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brackenburn → 41 mns | ♂ | apprentice: | crush: | tags: cheetahblaze, eelpaw, gleamfish"finally," brackenburn murmured, bumping his shoulder against cheetablaze's. "i can scent the clan from here. we're almost back to camp." brackenburn breathed a sigh of relief. the dawn patrol had headed out just as the sun rose, and now, it had trailed across the sky, meaning mid-day was approaching. the dawn patrol had made its way along the length of the river, almost reaching the thunderpath before turning back. this trek was brackenburn's least favorite; so many moons had passed since shellfeather had lost her life there, but the sight of the acrid asphalt still made his stomach churn. the sight of the tribe's territory on the other side of the river wasn't exactly his favorite, either.
brackenburn gave his ginger head a shake to clear the thoughts away, before glancing back at gleamfish and eelpaw. the young warrior had made a fine place for herself in the clan, and eelpaw's training was coming along impressively, he had to admit. the deputy's green gaze flicked back to the large tom at his side. "you won't have an apprentice for much longer, huh, cheetahblaze? eelpaw's almost ready for her assessment - don't you think so?"
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tawnyscorch → 41 mns | ♂ | apprentice: | crush: | tags: tigerhollowunlike his brother who had left camp before dawn, tawnyscorch had enjoyed a lazy morning. he had woken up not long ago, and was now stretched out in the clearing, eyes half-closed as he enjoyed the warm gleam of the sun. green-leaf had been kind to them; though the air was hot and stuffy, the summer foilage was thick, and prey had been running well. the flooding from new-leaf rain had scared the camp, but now that season had passed, and sunclan had little to worry about.
tawnyscorch rose with a dramatic stretch. he passed the hunting patrol, nodding to the cats, as he headed towards the medicine cat's den. the warrior poked his head inside, eyes adjusting to the dim lighting of the old badger set, and called out, "tigerhollow? are you up yet?"
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tinyfang → 32 mns | ♀ | apprentice: | crush: | tags: stoneclawtinyfang had been up since dawn. she had hoped to join the dawn patrol, but had been a whisker too slow; by the time she made it to brackenburn, he was about to head out with the dawn patrol, and the hunting party had already been organized. her hopes dashed, she had picked through last night's prey, and taken a leftover sparrow to milkheart in the elders' den. she had shared tongues with her mother for a bit, but now the warrior was restless, energy spiking through her thin frame. with a huff, tinyfang sat down in camp and wrapped her tail around her paws, trying to decide what to do with herself.
tinyfang sat for only a moment before an idea came to mind. the she-cat trotted to the warriors' den and wriggled inside, seeking out stoneclaw's pelt. her eyes lit up when she found the tom, and she padded over to him and prodded his flank with her paw. "hey, stoneclaw! do you plan on taking stormpaw out to hunt or train? do you think i can tag along? i missed out on the dawn patrol, but i'm itching to get out of camp!"
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milkheart → 98 mns | ♀ | apprentice: | mate: duskfern | Tags:milkheart swept her tongue along her jaws. she had just finished her meal, and her eyes were closed as she dozed in her nest, purring lightly. this was milkheart's favorite state of being: belly full, left alone, cozy in her nest. while the elders' den was quite full, the old queen tended to keep to herself, especially with no kits in the nursery. brittlebranch and wildfire were good company, but milkheart didn't care much for small talk and conversations of old warrior tales that she had never had a chance to take part in. perhaps i'll see if creamflower is up yet, the queen thought to herself, before rising to her paws. she gave her pelt a shake and trotted out into the clearing that served as their camp. she blinked against the harsh sunlight of a green-leaf day, her old eyes taking a moment to adjust. milkheart glanced around, wondering if her friend would be sitting in camp and chowing a fish, as seemed to be her usual start to the day.
