sensitive topics YOU'RE AS COLD AS ICE — o, dead prey

[SNAKEHISS]

[ cw for graphic descriptions/blood/gore ]

Leafbare had arrived. It was now more crucial than ever to hunt and stock the fresh-kill pile ( but then again, Snakehiss would ensure that his own belly never grew hollow ). At the first falling of snow, plenty of creatures had scurried away into their seasonal dens, causing the moors to be more sparse than usual. Rabbits and hares, on the other paw, did not disappear in leafbare. Obtaining their juicy meat was absolutely critical for WindClan's sake; Snakehiss' mouth began to water at the very thought of biting into it.

The thin-legged moor runner and his apprentice found themselves near the Thunderpath; no longer their border, as Highstones was now WindClan land as well, but still a line that Snakehiss tended to remain a good distance away from. Monsters roared back and forth, spitting out white powder in their wake and making a mess of things as usual. Their acrid breath tainted the crisp, wintry air, prompting Snakehiss' nose to wrinkle with distaste.

Monster stink was not the only stench wafting into the air — blood as well. It was fresh. Snakehiss' attention was stolen away from Rivepaw, stepping through the snow lightly littering the ground and leaving her to either continue her own hunt or follow. At the Thunderpath's edge was a crimson-soaked rabbit, limbs mangled and barely managing to crawl forth toward the safety of the moorland. This creature was on death's nestside, any essence of life slowly draining from its feeble bones. Judging by its blood trail, it had been struck by a passing monster. What must it be like, to survive an attack by a creature much more powerful than a cat?

A morbid curiosity prods Snakehiss' mind. What did death look like at the gigantic paws of a monster, a force unstoppable?

Speaking of which, a distant roar announced itself, with glowing yellow eyes streaking down the path. Without a second to waste, the warrior took the half-alive rabbit into his jaws and chucked it onto the road, directly into the trodden trail of the twoleg-carrying beasts. Snakehiss ducked back to shield himself from the monster's fury, though his viridian gaze never lifted from the trembling rabbit as it weakly attempted to crawl away.

Splat.

In an instant, the monster was gone, and the rabbit had been left flattened into the ground. Whatever was left of the creature was tattered and bloodied, its lifeless eyes bulging out of its cranium. Images of the rogue battle bombard his brain — Sparkspirit, blood, a body gone cold, pale eyes.

Pensively, grimly, contemplative, he could only stare.

₊ ⋆ * ⊹ ₊ ☾ —— 𝙞 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚

• apprentice tag @rivepaw

• 

• 

  ✰ SNAKEHISS
  —— he/him; moor runner of windclan
  —— bisexual; single; not looking
  —— long-limbed black tom with green eyes, a small white chest patch, and a notable bite mark on his right foreleg
  —— "speech", thoughts, attack
  —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
  —— penned by beatles

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[Bluepool]

With the coming cold moons Bluepool knew that they needed to hunt as if their lives depended upon it. They needed to eat now, while they could, needed to hunt as much as possible. Her paws are tired from the many extra patrols she had been taking on, her wounds from the scraps she had found herself in ache, and she wishes desperately for a break from it all but she knows how many lives hang in the balance and she knows what the consequences for inaction during this season are. Death. Despite the way she views things, she does not wish death on any of her clanmates. When it was their time, they would be called upon by the stars but there is no reason to rush such things. She would not allow anyone to be taken before their time.

A monster roaring in the direction where Snakehiss had gone with his apprentice catches her attention, and immediately she heads towards the sound, wanting to check to make sure everything was okay as was her duty as a lead-warrior. To keep everyone safe, to make sure things go smoothly. When she parts the heather she breaths a small sigh of relief. The blood she had smelled mingling with the monsters stench was not that of Rivepaw or Snakehiss, but one particularly unlucky hare. "A shame" she says, walking up to the verge, eyes on the creature that, had it not been pounded into oblivion, would have made fine fresh-kill. "That would have looked good on the pile. It's crowfood now though." and she shakes her head sadly, her golden eyes filled with disappointment at the lost catch. In another, more desperate time, she would have gone to it and peeled what remains she could off the path, she would scrape up whatever she could to bring back for starving mouths. Luckily, things were not so dire yet. Instead she turns to her apprentice. "This is one of the dangers of the path" she murmurs softly to the ref-furred youth before she motions for them to turn away, to go back to what they were doing. "Crying over lost prey fills no bellies" she says with a small hum. There was no use in standing around here gawking and mourning a rabbit, they had work to do.

