Post by Stormfang on Sept 13, 2010 20:38:55 GMT -5
"Use your enemy's hand to catch a snake."
~Persian Proverb
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“To kill an adder, you must move like Sunpelt, warrior of LionClan, as he did when he fought the great snake, Mouthclaw. Strike quick and fast, my little warriors, and you will be victorious.” The dark colored queen smiled then, her eyes soft as she gazed at her kits. “Remember that when you are training with your mentors at SnakeRocks.”
One kit, a brown tabby, frowned. “But we’re not apprentices,” she mewed. “We don’t have mentors!”
The queen purred softly. “You will soon,” she said quietly, flicking her tail by her side. “But like I said, be quick!”
“Mama?”
The queen blinked, turning her head to her last child, a dark gray female. Her orange eyes were bright, but she somehow still managed to look grave.
“Yes, Stormkit?”
“What happens if you get bitten?”[/i]
Orange eyes narrowed into slits as their owner bounded swiftly through the woods, dodging past fallen trunks and large rocks with ease; the movements being part reflex, part memory. Gray paws thrummed lightly on the ground as they ran, kicking up small clouds of dirt as they carried the lean warrior in the direction of SnakeRocks, lean tail streaming behind like a thin banner as the late summer air rushed past on silent wings. The warrior, a ThunderClan cat, kept this up for quite a while, deliberately taking the long route through the brush as she swept the passing landscape with her sharp eyes, keeping a lookout for intruders. She was out to hunt this early morning, though her prey would be lacking fur on this particular expedition.
No, she was heading straight for SnakeRocks, where scaly bodies awaited the slice of her claws and strength of her teeth. She had discovered as an apprentice after killing an adder out of self defense during one of her first hunting sessions that the meat seemed to almost give her extra energy. Though it was stringy and somewhat lacking in mass, it had a strange flavor that was actually somewhat good. Her mouth watered at the thought as she slowed, her paws skirting the edge were dirt turned to small stones.
Stormfang had arrived.
Immediately the gray warrior began to sniff at the air, picking up the scent of several voles, mice, and even a chipmunk. Sifting those mentally aside, the ThunderClan cat strove to catch a trace of a much more subtle odor, seeing as it was not a natural part of a feline’s diet: adder. After a few seconds she managed to catch a whiff, and dropping into a smooth crouch, the warrior slithered into the crags of SnakeRocks, her paws more silent than air. Her lithe body moved between the rocks easily, nose twitching in earnest, until she came face to face with her quarry.
Catching the last warmth of the day before retreating into its hole, the adder lay coiled atop the surface of a rock, as unmoving as its perch. Stormfang narrowed her eyes, recognizing this as the most dangerous position for an adder to be in; from there, it can use the support of its own body to spring forward and bite, which would, frankly be very bad. She was a long walk away from camp, and she had come alone, but Stormfang preferred it that way. If StarClan wished for this hunt to be her last, then so be it. As a senior warrior, she had lived out a fulfilling life. She had regrets, but she had long since learned to live with them.
Moving closer, Stormfang unsheathed her claws, prepared to carry out a maneuver that she had many times before. Sidling up to the rock where the adder sat comfortably, Stormfang quickly scrabbled onto a boulder next to it that lay at the same level. The reptile saw her then, eying her with its bright eyes and with a small rustling sound, it began to rise slightly from the surface of the rock. It sensed her as a threat, and rightly so.
Striking out with one paw, Stormfang swiftly waved her claws in front of the adder in a curving motion. As she expected, the serpent reacted defensively, striking out with thin fangs bared, loaded with venom that could kill her in minutes. But the curving motion allowed her to dodge the strike, and with another quick swipe she brought her claws down on top of its head, effectively pinning it to the rock. Blood spurted out as the rest of its body writhed in vain, whipping ineffectively at her offending foreleg as it began to falter. Leaning forward quickly, Stormfang bit the creature at the base of its skull, severing the spine with practiced ease.
Carrying her limp, long catch to a higher rock, Stormfang settled in to eat, fur bristling with rare satisfaction at her accomplishment.[/blockquote][/center][/font]