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moose → 48 mns | ♂ | to-be: | mate: berry | tags: pollenthe burly gray-and-white tom sat near the entrance tunnel to camp, his back resting against the dirt wall. the camp was alive and bustling; the dawn patrol had headed out, and the first hunting party wasn't far behind them. moose was eager for their return - the camp would then be able to share a meal. moose swept his tongue around his jaws at the thought of a large game bird, the tribe's usual prey, and moose couldn't wait until they were passing the plump feathered prey around. a sigh escaped the tom and he lowered his head. with so many cats out of camp, things could be quite lonely for a cave-guard.
moose rose to his paws. he enjoyed the quiet of the waking camp, but the tom could only handle so much time alone with his thoughts. if he allowed himself, they would only travel to berry and dandelion. moose had been blessed with a wonderful little family in their absence - it seemed he now had three daughters rather than one - but his heart ached for his soulmate.
moose lowered himself to peer into the to-be's den. with bee out training, and sunlight usually stuck in stoneteller's den, he worried pollen would be lonely. the young she-cat had only just begun her training, and while he was sure flicker would be a fine mentor for her, he still worried. "pollen?" he called out softly. "pollen, are you awake?"
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river → 48 mns | ♂ | to-be: hummingbird | mate: leaf | tags: sycamoreriver had slept in. now, the fluffy black cat had risen to his paws and was creeping around sleeping bodies. the prey-hunters and cave-guards all slept along the walls of the main cave, making is somewhat difficult to navigate around them without waking anyone. just as he feared, the tom's large paw stepped on a tail, and he stumbled backwards. "oh - sycamore, i'm sorry!" river began to profusely apologize. "i didn't mean to step on your tail."
the black tom sat down beside the other prey-hunter. "well, now that you're awake...would you like to take our apprentices out? i don't think hummingbird will mind a bit of company. after all, the easiest way to train them in our ways of hunting is with a bigger group! she and bracken could learn a thing or two from one another."
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fern → 19 mns | ♀ | to-be: | crush: | tags: lizard, fin, honeythe sand-colored tabby trotted along with her head and tail high. there was a pep in her step this morning, and the young prey-hunter was eager to hunt. her jaws were open, prey-scent tingling her tongue, but she quelled her urge, reminding herself the best hunting would be found around the watering hole. "maybe we'll catch another turkey," fern mewed to her patrol-mates, her head tipped in thought.
she bumped her flank against fin's. "fin, you remember when that twoleg's chickens wandered down here? now that was some good hunting, all that plump meat!" fern's face fell as she continued, "...at least until that twoleg came down here looking for them. you never seen them this far into our territory; i thought i was going to jump out of my fur when it came trampling through! and right before we hooked the biggest of the bunch, too..." a dramatic sigh escaped from the young cat, but her green eyes were still bright with excitement.
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singed → 26 mns | ♂ | to-be: | mate: monarchwing (formerly), smoke | tags:singed lay in his nest, paws crossed, his head resting upon them. the bulky tom knew he should be up, that he should be padding along the clearing that held the tunnel into camp, but he just couldn't. his amber eyes were trained on the nursery, where his kit-mother mate made her nest. smoke had been good to him, and somewhat understanding when he had carried pollen back to camp, but it hadn't been easy. for a moment, he had thought he would lose her; but she had graciously forgiven him. singed knew he should be more grateful, but he felt a pang of resentment fueled by doubt that smoke would ever truly forgive him. especially while pollen was in camp. his gaze flicked towards the to-be den, and he felt a spark of annoyance as he saw moose there, calling out for pollen. he half wished that the tribe had denied the kit, or at the very least, that they would ignore her more.
singed heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. perhaps his tribemates would leave him in peace if they thought he was asleep.
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bee → 10 mns | ♀ | mentor: bear | crush: | tags: bear, silencebee sniffed a clump of fronds at the bottom of the ravine. she could hear the sounds of busy twoleg life coming from the top, but bee wasn't alarmed - while it had been a bit scary when she began her training, now two moons into it, bee hardly paid it any mind. living this close to a twolegplace meant those sounds, and bee had come to accept it.
"it's stale!" the cream-and-white to-be announced, lifting her head up. she trotted back to her mentor, bear. "it's the same as yesterday. just the same stale dog-scent. after the scratches you gave him, i doubt he'll be back!" bee puffed up her chest with pride. she had been patrolling with her mentor when they first encountered the dog, and they had sent the mutt away yowling, thanks to bear and a couple of other cave-guards and prey-hunters. the patrol had chosen this route to make sure that its scent wasn't returning, and bee had suspected they would find nothing, after watching the way her mentor had fought.