tunnels UNWELCOMED GUESTS [TUNNEL MILESTONE RESULTS !]

[WINDCLAN]

DIVERT TO THE LEFT ╱ 25 post milestone
───── ATTENTION ! This thread is the result of the ic decision made here.

The tunnelers return to their work the next day. All has gone smoothly, and they had yet to of ran into another roadblock. Eagerly continuing to dig away they find the soil begins to give away a little too easily in front of them. One of the senior tunnelers of the patrol informs this could mean they're about to run into another previously made tunnel or that they've managed to dig themselves too far up. Advised to proceed with caution they continue to dig for a short while hoping that their recent work has not gone for nothing.

As suggested, the dirt in front of them eventually crumbles away to reveal a dark chamber. Roots spiral across the dirt floor and a low growl erupts from the shadows, enough to give a grown cat night terror for days.

The sound of thunderous paws approaching can be heard as the pungent scent that stains this place hits the patrols nose. Fur bristles, yowls strain throats and claws unsheathe into the earth as they come to a horrifying realization.

They've dug straight into a badger's sett.

WRONG TURN! -20 posts from overall tunnel progression. They now sit at 8 posts, with any posts made to this thread continuing to count to towards total. HPs have treated this first milestone as a 'test run' to see how this system works, we've not yet concluded how many posts will be required for the total completion of the tunnel.

Reminder: any threads where tunnelers are actively working on the new tunnel count towards the post total!

NEW OBJECTIVE; Deal with the aggravated badger, lick your wounds, and carry on with the expansion!
[HPS will control the badger!]
​

 

[✧ Marmotbite.]

♢​♢ THE BEST MISTAKE YOU EVER MADE ♢♢​

---

marmotpaw & 09 moons & female & she/her & windclan tunneler apprentice​

---

Strangely enough, marmotpaws thoughtful words ahd been the decisive vote - the tiebreaker on their little patrol. Small paws had worked dutifully, digging away well into the night. They'd made decent enough progress she'd thought, small figure weary and worn but still proud of efforts made when they'd returned home to collapse into their nests, to catch a few hours of sleep before they returned to make way once more.

And dig they do - though, sifting is perhaps more accurate, as soil and dirt fall loosely at ehr paws in a way that leaves her anxious - memories of dirt collapsing overhead leaving her anxious. She does not want to deal with such a thing again, and so she hopes the others are right - that perhaps they've simply stumbled across a rabbit burrow, maybe even with the tasty prey still sond asleep inside.

Of course, luck has never been on her side - the ound, the stench of it - it hits her at the same time as the hot puff of breath brushes her face, and she's moving ebfore she can even process it. Pale figure bristles, pelt fluffing up until she's nearly twice er size and bottlebrush tail arches - not all together an unusual sight where marmotpaw is concerned, the flighty thing she is. But claws lash out, swiping blindly towards the monster she cannot see but knows is there - "BADGER," she yelps as she feels flesh and fur tear, as she tastes the metalic tang of blood i nthe air.

And then she is gone - tiny form shoving and slipping back through the tunnel and the tangle of limbs with absolutely no care for the rest of the patrol, because there is no way she is going to be at the very front of the group when they are facing those things - starclan above, she's still nearly as small as a kit, her expected growth spurt never having come. The thing could probably eat her in one bite! She doesn't flee entirely of course - that'd be cowardly, and she is no coward - but she keeps a cautious distance now that she knows what they are facing. She is unwilling to risk her life - she does not wish to die here today, nor ever really, and if her clanmates are foolish enough to not feel the same - well, she'll gladly let them.

— it sounds so fuckin' beautiful when you say my name ♡

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: 50th post milestone! rolled a 16 on luck/skill
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — a shockingly tiny she-cat with pale blue and cream ticked tabby fur, save for a single patch covering her right eye that is brown instead, and mismatched green-orange eyes. she has heavy scarring along the entirety of her left side, from her face all the way down her chest, belly, and flank; which has been there since kithood. she is a twitchy little thing, known for her bad attitude and an unfortunate habit of biting when startled.
  
