we won't go quietly [closed / middy]

    Midnightfang had been busy licking his paw and using it to smooth a patch of ruffled fur on his forehead that upon waking some cat had amusedly pointed out its unruliness. While he had made a comment of it adding character to his already brilliant and varied personality, the warrior had then proceeded to attempt to combat the mussed fur post his first meal of the day.

    After a few more moments of the futile lick-and-swipe method, golden eyes become trained on the distinct tabby-patterned pelt of fellow warrior, Hushedtalon. In a quickly processed train of thought, he realizes that he does not know much about the she-cat other than her lack of speech and an obvious loyalty like so many of their Clan. Midnightfang has gotten the occasional pleasure of admiring her ability to express herself though she cannot actually speak with words, and he wonders if she thinks it’s as remarkable as he does.

    As she pads towards the camp entrance with a gait filled with purpose, he decides to follow her, see what she’s on about. Though, just as he is close to padding up beside her, Hushedtalon seems to puts forth an extra paw-length forward just to keep out of his reach. Midnightfang makes an outwardly surprised balking motion with his head, inevitably thinking that she could be trying to either race him or escape his company. He opts to stay in pursuit, following her large ears and flowing tail.

    They pass through into the forest, the sun beating down on the treetops above and splashing varying shades of green over their pelts. Midnightfang notices that she slows a bit, and he bounds forward to her side, perhaps a nose-length just behind her neck. She’s looking at him with her similarly-colored eyes, her expression difficult to read as they trot along.

    He offers her a smile. "'Thought you might've wanted to play tag there for a heartbeat." Midnightfang laughs a little. "You don't mind the company, do you?"

@valence

    Though her replies silent, since Midnightfang is trained on her with the full intent of understanding, he does manage to catch her amusement at his predicament with the whole ‘looks like your mother decided to spend too much time grooming the hair between your ears’. He shakes his head vigorously, only succeeding in making the fur return to its original, fussy state.

    Oh, well.

    He carefully observes as she stops, at first, admittedly confused by the halt, but then she begins to gesture this way and that. He recognizes, first, the familiar position of a hunting crouch with the she-cat’s eyes fixed as if she is focused on potential prey. In understanding Midnightfang finds himself nodding, but closes his maw just as it opens as he watches her next silent explanation. This one seems to be a bit more cryptic, but her watchful stance reminds him of potential danger, sensing of a threat, the erect tail a clear sign for ‘hold’. She must mean patrolling the borders, he thinks to himself, hoping to StarClan that he perceived correctly.

    Midnightfang is chuckling again, thinking of the previous night's rendezvous and impromptu exploration attempts. "Y'know, last nightfall or so, I was leading a patrol through the most obscure parts of ThunderClan, trying to show off some cool finds." He shrugs good-naturedly, thinking of their incredulous faces as he had pointed out his incredibly weird mushrooms (he had really thought they might also marvel at their tops that seemed to glow beneath the moon's light). "Goes without saying that they would have rather been snug in their nests than listening to me go on like that while taking them StarClan knows where."

    "Anyways, so, hunting, probably?" Midnightfang concludes after visibly shaking off his ramblings, looking up at her expectantly.

@valence

    "Right." He mews, dipping his head and then moving off in tandem.

    Midnightfang already has a vague idea of where to take their newly established hunting patrol. He knows of a small pond within the lower part of ThunderClan's forest, likely where most of the rains filtered to. The little spot seems to always be fit with its own personal biome in the warmer seasons. Small bugs would pitter along its surface, herbs and plants sprouted plentiful in a ring around its edge, and it happens to be a perfect place for prey to be lingering about. Big enough to provide such a wide variety of life, and perhaps more importantly - dependent upon who you ask - deep enough for any one cat to take a dip if they so desire.

    He decides to refrain from mentioning the whole swimming proposition, especially given that their first priority is to catch prey. Midnightfang does not know how she'd react to such an idea anyway. Would she shrug it off or would she want to as well? With a coat that thick, I sure would want to swim in some cold water now and again.

    They are close. He sees some familiar waypoints, a dead thorn bush, patch of wild clover and then green, green grass that stretches upward in thin, spiky stalks. The pond is just beyond, and he can spy the water from here, sunlight glinting off the surface, dazzling his yellow eyes for a moment. Midnightfang inhales deeply, ears pressed forward in an alert position as he listens to the heartbeat of his surroundings.

    Songbirds sing distantly, a squirrel scrambles up a trunk perhaps having seen the two warriors. Which is alright, it isn't so fun to chase something up a tree, especially when you climb and climb and climb and realize that getting down is worlds more difficult than how you got up there. He... definitely doesn't know that one from personal experience, no, definitely not.

    Finally, prey scent wafts into his nostrils, Midnightfang identifying the scent of vole. He strains to see the familiar shape, but the water's edge seems to be teeming with life as it is, and they would need to get closer if they are to pinpoint the vole's location.

    He looks at Hushedtalon. "Smell that vole? We could probably get the angle on it..." Trailing off, the tom looks towards the pond again in thought.

@valence

    He waits until Hushedtalon is nearly flush to the ground before snapping his neck forward and dipping into a hunter's crouch in one fluid motion. His weight centered in his paws, the night-hued pelt begins to slink to the left mirroring the other's movements. As he creeps, the prey scent becomes stronger, and his ears swivel around as he tries to hear where it might be rustling about. A blur of brown fur makes his heart jump on its own accord. Midnightfang freezes in place as wide yellow eyes swim in their sockets, attempting to locate the vole, where'd you get off to?

    Then, in a clump of taller grass whose stalks bear fuzzy tops, he begins to track the movements of his prey. It threads in and out of the grass, sniffing the air in an almost frantic way. They would need to be swift or else they are likely to lose the kill as it seems to have sensed their presence.

    Midnightfang pads forward one anxious pawstep at a time, determined not to let the vole have any chance of escaping. He keeps his tail still within the thick plant life, not wanting to give away his position due to an excited tail twitch. He makes a sideways glance over to his hunting partner, flicking his ears towards where the vole is attempting to hide so she knows what to expect.

    Once in range, he stops completely, keeping his gaze trained on the prey in front of him. It seems to have calmed by degrees, snuffling along the ground perhaps trying to find its own meal. Sorry, buddy, but I'm about to ruin your day. He kneads the earth underpaw to ready himself, entire body flickering with a coiling power as he prepares to wind himself up in order to pounce. Finally, he bursts forward seemingly with the force of all StarClan behind his paws.

    As he surges, the vole makes an alarmed screech, and Midnightfang despairs as he feels its fine hairs just graze his open claws. "Rats!" He spits, turning in time however to see the scampering rodent heading towards where Hushedtalon is poised. He's nearly jumping in place; there's still a chance, after all. "Need an assist!" He calls from he pond's edge.

@valence