Event Territory WindClan Hunting Party Gets Fleas ~ Hollowmumble

[Hollowmumble]

{$title} Hollowmumble and her hunting patrol run into Fleapaw, who has wandered onto the moore. The windclan cats are pre-picked for this patrol! No other Windclan cats please :]

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

Tagging @Miley @Merrystalk @LUCILLE @fleapaw

---

It was a beautiful, warm day on the moore. The spring air was fresh, healing to the barn cat's tainted lungs. The sky was bright, with the occasional cloud floating across it, white and fluffy. The long grass of the moore danced and waved in the breeze, a beautiful ocean of green and yellow. It was the perfect day to be out and about in the grasslands. Hollow stuck her head in the air for a moment to savor the warmth she had missed so much during winter, closing her eyes for just a second before opening them again and focusing on the task at hand.

She was hunting today, as she found herself doing most of the time since they had all retreated out to the fields. Merry- or, well, Merrystalk now, had come with her, along with a couple of others. Prey was so abundant at the barn, because of the two-leg harvests and food storage, but out on the moore it was a different story. Still abundant, yes, especially during spring, but the prey here was leaner, ready to run, harder to catch. They needed all the paws they could get if the wanted to keep all of the barncats fed.

Or, well, Windclan or whatever Dusty called it. Dustystar.

They were still the barncats, to Hollow. Even if they no longer had a barn.

She turned to Merry, observing him for a second before speaking. "Have you caught the scent of anything yet?"

 

[Merrystalk]

—————————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

The tom's tail flicked, content. With his paws healed, albiet slightly scarred, he could finally join his dear friend Hollowmumble on a hunting thread. Though to his dismay, he realised Lucille, Maresomething? In all honesty, he didn't care, he always tried to be amicable even to those he wasn't fond of, but she was something else entirely. But for the sake of the hunting patrol, he would try to be normal... Though if she started something he wouldn't care all too much to make it worse.

Though, Merry's attention was elsewhere, eyes scanning the area and on alert for the sounds of any prey nearby. The tom felt eyes on him, noticing Hollow's attention on him, as she asked if he caught anything in the air. Merry breathed slowly, feeling the wind bristle his fur. "Hmm.. Nothin' quite yet. We only just got out here, don't ya' worry too much." He smiled with a hum, shifting the stalk of rye in his mouth as he turned back to the moors.

Just as Merry said it with an almost certainty, his ears stood on end. The rustling of the grass by the wind was something he was used to, it'd quickly became a background noise. But this?... "Wait..." Spoken with a whisper, flicking his kinked tail in the air to stop the rest of the patrol. No... There was something nearby. But it was strange, it didn't sound large, crossing through the grasses, but the scent in the air was strange. Earthy and... Damp? The tom's ears pinned back, unsure and wary of what it could be. He wanted the patrol to wait, not to jump head first in to see what it was in case it was dangerous.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merrystalk
  ✦—Windclan moor-runner | 26 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[MAREMANE]

What a combination of cats.

Lucille's eyes trailed only to the moors, and then to Miley – Tinytail. Her ears swiveled forwards, hoping for her attention to be realized as observing, not avoidance. She stayed walking on the outside flank of her sister, barely giving the two friends on the other side a glance. Her shoulders were rigid, her gaze set to the horizon… She was hunting. Only hunting. That's all she had to prove in that moment.

She wasn't entirely upset with their opportunity to hunt prey that fought back. Lucille – Maremane, her eyes squinted sharply – had got her first taste of a truly wild catch the morning after the barn fire. It had taken her by surprise, the way the rabbit struggled, its power evident, not fat and easy off a life of hay and wooden shelter.

All of it was a nice distraction. Lucille, out in the open like she always dreamed, living out the discount version of a life she believed she ought to be living. She got to keep her kin, but she was still trading at an unfair weight, and it was tied around her ankles.

When the first words came out of Hollowmumble's mouth, she snapped to, the rustling grass compared to the soft voice electric. Maremane tasted the air, not intending to reply, letting the moor's scent fill the roof of her mouth. Then, Merry whispered, barely detectable on the wind. She stopped out of instinct, before discomfort at having listened heated her heart.

