xem wrote:𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴
+20 EXP [Patrol sent]
+1020 EXP [10008 words written]
+10% Hunger each
Buckstar and the cats around him crashed through the undergrowth, following the trail with panting breaths. The leader’s legs were pumping, fuelled by fury. At what exactly, he wasn’t sure. It was just a bit of everything. He was angry at the late hour when he had hoped to be sound asleep in his den by now, his belly full and his body warm in his nest, not racing through the woods. He was angry at the invaders, too, of course. Who were they that they thought they could intrude into his very own territory? He would show them that they had bitten off more than they could chew when he caught up to them. His claws itched with the need to tear their ears off and bury themselves deep in the strangers’ flesh. And lastly, he was angry at his clanmates. Willowdust and Timberfreckle had probably gotten tired and returned back to the camp without telling anyone for fear they would be reprimanded. But oh, being reprimanded would be the least of their worries when they got back in his sight. Some cats had thought he’d been too harsh when he had punished Jaggedmoon for ‘eating out of line’, but they would come to know true harshness. Fluking out of a fight was one of the most cowardly things a cat could do, and Buckstar loathed cowards. Speaking of, where was Swifthare? He’d have expected the tom to return to the group by now, with or without the two other cats.
With a snarl, Buckstar shook his head, clearing it of distracting thoughts. Those lazy foxhearts would be punished later. For now, he had other problems.
Namely, he noticed, the trail getting weaker with every step he took. Flashing his teeth in impatience, he skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding falling over a branch and tumbling down the mountain. Dying out here because he was acting too hasty was the last thing he needed now.
“Halt!” he yelled, his voice piercing the night. He cared little about scaring the intruders. They would likely have heard their crashing advance anyway, and with how weak the scent was by now he didn’t think they were in hearing range anyway. The other three members of his patrol were, though, and not soon later they arrived where he was, desperately sucking in breaths and fighting to keep standing on unsteady legs.
“We lost them. We need to turn around and find the trail again.”
Anger and annoyance fuelling his steps, he made his way up the mountain again.
“Quickly!” he raged when he noticed that the others weren’t matching his pace, instead lagging behind at an ever-increasing distance. “If they get away because you can’t keep up, none of you are eating tomorrow.”
With that, he spun around and pursued the trail on his own, leaving the others to follow.
But still, the farther he climbed, retracing the paths they had left, the weaker the scent got again. Frustrated, he whirled around, his nose held high, and his mouth opened, but there was no denying that he couldn’t find it again. It was as if the strangers had vanished.
After too long a time the other three caught up to him again, and he welcomed them with a snarl.
Heathertuft blinked at him in confusion when she had caught her breath enough to scent. “The trail is almost gone here, too. Did we get lost?”
Buckstar tensed his body to keep from striking her. “They are gone”, he hissed, burying his claws in the ground instead. His lashing tail still gave his feelings away, but he cared little. “I don’t know how they did it, but they are gone.”
The others exchanged glances. Lynxlily finally squared her shoulders and took a careful step forward. “Maybe we should head back, then, and try again in the morning? I’m still worried about Willowdust and Timberfreckle’s disappearance, too- “
She stopped talking, her eyes flicking to Buckstar’s folded-back ears. The leader felt a growl building in his throat. “Am I surrounded by cowards? We’ll check the borders, too. They have to have left some way or another. I’ll give you a few moments to rest, but then I expect you to give your all.”
They arrived at the closest border a short while later, slowed down by Dovefrost stumbling over a branch and always taking Heathertuft down the mountain with her. At that point, Buckstar had conceded that they all probably needed more than a few moments’ rest, but still he didn’t permit the she-cats to fall asleep. A short nap would wake them more tired than before.
As they got closer to the border, Buckstar noticed a scent growing stronger. A quick discussion revealed that the others had also noticed it and, like him, identified it as multiple cats.
“It’s not the same scent as before, though. Those are other cats, we need to be careful”, Lynxlily cautioned, but Buckstar was past that. He wasn’t sure who she thought she was to give him advice, and he would make abundantly clear what he thought about her behaviour later, but for now it was the most important to him to confront these cheeky intruders. Taking care not to fall over his own paws and tumble downhill, he sought the quickest way to the border below, listening to the three she-cats follow closely behind him.
