Open Territory SO KNIVES OUT [ hunting patrol ] CATCH THE MOUSE

[Frostmoth]

A hunting patrol is simple. Simple enough that Frostmoth is kicking himself for assigning himself to an 'easy' task. While he had also assigned himself to the herb patrol with Jinglemoon, the river has easy access to RiverClan, and the trip is far less strenuous than any of the patrols to fourtrees or the borders. This self-criticism drives his steps. His patrol sets out in the early morning and he moves swiftly and with purpose. Not too fast so as to lose their accompanying apprentices, but enough to assure everyone knows that there is a purpose to his movement here.

They arrive at the edge of the river quickly, as is indicated by the sound of rushing water. The summer rains have ensured that RiverClan's prey source is filled to the brim, both literally and metaphorically. He says nothing to his patrol as he nears the edge, figuring that the apprentices will ask if they have any questions about technique. The morning sun sparkles over the surface from where the shafts of light dance through the canopies overhead. It isn't long before Frostmoth is darting into the water and resurfacing with a large bream. With this catch, he realizes he's beginning to feel a bit better about his assignment.

However, As Frostmoth places his bream on the riverbank, a shadow is cast from overhead. The deputy barely has a moment to cast his gaze upward before a pelican is upon him, snatching up the bream in its fat beak. He lets out a yowl, both upset and shocked by having prey stolen practically out of his paws. "Hey!" He cries "Put that down! Haven't you got enough fish in that stupid beak of yours?!" He swipes at the pelican, but it just finishes off his bream with a deft swallow before beating its wings at him.

Frostmoth hisses and moves backward, not wanting to be struck by the large wings and beak of his creature. How is it that they managed to get stuck with some of the most annoying birds in existence on their territory. And to make matters worse, as soon as he hopes it might take off and leave them alone another two land beside the first, hoping to get their own cat-curated breakfasts, too. "Does anyone want bird for lunch?" Frostmoth thinks this might be the stupidest idea he's ever had, but he isn't willing to let these dumb birds take his prey without a fight, either.

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• / hunting patrol timeee @lavenderpaw @Russetfall @Thunderpaw @Smokewreath @Curlpaw
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 21 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[Curlpaw]

- Curlpaw -

Life is to be enjoyed not endured.

.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⟡ Feet dragging behind in the dust, Curlpaw was eager to sit down the moment the patrol stopped. She was silent the whole way.

This is such a drag...

Curly lowers herself into the perfect loaf. Her feet and tail tucked neatly. She stared intently at the deputy's hunting technique. At the very least she could enjoy a show. Best case scenario she would get a nice meal with it. Her frame raised to a sitting position as Frostmoth returned from the waters. Curly's eyes shut to prevent the river water from splashing into them. The apprentice opened her maw, perhaps about to say praise or some witty remark. Before she could, the pelican attacked. Curly flinched and jumped to her feet, a rather quick reaction for such an unenthused feline.

"WOAH!"

She couldn't help but allow a giggle to escape when the deputy insulted the bird. It was he was personally offended by the avian's actions. A paw quickly raised to cover her mouth. Her eyes darting between the older cats. Curly hoped to avoid receiving another lecture for her behavior.

Eyes now locked onto the sky, she shifted her weight awkwardly side to side. One of the pelicans staring her directly in the eye. Her brows furrowed, perhaps now feeling a similar frustration to the deputy. Though, his question broke her away from the tension.

"You can't be serious...? Can he?"

Her voice dropping to a whisper to deliver her clarifying question. She leaned towards her mentor, trusting they would provide a more rational idea.

‎ Enjoy the breeze ⟡ for it may not last‎‎ ‎

• ⟡ OOC -
• 
  
• Curlpaw
  ‎ ‎
  She/Her | Riverclan/Apprentice
  
  ⟡
  Dialogue - text - Thoughts
  
  ⟡
  Mentored by Smokewreath
  
  ⟡
  Curlpaw is a LAZY cat!! All she wants to do is eat and sleep. Having no motivation to progress in her training, she is often looked down upon. She is very carefree and doesn't care what the others think.
  
