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Re: Darkwater Mire
Quote:
Originally Posted by gs29513
Squishy icky yucky. At least if you went too deep into the mud. The area where Shrewstep stopped was pleasant enough to stand on however, carpeted as it was with nice, thick moss. Shadowclan moss was always thick on account of how moist the air was, but this area had a particularly fine color. Turning to face his new apprentice, he mewed This is Darkwater Mire! Kind of icky squishy if you go too far into the middle, but there're plenty of frogs around here if you fancy munching on a few of those! He wasn't a big frog guy himself, but he could see the appeal if you wanted something between fish and standard flesh.
Sometimes you'll see squirrels about, but you do want to be careful at night because a few owls live around the area. Now this might be a concern more for him than Shadepaw, given his small size, but an owl could definitely nab a small cat. A large enough one could probably swoop him away if he didn't kill it when it came down, and so large birds always gave him the willies. That wasn't how he wanted to die, no sirree. He was doing quite fine on the ground, thank you very much. Any questions? he inquired, before turning to trot towards Grotto. They could walk and talk. @snowflake.
Shadepaw Pure black pelt; dark mackerel markings; amber eyes
She/her || 6 moons || ShadowClan Apprentice Agatha Kitty - Silver Tongue - Shadow Fiend
Mentor: Shrewstep • Post Count: 8/100 • Profile • Bio
Icky squishy was an understatement. Shadepaw stepped over large wet patches and winced as her paws squelched in the mud. Honestly, why would Shadowclan decide to make their territory in the marshiest place? Ah well. She'd just have to get used to it. Thankfully, though, Shrewstep stopped in a fairly mossy area, free of wetness. She gazed at her surroundings with sharp eyes. She would see all of her territory, learn all of its strengths and weaknesses. She would become so familiar with it she could do almost anything in it. That was her goal. She would show Clovepool that this tour wasn't a waste of time, that it was useful. Shadepaw was determined to make the most out of this. It was difficult to impress her mother, she knew. But that wouldn't stop her from trying. She twisted one ear in the direction of her mentor, acknowledging his words. This part was good for squirrels. She turned to look back at Shrewstep, though, when he mentioned owls. She had heard tales about owls before. She'd have to be careful at night here. It seemed it was time to leave. She followed Shrewstep in silence, slightly behind him. Questions... She could ask questions, learn more about the territory. She didn't really have any questions, couldn't think of any. "I don't know," she muttered, traversing around a particularly large puddle.
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letting silver eyes roam over the dead bird now that it was. well...dead. rookfire was busy taking in details, the lack of small dark feathers at the birds beak, the light grey to black transition at the tip of its beak, the slick look deep crimson blood was giving its blueish shining feathers, when roachflare suddenly appeared next to him, holding a mouse of all things, (what happened to the birds?) "oh hey look, its a rook, like you". not to say rookfire would let that stop him from attempting to flay and then eat the thing, but it did get him thinking. the cannibal, gone or still lingering amongst innocent clanmates, did they feel any conflict ever? did they never stop to think. never..question the urges? it wasnt like rookfire eating a rook, the rook was very clearly a bird whilst rookfire was supposed to eat birds, but two felines..one dying for food? well that was just wrong. not only, or rather, not specifically, because others said it was wrong, and theyd mourn their lost loved one, or else any fight theyd ever had would be immoral, which wouldnt and coulnt accept as such, every fight fought and every battle won was liberation, a necesarry step to ensure freedom and peace. there was nothing immoral in surviving. bloodthird, starclan had given them the need to sink claws into flesh, be that other cats or prey, and rookfire was not one to deny nature, though, if that nature meant killing those supposed to be allies and friends, it couldnt. it simply did not work. there could not be society without restraint, every win came with a lesser lose, at least one cat walks away from battle harmed and at least one cat has to supress society altering urges to thrive and survive in a concept of living that has presisted over the moons. it simply couldnt be wrong. it was meant to be. they were blessed by starclan, at least those who hadnt been fools in their living days. and they were supposed to survive. he was supposed to live not survive. riverclan had been surviving, shadowclan was living, and if it got to the point of a harsh winter, deceased clanmates and a lack of prey entirely, rookfire would not blame anyone for choosing survival instead of pointless death. replenish the living off the flesh of the dead instead of leaving their earthly bodies behind. it wasnt wrong. there were things rookfire could very much accept without feeling bad, without going against his own morals, and this very specific context of cannibalistic behaviour was one.
