The tabby cat felt his ears perk up. Hmm? What was Shiverwing on about now? He took a moment to process and then made a soft sound of acknowledgment, mulling over how to answer the question. It wasn't so hard to answer how he was but... he wasn't quite sure. Was he alright? He grunted and flicked his ear, looking at the other cat.
"I'm... fine, don't worry about me. You're the only shaky bird 'round here." he smiled and playfully nudged Shiverwing's shoulder.
"O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills," ~ O Captain! My Captain!; Walt Whitman ~ DesertClan Healing
He found himself raising an eyebrow at Flytail's response. Sure, he was Owlthroay's brother, but he never expected him to talk quite so bluntly. Still, what kind of cat found no fun in hunting? Maybe it was a turn of phrase he wasn't quite getting. Whatever. He held his tongue. He had to. It would be foolish to allow himself to start an argument with his senior's sibling - an unnecessary one at that. So, he gave the tom a clear nod, before leading the way into territory.
It was still cold, most of the mud was frozen solid. There was a nice area - shaded by trees. It was normally muddy around here, but with the ground caked in frost, they wouldn't need to worry about that. Hopefully, the frost wouldn't mean less chance of frogs - he'd love to find a frog. Almost instinctively, he dropped into a hunter's crouch, snuffling along till he found something on the wind or ground. Then, he realised. He hadn't said one word to Flytail. Though the tom preferred to work quietly, he figured he oughta be social - at least a little. But what to say, what to do... Ugh, this stuff was hard. It did seem like the older tom was a little antsy about something, maybe? Like, he was thinking about something big? There'd definitely been an edge to his tone - "so what is it that you actually do for fun?" the phrase slipped out as soon as he thought it up. Hopefully it wouldn't come across as snide - he was genuinely interested after hearing his previous comment. He seemed determined about something. But, he couldn't imagine what.
Flytail
44 Moons
He/Him
Flytail moved with practiced ease through the frost-covered terrain, his steps light and purposeful. He’d caught the younger tom’s question, though it had caught him off guard just a little. For a second, he wasn’t sure how to answer. Fun? It wasn’t a word he used often, but... maybe he could give something.
He glanced back over his shoulder, his voice flat but thoughtful. “Training apprentices is fun, I guess. It’s nice to see them figure things out when you’re teaching them something tricky.” He almost seemed to shrug, his tail flicking behind him as he moved forward. “And climbing trees. It’s not just for fun—it’s about being unpredictable. You can’t always be on the ground. Gotta think bigger.”
He paused, looking ahead as the wind stirred the trees. “But hunting… it’s not really fun. It’s just what we do. What we have to do.” His words weren’t harsh, just matter-of-fact, as if that was the way of things, and there was no reason to question it. After a beat of silence, he turned his blue eyes to the younger tom, a flicker of curiosity crossing his expression. “What about you? What do you find fun?” He wasn’t sure if he was expecting an answer, but the question hung in the air regardless.
Flytail
44 Moons
He/Him
Flytail moved with practiced ease through the frost-covered terrain, his steps light and purposeful. He’d caught the younger tom’s question, though it had caught him off guard just a little. For a second, he wasn’t sure how to answer. Fun? It wasn’t a word he used often, but... maybe he could give something.
He glanced back over his shoulder, his voice flat but thoughtful. “Training apprentices is fun, I guess. It’s nice to see them figure things out when you’re teaching them something tricky.” He almost seemed to shrug, his tail flicking behind him as he moved forward. “And climbing trees. It’s not just for fun—it’s about being unpredictable. You can’t always be on the ground. Gotta think bigger.”
He paused, looking ahead as the wind stirred the trees. “But hunting… it’s not really fun. It’s just what we do. What we have to do.” His words weren’t harsh, just matter-of-fact, as if that was the way of things, and there was no reason to question it. After a beat of silence, he turned his blue eyes to the younger tom, a flicker of curiosity crossing his expression. “What about you? What do you find fun?” He wasn’t sure if he was expecting an answer, but the question hung in the air regardless.
Training... He could definitely agree with that. Though, he clearly hadn't thought about it as much as Flytail had. He much preferred the satisfaction of seeing that he'd done a good job: that he'd been successful in training an apprentice. Climbing he found interesting. It wasn't an activity he was overly fond of, though he didn't mind it. "I 'spose a spar's always good. Strategy. Hunting - night hunting especially. I guess I'm more hesitant to go out at night with these Owl's on the loose, though. I reckon I'd have taken my apprentices on a night hunt, if it weren't for them. The lot of them are practically prey sized." He said that last bit as though he weren't prey sized himself - well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. He wasn't too small, it wasn't drastically noticeable, but he was clearly on the smaller side. He didn't have much bulk either. He was used to slinking around, relying on stamina and strategy - he'd never built up the huge muscles some of his clanmates possessed. He was strong, don't get him wrong, but far more endurance based. "Training's good." He nodded, "satisfying."
