WATCHING OVER YOU , open

[cranestar]

storm clouds floated above the barren fields filled with carrion and swamps. frogs croaked and gnats buzzed, but all was still in the putrid front. most shadowclan cats were accustome to the smell of decaying trash, feces, and urine wafting from the open carrionplace, but today it was especially bad. cranestar crinkled his nose as he padded through the mossy fields, flicking his ears in slight disgust. admittedly, every cat knew shadowclan got the worst pickings of territory when the founders traveled from far away to set up camp in this wonderful forest. nonetheless, cranestar realized no cat could do much about it now, seeing as he did not want to star a war with the other clans just for a short strip of earth. he shook his head, realizing the horrible smell came from the heating bodies of dead animals and other meaty products. this often happened in shadowclan--he should have known. well, if anyone asked, he had his answer for the mysterious stench.

he stretched, his arms shooting out in front of him as he kneaded and clawed the burnt sycamore. it really was the best time of day. the sun was setting, the insects were coming out, and the coolness of the light lowered like a soft blanket. soon, it would be time to rest. he withdrew his claws and glanced up at the burning ball in the sky, lowering over the mountains in the distance. the forest was so peaceful near twilight. a small smile crept over his maw and he blinked calmly before turning around and heading back for the camp.

something stopped him. cranestar had only taken a few steps before he was halted by some... supernatural force. maybe it was outside of him, maybe it was within him. whatever it was, it made him on edge. his hackles raised and he felt his lips curl back, as if someone else were pulling on his mouth. the scent of squirrel filled his nostrils and his head swiveled, realizing such a creature was rare in shadowclan lands. catching it meant a good meal for him and his clan, but might cause tension with thunderclan. despite this, cranestar realized his family needed the nourishment. he lowered onto his belly, tail swishing like a jittering snake. he lay very still, watching the squirrel scamper to and fro. cranestar took a single step. trying to get close enough to the squirrel, needing its fleshy body to bring back to camp. "A'richt squirrel. A've git ye noo."

[kestrelpaw]

kestrelpaw laid his head on his paws as he sat down, soaking up the warm sun. on days like this, it was best to relax. of course, it wasn't everyday that the clan experienced such nice weather in such calm times, usually as the temperature rose, as well as tensions. his lazy eye wandered off into the distance, but the good eye focused on what seemed to be the image of.. cranestar? he squinted, forcing both of his eyes to focus on the figure ahead of him. graceful, elegant-- he what?

great starclan he caught a MOUSE!

OF COURSE IF ANYONE COULD DO IT IT WOULD BE CRANESTAR!

his ears and his spirited perked up as he bounded across the distance between them and into the sight of his great leader, with a smile on his face. the small apprentice dipped his head in greeting, however, his paws didn't obey what he wanted to, and he couldn't stop in time, basically tripping over his own paws and landing face front in front of the leader. he quickly got up, shook his body and blinked at the leader with his own blue eyes. grinning, the tom purred, that was amazing! can you teach me how to do it! wow! i can't believe-- how did you? dear starclan that was soooo cool


quick and bad but yoloswag

[cranestar]

slowly, ever so slowly, cranestar padded forward, ears back and eyes wide in anticipation. his pupils dilated in order to let in more light, concerned about seeing his prey. the squirrel scampered forward towards a spare acorn sitting in the grass, and at that moment cranestar felt himself ready to leap into the air after the creature, his teeth and jaws parted wide as he allowed the husky forest scent to waft into his mouth. what a precious piece of prey a squirrel would be. he'd be a hero if he dragged it home after a few moons with only lizards and frogs to eat.

"that was amazing! can you teach me how to do it! wow! i can't believe-- how did you?"

cranestar whirled around. the squirrel perked up its ears and dashed off into the forest, having heard the stranger's cry. foxdung. the white leader narrowed his eyes angrily at the disturbance who dare ruin his hunting adventure, but the only villain he saw was little kestrelpaw. just an apprentice's game. exhausted, cranestar rolled his eyes, a slight snarl tracing his lips. "dear starclan that was soooo cool." the older cat narrowed his eyes at the meek youngster, planting himself down on the squishy moss. "cheers tae ye ah ne'er even caught it." his belly growled, and now he regretted kestrel's annoying mis-step even more. "didnae yer mither teach ye nae tae disturb cats whin they're hunting?" this poor kit just... didn't understand. it wasn't really his fault, but cranestar did not hesitate to lay the blame on him.

shadowclan's leader swished his tail and stood, walking past kestrel as if summoning him to follow. "Sin ah lost th' squirrel, ye hae tae hulp me hunt." while not a very good punishment for such an adventurous and excited kit, it put some of the work onto another cat's shoulders, and gave cranestar permission to sit back and relax for a bit.

[kestrelpaw]

the younger apprentice flatted his ears at the annoyance from the older cat, but quickly brushed aside the words. he gave a goofy smile, crooked, as he tried repeating the words that the older leaders said. "cheers tae ye." he giggled, loved the way the words rolled off of his tongue, and the younger cat looked up at the white leader with big blue eyes. trying his hardest to make his lazy eye focus. 

i'm sorry! he squealed, not letting the tom's anger pull him down. the small cat perked up his ears and watched the tail swish around in order to focus his eyes. and as he walked past, kestrelpaw felt his fur tingle. he touched me!! he walked beside me wait until I TELL THAT TO PEOPLE he purred, excitedly paddling along after the big white tom as he dropped his jaw in surprise.

sin ah lost th' squirrel, ye hae tae hulp me hunt

he was hunting with the leader?! great starclan now how many cats could tell others that they got to hunt with the leader! he jumped up and down with happiness, before closing his eyes to smell the air around him. but he kept getting distracted by the leader's scent, and opened his eyes before narrowing them again.


cranestar? how do you stalk... toads?