---

Snow. White, cold, and utterly annoying to try and blend in with. Leopardfang was an experienced hunter, but with leaf-bare keeping the prey in their dens and the snow making his fur stick out like a sore-thumb it was proving difficult to catch anything of substance. This was probably why he had only managed three pieces during his solo hunting patrol. It was relaxing hading out into nature alone but he would be lying if that was the only reason for his jaunts around the territory. The lack of fresh-kill had made his anxiety sky-rocket and knowing that no rest would come he had ventured out of the camp early to find some food.

During the day he had managed to slip around the camp without being seen which was a feat considering how large and blatant he was. He kept a low profile, only speaking when spoken to and handling tasks without being told. And with no Apprentice to train he had all the time in the world to just help out where he could. He had observed the re-padding efforts and had silently dragged a whole dens' worth up, leaving it beside the Apprentices' own pile before then trotting out to check the borders. Unfortunately for him, he had missed the fox fight and Sunfur's excitement with an adder.

Leopardfang shook his head with amusement as he munched on a vole he had caught along with a mouse on his way back to the camp. It, again, wasn't much but every little bit helped and he was hoping that the other patrols would bear more fruit and have more luck. He was just finishing when he heard Fernstar call for a clan meeting. Now that was a cat Leopardfang admired, carving out an existence and getting all of these cats to come together. She had his full loyalty and backing and when she spoke he listened. The news was good, Starclan finally coming to Blackpelt and perhaps recognizing Willowclan as 'official'. Not that it needed it really, it was a home for -many- cats who would otherwise be outcasts. But he supposed it was nice to be recognized.

As Fernstar wandered to her den Leopardfang stood as well and made his way to the entrance only to be beaten there by Sunfur. Leopardfang stood politely outside while the other Warrior made his way in and then chuckled a bit to himself when he overheard the start of the conversation. Great minds think alike, and while he had expected Fernstars answer, he still worried. Which if you knew him, wasn't surprising. He sighed a bit and padded off to begin washing the day's dirt from his coat and started keeping an eye on everyone.

It was not until Fernstar had dismissed the meeting that Spidernose truly noticed the deep rumbling in her belly. She was starving, but then that was to be expected when the she-cat had not eaten all day. Spotting Sunfur leave the leader’s den and head towards the fresh-kill pile, Spidernose decided now was a good time to fulfil both of her intended tasks, and, after dipping her head politely to Leopardfang as she passed the spotted tomcat, headed across to join Sunfur. The warrior plucked up one of the mice for herself, it was a skinny morsel, but it would be enough to keep her going and Spidernose was not selfish to take any more when prey was so scarce. The rest of the Clan needed to eat, too.

Plopping the mouse down between her forepaws, the cream and brown she-cat settled next to Sunfur and blinked at him warmly. “Good to see you on your paws, Sunfur. I assume that’s a good sign for your wound?” they had made it back in time...thank StarClan. “I’m sure Fernstar will be fine. StarClan will watch over them, and...we need to do all the hunting we can to keep everyone fed.” she dipped her head to take a few bites of her mouse and swallow them, before looking back towards the fresh-kill pile again. “I think I shall volunteer to go out again, see what else we can bring back before the owls start coming out to take it all.” part of her hoped Sunfur would take some more time to rest his leg, but if he insisted on coming with her then Spidernose wasn’t going to turn him away. WillowClan needed prey.

---

It was hard to remember where all of the daylight hours went during her time completing Clan chores. Redleap was one of the warriors that was able to come back from a good hunt. From her jaws hung a rabbit-- a full sized one, of course, but it was very much thin and its fur had been bedraggled and dull. It also didn't sprint away from her as fast as it should have. At least she actually caught it, and that meant a full belly for a cat or two. She came into camp just in time to hear Fernstar's announcement. StarClan had finally shown themselves to Blackpelt? Her ear flicked. She wasn't a big fan of the possibility of being watched by her starry ancestors, though, judging from how everyone acted, the Clan was content with the news. Nine lives certainly felt like a long, long time. Redleap hoped that Fernstar would be able to handle it.

She walked towards the freshkill pile, placing the rabbit near the bottom, where the apprentices could retrieve it without much difficulty. Her amber eyes drifted across the clearing. Upon the sight of Brambletail, she approached him, swaying her tail behind her as she held her head up high. Brambletail-- just the cat she was looking for.

"Brambletail, you look well," she greeted with a dip of her head. "I know you might be busy at the moment, but I wanted to let you know before I forgot. I caught a strange smell at the border. Not fox, but of another cat. It's quite fresh, too. Do you think it might be a threat?" she asked him, looking at him with expectant eyes.

@Eklispe

Balckpelt pads back to his den, and shivers. He sighs, bemoaning his thin coat, but takes the herb wraps, and sets them in a safe place. He then checks on Moosepaw, but doesn't say anything. He shivers, feeling a strange chill ride up his back. He looks around, and glimpses a ragged tortoiseshell cat, watching him. He looks at them closely, and scrabbles away, tail fluffed out in fear. "Y-you! What are you doing here?" He pants, scared of her more then anything. He can't tear his eyes away from her. He swallows in terror, then looks around. She's gone.... He runs back to his den, terrified. What was Mapleshade doing here? I thought she was trapped in the dark forest....

---

Brrr. It's freezing!

