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Post by Junospower on Aug 6, 2023 22:21:12 GMT -5
Crowdusk’s head smiled as he heard tiny noises from a patch of tall grass. Moments later a shrew poked out of the grass, searching for seeds amongst the blades. The black and gray tom instinctively dropped into a crouch and carefully approached. The shrew, who was nibbling on a seed, tensed for a brief moment and sniffed the air, causing the young warrior to pause his pursuit. A few long heartbeats later, the tiny creature determined there was nothing there after all and continued eating, even going as far as to turn its back on Crowdusk, giving him the perfect opportunity.
Like a flash of lightning, Crowdusk shot forward and pounced, making short work of the shrew who let out a small squeak of surprise. Altering murmuring a quick thanks to StarClan, he scooped up his catch and returned to Lakesplash.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 7, 2023 7:46:54 GMT -5
Lakesplash smiled, flicking her tail slightly as he padded back over. “That was a good catch.”, she said. “I thought for sure that shrew was going to make a run for it.“, she said, before she turned her head at a soft noise a little ways away, dropping down as well. She was a bit surprised that Crowdusk’s catch hadn’t scared everything off, but she wasn’t complaining.
She crept towards the other end of the clearing, hearing the soft scramblings of another shrew, stopping a bit away from it, preparing to leap.
Lakesplash sprang forward, landing squarely on the shrew with her front paws, dispatching it quietly. She grabbed it in her jaws and walked back over.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 7, 2023 22:46:41 GMT -5
“Great catch, Lakesplash,” Crowdusk purred, “Maybe I should bring you hunting more often.”
He padded over to her and gave her shrew a sniff, “It’s bigger than mine, I think. Quite the hunter.” While his shrew certain wasn’t scrawny by any means, Lakesplash’s was definitely just a tad bit plumper. No doubt it would make a good meal.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 7, 2023 23:16:18 GMT -5
Lakesplash purred warmly, flicking her tail slightly. “Oh, you’re just saying that.”, she said, looking a bit sheepish at the praise. “I’ve never seen someone manage to keep a suspicious shrew from running. You looked like a rock for a moment there.”, she said.
While she was usually a bit skittish around the other cats, Crowdusk had a very calming air to him that made it easy to talk with him. Lakesplash was more than glad for it. She could use a friend.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 8, 2023 17:18:52 GMT -5
(Oh I love Lakesplash so much already! Big sweetheart!)
“It the dark pelt that helps me blend in when it’s still this early,” he mewed, shifting his paws awkwardly. It was not as if he’d never been given a compliment before, but it was rare enough that the young tom was caught by surprise. “Yours didn’t even know what was happening you were so quiet.”
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 8, 2023 20:08:40 GMT -5
(She very much is! I've used her a few places and I love her)
Lakesplash purred slightly. "I've had plenty of practice from sneaking out of the nursery.", she said, her tail flicking back and forth slightly. "You wouldn't believe how good Poppykit's hearing is."
She was still listening to the bushes around them, but while their two kills had been pretty quick and quiet, it seemed to have pushed anything else back into their burrows. Lakesplash wasn't totally disappointed. They'd managed to grab two fat shrews, and it was nice to spend time with cats her own age, not just her kits or the odd apprentice that came in to deliver fresh-kill.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 9, 2023 21:45:19 GMT -5
With the sun slowly beginning to rise, the air was beginning to get warmer. If it wasn’t for their current hunt and his personal work ethic, Crowdusk was almost tempted to lounge in the sunlight. It had been a while since he had good company like this. “Hopefully more prey will begin to stir,” he mewed, stifling a yawn.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 9, 2023 21:53:50 GMT -5
Lakesplash flicked her tail slightly. "Hopefully. Should we stay here? I've never hunted here, so I have no clue if our catches would scare all the prey away.", she said. Some spots in the forest had more laidback prey than others, meaning more could be caught in one spot before a patrol had to move on. She hoped this spot would still be ok, it was very peaceful and calm, and the steadily rising sun was starting to shine on her pelt, making the chill of the morning air a bit more bareable.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 9, 2023 22:05:57 GMT -5
“We can stay a bit longer if you want,” Crowdusk replied, “Nothing’s too dangerous around here fortunately, aside from an occasional adder.” He briefly broke away from the conversation, grabbing the two shrews between his jaws and padded over to a shady spot beneath a tree. The gray and black tom buried their kills before returning to Lakesplash’s side.