  — physically medium && mentally medium
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=#9ab973]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[SCORCHSTAR]

The idea of taking a vote on which direction they should dig in had seemed inconsequential, a good way to make a decision that everyone could be happy with. Scorchstreak understands now that they should have simply taken the first vote, Mousepaw’s choice. Had they gone right, perhaps a different danger would have awaited them, but at the moment all the calico can think of is how much she doesn’t want to be dealing with this right now. "Badger!" She cries in unison with Marmotpaw, golden gaze tracking the apprentice’s movements as she retreats. A good choice, Scorchstreak thinks; it may seem cowardly, but she doesn’t think it is cowardice to back down from an enemy who could break a cat in half with one crushing bite. Marmotpaw has good survival instincts, even if those instincts mean that she is not much use in this fight.

Taking a sure step forward and squaring her shoulders, the warrior assesses the enemy with squinted eyes. They could attempt to run, to lead it out of the tunnels or otherwise drive it away, but that would be only a temporary solution. It will only return to its sett. There is only one option in Scorchstreak’s mind: this badger must die here and now. "Watch the teeth and claws, and aim for the face," she calls to the rest of the patrol—varying degrees of age and experience mean that this may very well be the first badger encounter for some of her clanmates. Scorchstreak is a lead warrior; the responsibility of keeping her clanmates safe through the battle that is certain to ensue falls on her. "Someone needs to try and get behind it." And someone needs to distract it. With a grimace that bares all her teeth and a bristle of fur that rises along her spine, the she-cat stalks closer and closer to the beast even as it snaps and snarls. I do not fear you, she thinks, chest rattling with the force of the growl that she lets out in return.

It’s difficult to see in the low light, but decent eyesight even in the dark is a trait that many tunnelers possess—she knows where her enemy is, can make out the shadow of its head as the badger swings it around to face her. Marmotpaw has already drawn blood, so the beast already knows the sting of claws; Scorchstreak plans to add more. With a hiss, the calico strikes out with dirt-dulled claws, hoping to catch some part of the beast’s face. Nose or eye or ear, it makes no difference. Only the spill of blood and the warmth in her chest matter, in this moment.​

[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

​

 

[Mouseflight]

A badger is not what Mousepaw was expecting to come from digging left. More rocks, sure, that was to be expected, but it seemed as though StarClan had a different plan. Who knew that there would be such a horrible outcome waiting for them for picking the wrong direction. His own words echoed back to him, thinking then and there that they should have gone right, they were WindClan and they were always right, and so that was the direction that they should have gone in. Too much was happening too fast for the apprentice to state this fact, breath catching for a moment in his throat as the hot scent of badger filled his nostrils and Scorchstreak and Marmotpaw called out in unison of what it was that was clambering towards them now.

He froze for a moment, unsure of what to do, head shaking as he backed up when Scorchstreak called out to watch the teeth and claws. Ears twitched when she then state that someone needed to get behind it, and for a moment, Mousepaw thought that should be him. He soon abandoned the idea when he found that he couldn't see where to go, couldn't see where there would be to get under, over, or around the badger that was in front of the cats, and so he stayed put, watching and waiting for an opportunity to do so as he aimed to slash at the creature, aiming anywhere that he could reach while staying out of the way of the others. This was his first fight with a badger, and he needed to make sure that he did his best, didn't want to die in the tunnels he held so dear.

OOC INTERACTIONS ✧.·:·.*

• [ooc]he rolled a three
• windclan (sootstar) loyalist
  dirty fighter/will aim to kill
  will bully anyone (some more than others)
  

  
  

  likely to attack first
  powerplay peaceful actions okay
  ping if needed in a thread
  
• 
  8 months old
  ftm calico -- he/him
  tunneler apprentice
  
  large ears
  always looks grumpy

​

 

[LUCKYPAW]

