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Post by Pyro on Apr 12, 2012 13:40:28 GMT -10
Her piece said, Hawkstorm now had the opportunity to lookover her situation. She was a big she-cat yes, but the streamclanners had her outnumbered: 2 warriors and an apprentice to 1 pigheaded pineclanner. Not exactly promising odds, although she was sure the apprentice wouldn't be too much of a problem, timid as she looked at the moment. Just as she was beginning to seriously rethink her strategy, the dopy tortoiseshell bolted with the robin. Bingo. Now it could be one against fluffy. Stupid. One.
The brown tabby raced after the she-cat, hot on her heels. As if she was really going to let a prey-stealer get away. Ha! That was worse than taking from the stewpot when you weren't even invited to the party. Worse because there weren't no laws against it. It was just socially. Freaking. Stupid. And everyone would just kick you back out on the bayou. Unfortunately, Hawkstorm couldn't just kick the tortoiseshell out on the bayou, because if Gingerstar heard she'd let a streamclanner steal prey...well. There'd be hell to- geeziz. Geeziz christ.
That degenerate rock-for-brains probably thought she was pretty slick, and well, Hawkstorm had to give her credit. Streamclanners were known for their ability to navigate the marshy terrain of their territory and of course, for their seemingly natural swimming abilities. Had she been any other cat, she'dve stopped right short of the mud and muck, maybe even howled with frustration when she saw the tortoiseshell dive for the water...But Hawkstorm was not any other cat. She was a swamp cat by birth and raised one to boot. Streamclan's marsh hardly even qualified as a wetland. Where were the gators? The big fat snakes? The snappers that could bite your paw off quicker than any turtle out to be able to? Hell, she doubted there were even sinkholes. running through the marsh was turning out to be one of the easiest things she'd ever done in her life. Why, she could even run straight.
And the water? Well, Hawkstorm leaped right on in after Duskstorm. "Is that the best you got, sweetheart? I was born for this shit...Why we might as well be playing a game. How about gator? You ever played gator?"
Hawkstorm lunged for the other she-cat, fully intendeding to pull her underwater and drown her if that's what it took to get the robin back. It looked like she could barely swim with the thing as is. Could she fight with it too?
'I think not.'
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ambird
Awesome Member
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Post by ambird on Apr 12, 2012 14:42:01 GMT -10
Trotting back the way she had come, Bignose hadn't considered her Clan mates had been in danger. Duskstorm and Sparrowpaw were safely being lectured by Sootnose, and she would be on her merry way, the sparrow clenched in her jaw, almost begging to be eaten by her. But she wasn't that stupid. She knew that the mothers, and the youngins and elders would need this food more than her. Bignose had enough common sense to know to keep the Clan strong, the ones who couldn't fend for themselves 100% could be liabilities if they weren't taken care of first.
So, barely a tail length away from reaching the comforting land she had made her home, what did she happen to hear?
Some idiotic Pineclanner chasing down, by the sound of it, Duskstorm. What in the hell had that she-cat done to attract the attention of the enemy warrior? Biting her lip, Bignose knew she wasn't to blame. They were, after all, in "Pineclan" territory(Bah! Borders!) and it was more than likely for one of their cats to be out and about. She just hadn't expected them out in this part of the territory.
Letting out an aggravated sigh between the ruffled feathers of the sparrow, Bignose turned in the direction of the hustle and bustle. Wait...ain't Sparrowpaw and Mr. Stick Up His Ass out here? she briefly considered just letting those two deal with it, but if Duskstorm was on her own, then that means the other two weren't very close, and it seemed the Pineclanner was hot on her trail.
Setting the sparrow down regretfully, she tried to get it as close to the border as she could before she ran back towards the direction of screeching cats. The sight she was met with was not pretty. The Pineclanner--Hawkstorm, if she remembered--was trying to get Duskstorm down to the stream, in an attempt to drown her.
Bignose had to stop that. One, she was her Clanmate and it was her "duty", and two, because if the filthy Pineclanner did send happen to kill her, she'd be a witness, and that sort of thing never ended well. Besides, Duskstorm had grown on her. Few cats did...and the ones that had, had quickly decided to leave her for dead, with empty promises and--
...she'd rage on about that asshat later.
"Hey! You got so sorta problem with my friend here? All she was doing was tryin' to feed our Clan, and in case you haven't noticed, these borders may be here, but that don't mean they mean an ounce of dung to some of us. Land with prey? I say's fair game. Don't care what you think, but I'm afraid I can't let you drown Duskstorm here. She might be one of the only cats that I know that ain't a moronic idiot who'll let the cats she s'posed to be protecting die of hunger simply 'cause we can't leave our borders." she sneered, swiftly following the two into the deep stream.
Was this one of her smarter moves? It'd be a damn cold day in hell if it was.
