Risky Hunting | minor injury

[TIGERFROST]

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With another assigned to Dandelionwish for a time, Tigerfrost had once again taken it upon himself to go for a hunt, bringing with him a small patrol of eager WindClanners. The snow had all but melted, but the slush and mud remained, leaving behind a slick and deadened landscape, frosted by the breath of leafbare and appearing entirely desolate. The wind was bitter and painful as it bit at his nose, but it was his duty to press on, and so he does. The smell of a rabbit fills the air, fresh and tempting, and Tigerfrost slows his pace, gestures to his patrol with his tail. They could split off and find their own hunt if they wished, or they could help with the rabbit. Either way, after a moment of pause, the tall chimera spots the rabbit nearby, in a small outcropping of rough stone close to Outlook Rock.

He crouches, creeps closer upon silent paws, making his way as near as he can before he is spotted. The wind seems to shift, and the rabbit jolts onto it's hind-paws in a panic, nose twitching and ears tall atop it's head. In the dead, brown grass and patches of snow that remained, Tigerfrost has near perfect camouflage for such conditions. It doesn't spot him, but it does smell him. The rabbit leaps into a full sprint, and Tigerfrost tears after it. He had gotten close enough now that it only took a few powerful strides, his muscular limbs kicking up soil as her flings himself across frigid earth. Talons connect with the beast's haunches, and it jerks, twists in desperation to escape, kicks with it's back legs to catch it's claws upon the Warrior's right shoulder. With a snarl, the two crash to the ground as the tom loses his footing in the mud, but Tigerfrost is quick in snapping his jaws around the large animal's neck, swiftly ending it's panicked attempts at escape.

The prey has been caught, it would fill several bellies. With any luck, others on his patrol have caught something too. Tigerfrost lets the dead rabbit rest in the grass as he examines his shoulder, where the animal's claws had sliced across skin. The lacerations were thin and did not appear to be too deep, but they were bleeding nonetheless. The former wounds across his chest, sustained from the raid against SkyClan, had been of a similar nature, and Tigerfrost had allowed the shallow injury to scab over and begin healing on it's own. Seeing as how this was a relatively mild wound, the Warrior is content to do the same once more, simply giving the narrow claw marks a few licks of his tongue for cleaning.

Some might say he should go to the medicine cat's den, but he hadn't gone for his chest, and he wouldn't likely go for his shoulder either. With Dandelionwish having been branded a traitor and Vulturemask showing clear distaste for Tigerfrost's position as a guard, the chimera tabby simply didn't trust either healer not to make his situation worse. He'd be better off just keeping the wound clean until it scabbed over and healed on it's own. He shakes dust from his fur, turns to the rest of the patrol with curious eyes to see if anyone else had caught anything.

"Ready to head back?" He questions them gruffly.​

 

[Clambite]

Clambite hadn't been so lucky on her hunt, having found nothing, much to her dismay. The stocky molly let out a quiet huff of disappointment.

Defeated, she headed back towards the hunting patrol.....When she saw Tigerfrost.

At least he was lucky- did he get scratched by that rabbit? BRUH.

"HAHAHAHA- DID YOU GET BEAT UP BY A RABBIT!?" She laughed obnoxiously at him.

But still, a clanmate had been hurt. What if it had germs, what if Tigerfrost turned into a rabbit!

"Are you alright though?" She asked, looking at the scratches.
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[Badgermoon]

While Tigerfrost met with (slightly painful) success and Clambite suffered the typical leaf-bare patrol result, Badgermoon pursued a mouse from one soggy, dead clump of moor-grass to the next, his white-tipped ears low on his head. It was nice to join a patrol again and not feel as if the mere act of walking was a challenge, as had been the case in recent times, both due to the snow and his injuries. His cheek still pulsed dully, and the ragged wounds on his chest were only half-healed, but his strides were long and steady; he thought perhaps he could feel his strength steadily regenerating with each careful, prowling step. Closer, closer ... just a bit closer ... he could see the damn thing's whiskers trembling! Holding his front half very still, he coiled his back legs annnd - "DID YOU GET BEAT UP BY A RABBIT!?"

The deputy started at the sudden peal of noise, head twisting around, then swearing aloud as the mouse darted out of reach, disappearing down a hole not even big enough for his paw. Badgermoon let out a long sigh at his lost prey and straightened up to find the source of the noise; he spotted the she-cat and Tigerfrost standing near one another. The chimera held a rabbit in his jaws - a promising sight - but Clambite seemed to have caught nothing at all. He could hardly blame her for that - twas the season, after all - but it meant it felt in bad taste to laugh at a warrior who had caught some prey. The black-and-white tom padded over with a furrow forming between his yellow eyes, concern sparking there as he spotted the fresh scratches on Tigerfrost's shoulder.

