BRAIN ERASER \ picking clean

[MALLOWLARK]

Days ago- though it could have only been one, for days with no moon-meeting seemed to blend together- Mallowlark had preyed upon a crow, caught in a rare feat of speed. Or perhaps it had been terminally ill, rendered woozy by death-fated sickness... whatever the case, the crow was his now, devoured almost completely. Almost. The skull of this catch was a perfect one, and so easily detached, but flesh was seldom quite so stubborn. A more specific art was needed- and thus was ripped forth a rib. A plan was put in motion.

Oh, and what a bother it had been to transport it all! He was considerate, he swore by it; when before someone had made a comment not to pursue his projects when within camp's walls, right before the sensitive tear-prone eyes of kittens, Mallowlark had heeded the instruction. So, stark white against the sweeping ruddy of the moor in autumn, the tom lay cradled within a patch of grass beneath Outlook Rock, grinning wide and bright with an uncommon glister of focus within his gaze. Smiling jaws snapped, dragged- between charcoal paws he held his victim, that singular bird-bone. Eye-teeth endeavoured to sharpen it, and on his other side sat a skull, soon to be freed from the barnacles of flesh so diligently clinging to the surface. ​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[MINKSHADE]

MINKSHADE - WINDCLAN WARRIOR - TOM - SINGLE - HOMOSEXUAL​

---

Initially, Minkshade had gone out toward Outlook rock to try and do a bit of hunting. While the spot was known to be a popular hangout for the windclan warriors, it was also one of the few areas in the territory that offered cover from the increasingly cold and strong winds that had been picking up over the moors ever since fall had settled in. The russet-black tomcat was hoping that if he climbed atop the thing to take a look around, that he might notice the subtle movement of nearby prey off in the distance. It would also give him the chance to do a quick sweep for hawks, something he was still wary of even though most of them had been driven off or killed by their patrols.

To his satisfaction he didn't see any signs of danger when he finally arrived and climbed atop the impressive boulder, casting gorgeus blue eyes skyward in dutiful vigilence before letting them drift down to the moors to begin their search for prey. And that's when he heard it. Something at the base of the rocks- scratching? Grinding? It was hard to describe, but he wondered if he would find prey sooner than he'd expected.

Lean body crouching low against the rock, Minkshadow silently crept to its edge and peer down over the side.

"Oh! Hello, Mallowlark!." Minkshade called, a small smile tugging at his lips as he went from a hunters crouch to simply laying on his belly and peering over the side of the stone, probably looking a little upside-down to the larger white tomcat. "I thought I was alone out here. Looks like you beat me to the prey." the sun-bleached tom chuckled good naturedly, not knowing that the other had specifically carried their catch all the way from camp.

As blue eyes landed on the 'prey', brows would furrow in curiosity as Minkshade realized there was only the head of a bird and some random bone the other seemed to be gnawing on, and he began to get the feeling the other wasn't out here eating. "What are you up to there? If you don't mind me asking." he added, chuckling a little nervously. He didn't know a lot about Mallow outside of the general interactions he'd seen them have with other cats, and so he wasn't sure if they would become standoffish over his intrusion. Then again, he'd never seen Mallowlark become aggressive. The bigger tom was strange and had been off-putting at first with his ever-smiling maw, but he'd always been harmless toward his clanmates. Maybe he wouldn't mind Minkshades curiosity.
​

---

-- AN AVERAGE, BLACK & WHITE CAT WITH A LEAN BUILD & PRETTY BLUE EYES. HIS MEDIUM-LENGTH FUR HAS A REDDISH HUE TO IT, GIVING HIM HIS NAME.

 

[WEASELCLAW]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

The brown tabby warrior trails Minkshade, neither on a patrol nor intending to follow the other tom -- he's just found himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He'd decided idly to take @ASPENPAW out for a bit of sightseeing and hunting practice might make the day go by faster.

