Foxcall hummed and nodded at the other warrior giving a kind smile as they went in the opposite direction of Nightshiver and took in the scents around them. It was nice to be in the territories, they hadn't been called onto a patrol in a while and they were hoping this would be good chance to show they aren't slacking.
They quickly dropped into a crouch as they stalked forward toward the bird, and quickly pounced and bit into the neck of it, burying it quickly. They opened their maw again to scent and walked away slightly and started to stalk toward the mouse that they had scented. Their body low to the ground and quick to pounce and kill the prey.
Foxcall seemed to be distracted with their hunting, which was to Nightshiver's luck as she quietly padded along the territory. This way they wouldn't see if she failed. Opening her maw, the young molly smelled the air, padding around a little until the soft smell of mice caught her attention. She crouched, stalking through the undergrowth until the sight of a plump mouse came into her field of vision. Hidden below the shadow of a tree, it had yet to spot her. The molly's only mistake was taking a deep breath in preparation, alerting the mouse of her presence after all. But with an urgent leap, although the landing was very rough, Nightshiver managed to catch the mouse just before it got away. She quickly gave it a final bite, then looked down at her catch with mild surprise, breath heaving. She did. She was exhausted, but she did it. The ghost of a smile graced her features before she buried the mouse, uttering a small prayer, and moved on. It was with surprising ease that she was able to find the second mouse she'd scented earlier, not yet startled. Unlike the first time, Nightshiver held her breath as she crept closer, quickly slapping her paws over the little creature and ending it's suffering. That was two for two... The white lady couldn't help but feel awfully glad, despite how tired she felt all of a sudden.
The dark tom left camp early, beating the sun to touch the forest floor outside. He'd been woken form his sleep by a nightmare. It was a nightmare that he had no disillusions about its origins. Cats were dying around him, coughing, sickness, death, and he'd been helpless. He didn't figure it was a prophecy or foresight, it hadn't the same feel as the dream he'd experienced with his mother, but it was surely related. He tried to move away from the impact the dream had stuck on him by escaping camp, but the feeling of impending doom lingered, and he could only rationalize part of it away. It wasn't likely for sickness to rampage the camp suddenly in newleaf, but his helplessness was prophecied, unless he could avoid it...
Elmshadow stopped in his path as prey scent washed over him. He crouched down, looking up. Bluejay... It hopped out of a wild rose bush, bright with blossoming reddish pink blooms. Elmshadow moved his weight back, ready to pounce, but he stayed himself as a shadow moved over the mottled sunlight coming in through the canopy. Looking up, the shadowed black figure of a hawk moved out of the sky and perched in a pine just over the blue jay. Elmshadow watched, curiosity keeping him present. The blue jay made no move to retreat to the bush, even with death threatening at every angle. Rather it continued pecking among the pine needles, almost oblivious, care free. For the hawk's part, it was granting the blue jay forgiveness in its carelessness as it stayed on its branch as surely as Elmshadow was delaying his own pounce. Finally he sighed and sat up; curiosities rarely happened for no reason. With the movement, the spell over the scene seemed to break; the blue jay dove back into the wild rose bush and the blackened hawk lifted from its branch and disappeared into the sky.
Holding the ordeal in his mind, and a renewed sense of urgency to protect his her supply form the impending trouble, Elmshadow turned away and made his way back to camp. He'd have to talk to Dawnstar sooner rather than later.
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Foxcall seemed to be distracted with their hunting, which was to Nightshiver's luck as she quietly padded along the territory. This way they wouldn't see if she failed. Opening her maw, the young molly smelled the air, padding around a little until the soft smell of mice caught her attention. She crouched, stalking through the undergrowth until the sight of a plump mouse came into her field of vision. Hidden below the shadow of a tree, it had yet to spot her. The molly's only mistake was taking a deep breath in preparation, alerting the mouse of her presence after all. But with an urgent leap, although the landing was very rough, Nightshiver managed to catch the mouse just before it got away. She quickly gave it a final bite, then looked down at her catch with mild surprise, breath heaving. She did. She was exhausted, but she did it. The ghost of a smile graced her features before she buried the mouse, uttering a small prayer, and moved on. It was with surprising ease that she was able to find the second mouse she'd scented earlier, not yet startled. Unlike the first time, Nightshiver held her breath as she crept closer, quickly slapping her paws over the little creature and ending it's suffering. That was two for two... The white lady couldn't help but feel awfully glad, despite how tired she felt all of a sudden.