“Perhaps we can move up towards the waterfall if we scare off too many prey,” he offered, “It’s a good spot for fishing and prey will definitely come to drink when the sun is higher. Or we can head back to camp when we’re done.” He knew it had been a while since the queen had been out hunting and he wanted to make sure she was comfortable.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 9, 2023 22:11:58 GMT -5
"Oh, I wouldn't mind a bit of fishing.", Lakesplash said. "I've always enjoyed it. And the fish afterwards.", she said with slight purr. "Though the water may be pretty cold still since the sun hasn't been up long enough to warm the surface.", she said. "And I could be out all day if I didn't know Morningswoop would have my tail for making her watch the kits for that long.", she said, not able to stop a purr of laughter at the mental image of her sister being swarmed by her niece and nephews.
Lakesplash was just glad to have some quiet time, and not have to worry about her kits, or be in an awkward situation with a cat she wasn't entirely comfortable with. Some of her Clanmates were just a bit too excitable to her.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 9, 2023 22:22:29 GMT -5
Crowdusk purred back, “Then let’s wait a bit before we head up. We won’t spend too long.” He sat back down in the now warm earth below, keeping his ears pricked in case a mouse or something decided to wander out.
(Okay these two are very cute. Crowdusk is very much a people pleaser haha)
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 10, 2023 11:11:24 GMT -5
Lakesplash hummed softly at that. “Sounds like a plan.”, she said, before she laid down on the warm dirt, letting more of her fur soak up the morning sun. It did wonders for chasing away the chill of her morning walk, closing her eyes contently. She really needed to get out of the camp more often.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 10, 2023 22:35:28 GMT -5
Crowdusk sat in comfortable silence for a bit longer, enjoying the peace and quiet while remaining vigilant of any movement. His patience was rewarded as a particularly noisy robin fluttered to the ground in search of worms. He quietly shot to his paws and began to creep up to it, then hesitated. The bird was rather scrawny, worth nothing more than a few mouthfuls at most. He was also sure the rest of the small animals would surely notice the robin’s tweeting suddenly cut short. Then again, BarrowClan needs prey. He glanced back to Lakesplash and signaled with his eyes if he should continue to pursue the robin or not.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 11, 2023 14:06:50 GMT -5
Lakesplash had opened her eyes and rolled onto her belly when she heard the robin land, narrowing her eyes at it. She watched Crowdusk creep forward towards it and look back at her, realizing why as soon as he did. Killing the robin could alert any other prey, and they’d lose their chance here. Though, they could kill it, and then wait a bit and head for the river.
She nodded at him. They’d already been planning on leaving this area soon, might as well snag another piece of fresh-kill on their way. Besides, the robin was too scrawny to be a meal for one of the warriors, but she was sure her kits would love a whole bird to themselves. She could teach them how to eat bird without getting feathers stuck in their teeth.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 11, 2023 22:16:13 GMT -5
With a nod back, the black and gray tom crept forward once more on the chattering robin. They would certainly lose most, if not all of the prey in the area, but it was safe to assume that he and Lakesplash were of the same mindset. The clan must be fed. Once he was close enough, Crowdusk leaped forward and the robin gave a surprised chirp as his paws pinned it down. He dispatched quickly and the forest went silent once again. “I always feel a little bad for killing birds,” he confessed as he trotted back to the queen, “For some reason it makes me a little sad when they’re caught off guard like that. Don’t know why though…”
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 11, 2023 22:31:36 GMT -5
"I get it.", Lakesplash said. "I think it's a good thing to feel bad for your prey. They may not be as smart as us, but they're still living creatures. I just always remind myself there's more prey here than we could ever catch.", she said. "Besides, they may be surprised, but they don't suffer.", she said, and let out a soft purr of laughter. "When I was an apprentice, I cried when I caught my first bird, because I always loved watching them. My mother told me basically what I said, that there's more than we could catch, and that we help the forest by keeping the prey in check. It didn't make me feel better then, but I've come to realize she was right."
