The Joy of Hunting ((Wild/Moon))

[Swiftpelt]

Saphira followed Banditshard through the forest, her paws steps barely making a sound and every moment that passed them felt like a moon. It seemed that many of their prey was wandering about, trying to find what little food that remained here. At the same time, FireClan was hunting and every piece of pray was for their clan. Kits and elders, her father had told her and they were always first to eat compared to the Apprentices and Warriors of their camp.

But everytime she even began to think of these things, an image flashes in her mind and catches her off guard. A blue flame...same as what her father had said to her and started to wonder if he was truely right about her. Saphira sighed, padding behind the large tom with her tail gently swaying with the light cold breeze. After what seemed like a few hours, the light gray she-cat quickly padded to Banditshard's side and glaced up at him with her blue eyes in question. "So...I guess your wondering why I'm here?" Saphira began, flicking her silver tipped ears back with a slight grin. "Well...Let's just say that I wanted to..follow in my father's paw steps." She added, stopping abit to check the air for any scents.

---

Meanwhile, at the fox's den. Tora had just returned from her evening hunt and was carrying a dead rabbit back from her successful hunt. Her orange-red fur seemed spiked in some places, mostly at her tail and her teeth was still slightly covered in blood. She had told her mate to watch over their pup while she when off to hunt, but as she neared the den, she was aware that her mate had left moments before her and a growl rumbled in her throat. I told him to say put! That overgrown-!, Tora thought, only to be cut off by her son's scent and by the smell of it, had lingered away from then den.

Panic struck her faster then a moving wolf, dropping her catch and flicking her black tipped ears back with a yowl. "Takota! Takota, Where are you!" She yelped, Sniffing the ground with a scared look in her eyes. Just then, a noise came to her ears and snapped her head up in the dirction of the noice. A growling sound, similer to her own but fainter and let out a growl of her own. "Takota!!" Tora spoke again, taking off with a firece look in her dark brown eyes and her black paws hitting the ground like drums. It was when she had passed some bushes and leaped over a log, did she find her son. But another animal was attack Takota and looked small with a very dark pelt, something that looked evil looking in everyway. Letting loose a snarl, the mother fox put herself between the two and glared at the small animal with another snarl. "Get away from him, you little rat!" Tora growled, snapping her teeth together and lunged at Padpaw with her mouth wide open.

[*~Blazeheart~*]

Padpaw let out a startled hiss as the fox cub tried to swat him with a clumsy blow. The apprentice quickly veered aside to avoid the flailing paws, aiming a nip at the fox's haunches when another snarl alerted the black-furred apprentice. A full grown fox bursted out of the bushes, jaws wide enough to swallow the apprentice whole.
With a yowl of surprise, Padpaw quickly lept back before the razor sharp teeth could snap shut.
"Hey! Watch it! You could've killed me you know?"Padpaw growled indignantly, tail lashing. The scruffy apprentice became a dark blur as he lunged forward, aiming a claw swipe at the narrow muzzle of the adult fox, hissing tauntingly as he did so.

[Wildheart]

Takota twitched his small black tipped ears in surprise when is mother came crashing through the brush and lunged over a log with amazing speed he had never seen her exert. He saw her snap at the creature that now looked so small in comparison to the adult fox. He noticed the creature make a strange noise and bared its... fangs? at his mother. Takota could tell his mother was about to lunge again but Takota let out a yip of protest. "Momma! It didn't do anything to me. I'm not hurt. I promise Momma! Leave it be! Don't hurt it!"

Takota was slightly surprised at how much he had defended the creature. He had slightly lied to his mother. The creature had hurt him; it had bit his back leg and now it throbbed in pain. But Takota did not want the creature dead. It was different then the rest. He had grown to like them. They were special compared to the birds and rabbits and other creatures he had grown up with. "Momma! Please!" He said, giving a slight growl at his mother.
~~~~~
Meadowcloud watched her apprentice amusingly while she stood beside Whirlwind. Pointing her nose up she opened her mouth and closed her eyes to let her nose take over all her senses. Sniffing deeply, she could smell vole, mouse, and a strange rank smell she had only smelled a few times before in her lifetime.

Turning her head slightly without opening her eyes, she followed the smell in the air to a bush. It smelled fresh and she turned her head and gave a small meow to catch Whirlwind and Hopepaw's attention. "I think I smell... Fox." She said in surprise. Stepping through the bush, she twitched her tail to the other cats, telling them to follow after her.

[Swiftpelt]

Tora missed. She hated missing and as she did, the little rat hissed at her and tried to swipe at her muzzle. Flicking her black tipped ears back, Tora backed up with her fangs bared and prepared to attack again. But she heard Takota's yip and turned her head toward her son with worried eyes. "Are you sure you aren't hurt?" The mother fox asked, her bush like tail twitching. She could not trust that little black rat, but her son however, she could. Shifting her body abit, Tora slowly backed up until she was by her son's side and gently put her black nose in her son's orange-red fur. "Please tell me the truth, Takota. I don't want any harm to come to you." She spoke softy, Tilting her head up abit with a glare at the little furry thing.

[*~Blazeheart~*]

"Fox?!"Whirlwind repeated, ears pricked up in alarm. He opened his mouth to taste the air. At first, nothing but the smell of the cats around him filled the air, but as the wind picked up, the hostile scent of fox was traced out. He exchanged a worried glance with Meadowcloud, tail flicking nervously. A fox so close was never a good sign. Then, with another sweeping glance around him, he realized that a particular annoying cat wasn't around.
"Mouse-dung. Padpaw isn't around here. We better make sure he's not near the fox,"the gray-furred tom meowed.

Padpaw let out a challenging hiss towards the adult fox, bracing himself for her attack until she suddenly backed off. His ears pricked up, confused at what's going on. The two foxes were doing nothing but yipping and growling at each other.
"Hey! Why don't you fight me?"he demanded, taking a step forward.
"Or are you too scared,"Padpaw added with a sneer.

[Wildheart]

Takota glanced at his mother's eyes and then shifted his glance back to the strange black creature. "Well..." He replied. He moved his nose to the back of his leg and sniffed at it. There was a trickle of blood oozing down his leg and he licked at his wound, wincing a little. "I'll be fine Momma." He barked at her. Takota puffed up his chest and looked bravely over at the strange creature. While he was glancing at it, it stepped closer and gave this weird growling and hissing noise. To Takota it almost looked like it was smiling. "Momma... What is it?" He asked her. Now that his mother was here, the creature seemed so small and harmless now. He was staring at it and got up and stepped a little closer. Putting his nose up in the air he sniffed at it. He had never gotten this close to one of these strange and interesting creatures before.

Meadowcloud followed her nose through the brush and glanced back to make sure the two cats were following her. Sniffing the air again Meadowcloud moved into a crouched position and poked her head through another bush. What she saw made her give a slight hiss in surprise. She pulled back and flicked her tail at the other two cats to follow her. When she got a little distance away to where she thought it was safe to speak without being heard she sat up and explained what she saw. "Padpaw just happens to have such luck." She meowed sarcasticly. "There is a big adult fox and a baby fox. We need to move quick and drive them off. Aim for the adult fox, that's the one that is going to cause more problems." She nodded to the other two cats and began stalking up to the bush she was previously at, getting ready to pounce.