QUEST TRIAL ROUND ONE (MINKFLUFF VS FIREBREEZE)

[SpoodleDoodles]

HUNTING CHALLENGE
ROUND ONE - FOREST
MINKFLUFF VS FIREBREEZE
JUDGE: FLEETFOOT

Firebreeze

Dawn had broken, but it was still early.

Amber eyes alert, a red-gold ginger tabby splashed with white made his way through the bracken and reeds, ears pricked and alert, his heart hammering in his chest.

Last time he was out here, he had lost his brother Flightwind to a Twoleg.

His uncle Leafslash had come out before dawn and made sure there were no Twolegs around before the competition round was allowed to begin. His whiskers twitched warmly. At least his uncle wasn't judging this round, he knew he'd get no favours just because they were related. He didn't mind hunting in the forest, either, though he hoped to get a chance to show off his fishing skills later for the Clan.

Reaching a small clearing he paused, noted no one else was there yet, and began to stretch out his limbs, amber eyes searching the damp forest depths for signs of the first cat to approach. Would it be the judge, or his first rival, Minkfluff? He smiled warmly at the thought of the fur-brained she-cat. At least she would make this fun and take his thoughts off his brother.

Would his father be here to watch?

Settling down to wait, his thoughts did flicker to Feroxwind. Would he be here to watch him, his own former apprentice, or would he be watching Synfeather, his brother? If Cascadefall wasn't sick, no doubt he'd be in the competition too... and of course Flightwind...

His ears pricked as bushes ruffled, but the first cat to appear wasn't who he was expecting.

Spottedheart's warm green eyes glowed in the morning light as the petite she-cat settled down to wait also. She shot him a warm grin. "Someone had to cheer you two on! Good luck." He returned her smile with one of his own. He knew how close she was to his father, and while he wasn't sure he liked it, you couldn't exactly get angry with the dreamy-faced spotted she-cat. "Thanks! Against Minkfluff, I might need it!"

[The one, the only FEATHER!]

[blcokquote]

Her blue orbs glinted with playfulness, today was going to be interesting. she volunteered of course to be able to serve her clan. but it was not every day competions were hold. and minkfluff wanted every part of it. she smiled as she arrived. banepaw tagging behind her. the young tom was telling her how he had seen synfeather all ready for todays events. and slashfaith was ready but nervous. the young tom was excited mewing to her. he was investigating for his mentor shockstep who was preparing himself for his test. minkfluff turned her head to the young tom who said his goodbye heading to cheer on his mentor. minky smiled. this was certainly a event all riverclan could get in on.

Letting her plumy tail in the air. like a flag she walked silent pawed behind firebreeze catching spottedhearts an his mew she smiled wickedly. young firebreeze was nervous going against her was he. well he should. all cats should. she was the most unpredictable cat of them all. She walked silent pawed upon the tom till last moment till she jumped him. jumped over him turning around her blue orbs blazing before she made a playful swipe to the young one. mewing in her milky tone ' and might you will furball! hehaheh, we all know you can handle a normal cat, lets see if you can handle what i got in store for you all. " she raised her head looking upon the young one.. " i'm not as young as you but --" she neared her face nice and close with a big grin. " but i have all sorts of tricks up my fur if you can take me you can take anything on" she stood back smiling proudly at the young one. he already had guts. she turned her gaze to spottedheart smiling dipping her head showing minky was being playful. " howdy spotty!!, your shining as ever hmmm" she grinned before she rose to her paws her tail like a over hanging leaf she walked around before placing herself next to the young tom. minkfluff had a extra smile on her maw. she finally got the tom she loved to admitt he loved her. today was great.

