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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 15:27:54 GMT -5
The soft patter of rain accompanied Minkpaw's steps as she crept clumsily down the hill away from camp, a grumpy expression on her face as she slipped for what seemed like the umpteenth time. Light flakes of mud coated her dark paws as she walked, ears perking up as she heard the rushing sounds of the river up ahead.
The new apprentice had sneaked out of camp when she had heard someone suggesting that the dens probably needed some more moss to warm them up. The idea of having to stay in the stuffy dens squishing bits of moss into random cracks in the gloom wasn't exactly the she-cat's idea of a good time, so she had headed out to "make dirt."
Who wants to stay inside all day and do chores? Sooo boring
Despite the light rain and mud, she was very much happy with her decision to skive. She hadn't been out into the territories much since her ceremony, and the outside world still filled her with wonder. She paused as she drew up to the water's edge, gazing down into the current, now turbulent with raindrops. The wild was alive around her, but as she tried to listen for prey it seemed like the noises of the rain were merging with everything else around her. One plop of water was the same as a vole going for a dip, and she shortly gave up as she started to shiver, the wonder of the world beginning to lose its charm.
The water was starting to drip through her fur and was soaking her skin to the point that she started to shake out her brown fur like a dog, glancing around for some form of shelter. A bush loomed up before her, and she padded under it to shiver and lick dry her fur. She looked a bit miserable as she crouched there, but she insisted to herself that anything was better than participating in den maintenance.
"S-Still worth it."
She muttered to herself, glaring solemnly at the stream through the sheets of light rain.
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Post by Fawn on Sept 20, 2016 0:13:03 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR Harestrike had learned something this morning. No matter how fast he ran, how hard he pushed himself, he could not outrun the rain. But that hadn't stopped him from trying; sides heaving, the tabby and white tom felt his semi-long coat plastering to his wiry muscles and turning his tail into the sorriest looking fur-covered twig any cat ever laid eyes. Hissing with annoyance as a fat drop of water landed on his nose, Harestrike leaped over the creek, cursing loudly as he lost some traction in the mud and his back feet touched the water as he scrambled over the opposite bank.
"Foxdung!"
Unable to detect the scent of anything but wet grass in a chilly autumn rain like this, he braced himself against a cool wind, and, before he caught a cold, sought the nearest form a shelter. This took the shape of a rather ambiguous looking bush, and as he squeezed his way in through the thick brambles and waxy green leaves, his gaze registered surprise as he realized the bush wasn't as unoccupied as he'd thought.
Harestrike snickered, his eyes alight as he folded his back legs into a sodden sit beside the russet-furred she-cat. "You look like a drowned fox." Another cat might've pointed out that he didn't exactly look his best right now, but Harestrike didn't care; now that the rain was no longer pelting him while he was still in a greenleaf coat, he could sigh more easily, flicking droplets from his ears. Now that he had a moment to catch his breath, Harestrike studied the she-cat, recognizing her to be... Mousepaw? ... No... Minkpaw? That sounded right. Newly apprenticed, if that was the correct name.
"Did you sneak away from your mentor?" he mewed, taking a wild stab at her reasons for being out here by herself. Wasn't every day you found an apprentice wandering around outside of camp without at least one warrior with them; while she answered (or didn't, he wasn't bothered if she chose to stay silent), Harestrike trapped his tail against the grass underfoot, and began grooming the excess water out of the sodden appendage. Word Count: 366 Words Tags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes: =) I hope you don't mind me jumping in!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2016 16:31:21 GMT -5
The pitter patter of the rain on the leaves above her head did little to lull Minkpaw as she shook and licked the water out of her fur, her mood darkening despite her escape from her supposedly stiffing clan life. She froze however as a muffled curse drifted across the stream to her, the young she-cat swivelling with wide eyes as she realised that someone was moving under the same bush that she was sheltering in.
Could it be a StoneClan warrior!? Creeping up on the camp for REVENGE!?
Minkpaw fluffed up her fur and dug her claws into the ground, excited and ready for a fight, but no, it was only Harestrike, she frowned and shrank in disappointment as he laughed at her.
"You're one to talk."
She snapped half-heartedly, huffing a little as she settled down to keep grooming herself, roughing up her fur the wrong way in order to get some air into it. She had taken shelter before it had completely soaked her, so there was still plenty of dry undercoat to help bulk out the wet outer fur. His second comment made her pause, but only for a second. She didn't have much of a filter, so things rarely took their time in her head before leaping to her tongue.
