Since Larchflame had gone right, Alderstep went left, trailing after that rodent smell. Wariness kept him on guard, but he took care not to tense up to either cause himself pain or ruin his hunting form. With realistic goals set, he wanted to catch at least two things on this patrol.
So, as the mouse scent hit his senses, he went into the dead-to-the-world-except-for-yummy-animals mode, determination powering him forward to catch the stupid itty-bitty creature. Well, not stupid, he supposed. Mice could be smart, by their standards. If they had those. Alderstep frowned down at the now-dead mouse, giving up a moment later. Who cares, the mice tasted good and so he was going to continue catching them.
Onwards to the second, yeah? Alderstep prowled the ruins, having cached his previous catch where he'd caught it. It was difficult to separate the scents left behind by the previous mouse, and so it took some time until Alderstep finally caught wind of something new: mole. His attention tunneled to just that, focus sharp as usual. Mouse and mole; the two m's of yummy.
He felt like screeching when his tedious searching was halted by the fact that the mole scent went into one of those little holes the pests made. It was like the mole was trying to imitate the giant abyss, pitifully. Alderstep chose to play the boring waiting game, wanting nothing more than to start digging up the rodent. If only that tactic was foolproof. After what felt like moons, the mole made an appearance, which was an ultimately fatal mistake.
Alderstep snatched the rodent up, barely a chance given. Two pieces of prey, done. Content, the tabby fetched his mouse and carried the two fresh-kill back to where he'd come from, ready to meet with Larchflame and head back.
@
Apollo. [+ 1 mouse, 1 mole]