Small CW for descriptions of panic & thoughts of death

This is all new to Luckypaw, this digging of new tunnels, and so, as the vote to go left wins and they continue pushing through the earth, he doesn't try to argue the contrary, doesn't do anything other than accept the choice and continue onward. So what if the direction he voted for didn't win? If it were really a big deal, Scorchstreak would have stepped in, right? Or even one of the other adults, for that matter, even if Scorchstreak is clearly the most skilled and knowledgeable of all the tunnelers. It's not hard to convince himself of these things, and as they get their start bright and early the next day, he doesn't see any reason to doubt their choice, up until the talk starts, and the dirt before him begins to loosen hardly before he's even begun to chip away at it. There's something up ahead, it's said - some sort of hollow of sorts, a chamber or an old tunnel or something. Not exactly what he wants to hear, or feel, for that matter, but...everything's still fine, right? They'd turn back if not, head to the right? Luckypaw's work begins to slow, unease creeping up upon him, until finally he stops entirely, just listening to the work around him, as if his paws have refused to keep moving.

Later, he'll think back and decide he was lucky to stop where he had, but at the moment he feels anything but as his senses suddenly overwhelm, input coming from all over. The most obvious is the yowls from his fellow tunnelers, warning calls of a badger, and beyond that is the sounds of the badger itself. Such terrible sounds, so harsh and soft and grating compared to the cries of alarm ringing out, and he's certain it's a noise he won't soon forget, provided there's a future for him in the first place past this grisly encounter. The scraping, knocking, angry and pained noises, they begin to mingle with the stench of the badger wafting towards him (and how could he not have smelled it in the first place, he wonders, even behind mounds of soil?) to create a deadly mixture, one that turns his stomach and roots him to place. He needs to move, needs to go somewhere, but it's as if he can't even think, the walls feeling far too close all of a sudden, and Luckypaw instead brushes up against the side of the wall, pressing himself tightly against it for some sort of grounding pressure and to allow others to move on past.

Was he going to die here, torn to shreds by this beast? Were they all going to die, and never be dug out of the ground by the rest of their clanmates? The thoughts hardly register in his panic, and as he's trying to remain standing as the very ground beneath him feels as though it might shift out from under him, Scorchstreak's commands cut in. Watch out for its teeth, for its claws, aim for its face - were they fighting it? Was...was he supposed to fight, too? He feels woefully unprepared for this scenario, even as he recalls that they have protocols in place for this exact scenario; of course, in the heat of the moment he's hard-pressed to recall the actual plan they're to follow, though it must be to fight, as he can hear the sounds of battle already starting up. He didn't - he hasn't prepared for this, not like he feels he should have, and if his legs were feeling a bit more steady he might take off right now, bolting away from the danger like his brain is screaming for him to even as Scorchstreak barks out more orders. It would be the safest thing to do, ensure that he made it back to see the daylight again, to see Scorchpaw and Badgermoon - what had he said to them last, he wonders?

What could he even do against such a beast, he wonders? He's hardly any good at combat against other cats - how could he ever hope to stand up to a badger? And yet, his clanmates have already begun to level their assault against it, snarling and caterwauling ringing loudly in his ears. They were more experienced than him, but they were still cats themselves, too - hardly any bigger than him, even if they were better at using their claws. No doubt Scorchstreak is at the front lines, leading the fight, and, well, no matter how terrified out of his mind he is right now, Luckypaw knows he can't abandon her or the rest of his clanmates, can't doom them to fall beneath the vicious claws. As inexperienced as he was, what if he was still the one to turn the tide, even just for a moment, in their favor? There would be no decisive blows from him, even if his paws weren't shaking so badly, but maybe he could - throw it off balance, distract it, provide an opening of some sort? Anything that might make it easier for someone else to dart in and do something more useful.

All his instincts scream to flee, and yet, amidst the chaos around him, the apprentice slips forward on unsteady paws, approaching the tail end of the battle. Even in the dim lighting, any confidence he might have had quails as he's able to get at least an impression of just how big - and how deadly - the badger must be. By now, he's riddled with doubt - would he even be able to do anything here? What if all he does is get in the way? What if he gets completely flattened by its brute force, or if he ends up getting in the way and causing someone else to be hurt? Already faltering steps give way 'till he remains dead in the water, crouching down as his gaze flashes with fear. Can he even go back, now? Or is it too late, his fate already sealed having gotten so close to the combat? At this point, he's starting to realize that, whether he joins the fray or not, he can't stay still any longer, and before he becomes a stumbling block for someone else, Luckypaw forces himself into action, darting out of the way of the nearest cat. Stay, fight, run, go - it's all blurring together, and now there's no time for thinking, the badger bearing down right on top of them all. Out of instinct, he swipes out, trying to hook his claws into the badger if it gets too close, even as he's trying to dart backwards, away from its reach. This can't really be happening, he thinks, even as he tries to remember the little battle knowledge he's absorbed in his training thus far.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

