-- headstrong { open }

[→ badgerstrike]

badgerstrike

Stretching his legs, a black and white warrior padded out of his den, jaws stretched wide in a yawn. As he ambled out, he attempted to blink the sleep from his eyes, giving up when his right eye seemed to prolong, despite his increased persistence. Finally, the warrior stopped at the edge of camp, his back facing the entrance. Swiping a paw over his eye, he suppressed another yawn as he cleaned his fur, not forgetting to give his chest fur a couple licks. Settling onto his hind paws, Badgerstrike flicked his tail, his mood impassible. It was a rather indifferent day; it wasn't too hot nor too cool, though there was a sufficient lack of a breeze. As the tom finished grooming himself, he peered around camp, searching for companionship. He knew he ought to gather a hunting patrol of some sorts, the fresh kill pile was rather lacking, and it was still early in the day. He knew there would be many more mouths to feed as the sun rose higher, especially as the temperatures climbed, and the clan settled into their roles back at camp, eagerly awaiting the night and all of it's sweet, sweet relief. Briefly, he pondered peering back into the warriors den, and waking someone up. The camp was rather deserted at the moment. Perhaps the tom would be on his own for this round?

[dreamstar ★]

dreamstar knew she should have taken another cat out with her, but it had seemed like a waste of time to wait around for others to wake. so she'd slipped out of her den at dawn, leaving her mate sound asleep. she had been craving solitude, but now it seemed to have gone quite wrong. the frosted she-cat had gone out into the deeper parts of the fen, where fewer of her warriors went. it wasn't as safe out there, particularly for apprentices, due to the sometimes sudden appearances of deep pools hidden by swampland. that wasn't even mentioning the strangely massive frogs, as well as the numerous snakes, insects, and other things that prowled the fen. dreamstar knew of the dangers, and had been prepared; but one thing she hadn't expected to run into was rats. 

this was how dreamstar now found herself padding slowly back to camp, trying to conceal her favored front leg where she'd been bitten by the disgusting thing. she'd sworn she saw more of them, with their glittering eyes, but luckily only one had attacked, seemingly out of no where. one minute she'd been walking along on a successful hunt and the next the fat rodent was coming out from behind a treestump, hell-bent on rending her flesh. to say the least, the leader wasn't pleased. she'd buried the creature afterward, leaving it behind in case it carried disease. now, returning to camp with two voles and a frog in her jaws to weigh her down, she hoped no one would immediately notice her injury. sure, the medicine cat would be furious if she didn't get it checked out immediately. but she figured it could probably wait until... tomorrow, maybe?

tired and muddy, she dumped her haul on the freshkill pile and looked around to see if anyone had taken special notice of her. thinking not, she made for her den in the hollow tree, stopping only as she passed a black and white tom and dipping her head to him. "badgerstrike," dreamstar greeted him, smiling despite the throbbing pain in her foreleg. "how's the prey running?" she tried to act natural.

[→ badgerstrike]

badgerstrike

The tom leaped up as his leader approached him; She had startled him, though he tried not to show it. His heart was racing, and he struggled to keep his fur flat for a moment, until his logic kicked in, and his body calmed down. He dipped his head at Dreamstar, flicking his tail. "Good morning, Dreamstar." He said, his voice deep and husky. Perhaps if the tom had seen her approach, he would have noticed her limp, or he would have paid more attention to the wince as she spoke. But the tom had always been a bit dense, and his forte definitely was not attentiveness. "The prey is well." He said simply, his amber eyes focusing in on her. "Though I was just about to collect a hunting patrol to restock the pile. The camp should be up and running soon, and there's nothing worse than grouchy elders, screaming kits, and picky warriors." He said with a shrug, his voice carried with a hint of fun jest and sarcasm, despite the plain truth.


He cocked his head to the side a bit, the scent of pain and discomfort wafting past his nose. Suddenly, her awkward stance seemed more awkward, and the tom narrowed his eyes."Is everything alright, Dreamstar?" He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong yet, but he could tell it was definitely something., His eyes were filled with concern. Was she hiding something? Why? Where had she been before?


ooc: sorry it's short :c

[robinwing]

The she-cat hadn't had much luck sleeping. It was partly her own fault, her assorted array of feathers kept digging into the flesh beneath her fur. She eventually resigned to hauling herself to her paws and shaking off the feather particles, vaguely aware of sleeping bodies next to her. Maybe it was the stuffiness of the den or maybe it was the fresh air calling her name, but her tense muscles slowly uncoiled as she stepped out into the foggy morning air. Robinwing was in her element, slinking back into the shadows beneath the den's walls.

She found herself watching the cats pass by lazily, her tail occasionally flicking as she eyed Badgerstrike slither his way out of the warrior's dean right after her. Her eyes followed him, watching as he eyed the dwindling fresh kill pile. She could practically taste what was on his mind before his face turned back toward the warrior's den, her maw curving into a knowing smile as she slowly rose and shook the sleep off of her foggy mind. Robinwing hesitated padding straight toward Badgerstrike, however, for out of the corner of her eye she could see Dreamstar, her former mentor, beating her to it.

She once again patiently waited, not one to force herself into a social situation until it presented a prime moment. She, unlike Badgerstrike, could not help but notice Dreamstar's winces of pain and slight favoring of her front paw, though decided to do nothing about it. She cared not to open her mouth about it. Dreamstar was a grown she-cat and could do what she wanted with her health, even if that meant putting a bite wound off a day. Any more than a day and Robinwing would happily be the first to chide her leader and her mentor. Today, though, she walked forward and dipped her head respectfully toward the two. "A hunt may be in order," she said coolly.

[dreamstar ★]

dreamstar dipped her head in agreement with badgerstrike's comment. "that's a good idea, badgerstrike," the silver she-cat meowed, trying not to favor her recent injury too much. apparently she hadn't been successful however, because his last comment took account of her awkwardness. "oh... yes, it's alright," she added, feeling embarrassed that she'd been so bad at hiding her bite from the tom. her warriors were going to think her weak if she kept wandering about complaining over little rat bites. "when i was out hunting this morning a rat bit me," she explained hurriedly. when robinwing, her former apprentice, approached, she nodded very briefly in greeting and turned back to the tom-cat. "take robinwing out with you and bring back what prey you can. i need to have spectrelight attend to this, or she'll have my tail." an unfortunate, but accurate, assumption. the one-eyed medicine cat wasn't the sweetest of healers. fitting for tempestclan, certainly. a warrior turned healer. with a last nod to the two cats she strode off toward the medicine cat's den, which was tucked away inside of a hollowed out tree stump.


ooc: sorry guys, i'm gonna have dreamstar exit this thread since i'm in so many right now and my dream muse is low. <3

[→ badgerstrike]

badgerstrike

Feeling off put by his leaders sudden leaving, the black and white tom paused, feeling befuddled. Had he said something wrong? He was only trying to help and protect her. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen Robinwing approach, but Dreamstar had spoken before he had attained the chance to greet the she-cat. Dipping his head in greeting, Badgerstrike kept his gaze on his leader as she limped away, pity panging inside of his heart. He knew she was trying her best not to seem weak, and perhaps he shouldn't have pointed out her injury. His pelt flooding with unseen embarrassment, the tom finally turned to the approaching warrior. He locked his eyes with her, and adjusted his paws. He didn't think he had ever had a conversation with the she-cat in his life. "Good morning, Robinwing." He said, flicking his tail. Contemplating his next words, the tom took a heavy breath. "I know Dreamstar ordered, but I figure I'll ask first." He said casually."Would you like to hunt with me, Robinwing? We can go north and hunt around in the tendrils. I haven't seen a patrol go through there in a day or two." As he waited for the she-cats response, the tom took the time to look around camp, admiring the beauty of it as the rest of his clanmates slept peacefully. 


ooc: sorry this took me so long.