Foxcall ears twitched when they heard scrambles near the base of a tree and saw a bushy tail squirrel. They crouched down once more and quietly stalked forward but hissed quietly as they paw moved some pine needles, they quickly followed the bushy tail animal up the teee, catching it and pulling it down by the tail. They gently hit into the neck of it before hoping down the tree,
Once they grabbed the other two pieces of pretty the trotted over to Nightshiver, setting their pretty down to speak, “I’m ready whenever you are…”
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Foxcall ears twitched when they heard scrambles near the base of a tree and saw a bushy tail squirrel. They crouched down once more and quietly stalked forward but hissed quietly as they paw moved some pine needles, they quickly followed the bushy tail animal up the teee, catching it and pulling it down by the tail. They gently hit into the neck of it before hoping down the tree,
Once they grabbed the other two pieces of pretty the trotted over to Nightshiver, setting their pretty down to speak, “I’m ready whenever you are…”
Gathering back her two pieces of prey, it seemed as though Foxcall was just about finished too. Her maw full carrying both pieces, Nightshiver gave a light yet affirmative nod in response, meaning she was ready to head back if Foxcall was too.
It was quite cold as the two cats wandered through the territory. Spiderheart didn't really have a problem with this though, she prefered the cold much more than the heat. The wind had begun to ease a bit, which would hopefully make it a bit easier to sniff out some prey. The molly glanced over at her companion. "So, I don't really know that much about you. Do you have any family in Shadowclan?" She asked Applechatter, wanting to make some kind of conversation to ease the silence. Spiderheart sniffed the air once more. So far she couldn't scent anything. Except for the smell of pine, and that smell of rain that seemed to always loom over her clan's territory. She liked it though. The smell of rain was kind of comforting, in its own way.
Nightshiver began to follow Hawkbite out of camp. She kept an appropriate distance, walking beside the tom though at about a tail's length from being fully beside him, letting the warrior lead them further into the territory. It was strangely nice, as she watched the ground pass by, silently padding through the territory with someone she may consider to be more kind than some other members of ShadowClan. To her, the silence was comfortable as opposed to oppressing, and she strangely enjoyed the little walk. Perhaps it was because she hadn't left camp all that much lately.
The white lady raised her head again only when Hawkbite spoke, eyes turning to look at him. She nodded in reply, whispering a little "yes" as she did, looking around. The territory looked so much nicer... Almost alive, much more so than during leafbare. It was nice. True to how she'd always been, Nightshiver was unsure of what to say next. Until her ears gave a twitch and she suddenly looked right, attention picked by a sudden sound. It must be critters going about their day, the with little wind blowing in their direction, she didn't quite pick up the scent yet. "I think.. th-there's something.. there"
She pointed right with her paw, behind some bushes and trees, naturally keeping her voice low. It might be.. A mouse, if she'd have to guess.
Hawkbite reacted almost simultaneously with Nightshiver as the noise caught his attention. His stance dropped down low and he looked at the she-cat with an eager expression. It really didn't take long to find something. The tom gave her a small nod, indicating his agreement.
"All yours, let's see those hunting moves in full force now," he spoke, giving the she-cat a wink and silent chuckle. Hawkbite merely tensed and stayed low, letting Nightshiver take the lead. His green eyes were focused on her now with only an encouraging expression.
She'd been lying out in a rare patch of sunlight beaming onto the Shadowclan clearing when she'd heard Elmshadow's call. There was a mixture of relief and curiosity and frustration warring inside her. Sunsetthorn had forgotten how much she missed being a warrior until the very idea of a patrol, even an herb patrol, filled her with excitement. She'd been stuck in the nursery for more than seven moons now and at least six more were coming. She gave her swollen belly a few short licks before rolling to her paws and padding towards her father. With him? And what is a medicine cat thinking taking a queen out into the territory? Sunsetthorn knew she could kit anytime now and here was her own father and medicine cat pulling her away from the safety of the nursery. Though there should be some comfort in that she'd be close to the medicine cat should anything happen; she still felt it strange and difficult to get used to, her uncaring and cold father being her clan's healer. Shouldn't life mean something to the cat in charge of healing them?
