they lift their head with a squint towards the other two on their specific group within the patrol. their ears twitched as they looked at the catches with a nod of approval. they had no doubt in their of their abilities, but they cannot help that they are a bit on edge. forestshade reported that there was... more scent markers of predators and if anyone would know it, she would. she's got a great nose and if she was concerned about it, them chilledstar would be too. more and more, these frogs are causing more problems but they're trying to be somewhat positive about it all. they are well fed, after all, and stars know how long its been since that's happened within shadowclan. probably never, if they're being honest.
they shake their head as they crouch down, sniffing the air, blinking the raindrops from their eyes. they're focused, and mostly unmoving. a rather large frog leaps and they still don't move. their claws gently prick into the mud before they rush forward and pounce. a swift kill, and a quick thanks to the stars leave them with a very good catch. it will feed plenty. the kits will be happy with it. they lift their head with the frog in their jaws.
"
sharpshadow."
they muffle, as they drop the frog.
"
eerienight. i think I heard more frogs this way."
they speak as they jerk their head in the direction of croaking. they just needed one more for the frog hunt to be a success. that's it. just one more. they pad off in the direction, nose twitching as the rain picks up again. it's raining even more, and the clouds block the stars and the moon. for any other cat, it may be hard to even hunt in these conditions but the marshes are not exactly easy to hunt in the first place. they're not as wet as the river, but they're wet and muddy nonetheless. hunting like this always makes them dirty, mucked up and dripping wet from their fur. now would be no different.
as they creep close to the ground, their ears twitch as they sound of sticks crunching make them turn in the direction.
"
eerienight? sharpshadow?"
no answer.
"
nightwhisper? ferndance? orchidbloom..?"
still no answer. they must be hearing things. all these cats are way too smart to step on a twig in the midst of hunting. it can't be them. they're just paranoid. shaking their head they continue on, bunching their muscles as they pounce on a frog, the sound of its dying croak somewhat music to the leader's ears. and it would have remained that way had it not been for the sound that hit them next.
they turn their head, eyes wide as a growl sounds from beside them. they look down at the dead frog in their paws, before turning back to the direction of the growl. shit. just a single fox length away, stands an angry fox. a hungry fox. they swallow thickly and look around before their lip pulls back in a snarl. they don't care how many damned frogs are around here, no doubt freaked now by the fox anyways, they're not giving up their prey. they hiss, fluffing up their fur, claws digging protectively into the frog as their eyes narrowed.
"
no fucking way. back up!"
they snarl. it doesn't seem to care about anything chilledstar is doing. it wants the frog that they have, and it's not going to go down without a fight. chilledstar might have felt bad for it if they didn't feel the threat looming. the poor thing was skinny, and nearby, though they hadn't known it, was fox kits waiting for their mama to come back with something to eat. it was desperate, in all sense of the word, and that's the only reason it was willing to fight so hard. chilledstar, however, did not care. they had their own clan to feed, and they're taking every single bit of prey they can get to make sure they eat well.
everything happens in a blur, truly. there is a roar of thunder that shakes the air, and with a flash of lightening crackling across the sky the fox rushes forward. teeth snapping, and claws batting, as they kick the frog out of the way and move to dodge some of the moves. they barely are missed by claws, but jaws clench around their scruff and they're tossed roughly off to the side, hitting the ground with a thud. there's a moment where they can barely even breathe, the wind being knocked right out of them. with a loud gasp, they stand back up, growling in pain as their front limb barely moves. fuck. whatever the fuck happened, it hurt. they shake their head, breathing heavily before running to grab their frog, only to be met with more hits. they get their own in, blood and fur coating their claws before they're knocked away again. they move to spin to try and get out of the way from jaws, and claws find their flesh, ripping them open. it's enough to make them stammer, blinking a few times as they look down at their bleeding stomach.
they laugh out a bitter huff, blood trickling down their jaw before they sway, and collapse to the ground. they can't think. everything is getting colder, paws shaking as they try and stand up.
don't do that, little one. a voice says and they wince. right. they're dying again. they can feel their life slipping away but something feels different. why does something feel different? their gaze blurs in and out, beginning to darken as they watch the fox take their catch, and skitter off. they try to speak, but nothing comes out but a weak cough. stupid. stupid.
idiotic.
they know. they know. but could they really be blamed? they don't know how long this will last. they just want their clan to be okay. why can't their clan just be okay? they can't stay awake any longer. they're too cold. everything is too cold.
"chilledstar. wake up."
a voice says and they wince. what? dead again? why aren't they surprised. and why do they feel so numb about it?
"you messed up this time. two lives. that's how many we have to take to heal you."
"that bad?"
their stomach hurts. how come they still feel the pain here?
"we aren't finished healing you. just hold on a second. it won't take long. did you really think you could fight a fox alone?"
"no. just wanted to feed everyone. i caught that frog. it was mine."
"hmph. don't do things so recklessly. we give you lives not to be reckless with."
"you think i wanted to be reckless!? we've been starving for fucking moons! this is the first moon in stars know how long that i don't have go skip meals for the sake of the queens and kits within our camp! that we don't have warriors passing out from empty stomachs! i'll be damned if i just let a fucking fox take my meal from me! call me whatever the fuck you want, but i would do it again, and again and again! my clan deserves to eat."
they huff.
"just let me go back. nothing to talk about anymore."
//tldr: two lives taken from them! they're have a dislocated shoulder, and minor bite marks on their scruff but otherwise they've been healed by starclan!!
———————---***ALL OF MY FEELINGS ARE GONE***———————---
-
-
— black feline with a white marking across their face, a white chin, a white right front paw, and blue eyes. chilledstar is covered in scars, the most prominent ones being the one across their face, and the one across their neck.
— 45 moons old; ages the 3rd every month
— they / them pronouns
— aromantic / homosexual ; currently not looking / looking
— child of JAGGED and RAVEN
— shadowclan ; loyal to shadowclan ; other info if applicable
— mildly difficult to befriend ; trusts barely anyone; trusts no one outside of shadowclan
— "speech", thoughts, attacking
— peaceful powerplay allowed
