storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Nov 7, 2023 16:02:00 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/1a/24/76/1a2476fe9ab2daef64c48b516b301499~jpg | houndjaw
may I stand unshaken...
amidst, amidst a crash of worlds |
After bidding his patrol partners farewell with a nod, Houndjaw exited the camp once again. The chilly air filled his lungs before he exclaimed a dramatic exhale. Unlike the other PrairieClan cats, his bushy pelt aided him in the months of leaf-bare. However, he knew he was at a disadvantage when it came to greenleaf.
The large male made his way toward the rolling hills of the territory, while taking in the sights of the environment around him. An environment that he had finally gotten used to. No longer did he feel stares of unwelcoming cats or hear whispers as he walked by. Perhaps, at last, he was as close to a PrairieClan cat as he could get. Maybe not by blood, but by heart and soul.
As he started his way the embankment of the hill, he couldn't help but wonder how his birth clan was doing, since it was close to a full season cycle since the attack of RidgeClan. His eyes blinked harshly, as the memory of taking the RidgeClan warrior's life flashed before him. It was one thing that kept him up at night, to wonder what that tom's life was like. Did he have anyone that mourned him?
But his mind snapped back to reality when he saw Swiftwind as he rose to the top of the hill. His apprentice, his closest ally. The brown and white tom made sure that the younger cat was not occupied by something before he made his descent down the hill, his large paws crunching the snow beneath him. "Swiftwind," he called out to the other ton, before trotting up to the cat. Houndjaw gave a friendly lick to the ear of his former apprentice. "Are ya havin' any luck findin' any prey aroun' here?" |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2023 13:29:39 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/a1/5e/40/a15e401999374434406ed889fa16bdb4~jpg #s://i~pinimg~com/564x/80/a6/5d/80a65d0db3b7c3f266efcfc07414dfe1~jpg swiftwind
Swiftwind's mind was much less occupied. His haunches were planted in the snow as he glared at the pad of his right paw, the skin an angry shade of pink. Deeply embedded in it was a large thorn. He felt frustration bubbling within him as he reached down to try to tug it out, but pulled away with a hiss. "Swiftind!" Hearing his name made him place his paw gently back on the ground, turning to see a very welcome face approaching.
Swiftwind purred as Houndjaw licked his ear affectionately, trying to press his head into the tom's body as he moved by him. When his best friend asked him about his luck with hunting that day, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Well I was. Saw an absolutely huge pheasant that would've fed a bunch of cats easy." His ears flicked in annoyance as he lifted his injured paw. "Then this happened as I was running after it. Can't get it out for the life of me." He stared at the large thorn for a moment before getting an idea.
A sheepish grin would spread over his features as he looked up at the large tom. "Say, you have some sizable teeth, Houndjaw. Help a guy out?" He would move his paw closer to his friend, hoping he would help to ease his suffering so he could track that damned bird down. He knew taking him along with him would increase his odds of felling the massive thing if they could find it.
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Nov 18, 2023 22:03:37 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/1a/24/76/1a2476fe9ab2daef64c48b516b301499~jpg | houndjaw
may I stand unshaken...
amidst, amidst a crash of worlds
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He purred while greeting his previous apprentice, while Swiftwind gave his shoulder a nudge at the same time. However, Houndjaw could smell something that was off about the tom. Seeing as the brute had known him since a little apprentice, it made sense that he was able to tell the shift in feelings in the calico.
As he was moving to the side of the other cat, his ears perked up at the sigh, while Swiftwind explained that there was a thorn in his paw. Brows furrowed as he looked to the suspected paw. "StarClan, youngin', ya got that thorn in deep," he couldn't help but chuckle at the end of his sentence, despite the protest from Swiftwind about it being painful. Houndjaw was more astonished than anything that out of all the cats that had probably taken that exact path, of course it was his apprentice that stepped on the thorn. "Ya are the luckiest cat in PrairieClan, ya know that?"
However, the big tom know the cheeky grin on his apprentice meant he was going to get roped into doing something. After the comment about his name, Houndjaw's head tilted in a playful way while the calico lifted his paw closer to him. "Awww, thank ya for the compliment, kit," he playfully lowered his ears, looking like a star-struck lover toward the tom. "They didn't name me Houndjaw for nothin', Swiftie. I use' to have the most ferocious bite in MistClan.... true story." He returned the grin, as he lowered his head toward the paw of his apprentice.
"When they used to ask the other apprentices to spar with me, none of 'em would step up," he muttered, before taking the thorn into the back of his teeth. While doing so, he was careful to not move suddenly to cause any more pain to his friend. "Ya see, I never hurt anyone when sparring, but my teeth are definitely better than my claws," he grumbled through his teeth, as he got the best grip on the pesky thorn.
