- Aug 5, 2022
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It was rare to catch Flycatcher talking in such detail about his past. A few of his clanmates knew bits and pieces of course, but with the traumatic loss of his parents and elder sisters in the great battle, it was often too painful for him to talk too much about his past, especially recent events.
Today, however, he seemed in better spirits about the whole thing. A warrior had been telling a lengthy anecdote about a kestrel he saw one time, which reminded Flycatcher of an encounter his family had with a hawk one time. Flycatcher hadn't really been involved so much in this encounter and was quick to make note of it when he began his story. "I was too young at the time to be of any real help, so my mother, Shimmer, told me to hide in an abandoned burrow until it was safe. Unfortunately, I wasn't much of a listened at that age so kept trying to get out, much to her annoyance. In the end, she had to get my sister Bee to sit and watch me because she couldn't trust me enough to stay out of trouble," Flycatcher told the gathered cats. As he recounted this part of the story, he could almost envision Bee clearly in that moment, and the clipped tone she used with him when he had tried to get out again. "So whilst my sister and I stayed tucked away, my parents and my other sisters dealt with the hawk," Flycatcher pressed on. "My mother and sisters kept the hawk distracted from the ground whilst my father climbed up to a higher vantage point in the trees, awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike. When the timing was right, he pounced and forced it to the ground. My parents killed it in the end but it was a hard fight and not one I would encourage someone to try." He could remember the blood and feathers so clearly in his mind, and the deep gouges in his father's shoulder where the bird had fought back against him. It was a small miracle the bird hadn't killed him in that fight, and even more of a miracle that his father hadn't died from an infection afterwards with how bad some of the wounds had looked. But that was Cloudy through and through - unbelievably lucky until he wasn't. "For all the trouble it gave us, I will say this though, it made one tasty meal."
With his story complete for now, unless someone wished to press him for further details, Flycatcher would turn his attention to the others present. "Anyone else got any interesting stories they'd like to share?"
Today, however, he seemed in better spirits about the whole thing. A warrior had been telling a lengthy anecdote about a kestrel he saw one time, which reminded Flycatcher of an encounter his family had with a hawk one time. Flycatcher hadn't really been involved so much in this encounter and was quick to make note of it when he began his story. "I was too young at the time to be of any real help, so my mother, Shimmer, told me to hide in an abandoned burrow until it was safe. Unfortunately, I wasn't much of a listened at that age so kept trying to get out, much to her annoyance. In the end, she had to get my sister Bee to sit and watch me because she couldn't trust me enough to stay out of trouble," Flycatcher told the gathered cats. As he recounted this part of the story, he could almost envision Bee clearly in that moment, and the clipped tone she used with him when he had tried to get out again. "So whilst my sister and I stayed tucked away, my parents and my other sisters dealt with the hawk," Flycatcher pressed on. "My mother and sisters kept the hawk distracted from the ground whilst my father climbed up to a higher vantage point in the trees, awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike. When the timing was right, he pounced and forced it to the ground. My parents killed it in the end but it was a hard fight and not one I would encourage someone to try." He could remember the blood and feathers so clearly in his mind, and the deep gouges in his father's shoulder where the bird had fought back against him. It was a small miracle the bird hadn't killed him in that fight, and even more of a miracle that his father hadn't died from an infection afterwards with how bad some of the wounds had looked. But that was Cloudy through and through - unbelievably lucky until he wasn't. "For all the trouble it gave us, I will say this though, it made one tasty meal."
With his story complete for now, unless someone wished to press him for further details, Flycatcher would turn his attention to the others present. "Anyone else got any interesting stories they'd like to share?"