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Post by Crane on Jul 15, 2009 3:14:22 GMT -5
s p i c e f u r !
Wake me up from this awful dream If he changes you I think I'm gonna scream Can't you see I'm not thinking of me? I'm just trying to save you from yourself.
Spicefur raced across the grassy moor, relishing the feel of the sun on his fur, the wind in his face and the gentle rolling of his muscles as he ran. It felt great to be out of camp and running free, although he was supposed to be hunting. And his friend Greenheart was right behind him... Somewhere. Oh well, she'd catch up. Spicefur reckoned there was nothing better than running in the warm Green-leaf sun under open skies with a friend beside - or behind - you. And the scent of rabbit was strong in the air. Spicefur was having far too much fun to stop and catch one. Although... It was why we was here... He didn't want to give Greenheart the wrong impession about him. He skidded clumsily to a halt, and flipped head over paws, landing in a sitting position. He was surpirsied it hadn't hurt at all. "Uh, hehe," he laughed awkardly. He was a total mouse-brain! Why did he have to make an idiot of himself in front of Greenheart? He hating being so clumsy. He coughed. "Uh, I'll try and scent something," he said sheepishly. He got to his paws, and craned his neck to inhale deeply. The scents were overwhelming, since they were so close to Fourtrees. There was ThunderClan, RiverClan and ShadowClan as well as his beloved WindClan. He thought he detected a faint trace of a loner, but they were long gone. What he was really interested in were the multiple prey scents. One blackbird, one mouse, and two rabbits. He grinned.
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Post by stormbringer on Jul 15, 2009 14:57:11 GMT -5
As they set off from the tree, Greenheart kept a little behind Spicefur. She concentrated on long, long strides, trying to stretch the warm stiffness from her muscles. She’d been lazing about far too long. As they neared Fourtrees, Greenheart wondered about how long this would take. Her lack of sleep meant she’d be ready to drop by sundown. Of course, it was sunhigh now. There wouldn’t be a problem. She settled into the familiar rhythm of her run and came in shortly behind Spicefur, stifling laughter as he fell over himself. But she was laughing with him as she almost did the same thing. She hadn’t realized how far they’d come.
Greenheart waited as he scented the air, and she tasted it as well. She was used to mostly rabbits, seeing as they were so plentiful on the moor. There was a mouse around here somewhere. And bird.. Blackbird, perhaps? A second sniff confirmed it.
“Let’s go for the exotic prey.” She half laughed quietly. She didn’t want to scare anything away. “There’ll be rabbits on the way ba-” She stopped talked, and her ear swiveled backwards. The soft scrabble of tiny paws in the brush behind her. With a knowing smile, she dropped into a crouch, swiveling lightly. She took her weight on her haunches, falling into a less familiar crouch. Her paws danced over the ground, and she stopped before a thick tangle of branches. Emerald eyes narrowed. Her tail twitched, and she sprang forward, disappearing into the branches. The wood ripped at her pelt, but on white paw fell on soft fur. She flexed her claws, pinning the mouse to the ground, and forced her other paw forward. There was a satisfying snap as its spine broke. Unused to the heavy undergrowth, she struggled through and picked up the mouse. It was normal sized, for a mouse, though smaller than most rabbits. She turned in a clearer patch and leapt out.
“Remind me how forest cats live?” She asked, shaking clinging bits of growth from her pelt. How could anyone survive, closed in by the trees? How did they move through the undergrowth, drifting like ghosts onto tiny prey like this? It was hard to believe ThunderClan lived almost exclusively in forest. Or that they fed themselves on small prey like this. They had to hunt many, many more small animals than WindClan did.
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Post by Crane on Jul 17, 2009 17:53:43 GMT -5
s p i c e f u r !
