Sunlit Fishing [p]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 39 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Dawnstar - @Undertaker ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker scented the air cautiously as she lead the ShadowClan leader towards the place where she had encountered the lone mink. The scent had gone stale not long after, and there was no indication of any other predator taking up roots. Mistlewhisker glanced at Dawnstar. "This is where we found it." she explained, hopping down into the grove and gesturing towards a tight enclave created by the sprawling root systems. "In there. It didn't seem previously injured, or sick. I suspect it might have been a juvinile that got separated from the rest of the..." pack? Swarm? What did you call a group of minks? "rest of them." She finished.

Padding over to where she had buried the mink, she was pleased to see the earth had not been disrupted by anything. "I buried it here, so predators wouldn't catch the scent." The last thing they needed was more predators making this place their home and causing problems.

Mistlewhisker had brought Dawnstar out here to inspect the cove after reporting the mink encounter to her, as she knew the leader would likely want to do her own investigation. Especially after the disaster that was the encounter on the WindClan border. Her shoulder still ached and pulled with every movement, but she blocked the pain with expert efficiency. After all, it was how she kept herself sane after losing her eye.

Not one to sit and wait quietly--watching otheres work while she did not made her skin itch--Mistlewhisker did some vague inspecting of the root system, catching various prey scents while she waited for Dawnstar to finish doing the same. A small creek--an offshoot of Sunkissed Creek, she bet--babbled away somewhere nearby. It had been a while since she fished... she usually didn't like fish, but maybe with newleaf blooming on the horizon, she might find some frogs shaking themselves from their slumber. Perhaps once they were done here, Dawnstar would join her for a bit of hunting.

[Out of character note--I was unsure if I should make this whole thing before or after the "Surprise!" thread, so if you think it should be before let me know and I'll edit it o7]

[Undertaker]

@Mica [Mistlewhisker - having it set after the Suprise patrol works.]

The heavily scarred tabby trails behind the large black she-cat silently. The report of a mink found so deep in their territory was troubling. It meant that they were further encroaching on ShadowClan's territory. The fight at the border hadn't been all that long ago. Dawnstar bore a new scar across her face, a jagged scratch that cut across her eyelids.

She had gotten lucky, any deeper, and she would have had problems with her vision. That injury proved to be the most aggravating while it healed. The inflammation recently went down, allowing her to open and shut her eyelids. She could see out of both eyes again, but the scabbing was killing her. If she had nothing to distract her, she'd have to sit on her hind paw to keep from itching at it.

Dawnstar grunted softly after Mistlewhisker finished explaining. Dawnstar began sniffing around the cove searching for fresh mink scents or holes. This would be a great place for them to take root. The leader didn't pick up that musky, skunky scent that minks tended to give off. ShdowClan's sharp, woodsy, pine scent was in the air, but not overwhelmingly. It felt like she had been sent on a wild rabbit chase. The leader wasn't upset with that, she'd rather they search high and low and find no sign of minks over the opposite.

While sniffing around a cluster of bracken, a surprise flew at her, landing with a loud plop, on the middle of her face. Dawnstar jerked back, hissing with annoyance, her vision clouded by a slimy greenish body. She struggled with removing the frog, it was disgustingly sticky and wasn't budging an inch as she shook her head from side to side. Oh, if glares could kill!

This felt upsettingly familiar. Growing increasingly dizzy, she plopped her rear end on the ground and lifted a forepaw to poke at the stupid creature. As soon as she touched it, the frog jumped off, flinging itself to the ground and out of Dawnstar's sight before she could kill it. With her ears pinned back and a scowl on her muzzle, Dawnstar stomped to the creek without bothering to glance at Mistlewhisker.

Pouting and seething, the leader stuck a forepaw into the water to wet her paw and clean the slime off her face. Her tail whipped behind her irritable. When she had first been learning how to hunt them had been the last time she had been caught off guard by a frog. As an apprentice, she yowled in shock after getting hit in the face by the pest and frightened off all the nearby prey. Her mother and mentor, Icestar had not been pleased, she had gone to sleep hungry for the next few sunrises.

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 39 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Dawnstar - @Undertaker ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker had been occupied by the creek, tail swishing idly behind her as she scoured the babbling waters for minnows. She could hear the pawsteps of her leader, and judging by their slow, meandering pace, Mistlewhisker could judge nothing was amiss. That was until the enforcer heard a furious hiss, making her whirl around, claws out and ready to rip and tear.

