Hunting Can be a Dangerous Game if You're Going Blind

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    [size=36pt]Ghoststep[/size]


    A pale cat padded quietly through the forest, his ears pricked to make sure nobody could
    sneak up on him. His eyes had stopped working properly moons ago so he had to rely mostly
    on his ears, nose, and sense of touch to make sure nobody was sneaking up on him. Mostly.
    He could still partially see, just not very far. He was on his way towards his favorite hunting
    spot. It was his favorite because it was a wonderful place to hunt for doves--his favorite freshkill.


    Upon reaching the small grove near the ThunderClan border, he stopped and raised his
    muzzle to see if he could catch a trace of some prey's scent. He wanted to take back
    something to show that he was still a warrior, regardless of if he was going blind.
    He was still young and strong; he didn't need to move to the elder's den just yet. The
    only thing that was making him go was his poor eyesight.

    Through the dim shadows, a she-cat flitted, her paw-steps making barely any sound. The newly made warrior was keen to prove that she was no longer a clumsy apprentice - and she'd just spotted her first prey; a fellow clanmate. The ShadowClanner sighed. She'd been hoping to catch something impressive, like a magpie or a crow, but instead she'd have to settle for socializing with another warrior. She tried to feel at least a little disappointed about it, but she couldn't; talking was one of her favorite hobbies.


    Sneaking forward, her belly pressed close to the ground, the tabby and white she-cat headed towards the other warrior. He hadn't noticed her yet, or so it seemed, so she was in the clear. With a high pitched "Surprise!" She relaxed out of her crouch and sprung into the air, aiming to land on the tom's shoulders. This was typical behavior for one cat and one cat only; Speckledmask.

    [fancypost bgcolor=#000000 bordercolor= #FFF5EE #FF4500 borderwidth=7px]


    Orangetail



    How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
    Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
    Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
    until you find it there and lead it back home



    For the first time in what felt like moons, Orangefoot was in a good mood. She had been hunting since she was released from the dawn patrol and she had gotten a number of good kills already. She had not even scented another cat, which made the day even better. It was almost like she had all of Shadowclan to herself, which frankly was wonderful for the moody she-cat.


    She had been tracking a pesky little mouse for a while now, determined to get the kill. It had been scurrying around for a while, picking up a seed and stuffing them in its mouth before going on. Honestly if Orangefoot wasn't so persistent she could have had several other kills by now. The mouse had just settled in for a meal near the Thunderclan border when a distant meow of a cat set it running. Orangefoot let out a low hiss, her amber eyes flashing. If it was a Thunderclan cat that had scared off her mouse she was going to claw their ears off.


    Orangefoot stalked towards the voice that had spoken, when two scents entered her nose. Luckily for the cats they belonged to her clan. Her semi-good mood stopped her from storming into the clearing and telling the cat off that had scared her meal away. She did enter the clearing though to see the two cats, two warriors like herself. It was Ghoststep and Speckledmask and Speckledmask seemed to be making a game out of stumbling over the blinding Ghoststep. Orangefoot shook her head at the young warrior.


    "What are you guys doing?' Her voice was bland and had a small disapproving edge to it.



    Wake me up inside
    Bid my blood to run
    Before I come undone
    Save me from the nothing I’ve become




    [/fancypost]

    The post was edited 1 time, last by VooDoo ().


    [size=36pt]Ghoststep[/size]


    Ghoststep nearly collapsed when another cat jumped on his shoulders, but he somehow
    managed to stay on his paws enough to shake the she-cat from his back. He couldn't
    hardly see which cat it was, but he knew her from her scent--Speckledmask. Of course.
    He had no idea why some cats liked to exploit the fact that he was going blind, and
    sometimes he wished he could just give them a few scars as a reminder not to do it again.
    But he was known for being goodnatured, and goodnatured cats did not give scars for no
    good reason.


    He cursed himself when yet another cat managed to sneak up on him without him knowing.
    He'd thought that he had everything under control. "It seems Speckledmask thought it
    was nice to scare off all the prey within earshot,"     the fawn tabby sighed, sitting down
    and flicking his tail a bit in agitation.

    Speckledmask tumbled off the older warrior as he shook her off. Still grinning happily she turned to see who she'd landed on. The grey tabby and white she-cat froze for a moment as she realised who her 'prey' had been; Ghoststep. Guilt and embarrassment washed over her and she opened her mouth to blurt out an apology, when she heard Orangetail scolding her from behind.


