where the black waves call (o)

It was simultaneously odd and comforting to be back home. The last time Dovetail had patrolled by the Sunningrocks, the river had been viscous, full of an undrinkable sludge that caused fat fish to stink and float atop its slick waters. But now, the water flowed as clean and clear as ever, and bending down to take a drink of it would leave your fangs nearly frozen with cold. He had to shake out his thick pelt in order to push away the inner freeze. But compared to the previously poisonous waters, the water tasted better than anything he'd ever drank before. He wasn't just here to slake his moons-old thirst, though. He was here to hunt--more precisely, to fish. The Clan still needed food more than ever. Especially with all the work to be done rebuilding dens, and the looming whispers of war on the horizon, every warrior would need to be well-fed. So on his first hunting patrol as a warrior rather than an apprentice, he vowed silently to do his best.

The rocks were still warmer than the surrounding half-frozen mud, but not by very much. Today, the sun hid behind smoggy gray clouds, meaning that the "sunning" part of the stones' name was all but inapplicable. He still preferred to sit on the smooth rock surface than the wet clumpy snowdrifts. So Dovetail sat on the flatter part of Sunningrocks, one dark brown paw hovering over the fast-raging waters as he peered into their depths. It was less crystal-clear than the lake had been, but he loved the current far more than the uncanny stillness he'd become accustomed to. He had to get used to fishing in the river again. He never planned to leave RiverClan even once more, for as long as his life dragged on. A sudden silver flash interrupted his thoughts, and near-automatically his paw dipped into the frigid waters to swipe out the fish. Thankfully his skills hadn't rusted, and sure enough, a wet form flapped onto the rock beside him. A quick bite ended its life. Briefly the chill of the cold day was offset by the warmth of momentary pride in his heart. If nothing else, no matter what blood said, he was a RiverClan cat. His skills spoke for him. Once he was done assuaging his own sense of self, his pale-blue eyes returned to watching the water for another hint of movement.

Dovetail tried to catch a fish. Success! -3 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Duckpaw sat at the edge of the river, a few tail-lengths away from Dovetail, eyes narrowed in focus. They were determined to work hard on catching up to their Clanmates - to finally gain their warrior name despite losing their mentor which meant working as hard as they could...Or as much as they could before the tiredness set in. Their tail swished back and forth as they waited for a fish to swim close enough to allow them to make a swipe at it...Until finally one did. It was closer than they would have liked due to the sudden wave of exhaustion that washed over them at the moment, their paws sliding against the scales. They scrambled to catch it before it could escape, splashing a bit of water as their paws made desperate dives at it before finally the fish was thrown from the water and onto the rocks next to Duckpaw. They leapt forward to end its life, before they drew back to flash a sheepish look at Dovetail.

"I'm, ah...Going to take a brief break," they meowed, shaking their head as the world wobbled beneath their paws as their body called for a nap. Their pelt prickled with shame at needing to take a nap a single fish in but...Well, at least they were out fishing and not on a border patrol... They picked up the fish, padding towards one of the nearby rocks - dropping the fish and shoving it into a small gap below the rock to keep it from the sight of any hungry predators before hopping on top of the boulder. Their eyes closed as they were forced to yawn, taking a moment to start stretching before their eyes flickered open only to see amber eyes staring back at them from the border. A yelp escaped them as they stumbled back, nearly falling right back off the rock but barely managed to catch themself as the ThunderClan deputy stepped onto Sunningrocks with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Acornstem meowed as she glanced out at the river, a sheepish laugh escaping her. She had been out for a standard patrol - walking the borders and checking on how they were marked, plus keeping an nose out for any scents of a predator coming in or out - she had been slowing down as her path was slowly getting closer to SkyClan's when she had heard the sound of splashing water. "I don't mean to get in the way of your hunting, I just wanted see how RiverClan was settling in and such when I heard you."

Duckpaw wasn't sure what to say - they hadn't expected to run into the ThunderClan deputy of all cats. Anything they might have said was robbed as another wave of sleepiness washed over them, draining their energy to care. "Alright," they meowed, taking a few steps forward before they simply flopped onto the stone, waving a paw towards where Dovetail is fishing. "Well, I'm going to take a nap so I guess you can talk to Dovetail if you want," they meowed, before they paused. Their whiskers twitched as they lifted their head. "Hey Dovetail, the deputy of ThunderClan is here if you want to say hi!"

Acornstem blinked, glancing between the tired apprentice and the fishing warrior. "I- No, its quite alright! I can be on my way if you all are busy!" she backtracked - being a bother to RiverClan, or even scaring away the fishes, was the last thing she wanted.

Duckpaw attempted to catch a fish and succeeded, costing 5 stamina.

The member 'Honey Badger' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Ravenpaw let out a small huff, at the appearance of other cats more than just Riverclan. He knew he was bored and wanted something entertaining to happen but Thunderclan was not that. He didn't trust the clan that rested in the forest. The black Tom turned away from the deputy, settling his yellow eyes on the river in front of him, preferring to actually try and hunt than deal with the Thunderclanner, regardless of her rank.

Ravenpaw sat patiently, recalling everything that was taught to him by his mentor. Wait, hook, kill. Yeah, that sounded right. The apprentice waited patiently, watching the shadows around him, waiting for something to come close to the surface. As soon as he saw the shadow change from a dark shape to the silver of scales the apprentice lashed out, claws trying to hook into the fish's side. Ravenpaw cursed as the fish escaped his claws, silently blaming the miss on the Thunderclanner. If she wasn't here causing a distraction he would have caught it.

The member 'Reaper King' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9