Dog days of Summer (open)

[hawktalon]

The vast dome of the sky stretched out high above MoonClan territory. The sunset made it seem as though it was a fresh bruise, slowly darkening and spreading steadily. Birds soared in lazy loops towards their nests, calling out only every now and then. Larchwhisper stood under a fragrant fir, watching the forest for any signs of prey. She'd grown tired of camp since the dawn patrol ended and the rest of her day was left open to enjoy. Much of it had been wasted, however, on watching the cats pass and the kits play.

Now, with the sun falling in the distance, she was out on a hunt. Not that it was necessary, since the fresh-kill pile was surely stocked well. This hunt was more to enjoy a walk in the forest than to feed the clan. She had left camp with a light heart and a confident stride. Larchwhisper padded along under the broad, viridian leaves of summer. Tiny budding harebell and marshmallowflowers carpeted the soft, damp earth. They tempted her to lay down, roll around, and sleep. Their scent was heavy and sweet, coaxing her. Larchwhisper snarled at herself, unwilling to be so foolish and act so kit-like. She have herself a rough mental shake, sprinting past the flowery earth.

[blazeheart]

The russet tom's ears flicked up, alert for any sounds. His amber eyes scanned the moorland, but no movement or sound met his senses. It really was quite peaceful. He wished this sense of tranquility lasted, but he knew it was impossible for Clan cats. Battles had to be fought, and borders had to be defended.
Rapidstorm hoped to get some hunting done before nightfall came, but he ended up just patrolling around the territory by himself.

He paused as a breeze suddenly brought along the scent of another cat. He opened his mouth the taste the air, realizing it was just a cat from his clan. His ears flattened and his fur bristled as he recognized Larchwhisper's distinctive scent. His tail flicked, unsure of what to do. He was never really good around she-cats.

Maybe she won't see me...he thought, hopefully.
Carefully, he crouched down and began to silently weave through the tall grass. Unfortunately, his dark red coat didn't exactly blend into the surroundings.

[hawktalon]

Larchwhisper slowed to a walk once more, her tail waving happily. Her ears twisted left and right, her nose lifted slightly to catch the scents. She could target many different kinds of prey, all of them enticing smells. All seasons presented their own challenge for Larchwhisper, being the poor hunter that she was. Greenleaf was difficult for her just to pick a single smell and go after it. Her mood light and focused, she found a scent to follow. Her eyes scanned briefly for any other signs of life, double checking her surroundings. Satisfied with her scan, she set off to find her prey, drawing her head level and watching for her catch to appear. Her paws landed lightly, slinking over the ground like a snake in pursuit of her prey. The scent grew stronger, much closer than before. Her ears pricked, searching for the sound of tiny feet tapping the ground.

A flash of red fur caught her eye, startling her. She froze, dismay coming over her as her own fear-scent chased off whatever prey she had found. The feet skittered away from wherever they had been, the creature disappearing further into the brush. Was it a fox? She wondered, both frightened and excited by the prospect. She hesitated, then began to walk around the side, crouching low and moving fast once more. This time, she was stalking an unknown animal. Her heart beat faster, her emotions a mix of fear of the unknown and the thrill of the chase. Larchwhisper slowed, raising her head. Abruptly, she realized that the scent coming from it was of her own clan. Embarrassment washed over her, turning her ears hot. How had she failed to notice such a detail? Then again, my nose has a long-standing reputation of being the worst in the clan. she thought miserably, relaxing and peering past the marshmallows to find the cat she had scented. She spotted the red fur moments later, her eyes far faster than her nose. "Hey," she yowled, trying to catch the attention of her clanmate. Perhaps they would be willing to help her hunt, seeing as she had found no luck thus far.

