Hunted [SITEWIDE]

Not a moment to breathe. Perchstar had nearly fully recovered from illness--breathing no longer came with painful tightness in her chest, and her mind was usually as clear as it could be. But no amount of wellness would offer clarity when she awoke in the middle of the night to a terrifyingly loud cacophony. Before she even regained logic from her abated sleep, her hackles raised near-instinctively. She didn't know what that sound was, but it was evident that it didn't mean well. Howls that low and bays that high certainly did not belong to any cat, and they sounded far too frightening to come from any normal dogs. Visions of gleaming fangs and rabid drool were conjured in her head. There was no guarantee of safety. There was no time to waste.

"RiverClan--!" Her voice, still hoarse from the rude awakening, failed to carry properly. She cleared her throat and tried again. This time, the commanding leader tone she'd cultivated over nearly two years emerged, spreading over not only RiverClan camp, but likely half of the lake. "Get out of here! Grab herbs, grab kits, run as fast as you can! Head down from where we came! I will follow behind and find any stragglers!"

Perchstar is calling for RiverClan to run.

When Dovepaw heard the loud noises, he thought it was just another part of his dream. Claws already unsheathed. But the call of Perchstar told him that this was real, and actually happening. He blinked hard and tried to gather his mind. He needed to find his siblings, and fast. Murkyriver too. Mussed nest forgotten, he scrambled out into the center of their camp, not caring about the clumps of moss left behind. "Pidge! Swanpaw! Ravenpaw, Owlcall!" He glanced around. Surely they'd awoken? In the darkness and disorienting hour of the night, it was hard to tell. "Murkyriver! Come on, we've gotta get out of here!"

Dovepaw is looking for his siblings and preparing to flee.

What was once pleasant dreams were shattered by howling and the terrified cries of their Clanmates, causing Duckpaw to jerk awake with a gasp - before their whole body froze. No - no, no, no! Panic washed over them as their whole body refused to move, eyes darting back and forth as shadows seemed to seep from the corners of the den - taking the form of what he could only imagine the source of the howling was. Not now - why now?!? Their chest felt heavy - they couldn't breathe despite their body trying to hyperventilate as the terror and panic crashed through them like a torrent. The shadowy beasts circled them, keeping a distance even as their Clanmates started to get up and flee.

This wasn't - they couldn't... Deep down, Duckpaw knew this was normal in a sense - it was an situation they had been facing for moons but had not the words to describe it to their Clanmates. Their eyes screwed shut as they laid there - trying to close out their hallucinations until they could regain control.

Duckpaw is awake, but is suffering from sleep paralysis! But will flee as soon as it passes.

Mottlestar's head whipped up as she was pulled out of what felt like a deep slumber. No amount of hallucinations or nightmares could produce a sound such as the one that had pulled her from her sleep, every inch of fur along her spine raising in the instinctive message of wrong. It only took one sweep around the camp to spot that glow amidst the trees before adrenaline surged through the leader, quickly sobering her up. Loudly, the tortoiseshell yowled throughout camp, her voice splitting from the sudden force. "GET OUT OF HERE! BACK TOWARDS THE FOREST! GO THE PATH WE KNOW!" Her lungs burned. But she would get up and protect her own, running to check that all of her clanmates had been woken to get out.

Every single one. Nudged, shoved if she had to. All told the same order: leave.

Mottlestar has called for Thunderclan to begin running!

Cloudypaw's eyes slowly opened, convinced for only a brief moment she had a nightmare that ended ominously. When the howling continued even into the waking world, she jolted up to her paws. Her ears were ringing as the implications rushed through her mind. Her eyes darted to Galepaw, who was still fast asleep in a nearby nest.

"Galepaw... Please!" She loudly yowled out, hoping her screaming would wake him and the other apprentices up. She shook Galepaw violently with her paws. "Please wake up! W-we need to get up and move!" Her voice cracked.

Cloudypaw is trying to wake up the WindClan apprentices in preparation to flee.