"Now, the trick is to pull it straight out, not up or down. Otherwise, it'll hurt more." His feet shuffled as he got into position. "It's gonna sting, but I'll get it out for ya. Ready? I'll count to 3."
Houndjaw looked up at his apprentice, making sure he was ready to pull it. "One.... Two...." Before even saying three, he jerked his head from the calico's paw. He felt bad for lying about going on the third count, but he knew that being able to pull it without Swiftwind possibly tensing would be the best possible way for it to come out smoothly. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2023 11:57:18 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/80/a6/5d/80a65d0db3b7c3f266efcfc07414dfe1~jpg #s://i~pinimg~com/564x/a1/5e/40/a15e401999374434406ed889fa16bdb4~jpg #s://i~pinimg~com/564x/80/a6/5d/80a65d0db3b7c3f266efcfc07414dfe1~jpg swiftwind
Swiftwind scoffed when Houndjaw made a joke about him being lucky. "I've been sent by StarClan to collect all the thorns so no cat may ever step on them." he meowed, lifting his chin in faux pride. "Just your everyday savior right here." He had a smile on his face, but he could feel a bit of adrenaline pumping through his body as Houndjaw lowered his head to inspect the thorn. His former mentor wove a tale from his younger days in MistClan, maybe or maybe not meant to serve as a distraction to the calico cat. "Gee, that doesn't make me nervous at all to have your fangs so close to my paw. Don't go biting it off now, hehe." Swiftwind chuckled, his ears angling toward the back of his head in nervousness.
Houndjaw's warning would elicit a nod from the tom, wincing as he hooked his teeth securely around the thorn. "One..." Swiftwind tensed, though mentally was a bit relaxed. Then Houndjaw went and tore the thing out on the next count, the younger cat leaping back with a hiss of surprise. "Damn you, Houndjaw!" he growled as he shook his paw out. It was bleeding a tiny bit but he certainly would survive. He limped closer to the other cat and tried to give him a playful shove with his shoulder. "Just when you think you can trust someone..." he joked. "Thank you, though. My hero!" He made his voice a bit high pitched in his best imitation of a starstruck she-cat.
The calico padded forward a few paces, testing out his paw. After a couple moments it felt good enough to walk on again. He set his sights out onto the rolling hills. Now they were back in business. "Let's find that pheasant. As a token of my appreciation, I'll let you take some of the credit for it." Swiftwind dipped his head as if he was being oh-so-generous before pointing his tail to the right of them. "It went that way, I think." If Houndjaw agreed, he would set off in that direction.
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Jan 5, 2024 20:38:40 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/1a/24/76/1a2476fe9ab2daef64c48b516b301499~jpg | houndjaw
may I stand unshaken...
amidst, amidst a crash of worlds |
"Well, my pleasure, Swiftie, anythin' for youuuu," he jokingly played along to his apprentice's antics of pretending to be a molly in distress. After recovering from the shove to his shoulder, Houndjaw walked forward of the younger cat and placed his tail in front of the calico's chest, to keep the tom in place.
The big, brooding male then made his way to a couple of strains of grass. He was lucky that the dawn was still upon them, so it was easy to spot cobwebs against the morning light. Carefully, he grabbed the cobweb and made his way over to Swiftwind, jesturing to the wounded pawpad as the younger tom tested his paw. "Yer paw might get infected if ya don't go to Maplefrost or Lionflower when we are done here," Houndjaw stated. If Swiftwind accepted his offer of the cobweb, he would place it on the tom's paw carefully and thoughtfully, just as Lionflower taught him.
Thank goodness for Houndjaw's new joy of sitting in on the herbalist's lessons. It would allow him to be able to keep an eye on his younger apprentice, who was the most accident prone cat he knew. The thorn was only evidence of that.
"Some credit? I'm da whole reason you can go after that pheasant again, so I deserve at least half," Houndjaw teased, as he followed beside the smaller cat. "Let's hurry up now! The faster we get back, the faster we can relax for the day." The morning light splashed against his coat while the wind began to whistle through the plains. They would have to hurry before the scent disappeared.
"So, Swiftwind," he began, hoping to break up the silence as they stalked after the prey, "how is trainin' goin' with Heronpaw, eh? Hopefully, he's givin' ya as much trouble as ya did for me." Houndjaw could help but chuckle while eyeing the young cat. "I'm hopin' to take Foxpaw out this evenin' for some huntin' in the dark, and Heronpaw and ya'self are welcome to join in." |
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