Open to Join [Solved] The Calm Before an Inward Storm

Looking at Coyotebloom with a stunned expression on her face, she wondered how long she'd been watching her. Managing a small smile, she nodded, her throat too tight for her to speak. Clearing her throat, she spoke, her voice cracking. "Th-that's fine. I was going to see if I could catch a few pieces of prey since the prey pile is looking a little s-small." She said, glancing over at the pile only to be dismayed to find that it was full since an early hunting patrol had went out a while after the dawn patrol.

Embarrassed by her terrible lie, she swished her tail, a confused and desperate expression on her face for a moment.  Giving Coyotebloom an awkward smile she spoke again, this time barely managing the first few words. "O-Oh. I guess the h-hunting patrol came back while I was asleep..." continuing awkwardly, she tried to seem cheerful, but it probably looked like she was a kit lying about getting into the medicine cats' herbs. "No matter, I'm sure that we could use the prey either way."

Beckoning Coyotebloom to follow her with a swish of her tail, she stepped forward, pausing to look up at the sky first. It looked almost as though it were going to rain, but by the scent in the air, she knew it wouldn't. Looking back down and shaking her head, she continued on, smelling a thrush close by.

Straightening with the thrush in her jaws, she glanced over at Coyotebloom, excitement bursting through her when she saw the squirrel in her jaws. Hiding her thrush underneath of a bush, she trotted over, all thoughts of the dream she'd had blown away. "Nice catch!" She said cheerfully, tilting her head with a smile as she pointed Coyotebloom in the direction of the small stash she had made for when they came back that way to get to camp.

Letting her gaze soften, she stood, swishing her tail and taking in the scent of the forest, ignoring the stale scents and focusing on the fresh ones. Finding a more recent one, she headed towards the scent of a vole, determining that it must have been a plump one by how large the scent trail was and the quite obvious indentations in the mud.

Stalking towards the creature, she leapt forward, landing squarely on top of it and slitting its throat. Holding the vole in her jaws, she trotted back over to the "prey bush" slipping her catch underneath it with the rest of the prey. Smiling despite no cat being in sight, she wondered how long it would be until the first frost. Though leaf-bare was considered hard times, she rather enjoyed it, the fresh air unlike any other she had felt before.

Shaking herself out of her small trance, she dropped into the hunter's crouch, spotting a mouse scuttling around in the leaf-litter. Following it for a small amount of time, she watched it slip into a hollowed out fallen tree, where, on closer inspection, multiple mice lived, huddled together and occasionally nibbling at seeds that were scattered around inside.

Creeping silently away, Skyblossom decided that it would be more productive to get Coyotebloom to help. If she went in for the kill alone, she'd get less prey. Besides, it had been a little while since she'd hunted with somecat as a team. Following Coyotebloom's scent, excitement pulsing through her, she wondered how many mice they would be able to catch.

When she finally found her, she barely had time to breathe before excitedly and uncontrolably telling Coyotebloom about the mice. "I found multiple mice inside of a fallen tree. Do you want to come and catch them with me?" She asked, pausing a couple of times to catch her breath.

((Just an OOC heads up, dangerous creatures of this level of potential danger need to get run by staff before they appear. At least I’m assuming it’s a predator because the description is very unclear.

Not identifying an animal you’re introducing. Your co-writing this with someone else, and as you don’t have the sort of powers admin have something this big should be discussed at least a bit in private (just a quick “are you okay if we do X” sort of thing).

Blindsiding Bee with big events is my job 😉 and eventually I’m sure I’ll get to beat you with the plot stick, too. ))

As she pointed with her tail towards where she had found the mice, Skyblossom spoke, the excitement of a young hunter bursting through her. "There are at least five  or six of them. The tree is hollowed out on both sides,  and the bark right next to where they're nesting looks flimsy, but I don't know that it would be a good option. Too much risk of injury." She said, walking towards the fallen tree as she spoke, looking back to make sure Coyotebloom was following.