She'd joined Elmshadow and waited nearby until he was ready to head out then, without a word from either, Sunsetthorn followed her father out of camp and into the territory. At least he was true to his word and stopped shortly into the walk. His nose was down toward the ground when she walked up beside him. "What are we looking for?"
Elmshadow lifted his head after nipping off the stem of a poppy flower then looked at the golden one-eyed queen; she looked so much like her mother sometimes it made him falter. "I'm looking for herbs I can use. You're here because I thought we should talk."
Sunsetthorn paused, Talk...Elmshadow brought me out here to...talk. Suspicion filled her. She wasn't sure there had ever been a time when she'd simply talked to her father. A lifetime ago she respected her father for the warrior he was and the asset he served as; and in that lifetime she'd spent time with her father, learning from him, training with him, never living up to his expectations, the first having been born a she-cat. But talk? She remained still, watching her father as he moved forward through the blooming plants, watching him with her one blue eye, waiting for him to continue but not wanting to prompt him. She wasn't completely sure she wanted to have any kind of talk with her father.
"What you told me, about Petalkit. I don't know what's going on with Thunderclan right now but I can't make it over there. As soon as things settle down," he took in a deep breath, as Sunsetthorn held her own. "Once I have the chance, I can go speak with Sundust. But you're sure? You're sure of what you saw?"
Sunsetthorn was quiet for a few heartbeats, unsure how to respond, how to feel. Elmshadow was...it'd been days since she'd gone to him about having seen her little sister across the border and he'd been more concerned about her being out...He'd been concerned. Everything began to spin, she swallowed hard. No, it must be the hormones. I'm projecting... But what other explanation could there be? Sunsetthorn had always been too rational for such follies. There was a side to Elmshadow she hadn't ever been prepared to see and she realized she suddenly hated him all the more for it. "If you're going to question what I saw then don't bother..."
Elmshadow's eyes narrowed, "You're smarter than that, Sunsetthorn. I will do what I said I will but the question needed to be asked."
Though the anger burned in her, she had no rebuttal; he was right, she knew why he had to ask, he was putting himself at the mercy of another clan and his own based on her word alone. So she gave a single nod.
There was silence for a few moments as Sunsetthorn contemplated everything she had learned in such a few short phrases, when prey scent fell over her. The itch for the hunt was almost as appetizing as the mouse itself but Elmshadow's crouch caught her eye. The resentment flared again as she realized he was going to take the opportunity from her but she quickly conceded internally that she'd be doing the entire clan a disservice if she were to attempt the pounce in the state she was in. She crouched down anyway and turned her eye toward the source of the scent. A fat mouse was nibbling on freshly bloomed purple flower head of thin sleek petals it'd apparently pulled from a long thin stalk. Her claws slid from their sheaths and dug into the dirt as she imagined her pounce and her claws sliding into the mouse's brown pelt. But instead she watched her imagination come to life from the sidelines as Elmshadow pounced flat and neat over the low brush and directly onto the mouse, killing it with a neat bite, giving no opportunity for the mouse to squeal. She rose to sit and was surprised once again when he walked straight to her and dropped the mouse at her paws. She immediately shook her head, opening her mouth to refuse but Elmshadow shot her a hard green stare, "As your medicine cat, you're
a queen out walking the territory, you need your food." His words were met by the rumble of her own stomach so she sighed and gave in. Leaning down, she ate the mouse in quick bites as he moved away and began rummaging through the herbs once again.
When she was finished, she buried the remains and walked up to Elmshadow. He'd gathered a small pile of different herbs, some she recognized but none she could name. "What would you like me to carry?"
Elmshadow looked at her then separated out a few thin stalks with purple clusters at the tip. "The burnet. If anything, ingesting some of that could do you good. I'll deal with the poppy, mallow, and yellow bells." Sunsetthorn nodded and lifted the stalks gently in her mouth as Elmshadow did the same of his mixed bundle and she followed him back towards camp.
