[ti]Open[/ti] || A Morning Hunt ||

[mewmehh]

Icy breath curled out like a stark white tendril of smoke against the darkness of the surrounding area as a tall, silky tom stalked through the crisp undergrowth. Even in the most frigid and heavy of snowfall, the Syneffo Forest remained shadowed- not by the leaves of the canopy, but by the towering walls of sleet and the mountains of ice and snow which seemed to block out the sun. It was no surprise that the grinning warrior dressed in white and ginger walked right into a pile of snow, elicited an oof from him.

The slender warrior staggered back with a sheepish grin, shaking off the snow that sat on his back and shoulders, but striding across the crunchy earth more deftly. His dainty paws darted in and out of the thick blanket of snow and left small pockets in his trail as he moved to catch up with his hunting mate.

Longwing had been one of a few cat’s chosen by Wolfclaw to handle the dawn hunting patrol. The sleek warrior has rose happily to the call of duty as the first songs of the forest’s bird began to start their own morning rituals. However, the rest of the patrol seemed less enthusiastic. Barkfur was one of these.

Trotting up to where the tortoiseshell was, Longwing gently brushed the gingery tip of his tail against the younger cat’s shoulder encouragingly and offered a bright smile. ”Cheer up. It may be cold, but the sun will be up soon and it’ll be nice to have breakfast in its warmth when we’re done with the hunt.” It wasn’t uncommon for the friendly warrior to bolster the resolve of his clanmates when he knew they’d rather be doing something else.

