pafp running up that hill — hunting

[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

The obsidian-smoked brute grazed past the foliage, fur prickling as his side grazed past a peculiar bush, nostrils flaring, taking in the familiar smell of pines, releasing a drawn-out breath. It had been an odd, prickling sensation when he returned to his normal duties, forced to hunt ( and by extension relearn how to fight ) without his full vision.

It had been a difficult road, but Duskpool was never one to shy away from such things, not when he had cats counting on him. Not after his conversation with Tawnystripes, soul laid out bare for the stars to see. Shaking his helm, the large brute swerved to peer at the small group of cats, tail swishing, signaling them to stop at the first scent of a meadow mouse, ear angled, flatting down against the obsidian-fur of his helm to peer with a molten copper optic. Muscle coiled, rippling beneath scarred tissue, conspicuous as he eased into a hunting crouch, massive paws skimming the brush with practice eased, enjoying the hearty thrum that bumped ichor through his veins.

Despite being well into his age, having hunted for moons made his movements noticeable and clear to see, urging those who had yet to learn. He made no verbal remark, keeping quiet as the patrol chatted here and there, a lumbering shadow that he often was, observing those from behind.

Something Duskpool had yet to realize, and one he wasn’t keen on diving deep in as he led them through the foliage, itching to pull himself back until he was at the back, skin prickling with unease, but the brute kept a firm hold, heavy paws pulling him forward, leading their rag-tag group with some newer, eager to learn.

Been a while since I’ve done this. Not long, but long enough to have missed the familiar pull and push of muscle to the mumbling voices of his clan, lulling him into a welcoming stupor.

With a powerful thrust of his hind legs, Duskpool dared forward, claws latching onto the meadow mouse, jaws wrapping around its neck with a quick twist, silencing its gradual, panicked cries.

Scooping it up within his jaws, Duskpool padded back, emerging from behind a bush to peer at the others, helm cocked, dropping the vole beneath his paws, claws digging into the harsh ground to keep him steady, nostrils flaring in tandem with his steady breath, drawing in the forest's smell, filling his lungs to the brim with its ambrosial scent.

He expected something to jump out, but nothing came, peering at Bobbie with a tilt of his helm, gesturing towards the meadow mouse with a flick of his tail. “Take anythin’ from that?” He inquired, brow raised, directing his question to the queen, wondering if the other was just as observant as she was kind from the various events he’d observed with Yukio from afar, never making much of a fuss, but he’d be damned if he didn’t keep an eye out on one of his kids, adoptive or not. “Think you can replicate that? No need to fear gettin’ it wrong. I’ll help ya fix whatever and see about catchin’ something.” He remarked, tone deadpan as he swerved, peering into the pine forest with keen interest, tail hanging low.

/ please wait for @bobbie !​

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thought speech​

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[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— the tabby trails nervously after duskpool, wary green eyes flicking between each pine as though a slavering dog might emerge from between the innocent trees. she likes duskpool, likes his gruff kindness, but the memory of the last time she'd left camp with him sets her spine prickling, not by any fault of the smoke-furred tom. of course, a few other cats accompany them, but that does nothing to soothe her restless soul; after all, a few cats had been there last time, and that had only been stopped by blazestar's lost life. bobbie suppresses a shudder, focuses her attention on what the massive tom is doing; after all, she'd asked to tag along and get a feel for hunting—to her own shock, only a few sunrises lie between her and sort-of-warriorhood.

she at least knows enough to remain as silent as she can when he drops into a practiced hunting crouch, creeping fluidly forward in silence despite his huge frame. before she knows it, the black-furred tom launches forward in a sudden movement that nearly startles her, padding back with a meadow mouse hanging still between his jaws. his single molten eye turns to her, nodding to the piece of fresh-kill with a flick of the tail; the small tabby glances about before hesitantly meeting his gaze. his questions are deadpan but friendly(ish), asking after what she's picked up from the example. bobbie nods nervously and mews, "uhm, i s-saw you sort of skimmed your paws over the grass instead of taking whole s-steps, and you kept your tail off it." she pauses, considering, and speaks half to herself, "i wonder if i might have some l-luck there, being on the smaller side."

"uh, m-maybe?" her tone is sweet but hesitant as she looks around, trying to parse out the tangled scents of the forest for some more ground prey—bobbie has no confidence in the trees, not yet. she decides to keep it simple and, with a veil of slight awkwardness hanging over her, attempts to replicate his hunting crouch. it's not terrible, but it's certainly not great; her paws are placed in such a way, too close, so that she feels unsteady, wobbling on them instead of slinking. her ears warm with embarassment; at least most of the patrol is ahead of them.

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┏━•✿°•° OOC -ˋˏ ༻⚘༺ ˎˊ- INFORMATION °•°✿•━━━━━┓ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

• ooc: sorry this is so late omg
  

• 

• ❀ bobbie — for her kithood love of bobby pins she/her ; cisgender female — skyclan — queen — 38 ☾s —— bobbie is a beautiful but insecure lilac tabby, dotted with white patches and with pale green eyes. a queen of skyclan, she's sweet and kind if prone to melancholy; the heartbreaking end of a lifelong romance has left her scarred.. —— smells like sweet lavender & tea leaves ; sounds like sansa stark ; speech in #D64933, thoughts in #B1C797 —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; won’t start fights ; will flee ; will show mercy ; won't kill or maim —— pansexual panromantic monogamist, divorced, not looking ; open to friendships, enemies, casual interactions, plotting ; not open to unplanned romance & unplanned battles penned by dejavu— desklamp9 on discord for plots

• shhh don't look here (battle info will go here at some point)

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[TIGGERBOUNCE]

A smile crosses over Tiggerbounce's features, his round eyes closing in a quick, sympathetic blink. "It takes a bit to get used to," he offers, "my mom used to bat my ears and said she'd keep me out all night until I did my crouches just perfect. It's more square-ish, y'know?"