The molly crouched low, pupils becoming as thin as the grass she attempted to peer through. Her muscles were mechanically taut, waiting for the first flash of their mystery animal, determined to get to it first.

 

[F l e a p a w]

-

It was a b-e-a-utiful day for some exploration! As much as she liked muckin' around in the pocosin, the same old mud pits and puddles got boring. Fleapaw was in the mood to stretch her legs—and maybe snag herself somethin' to eat. Something that didn't have that marshy flavor.

The small apprentice set out, sloshing through puddles left by spring storms, coat picking up every leaf, burr, and clump of mud in the process. She remembered some open fields not far from the thunderpath. What she didn't remember was just how far that black stretch of rock went. She was used to crossing the hard paths back in the twoleg place, but she never expected it to run on for this long.

Her ears twitched as she neared the thunderpath, listening carefully for monsters. A welcome silence greeted her ears so she glanced both ways and then fearlessly bounded across the black strip.

It was like stepping into a different world. The smog and shadows that were ever present in ShadowClan didn't seem to exist here. Everything was so… open. Even the air was different—sweeter.

Wide amber eyes darted from one thing to the next, ears swiveling at the buzzing of fat bumblebees, feeling her pelt ruffling with the breeze. There was something else, too. A scent, buried beneath the others—but before she could get a proper whiff, it was swept away by the wind.

Well, she supposed it didn't matter. Fleapaw wouldn't linger on it long because something moved in the grass. She went still, dropping onto her stomach.

A fuzzy creature shuffled along with beady black eyes and a small plump body. Her pupils widened as she watched it, nose just above the blades of grass. Slowly, the grimy she-cat crept closer.

When it lowered its head to the grass again, she pounced! But the rabbit was faster—it snapped upright and bolted in the blink of an eye, dashing away at a pace she struggled to match with her short legs. Fleapaw gave chase anyway, paws churning the earth and ripping up grass. Then to her surprise, it vanished into the ground.

"No!" She barked, and dove nose-first after it. The tunnel was just big enough for her to wedge partway in. Darkness swallowed her completely, hard dirt pinning her in from either side. "Get back here, you—!" Her growl echoed down the tunnel, but the rabbit was long gone.

And as she fumed over its escape, there was... a new problem.

She tried to push herself back out, but there was resistance. "You... have got to be kidding me." She gasped, wriggling and kicking furiously. Her exposed hind legs lashed at the open air, flailing in an attempt to dislodge herself, but no luck. Yeah, okay. Someone had to be messing with her, like for real. Because how does this stuff always happen to her and no one else?! Like come onnnn!

Fleapaw continued to thrash, but no amount of wiggling seemed to loosen anything. Eventually , she flopped back down to catch her breath. She sat there for a second, letting it sink in.

Then all at once she shattered it. "FUUUUCK!——CANT—HAPPENING—DUMBASS—RABBIT—" Muffled screams followed by a colorful stream of curses emanated from the burrow as she vented some of her frustration. Okay… and well, maybe she was panicking a little now too.

I'd do anything for twenty bucks, I'd sell my sour soul

FLEAPAW

8 MOONS
SHE/HER
- Undersized cinnamon solid with folded ears. She's thin but stubby with very messy fur.
"SPEECH" - crimson | 'THOUGHTS/EMPHASIS' - crimson

Fleapaw values family the most with survival at a close second. In conversations, she is blunt, fun-loving, and clever. She is guided by her desires which often leads her astray. Despite her abrasive personality, she cares deeply for those she loves and will do anything to protect them. Due to her experiences, Fleapaw is corrupt and has minimalistic, if any, morals. She does not care for the warrior code and its restraints. Neither does she believe in StarClan. Growing up in a kitten mill, being separated from her mother, and ending up on the streets have deeply affected her view of the world.