Tigerstar was alert at the first sign of noise. The howling ringing in his ears as he scrambled to his paws green eyes scanning for any immediate threat, not yet, but it was only a matter of time, he could hear the thunder of their pawsteps in the distance. He had a little time. "Clear the area Windclan! Follow our path back home!" He ordered, as he moved closer to where the sound was coming from. He would bar the way, if only briefly.

"Daisyfang take the front, make sure the kits are safe! Sootstorm bring up the rear don't let anyone come back!" The leader ordered sternly, giving no chance for objection. The tall leader watched for a moment to make sure his clan was running away from the source of the noise, that they were following his orders, as he turned back to the direction he was walking he came face to face with a large beast.

It was brown, white on the chest, with flecks of black on its back. It towered over him with ease, teeth barred in a snarl, a show of the deadly force this thing was capable of. Tigerstar could feel his heart drop, and anxiety filled him. This was more than any dogs he had ever seen. The tall leader steeled himself. He had to make sure his clan got away, even if he lost one of his lives. The leader let out a small breath before launching himself at the creature, going for its neck.

Tigerstar used Jumping Strike dealing 12(+3) damage, -7 SP. Star Striker is active.

Tigerstar:
70 / 70 HP
143 / 150 SP

Two bright yellow eyes snapped open as a howl sounded in the distance. Sunfire was perched in the branches of a tree above SkyClan's camp, mostly asleep... until whatever creature that was decided that it needed to be obnoxious in the middle of the night. The warrior had heard howling before - dogs were plentiful in Twolegplace and SkyClan was no stranger to them... but this was different. It seemed deeper... more feral... and it made Sunfire's blood sizzle with adrenaline.

More awake than it felt like he'd ever been, the yellow tom rose and sprinted down the branch, leaping to the next, and then the next, moving closer to where he'd heard the sound. Now and again, the baying cut through the night, and in the distance, across the lake, perhaps, something responded. And then another, and another, until the night was alight with the sound.  Sunfire flared his nostrils, opening his mouth to let the scent coat his tongue: hot, stinking, canine, but not quite dog. And it was getting closer.

SkyClan's camp was still visible behind him when the creature came into view. It was massive, twice the size of any dog he'd ever seen, with thick, shaggy fur in varying shades of gray and black. A pair of keen eyes reflected the light of the moon, making it easy for Sunfire to track its movements, but it was hardly necessary... the thing was moving straight for SkyClan's camp, low to the ground, stealthy, and no doubt attracted to the concentrated scent of the clan. There was no mistaking, this was a predator, and it was hunting them.

Blood pounding in his ears, Sunfire watched it creep one paw at a time towards the camp, caught a glimpse of white fangs glinting in the light. His claws sank into the bark beneath his paws. SkyClan needed to be warned, but there was no way he'd make it back in time to wake them. Practically vibrating with energy, Sunfire waited until the beast was just below him, and then  shrieked at the top of his lungs. "SKYCLAN, ON YOUR PAWS NOW!"

And then he dropped from the tree.

His yowl had made the canine pause, long snout lifting to look up as Sunfire plummeted down, twisting his body to control how he fell. He slammed into the thing, grunting from the force of it, but his aim had been true and he landed exactly where he wanted to - right on top of its face. Their combined snarling echoed through the trees as it bucked to dislodge him, but Sunfire held tight, slashing claws across the canine's eyes, nose, ears, in a flurry of yellow fur against mottled gray.

Sunfire used Leaping Bound on Big Freakin Dog, dealing 7 damage at the cost of 10 stamina, and pinning Big Freakin Dog for one turn.

Sunfire
70/70
150/160

Big Freakin Dog
??/?? (-7)
??/??

The soft-edged darkness of dreams slipped away with an abrupt prickling of shock, an entire nervous system newly alight with a call to panic, the urgency to move as quickly as possible. Mottlestar's sudden shriek of frightful command echoed sharply in Kestrelkit's little ears, a pronounced ringing that rose above the dreadful symphony of unfamiliar noise.The final vestiges of her Leader's voice was almost enough to drown out the lingering howls. Almost. Stumbling to her paws and stiff-legged with a deep-scoring of fright, the little molly whipped around in a thinly-veiled threading of confused disorientation, unable to seamlessly transition from sleep to wakeful.  

