Camp WindClan fresh eyes, beautiful world ~ Hollow

[Hollowmumble]

Hollowmumble, -- 35 Moons / Barn Cat -- Ages on the 14th
Black spotted ghost tabby with bright amber eyes.
She is friendly, yet quiet, and always willing to help.

Tagging @Goosekit

---

It had been a long, long day of hunting for Hollow. She had gone out with a few cats, across the long spawning plains of the prairie and managed to catch quite a few smaller rodents and birds when the hunting patrol split off into smaller groups. Of course once Hollow was alone, a rabbit happened to cross her path. If she had the other cats with her, they could have caught it easily, but as it was she had to struggle with the rabbit for far too long.

When it finally laid lame in the dirt, dust floating in the air around them, Hollow huffed and sat down while she caught her breath. She figured it may have had a limp, because it was far slower than normal. Something probably got it before but it managed to escape. It was likely the only reason she was able to catch it to easily.

Once she caught her breath, she began upon the arduous journey of dragging it across the hilltops to the horizon back to camp. Carrying it all on her own proved difficult as she kept tripping over it's body and paws, and often had to take breaks. The sun was low in the sky when she finally returned, dragging the prey into the quiet camp and over to the fresh kill pile. She relished in her catch a little, privately. Cats would eat good tonight.

She glanced around camp, and found many cats were still out. It was mostly quiet, with a couple of cats lazing around. She would be happy to finally rest.

 

[Goosekit]

GOOSEKIT, 1 Moon / Windclan Kit
A fluffy reddish brown tabby with dark paws, a matching white chest and tail tip, and big, dark green eyes.
Sister to Hootkit and Finchkit | Daughter to Owlbear and Bushrunner
An adventurous young cat who aspires to be many things, but most of all to be even half as great a warrior as those she grows up around.

---

It had been a long, long day of napping for Goosekit. Normally, she wouldn't have been up so late, but with how quiet the camp was, and how much running around she had done the day before, it was the perfect storm for a day curled up next to Owlbear in her nest. Her mother was just so warm to sleep next to, it was really hard to think of a better alternative sometimes. Now, though, Goosekit was a bundle of energy yet again. With permission, she had begun bounding around the camp, hunting for bugs and flower petals and the like so she could sharpen her skills when the time came for her to become an apprentice. Never hurt to start one's training too early!

Still, no amount of training Goosekit could give herself would prepare her for what she'd end up facing on this day.

The scent on the wind betrayed the arrival of Hollowmumble long before she physically appeared in camp. Goosekit recognized the she-cat as one of the friendlier warriors of Windclan. And with such a pretty black and white pelt, too! A stark contrast to the bright oranges and browns of Goosekit's own coat. The young cat elected to ignore her current target - a bee fluttering above a dandelion - and instead turned towards where Hollowmumble began to enter the camp from. It didn't take long before she came into view. And... What on the winds was she carrying?

Goosekit's pupils dilated and the fur on her back stuck upright, her body instinctively slinking back into a defensive stance as she watched Hollowmumble drag something as large as an actual kit onto the clan's freshkill pile. But it wasn't a kit, of course. Right? Goosekit cautiously stepped up to the black cat from behind her, her emerald eyes affixed on the terribly large addition to the clan's food. Goosekit had only really seen freshkill up close a few times, having simply nursed on her mother until now. She had seen some mice and small birds, but... This was gigantic!

"What is that?" she had to eventually ask, as she stepped up right next to Hollowmumble. She prodded the dead creature with her paw and gave it a sniff, the fresh scent of blood swiftly penetrating her nostrils. It was a bit of a mesmerizing scent, wasn't it? Goosekit didn't dislike it, anyhow. "It's as big as me and my sisters! You were able to kill it and take it all the way back here by yourself?!" Goosekit stared up at Hollowmumble in admiration, her green eyes sparkling in sheer amazement. Although it had hardly been a goal in her hunt, Hollowmumble seemed to have picked up a new biggest fan as a result of her endeavors...

