The Hound Collects [P]

[Tuftdrawsanddoodles]

Lightleaf glanced around. She didn’t like being ordered like some troublesome kit that would later need a scolding, though she did stay quiet. She gazed around at the area. She didn’t know completely what their second punishment was, but she wanted to memorize the terrain even more than she might’ve

[Rani]

@OhZeeWolf (sorry for the short reply kinda off and couldnt think of anything cus I know your gonna be having her withdraw, hope this gives you enough to work with!)
Redshrikes satisfaction barley dampened as Embershards fangs gripped his shoulder not nearly in the same type of pain the windclan warrior was in. Shoulders had a lot more thick maine coon fur and lose skin to pull than a paw but still. Time to shake her loose and capitalise on her new weakness.

Only barley loosening his grip on the probably broken limb Redshrike forced his fangs to tear through the paw in long parting scratches letting Embershards own to do the same to his shoulder. It wasnt to bad for him really though, stung and bloody but manageable and reassured by the fact that the windclan cat really had it worse.
"Awwww look at the sad little broken rabbit, cant even run away properly now. Shame that... I think even the dumbest windclan cat knows the fate of broken bunnies who cant run. Youre still facing me though so Ill highlight it, youre crowfood now, no ones coming to save you your patrols being shredded even with Dawnstar leading some new cats in to properly claim our new land. Flee or die but you'd have to pull some special trick to flee now, ah well I preferred the second option besides."
With that he lunged anew ruthlessly exploiting her weak (even more so now) side as he charged her strong side and suddenly dropped and dodged to the other one to throw out a great curling strike against her side. It had a special sort of flick to the clawing too, extended claw and paw curling in as the strike progressed to hook flesh and tear. If that wasnt enough the smiling warrior decided now was the time to start dishing out attempted kill shots snapping at her throat and any exposed spot that'd bleed rapidly and reaching paws around to try and swipe and claw at her belly. There was little room for counter shots, nothing but strike after strike to avoid and try and dodge as Redshrike did his honest best to murder Embershard. No more playing with his food it was time for windclan to clear out or perish.

[Moonraven]

Batglare, untangling himself from Grimhound's mass, stood up and shook out his pelt as soon as he heard the caterwaul. His muscles ached and he couldn't tell where he was bleeding from, he was sore, but nothing Batglare couldn't handle or so he assumed. He noticed that several of his clanmates had taken to fleeing, he suppose he couldn't fault them, but that didn't frustrate him any less. Too many were so quick to show their bellies at the first sign or threat of death, these cats that called themselves warriors made him sick sometimes. He's fought rogues with more courage than them.

Batglare would much rather go down fighting over running any day. These were the days where he wondered why he still stuck around here, but aside from her, WindClan was all he knew, he could barely tolerate the cats in this clan, no point in trying his luck with the others. His snake-like yellow-green eyes fixed themselves on the huge molly ahead of him as she spoke to no cat in particular.

"The whole point of this 'ill-advised' patrol was to fetch you damn toads your prey." Batglare hissed, shooting a cool stare in Grimhound's direction, muscles tensed, waiting for the tom to attack him at any given moment. He had been caught off guard the first time, Batglare hated repeating mistakes. "Your frogs started killing and ripping up the cats that were supposed to be hunting for you. Not that they were particularly unprovoked." Batglare glanced in the direction of Thistlestrike's unmoving body. "Still, the territory belongs to my clan, Twilightstar never said anything about when we needed to get you prey, just that it needed to be done. I was getting that done, you would have had it by now if your band of crazies had waited."
@Undertaker

[Poprock]

When had the air gotten so thin? Her mouth hung open, gasping in as much air as possible. Her heart thundered inside her chest, the sound deafening in her ears. Her back burned, as if that Windclan pest was still there, unsheathed claws and bared fangs ready to rip her to shreds. How? How did I mess that up so bad? Her wide eyes scanned the clearing, not paying any mind to those still battling. Did the Windclan warrior follow me? Is she behind me? Is she going to kill me?

Shame slowly overtook the blind fear that fizzled in her pelt. Had she just... lost? Only inflicting a few cuts on the Bunny's paws before she fled? Oh Stars... Her stomach did flip flops at the sound of thundering paws. No. Not now! I don't have a bunny pelt to show!

