Under Spiderstripe's Command

[Ten]

Shortwhisker shuffled his paws. He had been about to object, but Spiderstripe had listed him among the cats in the hunting party, and for at least ten days, her word was law. He would accept his duty.

First, though, he had a question. "S-S-Spiderst-stripe, w-will y-y-you b-be th-the w-one t-to ch-ch-chose th-the r-rat?" he asked, shaking. He had never spoken to a real, live leader before. He was about to wet himself.

[duckyaisha]

Patchfur took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Shortwhisker was like a kit, he told himself. Full of questions that the rest of the world thought were stupid, but he didn't know that. "Spiderstripe may choose the rat, though it depends on whether or not she'd hunting with us. Even if she does, she might want another cat to lead the hunt. Then that cat would be the one to choose the rat."

[Darky [Megan]]

"Personally, in the light of recent events it would prolly be better if Spiderstripe didn't come along," Speckledclaw commented simply. "I rather think the Clan needs their leader to supervise things, 'specially after havin' just formed. We should be able to handle the hunt by ourselves." She rather wanted to lead the hunt herself, anyway.

[duckyaisha]

What Speckledclaw was saying didn't make much sense to Patchfur. What was there to organize? The hunting party would be gone soon, and she wouldn't do anything like assign territory with half her cats missing. Though Spiderstripe did have to get all her underlings used to obeying her orders, so there was no need to ask why the cats - most of whom were fully competent adults- couldn't supervise themselves until she returned. But Patchfur, for once, didn't voice these arguments. He simply replied, "All right, maybe you can lead the hunt. You're the most experienced out of us, I think." He had learned that arguing was not a good tool for making friends, and he definitely wanted Speckledclaw on his side. She was a strong, intelligent she-cat from what he had seen of her, and would make an invaluable ally.

[kayte103]

As Barkpaw listened to the older cats talk, he wondered how Blackfoot was doing. Had the hunt been successful? Was she all right? These questions were about to be answered since, when Barkpaw turned, he saw the worst possible sight: Blackfoot was limping towards him. He broke away from the group for a moment to meet her.

"I thought I told you to stay at the territory!" Blackfoot hissed. It was futile, she knew, since any scolding she gave went in one of his ears and out the other. But still. She should at least try to get through to him.

Barkpaw's ears went back, but his shame soon faded when he again glimpsed her leg. "What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Rat got me," Blackfoot explained. "I'm going back to the territory to clean the wound."

"Do you need help?"

"No, I'm fine." And with that, she limped off.

[Ten]

Shortwhisker's jaw dropped. He had heard about rat bites before; their deadliness was one major point why reforming the Clan was so important. He swallowed, then spoke in a choked panic, looking from cat to cat. "Sh-she's g-gonna... Th-that... Th-that sh-she-cat... Sh-she'll d-d-d- she'll d-DIE!"

[duckyaisha]

"She won't die, not if she cleans it well. All she needs is some water and it'll help prevent infection. It's not the rat bites that are deadly. It's the infection. So, if the bite doesn't get infected, she'll be just fine," Patchfur meowed, making an effort to be civil with the tom.

[kayte103]

Barkpaw shifted uncomfortably in his position, glancing back at the direction Blackfoot had gone. What if they had no more water? She couldn't clean it then. But he had to stop worrying. The best thing to do now was to get food. "So, shall we hunt?" he asked.

[duckyaisha]

"Yeah, we should get going. After all, the rest of the Clan is expecting us to come back with some food. But I still think Speckledclaw should lead. I've hunted rats with her before - she's really good." He looked over at the she-cat, expecting her to start soon.

[Darky [Megan]]

Speckledclaw recognised Blackfoot from the rat hunt they had had earlier. "She your sister?" she asked Barkpaw pointedly. "I wouldn't worry too much 'bout that bite - it's not a particularly bad one, and like Patchfur 'ere said, all she needs to do is clean it properly." It was important that Barkpaw wasn't distracted during the hunt. Anything could happen if a cat wasn't fully focused when up against rats, which were what she intended to have the cats hunt.

"So, is everyone's ready?" she cast an expectant glance around. Her gaze lingered a little longer on Shortwhisker when it reached him, and she cleared her throat. "I'd like to give a word to those not too familiar with huntin' - you've gotta concentrate hard. If you let yer focus slip while tackling a rat or some such, you could get badly wounded. If you think you can't handle taking a rat head-on, leave that to other cats, but make yourself useful and be sure that you're in a position to help should the need arrive."

Satisfied with her little speech, she turned and lifted her head, quickly detecting the scent of rats in a distant area. The other cats hadn't really agreed on her leading the hunting party yet, but she deemed it safe to assume that they were fine with it and started to pace towards the scent.