【◈】All around Rye, the land seems to come to life, bugs humming and wind whistling through leaves, and as she stalks through the undergrowth the irony of it doesn't escape her. Figures that they'd have so much taken from them, by water, the lifeblood of living creatures, only to end up somewhere so alive in all the wrong ways. She's grateful that they've found anything at all, of course, but oh, does she miss the mountains - there's prey here, sounds and scents of life, but it's halfway unfamiliar in a way that practically leaves her dizzy. Not to mention that, even in this temporary place, it's as if the water still taunts them, receding away from them where it had once flooded so harshly. It's like a cruel prank, played on them by nature herself, and Rye can feel the weight of it on her shoulders with every step. Still, though, it's not as though there's anything to be done about it - what's happened has happened, and now all that matters is moving forward, even if it's just one step at a time. For now, all that's left is to keep going until they've found some new place to call home, and even if it's different, she'll just have to learn to live with it.
Hunting here is different, but Rye's pretty sure she's finally starting to adapt to it, at least enough that she's not returning empty-pawed more often than not. Even now, she eyes her mark - the bird isn't particularly impressive, but it's still a meal regardless. One step closer, another, and then...she's darting forward, and even as the bird's finally noticed her, spreading its wings to take off, it's too late. Her prey successfully dispatched at her paws, Rye takes a moment to relax, eyes sliding shut as though the next time she opens them they'll all be back in the mountains as though nothing happened in the first place. It's nothing more than a moment, however, and she's sliding back into action, bird clasped between her teeth as she heads back towards their temporary camp. Rye had set out pretty late today, her morning filled with other tasks, and so by the time she makes it back, the light is just starting to be drained from the sky. Gently adding her kill to the rest of the pile, she takes a moment to survey the place they found themselves in. Nothing like a home, she has to admit, but for now it was all they had. "Anyone wanna split somethin' with me?" she calls out lightly, gesturing towards the fresh-kill pile. "Got a fresh bird, or anythin' else we got here - your pick."
(=〃ﻌ〃=)ﾉ — Perhaps fortunately for little Mouse, she can hardly recall anything about the colony's old mountainous territory; she was hardly more than a mewling scrap of fluff when the flooding first started. Still, it's obvious things are off. Her elder companions seem discontent in many ways, and she's heard plenty of talk about adjusting to this new terrain — terrain she'd only even begun exploring very recently, given her age. The spotted tabby tries not to think too hard about what all of this means for herself, for the colony, but it's been increasingly difficult not to, especially now that the river's grown sad and weary. What if it disappears altogether? How would she to learn to fish then? It's so fun watching the others try, and sometimes sloppily fail; she's been eagerly awaiting the day she can begin practicing herself. Maybe even swim like the fishies, too! They'd be so shocked if a cat suddenly appeared underwater.
"Me," she calls out, grateful for the distraction. Mouse comes bounding over with pricked ears and a rumbling belly, glad to be sharing with Rye of all cats. She's really cool and fun! And so big. The much smaller feline sometimes has to tip her head back to meet Rye's friendly gaze. Eagerly she pulls the just-deposited bird off the pile, but gets distracted before taking her first bite. "I wanna hunt, too. Can you teach me later?"
Orange fur flickers like flame in the sunlight as she sets foot into the Ripple Colony's temporary camp. A vole is clutched tightly in her jaws and she had decided she'd feast upon it once she returned to the safety of the group. White paws carry themselves over to settle nearby Rye who was calling out for someone to share prey.
Splinter winds down and begins to dig into the vole as Mouse trots over, bright-eyed and asking if the large she-cat could teach her how to hunt. The tortoiseshell she-cat snorts, "It'd be about time! Someone should've been teaching you moons ago." They all knew they could've used all the paws they could get during the journey... Now that things had at least settled down somewhat It'd be a good opportunity to get Mouse set with some hunting skills.
"If you do take her out," she glances to Rye, "There's a perfect spot downstream. It's easy to find, a lone willow, tons of critters that aren't the brightest." Perfect for first timers and a young cat looking to make her first catch.
TAGS — "I'll come too!" Tempest pipes up as she scampers over to the trio of colony cats, white-tipped tail waving in the air. Hopeful and excited, she turns blue eyes on Splinter. She likes hunting in a group, though it's a little harder when there's a lot if them, and the calico's knowledge would do them all good - even if Rye knows what she's doing as well, of course. Tempest considers herself an okay hunter, but her experience pales in comparison, so she's hopeful when she meows,
"Do you want to as well, Splinter? More paws make light work." Yeah, that sounds like something she'd say, or at least appreciate. "If we're lucky, maybe we can catch a few things for everyone."
【◈】Somewhat unsurprisingly, Mouse is the first to answer her call; at times, it feels like there's more than one copy of her running around, what with all the excitable energy, but it's always a pleasure to see her bounce by. Gesturing for her to go ahead, Rye offers a nod in greeting Splinter's way - a shame they hadn't crossed paths while hunting today, though it looks like they'd both done just fine on their own. The question from Mouse draws her attention back over - hunting, eh? "Course I can," she rumbles in response, giving her a reassuring grin. Splinter's comment earns a nod and a thoughtful hum - surely Rye'd been younger than Mouse was now when she'd first started to learn, though with everything that'd been happening as of late, it's no wonder hunting lessons had slipped through the cracks.
Her second suggestion, a good spot for teaching, is met with another nod, this one slower as she works through the land in her mind. "Yeah, think I know what you're talkin' about - thanks for the tip. 'M sure it'll be real good to start practicin' at, 'specially if the prey's not too used to us here yet," Another voice chiming in draws Rye's gaze over, grin only increasing at the clear enthusiasm that Tempest seems to embody at the prospect of joining in the hunting session. "Mm, you're right - 'sides, more of us goin' means more teachers for Mouse, here, too. Might be helpful if we've got different teachin' styles 'n such," she agrees, tilting a head in Tempest's direction. "Course, you don't gotta come if you don't want to, Splinter, but we sure would love to have you. We'll set off after everybody's finished eatin'?" Rye adds, posing it as more of a suggestion than anything. A bite is taken from the bird still resting between her and Mouse before she nudges it a little closer, pointedly trying to entice her companion to have something to eat.
Splinter blinks, not expecting to have been invited along. She wouldn’t have been hurt, would’ve been quite content getting some sun actually, but she’s always fancied the feeling of being wanted.
”Well… okay. I’ll go too.” A brief smile before swiftly taking to finishing her piece of prey. She can’t eat all of it- unless she wanted a stomach ache, so she puts it off to the side for someone else to eat the rest later.
Licking blood from her maw, she looks to her companions with a silent look, ready.
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