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Post by ♫ admin on Aug 13, 2007 22:27:46 GMT 9
Outside of the JaggedClan camp, the ground is rugged and hard. Small shrubs and weeds occasionally find their way to the top of the steep, towering cliff, nestled between cracks and indentations in the rock, but it's mostly jagged, uneven, and rather sharp, stones.
At the SandClan border is a direct drop down off the edge of the cliff into SandClan territory. No cat could survive the fall, despite the soft, slippery sand below. Not many cats venture this far, but sometimes a cat might go here to try and catch seagulls or other birds flying in from the ocean, though it is risky. At the SnowClan border is a steep pile of rocks, sharp and pointy, some piled on one-another, some sticking right up out of the ground. The pile of rubble leads right down to a thin strip of land, an area of land belonging to no cat, seperating the rocky cliff from the towering mountain. Any cat entering the clan will always come up this pile of rocks. It is the only known way in--and out--of the clan.
Between the areas by the borders and on either side of the camp (which is located in the middle) is a large, relativley flat stone surface with huge pointed rocks jutting out of it. Few shrubs grow here, but birds often perch on top of the stones, some of which are low enough for cats to perch on as well. The birds can make for good prey. This area is used mainly for hunting and training. At one point, there is a shallow hollow in the ground, where rainwater has managed to gather and stay, forming a tiny--but slightly dirty--pond. Still, it has never caused the clan any harm to drink from it.
Hunting tip For countless seasons, cats of JaggedClan have learned a unique way to hunt. They call it "stone hopping" and it is a skill that all mentors must start teaching their apprentices right from the beginning, as it takes some time to develop. If a bird is sitting on a stone too high for a cat to reach, they jump onto a low stone. Then a higher one, and a higher one, until they can spring upon the bird from behind. It takes a while to develop, practacing leaping flawlessly, noislessly, from one rock to another, all the while staying away from the sight of a bird. They can also leap from stone to stone to perch on a high rock, and try and claw birds out of the air as they fly by. Then there's falling down. Apprentices must learn to fall on their feet or their prey when doing this. Using prey as a cushion to the fall can also help kill it off.
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 8, 2007 17:00:24 GMT 9
Bounding out of the camp, Bonepaw was racing across the uneven, rocky surface that was JaggedClan territory, her rough pads not even getting scratched against the hard, pointed rocks that lined the ground. She was racing Ashpaw to the hunting place, the place of high stones, where they would hunt for the clan like full grown warriors. Excitement pulsed through her as she bounded over sharp rocks and around large boulders.
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Post by Incognito on Sept 8, 2007 17:02:41 GMT 9
Ashpaw raced after Bonepaw, intent on winning, he travelled quickly, grey limbs taking long, quick strides, tail winding away behind him. The two were but a whirlwind of fur.
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 8, 2007 20:07:27 GMT 9
"I'M GONNA WI-IIN!" Bonepaw mewed playfully, taking a heartbeat to bat at Ashpaw's ear before continuing to race along. Finally, she burst into the clearing, skidding on the suddenly smooth rock surrounded by huge, tall and pointed stones from which JaggedClan got its name.
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Post by Incognito on Sept 9, 2007 1:05:51 GMT 9
Ashpaw arrived about a mouse's heartbeat after her, his eyes rolled in irritation at himself for loosing, but Bonepaw's infectious enthusiasm was hard to ignore. He gave a short, swift purr and crouched towards the ground, scenting for prey.
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 9, 2007 1:19:29 GMT 9
Bonepaw purred loudly, nudging Ashpaw's flank with her nose. "Don't worry, you'll win next time." she mewed enthusiastically, before leaping upon a small rock, then another, and another, until she was at the highest point in the area. Her eyes glittered in obsessive attention at the sky, and she sat as still as possible, twitching her tail from time to time. She found that twitching her tail attracted birds that were still out of reach. She sat and waited for a bird to come swooping down, and her paws itched to rake her claws through feather and beak.
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Post by Incognito on Sept 9, 2007 1:38:31 GMT 9
Ashpaw grinned and jumped up another step or two. Stone-hopping; JaggedClan's speciality. He quickly slid up another level, his grey coat well camoflauged. He stood stock still, waiting paitently for a bird to ventuer a little to close to his sharp white claws, he fidgeted slightly, each claw catching a silvery sheen.