"I wouldn't call it sneaked so much as tactically evaded."
She mewed, trying not to make eye contact with the older tom. She didn't know him very well, so wasn't sure if he was the sort to act disciplinary or to let things slide. He seemed a bit young and laid-back, and she was betting on him thinking she was funny or silly, and not taddling on her.
Probably best to change the subject
"You out hunting by yourself in this weather? or do you just enjoy giving Rookfrost more colds to deal with?"
She meowed mockingly, raising her gaze to his with a slight crinkle of humour in her green eyes.
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Post by Fawn on Sept 20, 2016 17:14:58 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR Harestrike smirked. Tactically evaded. "It wasn't raining when I started," he replied. "Caught a mouse and a thrush, as a matter of fact. I'll get 'em once the rain lets up a little." Carrying back two pieces of fresh kill in the rain was the quickest way to get on the bad side of the elders; nobody liked soggy prey. It wasn't that he was a sympathetic cat (it didn't really come naturally to him), he just didn't like having his ears clawed off by a bunch of cranky elders and queens. Besides, nothing except for wet fox smelled as bad as wet dead rodents.
He didn't want to make two trips back to camp, though. Harestrike stretched, formulating a plan in the process. "Maybe if you carry back some fresh kill, your mentor won't try lining their nest with your fur," he teased, giving her ear tip a playful flick with his tail. Of course, she'd have to carry her own fresh kill, but at least no cat could call them lazy if they came back with at least three things. He'd figure out a way to carry the mouse and thrush at the same time. Harestrike was creative, though his talents lied in figuring out new, exciting battle-moves---not trying to decide if he can grab a mouse by the tail and a thrush by the wing and make it back to camp without tripping over the thrush or dropping something in the mud. Word Count: 250 WordsTags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2016 15:56:01 GMT -5
It seemed that Harestrike wasn't about to jump on her for disobedience, and with that realisation Minkpaw let herself relax a little more. Perhaps not all of the adults were complete stiffs after all. She raised her brows at his suggestion, snorting lightly as his tail flicked her ear and batting it away good naturedly with her paw.
"Eh... Maybe..."
She half-agreed, having read in the suggestion that she would have to hunt for something herself, and filling with a deep and cold inner assurance of imminent soaking. On top of the rain, Minkpaw hadn't actually had any hunting training yet, having had her ceremony very recently, and knew that she probably wasn't the best hunter in the clan at that moment. She had come out here to avoid work in the first place as well, and hunting would only mean teasing from Harestrike on her poor technique and getting rained on again, so it would be worse than if she had just stayed put in the den in the first place.
"How about YOU catch something extra, and then we say I caught it. Prank the whole clan."
She grinned, tail flicking up in an air of false confidence in her negotiation skills,
"You wouldn't want to see me hunting after all, I haven't even hunting once yet, AND it's raining. You'd have to trail after my attempts for ages and get soaked doing it."
She glanced out at the rain, then glanced at him sideways while drawing an exaggerated breath in through closed teeth, as if there could be no worse weather in the whole world
"You sure you got the patience for that?"
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Post by Fawn on Sept 22, 2016 13:15:13 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR "Me hunt for you?" Harestrike laughed, the sound more of a snicker as he realized she was doing her best to con him into getting her out of trouble. "You left camp without telling anyone, not my fault if you come back empty-pawed." He could appreciate her attempt to remedy her situation, but Harestrike was no fool. Despite the prey animal he shared his name with, he wasn't a harebrain.
Harestrike glanced through the wet brambles, looking out at the crystal creek in the distance. It had turned into a gray, rippling line on the landscape, the steady rain creating an uneven, busy surface on the water. "Everything's in its nest, anyway." There wasn't much room in the bushes they were hiding in, but Harestrike settled down as though to nap, his head raised being the only sign he wasn't intending to just sleep until the rain stopped. "Practice your hunter's crouch. At least you won't get completely flayed if tell your mentor you were practicing." Harestrike wasn't going to give up the mouse or thrush he'd caught earlier; they were still the results of his efforts, not hers. She was just an apprentice—had she been Robinflame, he might've relented, thinking of the pretty calico as a partner-in-crime (not wishing to admit what was possibly sitting just under the surface of his thoughts), but this was just a kitten trying to claw her way out of a hole.
Harestrike could be nice, but not that nice. Offering to critique her hunting moves, he flicked the tip of his tail in a 'go ahead' gesture; there wasn't much else to do. The cold downpour was still on-going, and he didn't envy a long, wet run back to LightningClan's camp.
