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Post by gingerluna on Feb 23, 2019 10:54:03 GMT -6
The cold snap had everyone curling closer at night, and few warriors were willing to left camp unless they were on patrol. There was little prey to be found, and last night, most of the warriors went hungry so the rest of the Clan could eat. Acorndrop arose with an empty belly at dawn, creeping out into the bitter cold of the clearing. He needed to go out hunting and bring back something. Usually he preferred to hunt rabbits alone, but now he couldn't risk losing one, and he wasn't at his full strength.
He spotted Coyotestorm slipping out of the warmth of the warrior's den, and hoped the tom was thinking the same thing. He stepped towards him, keeping his voice low as he spoke.
"Want to go hunting with me?" he asked. "We'll have more luck with the rabbits together, and they ought to be on the moors right now." They'd been gnawing at bark to survive. Leafbare was miserable for just about everyone.
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Post by niftyshark on Feb 23, 2019 21:01:56 GMT -6
Coyotestorm was most definitely not thinking the same thing Acorndrop was. The cold that was as bad as ever in the last few days seemed to reach into his bones, and he didn’t even feel warm in his nest. The only thing he could think of was moving around until he felt warm, but the small fresh-kill pile meant most would go hungry, so he didn’t have as much freedom to waste energy. The snow was minimal, but a pervasive layer of frost seemed to coat everything. He was about to leave camp when the red tom approached him. He turned to look at Acorndrop, staring at him as if he had two heads. “You think I want to go hunting?” He paused for far longer than was necessary, before he added on slyly, “Sure, fine, though you can walk ahead so I know where the ice patches are.”
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Post by gingerluna on Feb 23, 2019 22:34:30 GMT -6
Acorndrop was taken aback by Coyotestorm's answer. If they didn't hunt, how would they eat? "Yes, I do," he replied somewhat snappily, turning away from the tom to walk ahead as suggested. "Sorry if I wrongly assumed you wanted to eat tonight. Or do you like watching your clanmates starve?" He glanced back at the tom. "It's miserable out, but food's the only thing that'll make it any better." Would Acorndrop rather be in his nest? Of course. But he had a nephew, a sister, and an apprentice who needed to eat, not to mention the rest of RavenClan. So he was going to ignore what /he/ wanted and see if he could find something to bring back for them. Like a warrior.
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Post by niftyshark on Feb 24, 2019 7:39:00 GMT -6
The sandy-colored tabby laughed as he followed Acorndrop out of camp. “No, I love starving. Thank you for making that distinct observation.” Perhaps Acorndrop’s stomach was talking for him, or maybe he always tied his own tail in a knot. Coyotestorm especially loved getting a rise out of those types. “I love it so much that I agreed to go hunting with you. Mystifying, isn’t it?” A particularly bitter wind kicked up in their direction, and he shivered against it. The frost burned his paw pads, and at that point he almost though going out was futile. What could they possibly even find? It was so cold that he couldn’t even taste anything but ice on the air.
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Post by gingerluna on Feb 24, 2019 10:26:59 GMT -6
Acorndrop let out an irritated huff, surging forward into a trot to warm himself up and biting back the urge to tell the other tom to shut up, because he knew it wouldn't lead anywhere. Coyotestorm was just on edge, they all were, and Acorndrop /had/ responded in a condescending way. As they approached the moor, Acorndrop was still shivering, and the wind made it so much worse. "We ought to check...the rabbit burrows," he said, crouching with his fur fluffed up at the base of a tree. "Maybe one of us can crawl in and flush them out, and the other can wait at the exit and catch them. I'll do whatever you don't want to," he said, not wanting to spark another disagreement. "Or if you have another plan..." He let himself trail off, honestly hoping the tom would announce he'd spotted a big, beautiful bird just sitting in the open waiting to be stalked.
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Post by niftyshark on Feb 24, 2019 18:52:16 GMT -6
Coyotestorm stood a short distance away from Acorndrop, enduring the wind as the other tom took cover by a tree. Crawling through rabbit holes sounded just as terrible as waiting for possibly nothing to be chased out. He really didn’t know what else, if anything, that they would find. “Wiggling through the dirt sounds like our only choice. You can go do that. I’ll wait by wherever you think the rabbit will pop out. Or for nothing to. That sounds even more likely,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. He nodded as an indication for Acorndrop to lead again, fur fluffed against the unrelenting wind.
