Honey Hunt [Open?]

Honeycloud prowled through the forest, trying to scent a mouse, a vole, anything. So far she'd had no luck hunting at all, not catching so much as a whiff. Her claws sheathed and unsheathed with her growing frustration. Dapplepaw never had these problems, the lucky furball. she thought scornfully as she continued to search for prey. Sunhigh was nearing and her new Clan mates wouldn't exactly be happy if she came back empty-pawed.

Stormcloud sifted through the forest floor, shadows and gloom envoloping her as her nose rapidly worked to pick up a scent. Her nose was sharp, as were most clancat's, and she recognized the wafting smell of prey relatively quickly, knowing every nook and cranny of DarkClan territory. Her cold eyes scanned the horizon and she padded forward, claws softly embedding themselves into the remotely peaty ground.

She could definitely pick up the fact that there was very little prey in the forest at the time. Sunhigh. Not the best time to hunt, exspecially in the sunny, hot parts. The she-cat tilted her head and a rustle in the bushes made her drop into a hunter's crouch, creep foward and...

The mouse let out a screech as some other creature stomped near it's burrow, making the leaves crunch underneath it's feet. Stormcloud hissed and pounced, but it was far too late. She slammed her paw on the ground, whipping around to glare daggers at the cat who had ruined her catch. Honeycloud. She growled at the newer DarkClan cat.

"What are you trying to do? Starve us all?! Watch where you pad or stick to your nest!"

Honeycloud whipped around hissing furiously, her neck fur bristling. She knew she'd been the one to scare the mouse off, but she wasn't about to give in quite yet. "For your information, I've been out since sunrise, while the rest of you were dozing away in your dens like a bunch of lazy lumps!" She winced inwardly. Not the best argument I've ever come up with...

To be completely honest, Honeycloud had been up that early looking for Dapplepaw. Deep inside, she knew the search was hopeless, but one can hope, can't she? She'd always convinced herself that Dapplepaw was as annoying as a tick in her fur, but her heart still lurched a little bit every time she thought of her kind, loving tortoiseshell sister.

Stormcloud was in a foul mood now. Well, okay, she was in a bad mood before, but this had hightened it no doubt. Her fur now billowing and bristling, making the already large she-cat look even larger than she already was, she lowered her head to be even with Honeycloud. Her lips were bared and her upper fangs hung from her jaws. Her name really bugged Stormcloud. 'Honey' didn't belong in DarkClan. And thank you very much, she went on a dawn patrol today! The look on her face would scare away any weak cats, including some of her own clan.

"Wow. I see that has done you well. And what exactly do you have to show for it? Nothing. Now, I would have had a perfect little mouse there, more than you had all day, if your clumsy paws hadn't scared it away. Back off you pathetic cat."

Pathetic? Who is this mouse-brain calling pathetic?! she screeched inwardly. "If you were fast enough, you probably would have caught it again!" She snarled, baring her own sharp, gleaming fangs. Her patience was running out, and quickly. That and the endless heat of the midday sun were meddling with her thoughts. She also realized that those were similar words she'd told her sister before... the incident.

The Clan leaders, calm approach would go unnoticed to the loud bickering of the she-cats. And even if they heard his near silent footsteps, it wouldn't do them much good. Hearing the sounds of his own soldiers in fighting was enough to crumple his spirits. He had recently realized something, that the clan was... More or less fighting each other. And with Fatnose's death it seemed to have escalated into segregation between new rogue recruits to the eldest of DarkClan had the ones born inside of it. And their goal to become the strongest Clan was more or less achieved, they were the most ruthless but... He didn't see much point in it anymore.

Nightstar's bright eyes gleamed, cutting through the shadows he was lurking in. He marched calmly between the two she-cats with a slightly annoyed gaze. "Fighting, is the last thing we need here!" he growled, quietly, but with strength in each word. "We have no food for our kits, and you're arguing about who scared what? It's hardly a wonder why we're becoming as skinny as WindClanners." He glanced at the newer DarkClan recruit, who had so far been waste of time. Not even a tiny mouse to show for her hunting, then back at Stormcloud. The impudent she-cat was a thorn in his paw. Ever since he had allowed her into his clan... But she served her part. "Now come back to camp, we have big news."

OOC: NIGHTSTAR!? *gasp* It's like seeing a Dodo bird. o.o

OOC: I KNOW RIGHT! Except Dodo's are much rarer.

OOC: Che, Nightstar is rarer than a Dodo.

Honeycloud, with a last glare at Stormcloud, stalked off towards camp. She hated being told what to do but, at the moment, she hated Stormcloud even more. Still bristling, she entered the camp. She would go hunting again after listening to Nightstar's speech. She knew she might not catch anything, but still she wanted to get as far away from the other she-cat as possible. "Mouse dung!" she spat under her breath.

Stormcloud glared up at Nightstar as he pranced into their conversation. Her neck fur refused to settle, nor did she want it to. She growled one more time to Honeycloud, fangs gleaming. She glowered, and whipped around to face Nightstar, who was already padding away. She bit an angry retort back, knowing the leader and his evil little temper. Well, actually, hers was probably worse. That or he just kept it bottled up inside endlessly. She settled for a low hiss that reverberated through the clearing. Stomping her unsheathed paws into the slightly moist ground, she clawed at the grass.

And with that, she followed Nightstar, back to this wonderful surprise waiting for them at camp. Hah. Yeah, right. The last time this happened, the Laws of Darkness were implied. What good had that done? Honeycloud was part of the clan now and it clearly said ‘no rogues’. It was basically discontinued. Frogs croaked and the occasional raven sang its mournful song as her still bristling, broad shoulders made their way home. She reached camp and Stormcloud passed the little rogue, whispering just loud enough for her to hear, in her ear.

“Watch your back, I know where you sleep.”

And she turned her back to Honeycloud, stormy eyes slitted.

Honeycloud spat again, her temper reaching its limit. Who does she think she is?! Her claws unsheathed, she imagined herself sinking her thorn-sharp claws into the larger she-cat's pelt. In fact, she probably could, seeing as the grey she-cat's back was turned and was only about a fox-length away. Haunches tensed, she prepared to-

No. I have more self-control than that pile of fox dung ever had in her entire life. The ginger-and-white warrior thought, allowing her muscles to relax again, although the fur on her neck and along her spine remained upright. She was a spiteful-minded cat, and as she padded restlessly around the camp, more insults directed at Stormcloud ran through her mind. And she glared at the large figure of the retreating warrior with blazing hazel eyes, wishing her new-found Clan mate, and enemy, could hear them.