    The she-cat whirled around to face Orangetail, tripping over her paws as she did so. "H-Hello?" She stammered, her amber eyes wide. Speckledmask's tail drooped. She hated being scolded, and making accidents, and doing things wrong, and being embarrassed. Today was just her lucky day, wasn't it?


    Deciding to give up on the Orangetail front, Speckledmask turned back to Ghoststep, "I'm sorry - I didn't realise who you... Well, it's not that you're not capable or anything, but I didn't know that you were you and... Sorry." She finished, somewhat lamely. Feeling that there was no way to get around this, she offered an apologetic smile.

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    Orangetail



    How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
    Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
    Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
    until you find it there and lead it back home




    Orangefoot snorted softly. Ghoststep didn't have to tell her than Speckledmask had scared off all the prey in the area, she had experience first hand. Her harsh amber eyes landed on the now flustered and apologetic she-cat. "You should be more respectful to other cats anyway. What did you think Ghoststep was going out here anyway mouse-brain?" Orangefoot really could care less if her tone was harsh, young warriors needed to learn. True she probably wasn't much older but she had never been so immature or careless.


    Her tail gave a single annoyed flick of her tail as she stared down Speckledmask for a moment. Did she realize that Ghoststep probably couldn't see her smile? Orangefoot knew that the tom could still see somewhat but not well. 'Frankly I don't see why he still even tries, he is going to get himself killed.' Orangefoot kept that thought to herself. Although she believed what she wanted to say, at the same time she could understand why Ghoststep still tried as hard as he could and probably harder that some of the warriors. She could not imagine being put into the elders den at this age.


    Her mind wondered towards why the duo was so close to the Thunderclan border. She did not know of anything that great that was to hunt over here, probably because she hated Thunderclan with a passion and didn't even want to smell them. "What were you hunting over here anyway?" Just because she didn't like Thunderclan didn't mean she wouldn't learn something new though, if either of them would tell her what was over here.



    Wake me up inside
    Bid my blood to run
    Before I come undone
    Save me from the nothing I’ve become




    [/fancypost]

    Guilt racked Speckledmask. This was still in her first moon as a warrior, and she'd already upset a fellow clan mate. This always happened. Every time she tried to do something fun or playful, someone would get annoyed with her, or hurt, or distressed, or whatever. She cast her amber eyes back at Ghoststep for a moment, taking in the tom, before looking back at Orangetail. Speckledmask could almost taste the disapproval in the air. But what was so wrong? She only wanted a bit of fun.


    Sighing, Speckledmask slumped her shoulders, looking up at Orangetail dully as she started to talk again. The she-cat could almost feel her day getting worse and worse. Speckledmask scowled back at her paws. Why had she been so stupid?


    However, Orangetail asked them a question, and as a warrior, Speckledmask would have to dutifully answer. But the problem was, she had no idea why they were over here in the first place. She'd just gone out looking for bird scents, and spotted Ghoststep and then... Well. "Birds?" She muttered, her mew trailing into a question. To be honest, Speckledmask had no idea what prey was 'round here at all. After all - this was the ThunderClan border; the stench of the enemy would scare away all prey, surely?


    [size=36pt]Ghoststep[/size]


    "Doves," Ghoststep answered simply, not bothering to provide much more of an
    answer. He was older than both of these cats, and he felt he didn't have to explain
    himself any further than what he had already given. Besides, he was already feeling
    incompetent enough without these youngsters treating him as if he was an elder
    who'd strayed from camp. He still had a few good moons in him, and he wasn't about
    to step down until he couldn't see a mouse even if it was sitting right between his paws.


    Just because he was going blind didn't mean he still couldn't hunt. Hunting could be
    done as long as one had a sense of smell and hearing and a good understanding of
    the area. And he'd been walking this territory for many moons now so he knew it very
    well. Even with the stench of ThunderClan there to disorient him slightly, he could still
    hunt just fine. Not that these new warriors would understand for many, many moons
    to come.

    [font=georgia]Speckledmask nodded vigorously at Ghoststep's reply. "Yes, hunting doves. Wait, hunting doves?" She began off confidently, trying to back up her already patchy excuse, but she couldn't help herself from asking an incredulous question. Doves, in ShadowClan? Well, Speckledmask wasn't told about that when she was an apprentice.