Wolfpaw cursed under his breath as he walked over a fallen branch that had toppled over a frozen stream. Frost gathered on his nose as he fought his way further, his plumed tail swaying behind him. The winds were somewhat harsh that night, and he cursed them too. Winter was very hard on whatever forest creature that dared to leave his den. Was he a fool to abandon his lavish life in his owner's home? Think about it, Wolf. Right now you could be curled in front a warm fire with a full belly, and you wouldn't have to worry about dying in the cold.

He shook out his pelt. He shouldn't be thinking about this-- it was far too late to go home. Even though his blue collar still hung around his neck, there was no way that he would go home. Wolf leapt off the other side of the fallen tree and walked into the forest. Here, it was darker, but at least he was more sheltered from the wind. He blinked, his bright yellow eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. There was a strange smell in the air, strong and thick, like a fox or other creature. In fact, it smelled exactly like cats. Could he have reached the Clan of cats that he was looking for? Wolf hung closer to the floor, prowling deeper into the forest. His heart thumped in his chest. If he was this close... then his trip wasn't for nothing.

@The Elvenqueen

Spidernose wasn’t satisfied with the hunting patrol’s former haul, and truthfully with the snow settling in like it was she wasn’t so sure how much else she was going to catch, but she knew she had to at least try. So, once she had finished her vole, she bid farewell to Sunfur, and slipped back out of camp and into the territory, hoping that she would have more of a chance of grabbing some more rodents by herself. Being careful to keep her eyes and ears alert for any more adders, and also owls from above now that the sun had gone down, Spidernose prowled through the territory looking for prey.

She caught the trail of a mouse, following it deeper into the forest until she found the little creature nibbling away at a nut, nestled between the roots of a large tree. Slowly and steadily, Spidernose crept towards it, wiggling her hindquarters once she was close enough, then pouncing to bring her paws slamming down on it to pin it to the frosty ground whilst she delivered the killing bite. With a sharp, loud squeak, the mouse went limp in her jaws. Her mouth nearly watered at the smell so close to her nose, but the she-cat was determined to take this back to camp, so with some effort, she scraped a bit of the earth over it, though not nearly as well as she could have had it not been frozen solid.

Before Spidernose could continue on her quest to find more food, however, the sound of crunching leaves - made by the pawsteps of another cat - sounded from nearby, and the warrior’s ears shot forward as she tried to pinpoint the sound, then took a few uneasy steps towards it. Had one of her Clanmates followed her? She tried to sniff the air, and couldn’t pinpoint a specific scent. “Who’s there? ….Sunfur? Leopardfang?” she guessed, though she unsheathed her claws just in case it was a stranger and they tried to jump her. “I can hear you and smell you, now come out where I can see you!”

@Ambra

Brambletail: WillowClan Camp

Although Brambletail may have been deep in thought, that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. As such he turned to face Redleap as she strode towards him. He listened carefully, with some concern. Fresh smell of another cat? Strange that he hadn't caught it on his border patrol if it was fresh, but the fox had disrupted their plans somewhat. "Hard to say, but it would be foolish to discount it, show me." Brambletail said simply, and rose, ready to deal with any potential threat as soon as possible.

---

"Sure," Redleap nodded at Brambletail, turning to exit the camp. She followed the scent of their territory, keeping her nose in the air to see if there were any other strange scents. She wasn't sure why she was named Redleap instead of Rednose-- she was just as good scenter as a hunter-- but rethinking it, maybe it sounded a bit weirder than Redleap. She scented Spidernose, then Maplestream. Was everyone out and about now? What a strange time for cats to be hunting. She flicked her tail, approaching where she smelled Spidernose. She was closer to the border where she was supposed to lead Brambletail, anyway, so it was best to head in that direction.

"What's going on?" Redleap bounded up next to the other she-cat, beginning to bristle. With the way she had heard Spidernose command the cat to speak up, she knew that they had come across a serious situation.

Then, a voice sounded from the brush. "Alright, I'll come out," mewed an unfamiliar voice. [color=0054a6]"But I don't mean any harm, so don't pounce on me or whatever!"

With that, a tom cat, smaller than the rest of the warriors, slunk out of the shadows. His fur was silvery, save for the darker areas on his face, ears, and feet. Yellow eyes stared at them. "I heard there was a Clan of cats here, looking for new members, so I came," he explained himself. "I guess I was right. I'm Wolf, by the way."

Redleap wasn't sure what to say. Her eyes darted to Brambletail and then to Spidernose, somewhat surprised at the tom cat's boldness.

Spidernose seemed to relax a little bit as the loner spoke, asking her not to pounce on him, and she only became more sure of herself as Redleap and Brambletail came to join her, too. Slowly, the cream and brown she-cat sheathed her claws. This young tom wasn’t really a threat to them, and she didn’t imagine it was going to end in a fight. “Hah. We won’t pounce if you don’t give us reason to. You are in WillowClan territory, yes..” she flicked her tail to indicate her two Clanmates, glancing at Brambletail out of the corner of her eye. Spidernose knew it would be the Clan deputy’s job to officially decide whether Wolf could stay or not, though she had a feeling what the answer would be. They needed more cats to help hunt and protect the camp, after all…
She did want him to feel like they weren’t trying to force him to go away, however, so the she-cat figured telling him her name wouldn’t be too out of line, though there was still some careful wariness to her tone. “It’s nice to meet you, Wolf. I’m Spidernose, these are my Clanmates.”

Blackpelt runs to Fernstars den as fast as he can. He makes a quick stop at his herb store to slow down his trembling body, and walks carefully and slowly inside. I can't shake this feeling. Something's coming, and it's not friendly. He waits for Fernstar to come back, his tail whipping anxiously.