Discussion settles upon climbing, a common hobby among Skyclanners. Mallowlark could not deny the concept sounded thrilling- hauling yourself up something so vertical, claws digging into bark-flesh, all without displeasing nature? And- well, he could fathom the view only when he sat his mind back to tottering upon Outlook Rock, coughing his lungs out. The fire was cleaner here, sweeter... if ailment ever touched him again, healing paws were much, much closer.
Moon-wide eyes fought the bite of the air as they looked unblinkingly up at the tree. Tall Pine indeed! Massive, stretching- grasping thing, reaching into the atmosphere as if it was trying to capture the sky itself. Grinning at the tangle of needles, Mallowlark's head lolled a little to the side as he walked forward, balanced perfectly despite how much it looked as if he shouldn't be. "Bet you can see half the world," he sang, enamoured just from imagining it. One day he'd get there.
As they split off, it did not take him very long to scent something; even without the buffet (or benefit) of moorland winds, Mallowlark had not lost his talent for tracking. Stealth, even, was a strong suit... it was merely his ungainly size that impeded his ability, particularly with birds. Flapping, flighty things- their beady eyes seemed to see in all directions, as if they had more embedded in their brittle skulls! And misfortune had it that he spotted bright feathers in the greenery, rather than a russet streak of squirrel fur.
When he leapt for the prey, inky paws made purchase; but not quite perfectly. The bird didn't succumb under his strike- no, no, it flapped and scrambled, beating away his killing bite with its wings. He'd never had prey that fought like a warrior before- and as the flurry of feathers barraged his sight, he felt the bird slip from his grip and scatter pine-needles as it escaped.
He muffled his snort of laughter in an attempt not to ruin the successful hunts around him- but oh, bested by a bird in a spar! Life-or-death for the avian... he was sure it'd tell stories!
☺PENNED BY PIN
) "There it is, Tall Pine itself! Wish I was good enough at climbing in order to see the top." Alas, he would never be capable of achieving such a feat. Bearheart blinked sadly at the tree for a moment before he shook off the negative thoughts and replaced them with much more positive ones. Turning to his hunting patrol he offered a grin as he puffed out his chest. "Alright, the clan's countin' on us to bring in a decent haul of prey, so lets fan out and catch as much as we can! I believe in all of ya!" Pep talk done, he then turned around and bounced off into the direction of the few bushes that sprinkled the sparse pine forest.