BADGER​

The cats who roamed the hills above had hardly been a cause for concern. The black and white creature would not have even known of their presence if not for their scent- until now. They've knocked down the dirt wall to her den and stood baring their fangs, growing twice their original size with bristling fur. Feeling trapped by her intruders she growls and lumbers forward. Her jaw agape, teeth prepared to latch into feline flesh. Claws rake her face, tinier than hers but they still packed a punch of their own. The first blow strikes her harshly across the nose, the younger feline managing a hit on her cheek. Lunging forward she aims to topple any cat refusing to get out of her path, her jaw snapping and aiming to take a bite on @SCORCHSTREAK . She then lifts a weighted paw and slams it forward trying to rake her own claws on @LUCKYPAW , the apprentice desperately trying to remain out of her reach.

☾ INFO BATTLE

• The badger is currently facing Luckypaw and Marmotpaw. Back is exposed to Scorchstreak and Mousepaw so long as they weren't hit by her charge. Any characters who join the fight from here can pick their position
• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[SCORCHSTAR]

The rest of the patrol leaps into the battle, and to Scorchstreak’s surprise even Luckypaw and Mousepaw are out in front, dealing blows to the badger like they’re warriors already. If she weren’t so concerned about the looming threat of a painful death, she may have felt pride for her son, charging into battle with such a massive creature. Sure, he looks nervous, but what apprentice in their right mind wouldn’t be? One slash of those claws, and her son could be gone forever—but she trusts that fate will not let her lose another kit so soon.

The beast rumbles and charges, jaws parted for a certainly deadly blow, but nimble paws dart out of its path just in time. Teeth miss her flank by no more than a hair’s length, and she lets out a hiss at the nearness of it. Her concern only multiplies, though, when the badger turns to face the apprentices. Danger. This fight has quickly slipped from her control, and her heart sinks in her chest. Luckypaw and Marmotpaw are in danger now, and there is nothing that she can do to keep terrible jaws from snapping down upon them.

Or—she thinks—there is one possibility. Hunching down and squaring her shoulders, the tunneler aims to leap upon the back of the predator, claws scrambling for purchase in its neck. Her jump is precarious, timing all wrong, but if she can only distract it for a moment, long enough for one of the apprentices to get close enough for a swipe to the eyes… Maybe this will work out.​

[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

​

 

[BLUEFROST]

Oh, how confident she is, now that her choice—left—had been so obviously right. Their digging goes smoothly, the earth crumbling easily beneath their scooping paws. She carries herself with her head held high, her ears lying back against her skull in a delicate, feathery crown. She is the one who’d first suggested they go left, and perhaps it is divine intervention that had led her to that conclusion. Bluepaw cannot claim this is so for sure… but each bit of dirt she scrapes away too-easily seems to confirm it a little more.

All too-soon, though, the walls crumbles away to an expanse of blackness, foul and stinking of danger. Bluepaw’s ears flick forward in surprise, some of the confidence draining from her body. Marmotpaw in front of her shrieks, “BADGER!”—and mayhem erupts. Beady, berry-bright eyes peek at the tunnelers from darkness, and a forelimb tipped with blunt, powerful claws slashes toward the patrol. She leaps back in surprise, at first too stunned to make any moves. Had she truly been that wrong, so wrong that StarClan would send a badger to punish her and her Clanmates?

