{experiment thread} a hunting we will go

[Ten]

Woodstripe checked his uppermost ginger patch. "You are fine, Patchfur--if a little out of breath, understandably," she mewed, turning to Darkfur. The rat had escaped. They'd be returning to the group as failures. This frown creasing her striped face was more sullen than any expression customary to her--it had been a long time since she had ever disappointed anyone.

She bent to lick the salty blood from his leg, then spoke to him in a voice that lacked her usual wordiness and mild docility. "Get up, warrior. Your wound is small." Far too small for him to be curling up like he expected to die. "We must bring word to Redstream while there is yet time for another party to... finish what we have not managed to complete."

[Cloud]

Really, Woodstripe, I hadn't noticed, was what he wanted to say. He wasn't curling up out of weakness, he was merely conserving his strength. "So kind of you to notify me." Was instead what he uttered as he drew himself up, ever so slightly menacingly (he thought). It was perfectly smooth, no hint of irritation. "Although, I must wonder - would y-our time be not better spent going after it ourselves? By the time we get back it will be long gone, if it's not already. Unless one of us will go back to fetch help while the others stay here and keep watch on the rat's progress."

His greenish eyes seemed to glitter with amusement and expectation. What would this she-cat say to that?

The pain was annoying, but he could go back and notify them. At least, that's what he hoped Woodstripe would take as a hint.

[Ten]

"We were a small group to start with, and it would not do to go forth with a group that is smaller still." Looking him over once more, she asked, "You can manage on your paws, then?" She knew he could walk, but she wasn't sure how willing he was to run, in particular with his apparent resentment of her, and she wasn't counting on a vote of confidence from Patchfur.

Still, she agreed with Darkfur that they should take another stab at this rat before it got any farther. "We shall try again," Woodstripe decided. Then she swiveled back to run after it, nose on the scent.

[Cloud]

The tabby rolled his eyes. Thank goodness SHE wasn't the leader, but he'd probably still have to deal with her. Great. Unfortunately, it was probably best to stay with them, as much as he'd rather not. Much as it annoyed him, he knew he'd have to stay with the Experiment a while if he wanted to learn anything that could be useful later on. "Very well." He mewed hoarsely

He padded after her, not quite running, but not walking either. Hopefully they could just finish it off without him, but he should tag along so as to look noble. Credence always gave you an advantage. And he needed them to trust him in case he ever needed to do anything drastic.

[Ten]

Luck was with them. The bleeding rat had left a short trail in the sand, leading straight to it. It bolted at soon as it saw Woodstripe, but she was not far behind. Her paws pounded stone as she raced after it. Squeaking, it was circling back around to where she'd started from. "Patchfur!" she yelled, hoping he could intercept it. In a burst of power, she launched forward and latched her claws into the rat's shoulders, prompting it to unleash an ear-splitting shriek as it swung around to snap at her. She yanked away in time, but after that she fell behind, the rat speeding off in a fit of fearful adrenaline. They had wounded it at least three times now.

[duckyaisha]

Patchfur didn't have the energy to conjure up a sarcastic remark. He was hungry, he was tired, but the last thing he wanted to do was trudge back to the group and have to look at Shortwhisker's smug face, mocking their failure. It was that thought that kept him walking, though he was focused more on putting one paw in front of another than searching for the rat's scent. Only when Woodstripe screamed his name did his head jerk around and he snapped back into hunting mode. The rat was almost on him by the time he had regained his senses, and he barely had time to sink his claws into its hindquarters. He tried to swing it around, but the rat attempted to bite him and he had to let go, though a final swipe from his claws sent it scurrying in another direction, hopefully back towards Woodstripe.

[Ten]

The tabby's claws ripped into the rat's flesh just as it was escaping from Patchfur. Pinning it with a paw on its back, Woodstripe enveloped the rat's neck in her mouth and crunched down, killing the squirming, but wounded and weakened, animal. It continued to writhe and twitch as it died, but her grip was relentless, and her claws dug in to hold it still. Its blood oozed from multiple scratches and bites in its filthy pelt. Its black, wet eyes seemed to freeze as its claws stopped scratching at the earth. The rat was theirs at last.

Woodstripe pulled her fangs from its throat, blood dripping down her chin, and raised her head to look back at Darkfur and Patchfur. "Before we try to carry this thing," she meowed, licking blood from her whiskers, "do either of you know where we should look to find the participants?"

[duckyaisha]

Patchfur breathed a sigh of relief as the rat flailed and twitched in its death throes.Blood seeped onto the sand, giving any areas where the two substances had mixed a reddish tinge. The rat itself was covered in innumerable scratches, red lines criscrossing its dark fur. Of course, there was no way it couldn't be dead, and as the tom realized this, an immense feeling of pride welled up in him. At the beginning of the hunt, he had been tired, and his energy had run lower and lower until walking took more effort than he wanted to put out. Still, he had managed to attack and injure the rat, and even better, steer it back towards Woodstripe. Quite an accomplishment for a cat who had been having trouble putting one paw in front of the other. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath and his legs were trembling with exertion as well as hunger, but none of that mattered right now. Shortwhisker couldn't say anything negative about this, at least.

There was another, less obvious result of hunting with the others. Patchfur wasn't a very popular cat, and many other cats seemed to dislike him for some reason or another, usually because of his radical views. By hunting with other cats, however, he changed their view of him from "obnoxious tom" to "hard-working cat who always gives his best." Hopefully, a change in the way they viewed him would result in a change in the way they viewed his ideas. That was a little bit of a stretch, but at least they would stop thinking he was crazy.

As for Woodstripe's question, he had absolutely no idea. After they had left the other participants behind, Patchfur's mind had zeroed in on the complex tasks of walking and searching for the rat's scent trail. This hunt had gone on for quite some time, and eve though the raging monster in his belly demanded sustenance at any cost, his rational mind knew it would be better to feed the kits and elders first. It would give a good impression.

"I've got no idea," Patchfur replied, completely honest in his answer, though now a little concerned. What if nobody knew? Would they simply pick a direction and start walking? Just the thought of that made his paws ache and he hoped somebody had been paying attention.

[Cloud]

Amused, Darkfur watched with satisfaction, which he let a little of show on his face. Though perhaps not the most likable cat around, this Woodstripe was clearly skilled - clever, too, since she was the one who had come up with the Experiment in the first place. Not that he'd tell her as much - although, maybe he would. Perhaps it would help secure her trust to think he was a dumb over-awed batbrain, easy to control, while secretly he would be watching her every move for information.

And this Patchfur fellow...he wanted to know more about him, too. What was he like? Did he have enemies, friends, allies? Was he popular? Disliked? Intelligent? He would study every cat in the Experiment, figure out what made them tick. No doubt it would be worth it in the long run.

"An excellent catch. Hmm, to find them...I would not say for certain, but I believe we left them from that direction." He gestured with a wave of his muzzle at a direction diagonally to the back of them.

[Ten]

"Ah, you are right, Darkfur. That looks like Spiderstripe's pelt over there. Now one of you help me with this rat, please." For her own part, Woodstripe chomped down onto the rat's hind end and hoisted it up, tail dragging, to carry it to their leader.


ooc| continued with Spiderstripe.