Whac-A-Mink [WC/ShC]

[Wingnettle]

Lynxshade

Shadowclan Enforcer
33 moons | she/her
Shadow Fiend | Primal Instincts | Beefed Up (T3) | Bilingual (T3)

A flash of black fur suddenly appeared and knocked the mink off Lynxshade, leaving her dealing with the sharp pain she was feeling at her right ear. Darkfall had come to her aid, again. She couldn't forget the time she had been fighting the dreadful coyote to take her revenge, and he had put himself between it and her. He was doing now the same, and though she appreciated having someone kill the enemies beside her, it was more like he had done it for her.

She turned around to help Palesong. She didn't have time to quarrel with the other Enforcer now, but she would make sure to do it as soon as everything was over. Except that now, everything was wrong with the other warrior.
She widened her eyes as she noticed something about Palesong's muzzle was not in place. She dashed immediately over and swiped widely at the last mink, making sure it was dead with a strong kill bite that sent blood spurting all over the place.

Twilightstar was declaring victory.
At last, they could finally take a breath and take care of their own clanmates. Palesong was looking extremely... pained, if not in shock. "Palesong, if you can, go to Mossfreckle immediately. You need healing as soon as possible." The pained look in his eyes was very worrying, but she knew he could handle it for himself while she dealt with something else.

She walked over to the black-pelted enforcer with a hard expression on her face.
"Darkfall." She called him, ignoring the pain of her injuries and focusing on what she intended to say. "Although I appreciated that thing you did back there, don't think I didn't notice you ignored my orders by fighting alone without a teammate." She was staring at him through cold, narrowed eyes. "Since the main problem here was some of our clanmates completely missing from the battle, and no one died today... I might let it slide just this once, so Dawnstar won't demote you for ignoring the orders of the lead of Shadowclan toward battle." She knew she should be helpful for the Enforcer's help, but it seemed he had an annoying habit of interfering with her matters.

With a lash of her tail, she turned around and started collecting as many bodies of the dead minks as she could. She hated the reek of blood in her nostrils, but she tried to ignore it and get on with her job. She grabbed the scruff of two minks and dragged them back with her clanmates, back toward home. Shadowclan camp.

---

@starry @Dark

[Undertaker]

Dawnstar paused, crushing a dying mink underneath a humongous paw, as that injured flea-brain of a former deputy caught a fleeing mink and killed it. She wasn't sure if he was trying to prove something or show off, but it had Dawnstar smirking mockingly at him. "Cute, he's proven he can catch fleeing rodents." She couldn't care less whether or not her words were heard. The leader glanced around, watching as the cats finished their battles.

She noticed the large gray tom with the chest scar, heading for Wolffang. Outside of him, she saw no cat needing Lightinstorm's attention. The WindClan medicine cat was currently with WindClan warriors, and with the one returning to her, she doubted the molly needed watching over on her territory.

Dawnstar wanted to start a quick conversation with Lightningstorm, but she doubted the WindClan bunnies would let her within a fox-length of the healer without some cat babysitting her. Dawnstar would have to see about talking to her later. The medicine cat never intrigued her during gatherings, but she's never had a chance or reason to interact with her.

The leader doubted she'd be able to talk to her after they met up with Twilightstar, how infuriating. "ShadowClan and WindClan, collect the dead minks and follow me. We're heading back to the Sky Glade." Dawnstar needed to collect her medicine cat and the rest of her clanmates before heading home.

The leader didn't wait long before she started leading the way back to Sky Glade after she grabbed two dead minks of her own. Upon reaching the lone pine within the Sky Glade, Dawnstar dropped her minks near the roots and waited for Twilightstar and her patrol to return. Dawnstar licked up the blood-soaked fur along her hind leg, not minding the sting of rasping her rough tongue over the wound.

She doubted she'd need to bother her daughter or Mossfreckle about this. None of these wounds were any worse than the ones she had gotten before fighting with the minks. She could take care of healing them herself. Her gaze locked on to Fallenmoon as she was waiting. He wasn't even supposed to be here! He had been assigned to Twilightstar's patrol.