Her claws unsheathe, but she is stiff, unsure. Scorchstreak is swift to appear, barking orders. The badger has Marmotpaw and little Luckypaw cornered, and Bluepaw exhales as the lead warrior leaps to defend the apprentices. She hooks her claws into the badger’s striped back, and she decides the time for action is now. Bluepaw darts around to where the beast looms, squirming with the calico now on his back, and aims a quick forepaw toward its eyes and muzzle. If one slash misses, she will aim one more blow, this time lower and towards its lower jaw and throat.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — bluekit . bluepaw
  — she/her, apprentice of windclan
  — bisexual ; single
  — long-haired blue she-cat with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — art by Meg

​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

BADGER​

The badger feels a hefty weight upon her back before a burning sensation pulses through her skin. A terrible roar of agony erupts , she staggers and slams side-ways into the tunnel wall. Meanwhile even more claws reach out to harm her, a flash of silver can be seen heading straight for her claws. Clumsily stepping back, the strike runs down her muzzle and onto her nose. Warm and sticky blood begins to trickle down and she begins to pant. Panicked and feeling crowded the black and white beast lungest forward and snaps her maw at the cats in front of her, primarily Bluepaw as her most recent attacker. Whether she hits or not she whirls around, her nose hitting the tunnel wall and extends a big paw to try and slash Mousepaw.

☾ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[LUCKYPAW]

Claws waving wildly out in front of him, he's hardly even aware of where they're going, blindly striking out as more of a defense than anything, and still he draws a blank on anything else, the terror kicking in to keep him alive also wiping his mind of anything actually useful. As the hulking brute continues to thrash around, snapping and slashing and whirling ever-closer, any vestiges of resolve Luckypaw had felt fade away entirely, seeing that horrifying face lurch closer, and worse still, those deadly claws. Suddenly, it no longer matters to him whether or not he retaliates, even though it hardly had even before; now, all he wants to do is get away, run far from the danger facing him down. He doesn't care if it's cowardly, hardly even processes the idea that he'd be leaving the rest of his clanmates behind - he has to get away, now, before it's too late. Even as the badger bears down on him, white-dipped paws scramble backwards, blindly flailing for the tunnel exit behind him, and for a moment it's as though time slows as he can see a massive paw sent directly his way. No longer does he lash out to try and get a hit in, to assist his fellow tunnelers; now, if he lashes out, it's for his own protection, trying to ward razor-sharp claws away.

Horror registers in his gaze, large claws looming far too close, and as he's scrambling, diving, scrabbling backwards, and in the span of a few moments, Luckypaw comes to the realization that he's not going to be fast enough, that the badger's too close - either way, they're going to collide, and there's nothing he can do, not anymore. All he has time for is regret, wishes that he had just run in the first place, that they hadn't pushed on right into the badger's den, that he hadn't been down there at all, and then there was a stinging across his chest, the sensation of something bearing down on him. Practically folding back into himself, he lets out one last desperate attempt to return a blow, feeble as it may be, before falling back and away. Much later, much, much later, he'll find a way to be grateful for at least something in this experience - as fearsome as the beast before him may have been, the damage done had been minimal, only a claw raking him, and really only a graze at that - but for now his mind is blown wide with panic, only able to process that he'd been clawed at all and nothing more than that.

Where he'd tried to maneuver himself backwards before, Luckypaw now forces his trembling limbs to move, trying to slot himself at least further out into the tunnel, where the badger could no longer get at him. Surprisingly, his chest hardly feels like anything at all, only slightly warmed, though the tang of blood, heightened by the adrenaline coursing through him, weighs heavily over him, clouding his better senses. Breaths come sharp and quick as he tries and fails to get ahold of himself, one shaking paw pressed messily against the scratch now slicing across his chest as the sounds of battle still reach his ears. What moves the others were making escapes him entirely, and even in his terror-muddled mind he finds himself wondering what was taking place. Dark shapes swim around his field of vision, and though he couldn't mistake the badger for anything but, the other tunnelers have blurred together. Is that Scorchstreak, or Bluepaw, bearing down around the back of the badger? Mousepaw had been down there with them, too, hadn't he? It's a fruitless endeavor, trying to tell the combatants in this state, though he can't help it as the badger bellows out another warning.