[/color] Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius. ~Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[/right][/blockquote] "Let's go for the exotic prey. Ther'll be rabbits on the way ba-" Grenheart cut off. Spicefur whirled and looked at her. What, an enemy patrol? Rogues? Oh, right, prey. Greenheart had dropped into a strange crouch, that Spicefur recognizedbut had never tried himself. He supposed his entor didn;t think he'd ever go hunting in a forest. Spicefur didn't think he would either... But still, here he was. He watched as Greenheart slunk through the undergrowth. She sprang forward and caught the mouse efficiently. Spicefur suppressed an amused snort as Greenheart struggled to get the mouse out of the thick undergrowth. "Remind me how forest cats live?" she asked. Spicefur chuckled. "Like little mice," he joked. "Living under all this green stuff... You'd trip on all this undergrowth every five seconds!" Now, it was his turn. He scented the air again. It seemed one of the rabbits had fled after the kerfuffle with the mouse, but the blackbird was still there. He glanced around, trying to pinpoin it's exact location. The dappled shadows were confusing his eyes. But then he saw it, snacking on a worm only a few pawsteps away. He bunched his muscles and leapt for it. It flew up as soon as it head his paws leave th ground. He landed where it had took off, pushed himself up onto his rear legs, and swiped at it with his front paws. He stuck its wing and it spiraled to the ground, but only after giving an alarm call. Spicefur growled in annoyance, padding over to where the blackbird lay struggling. He pushed his paw against it's chest, putting it out of it's misery. "Well, that was pretty messy," he purred. That was his first blackbird! He caught larger ones out on the open moors occasionally, but never one of these fast little blackbirds.
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Post by stormbringer on Jul 17, 2009 20:47:16 GMT -5
Greenheart held her breath as Spicefur crept forward. Suddenly he was a blur of ginger. She saw one paw go up, claws hooking wings, the muffled thud of paws on the ground, the alarmed cry of the bird. Individual images seemed to stand out more than the whole process. The soft crack or the bird’s bones snapping.
“At least you can catch birds.” She pointed out. “I’ve always been pretty useless at that. There was a bird in the old tree earlier, but I didn’t feel like falling off the branch and breaking my neck for the little thing.” She purred playfully. She was only half joking, anyway. She was a terrible climber, and worse at hunting birds. She could just imagine her form creeping out on the slender bough, careful not to shake it, leaping for the bird and missing, then flying out into the blue sky. Her daydream continued not with a splat of kitty on ground, but with the fantastic ability to fly, and she left it at that.
“We should work our way back – anything around here’s heard that fine little bird of yours.” She said after a paused. “Unless there’s anything around here stupid enough to, you know, still be here.” She added, scenting. She couldn’t find a single trace of prey scent. There were so many plants around here, each with an aroma. Bracken, gorse, ferns and trees, endlessly trees. Mosses and odd dirt, toadstools… All of them melded into a sort of muddy mix of scents, accented with the sharpness of broken plant life from her impressive performance tumbling through the undergrowth, and the lingering scents of the Clans that always hung around here.
She poked her nose a little farther into the trees, looking down into the bowl of Fourtrees. She’d never been down between the actual four trees without being at a Gathering. But she shunned the idea of sightseeing. The Clan needed to be fed. She turned back to Spicefur, grinning.
“Take us away, deputy.[/]” She laughed.
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Post by Crane on Jul 19, 2009 2:25:19 GMT -5
s p i c e f u r !
I feel like lately all the things I took for granted Flipped and changed Now I'm losing grip again
"At least you can catch birds. I’ve always been pretty useless at that. There was a bird in the old tree earlier, but I didn’t feel like falling off the branch and breaking my neck for the little thing." Greenheart said. Spicefur grinned. "Well actually, that was the first blackbird I've ever caught. I always trip or something and make a mess of it," he admitted sheepishly. "We should work our way back – anything around here’s heard that fine little bird of yours." Spicefur cringed internally. "Unless there’s anything around here stupid enough to, you know, still be here," Greenheart added. Spicefur agreed with her. It was annoying that the tiny bird made suge a large noise. He dug his claws into the ground. If only he'd been faster... Greenheart turned back to him, grinning. "Take us away, deputy." Spicefur chuckled. Now, where to go, where to go? "Which way do you reckon we should go? I came along the border, near the the Yellow Plains, and there were tonnes of rabbits there. Although I probably scared them all off..." he thought about it. Since he didn't know which way Greenheart had come, he might as well let her decide. Even though he was deputy... But he needed a break from all these decisons - telling cats what to do was not his strong point.
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Post by stormbringer on Jul 20, 2009 18:50:56 GMT -5
Hmm… Apparently she was making the decision here. It was true that Spicefur had been hunting there, but the rabbits came back quickly, now didn’t they.
