IT'S CALLING MY NAME // now open

[LIVIDSMOKE]

Chilledstar might be gone but life would continue on with mouths to feed. The majority might be mourning still but not Lividpaw who kept himself focused and mind as clear as day. There was nothing that could keep him from his duties to lead his head or even heart astray. Jaggedpath was with him, the two being out on one of their daily hunts. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Lividpaw was following his mentor close behind as they searched for a trail to follow. Further ahead there were two trails to follow, each leading to different location. They decided to split up, none of the scents being too far away from each other. Neither would stroll to far away without being able to come to the others aid.

That was how it was suppose to go anyway.

Lividpaw moved on stealthy quiet paws as he followed after the trail until he spotted the vole further ahead. He kept on moving forward, now quieter and even more careful for each step he took to not make one single sound. As he crept closer, close enough to strike he put himself into position to prepare himself for what hopefully would be a lucky strike. Right before the second he would lunge himself forward a new much dangerous scent reached into the black tom's nose. It made him completely abandon the hunt as he instead got on full alert. It was a fox scent that he had caught up on and it was close by. Flattering back his ears, the apprentice backed himself into the closest bush to camouflage himself in the shadows while trying to locate where exactly the scent came from. In this situation he should think about to put himself into safety first and find Jaggedpath to regroup with.

However, as logical and rational that decision may be there was yet another scent that couldn't be ignored, and this one belonged to one much more familiar, an ally to the shadows itself. That for sure made things alot more complicated.

// @FORESTSHADE





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[FORESTSHADE]

She and Thornpaw have temporarily separated, just for a moment while she stalks a snipe. Silent paws make their way down a familiar trail, her whiskers brushing against tree trunks and her tail held evenly above the ground. Ever since Chilledstar’s death, she’s been coming out more and more, just like she had been after Sweetpaw’s death. The marshy pines provide a nice place to think, to process, and she wants her apprentice to know the peace the forest can provide, too. So, frequent hunts have become a staple in their days together.

The prey scent grows stronger and stronger, so brown ears angle forward in hopes of pinpointing the location of the bird. She listens for the light steps, the tiny flutter of ruffled wings, the pecking at the ground…instead she hears a rustle far too big to be caused by any bird. She stands suddenly, ears trained on the underbrush. A pale maw parts to taste the air, and with a jolt she no longer smells snipe, but rather an overpowering, gut-wrenching stench of fox.

Her claws dig into the ground briefly, purposely not calling out for Thornpaw. She doesn’t want her anywhere near here. “Come on out, furball,” She instead growls tauntingly, fur bristling. She knows she has no shot at winning, but what choice does she have? Teeth bare as she hears large paws step out in front of her. Her tail lashes in characteristic misplaced confidence. “Think I’ll be an easy meal? I’ll make sure you regret it.” She hears the fox lunge for her, its acrid breath overpowering, and she tries to dodge. Forestshade isn’t fast enough though and she hisses in pain as teeth graze her side. “Why you-“ She spins around and tries to lay claws on the beast blindly, but they instead slap against mud. A force slams into her side and she is launched at the ground, the breath knocked out of her. Dammit…I’m not ready to join you, Chilledstar, Sweetpaw! ​

 

[LIVIDSMOKE]

He decided to investigate further to get a better understanding of the situation. On quick yet stealthy paws the apprentice creept himself forward after having located out which direction to go. All while using the advantage of the shadows to hide himself in. By the time he arrived there not that long after, the fox had already lunged themself at the warrior.

Rationally, losing one life was better then risking two or three lives. Waiting around for his mentor was the safest way of dealing with this for sure. But he also had a strict way of following the way of a warrior whose duty was always to protect and provide for the clan. That was something he strongly believed in. Abandoning a clanmate who might be in danger went against all of that especially all the effort and hard work he had put down all these months. Lividpaw had a clear vision of where he was heading to and this was a golden opportunity he couldn't miss out on.

To think his first time in live action would be against a fox though....All Lividpaw had was his training sessions and sparring matches to lean on. This could end horribly wrong but at the same time Lividpaw had already decided he was not going to die today. He had faith in his abilities or maybe it was the lack of fear inside that keept him confident. Whatever the case might be, foolish or not, the warrior inside was calling to him.

With a push from his hind legs, Lividpaw left the safety behind as he charged forward with claws swiftly sliding out right before he lunged forward into the air to land himself on top of the fox back and dug his teeth into the fox neck, just like he always did with the prey he tracked down and killed. The fox gave it's response with a suprised yelp, unprepared and startled backed away from Forestshade as it instead tried to get rid of Lividpaw by violently shaking itself to free itself from his grip.