Word Count: 296 Words Tags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2016 14:23:48 GMT -5
Minkpaw's tail and spirits sank as Harestrike laughed at her again, a look of disappointment crossing her features.
Was worth a shot I guess, but who was I kidding?
It seemed like there was no escape, and that she was going to have to go out into the rain and hunt something. The expression on her face darkened as she peered out to see if she could see anything stirring in the bushes, but paused in surprise as Harestrike seemed to be letting her off exiting the bush, suggesting practice crouches instead. Practising her hunting pose wouldn't be an issue at all, she could do it from the glorious and dry safety of the bush.
The apprentice visibly brightened, a smile returning to her mouth as she twitched her whiskers in some kind of vague self-preparation movement,
"Now that I have no problem with! Just try not to laugh too hard, I haven't actually had any teaching on this yet."
She mewed, backing herself up a bit into the bush so that she had enough space to do a crouch while staying dry. She paused, trying to wrack her memory for any times that she'd seen a warrior doing a crouch. It didn't really happen that often in camp, and she'd not been out much, surely it was just crouching down and that was it right? She remembered cats joking about apprentices always waving their rear ends in the air when they started, so she'd try doing to opposite.
The brown she-cat crouched down like she was trying to hide from something, belly brushing the ground and ears flat against her head, she clear forgot about her tail, which waved around happily behind her like a clear brown feather-banner, and glanced questioningly at Harestrike, genuinely wanting some constructive criticism. While she was a fan of dodging the kind of work that she found unpleasant, she shared the common trait of most apprentices: an excitement to learn new things and master them.
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Post by Fawn on Sept 24, 2016 17:01:30 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR "Oh yeah, great crouch." Harestrike mewed, trying to keep the snicker out of his voice and not doing well. "If you want to wave to our neighbors every time you go hunting." A still-wet white paw rose and clamped down on Minkpaw's tail, the laughter in his eyes as he pinned it to the earthen floor beneath them. "And make sure you don't crouch so low to the ground, your belly fur gets snagged on the gorse or brambles."
Not only was it painful if you were thin-furred, it was noisy. Cats inevitably ended up cursing while they tried to untangle themselves. Harestrike let go over her tail, and then slid a paw under her belly, wiggling it to show how little room she gave herself to move. "Settle right above my paw." Harestrike didn't consider himself much of a teacher—and he believed talent was something you were born with, not something you could snatch up like a piece of fresh kill—but he preferred doing this to just sitting around idly, waiting for something to happen.
Word Count: 184 Words Tags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes: Sorry it's so short!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 15:07:26 GMT -5
Minkpaw flushed with embarrassment as Harestrike batted down her tail, sheepishly splaying her ears to the sides of her head as she laughed at herself.
"Especially effective with a tail like mine. That thing's got as much fur on it as a skunk-tail."
She glanced down at her belly, finding that she agreed with the older tom's tips. Not only would she have gathered up all of whatever was on the ground in her feathery fur, but as she tried to raise herself up to make room for Harestrike's paw she found that her legs felt cramped and bunched up this close to the ground. She would have had an uncomfortable time crawling along the ground like this. She raised herself up, tail lowering as she did so, and tried to look like she was watching something ahead of her, her ears naturally perking up and forward.
"This any better?"
She mewed, turning her head to Harestrike with her brows raised. She could see that the tom was using this as a welcome distraction while they waited out the rain, but this beat den-maintenance any day and she was happy to help. A teacher was a teacher, and this would help her not have her ears tattered by Robinflame when her mentor eventually took her out for official hunting practice.
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Post by Fawn on Sept 27, 2016 21:16:11 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR He'd more or less expected her to claw his fur off at his bossiness, but she took it in stride. Nodding in approval, Harestrike pressed against the bush, shaking a few raindrops loose from the leaves as he circled her, getting a look at her form from all sides. "Better. You might actually catch something like that." Her legs would've buckled from holding such a cramped, uncomfortable position before. Though Harestrike didn't want any-cat getting credit for his accomplishments (even if it was something as simple as teaching someone else's apprentice how to hunt), he liked Robinflame, and would just have to tell the pretty calico that she owed him one for giving Minkpaw some advice.
