accidental hunting [open]

[Deleted]

             

Birds chirped loudly in the trees overhead. Newleaf could not be but a moon or two away- already the promises of the new season were in the air. From the obnoxious cries of crows perching on lone, tall branches to the gentle, warm breeze that blew from ShadowClan's territory. It had been an easy leaf-bare, one that seemed more like leaf-fall than anything. Snow had rarely chilled the ground, and if it did, it melted soon later. It was early morning for the lake territories; the time just past dawn, when the sun had just rose above the horizon but the moon was still visible. The ThunderClan deputy had just finished giving his orders of the day to the warriors and apprentices of his Clan. From training, to patrolling, to hunting, most of the cats had fled once he told them what to do. Elkshadow hadn't been a deputy but for a couple moons, and already everyone listened to him (for the most part) like he was the leader or something. It was quite lovely to the ambitious tabby tom. After that, he sat around the camp bored. It was pointless to go training with the other apprentices- for one, he could easily beat them in a mock battle. They were a bore to watch, plus, he didn't even have his own apprentice yet because his former one had just became a warrior. He chuckled lightly when he thought of the rambunctious kit that had been given to him, who then turned into a stern, cold warrior. That was exactly what had happened to him. It's not like it's such a bad thing, he thought, his mind wandering to his mother. Ever since he had been apprenticed by Thistletalon, his mother had been distant. She doesn't matter anymore, he told himself.

His mentor never stressed how important hunting was to the Clan. Without anything to do, Elkshadow had decided to attempt at it again. Though most of the time he came back empty-pawed, it was better than sitting at the camp taking care of a litter of naughty kits or pulling a thorn out of the pad of an apprentice if Frostbite wasn't around. After spending a couple days doing that, it was enough to make him do his worst favorite thing willingly. Elkshadow groaned inwardly at the thought of hunting. To him, fighting skills were much more useful. If he could use them every day, he'd be set for life. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Elkshadow padded out of the ThunderClan camp, his paws guiding him. He wasn't even paying attention to where he was going, just that he had to get away. I wonder how Coyotestar is doing. Elkshadow missed his former mate like a pain in his side, stabbing sharply into him with each step. He wished that he could meet their kits. The tabby tom flattened his ears on his head, angry that the RiverClan leader refused to let him see them. But he couldn't be mad at her, even though she wouldn't speak with him anymore.

Maybe his paws lead him to the Ancient Oak for a reason, but that was something that Elkshadow couldn't even begin to guess about. He tried to focus his mind on the hunt rather than the cats in RiverClan. Immediately, he heard rustling in the bushes next to him. Clumsily drawing himself into a hunting crouch, he stalked quietly over to the thick clumps of bramble, from where the noise was coming from. Elkshadow was careful not to step on the snowmelt, which would crunch under his heavy paws. The delicious aroma of robin hit his nose, as sharp as a claw on his pelt. The deputy peered through the leaves and saw the small bird a couple taillengths in front of him. He longed to just lunge full-speed at it, but he needed patience if he was going to make the catch. Elkshadow lowered his body, his soft belly scraping the grass like an adder. Suddenly, he felt a small twig snap beneath his large, white paws. No! The robin abandoned the worm it was eating, and with a quick look in his direction, spread it's wings and took flight, sending a warning to other animals with a loud caw. But it actually frightened a squirrel out of a nearby bush, fear glistening in it's eyes. It didn't even realize that it had practically run straight into his paws before it was too late. He pounced on it, giving a small nip to the spine to dispatch it. I think this is the first time I caught a squirrel, he thought proudly as he scraped dead leaves over the furry gray body so he could collect it later. What now? Elkshadow thought, his pink nose pointed in the air, sniffing the air for more prey he could accidentally catch.

[Lionstar]

The night before, sleep had been so beyond Lionstar's abilities that he merely gave up and stealthily fled his nest, padding out of the camp. Whether or not he was noticed by the young guard stationed there in the night, he neither knew nor cared. He needed to get away. Lionstar's dreams had never been the sort of idyllic frolicking that he had heard of others having, though he never had a message from StarClan, either -- no dead cats ever approached him in his sleep. Sometimes, he pondered on his status as a true leader, though he had seen the StarClan cats when he gained his nine lives, so that always squashed any doubts that might have been rising.