Swishing his tail against the snowy earth, he glance around and scented the air. The rest of their team had moved elsewhere- a clever strategy versus hunting in a crowd- though Longwing was thankful their scents were still nearby. It was still early in the morning without much of a trace of the rising sun, so the tom was still a little wary for his clanmates’ sake.

~~~
|| Open to all those in the general vicinity- preferably others on the early dawn hunting patrol, but loners/rogues/other clan cats are welcome. Yay surprises!! ||

[silverfang218]

Barkfur was actually pretty content to be on the early hunting patrol; he enjoys hunting and he’s usually good at it, plus he doesn’t mind getting up early before the sun is up either. The cold doesn’t really have a huge effect on Barkfur, as the tom is covered in thick, long fur and its dark color soaks in what little light and warmth there is from the environment. Overall this is the perfect place for him…. There’s just one small problem. The snow. The white groundcover makes Barkfur stand out, so hunting is nearly impossible for the dark furred warrior. Darn it.

Even when he’s content, Bark never really looks happy (the exception is when he’s dealing with kits, Shadowgaze, or Rivershine. Only exceptions.); rather, he keeps a mostly stoic slightly annoyed expression on his face most of the time unless he’s showing straight up anger. Today, annoyance is the major expression on his face as a fellow warrior brushes a tailtip over the young tortie’s shoulder. “Cheer up. It may be cold, but the sun will be up soon and it’ll be nice to have breakfast in its warmth when we’re done with this hunt.” Barkfur bites back a sarcastic response how they weren’t going to be able to catch breakfast if the other warrior doesn’t stop talking. He knows that the other warrior, the optimistic Longwing, was just trying to cheer him up. The grump has trouble faulting Longwing for that, even if it is annoying.

Instead of responding to Long’s words, Barkfur gestures that they should move a little further from their clanmates. “First, we have to catch breakfast.” Bark states, keeping his rough voice low and quiet. His ears perk up as they pick up a soft skittering sound. His eyes quickly find the source of the noise as the dark furred warrior slowly lowers himself into a hunting crouch. He gestures towards the sound with his fluffy tail, wanting to catch Longwing’s attention and point the lighter colored warrior towards the prey. Long will have a better chance than Barkfur.

[mewmehh]

Longwing gave the darker cat a crestfallen little smile as Barkfur simply brushed him off. It wasn't anything new, but the long tom still wished to cheer his clanmates up. As dense as he was, Longwing had failed to understand that the tortoiseshell was fine overall in temperament and was sure to spend all his efforts on Barkfur's behalf. However, the mottled warrior's gestures didn't go unnoticed and Longwing's passive form took to a more rigid and assertive one. The scent of mouse floated on the air so strongly that he could taste it on his tongue as if he had already bitten into it and at this, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

His dopey demeanor had changes in an instant to that of a calculated killer, his long body pressed so close to the snowy ground that the only thing distinguishing him from the frosty blanket where the splashes of ginger lacing his body. His silky tail sunk itself into the soft snow and quietly churned the thick whiteness, effectively masking the bright color of his limb while the rest of his form's marking were well hidden by the snow that still clung to his body from running into a drifty pile moments before.

Odd-eyes pinned on the faint movement a few foxlengths away, his twitched an ear toward Barkfur as he took notice of the darker warrior's matching positioning and Longwing wondered whether he should refrain from the hunt or not. Should he let Barkfur have this kill? Seconds stretched long in the tom's mind as he hurried to make a decision before the creature caught wind of them, and before he knew it, instinct had taken over.

His lithe body snapped in a long spring that hurtled him forward towards the frozen undergrowth. Long claws sank into the earth, but not missing the warm, squishy body caught between them. His head darted down, muzzle snatching up the rodent as his teeth took to killing the creature with a swift bite before rising to meet Barkfur's gaze.

[silverfang218]

Barkfur stays perfectly still as Longwing waits to act; Bark doesn’t want to ruin this kill for his companion for making a movement or sound that spooks their target. The dark furred warrior blinks as Long springs with blindingly fast movements and deadly precision. Barkfur relaxes as Long lands atop their prey, and the young warrior stands with his tail flicking back and forth.

As Longwing looks up to meet his gaze, a content expression flits across Bark’s face. It only lasts for a fraction of a second, so it would be easy to miss, but that definitely just happened. “Nice catch. I suppose we will indeed get breakfast this morning.” Bark’s rough voice congratulates Long on the kill while making a sarcastic joke back to Long’s attempt to cheer him up earlier.

Bark turns away from the scents of their patrolmates, intending to keep hunting until they have a nice pile of prey to bring back or until they deem it likely that all prey in the area is gone. He beckons Longwing to join him with a lazy gesture with his tail.

[mewmehh]

A jolly light twinkled in Longwing’s eyes as he bounded over with the tawny bundle clamped in his jaws, ears perked and tail kinked up. The look of satisfaction on Barkfur’s face had been brief, there in a second and then gone without a trace, but the silky warrior had seen it and it made his heart glow. He had done well enough to provide his clanmate a reason to smile and perhaps when they returned home with jaws full of prey, they would have breakfast together. But until then, there was plenty of hunting to be had.