with his thoughts a bit more sorted and slowly bleeding into the pleasant buzz of everything else going on, rook nudged the dead bird into a better position, leaving it on its back, head back and wings spread out to the sides whilst heat bled from the body. he hadnt done all that much damage so..he could try flaying it. it sure wasnt a squirrel or looked similar to one but.. it was worth a try. though, specifically the wings were worrying him. how much flesh would there be within and how the hell was he supposed to get it out?
the throat sounded like the best spot to start so rookfire drew his claw along a high spot on the birds neck, drawing down to its right and left wing and attempting to pull the skin down as best he could. getting stuck pretty early on, the enforcer made the decision to make one cut from the birds lower stomach up to the throat one he had made, now able to open up its body enough to somehow, with a lot of aimless digging around and accidentally piercing skin, he managed to seperate muscle from skin for one of the rooks wings, before making one wrong move and having the thing fold in half, thin skin barely supported by feathers now decorated with a large tear.
the enforcer sighed, giving up on this fruitless endeavour and instead getting to gathering some of the rooks feathers to take instead. "didnt work all that well, lets eat" rookfire hummed, nodding towards the prey in an invitation for roachflare. he didnt like eating out of camp, but he didnt really have a choice this once, he could hardly bring back a half torn open bird to feed the clan, itd turn into crowfood before anyone got close to it. but it was nice at least, rookfire liked birdflesh, roachflare was pleasant company and the speckles of sun breaking through thick foliage warmed his pelt nicely.
rookfire and roachflare had shared the rook, the enforcer himself taking to selecting a few nice feathers to take back to camp before discarding the rest of the feather and bones by a bush and picking up the things they had gathered and caught again. the rabbit, honey, and the feathers, it wasnt much but the sun was slowly creeping towards the treeline, threatening to be swallowed by the horizon before the two could make it back to camp and rookfire was getting tired.
the two toms had pretty much made it halfway back to camp when passing a meadow, one of the few places they had passed that offered a semi clear view of the sky, and a ridiculously loud bang echoed over the sprawling land making rook jump and roachflare flinch before two pairs of eyes lifted to the red sparks spreading through the sky. he didnt remember what it was called, but recognition set in immediately, this was the same thing he had seen and been terrified by many many moons ago. his sisters grey pelt, the biting cold. memories long buried and untouched whirred around his mind as another one of these things did through the air. catapulting itself into the sky with a sound almost akin to sharp whistle before exploding with a bone rattling snap, spreading green glitter amongst pale clouds and deep blue sky. whilst recognition lingered in rookfires mind, curiosity holding fear at easy, roachflare looked about ready to sprint the remaining way back to camp so the enforcer finally freed himself from the frozen state these memories had put him into and sped up to return to camp quickly.
stars help him, why had mudslide looked like the best person to ask to accompany him on a quick herb run. he had a actual goal in mind this time, which was an improvement kind of, and mudslide was a pretty good worker, never complaining or refusing to do the work he wanted from her, but she was horribly quiet. uncomfortably quiet. perhaps this would be better? they had talked during that meeting recently..soo perhaps she was warming up to him? in all honestly he didnt really care all that much, but the walk to darkwater mire was just long enough to give rookfire enough time to overthink the simplest things he actually never cared about. he could also use this time to think about mossfreckle but he felt like he already did that a bunch so thinking about his patrol mate somehow appeared to be the better and more sane choice. though, why did he even care about sounding sane within his own head, that was weird? was that another one of those things that went paw in paw with the..err... the weird reactions.. hes been having? stars he hoped it wasnt. oh see how fortunate, they had travelled far enough that the mires thick fog was slowly but surely beginning to surround the pair. pushing tall grass into soft marshy ground, the enforcer continued along with sure steps, until coming to a halt by a large spruce tree. "do you know what horsetail looks like? we are looking for horsetail today." rookfire finally addressed mudslide, angular head turned to look at the slightly smaller, light furred feline. besides his interest and annoyance at mudslides mysterious act, there was something about her that felt weird. her appearance or the way she talked, he just couldnt figure out what about her made his brain go weird.