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Post by gingerluna on Feb 24, 2019 19:39:59 GMT -6
"Stop being so negative," Acorndrop huffed, standing up and letting his fur fall flat as he stepped out onto the moor. "If the rabbits aren't on the moor, they have to be /somewhere/." There'd been a stale scent yesterday near the far warrens. He slowed as they approached it. He couldn't smell any rabbits. With a sigh, Acorndrop stepped closer to the den, and scented again. He turned back to Coyotestorm. "I think something's down there," he whispered. "This tunnel exits over there," he nodded towards the hillock. "Just on the other side, near the bush." He stepped closer to the tunnel. "If I die in these tunnels, I'm coming back from StarClan to haunt you," he muttered under his breath.
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Post by niftyshark on Feb 24, 2019 19:57:58 GMT -6
He rolled his eyes. “First I want to see my clanmates starve, now I’m too negative? I can’t be both apathetic and pessimistic, Acorndrop. You need to choose something positive too.” His teeth clattered in a shaky smile, and he turned his gaze to where the other warrior pointed. He could see the bush in the distance, then immediately started to head over without any words of regard. Coyotestorm stopped by the bush and examined the rabbit warren. It was a narrow entrance, and he wasn’t convinced anything larger than a rabbit would fit through. And there was definitely no way he was going in to save Acorndrop if he got stuck. He’d simply have to tell the clan his story of heroic sacrifice. He snorted and sat down close to the base of the bush.
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Post by gingerluna on Feb 24, 2019 20:55:57 GMT -6
Acorndrop crept through the burrow, operating by scent and touch, as he could see very little. The smell of rabbit was overwhelming, and it was difficult for him to scent out individuals. Eventually, he heard a low squeal, and then a mass scrabbling. Acorndrop hissed, rushing forward as the rabbits all raced away from him. Hopefully, some were heading for the exit. "Coyotestorm! They're coming!" he called, spotting a speck of light in the distance and continuing towards it. The tunnel narrowed as it sloped upwards, and Acorndrop squeezed uncomfortably through the dirt. "Great StarClan," he muttered to himself. "We better catch something."
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Post by niftyshark on Feb 26, 2019 8:49:04 GMT -6
Coyotestorm never ended up hearing Acorndrop. He remained still, half-watching the warren exit, startled when a rabbit came racing out. He cursed and stood up to go after it, but it was already gone. Turning a piercing gaze towards the warren, he crouched and willed it out of existence. Instead of that happening, another rabbit charged out and nearly crashed into his face. His paws extended out before he thought about it and he held a squirming rabbit under his paws. Trying to maneuver it so he could finish it, he was entirely surprised when a third one poked its head out. It bolted, but he moved a paw with lightning speed from the rabbit he held and somehow managed to hook the other one. The pale tabby struggled to hold the two of them down—they were smaller, but they wanted to escape. “Where is that mouse-brain?” he snarled as he felt teeth sink into his paw.
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Post by gingerluna on Feb 26, 2019 9:30:29 GMT -6
Acorndrop continued to shuffle towards the light. He heard squeals and knew Coyotestorm the plan was working. He surged forward, only to crash into a fleeing rabbit. He hissed, raising a paw to claw the rabbit. In a panic, the animal clawed him back, and he felt claws rake his chest. He hissed again in pain, managing to bite the rabbit's leg. He heard the animal shriek and saw its shadow as it darted out of the tunnel in a panic. Acorndrop burst out of the tunnel after it, only to pause as he saw Coyotestorm's dilemma. He quickly turned to help, pinning down one of the rabbits and delivering a killing bite. "I'm gonna go after that one," he said, nodding to the rabbit limping away. "You good?"
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Post by niftyshark on Feb 26, 2019 13:57:13 GMT -6
He bared his teeth. “Took you long enough.” Coyotestorm ignored the question and focused on finishing the rabbit that remained under his grasp. He did so quickly and easily; he knew it was worn out. He could feel a steady trickle from his injured paw, but he didn’t bother to look at it. Instead he pushed the two rabbits together and picked them up in his jaws, then he limped after Acorndrop slowly. The ground was too hard to bury them in, and there was no way he was letting the prey out of his sight. They’d also freeze if they were left for too long, so it was better to get them back to camp quickly so the kits and elders could eat them... or so it was supposed to go. He wanted to sneak in a few bites, but not when Acorndrop would complain about it if he saw.