Thinking of strategies while she walked, Skyblossom almost forgot to look where she was going, turning to left just before she ran into an oak tree. Hoping that Coyotebloom hadn't seen her distracted mistake, she swished her tail, signaling for Coyotebloom to drop into the hunter's crouch. "It's that one with the moss growing on it." She said, pointing at it with her tail before continuing. "I think if one of us scares the mice on the other side, they'll try to get away and run into the other cat's paws." She finished, looking at Coyotebloom to see if she approved of the plan.

Pausing for a moment, she continued, remembering something that Coyotebloom had said earlier. "This way, we're bound to lose some of them." She said, continuing sarcastically with a small afterthought. "Unless they run out one at a time for one of us to snatch with our claws." 

After receiving Coyotebloom's approval of the plan, Skyblossom crept towards the log, lashing her tail silently after shuffling quietly into a perfect hunter's crouch. Laying her ears back to block out some of the annoying chattering, she tensed her hindlegs, ready to leap forward at the first mouse she could.

When the first couple of mice sped out of the log, she dashed into their path, her claws ripping at the mouse's gray pelt. Leaving her fresh catch, she killed a second one with her fangs, going after a third out of instinct. Chasing the mouse, she led it towards where Coyotebloom was, knowing that she'd most likely catch it in between her paws.

Her green eyes glowing, she blocked the mouse's escape, watching as it ran towards Coyotebloom. Excitement making her fur stand on end, she watched the mouse, the anticipation being refreshing. Staying ready in case the mouse ran a different way, she wondered why she felt like a different cat when she was hunting or practicing her fighting moves. No matter. She'd just accept it.

Brightening when she heard Coyotebloom's words of praise, she instinctually spoke out, her words a whisper, possibly unheard by her hunting companion. "It's your catch too, Coyotebloom. You did well catching it when I didn't warn you."

Walking with Coyotebloom to their small stash of prey, Skyblossom wondered why Coyotebloom had seemed so jumpy and worried during their hunt. Maybe she wasn't quite used to interacting with the others, like her? Or maybe it was her? She was a little hard to approach, wasn't she?

As she pondered upon these things, a patch of flowers caught her eye, their light pink petals standing out among the vivid colors of the forest. Walking over to them, she picked a couple, their colors simply to wonderful for her to ignore. Maybe the kits would like to mess around with them? And if not, maybe the elders would like to see them.

Running ahead of Coyotebloom, two mice and a few flowers dangling in her jaws, she stopped by the "prey bush", managing to grip the vole in her jaws despite how full they were. Waiting by the camp entrance for Coyotebloom, she began day-dreaming about eating the squirrel that Coyotebloom had caught, slowly drifting into a daze.

Padding back into camp, Skyblossom noticed that she and Coyotebloom had spent a lot more time in the forest than she'd expected. Looking around she noticed that Coyotebloom had gone back into camp while she'd been day-dreaming. Ruffling her pelt, she told herself that it was fine, acknowledging that the warrior had probably wanted to let her be.

Walking to the prey pile and carefully dropping a mouse and her vole onto the already large pile, she held the flowers she had picked losely in her jaws, leaving the first in her make-shift napping nest, leaving another by the nursery, and leaving the third in the warriors den by the nest she believed to be Coyotebloom's. Putting the last flower in her fur, she wondered when she'd seen Coyotebloom again.

Skyblossom was normally spending her free time in a secluded spot either in-between the nursery and the elders' den or having a calming venture to her favorite spot in the woods, the unused clearing that was just small enough for eight cats to sleep in at once. It was an area covered by bushes, so it was normally not a good place to hunt.

Mind wandering, Skyblossom, walked out of the warriors den, heading over to her napping nest and looking at her reflection in a small pool of water that was hidden there. Smiling when she saw the flower nestled in her fur, she curled up, ready to take another nap. She knew that this time, everything would be fine. No dreams would come upon her while she slept. She normally only had one a day anyways.

(End of Thread)