Swiftfire [@Tiabirb], Blazesong [@blxze.], Shrewstep [gs29513], Silverrose [@Estelle] Briarsplash [@SentimentalSquid] Stagskull @ChaosBringer., Warmsun [@Desert Rain Frog], Spiraltail [@Tallstar], Mistlewhisker/Hawkfur [@Mica]. Honeybite [@Abyssopelagic] Dapplebreeze [Alchemist Kitsune ]

---

Leechscar focused on Lightningstorm as the molly parted her mouth but nothing came out. The warrior flexed his strong muscles underneath his pelt when her blue eyes went skyward, round with fear and astonishment. His head snapped back, muzzle pointed upwards, while his keen green eyes swept the sky for danger. It was common for raptors to be found around here, they circled the hills like vultures in search of prey or cats caught off guard, but nothing.

What? Leechscar dropped his head back down and stared at Lightingstorm with narrowed eyes. He took one step closer to her, pupils mere slits as they adjusted to the sunlight. Wings, decay, death, peace? Okay, so whatever the medicine cat was saying it didn't have anything to do with orders on how to proceed. Was she alright? Was everything finally getting to her and her brain's gone to the crows? Ignoring the urge to move closer, Leechscar simply continued watching Lightningstorm act strangely.

Hawkfur arrived, and Lightingstorm was back to her cheeky self. Or at least played the part well enough. His green eyes continued to shimmer with confusion and just an itty bit of concern. Yet, Lightningstorm was already moving on, pointing him towards his former mentor, Wolffang, with instructions. Okay, all of his consideration for the she-cat went down the drain right then and there. He swore she made it her life's job to make him miserable whenever they interacted. He should have fed her to a badger when they were training together.

"Got it, Kit." He huffed snarkily, turning his back to do as she ordered. He knew it wasn't common knowledge, it wasn't like Leechscar went out of his way to ensure everyone was aware of his severe disdain for Wolffang. He knew Lightingstorm wasn't doing this as a punishment or to upset him, but he was irked, regardless.

He went out of his way to avoid Dawnstar completely as he cut across the valley to reach Wolffang. Deadmoon was already at his side, whining about something or other. "I still don't understand what Leopardsong sees in him." He grumbled lowly before stopping in front of the pair.

"I see you're still finding yourself in near-death situations. Leopardsong going to love hearing about this one." Leechscar quipped purely to be an ass. "Anyway, Wolffang, if you can walk let's go. Lightningstorm wants to see you." The Fury's tone brokers no argument.
@gs29513 [Deadmoon], @TheNyanCatMinecart [Wolffang], @taillow [Bravebird] | @Alchemist Kitsune [Lightingstorm] | @Starphobia [Iceclaw]

[ChaosBringer.]

Stagskull



Stagskull nodded back to Mistlewhisker and grabbed the dead mink she had clawed earlier. She left the one she had brutally killed to Mistlewhisker as a gift. Perhaps Stagskull could give the skull of this one to the enforcer. The orange-brownish she-cat felt the need to shower Mistlewhisker in gifts, and she didn't know why. She admired the enforcer,
but she didn't have time for love, right? Stagskull has to protect and provide for her clan, right?


Maybe her clan was Mistlewhisker?

@Mica [Sorry if this is horrible]

[MockingRabbit]

Eggpaw
He/him - ShadowClan

Eggpaw waited, the moment seeming to stretch on forever. Strong smells curled up his nose, making him want to puke. It was bad enough with the WindClan cats and the minks, without the vile stench of rotting meat.

He did not sign up for this.
Hawkbite spoke to him. Eggpaw nodded, biting back a retort. Of course he was sticking close to him. Dawnstar had already said that. Anyway, his plan seemed solid enough. Eggpaw was happy enough to follow it through.
Twilightstar appeared, the horde of minks right on her tail. StarClan, that was a lot. The WindClan leader had said as much, but he still hadn't been expecting it.
The wave hit, the scent of minks renewed even stronger than before. His vision filled with fur and his ears with caterwauling and screeching.

