ShadowClan Territory

[Undertaker]

Originally Posted by Ombre Party

Rabbithop nodded. ”Of course I can help.” He purred with laughter. He watched as the deputy walked in circles, eyes glimmering in amusement as he did so. Using his teeth, Rabbithop began to gently pull them out of his fur, Rabbithop got the few needles out quickly, making sure not to pull his fur. “There, all fixed.” He couldn’t help his eyes from sparkling in amusement. He backed away from Beastspark so they could talk face to face. Rabbithop stretched and glanced around, trying to think of a good place to go to find snakes. Why does he want to catch snakes? He wondered but gave a shake of his pelt, partially to dislodge any pine needles he might’ve gotten on his short white pelt but also to stop his wondering. It wasn’t his place to judge any cat.
“Where do you think we should go?” He asked Beastspark. He didn’t know exactly where they could go only that they might have had a few options. He breathed in the heavy scent of pine and Rabbithop couldn’t help but feeling relaxed. Excitement fizzed through his paws at the idea of a relaxed hunt. There was no wrath they would face if they missed their snake or other prey - not that Rabbithop believed they would - and it was relaxing to Just chat and walk through the forest where he would feel at one with the earth. He motioned for Beastspark to lead the way with a friendly dip of his head.

Unlike most who would probably flatten their ears with embarrassment, Beastspark didn't mind Rabbithop's laughter even if it was directed at him. If he could be a source of amusement for a clanmate than why not? It was a little hard to keep his tail still as Rabbithop began tugging the needle out. He was very careful about it which is why it might have felt so ticklish. His tail wasn't touched by many so it was a strange sensation, the deputy somehow managed to hold in his laughter in.

Once he was finished, Beastspark turned to try and groom his tail yet as expected it didn't hold still. He gave up after a few seconds and purred a warm thanks to Rabbithop. Beastspark had acquired a few extra pine needles in his long coat after trying to groom his tail, they were stuck to his flank so he could pull them out later. He made sure to keep his tail raised high to avoid dealing with the problem again and tilted his head at the warrior's question. Snakes...where to find them? "Let's try near the Waterbarn. I noticed some rocks along the one side in the direction of the Roaring Lake." He answered as his paws danced in place.

He's could practically feel Rabbithop's energy crackling off him in sparks of excitement. It was catchy, Beastspark restrained the urge to sprint all the way there. At the indication to lead, he padded ahead of the warrior keeping his steps a bit slower so Rabbithop could keep up. Silentpaw had taught him how to slow down when he was traveling with her, his large size and longer legs could make it difficult for the average or smaller cats to keep pace with him. It was a little rough for him at first, but now he's gotten used to it. "If you spot anything before we reach the Waterbarn feel free to catch it." He adds, Beastspark's primary goal was a snake, of course, he only needed only one of them. He'd have to make sure he caught a few other preys to eat along the way.

[Moonraven]

Originally Posted by Salt

Crocusblaze watched their apprentice with warm regard as she slipped into a hunting crouch. Though they could pick up a few minor mistakes an experienced warrior wouldn't make, this was a new apprentice. They wouldn't nitpick at this point in time when their prey was so close by. A first kill was an important step for an apprentice and they wouldn't be surprised if Elfinpaw missed- and they certainly wouldn't be disappointed. It wasn't uncommon to miss on the first try, especially for a cat who couldn't see their intended target. The huge cat's heart pounded in their tufted ears as they watched her careful approach. They were visibly excited, proud, and nervous for the young she-cat.

"Good job!" They meowed suddenly- their excitement getting the best of them and made them a bit louder than perhaps they intended. They purred softly with pride for her, kneading a bit at the peaty ground. Noticing her wound, they made their way closer on careful paws, lowering their head slightly to sniff at Elfinpaw's wounded paw. "Perhaps we should go back to camp and get that checked out to make sure it doesn't get infected," they advised. "We can keep going if you want, but mouse bites can be nasty."

For a moment though, they did want to congratulate her. And she deserved and praise she got, it wasn't mindless flattery. "You did so well Elfinpaw. First catch on your first try! I'm so proud of you," the grey cat mewed, their voice soft and honest. They weren't sure if they could articulate exactly how well she had done that day, but they'd leave it at that. They licked her forehead in a friendly manor and stepped back, looking around at the forest for a moment before glancing back to the direction camp was.

