NEW AMERICANA \ hunting (event), phase II

[iciclefang]

Their Clan has been hard at work; she hasn't seen a single cat return to camp without something in their mouths, whether it be a bit of moss for their beds, a bit of bracken for den reinforcement, a fat fish, or a scrap of herb. She's proud of the way RiverClan has united in the face of this unforgiving weather, and she's prouder still of the way her kits have contributed to their Clan. Their mentors have kept their paws occupied — that's for sure.

Iciclefang crouches now at the river's edge, her eyes flashing with intent. The water's surface bubbles, just a little, and she sees something move side to side. Her paw lashes and connects with what she immediately knows is a lamprey. Her claws snag the slippery body and wrench it onto the shore. With a swift bite, its movements cease.

"Excellent," she murmurs. Lamprey is one of her favorites, and she knows some hungry kits who would love to tear into its savory flesh. She turns to Pinepaw, preparing to tell her to finish her catch up so they could move downstream, when something shifts in the reeds behind her.

She stiffens. It's not the careful padding of a RiverClan warrior. It's clumsy, bending foliage with its ungainly brown body. The stench of rotted fish and dank water coats her tongue. Otter. Her hackles begin to stiffen as it pokes its whiskered face from the greenery. Its beady black eyes settle on Iciclefang's lamprey.

Her own blue eyes narrow. "Oh, no, you don't," she hisses, but it moves quicker than she can give it credit for. She barely misses a swipe of its rancid claws, and she gives her own angry swipe in return; it clips the creature's brown fur, but draws no blood. The otter plucks the lamprey up in its greedy little paws and skitters to the side.

"Damn it!" It would be suicide to pursue the damn thing, even with a patrol to back her up... She slams her white-gloved paw onto the riverbank in anger. "Guard your catches! It's stealing fish!"

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: Iciclefang rolled for a predator encounter, so you must roll to fight off the otter in this thread! She got her prey stolen :( no points for her
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 29 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Pinepaw ; previously mentored Cicadaflight
  — riverclan lead warrior. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.
  
  

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[CRAGPAW]

Cragpaw's eyes widen as he hears the hiss of frustration from his mother. The thrill of the hunt had kept his senses sharp, but apparently not sharp enough. The sudden tension surging through the patrol shifts his focus and his mismatched gaze flits to Ferngill, searching for a cue. Cragpaw’s posture instinctively goes rigid, muscles tensed like coiled rope and ears straining for any other disturbances in the reeds.

The musky scent of the otter makes his nose wrinkle. It's an unwelcome, sour note to the usual crisp air of their territory. He watches Iciclefang's fierce reaction with an anxious twist in his chest - she's always been a figure of strength to him, her commands as sharp as her claws. Seeing the lamprey wrenched away by the otter's quick claws feels like an affront, not just to her pride, but to RiverClan itself.

"What should we do?" The young tom’s voice comes out more urgent than he intends. His paws shuffle nervously against the damp earth, claws pricking out. He's seen plenty of fish escape by slipping back into the current, but not often is it something like this. His chest tightens, frustration bubbling beneath his pelt at the otter's audacity. They'd worked hard to keep RiverClan fed, every catch desperately needed by his hungry clanmates. He swallows, trying to push down the raging heat rising in his throat.

// rolled a 2 - no prey for him!
@FERNGILL
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[Twinkleflight]

Twinkleflight sat perched at the edge of the river, she had never been the greatest hunter but she still has the patience of one. Even if it can be a little boring she sits and she waits. Iciclefang and Cragpaw are alongside her, occasionally her gaze flickers towards the tortoiseshell lead warrior. She always seemed so confident, no task was ever too hard for her and they found great admiration in it. The quiet hiss from her raised the points fur in retaliation, tail flicking anxiously as she spots a clawed paw reach and catch that prey that she had worked so hard to gain.

An otter, was it the same one she stole from? They can't help but assume that's the case, were otters clever enough to understand the concept of revenge or is this just from instincts. Crouching next to a clanmate beside her who had caught their prey she waits for dark fur to rise once more. She wasn't going to jump back into the water this time, dancing with fate enough as is but she wasn't just going to sit and wait for it to steal again.