His long body stalked alongside Barkfur’s mottled one and he figured he’d let the shorter tom have the next kill, whatever it be. As he thought to himself, Longwing misplaced his steps and managed to catch one of his small paws on a root buried beneath the snow. He collapse forward, effectively planting his pointed face into the thick of the snow without much of a sound. It was a wonder how the lanky tom could be so accurate when focused, but so clumsy any other time.

[karambito]

Roseblaze

Trailing behind the hunting patrol, the dilute calico she-cat weaved her way through the undergrowth and trees, keeping her ears and eyes on the two toms, Longwing and Barkfur, before her. One had spotted something in the underbrush and the two darted off for it, leaving her to veer off on another path nearby to cover more hunting grounds.

Crouching into the green, prickly grass, Roseblaze opened her mouth, letting the fresh scents of newleaf fill her body and senses. It was a welcoming, hopeful smell and taste to her and she couldn't help but rumble a content purr. As the snow and ice melted, the ground had become a big tough in areas and soggy in others. In the grass under the warming sun, the ground was muddy under her paws and she huffed in agitation. Made for hunting a bit harder. Taking in the scent of a mouse, Roseblaze pricked her ears, listening. She heard the soft rustle of its own paws, digging and scavenging, unaware of the looming beauty nearby.

Stalking forward, Roseblaze kept on the trail on the mouse, determined to catch it for her clan.

[mewmehh]

The soft scent of mouse floated on the air, tickling Longwing’s tongue as he paused in his steps. Despite the mouse which hung from his jaws, it was as if he could faintly detect the mousy smell for a little ways off, in the opposite direction that he and Barkfur had been heading. Swiveling his head around to face the direction of the scent, his ears twitched as a familiar female smell crossed his nose.

It was sweet and softly floral, like a summer rose in the woods, and Longwing was sure he knew from whom it originated. However, he didn’t have to guess as a glimpse of pretty creamy ginger and grey-white fur flashed past his vision in a blaze towards the prey-scented area. A little bit of warmth welled up in his chest as he watched the lean form of his clanmate stalk expertly across the melty forest floor. Fixated on Roseblaze and her hunt, the long warrior watched on with bated breath like the very same mouse holding its own in fear.

[silverfang218]

Longwing better not get too ahead of himself; if they end up sharing a meal after this, it will because Long comes to sit with Bark and Bark is just polite enough that he doesn’t want to tell the other warrior to leave him alone.

After a quick glance around, all senses focused on finding more potential prey, his gaze is drawn towards the scent of a mouse other than the one held in Longwing’s jaws. The tortie takes a step towards the scent, only to pause as one of their female clanmates comes into view stalking the same scent. Not wanting to interfere, Bark turns away from the scent; he starts to head in a perpendicular path to Roseblaze, stepping carefully to avoid making noise and ruining her hunt.

[sabs]

SPARROWCRY >>

    Snow crunched under the silver warrior's paws as he trailed behind the dawn hunting patrol. The tom wasn't particularly fond of all the white that littered the ground, nor was he enthusiastic about the IvyClan deputy, Wolfclaw, waking him from his slumber to join the morning hunt. However, once he discovered Roseblaze was also assigned to join the patrol, he had perked up a bit. Sparrowcry had developed a small liking to the she-cat, always fumbling around and blushing whenever he was in her presence. On second thought, maybe a hunting patrol with the dilute calico wasn't such a good idea. The thought quickly vanished from his mind as he noticed her stop, then crouch and move toward unseen prey in front of them.

    He noticed that Longwing had already caught a mouse. Not that that surprised the tom, his silky white fur easily helped him blend more into the snowy forest. The tom saw both him, and Barkfur, gawking at the she-cat. The warrior felt a pang of jealousy well in his stomach, but he quickly pushed the feeling away. This was about Roseblaze and her hunt, not about some weird fantasy he had drawn up in his head. Sparrowcry watched, quietly, and prayed to StarClan to give the calico a successful kill.

[karambito]

Roseblaze

Feeling eyes dig into her calico fur, Rozeblaze flicked her tail tip, attempting to shoo away the peering gazes of her hunting patrol clan mates. Stalking forwards a bit, following the scent of the mouse, she quiely brushed through some tall grass into a sunny clearing, icy dew covering the ground. Before her sat a little brown mouse, digging at the ground. Tilting her ears towards it, she braced herself for the leap towards it.

Lunging forward gracefully, Roseblaze felt her paws land on top of the mouse. It gave out a surprised squeal, but was quickly silenced by the warriors fangs digging into its flesh. Holding onto the limp body, Roseblaze lifted her head, tail in the air as she gave a smile of triumph. Turning around, she spotted Sparrowcry first, watching her, and padded towards him with the fresh kill in her jaws. As she approached the tom, she also then spotted Longwing nearby and dipped her head to both of them as she laid the mouse on a patch if warm grass. "Nice catch Longwing" The calico purred, noticing his catch as well. She had always somewhat admired the other warriors hunting skills, how quick and efficient he was. She was proud to be joining him on this patrol.

"It's so nice out" Roseblaze added as she looked to where Barkfur was walking away, following another scent of prey. Their clan would be content with filled bellies today and tomorrow, and maybe even for moons, she mused with a gentle purr. Looking at Sparrowcry now she flicked his shoulder. "Let's go find a puddle, i'm thirsty and i'm sure prey will be hanging around the water" she told the two toms, wondering if they should also inform Barkfur before he strayed too far from them all.