Violetfreckle's death and subsequent aliving had hung over Redhawk like a wet badger pelt. She had gotten some reprieve at night with the help of Mudhound, but as she woke in the morning the thoughts and voices were still there. So, out she headed towards Cattail Pond. It was no secret that Violet had originally been from RiverClan. If anyone asked her, the gray-furred she-cat was just as much ThunderClan as Red was - but that didn't mean she had to leave behind everything she had once known as home.
The pond was mostly frozen over, the ice glittering under the bright gray sky. She had originally come out here to catch a fish for the injured she-cat, but with all of this ice... hmmm... Tentatively she tried her paw at stepping on the ice. Immediately her paw slipped forward a bit, and instinct told her to put another paw out. That one slipped too - leaving the reddish-brown she-cat crashing down with a shrill squeak of surprise. Okay, ice was definitely slippery, that was for sure. After a bit of scrambling, Redhawk managed to get back to the safety of the pond's edge, trying to figure out how else to go at her mission...
...Were there even any fish in the pond yet? Redhawk wasn't entirely certain as she peered closer. Where she had landed there was a crack, so maybe she could use that to break through and snag a fish? She didn't need a lot - just one big one or two small ones. Something to bring to Violetfreckle to keep her hopes up. Tentatively again she placed a paw on the ice, using a bit more pressure. A thin line shot out from under her paw back towards the edge of the pond and her gaze widened. Maybe she could break the ice...?
Taking a breath Redhawk pulled her paw back to the edge. She lifted herself up on her hind legs, hesitated only for a moment, before plunging them down.
CRACK.
Suddenly the ice underneath her gaze out and Redhawk found herself plunged headfirst into the freezing water. It zapped her immediately, paws thudding against the bottom of the pond. Just as they hit the bottom she felt something slippery dart between them. It was purely instinct that managed to draw her claws out, hooking onto whatever it was as her hind legs scrambled her backwards. She landed hard on her haunches, gasping for air.
Caught between her claws, still trashing about, was a rather big fish. Red had no idea what kind, but like with any prey she parted her fangs and bit down into it until the thrashing stopped.
Well, that was one way to catch a fish, surely. Sheesh.
As Violetfreckle considered, she found herself face-to-face with another burst of energy. She ran out further into the territory, crashing into snowdrifts as she did. As she jumped into them, she giggled to herself, glad she was alone at least. Sometimes, she just needed a little bit of this. And yeah, ThunderClan as a whole wasn't so bad. But she was no stranger to distrustful glares, and it was difficult to deal with that all the damn time. Maybe playing in the snow was the break she needed from that.
She found her way to Cattail Pond eventually, seeing it completely iced over. Well, so much for fishing, then. However, what if... Tentatively, she crept up to the shore and placed a paw on the ice. She tested her weight on it, and the ice groaned a bit but didn't budge otherwise. Now, two paws. Three, and all four paws were on the ice. She stood still as a tree, listening for any noise. Nothing. She took a step forward, then another, until she was a few tail-lengths from the shoreline. That was when the ice crumbled beneath her and she fell into the pond with an awkward squawk.
It took a bit, but she managed to swim back to shore, her pelt dripping wet. Brrr! She shook off, then sniffled and headed back home. That was enough for one day.
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there's courage in being terrified, but still going forward.
Approaching the pond with long, confident strides, Lioncrest surveyed the area before turning to face the young patrolmate he had been charged with escorting during their task.
"Moss is easy enough to locate around the rocks around the edges of this pond, however cobwebs may prove a trickier quarry to locate," he rumbled, eyes narrowing as he glanced around the territory they had claimed from Riverclan a few moons back. "Fallen logs, alcoves between roots, and the bases of trees will be our best bet for collecting whatever webs we can, unless you feel confident enough in your climbing abilities to scale the trees while they remain slick with frost. I would suggest we remain within eyesight of each other no matter your choices."
Pausing for a moment, the large, golden tom allowed Sprucepaw a moment to make a decision; curious to see whether the younger cat would opt for a safe and easy option, or attempt a riskier collection that could provide them with more cobwebs, but may also result in an injury if they weren't careful or properly trained.
Paws as soft as he padded through the snow as the former kittypet followed after the golden tom, his emotionless stare befitting his current numbness. Every time he left the safety - hah, that was a laugh - of the camp walls of late and he encountered this frosted over hellscape he had to wonder why he had ever wanted to leave the only slightly warmer dens prior to stepping outside. Seriously. He was over winter. It was cold, stale, cold, boring to look at... and did he mention cold? Because good heavens was it cold... Thankfully there would be no stingers in this whole operation, because to be honest he may have just had to call it quits right there and then. Forget this whole place. Frosted toes that you could also not walk on because the leaves had claws and liked to attack? Nope. That was his cue to leave right there and then.
