Open PAFP SC SOME ANIMAL INSTINCT [scavenging]

[ECHOSTEP]

x

The gates to the junkyard stand moonlit and intimidating before the small nighttime patrol, but Echostep creeps past them without regard for the danger that may await inside the boundary. Cowardice has no place in a clan starved for prey, and the blue-pointed molly is certainly no coward. ShadowClan needs courage most of all during the harsh wintertime—stealing food and scavenging it both require a certain boldness and lack of scruples—and anyone who would tuck tail and run at just the sight of the junkyard is no true ShadowClanner, at least in the thief's eyes. When they reach the gates, the thief grits their teeth and steps straight through, pawsteps light and motions intentionally subdued. "Alright, here's the junkyard," they announce, dull and unceremonious. All this way they've hardly even glanced at any of the other members of their patrol, but now they spare only the briefest look toward the apprentice closest to their side. Whether Marrowpaw's mentor is amongst the patrol or not, they aren't aware, but if the apprentice is here then Tickfrost must also be, they believe. It isn't Echostep's duty to keep track of the apprentices of her clanmates, anyway. "Watch for sharp objects, rats, and other cats," they grumble, ears pinning back against their head as they recall the first time they had come to this area themself. A cut paw and a racing heart had been their only rewards for attempting to hunt in between the spires of metal that extend toward the sky like jagged, clutching claws.

The warrior wastes little time stalking off into the stacks of trash and treasures, long tail trailing behind in an effort to aid her balance. Scents are muddled here, deep within mounds of garbage and other cast-off objects, but with some digging into the heaps of outcast items one is sure to find something worthwhile. Echostep zeroes in on a split-open can rather quickly, sniffing at the mush that seeps from the crack in the metal. The lid of it is missing, and the thief grips the lip of the can between their teeth to carry it off. Even the mystery mush could prove vital in filling at least one stomach. "See anything worth grabbing?" Their words are slightly muffled by the can hanging from their jaws, but they lean a bit closer to Marrowpaw's side to allow it to better hear them.

OOC pls wait for @MARROWPAW but this is open to other shadowclanners, rustclaws, & loners as well!

There are no rolls for this thread, success will depend on what happens IC!

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽♰☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

ECHOSTEP

THEY/SHE, SHADOWCLAN THIEF
✧ sleek-furred blue lynx point with a long tail & green eyes
✧ quiet and cunning, values authority over empathy
✧ npc x npc ; no known kin
✧ peaceful powerplay allowed ; hates being touched
✧ played by foxlore

 

[MARROWPAW MARROWPAW]

x

Marrowpaw's tail flicks idly behind them, their eyes narrowed to thin slits. The junkyard. It's never been before, and it does not seem as though it was missing much. Towering heaps of metal and rust claim the skyline; it hardly seems like a place where any living thing could last. They reach like jagged claws, a clear threat to any who dare to brave the lifeless junkyard.

Still, they are desperate. It pads behind one of the clan's thieves, her own steps light. Its fur is set on edge, though it does its best to keep its face level. Eyes sweep across the piles of garbage, but its hunting training is not much use here. Each step must be careful. Pricked ears pick up only the distant rustling of prey, nothing it could reach without clamoring across mounds of sharp objects. It sets its jaw, resigns itself to nosing gingerly through the junk.

The patrol leader's words are quiet, and prickle at its pelt uneasily. She's can hardly find much of worth for her aching stomach. Still, she shoots the warrior a sidelong glance. "

Hmm...

" She murmurs, before turning her focus back to a torn twoleg objcect. There's some scraps of meat still wrapped in a clear film, and she nudges them with a paw. "

Depends. Think this is edible?

" Doesn't smell like anything rotten, at least.

OOC // optional mentor tag for @Tickfrost

˚₊ 𓆩 ♰ 𓆪 ₊˚

MARROWPAW

SHADOWCLAN APPRENTICE
it / they / she, genderfluid
7 moons old, ages on the last day of the month
littermate to viscerapaw
mentored by tickfrost

SPEECH

& INTERACTION

penned by saturnid.

 

[barbie]

"Watch for sharp objects, rats, and other cats," and with that, Barbie would chuff from her hiding place. She could understand rating rats above the cats of the junkyard, as even she struggles with their unpredictability sometimes. But 'sharp objects'? If these strangers - Clan cats, she thinks, by the manner they organize themselves - truly think a sharp piece of metal will do them in, then they should've never come to the junkyard in the first place!

... but she sees why they did. Immediately, one sniffs and tugs away a can of mystery goods. Another begins prodding something wound in plastic. Barbie can't tell if these have been festering in the junkyard for seasons or hours, but ultimately the girl decides that the ShadowClanners can't just have the food. Let them take the foul stuff, like whatever is in that can - but the meat? Anything actually worthwhile? The tortoiseshell decides she can't let them have.

"No," she barks, pulling herself from her disaster pile of 'sharp objects' largely unscathed (though little scrapes hide just beneath her fur.) She looks towards Marrowpaw, sizing up the dark furred other through narrowed eyes. "Are you dense? Eat that, and you'll have worms crawling out of you for moons." Truth is, whatever it is the apprentice found looks fine to Barbie. It truly is the fear and hunger that drives her to lie. Her gaze finds Echostep with the same ill contempt, though she most certainly does not want whatever the blue furred molly dredged up. "And that won't let you hold anything down for just as long."

 

[wrench]

WRENCH, 34 moons / the rustclaws + scrap collector
a rugged red tabby with white spotting and odd colored eyes
littermate to socket, ratchet, & chainsaw
will do anything to get what she wants. nothing is more important than her next meal
Tagging person here

---

The Junkyard had been getting enough attention recently to keep Wrench on edge for another instance of running into someone unfamiliar. Kittypets might be at the bottom of the pole in terms of cats worth worrying for, but they were not unlike an infestation of fleas. They wrought more in their wake, luring more into their already struggling lands of scrap and dust.

These cats smelled strange. Like wet soil and rotted wood that made Wrench's nose scrunch as it came to her senses. Thankfully Barbie had approached these cats to save themselves, taking better means of salvaging their finds for their own rather than letting them keep it. She stared at Echostep with the can hanging from her jaws, keeping her body close to the ground as she slinked closer. Unlike Barbie, she was willing to eat anything that tasted better than dirt.

"Where are you from that you try to find food here?" The rugged tabby mewed out hoarsely as she sized the thief up in her sights. "Not a scratch in sight... you don't look kittypet, though."