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 9, 2007 12:21:20 GMT 9
Suddenly, a falcon came swooping in, bent on getting its beak around Bonepaw's tail. She then leapt from the tall rock, raking her claws through its feathers in a desperate attempt to grab hold of the large bird. She felt her grip began to slip, and watched as several feathers fluttered to the ground, giving a yowl of alarm. Trying desperatley not to fall, she dug her teeth into the bird's wing. It screeched in pain, struggling to stay aflight, circling unevenly around the area of pointed stones, trying to shake Bonepaw off. Her vision was blurred as she was flung around on the bird, and her eyes began to water at the sting of the wind as she fumbled for a grip on its flank. Suddenly, claw caught feather, and she began raking her sharp hind claws through the bird's underbelly. It gave another great cry, and hurtled itself away in another desperate attempt to shake itself, or her, loose. Barreling into a tall stone, the bird gave a mangled, gurgling screech, and began to plummet to the ground, Bonepaw yowling in alarm as she watched the ground grow nearer, still trying to get a firm handle on the bird...
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Post by Incognito on Sept 9, 2007 15:23:32 GMT 9
Ashpaw gasped, he still wasn't that high up, maybe... the apprentice crouched, ready to spring, maybe you could knock he flacon to the ground and push Bonepaw to a safe area. He caught sight of spot where there didn't seem to be many sharp or large jagged rocks. So he leapt at the bird and Bonepaw, plosing his eyes as he hurled himself a short way through the air. Ashpaw felt his body hit something and opened his eyes, trying to proppel his body towards the safest spot in the inferno of jagged rocks. He wasn't sure if he had hit the falcon, bt as he dropped upon his intended area, the apprentice hadn't much time to dwell on that. The cat tumbled over as the rocks bit at his flesh, stopping when he banged into a large upright rock. He sat up dizzily, vision wavering, not even sure if he had hit the falcon or Bonepaw.
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 9, 2007 16:41:18 GMT 9
Suddenly, an infuriated screech echoed through the rocky area, and fast as anything, a small dark cat was whipping across the clearing as Bonepaw continued to hurtle to the ground, clutching the gurgling bird. The black cat suddenly threw itself against bonepaw, biting deep into her pelt and pulling her off the falcon. The two cats flew in the direction of Ashpaw, and landed next to him with a discouraging thud. The falcon dropped a few fox lengths away onto the ground, and another gurgling screech was heard as several snaps and cracks sounded at the brid's contact with the rocky ground. The three cats watched in horror as the bird twitched several times, then went still.
Trying to focus on her savior, Bonepaw concentrated on the cat next to her until she came into view. It was none other than her sister, Pepperpaw. Her brilliant lavender eyes blazed in anger, and her face was twisted into an expression of rage and shock. "What were you DOING, you mouse brain?!" Pepperpaw spat, and quite literally, flecks of spit flew and hit Bonepaw in the face as her sister spoke. "You could have been KILLED! The clan is small enough as it is, it doesn't need inexperienced, mentor-less, immature apprentices going stone hopping to lower the numbers!" Her shoulders were hunched and evrery hair on her body was prickled and upright. Bonepaw noticed her sister also had surprisingly large, sharp fangs. At this point, any cat who didn't know her would be terrified, and judging by Pepperpaw's general appearance, it would probably put the bears and mountain lions living in clan territories to shame. The black and white speckled cat whipped around, heading back to camp. "I'm going back. If you're smart, you will too, and bring that stupid falcon with you. You didn't just risk your life for nothing." she hissed. Pepperpaw didn't look back as she lanced away from the scene.
Bonepaw looked at Ashpaw. She didn't know how her face looked, but she imagined it must be pretty terror stricken. She looked at her paws then, raking them across the hard stone ground nervously. "Thanks for trying to help" she mewed softly, giving him a brief lick on the shoulder, "I really appreciate it. And if you were wondering, you did whack that falcon." She then gave him a long look that was hard to identify, before padding over to the broken body of the bird. "You gonna help me, or not?" she called, trying to sound cheerful, but sounding instead like a happy-go-lucky vole being strangled to death, "I couldn't bring this thing down on my own, there's no way I can get it back to camp by myself either."
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Post by Incognito on Sept 9, 2007 18:05:58 GMT 9
Ashpaw nodded and padded over to the falcon picking up a wing in his teeth, struggling not to bite into it. "Are you alright?" He mumbled through feathers, indicating the fact that the falcon had put up a fight. He lifted the sleek brown wing of the falcon, careful not to mention Pepperpaw.
