PURPLE RAIN — prompt

[COYOTEBITE]

Her patrol had set out later that evening than they had originally planned. and somehow, they had found themselves hunting well into the later hours of the evening. While it wasn't outright an issue, Coyotebite felt uneasy hunting so late into the evening. This was not the time of year that she would feel safe hunting at night, especially with a lack of prey. Too many predators would be more than pleased to make a quick meal out of one or more of the patrol members.

"Ready to head back? I'd rather get back before it's completely dark outside." Halting beside one of her clanmates, she would look through a clearing of trees, gazing at the sunset before them. While most nights the sunset was nothing spectacular, this evening it seemed to be a beautiful mixture of a deep purple dusk with splatterings of pink across the horizon. As she took in the beautiful sight before her, she almost missed her clanmate's response.

// prompt: deep purple dusk
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[WILDHEART]

"I think we should keep going. If we scurry home every time the faintest whiff of darkness lingers overhead then we'll get very little done." Wildheart grumbled in response as he looked to Coyotebite for her further input, provided that she didn't remain distracted by the horizon and its swath of colours. As beautiful as it was it simply didn't interest him, unlike the pursuit of progress. The tom felt as though they could still muster up a few more catches from prey running back to their nests for the night.
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[Honeydapple]

Honeydapple found herself grappling with the colder season, a sentiment she didn't exactly relish but managed to tolerate. Her well-insulated pelt did its job in fending off the chill, yet her older paw pads seemed to perennially succumb to the icy grasp of winter. She meandered with her nose close to the ground, hoping to detect the subtlest signs of life amidst the frozen terrain. Alas, the evening offered no such clues, and a discernible sigh escaped her lips. Looks like another bust I better head back.

Turning around, she retraced her steps to rejoin her clanmates, trotting through the undergrowth and emerging from the sheltering line of trees. As she arrived, snippets of Wildheart and Coyotebite's conversation reached her ears. A sense of amusement danced in her eyes upon learning of the younger cat's fear of the night. Honeydapple, in stark contrast, harbored a deep affection for the velvety embrace of the starlit sky and the whispers carried by the nocturnal breeze.

Those moments of darkness were when the world truly found peace, not to mention the countless captivating adventures she shared with her mate, racing through the leaves under the moon's gentle glow. Shaking her head gently, the pointed molly chimed in with her own perspective. "Wildheart is right. We should try to endure a bit longer. There are many hungry mouths to feed." Despite her practical agreement, she cast a look of understanding toward Coyotebite, acknowledging the discomfort that the night brought for some.​

 

[barleysight.]

The classic tabby, fur painted in darks and lights of brown, and white as prominent as if shed been halfway shoved into a paintcan. Their fur bristled at the cold, maw open to inhale the scents around them. She had been bregurdgingly accepting her duties as a warrior, only wanting to get them done rather than lollygag and get stuck in the cold.

"Theyre right. We need to keep going. The darkness never stopped us before, and Theres a lot of nocturnal critters besides predators," they said, their tone dry as they watched Coyotebite. Realizing their lack of emotion, theyd offer a small smile.

Barleysight had never been good at social interactions. It could be different if they decided to socialize as an apprentice, but they had goals.they were never one to let others intercept those. And right now, their goal was to simply catch one piece of prey before they could sleep- even if that meant staying out late. They would feel guilty otherwise.

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[Tybalt [Stagstrike]]

Tybalt had never been afraid of the night. He’d always preferred it. During his kithood, night meant the city had quieted, and twolegs had gone away. The danger it presented was different, but often avoidable if he’d kept his guard up.

But now his bones ached with cold, and his jaws carried no prey. His gaze drifted up towards the sky. They couldn’t return with nothing. “We should go for a while longer,” he agreed. “If we keep our eyes and ears open we should be okay. And we can take a different route on the way home and see if we can pick up any sign of prey.”

 

[TOADHOP]

It gets darker quicker these days, Toadhop swears. Indigo encapsulates the sky, intruding in the sun's territory long before it does in the warm moons, and the patrol he walks among becomes a dusk patrol before he knows it.

His form trembles at the rush of cold air that swarms his slowing strides, ears twitching at Coyotebite's question. Ready to head back? the warrior asks. Cerulean eyes blink as they cast themselves upon the sky. It is getting dark, but Toadhop's hardly caught a whiff of mouse yet — the fresh warrior is not ready to head back.

And neither is the rest of the patrol, it seems. Toadhop nods his head, agreeing with them. " We need all the prey we can get, " he adds, though an apologetic smile pulls at his maw as he looks to the patrol leader. He understands wanting to get back before dark, but now's not the time for early departures. " Turning back early isn't going to help any of us. "​

 

[PEBBLESTEP]

The clan was in disagreement whether to turn back because of the glow of the dusk or to keep going despite the dangers it brought. Pebblestep found themselves in the middle of the conundrum, chewing nervously on the side of their maw. One on the one paw, it was dangerous to be out at night, foxes would be the least of their worries in the deciduous woodlands and he did not fancy his luck encountering beasties in the dark. On the other paw, leafbare had sunk its claws into the earth and, with an unlucky patrol, going back empty-pawed could be difference between full bellies and starving warriors. Pebblestep would do what he could, skip meals and hunt a little extra in the morning, but that likely wouldn't be enough to stave of the ire of very hungry cats. "If we stick closer together, we can help each other if anything tries to eat us," he assured Barleysight and Coyotebite, guilt twinging his watery eyes as he agreed with one half. Hopefully they wouldn't think any less of him. "I t-think this is something we need to do, for ThunderClan," the lilac tom mumbled, hoping the purple-hued sky was not an omen of bad things to come.

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