Closed Thread No Pain, No Praise

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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Unsurprisingly, Doveflight agreed with his sentiment. Cloudflare found himself nodding along, eyes animate as his voice fluttered with an affirmative echo. "Of course Windclan has the very best view. I can't imagine Thunderclan much has the privilege's with all their trees hanging over them."

Clearing his throat after a stunted second, the tom found himself naturally lowering himself against the grass, feeling the tickle of stems against his belly. "If we're lucky - hares. A big hare will feed all the elders. Unless you feel like pouncing for mice. They should be out foraging now that the sun's down. What do you hope to catch?"

He would have been pleased with bringing back anything, but he wanted to drag a fat hare back if he could. His stockier form might not be the best at running them down, but he could bring back a good haul.

That is... until his ears swerved to the rustling of grass about twelve fox lengths ahead and he became quiet on instinct. His eyes flashed to Doveflight and nodded, the edges of his maw twisting in a confident grin but seemed to wait a moment to see if she'd take the lead.

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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The flash of Cloudflare's copper eyes tilted towards the source of the rustling. It seemed Doveflight echoed his stance, settling into well practiced seriousness of hunting. When it came down to providing for one's clan, everything counted. Wasting energy, even on such a nice night, would be frowned upon. Countless iterations from the mouth of his dame pulsed in his mind, and while he stepped forward to flank with Doveflight, he couldn't help but feel a bit distracted.

As they both inched closer in a hunting half circle towards their prey, Cloudflare could smell the mouse ahead. A mouse was a mouse. If he could chase it into Doveflight's awaiting paws it'd be a clean kill. He planned to do just that, and crept forward, hoping to surprise the small creature as it foraged. Then, with a pounce, the stocky tom brought down his weight, catching the creature off guard but merely stunning it briefly before it began to skitter away from him.

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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Like clockwork he watched with growing thrill as the small creature leaped right into Doveflight's awaiting claws, giving her the perfect opportunity to quickly end its life. "A fat one too. That's sure to satisfy someone." His smile was bright, and his eyes blinked from the brown and white she-cat to the edge of the hill.

As well as the chirp of crickets, he could see the flutter of wings on the night followed by a light that dazzled passed his whiskers. Fireflies! He didn't seemed bothered by the simmer of the nightly heat - and their success was hardly hard at all. Plain luck at where they were, downwind, and the cooperation between skillful warriors.

"Should we bury our catch and see what else we can find?"

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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Proud of their coordination, the red classic bicolor tom was more than happy to keep going. His eyes blinked, smiling up at the she-cat as she displayed a bit of finesse herself. Cloudflare could have followed suit, but he would use every bit of her declaration ton her advantage if that meant he could conserve a bit of energy by not hopping back onto his back legs.

"Hah! I'll have you know I never turn down a challenge - much less lose one!" Perhaps it wasn't always true, he knew his fail shares of failure, but that wasn't the point here. They were here to hunt as duty dictated for their clan, but he was letting off some steam too. He was enjoying himself.

Already off, Cloudflare tucked his nose to the ground, keeping himself low as he skulked from one patch of grass to the next. Keeping his profile low, he followed some signs of life, some fresh small droppings that no doubt belonged to a rabbit. He would be first to find one - even if he didn't always catch such speedy adversaries.

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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Cover wasn't an issue even in wide open moors. Long grass threw off the shape of his ruddy swirls as he crept forward on tippy toes as to not spook the creature as he stalked closer. Then, with a flash of red and white, the tom was off, kicking back against the ground and achieving a momentary brush of speed despite his thicker composition.

The rabbit was swift, instinctively darting away but Cloudflare was on its cotton-tail. Zipping this way and that to try and discourage its attacker, it verged close to a small out crop of gorge, causing a cloud of dust as it turned sharply to avoid falling.

Cloudflare wasn't so lucky.

Unable to turn as abruptly, he tumbled over the edge - momentarily disappearing from view.

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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From over the edge Cloudflare was tossed. The rabbit had long gotten away, and with nothing to show for it the red classic bicolor tom took a tumble. Luckily it wasn't straight off the gorge, but close by as he bounced off the earth a few foxlengths down. His legs shot out to catch himself, but slipped on a sharp rock on his return.

The tom cried out in pain, stunned by the shock of it all, before he staggered to his paws, testing his weight on each before he felt the ache of his injury. A deep abrasion on his back leg from landing against the rock but otherwise he felt more or less alright. Thank Starclan.

"I'm okay!" Cloudflare wanted to reassure her all the while trying to convince himself of his ability to climb back up to her. Head craned up towards her, he leaped from one small outcropb before he heaved himself back on the hill. Cloudflare could feel his heart leaping in his chest like the kick of a hare, and he breathed heavily.

"I'm okay - but we only have one mouse to show for our efforts!" He mewed halfheartedly.

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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Cloudflare was still wrestling with his experience before he even realized that he was being comforted. He blinked, still taking his time to recover. Come on, Cloudflare, say something! "I fell against a rock and my back leg got scrapped. How does it look, is the fur gone?" Glancing with a concerned expression, he studied his back leg which was sore to walk on.

From where the impact struck he saw furless flesh, jagged and rubbed off. Blood hung in the air, and while he could walk on the affected leg, he knew he needed to see Rowanglade. "I thought so too, but I'm fine. More or less. We should get back to camp, though. I have a feeling Rowanglade would want to put something on that."

Cloudflare began a slow, awkward trot towards where they had stashed the mouse, stubbornly wanting to bring something back for their troubles. Mainly his own. If that wily hare hadn't managed to out maneuver him again! Maybe he should just still to slower, more predictable prey.

Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
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He tried his best to reassure her, his tell tale smile a stretch of confidence on his face, or at least that's what he tried to mirror. His nerves had recovered slightly, but still, brushing up against such an encounter made him not what to try hunting for a while. Not that he'd have a choice in that matter if Rowanglade reduced his work load while his abrasion healed. The closeness of her form was a comfort, although he wished she wouldn't get so worked up over him. It was a close call, but it was also a lucky break - only the medicine cat would have the final word, and he bade her back to camp where he could get treatment and hear the verdict.