Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2019 23:52:14 GMT -5
Hemlock had split up from his sister so that the two of them could find themselves a meal. It was more difficult hunting in the mountains since there was a lot less cover, but he was sure he would get the hang of it eventually. Luckily his gray fur lent a bit of an advantage in the rocky landscape, but he still sometimes tried to get too close before he leapt, used to being able to hide in the foliage in the forest to sneak closer to his prey than he could in the mountains. Which was why the mouse he’d been stalking had now disappeared into a hole and was tucked up safe from his claws while he stood staring after it and sighed. Eventually sure didn’t help fill his belly now.
He turned away from the hole and padded away, leaping up onto a jagged rock as he tried to decide just where to go next. The valley below caught his eye. The forest seemed so far away… it seemed he and his sister had wandered closer to LightningClan territory than their former home. The expansive meadow LightningClan laid claim to stretched out below. He sighed again. He didn’t regret leaving TreeClan, he knew it was the right thing to do, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss having other cats around. Adderpool was great, of course, and he would be forever grateful that she had accompanied him, but two cats didn’t make the endless companionship of a Clan. Not that he really wanted that in the end either. He was different. Too different to be accepted by any cat outside his family. That was just a fact, even if it was a difficult one to swallow. He wanted, more than anything, to be able to be himself without fear of rejection, and he could never do that in a Clan.
Ears flicking back sadly, he turned away from the valley for he had no place there. He moved on, jaws parting as he returned to his search for a meal, but it wasn’t long before a shadow passed over him. Looking up in alarm, he spotted an eagle circling lower and realized he was the target. Forgetting his own hunt, he broke into a run, yellow gaze seeking any kind of shelter from the looming danger over his head. He hit a patch of scree he hadn’t noticed, his gaze flicking wildly between the sky and the ground, and his paws slid out from under him as he went tumbling, unable to find purchase in the loose pebbles that took him with them in their careless slide down the mountain.
Fortunately for Hemlock it was a short drop, but the impact still knocked the breath out of him. Only the panic of knowing the eagle was still up there, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, had the gray tom forcing his paws under him and heaving himself up as he gasped for air. He stumbled on, hurrying as he regained his breath, and dove into the first nook he had seen yet, a twisted looking hollow tree, panting hard. For a few moments all that existed were the sounds of his own breathing and his heart thudding in his chest, but when he realized he was safe, the rest of his surroundings began to occur to him. What was he standing on?
He shifted back slightly to get a better view of just what was poking at him and his eyes widened as the light from outside revealed bright white bones. What was it, a rabbit? It looked pretty big…. Completely forgetting the danger he had been in only moments ago, he shifted around more and found the skull, ears angled forward with intense interest. That was no rabbit skull. Though he couldn’t ever have claimed to have seen one, he knew immediately that this skull belonged to a cat. Rabbits didn’t have fangs like that. A thrill went down his spine as he gently placed one paw atop the bone structure, tilting it slightly to get a better look. That meant these were all cat bones!
He shuffled away, careful not to displace any of the bones, eager to study just how the bone structure of a cat really looked. He’d never imagined he would get the chance! “This is so cool!” he murmured excitedly to no one in particular, pawing gingerly at the ribs, shifting to get a closer look at the tail bones, and in doing so spotted several things lining the walls of the hollow. A large fang caught his eye first, and he wondered just what it was from. It looked too big to be a cat’s tooth. Bones of all sorts. More teeth. Farther back… another skull! It didn’t take him long to recognize it as another cat skull. It looked quite similar to the one that belonged to the complete skeleton in the middle of the den.
He peered curiously at a strange clear, round… rock? It was hollow inside, but there was nothing in it. He dabbed a paw at it, unsure what it was or where it might have come from. He’d never seen anything like it before. It rocked and tipped over, making an odd clink noise. How strange. His tail flicked behind him with excess excitement over it all as he turned back to the cat skeleton, circling around it with amazement.
What an amazing find! He couldn’t wait to show Adderpool. His head snapped around to the entrance to the hollow as he remembered his sister, his former mission to find food, and the eagle that had chased him here. He had better go look for her to make sure the eagle hadn’t found her. Adderpool was smart enough to get herself to safety of course, but she was all he had now, so he still worried that something might have happened. Creeping over to peer out at the sky, he couldn’t see the eagle circling anymore and sighed in relief before stepping out into the open. He cast a glance back, hesitant to leave this treasure trove behind, but he supposed he and Adderpool would be able to come back to it. He just had to find her first.
Greenleaf 1 - Sunlight continues to bear down heavily on the valley, making the dry grass brittle. Hunting is especially difficult due to extra sound caused by breaking leaves.
Taxx Fawn