Windy Hills

[Omari]

Mousefern
Windclan
She/her

The small molly paused in her footsteps, her gaze shifting from the meadows to look at the apprentice accompanying them, instead. Another inactive mentor? She couldn’t help but ask herself the question, and she resisted the urge to scoff at the thought of it, not wanting Goldenpaw to think that she was scoffing at him. It just frustrated her to no end that some warriors weren’t responsible enough to train the poor apprentices that were appointed to them.

“You’re sure?” She asked, tipping her head to the side. “I promise I’m not doubting you, there’s just no shame in needing some help, okay? We’re both here if you need anything, remember that.”

Mousefern gave Goldenpaw a friendly little flick on the shoulder with her tail-tip before she padded past both cats. “I’m going to head this way to see if I can find anything–Dapplebreeze, feel free to take off to find some prey, but just remember to come back here once you do. Even if you don’t find anything, this is the meeting spot!” She didn’t want to sound bossy–that was basically her worst nightmare–so she tried her best to sound as friendly and cheerful as possible with her words.

“And Goldenpaw,” She sent the apprentice a reassuring smile… She believed in the young tom, but she wouldn’t feel very good about leaving him unattended to. Mousefern wasn’t worried about Dapplebreeze, she was a warrior who didn’t need supervision. “You should tag along with either one of us, okay? I wouldn’t want you to be left all alone.”

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Dapplebreeze, @ameko - Goldenpaw ]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Dapplebreeze |

Disappointment. That was all the former queen could feel at the apprentice's words. Not directed at sweet Goldenpaw of course, oh heavens no... But to have lived as long as she had and to have been faced with as many neglected apprentices as she had of late, she would have been a fool to not notice the signs of yet another apprentice having to fend for himself. It was clear from Mousefern's response that she was not the only one to notice this, and the patched molly couldn't help but purr appreciatively at the flame point's words. For too long she had felt like perhaps the warriors of WindClan had been growing complacent under Twilightstar's benevolent yet admittedly relaxed rule. Mousefern gave her hope that there were still those who could make promising young mentors yet.

It was Mousefern's following words that brought levity to her mind, however, thoroughly amused by the instructions. Perhaps this was Mousefern's first time leading a patrol, and she was a little nervous and wanted to be thorough? Or worse... she had encountered less than stellar patrol members before, and was used to having to inform them of how hunting patrols worked in order to expect any level of results. She certainly hoped it wasn't the latter. Nerves would leave as experience took over. Lazy clanmates unfortunately were a whole other story. Hmph. Just thinking about it made her want to smack some sense into some cats, truth be told. No matter, she would make sure Mousefern had a proper patrol today. No lazy warriors here.

"Yes of course," Dapplebreeze purred encouragingly, giving a light nod. Offering Goldenpaw one last, comforting look, she headed onwards, keeping her steps light and soundless on the familiar terrain.

-

@Omari [Mousefern] | @ameko [Goldenpaw]

[ameko]

Goldenpaw »

His stomach decided now was an apt time to annoy him again, and Goldenpaw stared pointedly at the little piece of grass as Mousefern spoke. It was frustrating, not having as much training as other apprentices his age. Not like it was his fault—between his earlier sickness, and then the fire, and then of course both his mentors disappearing, there hadn't been much time at all to get some outdoor experience! Still, though, his ears still swiveled back uncomfortably at the thought of asking for help. No thanks, he could get by just fine on his own!

He didn't voice any of that, though, merely mumbling a 'yeah'. The brush of Mousefern's tail on his shoulder had him glancing up in surprise, and he watched her pad forward for a moment before craning his neck to groom his shoulder.

Much as he wanted to go off by himself, he hadn't actually ever caught any prey by himself before, so he couldn't say he was confident in his skills. Goldenpaw nodded, fur prickling at the shared looks of Dapplebreeze and Mousefern. After the former had walked off to hunt, he settled his gaze on Mousefern and meowed, "I'll go with you, if that's okay." He stopped to clear his throat—aghh, he'd forgotten about the very irritating scratchiness—before padding forward, continuing, "I've caught prey here before, with, um"—oh dear he'd totally forgotten their name—"another apprentice?" His voice pitched up slightly towards the end, and inwardly he cringed at his own uncertainty.

[ @Omari - Mousefern | @Alchemist Kitsune - Dapplebreeze ]

[Omari]

Mousefern
Windclan
She/her

The young warrior nodded her head repeatedly, bopping her head in an overly cheerful manner. “Of course, you can come with me!” She had offered for him to tag along with her, after all.