"Daffodilkit!" Kestrelkit exclaimed, blindly fumbling for the familiar outline of her denmate, "Wake up!"


RiverClan! Get out of here!

Jaykit's nightly routine of absently chewing on Grebedance's tail when sleep eludes him was promptly disrupted; an abrupt cacophony of noise erupting across the darkened sky with enough urgency that the fur atop his spine began to bristle. Though he had an exceedingly limited frame of reference for danger, simplistic instinct was enough to douse his entire being with the white-hot chill of panic. The resounding flurry of activity and noise on behalf of his Clanmates did little to soothe the frightful pressure building somewhere low and vital in his chest. Abandoning his mother's ruffled tail and scuttling across her flank with all the worldly grace of a dying fish, the young tom was made all the more panicked by the shrill howling and fearful outbreak slipping across the frigid sky.

"Mother!" Jaykit cried, likely shredding poor Grebedance's side in his haste to climb over her, "Wake up- something's happening!"

Those snarls didn't cease as the little feline before it leapt towards its neck. Its head jerked directly towards the tom with ease, clenching its jaws around his body and pulling him off of its thickened winter pelt. Loud growls reverberated off of its saliva-coated maw as it bit down with little mercy, its head now whipping back and forth in an attempt to stun the beast that thought it could attack.

Tough Pelt is active! Damage dealt by cats has been reduced by half!
Wolf #1 used Iron Bite against Tigerstar! It dealt 33 damage and used 45 stamina.
Tigerstar:
37 / 70 HP (-33)
143 / 150 SP

Wolf #1:
594 / 600 HP (-6)
755 / 800 SP (-45)

---

As soon as the set of claws landed directly upon its face, it quickly became a gnashing of teeth and a whipping of its head in order to shake the cat free of its muzzle. Even as the tiny little claws dug in, feral growls continued to only grow louder. Eventually, the wolf opened up its maw enough to get a solid hold on the golden nuisance's back leg, gripping on tight without any remorse as it whipped its head in order to get its potential dinner's claws out of its fur. Whipping its head towards the ground, the wolf was more than prepared to stun the cat with the sheer force of the ground, as well. It wasn't going to go down without a massive fight, and it'd end the tom without so much as a second blink. Howls continued in the distance - backup ready to come and assist.

Beastly Size and Tough Pelt are active! Damage dealt by cats have been reduced by half, and the foe cannot be pinned!
Wolf #2 used Iron Bite against Sunfire! It dealt 33 damage and used 45 stamina.
Sunfire
37 / 70 HP (-33)
150 / 160 SP

Wolf #2:
596 / 600 HP (-4)
755 / 800 SP (-45)


ooc note; the official passives are:
Passive: Tough Pelt
Your foe's thick winter pelt seems harder to grasp than most. Reduces incoming damage by half.
Passive: Beastly Size
The sheer size of your foe makes them unable to be stunned or pinned.

Galepaw

Galepaw was ripped from his dreams, only to hear the terrified, pleading wails eyes and the distraught expression of his sister above him. It took him a moment to realize that the strange, eerie howling from his nightmare hadn't stopped. It's closer. It's real! he realized with a start, jumping up and scattering his nest to pieces.

"What is that sound?" he asked Cloudypaw, his eyes sliding past her to notice that dawn had not yet arrived. Anxiety welled up in his throat and clenched his stomach like giant fangs as he heard the voice of Tigerstar outside, ordering the clan to flee. "Get up, Oatpaw!" he hissed to his denmate, giving him a stern shove out of his nest. "Something horrible is happening to WindClan!" He bolted to the den entrance, turning back to ensure Cloudypaw was behind him.