Dawnstar's arrival was both a blessing and a curse. The bunny's would surely be scared or killed off now, running back to their pathetic burrows with their tails in between their legs. But... would she be disappointed in Gingerpaw? Hopefully not.

[Ziera]

// @/Undertaker

Spiderjump's shoulders sagged in relief when he saw ShadowClan earned the upper paw in the skirmish. Wolfwhisper was safe and he barely registered anything else; the sickening feeling that bothered Spider since he guessed their destination finally dissolved.

He knew that Dawnstar dragging him here (along with some other clan disappointments) was bad, real bad. Not exactly the best time for celebrating. It just...what would Spider have told their siblings if Wolfie...if he..? No. Nope. Wolf said he'd stay alive forever with Spiderjump and there were no take backs.

After the internal panic abated, Spider found his golden eyes trailing Dawnstar. She just. She was terrifying, yeah, but her presence was powefully magnetic. It amazed Spiderjump how cats in the thick of battle froze when they heard her yowl. The grey-black tom followed her orders, stayed close and kept his mouth shut -- curious how it would all unfold and trying to ignore the stench of blood coming from everywhere.

[carmen]

Silentstorm rushed down the hill, her silver Bengal fur ruffling in the wind. All she wanted was to sink her claws into Shadowclan. All she wanted was to show Snakepaw that leaving Windclan was a mistake. She would help a random cat, fight a random enemy. Say she was helping them out. She glanced around in time to see Ryecloud run away from... an apprentice? As she prepared herself to leap at the cat, everyone froze. Looking up, she growled softly. The Queen of the Shadows had arrived.

She sat down and stared at Dawnstar. And tried not to find her cool. The way she managed her clan with cool indifference, the way she commanded the other clans- she couldn't help but find it utterly fascinating. How was it that half the world hated her and the other loved her? But she didn't give them time. She honestly thought that just because they hadn't brought prey yet that they never would? Pathetic. Well, no, nothing about the Shadowclan leader is pathetic.

[spade]

[ so sorry this is late! ]

It took quite a tank of a cat for attacks to hold any weight against Grimhound, but the coiled leg that subsequently smacked him dead center in the chest did enough damage to momentarily get him off of Batglare. Breath rushed out from his lungs in a frenzy, and Grimhound staggered, albeit briefly before regaining his balance. The same, sadistic twisted grin stayed on his face, as he watched Batglare, a quiet yet magical laughter rising from him. ”Hide behind your bunny feet, how predictable,” the large tabby spat, readying himself to attack once more.

That was, until a familiar voice called him to attention. Both eerie and melodic, and one that Grimhound had come to learn to listen and follow - at least for now.

Amber eyes turned to see Dawnstar and another band of ShadowClan cats on the rise. Perfect. Slinking over, Grimhound nodded to Dawnstar, shooting her a wink before turning, body low and fangs bared in a grin, standing before her like the hound he was. Most of the bunnies had fled by now, which was a shame. But Thistlestrike...

In one smooth, fluid motion, the hound went to stand over his trophy, eyes challenging any WindClanner to come close - they would die trying to retrieve his body. This was Dawnstar’s pelt now.

”You see what happens to those who try to set paw on this new piece of ShadowClan territory,” Grimhound spoke, voice like honey, as his tail brushed along the unmoving leg of Thistlestrike. ”Unless it wasn’t clear enough for you? I can gladly give you an up close example.” His eyes were locked onto Batglare, his new target and the next name added to his list.

// @Moonraven @Undertaker @/everyone else [don’t wanna double mention]

[Undertaker]

Her sickly golden optics instinctively landed on the cat who pulled away from Grimhound. Up close, she recalled the name of this warrior, Batglare. The eyes and the size stood out about him. She had seen him once at a gathering, maybe on the battlefield, but that memory was distant. The grin that stretched her maw was Chesire in nature as got a better look at the large bunny. The more she analyzed the less bunny he seemed, unlike the others who fled, he didn't seem in the slightest daunted by her number nor her power. He was mouthy, not like her mongrel mouthy, he was just straight-up rude ass. Dawnstar had no clue there was a cat like this in WindClan?

