Who's hunting who?(Brighty)

[Nighthunter]

Hailstar


Early morning light penetrated the marshy undergrowth. The reeds taking on a faint shimmering light, as the delicate rays of the sun traversed there long slender forms. The beauty of the morning was lost to a shadow stalking about the reeds, its frame bent low, and filled with ill intending purpose. Deliberatly low strides placed one large foot before the other, the darkened fur caked with mud from the marshes retaliation at having been disturbed.

Hailstar a gray speckled tabby with a thick pelt of fur, was this stalking form lurking among the reed beds. His face plastered with determination, and something else, desperation. Not the natrual look for one in his postion, a successful yet new leader, should not look so out of place within his home. Yet for some reason a deep scowl was imbeded on his muzzle, and his brows were slanted in thought as his icy blue gaze looked about.

Riverclan itself was out of place in a sense. Newleaf having started, usually the prey began to return with it, however the fish were slow to return to the lake. The streams that runs there course into it, were also not fairing as well as it should. This had him more then anxious and worried that unless things got better, they might starve.

Though he was not fishing this morn. Instead he was looking for land prey so to speak. Adders were his specitic interest at the moment, and though dangerous he knew that they would be plentiful compared to the other prey along the banks. As a leader he had nine lives to spare, and though he didn't relish the idea of being bitten, he rather it be him, then one of his clan mates. Besides he hoped that the adders were only just starting to awake, there bodies adjusting to the frosty morning. It took time for an adder fresh from sleep to regain its sense of self, they needed to heat up with the warmth of the sun, and that was something he was counting on. He hoped that none of his warriors would venture out after him, but he hated to admit that he would like the comfort in knowing that if a snake did get him that someone would be able to return the favor and catch the snake.

word count - 395
Muse - meh not bad not splendid though

[Brighty]

D A W N L I G H T

The morning light had illuminated the dark, damp Riverclan camp. The once muddy terrain was slowly baking in the sunlight.

Dawnlight ventured from her den, nodding a silent greeting to every clan member that she walked by. Her sleep had been fitful, allowing her only a few hours to rest. The thought of taking the night watch had crossed her mind, but as usual she assumed that the nightmares would end. Besides, she probably just needed to get some air. Her paws soon found her near the entrance to the camp. Sitting on guard was her brother Blackstripe. She greeted him with a friendly mew, of which he returned with a curt nod and sparkling eyes.

Venturing out into the reeds was not something Dawnlight enjoyed too much, but today seemed like an exception. Her normally white paws were caked with mud and dirt, and her felt was cold and soggy. Only the morning sun seemed to offer her warmth. As she wandered around the reeds, the scent of a cat wafted through her nose. Immediately, she raced towards it, her paws barely making a sound as she hunted down her target. From far, she was able to make out the shape of a large tabby pelt, but the wind had changed direction and picking up his scent at her distance seemed hopeless. Cautiously, she approached the cat, her paws silently placing themselves in strategic spots in order to avoid the common sounds one could make under wet circumstances.

She was almost there, behind the reeds even. As she raised her head, her heart stopped. The cat was no rogue, in fact, it was her leader Hailstar. A sigh of relief escaped her muzzle as she quickly licked away at her paws. Calmly and collectively, Dawnlight approached her leader, coughing slightly as to alert him of her presence, but not to scare him.

"Pleasant day for a little hunt?" she teased in an almost sweet voice. She sat down in front of the tom, admiring his features. Hailstar was a new leader and Dawnlight had pretty much grown up hearing about him. But now that she was truly one on one with the tom, the gossip and common words about the male were truly unmatched by his living beauty. Dawnlight twitched her whiskers in delight.

[Nighthunter]

Hailstar

So far the hunt was looking very lacking, but it only seemed to mke him more determined to find a source of prey. He felt responsible for every cat in the camp, and just could not go back empty paw. Life as a warrior had not been as stressful as life as leader. As Hailflight his life was still trying, but not nearly as absolute. Now he had to make and maintain decisions and uphold the laws in the clan. It fell to him to make sure that no matter the cost, Riverclan would survive.He had effectively put aside his own expectations for the future upon becoming the leader. Sure when he was deputy the thought crossed his mind that he might eventually have become leader, but it had happened rather quickly. The bulky gray tom had hoped to have had a mate and family before becoming leader.

Opening his mouth, he let the scents on the wind filter through in hope of detecting something to catch. Instead a rather pleasant scent caught his attention and had him lifting his head and turning towards the source just as she neared him. The cough had him worried, until he realized she was simply doing it to alert him rather then surprise him. He was on the look out for adders afterall, it would not do to have startled him. Pleasant day for a little hunt? Perking his ears at her teasing, he felt himself actually grin in response. Dawnlight was the scent he had caught, and her optimistic manner would not leave him wanting in company during the hunt. He did find himself oddly disturbed that he didn't in fact want her near the reeds. It was absurd because he couldn't very well tell her to avoid them, well he could because he was leader, but she was a warrior and could go where she wished. The thought process was odd, and made him question himself as to why he had even thought of such things.

Shaking his head to clear his absurd thoughts, he nodded in greeting dipping his head in acknowledgement. Scanning her form, he noted the traces of mud, though they added to her form, they didn't take away from it. Looking down at himself, he had mud displaced and decorating his fur in bits and places scattered about. It made him feel very self conscious, and he didn't know why. Surely there was no need to feel that way in front of a clan mate. Meeting her eyes, he started to get lost in them, there clear viscosity connecting with him, and making him stare. Belatedly he snapped out of it, and actually answered her." Pleasant day... not so much. The scenery is nice I suppose, but I have yet to find any prey." Blinking, he flicked his talk and looked around. " Care to hunt as well?" He was happy to see her, and figured maybe she would want to spend time with him. Dawnlight was a loyal and caring warrior, and he hadn't spent nearly enough time getting to know her calico figure. He had been so wrapped up in his own training and activities that he never hung around the other warriors much. Sure he knew them all, but he only ever ate with the fighters and mostly they were the toms in the clan. He felt bad now looking at her and realizing that he didn't know much about her. It bothered him that such a pretty face had gone unnoticed by his big blocky head.

word count: 600
Muse: not bad,
Music: Steady as she goes" by the Raconteurs.