Evergreen Grotto

[squidz]

~ BRIARSPLASH ~
stocky, large, & fluffy dilute gray tortie she-cat with goldish-green eyes; just a scratch
[ shadowclan enforcer | she-cat | 28 moons | abrasive, standoffish, loyal ]

~

Briarsplash ran in with her small patrol, halting in the Grotto. Already she could smell the acrid tang of rat flesh in the air, and she didn't like it. Fur instinctively bristling, the fluffy feline turned to the others, giving them a curt nod.

"Alright. We're here. Remember what Dawnstar said; start huntin', 'n no need to make it pretty. The bloodier, the better," she remarked with a huff, something like a twisted smirk on her maw for a moment as she already gained satisfaction from tricking the rats.

"Once we all get a few pieces, start leadin' it in a trail towards Dawning Woods. Stay close, but not too close to where we're tripping on each other's paws. I don't wanna see any of you mauled by a horde of rats before we're even close. We'll wait to drop the last piece of prey close to the entrance until we're ready. Got it?"

Hopefully they understood that; catch and tear up the mutilated prey, stagger the pieces towards Dawning Woods, and then Briar herself would try to tantalize the rats by getting closer with her piece to begin the baiting. Then they'd head off to the Woods, and let the action begin.

With a flick of her tail as the signal, they were off. Hurrying through the undergrowth and fluffing her fur out against the leaf-fall chill, Briarsplash tasted the air, an almost desperate edge to her scenting as she vainly fought to get some trails. They needed to hurry; she didn't want to be the one to keep Dawnstar and the others waiting.

[ Rolls: 15, 19, 16 : Successes! (i never get this lucky lolol) ]

It didn't take the Enforcer too long to pick up something, at least. With a quick crouch and dash, she'd managed to snag a plump mouse in her claws. And after another trail, she'd managed to snag a toad as well. And then on the way back to their meeting spot, she'd practically stepped onto a lizard that just about ran into her claws. So far, so good... so long as they'd manage to actually lead these nasty critters into the trap.

Feeling the burn of anticipation in her paw pads, Briar already began scoring her claws through the prey pieces, getting them nice and gangly to lay out. She was already beginning to stagger some pieces of her prey (and other bits and parts of them to fill up gaps in the trail) towards Dawning Woods, glancing around to see if her patrol would be doing the same. She saved the mouse for last, deciding that would be the final piece to lay in front of the rat's cave — the appetizer that would entice the diseased creatures into following their bloody trail.

"Alright, lay your pieces out just like mine... 'n when we're all ready, I'll try and trigger the start," she instructed, her eyes glinting as she watched carefully. "We can drop the last few pieces towards the end of the trail on our way over to the Woods. I just wanna make sure we stay together 'till then."

[ doing this route so we all only have to post once and then i'll have briar trigger the baiting, and on my next post she'll lead y'all outta there and into the woods. lmk if anything needs changing or if you have any questions hehe ]


[ @Mica - birdpaw | @Estelle - sleepysunrise | @wolfie - gutspaw ]