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Post by gingerluna on Feb 26, 2019 18:54:02 GMT -6
Acorndrop sighed, giving up on being friendly with the tom, and charging forward to tackle the rabbit. It hadn't gotten far, and so it only took a few long strides and one lunge to pin and kill it. He turned back to look at Coyotestorm, nodding to him as he walked back, feeling the wind again and wanting desperately to return to camp and see the queens and elders fed. That'd make this all worth it.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 1, 2019 12:18:43 GMT -6
Coyotestorm struggled more than he wanted to admit. Carrying two rabbits was one thing, but his paw burned and he was limping more with each step. He cursed the rabbits quietly, though he knew in the end they were helpful, even at the expense of his suffering. He huffed around their fur and kept his pace as best he could—he barely managed until camp came into view. He moved past Acorndrop to enter in first and dropped the rabbits unceremoniously on the barebones fresh-kill pile. Murmurs of excitement reached his ears, but he ignored them in favor of shuffling to the side of camp. He glanced at his paw and saw blood smeared on his pawpads, and he sighed. His suffering... the thought that he had earlier seemed to echo tauntingly in his mind. If this was suffering he had a lot to learn.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 1, 2019 18:46:37 GMT -6
Acorndrop followed after Coyotestorm, watching as he limped along with the rabbits. He wanted to offer help, but knew the tom would simply retort with a snappy comment. It'd just be a waste of breath and time. So instead he followed after, shivering in the woods and at long last setting his rabbit down besides Coyotestorm's. The other warrior limped off, and with a low sigh, he stepped over to him. "How's your paw?" he asked, not really feeling the words. Every conversation with Coyotestorm felt like climbing through that rabbit burrow - wandering through the dark with sharp claws waiting at each wrong turn.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 2, 2019 10:55:47 GMT -6
He was so distracted that he didn't initially notice the red warrior approach him. When he did, he froze. Coyotestorm's instinctive response was to hide his paw from view. His reflexive response was to hold it out in view and make a sarcastic comment about it. However, he wasn't expecting the question from Acorndrop just as much as he wasn't expecting him to approach. The fact that the question was drier than a dried-out river notwithstanding, he was decidedly unprepared for any sentiment at all. His paw hung in limbo as he battled his indecision, and eventually he managed to speak. "It's not the worst." He couldn't bring himself to answer with humor or wittiness, not when his thoughts were swirling in the dark recesses of his mind.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 3, 2019 11:15:21 GMT -6
Acorndrop watched Coyotestorm in his dilemma, letting out a long, low sigh. "You know, there's nothing wrong with asking for help," he said, giving his scratches another lick. "That's part of being in a Clan. Do you want me to go and get Dartwing?" He didn't understand Coyotestorm; his pessimism, his stubborn independence, but maybe he ought to. The tom was his clanmate, after all.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 3, 2019 15:35:15 GMT -6
Coyotestorm narrowed his eyes. Of course Acorndrop would go for sound logic. Any normal cat, he assumed, would probably go for help. But he didn't really see himself in the same light, and there was no real reason to try and see himself any differently. "You think I'm gonna waste his time for this?" He finally held up his paw. The bite was a puncture wound, and while it wasn't deep, walking on it made it bleed worse than if he had kept off of it. "It looks bad, but it isn't really. It will heal on its own." He turned his head away briefly, then said, "Your concern is noted, but I promise I'll be fine." It was the closest he could get to playing nice, and even that much effort left an odd taste in his mouth.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 3, 2019 16:07:56 GMT -6
Acorndrop hadn't expected the tom to say anything else, although his tone was more tired than snappy. "Well, regardless, thanks for coming out with me today," he said, looking over at the rabbits. Spottedeye and Brokentooth were splitting one with a few of the apprentices, and he could see Ashenstar calling her kits over to eat. "They're eating because of you," he said, hoping Coyotestorm would finally brighten up a bit. He turned to step away.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 3, 2019 17:09:48 GMT -6
"Yeah... I guess..." Coyotestorm trailed off when he saw Acorndrop turn to walk away, wondering what the point of mentioning those clanmates was. He could obviously see that they were eating, so why did it matter enough for it to be mentioned? He watched the receding tom for only a moment before he too looked away and focused on cleaning his paw, attempting to stay out of view of keen eyes.
(FIN)
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