- Jun 7, 2022
- 842
- 268
- 63
TW: mentions of blood
They were almost home...she could feel it. Maybe it was the familiar feeling of the foliage surrounding them, but each day they spent in this forest, she could feel more of herself starting to return. For the first time this morning, she had woken up fairly rested from the night before. Her dreams had been taunted by nightmares, but that was not an uncommon occurrence for her. Their clanmates back home were probably thankful or the break they were getting from her...she jolted her denmates awake more times than she liked to admit. This forest felt enough like home, that when she padded through the group, she looked for Acornpaw for a few seconds before realizing that her apprentice was certainly not here. And neither is Little Wolf... but the latter should be. Her gaze dulled for a moment, but as a familiar voice rang through her ears, she quickly blinked it away.
She turned her gaze to her daughter, looking her levelly in the eye now. She has grown so much.. Her kit was no longer a kit. She was nearly old enough to become a warrior now. Where has the time gone? "Would you care to join me?" she offered, leaning forward to touch her nose to Stormpaw's forehead. When Howlingstar had agreed to allow Stormpaw to travel with her, it had felt like her world was crashing down around her. So far though, through all of the scenarios that the environment had thrown at them, she had managed to keep her daughter safe. Now, she just had to get her back home safely, so Owlear could give her the Warrior Assessment. When they had left, her mentor had fallen ill...Flamewhisker could only hope for Stormpaw's sake that her mentor was still there waiting for them.
As the pair left for the forest, she took in a deep breath, welcoming the fresh smells of the undergrowth. So far, this forest seemed to be fairly unhunted. They had yet to come up on any other cats, and the ground seemed to be crawling with prey. Much better pickings than the mountains had been. Once they were a decent ways away from their companions, she drew in a deep breath to find a trail to follow. A squirrel! her eyes lit up eagerly. With a silent tail flick, she motioned towards the smell, telling her daughter that she would be going off to the right. As silent as a mouse, she crept off down the path, her white tipped tail disappearing as the forest consumed her.
The hunt was easily executed. She picked up the plump limp body in her jaws, it's aroma blessing her nose. Squirrel was her favorite...part of her wanted to eat it now and not bring it back, but it was Thunderclan's duty to feed everyone. I will eat later. Just like back home...she would feed everyone else first.
Crack
Her head quickly turned towards the sound, and she narrowed her eyes. "Stormpaw?" she called out, looking for her daughter's figure. The silence hung in the air caused her shoulder fur to prickle anxiously. She wanted to believe that any minute now, Stormpaw would jump from the bushes, proclaiming to be playing some sort of game...but something didn't feel right. She felt like she was being watched. Flamewhisker slowly sat the squirrel down, her jaws parting as she tried to dissect the scents around her. Her fur ruffled as a breeze went by, and as she turned her head to look downwind, she was met with two almond shaped eyes. From the bushes crept a crimson figure with ebony legs, and a recently blood stained muzzle.
A fox.
The Lead Warrior let out a warning growl, all of the fur along her spine and down to her tail puffing up instinctively. How had she been to naive to allow a fox to find her? Where had that blood come from? Had it already found Stormpaw? So many questions swarmed her mind, but she didn't have much time to react. This fox knew the forest better than she did. Quick as a flash, the creature veered to the left, disappearing in the bushes. Before she could run, the slobbering canine exploded at her side, sliding her into the base of a nearby tree. Seconds later, and it was right up on her again. She lunged forward, smacking it viciously on the muzzle, before running as fast as she could to put a little distance between it. When she turned around, it was no longer there.
She was being hunted.
Played with.
Like a flash, the canine leaped from the woods once more. With front leg's outstretched, it threw her once more towards a tree, but she hit harder this time. The air was knocked from her lungs, and she gasped for air. When she had slammed against the bark, pain shot through her shoulder as she landed on the talon scratches from their time in the mountains. Blood trickled from the scab, and that seemed to really grab the fox's attention. She blinked open her eyes, just to see the drooling figure slowly walking towards her. Its teeth were exposed, and it licked its lips hungrily.
I'm going to die...
...I'm sorry Flycatcher.
