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Post by Fate Admin on Nov 20, 2012 17:54:10 GMT -5
Ravenstar attempted to do her part in the dragging of the rogue Komodo’s body toward the swamplands where she and Blackwolf had decided to dump his body into a sink hole… but Blackwolf was really doing most of the work. It was rather tiring for the small black and white she-cat but she didn’t complain or let on, simply clamped her jaws shut on the dead cat’s pelt and tried to keep up with Blackwolf. This sort of thing was not exactly where her strengths showed through and Ravenstar found it quite annoying, her fluffy tail twitching behind her.
To think this filthy rogue had tried to eat a NightClan apprentice! How desperate the loners and rogues must be this leaf-bare to attempt such a thing… or perhaps this one was just a particularly despicable individual to begin with. Well, now NightClan’s territory would be eating him, so hah! She found a certain amount of satisfaction in the thought, even if it was a bit childish. She paused suddenly, ears perked forward as she thought she heard something. She let out a mrow through the rogue’s pelt to alert Blackwolf to stop and let the dead tom drop from her jaws. “Stop and listen a moment… I think I heard something.”
A moment of quiet stretched between them before a thin wail shattered the silence. Ravenstar’s head snapped toward the sound, “What in StarClan’s name is that?” She didn’t wait for Blackwolf to answer, instead bounding off in the direction the sound had come from, careful to keep an eye out for the landmarks which marked where many of the sink holes in this area were located as she went. The wail was heard again, louder as she closed the distance between herself and the source of the sound. She finally came to a stop when she saw a tiny brown scrap of fur wiggling slightly, its hindquarters buried in muck as its tiny muzzle opened to wail for help.
“A kit?” Her pale amber eyes blinked incredulously as she stared at the tiny scrap for a moment before moving forward carefully. How it had gotten itself half into a muddy sink hole she didn’t know, but…. She paused again. This kit looked familiar. Another step forward had her paw sliding down toward the muck and she leapt back immediately before the rest of her followed. Wonderful. “Hold on, little one… we’ll save you!” It was only then that she remembered Blackwolf and turned to see if the tom had followed her.
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Post by Fawn on Nov 20, 2012 22:47:09 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true] Blackwolf 28 moons, Warrior, NightClan |
[/color] Cat: Here // Table by Phoenix
Oh he would've battled the whole of StoneClan if she'd ordered him to, but...for the love of Ravenstar, she was slow! Being an extremely unsympathetic creature by nature, and thus patience did not come naturally to him when dealing with, er, cats with some kind of handicap - whether it was Ratfur's everything or Ravenstar's small stature. This forced tolerance was producing a somewhat noticeable twitch in his blue eye, and the irony of what they were going to do with Komodo's body was lost in favor of him suppressing the urge to scream. It was taking a lot more self control than he'd thought himself capable of displaying, not to set down the carcass and beg Ravenstar to let him carry it by himself if it meant they would go a little faster.
Not built for such a sluggish pace, the slow crunch of snow beneath his feet and the familiar tang of swamplands was stinging the insides of his nostrils, but he kept quiet. Until Ravenstar paused.
In the name of Raggedstar, if she didn't start moving again, he'd-
Not bothering to finish that thought, Blackwolf spat out Komodo's filthy fur, turning to, as politely as he could, tell Ravenstar that he wanted to make it back to camp before New leaf, paused at her words.
“What in StarClan’s name is that?”
"Huh?"
Wait, he heard it too. It was some kind of wailing. Before he could voice his opinion on the matter, the small fluffy black and white she-cat was racing off through the swamplands, and he almost shouted at her back for her to be careful, before a protective sense of obligation had him charging after her. What they found was a kitten being devoured by a sink hole. Horror flashed through the brawny warrior's mismatched eyes as thoughts of Pinepaw flooded through him and almost rooted him to the spot.
“Hold on, little one… we’ll save you!”
That snapped him out of his nostalgia-induced immobility, and Blackwolf whirled around in search of a stick the kitten could grab on to. They didn't have much time. "Find a stick! Any stick! Just make sure it's long enough for the kit to reach it!" He barked, forgetting their rank in favor of rescuing the poor little scrap wailing it's head off in the muck. Summoning up his courage, Blackwolf took a few tentative steps forward, feeling the mud close in around his paws like greedy mouths and fingers, but the viscous ground held his weight. Encouraged, Blackwolf stretched out even farther, only half a rabbit length from the kit now. He couldn't think of a way to pull it out without hurting it, but, Blackwolf decided, it was better to graze him a little than watch him be lost forever, clutched in mother nature's cruel paws.