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[Fleet]

The large black and white elder had been patrolling through the area, checking that it was safe for the competition that was about to take place there. He knew that most of his clan mates kept thinking he was retired from duties as a warrior, but thanks to time as a rouge Fleetfoot knew now that he would never be able to stop acting like a warrior until the day he dropped down dead. So though his clan mates tried to keep him within the camp walls day in, day out he always managed to escape the camp and hunt, or patrol by himself. Now though, for the first time in ages he was getting to feel like an actual warrior once again, like he was useful to them for once. He had spent the early hours trying to convince Feroxwind to come view his son's compete but the ginger and white tom had spoken of how he was going to watch only the matches which did not involve them. It made the old cat think back to the family split between himself and his now dead son Hedgehunter. He did not remember much from the time when he had lost his memory but he had been told about it enough. He had apparently shunned his own son as Feroxwind was doing to all four of his and as far as the old tom could tell, only one of them did not really want to know his father. Though Fleetfoot suspected that the cold hearted from Synfeather put up was in fact a facade, the elder guessed the tom wanted a father just as much as his siblings did. After all, one day the young tom's father would not be around and Fleetfoot suspected that if things carried on going as they were then the young tom's would really regret not having a true father figure in their lives.

His black ears flicked as he heard voices up ahead, Entering the clearing he found his forest, green gaze fell upon both Minkfluff and Firebreeze. Beyond them he noted Spottedheart had come to view the event, he glanced past her but did not allow any hope to rise in his chest. She was alone, there was no sign of Feroxwind and he felt a little saddened once again. His black ears flickered as the three cats spoke as he approached. Then there was a rustling on the other side of the clearing and the black Saorpaw bounded into view, a wide grin on his black face. It made the young malformed tom look kind of like some kind of mutant, monster when he grinned and Fleetfoot turned his gaze away as Saorpaw called"I'm not to late to watch this am I?" At that the elder spoke calmly but icily"No, your not... But hush now, the competitors must prepare..." Turning to both Minkfluff and Firebreeze he spoke while at the same time ignoring how Saorpaw's smile faded as he quietly moved to sit beside Spottedheart"Right... Firebreeze, Minkfluff... Come stand in the center of the clearing in front of me..." He moved to stand at the center of the clearing, before saying to them"The rules of this challenge are simple... Your are to hunt only in the woods, you are not to steal prey from the other and you must bring your fresh-kill back to me for it to count among the total score..." With that said he continued"You have an hour time limit to catch as much fresh-kill as you can.... I will signal you with a yowl when your time is up... Do you both understand?" Even as he finished speaking he was signaling for them both to stand back to back, clearly so that when he sent them on their way they would at least start apart from one another going off in opposite directions. Once he had positioned them both he spoke again"Good luck to you both, may the best hunter win... You may start on my yowl..." He backed up a few paw-steps before letting out a loud, clear yowl, his forest green graze glinting brightly.

[/justify]



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(Sorry for any Powerplaying, just wanted to get this thread on the go!)

[SpoodleDoodles]

Firebreeze

When she jumped over him, his amber eyes went wide with surprise, but for a young warrior who had trained non-stop his every waking hour, he was quick off the mark also, dodging back neatly from her swipe and contemplating several ways of flipping her over onto her back and then poking her in the stomach. A grin lit up his face at her words. "Just so long as those tricks stay under your fur, okay?" He watched as Spottedheart grinned warmly at Minkfluff, and hearing other cats approaching he looked up. Fleetfoot, followed moments later by young Saorpaw, seemed to be the only other ones out to watch that morning. The Clan was spread thin between patrols, the sick, and the other competitors. He hadn't expected much more.

And he hadn't expectedhis father to show.

Heeding Fleetfoot's call, the red-gold ginger tabby skipped forward, blinking at the sudden distressed look on Spottedheart's face when Saorpaw sat next to her. He was distracted by Fleetfoot's words. He curled his tail and grinned politely at the elder, shooting a playful gaze across at Minkfluff. Win or loose, against the red-furred she-cat it would be fun. "Have fun!"

On Fleetfoot's yowl he turned and sprinted away, his longer then normal tail streaming out behind him like a fluffy a banner. His gaze flickered back to Spottedheart, but she seemed perfectly fine, chatting away with Saorpaw. He must have imagined what he saw.