"At least he caught something, Clambite." Badgermoon said with some firmness. "Anyways, that looks like it must sting. You should see what Vulturemask could do for it." he preferred not to speak of their ex-but-technically-still-current medicine cat; the situation was just too sticky. Besides, the sooner they all got used to their new healer, the better - right? "Though you might have had enough of the medicine den for the moment, eh?"​

 

[SNAILSTRIDE]

"Oh uh, Clambite actually did catch something!" The tabby's muffled voice erupted from behind a spindly old rabbit, its bones clinging to its skin. It was not an impressive catch compared to the rabbit that Tigerfrost had caught, but it was food, warm and free for one of the elders to eat to keep their strength up in the tumultuous times. Dragging the late lapine over, Snailpaw dropped it close to Clambite's paws, winking up at the patchy feline. They turned to Badgermoon, smiling giddily as they spun a lie to protect their sister's ability to be the little chaotic entity they loved. Their ears rotated in momentary guilt, lying to his favourite Deputy didn't feel great, but one white lie wouldn't hurt... right? "I was just holding onto this for her. Bone Apple T, as Owltalon would say!" Before considering what that phrase even meant, they'd whipped their head around to Tigerfrost, lazuli eyes quickly catching the thin line of blood pooling at his shoulder. 'Ugh... gross' Their whole body shuddered at the sight, grateful at the very least that more of the warrior's blood hadn't found its way to the surface. It probably wouldn't scar like Rainpaw's wound had.

He let out a nervous chuckle, the tail end of it turning into a deep yawn. "Wow you're... having a bad week huh? First, you get beat up by a SkyClanner, then a clanmate runs into you, and then a rabbit tries to give you a piece of its mind!" They fall back on their haunches for a moment, flinching at the moist, damp earth on the back of their legs. They'd be happy when this season was over, it was testing everyone, including the prey. Snailpaw cocked their head to the side, blinking through widened eyes. "Gosh, StarClan must hate you right now, hope things get better soon!" It was an empty statement offered to someone they had no emotional investment in, but... a part of it felt genuine in the tabby's heart. They didn't know if they particularly liked Tigerfrost, but that didn't mean they deserved so much bad luck - maybe he'd have to keep the foot that kicked him and hope things could turn around!



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[TIGERFROST]

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Clambite. Ugh. Such gall that one had, to return empty-pawed and mock him for getting scratched by the rabbit. The thing was nearly as big as a WindClan cat, and with claws just as long. He's heard the stories of hares and rabbits blinding cats who get too unlucky. They were surprisingly dangerous animals, yet it seemed Clambite only had an interest in laughing in Tigerfrost's face any time he suffered from some sort of misfortune. She might not have meant anything rude or cruel by it, but Tigerfrost doesn't see it that way. The mask he wears is a frosty one as he stares at her with intense, fiery eyes. Not a word creeps past his jaws, even as Badgermoon approaches. At least the deputy had some common sense. A respectable tom.

"It should heal fine on it's own. The scratches are quite shallow." Tigerfrost answers gruffly, blinking his appreciation toward WindClan's deputy. When Snailpaw finally arrives, claiming Clambite had caught a rabbit, Tigerfrost can only resume his rather intense staring, only this time, his eyes gleam with disbelief. Then again, there was no real evident to the contrary, and the rabbit was emacipated and old looking, clearly not a difficult catch. Regardless, food was food. Tigerfrost wouldn't complain about the quality of their meals, not in the middle of leaf-bare. He'd be a fool to. Of course, Snailpaw's poking at Tigerfrost was quick to earn the apprentice additional ire from the grumpy chimera.

"Actually, I feel quite the opposite. Not only was I one of the least injured cats in the raid, despite nearly ripping the throat out of a SkyClanner, but I also caught myself a rather fat looking rabbit. So, on the contrary, I'd say I'm feeling lucky." And indeed, he spoke truth. Tigerfrost had barely suffered in that raid, despite his brutal victory over Thistleback. And the rabbit he had caught would fill several bellies. "The snow is melted, prey is coming out of it's burrows, the sick are recovering well. StarClan smiles upon WindClan. You'd be blind not to see it." Devotion floods his words before he leans down to pick up his prey.

The rabbit flops in the tom's jaws, hind legs trailing through the grass as Tigerfrost begins to march in the direction of WindClan's camp.​

 

[LAMBCURL.]

He didn't understand the outbursts, the yelling... Lambcurl hadn't always been so watchful in the tunnels. Once, his paw steps had been fresh upon the soil, pink gaze doe-eyed; and still, of course, it was. But his pads had hardened and his mind sharpened with those teachings. You were never to underestimate your prey, they said. Especially down there, cut and cramped, it was easy to get carried away. Your life would be wasted, no... But perhaps your cause could have been nobler. It wasn't as if there was shame in any such thing...

It's a loudness, again, that pulls him from his tunneling. He never strays too far– he can't. Like this, he need only focus on the darkened stripes of Tigerfrost's fur; the two-toned deputy, standing tall amongst the snow. Tigerfrost need not defend his honor, no. Their laughter was based in nothing. And that was... fine. As long as they knew... There's a droop of his eyelids, consideration with the slight part of his maw. Moor-runners may not know... he would not blame them for this. Their lives were splendor-filled... Nothing to shame... His breath forms a cloud in the frozen air. "A rabbit can break bone..." he tells them. The intention to teach is all it is, all it is...​