smoke rising like lifted hands | hunting

E

ebonyfall.

Guest
☽ EBONYFALL ☾
Ebonyfall was careful not to step on any areas of too much mud when she traversed the southern reaches of ShadowClan territory. She was headed west, towards the stream, in hopes of finding something just south of the carrionplace. While the weather wasn't cold enough for her breath to appear white with frost, it wasn't exactly temperate either, and it was on days like this that the dark-furred molly was abundantly grateful for the new arrival of her cold-weather coat. With the amount of prey that had gone into hibernation a moon ago, Ebonyfall had taken it upon herself to hunt as often as possible, silently adding a snipe or a newt or anything else she could get her claws on to the fresh-kill pile, no matter how small.

Enough small things would eventually add up into something much more substantial, and the longer the clan cats stayed fed, the lower the risk of starvation later on would be.

Her attention was drawn by the gentle rustle of pine needles up above, and when she lifted her head, Ebonyfall instantly caught sight of a crow making its way directly towards the carrionplace. Crows were large, and fat off of the disgusting scraps they gouged their stomachs on, and they often hung out in groups. The only issue there was how difficult they were to hunt. Nearly impossible if they were at a good vantage point. Beyond that, once one was killed, the others took acute notice of their friend's murderer.

From her lifetime spent in the marshes, Ebonyfall had seen many cats make the mistake of picking off a crow in front of its friends, only to be harassed and attacked by the rest of the flock for days to come. Was it really worth the risk? Ebonyfall gave a glance to the other cats who had elected to join her for some casual stalking of the territory, and gave a twitch of her ear, before continuing on the original path.

There was no damage in at least scouting out the situation.

@FLICKERFIRE @PITCHSTAR ​

shadowclan, she/her, penned by cuzn, tags​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
F' you asked him, the lil' miss spent far t' much time pickin' her way through the woods, n' not enough time hunting. 'Er steps were light n' dainty, otherwise perfect for a place like this...but per priorities were a lil' mixed. She'd always veer away when there was a lil' too much muck in front 'f her, n' he'd tried right through it just to make a point. Wood-furred as he was, maybe he had the luxury of hiding his filth just a' bit more. Brown on black' not flatterin' to 'er, maybe. Naw. Get enough mud on ya' n' ill look like yer natural complexion. She might as well go all in, take a tumble n' get herself some new fun marks.

She's lucky she stops when she did, before th ol' intrusive thoughts could take 'im over. Eh, who is he kiddin', it's not intrusive, he just wants to push 'er over, hehe. His eyes drag up to where she was lookin', ol' bird up in the treetops, pickin' n' preenin', whatever the hell. He wonders if she'll take the leap, fling 'erself up there like a fancy-feastin' Skyclanner. She doesn't. Sad. But maybe some good ol' peer pressure will get somethin' done. "Whaa, yer not gonna get it after all that starin?'" he half-whispers, glacin' to the feathered fiend. "Flicker'd be impressed, I bet. Put some meat on 'er bones."​
 

Where Ebony thinks of the possible risks and assesses the situation, Fall is desperate for the thrill of the hunt. Shes among the bodies of the hunting patrol, its all Fall really does these days and she swears she knows each and every part of the territory by heart. Ebonyfalls pretty n such, but like Bark thinks, she thinks Ebonys gotta take some risks sometimes! Shes quick on her paws, she barely thinks as claws unsheathe and she scales the tree in what feels like record time.

She balances on the branch as the crow squawks, pupils dilate, this thing could feed the clan, it's perfect! She leaps as it takes off, snags it between her paws with a triumphant bark of laughter, plummets to the ground and this time she lands on her paws unlike the last. Unfortunately for the crow, its limp as she crushes it by accident, she picks it up excitedly. "I dif it! I gof if!"

Unfortunately for her, and the sanity of the other hunters, there are more crows, the exact same murder that Ebony had thought about. They perch, menacingly, Fall is none the wiser to the situation.

// permission given awwww yea​
"speech"​
 
☽ EBONYFALL ☾
Ebonyfall watched Fallenmoon's rather hasty display, with a slight bit of annoyance at how quickly her plan had been foiled. So much for a perfect catch.

"Well I was going to catch the rest of the flock at the carrionplace, but I guess she had different things planned." She would have been more efficient alone. Travelling just south of the carrionplace would have given them a better perspective, and she was very good at remaining silent on those wire fences, and—

When the near-silent beating of wings was picked up by her senses, Ebonyfall instinctively lowered slightly, and looked up only to see what must have been over a dozen crows staring silently down at them. Watching. Waiting. Corvids had a frightening sense to them, an intelligence beyond a simple snipe or a sparrow. She had watched them as a hobby in her youth, having been deeply fascinated ever since she saw a murder descend to gather around a crow's corpse in a grim type of procession. She knew enough about them, in that sense, to see that they were all staring at Fallenmoon, and she silently lowered into a stalk to try and circle around unnoticed.

Although she didn't climb pine trees often, she understood how it was done well enough. Hoping that none of the birds had caught on to her presence as she closed in behind them—wrapped in shadows—she gave Barkbreath a silent glance from across the small clearing before leaping up to silently dig her claws into tree bark. On a branch high above her, the lowest on the ponderosa pine, two crows perched with their gazes still locked on their fallen comrade. If she could just snatch one by its tail... ​
shadowclan, she/her, penned by cuzn, tags​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back