But as Outlook Rock looms closer, Weaselclaw frowns at the sight greeting him. Mallowlark, grinning maniacally at the base, with something indiscernible between big black paws.

Weaselclaw lifts his tail in greeting to Minkshade, but he only stares at Mallowlark. He's--

His stomach becomes warm, too warm, and the lead warrior has to turn his head before he retches at the sight. Mallowlark is digging around inside of his crow, playing with the innards like a kit playing with moss. "What in the name of StarClan..." He finds himself wishing Emberfang had taken her nephew with her. He might be sick.

- ,,​

​

 

[BRIGHTSHINE!]

Out on an excursion of her own with Dustpaw, the calico doesn't expect to stumble across so many of her clanmates, one of them being her son! She skips through parted grass with a giggling smile upon her maw. "Hi, everybody!" She trills in her sing-song voice, pausing to lift her chin skyward in order to give Minkshade his own greeting from where he laid atop Outlook Rock. "Did I miss that there was a patrol going out?" She doesn't sound offended, only cheerily curious. Blinking from the warriors to Weaselclaw, she once more finds Mallowlark in her line of sight. "Oh, heh! He's just cleaning his bones! He used to do this alllll the time," She explains while strolling towards the lead warrior, as if believing she's giving him assurance. She's long past thinking anything her child does is odd.

// @Dustpaw | Duststorm obligatory apprentice tag!​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

Sorting through the fresh-kill pile a short bit away, Hyacinthbreath picks out rotten food as she always does; she refuses to let a clanmate get sick because of crowfood after all. Her children, all four of them, deserved to live long, healthy lives. Once finished, the hands the few pieces of rotting prey over to a bulky warrior who carries them out of camp. He would bury them far from camp so they could decay someplace else.

Stepping away from the fresh-kill pile, Hyacinthbreath watches as cats surround Mallowlark beneath Outlook Rock, she sees him tearing meat from bone- picking at it with more interest in the bones themselves than the meat on them. Her tail-tip twitches in amusement at Weaselclaw's gagging, the small molly making her way through the crowd with her own blackbird in her jaws, hanging on by a wing feather.

"I think it's smart. We could use the bones for something, can't we?" She asks softly as she settles down not far from Mallowlark, ripping into the bunch of black feathers; flinging them everywhere. When it came to blackbirds, it seemed they had taken her heart as her favorite over her precious lizards. "Anyone want the feathers? A waste to not use 'em for a nest, or something."​

 

[Dustpaw | Duststorm]

I'VE BEEN RUNNIN THROUGH THIS STRANGE LIFE,
CHASIN' ALL THEM GREEN LIGHTS
THROWING OUT THE SHADE FOR A LITTLE BIT OF SUNSHINE​

---

Apprenticeship suited Dustpaw well. The young tomcat had always had an abundance of energy and an enthusiasm to be doing things, and this newfound status seemed to provide a worthy outlet for that. He was no longer confined to camp, and while it had been immensely fun getting to know the other kits and spending his time within the safety of the hollow had been nice, it was also a ton of fun being able to explore the territory and do some real training. Brightshine had already taught him a lot of stuff and was nice enough to take him out with her almost every time she left camp, and really his only complaint was that he didn't get to spend a lot of time with Peri when he was out here.

A grin was quick to settle on his lips when he spotted the other cats already gathered at Outlook Rock, and he happily padded alongside his mentor to go greet them, an equally enthused sidekick.

"What do you do with the bones, Mallowlark?" asked a curious Dustpaw as he came bounding over to join them, leaning forward to observe the tomcat with an expression that was teetering between grossed out and intruiged. He'd never seen someone use prey like this before.

---

dustpaw - windclan - single - mentored by brightshine - a large, handsome charcoal minx tomcat with blue eyes​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Eagerly came the nod of Mallowlark's head, his mother confirming his true intentions. "Yup! They look gross when there's flesh-goop on them," with a nod of his head, his words came brightened with pleasantry, as if the language he used was something entirely normal. Still, how nice it was to have so much interest! The brightness in the approach of Minkshade, his mother- Weaselclaw was perhaps an exception. Was there something wrong with him? Maybe he'd eaten something funny- Mallowlark made sure to offer him an especially wide smile of reassurance.