It turned out it was more difficult to keep his grip around the scruff of the fox neck, much harder than he had thought. Despite how much he tried to cling himself to the fox back he started to lose his grip until he lost the grip entierly and soon his world started to spin upside down as he got thrown of it's back and landed roughly on his side with a tuft of the fox fur still in his mouth. He did a roll over before unsteadily getting back up on his paws while quickly searching for the fox who already had it's eyes settled on him. It had already made a sprint towards him, and Lividpaw rememberd very well one of the lessons he had listen in on how to always watch out for the mouth of the predators who had longer muzzles, because their teeths where sharper and could easily locked their jaws around it's target. So by all cost he had to avoid it.

Lividpaw spat out the fur in his mouth before crounching down and jumping to the side to dodge out of the way of the incomming fox and it's dreadful bite. He decided to make a move of his own as he attacked the fox's ankle as he remembered most animals were weak down there so a blow to the ankle could be effective to slow the opponent down. The fox yelped in pain with a swift turn of its head to snap its teeth at Lividpaw. For the second time he succeeded in dodging out of its way as he backed away, but the fox kept on coming for him. Lividpaw lunged himself to the side to get away for the third time but this time he was not swift enough to make a fourth dodge, as the fox teeth gript a hold of his right hind leg. Lividpaw gritted his teeth as he got dragged down. Now he had to move quickly. Lividpaw swiftly lashed out his claws as he aimed to slash the fox face and muzzle. It startled the fox enough to let go with a yelp. Lividpaw quickly retreated his now injured right hind leg as he stood face to face with the beast with a threatening snarl rumbling in his throat.

The fox backed away, young and inexperienced just like Lividpaw. Maybe that was why it decided to retreat to run away or it was the scents of back up approaching in the distance from Lividpaw's own clanmates. Whatever the case, the fox turned around to flee the scene.

// ghaaa i had to rush at the end!
this is open after blitz respond with forestshade!
and tagging lividpaws mentor @jaggedpath ! who should not be that far behind! (maybe he was the reason the fox run away in the first place)






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[FORESTSHADE]

Pain radiates from her side where the fox’s teeth grazed her as she lies on the ground, disoriented. Just as despair creeps in, she hears a fierce growl and the startled yelp of the fox. Confusion fills her momentarily - someone’s here! Forestshade tries to scramble to her paws while scenting the air. Heart racing, she pricks her ears in surprise when she recognizes who it is. Lividpaw! She listens intently, relief flooding through her. He's fighting the fox on his own, and the sounds of the scuffle tell her he's holding nothing back. Dammit kid, don’t die!

She is on her feet again now, re-orienting herself and finding her senses just as the fox backs away. Lividpaw left much to be desired in a clanmate, but even still she can’t help but admire his courage here and now.

With a final yelp, the young fox retreats, clearly intimidated by Lividpaw's fierce spirit. Or, maybe it’s the sound of approaching pawsteps, the scent of more ShadowClanners enveloping her. "You actually did it," The lead warrior states, her tone a mix of shock and reluctance. "You handled that…well, Lividpaw. But next time don’t go rushing in all reckless! I won’t have an apprentice die on my account, got it?” Stern once more, she huffs and accepts help from the nearest clanmate, leaning against them a bit as her side stings. Luckily, it’s nothing deep.
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[LIVIDSMOKE]

It was a relief that the fox had decided to flee the scene. This for sure could have ended horrible, for himself. Now he understood even better why real life experience was so much more important than theoretical knowledge. Even if he had kept his life today he was far away from being satisfied with his performence. Luck was not enough for him.

Lividpaw gritted his teeth as he tried to steady on his injured back leg without much success. For sure, Starlingheart would have to check on it later. The idea of being stuck in the medicine den for a couple of days or more did not exactly give him much of comfort. He would cast a glance back to make sure to check up on Forestshade. In the end it was the most importand that she had survived or all of this would have been pointless.

The lead warrior looked fine, and she praised him for his bold decision while also reminding him of his role as an apprentice, of how dangerous it was to act on his own and how badly it would reflect back on her if he died under her watch. Lividpaw took in the words, finding logic behind her words. Logically he should have stayed back, acting on his own was foolish.

" I know." he admitted, having nothing to argue against what the lead warrior just had said. With slow motion he would begin to limp himself over so he could keep close to the lead warrior in case the fox came back. " But i just couldn't stand back and watch one of my clanmates in danger. That's not the kind of warrior i wanna become one day. " His cold nature might make his clanmates think of him as heartless, rightfully so, but his devotion to this clan was true and real. He already knew what type of warrior he wanted to become and there was nothing or nobody who could stand in the way of that dream of his.

// this is soooooo late but i just wanted to wrap this up because i've been wanting him to say this line for a while now lol






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