Hunting Patrol (burdock, echobreeze)

[flame]

Maplenose slowed to a silent stop as the abandon TwoLeg den came into view. She let the scent of prey cave into her mouth, her whiskers twitched in anticipation. She turned to look behind her to make sure Sunblaze and Heatherwhisker were still there.

[echobreeze]

Sunblaze crept behind Maplenose as quietly as his large size would allow. He placed his paws delicately, twitching his whiskers as he scented the air around them. Ahead, the Twoleg nest loomed above them. Perking his ears, he could just make out the sound of prey scurrying about the abandoned den. He blinked over at Maplenose, waiting to follow her lead.

[burdock]

Heatherwhisker's tail tip twitched with excitement as he came up behind Sunblaze and Maplenose. He could practically taste the prey already. Hunting was his element, the gift of StarClan. As he saw Maplenose turn to look behind her, undoubtedly for him and Sunblaze, he nodded to signal he was ready.

[flame]

Seeing that Sunblaze and Heatherwhisker were ready, Maplenose signaled the go with a flick of her tail. "There seems to be enough prey at the edges of the den," she murmured to them, "but if you go inside you need to be careful. Parts of the den have collapsed before, and chances are that it can happen again." She dispersed from them, making her way around the outer wall to scent for close prey on the grass.

[echobreeze]

Sunblaze darted to the other side of the den, wanting to avoid going in if he could, and sniffing his way around, listening closely. He stood still for a moment, watching as a mouse squeezed its way from a crack in the wall, its small nose twitching. Sunblaze crouched down, beginning to stalk forward. Just as he was about to pounce, a slight twinge in his paw caused a sharp breath to break his concentration, the mouse spotting him and darting back towards the wall. Sunblaze shot forward and managed to block his prey's escape route with a paw, grabbing the mouse in his jaws and cutting off its cry with a swift bite. He huffed in aggravation, giving his weak paw a bit of a flick. He padded back towards the front of the den to bury his catch and resume his hunt.

[burdock]

Heatherwhisker made his way lightly to the edge of the trees and crouched in the grass where the prey scent was thick. As a mouse crawled through the stalks he flatted himself and felt his whiskers draw forward as if trying to sense what the prey would do. The mouse paused to pick up a seed and nibbled, its tiny nose twitching as it did so. Heatherwhisker shifted his weight into his back legs and sprung, landing with the mouse directly between his claws. He pulled his paws together to trap it in and nipped it in the back of the neck expertly. He then walked a few tail lengths to the nearest tree and buried it there so that he could continue hunting.

[flame]

Maplenose made her way around one of the corners slowly, inhaling the information the scents brought to her. She sneezed, alerting a nearby squirrel which immediately made way for one of the trees. She chased after it. Unfortunately it reached the base of the tree before she could and scurried into the leaves. Maplenose narrowed her eyes in disappointment, but said nothing as she turned to continue searching.

[echobreeze]

Sunblaze caught sight of another mouse. As he crept forward, his paw gave another treacherous twinge, causing an involuntary hiss to alert the mouse and send it sprinting towards the safety of the wall. Sunblaze shot after it, but wasn't fast enough this time, his head making an uncomfortable crack as it made contact with the wall, a few chips of stone falling down onto his head. He let out a hiss of frustration, giving his paw another irritated flick. He padded back around to the front of the den, spotting Maplenose.
"My paws acting up worse than usual today," He mewed to her, giving his weak paw a shake, "This usually only happens during the winter."

[flame]

Maplenose flinched in surprise as Sunblaze talked. "Yes, your paw." she echoed. "If you'd like you can go back to camp. I suppose it'd be a bit hard to catch prey if your paw is bothering you. What would you like to do?"

[burdock]

Heatherwhisker stiffened in excitement as a thrush landed onto the ground several cat-lengths in front of him. He watched it for a few moments before starting to stalk forward, keeping his paws light on the ground. As he was nearing the bird it must have become aware that it was being hunted. It spread its wings and took to the air. Just as it was lifting up, Heatherwhisker sprang forward and smacked it back down to the ground with a quick paw, where he finished it off.
He picked it up and walked back to the tree where he had buried his catch from earlier, and added the bird to it. As he turned around he noticed Maplenose and Sunblaze talking. He trotted up to meet with them.
"What's going on?" He mewed in curiosity. "Is everything all right?"

[echobreeze]

"Just my paw acting up," Sunblaze explained, flexing his claws to judge just how bad his paw was. "But I think I'll be fine." He didn't like the idea of heading back to camp so soon, so he would most likely continue with the patrol, even is his paw fell off.

[flame]

"Okay, try to be careful then," Maplenose told Sunblaze. "I can imagine you wouldn't want to hurt that paw again."
She turned to look at Heatherwhisker briefly. "Let's get back to hunting then," she told the both of them. "I want to catch a few bits of prey myself before it's time to head back."