A pair of tunnel rats [p]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Tunneler | He/him | 43 Moons
Power Card: Cold Gust

Crowtooth was going to vibrate out of his fur.
There was another cat interested in the tunnels!!!

Listen it was rare but not rare, and so true interest made the rounds in existing tunnelers fast for the hope of a new member. See while lots of cats dipped into the tunnels few really lingered, few lived down there, felt the dark in their bones and loved the tunnels like a second home. That was the difference really, to survive the deep verses live with it, and Crowtooth heard Nighthail wanted to live.

He was so excited. So excited he kind of just forgot social conventions and basically ambushed the molly at her nest. "Dustbunny said yer interested 'n the tunnels! Are ya? Like really really? That's amazin'!" For such a large tom he was akin to a kitten right now. "Youve done the basics, have ya learned huntin'? Fightin'? I can teach ya fightin' 'f ya don' know 't, Dustbunny 's kinda too calm and I'd love a badger fightin' buddy 'f they turn up." The idea was a really exciting one to be honest, right now the only way to manage badgers was to fight to get distance run but that was lame.

Nighthail would be a god to Crowtooth if she was ok with learning tunnel fighting and joined him, he was twitching for a response like a dork.


@furrensic (Im so sorry the original got eaten! Take all the time you need to reply and timeline this takes place before the clearing mess~)

[furrensic]

NIGHTHAIL
she/her. 35 moons. long haired black and grey molly with lighter splotches; blue eyes; scarred
( purrks; the collector )

nighthail was sleeping in her nest, all cozy and warm. keyword, was.

she's startled awake, fur standing up, when suddenly there's someone yapping at her nest. blinking groggily, she recognizes the cat as crowtooth, a tunneler. she stares at him in confusion for a moment or two, still half asleep, trying to understand what he's saying. dustbunny..tunnels. oh. her ear twitches listening to the tom continue to verbally bombard her.

"calm down." the warrior says, pushing out a paw to get crowtooth out of her personal space if he has invaded it. seriously..was he a kit or was he a warrior? kitwarrior. she sits up in her nest, stretching out her limbs before she says anything else. "yes..I'm interested in tunneling." she confirms with a short nod. she didn't think it was such a big deal, but considering both crowtooth and dustbunny seemed excited because of her interest, she supposes it is.

fighting? in the tunnels? that seems impossible considering it's hard to see down there, she thinks, quirking a brow. though, she won't lie, she is interested. it could always be useful if she wanted to sneak up on something or somebody. she's not entirely sure why there would be a cat other than a tunneler in the tunnels, though. hm. "sure." she agrees, nodding and standing up.

[ @Rani it's alright!! since this takes place before the clearing mess, luckily it also takes place before night is injured lol ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Tunneler | He/him | 46 Moons
Power Card: Cold Gust

Listen Nighthail was also interested in Crowtooths special interest and the tom was historically bad at socializing in a non duty setting (hence offering up a 'duty' in training). She was lucky he hadnt just said 'screw it' and sat on her to ramble about how weasels specifically looked like that to fit into tiny holes he, as a broad cat not really built to fit into the smaller tunnels, never could. Crowtooth did not know how to make friends, he knew sharing interests was part of it but the how was unknown.



This couldve gone much worse and much more awkwardly and Crowtooth looked so proud of himself that Nighthail was interested in learning from him, even as she pushed him back.



The tom grinned, crooked as always but awkwardly more wide then normal and rasped out a "Great! Well get right ta 't, follow me!" and almost pranced out of the camp.
He was making new friends and new tunnelers!!! This was great!


Slipping into the tunneler and guiding the two to an area with a larger open chamber Crowtooth began, starting to explain. "So, lotsa dangers down here an' only about half can be killed.

Ya can avoid coyote dens cuz theyre so large an' stink pretty bad an' they can' dig deep enough ta get you 'n the tunnels. Means ya can escape them by just goin' deeper.

Foxes though..... Most places ya can fit they can so be wary. They also den shallow though so 'f yer deep don' worry about suddenly diggin' inta them. An' they also don' spend a ton of time down here and only go ta solo hunt, so show yer not worth 't an' they'll leave but avoid 'f possible."



Some of the advice was obvious but it was more of a lead up.
"Weasel bites hurt but are pretty harmless, nah its badgers that are the danger.
They live breed an' hunt down here an' are built fer this place. I encountered one once an' the damn thin' took a chunk o' my ear an' clawed my face. They're aggressive, will pursue ya even alone, an' are stronger then ya every time.



But they can be beaten! Never fought a cat down here yet but should be the same too."

Crowtooth sat for a moment, wheezing a breath in and out letting Nighthail think and ask questions before he went right into demonstration.



@furrensic

[furrensic]

NIGHTHAIL
she/her. 36 moons. long haired black and grey molly with lighter splotches; blue eyes; scarred
( purrks; the collector )

this tom really is a cherry one, huh.., nighthail thinks as crowtooth grins at her. a stark contrast to her dead-pan expression. following after the larger tom, she slips into the tunnel. she notes how everything feels just a tad more natural than last time, though she still squints, blinded by the darkness as her eyes slowly adjust. use your whiskers like dustbunny said, she reminds herself.

she slows to a stop as the tunneler leads her to an open chamber, ears perked as he began explaining. she sneezes at the dust. so, not only was it dark down here, there were multiple dangers. coyotes, foxes, weasels, and badgers. which, honestly, she doesn't find herself worrying over for the most part. just..badgers is what she's worried about. definitely not so much cats, she knows she has a higher chance at taking one down than a larger predator.

"that's sounds just great." nighthail snorts, sarcasm dripping from her tongue. "...I'm surprised you managed to escape with just those injuries. I've heard of badgers completely mauling cats before." she remarks. crowtooth was one lucky tom, huh? although she'd been mildly irritated at him earlier for ruining her peaceful sleep, she's starting to feel thankful for the toms yapping.

[ @Rani ]