Harestrike thrust his head out of the shrubbery, staring at the sky. "It's starting to lighten up," he mewed, realizing the rain had been reduced to a drizzle. Even the noise of the raindrops hitting the creek had lessened to a faint roar. She'd probably have a better chance of catching fish right now than she would a mouse, but Harestrike loved a good challenge. "Maybe you can find a water vole. Come on." Beckoning Minkpaw after him, Harestrike left the shelter of the bushes, shaking the collecting moisture from his handsome tabby and white pelt, before lowering into a lean stalking position as he slunk towards the crystal creek. Word Count: 231 Words Tags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 15:16:13 GMT -5
6 Moons. LightningClan. She-Cat. Minkpaw tried her best to stay still as Harestrike circled her, ears flicking away the stray drops that his dislodged as he padded around her and looked at her pose. She found that, as he drew closer, she was blushing a little out of more than just embarrassment. Adolescence in full swing, she was developing a miniature crush. He was too old for her, and she was pretty sure that he and Robinflame had something going on, so she turned her head to look straight ahead and tried not to think of him looking at her.
Cut it out. He acts like he thinks I'm a kit anyway
She felt proud from his positive assessment, but watched apprehensively as the tom padded out into the now-drizzle, dropping out of her crouch as she did so. Her ears flicked back and a sour expression settled on her face at the suggestion of going into the rain to hunt, but as she unwillingly and slowly followed him out she found that she had to agree with him in that the rain wasn't really that bad anymore.
She had been unwilling to get herself drenched again, having left the camp originally without thinking about getting wet and having had to seek shelter, but turning up her nose at a drizzle would make her look exactly like the kit Harestrike seemed to think she was. The young apprentice was suddenly filled with a juvenile urge to show off, joined with a feeling of confidence of her newly-practised crouch, and so she surged forward after Harestrike.
"I'll catch two! Just you watch."
She mewed, tail waving high with confidence until she noticed that the tom had dropped into a crouch and did her best to copy him, moving into the position that he'd just advised her on and following him down the slope.
She could feel the water settling on the outer parts of her fur, but so far it was staying there and not moving any further.
I'm going to get soaked if I stay out too long though
She thought bitterly, scowling since she was still behind Harestrike and sure of him being unable to see her face. She tried desperately to search for some sign of life so that she could make good on her boast and head back to a warm dry den, ears pricked up and nose flaring.
Above the soft patter of the rain and the strong scent of wet earth, the apprentice couldn't believe her luck as a plop announced an actual real water vole exiting the water onto the bank nearby. The damp instantly forgotten, Minkpaw grinned silently at Harestrike and began to creep towards it. Her belly didn't drag in the mud, but she was way too eager and didn't let her paws fall lightly on the ground. Lucky for her, it seemed that the rain was masking her, and the apprentice managed to draw closer and closer to the water vole, who was cleaning himself on the bank.
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Word Count: 494
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Notes: Thanks so much for the new layout for Minkpaw!
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Post by Fawn on Sept 29, 2016 14:08:33 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR "Step quietly," he hissed, his voice nearly blending in with the drizzling rain on the surface of the creek. The water vole paused, and he held his breath, irritated at the possibility of his own correcting mew scaring off the prey; fortune was on their side, however, as the vole went back to cleaning its whiskers.
Harestrike's claws itched, and they unsheathed, feeling the wet grass under his paws as he slowly latched onto the earth; it was Minkpaw that needed to catch something, not him. He already had a shrew and a thrush to worry about. Better find it's nest, in case it darts. Even if it was for Minkpaw, Harestrike was adament about not letting prey get away, not this time of the season; breaking away from the apprentice, Harestrike circled closer to the bank, staring intently around the muddy, water-slicked sides for any signs of a nest or hollow in the earth where the creature slept.
There! The strong scent of water vole brought him to the mouth of a small opening near the creek; he could barely see Minkpaw through the tall, wet grasses, but he was conscious of her movements. Don't take too long! To catch prey, a cat needed to be decisive. Fast. There was no room for hesitation when your Clanmates were going to go hungry if you didn't do your part. Harestrike crouched near the vole's den, waiting just in case it slipped past Minkpaw. The drizzle was still light, not quite bothersome; it was almost as fine as mist, and there was a faint fog forming across the moorland that lessened visibility and would confuse their senses before too long.
He didn't think she was gonna get to catch two, as she'd so boldly proclaimed. The sooner she caught the vole, the sooner they could head home to their own dens. Word Count: 314 WordsTags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 12:38:48 GMT -5
6 Moons. LightningClan. She-Cat. Minkpaw ducked her head a little at Harestrike's muffled warning, a chagrined grimace flitting across her face as she slowed her step. She glanced back at him, seeing the tom prowl off to the side before forcing herself to keep her focus.