The tubby tom drops down, settling his weight evenly on all four paws. He knows that he is stockier than Bobbie and Duskpool combined, even minus all of the extra weight that kitty-pet life has bestowed on him, so he centers himself lower and more securely on his front paws than a typical SkyClanner would. "This kinda position is great for hunting frogs and lizards. You push off and grab 'em before they can jump anywhere, and it keeps all your paws safe from sinking in the mud."

He swallows here, an embarrassed chuckle falling out of his mouth. "Well... I guess it's not a big issue here.... we don't really get bogged out."​

 

[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Duskpool hums, offering Bobbie an encouraging nod of his helm, “No need feelin’ nervous.” He rumbled. Yukio had been just as nervous when he attempted to teach the ditzy feline while he was a loner, only a few days when Yuhwa took him into their rag-tag of a clowder. He snorted at the memory, shaking his helm. The kid was even worse. He thought.

“Better make mistakes now.” He commented, offering comfort, straight-faced as ever. “Everyone starts somewhere.” He added. “Sure made a fool out of myself learnin’ don’t think anyone expects ya to get it right.” Molten copper slithered to Tiggerbounce, grunting in acknowledgment.

Torn ear flickered, listening to the other speak without comment, turning to Bobbie with a quick, calculative glance. “Maybe.” He began, turning his attention to Tiggerbounce. “Still a skill, whether ya use it or not. Shouldn’t be downplayin’ it. Hell. Might need it one of these damn days.”

With that, Duskpool shifted his attention to the queen, tail twitching. “Stance is too narrow, kid. You’ll flop over before ya do anythin’.” His tone deadpan, paw reaching out to widen her stance a bit, helm jerking towards the other warrior. “Might better help ya if you copy Tigger over there. Your size will help ya in the long run. Makin’ ya quicker than us luggers.” He rumbled, deadpan. ​

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thought speech​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— one of the daylight warriors pads up, to her mingled embarassment and appreciation—perhaps he can offer another perspective on her unfortunate hunting crouch. he smiles, though, with a sympathetic blink and a round, almost sweet face; she focuses, trying to remember his name .... tiggerbounce, that's it. the odd daylight warrior names give her memory a challenge sometimes, but it's nothing she can't handle, much better than looking rude by forgetting a cat's name. she glances over as he drops into a crouch, leaning forward on his front paws and offering her advice about how that crouch is good for hunting frogs and lizards—nothing if not polite, she makes sure not to wrinkle her muzzle. they sound rather gross.

"it could st-still be useful, i guess! you never know." she smiles at his welcoming round face; he might have a reputation around camp of being lazy, but he's certainly one of the sweeter skyclanners she's met. she tilts her head curiously, her mew genuinely interested, "bogged out? did you l-live in the marsh before you met your housefolk?" she's always thought the daylight warriors had been kittypets from their birth like herself—given the attitudes assumed by the other clans and even some of their own cats, she'd never considered that a wildborn cat might choose to adopt the supposed "soft life" of a kittypet. he certainly seems kind, though, kinder than those who might insult him for his role—a couple of lead warriors come to mind ...

she shakes herself from her thoughts, turning her attention back to duskpool's advice; she's happy to listen to the much older warrior—it gives her a start to think she's already started considering herself among their ranks. his voice is gruff and his face is deadpan, but she thinks he's genuinely trying to help. it startles her a bit when the smoke-furred tom reaches a large paw to fix her stance, and she tries to help out by mimicking tiggerbounce's positioning, her paws further apart and her small frame, not yet muscled by warriorhood, much more stable. she grins at the pair unabashedly for a moment before she subdues it to a small smile, unreasonably proud.

"is this b-better? it certainly feels better." she shifts her light weight on her paws a bit, trying to imagine herself slinking through the brush like this to seize a mouse. it's hard to envision, but the thought lifts her spirits a little as she feels out the form of the hunter's crouch, not too bothered by duskpool's blunt phrasing. "i suppose so." she offers in response from her awkward-feeling spot below their eye level, adding with an amused tone, "either of you two would sq-squish me in a battle, though."

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┏━•✿°•° OOC -ˋˏ ༻⚘༺ ˎˊ- INFORMATION °•°✿•━━━━━┓ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

• ooc: ——
  

• 

• ❀ bobbie — for her kithood love of bobby pins she/her ; cisgender female — skyclan — queen — 39 ☾s —— bobbie is a beautiful but insecure lilac tabby, dotted with white patches and with pale green eyes. a queen of skyclan, she's sweet and kind if prone to melancholy; the heartbreaking end of a lifelong romance has left her scarred.. —— smells like sweet lavender & tea leaves ; sounds like sansa stark ; speech in #D64933, thoughts in #B1C797 —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; won’t start fights ; will flee ; will show mercy ; won't kill or maim —— pansexual panromantic monogamist, divorced, not looking ; open to friendships, enemies, casual interactions, plotting ; not open to unplanned romance & unplanned battles penned by dejavu— desklamp9 on discord for plots

• shhh don't look here (battle info will go here at some point)

​