Frozen Breath - {Open}

[Dakki ♥ ❤ ❥]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/15q92qr.png] A bitter wind shook the tree's around camp, bending the towers of them like they were blades of grass. The morning was quiet, the sun had hardly staked its claim in the sky, and nothing could be heard but the strong bursts of wind. A single cat sat in the clearing, her vivid green eyes watching the trees dance in the wind, shivering when a lick of the leaf-bare wind caught in her black and white patched fur. "Stupid leaf-bare..." she mumbled, drawing her fluffy tail closer to her body for warmth. As she looked around the empty camp, she did have to admit that the season was rather mild this time around. Even though she was only 12 moons old, she remembered harsher leaf-bares before this one. As her eyes cast around camp, they settled on the very low fresh kill pile. A tisk escaped her mouth as her head shook back and forth. She should probably go out and hunt so that when everyone else awoke, there would be breakfast. She was rather comfy where she was though, and the morning was still young. It was nowhere near Sunhigh, so she would go out later. With her mind made up she settled into her skin more, fluffing up her medium sized fur to keep the chill out. Her breath came out in puffs of fog, reminding her that soon, as the sun rose higher into the sky, it would warm up. Well, slightly, but still it would be better than it is now. Patchclaw stretched out her legs before her and settled her head on them, licking her lips as s hungry growl rumbled in her belly. 'I said I would hunt later, so there is no use growling at me, stomach. Plus, the rest of the clan had to be fed first, then you can eat whatever pathetically scrawny animal there is out there for you to eat.' Closing her eyes, she shut out the leaf-bare world for her dreamscape. A quick nap would bring hunting time closer. The warmth of the sun reached the she-cats form, her eyes cracking open to see that the camp was much brighter than when she closed her eyes. A yawn stretched her maw wide, her pearly whites flashing in the sunlight. At last, it was beginning to warm up a bit. Patchclaw stood up, stretching her legs one at a time before she curved her back, arching her neck to ease her cramped muscles. At last she could go out and hunt. Looking down at herself, she saw that the wind had blown small twigs and leaves into her fur. Rolling her eyes she bent her head, cleaning her fur. She reiterated her dislike for leaf-bare, then lifted her head once more. Maybe she should wait for someone to wake up and come with her. While the young warrior was a skilled hunter, two cats hunting would be better than one. Prey was scarce, and with two noses searching, certainly more prey could be found. With A definitive nod of her head, her green eyes flickered around the sleeping camp, just waiting for a cat to poke their heads out. Then she could hunt, then she could eat. Licking her chops she shifted her weight on her paws, anticipation on the hunt rising within her. words;; words tag;; tagged notes;; notes music;; music

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[Cloudbat]

Swallowpelt, as usual, was not in a very good mood. Not a horrid mood; not a great one. Just a general "I hate the world" mood. Nothing special.

So why not kill something to cheer herself up. At least, that was the first thought that entered her sleepy brain as she woke, stretching out her stocky gray body. Lots of blood. Bones too. Preferably with a side of shrieking.

If she found anything in this accursed cold, that is. Mmph. Maybe she should wake some young idiot and make them come with her.

Nah. She might rip their head off right now. And then Gingerstar would be cranky. Unless it was a tom...
heh. The senior warrior smirked as she finally pushed herself out of the slightly scratchy nest with a yawn, and thumped onto the earthy, pine-needle-covered ground.

She blinked against the sun, pupils narrowing to slits. Ah, peaceful. The sound of cats not yapping was one of her favorites...oh, was someone else up? The she-cat sniffed the air again. Yup. Oh great...Patchclaw. Not only a stubborn whippersnapper, but an easily agitated one.

But then...she'd been like that too, once. Perhaps she should cut her some slack. Swallowpelt made a deal with herself: if she agrees to go hunting without being a moron, then I'll make my best effort not to piss her off, and she'd better not give me crap. Sounds good.

So she padded over to the black-and-white warrior. "So. We're going hunting. I won't order you around while we're out, and in exchange, you won't give me lip. Comprende?"