There it was, the little grey vole, still slick with water from its swim. As she watched, it's tiny ribcage rose and fell at a rapid pace beneath thin grey skin, its little beady black eyes wide and staring as its ears perked up attentively. It had been lingering on the bank for almost too long, it was sure to dart for cover soon out of habit more than anything else.
It's so fragile-looking
The she-cat mused as she bunched up her hind legs, wiggling them a little as she got ready to pounce. She held no tender feelings for the vole, shamelessly enjoying the joy of the hunt. She felt no guilt for its impending pain and death, only excitement at the possibility of her first ever kill.
NOW!
She leaped, and as she sailed through the air the vole shrieked in terror, bolting for the water in a flurry of mud. Minkpaw's claws gripped into its pelt, grabbing tight as she slid in the mud with her prey, directly into the water. Instinctively, she bit into the vole's neck as she went, and ended up crashing into the water with a cascade of droplets.
Soaked to the bone, Minkpaw struggled to her paws in the shallows with the dead vole help proudly aloft in her mouth, her now rat-tail held high as she grinned.
"HARETHWIKE! I CAUGHD ID!"
She yowled through her mouthful, glancing around for the tom with a deep pride bubbling in her chest.
I DID IT! MY FIRST KILL!
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Post by Fawn on Oct 3, 2016 17:46:02 GMT -5
19 MOONS LIGHTNINGCLAN WARRIOR And scared away everything on the moorlands in the process! Though her ungraceful splash into the creek had been hilarious to watch, Harestrike was still right. All the prey would be gone now, but at least now no cat was going home empty-pawed. With a purred laugh that was half at her and half at her funny pronunciation of his name, Harestrike nodded approvingly.
"Good job. Maybe we won't kick you out, force you to be a rogue for sneaking out of camp." He teassed her with a flick of his tail to her ear as he went past, going to collect his own prey. The ground was muddy and unpleasant underpaw so close to the creek, but as he padded over the drenched moorlands, the ground became cool and almost soothing, taking some of the dirt and grime off his fur as he leaped over a short clump of sedge. Recovering his two morsels of fresh kill, Harestrike beckoned her with a sweep of his tail, flicking rain-water from his ears as he led the way back to camp.
Knowing he was much faster than all the other cats in LightningClan, he went easy on her, and actually let her fall into step beside him as they returned. She's not half bad. Harestrike thought; loud and kind of a mousebrain, but most apprentices were. She was more useful than his sister, Larkfeather, not that that took much effort. Suppressing a derisive snort, Harestrike padded for home. Word Count: 242 WordsTags: @sparrowkeeper I CAN'T SLOW DOWN, I WON'T BE WAITING FOR YOU Notes: =) Thread finished?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2016 15:58:38 GMT -5
6 Moons. LightningClan. She-Cat. Minkpaw grinned at Harestrike's laugh, seeing in his general demeanour that he didn't mean it in a nasty way. Her chest puffed out with pride as she stepped out of the water and shook herself out like a dog might, brown fur sticking out on end in all directions. She knew that she looked a state, but she was never really one to care much about her appearance and she felt far too proud of herself to let a little messy fur mess that up.
Her eyes lit up at the praise she received, and she smiled through the vole with a bit of a giddy feeling. She may not have caught two, but she felt like she had somehow proved herself a little, and raised herself up in his regard. She had got it into her head that she wanted to impress him, and in that single moment as he flicked at her ear she felt very accomplished.
She purred idiotically, though thankfully for the sake of her adult self looking back on awkward teenage crushes Harestrike had already padded ahead, and therefore out of earshot. She suddenly realised that he had already gathered his prey and was gesturing at her to go, and with a last-minute shake to help dislodge any more water she bolted after him, paws starting to connect with increasingly firm ground as she caught up with him and kept pace.
She glanced to the side as they ran, surprised at how fast the tom was despite carrying two pieces of prey. She was keeping up, but it was obvious that he wasn't really trying that hard.
Are all warriors this fast? I need to work on my stamina!
She thought to herself, but the thought was fleeting, and she let her mind rest back into a happy glow. She had caught her first piece of prey, dodged den-building duty, and had managed to maybe gain a grain of respect from an older tom. Today had been a good day.
((Minkpaw to camp))
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