STRETCHING BACK INTO TIME // sandhill crane

[HARRIERSTRIPE]

It was a hot new-leaf day, the clouds had all parted to reveal a bright blue sky. Crickets chirped in the grass and the moor runners felt their tongues dry up. Firefang had told him before that it grew difficult to maintain stamina in the hot seasons, but he's not sure he had fully believed her until now! His tongue sticks a mere mouse whisker out of his maw in a pant and the apprentice trudges through a thick barrier of grass. He was nearing the horseplace, blatant by the stink that rolled into his nostrils. It was hard to believe Weaselclaw had once lived here, strolling alongside the hooved creatures and observing twolegs from a distance. Harrierpaw would never confess it out loud, but it almost seemed kittypetish. He doesn't allow himself to think on it further, not even wanting to consider tarnishing the powerful warrior his father was.

The patrol stops to gaze out at the horseplace when a speck of red catches Harrierpaw's attention. His bright golden gaze narrows on the strange creature that strode through the fields, occasionally bending its long neck downward to peck at the soil. Was it a bird? He's seen large birds before, hawks, falcons, eagles, but this was a different type of big all together!

He licks his lips imagining what the large bird would taste like, and with that his mind drifts to the amount of praise his patrol would get for taking down a bird. He can't help but lean forward, his muscles bunching as if he was preparing to leap, in his fantasies he fails to realize what an unrealistic dream he was having. A single stripe from the long-legged bird's talons could split him in two.

//this is a prompt thread :)​

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Spoiler: TAGS 🪶 03-22

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· HARRIERPAW, male — he / him
╰ ‣ 4 moons . pisces. ages on the 14th
╰ ‣ windclan apprentice . believes in starclan

╰ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells of the earth and dry grass , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue and brown chimera . average sized WindClanner . yellow eyes

╰ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Chaotic neutral
╰ ‣ self-reliant, loyal, disciplined, direct, impatient, unsympathetic, judge mental
╰ ‣ finds moderate difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel

╰ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· WEASELCLAW x SOOTSTAR, sister to Windstrider, Sootchaser, Moorpaw, Adderpaw, Bluepaw & Cottonpaw
╰ ‣ nephew to Mintshade & Bluepool
╰ ‣ sexuality unknown
╰ ‣ apprentice to Firefang
╰ ‣ poor fighter . poor hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

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[Badgermoon]

Even if it was hot, Badgermoon couldn't help but rejoice at the arrival of newleaf. The empty bellies and sicknesses of leaf-bare seemed a distant, unpleasant memory; the sting of ice against his paws and the dull grayish color of the sky and the ground alike had vanished, replaced with lush greens, golds, and blues. Moreover, his attempt to get his mind off of certain things - or off of a certain cat, more specifically - had worked. Sort of. At the very least, it had given him something else to dwell on than the memory of a heartbroken amber stare and a longing so deep in him it made his chest ache. The black-and-white tomcat was therefore in high spirits as he tromped along with Harrierpaw, @SNAKEPAW presumably in step behind him. His yellow eyes flashed upwards at Sootstar's son's sudden movement and, after a moment, a grin cracked across the deputy's face.

"Oh, a crane." Badgermoon took the opportunity to sit, letting out a deep exhale; there was always an adjustment period to the warmer temperatures, and he was glad for a break. Playfully, he extended a paw and tried to pin Harrierpaw's tail to the ground. "Don't try going after it, there, big guy. They look silly, but they've got nasty talons." he had his share of unpleasant bird-hunting memories, and he was not keen to explain to either of Harrierpaw's parents why their son had gotten carved into little, fluffy, chimeric bits. "Plus, where there's one, there's always - ah, yeah, there it is." the damn things mated for life, and he had not ever seen one without its mate showing up sooner or later; sure enough, a second crane came strutting along on its stupid naked legs, and he huffed softly. "Even just one of them could feed a whole patrol...or two! Pity they're so...well...sharp."​

 

[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw tries her best to not let the heat visibly affect her - however being a leaf-bare born kitten, anything slightly warmer than freezing cold comes across as unusual and uncomfortable. She can handle it some days, surely. However let's say for today, she wishes she had Moorpaw's short, short fur. Her cushiony pelt is providing nothing but trapping the heat within it.