[Dakki ♥ ❤ ❥]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/15q92qr.png] While the she-cats eyes traveled across camp, movement caught her eye. Patchclaw's head snapped to attention, narrowing in on a senior warrior that was standing outside of the warriors den. She grumbled inwardly, hoping that the she-cat didn't see her. They were both easily agitated cats and usually got on each others nerves. While she would put up with her on occasion, it was leaf-bare and everyone's nerves were shorter than usual. It seems that as soon as winter hit, everyone was treading on thin ice. The femme laughed inwardly at the irony of her thoughts, then drew her attention back to Swallowpelt. As the warrior approached her she noticed that she too seemed on edge. With such a difficult season on hand, it was understandable. Prey was scarce and hunger was running rampant though the clan. Her own stomach growled at the thought, and she turned her head to look at her white belly. Seems that she could wait no longer, she would have to accept whatever this female had to offer her. Her belly could wait no longer. As the other cats maw opened, she groaned inwardly once again. They would have to come to an overpass if they were going to get along and hunt well. She was a well known hunter, and Swallowpelt was a fierce fighter, they would work well together. "Hello to you as well Swallowpelt." she mewed, being careful to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "If we want to feed our clan, I guess that I will have to agree with you. Know let's go, my stomach cannot wait any longer." Of course they would hunt for the clan first, but still, food was oh so much closer. Turning towards the entrance of camp, Patchclaw ducked out, not looking over her shoulder to see if the senior warrior was following her. --- The black and white cat took a deep breath of winter air, almost choking as the bitter, cold air shocked her lungs. Looking over at the other she-cat, a small smile parted her lips. "Smell anything? This cold air holds nothing but death in it." she said, shivering slightly. Sniffing the air a few times she looked around, hoping to catch any movement. "How should we do this?" words;; 376 tag;; Swallowpelt notes;; I can tell that these two are going to butt heads a lot x{ music;; Big Bang Theory Theme Song - Barenaked Ladies

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[Cloudbat]

The corner of her mouth twitched grudgingly; the girl had a sense of humor, she'd admit. Swallowpelt had been prepared to dislike her - and still was - but maybe things might not go so badly. Yeah, right. Oh well, enjoy it while it lasts.

"Good thinking. And - oi. I'm not going to order you around, but if you'd care to -" Oh, forget it. Swearing under her breath, which turned to mist in the freezing air (she was grateful for her thick build and long pelt) she thumped after the younger warrior. Impatient mouse-brain. Sure, it was important not to dally, but racing off like a crazed badger wasn't doing anyone any good either.

Panting, she caught up just as her erstwhile companion began to speak. "I'm not your apprentice, girlie, I already checked the air while I was coming - nothing. But if you think cold air holds nothing but death I have a pleasant surprise for you: it doesn't. I'll restrain myself from patronizing you further, but think about it for a moment. What kind of prey has to be outside even in winter to feed itself? You're fairly intelligent; I think you can guess." This was all said in sincerity, with only a small amount of smugness. Okay, a decent amount of smugness. But that's how she made herself feel better and get over the 'I'm probably going to be attacked by another hungry bleeding fox and die' attitude.

It was birds, obviously. Her own mentor has been a dunce, but among the few valuable things she'd taught her had been this: know your prey like your Clanmates, and you'll understand how to catch them.

Birds often survived cold weather by migrating; but there were always certain kinds that stayed. And since the cold killed so many of the insects and berries they ate, they survived on ground prey, especially beetles and grubs that required digging, and therefore gave one time to creep up on said birds. Henceforth, the best place to find them were around little streams and ponds; worms preferred moist earth. You could call Swallowpelt only an average hunter in execution, but you could not call her ignorant of the ways of prey.

So they'd go to the river. Now, let's see if Patchclaw could figure it out. The heavyset dark she-cat wasn't expecting her to know all of it - it took moons of experience for that. But hopefully she'd get the gist.

Her mouth was getting dry; she swallowed to moisten it. The ground was hard and cold beneath the frost-brittle pine needles; it was only a matter of time before it snowed. Brilliant. Just what they needed, more obstacles. Hopefully they'd get a good catch today and Gingerstar would realize it was rationing time. Or it should be. Swallowpelt would be the first to admit that she liked nothing more than a large meal; but she would (if reluctantly) cut back. At least PineClan was small, and there were no queens.
She smiled to herself; there'd only ever been one queen, and that was her.

Still, it was nice to have the ever-so-charming days of motherhood behind her. But perhaps...perhaps she should visit her children. She hadn't sought them out specifically in a few moons.

A quick pulse of guilt ran through the senior warrior's heart.

