petals on the wind (c)

Rose paused at the top of the rise, pelt speckled with snow.

This silent, still, frozen world was familiar and soothing, a place she knew how to hunt in, and hunt well, but somecat had beat her to it. Tracks marred the snow, most certainly those of another feline, avoiding the deep drifts that would come up to a cat’s chest. Scent lingered around the tracks, faintly familiar and fresh: another cat from the group she’d hesitantly aligned herself with, the molly called Alethea. They’d scarcely interacted, but surely she would welcome the assistance. After all, hunting in this weather was Rose’s speciality.

Hunting wasn't her specialty, something that the molly was sure of by now. An entire morning of hunting for anything she could sink her teeth into had turned up nothing but empty paws, any attempt at catching something ended with her prey losing her in the vast snowfield. Even if it was dazzlingly beautiful Alethea caught herself thinking of the snow as annoying. Never had she lost so much prey in one day and had no herbs to show for her efforts. She could feel it, hear it, the roaring in her stomach and the simple uncomfortable pain that followed. Collapsing into the snow Alethea let herself sink into the coolness of it, letting it ease her mind away from the hunger. She would try again in a little bit, but for now she just wanted to rest.

Movement, not far away; the sound of snow being lightly crushed. Rose flicked an ear, deliberating, but as she peered down the rise, trying to pinpoint where exactly the other cat was (sound carried oddly, on snow, and the thickets obscured her view), out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of red.

There. A cardinal, sat in a thicket, preening itself calmly. She ought to be able to reach it from the ground in one leap, as long as the other cat didn’t make too much noise. Hopefully. Rose slunk closer, large paws keeping her on top of the snowdrifts, mottled silver-and-white coat blending into the ice. Move for ten seconds, freeze for twenty. She had all the time in the world, she reminded herself, even if it really wasn’t quite true: if the other cat called out or made any noise, the bird would flee.

The bird glanced up sharply, and Rose made her decision.

Ploughing through the snow, sending white flying in her wake, she leapt for it, catching a mouth full of tail feathers and dragging the cardinal back down even as it escaped her jaws. Another leap, claws outstretched, and she had it firmly in her grasp, the metallic taste of life-blood filling her mouth as it fell still. Good. That would fill someone’s stomach… hopefully her own, but there was someone else here. She’d forgotten.

Rose dropped the cardinal back onto the snow, staining the white crimson. “Hello? A- Alethea?”

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

The sound of fluttering wings filled the forest, offering Alethea a little bit of natural music as she sunk deeper into the snow. This felt incredibly good, maybe if she could get Forest to help her submerge herself she could- Oh? A somewhat familiar voice pierced the silence. It wasn't a voice that she knew well, but it was one that she had associated with one of the newer members of Forest's crew. She had a name, and a pretty one too. "Rose?" The molly called from her pit. "Is that you?"

Poking her head from the snow Alethea surveyed the area around her, eyes snapping to the patch of red that had stained the snow, and painted the molly more clearly. Great Stag, if it wasn't for that Alethea wasn't sure she'd have been able to spot Rose! Disappointment flickered on Alethea's face only for a moment, her gaze being drawn to the cardinal that now sat at Rose's paws. Was she upset that a poor creature of the forest had died, or was she upset that the molly had caught something so easily? Alethea was almost certain that Rose had still been in their camp site by the time she had left in search of her own prey, yet the younger molly had already found and caught something. Rising from the snow Alethea shook the white dust from her pelt, trying her best to look pristine and presentable to her crewmate.

Try as she might to look presentable, Alethea couldn't pull her eyes away from the prey that sat in the snow, nor could she control the way her mouth began watering. "It seems you've caught yourself something, do you... Have any tips?" It was hard to speak over a flooded mouth, but Alethea thought she had managed to do so with grace. At the very least she hadn't tried stealing the bird from Rose as she might have done when she was younger. Another growl sounded, this one louder than the first. "I-I'm searching for something myself, but I haven't had any luck yet!" The molly added hastily, speaking loud enough to cover the sound of her angry stomach. Crewmate or not she didn't want Rose knowing that she was in danger of starving herself because she couldn't catch a simple piece of prey.

