- a patrol by the river -

[Grimace]

Just a little after being sent out on her dawn patrol, Willowtail had made it to the eastern border and stopped to admire the river. The sun had made the fog thick but she quickly found a spot where she could bask in it for a few moments. Even the strongest of warriors needed to relax... She gazed down into the water. It had not frozen over yet but it would be extremely cold to catch a fish in. Still...she couldn't go back to camp without any fresh kill. "Crowfeather would kill me if I caught a cold..." she muttered. There had to be a small vole or something nearby. She marked the border and continued up the river.

[amunet]

Mousepaw followed her mentor closely and silently. Though she was young, she was thinking along the same lines as her mentor: the Clan needed freshkill. She divided her attention between her senses and her movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw tiny movements along the ground. She dropped low into a stalking stance, keeping her weight on her hind legs as Willowtail had taught her. Tail held stiff above the ground, ears pricked, eyes straining to detect more movement, she waited for her prey to come into sight.

A tiny mouse skittered across the rock, pausing mid bound to sniff the air. Mousepaw took her chance and pounced, killing the prey with one swift bite to the throat.

"I suppose it's better than nothing," she mewed quietly after thanking StarClan for its life, disappointment apparent in her tone. It was leafbare, she supposed, but... couldn't StarClan make the prey just a little bigger? She sighed and picked it up gently in her jaws.

[Grimace]

Willowtail eagerly watched her young apprentice hunting, using all the right tactics up until the final blow. "Well done!" she mewed. She began digging a small hole. "Here, bury it. We still have a while to go on the patrol and we will swing back here to collect." The warrior knew she had to be serious now. She was not going to come back with only one piece of fresh kill... The she-cat glanced up the river bank. There would be no more prey here and they would have to move further along if she had any hope. "One of these days on a warm greenleaf day, I'll teach you how to fish! But the waters much too cold now..."

[amunet]

Mousepaw glowed at her mentor's praise. She placed the freshkill delicately into the hole Willowtail had dug, then covered it just enough that other predators wouldn't come snatch it away. "Wow, fishing? That sounds like fun," she mewed. Her ears pricked in quiet excitement at the prospect of the new hunting technique. She could just barely imagine the warm greenleaf sun sparkling on the water as she watched the fish swim about... The tiny she-cat shook herself out of her reverie. They had a patrol to finish.

[Grimace]

The warrior lead the way for her young student, carefully bringing in all the local scents. Only FogClan, but of course who would be silly enough to cross the river into the dense fog? The hint of non-clan beings tingled in her nose. The twolegs who fished with their sticks wouldn't be back for atleast eight moons thankfully. They were odd creatures, furless and couldn't handle much of the cold. "I don't remember the last time I've had a nice plump fish," she muttered, feeding into the apprentice's wandering mind. "The elder's tend to enjoy those the most. No matter, we need to see about more freshkill. Don't stray too far, and be quiet!" She whispered. Willowtail leaped silently into the fog, crouching down low and patiently waiting for the next little movement she could sense.

[amunet]

Mousepaw nodded, splitting up and stalking away from their meetingplace. She strained all of her senses to detect any signs of life lurking in the undergrowth, and came to a stop. Her body remained perfectly still as she listened, scented, and looked. The sound of the river rushing by dampened her hearing.

A vole scampered across her line of vision. Her muscles tensed, waiting for it to move again. It peeked out from its hiding place under a leaf. That was all she needed. The tiny apprentice pounced.

She had misjudged her jump by a slight hair, and her paws slipped out from under her. Her chin slammed on the ground, stunning her as her small body slid down, down. Just in time, she regained enough composure to cling to the slick rocks above the churning water.

Panic set into her small body and she clamped her body closer to the stones. One wrong move and she would be a frozen catsicle.

[Grimace]

Willowtail lurked in the fog, creeping ever so slowly towards the critter unknowingly in her path. It was a nice rabbit, not plump but bigger than a mouse. She knew she couldn't let this one go and it had to have been close to its burrow. Her steps were light as she approached it, making sure to keep low and out of site. The rabbit was completely unaware of the ambush until the warrior cat was upon him. She made it quick, leaping on top of the rabbit as he thrashed around. Sharp fangs clamped it's neck until there was no more struggle. It wasn't much but it was all they had. She quickly made her way back to the riverbank, rabbit in mouth. The she-cat dropped her catch as she realized what had happened. "Mousepaw? Are you alright?" she said, looking down on her small apprentice. She was not pleased. "You need to be more careful. I swear, I can't let you out of my sight."

[Schultz]

His pawsteps were silent as Shadowstar stepped into view, the Fogclan leader stood just behind Mousepaw. "Listen to your mentor, otherwise you may end up with an eye like mine.... or worse." He looked at the riverbank and suppressed a shudder, knowing all too well what dangers the rocks and water posed to apprentices and warriors alike. Shadowstar turned back to Willowtail and purred at the sight of the freshly caught rabbit, "Well done, is the prey running well today?."

[amunet]

Mousepaw slowly pulled herself up from the steep riverbank. She scrabbled up to where her mentor and leader were standing, discussing prey, and shook stray water droplets from her coat.

"Sorry, Willowtail," she mewed sheepishly. "I got a little excited..." She cringed at the thought of getting an injury like Shadowstar's. As great of a warrior as her leader was in spite of his injury, Mousepaw wanted to be a great warrior because of her own skill, not in spite of a potential disability.

[Grimace]

"The prey is slow, as is to be expected from leafbare. But the borders are intact, no one dares cross our borders." the warrior scoffed slightly, still annoyed with her apprentice. What luck they were having for FogClan's leader to appear at a time like this! She looked down upon the smaller she-cat. "You will have Crowfeather look at that as soon as we return to camp." Willowtail commanded, noting the blood dripping slowly off her chin. The she-cat turned back to her leader. "What brings you here, Shadowstar? Surely everything is under control... Just a little mishap, won't happen again will it Mousepaw? If it keeps up we'll just name you Clumsyfoot." Her tail flicked in annoyance, but who wouldn't be annoyed? Leafbare was no time for mistakes.

[Schultz]

"You don't expect me to stay inside the camp yowling orders all day do you?" he purred, "I needed to stretch my legs, and I was also hoping to help replenish the stockpile. Can't have a leader who gets rusty with their hunting skills now can we?" He never meant to make his warriors uncomfortable, Starclan knows how often he was scared out of his wits by the old Fogclan leader when they decided to walk around the territory.

 

[amunet]

"No, Willowtail, of course not," Mousepaw mewed quickly, licking her paw and drawing it over her face in a last-ditch effort to hide the blood. The cut on her cheek stung, but she was thankful it wasn't somewhere else... like her eye.

[Grimace]

"Well, while you're here and not doing anything you can help us with the freshkill. We will need more than two small pieces if the clan is going to eat today." the she-cat mumbled to her leader. "And you-" she said, turning towards her apprentice. "Take notes. He's not just the leader for any reason."