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 9, 2007 18:32:06 GMT 9
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy." Bonepaw replied, lifting up her half of the falcon as the cats began carrying it back to the camp. "What about you?" she said, this time, through a mouthfull of feathers. She felt bad that Ashpaw had endangered himself to try and help her. Pepperpaw was right, she could have gotten seriously hurt, and it would have been even worse if Ashpaw was hurt trying to help her. She was vaguley aware of a cut on her shoulder and head as a trickle of sticky, warm blood made contact with her nose, but she wouldn't worry about that, just kept carrying it as they approached the camp.
[Meet me at the camp board! :3]
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Post by Incognito on Sept 10, 2007 0:48:27 GMT 9
(Ok.)
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Post by ♫ admin on Sept 21, 2007 12:14:10 GMT 9
Wildstar padded out to the high rock site where Ashpaw and the newly named Bonekit had been hunting before. "I think now is a good time to refresh our stone-hopping skills," she mewed to Pepperpaw. She then leapt atop a stone, adding, "Follow me." This part of the training was relativley easy. To get apprentices used to stone-hopping, all she had to do was hop from stone-to-stone herself and have Pepperpaw follow her, immitating the technique. She wouldn't go too high up today, she decided. There was no need to put another apprentice in danger. Glancing behind her every few heartbeats to make sure Pepperpaw was still there, she leapt about, going faster, slower, sometimes leaping in the air and clawing at nothing, before landing squarely on the stone and continuing, indicating that Pepperpaw was to do the same. It was like a game.
Pepperpaw glared at her leader. Yewstorm would have better tactics for teaching apprentices than a game of follow the leader. Ashpaw was so lucky to have such a cat for a mentor. He should appreciate her more, she thought, feeling like a mouse-brained kit as she immitated her leader's movements. She wouldn't say anything about them though. Questioning a mentor was bad enough for a cat's reputation, which she was trying very hard to improve, but questioning a leader at the same time--all she knew was that had to be even worse.
Finally, after what seemed like moons to Pepperpaw, Wildstar leaped down from a rock. Pepperpaw followed suit, and faced her leader, holding back a grimace and waiting to see what the kit-like she-cat had to say next. "Now that you've gotten used to hopping from stone to stone, I want YOU to lead, and I'll follow," Wildstar mewed. Was this a joke?? What kind of leader followed an apprentice?? It was as if she was stooping down, putting herself below Pepperpaw. The apprentice's eyes shone evilly, as she went over this in her mind. If she figured out how to manipulate this subtly, she could have control over the leader of the clan! This thought pleased her very much, but she din't show it, rather, leapt atop a rock and contiuned leading.
After what seemed like moons, the sun was starting to lower in the sky, and Wildstar lead Pepperpaw back to camp, the two cats working on hunting skills along the way to bring back freshk kill for the clan.
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Post by .}{EXXI. on Oct 6, 2007 23:44:10 GMT 9
Slinking inbetween the huge pointed stones that gave JaggedClan their name, Stormcloud's pale mint-green eyes scanned the sky constantly for any sign of the birds his Clan preyed upon. He thought he saw one, high up in the sky, circling for prey itself. The gleam of the hunt entered his eyes as he qucikened his pace, leaping noiselessly from rock to rock until he came to a tiny crevice in one. It was a tiny gap between to almost-overlapping stones, just small enough for him to squeeze in with some difficulty. Stormcloud twitched his whiskers with annoyance, when he was an apprentice he'd been able to fit in quite easily. It was his favourite hunting spot and often provided good prey. Crouching in the small space, he let the tip of his brownish tail hang out and whipped it around quickly, pulling it back in sometimes but always making it twitch in an imitation of a mouse. Sure enough, the bird stopped circling. He was lucky - his tail was the right colour for this trick. The airial predator swooped down on the 'mouse', talons forward but just before it reached him, Stormcloud rolled out of the crack, away from the bird's grasp, and jumped on it from behind, using his weight to push it to the ground and squishing the last of the air from it's lungs by using it as a cushion for his landing. A swift bite to the neck finished the job and Stormcloud swiped his tongue over his lips in appreciation. Too bad he couldn't eat it -yet. The dark yellow tom looked up at the sky. The sun had almost fully risen and it was almost time for his, and Bonekit's, ceremony! He grabbed the bird quickly and headed back, tail straight up in anticipation.
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