  Curlpaw is a Havana mix with a curly coat and a docked tail. Her fur is a rather deep amber. Her eyes glow a vibrant green.
  

 

[Smokewreath]

all you have is your

FIRE

─〃

Stars save him but he hates Pelicans, menaces of the sky they were. Back at the shipyard they constantly bombarded the cats fishing to steal what little prey they could scrounge up and in the already tense and suffering times it was devastating to lose something to those avian bastards. He's seen them attempt to scoop up kits before, putting anything they thought edible into that big stupid beak that stretched like a lizards throat in greenleaf.
As he watched Frostmoth fight for his hard-earned catch against the beating wings and wobbling beak he glanced sidelong at Curlpaw next to him watching and raised a forelimb to stop any attempt to join the deputy, not that it seemed he needed to; his apprentice had a good head on her shoulders.
"There are some battles not worth fighting. A wise warrior will pick and choose what opponent to face. There is no cowardice in staying alive." It wasn't exactly a lesson he himself followed, the thrill of the battle brought him great joy and he enjoyed clashing claws and the bloody spectacle of combat, but that wasn't something he cared to impress onto the young, malleable mind next to him - it was a personal preference. Curlpaw would be taught what was proper and not what his own prideful egotism considered just and honorable. He'd not be responsible for digging a hole too small.
"You're doing great, Frostmoth!" He called out, Smokewreath's rasp of a tone pitched higher to reach the deputy's ears over the squawking and rustling madness of the others wrestling match. To Curlpaw, more quietly he added, "We don't fuck with pelicans, kid."

Ooc- ooc info here.

─ & the place you need to reach.

Smokewreath

— RiverClan Warrior
— He/Him
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Solid black tom w/vitiligo and one orange eye.
#ff7d46
x
x
x
x

 

[Russetfall]

FALLING FOR THE PROMISE OF THE

EMPTINESS MACHINE

.

A hunting patrol is a welcome reprieve from her usual running about that the Life Guard had been doing since Shadowclan's raid on their territory and herbs. Thunderpaw's training had unfortunately fallen slightly to the wayside with it all and with a hunting patrol she planned to perhaps assess her hunting skills.

It seems like all is going well until a shadow looms over the deputy and the leader of the patrol is accosted by a pelican. Russetfall had never bothered to try and fight for her meals when the massive birds were involved, their beaks were deadly enough without also having the risk of potentially being swallowed whole if one was smaller. No amount of food was worth that.

Frostmoth takes the fight to the pelican immediately, and the chocolate tabby sighs with a shake of her head before gently bumping shoulders with her apprentice and pointing at a large rock hanging low over the water with a nod.

"While Frostmoth's distracting our competition let's see how much your fishing has improved over here." And away from giant bird with a mouth big enough to swallow a cat whole. The life guard calls over her shoulder as she leads her apprentice away."Keep that up and you'll end up as its lunch, Frost!"

22 moons

◆

Life Guard of Riverclan

◆

she/her

◆

tags

it's been decided how we lose

RUSSETFALL

— Life Guard of Riverclan
— She/Her
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— A Green-eyed Chocolate Mackerel Tabby With Low White
#8a2c55

ooc: @Thunderpaw

 

[Frostmoth]

Despite his typical propensity to back down from most fights when outclassed, Frostmoth bristles angrily at the pelican. Perhaps it's his hunger keeping him from having a level head. Perhaps it's his pride not allowing him to have prey taken almost directly out of his paws. Either way, he isn't willing to back down. Smokewreath eggs him on (he does not hear the exchange between the warrior and his apprentice) while Russetfall tries to warn him off fighting with the pelicans.

Frostmoth aims a blow at one of the pouched beaks of the largest pelican, landing a hefty strike that doesn't do much more than piss off the bird. Perhaps if he were more like Pineheart's size it would have actually meant something. Too little too late. He realizes a little too late that he has severely miscalculated his ability to fight off the birds. The pelicans take turns taking swings at him, battering him into the ground with their broad wings and beaks before they ultimately take off and fly away from the riverbank.