OOC: Swallowpelt thinks...and thinks some more. Also, I love your little comments at the bottom. XD Very nice. Psh, they're totally going to be BFFs. I can tell.

[Dakki ♥ ❤ ❥]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/15q92qr.png] She saw the lip of the older cat twitch, and Patchclaw's tail slowly moved back and forth. She was quick with a joke, but it could get her in trouble sometimes. It made her easy to dislike, and her quick temper didn't help that fact. But this one, this Swallowpelt, they were much a like. Both quick tempered, stubborn, and quick with the claws. She heard her remark, but she had already turned around and began to walk outside. With her ears flickering behind her, she heard her paw steps following after her. Swallowpelt's steps were heavy, giving off her emotion of irritation. Patchclaw smiled, flicking her tail as she walked into the cold, winters air. The female's words irritated her slightly, and a small growl bubbled up her throat. She bit her tongue to keep it from flowing out of her maw, and shook her head. "I was not saying that to control you, nor to treat you as my apprentice. I was simply looking for your side of this hunting trip. You have more experience, this is my first leaf-bare as a warrior. So, I was asking for... your help," she spit out, her eyes focusing on anything but the older cat. Then Swallowpelt went on to ask her a question, and her ears strained forward as she thought. What kind of prey had to be outside? Well, mice had burrows that they were sleeping in, and fish were scarce in the winter. Her whiskers twitched as she thought. A small chirp reached her ears, and a smile lit up her face. "Birds! Some fly to warmer places, but a lot of birds stay here all year round. They would be going after worms because bugs are all sleeping, but worms are available all year. So... we need to go somewhere were the mud stays soft..." She broke off, pausing to think again. "Water. They would be around water," She glanced at Swallowpelt, her own name being after a bird. She knew that this cat knew the right answer, she was a senior warrior after all. The black and white cat thought of her own mentor, who was just like her; hard to please. This one had to work hard to please the cat, and she found herself looking for a bit of happiness from Swallowpelt at her right answer. She knew that it was stupid, but she couldn't help herself. The tip of her tail began to wag back and forth in anticipation, her maw opening to draw in the scent. The cold air was harsh on her lungs, but she sucked in more to see if there was anything she could place. It was barely there, but the smell of birds was in the air. Most old, but there was some fresh points as well. "So, we head to the water, right?" She waited for a few heartbeats, then set off for the stream. She kept her pace slow, her ears twisting around to listen for any sounds. Soon enough, the sounds of water tickled her long ear hairs, making the excitement bubble even faster through her blood. She dropped down in the frozen grass, her green eyes flashing from point to point, looking for any signs of movement. Glancing over her shoulder, she narrowed her eyes to look at Swallowpelt. "I don't see anything," she whispered, her tail drooping slightly. She wanted to hunt, she wanted to prove herself as a warrior this leaf-bare. She was young still, but she was good with her claws. Her ears were focused on the stream, but her eyes were on the senior warrior. She still needed a bit of structure, although she wouldn't be caught dead saying that out loud. She hid it from her eyes, keeping a blank look on her face. She would not admit that she needed help, and prayed that the cat would not see past her ruse. words;; 652 tag;; Swallowpelt notes;; Sorry it took so long! music;; ---

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[Cloudbat]

Raising an eyebrow, she cast a dark green gaze on the younger, slimmer she-cat but said nothing. Her observant eyes noticed her shivering, yet defiant stance. Swallowpelt had forgotten who had mentored Patchclaw, but she remembered that her ceremony hadn't been that long ago. This didn't excuse any incompetence she might have, yet it meant the large gray warrior had to remember she operated on a different level. At least she was making an attempt to rein in her impudence, but the senior she-cat knew it might not last.

"Well, evidently the poor mouse-brain who mentored you wasn't entirely brainless." She said, nodding approvingly. (In Swallowpelt terms, this amounted to a big compliment.) "Good little Patchclaw. Keep me happy and I may not eat you."

"Well, evidentl-" Again, really? Muttering words that would have burned the most seasoned elder's ears, she shifted her heavy bulk to maneuver around the snow-covered debris on the forest floor, plodding after the daft young upstart, her pads collecting tiny nicks from rocks she couldn't see.

Curse this cold. It was like having a wad of moss stuffed in her nose. Unfortunately, the best way to sniff out birds was also the most distasteful - by their dung.