In Lionstar's dreams now, after his killings, after his nine lives, he's never found himself happy. Sleep was not easy for him to come by, and he rarely asked Frostbite for assistance. Thus, this night was not that much different from any other, though he found it might difficult than usual, to be sure. Somehow, his paws led him to the Sky Oak. Glancing up at its branches, Lionstar was reminded of how he killed that rogue on their territory, treating it as prey, lurking in wait to crush it and tear it apart, death from above. Hunting techniques, he had found, were exceedingly useful in fighting, for cats are not so different from what they eat, after all.

Instead of going beneath, crawling into the abandoned rabbit hole below that has offered shelter to many a cat -- and many a beast -- Lionstar leapt up to the lowest branch, and then up again, and then up another. The naked branches were somewhat slippery, with old ice still clinging desperately for its existence. Lionstar unsheathed his claws and wrapped his white paws carefully around the branches with each landing. He made it about halfway up when he decided to cease his climbing: he had already lost one life stupidly, and he was not going to lose another. Since at least three of the four Clans had very new, recent leaders, only about a moon or so into their leadership, Lionstar did not want to be down two lives while they had their full set remaining completely intact. It would be foolish and shameful.

Lionstar spent the rest of the night in the tree, his gaze on Silverpelt or on the lake and the reflection of the StarClan cats. In a way, they were like him, especially compared to the other leaders of the Clans and of his Clan in particular. He was a sort of rippling, wavering, thin reflection of all the cats who have come before him. It was perhaps sleep deprivation that pushed Lionstar almost to the point of having recognizable emotions or caring, but he was able to fall back before that happened, and he was grateful for the sunrise: now he would have things to do. Fake things, of course, just mostly looking busy in front of the Clan, but still time and mind occupying matters. He might visit the elders' den today.

Carefully, though always half-watching the sunrise out of the corner of his blue-green eyes, Lionstar slid down several levels of branches until he was on the lowest one. Going down always more difficult than going up, he, and countless other generations of cats, had found through experience. There always were tales of cats losing their lives in trees, especially this one, and yet every season it was still used for training apprentices, for fun, for hunting, and occasionally for battle. Lionstar could already, in his mind's eye, see his warriors in this tree in greenleaf, camouflaged by the hordes of greenery, waiting to pounce on whoever would come by. For a lion, ThunderClan's leader certainly adored the stealth attributed to tigers.

As Lionstar was shimmying his way down the tree to the lowest level, he spotted a massive brown tabby whom he easily recognized as Elkshadow. The aggressive tomcat was not Lionstar's first choice, indeed he had actually chosen another cat to be the deputy, but that cat died not even a moon after being chosen. Poor luck, an ill omen, a sign from StarClan, whatever it was, it was not good. Lionstar picked Elkshadow because of the tom's strength and commanding presence and personality, and it would be good to make friends with an ambitious cat, even if his ambitions came to fruition only after Lionstar's end. The ThunderClan leader prided himself on a keen eye, however, and he did not believe that Elkshadow would be willing to commit murder to gain the position. And besides, the big tom was hardly clever enough to do it well, Lionstar thought, that he had nothing to fear. These all were thoughts that had gone through his head upon hearing of his first deputy's death. Lionstar himself had not been a leader for a moon; it was all very awkward.

Though Elkshadow had managed to catch some prey, he also managed to scare off everything else that was remaining. Lionstar was concerned about the weather and the fact that so much prey was out and about; what would they do when newleaf rolled around? There might be nothing left, or at least only the young and their mothers, who would certainly be more cautious than these reckless creatures. Well, they would solve the issue of prey when it hit them, though Lionstar would always have the pleasure, in his mind, of knowing this before it came about, and without any sign from StarClan at that.