"But maybe...If you wanted to, I might be able to teach you some battle moves. I'm assuming you won't be coming to the ThunderClan raid, but it's always best to be prepared." Crocusblaze was staunchly against attacking their Clan and their camp of all places but they didn't see a way to get out of it. They'd go easy on their opponents sure but they were aware of the possibility that they wouldn't come back from this battle. Just because Icestar had ordered them to not kill any of their opponents didn't mean they wouldn't do it back in self defense.
@Moonraven

The little apprentice was astonished to hear the praise that came from her mentor's mouth. It sounded genuine and full of excitement and very unexpected. "I did a good job?" Her voice wobbled as she tried to comprehend why she was getting praised for this. Elfinpaw was a aware that she had caught the mouse, but she also got bit by the little critter and had nearly missed literally only managing to catch it by the tail. Shouldn't she be getting criticized or something? Isn't that what a normal mentor would do, tell her what she had done wrong? She didn't get it at all.
"How come I did a good job?" It might be a stupid question but it was a question none the less. She let her mentor know that she was severely confused by the praise with the way her head was slanted so far to the side it was a shock she hadn't tipped over yet. The tiny tortie pulled her paw back a little when noticed Crocusblaze had gotten a little to close to it. She knew that they wouldn't hurt her or anything like that. It was just an instinctive reaction when others got to close to her injuries no matter how small.
"I don't get it, caught it but I'm pretty sure I didn't do it ri-" The apprentice breaks off her sentence and indulges in a purring fit at the lick to the forehead. She didn't get a lot of licks to the forehead, it left a warm and fuzzy feeling that swelled into unbridled joy. Just like that her worries and concerns vanished, it was so easy to please the little cat.
"Okay, but I don't like the medicine den. There are waskerspurts in there and they get in my nose and then I sneeze and sneeze and sneeze and then boogies get everywhere." Elfinpaw sighed dreamily, she was simply very sensitive to strong scents and herbs were overwhelming for her.
"I have no clue how to fight, I'd rather not learn at all. I really don't like hurting others." The she-cat head dropped as she pushed herself to her paws, weary of her small injury.
"Why do we fight other clans? We're all just trying to live and we're all basically fighting for the same thing, to protect our clan. I don't understand why we can't all just help and talk to each other instead of pointlessly trying to hurt and kill each other." This was something that's been bothering her since she first joined the clan. If everyone helped everyone then they could all be happy. If they just asked instead of taking or all pitched in when one was falling no one would get hurt or die. She didn't want to fight anyone and it was really scary thinking about that one day she could lose her own life or those of her clanmates. They had Starclan...but it wasn't the same, was it? It might take forever to meet your loved ones again there...

[RAT KING]

"Because, you caught a mouse on your first try darlin'!" Crocusblaze exclaimed with a purr, eyes gleaming with a mix of pride and happiness for the young tortie. "We can get into the nitty-gritty of it later on. All that matters here is that you've shown you've got a lot of potential," they told her eagerly. "If I'd sat there on my behind and done nothin' but criticize you, you wouldn't have caught it 'cause you would've been too busy second guessing yourself. Sometimes instincts and feelin' will do you some good on it's own."

The grey and white tabby cat gave a funny sounding little snort sound when Elfinpaw described her experience in the Medicine Den. It was all in good humor though. "Goodness, the world you're livin' in sure sounds interesting. You ought to tell me more about your flitterbugs and your waskerspurts n' anything else that might be plaguing you sometime." In truth though, it was more they enjoyed their apprentice's company and would like to get to know her better, and have a real proper friendship.

Their attitude was subdued quickly at her question about Clan fighting. A valid and thoughtful question, but one that didn't exactly fit with the vibe. Crocusblaze cleared their throat and took a moment to formulate an answer. "Well, I wondered about the same thing when I got here too...I was a kittypet, you know," they told her softly- but not the sweet kind of soft, it was that they weren't exactly sure where to begin. They thought her opinion on fights and hurting others was well-grounded and weighty, and they had the same attitude towards the warring of the Clans.

"I'm no expert so don't put all your faith in me here- but I think it has a lot to do with pride," they began gingerly. "To most ShadowClanners, it's obvious which Clan is the best, which Clan is the strongest, and which Clan has the most well trained and respectable members. You ask RiverClan the same question, and they'd say they were sure too. Same with ThunderClan and WindClan. And yet, they'd all have different answers. It's a real...us-against-them mentality, but for every different Clan they're the us and everybody else is the them. Get it?"

They shifted their paws a bit in thought before continuing. "Sometimes it isn't just about food or living space though, I can at least see why some of that stuff is worth fighting for. Without food, there's starvation and chaos and sometimes you can't afford to help anybody else without hurtin' yourself. But then there's other times- like what's going on these days- where it's just pride that's bein' hurt. You don't take our help or you break our alliance, so you're disrespecting us and therefore our pride, and you deserve to get hurt because of it." Crocusblaze made it obvious from their sarcastic tone that these were just examples, however it was more or less true. They didn't agree with these practices either way, but it was just the way of Clan life. Always had been, always would be, they suspected.