    But why should she be so surprised? After all, you could get all types of birds. Probably. However Speckledmask realised she had let her guard down so she bit her lip slightly and gave a wide cheery smile at Orangetail, hoping the other warrior hadn't noticed the blunder in her otherwise flawless plan. Well, not flawless, but certainly a good plan.


    The she-cat bit back a grimace. Yes. All her plans were good, but never perfect. They always failed, that time back in her apprenticeship with the fox proved that... Speckledmask narrowed her eyes. Why was it that her plans usually managed to hurt someone, but when they could involve life or death matters, death was always the way it ended up. Perhaps Speckledmask should become a murderer - her plans would be a hit! Then again, she'd probably do it wrong.


    Some say ignorance was bliss, well to Speckledmask is was annoying. More annoying than younger brothers, and that's saying something.

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    Orangefoot


    How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
    Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
    Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
    until you find it there and lead it back home


    Orangefoot grunted in mild surprise. She had seen very, very few doves in Shadowclan. Usually it was ravens or some other nasty little bird. Doves were actually rather tasty, and always seemed to be fought over if one was caught and brought in. Orangefoot was pretty sure though that if a dove was caught, the one that caught it would end up eating it.


    Speckledmask's back up of Ghoststep claim made her give the young warrior a slightly scathing look. It seemed that Ghoststep had been the one hunting, while she had just stumbled over him. Orangefoot decided not to comment on it though, probably having pushed her anger towards the young warrior too much.


    "Doves huh? I bet that is a rare sight." Orangefoot couldn't really stand small talk and it seemed Ghoststep was in the same boat. His answer had been frank and quick, then again this was probably a personal hunting area.


    Orangefoot took a step back, her mind going towards her own stash she had already gathered. It would be her luck that while she was talking something would come and snatch it up. She looked at Speckledmask with slightly narrowed eyes, and then at Ghoststep. Her mind had wondered back towards the doves, not even sure how to catch the tasty birds. Going out on a limb, because honestly she wanted to know how, she asked the older tom a question.


    "Would you mind showing me how to catch a dove? I've never been taught." She wasn't really ashamed to ask to learn something new. Orangefoot knew a warrior was always learning and she wanted to be the best.


    Wake me up inside
    Bid my blood to run
    Before I come undone
    Save me from the nothing I’ve become


    [/fancypost]


    [size=36pt]Ghoststep[/size]


    The older tom dipped his head to show his agreement then turned his head to look at
    Speckledmask. He could make out general shapes past a certain distance so he assumed
    it was the fresh warrior, anyways. "Would you like to learn as well?" he asked the
    she-cat. He didn't mind teaching others a thing or two every-so-often. It made him feel
    useful, after all, and feeling useful was what kept him going every day.


    Though, truth be told, he would rather not show the two his hunting spot. His ability to bring
    in doves more often than the other cats was something he was particularly proud of. But he
    supposed he might as well show someone so that one of his favorite meals could be brought
    to him even when he had moved to the elder's den.


    All he really hoped for was that his secret would not be shared with the whole Clan.

    Smooth satisfaction ran through Speckledmask as Orangetail asked Ghoststep for help. Normally she would have at least some mild sympathy, but Speckledmask was one to hold a grudge. Typical. Anyway, she almost took great offence when Ghoststep offered help to herself.


    For a moment, Speckledmask was going to say a sharp retort right back at Ghoststep - she didn't need any help. But she thought better of it. Besides, she might learn something. Which, even though she would never admit, would be great. Speckledmask wasn't... Good at hunting birds. She was more a squirrel-y cat herself, but she could learn. She may even be able to teach an apprentice these same things, if she ever got one...


    "Alright." She mewed, a little grudgingly. This was going to go very wrong. Anything with wings and Speckledmask didn't have any hope of catching it. She hadn't a kit's chance in a badgers den, so her brother would say. But nevermind that. She wasn't going to let them know that.

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    Orangefoot


    How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
    Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
    Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
    until you find it there and lead it back home


    Orangefoot was rather pleased that Ghoststep had agreed. She had been worried for a half a second that he would shoot down her offer and try to claw her ears off for asking. He could have taken it as a sign of disrespect but it seemed not, maybe even seeing it as respect. Her amber eyes wondered towards Speckledmask, waiting for her to reply. Ninety percent of Orangefoot wanted the she-cat to disagree and head back to camp. As far as Orangefoot could tell in the few minutes she had been around her, she was a terrible hunter and couldn't keep quiet. Sadly she agreed.