[blazeheart]

Rapidstorm froze, still crouched low to the ground. His ears flattened and he let out a silent hiss as he was spotted. He doubted Larchwhisper was calling to a prey and he was the only cat around. The russet tom had hoped he wouldn't be spotted or ignored but it had failed.
Standing up, his ears somewhat burning with embarrassment the tom padded over to his Clanmate, shyly meeting her eyes.
"Greetings Larchwhisper,"Rapidstorm meowed stiffly, sounding way too formal as he dipped his head awkwardly. It wasn't really his fault, he just acted this way around she-cats. They just always made him feel uncomfortable.
"What brings you out of camp?"he asked, trying to keep a conversation going.

[hawktalon]

Larchwhisper nodded respectfully at him, surprised that Rapidstorm seemed more interested in talking than hunting. Not that she had a problem with that; she would much rather chat than hunt. He probably thinks I would hinder his own hunting.she thought to herself. Of course, it would be a well-based response if those were his motives. spat her conscience. Larchwhisper noted to herself that she might be a nuisance if she kept him too long. No use making the clan any hungrier. "Uh, I'm...good." she replied. Rapidstorm seemed less than calm talking to her, speaking as if she were a different clan's warrior. One he hadn't seen a day in his life.

She shifted on her paws, self-consciously checking to see if he had misinterpreted her actions. Perhaps it was something she herself had done. Either way.... "I'm out hunting.she mewed. Well, more of a leisurely walk than an actual hunt. I haven't been out of camp all day, so I thought I would take a walk and see if any food found its way to me. she mumbled, feeling like a kit beng punished, having to explain herself. "Are you on Patrol?" she queried.

[blazeheart]

Rapidstorm nodded awkwardly, his tail tip twitching back and forth as he listened to Larchwhisper explain herself. She sure likes to talk...the russet tom observed, somewhat amused. He thought this might be easier since he'd rather listen than talk. It would make him sound less....mouse-brained.
But it seemed his initial judgement about her was slightly wrong as it was his turn to talk.
His ear twitched uncomfortably and he replied, "Um...I guess."
His shoulders did a tense shrug as he continued, "More like patrolling by myself. It calms me."

His yellow eyes still didn't exactly meet Larchwhisper's. Instead, they were either averted towards his paws or past the she-cat's head.

[hawktalon]

Larchwhisper began to sense that her clanmate was quite uncomfortable around her. While he listened intently as she spoke, Rapidstorm's gaze never truly met hers. To her, it seemed like his paws were itching to take him elsewhere. Yet again, her conscience scolded her for being such an unskilled, ordinary cat. She had wished that perhaps, just once, she might stand out among her clan mates for something other than being less than worthy of a warrior's title. An involuntary sigh escaped her while her thoughts meandered. She had barely caught the last few words Rapidstorm had spoken, unfocused on the topic at hand. Larchwhisper's ears turned hot with
embarrassment. How rude of me...Great Starclan, I can't even pay attention to the conversation for more than a minute! "Yeah, I find solo patrols less...stressful....". At least she'd managed to come up with a sensible response besides flat out admitting that she had let her mind float away. That would only have served to make this talk more awkward that it already was."I come out here a lot. Usually when I'm tired or upset. It's pleasant, having a place to just walk and think about what's troubling you. I- er..." she abruptly stopped herself, feeling like she was prattling on about herself. Of course, he wouldn't be interested in why she came here or what she did while she was here. Even if he was, she was still talking an awful lot. "So, " she stuttered, unsure of what to bring up next.

[blazeheart]

The tom was actually listening quite intently to the she- cat, though he didn't exactly notice this himself. Suddenly there was an awkward silence between the two. Only the breeze passed between them and the rustle of bracken broke the quietness. If the russet Tom could glow any redder he certainly has now. Why did he have robe so bad at these things. Rapidstorm opened his mouth, hoping to say something in order to escape this awkward silence when a putrid smell hit his scent-glands. Rapidstorm froze, his fur bristling in fear as he recognized the scent. The warrior spun around, his yellow eyes widening in alarm as he spotted the creature bounding towards them. The large dog began to bark as it seemed to have spotted the two cats before racing towards them, it's eyes glaring at them hungrily.
"Run!" Rapidstorm yowled, quickly pushing Larchwhisper.