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Post by Fate Admin on Dec 1, 2012 1:58:47 GMT -5
Ravenstar glanced around briefly for a stick at Blackwolf’s suggestion, but most would be buried under the snow at this point and they didn’t really have time to go digging around trying to find one that was long enough and strong enough to use, “Stop! Get back and grab my tail! You….” Her eyes flashed with a flurry of different emotions as the bile rose in her throat at admitting her own weakness, but she pushed it down for the sake of the kit’s life, “You’re stronger than I am… I’ll grab the kit and you can pull us both out. If you fall in… I won’t be able to help you.”
Her voice took on a bit of a growl, her frustrations and anger in her own limitations breaking through in her tone, but it was the truth… and sometimes the truth hurt and you simply had to swallow it, bitterness and all, and move on. Besides, she would rather risk her own life than one of her warriors anyway. For a brief moment the thought of dying here ran through her mind and she knew she would be okay with it if she could just save the kit, get it out and to Blackwolf to take back to camp. Boneshadow would be a great leader if she never returned. But those thoughts lived only for a heartbeat before she shouldered Blackwolf back (or at least attempted to) and stepped past him, her paws sliding down toward the sink hole in the slippery, freezing mud.
There was no hesitation now, before Blackwolf could try to put himself in her place or something, and she felt her paws beginning to sink into the thick mud around the kit, her back claws digging into the mud behind her in some attempt not to slip farther in as she held her tail straight back for Blackwolf to grab a hold of. She grabbed the kit by the scruff of his neck, and this close she definitely recognized him as Oak-kit, but pushed away the bewilderment and confusion at the fact that he was still alive in order to focus on what was happening NOW. She tried to pull back, but her forepaws were firmly stuck now. A flash of panic rose in her chest, but she held fast to the kit, raising her head to tug the tiny bundle from the muck and hoping Blackwolf would be able to pull them both out all right.
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Post by Fawn on Dec 2, 2012 1:33:00 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true] Blackwolf 28 moons, Warrior, NightClan |
[/color] Cat: Here // Table by Phoenix
Yesterday if anyone had told him he'd be yanking Ravenstar by the tail out of the muck to rescue a wailing kitten, he'd have called them nuts or suffering from some kind of weird hallucinogenic mushrooms. Either way a beating or a trip to the Smokefur would sort this odd creature out, hopefully for the better. Blackwolf didn't say anything at Ravenstar's words - what was there to say, really? He'd gotten his instructions, it wasn't his place to question them - but rather he reached forward, neck stretched, to clamp his jaws around the she-cat's bushy, bushy tail.
Her fur tickled the roof of his mouth, and he resisted the urge to sneeze, Blackwolf would've grimaced if he could. Sorry Ravenstar, he apologized as he began to pull, this is going to hurt a little. Digging his claws into the cold-firmed earth, Blackwolf growled with effort, his muscles bunching and the many many moons of training once more paying off. Like he would ever let his leader get swallowed up by the muck, no less his leader holding a defenseless kit. The little scrap had better hope he's NightClan, Blackwolf hadn't gotten a close look at the tiny wailing bundle, but he couldn't focus on that right now. With Ravenstar's paws stuck in the mud, Blackwolf felt his own neck and shoulders start to strain from the effort of dislodging her.
Oh no you don't!
With a sharp pull, Blackwolf backpedaled and took Ravenstar with her, trusting the small black and white she-cat to have the kit firmly grasped between her teeth as he eased her onto solid ground again. Dropping her tail, the warrior's mismatched eyes swiveled to look at Ravenstar, conscious of the possibility that he'd hurt her in the process, and his ears folded sideways at the thought of apologizing. When was the last time he'd ever said sorry for anything? Besides, this was...an occupational hazard, you could say. "You okay?" mewed Blackwolf, eyes darting from the kit to Ravenstar, the concern for her considerably stronger.
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Post by Fate Admin on Dec 2, 2012 19:35:25 GMT -5
Ravenstar had not thought twice about the pain she might be subjecting herself to until Blackwolf’s fangs closed around her tail. She winced and the kit in her own jaws gave a squeak of protest. She loosened her hold on him slightly, realizing she’d clenched her jaw when she felt Blackwolf’s fangs and instead squeezed her eyes shut and focused on not clenching her jaw and hurting the kit again. Her back legs were still free of the consuming muck and she attempted to help with the freeing process, digging her claws in and tugging backward.