    "Lead the way Ghoststep." Orangefoot vowed to herself though that the first time Speckledmask ruined the perfect chance to catch a dove, she was going to send her back to camp with a fresh scratch. This was the perfect chance to learn something new and Orangefoot was not going to miss it. She would allow Ghoststep to keep his spot as long as he stayed a warrior, which probably wasn't long, and then take over it. She had respect for the blinding warrior and would not take his prized spot until it was gone, although she was sure she could. True warriors though did not do that.


    Wake me up inside
    Bid my blood to run
    Before I come undone
    Save me from the nothing I’ve become


    [/fancypost]


    [size=36pt]Ghoststep[/size]


    With Speckledmask's agreement, Ghoststep stood up and continued on his way towards
    his hunting spot. He picked up his paws to step over roots at the right time, managed
    to dodge being snared by a thicket of brambles, and even hopped over a particularly
    deep pool of water with hardly getting his paws wet. As stated before, he had been
    hunting this territory for moons, and he was especially familiar with this grove near
    ThunderClan territory.


    Once he had found his usual catching area, Ghoststep paused and opened his jaws to
    better detect the whereabouts a dove--or any prey, really--might be. He caught a few
    faint traces of mouse, squirrel, and...just barely, a dove! From what he could tell, it was
    still just a little ways off, but he dropped into a crouch regardless before slowly following
    the trail of dove scent. He always took extra precaution just in case.


    The scent trail that he had caught earlier was getting stronger with each pawstep until
    it even overpowered the stench of ThunderClan. It was at that point that the silver fawn
    tabby stopped and listened to pinpoint exactly where the dove was at. Three fox-lengths,
    and just a little to the right,     he thought to himself, adjusting just slightly so that he was
    instead stepping towards the bird. With each step, he seemed to hesitate before putting
    his paws down, and he continued that way up until he was just a tail-length away. Then he
    rushed forward and slammed both forepaws down on the wing of the dove just as it tried
    to take off. With his hold on it, he kept it trapped until he could kill it with a swift blow to
    the neck.


    Triumphant, he sat up, dangling the now-dead dove from his powerful jaws. He hadn't
    bothered to stop and talk the warriors through the steps because, well, they're warriors.
    And warriors are observant, so he figured they could watch him and then ask questions
    as they needed.

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    Orangefoot


    How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
    Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
    Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
    until you find it there and lead it back home


    Orangefoot followed after Ghoststep silently, careful of where she put her paws. The last thing she wanted to do was scare away the rare dove before they even got to it. She scented the dove only after she noticed Ghoststep going into a crouching position. There was a plus side to having lost most of his vision, he could smell the tasty bird long before any other cat.


    His steps were a little hesitant, but that made sense. To point in scaring the bird off. Orangefoot crouched low in the marsh, her body still and only her eyes moved to watch Ghoststep. She took mental notes of everything Ghoststep did, from his careful paw steps to how close he got. He rushed forward suddenly and launched down on the bird before it could get very far off the ground. The bird crumpled under the tom and he quickly made the killing blow.


    'Amazing.' Orangefoot did not move near but rather stopped to think to digest what she had just saw. To make a successful kill she needed to get as close as possible. It did not look much more difficult than catching a normal bird but that wouldn't be the challenge. The true challenge would be to find a dove and it seemed this would be one of the few spots.


    "Is there any good trick for catching a dove Ghoststep?" Might as well as see if she missed something that in the heat of the catch. She took a deep breath, trying to remember the strong smell of the dove. It was an usual smell to her and probably one that wouldn't be hard to forget.



    Wake me up inside
    Bid my blood to run
    Before I come undone
    Save me from the nothing I’ve become


    [/fancypost]


    [size=36pt]Ghoststep[/size]



    The ghostly tom set the bird down in front of the two and spit out a mouthful of feathers
    before answering the she-cat. "Be patient," he told her simply, "And don't be
    afraid to get right up behind the dove before pouncing if you're not sure you're
    close enough. There's no shame in having to wait."     He'd had to get pretty much
    on top of the bird before killing it before so he knew firsthand.