Frostmoth blinks wide, incredulous eyes at his clanmates when he turns to face them. He is disheveled and muddy, defeated by the pouch-billed birds that have taken off with his prey. Probably just another day for the pelicans, honestly. He measures a silent exchange with them before turning away in his defeat. "I don't want to talk about it," he says flatly, ears pinning themselves to his head. "Do you all want to head back or do you think we can fish something up now that the pelicans are gone?" He's lucky that all he has is a damaged ego and a few bruises.

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• "SPEECH"
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 21 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[Thunderpaw Thunderpaw]

——————————————————— You who bares all your teeth in every smile. ✦

She had been apprehensive of a hunting patrol, but Russetfall and Frostmoth both being there soothed her nerves a little. Though the sound of running water still made the fluffy apprentice nauseous, looking to her mentor sheepishly, the closer they drew. Thunderpaw wanted to be strong, though her friends were here, Lavvie and Curl, freaking out would make her look weak, and she refused to be seen that way.

But, thankfully (or maybe not), the attention of the patrol was caught by the arrival of a huge freaky-looking bird, a pelican. She scrunched her face up a little. "That thing's ugly, why's its beak all baggy?" She woukd have been content to ignore it, only to hear the deputy to suggest something that made her mentors face fall and a laugh rise from her chest watching the black and white toms attempt to fight the thing.

Thunderpaw nodded in agreement to Russetfall, as much as would have liked to join in a fight, she was vety much pelican-eating size and would rather like to go home at the end of the day, though what her mentor had to say made her take pause in thought. "If Frostmoth did get eaten by a pelican, who would be the new deputy? Or does Pikestar have to choose?" It was more of a passive question, not really serious, but there was something unsettled in her expression.

She shook her head. Discarding the thought, padding towards the river with a shaky sigh. Before she could dunk a paw in the water, the muddy and battered form of the now dishevelled deputy came into view after losing to the pelicans. For a moment, all of Thunder's nervousness vanished in the wake of the amusement that she got from the unkempt state of Frostmoth. "Thanks for scaring off the pelican!" She beamed to the deputy, holding her breath and darting a paw into the water at a glittering form under the water.

A huge grin on her face as she clamped her jaws around a floundering trout that tried to squirm away. Not even noticing how close to the water she was as she caught the thing, her fur dappled in waterlogged strands. She strode towards her mentor with glittering eyes, this thing being by far her biggest catch in her training.

——— Take a swim in the water

Dear Arkansas daughter. ————

• Rolled a 15!!!! :D
• 
  Thunderpaw
  ✦—Riverclan apprentice | 8 moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A stocky, fluffy cinnamon sealpoint kitten with long curled ears and soft blue eyes.
  #DE966C

 

[lavenderpaw]

Lavenderpaw happily trots alongside her mentor, eager to get the more captivating patrol out of their two underway. She's sure she can find enjoyment in searching the riverbanks for usable herbs, too, but hunting is something that she's been practicing for moons. Maybe this time she'll be able to dredge up something better than a minnow! Her attention is caught first by Frostmoth's bream, then how it is stolen from him, and thus how he stomps after the baggy-billed bird. The apprentice shouts after him, "Let me help you!" However before she can follow him with as much gusto, she watches as he is nearly picked apart and trashed by the very bird that stole his meal.

She blinks as he returns worse for wear, realizing in that moment how dwarfed he was compared to the beasts (and thinking abt how much smaller she is compared to him. She'd be their minnow!) And though she mutters a, "I could've taken them..." towards her mentor, she knows that she, absolutely, could not have. Regardless, Lavenderpaw bumps her shoulder to the likely sore one of Frostmoth's right, and spouts a, "Let me catch something first," she starts, and tilting her maw away, she adds not so subtly, "Jinglemoon will want payment for how many herbs he'll need to use with you..." A poorly made jest, no doubt, but the girl is already running back to the shoreline before anyone can nip her tail.