He stopped on their side of the border, close to the scent markings. He had timed their descent and position well, and could faintly make out the shapes of three cats approaching between the trees, traveling in their direction. Heathertuft, Lynxlily, and Dovefrost lined up behind him.
“Identify yourselves, intruders, before I rip out your throats for invading our territory”, he called out to them. Lynxlily had been right that these cats smelled differently, but it was too big a coincidence, in his eyes, for them to be a completely different group.
The three on the other side came closer and were revealed by the moonlight to be two broad-shouldered toms and a molly that was every bit as large as the other two. Most likely siblings, Buckstar assumed.
The molly stepped forward, sizing him and his group up with a sweep of her eyes. “Intruders? We kept outside of your borders.”
“I asked you a question”, Buckstar replied, his tail lashing impatiently. “Who are you, where do you come from, and what gods to you pray to? You’ll be able to ask them soon enough why they didn’t help you when you needed them the most.”
The strangers exchanged amused glances that made Buckstar’s blood boil in his veins. They didn’t look tense, as if, to them, he and his weren’t a threat at all.
“You’re a cocky one, aren’t you? It’s not important for you where we come from, much less who we are. I wouldn’t expect you to be able to comprehend the answers. And also, as I said”, the molly continued in a lazy and unimpressed drawl, “we didn’t cross your borders. We are passing through, and are not looking for trouble.”
It was her relaxed blink that angered Buckstar the most. With a roar, he crossed over the border himself, charging at the molly. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and then all he could see was the dark forest floor filling his vision as he was -weirdly gently- thrown to the ground. When he got back to his feet, the three strangers stood at the same distance to him as before, looking just as relaxed as before his attack. How had they moved so fast? Who had thrown him? And why hadn’t his clan members assisted him? They were standing just where they had, looking at him with shocked eyes.
He bared his teeth at them, then at the intruders. “Cowards, everywhere. Fight me properly, you craven fox-hearts!”
The molly chuckled. “This is not a fight you want to pick, and certainly not one you would remotely be able to win. Your friends over there are wise. You should go home and rest, it’s late. You all look very tired.”
The three strangers turned in unison and continued on their way, as if nothing had happened and as if he wasn’t there. Growling, he readied himself to charge at them again, but was interrupted by a voice back at the border.
“Buckstar”, Lynxlily called out to him. Irritated, he turned around. “What!” he hissed, his eyes narrowed at her. Lynxlily again. She really was going on his nerves today. “They’re getting away while you watch!”
The she-cat blinked at his fury, but stood firm. “We can’t beat the three of them. They’re way too good, and we’re in no shape to fight anymore tonight. You know it, Buckstar. Attacking them won’t end well, and they’re not the invaders we’re looking for.”
Deep inside, Buckstar knew she was right. He was feeling weaker than usual and deathly tired, and a glance at the three other clan cats told him they weren’t faring better. Her words still made him irrationally infuriated, mostly because Dovefrost and Heathertuft were agreeing with her. Turning back now would make it look like he had listened to her counsel, and make him look weak. Yet, he knew that turning back was the right choice. He would have to think of something to undermine the authority and trust she had won today, and re-establish himself in the other two mollies’ eyes.
Not acknowledging her, he straightened up and returned to the border.
“Pursuing these cats would be futile now. We are weary, and will be returning to the camp immediately. Tomorrow, I will assemble a bigger patrol to look for the true intruders.”
Without another word, he turned, his head held high despite his tiredness, and led the way back. No one said anything against his words, and there was no further discussion amongst the cats as they trekked back up the mountain, travelling towards the camp as the sun rose behind their backs.
While they were on their way, the cats caught two half-asleep mice and found feverfew and juniper berries growing sheltered near a tiny spring.
[+2 Mouse, +4 FP, +1 Feverfew, +1 Juniper Berries, +12XP]
Totals
+4 FP | +1 Feverfew | +1 Juniper Berries | +1052 XP | Level 5 [313/600]
Congrats, you levelled up!
As a reward, you receive: +3 FP of your choice, +2 Herbs of your choice, +1 Random-Custom, +150 SD