Hawkbite was fast to react, digging his claws into a beast and hauling it toward him. No doubt his experiences in battle gave him an edge over Eggpaw. His mentor shouted at him; Eggpaw shook his head clear and leaped onto the mink's back. He dug his claws in, remembering his lessons with Hawkbite. He began to churn, claws slicing into its flesh. Held in place by Hawkbite's claw's and teeth, the creature could do nothing but scream and thrash. He reached over and sunk his teeth into its neck. It grew weak, then limp. Then dead.
Eggpaw grinned, blood running from his mouth. His first mink. Victory tasted great.
Thud, grunt, and he was on his back with a mink on top of him.
Training, training. What did he do now? He bit back a yowl and brought his legs up to slash at it. His belly was wide open to attack, but he wouldn't give the beast a chance to react to it. It tried to rear away, and he bit its paw and pulled it back. Come on, Hawkbite! Help me out here!

When that one was defeated, Eggpaw spared the time to give his mentor a nod of thanks, then they would dive back into battle.
When the battle was over, the minks all lying in bloodied heaps, Eggpaw stopped, shoulders slumped and breath heaving. His flanks stung with a hundred bites and cuts, but a light gleamed in his eyes.

"You good?" He asked, a new-found respect for the older cat. He had fought together with this warrior, and it had been something of a comfort to know he always had his back. His life had been in the paws of another cat, and he hadn't let him down.
Eggpaw begain collecting the bodies to bring back to his clan. That is what Dawnstar had wanted, right? Food? He followed Twilightstar and the rest of the patrol back to Dawnstar's.

@SuspiciousMindz
//Late... Hopefully is still counts though!

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ WOLFFANG OF WINDCLAN - AMAB HE/HIM - BEEFED UP TIER 1 ~

Large, muscular, dappled gray tom with light cream-gray fluff on the front of his neck and chest; amber eyes.

Character bio can be read here.

It was an effort for Wolffang to keep his head upright. He felt like he was standing in a river, its greedy waves dragging his fur toward the ground. But one whiff of ShadowClan's reek was all he needed to remain on his paws. None of them could see him as weak. None of them could think that he wasn't strong enough to fight off those minks. After all, they were a mix of predators and prey. Nothing Wolffang couldn't handle. He'd just gotten incredibly unlucky. So unlucky that Dawnstar felt a need to save you, his thoughts hissed. The WindClan warrior's claws sank into the bloodstained earth. The thought wasn't any less repulsive than the act itself. He squared his shoulders and ignored the wet, sticky feeling of his blood as it oozed out of the bite marks on his throat, expertly hidden behind his copious amounts of chest fluff.

Yet the throat wound, the overwhelming stench of blood, the dizziness... it sent bad memories swirling back into Wolffang's mind. He could see himself standing in front of the WindClan camp, swaying, watching tears cloud Leopardsong's beautiful copper eyes...

Someone called his name. Then his nickname.

Startled, Wolffang turned a little faster than he should've, prompting a burst of pain from his throat that almost made him gag. He bit down on it as he came face-to-face with... Deadmoon. He blinked. For some reason, even though she hadn't come with them, he'd expected Leopardsong to stand there, fretting over his wounds as his sister was now. What will Leopardsong think when I come home and she sees me like this? he wondered with a thrill of fear and pain. My first battle, and I'm this roughed up... He had to fight for his Clan, but he didn't want to scare her. Not again.

He realized he'd been quiet for a bit. Forcing himself to focus on Deadmoon's brown tabby figure, he rasped, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I can make it back to camp. Just a bite." It wasn't a lie, not really. The mink bite wasn't severe. But it wasn't light, either. Weird how it was the only wound he'd received.

"Are you al-" he began.

Dawnstar's yowl rang through the air. Wolffang gritted his teeth. He didn't want to take orders from her. Hawkfur's the patrol leader. But it seemed like he had to. "Let's head back," he grunted, doing his best to ignore the flare of pain that occurred whenever he spoke. He gave her a tiny smile. "I'm glad you're here. You're a fine fighter." How could I have ever thought she couldn't be a warrior? The thought filled him with guilt, but it passed like a newleaf rain. Quick and evaporated by the sun. As he'd learned, the past was the past.