"It'll be okay Cloudypaw," he urged her. "No matter what happens, I will protect you." He met his sister's eyes, a grave expression darkening his features. Galepaw was prepared to give up his life to StarClan if it meant protecting her. He didn't even feel fear, just sheer determination to get her to safety. I promise I'll protect her, he vowed.

"Let's go."

Galepaw is fleeing the apprentice's den with Cloudypaw and Oatpaw.

name. uwubers timezone. EST discord. @ uwubers code.kiikko

Blazefang’s nightmares were often vivid, and so what seemed to be the howling of death itself did not wake her. She moaned in her sleep, a sound almost as wretched as the howling. Finally, she bit her tongue and woke up to the sight of horrible beasts attacking the camp. “Dayquill!” she yowled, swatting her mate in the shoulder. “Get up! We have to go!” Her tail brushed his flank as she stood up, careful even in her panic to maintain a point of contact with her blind mate. A story seemed to flood back to her, one her mother had told long ago. “Wolves,” she mewed barely above a whisper. That was what these were. Her breath came quick and shallow as the battle began outside the makeshift elders’ den.
Blazefang is trying to rouse Dayquill. Sunflare will be posted soon.

Across the camp, a fawn tabby crumpled in a heap, her brain completely frozen in shock by the sounds around her, too many sounds. And the smell! The stench was so strong it overwhelmed her, even with her barely-functioning sense of smell. She began a low moan under her breath, self-made white noise, but her body remained locked in place.
Sageroot is in a state of sensory overload. She is open for attack by wolves but will not make the first move. Clanmates may also attempt to help her to safety.

Creamsky's head shot up the moment the howling started. He had been trying to sleep but even with the cure and his head as clear the most it had been in moons, he couldn't breathe right. It always tended to get worse once the sun had set, a wheezing in his throat and a rattling in his chest. He could still fall asleep...But staying asleep was an entire other problem. He pushed himself to his paws as his Clanmates started to stir - to move. He heard Sunfire in the distance - shouting at them to be up, to move. There was something out there... And his heart leapt into his throat and made it nearly impossible to breath as he turned to scan around him until he saw the familiar pelt of his friend.

"Lightningbreeze, we need to go!" he shouted as he raced to her side, quickly grabbing her by the scruff as he started to drag her in the opposite direction of the sources. He knew his friend - she was headstrong, brave...Stupidly so - she would want to fight, he knew it but he couldn't... Already the panic at the thought was making it even harder to take in air as his chest heaved. He had lost his mom...His mentor - he couldn't lose his oldest friend as well. And so he dragged her - not caring if she would fight him every step of the way as he prayed for his Clanmates to follow.

Creamsky is (attempting to) drag Lightningbreeze by the scruff away.

(Rest of the cats - Acorn, Badger and Evening will be posted in batches later)

A sharp howl wrenched Lichenwing violently from his slumber. Instantly he was on his paws, fur spiked in alarm... but in the brief silence that followed... he almost thought he imagined it. But then another howl split the air, closer than before, and only a second before Mottlestar's voice called out to them: flee.

Whipping around, Lichenwing sprinted for the apprentices' den. "WAKE UP!" he snarled, "ALL OF YOU, UP, NOW!" His paws carried him to Sunpaw's nest, and he unceremoniously yanked the apprentice out of his nest, half-dragging him towards the entrance of the den and stumbling over the other apprentices as they stampeded for safety, too.

Lichenwing has snatched Sunpaw by the scruff and is attempting to follow Mottlestar's orders.

Mottlestar's voice was the first thing she heard. The howling had not disturbed her, but her mentor's voice sure did, and she had only begrudgingly started to rouse for what she was sure was training when a sudden commotion in the apprentices' den interrupted that train of thought. A dark gray shape, snatching one of the apprentices from the nest. Ravenpaw was awake now, her claws bared and ready to attack the behemoth that was kitnapping one of her fellow apprentices. But turned out, it wasn't a monster, it was a warrior, and he was suddenly calling for them all to be awake. Confused, Ravenpaw stumbled out of the den after them, trying to make sense of everything.

Ravenpaw is heckin' confused.