pafp we couldn't be bothered | goose chase

[SMOKESTAR]

Hunting felt almost useless now, the cold clung almost as tightly to him as he own hide did now; stretched tight over his frame and ribs just visible at only certain angles due to his dark pelt. Smokethroat pushed on regardless, creeping further and further from the edges of the camp and outward to the border of their territory with each hunting patrol; gathering what cats had the tenacity to keep going and those who might will themselves to remain walking into this white expanse ever longer. Each puff of breath fogged over his face, each step felt like treading across embers-so cold that it almost burned. He would need to chew the ice from between his toes and around his pad again on their return but right now he didn't want to waste the time to do so, it was only a minor annoyance but when it started to hurt more he'd tend to it less Beesong chew his ears off for cracking a paw again.

Ahead of him through blinding white he just barely made out the shape of something large and feathered moving about beyond the line of snow encrusted shrubbery that broke off into a small clearing. His tail flicked up, to the side, to stop @iciclepaw from walking past him once he spotted the fluttering in the distance. They were large, reminded him of the swans he had once seen drifting lazily along the river but they seemed somewhat different; different shapes to the head, a less intimidating stature with how they stomped stupidly about the snow. The dark tom turned his head fully so he could lock that lone orange eye onto @apricotflower on his other side and nod in the direction of the flock.
"...bigger than our normal prey but...perhaps we can single one out?" They were just birds, right? Surely they could not be that difficult to kill with enough cats. "Circle to the other side. Iciclepaw, with me." A proper ambush would give them the best chance and he shouldered into the tortie she-cat next to him to guide her forward and also help reorient himself in the right direction before dropping to a stalk on the outer edges of the bushes surrounding the small clearing the gaggle of odd birds were strutting about in. Once he felt they were in a better spot he glanced briefly to his apprentice before peering through the snow-coated foliage to spot Apricotflower settling into place as well. The moment he caught her eye he gave a swift now and sprang forward out of the shrubs towards the bird at the forefront only to find they did not scatter or panic as he initially thought. No. Quite the opposite.
A series of violent beating wings nearly knocked him senseless and he tumbled across the snow from the force of it as a horrific noise began to rise up around them like....honking. It sounded like ducks but amplified, angrier-it was a terrible sound and he managed to right himself back upward to find the big birds were not backing down from the feline assault. They were stancing up to fight back. "Wh..." Finally one squawked at him directly and he noticed the teeth. The sharp, predator teeth. Oh no.


[Ooc - Please let @apricotflower & @iciclepaw post first! There are three geese and they are not to be trifled with! With enough cats one can be taken down but keep in mind they are very heavy and very scary birds with teeth and they do not fear death.]
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[iciclefang]

Iciclepaw's belly is rumbling loud enough to scare an army of prey away. Not that she has to worry about that -- the riverlands are eerily empty, a freezing mist hanging veil-like over the reeds and willows. She pads dutifully at Smokethroat's flank, tasting the air every few steps with the slightest bit of hope. It'snot until the shrubbery explodes into action in front of their small patrol does her mouth begin to water.

Feathered beasts, bigger than ducks -- she almost can't believe her eyes when they first waddle and flutter into her vision. Birds, but cat-sized! Bigger, even! She can't keep the excitement from her voice as she murmurs to the two warriors, "We can take a lousy bird. That would feed the whole Clan!"

She's practically salivating now. Smokethroat, too, seems to lock his sights onto one. He motions for Apricotflower to circle the dumbest-looking of the geese, and prods her forward with a nudge.

Iciclepaw follows suit on nimble, quiet paws, waiting for his "Now!" before shooting into action. She can almost taste the way the feathers give way to juicy breast meat -- and for a moment, she loses herself in the daydream.

It's short-lived. The reverie ends with a smack of a wingtip straight into her jaw. Iciclepaw leaps backward, exclaiming "Mrow!!" with a high-pitched, shrill shriek of indignity. Her tortoiseshell fur fluffs up to maximize her body size, her intimidation factor, but the geese don't even seem to see her puffy pelt.

No, they're all too busy honking their fool bird brains off, drowning the three of them out so nothing else can be heard. Iciclepaw shrieks, "What do we do?!" She ducks just in time to avoid a sharp beak to the face, but a low-down wing smacks her full-on the muzzle as she does.

The indignity! The tortoiseshell spits feathers, her tail lashing furiously. She prepares to swipe when she notices what Smokethroat does.

The bird has teeth.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[apricotflower]

A little niggling memory tugs at the back of Apricotflower's mind like a kit tugs at their mother's fur, but she dismisses it in favour of sneaking around to the other side of the waterfowl. Her bicoloured pelt helps hide her in the snowmelt, but as Smokethroat gives the signal the memory she'd been prodding at flashes up like a fire and nicked paws hesitate.

"Geese have teeth like a cat. If you see them, give them space. They aren't easy prey like ducks."

"But Honeybee said ducks aren't easy prey." Apricot Flower questions, golden eyes narrow with thought. Heavy Stone rumbles with a purr.