[hawktalon]

The pause stretched uncomfortably out, pulling invisible threads of tension between them. It was making her pelt itch, for something, something, to talk about. Fate didn't make them wait very long, for Rapidstorm's pelt bristled, having discovered some unknown threat.
Barely a heartbeat passed before she saw a huge dog shoulder its way through the bushes, head moving to and fro to catch the scent cone. Larchwhisper jumped up, freezing in place. Terror crept into her limbs, locking them in place as she crouched, gawking at the dog as it found them and began to bay, running at the pair of them. Larchwhisper whimpered quietly, before she was pushed by Rapidstorm. Her paws deciding to work again, she began to dart after him, eyes wide with fear. She forced her panic down, telling herself it was just a dog. Many cats had encountered them before.

Larchwhisper ran low to the ground, moving quickly. She went as silently as possible, hoping to StarClan they wouldn't be followed by the creature. As her mind slowly let her fear ebb, she realized that this chase wasn't the best idea if the dog followed them. "Rapidstorm!" she yowled ahead of her. "We can't let it scent the camp or it will go that way." Her paws continued sending her in bounds away from the dog. She couldn't tell where they were now, but it seemed an obsolete detail compared to the situation they were in.

[blazeheart]

Rapidstorm made sure Larchwhisper was keeping up. His own legs were straining to leap furthur away from the baying dog. The fur along his spine was bristling in fear as he heard the crashing of bushes as the dog gave a chase. The Dawnclan tom looked back, alarmed that the dog was slowly catching up. Although the Dawnclan cats were fast, the dog's greater size was able to overtake a distance in one bound that took the cats two. Sooner or later, the dog was going to catch up to them.
The tom suddenly heard his Clanmate's yowl of warning. Alarm shot through the tom. Larchwhisper was right. They couldn't lead this dog into their camp.

"We need to split up!"Rapidstorm growled, panting with every word.
"Run to one side and I'llgo the other way. It'll distract the dog and we'll attack it when it's confused!"

[hawktalon]

Larchwhisper was breathing heavily, her paws beginning to ache from running so fast. Her eyes narrow, she continued streaking along with the dog barking and getting closer with every stride. Rapidstorm's plan made sense, although it made her fear grow stronger, thinking about what might happen if the dog caught up to one of them. She swallowed hard, forcing down the queasy feeling in her belly and sprinted off to the left, running headlong into a thicket of heather, spinning in a circle and then darting briefly in a different direction before returning to her original path. The dog's barks grew less frequent, although they remained just as loud and unsettling as they had been before. Her lungs burned like they were full of ice, the air she breathed feeling cold and painful to take in. She wouldn't have much energy left to run away if this plan went awry.

[blazeheart]

Rapidstorm mirrored Larchwhisper's movement, darting to the right as he lept ahead with longer strides. The tom flashed a quick glance backwards towards the dog, noticing the mutt screech to a halt and whipping its massive head between him and Larchwhisper, letting out a bark of confusion. For a heartbeat, it seemed to work. But to Rapidstorm's horror the dog seemed to target Larchwhisper. It let out a chilling snarl before giving a chase after her.

Acting almost instinctively, Rapidstorm let out a yowl. He quickly dashed towards the dog and lept onto its back, his claws digging into the brute's pelt.
The dog let out a howl of surprise and pain, whipping its head around to glare angrily at the Dawnclan tom before trying to snap its jaws onto Rapidstorm's legs. The cat hung on for dear life, letting out a hiss at the dog's face, showing he was refusing to let go. He hoped this would give enough time for Larchwhisper to run away safely. Him, on the other hand, might be joining Starclan sooner than he thinks.
Suddenly, the dog reared up with a loud bark and Rapidstorm lost his grip, tumbling off the dog's back. The dog quickly launched himself at Rapidstorm. The tom quickly rolled away, but the dog's teeth managed to chomp onto one of his front legs. Rapidstorm let out a screech of pain, lashing out with his good leg at the dog's muzzle, hoping it'll loosen the creature's death grip on his legs.