'Cause lemonade is bitter 'til you sweeten up the bowl

 

[Hollowmumble]

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

Tagging @fleapaw

---

Hollow's fur stood on end on her spine as soon as she heard distant yelling, and her heart jumped as she took off through the tall grass of the moore in the direction of the shouting, worry pushing her paws faster. Grass flew by as she raced across the ground, only just barely skidding to a stop in time when she finally found the cat in distress- a younger one by the sound and looks of it. She glanced at the rabbit tunnel, huffing as she caught her breath before she came a bit closer. She quickly realized that the other cat was stuck, and she wondered if the cat was simply too big for the hole, or if some dirt had collapsed when they made their way in to assumably chase a rabbit down.

"Hold on, calm down! Just stay still, let me help!" Hollow sped forward and dug her claws into the dirt above the cat, anxious about their ability to breathe in there. If it did collapse on top of them, she really hoped that there wasn't too much dirt covering their face! "Can you breathe?" she asked, worry in her voice. She ripped up the grass and dirt above as fast as she could, before she finally spotted brown fur and reached down to try and grab the stranger's scruff with her maw, tugging them back and out into the open.

 

[Merrystalk]

—————————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

Merrystalk's eyes widened hearing the panicked yowling, the voice was muffled but as he followed Hollowmumble, his heart dropped seeing a tiny thing of a cat stuck in a rabbit warren. Legs flailing as Hollow tried desperately to dig her out. "Shit- He panicked a little, trying to figure out how to help. That was, until, he realised the absurdity of the scenario. "How in the hell..."

Hollow dragged out the cinnamon-coloured thing, looked like a kitten with how tiny they were. Floppy ears and heaving chest, but something that made his heart sink was how skinny the poor thing was. Clearly, they had to be desperate enough to try and chase a rabbit into its warren being that hungry-looking. "Hey, hey, yer safe now lil fella." He drew closer to take a look at her for any injuries, though seemed just as if she was muddy at worst. He gingerly cleaned some of the mud off the top of the writhing thing's head, clearly she was confused and a little distressed.

Though just as he did, he recoiled from the awful, bitter taste of her fur, which wasn't just fresh mud but like she'd never been cleaned before, she had to have been abandoned or something to be in such an awful state. "Whats a tiny lil critter like ya doin' out here by yerself, it ain't safe." His heart ached for the kitten, how long has she been out here, alone? "Especially not when yer tryin' to catch a rabbit bigger than ya' all by yerself." Dustystar wouldn't mind them bringing an abandoned kitten back, surely, it'd be cruel to leave her out here.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merrystalk
  ✦—Windclan moor-runner | 26 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[Tinytail]

Tinytail

Status: Confused

---

Sticking close to her sister's side, Tinytail squinted into the distance as the little party went hunting. She didn't know if this was a good idea, mostly due to her sight...issues. But well her sister was here and that was really all that mattered. She couldn't really pick up any scents right now, she certainly couldn't see anything either. "Nope. Nothing here. Sister?" She turned and looked towards the taller one. It isn't until Merrystalk's words that she freezes, she doesn't know what the other has seen or smelt or heard, she hasn't caught wind of it yet and if it's food then she needs to be still, not scare it off. It's Hollowmumble taking off that has her fur bristling and worry coats her eyes. She trots at a much slower pace, not built for this running like some of the others in there so called clan.

Arriving behind the others she can only squint in confusion at the curious sight. A cat. Down a hole. Her head tilts. Are they trying to do what she does? What some of the other's do? They don't seem to fit though. "Whoever they are...I don't think their made to follow rabbits into holes..." Not like she was. Though. She agrees with Merrystalk. What's someone that looks that young doing out here? Where were their parents? "Where are your parents?" She puts voice to her thoughts and glances around, almost as if these mythical parents would appear out of thin air just because she mentioned them. Maybe they'd get lucky....maybe they would.
​

---

It's not symmetrical or perfect ꩜────꩜────꩜ But it's beautiful, and it's mine

• OOC:
  This is late. This is late. I AM SO SORRY.
• Tinytail
  - Black/Cinnamon Chimera w/ high white ꩜ She/Her ꩜ Barncat ꩜ Penned by Snowy ꩜ 25 moons
  ꩜ Contact TimelordSnowy on Discord for plotting
  ꩜ "Speech"
  ꩜ Thoughts

 

[F l e a p a w]

-

It didn't take long for Fleapaw to burn herself out. She slumped in the cramped, dark space, hot in the face, gulping down stale air that didn't seem to satiate lungs. Just as she was about to brace herself for another try, a muffled sound echoed from outside the tunnel. She clamped her jaw shut, limbs going stiff.
There was someone out there.