With claws unsheathed she feels her fur bristle once more at the sight of a clawed paw escape those cold depths. Raising her paw in the air she brings it down to swipe at the creatures limb. They hope to draw blood, to at least scare it off before it can try and steal anymore prey. Maybe it's reckless, this is the behaviour she had been rewarded for by Lichenstar so they see no reason to not further engage with it.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ MAMA SAID IM SPECIAL ➹ I WAS‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  rolled a 7 <\3 twinkles beef with otters continues
  
• 
• TWINKLEFLIGHT
  They/she, RiverClan apprentice, 10 moons
  ★ A sleek yet tufted short haired blue point with blue eyes
  ☆ Littermates w/ Eveningpaw, Horizonpaw and Snowflakekit †
  ★ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ Speech (#C9BAF3), thoughts
  ★penned by Juice | ouijeejuice on discord
  

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[FOXTAIL]

Foxtail crouches at the river, and the tom tries to ignore the frigid breeze that brushes against his fur. He isn't nearly as cold as the others— he thanks the stars for his thick coat— but he still shivers, as his olive green eyes scan the river before them. With leaf-bare arriving early, prey is going to become more and more difficult to find. The rivers can freeze over if it gets cold enough, and he feels relief that this one hasn't frozen over (yet).

His tail twitches and his ears perk up, as his eyes catch movement in the water. A carp swims against the current, seemingly oblivious of the group of cats waiting at the shore. His eyes narrow and his paw swipes into the freezing water as it passes by him— claws tearing the carp right out of the river. His eyes seem to light up with his catch, and the lead warrior quickly goes for the kill.

But then, his ears twitch at Icicilefang's yowl.... and at a large splash in the river. "Guard your catches! It's stealing fish!" Foxtail barely gets to see the otter slip back into the river, but he quickly whips his gaze back to his catch. The tom bristles his fur, claws dug into his carp.... but even scanning the water before him couldn't have prepared him for the otter bursting out of the river. He lets out a surprised yelp as the otter makes a bite for his carp, quickly biting down on it as well. "No.... You don't!" Foxtail hisses underneath a muffled voice, as he engages in a tug of war with the otter.

If he could dig his claws into the ground, he would. But he feels himself getting dragged towards the river, and despite giving it his all, this otter refuses to let go. This is too close for comfort! He thinks as his paws are mere inches away from the frigid water, and if the otter tugs one more time, he will fall in. He releases his hold on his catch, and the otter instantly dives into the water, splashing the tom as it does so. He wants to let out a curse, as water drips off his pelt.​

𝐨𝐨𝐜 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

• rolled a 9, the otter won the tug of war for his carp </3
  apprentice tag @SUNPAW.
  
• 
  
  

  ---

  credit to raphaelion (via da) for the artwork <3
  
• Foxtail

  ​
  

  lead warrior
  25 moons
  warmhearted
  timid
  experience: trained
  backstory: [HYPERLINK]
  biography: [HYPERLINK]
  credit to trops for the chibi <3
  

  cisgender male [he / him]
  eyes: green
  pelt: cinnamon/chocolate
  fur length: long
  parents: dawnflower and redfur (riverclan npcs)
  

  ---

  ​

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[CLOUDPAW]

If Cloudpaw could claim to have any passions, fishing would be at the top of the list. Her love for it was palpable, as she spent hours every day staring into the river's depths, her breath slowing to a peaceful rhythm while she waited for the flash of shining scales. Tying for first place in their hunting tourney only boosted her confidence in her abilities, pushing the senior apprentice to train even harder. She might not ever be a great warrior, ever the soft-hearted pacifist; but she could certainly keep them all fed.

She had been eager as a newborn kitten to accompany Iciclefang on her hunting patrol, and she was glad to be doing something proactive for a change. The one thing Riverclan could always boast over their neighbors was the ability to keep prey flowing even during leafbare, thanks to their access to river creatures, but it still required hard work. Their nursery would remain full for the next few moons, and every morsel of fish was a blessing.

Of course, it wasn't only the cold they had to contend with now. Cloudpaw hadn't initially heard her patrolmate's struggles with the otter while she'd been busy wading through the icy waters. She usually hated getting her fur wet if she could avoid it, but the river's edges were beginning to freeze already, so the fish were lingering more towards the middle. "Star's above, it's freezing…"

But her efforts were not wasted; after patiently waiting as still as she could manage through her shivering, she finally felt the slip of a scaled body brush her leg. The apprentice instantly lunged, her head plunging beneath the water so her fangs could sink into bony flesh. She emerged from the rapids victorious, a giant king salmon thrashing in her jaws.