After a few paces, the dizziness began to increase and her paws grew heavy, she realized she was panting, sucking in deep breaths that didn't seem to help. She knew pregnancy came with its own set of challenges and maladies but this was unlike anything she'd experienced. The burnet fell from her mouth and one of her legs buckled. A sudden wave of nausea ripped through her and panic set in. It wasn't the cramping of kitting that was causing her to lose herself, it was something else, but something else meant it could be a risk to the kits she carried inside her belly. She hadn't found it in herself to be excited over the coming litter, with Branchfire being gone, but she now suddenly was riddled with guilt over it, chanting in her head a circular mantra, No, I want you, I love you...I want you, I love you... They were a part of Branchfire and they were her kits, she couldn't bear the thought of them coming to harm. She opened her mouth to call out to Elmshadow but nothing came out. Was it the panic that was causing such seizing or whatever ailed her? Regardless, when she looked up again, the medicine cat was already beside her.
Elmshadow gently pressed against Sunsetthorn to coax her to lie down. "What is it? What are you feeling?"
Sunsetthorn panted, sucking in a deep breath as she tried to center herself. She needed to ground herself enough to seek help. She sucked in a deep breath, "Nausea...I can't...My breath...I can't...My legs...weak and...and I'm dizzy..."
Elmshadow's mind whirled as he thought through everything he knew, everything he'd treated. Dizziness, nausea, fatigue...it had to be an illness or poison. But it had come on so suddenly, too suddenly and too strong to be an illness, unless she'd been hiding something. "When did you first feel ill? What have you eaten today?" He placed a paw on her flank and began gently prodding her bloated belly. He felt the lumps of the kits as they wriggled beneath his touch. There was one positive sign, the kits were alive and responsive, but what was happening to their mother? He could feel nothing distinctive beyond the kits and Sunsetthorn was too wrapped up in her labored breathing and constant discomfort to show any significant signs of distress from his touch.
She shook her head but her single eye did not meet his. "Just...now..." she panted.
"And eaten, what have you eaten?" He asked, his voice calm but direct.
Her head shook again. "Nothing...Just...the mouse."
The mouse, but it had been fresh and healthy. There'd been no signs of poisoning or illness. He looked back, hesitant to leave the suffering queen alone but knowing something had to be done. Stinging nettle... Though he couldn't explain it, poisoning felt like the most likely answer, in which case he needed to get it out of her. "I'll be right back." He turned quickly away and ran through the undergrowth until the tall stalk adorned with spikey-looking leaves crossed his vision. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever might hear it then carelessly tore off a cluster of seeds. Running nimbly back through the forest, he stopped at his daughter's side. Her breathing was still heavy but the obvious signs of discomfort seemed to have abated, though he wasn't sure that was a good sign. He moved her head back and placed a seed on her tongue. "Swallow." He watched her throat twitch. And then, after long tense passing moments, her belly heaved and bile and minced mouse meat spewed out onto the pine needles. Another visible clench and more came up onto the pine needles. Elmshadow turned and looked around, cursing that the nearest water source was too far away to be feasible. Honey, water... He needed his den. The heaving lasted a few more rounds but eventually abated as the last few turned nothing more over. Looking quickly over what had been ejected from the pregnant queen, there was nothing immediately concerning but her breathing grew less labored and the pain seemed to ease. Elmshadow took his one mallow leaf and a piece of the dropped burnet, bundling the two together he placed it in front of Sunsetthorn. "Eat these, and then we have to get the rest of the way back into camp." He watched as his daughter weakly lifted and chewed the herbs then he pushed a shoulder under hers and leveraged her to her paws. Her weight leaned heavily against him as the two made their way slowly back into camp.
[ +2 burnet +1 poppy flower +2 yellow bells ]
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The sense of urgency filled him increasingly as they grew nearer to the camp. Sunsetthorn was no longer panting but he wasn't sure whether that was a good sign or bad. He didn't know what she'd ingested, or if it was something she'd ingested, to have caused such a reaction and thus he didn't know what to watch out for or what to expect moving forward. Pushing as quickly as he dared through the camp entrance and then straight across the clearing for his own den, he took as much of the weight off Sunsetthorn as she'd allow him but her dragging, exhausted paws were infuriatingly slow moving. Inside his den, he was able to lower her into a nest and then moved quickly, freely, to the back of his den for the herb stores. They were frustratingly unhelpful beyond the two things he'd wished he'd had out in the territory to begin with. He once again cursed his lack of knowledge; maybe if he knew more, maybe there was something that could help this. But what was this? He broke off a piece of the honeycomb and soaked a ball of moss in the tiny trickling stream and returned to his daughter's side. Using one broad paw, he turned Sunsetthorn's chin upward. She had grown lethargic and near unresponsive, more so than the worst of the bout when it'd first began. But he persisted until he could get a clear shot to dribble the water into her mouth. She swallowed on her own but it was through a depressive state. He followed the water with a scoop of honey and then more water to wash it down. He used the still-damp moss ball to wipe away the sticky residue around Sunsetthorn's mouth then sat back, helpless. He'd done everything he knew to do. The stinging nettle had successfully brought up the contents of her belly, and there had been a marked change in her condition afterwards. Mallow for the bellyache, burnet to give her strength, honey to try to revitalize her and water for hydration...He needed to know what had caused this.