"I wouldn't recommend you go telling anybody this, but I'm personally not a fan. Sure I got the name Crocusblaze for somethin' and I do take pride in my fightin' skills, but I'm not a fan of it really. More a natural talent than a passion of mine. I don't believe that a popped ego is something to shed blood over, but it's just the way Clans work and I made the conscious decision to stay here and make this place my home. This just is what comes with Clan life, it's just a normal life hazard around here I guess," they told her. "Heh, sorry for soundin like such a downer."
@Moonraven

[Pluto]

Originally Posted by Undertaker

Unlike most who would probably flatten their ears with embarrassment, Beastspark didn't mind Rabbithop's laughter even if it was directed at him. If he could be a source of amusement for a clanmate than why not? It was a little hard to keep his tail still as Rabbithop began tugging the needle out. He was very careful about it which is why it might have felt so ticklish. His tail wasn't touched by many so it was a strange sensation, the deputy somehow managed to hold in his laughter in.

Once he was finished, Beastspark turned to try and groom his tail yet as expected it didn't hold still. He gave up after a few seconds and purred a warm thanks to Rabbithop. Beastspark had acquired a few extra pine needles in his long coat after trying to groom his tail, they were stuck to his flank so he could pull them out later. He made sure to keep his tail raised high to avoid dealing with the problem again and tilted his head at the warrior's question. Snakes...where to find them? "Let's try near the Waterbarn. I noticed some rocks along the one side in the direction of the Roaring Lake." He answered as his paws danced in place.

He's could practically feel Rabbithop's energy crackling off him in sparks of excitement. It was catchy, Beastspark restrained the urge to sprint all the way there. At the indication to lead, he padded ahead of the warrior keeping his steps a bit slower so Rabbithop could keep up. Silentpaw had taught him how to slow down when he was traveling with her, his large size and longer legs could make it difficult for the average or smaller cats to keep pace with him. It was a little rough for him at first, but now he's gotten used to it. "If you spot anything before we reach the Waterbarn feel free to catch it." He adds, Beastspark's primary goal was a snake, of course, he only needed only one of them. He'd have to make sure he caught a few other preys to eat along the way.

Rabbithop was glad the tom hadn’t taken his laughter too seriously. He had no intention of making any cats angry or hurt and the deputy’s happy personality was a relief - and frankly stark contrast to their leaders - and Rabbithop welcomed it. Had he a tail he would’ve flicked it with happiness but since he didn’t, his tail-Bob waved back and forth once. It was an odd sight, truly, for Rabbithop to do that, but he felt that Beastspark wouldn’t say anything. Rabbithop padded after the large tom. He could tell he was trying to slow done his large strides so Rabbithop could keep up, and though he was grateful, he could also feel the tom’s want to run and go fast.
He began to jog swiftly, mouth open wide to scent for any prey underneath the heavy scent of pine. Finally he scented a squirrel. Immediately, he stopped and hunkered down into the hunting crouch, licking his maw while excitement made his paws feel tingly. He padded forward softy, glad that his tail was a bob so he didn’t have to worry about it. Mud already dotted his white fur, helping him blend in as the squirrel nibbles on a acorn in the roots of a pine tree. He padded towards it from behind, staying downwind and making sure he didn’t alert the prey of his presence. Finally he leaped at the squirrel, which tried to dart out of range as soon as it saw his shadow flying towards him with a startled and terrified squeal. Unsheathed claws grabbed the squirrel’s tail and Rabbithop dashed in for the killing bite, cutting the tony creatures squeals short.
I almost lost it. He sighed as he picked up the prey and headed back towards Beastspark. “Let’s share.” He said once he gently put the plump creature down between them. “You can have the first bite.” He grinned at Beastspark, happy to have a chance to share this hunting trip and this prey with a cat who was Beginning to be more of a friend than just a clanmate. Looking up at the sky and sent a quick prayer of thanks to StarClan and to the land where the squirrel came from.

[Pluto]

( @Simul )

Flintfreckle padded through the dense, piney-smelling forest with a content sigh. He had a litter of kits on the way, he was all healed from the raid since he had barely been injured, and he felt like it was a beautiful day in the forest. Prey scent hung heavy in the air and he opened his jaws, mouth-watering. Maybe I'll hunt while I walk. He thought passively. With a shake of his black and white pelt, he got into a hunters crouch, relishing in the deep prey scent and listening to the skitter of little paws in the under growth. Finally, he spotted a vole among the gnarled roots of a pine tree and Flintfreckle padded forward, paws barely touching the ground as he quickly padded forward. He quickly leaped when he was in range, and the little creature let out a terrified squeal before he dealt a quick killing blow. "Thank you StarClan for this prey." He breathed, burying the prey to get later on his way back. As he continued to walk, a semi-fimiliar scent tickled his nose. He stopped walking and breathed deeply, brows furrowed. "Hello?" He asked, recognizing the scent as a cat's.

