Post by ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 on Mar 11, 2022 16:20:51 GMT -5
BIRCHSPOTS
[attr="class","birch"][attr="class","birch-content"]The whole world had changed. Birchspots had often thought of running away from everything, leaving it all behind. But now that he had been chased away by the very earth crumbling under his paws, he longed for familiarity more than ever. Nothing seemed right. The cave was incredibly crowded. Every cat was packed in on top of each other, like rabbits in a warren. It was hot and uncomfortable and highly off-putting. At the moment, though, Birchspots felt the guilt of their burden on the Tribe. They numbered far fewer than the Clans and lived a much harsher life in the mountains. True, they did not fight other cats for resources, but the dangers of their high altitude provided them with additional challenges the Clans didn't need to worry about as much.
He felt a deep desire to "give back" to the Tribe that had so generously taken them in and given them safety and shelter in such difficult times. And so, he'd volunteered to join the prey-hunters under the supervision of the cave-guards. It was strange. A completely different way of living from what he was used to. Instead of having to watch his own tail, he could feel the keen gaze of the cave-guards fixed to his back. Even as his golden eyes passed over Roar of Rushing River, Birchspots could tell that his bulky, muscular form was not made for chasing down rabbits. These cats had likely never caught a single piece of prey in their life, and it amazed him. A unit composed of two parts that were so different and yet moved as one.
Birchspots felt even more exposed here out on the mountain slopes, far more than he had ever felt even on the open moorland where he was born. From here, his keen golden eyes could spy the movement of what looked like a hare shuffling down the slope. Uncertain, Birchspots turned his gaze towards Leaf. The speckled brown prey-hunter signalled with her tail for the patrol to surround the hare. Birchspots felt a surge of admiration for their complex tail signals, which he had only briefly learned before setting out on this patrol. It was clear that the prey-hunters had to figure out a way to communicate long-distance not only with each other but with the cave-guards that watched over them too. Two of the younger prey-hunters made their way stealthily downslope. While there wasn't much cover-up in the mountains, the LightningClan warrior noticed with keen interest that the hunters made use of divots in the mountainside to remain below the line of sight of the mountain hare.
Leaf shuffled closer to him to explain their ploy. "When I raise my tail, the whole patrol is supposed to charge at the hare and surround it. It will have nowhere to run, so its instinct will be to fight." Her eyes glittered with a hint of worry. "Mountain hares can be ferocious. So each cat is assigned a target." Birchspots's head swam with the complexity of this new tactic. Though LightningClan cats used teamwork to tackle difficult prey as well, he'd never been a part of something this complex before. It was daunting. Leaf explained that she would hold down the hare's rear right limb, another hunter would take the left, the two front limbs and the torso were also pinned by other cats. This would ensure the hare would not kick or wound any hunters. Then, Birchspots would be responsible for delivering the death blow. His golden eyes met with Leaf's bright blue gaze, and he couldn't help but feel as if this were a test of trust. Had they noticed his interest in the Tribe? Did they think he might become a prey-hunter himself?
He didn't even have time to consider this possibility before Leaf raised her tail. The patrol exploded up and across the slopes towards the exposed animal. Birchspots kept close pace with Leaf, his heart rushing with the excitement and anxiety of having a central role in the team. The hare made a dash for it, but it quickly became apparent that the cats had cut off every escape route. It stared around wildly at the approaching predators, sitting back on its trembling haunches and preparing itself to claw at the first cat that reached it. One cat sprang on the creature from behind, pinning it down. The hare had strength enough to try and buck the cat off, but in a matter of heartbeats, Leaf and all the other cats had its legs locked beneath their claws. The hare let out a wail that was equal parts furious and frightened, causing empathy to stir in Birchspots's heart as he scurried around to try and get an angle on the animal's throat. But the way it had been pinned kept its most vulnerable parts hidden against the mountainside.
Realising what had happened, Leaf gave a frustrated growl. "We'll have to flip it." She looked around at each of the prey-hunters, their faces strained with the effort of keeping the powerful animal pinned. "On the count of one... two... three..." The patrol suddenly grabbed the animal with their teeth and rolled it, a dangerous manoeuvre in an attempt to make the hare quicker and easier to kill. Birchspots, seeing the fluffy throat of the hare open to his strike, sprang with claws unsheathed. Just as his claws landed true, Birchspots felt a searing pain strike across his foreleg. The hare had kicked one front paw free of its captor and managed to hit him. As the hare swiftly died, Birchspots hopped backwards, wincing at the blood that trickled down his grey forepaw. Shadow of Soaring Eagle, who had been holding the foreleg that attacked him, stared at him with round eyes. "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, her whiskers trembling. "It just slipped free!" Birchspots gave a shake of his head, assuring her it was just an accident. The hare was worth it, anyway. That thing was big enough to feed a whole patrol of cats... and StarClan knew they needed it, what with the overcrowding in the Tribe.
Just then, Birchspots heard the slither of paws behind them that indicated one of the cave-guards had seen the injury and was coming to help. "They'll probably take you back to the cave with a scratch like that." Leaf nodded to Birchspots. Was that approval in her gaze, or did he imagine it?
Warrior of
LightningClan
Hellion && 1,072