Light-footed and fleet, he darted among the wood, enjoying the cold brisk air, his ears pricked for sounds of prey. Almost immediately, he heard the scuffling sounds of a squirrel up in an oak's branches, obviously one who had woken early from his winter sleep, searching for his store of acorns. Freezing, he listened to the sound, creeping closer as the unfortunate squirrel scrabbled down towards the ground.

He waited until the squirrel was digging under the snow before making the final stalk, closing the distance fast and in complete silence. He was close enough to see the hairs twitch onto he back of the squirrel's neck, his paws placed for the final pounce.

Almost, almost...

[The one, the only FEATHER!]

Minkfluff;


The she-cat padded after the young tom when fleetfoot arrived minky gave the old tom a wink with a smile as she got into her position. she listened to the rules as they were explained she smiled there was no rule about having fun so she was happy with this. when fleetfoot gave the yowl to send them off she watched the young firebreeze take off like a bullet she watched where young one had gone off to. She smiled warmly rising to hers slowly she turned around to good ol fleet foot using her tail to salute the tom " rodger dodger ol fleetfoot" at that she turned as became the fast fluffy pink ball of fur every one knows as. she headed in the same direction as young fire-breeze she had a surprise for him.

As the she-cat neared to where the young tom was. she slowed in her steps. peering over the tree edge. seeing the young one stalking a squirrel. minkfluff thought back to the rules she nodded she had the ay ok to do what she wanted to the poor fella. she found a good sized stick, she smiled deviously. picking it upon her maw. and crept up on the young tom. Minkfluff only joined this competition to have fun and to really test all the cats. on a ll scale these tests couldn't. minkfluff loved appointing herself to duties. she giggled on the inside. As the young one got ready to get close to taking the death jump. minkfluff moved her head back before shoving the stick at the toms rears end hard. before jumping back and watching the show. she smiled at the toms comments she sat up smiling. " i said i would test ya! good luck" at that she ran off with the speed of fluff. yowling in the trees making half the animals hide she was going to make this hard for the tom. as she rounded a corner she came upon a bird trying to take off. she smiled crafty like and lunged for it grabbing it with a killing bite. The fluffy pink she-cat turned and darted for fleetfoot dropping her kill at the toms feet before grinning at the elder tom he would of heard her antics.


As she turned for the forest again and hour was a lot of time to cause mischief.

[SpoodleDoodles]

Firebreeze

They could probably hear his yowl from the loner lands.

Pain stabbed him in the rear, and in a reflex action he sprang forward and swung around to face the threat, the squirrel bolting for safety. Firebreeze's amber eyes shot wide as he reocgnised Minkfluff, his long banner-like tail thrashing from side to side. He noted the long pointy stick in her mouth and her goofy smile, and after a moment his own smile returned and grew. You just couldn't get angry with Minkfluff... well, not for long. "For the love of StarClan, that hurt! And there goes my squirrel." The creature's furious cursing chatters could be heard from overhead.

Minkfluff grinned, said she was testing him, before running off, yowling fit to wake the stars, and scaring off every prey with miles.

Firebreeze inspected his rear end briefly, and finding no permanent damage he turned and stalked away, his head now revolving to look behind him automatically as Rockclaw had taught him to do. Now it was no longer just a hunting task for him, he had to defeat crazy Minkfluff as well. Every sense was alert, he was watching the trail ahead and behind him, eyes constantly flickering to the sides. When he spotted a mouse grooming beneath a piece of bracken, he didn't immediately go for it. Instead he looked cautiously around and scented the air, wary of being the hunted as well as the hunter.

Sensing nothing, he crept up towards the mouse, glancing over his shoulder every so often. he had no intention of getting a stick in the butt again.

One pawstep more...

[The one, the only FEATHER!]