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Post by Pyro on Apr 12, 2012 15:03:14 GMT -10
Another one? What. The. Hell. Was the entirety of Streamclan walking around Pineclan territory? Freaking no count degenerates. What about that oh-so-precious code they all seemed to worship? Oh, what she wouldn't give to have a Fogclanner there to see it: Streamclanners breaking the code for food, a Pineclanner breaking the code to stop them from breaking the code. Well. maybe not a Fogclanner. If their head didn't explode from all the ~wrongness~ then they'd probably end up siding with the Streamclanners as a matter of course. Fogclanners didn't like Pineclanners no matter what they were doing, as she recalled.
Distracted from Duskstorm for the moment (but still determined to drown her), Hawkstorm turned to look at Bignose from over her shoulder. "Yeah, well they have to mean an ounce to me or I'm gatorbait. Or rather, Gingerbait." Haha. Gingerbait. That was a good one. "We're all starving, friendo. That don't mean we'cn just go about stealin'. Don't even try to tell me that if a Pineclanner like me tried to pull this shit, you'd just let'er go on her merry way."
Honestly. What was the matter with these cats? They ragged on Pineclan all the dingdongday just for not believing in StarClan. But when it came to something serious like tresspassing and stealing, well...well if it was stealing from Pineclan 'it was all right, chortle, chortle'. What complete and utter hogwash. Why, she'd drown both of the badgerscats just for the irony, if not for the retaliation. Imagine: streamclanners drowning. Ha. |
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Post by Cloudbat on Apr 13, 2012 6:53:58 GMT -10
 I love you, Bignose. I love you right this moment for being a large fuzzy adorable woman who is defending me even though technically you don't need to.But unfortunately her Bignose adoration had to wait, as her neck really was beginning to ache and she couldn't keep this up much longer. Half listening to all the banter but mostly worried about keeping herself and the robin afloat (slightly soggy though it was) in a desperate move she flung it into the air with her last effort and batted it toward her Clanmate in the hopes that she would catch it. She didn't know if Bignose had gotten any prey, so hopefully it was safe. Then, soaking and tired from her flight and swim, she paddled herself around to face the PineClanner, breathing heavily, orange eyes narrowed in intensity as she faced the PineClanner. Hawkstorm, she remembered now. "I don't care to debate morals at the moment, Hawkstorm. What I ask is that you decide whether you'd like to kill me, or how. Kill me, let the prey either sink or get taken after all. Injure but don't kill me and I drown anyway; I'm not pretending I'm up to fighting you. Both ways I buy some time. So it doesn't matter what you do."Despite her weariness and bedraggled, soaked pelt, the tortoiseshell warrior held her head high as she faced the last cat she might ever see. She was quite serious in her words of killing; it was the logical thing to do. She would not put it past the large PineClanner at all. She might have done it herself. Would I? Could I kill a cat, even if they stole prey? If one of my mood swings struck...luckily they had left her alone today. Well, I've had a decent life in a half-assed way, so I s'pose it wouldn't be too bad if it ended here. [bg=ede9cb][atrb=width,469,true] [atrb=border,0,true] |
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Post by Pyro on Apr 25, 2012 15:43:32 GMT -10
"Well I'd very much like to drown you with the trouble you've roped me into," she stated. No need to mince words--if Gingerstar had been there, both of the streamclanners would be dead already. Hell, Hawkstorm'd probably be dead just for taking too long. But did it really need to come to that? The large she-cat's eyes narrowed. Not but a few seconds ago she'd been dead set on killing the cat before her, and well, she'd hate to think she was so wishy-washy as to go back on that near-vow. Ah, but if she killed Duskstorm, she'd have to kill Bignose too, and over what, a robin? The repercussions for killing two streamclanners would probably be sucktastic, freaking horrible really, even if they had stolen prey.
Decisions, decisions. Things were a whole lot simpler in the swamp.
'I guess it'll be the robin then.' She dived for it, snatching it out of the water just before Bignose, and stepped back; her prize clamped firmly in her maw. It was a few brisk strokes to the comfortably muddy shore, and once there Hawkstorm placed the robin down to speak. Because of course, she had to speak. She was Hawkstorm after all: swamp buccaneer extraordinaire! Lone defender of the border!
"You're a hard one, chuckles, to be willing to die over a robin. But then, I guess I'm a hard one for being willing to kill you." She shrugged. "I wish I could say I was sorry ya'll are starvin' but I'm not. If you're gonna steal next time, get out quicker. Or else do it as far away from me as freakin' possible. Cause I'm gonna get hell for not giving you hell, and I might just get fired up enough to slit your thievin' throat next time." The she-cat had (for the most part) cooled down now, and without her ire to fuel her quest of vengeance, she had largely lost interest in the proceedings. What was the point anyway? It was just a bird. Just. A. Bird. And only the threat of hell with her leader was keeping her on the current path. Well, she had the bird now so that was that, right?
The tabby bent down and picked the robin up once more, turning to lope back for the border.
"Freakin' tards."