When Mistlewhisker saw Dawnstar sitting on her hind quarters, plucking a frog from her face with a look of disgust, the enforcer merely angled her head curiously. Of course, internally, she was cackling her ass off. But she kept her face carefully schooled into neutrality, sheathing her claws and returning to the brook. Dawnstar's presence lumbered up beside her, the splashing of water accompanying the grumpy leader's thwacking tail. Mistlewhisker eyed the brush where the frog had disappeared, licking her lips thoughtfully. Without a word she peeled away from Dawnstar and disappeared after the frog.

It wasn't hard to catch. Frogs were her favorite, and Mistlewhisker had spent endless days as an apprentice training to stalk up on the jumpy creatures before leaping at it, not allowing it a moment to hop away. This frog was no different. A slit to the neck had its croak dying pitifully, and Mistlewhisker snatched the offender in her jaws before returning to Dawnstar.

Setting her catch at her leader's paws, Mistlewhisker sketched a playful bow, good eye sparkling with amusement. Though, this amusement wasn't at Dawnstar's misfortune. She didn't know why, but being around Dawnstar had her pushing the limits, had her toeing the line between duty and delight, ambition and danger. It was maddening, but it was so new and exciting that she felt unable to pull away. "The traitor, delivered to your paws." She purred simply, then returned to her post by the water. She was not afraid of Dawnstar, as she probably should have been. She was afraid of very little. Besides, why would she be afraid of someone who she wholeheartedly agreed with? Most of the time, that was.

After a beat of silence, Mistlewhisker spoke again. "I think I will fish before returning." She turned her one-eyed gaze to Dawnstar, a silent invitation hanging between them.

[Undertaker]

@Mica - Mistlewhisker
With each swipe of her forepaw over her face, the leader felt significantly cleaner, improving her mood. She was momentarily entranced by the ripples expanding in the water after her paws dipped into the water one final time. As the water settles, two bright amber orbs stare back at her. The leader stared at her reflection for a moment until the shiny body of a fish darts past, disturbing the reflection.

Like any cat, her attention is immediately grabbed by the water dweller. Dawnstar's never eaten fish and has never had any desire to. But then again she's never wanted to learn how to swim or climb, but did regardless. What Dawnstar enjoyed was acquiring skills, despite being a leader, she wasn't above learning anything new she could get her paws on. Whether she used the skill or wanted to was never factored into such a decision.

With her attention now fixated on the water prey, she barely acknowledged Mistlewhisker's departure. Her ears swerved towards the Enforcer retreated, but other than that the brilliant golden orbs remained stuck on the fish. How the hell does she get them out of there? Even though they were swimming mere tail lengths from her, Dawnstar did not doubt that they spooked as easily as birds and squirrels. She bet she could hook her claws into their bodies and tug one out if done right.

Her tail swung back and forth slowly identical to a pendulum as her brain worked on a solution to her delimeia. The slight twitch in her ear acknowledged Mistlewhisker's return. The leader didn't turn her head until the she-cat dropped something at her paws. Oh? Curiosity glimmered in her gaze as she noticed the frog and the amusement in the other's solo eye. A light smirk tugged at the she-cat maw. "How thoughtful." The leader meowed in return. She'd have squashed the frog for stirring up unwanted memories if she was petty enough.

However, Mistlewhisker went out of her way to hunt down and gift her the irritation, the least Dawnstar could do is keep her immature impulse in check. The next words to leave the dark she-cat maw had Dawnstar's eyes lighting up like twin suns. "You know how to fish?" She quired, smirk slightly larger than before.

"Teach me, I've wanted to learn." Even though her tone came out controlled, she did nothing to hide the excitement in her eyes nor the eager little jig her paws did. Dawnstar thought she'd have to kidnap one of the guppies to teach her at this rate.

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 39 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Dawnstar - @Undertaker ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Dawnstar's smirk should not have had as much of an effect on Mistlewhisker as it did. Her own lips pulled up into little smile, but she fought it down. The last thing she needed to look like was some overeager apprentice receiving praise for the first time. She was an enforcer, stars damn it. She wouldn't delude herself into thinking she was one of Dawnstar's most trusted, despite the implications attached to being an enforcer. She was simply another warrior, doing her job. Sometimes that job earned her a glance, and that was enough.

The frog lay forgotten at their paws as both of them turned their attention the creek, Mistlewhisker's offer hanging in the air.

Then Dawnstar was asking her to teach her how to fish. Mistlewhisker canted her head, curiosity glimmering in her eye. Hm, she supposed it made sense that most ShadowClan cats wouldn't know how to fish. Thornwing had just been very thorough with her as an apprentice. ... And maybe she had begged him to teach her.