Then came the scraping above her head, dirt sprinkling her neck, and the familiar—too familiar for her liking really—pinching of teeth into her scruff.

A growl rumbled low in her throat before giving way to a sputtering cough. "Gha—get—!" But before Fleapaw knew it, she was yanked out like a stuck burr. Dragged back into the open air with a spray of dirt showering her pelt. No sooner is she pulled from the burrow do her claws fly free. She whirls first on the molly that has her by the scruff and then on anyone else that's within reach.

Fleapaw arches her spine and puffs up, powdered in dirt, chest fluttering.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

Her wild amber eyes darted to the cluster of cats around her. Where the hell had they all come from? They didn't smell like ThunderClan—and they weren't loners either. She did remember Sablestar and Stoatpaw talking about a bunch of cats that lived in a barn. But that was far away, right? That wasn't anywhere near their borders.

Fleapaw decides to bide her time. Her eyes dart about searching for a clear path of escape. "Ain't safe nowhere, old man." Fleapaw pauses and then turns on him with a scowl. "A-and maybe you're just freakishly tall and I'm normal sized, yeah? You ever think about that?!" Where did he get off talking to her like that? Not that she wasn't used to it by now, but still! "Don't matter how big I am. Come any closer and I'll claw your face to ribbons." She huffs, and a plume of dust wafts in his direction.

When the spindly-looking molly asks about her parents, she narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Where are yours?" The answer to that was a no-brainer, but hell if she was telling some weirdo. Fleapaw couldn't speak for the tom that was her actual Pa because she never knew him. And from what Tickpaw told her, their Ma wasn't around no more either.

I'd do anything for twenty bucks, I'd sell my sour soul

FLEAPAW

8 MOONS
SHE/HER
- Undersized cinnamon solid with folded ears. She's thin but stubby with very messy fur.
"SPEECH" - crimson | 'THOUGHTS/EMPHASIS' - crimson

Fleapaw values family the most with survival at a close second. In conversations, she is blunt, fun-loving, and clever. She is guided by her desires which often leads her astray. Despite her abrasive personality, she cares deeply for those she loves and will do anything to protect them. Due to her experiences, Fleapaw is corrupt and has minimalistic, if any, morals. She does not care for the warrior code and its restraints. Neither does she believe in StarClan. Growing up in a kitten mill, being separated from her mother, and ending up on the streets have deeply affected her view of the world.

'Cause lemonade is bitter 'til you sweeten up the bowl

 

[MAREMANE]

Maremane followed behind Hollowmumble and Merrystalk, their valiant efforts enough to free the tiny molly face-first in a rabbit warren. She remained by Tinytail's side, unable to answer her curious tone as the other two dashed forwards. For a second, she didn't quite know what was happening.

Shortly after, the ungrateful brat's spiky fur and irate words made her wish they had found her a little while later. Maybe it would've taught her a lesson. She obviously had not been trapped long, with boundless energy to hiss at them, whirling on her saviors. Maremane would've done the same, quite honestly. It was an embarassing way to meet a hunting group full of warriors. But her relatableness didn't matter, because the threats grated against her nerves like sandpaper.

Tinytail, ever gentle and kind, was met with a scalding, immature answer. Maremane's already contorted frown twisted into a mirage of irritation. She should've reasoned that this was a young cat, probably around Meadowpaw and Coyotepaw's age, but her eye still promised to twitch. "You don't know where you are, do you?" she pointed out flatly. If she did, her folded ears would've already been well over the horizon. "These cats are your only chance at getting back home without missing a limb…"

She eyed the dust coming off the molly, but said the next part quieter, remembering halfway through Tinytail was at her flank. "Or getting crushed by a rabbit burrow."