“We might as well head back, and just stay a little away from where you hunted. I didn’t hear you, so a rabbit probably didn’t.” She shrugged. “We’ll just avoid your scent. We just have to pick it up and then take a roundabout route to camp, obviously, to hunt.” And with that, she dropped and inhaled. They’d been at the Old Tree, they could pick us the scent there easily.
-- [[my muse died on me, sorry.]] She took off at a dead sprint. “Race you!” She yowled over her shoulder. Long legs worked in rhythm. Hind legs pushed, propelling her forward. Forelegs pulled, and her shoulders turned. Instinctively she angled at the most direct route to the tree. She could see it’s skeletal branches etched against the blue sky.
She was flying. Her pale shadow sailed below her, and clouds skittered across the sky. A fierce smile stole her features, and she ran harder, feeling it in each muscle of her shoulders and front legs. Her hind legs bunched, cannoning her forward with each stride. Mottled pelt gleamed in the golden sun. This is why StarClan put me in WindClan. She thought.
Greenheart closed her emerald eyes. The tree was close. She didn’t have to look. She summoned the scraps of speed buried somewhere inside her. The speed, the air flying into her face. She tucked her ears back. It didn’t matter now if Spicefur beat her. She wouldn’t have minded. It was the glory of running that compelled her. She skidded to a stop in the sand, searching to see if she’d won their little competition.
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Post by Crane on Jul 24, 2009 4:45:23 GMT -5
[Nyah, sorry it took so long to reply. School kept me busy and my muse took a holiday. But listening to Bananaphone brought it back >.>] s p i c e f u r !
You must learn to face the fact, always, that you choose to do what you do, and that everything you do affects not only you but others. ~Holly Lisle
"We might as well head back, and just stay a little away from where you hunted. I didn’t hear you, so a rabbit probably didn’t. We’ll just avoid your scent. We just have to pick it up and then take a roundabout route to camp, obviously, to hunt," Greenheart said. Spicefur grinned - she was smart, wasn't she? "Sounds great," he purred. "You're good at this." He started to pad a little forwards, but Greenheart took off at a sprint. "Race you!" she challenged. Spicefur charged after her, reacting to her challenge. She had a head start though! Unfair. He pushed himself faster and faster, feeling free and exhilarated and positively sure there was nothing he would rather be doing at the moment. Surely, this was what being a bird felt like. Free, and nothing but open spaces all around you. Spicefur closed his eyes, warming his eyelids in the sun. The warmth... Spicefur could have sworn that at that precise moment, it was pure bliss. The wind in his face, the sun on his pelt, and Greenheart's scent in his nostrils. What does that have to do with anything though? Spicefur asked himself. But, before he could think on it, his front paw connected with something hard, and as his eyes opened he saw the sand, sky and grass whirling past in a confusing mix of colours. He thumped down hard, but to his extreme embarrasment, he had landed almost on top of Greenheart. "Oops," he breathed, his nose almost pressed into Greenheart's fur. He jumped back, surprised to find himself so close to Greenheart. "I'm such a clumsy mouse-brain," he grumbled, shaking the sand out of his pelt.
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Post by stormbringer on Aug 4, 2009 18:09:44 GMT -5
“Nah.” She disagreed, having managed to avoid his flailing body. “You’re just not as graceful as, say… Me!” She leapt into the air in what seemed to be a rather elegant sort of spinning motion, until she landed on her side with a huff and a laugh. She stood, rolling her shoulderblades, but found there was no pain lurking anywhere, and her terrible landing hadn’t actually hurt her.
“Now we’re even.” She purred, scanning the horizon for a pair of too-long ears. There weren’t any rabbits that she could see, so she inhaled deeply, opening her mouth to let the breeze and it’s palette of scents waft into her senses. Hm. There didn’t appear to be anything there, or at least not in the direction the wind was blowing. She turned to shoot a quizzical look at Spicefur.
“Do you smell anything?” She asked softly. The blue sky stretched for so many miles above them, the green grass just as far around them. The tree cast washed-out shadows onto the plains, and the soft breeze blew. She had her Clan, her speed, her abilities, and a good friend at her side. Now all she needed was prey. That was all she wanted. Though with it being so plentiful, one or two rabbits wouldn’t be make-or-break for WindClan.
Still, Greenheart would have felt much better with a little more prey to bring back to camp.
--
[[sorry it’s so late. My internet went poof]]
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Post by Crane on Aug 5, 2009 1:45:31 GMT -5
s p i c e f u r .
