no angst PITTER PATTER PAWS // hunting + chickens

[cottonsprig]

Cottonsprig tried to keep her skills at their peak - for the moons following her promotion beneath Wolfsong, she ensured that she kept up with basic knowledge of her former tunneling career. Hunting was a skill, too, that she forbade herself from losing. And now that she knows, that in season's time she will have to overturn her role and be a warrior once more... she's determined to strengthen what she has. Medicine may no longer be her profession but she refuses to be useless in WindClan's climate.

Unfortunately, even with her actively working on her tracking and hunting... she cannot find hide nor hair of a mouse near the barn. She's almost tempted to blame the barn cats inside that they're feasting too much - but that'd be unfair to them, she thinks. If she too were in a place so plentiful with food, with no duty to tend... she'd be round and happy within a day, even.

Her gaze skates the scenery, the farm beyond them. All she can hear are the hens and roosters, all of which seem equally upset with the sudden freeze. She imparts to one of her patrolmates a quiet, "D'you think we could... catch one of them?" Chickens are larger birds than they're used to... but comparable still to a crow or a duck. Would it be outlandish to try?

𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

• ooc // rolled a 17 (no encounter) but also a 6 (couldn't find prey) :(

• ❥ MEDICINAL KNOWLEDGE
  ♥♥♡ WOUNDS ; can confidently stop bleeding and mend lacerations. will often request that you keep your injury clean and wait it out first.
  ♥♥♡ INFECTION ; as a side effect of likely her own doing, very dutiful with technique and treatment shortly thereafter.
  ♥♡♡ ACHES & PAINS ; will defer to a dark tunnel and rest. if pain persists, maybe she will offer something.
  ♥♡♡ BROKEN BONES ; has never dealt with a broken bone. likely will ask that you never move. ever again.
  ♥♥♥ TRAVELING HERBS ; learned well from her previous mentor. will pile even too many remedies to tough the wilderness with.
  ♥♥♥ KITTING ; having kittens of her own and helped several others with their litters, she is very well versed with calming techniques and quelling pain.
  ♥♡♡ POISONS ; she knows what they are... but that isn't enough, isn't it?
  ♥♥♡ ILLNESS ; having worked through two yellowcough bouts, she is confident in her remedies. much else... she's operating on trial and error.
  ⸻ cottonsprig is a dutiful and excitable medicine cat. she enjoys company and loves conversation. she'd rather not have too many curious noses snooping around her den... but who is she to quell curiosity?

• 

  ⸻❥ cottonsprig is the primary medicine cat of windclan. a former princess to the moors, she harbors many guilts for her actions throughout her short life. she has no consistent partner, unwilling to commit and settle, and she is training celandinepaw in medicine.

​

 

[downyfur]

Downyfur wonders if Pollenfur is around. They decide it's unlikely; their aunt's disposition, the little experience they have with it at least, doesn't seem like it lends to adventuring outside the barn, even if it's just its outskirts. The little feline has suggested @heatherpaw. stick close to them for the patrol. Though they let her stray when gathering materials, they figure it's best she gets some exposure to hunting aboveground, especially as she's not skilled enough to do it herself yet. Downyfur would've wanted another few sunrises to at least let the bare basics sink in, but the clan's needs must.

At Cottonsprig's thought, their eyes slide towards the noisy barn. Even if no cat could catch one, their clamor would provide good cover. "Um... maybe?" They haven't had many opportunities to see a chicken up close, but like Cottonsprig, they assume they're like round, landlocked ducks. "I don't know if it's worth trying right now..." Maybe later, if WindClan's hunger gets truly unbearable.

She beckons Heatherpaw to a different path with a flick of her tail, one stretching back towards deeper WindClan in the shadow of the barn. "Usually us tunnelers hunt belowground," they mew quietly as they walk, scanning the browning grasses for a familiar divot. "I don't think it'll be very helpful to try hunting on the surface right now, so we're going to find a nearby tunnel, okay?" She glances back at her a moment to gauge her reaction before continuing on.

Soon, an entrance comes into view, tucked behind a spray of wheat and haloed by rabbit-scent. "I'm going to go down there to see if I can get one," they whisper, nodding towards the hole. This would be a lot easier without a green apprentice hindering the whole thing; she'd have plenty of opportunities to learn after their bellies were filled. "You... stay up here and block the entrance, okay? You might have to wrestle with it for a bit if it comes up, I mean, hopefully you won't have to. But if you do, all you have to do is keep it there until I can come and kill it. Does that make sense? Um, it's not as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be anyway." She waits for an affirmation to her rambling instructions before smiling at her (again) and disappearing down the tunnel.

Finding a rabbit and dispatching it goes surprisingly easy; they emerge in a few minutes, dirtied but proud, with an average-sized one dangling from their mouth and dragging between their legs. "Can you carry this back for me?" they ask, hoping their apprentice would feel a bit better about having an actual job.

ooc: rolled a 19 and a 10; earned 2 points!​