[ti]Open[/ti]Woodland's Bounty

[Firefly]

Feathercrest bounded across the fields, seeking the forest, which contained a large portion of the prey that Mothclan hunted. After getting his paw treated, he was itching to hunt alone or with calmer cats. After a few minutes, he found himself at the border of the fields, leading into the forest. His tall and slender build made it easy to see and move through the grass, but difficult to hide in. Feathercrest bounded into the forest, his paws hardly making a sound as they hit the snowy floor. He immediately started to sniff the air for potential prey.

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BRACKENFALL >>

    The dark tom quietly approached the edge of the woods, feeling hunger pang in his stomach. Brackenfall lifted his nose the the air, trying to pick up on any scent of prey. He caught a whiff of something familiar, and whipped his head around, calmly glancing at the grey tom that stood quite a few pawsteps behind him. He paced over to his fellow Clanmate, Feathercrest, and gave him a playful shove.  "I guess I wasn't the only one with the right idea."  Of all the clanmates that he could have run into out here, he was glad it was Feathercrest. Though the tom was quiet, he knew him to be a skilled hunter. Some competition, the MothClan warrior thought. At that, his eyes lit up with an idea.

    Brackenfall sat down, tucking his tail over his paws. "I have a proposition..." He began, giving a mischievous grin. "How about we make this fun? Whomever catches the most fresh-kill by dusk wins. I figure such a skilled hunter such as yourself is up for the challenge." The tom wasn't usually one for games, but so far thinks in the camp had been a bit...well, dull. Perhaps a little contest could heat things up a bit, and anyway, this was still helping the Clan. 

    

[Firefly]

Feathercrest nodded to the respectable warrior. He was fairly surprised to see Brackenfall here, but he was partially happy he was there, too. He listened to Brackenfall speak, nodding as he mentioned that hunting was a good idea.

"A hunting competition, you say?" Feathercrest meowed, standing taller and fuffing out his chest a little.
"I'm in." He suddenly dashed off, paws soundlessly gracing the ground as he went to better grounds.
Brackenfall is capable cat. Feathercrest thought.
Capable of being leader, for sure.

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BRACKENFALL >>

       A gust of wind flew by Brackenfall as the tom raced past him. He gave an amused grin, shouting after the warrior, "I never said go!" The warrior shook his head, then bounded after him. A rush of joy that the tom hadn't felt since kithood flew through him. Then a short pang of longing, regret, even, at the thought of his brother, Sparrowcry. This was something the two would have done as apprentices. Whatever, that's in the past. He thought, then came to a sudden jolt as he nearly missed a tree. The tom silently prayed to StarClan that Feathercrest hadn't seen that. He almost forgot they were having a contest, he needed to stay focused!
        A few moments later and the warrior was crouched mere pawsteps from a rabbit. It had taken him a bit, after his mishap with the rogue tree, to gain his senses. He'd been following the rabbits trail for awhile, however, and hoped he hadn't gotten behind Feathercrest's kill count. The rabbit seemed rather scrawny, but it didn't matter during Leaf-Bare, that's what you could expect of most prey, and it especially didn't matter to Brackenfall. This was a competition after all, quantity over quality. The warrior had moved closer to the rabbit, so close he could hear it's heartbeat. A few seconds passed, a leaf flew by, the sound of birds. Then a flash of fur. Brackenfall dropped his kill next to a tree, then covered it with leaves. He licked his paws daintily, cleaning them of blood. Onto the next one.

    

[Firefly]

Feathercrest lowered his body to the cold forest floor, eyes squinted at a mouse scuffling at the frosty dirt, seemingly unaware of his presence. He took a step forward, piercing jade orbs never leaving potential fresh-kill. The mouse was rather plump for a creature alive during leaf-bare. Feathercrest wondered what the mouse could've eaten that made it look so healthy.
He didn't really have time to give it much thought, as the mouse suddenly stood up, sniffing in his general direction. Feathercreast swiftly leapt at the rodent, aiming at the patch of grass ahead of it rather than where the mouse currently was sitting. He closed his eyes as he hit the ground, letting out a gasp from the shock of his lungs hitting the frozen floor and his back legs splayed behind him. He opened his unsheathed claws to come face to face with the mouse he had been observing, now lying there with lifeless eyes and a snapped neck.
The force from hitting the ground must've been what killed it... He thought, disappointed that he wasn't able to give the finishing bite, but thankful to the forest floor for killing it for him.
Guess I should head off to the next one...

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BRACKENFALL >>

      The warrior slunk through the brush, making sure to keep his tail low and ears erect so that he could pick up on every little sound the creature was making. His target? A fat red squirrel. His previous encounter hadn't been lucky, he'd completely missed a finch that had been hopping around gathering seeds. The memory of his failed catch frustrated him, but he remained focused. He'd been lucky before, however, catching a mouse that wandered right into his paws.This time, as well, this one wasn't getting away. Brackenfall lifted his rear slightly in the air, preparing his pounce. He checked his footing one more time, then leapt forward onto the squirrel's neck, snapping it on impact. Pridefully, he grasped his final kill in his mouth and headed over to his hidden pile of hunting trophies. Looking up at the sky, he noticed the slight grey tint of dusk creeping it's way in. He fit his three prey items best he could in his mouth, then headed towards the edge of the forest.
       
