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[lizardfire gives birth to five kittens! sadly kit number five ,, the dark brown kit ,, is deaf in one ear. it is unknown if they will keep their ability to hear in the other ear. only time will tell.]▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[weaslefur ,, rainwing ,, and hailstar catch two shrews and a mouse]▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
walking out of the medicine den russetleaf pads over to the nursery to check on lizardfire and thistlesnow. peeking his head into the darkly lit den he sees lizardfire asleep with her five kits and thistlesnow grooming herself. thistlesnow glancing up and nods to russetleaf ,, the tom returning a nod as well. stepping out of the den he turned around ,, eyes landing on the hunting patrol as they entered the camp. it seemed like todays catch was good because everyone had something in his or her mouth. after hailstar deposits his catch in the fresh kill pile russetleaf pads up to the leader. excuse me ,, hailstar may i ask something of you?turning to russetleaf hailstar nods.
of course ,, what is it? the tom curiously asks ,, sitting down.
this may seem a strange request ,, but would you be willing to help me find my brother? he and i have been separated for some time now and i dearly miss him. looking at his leader the tom awaited for a reply. hailstar did take a few moments to think of russetleafs request. at first he was hesitant. with the fox scent scattered throughout the territory it would be dangerous to search. but then again hailstar took time to find his sister ,, so why should he let russetleaf go without his brother?
i don't see why not! the leader replied ,, getting to his paws.
we may leave at once if you wish? russetleaf nodded. together the two toms walked out of camp. hailstar let russetleaf lead the small party of two since they were on the search that hailstar hadn't met before. russetleaf would know his brothers scent. keeping his eyes swiveling over the horizon russetleaf was determined to find his brother. being in a clan was much better than being a loner and he wanted his brother to be part of the clan rather than wandering around without any cat by his side. after some time of walking around a thorn bush catches the eye of russetleaf. on the bush is a tuft of orange fur.
there! running up to the bush russetleaf sniffs at the fur. hailstar follows closely behind him ,, taking a sniff at the fur as well.
it's his! this is my brothers fur! russetleaf joyfully exclaims ,, feeling like giddy kit on their first day out of the camp.
he must be around here somewhere then. hailstar lifted his head ,, glancing around. he saw no sign of tracks ,, and the scent didn't seemed to lead anywhere beyond the bush. before hailstar could comment of this russetleaf was trotting away ,, heading off in a random direction. hailstar trotted up beside him.
the scent doesn't lead anywhere ,, russetleaf. we should head back to camp and regroup. that fox still lurks and it could be nearby.hailstar ,, i hate to go against your word ,, but i have to find my brother. you don't understand. you have your sister. - russetleaf trailed off as hailstar gave him a stern look. now he felt like a kit being scolded.
i'm sorry. how unprofessional of me. you're absolutely correct. there is a fox out here. dipping his head to hailstar russetfur padded back to the bush. he grabbed the tuft of fur in his mouth and started back toward camp. hailstar walked alongside the medicine cat.
i'm sorry as well. but it's too dangerous to keep searching under the circumstances. maybe he will show up , after all there is proof that he is in the territory.[russetleaf and hailstar are unsuccessful in finding russeteafs brother ,, though ,, they do catch scent of him in the territory!]▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
sliding out of the warriors den larkspot blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light of leaf bare. breathing in the hotness of the day larkspot watched as his leader walked up to him. sitting down the tom wrapped his tail around himself ,, dipping his head to hailstar. larkspot ,, good morning.good morning to you as well ,, hailstar. what can i do for you? it's about the fox. it seems to be edging closer to camp. i want you to come with me to see where it stands now. it was important to keep the fox far from camp. with two queens and five kits the camp was vulnerable at the moment. if the fox made its way to camp it was almost certain that a cat may die ,, especially the kits. unable to defend themselves from danger kits were prime victims for other predators such as foxes. hailstar wouldn't forgive himself if thistlesnow was a victim of the fox. the thought alone broke his heart.
i think that would be best. standing up larkspot followed his leader out of camp.
where should we look first? he questioned ,, looking to hailstar.
we should start with where it was last spotted. the river at the southern boarder. hailstar said ,, heading in the exact direction of the river. he figured that the fox was sticking around the river for the abundant water supply and prey since many small rodents tended to live near the river for the water as well. to waste no time hailstar broke into a run ,, larkspot following suit. quickly the duo came across the scent of fox. they were only halfway to the river!