Failing to pay attention to his surroundings as he let his mind wander, Fudge's ears perked up when he heard Duke Gold speak, emerald orbs flickering towards the pond as the tom spoke. It was tempting... to simply go for the moss. Easy work and be back in camp in a flash. But... who in their right mind would choose the potential to get wet gathering greenery when they could climb the trees and be a hero with cobwebs? Forget the hero and cobwebs part. He just wanted to climb! It was the best part of any day, and the warrior's challenge only served to make it all the more tantalizing. He'd been climbing - and destroying - the sleek, flat surfaces of the housefolk nest he was born in since he'd been able to walk. He would master this icy tree as well, make no mistake of that!
Whiskers twitching with excitement, the chocolate point walked towards the base of a tree, placing a paw upon it as he gazed towards the top of the copse. The side of his mouth uplifting ever so slightly in the closest the apprentice ever came to a smile, he turned pointedly towards the older feline, making a motion with his head. He thought his silent gesture was clear. He was climbing this tree. If Duke Gold wanted to go splash by frozen pond water he was free to do so. This former kittypet, however, was built for heights! Still, he supposed a word wouldn't be out of place here. These clan cats liked everything verbally confirmed from what he'd seen, and the last thing he wanted was The Boulder hearing he wasn't being a model apprentice. He'd worked hard to have his mentor understand his levels of genius. One unspoken misunderstanding was not going to be the end of that!
"Clamber," he stated, before turning his attention back to the trunk.
[Dice Roll - 3]
With no more needing to be stated, Fudge took off, a mighty leap propelling him skyward as he unsheathed his claws, digging into... nothing. Evidently, his lack of focus got the better of him, and unable to sink his claws into the thicker ice where he'd chosen to climb, his paw slid, throwing his aim off with his nose soon getting an up close and personal encounter with the frost covered trunk before he fell heavily to the piled snow below. Well then... that certainly did not go to plan. What were the odds this could stay between Duke Gold and just him? Considering how much the star worshippers liked to gossip, he had to guess not very high. Had he already mentioned how much he hated winter? Because he. Hated. Winter.
@Jayvines [Lioncrest]
| I promise the lad will get the cobwebs next post once I activate his Agatha Kitty so he can actually pay attention to things. The dice roll was just so much the usual dice roll he gets I couldn't help but bruising his ego again. |
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Lightningstorm is WindClan's current medicine cat.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
It seemed that this young cat had some spark to them. Promising.
Dipping their head in acknowledgement of Sprucepaw's simply-communicated answer, Lioncrest strode over towards some of the nearby rocks while keeping half an eye on his charge. It would do no one any good if they ended up with an injury to be healed rather than healing supplies, but sometimes risks needed to be taken for the good of their clan. A muffled *thunk* seemed to prove this thought as a streak of brown fur slid back down the trunk and into a snowbank at the base. Amber gaze flicked over towards Sprucepaw, and a quick once over seemed to prove that the apprentice was merely disgruntled rather than physically harmed.
Choosing to give Sprucepaw a chance to recover on his own rather than smother him, Lioncrest began peering around for a suitable patch of moss to collect. He would continue his task and keep an ear out for any future slippage or proper emergencies.
[ Dice Roll - 14 ]
Grimacing slightly as his paws sunk into the cold, sickeningly soft ground around the rocks he had approached the large golden tom carefully peeled up a large wad of moss from the stone before bundling it into a portable sphere. He repeated this gesture twice more (increasing the size of his moss ball until it began to approach unwieldly) before swiftly backing out of the mire and heading towards the base of Sprucepaw's chosen tree.
Blacknight padded to the cattail pond with Mosspaw. “Now, I know we aren’t riverclan but it’s still important you know how to swim, in case of an emergency.” Blacknight meowed. @~MothDust~
__________________ Swiftheart <3
@Thechaoticdigitalcircus drew a turtle here @Festive Snowyfeathr drew a battleship here. There is a message that says: “Here’s 20 mangos! : D” -@Thankful4seonghwa Vix drew an evil kitty here. A ghost scribbled a emo girl and a bunch of flowers "I will rise 2024" - @_Eclispe_ @~Mothdust~ drew Willowpaw, Mothdust , and Rainpaw playing @blxze drew a rat here /Vm me to be added to the list
| Sprucepaw |
Kitty Softpaws - Active | Ultimate Predator - Inactive | Agatha Kitty - Active
Dark tail tapping irritably on the white, powdery snow, the apprentice lifted his head after a moment's silence only to find that Duke Gold had gone on his merry way. What's this? No checking in to make sure he was alright? No mockery of his obvious mistake? Hmm... Perhaps Duke Gold hadn't noticed. And if they had, maybe they were the rare type of cat who didn't stick his nose into every little thing? Ignore it and forget about it type of warrior? If so, then he was in luck! Maybe this little mishap wouldn't make it back to The Boulder after all!
