piece by piece, stone by stone [closed]

She’s seen the hares in these hills, white and fluffy as can be. Seeing as Harebounce was now without her old, brown hare pelt, she had the mind to find another. It was something to do, really, to distract herself from Egretswoop’s death. Sure the snow falling on her back could serve for now, but even though this Leafbare felt endless and brutal, someday it would have to end. And so now that her grandchildren had gained their apprentice names, perhaps this was the time to show them how pelts were made.

While the rest of the clan stopped to take a break, she nudged Minnowpaw and Jaypaw with sparkling eyes. “Do you two want to go find your first pelts?”

Minnowpaw immediately jolted up at the question from Harebounce, her excitement towards it allowing her to push away the pain that was arcing through a particularly-sore front paw from where she had caught herself on some ice before they had paused for the time being. Shaking it out before gingerly placing it back down on her tail, to give it a bit more time to settle before pressure is reintroduced, the small she-cat began to nod vigorously.

"Ooh, yes, yes please! Do you think we'll be able to find something worthy of making into a pelt for us? What would our pelts be? Do you have an idea, or is it whatever we can find? I know some of the warriors have been reporting lower accuracy on finding good prey while we've been traveling, do you think we'll be able to find anything? Am I good enough for a pelt? You need a pelt first. You're cold." The rambling of the silver cat wasn't normal for the typically-quiet apprentice, but for now, in the silence of a pause, it was great for what she needed - distraction.

The rambunctious echo of Minnowpaw's cheery disposition hung heavily atop the frost-bitten cresting of Jaypaw's dark ears, perked to a semblance of curious attention at the evident prospect offered by Harebounce; his grandkin as familiar as the all-consuming presence of his mother, yet so starkly unfamiliar without the secondary skin of her pelt. The strange, half-present shape of his own heritage felt especially magnanimous in the moment, a funny feeling twisty-twisting somewhere low and important. Shaking away the finite dusting of snow and stubborn ice mottling the sleuthing stains of mottled fur wreathing around his scrawny shape, the young tom eagerly nodded along with his littermates happy chatter, a twin mirror of unusual serenity at the weight of his own curious thoughts.

Solid-packed ice stood unyielding between his idly shifting paws, fidgeting movements shaped by a faulty culmination of his own desires and objective to stay somewhat warm.

"Does it matter what sort of pelts we have?" Jaypaw eventually echoed his sister's conscious stream of thought, present investment in conversation half-divulged in his own mythical makings of the prospective, much-discussed heron. Nothing short of the spectacular would do to satiate his curiosity regarding his ow self-assigned, self-fulfilling deity. "Or is it just the first animal we happen to find while out?"

Minnowpaw’s voice like a chittering bird brought a warm glow to Harebounce’s face. “Your pelt’s purpose and what it’s made from is entirely up to you. I’ve known many cats with fox pelts, and they can be so many different colors! Badgers too, as well as stoats, and even a goose! But what’s most important is that you truly want to wear it, so if you don’t find anything that you think really suits you today, that is okay.” The greying she-cat shook out her fur, scattering snowflakes that took to the wind and flew down the mountain. An uneasy feeling rose to the surface as she remembered Nightstriker Theron having once worn the pelt of a young cat – before she was born, yes, but the thought of it felt all the more bone-chilling in retrospect as she gazed at her grandkits. So full of optimism, so much of life still ahead of them. She hoped that their pelts would represent their own accomplishments and nothing sinister.

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She led them a distance away until the sounds and smells of the travelling cats faded into nothing; where prey would lower their guard. Her grandchildren were better camouflaged for this land than she, shades of grey and white compared to her conspicuous tortoiseshell coat. A hushed, but clear voice drifted to them. “Keep your eyes, ears, and nose open! If you see something you’d like to be your pelt, quickly find me and we can take it down together.” As she spoke, a dark spot in a snowbank seemed to blink. She was already in a hunting crouch when she recognized it as a hare or rabbit, its fur ghostly pale and ethereal. She waved her tail to signal Minnowpaw and Jaypaw to stay where they were while she carefully approached. She got pretty close, almost close enough to pounce, but at the last moment as her legs trembled from pent-up energy the hare's eyes widened in shock and it bolted past her in a flurry of snow. Dang it.

Hunt unsuccessful, -5 SP

(ooc- whoever rolls a 10 on your next post gets a pelt first, if neither, then I’ll force a predator and tailor it to who got the higher roll! let me know what you’d like if this happens! As we are in starfall territory, look to the Outsiders range for success/ failure)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Eyes wide at the activity, a determined scrunch of the nose overtook Minnowpaw's face as she looked across the snow, looking for disturbances. Her attention briefly caught by what became obvious as her own tail, flicking behind her in nervousness, the young she-cat shook herself roughly, forcing the calm. Gingerly, for both stealth and to avoid too much sudden pressure on her sore paws, she cautiously began stalking forward, a small mound of snow that was shifting ever so slightly. A bird maybe? The scent... it's confusing.. the thoughts raced through her head as she got closer, taking glance at what might've been a wing, maybe a soft down feather, buried under this white landscape. A soft breath in, uncertainty briefly leading to hesitation, and the young apprentice pounced.

A soft muffled squeak of victory and delight was briefly heard from the cat-sized hole in the snow just before Minnowpaw leaped out and pranced back towards her family, a small snowfinch in her jaws and her sore paws quickly forgotten. Not nearly big enough for a pelt, but a victory for the youngest nonetheless.

Minnowpaw has caught a bird, costing 5 SP.

55/60 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Crystalline fleckings of frost clung to the delicate webbings of Jaypaw's muzzle; the darkened swathings of unkempt fur artificially lightened in the presence of stubborn clingings of tepid weather, an unthinking mirror to the natural lightening of his own grandkin's coat. Concentration dusted the carefully downturned expression of the young tom, a meticulous and unusual air of focus donned atop slim shoulders as he made to follow Minnowpaw and Harebounce's perusal of the barren mountains. There wasn't an anticipated air of expectation on behalf of Harebounce- if anything, there was an explicit lack of strict results required- but he still wished to do well during such an important outing, especially after the lackluster happenings of his previous hunts.

The flurry of feathers precluding Minnowpaw's abrupt catch obscured the weight of his attention; competitive nature rushing to the surface with an abrupt itch that served to deregulate him, sent him off the center of balance. It wasn't like Minnowpaw won, considering she only managed to catch a little bird, but still! He was the eldest, it was his job to secure the initial pelt! Shaking away the stubborn scraps of dwindling focus and itchy showmanship, Jaypaw began to slink off after a hare, heavy tail arched in a fine little display of watch this!

Of course, if Jaypaw just so happened to immediately scare off the hare in a secondary mimicry to the missteps of Harebounce heartbeats earlier, that was pure coincidence. Total accident.

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Jaypaw
20/20 [HP]
55/60 [SP] [-5 in SP due to hunting roll!]

[hunting dice roll for hare - FAILED!]

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6