it's getting closer. larkspot noted with a snarl.
and this scent is fresh. keep a keen lookout. we don't want it sneaking up on us. hailstar ordered ,, fur standing on end. the constant marking of the territory just wasn't keeping the fox at bay. what else would they have to do to force the fox from the territory? hopefully a fight wasn't the answer.
hailstar ,, the leader looked to larkspot in a flash ,,
there. just over the crest of the hill. i saw orange fur. larkspot pointed to the area he was peaking of with his nose. together the two cats slowly crept forward toward the hill ,, stepping lightly and breathing quietly. any small sound would alert the fox that the two cats were around ,, and hailstar assumed that it wouldn't end pretty if they were found out. eyes turned to slits ,, claws poking from his toes ,, tail tip violently swaying around behind him ,, larkspot was ready for a fight. he had been with the clan for some time now and considered it his home. if anything dared to disrupt the peace in his clan he wouldn't go down without a fight. reaching the bottom of the hill hailstar started up but froze. something was wrong. wind blew from the west ,, bringing the scent of fox with it. but the fox should be in front of them ,, in the east. whipping around hailstar froze as he spotted the orange and black fur of a fox standing ten tail lengths away. crazy yellow eyes flashed with anger. the beast charged ,, sending dust spraying up behind it.
larkspot! the warrior turned around ,, fur standing up as he spotted the fox.
dive right! as larkspot dove to the right hailsatr dove to the left. with the fox momentarily confused larkspot jumpedforward and bit down on the foxes hind leg. with a snarl and cry of pain the fox quickly twisted around and swiped at larkspot. it had aimed too high so it only grazed the toms left ear. jumping back larkspot turned and ran from the fox while hailstar chomped down on the beasts tail. whipping toward the leader the fox went to bite at him ,, but hailstar was gone in moments. running alongside larkspot hailstar spoke a plan of action.
we get it across the river. find a shallow spot and wade in ,, luring it to the other side. we wear it down then chase it away. got that? larkspot nodded and together the two toms raced toward the rive ,, the fox following close behind. but with a leg injury it was slower than before. a slight advantage. but still ,, the fox was an adult ,, much stranger and more aggressive than younger foxes. reaching the river the two toms turned to face the fox.
go find a shallow area. i'll keep it at bay! hailstar said.
but it's a fox and you're just one cat ,, i think - hailstar cuts larkspot off.
go. now! glancing to the oncoming fox larkspot hesitated. with a huff he turns and runs down alongside the lake. baring his teeth at the fox hailstar stood his ground ,, fur bristled and claws out. the fox neared ,, lunging at the leader. diving under the fox as it jumped hailstar twisted onto his back ,, clawing at the foxes stomach. trying to claw his way out from under the fox hailstar let out a cry as the fox bit down on his hind foot ,, dragging the leader out from under its belly. swiping at the fox he clawed the side of its face ,, making the fox release him. rolling over hailstar tried to get away from the fox ,, but the fox seemed to have done quite a number on his foot. behind him ,, though ,, a thud sounds and following it comes the hissing of a cat.
larkspot i told you that i could handle this! turning around the tom found that it wasn't larkspot who had knocked the fox over but instead a loner. the loner has the fox by the throat ,, an insane look in the cats eye. but the fox manages to shove the orange cat away. stumbling away from the two cats the fox runs alongside the river toward larkspot who stands at a shallow end. the loner runs after the fox ,, hailtar trying to follow closely behind.
run it into the shallows and across the river! hailstar said to the loner ,, and in reply the loner gave a nod back to hailstar. doing just as the leader said the loner chased the fox toward larkspot. together the two chased the fox across the river ,, larkspot nipping at the foxes heels to antagonize it.
[hailstar and larkspot find the fox! a battle ensues. but a loner,, russetleafs brother ,, comes to hailstars and larkspots aid!]
[no cat walks away unscathed! larkspot has a cut in his ear ,, but he will need no herbs for the wound is small. hailstar has a nasty bite on his back right foot and will need x1 spiderweb to top the bleeding and x1 marigold to stop infection.]
[while the fox was horribly injured it and learned a lesson today ,, not to mess with clan cats ,, it may be back in the future]
[sorry with the long post! i got carried away >-<]