Even out of her immediate reach, Luckypaw still flinches back at the sudden movement, the walls trembling at the sudden weight slamming into them, and for the second time today he thinks, briefly, that he should be helping the others; staying back here, out of harm's way even if only by the span of a few precious seconds if the badger truly decided to come after him, it's not something a strong, brave, WindClanner would do. Not something Scorchstreak would do, clearly, and just as cutting is the thought that Scorchpaw would probably be up there fighting, too. None of this is lost on him as he remains crumpled, making no move to step back into the fray. He probably wouldn't be able even if he wanted to, he thinks, with the way his limbs are trembling and hardly moving as he wants them to, but that's little solace in the face of everything else. The battle before him rages on, and Luckypaw hides away, like he used to as a kit in the nursery, and though he'd never felt fear like this back then, he finds that he's never felt so much like a kit than in this moment, small and helpless and completely unable to defend himself, let alone the others around him fighting tooth and claw to keep him and everyone else safe.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[✧ Marmotbite.]

♢​♢ THE BEST MISTAKE YOU EVER MADE ♢♢​

---

marmotpaw & 09 moons & female & she/her & windclan tunneler apprentice​

---

As the badger tears down upon her and luckypaw, marmot can't help but wonder for a moment if this will eb the end - if she has finally lost. But, she supposes she's underestimated the strength of a mothers protection, because scorchstreak bodily slams into the monster, causing upheaval and chaos as she does. Courage returns, and before she can think better of it, she is moving once more - throwing herself in front of the blow meant for mousepaw, jaws wide and snapping in the hopes of sinking her teeth into the limb as hard as she can manage. She's quite proud of her bite after all - no only has prey fallen to her wicked teeth, but two clanmates have had to been treated by the medicine cats - a feat she can't really brag about, but feels proud of nonetheless. Mismatched gaze all but burns in the lowlight, a fire burning through her - because marmotpaw will not be the one to die, not here and not now.

— it sounds so fuckin' beautiful when you say my name ♡

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: rolled a 17
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — a shockingly tiny she-cat with pale blue and cream ticked tabby fur, save for a single patch covering her right eye that is brown instead, and mismatched green-orange eyes. she has heavy scarring along the entirety of her left side, from her face all the way down her chest, belly, and flank; which has been there since kithood. she is a twitchy little thing, known for her bad attitude and an unfortunate habit of biting when startled.
  
  — physically medium && mentally medium
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=#9ab973]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[SOOTSTAR]

BADGER​

Though only a minor hit, Luckypaw strikes true and manages to return the fable. A scratch runs down her hindleg and blood trickles. Her forepaw blow to Mousepaw is interrupted by Marmotpaw whose fangs meet contact with her skin. The black and white creature roars and waves her paw to rid herself of the feline. Once free she charges forward, not with the intend to harm but with the intent to flee. With shocking speed she makes her way up the tunnels and into daylight… perhaps a problem for the moor runners to finish off now. The tunnelers are successful in ridding the tunnels of the threat, but at what cost? At least now once they’ve licked their wounds they can continue to progress.

☾ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[SCORCHSTAR]

The badger roars and slams itself sideways into one wall of dirt, sending the calico careening off of her back with a panicked yowl. Scorchstreak’s claws slide free of the beast’s skin as her own back hits the wall, pain spiking down her spine from head to tail. The wind is knocked out of the tunneler for a moment, but even before her surroundings stop spinning entirely, Scorchstreak is leaping to her paws to charge back into the fray. These are apprentices, facing down a badger. But they are fighting so bravely, most of them—the ones who aren’t can be forgiven for their fear—and she cannot simply leave them to finish out this fight on their own.

Thankfully, before she reaches the badger again, it turns and flees, charging away toward the surface. Sighing, the she-cat watches the badger disappear aboveground and can only pray that it doesn’t further injure any clanmates. Hopefully it won’t return to this tunnel, either, after such a confrontation. Golden eyes narrow, and then turn upon the younger cats. Her chest heaves with sharp, panting breaths, and the lead warrior attempts to straighten her posture in spite of how her back protests. "It’s gone—the moor runners’ problem to deal with now. Good work," she says to her fellow tunnelers, with a firm look at her son in particular. "Anyone wounded should see Wolfsong as soon as possible. As for the rest of us, we’ll need to be more observant as we continue." If this tunnel is to be finished anytime soon, they cannot have a repeat of this badger encounter.​

[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

​