Snowypaw
The further Snowypaw got from the training grounds, the more anxious he became. His nose was the one thing he could always count on, but it seemed the path he had taken was being rather stingy with its prey. Plenty of tracks littered the moor if you knew were to look, but the smell of them hinted at the critters having been long gone at that point. Normally, he would have already given up and taken to following one of the slightly less stale tracks, hoping to find the critter in a longer hunt, but he had no time to spare this time. Fifteen minutes would simply not suffice for the tracking he would have to put in.
An odd step with his wounded paw making him suddenly see stars, Snowypaw sent a couple of choice curses rolling with the wind. Pausing for a moment, he gave his pad a swift lick, inspecting it before he continued. A tsk escaping his maw, the Maine Coon mix realized he would have to take it easy once they returned to camp. There was a hint of blood shining through the raw pad once more at this point, and if he took to pacing around the clearing again he would do little to improve its condition. Taking a deep breath, the patched tom centered himself, unwilling to let this be the reason he came back emptypawed. He had promised he would bring at least one prey back, and by StarClan he would keep that promise. True, he hadn't said it out loud, but it still counted!
Nodding to himself as he psyched himself up to continue the hunt, a delicate aroma wafted to his nose, making his whiskers twitch. The scent of mouse a welcomed guest brought forth by the breeze, Snowypaw quickly adopted the hunter's crouch with well practiced ease. Ears pricked as he opened his mouth to better locate his prey, he quickly caught the sound of tiny claws skittering among the grass, no doubt looking for seeds to feast on. Placing one paw in front of the other, careful not to stir a sound, his wounded pad send a ripple of pain up his leg, forcing a wincing hitch of breath from the large apprentice. This being the only sound the mouse needed to hear him, its ears perked up before dashing away, running towards him in confusion. Eyes wide and realizing he wouldn't have long to react, Snowypaw tensed up his hindlegs, getting ready to pounce after his prey. A screech sounded high above him, making the confused mouse suddenly halt in its tracks, looking up at the sharp talons that grasped it firmly in a killing blow.
Legs already coiled tight and ready to leap, the apprentice sprung forth by instinct, surprising himself and the falcon before him as he landed on the bird of prey. A loud, startled screech escaped the kestrel before Snowypaw could finish it off, a growl of frustration escaping the apprentice as he removed himself from the top of the bird, careful not to crush it. Between the first call and the one the kestrel had done now, he was certain all the prey in the area would be long gone by now. Still, even Snowypaw couldn't help but puff out his chest with a bit of pride at the sight of his catch. He had caught a
falcon!
True, it was a kestrel. And the bird was actually a bit smaller than the rabbit he had caught earlier... but he had caught a
falcon! And he had a mouse to show for it too, his earlier prey still tangled in the kestrel's sharp talons. Carefully disentangling the mouse from the kestrel's grip, Snowypaw took the mouse by the tail and carefully dragged it along with the falcon which he grasped securely by the neck. The gentle giant knew that with the ruckus that had been made here, there would be no chance to catch more prey before his time was up. Wanting to make it back in time to Stonecrackle, he bounded with a little more pep in his step to the moor, only a small limp on his wounded paw hinting at any discomfort in the large tom.
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RogueSkeleton