“I see,” She hummed softly in response, amusement lacing her words at the pitch of his voice. Despite his awkward and unsure tendencies, Mousefern found Goldenpaw to be quite endearing. In all fairness, she did view most apprentices fondly either way, though. “So, you’re sure you’ll be okay hunting on y–”

She caught the scent of a… Mouse? Definitely a mouse. “Sorry, I.. Caught wind of something, stay here for a moment?” A rhetorical question, it was more of a suggestion. The pale ginger molly lifted her nose to the air before she followed the scent. It got stronger in no time, and she crouched low, keeping her tail level with the ground. Careful not to alarm the small creature, she slowly approached it from behind, wanting to get as close as possible before–she pounced, landing atop the mouse and quickly nipping at its neck.

A purr immediately escaped her maw, and she murmured a soft thank you to the skies before she stood up, quick to return to the apprentice that she had suddenly left behind. “Caught a mouse!” She chirped once she was close enough, dropping her fresh-kill at her paws.

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Dapplebreeze, @ameko - Goldenpaw . I’d also like to wrap up the patrol soon!! No pressure ofc, let’s just get to catching some prey ]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Dapplebreeze |

Allowing for Mousefern and the apprentice to head off in the direction of the hills themselves, Dapplebreeze decided to backtrack, going through the familiar meadows where she knew rabbits and hares alike made their home. Some smaller sparrows pecked at the ground incessantly, unaware of her presence as they dug at the earth, kicking worms to the side in favor of the seeds they preferred feasting on. An easy meal, for certain, but not what the spotted warrior sought. No. She wished to lift WindClan's spirits, and nothing would do that more than a delicious meal of the longer eared prey from their old territory while they grew accustomed to their new home.

Silently, the seasoned warrior crawled through the grass, nose in the air as she glanced for clear signs of the prey she hunted for. It didn't take long for her to find what she wished for. The breeze - an ally to her always - bringing with it the delicate scent of rabbit, Dapplebreeze crouched, her well practiced hunter's stance flowing through her as efficiently as water through a stream. Blue eyes alert for any movement, the former queen stalked silently when she saw them. Two rabbits. Smaller in size. Evidently kits that had recently left their burrow and were out on their own for the first time. Not the biggest meal she had caught, but much more sustenance than the sparrows from before could have offered.

Muscles bunched at her hind legs for a moment, coiled and awaited the perfect moment; and she flew. A blur of cream and tan struck at the first rabbit, killing it in an instant. The second took an instant to react, unaware of what had happened until it was too late. In its surprise it took off, making it no further than three hops before patched molly had descended upon it and delivered the killing blow. The second rabbit still in her maw, Dapplebreeze turned to stare at her first rabbit, pride glinting in her eyes. It was always a good feeling. To know she had provided for her clan.

Grabbing on to the second rabbit, Dapplebreeze sent a silent thanks to StarClan for the meal. While the rabbits were a meal, that did not mean she took them for granted, knowing full well their life ensured the further prosperity of her clan. Her task done, she turned to return to the rendezvous point, tan legs guiding her with ease on the hills. She did not expect having to wait for too long, but all the same wished good luck to the young apprentice who had accompanied them. With how silent he had seemed and how neglectful his mentor seemed to be, she could only hope he would make a good catch. She knew from experience how much a successful hunt could boost one's moral during their training moons.

-

@Omari [Mousefern] | @ameko [Goldenpaw]

[ameko]

Goldenpaw »

Mousefern’s bright personality almost made Goldenpaw feel like he had to match the energy, to contribute more to the conversation than he was currently. He’d opened his mouth to respond, but at her observation let the unspoken words die. Instead, he nodded, watching her form retreat into the distance.

Sitting there quickly became boring, so he turned his attention to sniffing out something of his own to catch. There was the fresh trail of something, though he couldn’t quite put his paw on what it was. Something prey-like, definitely! It would have to wait a moment, though. Goldenpaw glanced over to see Mousefern returning with a mouse dangling from her jaws. Should he compliment her on the catch? Was that something you were supposed to do? “Good job,” he decided on saying.

He didn’t waste any time on rising to his paws and adding, “Um, I smelled something too, but I can catch it myself, it’s just somewhere over here…” If he didn’t go check out the source of this scent soon then he was worried it might up and disappear. Goldenpaw padded off without waiting for a response, following the gentle incline of the hill as the smell—he was sure it was a bird now—grew ever stronger. There, he spotted the little finch pecking at something in the tall grass.

He knew he could catch it. He had to—he wasn’t about to embarrass himself in front of two warriors. His eyes tracked it as it hopped a couple paces away to peck elsewhere. He waited, crouched low to the ground, then decided to wait just a little bit longer to make sure he was prepared. The little bird chose that very moment to realize something was amiss, and as it looked up, just about to stretch its wings out, he leapt for it. Large claws snagged onto one of the now outstretched wings. The finch squawked and flapped furiously, but Goldenpaw dragged it close and killed it with a bite.