But if Dawnstar was requesting Mistlewhisker's tutelage, then the enforcer wouldn't refuse. She nodded, settling more firmly on the bank. "Very well. First thing is to ensure your shadow does not fall over the water. It can alert fish of your presence and make them swim out of your range." In their forested territory, that was not often a problem. It was usually dim under the thick canopy, and as afternoon slid quietly into evening, the sun cast their shadows over the ground behind them.

Mistlewhisker peered into the water, a paw raising slightly in preparation for attack. "You want to scoop the fish out of the water, rather than try to skewer it right away." Her voice quieted, subconsciously trying to not scare the fish away. "Like any prey, they are easier to kill on land." Mistlewhisker kept her gaze locked firmly on the water, afraid that if she looked to the leader, she would find only boredom in her gaze. That had never bothered her with her apprentices, but this was different. "Once a fish swims in your vicinity..."

Mistlewhisker suddenly lashed out with her paw, claws unsheathed. Her large paw broke the surface of the water with a splash, ripples obscuring her success of catching the fish until she scooped it rapidly out of the water. It fell to the forest floor with a wet slap. Mistlewhisker went to kill the fish with a fierce bite, but her jaws met empty air as the fish managed a heroic flip right back into the water, its tail smacking Mistlewhisker's nose to add insult to injury.

Mistlewhisker stared at where the fish had been, jaw partly open. Embarrassment crept up her pelt, but she forced it down with a sigh. Twisting to give Dawnstar a wry look, she gestured to the water. "As the fish so kindly demonstrated, they are slippery. Killing them quickly is key." Peering into the water again, Mistlewhisker could see that some fish were still being carried by the current, completely oblivious to the murder attempt of their brethren. "Perhaps you will have better luck than I." She meowed, a hint of amusement in her voice. She didn't mind losing the fish, it provided a learning opportunity. She would catch the next one.

[Undertaker]

@Mica - Mistlewhisker
Dawnstar was puzzled wondering who had taught Mistlewhisker how to fish. A past mentor? She couldn't recall if anyone in ShadowClan knew how to fish, but it wasn't like Dawnstar asked everyone if they knew how to fish. It could be self-taught just as with trial and error she taught herself how to climb trees. She should make Mistlewhisker teach fishing lessons to the rest of the clan one of these days.

Even though the leader was listening attentively as Mistlewhisker explained the lesson, inwardly, she could not help but roll her eyes at the first lesson. It seemed like common sense not to let your shadow cast upon the water. That was a basic hunting lesson regardless of what you were hunting. But refreshers didn't hurt.

The leader's eyes drifted towards Mistlewhisker's paw as she lifted it and talked about scooping fish out of the water. She gradually memorized the instructions as Mistlewhisker's paw lashed out toward the water and out came a flying fish. The Clan leader was unfamiliar with how floppy fish were once out of the water and jerked a tad. She pinned her ears back and observed as the fish Mistlewhisker caught saved itself, flipping back straight into the water.

Dawnstar couldn't help but snicker despite her desire to keep a straight face after the fish added insult to injury by smacking the Enforcer before it left. The look on Mistlewhisker's face was also rather hilarious, she appeared stunned. The Enforcer got her act together rather quickly and sounded as amused with the whole thing as Dawnstar was. The leader gave a fanged grin, pretty certain she could do without humiliating herself, probably.

Standing a few tail lengths from where Mistlewhisker had stood, Dawnstar made sure she wasn't casting any shadows and peered down at the bodies in the water. Her amber eyes glittered with the reflections of the small water creatures darting around in the clear liquid. So now she just had to wait and scoop. The Clan leader unsheathed her claws fully and curved her paw like hook before striking. She missed, disturbing the rest of the fish with the loud splash, and was stuck watching them scatter.

For once, she wasn't cranky or annoyed with the failure. She was too busy concentrating and sitting still as stone, waiting with the utmost patience for the fish to return. Thankfully, prey creatures were stupid. She didn't have to sit idle for long before the fish were back to swimming in front of her. If she thought of this like hunting frogs, she shouldn't aim for where they were instead... Gotcha!

The ShadowClan leader scooped the fish straight out of the water and learning from Mistlewhisker's mistake, put in a bit more power in her paw as she swatted it out of water. It landed a few tail lengths from the creek. The leader turned, lashing out with her dry forepaw to pin the fish to the ground. It slipped the first time, and she quickly solved the slippery problem by hooking her claws into its side when pinning. Fish were stronger than they looked, this one flailed aggressively below her.