"Exactly."

"Run! Those are geese!" She yowls, back in the present, and hisses a curse as her horrified yell attracts the attention of the remaining goose. There's one for each of them! Of course there is. Apricotflower fluffs herself up and hisses at the goose, running forward to challenge it even as it looms, but the buffeting breeze from strong wings flapping seem to knock her sideways with each step.​

 

[HOUNDSTRIDE.]

Hound'd always known to be afraid of the damned geese. Growing up 'round these parts, spending his moons at this bank before the marshes called him back, he'd met his fair share of 'em. More than, he'd love to say. Be it the frosted snows or the burning greenleaf sun, they were things to be wary of. Cruel in their protectiveness, and unafraid of a cat's claws. The few spats he'd gotten into with them, 'fore running away, they didn't seem at all bothered by the swipe of his claws. They'd come back without blood, only the thick downy feathers. (A fine addition to any nest, he may 's'well add.) He'd swipe at them, they'd nip at him, and inevitably he'd come out of the fray more beaten than the damned bird. The serrated edge of their teeth scraped along his limbs and left searing fire in their wake.

He wasn't with the hunting patrol, and maybe that'll save all of their hides. His solo hunt had bore no fruit, but it'd put him opposite of the geese. The flock turns to the trio that he can hear more than see, and all the work Houndsnarl had put into ignoring the beasts suddenly means nothing. His head pops comically from the reeds, some mimicry of a twoleg's toy. It's ruined not more than a moment later as he shoves himself through them at full force. They're focused on the trio, not on him, even with the noise of his shifting, so he does what any good warrior'll do and strikes when his opponent's at its weakest. Not with his claws this time, but with his fangs. He lunges for one of the beast's wings, getting a mouthful of feathers before one flat foot kicks back to smack him across the maw, its attached claws scoring his skin. "Move!" he snaps to the trio, jerking back himself as the now wounded goose whirls on him.

﹥ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〙ˊˎ﹤

• ooc: —
• ──── houndsnarl. trans male, he/him pronouns.
  ──── approximately 30 moons old, or 2.5 years.
  ──── bisexual with firm male preference; single.
  
  ──── a chocolate tabby with ( stylized ) low white and intense lime eyes. lean and lanky,  with whiplike musculature and a long, quick stride. hound's notable features include his impressive height, the long scar across the left side of his face from nose to jaw, his very deep, dense fur, and the confident manner with which he conducts himself.
• "speech"

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[SMOKESTAR]

One of these was manageable. Two was difficult but not an unheard of possibility. Three was death. He was not dying to some fat pigeon today, or any day, if he died it was going to be in glorious battle against a worthy adversary and not battered by oversized prey. He shakes his head, still dazed from being hit so hard by one of those long spread wings that he only just manages to turn and see Iciclepaw be smacked for her own similar efforts; sorry kid. That was life sometimes, the prey didn't often fight back but when it did it wasn't fun. She seemed fine though, more angry than hurt and he took a step back as he realized the three birds were in unison and facing off with them without hesitation. Brazen were they. He hated this.

Apricotflower yells something, he can barely hear her over the beating wings of the feathered flock as they begin to move forward undaunted by the number of cats present. Geese? What was a geese? He'd encountered swans before, but these were new and horrifing in a way he couldn't really describe. To be so outmatched by what was essentially just a big bird was the pride that went before the fall.

Houndsnarl is there, joining them and taking a bite from one of the avians and he sees that they have claws on their strange webbed feet as well; were these things predators? Had they misjudged them entirely? The tabby is barking an order to move with blood on his muzzle and feathers fluttering around him from his previous attack. Smokethroat acts quickly, stepping forward to push Iciclepaw with his shoulder away to the side and urging her to go towards the orange and cream colored she-cat who is barring her teeth and hissing to keep her own goose distracted. The moment he turnes back to the goose now rounding on Houndsnarl he lunges down low to grab at one of the bright yellow legs beneath its massive round body and clamps down tight.
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[iciclefang]

Iciclepaw hears Apricotflower yowl, "Run! Those are geese!" The tortoiseshell dodges another peck, her pelt frazzled and fluffed out around her thin body. "Geese?" She echoes. Why doesn't she know anything about these vicious fanged birds?

There's no time to dwell, though. A dark tabby blur throws himself into the fray to give the hunting patrol a chance to run, and Iciclepaw recognizes Houndsnarl's voice amidst the obnoxious honks trumpeting around her. "Move!" An order, and she doesn't need to be told twice.

Smokethroat uses a shoulder to guide her towards Apricotflower, and despite the pounding of her heart, the tortoiseshell takes a moment to scowl at her mentor. Sure, she was startled, but did he think she couldn't take on an oversized duck? She parts her jaws to tell him where he can put it, but she catches a glimpse of one of the "geese" smacking its foot into Houndsnarl's face.

"It's a lost cause," she snaps to Smokethroat. "Come with us! Surely they can't outrun us!"​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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