Unlike someone.

Wolffang bent to collect his recently-caught mink and tucked it against his throat. Although the wound burned, its dense, glossy pelt helped to stem the bleeding - and hide the bite from prying eyes. Wolffang walked over to the other mink he'd killed - hardly a few steps away - and gathered that one, too, clutching it between his jaws.

Heavy pawsteps made his ear prick. He turned toward it - right as Leechscar's massive dark gray face spoke.

Rage boiled within Wolffang's stomach. The mink dropped from between his teeth and fell to the ground with a thump. The other mink remained in place. His teeth gritted together, and his eyes narrowed into fiery amber slits. It didn't help that he was already feeling guilty about Leopardsong. And right when he was starting to feel decent about Leechscar, the tom rubbed an incredibly sensitive topic in his face and showed just how insufferable he was.

Wolffang shoved his face into Leechscar's as best he could, temporarily ignoring the order to go see Lightningstorm. He was more than a little irked that Leechscar was bigger than him. It made holding the other mink against his throat tougher. "Now you listen here, apprentice," he hissed. He'd never stoop to Leechscar's level, but he might as well throw something in the Fury's face.

"I know you like being insensitive and disrespectful, but I will not tolerate anything aimed at Leopardsong. You think it's funny, rubbing in my face how much she and I both hurt? Well, it's not, and I don't want you to remind us of it, either." His throat was burning now, but he didn't give a rat's behind. "I don't want to upset her, I never had, and it ripped out my insides when I learned how badly it hurt, and you acting like I did so intentionally with my death, which I never wanted to occur, is worse than clawing out my eyes. I never meant to abandon you, either.

"You also seem to have forgotten that I've accepted you as a warrior. I'll stay out of your business as long as you stay out of mine. How you became a Fury with your lack of Clan loyalty astounds me, but I also understand that you are a fine warrior, smart and skilled and strong. I accepted it. Then you go and remind me how much of a fox-heart you really are. I'll stay out of your fur, but you'd better shut up about that-"

A sudden coughing fit overtook Wolffang, and his legs trembled. His throat burned like fire now, and his continual talking caused a rush of blood to squeeze out from behind the mink he clutched with his chin. He forced himself to stay upright, to ignore the rush of dizziness that almost knocked him off his paws. With a gasp, he squeezed out, "And I'm going to Lightningstorm now, though I won't waste her time here. I'll be treated back at camp. And-" Something he'd been meaning to ask Leechscar came bubbling to the surface, something he was astounded came up now when he was so furious.

"...and, while we're at it..." His voice had turned into a weak rasp. "Keep an eye on Twistedpaw, will you? I've done my best, but I can't be there all the time. I... I don't want her... to be treated like... I treated... Ashfeather..."

Why was he still here, talking to Leechscar? Wolffang's pelt boiled, yet it felt like he'd released some pent-up words he'd needed to say for a while. Ones he'd tried to avoid. Swaying slightly, blood oozing from behind the mink, he grabbed the other one he'd dropped. Without looking back, he hurried toward Lightningstorm and put it down.

"I'm fine," he croaked immediately before breaking off with a cough. He tried to swallow, but that just caused another wave of blood to trickle down. He reluctantly let the mink fall from his throat so she could take a better look at it. "I can walk back. Won't waste time... just hard to speak..."

Maybe he'd sound better if he hadn't let everything loose at Leechscar. Ugh, now two cats he hated were going to have to see how weak he was.

@gs29513 @Undertaker (Whew! Meant for Wolffang to say this for a while, but I could never find a good opportunity. Have fun. ) @Alchemist Kitsune (He can make it back to camp, but I'd understand if Lightningstorm is worried. The bite on his throat is bleeding fairly badly, but it's not severe or life-threatening.)

