;; ƒ ơ ɡ ċ ɭ ɑ ŋ ;; ƈɭɑŋ σƒ sʈɛɑɭʈɧ (яоɭeрɭɑƴ)

[.:Epic Adarna:.]

Seasong nodded. "Thanks." she murmured, looking back up at Hareleap. She then turned and scanned the clearing. She flicked her ears towards Maskedcuriosity, but continued to look around, peering into the bushes. An intruder was about- She was sure of it. How else had she tripped on such a branch? She heard a slight growling sound coming from where Maskedcuriosity had left, and listened for a commotion to start up, but nothing came. She was about to go looking for her when Maskedcuriosity padded back into her sight. She heaved a sigh of relief. She looked up at Hareleap. "Maybe we should start heading back?" Sesasong murmured. "I mean, we can catch something on the way back, right?" She meowed quickly.

[☯{Panda}]

{Stormwave}
Stormwave heard his name called, and instantly took off after his Deputy. He was slower than most, seeing as he was built for fighting and not speed. But he could keep up, no problem, as he was able to go through more obstacles that others had to go around. He followed the sound of his Deputy's heavy footfalls, his own thudding on the rocky terrain as he steadily caught up. He flattened his ears and caught sight of his Deputy's fiery pelt through the mist, and darted forward with a burst of speed. Now he ran on slightly to the side/behind Embersoul, and called above the rush of wind, "There was a torn up rabbit on the border? Ugh! I'll shred the pelts of however wasted prey like that, and then deal with the trespassing!"

{Ooc}Ummm, is Spotty still playing?

[ℓyηx]

ooc;; I'm giving her a little while longer to become active, but I've heard no word.

ic;; Hareleap's head whipped around to follow whatever was cracking about in the wiry shrubs. He jumped down from the boulder, the fur along his spine slowly rising. "Yeah, let's go back.. I don't like what's going on here," he mewed, looking over his shoulder as he spoke. They'd caught enough he supposed even if they hadn't gone very far. But something was definately off, and the lean tom didn't have a good feeling.

[parry is gone]

        Essancepaw looked disappointed. "Awww." she sighed through her rabbit.

[❥ C o l o r b l i n d]

Maskedcuriousity's fur was bristling, something was stalking them, something that wasn't afraid of this group of cats. "It's near, I saww it's eyes for a second before they disappeared, something's stalking us and playing a game with us." She replied to Hareleap after hearing his words, she shivered. "There's something that's not afraid of this group of cats Hareleap." The slim black warrior's green eyes flashed before a low growl set in her thraot. "Behind us, hiding." Her voice was barely a whisper, as she looked over her shoulder.

[.:Epic Adarna:.]

Seasong looked over at Essancepaw. "You did great though. I've never seen something like that before. It was an interesting tactic." She meowed through her own rabbit. She looked back at the splintered branch and then whipped her head around, realizing something. If we go back, we could lead it straight to camp!
She pondered it for a second. If it was stalking four cats, one of them larger than a normal cat, two others well-trained warriors, and another training to be one, it was either very, very strong, or very, very stupid. She hoped it was the latter, but doubted it in her own mind. No cat was that stupid.
But just to check, she set down her rabbit, then swiped the air, making sure to show off her long claws, making them shine as best she could with the little sunlight that shone down through the fog. She then hissed into the bushes. "Stay away, or you're crowfood." she growled. If the cat was stupid, and not something like a dog, it would probably run away at the sight of her claws and the tone of her threats. If not...

[❥ C o l o r b l i n d]

Maskedcuriousity had thought about leading it to camp as she stopped, and turned around. "We can't go back to camp or we risk the safety of our clanmates. We either have to confront it or lead it around and hope we lose it." Maskedcuriousity stated as she looked at Seasong, a loud crack! echoed. It was a lot closer than last time, wich meant a lot more dangerous. "Let's think." She pondered her thoughts the smell hit her, Dog? No.. Smells like cat, but somethings off.... She shook her head to clear her mind as a shadow bounced off a boulder, sending a few rocks flying as a soft thud sounded nearby. "I don't think it's going to be scared by us.." She warned.