the kit wasnt protesting which was definitely a plus, instead, she portrait a behaviour rookfire had quite simply never seen in any kit being picked up before. it weirded him out, he didnt like the kit, from the colour of her pelt to the outsider stench and tendency to talk more than rookfire enjoyed in anyone, but even less so a kit that couldnt even form a proper sentence. at least they werent wiggling around.
in response to her protesting, rookfire muttered something so muffled by scarlet fur it was impossible to understand and simply followed mistlewhisker to camp after.
stars help him, why had mudslide looked like the best person to ask to accompany him on a quick herb run. he had a actual goal in mind this time, which was an improvement kind of, and mudslide was a pretty good worker, never complaining or refusing to do the work he wanted from her, but she was horribly quiet. uncomfortably quiet. perhaps this would be better? they had talked during that meeting recently..soo perhaps she was warming up to him? in all honestly he didnt really care all that much, but the walk to darkwater mire was just long enough to give rookfire enough time to overthink the simplest things he actually never cared about. he could also use this time to think about mossfreckle but he felt like he already did that a bunch so thinking about his patrol mate somehow appeared to be the better and more sane choice. though, why did he even care about sounding sane within his own head, that was weird? was that another one of those things that went paw in paw with the..err... the weird reactions.. hes been having? stars he hoped it wasnt. oh see how fortunate, they had travelled far enough that the mires thick fog was slowly but surely beginning to surround the pair. pushing tall grass into soft marshy ground, the enforcer continued along with sure steps, until coming to a halt by a large spruce tree. "do you know what horsetail looks like? we are looking for horsetail today." rookfire finally addressed mudslide, angular head turned to look at the slightly smaller, light furred feline. besides his interest and annoyance at mudslides mysterious act, there was something about her that felt weird. her appearance or the way she talked, he just couldnt figure out what about her made his brain go weird.
Mudslide didn't completely match Rookfire's pace, she was too focused on her own thoughts than the ground beneath her. She was wondering, mostly, why she had suddenly become the main candidate to "hang out with" on patrols. She knew Roachflare was always available, but when she saw that he was going on less and less patrols with Rookfire as the days yawned past, Mudslide figured that would open up some space for free time. She was right and wrong. Roachflare now had some freedom but Mudslide was immediately dragged by the scruff and into the abyss to take his place. It wasn't that bad... It was just work, an unexpected patrol with a cat she was trying to avoid. Whatever, exploring was fun anyways.
Mudslide really liked the fog, it made everything filter away sunlight and it honestly just looked beautiful. A nice cool setting that she would love to be drowned in. Suddenly, the patrol came to a halt and Mudslide didn't stop her pace until she was side by side with Rookfire. Horsetail? She remembered gathering it briefly, almost on accident, with another patrol.
She flicked her eyes upwards to meet his and nodded her head before dropping her gaze again. She then walked off and allowed fog to envelope her frame, ducking into the unknown. Cool and calm and thick comfortable fog. Of course, Mudslide couldn't just stay sight seeing, she had herbs to look for. Thankfully, it didn't take very long as she stumbled on a few and decided to test her chances at gathering each one. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED!]
