.dreams<>a hunt. {open}

[Dust]

She was fighting. Around her the rain fell in sheets, turned black by the darkness of the night. The sounds of battle were strangely muted, it was like being submerged in water and the she-cat paused, dazed and confused. She could not hear, could barely breath beneath the weight of the rain and the mud clinging to her paws. She gazed down at her white paws slowly being sucked into the mud and after them her muscled orange legs. And she did not move...did not struggle. She was tired, oh so tired. She had been fighting for too long and perhaps now was the time to simply drift away, fade into the current of mud and never open her eyes...

A cat crashed into her, breaking her from her daze. This all happened in the space of a heartbeat but the tom was fast. He flashed past her guard and struck at her throat and she fell into the mud anyway. She could taste blood and hear the shrieks of her fellow warriors as they fought and it killed her that she could not help them any longer. The rebellion was winning -

"NO!" the she-cat yowled as she sprang from her nest. Crouched on the floor, claws extended and ginger fur on edge she panted. A nightmare, only a nightmare. Slowly she rose up and gave her fur a few swift licks to make it lie flat. She was embarrassed. And very grateful that no other cat slept near to hear her wake, yowling like a frightened kit.

The morning sun was just clearing the top of her room's one window. It was high up in the stone wall and Thunderstorm had never been able to reach it. It was a small window and only let in light from dawn to midday. It was still early. But that was ok. She could get the fresh-kill pile stocked up before the rest of the confederation awoke. She knew that she couldn't go back to sleep.

It was only exhaustion, she thought to herself as she padded swiftly across the cold grey stone floor of her room and down the hall, that gave her the nightmares. Of course she would dream about fighting having been up late practicing battle moves. And so she dismissed her dream.

She halted when she reached the castle's exit, blinking into the dawn mists. The mornings had been getting colder as autumn approached. No matter, she thought. A little chill never hurt anyone. Where to hunt?, she wondered. Perhaps if one of her fellows were up they would care to join her.

[Cobalt]

((You don't mind if I join you, do you?))

What...?

The bulky gray she-cat shook her head as she opened her amber eyes from her peaceful sleep. She was always slow to wake up, but this time, it seemed a little better, as she wasn't wandering aimlessly. She knew what she wanted to do in this fine morning. Breathing the mildewed air of wet stone, she stood up, stretching, her bones popping slightly, her tail waving from left to right. Unsheathing her claws and then sheathing them again, she padded through the dimly lit halls of the dawn light, swiping her tongue around her fangs. Barely noticing the chill of the cold, Stonespirit looked around. In front of her was a ginger she-cat, and her slow mind took a few seconds to place a name to that familiar pelt.

"Hey, Thunderstorm?" She mewed, her gruff voice carrying across the halls. Her fangs poked out of her mouth as her lips pulled up in as close to a smile as a cat could get, padding quickly forward now until she was right beside the ginger she-cat.

Hah, gray embers beside ginger flames... what a coincidence! A small part of her mind joked, and Stonespirit tilted her head. She wasn't sure what Thunderstorm was up to, but whatever it was, she wanted a part in it.

[Dust]

((Not at all XD))

Thunderstorm gazed out of the main hall and to the mountain slope beneath her. Everything was spread out in immaculate detail beneath her paws. Wilderness, rocks, prey, water and mist, it all lay below her, spread out as if StarClan itself had wished her to view its splendor. Surely, there could exist no place closer to the sky and StarClan than the Confederation's mountain. They lived in splendor at the top of the world, able to view everything in their domain. They were kings of the world...well almost.

At the bottom of the mountain lay the Rebellion's lands. Was that ever a thorn in the ginger she-cats side? The might of the Confederation lived on top of the world but an unseemly blot marred the surface of her perfect world. The rebellion... Good for nothing layabouts. They spread chaos and stood in front of the true rulers of these lands, filth-

No. Thunderstorm shook her head to dispel her dark thoughts. She would not let her anger ruin this fine morning for her. The Confederation would crush the Rebellion eventually. It was fated to happen. The young warrior had faith in her king and only waited for the day when she could be a part of what must be a great battle.

"Hey, Thunderstorm?" The voice broke her out of her thoughts. Startled she twisted around and then relaxed. It was only Stonespirit. The grey cat padded up to Thunderstorm until she was right beside her.

Thunderstorm gave a small welcoming mew. She twined her long ginger tail around her snowy front paws, they were growing cold from the freezing stone floor.

"Hello Stonespirit," she replied. "I was just about to head out for some early morining hunting. Care to join?"

[Cobalt]

"Hunting? Sure," Stonespirit mewed in response, "Got nothing better to do right now."

The bulky she-cat glanced around. Honestly, while she did want to be out doing something, there was something more she wanted to do than hunting. Fighting had been on her mind for quite some time. The Confederation was large compared to the Rebellion, a small curse laid upon the world.

