ECHOING A THOUSAND MILES } hunting

[TIGERSTING]

A lithe, rusty feline threads between thickets of vegetation, pushed forward by powerful legs and rippling muscles. Her ears flatten against her skull as she sprints forward, pressing closer to a rabbit's haunches with each rapid heartbeat. The next time that forepaws touch the ground, she bunches her forelegs beneath herself and launches forward. Claws sink through downy fur, pierces through fragile skin but the momentum of her mad dash causes the cat and rabbit to skid forward, tossing Tigersting onto her flank. To her surprise, and any onlookers, the thrashing rabbit remains in her grasp and even though the rusty she-cat took a tumble, she dispatches it swiftly and mercifully.

Exasperated from the chase, Tigersting remains on her flank as her chest rises and falls in an attempt to catch her breath, heart fluttering. Tigersting scrambles on her paws with a wild, triumphant grin on adorning her face. She paws the well earned rabbit closer as she takes a breather before continuing on. By now, the patrol has caught up and Tigersting whips around to face them, tufted ears pricking forward. "Took long enough enough," she hollers playfully. She takes a paw and strokes it across the brown-hued coat of the rabbit. "He was a good competitor! But, I won!"

Unabashedly, Tigersting says with a shrug, "I'm sorry for taking off, but this'll be a good meal for someone." Tigersting had sprinted off, without any notice to the border patrol, as soon as she caught trace of the rabbit. With a dismayed glare to her side, which slightly aches from the tumble she took and she huffs, rolling her eyes as she looks at the dirt and litter that sticks to her chocolate fur. She whines, "Well, now I am filthy!"

MINE IS YOURS AND YOURS IS MINE 𓃮𖤓°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ 𓃬 THERE IS NO DIVIDE

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  daughter of SUNSTAR and WOLFSONG, moor-runner of WINDCLAN, 13 moons, she/her 𖤓𓃮

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[SEDGEPOUNCE]

There's a bit of blood stuck to Tigersting's fuzzy jaw. That's not what she's complaining about when she wails about being filthy, but it's what Sedgepounce notices first. A ruddy swipe, mirror to the red pooling at the throat of the hare slumped at her paws, mussing the snowy blot of her chin in bloody pink.

Sedgepounce snorts. "Ha! Consider it your war paint," he cajoles, reaching out to pluck a stray grassblade from Tigersting's shoulder. He'd meandered her way with the rest of the border patrol, but he's not sure any of them were very concerned—or surprised—when she bolted. Sunstar's reckless daughter isn't exactly known for her restraint. That said, neither is Sedgepounce. Would he have chased the rabbit had he seen it?

Sedgepounce flexes his left foreleg, feeling the stretch of wounds months old. He leans to look past Tigersting. "Did you see its burrow anywhere?" he wonders.
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[FEATHERSPINE]

Featherspine's face was twisted in the image of irritation as he neared Tigersting. Intense eyes of yellow twitched, a glare residing there- it was a look his reckless sister would likely recognise. One she had seen a million times, no doubt- as did every one of her littermates. Sedgepounce's humour balanced out Featherspine's sourness, the slitted pupils, the way his fur quilled and pointed skyward.

"At least you caught it, I s'pose," the chocolate molly scoffed, tail flicking as if she were flicking away a particularly irritating insect. Fangs tightened, knitting into their rows- muscles grew taught.

Filthy, she said, and Featherspine didn't bother correcting her, softening the blow, anything like that- it was true. She was covered in dust, all sorts of kicked-up crud. A spiny mane flattened a little bit- only a little. "Well, you'll have to wait to clean yourself. We're finishing this hunt." A good warrior worked tirelessly, strived through the worst conditions, and- well, Featherspine himself had not caught anything yet. If it took until he fainted in the night, he would have a rabbit of his own. ​

✦ penned by pin​