Welp, that was one she couldn't gather. So, she tried the other. [mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 12, slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
Last one, then she'd have to move to a different bundle. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED!] Hm, disappointing. Okay, next one. The she-cat moved swiftly through the moss padded mire with perked ears and wide icy eyes. She only paused when she saw tail like leaves sprouting in groups, at least four. And always, Mudslide tried to gather them. [mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 18 slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
Next. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED] Anndddd another one down. Mudslide gave a shake of her head as if to clear her thoughts. Perhaps she was just tired... Herb gathering was usually her strong suit. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED] Whoops... Okay, she had two more tries, enough to redeem herself. [mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 18, slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
[mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 16, slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
[Inventory - 4 horsetail, ONE SLOT LEFT]
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❝And the cats kill one by one!❞
- Hartebeest by Yalokre
Mudslide didn't completely match Rookfire's pace, she was too focused on her own thoughts than the ground beneath her. She was wondering, mostly, why she had suddenly become the main candidate to "hang out with" on patrols. She knew Roachflare was always available, but when she saw that he was going on less and less patrols with Rookfire as the days yawned past, Mudslide figured that would open up some space for free time. She was right and wrong. Roachflare now had some freedom but Mudslide was immediately dragged by the scruff and into the abyss to take his place. It wasn't that bad... It was just work, an unexpected patrol with a cat she was trying to avoid. Whatever, exploring was fun anyways.
Mudslide really liked the fog, it made everything filter away sunlight and it honestly just looked beautiful. A nice cool setting that she would love to be drowned in. Suddenly, the patrol came to a halt and Mudslide didn't stop her pace until she was side by side with Rookfire. Horsetail? She remembered gathering it briefly, almost on accident, with another patrol.
She flicked her eyes upwards to meet his and nodded her head before dropping her gaze again. She then walked off and allowed fog to envelope her frame, ducking into the unknown. Cool and calm and thick comfortable fog. Of course, Mudslide couldn't just stay sight seeing, she had herbs to look for. Thankfully, it didn't take very long as she stumbled on a few and decided to test her chances at gathering each one. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED!]
Welp, that was one she couldn't gather. So, she tried the other. [mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 12, slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
Last one, then she'd have to move to a different bundle. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED!] Hm, disappointing. Okay, next one. The she-cat moved swiftly through the moss padded mire with perked ears and wide icy eyes. She only paused when she saw tail like leaves sprouting in groups, at least four. And always, Mudslide tried to gather them. [mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 18 slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
Next. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED] Anndddd another one down. Mudslide gave a shake of her head as if to clear her thoughts. Perhaps she was just tired... Herb gathering was usually her strong suit. [mudslide rolled a 1, FAILED] Whoops... Okay, she had two more tries, enough to redeem herself. [mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 18, slightly damaged]
[+1 horsetail]
[mudslide rolled a 20, complete! 16, slightly damaged]
a nod in response, somehow, rookfire interpreted the lack of words and facial expression as a attempt at hiding that she had absolutely no idea, but decided against keeping her to explain it again anyway. he preferred keeping knowledge close to his chest, be that because of how his mother had raised him, or because he was still no more than the jealous apprentice too selfish to share important medical knowledge with riverclans population during the crisis. honestly, he didnt care, it had never negatively effected him, only positively if he counted saving that cats live and looking super cool a half moon or so back whilst the others just stood and watched. yeah no he had no regrets about any of that (even if he probably should).
mudslide disappeared into the fog so rookfire turned to search himself, walking in a direction different enough from mudslides that they shouldnt come across each other that easily.
[ 16, 20, 18, 9 ]
engulfed in thick fog, rookfire relied more heavily on his nose this time, being able to recognise its clean pungent scent sooner than recognising its bristly, tall shape. the first bit of horsetail he found looked like it would be swallowed by muddy water at any moment, stepping into knee deep mud to retrieve it. now almost halfway muddied, the enforcer was a bit less careful as to where he stepped, dragging thick pelt through sludgy water without complaint. the next two he found were a bit muddy but shone bright green underneath.
lastly, one hidden snugly between a few blades of thick grass.