Dawnstar's met her fair share of mouthy birdbrains that speak loudly and proudly, but quiver and flee at the first sign of her claws or ire. This mouthy vermin looked willing to throw down with her, her hound, and every cat that opposed him. He had a certain rebellious air to him, he reminded her greatly of the hound. She bet she could bend him to a point, but not break him. The lack of sympathy he held for the dead was interesting, it was hard to say if he was simply apathetic towards the death of his clanmate or if there was a reason for the indifference with the death that made it careless.

"You are not a bunny, I wonder why you're pretending to be one?" Dawnstar voiced, peering at the huge cat with twisted glee. "I bet it's an interesting story, business over pleasure, however." The way she sighed after she spoke sounded almost regretful to the right ears. Her lips raised just a little to flash her ivory fangs at the mongrel once he padded over to the dead body, winking at her, and laid claim to it. She was perplexed but wasn't going to question it, if he wanted the dead bunny so be it. If he continued to help her win battles and remained useful, Dawnstar had no problem giving him whatever he wanted within reason.

"You're correct, I didn't give you a limit of time to deliver your end of the bargain, but you can tell old Bun-Bun that a moon's time is more than gracious of me to grant you all. I should have come to claim what rightfully belongs to ShadowClan long ago." That excuse was petty and the bunnies knew it. "ShadowClan will be paid with land or blood, hmm, perhaps both. Ah, I've just decided we'll be taking the territory as compensation for the prey, but we still need something extra for time wasted on this. We'll take that back in blood." Dawnstar purred, pleased with the sudden thought.

"This territory belongs to ShadowClan, belong to me, now. But I doubt WindClan will take this laying down, so you let Bunnystar know that she can send as many cats as she wants to try and reclaim this territory, I'll let my clan know to make sure to line the border with your clanmates blood and bodies." She stood, dragging her claws through the grass as she did so. "You, though, you nothing like the bunnies, you should stop playing prey, you are a predator, come and join your own kind among real predators. The bunnies are going to hold you back, Batglare." Dawnstar didn't make offers for cats of other clans to join ShadowClan often... this was actually the first time she's ever done it. But, things that intrigued and sometimes frustrated her, she liked to take, possess, she could be overbearing and downright relentless when it came to what she wanted. He could either live as hers or die, those were the only choices.
@Moonraven @spade

[Moonraven]

Batglare did not like the way those eyes ran over his pelt, it made him want to rip them out of her head. As she went on some weird rant about his lack of bunny-like(?) qualities, Batglare heard what she was saying but wasn't actively listening. He was more interested in seeing if he could kill her went she was speaking, he doubted she'd see it coming, not many cats just attack while cats went on a monologue.

As his leader was brought up, he forced himself to pay somewhat attention, but it was simply another threat or perhaps a promise coming from her mouth. He'd take the message to Twilightstar, not because he was told, simply because he was hoping this would spur her into action. This stalemate the two clans had going on was getting dull, he needed to properly run his claws through some fur, and spill blood, his own or his enemies whatever came first.

She was not trying to hide in the slightest the fact that she was interested in him, if he didn't hate her guts, he might have seen the whole interaction as laughable. His facial expression remained stuck in that stoic and grim expression, green-yellow eyes lite with some sort of emotion before it dampened a second later. Switching clans has never been something he's thought about in the slightest, and even though he still wanted to kill her, he'd admit that he liked her flair for chaos and straightforward attitude. Still, leaving WindClan for ShadowClan wasn't something he could do? Could he?

Sliding his eyes away from Dawnstar's, he gazed around the number of ShadowClan cats. That dumbass who laid claimed to Thistlestrike's body was asking for a thrashing, but to pick a fight with him about it now was asking for death. Batglare didn't care about dying today, tomorrow, whenever, unfortunately, he didn't trust his remaining clanmates to actually report what was going on to Twilightstar. If he died, it might be sunrises before the news even reached the leader's ears. Hissing, Batglare didn't bother giving Dawnstar an answer, instead, he got up and turned away, walking towards camp. Next time...
@Undertaker