[Moonraven]

Twilightstar smiled gratefully at Whisperingpaw as he offered to look after Dreamlight who didn't seem to understand the extent of her injuries. Even though she was worried as a mother, she couldn't stay and fuss over her daughter as other mothers would have. She had a whole clan to watch over and ShadowClan to bring back to Dawnstar. So as soon as she heard Mossfreckle's okay to get moving, she raised her voice and padded away from Dreamlight and Whisperingpaw.

"Let's head back." The WindClan ordered, grabbing three dead minks before leading them out of the Twilight Falls. The walk back was slow, she was tired and her face was hurting, but eventually, they made it to the lonely pine where she found Dawnstar seated. The Clan leader looked less torn up than Twilightstar and had dead minks at her giant paws.

"Dawnstar," Twilightstar greeted, single eye roaming around in search of her clanmates and a medicine cat. "I'm assuming it went well with you. We managed to clear the Falls, you're warriors were of great help. However, two of them took a beating, and Mossfreckle tended to them." She left it at that, assuming that Dawnstar would want to interrogate her medicine cat herself.
@ellie [Mossfreckle] | @Mica [Hillstride] | @MockingRabbit [Eggpaw]| @Littlesun0112 [Larkspring] @Rani [Crowtooth] | @Undertaker [Dawnstar]

---

Seriously, they were starting to freak her out. Was it that bad? As the adrenaline wore off her mother padded away. The urge to start crying struck her like a lightning bolt. The small feline pinned her ears back worriedly and bit down lightly on her tongue, chewing on the muscle to keep her sob in her chest.

Why were they acting like this? She was fine! She registered Whisperingpaw's kind words, but reality had proved very harsh. As soon as they were home again, he'd go on with his life, and she'd gone with her and they'd probably barely talk to each other let alone see each other. He wasn't going to stay with her the entire time. He'd either disappear like all three of her apprentices, siblings, and foster mother, or he'd become too busy like her mother and brother. She'd be stuck wallowing, apparently forever in darkness if Whisperingpaw and Twilightstar reactions were anything to go off.

That was okay, though, she's done this song and dance so many times she could do it blind. Dreamlight's never hit rock bottom enough where she's completely given up on life. She wouldn't dishonor Ashfeather's sacrifice like that and guessed she had a little bit of Twilightstar's stubbornest in her. She'd find something to live for, at least for a moment, and go through all of this on her own again and again until she joined the stars. It wasn't living, but for right now, it was all she had.

As Twilightstar called for them to start moving, Dreamlight got up, hissing softly in pain, and splaying her paws for balance. She sought out Whisperingpaw's touch, leaning lightly on him as outside of the ground he was the only solid thing she had right now. "Sorry, sorry," She repeated, forcing the sadness out of her voice. "You can go ahead, I'll follow right on your paws, I'll try not to step on you. You must be sore too. Are you okay?" She asked, Twilightstar hadn't seemed overly concerned, but she worried, he was stuck guiding her.
@ChaosBringer. [Whisperingpaw]

[ChaosBringer.]

Whisperingpaw(155/100)
Beefed Up T1 [ACTIVE] Survival Instincts[ACTIVE]



Whisperingpaw listened to Twilightstar announce it was time to go, his tail twitching. His ears flattened softly at the hiss of pain, flashes of the battle hitting him like a tree. The tom stood on aching legs as he supported Dreamlight, careful not to hit her with...well anything really. "It's ok." Whisperingpaw answered, his tail twitching softly. As Dreamlight spoke, he padded forward, staying slow enough that Dreamlight could keep up and fast enough that they wouldn't be left behind. "I'm a little sore. Nothing hurts too bad."

Could it have been like this all the time if Whisperingpaw never had a temper? Could he have been playing with other apprentices and kits everyday instead of scaring them off? If so, he'd be sure to change that now. "When we get to camp, I can continue to guide you, if that's ok. I don't think..I'd like being away." Whisperingpaw offered. Was he being pushy? Was it his place to offer that? Was he saying all the wrong words? Dear Starclan he was a mess.

[ @Moonraven ] [I'll post at the meeting!]