[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

The newleaf nights were still cool, the temperature dropping after the sun sank each night, but the days were fast warming and prey was plentiful once more. Smokestorm did not miss for a moment the cold moons and the hunger they brought; they'd lost cats but the Clan as a whole survived. Life was a bit easier when their bellies were full- or so it seemed. Hunger soured a cat's temper, made them more irritable and made it hard to think about anything but the search for food.

Smokestorm had gathered a patrol to lead to the Scrublands despite the weather. Wind never hurt a cat, even if it made it harder to hunt prey, and she wasn't going to sit about and wait and hope for it to subside. Brightmane and Owlclaw were with her, and the younger she-cat had padded off a moment before to track her own prey; Smokestorm had spotted a mouse at the base of a small rock, back to her as it nibbled on a seed. The deputy paused to steady herself, but in that brief time the wind turned and her scent reached the mouse.

She saw it drop the seed, and hurled herself after it, but her outstretched paws only grazed rock as the little creature fled down a hole and she hissed a curse as her tail lashed in frustration. There went her chance to catch anything else- the mouse's fear scent would keep anything from venturing from this hole for some time. Foxdung.

Deputy of StoneClan

@zen Notes

[Deleted]

The wind was something to behold today, tearing through the relatively barren landscape that was StoneClan’s territory with ease. Only the occasional boulder managed to block it for a moment, though with how the wind was changing and coming from any direction at any given moment, even that was little enough shelter from the gale. Venturing out with Smokestorm and Owlclaw on a hunting patrol, he even had to pause twice and ground himself as he felt like he was about to be knocked over by a particularly strong gust. It meant the wind was kicking up all sorts of sand, grit, and dust along with it, which kept his eyes narrowed to keep out the worst of the debris. Not to mention the wreck it was making of his fur, blowing it into a wild tangle that would probably take him half the evening to straighten out if he didn’t want it to mat.

What a terrible day for hunting, not that it mattered. The Clan still needed to eat regardless if the weather cooperated or not. Owlclaw broke off from the patrol, following some sign of prey, while Brightmane kept on with Smokestorm. She was the deputy, he didn’t understand why she had put them in the same patrol. He would have thought she was beyond sick of him at this point and that she would assign him patrols with others. Of course, her willingness to work with all of her Clanmates, even ones that gave her trouble, was commendable he supposed. Not that he would tell her that.

He paused as Smokestorm did, spotting the mouse a moment after she did. Unfortunately for her, the wind shifted again and gave her away as she was about to attempt her catch, the mouse disappearing to safety. “Wow. StoneClan’s deputy, bested by the wind. There’s a tale for the elders,” he mewed flatly, unimpressed, and turned to pad on, seeking new prey.

---

Taxx

[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

Wow was all that was needed, really, and Smokestorm's head whipped around to where Brightmane was standing. She'd missed an easy catch and she knew it, she didn't need him rubbing it in. An irritated growl rolled in her throat as she pinned the tom with a cool glare, but he turned away to carry on, to look for something else to hunt. Part of her- the petty, annoyed part- wanted to wait until he'd almost caught something and then spoil it, just to sneer at him in return, but... she sighed. There was no place for pettiness. No matter how annoying the furball was.

Still, she had no intention of depriving herself of a snark reply. "Yeah, then, let's see you try then. Can you see okay through that fur?" She fixed her gaze on him, eyes widened in mock concern. "I should have taken that into consideration before bringing you out here. You're going to have quite the task later, aren't you?" With a flip of her tail, she purred. "Maybe you can fool prey into thinking you're some sort of odd bush. At least it'll be good for something then."

Deputy of StoneClan

@zen Notes

[Deleted]

Steeling himself against another gust of wind, Brightmane snorted his displeasure at the weather, squinting until it shifted, blowing his fur up around his face in the most annoying manner. He shook out his fur, but the wind wasn’t letting up so it did little to help. He cast an icy look back at Smokestorm as she made her retort for his earlier comment. The fur along his spine rippled in agitation. He was not a vain cat, but he certainly wasn’t going to take being told he looked like an ‘odd bush’ by Smokestorm laying down.

Of course, letting her see her immature insult get to him wasn’t an option either. His tail whipped in the wind as it lashed once, “What a great suggestion. We can add ‘StoneClan’s deputy catches less prey than a bush’ to the grand tales the elders will tell of you.” He smirked back at her and padded on, determined that he would make his catch where she had failed. That would really rub it in.

As he rounded a boulder, a thrush flailing on the ground quickly caught his attention. In a heartbeat he had pounced on it and ended its life, only then realizing the awkward angle of one of its wings. The wind must have caught it up and run it right into the boulder. He felt a flash of irritation over the fact that the bird had been crippled. Smokestorm would just turn that against him now if he tried to rub her nose in his catch. Tail flicking, he padded back to the more protected side of the boulder and set the thrush down to bury it to come back for later, hopefully before Smokestorm noticed anything off about it.

---

Taxx

[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

The insufferable furball! Smokestorm's tail lashed as he turned away and she ground her teeth, fighting to control herself before she gave in to the urge to jab her claws into his flank. She followed, ears perking as he froze and then sprang, and the quiet rustle of feathers reached her ears. Great, now he'd be even more smug. Except, he made no move to display the catch, only rounding a boulder and dropping it out of the wind.

Suspicion made her investigate, padding around the other side and coming face to face with him again, green eyes peering down at the bird and taking in the twisted wing. "Wow," she commented, using the exact same tone he had. "I hope it didn't give you too much trouble."

"Are you two fighting again?" Owlclaw's voice came, joined with the crackle of a stone as she appeared with a mouse in her jaws. Smokestorm sniffed, flashing another cool glance at Brightmane.

"Of course not. I wouldn't waste my breath."

"Okay," the younger replied. "So, I found a rabbit den, and they're definitely home. If we can scare them out, we'll have good prey to take back to the camp. This way." She dropped her mouse next to the bird and turned away again, tail lifted as she trotted back to the den; Smokestorm followed, breathing deeply at the entrance and nodding at the strong smell of rabbit that wafted from it. There had to be an exit, somewhere, and she motioned for Owlclaw to remain by the entrance, while she and Brightmane searched for it.

Deputy of StoneClan

@zen Notes