[hawktalon]

Her steps rapidly began to grow slow, deliberate. Her breath went stagnant for broken pauses, betraying how tired she was getting. Her muscles ached and she felt herself giving in to exhaustion. The dog scent grew suddenly more pungent, the animal getting closer to her with every leap it took. She flashed a terrified glance over her shoulder, eyes wide. The dog's eyes were wild with the excitement of the chase, its jaws bared in a fierce snarl. It started after her, no doubt to rip her to pieces. Larchwhisper's mind fell into a haze, blocked from all rational thought by a blinding, maddening fear.

Rapidstorm's screech snapped her back into the moment. Her legs felt weak as she watched him lunge for the dog, knowing how dangerous that move was. She gazed at the scene before her, Rapidstomr clawing madly at the dog while it howled and tried to knock him away. For a fleeting minute, it seemed as if Rapidstorm would be able to hold on. And then the minute passed. The dog flung Rapidstorm away, snatching him up in its mouth, crunching down on his leg.

Larchwhisper hissed, an unusual anger boiling in her gut. Dare this creature attack one of her clan mates? Dare it threaten their lives. How she reasoned that anger was the best emotion, she herself did not know. But anger gave her strength, and she rushed forward, taking all of her weight into her back legs and throwing herself at the dog. She managed to dig her front claws into its hind leg, missing the tendon by scarcely an inch. The howl of agony it produced satisfied her. The dog whipped its head around, snapping at her ears. She loosed a war cry, tearing her claws from the dog before jumping out of the way and circling around to its front. She felt battle-ready, about to attack once more when a pang of concern hit her. Where was Rapidstorm?

[blazeheart]

((hey um my mistake but Rapidstorm is supposed to be in Dawnclan not Moonclan XD I forgot so i can like either edit my previous posts to show he like was at the border of Dawnclan and talking to Larchwhisper and maybe she didn't notice cuz he accidentally fell into strong smelling leaves or something to mask his scent. Or i can ask emzie to change him into moonclan. What do you think?))

Rapidstorm felt like his leg was on fire from the agonizing pain as the dog's teeth was buried into his front leg. The tom tried to score his other front paw across its muzzle but the dog's death grip still held. Suddenly, a sudden yowl made the dog's teeth unlatch from his leg. Rapidstorm quickly teared it free, and jumped back a few paces, wincing as his weight shifted on his injured paw. The tom quickly ignored the pain and lept to Larchwhisper's side, facing the snarling dog.
"I thought I told you to run?!"he hissed to her, tensing as the dog began to bound towards them, jaws open wide.

[hawktalon]

(Hmm...your pick. : ) Although I would keep his clan. Whatever you think. )

Larchwhisper felt relief wash over her as he appeared at her side, limping noticeably and weary from his struggle. "Would you rather I let you be chomped to bits?" She snapped, slightly offended that he didn't think she was strong enough to do anything but run. "I might have a worthless sense of smell, but I can still fight!" The dog gave chase once more, still peppy. Now, it seemed quite a bit more frustrated After all, its catch was putting up a fight and resisting death. Larchwhisper looked around, surveying the area for any way to escape this fight. A thicket of thistles caught her eye. The plants had spines all along the stems. But the bottom...
"This way!" She yowled. "The nettles. The bush doesn't have any thorns. Only the top half has them." She sprinted towards the bushes, crouching low to avoid the upper portion of the bush. The spiny stems till scratched at her back, but she ignored the pain as it flared up, speeding through the nettle patch. She heard the dog set up a baying and then the heavy thump of its paws against the earth. It was directly behind her. Perfect She thought, hoping to Starclan that this would save them.