Splitting Hares (Open!)

[Heathclaw]

"Alright y' little rabbit thing. C'mere and meet your good friend Tigerstripe..." muttered the warrior under his breath as he crouched under cover, creeping ever closer to his prey, step by cautious step. Catching the fleet-footed WindClan prey was most difficult here, where they could escape into the tunnels at a moments notice. On the other hand, that also meant that there was almost always prey to be found around here, at least until an alarm was called. The trick was to get as close to the prey as possible before starting the chase.

This required a level of patience that had taken Tigerstripe a great deal of training to achieve. Sneaking and hiding was not in his style. Alright... now! He burst out of his cover, paws pounding as he chased down his prey, hoping to stun it with shock. No dice, but he could still catch it in a chase! "Come on, come on..." muttered the young warrior, watching the tuft of the hare's tail bobbing tantalizingly a mere pawlengths away. He was gaining ever so quickly, just as long as it didn't- "OOF!"

The prey had changed direction at the last second, and Tigerstripe turned with it, mashing his face straight into the too-small entrance of a burrow. "Nnngh... aargh!" He extricated himself, and whirled around, now sporting a fuming temper. "Alright. Go ahead and laugh!"

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

"Brilliant job, Tigerstripe!" The she-cat giggled out, unable to hold in her laughter at the sight of the young warrior lose his catch. Of course, it wasn't the fact that he lost the rabbit that was so funny, but the obvious irritation that Tigerstripe felt. How could she not find it funny when Tigerstripe looked as prickly as a rolled-up hedgehog? Heathertail let out another round of laughter, and although she felt guilty about it, she couldn't help herself.

When at last she calmed down, she shook her fur out and gave Tigerstripe an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, you were really close though!" Okay, not too close: he had been just a bit too slow and had jumped just a bit too late, but he didn't need to know that, it would just make him more upset. Heathertail stepped closer to the young tom, peering into the dark depths of the badger sett before looking at him again. "Why don't you try again? Just because you're a warrior now doesn't mean you'll be perfect. It takes practice even after you earn your name." Being a senior warrior herself, Heathertail knew this well. She had been a warrior for seasons, and since training she had developed her into one of the quickest cats in WindClan, yet even she lost prey sometimes.

"What do you say?" The small she-cat asked, glancing out over the moor again. She supposed they would have to catch up with the rest of their hunting patrol soon, but that didn't mean they couldn't try to catch something on their own for a little longer. It was a nice day today and rabbit scent carried strongly on the breeze. It would be a shame if they didn't catch anything.

[Heathclaw]

Tigerstripe sat stiffly as he waited for his clanmate to finish with what she wanted to say, and then he turned abruptly and bolted huffily off, pointedly stalking away from the rest of the patrol. Who did Heathertail think she was, to sit there and laugh at him? What did she think he was- some sort of fool to blunder around for her amusement? He didn't need that from her. He didn't need that from anyone. And where did she get off on looking down on him for being a new warrior? Wasn't it enough that it'd taken him two moons longer than most apprentices to finally make warrior? Honestly, what a pain!

He didn't spare a passing word as he stalked off, although he did look back and shoot Heathertail one venomous glare before speeding up. He could catch his own rabbit. He didn't need anyone watching him.