Thistledown's warrior mission

[Charmer]

(Wasn't sure what to name it.)

@Suspiciousmindz

Thistledown hadn't been a warrior long. Not long enough to have an apprentice, and certainly not long enough that Blazingstar would pick him for any sort of mission outside if Windclan territory. Yet, this morning, that was precisely what had happened. The young grey tom had woken up late, shook the moss from his pelt, and there was the leader of Windclan in all his golden, fluffy glory to whisk him away on an errand to do Starclan knew what. It was just his luck. He had had such a simple day planned. Join a border patrol a little before sunhigh, maybe and evening hunting patrol, night hunt when his clanmates were tucked int their nests, sleep in the next day, and do it all again. Instead, they had raced through the open fields of the territory, come to some woods that didn't belong to any clan, and come out the other side in some kind of grass field Thistledown had never seen before. The grass was a long, thick stalk that stood as tall as a tree and had long green buds above them with something like fur coming out the ends. Blazingstar had yet to offer any sort of explanation about what they were doing out here, but finally as they wove between the stalks, the grey tom cleared his throat. "So Blazingstar. As thrilled as I am to be going on a brisk, greenleaf walk with you through... unknown territory...you mind telling me what we're doing? I mean the prey in Windclan has been doing well enough so it seems odd for this to be a hunting trip."

[SuspiciousMindz]

@Charmer

Blazingstar was padding along the path happily. It had been moons since Roanfeather and he had journeyed out this direction and Blazingstar was eager to see what the place looked like in greenleaf. Their conversation buzzed in his head still. What if he were to expand WindClan out further? Then the tensions between clans wouldn't be as high perhaps? Seeing as WindClan would have more land, they wouldn't have to worry about a hare or two missing each moon due to one of the other clans. His golden gaze flickered towards Thistledown, he remembered giving this warrior his name. It was a singular ceremony, all about Thistledown. Sometimes Blazingstar hoped that didn't boost his ego. "Oh, I thought it would be good to do some exploring, scope out the area again. It's good to get away from clan life sometimes and out here, loners and rouges seem to be friendlier compared to those you'd meet when heading towards the Twolegplace," he commented, taking in a deep breath of the fresh, unmarked air.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

@Charmer

Blazingstar was padding along the path happily. It had been moons since Roanfeather and he had journeyed out this direction and Blazingstar was eager to see what the place looked like in greenleaf. Their conversation buzzed in his head still. What if he were to expand WindClan out further? Then the tensions between clans wouldn't be as high perhaps? Seeing as WindClan would have more land, they wouldn't have to worry about a hare or two missing each moon due to one of the other clans. His golden gaze flickered towards Thistledown, he remembered giving this warrior his name. It was a singular ceremony, all about Thistledown. Sometimes Blazingstar hoped that didn't boost his ego. "Oh, I thought it would be good to do some exploring, scope out the area again. It's good to get away from clan life sometimes and out here, loners and rouges seem to be friendlier compared to those you'd meet when heading towards the Twolegplace," he commented, taking in a deep breath of the fresh, unmarked air.

Thistledown flicked one of his black ears as he glanced at the leader. Keeping pace as they wove among the stalks. If what the leader was saying was true, there was no goal to be had for coming out here. This was just a trip for pleasure. The small tom blinked his amber eyes in surprise. Aside from when Blazingstar made announcements to the clan, he never spent time with the leader. When he spoke to Windclan, he had an air of authority. It had been quite something to be named a warrior in his very own ceremony when most cats shared this shining moment with a cluster of other apprentices. How odd that this golden, furred tom who commanded so much respect just wanted to spend the day strolling outside of the territory... just because. He supposed it must get tiring managing the clan day in and day out. Anyway, now that he knew there was no special mission to be done, he could relax. In the distance, he could hear larks singing away the greenleaf day. Closer, he could hear crows blasting throaty caws as they flew above the strange field. All at once, light began to break through the long green stems as they got closer to the edge. Cautiously, he peaked through and saw a wide expanse of short grass. A little ways farther off was some kind of monster, bright red and sleeping in the shade of what looked a bit like a twoleg nest. It was the color of prey blood that had gone cold, and as Thistledown parted his jaws, he could just catch a scent that made him instinctively duck low. A dog. "I smell it, but I don't see it. Do you?" He asked, certain Blazingstar must have noticed the scent as well.

[SuspiciousMindz]

@Charmer

The response he gave didn't seem to spark interest in the warrior, but Blazingstar didn't mind the silence. The sounds of nature was nice enough for him. Besides, he didn't need a bunch of followup questions just to make small talk that wouldn't go anywhere later. Sometimes he felt like some of the warrior he spoke to didn't really care that much as he never hears from them again. He could name a few felines and it was heart-aching since he tried so hard to be involved as a normal warrior. At Thistledown's words, Blazingstar parted his jaws and let the air drift over his scent glands. Ears flattening instantly, the leader lowered himself to the ground. "Could be a distant scent, but it would be smart to go way around the twoleg nest so we can avoid it. I know some twolegs like to tie their dogs up to a stick in the ground, but it's better to be safe than sorry," he responded in a hushed manner.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

@Charmer

The response he gave didn't seem to spark interest in the warrior, but Blazingstar didn't mind the silence. The sounds of nature was nice enough for him. Besides, he didn't need a bunch of followup questions just to make small talk that wouldn't go anywhere later. Sometimes he felt like some of the warrior he spoke to didn't really care that much as he never hears from them again. He could name a few felines and it was heart-aching since he tried so hard to be involved as a normal warrior. At Thistledown's words, Blazingstar parted his jaws and let the air drift over his scent glands. Ears flattening instantly, the leader lowered himself to the ground. "Could be a distant scent, but it would be smart to go way around the twoleg nest so we can avoid it. I know some twolegs like to tie their dogs up to a stick in the ground, but it's better to be safe than sorry," he responded in a hushed manner.