The possibility of being able to still go back to camp with a potentially good impression made and therefore good news going back towards his mentor lighting a fire in his chest, Fudge turned his attention back towards the trunk, his gaze critical this time. Focused. Taking note of every dip in the trunk. Every crack in the bark. Every frost covered section that was rendered useless to him. Adding to the challenge ahead.
He'd meant it before. He had no intention of being defeated by this overbearing and frosted over scrap of vegetation. He would have those cobwebs, so help him! He'd been named by these star worshipers for a tree of all things! Meaning he had something to prove, if only to himself. Not for them. Not for the star worshipers that had no doubt named him for the color of his fur. No. For himself. To prove that he could surpass whatever plans these cats had for him. Go beyond their expectations. Because to hell with the fact that he had been born a kittypet. He'd survived. He'd made it this far. And he would not be felled by some stupid, old tree!
[Dice Roll - 16]
Sharp eyes finding their mark, Fudge leaped, claws unsheathed as he grasped the cool bark and clambered skyward, his footing secure. Lacking any and all hesitation he so often displayed on the ground. Once he'd arrived at the first, sturdy branch, he paused, looking about for his prey. Spiders. Or rather their nests. It made sense that they would climb higher to find food for the winter... assuming they ate at all during the colder months. Come to think of it, he hadn't found many a bug around ever since the snow had taken over the ground.
[Dice Roll - 13]
Leaping from branch to branch, the young tom soon found what he was looking for. Cold, frosted, and frayed, the web looked to have been abandoned for some time now. The lack of bugs had left it in relatively good condition, however, and with a calculated snap, the nine moon old tom broke off the tip of the branch it protruded from. He wouldn't be able to climb down if one of his paws was filled with the sticky substance, and he very much doubted that the herb cat apprentice wanted the cobweb all stepped on and broken, anyways. Not only that... but he would need to find more if he expected to show off how good he'd gotten at being awesome to his mentor.
[Dice Rolls - 7 / 10 / 8 / 20]
Turned out finding cobwebs was a lot harder than he'd expected. Which was odd. He was so sure he kept having to clean his fur to get rid of the blasted things whenever he stepped so much as a paw out of the camp during fall. Maybe they just hated winter. Which... you know. He could respect that. Winter could bite his tail for all he cared. He just wanted to get it over and done with. So did the spiders. Which was a problem... because he needed webs. Now.
About to give up after finding two particularly sad looking cobwebs with barely a strand on them, Fudge began his downward decent, only to have the light flicker between the leafless branches and catch his eyes, emerald hues turning with annoyance at the source of his disruption. Deadpanned expression suddenly turned round as he saw them. Glistening in the light with only a snowflake or two atop them. Not one, but two webs in pristine condition! So much silk in them, they would be useful for sure! With expert hops and leaps, the Havana Brown mix made it to the branch, careful to twist that one as well, rolling the loose strands into a wad to ensure they reached the camp in one piece.
[Dice Roll - 20]
It was with that same grace that the apprentice made his way down, easily finding the nooks and crannies to grip as he focused on his decent, the three cobwebs he'd found grasped tightly on the branches in his mouth. With one final leap, the chocolate point landed on the ground, much more graceful than his earlier folly. And what was best, he didn't have to go anywhere to find Duke Gold. The tom had obviously had luck finding moss by the water, and had evidently not fallen in... so you know... good for him. Narrowing his eyes only slightly, he twitched his tail, dipping his head as he padded towards the tom. He hoped the gesture was enough for the warrior to understand he was done. Much as he loathed speaking unnecessarily, it went doubly so for when he had unappetizing sticks in his mouth coated with even more unappetizing, sticky matter that he had no designs on feasting upon today... or any other day for that matter.
| +3 Cobwebs |
@Jayvines [Lioncrest]
| Thank you! I find him amusing to write... he's such an angry little lad. Rolled to see if he would find five cobwebs... which he did not for the most part, but a 20 at the end and a 20 for his roll to get down from the tree - I promise I was not looking forward to a nat 1 for him falling off or for any of his cobweb searching to have him plop back to the ground, no sirree - means he at least found 3 cobwebs and made a perfect decent so... no more fun for- erm... good luck for him today overall! |
__________________
Lightningstorm is WindClan's current medicine cat.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
Status: "Everything we do together just makes me fall in love with you more."
Gender: Genderfluid :: She/He
Bump Policy: 2 days - a week! PRIVATE MESSAGE if I don't respond in those timespans!
Posts: 115
Re: Cattail Pond
Wren'Wheat trots into here, shy and scared. "H-Hewwo...?" She mews, "Anyone here...?" She shyly looks around, nervous. She's new to this clanlife, that's for sure. She seems like she's gone through alot too, with all the scars she has.
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"The only thing that becomes your worst fear is those who you trusted most. They will use you to gain power, then leave you shambled and scared for your life. That being said, next time someone asks to be your friend before you get to know them well enough, Don't say yes."
Re: Cattail Pond
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- means he at least found 3 cobwebs and made a perfect decent so... no more fun for- erm... good luck for him today overall! |
