Dejectedly

[Clove]

Emberstreak steps through the grass. She is confused. Everything seems to be spinning at the moment. She's lost track of some cats she was with. She is sure they must have abandoned her. She feels so alone at times because she's been ignored a lot. Her green eyes widen. She sees dust spinning around. After a moment she realizes it is just the wind whipping up the contents of the ground. The hot sun just makes her feel worse. She looks around, hoping to see a clan mate. She feels dejected as she discovers their absence. Maybe they got distracted and are lagging behind, but she has no idea. She spots a snake slithering slowly through the grass. She stalks towards it. She rushes at it and it lashes out. She jumps to the side slightly. She grabs the neck in her teeth and bites down. She carries the limp snake off and hides it. She sits by its 'grave'. She watches the grass sway in the wind. She sighs sadly and drags her paw across the dirt. She wonders if she should catch more prey. She decides to wait and see if any of what should have been a hunting party show up.

[Windpelt]

Meanwhile, Shadedlily was in a state of panic. He wasn't quite sure how it had happened, by they had lost all sign of Emberstreak. One minute the four cats were peacfully hunting together, the next they were confused and worried. The three remaining cats had split up to search for Emberstreak, when they realized she was no longer with them. She must be somewhere.. on Devil's Hill.. that's where we were going to hunt. How did she get lost? He thought furiously to himself. He kept going, feeling the wind whipping through his fur, opening his jaw to scent the air, hoping to catch even the faintest whiff of her familiar scent. Instead, he caught the scent of prey and instantly dropped into the hunter's crouch, before he remembered he was looking for his clan mate. He shook his head and continued on, ignoring the prey scuffling near him.

[Clove]

Emberstreak watches a hawk circle over. She stands up, muscles tensing. If it comes down, she would be ready. She watches it. Then she follows its shadow. Mostly this is to keep herself busy. The hawk swoops down. It is close, but out of reach. She figures out that it is playing with her. She hisses. This goes on for a while. The creature knows it has an advantage with its ability to fly. Annoyed, Emberstreak tenses. As the hawk swoops down daringly low, she leaps. Her body lifts off the ground. She sails through the air. She does a flip in midair as the hawk loses balance out of confusion. She twists just in time to land on its back. They crash into the ground. She digs her claws into its back and bites down onto the back of its neck. The blood of her victim fills her mouth. Victory was sweet, but bitter. No cat is around to have seen that amazing feat. However, it will be in her memory. She will be eternally proud for this accomplishment, she is sure. She licks her bloody paws. Just for hopeful purposes, she scents the air. To her wonder, the smell of Shadelily is nearby. She calls out. She sits by her prize to wait for him to show.

[Windpelt]

Shadelily's ears pricked up as he heard the familiar mew of his fellow clan mate. He began to pad faster, towards her. 'There you are!' His mew was filled with relief. 'And.. wow you caught a hawk? I don't think I ever had..' He looked down at his paws as he said this last statement. 'Anyway, catch anything else? I can help you bring it back to the others, there just over there...' He pointed with his light-gray tail tip, to a rock in the distance which showed the other two cats, anxiously scanning their surroundings for any sign of Emberstreak. He waited for her to answer and titled his head slightly to one side.

[Clove]

Emberstreak isn't paying attention. She is examining the hawk's feathered body. It is perfectly designed for flying. With its lightweight lithe body and broad wings. It is vaguely similar to cats who can maneuver the forest, race across the grasslands, or swim through the marshes well.... it's just that hawks are made to maneuver through the air instead. Shadelilly surprises her when he speaks. She jumps and tenses. She relaxes when she realizes who it is. "Oh, hello Shadelilly," she greets. She listens to his question and answers,"Yeah, I caught a snake. It's hidden under that rock." At her statement, she flicks her tail at a nearby stone that looks like it had obviously been shifted. She looks over where he points. She can just barely make out the forms of cats. She rocks side to side on her paws. "Can you get the snake? I can handle the hawk," She tells him. She grabs the hawk in her jaws. She pads towards the other cats but stops to wait for her clanmate. She thinks about how the hawk had played with her. It makes her think about some of the other animals. Are they dimwitted or do they actually have thoughts and plans? She hears some tales about cats being able to talk to foxes and badgers, and vice-versa. She can only wonder.

[Windpelt]

Shadedlily gave a brief nod, 'sure.' He padded off at a leisurely pace to grab the snake she caught. He pushed the rock aside, first with his paws then, with his mouth as well, pushing it a little way off. He was then able to grab the snake carefully in his jaws, marvelling at its size and width. He padded back over to Emberstreak. 'Gosh..' he mewed in slight awe or amazment, 'this is a really big kinda snake!' He looked around carefully, in case he spotted or scented any other prey he could catch; seeing as Emberstreak had caught two pieces and he none. 'Hmm, anyway, this way!' He mewed firmly, not seeing any prey around him. His tail went straight up in the air as he said this and he trotted off, snake firmly clasped in his jaws, its dead tail slowly banging the ground with each pawstep; it was too big to fit it all in his mouth.

[Clove]

Emberstreak watches with her bright blue eyes as Shadelily retrieves the snake. She holds the hawk firmly in her jaws. The fibers feel strong yet tender beneath her sharp teeth. She focuses to find that Shadelily has the snake now. He seems to be quite amazed. He looks around, but Emberstreak doesn't understand the reason. He mews and sets off. Emberstreak finds herself amused seeing him carry the snake. Unfortunately the hawk in her mouth prevents her from snickering. However, the humor is glistening in her eyes. He seems overwhelmed. As she starts to follow after him, she finds the hawk is a bit of trouble to. Perhaps not as awkward as the snake, but uncomfortable enough. She cat-growls in determination and forces herself to keep going. She'll be there in no time if she focuses on the horizon. That's usually her trick. If she's going a distance, she'll concentrate on the land beyond or watch the ground as she runs. This works for her quite well. Before she knows it she's way ahead of Shadelily. Realizing that the cat isn't near her. She stops and drops the hawk to take a breath. She shakes her head, confused at herself. She can be quite determined when she puts her mind to what she's doing.

[Windpelt]

Shadedlily is unaware of the fact she finds him amusing, carrying the snake. He is instead, concentrating firmly. He does not want to drop the snake. He focuses on putting one paw in front of him at a time. He looks down at the ground, making sure he doesn't put his paws done on any sharp rock or bump on the grassy hill so that he will be unbalanced. He shoots a brief look round at Emberstreak; she is following rather close behind him - closer than he expected as he set off first, not particularly waiting to see if she was ready. He concentrates in front of him again, as he nearly tripped over a small stick, sending the snake swinging in his jaws. He clamped his mouth over it, again. Suddenly he heard pawsteps beside him, gradually growing faster and faster. It was Emberstreak; she moved fastly along, hawk clutched in her jaws. He wondered how she was able to go so quickly with a large piece of prey in her mouth. He begun to move faster, forcing his paws quicker until he is only a few tail-length's behind her and they have nearly reached the rock where Fatestar and Ninjastorm, are waiting.