The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face. ~Jim Bishop
"Nah. You're just not as graceful as, say... Me!" Greenheart announced, leaping gracefully into the air. Spicefur watched in awe - that was a tough move to pull off. But she landed clumsily - Spicefur chuckled. "Now we're even, she purred. Spicefur joined in. It felt so much like being an apprentice again, trouble-free and playful. But now Spicefur had the worries of a whole Clan on his shoulders. Oh well, he could forget them and mess around for a bit today. "Do you smell anything?" Greenheart asked softly, breaking Spicefur out of his thinking. He inhaled deeply. "Nope, just grass and sunshine," he admitted. "That sucks, I thought there'd be quite a bit of prey around here." He tried again, seeing the disappointed look on Greenheart's face. No, she souldn't be worried, it was such a nice day today. Oh? Spicefur thought he could smell something very faint, but it was old. "I can smell a really old trace, actually, and since we've got nothing else to do, d'you wanna investigate?" he asked, getting to his paws leisurely.
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Post by stormbringer on Aug 6, 2009 13:25:50 GMT -5
She inhaled deeply, searching for the old scent. Below layers of grass and wind and sky and wind and cat, there it was, indistinguishable except as prey-scent, old, faint. But there! Without this sort of digging, she wouldn’t have noticed it.
“StarClan’s blessed you nose!” She laughed, but she was serious. “Let’s go!” And she trotted off, nose close to the ground. Like a dog. She frowned. It wasn’ over hre. Circled back, picked it up. The trail zig-zagged, and where her shoulder had broken grass stems, well, the sharp scent of plant-blood blocked it. She looped around it, no doubt looking comical as her tail lashed in concentration.
Here! She’d found the scent and… Okay, yeah, it was gone again. She hadn’t ever been a very good tracker. Swift, yes. Rather strong, yes. But her sense of smell? Eh. The bright sun-baked earth scent, the smells that had made up her life for so long. The damp grass-rots that were beginning to die, even the faintest trace of bird from where a sparrow had flown low over the grass, brushing the tip of the stem. She just couldn’t pick up the right scent in this maze!
“I can barely scent it – much less follow it anywhere.” She admitted at last. It wasn’t fun to admit that she couldn’t do something. It would’ve been nice if she was just decent at everything, not better in one field, lacking in another. But Spicefur had found it. He could take them to wherever it was. “Looks like you’re leading the way, o trusty deputy.” She added, giving him a sheepish smile and stretching one russet and charcoal foreleg.
--
[[muse is low, sorry.]]
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Post by Crane on Aug 14, 2009 18:18:28 GMT -5
s p i c e f u r !
Build a time machine Sing a song unsung Only thing it takes to get back to you Walk around the world and come back to you
"StarClan's blessed your nose!" Greenheart exclaimed, "Let's go." If Spicefur could have blushed, he would've. But, since he was a cat and didn't know what blushing was... He tried not to chuckle as she set off, her nose pressed to the ground. Like one of those small Two-leg's dogs. She scrambled all around, seeming to pick it up and lose it again. "I can barely scent it - much less follow in anywhere. Looks like you're leading the way, O trusty deputy." Spicefur purred. "It's been running around, like it's in pain!" Spicefur realized. He frowned. "What would injure a rabbit, and not finish the job? One, it's cruel, and two, it's pointless." The rabbit was probably dead by now, but he might as well follow the trail to see if he ould identify how. "It'll bedead by the time we get there," he warned, "But I want to see what did this to a poor rabbit. And if it'll attack kits." His brow furrowed deeper. This could be dangerous... But, the predator was probably long gone. He set off after the trail, but lost it. Concetrating hard, he saw a blade of grass that had been flattened. When he padded over, he picked up the trail again. It was getting stronger now, still very old, but strong enough to follow. He started running, and then the stench of crowfood was overwhelming. "Greenheart, I think I found it!" he called, excited.
[OOC: yeah, I've had no muse for a week T_T And I moved the thread, so it won't get in the way of the Gathering - and besides, they're on the Yellow Plains now anyway ^-^]
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Post by stormbringer on Aug 17, 2009 14:49:19 GMT -5
Greenheart trotted after him, watching with interest as he lost and found the scent. Finally, he picked up on a subtle hint, and found the scent for good.
