Everlasting Love (Stormwind)

Blossomsnow heard the thud and, alarmed, raced to find Peach and make sure she was okay. 

Staying downwind, Emberleaf crept up on the pigeon easily and the plump bird was dead before it knew it.

Oakfoot tracked his own prey as Emberleaf followed her pigeon scent.

Peach finally pounced, catching the squirrel’s tail with her forepaws and hooking it in her claws. The prey tried to squirm away but was helpless to do so. That said, Peach now had no way of gripping the branch properly, and so, with her heart leaping into her throat, the bengal tumbled out of the tree, landing with a dull thud in the dirt.

Emberleaf nodded and slipped off into the undergrowth to hunt down the plump bird. 

Blossomsnow dug a hole for her squirrel and buried it before scenting the air again, pricking her ears to listen.

Oakfoot nodded in response to Emberleaf. “I’ll let you go after it. I’ve never tried partner hunting a bird before.”

Peach crept closer and closer to the oblivious squirrel, wondering how in Starclan’s name she could get this close to prey. This technique is fantastic! Finally, The bengal bunched her muscles, preparing to leap into the squirrel.

(Mmkay)

Once she was within pouncing distance, Blossomsnow paused briefly to gather herself then leaped, landing squarely on the squirrel. She finished it off with a nip to the spine. 

Emberleaf tilted her head to the side, catching the scent of a pigeon. “There’s a pigeon over there,” she murmured, flicking her ears in said direction.

(Yep, Peach found another one while she was looking up above them.)

Peach crept closer carefully, eventually ending up in the correct branch. The bengal took a deep breath to steady herself. Her heart raced, threatening to end up in her throat as she snuck ever closer.

Oakfoot quickly buried the vole and joined Emberleaf in scenting the air.

(Um...Blossomsnow is on the ground..? Unless she and Peach are going after different squirrels?)

Emberleaf nodded her head in acknowledgment, scenting the air while she waited for the tom to bury the vole so they could come back for it later.

“Nice,” The brown tabby tom murmured simply. Unlike Peach, Emberleaf was a warrior with experience in hunting. She did not need to be praised like a kit taking its first steps away from a queen’s belly. The red calico and Oakfoot did seem to make a good hunting pair, though.

Peach carefully began to climb up the tree after the squirrel, remembering what the warriors of the clan had taught her about pursuing prey in trees like birds and squirrels. The She-cat focused carefully on every step as she clawed her way up the bark, determined not to mess up in front of Blossomsnow.

Emberleaf trotted up to Oakfoot, flicking her tail. 

Yellow eyes narrowing on the bushy-tailed rodent she could now see, Blossomsnow carefully crept closer.

Oakfoot quickly dispatched the vole as it ran straight into his claws, gripping the prey in his claws before leaning over and delivering a killing bite to the spine.

Peach kept her eyes on the trees, allowing Blossomsnow to keep her head down and better track the squirrel.

Emberleaf dropped into a crouch, slinking around the vole in a circle. Once she was in position, she lunged for the vole with a hiss and scared it into Oakfoot’s claws. 

Blossomsnow followed the trail of the squirrel, carefully making sure to avoid stepping on those that would make noise.

Peach scented the same squirrel that Blossomsnow did, thrilled with herself for recognizing the scent. The bengal scanned the treetops eagerly to try and catch sight of the bushy-tailed prey.

Oakfoot scented the vole as well, dropping into a low crouch and then spotting it. He nodded to Emberleaf, staying put so she could try and drive the small creature away from the stream and into his claws.

Both she-cats opened their mouths to scent the air, Blossomsnow following after a squirrel and Emberleaf catching the scent of a vole.

Oakfoot smiled over at Emberleaf before looking up and picking a direction, leading the beautiful She-cat to a small creek. There was almost certainly going to be prey alongside its waters. Besides getting to hunt with the lovely red calico, this was a good test for the tan tabby to use before asking her another question.

Peach followed close behind, keeping her mouth shut tightly to avoid alerting the prey.

Seeing as she was the odd one out, Streamfire walked off alone. 

Blossomsnow glanced at Peach before heading off in a random direction. 

Emberleaf shrugged in response but walked closer to him.

Oakfoot nodded, glancing over at Emberleaf and asking wordlessly with his gaze if she’d like to partner up with him.

Peach stayed close to Blossomsnow, nervous and feeling she’d still need the pretty warrior’s Help to be any more than a liability to the hunting party.

Once they were a decent distance from the camp, in a prey-rich part of the forest, Streamfire stopped them. “We’ll be splitting up to hunt. You can hunt in pairs if you want, but no more than that. We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours.”

“Maybe,” Oakfoot mewed thoughtfully after a moment, though he wasn’t so sure. As much as he’d like to see the tom back out on patrols again... would Rainstar and Sterlingflight even send a blind cat to safeguard the borders?

Oakfoot quieted down after that point, aware that continuing the conversation for too much longer might scare away the prey they were after.

Blossomsnow brushed against her brother with a happy purr. “Maybe he’ll be coming back out on patrols with us soon,” she suggested brightly.

“I couldn’t believe it! This could be great for him!” Oakfoot practically purred. While there was still no verdict on wether or not Duststorm had permanently lost his second eye, it had seemed that the tan tabby would not have been able to continue on if his blindness became permanent. At least now there was some hope for him to have a life after his injury, even if he had to live it without one of his senses.

Peach listened in on the happy news, her ears peeking. While she hadn’t been with the clan for too long, she’d seen the senior warrior at his lowest, and any improvement in the lives of her clanmates made her happy. Especially those that touched Blossomsnow.

Blossomsnow nodded, her eyes brightening. “I’m glad. He’s been moping about since the battle.”

Oakfoot followed closely, flanked by his sister on one side and Emberleaf on the other.

Looking over toward his sister, The tom mewed quietly “Did you see Dad out and about in the clearing by himself?”

Streamfire glanced around to make sure all of them were there before she led the way out of the camp, flicking her tail.

As much as Peach wanted to talk for moons to whoever would listen about spending the night with Blossomsnow, she remembered that the pretty warrior wasn’t her mate just yet. Thus, she kept low key for now, and walked a respectful distance from Blossomsnow instead of brushing shoulders with The she-cat as she so wanted to.

Oakfoot stepped back from the entrance to let Streamfire pass. She was the senior warrior amongst them, after all, and so she should lead the patrol unless she decided otherwise.

Blossomsnow joined her brother at the camp exit, Emberleaf and Streamfire soon joining them.