[ℓyηx]

Hareleap's head whipped to follow the noises. He listened to their worried conversation, but his mind was racing a million miles an hour. They needed a higher vantage point, where they could see it but it couldn't get at them. "We need to know what we're dealing with!" he growled in frustration when no ideas were forthcoming. "Let's just confront it. If worst comes to worst, we can always run, right?" he said with no real concern for safety. He tended to think about consequences after they happened, preferring to live each moment as it happened.

[.:Epic Adarna:.]

Seasong thought about that. "How are we going to confront it if we don't know where it is?" she spat, furious at not Hareleap, but this- this thing, playing tricks with them, sending them in circles. I could use a brilliant idea right now... but none came to her. She sniffed the air. "Some sort of cat... Maybe bobcat? Maybe even a mountain lion...?" she trailed off. It was big, smelled a lot like cat, and was not threatened by such numbers.
"We need to distract it." she said, as a light went on in her head. "We need reinforcements, and we need to get Essancepaw out of here." Her mind was racing, formulating a plan. But the question was, how clever was this thing out there? Would it be distracted by three cats attacking it?
"If we can somehow find out where it is, then the three of us can try to distract it, while Essancepaw runs back to camp and gathers whoever she finds back at camp. Then she gets them to come back here, and we drive it off." It wasn't fool proof, no, but it was the best she could think of under such pressure. The problem was IF they could find it. She'd pointed that out to Hareleap herself. "But first, we need to locate it.

[parry is gone]

      Essancepaw drooped.
      "But why do you guys get all the fun? Besides, one of you would have to be faster then me!" she meowed encouragingly.
      "Oh no! What if it's Siren!" she voiced her thoughts, freezing up a bit.

[ℓyηx]

Hareleap looked pointedly at his apprentice. "It can't be Siren," he said. He had never been sure whether or not to believe in the murderous she-cat, but instinct pointed him to think she was fake. Of course that still didn't explain the sacrifices to appease her, but then not everything was explicable. Including whatever was stalking them. "Why don't we go out into a more open area," he suggested. "That way if it wants to keep hunting us, it has to come out."

[parry is gone]

      Essancepaw nodded.
      "Hey, you guys. How 'bout if I lead it into an area and you attack it?" She piped up, and without waiting for an answer, she slid into the bushes.

[❥ C o l o r b l i n d]

Maskedcuriousity looked at Essencepwa and the two warriors, her green eyes lit with curiousity and then terror. "We can't send her out alone unless we have the cat-thing, out in the open to where we can attack and lure it away from her and camp. She looked at Essencepaw. "Get back here, we have to stay together, think, if it's not afraid of the four of us and it's still stalking us, that means it's probably hungry and hunting us. If we send her off then we risk her life." The lithe warrior looked at Seasong, pondering her idea. "Now that you mention it.. I know for certain it's not mountain lion, that means..." She didn't have to finish her sentence as she realized Essencepaw had slipped off to get the probable bobcat. Her eyes were filled with fear as she raced silently after the apprentice.

[.:Epic Adarna:.]

"That means it's a bobcat..." she paused. How much did she know about bobcats?
Not much, she realized after a second. She knew that if they were hungry, it could and would attack a cat, maybe even a patrol of cats if starving.  She also knew some of them could live with the cats successfully- even learn their ways- if it wanted to. If. She tried to remember if they could be taken on by a patrol too.

[❥ C o l o r b l i n d]

Maskedcuriousity stopped beside Essencepaw, they were only a few feet from the patrol as she pricked her ears, a hushed rush of air swpet from her as she looked ahead. She spun and shoved Essencepaw back through the bush in time time as she leaped backwards, a large catish figure landed where they had been standing a second ago. The small she-cat lept forward, watching the bobcat dodge and take off. She pushed through the bushes, her blood roaring in her ears as she swallowed hard. "Let's not split."