☼WindClan: Home of the Swift and Loyal |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| ☼

Thorndash quickly nodded to Eclipsesky and Dawnshadow, though he was tense with worry for Ashsong, and waited to hear if she wanted him closer or not. He would respect her wishes, anything to make it more comfortable for her. He silently prayed to Starclan to not take her or any of their kits.

(Ye! Kit time! Admittedly, I realize Vixen hasn't been on since August of 2022, I'm not sure if Vix will come on again, so if we need to proceed with bringing in Meadow's kits, we can, and just say Brownleaf brought them in. Though, I'm also not sure if Fire will be on to have Swift accept them in soon either, so hmmmm.)

(Ye, that might be best!)

Thorndash quickly slipped into the nursery, padding close to Ashsong and settling close to her, but respecting her space too. “You got this.” He mewed, trying to hide his nerves. She was the one kitting, not him, she needed all the support he could offer. “I’m not going anywhere, got it?”

(Hey, Willow, we did have Sage taking Hare and Dash out on a hunting patrol on the moor, did you want to continue that?)

(For some reason, I was thinking Sage was a moor-runner. I must have been thinking of Silver or Sand.)

Harewhisker gave her a hard look, but didn't say anything.

Dashclaw cleared his throat, flicking his ear at the tension he felt radiating off his brother. "Right...Uh...This way." He started out of the camp and along the path to Outlook Rock. As he went, he looked back at Sagefoot. "The hill the rabbits like to be on is nice and sunny. They hang out there because it's so warm." He had to raise his voice the further toward the rock they went, the wind being stronger at the top of the hill. "We should be able to use that against them. We'll come from a direction the sun will blind them. They won't see us coming."

The further up the hill they went, the tenser Harewhisker became. A gust of wind caught him in the face and he flinched, ears flattening and eyes closing tight. He had to duck his head and squint. Even then, the brightness of the sun made everything he saw blurrier than usual.

(That's where I got confused then XD I'll remember from here on out)

Harewhisker bared a tooth at her, or rather, in her general direction. "In leaf-bare the rabbits are mostly underground, you know that! I know my best way for catching rabbits and that's not about to change!"

Dashclaw stepped forward, wanting to kill an argument before it could start. "Let's keep moving. The rabbits aren't going to stay in one place for long." He flicked his tail to tap his brother's shoulder. "This way."

Harewhisker looked his brother's direction and blinked several times to clear the water from his eyes. Another gust of wind came through and he jumped. Get it together! He growled at himself, but the openness of the moors prickled anxiety along his pelt.

Dashclaw balanced a shrug. "Rabbits are tricky. If the grasses are tall enough, you can try to chase it into a clanmate. Grasslight and I had a trick of chasing them up the hill. I'd chase them and she'd wait just beyond the hill to catch them. Other times, you just have to be faster than they are. Cheetahheart was really good at that. She'd stalk as close as she could then dart after them. Most moor-runners race halfway across the moor before they catch their prey, but she'd snag 'em much faster than that. Then there was--"

Harewhisker cut him off. "We're not out here for stories, Dashclaw. Let's just catch this rabbit and get out of here."

Dashclaw flicked his ear and glanced at his brother. He lightly frowned at the way Harewhisker held himself. Harewhisker's head was still tucked behind his shoulder and his tail was curled between his legs. Dashclaw swore his brother's shoulders were trembling. He looked at Sagefoot. "For this hunt, we'll stalk up the hill at three different angles. Hopefully, one of us can catch a rabbit before it knows we're there, but if not. We'll all be in a position to give chase and cut it off."

Dashclaw nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's get into position. As soon as you see me take off, you'll know to begin the chase."

Harewhisker flicked his ear and grumbled something incoherantly.

Dashclaw approached the base of the hill at the a low trot. He smirked when he spotted a couple rabbits nibbling on the grasses further up. The sun was shining right on them and as he thought, they were contently enjoying its warmth on this cool and windy day. Dashclaw used every gust of wind to move a little bit closer so his pawsteps would be drowned out by the noise. He tested his limit a little to long; however, as the rabbits suddenly alerted. Dashclaw cursed and sprinted as the rabbits darted away.

Harewhisker was crouched too low to the ground as he followed Dashclaw up the hill. He tried keeping pace, but the strong wind slowed his movements. Harewhisker gripped the earth with his paws, wishing more than anything he was back in the tunnels.

Somehow, Dashclaw's curse managed to catch his ears. Harewhisker looked up, but though his blurry vision caught movement, he couldn't make out what was what.

Dashclaw spotted Sagefoot in the corner of his eye. He darted away from her, causing the rabbit to veer in her direction.

Harewhisker started running after what he thought was Dashclaw, but it was one of the other rabbits farther up the hill.

"Nicely done!" Dashclaw trotted over to Sagefoot. He nodded at the rabbit. "That'll feed quite a bit. You'd make a pretty good moor-runner, deputy."

Harewhisker chased the rabbit to the top of the hill; however, when he reached it a strong gust came over the crest. He let out a yelp and stumbled. His front paw caught a nook in the ground and twisted when he hit the ground. Harewhisker hissed in frustration at himself. He pulled his injured paw to his chest and pressed as flat against the ground as he could. I can't do this. Dismay choked his throat. The wind. The open moor. The blinding sun. Harewhisker trembled as his anxiety shifted to fear. I can't do this.

Dashclaw chuckled, but at the acknowledgement of his missing brother, he looked around. The moment he spotted Harewhisker, he flattened his ears. "I was afraid of this," he mewed softly. "He's becoming like Rabbitdash."

Dashclaw sighed and followed Sagefoot up the hill. "Rabbitdash went blind after a while and he couldn't bear to be out on the open moor. Any space larger than camp stressed him out. It happens to cats who spend too much time in the tunnels. The darkness down there strains their eyes that they go blind and they get so comfortable with the closeness of the earth that too much space overwhelms them. I'm surprised your mentor didn't warn you it could happen when you were an apprentice. I always knew it would happen to Harewhisker with how much time he spends in the tunnels, but I didn't think it would this soon."

Harewhisker was pressed against the hill, his claws dug into the ground. Though pain pounded through his twisted ankle, he was more concerned over the wind. He swore it was trying to blow him off the hill.

"No! I'm not alright!" Harewhisker snapped in Sagefoot's direction, but through squinted and watery eyes, he couldn't see her or Dashclaw. "It's a little late for apologizes don't you think? I told you--"

Dashclaw stepped up to his brother, blocking the wind. "Don't blame her, Harewhisker. She's doing her job. Let's just get you back to camp." He leaned down to nudge his brother, but Harewhisker hissed at him and winced away.

"Don't touch me! Just point me in the direction of the nearest tunnel. I'll find my way back myself."