They were almost home...she could feel it. Maybe it was the familiar feeling of the foliage surrounding them, but each day they spent in this forest, she could feel more of herself starting to return. For the first time this morning, she had woken up fairly rested from the night before. Her dreams had been taunted by nightmares, but that was not an uncommon occurrence for her. Their clanmates back home were probably thankful or the break they were getting from her...she jolted her denmates awake more times than she liked to admit. This forest felt enough like home, that when she padded through the group, she looked for Acornpaw for a few seconds before realizing that her apprentice was certainly not here. And neither is Little Wolf... but the latter should be. Her gaze dulled for a moment, but as a familiar voice rang through her ears, she quickly blinked it away.
She turned her gaze to her daughter, looking her levelly in the eye now. She has grown so much.. Her kit was no longer a kit. She was nearly old enough to become a warrior now. Where has the time gone? "Would you care to join me?" she offered, leaning forward to touch her nose to Stormpaw's forehead. When Howlingstar had agreed to allow Stormpaw to travel with her, it had felt like her world was crashing down around her. So far though, through all of the scenarios that the environment had thrown at them, she had managed to keep her daughter safe. Now, she just had to get her back home safely, so Owlear could give her the Warrior Assessment. When they had left, her mentor had fallen ill...Flamewhisker could only hope for Stormpaw's sake that her mentor was still there waiting for them.
As the pair left for the forest, she took in a deep breath, welcoming the fresh smells of the undergrowth. So far, this forest seemed to be fairly unhunted. They had yet to come up on any other cats, and the ground seemed to be crawling with prey. Much better pickings than the mountains had been. Once they were a decent ways away from their companions, she drew in a deep breath to find a trail to follow. A squirrel! her eyes lit up eagerly. With a silent tail flick, she motioned towards the smell, telling her daughter that she would be going off to the right. As silent as a mouse, she crept off down the path, her white tipped tail disappearing as the forest consumed her.
The hunt was easily executed. She picked up the plump limp body in her jaws, it's aroma blessing her nose. Squirrel was her favorite...part of her wanted to eat it now and not bring it back, but it was Thunderclan's duty to feed everyone. I will eat later. Just like back home...she would feed everyone else first.
Crack
Her head quickly turned towards the sound, and she narrowed her eyes. "Stormpaw?" she called out, looking for her daughter's figure. The silence hung in the air caused her shoulder fur to prickle anxiously. She wanted to believe that any minute now, Stormpaw would jump from the bushes, proclaiming to be playing some sort of game...but something didn't feel right. She felt like she was being watched. Flamewhisker slowly sat the squirrel down, her jaws parting as she tried to dissect the scents around her. Her fur ruffled as a breeze went by, and as she turned her head to look downwind, she was met with two almond shaped eyes. From the bushes crept a crimson figure with ebony legs, and a recently blood stained muzzle.
A fox.
The Lead Warrior let out a warning growl, all of the fur along her spine and down to her tail puffing up instinctively. How had she been to naive to allow a fox to find her? Where had that blood come from? Had it already found Stormpaw? So many questions swarmed her mind, but she didn't have much time to react. This fox knew the forest better than she did. Quick as a flash, the creature veered to the left, disappearing in the bushes. Before she could run, the slobbering canine exploded at her side, sliding her into the base of a nearby tree. Seconds later, and it was right up on her again. She lunged forward, smacking it viciously on the muzzle, before running as fast as she could to put a little distance between it. When she turned around, it was no longer there.
She was being hunted.
Played with.
Like a flash, the canine leaped from the woods once more. With front leg's outstretched, it threw her once more towards a tree, but she hit harder this time. The air was knocked from her lungs, and she gasped for air. When she had slammed against the bark, pain shot through her shoulder as she landed on the talon scratches from their time in the mountains. Blood trickled from the scab, and that seemed to really grab the fox's attention. She blinked open her eyes, just to see the drooling figure slowly walking towards her. Its teeth were exposed, and it licked its lips hungrily.
I'm going to die...
...I'm sorry Flycatcher.
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FLAMEWHISKER of THUNDERCLAN
LH red tabby with low white (masks black tabby, carries dilute, solid)
— Lead Warrior of Thunderclan ; currently mentoring Acornpaw
— she/her ; mated with Flycatcher
— mother to Stormpaw & Falconpaw
— 25 moons ; ages on the 20th
— Smells like dirt, old leaves, tree sap, faint hint of flowers
— will start a fight, will finish fights, will kill (case depending)
— "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
— penned by Icey ! ; link to tags
— link to toyhouse
— funny guy art by waluigipinball