Thistledown nodded and slowly began to creep out into he open, keeping his ears perked, his jaws parted, and his head on a swivel as he watched for any sign of a dog. It was quiet and the smaller tom kept his pawsteps light as he made his way around the strangely sharp angle of the twoleg nest. Then his nose caught another scent that he didn't recognize, and curiously, he peered around the next angle to spot... well he didn't know what they were exactly but there were a lot of them. They smelled like bird but they were much bigger than any birds he had seen. They walked around pecking at the earth making strange and low cooing sounds. On their heads were bizarre, bright red fleshy flaps. The young warrior silently looked to his leader wondering if the more experienced cat had any inkling of what these things were.

[SuspiciousMindz]

@Charmer

Blazingstar had followed the warriors lead -- strange, but it happened -- as the warrior crept around cautiously. It was only when their gazes met that curiosity sparked in the leaders chest. What was he seeing? Silently, the orange tabby crept up beside him, almost nervous to see what had caused the warrior to stop in his tracks.

Upon seeing the rather large... bird smelling creatures, Blazingstar found himself staring in awe. What were the twolegs doing with these... these things? Were they possible prey? Blazingstar turned to face Thistledown, the fear of the dog zipping right over his head. "Do you think they could be prey? They smell like birds! Lazy birds!" he spoke, his voice still a little hushed in caution.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

@Charmer

Blazingstar had followed the warriors lead -- strange, but it happened -- as the warrior crept around cautiously. It was only when their gazes met that curiosity sparked in the leaders chest. What was he seeing? Silently, the orange tabby crept up beside him, almost nervous to see what had caused the warrior to stop in his tracks.

Upon seeing the rather large... bird smelling creatures, Blazingstar found himself staring in awe. What were the twolegs doing with these... these things? Were they possible prey? Blazingstar turned to face Thistledown, the fear of the dog zipping right over his head. "Do you think they could be prey? They smell like birds! Lazy birds!" he spoke, his voice still a little hushed in caution.

Thistledown glanced at the leader and replied in the same quiet way. "I was just wandering that myself. They're the size of rabbits!" His mouth watered at the thought of it. Like most Windclan cats, he preferred the taste of rabbit above all other prey. Not that he disliked bird but they never seemed to supply more than a couple of mouthfuls. One of these birds looked big enough to feed three cats! But a tree height beyond the birds was another twoleg nest. This one white like the snow that blanketed the moor in leafbare. He nodded at the nest, then looked to Blazingstar. "We could try it. I guess the worst thing that could happen is they fly off, right?"

[SuspiciousMindz]

@Charmer

"Right..." The ginger tom replied, his eyebrows furrowing a little bit. For all he knew, they could turn around and attack them, he honestly didn't know what they could and couldn't do. "Perhaps we do that at dusk when the twolegs normally put their dogs away?" he inquired, his tail tip twitching in thought. If they were really about to hunt these... birds... he would have to be careful about it. He didn't want to alert the dog or the twoleg that they were here. It appeared they were in some barrier, like a camp with a den in the middle, that kept them from running away. It had to have been made by twolegs.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

@Charmer

"Right..." The ginger tom replied, his eyebrows furrowing a little bit. For all he knew, they could turn around and attack them, he honestly didn't know what they could and couldn't do. "Perhaps we do that at dusk when the twolegs normally put their dogs away?" he inquired, his tail tip twitching in thought. If they were really about to hunt these... birds... he would have to be careful about it. He didn't want to alert the dog or the twoleg that they were here. It appeared they were in some barrier, like a camp with a den in the middle, that kept them from running away. It had to have been made by twolegs.

"That's probably a good idea," Thistledown replied. He looked up at the sky, trying to judge how much daylight should be left. It didn't look too long past sunhigh. "We should probably find a better place to wait though. I don't know about sitting here in the open like thumping rabbits while there are dogs around that know the territory better." Flicking a black ear, the young warrior peered around the bend aside and turned the corner, moving quietly as he glanced around and noticed an opening in the big two leg nest. But when he looked inside, there were no twolegs. All there was were some much shorter walls with other openings alongside the larger wall, some hay, and some steps that led up to a higher spot in the nest. Sniffing curiously, the younger tom ventured up. At the top of the steps was more hay, some soft looking stones that smelled like wheat, and a smaller opening from which he could perfectly see the strange birds carrying on as they had. "Look at this! We'll be able to see any two legs or dogs long before they get close."

[SuspiciousMindz]

@Charmer

Blazingstar nodded his agreement and started looking for somewhere to stake out the birds. They couldn't use trees since they weren't that skilled in climbing. He was sure, if it was necessary, they could get up one, but ThunderClan and ShadowClan made it look so easy. When Thistledown mentioned something to him, the leader followed, scenting the air and looking around with caution. The last thing they needed was to get into trouble because they didn't use enough caution. "This seems like a good place... a good escape route too maybe? If something were to happen," he suggested in a hushed voice as to not spook the birds. "Good find," he praised the warrior.