He’d done it! Letting loose a somewhat shaky breath, the golden-furred apprentice stared down at the prey for a couple seconds, taking in the sight, before he bowed his head and gave silent thanks. Goldenpaw picked up the finch and turned to make his way back. His heartbeat was quick and shallow in his chest as he trotted back up to Mousefern.

“Mmfmrm,” he said, then realized he couldn’t actually speak with a bird in his mouth and dropped it. “I caught this,” meowed the apprentice, voice tinged with triumph.

[ @Omari - Mousefern | @Alchemist Kitsune - Dapplebreeze ]

[Omari]

Mousefern
Windclan
She/her

“Thank you!” Mousefern dipped her head, wearing a happy little grin on her face at the compliment. Her eyes followed the apprentice as he stood and padded off, calling a simple, “Be careful!” after him.

Was the warrior worried that something catastrophically awful was going to happen while he was gone? No, not really, she just wanted to make sure that he’d take care. Following him while he hunted would probably make him anxious–being an apprentice and having a warrior tail you around? She didn’t like the idea of it herself. Once upon a time, she was an apprentice too, and having a warrior watching what you did was absolutely nerve-wracking. Still, she took note of where he headed off to and made sure to watch the general area just in case.

“Mhm?” The molly grinned when Goldenpaw had returned, finding his first incoherent ‘words’ to be pretty amusing. “Great job! Knew you could do it,” Mousefern stood up–pausing to pick up the mouse that was at her paws–before flicking his shoulder with her tail yet again as she began to trot back the way that they came. “Let’s head back, yeah? Don’t wanna leave Dapplebreeze hanging for too long.”

Keeping a fair pace so that Goldenpaw could keep up, she led the way back to their meeting point, trilling at the sight of their patrol mate. Dropping her mouse yet again, she tilted her head to the side, smiling. “Dapplebreeze! Nice catch, two rabbits.. We got a mouse and a finch–we ready to head back?”

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Dapplebreeze, @ameko - Goldenpaw ]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Dapplebreeze |

Feeling the cooling, welcoming breeze ruffling her fur, Dapplebreeze could almost lower her guard as the sun shone down upon her pelt. She hadn't lived the seasons she had by making foolish mistakes such as those, of course, but there was a certain temptation in how wonderful it felt to be in their old hunting grounds to let go of those carefully honed instincts. Bright blue eyes quickly turned, however, as her ears picked up on pawsteps approaching. A welcoming smile graced her maw at the arrival of Mousefern and Goldenpaw, her head giving a polite nod in greeting. With each carrying a prey of their own, it seemed that hunting had gone splendidly. By Mousefern's words, it would appear the younger molly seemed to be in agreement with her thoughts, and the patched warrior stood, stretching her limbs before replying.

"Oh quite ready to be on our way, yes," the former queen purred, dipping her head to grab both rabbit kits. Gratefully, with their smaller size, she was able to carry both with ease. Not as impressive a catch as a full grown rabbit, but it would do for today. With a look of approval directed at the young apprentice that accompanied them, Dapplebreeze patiently awaited to be led home.

-

@Omari [Mousefern] | @ameko [Goldenpaw]

[Omari]

Mousefern
Windclan
She/her

With a satisfied purr that everyone had been successful in catching something, she lashed out her tail behind her before she began heading away from the beautiful hills and the meadows between them, leading Dapplebreeze and Goldenpaw back to their new home.

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Dapplebreeze, @ameko - Goldenpaw , I’m gonna end the patrol here!! Sorry for skipping your turn and cutting things off, ameko, just wanted to get things done so we wouldn’t have to request another extension, haha ]

[gs29513]

The wind was nice, rather unusually. Deadmoon preferred to avoid Windy Hills because it had a tendency to feel like she was about to be swept off her paws, but today it had died down to a friendly breeze. The sun kept things warm, but the breeze kept any risk of overheating to a minimum. All in all a pleasant hunting environment. I’ll head that-a-way she mewed, gesturing with a paw in an easternly direction and you can go wherever else. We’ll meet back here when we’ve each caught something, or if we’re terribly unlucky, when we ought to have caught something by.

It would be far simpler to just say ‘once we catch something’, but she didn’t want to worry about Swallowwing running into trouble and not knowing if he had. This way she could assume that if enough time had passed and he hadn’t returned it was time to send out a search party. Risks were obviously minimal, so deep in their territory, but Deadmoon certainly didn’t want to risk any calamities. She waited for a moment, in case her patrolmate had any changes he wanted to make to her not particularly complicated plan, but if no objections were forthcoming she was quite ready to set off. @Cheesy da Cheese