Sniffling along the ground, something sparked his attention, though he saw it before he smelt it. Tiny prints in the ground. It looked like mouse - then, with a smell test, it was certainly mouse. "Scent trail here." he started, "hopefully there's more than one about."
"Ha!" The tom laughed, flicking his tail against Tangledheart.
"I may not be with anyone, but I know when you're upset." The tom said, he may have been a goofball usually, but he wanted to help his friend..
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Re: ShadowClan Territory
Gorsenose held back a sneer at the retort, but he was right, she did have common sense. More than enough to know not to turn her lips up at an enforcer. "M'kay." She grunted, sniffing around for a scent when she finally got one: frog. It was loose and thin, yet trackable... So it's worth a shot. "I smell a frog. Wouldn't bet on a catch but I'll try it."
@GrimacingHeron @dino. @Daragca
Owlthroat
he/him | Shadowclan Enforcer | 44 moons Killer Aptitude T3 - Just A Scratch - Silver Tongue T2 The Dancing Bird
Gorsenose spoke first, a simple question. ”Just hunt where you can find anything, I trust you are old enough to have some common sense?” His words, rather blunt, didn’t mean anything serious. It was just the enforcer’s typical retorts.
He turned again to face young Grottopaw, ”That’s fine, c’mon.” The large tom gestured with his tail to break away slightly from the rest of the patrol in search of his own scent trail. ”Hunting in Leafbare is tough, don’t be disappointed if you don’t catch today.” Owlthroat’s words were still sharp much had a much softer edge to them when speaking to Grottopaw. He weaved into the sparse undergrowth, expecting the youngster to follow. The rest of the patrol were within earshot, he didn’t want to loose track of them in this weather.
Instead his nose pressed to the ground once more, most scents were stale and even if he found something fresh he couldn’t guarantee he’d catch with his noisy paws. ”First, you gotta look for a fresh scent. Think about the fresh kill pile, it’ll smell like that but much stronger. Opening your mouth can help too.” Their best luck today would be a burrow of some sorts, sleepy prey was easy prey. But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be some effort in actually finding one and driving them out. His eyes were roaming the brush hoping to lock onto anything, there were a few faded tracks. Nothing noteworthy. Until he caught sight of a path of sorts, an area where the leaves had been disturbed in a straight pattern. As if it were the beginning of an entrance, he didn’t mention anything not yet. He wasn’t sure if the youngster would be able to find it by scent, but as he stuck his head closer he got a sharp whiff. Much fresher than anything else.
Gorsenose held back a sneer at the retort, but he was right, she did have common sense. More than enough to know not to turn her lips up at an enforcer. "M'kay." She grunted, sniffing around for a scent when she finally got one: frog. It was loose and thin, yet trackable... So it's worth a shot. "I smell a frog. Wouldn't bet on a catch but I'll try it."
@GrimacingHeron @dino. @Daragca
Grottopaw cast the others a sideways glance before following after Owlthroat. Moving away from the others was preferable; smaller groups were better than the patrol of four Mistlewhisker had put him on. He put Gorsenose and Honeybreeze at the back of his mind and focused instead on the Enforcer.
He pressed his nose against the ground again before lifting up his head to try to catch wind of anything noticeable. Like the freshkill pile... nothing really stuck out to him, and he furrowed his brows together in frustration. What was he supposed to be smelling, even? Everything was all snow and dirt and pines. There was maybe something else underneath it all, but he couldn't be sure.
He pinned his ears back and gave Owlthroat a frustrated look. "Nothing."
Pshhh. As if he was just gonna let the conversation be about him. Sure, he was kinda bitter. But wouldn't anyone be? Like, c'mon. He just got broken up with by the love of his life (as far as he knew). Sure, he wasn't over it, but he wasn't gonna mope about it.... at least not publicly.
"I'm fine, Birdie. I mean, c'mon. It isn't so bad, we can be bachelors again." he joked, trying still to shrug the attention away from him.
"O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills," ~ O Captain! My Captain!; Walt Whitman ~ DesertClan Healing
The tom let out a huff before his usual smile settled back onto his face and he laughed aloud. It felt good, a warmth spread in his chest as he watched his companion dart off. The grin never faltered as he took off after him.
"You're gonna pay for that!" he growled playfully, feeling quite childlike all at once in the simple joy he was experiencing.
"O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills," ~ O Captain! My Captain!; Walt Whitman ~ DesertClan Healing
Re: ShadowClan Territory
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