She finally thumped to a stop, heaving, and glared at the she-cat with a look that could have melted a rock, then heard her speak and saw the black-and-white warrior turn to look at her. In a low meow, she said "You don't see anything because you just crashed through the forest like a horde of Twolegs, which by the way is a really bad habit. Any birds that were here sure as heck aren't here now. Tell me, does the word stealth mean anything to you?"

Having said her bit, she wasn't going to sit around and wait for the uppity little mouse-brain to get snippy with her. She was going to actually hunt.

Careful not to spread any more of their scent around than she had to, Swallowpelt cast her eyes and ears about for something to disguise her. Nrgh..a lot of smelly plants were dead. There was some lichen on that tree, though, and it was off the clearing...well, it wasn't much, but it was something. Hopefully the birds' sense of smell would be hampered as much as hers was, if not more.

Walking as lightly as the stocky she-cat could, she padded over and silently sliced a sheet off, then began to rub her main scent-leaving areas - cheeks, toes, tail - on it.

[Dakki ♥ ❤ ❥]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/15q92qr.png] Patchclaw kept a close eye on the large gray female, she wasn't quite sure why she was studying her so hard. Was there something on her fur? She turned around, her green gaze sweeping up and down her black and white coat. Nothing she could see... so why the intent stare? To be honest it was throwing her a bit on edge, and she didn't like that. So she fell back into her thoughts, trying to answer the question that had been tossed at her. While her mentor had been a good one, this she-cat had been made a warrior pretty quickly. She was very proud of herself, her ears twitching happily when she thought about it. Not many were as lucky as she was. But hey, that was just who she was. The female spoke and nodded her head, and the young warrior felt her heart swell at this. She hated to admit it, but she was striven to please others. To see the older warrior give her something as simple as a nod, you would think that her brain had really been replaced with one of a mouse. But no, she knew this cat and that a little gesture like that meant a lot more. But when the cat continued to speak, she felt her smile turn sore. She hated being called little. She was tempted to hiss at Swallowpelt, but bit her tongue. Now was not the time to quibble over words, they had work to do. Patchclaw trotted away, briefly hearing the female curse under her breath. She couldn't help but laugh a little, these two cats really seemed to get pleasure out of irritating each other. Maybe that's why they hadn't killed one another. Just yet, that was. The day was still young, a lot could happen in these next few hours. Heck, anything could happen in these next few heartbeats! Sniffling slightly from the cold, she glanced over her shoulder to see that the gray cat was following. Good! No more snide comments from her for the moment. Patchclaw didn't dare hold her breath though, this warrior could explode at any given moment. She felt a gaze on the back of her head, but when she turned to talk to Swallowpelt, all seemed fine and dandy. But as soon as her mouth opened, insults spewed out. The warrior hissed softly, her ears flattening against her head. "Well sorry, but I was in a bit of a rush! I'm hungry and all this talk of birds has got my mouth watering. Can't we just move upstream? I know what stealth is," Patchclaw added a huff in for good measure, then cast her green gaze elsewhere. When she looked around she saw that the cat was rubbing some lichen on her form. Her head tilted, confusion swirling her gaze. Then it dawned on her, she was covering her scent. The female huffed again, she didn't think that birds had much of a sense of smell. But just to humor the old bat, she quietly stalked over and grabbed herself some as well, covering her scent spots. When she finished, she looked up at Swallowpelt. "So, now we head upstream, quietly and look for some birds. Wanna make it more interesting?" she asked, a playful grin playing on her features. A good ol' competition never hurt anybody. words;; 560 tag;; Swallowpelt notes;; Sorry it took so long... again xP music;; ---

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[RiiRii]

[bg=e9e8e3][atrb=width,400,true][atrb=border,0,true] After coming back and spitting out the catmint down in the medicine cat den and having a bite to eat, Silverpaw was watching the warriors discuss and share tongues and sighed. She had no mentor to keep her company, Littleflower was always off doing something else with other cats and never had time for her anymore. Silverpaw saw no reason to have a bond with a mentor who never was there for her. She stood up slowly after eating and walked over towards the warrior den and peered in before feeling her tail lower and she sighed sadly and moved back to the place she was previously posted. Closing her blue eyes, she just stayed silent and hissed quietly under breath. This was boring, she was bored, she was alone. “speaking color.”

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