd first run into him several days ago. It was clear that he'd been expending too much energy during the big move, but she bit her tongue. Sunfire wouldn't appreciate her pointing this out, nor was he likely to listen to reason. Best to simply follow his lead and bring back as much prey as possible for Skyclan.

At Sunfire's question, her ears perked up. The lonely days she had spent among these trees were finally paying off. "We have a couple options," Rosepaw meowed eagerly. "There's a patch of tall trees where squirrels like to forage not far away, though leafbare might have already scared them into hiding. If you don't want to risk it, there's a thicket where birds like to hide a bit further off. It's up to you." She tipped her head towards her mentor.

The pair continued onward, and Sunfire nodded as Rosepaw listed the options. Options. What a beautiful thing to have, after being on the brink of starvation for what felt like moons. The warrior took a moment to consider, letting companionable silence fall between them. "Birds, I think," he said after a while, picturing a few fat quails settling down to weather the storm. "I think the clan would like that."

There was something intrinsically peaceful about the snow-covered forest, and in spite of the lethargy that plagued him, Sunfire was in a pretty good mood. It wasn't until Rosepaw had returned that he realized how deeply her disappearance had affected him - she was his first apprentice, and they'd become good friends. With Juniperheart being so deathly sick, and then disappearing as well shortly after her recovery, his grief for his missing apprentice had taken a backburner to fresher hurt.

But she was back now, and she'd come in clutch exactly when the clan needed her. Sunfire held back a bit, letting the she-cat steer them in the direction of the thicket she mentioned, and wondering where he'd have hunted if he didn't have her to show the way. Probably somewhere similar, he reasoned - he had taught her how to hunt, after all.

"I'm proud of you," Sunfire said suddenly. He could see the thicket now, and it would be time to break off and hunt very shortly, but he wanted to tell her, anyway. "I'm not happy you've been gone," he continued. "But I'm proud of you, for surviving. And for being there when SkyClan needed you." His tone wasn't overly emotional - it rarely was, really - but if she met his gaze she'd be able to tell he meant it, because he did.

The moment gone fleetingly, Sunfire tipped his head towards the thicket. "Why don't you show me what you've learned, in my absence."

"Birds it is," Rosepaw purred. She pictured the pair of them trotting triumphantly into camp, loaded with enough prey to feed their clanmates. She shook her head. Focus, birdbrain.
At Sunfire's praise, Rosepaw felt a warmth burn briefly in her chest. It made the pain of the last several moons worth it. She said nothing, but lightly rested her tail on her mentor's back for a moment.

With the tender moment over, Rosepaw carefully padded towards the thicket. The light blanket of snow would cause sound to carry further, which would make prey easier to find, but would also make stealth of paramount importance. Rosepaw sniffed the air, ears tilted forward and form low to the ground. A few seconds passed, and for a terrible moment she thought she'd brought Sunfire to the wrong place. Then, a light chirping noise floated lightly from the underbrush. She risked a glance behind her, looking towards her mentor uncertainly. Would he be watching the entire time?

Shaking the fresh coat of powder snow off his coat, Sunfire quickened his pace, following Rosepaw until the thicket came into view just ahead. They slowed, creeping forward paw by paw, until the birds broke their cover with a series of quick chirps. The warrior froze, ears twisting forward to triangulate the noise. It seemed like several birds, probably looking for seeds in the dense thicket. Rosepaw hesitated, looking over her shoulder at him for reassurance, and Sunfire swept his gaze to her, giving a single nod of approval.

Seeing Sunfire's nod of approval, Rosepaw refocused on the source of the noises in the thicket. She crept closer still, until she could see the soft brown feathers of a quail. The wind was thankfully in her favour, and Rosepaw lowered herself to the ground, carefully lining up her leap.

The apprentice launched herself with determination at the quail, claws outstretched, but her back paws slipped slightly in the snow. Her attack falling short, she watched with dismay as her quarry let out a squawk of alarm and flew into the trees. After all those moons of hunting, you fool. Rosepaw hissed irritably, ears burning with shame.

Refusing to look back and see the disappointment on Sunfire's face, Rosepaw desperately scanned the thicket. To her delight, she saw another brown form huddled in the thicket. It seemed to be trapped between patches of thick underbrush, with the only path to freedom leading straight towards Rosepaw. She watched as the bird panicked and made a desparate escape attempt, wings flapping frantically into the air above her. The she-cat bunched her legs and with a loud yowl, launched herself straigh upwards with as much force as she could muster. Claws met feathers, and Rosepaw took the quail down to the ground, sinking her teeth into it's neck. She held it there until it's panicked squawking ceased entirely. Thank Starclan for that. After taking a moment to savour her victory, Rosepaw turned and carried the bird to Sunfire, chest burning with pride.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

rolling hunting dice before i write my post

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

He didn't linger too long on watching Rosepaw hunt... he knew she could hunt, because he'd been the one to teach her. Instead, he began moving sideways in a half-circle, looking for an opportune position to secure a kill once the she-cat spooked the flock. He didn't know how many there were, and the thick brush made it impossible to count, but when he was in position, Sunfire crouched down and waited, sharp eyes fixed on the sky just above Rosepaw's head.

Soon enough, she made her move, and he watched as the first bird she leaped for slipped through her claws. Sunfire tracked its panicked, jerky movements and bolted in a line to intercept the bird, crouching and springing upwards with outstretched claws... but he'd been just a second too slow, and swiped through empty air, rolling and twisting in his descent to land on all fours. He remained staring after his escaped prey with narrowed eyes, tail swishing crossly, until Rosepaw trotted to his side with a second, not so lucky bird hanging from her jaws.

Turning to face her, he nodded. "Well done, Rosepaw. Let's stash that and try again."

Rosepaw purred lightly, then turned to find a spot to stash her kill. She selected a decent tree, leaping into it's branches, and set the quail down.
After rejoining her mentor, she mewed, "Right, where next? The quails probably won't be returning here anytime soon."