[ti]Private[/ti]Rat Hunters

[fortsumter]

Boulderblaze sniffed around in the darkest tunnel, his whiskers brushing lightly against the sides of the tunnel. He was checking the tunnels for any hints of rats after the attack. He stepped carefully and tentatively over the little bits of rock that jutted from the ground. He was having a few weird suspicions that there were a few more. He stretched his claws and scraped them against the earth. He needed to make sure they were sharp enough to fend off the potential attackers. It was eerily silent, with the only sound being his heavy breathing that echoed through the dark space. He had his tail swishing from side to side to try to scare off any intruders from behind. The light was growing further. He wasn't even supposed to be here. He just wanted to keep the Clan safe from any possible second wave of attackers. 

sunblaze

[sunblaze]

The orange she cat who had also found herself wandering the tunnels spotted Boulderblaze in the distance. She had been hoping for a calm place to relax after a patrol. Her heart jumped at his silhouette looming eerily in the dark, but again Sunblaze was reassured by his familiar RootClan scent and his appearance very similar to quite a few others.

"Hey.", Sunblaze approached with a calm posture, shoulders resting at her side. Her tail flicked in greeting and she waited for him to recognize her scent and who she was.

[fortsumter]

Boulderblaze perked his ears, taking notice of a cat nearby. He quickly recognized it as Sunblaze. He lowered his head, giving his chest a few licks. He made eye contact, trying to keep his gaze calmly set on her instead of wildly flicking around in fear. He took a step closer to Sunblaze, slightly pressing his body against hers before flinching away.
"Hi, Sunblaze..." his voice trailed off with awkwardness. He hardly ever talked to random cats, and he became self conscious about what Sunblaze thought of him. He straightened his posture, tucking his paws in neatly and keeping his head up. "Heh... I was just checking for rats in here...", he cleared his throat and looked at Sunblaze, swerving his ears back nervously. He looked at Sunblaze again, trying to pick up cues about her by the way she looked at him.

[sunblaze]

Sunblaze purred lightly as Boulderblaze brushed against her. He was such a goofy cat, she thought at least. The tunnels began to feel a bit narrow. Discomfort grew in her pelt as light tapping of rat paws sauntered in the twists and turns of the tunnel.

"Hey, uh what do you say we Chase after some rats?", she inquired, tipping her head to the left. She stayed calm and her eyes softened, as the safety of another Clanmate relaxed her.

Rats had never been a great memory to her, but nothing her and another cat couldn't handle. Right?

[fortsumter]

Boulderblaze smiled warmly. He could hear a few small pawsteps in the distance. Rats. There probably weren't too many of them, and he had the energy to fight. What was wrong with taking some risks. He nodded to Sunblaze and started to crawl forward. "Be careful", he warned.
He knew it might be a bad idea. He kept his ears perked, and his whole body was tense with fear and anticipation of a surprise attack. "I'll take the lead", he whispered as his confidence increased.

[sunblaze]

Sunblaze nodded briskly and began trotting a bit quicker. She gave him a cue to move faster as she tracked a rat drawing closer. A quiver spasmed in her, but she pushed it back looking ahead at Boulderblaze's confident lean body accelerating without hesitation. Even if he said to be careful, his confidence was clear as a reflection.

[fortsumter]

Boulderblaze confidently pushed forward, lowering his body so that his belly fur brushed lightly against the ground. He could see some small figures moving in the dark, and several pairs of glinting eyes. The rats. He tensed, and slowed his pace to make sure they didn't charge suddenly. He shuddered in anticipation of a surprise attack. He unsheathed his claws, digging them into the damp earth. He was ready.
And finally, the eyes all seemed to turn toward him, and the figures charged into the light. Yep. Rats. There were only a few, but they were pretty large. One of them easily latched its teeth onto his shoulder. Boulderblaze let out a sharp involuntary gasp of pain and shock. He pounced onto the charging creatures, trying to use his claws to attack. One of them let out an angry squeak and skittered up onto his leg. Boulderblaze hissed and shook his leg, making the rat fly off. He called out to Sunblaze, hoping she would join the attack.

[sunblaze]

Sunblaze hurled over to Boulderblaze, keeping her paws high in her stride to avoid the rodents clinging onto them. Seeing the rats beginning to swarm, she slowed down and searched for a strategy, steadying her breath.

She grappled the rat on Boulderblaze's shoulder in hopes to safely get it off. Then, back up to plot a battle strategy. She signaled for Boulderblaze to follow and began backing up, jutting her paw pad into a sharp stone. She let out a meek wince, but continued backwards.

[fortsumter]

Boulderblaze gave a nod to Sunblaze and stepped back. The rats still charged after him, but there were none clinging onto him anymore. He hissed furiously in an attempt to hold off the first wave of attackers. Only a few actually backed off, and the others grew angrier. Boulderblaze lashed out a paw to swipe at the rats that got too close. He fluffed out his fur to appear bigger. One of the smaller rats fled. There were still a lot. He tried to follow Sunblaze by slowly backing away while thinking up a quick battle plan.