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Post by Junospower on Aug 11, 2023 23:24:13 GMT -5
"I suppose you're right," he mewed, "I also take comfort that their sacrifice helps keep our clan alive."
Crowdusk remembered his own training. He never really gave hunting prey much thought back then, too focused on honing his skills and following orders. He was taught and told to hunt, so that was what he did. He hunted. It wasn't until later in his training where when he killed a crow and it squawked in surprise, that he started to feel a bit of guilt. The birds somehow seemed smarter than normal ground or water prey. They seemed more aware and weren't solely focused on finding food all day, every day. It was strange.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 11, 2023 23:34:03 GMT -5
Lakesplash nodded. "That definitely helps as well. I was even thinking, that robin might not be a full meal for a warrior, but I'm sure my kits would love to have a bird all to themselves. It'll make them feel grown up.", she said with a warm purr. "I can also teach them how to eat it without getting feathers stuck in their teeth."
Lakesplash had spent a moon of her apprenticeship mostly in the medicine cat den with her sister after Morningswoop's accident. She'd gone to the waterfall with her mentor, but hadn't listened to his warnings. It had resulted in her falling in the churning water, and getting her paw stuck in some of the rocks on the bottom. Her mentor had managed to pull her out before she drowned, but his tugging had mangled her paw on the way out. None of her family had cared, however. Lakesplash and her parents were just glad she was still alive.
But it meant that while Crowdusk was only a moon older than she was, she hadn't ever really trained with him, which she now wished she could have. Maybe they could have become friends sooner.
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Post by Junospower on Aug 18, 2023 21:36:10 GMT -5
(Sorry about the wait, I had hoped the rest of the members would come back and I wanted to stretch their time out.)
After burying the robin with the rest of their prey, Crowdusk began to lead the way further north where the waterfall was. “Fortunately, fish don’t make me feel guilty. Sometimes it seems like they swim right up to your claws, almost like they’re asking to be caught,” he mewed warmly over his shoulder. He was looking forward to fishing for a bit. The day had begun to warm and the water spray from the waterfall would easily cool their pelts.
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Post by runningsky123 on Aug 18, 2023 21:45:40 GMT -5
(No worries! I've been wondering that myself.)
Lakesplash chuckled softly. "Especially in the morning. You could probably just walk with your mouth open under water and catch five of them.", she said, following after him towards the waterfall. The sun was now over the horizon enough to be shining through the trees, the warmth of the sunlight feeling good on her pelt. The chill seemed to be gone from the air, perfectly timed for them to start fishing and not be too cold.
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Pansexual
Medicine cat
Nettle
woof woof
Pronouns: She/her, They/them.
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Post by Nettle on Aug 21, 2023 3:53:39 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I don't know if you'll remember me, but I'm back! I've had a lot of schoolwork so I was kind of distracted. But I have some ideas for new cats to this clan! Enjoy!!
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Pansexual
Medicine cat
Nettle
woof woof
Pronouns: She/her, They/them.
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Post by Nettle on Aug 21, 2023 4:05:03 GMT -5
Gingernose | She/her/hers | warrior | Homosexual | 36 moons |
Gingernose is a beautiful ginger tabby she-cat, with white striped around her flank. She has a cute pink nose, and furry ears. She was formerly a loner, walking along the boundaries between two-legs and Barrowclan. Warriors from Barrowclan would his at her, but finally, she had worked up the courage to ask to join, and soon she'd be approved by Cliffstar and walking along the sides of her new fellow clanmates.
In the early dawn of a new day, Gingernose felt a wave of optimism flood over her. there's something today... She'd think, zoning out on her thoughts whilst looking at an over-hanging tree. She spotted Lakesplash talking with another warrior, who she didn't know yet. I should know these warriors by now. She'd think grimly. before shaking herself and going to find herself something to do to take her mind off her worries.
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