chimingcloud wrote:
+70 XP [517 words written]
+20 XP [Patrol sent]
+10 XP [Predator fought]
+10% Hunger each
Heartworm led the way back to the place where they had smelled the fox, her heart beating in her throat. She wasn’t nervous for herself, but rather felt a desire to protect Fishpaw. Her apprentice was as good a fighter as could be expected at her age, but she had never fought in a real fight, much less with a predator as vicious as a fox. Heartworm would need to find a way to keep her out of harm’s way without insulting her competence. Vixenbounce walked next to her, their furs brushing against each other occasionally as they advanced further into the territory.
Gradually, the scent grew stronger until they were so close Vixenbounce stopped the patrol with a flick of her raised tail. The others gathered around her, and Heartworm noted the excited twinkle in Fishpaw’s eyes.
“Alright”, Vixenbounce whispered in a hushed voice. “Here’s the plan: Batwhisker and I draw the fox out, you hide in the bushels of grass to the side, and when I give the signal, you attack its sides. Any questions?”
Heartworm shook her head, and the others did the same. The leader fixed her gaze on Fishpaw for a heartbeat. “You stay back as well as possible, Fishpaw. It’s your first fight with a dangerous predator, and I won’t see you hurt. Participate only when it is distracted and pull back when it fixes on you, understood?”
Fishpaw looked slightly dejected, but nodded anyway. Heartworm was glad that her mate had picked up on her worries and addressed them without her having to say anything. She was glad the two of them worked so well together and shot her a grateful glance. Vixenbounce nodded and licked her forehead hastily before standing up straighter.
“Heartworm, Fishpaw, you hide in that grass over there. Luckypond, you wait in the grass opposite. Batwhisker and I will try to lead it between the two, and you can attack”, she meowed, indicating a faint path between the grass, lined by tall bushels of green.
Nods were exchanged and orders executed, and a few moments later the three cats were hiding in their assigned spots. Vixenbounce checked that they were invisible from the outside and, once she was satisfied, vanished out of Heartworm’s sight, Batwhisker following close on her heels.
Though she knew her mate was more than capable enough to lure a fox through the fields, but that didn’t stop her from worrying. Fishpaw rested her tail on Heartworm’s flank and she blinked down at her apprentice, appreciating the gesture.
Before she could reply anything, though, she heard an unholy shriek, followed first by an unsettling silence, then the noise of bodies crashing through rustling grass. “Now”, Vixenbounce cried as she flew between the two hiding spots, Batwhisker a nose length behind her, and after him, way too close for comfort, the fox, jaws snapping just a few whiskers behind the tip of Batwhisker’s tail.
There was no time to think or to fear for the others’ safety, and with a hiss Heartworm threw herself forward, claws extended, until she hit the stinking wall that was the fox mid-jump, latching onto him with all her might, sinking her claws into its side and her jaws into its back.
It stumbled, thrown off balance by her attack, and its body jolted again as Luckypond followed her lead on the predator’s other side. Behind her, she could see Fishpaw darting out of the hiding spot to bite the foxes’ legs, bringing its attack on Vixenbounce and Batwhisker to an abrupt halt.
With a snarl, it whirled around, trying to shake off the two warriors clinging to its flanks, and Heartworm had to let go if she didn’t want to get bitten by the predator’s snapping fangs. Meanwhile, Vixenbounce had whirled around, sinking her teeth into the foxes’ neck while it had been distracted trying to get rid of Heartworm. She seemed to have hit something vital, for the shrieks tapered off into grunts as blood began to pour from the wound and the fox stumbled on its legs. For good measure, Batshisker darted in past his leader, swatting the foxes’ snout with unsheathed claws, causing it to shy back. The fox wasn’t fighting all that ferociously anymore and Heartworm could see it had trouble staying upright. “Fishpaw, get back!”, she meowed harshly, and her apprentice obeyed just in time before the large body of the predator came crashing down where she had stood just a heartbeat ago.
“We did it!”, Fishpaw yowled, and Heartworm couldn’t help but smile at the young molly’s joy. Her own heart was frantically beating in her chest, but she could feel it gradually slowing down as she observed that the fox indeed had stopped breathing. They had won, and apparently without any one of them getting hurt. She exchanged a grateful glance with her mate, who walked over to her and nosed her forehead carefully. “I’m glad you’re okay”, Vixenbounce whispered and Heartworm sighed contentedly.
“Well then”, the leader meowed. “Let’s get our prey home!”
Heartworm sighed again, this time exhausted. This fox was huge and her back already hurt from just thinking about dragging it back.
[+1 Fox, +14 XP, +28 XP]
With the five of them working together, they finally got the carcass back to camp. Though stank horribly, no one was about to leave fine, fresh meat to rot, especially since the scent of decay would only attract either more predators, or worse, rats and their diseases. On the way back, they also collected some poppy seeds they took back with them.
[+1 Poppy Seeds, +2 XP]
Totals
+14 FP | +1 Poppy Seeds | +130 XP | Level 2 [258/300]