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Post by Cloudbat on Apr 30, 2012 8:30:26 GMT -10
The wet cold was beginning to pierce deep down into her bones, and the skinny StreamClanner shivered as drops ran down her pelt. She sighed as the large PineClanner snatched the bedraggled avian just before her Clanmate nabbed it. She could only hope Bignose had caught something, or this would have been a complete failure. Still, once Hawkstorm had paddled to shore, she too limped her way to the blessedly warm sand, scrambling up with wary orange eyes still on the enemy warrior. "Aye. Damned if we do and damned if we don't. Though why you'd have to tell Gingerstar is beyond me." was all the tortoiseshell said. If Jaegerstar was going to learn about this, she'd have to figure it out on her lonesome, since Duskstorm sure wasn't disposed to give her any clues. Sighing again as she laid down, she gathered the breath to whisper one more thing. "Did you get away with anything, Bignose?"If she had, and had buried or at least hidden it along the way, maybe they could fetch it while Hawkstorm was busy getting back to her own territory. As the young she-cat sprawled on the bank, breathing heavily, she admittedly felt more alive than she had in moons. |
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ambird
Awesome Member
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Post by ambird on May 9, 2012 16:43:53 GMT -10
Watching the tabby Pineclanner leave for her own Clan, Bignose hid her snort or disgust with a sneeze. Right. The Code. She forgot that those "dis-believers" still followed that. She rolled her eyes at that. Bignose herself wasn't very religious, but even Pineclan had to admit they held some traces of belief in something if they followed that thing. Sure, they may not think that starry cats protect them, but they're willing to belief that others will follow the same rules. Then what was their belief? It wasn't exactly morals...hmm. If anything, how they felt was more along the lines of how Bignose thought.
Except the whole listening to the rules thing. Yeah, that's where the disagreements started.
Either way, they were still alive. Which was a positive thing. Now to just go back the erm, long way and collect the prey that was almost over the border. Bignose couldn't quite remember if she dug the whole smack-dab on the border or what. Might as well retrace her steps. The only problem with the whole thing, whether she chose to admit it or not, would be trying to explain to the rest of the Clan if they caught wind of what they had just done. Find out? As long as the Pineclanner kept her mouth shut about the two of them, they should be fine.
And yet Bignose didn't have nearly enough trust in that. But by this point, she didn't care what happened. They had gotten the Clan food. So what if Jaegerstar chewed them out. Together the three of them(Bignose eye-rolled at the thought of Sootnose taking Sparrowpaw back, at least he hadn't seen what happened after he'd left) had caught prey. Sure, it wasn't much. But she knew when her starving Clanmates saw food, they would be beyond the point of reason(read: silly Codes) and just be glad to see food.
"Yeah, got away with a sparrow. It's back closer to the border. I think it's close enough we won't have to deal with anymore Pineclanners." she murmured, already heading back in the direction she recalled first hearing Duskstorm and Hawkstorm's cat-calling.
Jaegerstar.
Now, she knew how to dish out punishments. The leader had a very low tolerance for misbehavior. One of the reasons Bignose even respected her. But this...this was one of those things that they didn't exactly share the same opinion. So, sure, they'd taken prey from Pineclan, they'd trespassed, and nearly had a fight with a Pineclan warrior. But...things hadn't gone that bad? Right? She'd forgotten of Mr. Stick Up His Ass. Right. He wouldn't be too pleased with either of em' for talking his apprentice into this. If Bignose knew stuck-up's(and he was definitely one of them), then he'd be off to inform Jaegerstar as soon as he was done lecturing his apprentice.
That gave them maybe until sunset.
She'd been lectured before. But she hadn't done nothing like this, at least, nothing that would cause Jaegerstar to get involved. Whatever worries she coulda had were gone when she unearthed the prey, gathered it in her jaw and reminded herself that she'd just saved half their tails.
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Post by Cloudbat on May 21, 2012 6:28:38 GMT -10
"Heh. Great." whispered the tortoiseshell back weakly. She was tired. So fatigued that her mind must be going slightly, since for some reason she was focusing less on the prey and more on Bignose and the way that even wet and slightly battered she looked
impressive.
Wait what?
Okay, I really must be cracked. Still, she struggled to focus as she watched her Clanmate go. Lying here was a highly attractive prospect, but not much in the way of salvaging her innocence if a patrol happened to stroll by. It would be a minor miracle if no one found Hawkstorm anyway. Not that she particularly wanted the big PineClanner to get away, but she was weary and just wanted this awful plan of hers to end, whatever way it did.
Well, I guess that’ll teach me to steal. From PineClan, anyway.
Not that she relished the prospect of being a thief. No, the excitement was fun and getting food was good, but the actual act of taking prey that wasn’t ‘StreamClan’s’ per se…well, that made even her shadow of a conscience wince.
Morals? She asked of herself, deadpan. I thought we dispensed with those. I guess not, she mused, and remembered that while she might generally tended toward the shadier side of things, she was Dusk. The divide between the darkness and the light.
And ultimately it was both that had led her here, dripping as she breathed heavily on the shore, savoring her life. The forces might always fighting within her, but in the end, she'd done something to be proud of.
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