The other she-cat melted out of the bushes, as if she’d been laying in wait for something. Involuntarily, instinctively, Rose took a half-step back, eyes darting this way and that. She knew (or she hoped) Alethea was a friend, but she’d seen first-paw how easily friendships could crumble in the face of hunger. Hunger ruled all, sweeping aside such noble notions as devotion or love, reducing minds to animal instinct, but it hadn’t gotten that bad. It wouldn’t get that bad, if she had anything to say about it, for it was always better to give before it was demanded.

She blinked.

“Tips?” Rose echoed, tail-tip flicking. “I… suppose? I grew up, um, in the snow, so I’m more used to that than most. You can, um, have the cardinal if you’d like. I’ve already eaten today.”

A lie, that, but a lie for a good cause; the only acceptable kind. Tips? That would be walking a very fine line indeed. One could never suppose where the other’s hunting skill lay currently, and yet it was so easy to irritate another cat by supposing they didn’t know the invaluable basics. No; Rose would keep her maw shut unless more was required of her. She was not nearly as integral to the crew as Alethea was, and in a dispute, doubtlessly her word would mean naught if set against the older molly.

The molly's eyes grew wide at Rose's generous offer. "Are you sure?" Alethea didn't give the other she-cat a chance to respond, immediately descending upon the cardinal and tearing into it with ferocity. This felt like stealing, and to an certain extent it was, but she really didn't care at this moment. By the time the molly had finished licking the leftovers from her maw she had left only a few feathers surrounding a patch of red in the snow. Hunger sated for the moment Alethea let out a contented sigh. "Thanks for the meal, Rose. I don't know how much longer I could have gone without eating something." She would have to find a way to repay the molly's kindness. Even if they were part of the same crew the gesture was appreciated more than Rose would know.

Silvery eyes studied the tabby in front of her, ears flicking every few seconds as her mind worked. Kind, as far as she knew Rose kept mostly to herself, but she also knew how to handle herself. The cats Forest attracted were always interesting to Alethea, and Rose was no exception to that. "If you wouldn't mind, could I bother you to keep me company for a bit? I still have to catch something for Forest, and I wouldn't mind getting to know you a little better. We're gonna be living together for the foreseeable future after all." While she was at it Alethea would have to find something to replace what she had taken from Rose.

“Of course,” Rose began, but the other molly had already started scarfing it down. Oh. Wow. She most certainly had been hungry, hadn’t she? “I- you’re welcome? We, um, we have to look out for each other, correct?”

It was almost a question, something almost hesitant, because Rose still wasn’t quite sure how they worked. How this worked. Were they a close-knit group as her- as her old colony had been, or something more loose, an alliance of necessity? “Oh- of course. Have you any ideas?”

Alethea noted the uncertainty in the molly's tone, but that was to be expected. Most of the cats that joined were unsure of their place in Forest's crew, but soon enough Rose would learn how they operated. Well, she could always be like the others that had decided to leave, but Alethea hoped that wouldn't happen. There had always been a shortage of she-cats in the crew. Having Rose around would do wonders with keeping her from feeling so out of place.

"My ideas start and end with catching whatever I can get my paws on." Padding off in search of lovely scents the large molly periodically glanced back at her companion. Something told her Rose would let herself fall behind if not checked in on. "Oh, you meant... Sorry sorry. What do you-" Alethea's attention was snapped away by the skittering paws kicking up snow. Like a bolt of lightning Alethea shot for a squirrel that had not begun its ascent from the base of a tree. A bushy tail disappeared above her, but that didn't stop the molly from slamming head-first into the tree. A sharp hiss escaped her, but before she could recover from the impact a narrow head poked around the back of the tree.

A fox appeared!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10