Once Lionstar reached a low enough threshold, he hopped down on the ground, far enough from Elkshadow so as not to be hit by his claws if he were startled. With a flick of his tail, Lionstar sheathed his claws, which had been out to help with gripping the tree, and meowed, "Elkshadow, it is a pleasure to see you out and about, and hunting at that." For some reason, even before he became deputy, Elkshadow had descended into a sort of miserable, distracted haze -- or at least, Lionstar thought he had. There was something off about him, just the tiniest thing, so tiny that it probably would not have been noticed by anyone less keen than Lionstar, and also who had to spend less time around him. It might be nothing. Then again, it might be something; it was not completely cured when Elkshadow became deputy. But it was such a pleasant morning, unlike the unpleasant night, that why would Lionstar want to ruin it with intrigue already? He should wait at least until the light on the water was less bursting and hot. Maybe he'd wait until the echo of the robin's shriek died down, that might be enough time.

WORDS: 1134 | NOTES: I hope it's okay that I posted here~ I wasn't super muse-filled for this post, and also I realize I did a lot of rambling, but I wanted to hop in this thread, get some leader/deputy bonding ^^ | TAG: Elkshadow, OPEN

[Deleted]

             

After a few moments of wandering around the ancient oak tree, Elkshadow realized that his loud catch had scared off most of the prey. Frustrated, the tabby tom flopped onto his belly, his head resting in his white paws. His dark pelt looked much lighter in the sunlight that drifted through the holes between the branches far above his head. Even though his claws itched to be digging in fur- not necessarily the fur of a mouse or vole- but he didn't feel like wandering around the territory looking for prey that was hiding in their holes. Plus, Elkshadow wasn't so keen to go looking for trouble with WindClan or ShadowClan cats. That was a first for the trouble-making tabby tom. He flexed his long claws, feeling trapped, like he was in a wire mesh made by a Twoleg.

Not to mention, Coyotestar refused to speak with him! He didn't even know who his kits were, or if they were even in RiverClan. Coyotestar could have given them to anyone to save her position as the deputy. No, she wouldn't do that! something told him. Coyotestar would be a lovely mother, but in her own special way. He tried to imagine the hardships she would go through- if they were in RiverClan, she probably gave them to another queen and didn't tell them that she was their real mother. The pain she would be feeling daily as she watched her kits live out their lives away from her, within eyesight but so distant. Their kits would think of her as a stranger, but their leader at the same time. Never would they think that their leader was actual their birth mother. Never will they think the ThunderClan deputy is their real father. They will never know. Some fortunate RiverClan soul gets the responsibility of that.

He shook himself, trying to escape the feeling of self-pity. He despised this emotion so much- this was around the time he would shut others out and become even colder than usual. Shoving himself to his large paws, Elkshadow tried to ignore the stabbing feeling in his heart and belly. The tom walked closer to the tree, his head and tail low. How could he function with his thoughts running around wildly? His mad mind seemed to jumble, his thoughts clumping together to suffocate him. Suddenly, he saw the flash of a huge tabby-and-white pelt slithering down gracefully from the ancient oak. He didn't even have to wait until he saw those unique blue-green eyes to know who it was. As the other cat jumped the rest of the way, he turned and spoke, "Elkshadow, it is a pleasure to see you out and about, and hunting at that." The dark tom found himself dipping his head out of respect toward Lionstar after he meowed those words to him- it was something he always did to the leaders. They were the only ones who didn't feel the sharp side of his tongue. Elkshadow fixed his posture, raising his head completely and tail slightly, as to not seem aggressive. "Why, hello, Lionstar. I didn't expect you..." Elkshadow looked up at the tall tree, one that was known for being dangerous. Many cats had fallen to their deaths fighting, hunting, or just playing in the tree. He regarded it coldly, then turned his attention back to his leader. He finished, "to be up in the tree. And yes, I was hunting." He nearly flinched, but stopped himself because he would look weak. I hope he didn't see me scaring the prey away from here to the lake! he thought. He wasn't known for his hunting, but he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Lionstar. Elkshadow hesitated, unsure what to do. He didn't really want to hunt with his leader- that was the last thing he wanted- but it might be awkward to just stand there. Sometimes you just have to do things you don't want to.