       Setting his prey down just past the tree line, the warrior surveyed the forest for a sign of the other tom. He flicked his tail impatiently, wanting to get home before the moon had fully appeared. Seizing this opportunity of quiet, he took the time to readjust his tail fur, tearing out any burrs or leaves that had somehow gotten caught in it during his hunt. Brackenfall wondered how much prey Feathercrest had collected, knowing full well that his fellow Clanmate was more than capable of over-passing him in a hunt. A noise came from the tom's stomach as he suddenly realized how hungry he was. Maybe after they got back to the camp with their earnings they could enjoy some food themselves.

    Except for the occasional breeze blowing through the trees, everything was quiet as the lone warrior awaited his competition. 

    

[Firefly]

Feathercrest covered up three successful catches with old leaves and snow, as he scented something he might be able to get his paws on. A strong fragrance, coming from something in the distance. Feathercrest left his pile, tracking the smell. It could be what he needed.
Continuing on the trail, he noticed a dove on a low branch. Feathercrest was really bad at climbing, but this looked easy enough. Staying low to the ground once more, the tom made his way to the tree, watching the bird to make sure it couldn't see him. Once he was properly situated, Feathercrest leapt up in attempts to catch the feathery thing. His claws made their way to the branch, just about up to the dove, when it suddenly flew off, leaving him hanging on the branch.
"Ughh..." Feathercrest awkwardly murmured, stretching his back leg to try and touch the ground.
"Mouse-dung! This was a bad idea..." He said as he was flung from the branch onto the forest floor.
Rubbing his head, the young cat blinked to clear the fuzz from his eyes. He really didn't take blunt force well. Once Feathercrest's eyes were clear, he stood up to inspect the scent once more. He closed his eyes and started to follow where the scent seemed strongest. After a few minutes of adjusting his direction, Feathercrest opened his eyes to see a small patch of purple flowers, growing on gritty soil.
This looks like what Cedarleap needed.. Feathercrest said with raised eyebrows as he took a few of the stalks. They were extremely fragrant, causing him to sniffle more than he already was, due to the cold. Feathercrest smiled as best he could through thhe stalks of the flowers. He watched the horizon, noticing the sun turning a deep scarlet. It must be getting late, which would spell the end to his hunting run. With three pieces of fresh kill, he felt he made a pretty good effort. He just hoped Brackenfall wasn't going overboard and hunting the whole forest out. He let out a chuckle. That cat, that rambunctious furball. Trotting back to the starting point, he awaited his opponent, fresh kill sitting at his forepaws.

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BRACKENFALL >>

    It had been quite awhile that Brackenfall had been waiting, and it wasn't getting warmer. His fur stood puffed out as he tried to hide away from the cold, hoping that his prey hadn't frozen solid yet. As soon as he saw Feathercrest's outline he stood, then slowly padded towards him, pretending that he didn't have frostbite on his whiskers. Maybe he was just being over dramatic. Three different creatures rested in his Clanmates mouth, as well as some sort of...was that flowers? The anger that the warrior had been keeping within him due to the wait vanished into pure amusement. "I thought we were killing things, not picking flowers. What are you, a medicine cat?" The tom mused, leading him back to his own little fresh kill pile. "It looks like we tied..I thought you were supposed to be the best hunter around." He paused, glancing over both of their kills. Maybe he had underestimated himself, but he was still glad that the other warrior hadn't come out on top. Either way, there were six more additions to the fresh kill pile, which meant six more mouths that would be fed tonight. He felt a rush of pride in being Clanmates with a warrior who seemed to be as skilled as himself. It was cats like Feathercrest that made him glad he joined MothClan. They may be new to the forest, but they were thriving. 

[Firefly]

"S-Sorry! Cedarleap looked busy, and I noticed her herb stocks were low, so I offered to help her." Feathercrest apologized, bowing and waving his forepaw up and down in a chopping motion.
"After all, Clan before personal pride, right Brackenfall?" Feathercrest meowed, looking to his newly discovered buddy. He was happy that he made a connection with something other than the wilderness. Hopefully Brackenfall would be willing to talk outside of friendly competition.
"Anyways, the sun is going down, so we better get this back to camp before everyone's asleep and it gets stale." Feathercrest meowed, signaling with his tail for Brackenfall to follow him.

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BRACKENFALL >>

    The tom shook his head in agreement to Feathercrest's urge to leave. He picked up his kill and turned back towards camp, feeling content with his catches and newfound friend. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, and the moon shown brilliantly above the cats, casting a cold blue glow upon their pelts. The birds had stopped chirping and gone away to their nests, so it was silent except for the gentle pawsteps of the warriors. For a brief moment, the tom wondered what life would have been like had he stayed in IvyClan, but shook his head. Not the same, that's for sure. He felt at ease here, and with this hunting trip, he felt his bond with his Clanmate grow. He'd made the right decision in leaving his former Clan. MothClan was his home now, and it would be his home until he joined his fellow warriors in the ranks of StarClan.