// apprentice tag @FEATHERPAW

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[FEATHERSPINE]

It was absolutely revolting. The scent permeated the air like oxygen itself, winding into Featherpaws lungs, coiling poison around his throat. He trailed after his mentor, silent and dutiful, head low and eyes narrowed. The source of the awful stench was not difficult to miss; a rabbit, dashed gorily across the frosty Thunderpath.

Nothing could survive a hit like that- Featherpaw took a step backward. Seeing her littermate nearby, she hissed, "Get away, Rivepaw." It was an instinctual instruction, given a lot more harshly than he would have liked- there was no taking it back now, though.

Bluepool leaned closer. This is one of the dangers of the path. "One of?" Featherpaw scoffed. If it had anything equal or more than this sort of danger, why did anyone in their right mind bother going near it? All it gave them was carrion and fear, apparently. "Let's make sure no-one chases a b-buh... buh... b-butterfly across it, then." A pointed look was served to her mentor.​

✦ penned by pin​

 

[RATTLEHEART]

Gruesome. Like most cats that resided within Windclan, Rattleheart had never viewed the Thunderpath in a positive light. It was an obstacle, one that presented death, injury, or in this case, a loss of food. Prey that was more valuable than ever, considering the chill that had taken over the air surrounding all of them. Leafbare was cruel and would provide none of them with any sense of relief anytime soon, which meant any loss was even more keenly felt. The sharp stench of blood as Rattleheart exited a nearby tunnel was enough to set him on edge, worried that a Windclanner had been the unlucky creature turned to paste by the beasts that seemed to call the Thunderpath their permanent home. It was both a relief and a disappointment when he grew closer, visibly deflating at the sight of what remained of the poor rabbit. "...Well. I suppose that could've been much worse." At least it wasn't one of his clanmates, even if he did find himself wishing the rabbit had initially chosen to turn around and dart down into the tunnels, rather than risking life and limb by crossing the Thunderpath. Though he supposed - rather luckily for them - that most prey wasn't smart enough to realize the danger.

Featherpaw's harsh tone makes him glance over at her, watching as she tried to chastise her sibling back and away from the path. He could understand the concern - had felt that same sharp anxiety for his own siblings many a time over - but doubted her scolding would help things. The twisted and mangled rabbit itself seemed like enough of a message, a sigh leaving him as he cast one last glance at it before turning back to the tunnel he had emerged from. "Come on, Peonypaw. Maybe we can head down the edge of the path and see if we can make anything else alive dart down into the tunnels instead." He hadn't taken to mentoring in the most natural fashion - that anxious little voice in the back of his head occasionally made teaching difficult - but he at least had a good handle on hunting. If there was one rabbit nearby there might be more, and it was best to try and make sure they didn't end up suffering the same fate.

// apprentice tag @PEONYPAW
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[ PENNED BY EO ]​

 

[PEONYBREEZE]

❀༉˖° The stench of the Thunderpath was one that Peonypaw knew well and from afar - it was essential to learn not to get carried away with your legs when near it so you don't find yourself upon the cool surface of it. By that point, it'd already be too late. It was ironic to have such a dangerous thing stand between the WindClan cats and StarClan- but now with recent developments, it suited it right. The Highstones loomed in the distance, as if to prove a point.

Featherpaw's surprise made Peonypaw look over, now that both mentor and apprentice pairs were close enough to hear one another. To think he himself had been oblivious to the many dangers was a terrifying one.

Peonypaw didn't stare too long at the sad remains of the rabbit. It was gruesome and not something worth wailing over - just like Bluepool said. "Sure." He nodded to Rattleheart, finding the idea much better.

"Have you noticed any other prey in the vicinity, Snakehiss?" Their noses and senses would do the trick, but Peonypaw thought they might as well head in the right direction if the other warrior had been spending enough time around to know.

°
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