Well, where there's glory...

"There's chaos, I suppose..." The she-cat mumbled, just loud enough for the other to hear, and had no idea she had accidentally said those words aloud, "So, where are we hunting?"

The question made her feel like an apprentice, but it didn't bother her as much as it would have, since she was still feeling a little groggy, of all things. At least a battle wasn't being prepared -- that would've been troublesome, both for her and everyone else.

[Dust]

Thunderstorm twitched her ears in surprise. She had no idea where Stonespirit's comment about chaos could have come from. Did she consider hunting chaotic? Thunderstorm wondered. However she chose to ignore it. She really was not an overly curious cat by nature, and she knew she would consider it rude if somecat badgered her about her thoughts. Still she did wonder...

"The Augur Grove," the fem responded to the grey cat's question of where to hunt. "There should be lots of prey there, even at this time of year."

Rising to her paws the ginger cat gave her pelt a shake to loosen up her muscles. She stretched, dragging her thorn-sharp claws along the worn stone floor and then twisting her back so that her stomach almost touched the floor. There was nothing like s good stretch and the she-cats whiskers twitched in pleasure. She was ready to hunt and could almost taste the warm blood of prey.

With a single smooth bound she was out the door. She paused just before a small drop to invite Stonespirit with a flick of her tail and a mrow to follow. Then she started down the rocky slope, feeling her muscles bunch and relax, reveling in the exercise. She would let Stonespirit set the pace when her fellow confederate caught up, but for now, in this moment, she felt like she was flying.

[Cobalt]

Ah, yeah, okay, that makes sense.

Stonespirit at first almost missed that Thunderstorm had already bounded out the door, and that the she-cat was telling her to come with her tail. Galloping forward, she kept silent, her claws sometimes grabbing some ground and then letting go. She caught up to the other she-cat, and glanced around, her amber eyes scanning the brown area before she caught sight of the dark grove. Just because she had been around for some thirty-nine moons didn't mean she still forgot where parts of her territory from time to time. Smiling once again, she pelted after Thunderstorm, who was now going down the rocky slope, and she caught pace with the other before getting ahead now. She had always enjoyed the darkness, and in this fine dawn, she and a fellow confederate would be enveloped in it, like a mother's comfort in a difficult time. Breathing in the cool air of leaf-fall, she let out a mrrrow before running as fast as her legs would allow her.

[Dust]

The she-cat reached the bottom of the mountain and the dark trees far too quickly. The dark pines formed a canopy overhead and fallen needles made a prickly carpet underpaw. This forest retained its color all year long, and Thunderstorm was glad of it. If she was honest with herself she would have to admit that she didn't like change much.

Behind her she heard Stonespirit but didn't pause for her fellow to catch up. She bounded into the trees, tail out like a banner behind her and her paws swift and quiet. It was time to hunt and Thunderstorm's whole attention was caught and focused. She gave every task at hand her complete and undivided attention with her characteristic intensity. She was certain that Stonespirit would find some prey.

She halted and inhaled deeply. She smelt...bird. Before her a blackbird was perched in a thorny bush, its little head bobbing as it pecked up seeds. She slunk forward, ginger pelt brushing the ground and green eyes focused. It was over in a second, she sprang, caught and killed. Warm blood filled her mouth but only a feather fell to the floor.

Her belly growled but she ignored it. The scent of the prey filled her nostrils but the warrior code said she must not eat it. She would no sooner consider breaking the code than gnawing off hr foot.

She swept dirt over her kill and stalked off to resume the hunt and then -

"Ugh!" Thunderstorm halted, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The hot stink of fox invaded her nose and she gagged. Peering around she saw a heap of fox dung at the base of a tree. It was fresh, very fresh. The she-cat whirled and leapt away in search of Stonespirit.

[Cobalt]

Stonespirit, too, had begun hunting, but had not smelled any fox-dung as of yet. Sniffing the air, she smelled different scents -- birds, mostly, as well as a few ground creatures, like mice. In front of the she-cat, who blended in fairly well with the shadows, fluttered a black bird. A crow? A raven? It looked to be a crow... very challenging, and she felt up for a challenge.

The said bird was pecking some seeds, and Stonespirit crept forward ever so slightly, waiting for the right time. Her large paws gently touched the dirt ground, and as the bird had his head held low, she leapt. Unknown to the warrior was that the bird had been watching for any movement, in other words, her. The bird hopped out of her way before fluttering off, and by the time it was well in the sky, Stonespirit had scattered quite a few seeds due to her bulky size.

Mousedung!

Sniffing the air again, she noticed that wherever she was, she was close to where Thunderstorm was, as her scent was strong. What was even more empowering was the stench of fox-dung. Wrinkling her nose, she took a few steps backwards. A fox could be staring her down right now.