“Excellent.” She purred, sniffing. She didn’t get much from it, but then again, this wasn’t her forte. The rabbit’s fear-scent was alarming. Whatever had hurt it was… Dangerous. What were they about to get themselves into?
“What do you think would do that sort of thing?” Greenheart asked quietly. “Not many forest animals would. Maybe a Twoleg or one of their dogs did it. I’ve seen their kits throwing stones at animals before.” She suggested. If it were a Twoleg, they’d be long gone by now. Not a threat. A dog… Well, they usually left with their owners.
She looked around nervously. The open plains were beautiful. There was no place for anything to hide in them, it was impossible to sneak up on a WindClan cat out here. But what had stalked, injured, but not killed prey? And was it as good on this terrain as they were?
Maybe it was a rogue who’d failed to catch a rabbit. Maybe the rabbit had hurt itself.
“Do you thik this’ll be dangerous?” She asked in a hushed voice. [[that would explain why i couldn't find the thread, sorry!]]
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Post by Crane on Aug 17, 2009 19:28:24 GMT -5
"Dangerous? Maybe..." Spicefur admitted. He didn't want Greenheart to be afraid, or to be taken by surprise... Conflicting wishes, in a way. He pawed aside the long grass, and saw the limp body of a rabbit. Half the flesh had been eaten off... Oh, to was just too disgusting to describe. He shuddered. Well, he had come here to find the culprit. He braced himself, then shoved his nose right up close and inhlaed deeply. "Argh!" he screeched. "That smells absolutely foul!" He jumped backwards. He tried to sort out the smells he had remembered. Grass, decaying flesh, bacteria... Ugh, it was on the tip of his tongue... He had barely scented this before. "It's a kind of bird. Not a small one, a big one, maybe even bigger than a cat.... An eagle or a falcon, that's it. Unfortunately I haven't smelled either of those things and I don't know which one. But's it's a bird." Well, that wasn't too bad. Although he'd have to warn the queens to keep an extra-sharp eye on their kits.
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Post by stormbringer on Aug 22, 2009 14:16:22 GMT -5
It was pretty easy to follow him at least. Wasn’t long before she, too, could smell the rotting stench of crow-food. Spicefur balked, and she peeked over his shoulder. The poor rabbit had been mutilated. The smell was like a monster from the Thunderpath, assaulting her senses. Stifling a yowl, she scrambled back, tripping over herself in desperation to get away from it. Emerald eyes wide, she watched him push his nose up close to the carcass. Oh, she wouldn’t have been able to do it. StarClan, he must love us all! She thought.
She almost felt guilty for not sniffing it herself, but didn’t feel like sticking her nose into that rotting stench, letting it linger in her senses. A bird? How could… Well, that explained why there was no predator’s scent. It had probably missed the first time, only injuring the rabbit, which kept running, then took it down. Must not have chicks, either, if it didn’t bring it back. Or a mate. Good. But dangerous. If it could pick up a large rabbit, what would be the difference between that and a kit, or an apprentice, or even a smallish WindClanner?
“We should warn the queens” Greenheart agreed, nodding. Her nose was still wrinkled, trying to chase away the stench. “And get away from this smell. I think it’ll linger there for days.” Shaking her head, she turned her eyes skyward. The great blue bowl paled to almost white at the horizon, rose to purest sapphire at its zenith, where the sun glowed with bright white light. Somewhere out there lurked a bird big enough to kill cats. I just hope that knowing it’s around will be enough to keep everyone safe. -- [[sorry, my muse sucks]]
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Post by Crane on Aug 22, 2009 18:01:05 GMT -5
[[No, no, your muse is awesome! Zenith is a smart word ^_^ And once you've replied, do you want me to start a thread back in camp?]]
"We should warn the queens. And get away from this smell. I think it'll linger there for days," Greenheart suggested. "Ugh, great idea," Spicefur agreed, wrinkling his nose, "That is pssibly the worst smell in the forest!" He had to get it out now. Hmm, what smell did he want to inhale? He immediately ignored the first that came to mind. No. So he pressed his face against clean grass and breathed in and out, trying to wash the rotting meat smell out of his nostrils and mind. "Much better," he purred happily. "We should go warn the queens. It's not an emergency, the bird's probably somewhere else by now, but I want to run anyway..." HE grinned at Greenheart mischeivously. "Race you!" he challenged, and charged off in the direction of WindClan camp.
[/size]
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