Quick, slash the Duck!

[Scary_Sage]

Quickpaw quietly rolled in some marigold. He felt a wet substance on his skin, and saw disgustedly that he had rolled in mud. He hid behind a bush, surprised to see an elder, one from his own clan, walking through the area. Quickpaw smirked, and he crouched down lower, ready for his mud-covered little body to pounce.
@Tallstar

[Tallstar]

Duckthroat
106 Moons
He/Him They/Them

Duckthroat had woken up slightly stiff but good enough for his usual early morning. As he was walking he started to admire the moor once again how he did in his youth he loved the open sky the warm bright sun and the smell of windclan pride for his clan was an understatement he took pride in being a windclan cat he could never imagine being anything else.

Once well outside of camp he took a break to catch his breath as much as he didn’t want to admit he was getting old. His eyes and legs were starting to fail him though his nose hadn’t just yet and he was grateful. He decided right then there he would need to have more chats with Maggotkit or well maggotpaw the silly young cat. He enjoyed the younger cats company it was a great refreshment. He stopped thinking when he heard a rustle in the tall grass “Is someone here?” He asked though it would be weird for it to be this early in the day. Soon he felt claws on his back he yowled in pain as he tried to shake his attacker off.

@Crown_Sage

[Scary_Sage]

Of course someone's here, mouse-brain! Quickpaw teased. He clearly had no respect for his elders, and he didn't care either. He fastened his teeth onto Duckthroat's back.
@Tallstar

[Moonraven]

HR PP & Execution:
There he was with his fangs around the neck of another cat. The WindClan leader didn't give any warning or make much sound as she sprung at Quickpaw's, pushing him off the elder. She sank her fangs into the apprentice's neck and clamped down, ignoring the disgusting taste of blood in her maw, until he stilled.

She relaxed her bite before leaping away from Quickpaw to quickly check on Duckthroat. "Duckthroat?!" Twilightstar sniffed at the tom, checking his neck wound to see if there was anything to be done.
@Crown_Sage @Tallstar

[Tallstar]

Duckthroat
106 Moons
He/Him They/Them

Duckthroat snarled at the cat the voice sounded more on the younger side though he had the experience his body wasn’t a match for this cat surely this wasn’t how he died he still had cats to talk to..stories to tell he wasn’t ready to go. Suddenly the weight was lifted off of him and the familiar sound of Twilightstars voice filled his ears

He sighed in relief though he felt the sharp stabbing pain in his flank and neck and the string smell of blood. He looked up at his leader “I’m alive,I’ll be okay let’s get back to camp I think u can make it they didn’t get my legs just my back and neck”he says while coughing he lived to see another day he decided he would explain what happened once he got some medical care

@Moonraven
@Crown_Sage

[Moonraven]

She let out a small sigh of relief after Duckthroat's response. She would have felt horrible if she had come to find another dead clanmate. Twilightstar's buried more than enough clanmates these past moons. But now... The one-eyed leader looked back at Quickpaw's body and waved her tail to Duckthroat.

"Give me one second, Duckthroat." She told the elder and walked over to Quickpaw's body. She grabbed the limp form by the neck and dragged it away from the elder. Her thoughts were dark and foreboding as she dropped Quickpaw's body at the outskirts. Never in all her nine lives did she think she'd have to execute an apprentice. She'll add this death as something to haunt her for the next moon.

Once Quickpaw's body was disposed of Twilightstar headed back to Duckthroat. She did another cautionary sniff along Duckthroat's neck and back ensuring that he was alright enough to walk.

"It's straight to Lightningstorm and Rabbitpaw once we get home, Duckthroat." If Leechscar hadn't informed her about Quickpaw it would have been unlikely that she would have been searching for the apprentice. It was terrifying to think of what might have happened if she hadn't arrived.

"Do you know why Quickpaw was trying to kill you?" She asked as they walked home. The leader kept close to the older cat, ears erect and tail raised high over her back. Her nerves were shot, and her mouth tasted metallic. Once she brought Duckthroat to the meidince cat she had to call a clan meeting.

@Tallstar [Duckthroat - make sure you submit a healing request for him]

[Tallstar]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="5"]Duckthroat
106 Moons
elder
Duckthroat's eyes, despite its aged and weathered appearance, showed a depth of understanding as he watched Twilightstar’s somber actions. His fur bristled slightly, not from fear, but from the cold reality of the situation. He let out a deep, rumbling sigh, a sound that seemed to resonate with the weight of countless moons lived and battles fought.

"Thank you, Twilightstar," Duckthroat said, his voice gravelly but steady. "You’re right. It's a mercy that you arrived in time. I’m not sure I would have fared well against Quickpaw alone."

As Twilightstar walked back to him, Duckthroat could see the strain etched into her features. It was a look he knew well, one that spoke of a leader's burden. He allowed her to check him over with a careful, experienced eye, and nodded reassuringly.

"I’m in no danger of falling apart just yet," he said with a small, crooked smile.

He fell into step beside Twilightstar as they made their way home, the long shadows of the trees stretching out in front of them. Duckthroat's gaze shifted to her, sensing the turmoil within her.

"As for Quickpaw," he began, his tone thoughtful, "I can’t say for certain why he turned on me. I’d noticed he’d been growing more... unsettled. Perhaps there were signs I didn’t see, or perhaps something happened to drive him to this. Sometimes the darkness inside a cat can be hard to detect until it’s too late."

He paused, looking ahead at the path they were taking. "But if you’re asking me, I’d say there might have been something he felt he was missing, or something he thought he needed to prove. It’s a tragic thing when an apprentice’s path turns so wrong."

Duckthroat’s voice softened with a touch of sympathy. "Whatever it was, it’s a burden you shouldn’t carry alone. You’ve done what you could. Now, we can only focus on ensuring that those who remain are safe and well."

As they continued toward camp, Duckthroat’s presence was a steady reassurance. His wisdom and experience, though tempered by many moons of hardship, seemed to offer Twilightstar a modicum of solace in the face of her distress.

@Moonraven