After staring at it for a long hard moment she found herself stuck. "It doesn't have a neck." Dawnstar meowed, baffled. Her amber eyes lifted to meet Mistlewhisker's single green one. "How do you kill it?" Where the heck were you supposed to bite it? There were strange flaps on the side where she thought the neck would be. They weren't fins, did she bite those?

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 39 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Dawnstar - @Undertaker ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker watched as Dawnstar made an attempt to fish. Her first attempt was less than graceful, and resulted in a splash of water that reached Mistlewhisker's paws. She shook one out absently as Dawnstar waited with an intense look on her face for the fish to return.

Mistlewhisker was certain she hadn't seen Dawnstar express anything other than fury, annoyance, boredom, and sadistic amusement. Seeing her so focused on something without a scowl was... new. Mistlewhisker wasn't sure what to make of it. Dawnstar's next attempt at a fish was successful, the scaled creature arcing over the creek's bank and onto the hard ground. Mistlewhisker waited for the leader to kill it and bask in her success, but Dawnstar just stood there, staring at the fish as it writhed under her strong forearm.

Mistlewhisker blinked as Dawnstar asked incredulously how to kill it. Oh. She hadn't even thought about how cats who never fished before would be confused by the lack of neck on fish. She pushed back the amusement that threatened to pull on her lips, watching Dawnstar struggle to keep the fish down. "Bite the flesh behind its eyes." She meowed, jerking her head towards the bulging, glassy orbs on each side of the fish's narrow head. Biting at any spot around its head or gills would probably kill it, but around the spine at the top had been the most effective for her. She supposed you could also just wait for it to die via suffocation but that took longer.

As Dawnstar did so, Mistlewhisker returned to the creek in order to try again. She wouldn't let herself be shown up that easily. The silvery fish darted obliviously to and fro in front of her, scales reflecting the afternoon sunlight back at her. With a snap of her paw, she managed to snag a fish and scoop it up, pulling it onto the shore and killing it with a swift bite. Aha! Finally. It had been so long since she caught a fish. Her face was littered with droplets of water, and she began grooming them away. Eugh, she would smell like fish for a while after this.

[Undertaker]

@Mica - Mistlewhisker
She swore the other molly was teasing her or something. It felt like forever trying to keep the flopping fish still while Mistlewhisker fished for an answer to the question. As soon as she received it, Dawnstar peeled her lips back and bit down where instructed. The fish struggled for a few more seconds before finally falling limp.

The leader never thought about biting around the eye, she'd have to keep that idea in mind when it came to her next battle. Her attention was drawn back to Mistlewhisker when the molly went fishing again. It appeared she had better luck this time around, and caught something. She made that one look easier than her first attempt.

Dawnstar grabbed her fish by its tail and towards some shade where she dropped the fish and took a seat. She beckoned Mistlewhisker over with a swish of her tail. "Come share this with me, if I try to eat it all myself I'll have to deal with stomach pain alongside the consistent headache that the clan gives me," Dawnstar grunted. "Bring the frog out of the sun as well."

It was rare that Dawnstar shared prey let alone sit with anyone. Her time spent with Sleepypaw appeared to reinvigorate her dormant desires for company. Outside of Sleepypaw, and occasionally Tigerflower, none remained by her side or in her den for long. That's how it's been for seasons, she had forgotten how relaxing the right company could be. Granted, this did take a great deal of trust from Dawnstar. The leader usually handed her trust out in small chunks shown by her actions rather than words.

Tigerflower earned it by just being around and an idiot, which was a feat in itself, and Sleepypaw's need to be recognized and seen earned her one of the biggest pieces of trust she's handed out so far. Lostspark's devotion to the clan and ability to overcome tragedy to pave her path had earned her Dawnstar's trust. These three had managed to climb a steep mountain and earn a place in Dawnstar's personal life, which was special in its way.

Mistlewhisker had earned a small piece of trust and Dawnstar's interest by teaching her how to fish. So this was the reward. The leader bit into the fish and swung her tail lazily behind her. The urge to spit it out was strong, her face scrunched up as she forced herself to chew. It wasn't the texture, the sliminess wasn't much different than the frogs ShadowClan ate.

The taste though, was certainly something else. Swallowing after chewing, her tongue hangs out of her mouth for a second before swiping over the leader's muzzle repeatedly. She could eat if the clan were starving, but making fish a regular meal would not happen soon.