[Dust]

Thunderstorm leapt around the edges of a thorny bush, sprang over a fallen tree limb, sped around the trunk of a gnarled tree and finally found Stonespirit. Around her she could still smell the musky stink of fox. It must be close. She would need to be quiet so the she-cats did not alert it.

"Stonespirit-" she whispered but got no farther. Needle sharp teeth snapped onto the end of her tail and she let out a screak of rage and pain. She lunged forward with such strength that the fox was left with only ginger fur in his mouth but Thunderstorm's tail bled and stung.

She faced the fox head on. Her back was arched, pelt standing on end. Her tail was fluffed to twice its normal size and her green eyes were narrowed in pain and fury. Her claws raked the ground in a warning to the fox of what might come if it chose to proceed. However, the burnt-red beast was over twice her size and its black eyes were wide with hunger.

[Cobalt]

Stonespirit tensed into a fighting position, waiting for the right chance to strike. When Thunderstorm leapt forward, her tail being bit in the process, it suddenly hit her.

Trees. How would this fox suspect? Besides, that was how the Confederation fought -- from the sky. Her amber eyes sliding to the left, where a tree stood closeby, she launched herself towards the tree, climbing upwards and walking on the narrow branches. She was pretty high for being used to being close to the ground now, and felt dizzy. She saw the ginger shapes of the fox and Thunderstorm.

Oh, StarClan, don't let me hurt Thunderstorm... please... Taking a deep breath, she leapt down, unaware of what could happen. The fall filled her with adrenaline and she landed on the fox's rear, or at least the tail. Unexpected, but she at least hit her target. Her hindlegs on the ground and her forepaws on the fox's back, and she raked her claws down the fox's back in an attempt to distract the fox from the other she-cat.

[Dust]

Thunderstorm let out a long, low snarl, opening her jaws wide so the fox could see all her teeth. She tried quickly to assess how she could attack and win. The odds were bad, she was smart enough to know that, but the ginger she-cat never backed down from a fight.

She could feel her blood pumping through her veins. Her pelt, standing on edge, felt like wire and her mind felt like fire. Heat burned in her temple and raced thought her body, filling her with a burning and reckless desire for blood and battle.

Suddenly she saw an incredible sight. Stonespirit dropped down from the trees and onto the fox's back. Thunderstorm was surprised only for a moment, her battle craving pulled her back, but she was impressed at her fellow she-cat's bravery.

The fox gave a yelp of pain as Stonespirit's foreclaws raked down its back. It twisted its head away from Thunderstorm to combat this new threat and that's when Thunderstorm made her move. She launched herself forwards, towards the fox's throat. Lashing out, she scored her claws down the beast's neck, leaving four bloody trails.

[Cobalt]

Stonespirit nodded slightly with confidence, knowing that the beast wasn't yet dead. No, he was only bleeding to death now, thanks to Thunderstorm's quick move to his neck. The fox was slow to collapse after a few minutes, but it fell, eventually, snarling. A blank stare was on the gray she-cat's face now, feeling no remorse, nor any pride. Her amber eyes slid to Thunderstorm and nodded slightly. She didn't quite know what to make of this.

The King probably wouldn't care for such news, would he?

Fighting back a frown, she glanced around, kneading the ground.

((...wow. This post was crap. Sorry about that. I'll change it for you if needed.))

[Dust]

Her battle fury still hadn't abated. Thunderstorm whirled around to face the fox once again and instead found...nothing, silence. The fox was slumped to the ground, blood pooling out from its throat. The ginger she-cat was also still. Her pelt was still out and she was still tensed. Her heart was beating too fast and she didn't want the fox to be dead. She wanted to fight, but there was nothing left to fight.

Slowly the warrior sank down to her haunches. She forced her breathing to slow down and her heart slowed too. She was calmer now but as the adrenaline left her system she began to shake. Mousedung! She always shook after a battle and she hated how weak it made her look.

Stonespirit still stood beside the fox and Thunderstorm saw her kneed the ground. She looked agitated. Thunderstorm didn't know why. Slowly a sense of elation was spreading through her. They had won! They had defended their territory and were victorious! Wouldn't the King be pleased!

[Cobalt]

Stonespirit looked at the ginger she-cat who was now shaking before moving her gaze, now staring at the fox. She had more experience in fighting cats than in foxes, which left her wondering what to do with the body.

As it was, it would be very fair to call the she-cat a mousebrain if there were cats who could read her thoughts -- that, and it would've been quite funny.

Soo... now what do we do with it? Eat it? Harm it further? Umm... Standing up and padding away from the fox, she tried to keep a look of confusion off her face, but every once in a while, her eyes would betray her. Not only was she confused, but she was confused... in front of a warrior. She was older than this she-cat, but she had no idea what you did with a fox. Embarrassed, she kept her eyes away from the dead body.