 

[Hollowmumble]

Hollowmumble, -- 35 Moons / Barn Cat -- Ages on the 14th
Black spotted ghost tabby with bright amber eyes.
She is friendly, yet quiet, and always willing to help.

Tagging @Goosekit

---

Hollow blinked down at the small thing, and processed what she was asking for a moment. She couldn't help the small smile that slowly slipped onto her face at the amazement in her voice. Shuffling her paws, she sat down in the soft ground, glancing at the rabbit and it's size compared to Goose...kit.

Looking back down at her, she mumbled a small, "Hi, Goosekit." before answering her questions. "That's a rabbit. I did bring it back here myself. It put up quite the fight- usually you need multiple cats to catch one safely." She remembered that first time she had seen one up close, fresh on her own and out of her two-leg home. It was intimidating. She thought it was a predator at first, and avoided it with a fear only a housecat could have. Even when she got hungry, she only ever went after small prey and easy to catch things. 'Easy' being quite difficult for her back then, but looking down at the rabbit below, she realized she had come quite a ways in skill since then.

Hollow absent mindedly wondered if Goose had ever even tried live food before. She was so tiny, surely she wasn't old enough for it yet. She was probably still on her mother's milk, though she had to admit she didn't know the most about young kittens growth.

 

[Goosekit]

GOOSEKIT, 1 Moon / Windclan Kit
A fluffy reddish brown tabby with dark paws, a matching white chest and tail tip, and big, dark green eyes.
Sister to Hootkit and Finchkit | Daughter to Owlbear and Bushrunner
An adventurous young cat who aspires to be many things, but most of all to be even half as great a warrior as those she grows up around.

---

Goosekit was far, far too enamored by the feat of capturing such a large creature and bringing it back to camp as freshkill to notice Hollowmumble's slight surprise at her sudden approach and adoration. The small cat's eyes remained locked onto the warrior as she explained just what that beast was. A rabbit? Goosekit had heard those described before, she was at least half sure. Prey with strong hind legs and tall, pointed ears that dwarfed the ears of even most cats. Still, seeing one up close like this, it boggled Goosekit's mind at just how large the food they ate could become. Would she, too, one day be taking down prey that would be as large as she once had been? It was still so difficult for Goosekit to imagine herself fully grown - even apprenticeship was moons away, at the moment. But through her elders, she could get tastes of what was to one day come for her.

"A rabbit..." she echoed in awe. The orange kit raised her paw and cautiously prodded the dead animal, felt its soft fur on her pads, then brought her foot up to her nose for a sniff. It was a scent she felt she'd caught on the wind here and there, perhaps from rabbits who had passed by their camp close enough for her sensitive nose to pick up. It was the first time it occurred to Goosekit in earnest that the world outside their camp wasn't quite so far away, so distant as it always seemed... Although, these contemplative thoughts only barely managed to surface in the kit's mind before they were overtaken by a general, youthful excitement.

"That's so cool!" she excitedly meowed as she turned back to Hollowmumble, nearly pouncing on the warrior out of excitement and awkwardly falling to the side in her joyful attempt. She was back on her feet right quick, though. "You must be one of the strongest warriors in Windclan! I bet even my dad hasn't been able to catch a rabbit this big all by himself!" Goosekit knew nothing of her dad's hunting ability, truthfully, but she couldn't imagine it beating Hollowmumble's after this feat. She couldn't imagine anyone beating Hollowmumble's display of skill, actually, though that was perhaps more a limit of her own imagination more than anything based in reality.

Another thought occurred to the kit. "Oh! Can you show me how you did it?" she excitedly asked as she fell into her own poorly coordinated hunting stance. "I've been practicing at being a hunter, see! I'm already pretty good at catching some of the butterflies that land in camp. If I get tips from you, I'll have a huge advantage when I actually become an apprentice!"