Hyacinthbreath offered an idea- and for his great distaste toward waste, he adored her resourcefulness. An expression already entirely overcome by his grin grew brightened evermore, shared sentiment peppering the air like the sweet stench of flowers- how lovely to pad nests with luxury, the bird giving to them more than food! What a grateful life! "Oh, how nice would they be in the nursery?" he chimed, words accompanied with the clockwork movement ov his unblinking eyes, the snapping motion made toward Dustpaw as he asked a question. And what a wonderful question!

"Prizes, presents, tools... and 'dis one-!" he brandished the sharpened rib, sharp edge catching the sunlight. "Fight fire with fire- use bone to get flesh off that!" In an unnaturally sharp movement, he jerked his head tawdry the skull- sweeping it with a charcoal paw, he intended to begin his handiwork.​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[ASPENPAW_]

( ♬ ) Behind Weaselclaw comes Aspenpaw, brow furrowed in concentration as she follows in his pawsteps. She's still working on learning exactly where all the major landmarks on Windclan territory are and as they move around she tries to keep a mental map of where they've been that day. While they're just traveling rather than actively hunting or training, most of her attention is focused on the lay of the land; in fact, she's almost a bit too focused, as Aspenpaw doesn't notice the small gathering until they're almost upon them, stopping short beside Weaselclaw. Mallowlark is...well, it looks like he's stripping some unlucky skeleton of its flesh out here alongside Minkshade. Though she's certainly cleaned a certain degree of flesh off of bone before, this seems different, in a way. Maybe it's just because it's Mallowlark, since she knows his sole aim likely isn't to enjoy the last bits of a good piece of prey. Strange, certainly, especially since Aspenpaw has never really watched the tom work this carefully before, but she has to admit he seems to be going a good job of it.

Hearing Brightshine's question, she tilts her head slightly. "We weren't out on a patrol, but I don't know about anyone else," she answers, gesturing towards Weaselclaw and herself. While it's certainly possible that the others were stopping for a break, somehow she doubts it, especially since Mallowlark already seems to be pretty far with his project. At Hyacinthbreath's approach, she lapses back into silence, simply watching as the lead warrior begins to tear into the blackbird. While she hasn't been outright avoiding Hyacinth, she also hasn't gone out of her way to interact with her since they had talked after the truth was revealed. Aspenpaw still feels somewhat conflicted, though she supposes it's better than being outright upset or confused like she had been initially. Her eyes follow one of the feathers as it spirals down near her paws. It's not anything special, really, but... "I'll take a few feathers," she says, already moving to gather a couple. While she's not particularly sentimental about most items, she knows that Periwinklekit likes to give out gifts, and maybe he'd enjoy it if she brought him some new feathers, whether that meant he kept them or gave them out again later.

Her attention drifts back towards Dustpaw and Mallowlark as they exchange words. Bones could be used as presents, huh? Aspenpaw has never really thought much about bones - they've always just been the leftovers of a meal, and something that Mallowlark seemed to enjoy, but she hadn't ever thought to wonder what he actually did with them. She can't really imagine who he might give them to - Brightshine seems pretty enthused, and maybe some other members of their family might also be interested, though other than that she's not sure. Maybe he just keeps the rest of them, using them as tools for...well, for something, she supposes. "How do you decide which bones are the best to keep? Or do any bones work as long as you clean them well?" Aspenpaw finds herself asking out of curiosity. She's still got gifts for Peri on the mind, though as she thinks longer on it, she's not really sure how much he would appreciate bones. Maybe if she decided to collect any she can just give them to Mallowlark, since he seems to be the expert on the topic.​

( WE'RE ALL JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ☾ )