In any case, she trots alongside the patrol with relative ease, forcing herself onto the moorland regardless of her tremendous fear. She doesn't spy the spindly birds until Badgermoon speaks - and something colder than ice strikes down her spine. It's a crane, she tells herself. Not a hawk, she continues. Her mouth is dry and she takes a step back, easing onto her haunches as she does in an attempt to play off her fear. Still scary, though. Yeah, it is. "Why're they here?" she asks, eyebrows furrowed for a moment, again trying to conceal her truer emotions. "Birds belong in the skies, not - not just walking around."​

 

[Addervenom]

Life doesn't discriminate

With the weather warming up and growing increasingly hotter he could only begin to imagine the sweltering weather green leaf would bring. Adderpaw trudges forward, trailing behind his siblings with a hint of discomfort etched into his features. The intrusive scent of barn wafts over him and he grimaces a little more, still surprised that his father of all cats used to live here. His stride slows, amber eyes trailing across a rather large bird with imposing talons. Something with that much meat would feed a quarter of the clan by itself, and its clumsy and dopy movements lead him to believe with a good enough strategy they probably could take one down. Badgermoon unveils the very real danger of attempting to near the birds and Adderpaw huffs, taking a seat. So much for his plan. "What about their chicks?" With windclan's speed surely one of them would be fast enough to snag one if a few kept the parents distracted. ​

Between the sinners and the saints​

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[curlewnose]

"the wolf comes in the night when your mind is trying to sleep"​

Curlew was very bad at hunting outside the tunnels. So when he saw the crane after a long day underground, he began to slink away, lithe frame pressed to the ground.

This was how he came upon Badgermoon and a gaggle of apprentices. Never before had the tom been so grateful for the taller, scrubby grass of the moors. The last thing he needed right now was the deputy. Waiting stone-still, Curlew listened to the group. His heart ached as Badgermoon explained how the cranes always came in pairs, never far from each other…

The blue-and-white tom shook his head. A silly thing to dream about, after all that had been said. He should leave before he gets in the way of the moor-runners.

Quiet as the soil beneath his paws, the tunneler retreated from the looming birds and their would-be predators.

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✦ ★ ✦​

 

[LEMONTONGUE]

The sun's rays beat down on Lemontongue's pelt, a rise in temperature unwelcome as he trudges along beside the rest of this patrol. The days will only get warmer - this he knows, as one born into the moor's hottest season - and the moor runner already dreads the knowledge of such.

But, greenleaf will be more welcomed either way. Plentiful in food for the clan and less worries of going hungry or dying of sickness, Lemontongue supposes the drudging temperatures is a fair trade off.

A yellow gaze trained on his paws looks up, and --

"What is that?"

The biggest bird he's ever seen stands before him, with odd, lanky legs and a neck matching in length. It's bigger than the hawks that tend to threaten the moors, and certainly difficult to miss with its weird appearance - Lemontongue has no clue how he hasn't see one of these things before.

Imagine the look on everyone's faces, if they carried this back into camp! It would certainly be a feast for the clan, if they were to bring one of these back - or two, as another one comes traipsing over. Badgermoon shuts that down quickly though, an unfortunate lesson on the cranes before them. With talons so sharp and a stature so tall, Lemontongue will gladly not step any closer. If hawks' talons were to be warned of, stars only know what damage a crane's talons can do.

"Ugly looking birds," he mutters, white-tipped tail flicking behind him as a frown pulls on his face.
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[JaggedOak]

"THEY SAY THAT IM RECKLESS BECAUSE I'M RELENTLESS"​

It wasnt often that he came out to horseplace with a patrol. Not since he had lost his ear to one of the towering bastards so many moons ago. It wasn't like he was to scared to come out and face them. It just so happened to coincide with Sootstar putting it on lockdown after having lost her first life there. But with the restrictions winding down and new leaf breathing new life to the land, there wasnt telling what prey and herbs could be found along the two-leg settlement.

When the patrol stopped and started to obverse something on the fringe of the corral, Jaggedoak pulled himself away from the fence that held the horses and towards what all the warriors and apprentices were looking at. What he came upon was something he had never seen before. It was a rather large bird, but not as big and scary as the hawks from before, that was doing a rather...intriguing...dance? Was it a threat display of some sort.

Badgermoon seemed to confirm his suspicions, and even correctly guess when another one would appear like clockwork. He couldnt help but shake his head at the deputy as he came up on the rear of the group. ❝ You seem to know a lot about these birds. You sure we cant take at least one of them out with the patrol we have here. ❞ He examined them for a moment with a tilt of his head. Afterall, if the clan could take down a hawk, one of these shouldnt be a problem. Especially... ❝ If we can seperate one of them from the other, we might have a better chance. Like you said, it could feed an entire patrol... and then some!! ❞
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⊱ ♞ ⊰​