At that moment, when she turned to look for her clanmates' praise, she saw a dark pelt lurking in the water nearby. The otter met her gaze and darted for her catch, but Cloudpaw threw herself onto the riverbank with all her might. She would not lose such an impressive fish to a bottom feeder like that. The ivory molly tossed the salmon as far up on the shore as she could, lashing out with her hind paws to kick the otter away as it tried to scurry after it. "Get your own fish, river rat!"

---

‎‎ooc ♡ info

• [ cloud rolled a 19 & 17 to keep large prey! mentor tag @swirldance ✶ ]

• 

• 
  
  CLOUDPAW ♡ she / her, apprentice of riverclan, 11 moons
  ⭃ long-hair white and cinnamon chimera with pale green eyes
  ⭃ npc x npc // sister to moonbeam, rowan and crawfishpaw
  ⭃ single, crushing on no one // mentored by swirldance
  ⭃ peaceful powerplay permitted // underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by limerence ↛ @limericks. on discord, dm for plots

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[SUNPAW.]

It was no small secret that Sunpaw loved swimming. It was something she had taken to rather rapidly when she first joined Riverclan; something she returns to time and time and time again whenever she wants to relax or work on some skills. Hunting was an extension of that, so she wasn't really mad about it. She enjoyed it too, even if sometimes the catch was difficult. Or more difficult in these current times as well as the river plunges colder and colder, quickly. And apparently more quickly than usual if this frost is anything to go by.

She plunges into the river after the silvery body of a fish when the call goes up in the air. The fish scatters under the noise, or maybe not - it's something else. Her head quickly resurfaces as she looks towards the sight of the commotion. Foxtail's losing catch, as well as several others - it almost looks as though Cloudpaw is the only one with luck as so many of them work to fight off the pesky beast. Ugh, how annoying. Her ears flicker, lip briefly snarling in the dismay of this annoyance before she turns herself back to continue.

The least she can do is try.

Keyword: Try. Because as soon as she dives for another fish, she can feel the current move besides her and it's the creature. Her eyes go wide and she plunges deeper, feeling like she's all but flattened against the riverbed as the otter passes overhead. She twists awkwardly underwater, kicking out at it with her backpaws to try and shove it further away[/u] - or at the very least give herself a boost back to the surface. So much for fishing.

//rolled a 7 :c ​

 

[splashdance]

Splashdance had already lost the chase of a fish when Iciclefang alerts them all to the otter. She stands pathetically, water dripping from her pelt, as the lead warrior's catch is stolen from her. The way the otter moves reminds her of the very otter that tried to steal Pebbletail from them - the one that helped her earn her name... She doubts they're the same, but she can't help the wandering thought. Maybe they have a chance to steal back their prey...

It lunges towards several cats, hardly any different from a thieving snake in how it weaves and steals. Splashdance grimaces as another catch is stolen from their jaws. "Fish-dung!" she curses as the meal is lost to the ever hungry otter. She supposes they each could always hunt once more, but that does little to salvage her pride. She notices Cloudpaw not far away, guarding her catch like the warrior once did, and joins the apprentice with a frown. They have to defend what they have left, together. The beast will grow tired and leave in time, just so long as none of them decide to fill its belly.

[ rolled a failgirl 3 :( ]
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[lichenstar]

✦˚.✧˚✧˚✦˚ ✧ ˚✧˚✦˚✦.˚✧

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY ✧

• What careful dexterity she could throw into the thrill of a careful chase goes unused, useless... fraught with failure. It is unalike the last times she's tried... a unique lack of anything on the breeze to suggest a hearty meal. She could not bring anything home for Claythorn's children... for the half-clan infants that would've been Gladefrost's, had she survived. It is a haunting feeling, a familiar one...
  
  This time last year she'd been hardly more than skin and bones... Petalnose too, had so worked herself to the edge of death that she'd found her last ounce of strength expended on crashing into her deputy. It wasn't a memory she enjoyed... It wasn't a time she was eager to return to. The sound of voices raising above the clamor of her own head pull at her to give up her fruitless chase for a scent that was not there...
  
  And it is a good thing too, given the daunting foe that looms before them. A slavering, selfish otter... How ironic that she found Otterbite to be just as detestable. The lynx point hurries towards the edge of the river, watching Sunpaw's valiant struggle with an anxious tightness in her chest, "Let it... go," she warns, "It isn't... worth it." They could catch other fish.. they could not revive the dead.
• about
  
  speech hex code ✧ #6368A5
  
  ooc notes ✦ rolled a 7, no prey
  tagging ✶
  penned by tieirlys
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