Oak-kit mewled pitifully. He didn’t like all this stuff covering him, but at least he wasn’t sinking anymore! And now some cat had bitten him too! He wriggled some, but that only earned him a firmer grip from the cat holding onto his scruff and he subsided soon enough, hoping this whole thing would be over with soon. He was cold and wet and muddy and hungry and tired and now his scruff hurt and he just wanted to be back with his mother and Thornkit and Ashkit. He squealed as suddenly he was wrenched free of the muck and flying backward in the she-cat’s mouth.
Ravenstar kept focused on keeping a firm grasp on the kit so that even when Blackwolf suddenly wrenched her free, she would not drop the kit back in from the surprise of it… or the pain of it either. It was hard to keep the balance between firm grip and crushing the poor kit’s scruff in order to help relieve the pain in her tail, or simply letting go of him altogether so she might let out a yowl to release the pain that way. But if there was one thing Ravenstar had plenty of, it was focus and drive to succeed. As Blackwolf released her tail she lowered her head to set the kit down between her paws and gave a relieved groan, turning and pulling her tail toward her to inspect the damage. She hissed softly as she rasped her tongue gently over the area Blackwolf had been handing onto.
Her ears twitched and she looked up as he asked if she was all right, “I’ll be fine.” She stood, holding her tail rather stiffly out behind her, and turned to the muddy kit. He was hard to recognize, covered in muck pretty much up to his neck, but he was definitely Oak-kit. Her ears twitched again as her confusion resurfaced and she murmured to Blackwolf, “I don’t understand… this is Oak-kit but… I thought he was dead?” Horror gripped her as she wondered about his littermates. Had the other two already sunk into the muck before they’d arrived?
She turned back to Oak-kit, “Oak-kit… it’s me, Ravenstar. It’s all right, you’re safe now. Where are your brother and sister? Were they here with you?”
Oak-kit looked up at her, shivering, with wide eyes, “I… I’m so c-cold….”
Her tail twitched reflexively and she winced, having almost forgotten the pain in her worry for Oak-kit’s siblings. If his siblings HAD been with him then… clearly they were already gone. Right now what mattered most was getting Oak-kit back to camp and warmed up… maybe he would be more talkative then. “We need to get him back to camp,” she spoke to Blackwolf briefly before leaning down to pick him up once more and turning back in the direction of camp. Komodo’s dead body was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.
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Post by Fawn on Dec 4, 2012 4:08:18 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true] Blackwolf 28 moons, Warrior, NightClan |
[/color] Cat: Here // Table by Phoenix
Oak-kit?
That meant that the other two... Blackwolf's upper lips pulled away from his teeth in an expression that was half grimace half snarl, his tail lashing in quiet anger. Saved one, lost two. That was just the hand Fate had dealt them today, they should both walk away from this grateful they could at least save one. With Komodo now the furthest thing from his mind, Blackwolf leaned over to sniff the kitten as his own personal check for blood, and upon smelling only swamp mud and pine needles on the scrap, finally turned his attention back to the front. He HAD pulled pretty hard on Ravenstar's tail, but that was the only way he could've gotten the pair out of the muck. When they had walked into the snowier parts of the territory, Blackwolf's mismatched gaze swiveled back to his pint-sized leader and her teaspoon-sized bundle, his ears flicking sideways in contemplation.
"I'll carry him if the snow is too high." Mewed the warrior gruffly. He knew Ravenstar had her pride, but he was thinking about the kit right now; Ravenstar was a lot closer to the ground than he was, the she-cat being of a much more petite almost apprentice-sized structure, while he himself was larger and more of the 'strapping' variety. The kitten was likely already cold.
Expecting her to refuse, Blackwolf gave a small flick of his tail as a signal that he would be quickening his pace - all the better to get the little brown scrap out of the cold and into the nice warm nursery, after a quick routine check-up from Smokefur, that is. Would Ravenstar allow Smokefur anywhere near the kitten? Blackwolf was left to mull over the weird little dispute between the sisters, his paws making tracks through the snow that hadn't already been stepped on by warriors coming to and from camp. I guess we picked a good day to go to the farthest reaches of the territory.
It really was LUCK that had been on their side this morning; if the mud hadn't gotten Oak-kit, Demon, a fox, a raccoon, a possum - something else would've.
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