two in one wrote:for all intents and purposes (plot/intended kills), this round of mir takes place in the forest territories
as the sun began to set, sunpaw gazed around the settling camp. the past leaf-bare had been harsh, with a great starvation hitting riverclan, leaving their numbers low. new-leaf brought plentiful prey, but nothing brought back the dead. sunpaw lost friends and her own father, and found great comfort in the last remaining apprentice, gullpaw. the two grew quite close being the only two apprentices, and were rarely seen apart.
gullpaw padded out of the apprentices’ den, having noticed sunpaw didn’t join him. he sat beside her silently as they watched camp life died down and the evening’s bugs took over the clan’s silence. sunpaw could feel the silent sorrow and remorse from her companion. she turned to him and gave him a quick lick on the forehead. two looked at each other before standing to their paws, ready to retreat for the night.
a cool voice spoke put from behind the pair, startling them. “would you two want to join me for a hunt before the sun fully sets? this time of day is perfect for little creatures,” they mewed, padding forward towards the apprentices as they spun around. they glanced at each other before looking at the on-comer, surprised at the request but curious nonetheless.
“i mean, i don’t see why not. after this leaf-bare…” sunpaw trailed off, glancing at the pile. even though the small clan could manage to feed themselves now, she was nervous about what new-leaf would bring. she was aware that some new-leafs turned nastily cold at random and knew she couldn’t risk it. gullpaw nodded in agreement, but more so eager to leave camp so late.
their companion led the way, excitement itching at their claws. they had only intended on luring sunpaw out tonight, but figured they could kill two birds with one stone. neither apprentice was worthy enough of a warrior title, much less of riverclan status, and deemed they simply had to go. they continued into the forest, making their way along the stream.
“we won’t be fishing,” they muttered in amusement, watching as the apprentices neared the river. “it’s far too cold out, and the fish’ll be hiding. we’re hunting land creatures.” they flicked their tail, beckoning the two apprentices to follow back towards the more wooded area. the trio dipped off into the darkness as the sun finally settled, the moon high in the sky.
“you two go ahead and hunt together,” they instructed, “i can manage a hunt myself.” sunpaw and gullpaw nodded eagerly and stalked off into the night. their companion turned to the bushes where they had previously stored two pieces of prey- one for them, one for sunpaw. sunpaw’s piece had already been tainted with deathberries, but the cat now had to stuff the second for gullpaw and pretend to be uninterested. they waited for the apprentices to return, and was relieved to see them arrive empty-pawed.
“we couldn’t see anything!” gullpaw exclaimed, frustration rising in his voice. “we aren’t used to the dark like this. at least by the river we have moonlight. the trees block all the light.” the tom continued to complain, flexing his claws in annoyance. sunpaw rolled her eyes and gave him a slight shove, telling him to knock it off.
the third cat stepped forward, offering two mice to the apprentices. “well, i caught these,” they explained, “however, i’m not quite hungry. if the two of you would like these, then be my guest.” they nudged the mice towards sunpaw and gullpaw, watching the apprentices dip down to the prey. they each took eager bites, mindlessly chewing before shortly choking back up their food.
the apprentices hunched over and began to foam at their mouths, terror and confusion glazing over their eyes as their killer began to speak. “i’ve watched you two, and heard complaints. you aren’t slick. i know how you two ate prey before returning to camp empty-pawed this leaf-bare, and you continue to do it!” they snarled, watching as sunpaw and gullpaw collapsed to the ground. they stared in anger, furious at the selfishness of the two young cats.
“you broke the warrior code. simple as that. and cats are dead because of it.” they turned their back to the dying cats, satisfaction washing over them as the wheezing began to simmer. “i hope you enjoyed your last meal.” they padded off, slipping back into camp and to their nest, drifting off disturbingly peacefully.
first hit and you’re down a pair, riverclan! who’s killing your small population?
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