Words: 713 | OOC: I decided to change Elkshadow's appearance- I wasn't really happy with him because I simply couldn't find a picture of him! I figured it wouldn't be too big of a deal, since I only roleplayed him once. He is now a dark gray tabby. Hope you don't mind! D:

[Lionstar]

Lionstar tilted his head politely in greeting to his deputy. Elkshadow, the dark gray tabby tom, the big dark gray tabby tom, was really an impressive sight. Lionstar had to compliment himself on his choice for right-paw cat. Anyone looking at him would certainly be intimidated; well, anyone who wasn't Lionstar, and anyone who knew Elkshadow's limitations. Then again, once one knew another's limitations, there truly was little to fear anymore because fear came from ignorance, and knowledge was power. And this was how Lionstar navigated the world, through this cold lens of power and weakness and strength and ambition. Ambition wasn't really in Lionstar's personality (life was a game, after all, to him), but it was in Elkshadow's, and Lionstar understood how ambition worked; thus, he understood much of how Elkshadow worked.

With a flick of his fluffy dark tail tip, Lionstar brushed off the comment about his being in a tree. Some other cats might use that instance for a joke, but Lionstar was not the sort of cat to make humor out of every situation. The fact of the matter was, Elkshadow was distracted and Lionstar wanted to deal with this early on. One never knew what was coming around the bend, after all, what thread could rear its ugly head. Of course, that threat could simply be ThunderClan waging war on another Clan, but still -- war needed strong leaders and deputies, and Lionstar wanted Elkshadow to be ready for anything. Even if he wasn't an especially talented hunter, he made a beginner's mistake, and Lionstar saw the whole thing. He needn't scold or chastise or upbraid or encourage to improve, however, for he could see that Elkshadow understood he had made a mistake and messed up.

Instead, Lionstar pushed onward and went straight to the point. Patience was one of Lionstar's greatest virtues, but he preferred not to beat around the bush when he didn't have to. At least, he did not like to go against what it seemed the other cat wanted, and Elkshadow never seemed to be one to beat about the bush. So, rather than waiting for Elkshadow to continue -- unlikely, as he was not one of the chattiest cats that Lionstar knew and he was oddly respectful of leaders, or rather not oddly, but uncharacteristically, for he was a chronically rude tom -- Lionstar decided to speak first and right on the point.

"You've seemed distracted lately," Lionstar commented coolly, his voice even and smooth as it always was, his expression never changing. Overhead, a bird screamed and fled, seemingly having been late in the flight with the other critters after Elkshadow's kill. Lionstar remained unfazed, his gaze steady and resting on his deputy, not breaking his side of the eye contact. A slight breeze whispered through the naked trees, wrapping around and slithering through the woods, rustling its fingers through his thick fur. It was a peaceful morn, and not one that Lionstar wished to disturb with a great deal of clamor. He wanted his business done quickly and quietly, as he wanted everything done. He was not the sort of cat to make a splash or a great deal out of many things.

In fact, he was rather curious as to why Elkshadow was being so odd. He had theories, naturally, but he supposed that none of them was quite right. Had he seen something from StarClan, received a dream? Did he visit the Dark Forest, a place that Lionstar had difficulty believing in, to be perfectly honest (for, after all, if any cat were going to receive messages or dreams from them, should it not be he, arguably the worst of the current leaders?). Maybe he had seen a cat die, but that would probably not phase Elkshadow; he was not one to flinch in the face of death, whether it be his own or another's, that was how Lionstar saw him. If, of course, he turned out to be a coward, Lionstar would be disappointed both Elkshadow's courage and in his own personal ability to read others. This, however, this was most mysterious, and Lionstar was nothing if not a detective when his personal curiosity was whetted.