whilst the mire was by far not his personal favourite bit of territory it appeared it wasnt really anyones rookfire decided, stepping foot over the border to the foggy wetland for the second sunrise in a row and being welcomes by mostly his own and mudslides smell. at this point, and with how seldom it appeared other cats were here for reasons other than mistlewhisker ordered patrols, this might as well be his personally assigned piece of territory to patrol. he didnt particularly take issue with that on a base level, he just wasnt a fan of seeing perfectly fine territory unused.
whatever the issue with this territory and the rest of shadowclan was, rookfire had sleepysunrise with him and he certainly wouldnt complain about that. whilst sleepy could be a bit weird from time to time, he had taken a liking to the youngest enforcer and her hardworking nature, getting to know her better or whatever this was supposed to be (though he rarely ever selected patrolmates for a reason other than availability) was welcomed by him.
rook wasnt really sure what exactly they were here for, but since he was aware of the kinds of prey that inhabited this part of the territory he sure hoped it wasnt hunting. the thought of hunting squirrels or birds might as well send shivers down his spine, the other option, that being to simply patrol or, even better, gather herbs, was a lot more appealing to him. the thick scent of wet bark and sweet berries was comforting, a nice combination with the watery muddy smell that made his mouth feel dry and sandy. "d'ya wanna hunt or gather?" he finally asked, dark angular head canted to the side to face sleepysunrise who had taken the side of him he couldnt see without turning (curse his eye).
[ @Estelle - short and sweet post for eepy sleepy ]
rookfire felt like every time he left camp it was to go to darkwater mire, slowly but surely, but for once it wasnt actually his fault or faulty planning but birdpaw straightup asking to be taken to the mire, and who was rook to deny a apprentice a request? so like the many many times in the recent past, rookfire lead the way towards darkwater mire, slowing down slightly as soil became wetter, eventually turning so muddy it became a bit harder to walk, sinking into soft ground with every step as if walking on semi fresh snow. angular head turned to face the kid whilst walking rookfire gave the apprentice a questioning look "why did you want to come here anyway?"
maybe he should start asking questions first and not just say yes and go, he'd be mad at himself about that if the cannibal were still on the loose and he wasnt himself (if that made sense) going out to patrol with just about anyone with no questions asked, no one told about the plans or anything. but for one, the cannibal hadnt appeared even once for moons now, and he was pretty sure he could handle them anyway. not to brag or anything (he was only talking to himself anyway, who would he be bragging to?) but rookfire felt he had become quite the good fighter since joining shadowclan, slowly growing more confident with techniques he wouldve tried to avoid only a few moons ago. the grab and rip would always be his favourite but since fighting a few more of his clanmates, he had recognised the need for practice in some other styles and happily done so.
oh, where was he? ah yes, the mire. his paws were already wet, soggy-ness reaching almost halfway up his legs, yet the enforcer was pretty much unbothered, having walked back and forth on and in mud enough the past few days to just accept it as it was.
[ @Mica - bird || hello staff please dont be mad at me i didnt mean to post 3 times in a row here it just kind of happened on accident </3]
Birdpaw
ShadowClan Apprentice
she/her | 9 moons | 78/100
[Grey tabby with dark overcoat, white underside and amber eyes] Purrks: Lyrebird's Lullaby [PERMANENTLY ACTIVE], Don't Mind if I Do!
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Fool ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Rookfire - @alec ]
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Birdpaw couldn't deny it anymore--Freckle clearly fancied Rookfire, and the dark tom felt the same. Birdpaw had accepted Fogwatcher because he was her mentor and seemed good for Mossfreckle, and the Yellow One was cheery like her, so she had no problem with him. But Rookfire... he was an unknown. Birdpaw had to get the scope on him before she allowed him to get all cozy with her big brother.
The Commander of the Ark Army padded slightly behind and to the right of Rookfire, studying his every move as he lead her through the territory. Eventually he asked why she had made the request, and Birdpaw answered honestly, using the lovely dulcet tones of Mossfreckle, just to see how Rookfire reacted. "I've never been to this part of the territory!" Well, it was true! She wasn't exactly sure how she had gone this long without seeing this part of the territory, but she supposed now was as good of a time as any to check it out!
Re: Darkwater Mire