[Simul]

@Ombre Party

Whoo boy.. it was hard for Blumiere to stop himself from continuing on into these foreboding lands, the territory of ShadowClan...
Why was he here? Who knows! Everything started with a simple thought in his head throughout his travels, his adventure along the lands..
He'd been out and about whenever.. familiarity struck. He wasn't all that far from ShadowClan itself, and judging by the scent markers around, he was just around their border...
...Maybe it wouldn't hurt to check things out. Blumiere is far more skilled than.. than Whitepaw was, so he'd be better off than him in a fight.
And thus, he went.. he made his way in, in the territory he'd left so many moons ago to die in his past.
His scent was flooded at first with the markers of ShadowClan, so really, his nose was no good to find another cat.. but surely they wouldn't notice, hm? He was fast, he was slick, no way would he get into a battle.
He glances along the trees abound, his eyes flicking from place to place... where memories struck. How many moons he'd spent trying to forget some of this, who knows, but it felt.. good to know again, even if he wouldn't let himself remember the next day.
One thing he would remember though- the call of another cat. Nothing aggressive, nothing intimidating, but...
Confused.
His ears flicked before he'd start to glance his way on around, dipping his form down...
It felt risky, but hey, they didn't seem to be mad. Whoever it was.
"...'Ello? Who said that?"

[Dustbunny]

Duststorm walked from shadow to shadow in the forest of her clans territory. She'd meant to go hunting, but got a bit distracted along the way. She was lost in thought, and just on autopilot walking in the paths where her dark coat would best help her blend in. She loved her clan, Shadowclan was her home, but she didn't really feel close to any cat. For what must have been the millionth time, she remembered her littermates.

She was born one of four kits, two brothers and a sister. No matter how much time passed she could still picture them, her sister was pure white, like fallen snow. Her brothers had dark coats like her, but theirs had bright white patches all over. Maybe that's why she lived. Maybe it was just luck that the fox didn't eat her too. She wondered often what they would be like now.

Duststorm shook her head, trying to shoo away the memories so she could get some hunting done. There was prey to be caught and a clan to be fed, certainly no time for reminiscing and wondering what might have been. She closed her green eyes and focused on the scents around her, focusing on prey.

[Dovey]

Originally Posted by Dustbunny

Duststorm walked from shadow to shadow in the forest of her clans territory. She'd meant to go hunting, but got a bit distracted along the way. She was lost in thought, and just on autopilot walking in the paths where her dark coat would best help her blend in. She loved her clan, Shadowclan was her home, but she didn't really feel close to any cat. For what must have been the millionth time, she remembered her littermates.

She was born one of four kits, two brothers and a sister. No matter how much time passed she could still picture them, her sister was pure white, like fallen snow. Her brothers had dark coats like her, but theirs had bright white patches all over. Maybe that's why she lived. Maybe it was just luck that the fox didn't eat her too. She wondered often what they would be like now.

Duststorm shook her head, trying to shoo away the memories so she could get some hunting done. There was prey to be caught and a clan to be fed, certainly no time for reminiscing and wondering what might have been. She closed her green eyes and focused on the scents around her, focusing on prey.

Chasepaw ran up to Duststorm. "Can I hunt with you?"

[nykyrian]

Originally Posted by Dirtfur

Redheart padded next to Rainshadow. He slowed down, trying to not go far ahead of the limping warrior. It was nice outside of the camp; the trees whistled sweetly and there was birdsong. This could be a good walk to think about more session plans for Mirepaw. The young warrior locked his eyes on Rainshadow, purring. The purring stopped as Redheart could see a blank face on the old she-cat. Is she not having fun? Maybe this walk is supposed to be serious, Redheart thought, forcing his smile into a frown, seriously.

"Oh! I'm doing alright, how about you?" the red tom meowed.

@Dirtfur
I'm good she said with a tiny smile It's nice outside today Rainshadow looked up at the sky with her yellow eyes. Feeling the sun beat it's rays on her silky coat

[lucidense]

Shadedusk padded out of camp, unaware of Frostthorn following him. He's seen too much. Frostthorn thought as he snarled under his breath. Shadedusk went close to the river, and Frostthorn leapt. Shadedusks ears perked, but it was too late. Frostthorn hissed, knocking Shadedusk off the edge. Shadedusk clawed at the side, trying to get back up, and snarled to Frostthorn, "You traitor! I knew I couldn't trust you!" His gaze was filled with rage, as well as sadness, as if he was disapointed of what Frostthorn turned out to be. Frostthorn looked hurt by Shadedusks gaze, then gave an icy glare, and a sly, evil smile. "I'll enjoy this, I really will." With that, Frostthorn stomped on Shadedusk's paw, letting him plunge into the river below. Shadedusk felt the water fill his mouth, and as he looked up, the last thing he saw was a bright shining star in the sky, and Frostthorns icy, ruthless glare. (No witnesses please- I want frostthorn to last as an evil cat.)