Thus, Lionstar stood still and awaited a response from his dark furred deputy. He watched and waited and allowed all things to come ot him. He was not accusing Elkshadow of anything, just trying to get to the bottom of things. And if it turned out that Elkshadow had broken the warrior code, well, nobody else needed to know, now did they? Lionstar cared little for the code, seeing it more as a code of conduct in the public eye, but otherwise easily dismissed. It was inflexible and left little room for case-by-case, practical, and realistic reactions. Of course, Lionstar was a bit of a fan of the "leader's word is law" number, but, again, he is a leader, and thus his word is law. It's a bit complicated and contradictory; in all, Lionstar did his best to avoid giving orders that directly contradicted the warrior code: he did not want to be unpopular for reasons of efficiency. A despised leader got little done, as opposed to a beloved one who was able to do much. 

WORDS: 877 | NOTES: Of course! It's all good x3 <3 I am sorry that my post kinda sucks, though >_> | TAG: Elkshadow, OPEN

[Deleted]

Although Lionstar had surprised the large dark gray tom, he refused to show any emotion in his gray eyes. Elkshadow looked at his leader and suddenly started to think about the time he was appointed deputy. His whole life he had dreamed about becoming the leader- and he still did. The name Elkstar rung in his ear, getting louder and louder each passing moon. Despite his stinging ambition that constantly pierced his heart, he knew he had to wait. The time will come soon. One day, you will be leader, Elkshadow thought, flexing his claws into the mud underpaw. The only way he would step down from his position if he was too old to continue. And that won't be for awhile yet! As much as he wanted to be a leader, he wouldn't abandon ThunderClan or kill Lionstar. These were two things he couldn't bring himself to do. He loved his Clan, even though he sometimes pretended not to, and wouldn't dream of killing a Clan member (unless they really pissed him off!) The only way he would leave ThunderClan would be if he was forced to go. The only thing I can think about someone being upset by me is because of Coyotestar and our kits... But no one will ever find out about that, unless she wants to be a cruel fish-brain and tell someone. He just hoped that she would kind enough to keep his secret, and he would do the same for her.

Both cats seemed rather lost in thought. After a couple moments of silence, Lionstar meowed coolly, "You've seemed distracted lately." Elkshadow inhaled sharply and his eyes widened a little. Did he really say that? Getting killed didn't scare Elkshadow. Everyone hating him didn't scare him. Foxes, dogs, and badgers didn't even scare him. But anyone- especially Lionstar- finding out about his secret did terrify him straight down to the bone. That was the one thing that no one could find out about. Well, what do I say? I have to say something, anything. If I don't, it'll seem like I'm hiding something. Even though there was a turmoil going on inside Elkshadow's head, on the outside he seemed perfectly calm. So rather than freaking out, Elkshadow meowed just as coolly, "Do I?" He planted a small smile on his face. "I don't think I am." Elkshadow was quiet after that, hoping Lionstar would drop the subject.

It seemed that his leader had seen his poor hunting ability. Though Lionstar probably alright knew that he was a terrible hunter, it was a horrible sight to actually see. It was sad that he had seen his lumbering gait, and it made Elkshadow slightly embarrassed. Though this feeling quickly dissipated. He was not the kind to feel the slightest bit ashamed- if he did, it was quite uncharacteristic for him. Elkshadow, trying to get comfortable despite the fact that Lionstar was on to him, padded out from the sticky mud patch which he had been standing in and stalked over to a drier area. Beneath the ancient oak tree he sat, where cold snowmelt on top of wet grass still lay on the ground. Though it was better than standing in the mud, he decided. Feeling a little cold, he turned to Lionstar and asked, deciding the change the subject himself, "What were you doing up in the tree, anyway? His whiskers twitched when he joked, "Were you bird hunting?" Didn't Lionstar know that the ancient oak was dangerous? Especially in this time of year. The tree branches could have had water on them, which could have frozen to ice overnight when the sun didn't touch their territory. He could have easily slipped and fallen to his death. I wonder how many lives he has left? he wondered. Elkshadow remembered his leader losing one life, though he wasn't entirely sure what had killed him, and didn't know if he had lost more without telling the Clan.

Words: 668 |  OOC: No muse, sorry! D: