~«Survival By War»~ (Warrior cat rp)

[Frost bite88]

Brokenwing purred in amusement, trotting after him. "Oh! Crab!" She meowed excitedly, snatching one of the dead creatures by the leg. She looked back at Lostpaw, ducking her head in embarrassment at her almost kit-like behavior. "Or trout..."

~

Ravenpaw trotted after her, dawn light warming her pelt. "True. I suppose it won't be the end of the world if they're without marigold for a little bit." She meowed. "So," she trotted up to be beside Canopypaw. "Warming shore first?"

Lostpaw chuckled softly at Brokenwing's excitement and the crab just hanging from her mouth. "Crab is perfectly fine with me and something tells me you'd prefer it." He noted with kind amusement.

~

Canopypaw nodded "Absolutely Warming Shore first! We can pick up the herbs on the way back!" She stated before she picked up into a skip as the branching paths of the territory started to thin as they were coming into sight of the river border.

 

[HeavensHens88]

Her voice was so empty. So absolutely hollow and void of the vigor that it once held that he hardly recognized it. It was desolate and barren and bone-chilling and—
And nothing scared Flamepaw more then her desolate tone at the moment. Not even Rainstar. For several moments, her words lingered in the air, hanging in the fragile silence of the mourning felines. A silence so fragile and eldritch, that if someone so much as flicked a whisker out of place it may have shattered and wreaked chaos amongst the camp.
"Ivypaw," he finally got his jaw to move, finally found his voice again. "Ivypaw, look at me. You're—"
"Give her this," Flamepaw jumped when Frostpaw appeared beside him, dropped a few springs of herbs at his paws. "It'll calm her. She's in shock." And with a glance at her sisters body, the she-cat forced herself away to help the rest of her wounded Clanmates.
"I can't promise that everything's going to be alright. I can't promise that. But I'm right here, Ivypaw. And so is your mother and your siblings, and Frostpaw. And I know that I won't let anything happen to you, to any of us, if I can help it." He nudged the herbs closer to her. "Take these, alright? It'll help you."

"That's just it." Ivypaw shook off the waking nightmares that plagued her and fixed her dead eyes to his. "They're everywhere." A violent shudder ran over her pelt as she bent to lap up the herbs. She stayed in the hunched position for an elongated moment, the steady rhythm of her working jaws placating her somewhat. "We're not safe in our own nests."

 

[HeavensHens88]

Crowpaw looked down at the pale she-cat, and couldn't help but grin at the readiness of her pose. He lowered his muzzle until it was next to her ear. "Alright. We'll try and get it. Wait here until you see me give a signal. I'll stay behind the burrow so the rabbit can't escape. It's your job to actually catch it."
With a nod, he slunk away from her, sinking himself into the grass. The rabbit was unaware of their presence, sniffing the grass and lumbering slowly away from its burrow with agonizingly slow hops.
Then it lifted its head.
Its eyes were wild and ears and nose were twitching rapidly. He paused, breath no longer reaching his lungs. Don't run. Don't. Run. Give her a chance...
And the rabbit didn't. It seemed to have set off a false alarm, instead going back to the inane task of nibbling clovers and yarrow and any other herbs that it may find satisfying.
Crowpaw sank himself down behind the burrow, ready to run if needed. Raising his head slightly, he looked at Hazelpaw from across the field, and flicked his tail. Now, Hazelpaw.

Hazelpaw's coiled hindquarters flung her forward in a signature CloudClan leap that must've spanned seven cat-lengths. She hit the ground running so furiously that she nearly ended up in a faceplant, but she managed to collect her balance and shoot forward. The rabbit was already running, fuzzy rump bobbing and stub tail flagging as it raced for the sanctuary of its burrow. Even though she knew Crowpaw lay in wait if it managed to reach the tunnel, Hazelpaw needed to accomplish her kill without his assistance. Her extreme pace had her running only a stretch behind her fleeing quarry, but it was a stretch she wasn't willing to risk.
So she leapt.
Her claws connected with its shoulders just before her weight bowled them both into a whirling ball. As she rode out the roll, she made sure to grabble the kicking rabbit even tighter.
Once they'd slowed and piled into a writhing heap, she went to flip it over to expose its throat, but its powerful rear legs pushed off of her face and launched it into the air. Dismayed, Hazelpaw looked up to watch it perform an array of frantic, midair attempts to maneuver itself out of her reach. Well, losing it now would be just about the stupidest failure ever.
Body quivering, Hazelpaw hastily executed a desperate spring, claws outstretched and jaws snapping.
When she came back down, there was squirming fur in her jaws and an escalating squeal in the air. Exhaustion replaced by elation, she used her front paws to force its body to the ground while she carefully guided her teeth to the back of the shrieking head; this time, she wasn't letting go for a precipitous dispatch.
With a flippant twist of her head, she'd broken its neck and affirmed her victory.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

"That's just it." Ivypaw shook off the waking nightmares that plagued her and fixed her dead eyes to his. "They're everywhere." A violent shudder ran over her pelt as she bent to lap up the herbs. She stayed in the hunched position for an elongated moment, the steady rhythm of her working jaws placating her somewhat. "We're not safe in our own nests."

Flamepaw just stared at her for several moments. Her words, though not entirely making sense, weren't far from the truth. They weren't safe. He glanced behind his shoulder, ears flat to his skull. Rainstar paced beneath the Highstone, her paws and her jaws stained a dark crimson red. And she was watching them, a cold gray gaze pinned to their backs. Oh StarClan...we aren't safe. Doveheart wasn't, the Tribe wasn't, we aren't...
He looked away, instead shifting closer to Ivypaw until their pelts touched ever so slightly. "We'll figure something out...Leopardmoon will figure something out." Gently, he drew his tongue over her ear. "Don't worry about it. Right now, you need to just rest."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Hazelpaw's coiled hindquarters flung her forward in a signature CloudClan leap that must've spanned seven cat-lengths. She hit the ground running so furiously that she nearly ended up in a faceplant, but she managed to collect her balance and shoot forward. The rabbit was already running, fuzzy rump bobbing and stub tail flagging as it raced for the sanctuary of its burrow. Even though she knew Crowpaw lay in wait if it managed to reach the tunnel, Hazelpaw needed to accomplish her kill without his assistance. Her extreme pace had her running only a stretch behind her fleeing quarry, but it was a stretch she wasn't willing to risk.
So she leapt.
Her claws connected with its shoulders just before her weight bowled them both into a whirling ball. As she rode out the roll, she made sure to grabble the kicking rabbit even tighter.
Once they'd slowed and piled into a writhing heap, she went to flip it over to expose its throat, but its powerful rear legs pushed off of her face and launched it into the air. Dismayed, Hazelpaw looked up to watch it perform an array of frantic, midair attempts to maneuver itself out of her reach. Well, losing it now would be just about the stupidest failure ever.
Body quivering, Hazelpaw hastily executed a desperate spring, claws outstretched and jaws snapping.
When she came back down, there was squirming fur in her jaws and an escalating squeal in the air. Exhaustion replaced by elation, she used her front paws to force its body to the ground while she carefully guided her teeth to the back of the shrieking head; this time, she wasn't letting go for a precipitous dispatch.
With a flippant twist of her head, she'd broken its neck and affirmed her victory.

Crowpaw watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes, claws digging deep into the earth, ready to leap from his hiding place at any moment. She was fast, faster then he had expected her to be. She had had a leaping start though, throwing herself into a leap so far that he could never had managed himself.
But the rabbit appeared stronger as it kicked and leapt in frantic attempt to flee. But with a leap of faith, Hazelpaw brought down the squirming and leaping creature and snapped it's neck within seconds.
"Alright, Hazelpaw!" He rose from where he was hiding, closing the several tree-lengths between them in a run, slowing as he approached her. He grinned down at her, eyes gleaming. "I knew you could do it," he meowed, a purr swelling in his throat. "And you didn't cease to amaze, that's for sure."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Lostpaw chuckled softly at Brokenwing's excitement and the crab just hanging from her mouth. "Crab is perfectly fine with me and something tells me you'd prefer it." He noted with kind amusement.

~

Canopypaw nodded "Absolutely Warming Shore first! We can pick up the herbs on the way back!" She stated before she picked up into a skip as the branching paths of the territory started to thin as they were coming into sight of the river border.

Brokenwing couldn't stifle a soft laugh, nodding. "Yeah, I kind of favor it, I guess."

~

With a purr, Ravenpaw trotted after her, bounding from tree branch to tree branch just for the fun of it. As the Warming Shore came into sight, though, she came down from her current branch, and would have landed neatly if she hadn't landed in a pile of sand. Shaking her pelt free of said sand furiously, she looked back up at Canopypaw with a foolish grin. "It's really nice down here!"

 

[HeavensHens88]

Flamepaw just stared at her for several moments. Her words, though not entirely making sense, weren't far from the truth. They weren't safe. He glanced behind his shoulder, ears flat to his skull. Rainstar paced beneath the Highstone, her paws and her jaws stained a dark crimson red. And she was watching them, a cold gray gaze pinned to their backs. Oh StarClan...we aren't safe. Doveheart wasn't, the Tribe wasn't, we aren't...
He looked away, instead shifting closer to Ivypaw until their pelts touched ever so slightly. "We'll figure something out...Leopardmoon will figure something out." Gently, he drew his tongue over her ear. "Don't worry about it. Right now, you need to just rest."

Ivypaw shivered at his touch, but didn't move away. Her eyes dropped to the corpse at their paws- a pathetic death that could've been prevented if it weren't for the despotic evil of voluntary ignorance for the ease of it. "I'm sorry," she whispered, to Doveheart, to Flamepaw, to every cat that knew grief today, and yet to no one at all. Movement in the far reaches of her vision had her look up and watch as Dogpaw's still form was soundlessly laid nearby by Needlepaw and Barkpaw. "So sorry. I never listened when I should've."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Ivypaw shivered at his touch, but didn't move away. Her eyes dropped to the corpse at their paws- a pathetic death that could've been prevented if it weren't for the despotic evil of voluntary ignorance for the ease of it. "I'm sorry," she whispered, to Doveheart, to Flamepaw, to every cat that knew grief today, and yet to no one at all. Movement in the far reaches of her vision had her look up and watch as Dogpaw's still form was soundlessly laid nearby by Needlepaw and Barkpaw. "So sorry. I never listened when I should've."

"What do you mean?" Flamepaw looked down at her, ears flickering back and forth, listening to her, and the soft paw steps of Rainstar in the background. "What do you mean, you should have listened? Listened to what? To who?"

 

[HeavensHens88]

Crowpaw watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes, claws digging deep into the earth, ready to leap from his hiding place at any moment. She was fast, faster than he had expected her to be. She had had a leaping start though, throwing herself into a leap so far that he could never had managed himself.
But the rabbit appeared stronger as it kicked and leapt in frantic attempt to flee. But with a leap of faith, Hazelpaw brought down the squirming and leaping creature and snapped its neck within seconds.
"Alright, Hazelpaw!" He rose from where he was hiding, closing the several tree-lengths between them in a run, slowing as he approached her. He grinned down at her, eyes gleaming. "I knew you could do it," he meowed, a purr swelling in his throat. "And you didn't cease to amaze, that's for sure."

Hazelpaw set her kill at her paws and met his gaze, fully prepared to join in on his jubilation, when an unexpected wave of melancholy hit. Perhaps it was the blunt compliment that illuminated the unavoidable reality they'd all been trying to stray from.
So, out of all the possible responses that her humming mind came up with, her winded voice chose to produce the only one she really didn't want to say.
"I'm really going to miss you."

 

[HeavensHens88]

"What do you mean?" Flamepaw looked down at her, ears flickering back and forth, listening to her, and the soft paw steps of Rainstar in the background. "What do you mean, you should have listened? Listened to what? To who?"

"To you, to Dove, to my sister, to any of the sane cats with actual morality." Ivypaw's hoarse mews deepened to spit out the last word like crowfood. "Instead, I've chosen to be blind and just as wrong as the worst of them for far too long."