tw: gore and bodily harm
no death
no death
☼ . ° ✦
In the late Greenleaf, coyotes get fat and cocky. They've nothing to lose at this point. They have been gorging themselves on young prey unwise to their tricks and playing in the early cool morning to hone their own young for the oncoming cold moons. Their yips had flowed over the WindClan territory, and the cats that lived within knew to avoid their playful savageness. Gorsepaw herself was like a coyote in the late greenleaf. She was cocky and had nothing to lose. Growing muscles were overconfident and willing to show off, despite danger that might follow. She had escaped the murderous ThunderClan deputy with these muscles and they were only getting better. She felt invincible in her youth.That other shoe had to drop, and her luck had to run out eventually.
The slight apprentice took to the prairie like it was what she was born on instead of farmland. These felt just like overgrown fields, and the grass didn't cut into her pelt like corn stalks did. Sometimes when she weaved through tall grass like she was now, she wondered if this is what it felt like when RiverClan cats swam in their waters. She wasn't born here, but she was raised here. Gorsepaw was close to warriorhood, and all she wanted to do was be there already. She wanted to move through the territory on her own terms for her own reasons instead of the overhanging feeling of being watched all day. So, she snuck out. It had become increasingly easier as she found new ways to leave camp without notice. A dip behind a den or a quick excuse to busy adults did wonders for those who wanted to be alone.
The apprentice slowed her run at the smell of fresh rot. She turned her eyes skyward to see a love vulture lazily circling, intent on collecting its meal. Curiosity pushed her to investigate. Perhaps it was fresh enough for a quick meal. As her head pushed through the quickly browning blades of grass, two pairs of eyes met her's. Yellow as a full moon and hungry. A dead fawn, freshly killed, bled onto the ground beneath their drooling maws. Two coyotes - recognized from the rare few that roamed the farm - stared hard at Gorsepaw and she stared back. Her spine arched and her ears flattened.
"Oh fox-." The two coyotes sprang before she could finish. She turned and sprinted as hard as she could away, but they were just as fast. They yipped and howled in delight as they gave chase. Their sharp, white teeth nearly grabbed hold of her tail several times. I'm gonna die, was the repeated thought in her mind as their hot breath seemed to coat the nape of her neck. Her paws thudded against the ground and the grass parted ahead into a small clearing under a scrawny oak tree.
Gorsepaw was no SkyClanner, but StarClan called her to climb the tree to avoid the squealing jaws behind her. Her claws dug in and her long legs carried her as high as she could manage. Her breath was pulled out of her and dragged back in by exhausted rib muscles. The coyotes whined and cried at her while they circled the tree. Their paws - which seemed gargantuan compared to her own - pulled bark from the tree and shook it so bad.
A resolve formed over her as she realized the beasts wouldn't give up. It was a calling to not die here and fight them. "Like a warrior," she whispered and bunched up her muscles. Like a squirrel, the apprentice leaped from the tree and landed square on one of the coyote's back. It yipped in surprise and bucked like a prize stallion. The other broke from a confused freeze and instantly tried to rip Gorsepaw from its companions back. It succeeded in latching it jaws over Gorsepaw's muzzle. Her teeth found her tongue, but she couldn't think of that pain right now. Instead, she swung her back legs to its throat and dug in, feeling fur and flesh peel beneath her claws. Her back hit the ground as the coyote released her.
The one who's back she clawed grabbed her leg and pulled. Hard. Gorsepaw hissed and twisted once more to reach her claws to its eyes. She felt pride and hope well up in her after it also released her leg. It hung limply at her side, but she didn't care. The two coyotes growled and barked and began to sulk away, more interested in the long dead carrion Gorsepaw found them at. it wasn't made up of sharp claws and teeth. "Run away, cowards! Run away!" Laughter welled up in her and she couldn't stop the feeling of relief and adrenaline rushing through her.
Gorsepaw limped into camp, blood dripping from her nose and a grin wide on her face. The adrenaline was ebbing, but it was enough to get her home. "Yotes out there," she announced as curious eyes looked over at her. At the spoken word, all her energy flowed from her, and her haunches found the ground in a thump. Finally - and she was waiting for it - the pain creeped over her body. Her back leg was not looking okay. It dangled in a weird way and was bloodied from coyote teeth. Her nose had a pretty deep cut, and copper taste kept flaring in her mouth. "I think I need Meadowpaw," she slurred, suddenly exhausted.
✧ ° . ✶ . ° ✧
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ooc: this was going to be much worse, but she rolled a nat 20, so she LIVES with minimal damage
TLDR: gorse goes on a morning run and runs into two coyotes. after a chase, gorse scales a tree and decides she will not be dying to these jokers. she leaps from the tree, fights them long enough for them to retreat. she arrives back at camp bloodied and grinning at her own strength. blood oozes from a bite wound on the bridge of her nose and her leg seems to be dislocated as well as bit up. -
silver tabby with high white and yellow-green eyes. a grumpy, independent she-cat that prefers to bite before she speaks. raised by alder. adopted sibling to icepaw and pebblepaw.
