The Eagle Incident (OPEN)

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The rabbit stood still, it's long ears twitching. Russetclaw stood several foxlengths away, his body lowered to the ground in order to mask his presence just a bit more. The rabbit went back to foraging, and Russetclaw took a cautious step forward. His weight was carried on his shoulders, carefully distributed between his forepaws. His mind raced as he thought of every step he had to take before he took it. He had planned out each movement, and was prepared for every reaction the rabbit may display. If it stayed, he would catch it easily. If it ran, he would chase it and use his RockClan endurance to tire it out. If it leapt into a hole, he would give up his catch and find something else to hunt. He, however, did not plan for an eagle to swoop down and hook it's claws into the prey. 

Russetclaw had been closely monitoring his paws as he moved, being careful to not step on any noise-making underbrush. Unfortunately, this distracted him from the eagle above him. The moment he looked up at the rabbit again, preparing for another step forward, he saw the massive bird rocket down and snatch the rabbit, his rabbit, and soar back up into the cloudy sky. 

"What in StarClan..." The tom whispered, staring up at the eagle as it continued to rise in the sky. He stayed that way for quite a while before looking back at the scene around him. After what had just happened, he didn't really feel like hunting anymore. Maybe he would later, but it could wait until he calmed down.

The ginger cat slowly walled over to a large rock. The sun may not have been out by that point in the day, but he hoped that the rock would still be warm from that morning. He climbed up onto the rock, a still slightly nervous purr coming from the tom as he realized that the rock had captured the sun's heat. He laid down, his eyes squinting as he looked out at his surroundings. He just hoped that there wouldn't be any more surprises awaiting him. 

[Deerpaw ☆]

Deerpaw breathed in deeply, enjoying the warmth of the ground beneathe his paws. I hope Mouseface enjoys this too, he thought, casting a glance over his shoulder at the old she-cat. She seemed happy, so he turned back around and kept moving forward. Small pepples cascaded downwards as they made their way upwards. The scents of prey wafted around him, sultry smells of mice hiding in cracks and birds whisping through the air.

Wind brushed at his fur, carrying the chill of the close leaf-bare to come. He shivered slightly, trying not to think about the shortage of prey and the outbreaks of greencough that were sure to come with the snow. At least Treeclan had the leaves to shelter them; Rocklan laid out in the open, its colossal mountains and rolling hills providing no homage from the icy winds. He cast another glance back at Mouseface; she always carried through the cold with determination, but Deerpaw still never failed to worry.

Abruptly, the scent of rabbit slammed into him. He dropped into a croutch, trying to determine the position of the rabbit. Then, another scent came over him; it was a bird, but not a normal bird. He turned rapidly to Mouseface, jerking his head upwards and circling his nose while lashing his tail, but the eagle had already soared over them, talons outstretched. Relief washed over him when the bird whipped past them. The squeal that came a second later signaled that he had been beaten to the rabbit. Deerpaw scowled; he could practically taste the prey that was stolen from them.

Continuing upwards, he brightened when he caught Russetclaw's scent. Sure enough, the tom was stretched on a rock. "Hey Russetclaw! I'm sure you must've seen that eagle carry off a rabbit." He scratched at the ground, frowning. "That thing would've tasted amazing."

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((I had to write this three times because it kept deleting. So sorry if it is bad. ;_;))

Russetclaw's head shot up as he realized he was no longer the only cat in the vicinity. He turned to look at the apprentice who had joined him. "Oh, hey Deerpaw," He responded. His tail gave a flick of annoyance when the apprentice spoke of that gosh darn eagle. "Yeah I saw it. I almost had that rabbit too!" He spoke. "I wasn't even two foxlengths away from the little StarClan forsaken rabbit," His ears flicked back for a moment in frustration as he remembered his lost prey.

"But I guess there is nothing I could have done about it." He lied, trying to appear positive and optimistic. I could have charged at it, I could have gone faster. He thought pessimistically. Everything was always his fault to him, as it was much easier to blame himself than to blame another cat or an outside force. No, this was his mistake. He just did not want Deerpaw to think that he was always such a downer.

The tom pawed the rock below him, his eyes trained on the stone. He searched his brain for something else to add to the conversation, but nothing kind came to mind. He was about to blurt a snarky retort when a scent wafted near him. "Hey Deerpaw, you smell that?" He asked, parting his mouth in order to get a better scent of it. He glanced at Deerpaw, wondering if he had a better sense of smell than himself.