The dark medicine cat lingered at his daughter's side even as the light in his den began to shift and darken. Sunsetthorn had fallen into a slumber, deep and still but somehow unrestful. He was waiting for...he didn't know, but if anything was going to change he knew he needed to be here to address it. But as darkness began to drift into the den, the time had surely passed of any immediate danger that he'd be able to fix. Now he needed to figure out the root of all of this. He stood, his muscles and joints protesting the sudden movement after so long crouching. With a quick stretch, he turned from Sunsetthorn and ran back out into the territory.
Elmshadow began at the location Sunsetthorn had first fallen and then backtracked his way to where he'd caught the mouse. Sitting down in the small depression that had been left in the pine needles by Sunsetthorn's pregnant-heavy crouch as she'd eaten the mouse, Elmshadow looked out over the area. It was exactly as they'd left it just hours before but now the sun was casting long shadows and deep mahogany light over the forest. The mouse had been fresh, as fresh as it could possibly have been. It was round and sleek with good health. And it was eating, a universal sign, as far as Elmshadow knew, of an animal in decent health. It couldn't have been poisoned itself and surely wasn't ill...but it had been eating. A sudden interesting thought crossed Elmshadow's mind. What had the mouse been eating? The purple flower. Elmshadow's green eyes turned toward the still-standing flowers where he'd caught the mouse, unaware in its feasting, then stood and padded gently up to it. Letting a deep breath out, he leaned in toward the plant and breath it in, keeping his mouth closed in case these had been the culprit to Sunsetthorn's illness. There wasn't an immediately off-putting scent to it but it was sharp, unpalatable, concerning. He slid a claw out and sliced through a few long stems, dropping three long-petaled purple flower to the ground. Using a nearby leaf, Elmshadow wrapped the flower and carried it back to camp.
[ +3 Meadow saffron ]
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{Flickerbeetle}
(Gahh, sorry for the wait! The last twoish weeks, I've been cramming my work for the end of the year so it could all get done!)
“Ohhh, I gotcha.” She intriguingly murmured, leaning over to watch the molly. Flickerbeetle intently nodded along as she spoke. “Yeah, yeah, I see them.” Her tail perked up as the Brokensoul continued on explaining the different parts of the bird. As the molly continued to mention the various parts, Flickerbeetle would listen with curiosity, tilting her head.
“Mhm! I think I get it.” Flickerbeetle exclaimed, sitting up straight, turning her attention to Brokensoul with a grin wide upon her maw, giving her tail a rapid flick.
“Should we save the bird so we can bring it to the fresh-kill pile or should we not since well..” She trailed off, scrunching her snout, and gave the dead bird a glance of disgust. The little learning session would leave the bird’s body open to a wide world of bugs. Though when she saw Brokensoul’s happiness as the molly watched the birds out of the corner of Flickerbeetle’s eye, she could help but give her a fond glance.
“We could go to the top of the trees, they could give us a better view of them.” The warrior softly offered, nudging her head up towards the tree tops.
Thornclaw stalked the territory carefully, His orange eyes sharply looking at everything. Soon he saw a rabbit. The tom stalked the shadow, carefully he sneaks up to the prey. His claws sheathed and his teeth opened, once close enough the tom lunged forward landing on the rabbit and killing it before it could run. The tom then continued to hunt. His eyes looked ahead to see the bird that caught his attention. He dropped his rabbit and stalked to bird repeating his hunting technique the tom had another successful kill. He continued on to look for prey. After awhile the tom had repeated his hunt technique on 2 other preys a mice and a vole.
Re: ShadowClan Territory
