Will you pray for me? -- porcupine hunting

[CLOVERJAW]

❪ TAGS ❫ — .Orangeblossom's warning echoed in his mind.
"Do not engage it. If you engage, I will put you on apprentice duties for an additional moon for every quill we have to pull from your pelt. Do I make myself clear?"
He'd been excited after getting the opportunity to locate and keep eyes on the porcupine along with @Circe , @bobbie, and @LUX and had collected them at sun high. After some polite pleasantries and jokes, the group had been on their way. He thought it would be a relatively easy task. Find this thing and just don't make it mad. Report back to Orangeblossom, and asses from there - maybe even get a little bit of recognition for it - but Cloverjaw clearly underestimated this thing.
He found himself in part forest, part...something else. The whole place smelled strongly of the dirtplace. There were spines - the same kind that had plunged into Twanystripe's body - scattered on the ground every few paw steps. Not enough to cover the ground like leaves, but enough to warn cats to watch their step. He gingerly sniffed one and quickly recoiled after its rank smell made its way between his nostrils. Was that fresh? He had no way of tellling. A shiver ran through him.
Despite Sky Clan's territory being inhabited by, well, cats this thing clearly made its home a bit westward of the camp. Why or rather how it managed to stay here with the stinky, aggressive rogues Cloverjaw couldn't fathom. He'd like to think they at least knew this thing was nearby and had tried to scare it off, but perhaps he preferred his opponents to have more sense than they actually did.
Its home was far enough away to avoid if you knew to keep clear of the area, but still close enough to camp to worry the warrior. The tom sighed, tasting the air. Tawnystripe's scent was becoming stale, but he was different here. Cloverjaw forced himself not to think too much about Tawnystripe. How, soon, this scent will be the last thing that remains of him. How the beast that killed him is still alive, and here and in Sky Clan territory. The Maine coon flicked his tail, impatient. If Orangeblossom hadn't explicitly said not to go after this thing, Cloverjaw would be more tempted than he already was.
Unsure of how close or aggressive the beast was, Cloverjaw lifted his tail to signal the other cats to be careful. As if they aren't already. He felt a bit foolish for reminding them of common sense but pressed on nonetheless. He faltered for a second, thinking of the best way to move forward quietly without brushing his belly on the ground. The last thing he wanted was one of those thing in him. Paw placed after painstakingly placed paw, slowly but surely, the silver tabby followed the spines. He wasn't sure if finding their thing's stomping ground was enough for Orangeblossom, but it certainly wasn't enough for him.
He sighed, amber eyes scanning the underbrush. If he really looked, he could spot a few spots where the dirt looked disturbed by claws. Great. It's got giant claws and spines and it's clearly happy here.
It happened quickly from there.
A snap. The feeling of eyes on his flank. He turned, slowly, and regretted it. He had no idea what a porcupine would look like. Cloverjaw had never seen anything like it. It looked like a monster from a nightmare, but one you couldn't quite remember right so everything is fuzzy and mushed together. Its eyes were that of a mouse's, but its body was more like a dog's. Its mouth - if it had one - must've been small, and all Cloverjaw could see was the sun reflected off more of those spines.
His tail twitched anxiously. Orangeblossom's warnings echoed in his mind.
Oops.

ooc// taking place after this thread HERE, not sure of the correct prefix to have for this. Please only respond if you're tagged! :) ​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

When Cloverjaw had collected her for this patrol, Bobbie had accepted it dutifully enough. Pleasantries had been exchanged, introductions been made if necessary, and they'd set off on their merry way. Orangeblossom's wishes had been communicated to her one way or another—they're to locate it and report back, not try to provoke the thing themselves. She has no interest in disobeying that; personal glory has never been exactly one of her pursuits, and she knows enough about porcupines to have no qualms about leaving it alone once they'd located it.

She knows they're rather unsightly, with coarse dark pelts and great coats of quills. Bobbie has never seen one herself, but she's picked up the information around camp—and if it was powerful enough to kill Tawnystripe, a respectable warrior in his own right, it's dangerous to the rest of them. She's had enough brushes with the predators the forest—and mountains—have to offer for a lifetime, and the concept of encountering a new one brings on only a grim determination. When they venture into what is undoubtedly its designated territory, she feels the thick fur along her spine spiking up into spires of lilac.

"Maybe we should—" she begins in the lowest whisper she dares. This part of the forest carries a strong stench, a foul one no doubt belonging to their intended target, and its sharp quills feather the earth in dangerous whorls. They've found enough evidence of its location to report back, in Bobbie's opinion, but whether Cloverjaw hears her or not, he seems intent on pressing forward. They're standing on rotten ice now, and walking further with each pine-packed step they take closer to the porcupine. With Cloverjaw's next step, the thing appears seemingly out of nowhere, bristling in sunbathed spines.

She hisses softly between her teeth. When they saw those quills, she should've told Cloverjaw to turn around right then and there. You're a lead warrior! So lead! It's as ugly as she'd expected, doglike and taller than her shoulder, taller still with its spines threateningly raised. "Back away, slowly," she whispers, trying to feel her way backwards without getting speared in the paw. Bobbie sweeps her shortened tail slowly side to side, trying to signal for their patrolmates to retreat as well without further using her voice and potentially agitating the beast.

i'm a moon ☾ ( constantly chasing you )

• 

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  bobbie ; lead warrior of skyclan
  x. she/her ; 42 moons ; tags
  x. small, scarred lilac tabby and white she-cat with green eyes
  x. played by dejavu
  x. mother to lupinepaw, crowpaw, and drowsypaw. mate to blazestar.

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[TATTEREDLIGHT]

just because i carry it so well doesn't mean it's not heavy .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

He hadn’t expected it—being summoned by another SkyClan warrior to track a porcupine that’d killed one of their warriors left a sour taste in his mouth, bitter and foul-tasting. His nose crinkled, paws stumbling just slightly as his mind traveled elsewhere, in the past, or an undeniable future, Lux wasn’t sure.

Blinking, the cream-ticked tabby bobbed his head with a sheepish expression, tearing himself out of his thoughts to focus on the others, clanmates, that he wondered if he too would become one. His time here was almost up, determined by his skills and the things he learned. Shaking himself, Lux carried on with a faux nervous smile, odd hues flickering and ears at attention.

It’d come out of nowhere, voices dropped low as terror ran through icy veins, Lux shifted, muscles coiling beneath scarred flesh. “I can draw it away.” He whispered, low and steady, watching sunbathed quills quiver. He wasn’t part of the clan yet, maybe this would be the day that they chased him out with quills lodged into bleeding skin.

This reminded him of the time he drew that dog away from Crowpaw, surging with fear and the unmistakable need to protect a stranger. It was the same now. His hero complex was the death of him, no doubt, but Lux was resilient, or maybe it was faux confidence. “I’ll draw it away while you guys escape.” He breathed, glancing at Bobbie with confident hues. “I won’t get caught.” He added, following her led on steady paws, careful where he stepped. ​

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thought speech​