Minkfluff;


As the time went by Minkfluff had caught a bird and a Squirrel and a vole. Now the she-cat was laying in a tall tree playing with a dragonfly. When she heard flapping its wings, Her ears tuned up perking up high. Watching a nice looking bird soar lightly threw the tree tops. Instantly rising herself to her paws the she-cat ran across threw the trees across the strong branches. as she followed swiftly and slowly the she-cat came to a halt as she watched the bird land into a nest. Minkfluff orbs danced with playfulness. This was going to be interesting the she-cat scooped the area a little bit before she jumped down to a lower branch, before jumping to the tree which held the bird and the nest of surprise. The she-cat began climbing in silence along the trees side once she got to the middle of the tree height minkfluff looked across to see the birds back was toward her. smiling grimly the she-cat climbed up upon the same branch and walked slowly behind the bird just as she got real close to it. it turned sensing her that moment minkfluff jumped claws out the bird made a little bit of a racket but she soon silenced the bird. minkfluff smiled as she looked into the nest a grin came upon her maw.


Coming out of the forest the she-cat dragged along the nest wit ha flopped over bird on top. minkfluff manage to drag the nest back with her though all that dragging and bringing down the nest took all lot of minkfluff times the she-cat wondered if firebreeze had more catches than her. the she-cat shrugged in her thoughts with one more heave she us in front of ol fleetfoot standing in front of her catch the she-cat smiled mewing. " righto fleetfoots, i got a bird a squrrial, a vole this bird..." Minkfluff pointed to the bird but then shoved the bird off the nest " oh and 4 large warm eggs... to whom ever desires" she pulled the bird back over the nest to keep the eggs some what warm to minkfluff warm eggs were the tastiest.

[SpoodleDoodles]

OOC: Minkfluff... Lol, just lol XD

Firebreeze

His hour was almost up and Firebreeze knew he was in trouble.

All he'd taken back to Fleetfoot was the miserable mouse he'd caught earlier after Minkfluff's interruption. It seemed the rest of the prey had long since bolted, and whatever had been left was no doubt under the she-cats paws now. His amber eyes flickered around the undergrowth, searching for the tell-tale signs of movement among the bracken that would herald prey. Every step he double-checked, every few tail-lengths he paused and looked back and above, wary for Minkfluff's prescence. But after no further interference from her, he began to think her first stunt had purely been to just unnerve him, and with his last minutes counting down he through caution to the winds.

He'd been taught to think outside the box, and so he did so.

Picking up speed, he shoot up a long smooth tree trunk, pausing among the lower branches to scent the air and cast his amber gaze around. And almost perfectly, as if put there by StarClan themselves, was a plump squirrel cleaning itself on the next tree over. The distance between them was too far for a jump, even for one of the jumps Firebreeze had nearly trained himself to death to make. But he knew he'd be hearing Fleetfoot's yowl any moment, and Firebreeze was not one to ever give up. Fiery determination flared in his amber gaze, and his characteristic determined smile was growing on his face.

Bunching his muscles, he dropped his too-long tail downwards for balance, and with a mighty, powerful thrust, he shot across the gap like a plumed flame. He knew in that heart beat he had no hope of making the branch, it had indeed been too far even for him. But his forepaw reached outwards and he felt his claws curve into the surprised squirrel, and they crashed towards the floor together. Reacting with the instinctive ease of one who had trained long hours at crashing to the floor, he tucked his legs under him and prepared for impact, keeping his limbs loose. The squirrel was plummeting freely to death by itself, a mortal wound struck in its side and throat. The ground rushed up to greet him, he landed with a thud and rolled expertly with the impact, coming upright on his paws after one roll, and despite his paws feeling a little numb he went straight after the squirrel, the prize secure in his jaws as Fleetfoot's cry echoed through the air.

Grabbing his last-second catch, Firebreeze hare-tailed it back to the others, hoping perhaps Minkfluff had been too smart for her own good and had scared off the prey for herself as well.

Upon arriving back in the little clearing he realised that was wrong, one look at the pile of prey beside his rival made clear exactly who had won. Still, to loose to the crazy and resourceful Minkfluff wasn't too terrible a defeat, in all likelihood it was the wily she-cat who would be chosen to save RiverClan. What really was weighing on his mind was how disappointed in him his estranged father Feroxwind was going to be. To fail was not terrible in itself, but to loose in the very first round.... His amber eyes flashed with deeper thought. No matter what, next challenge, he was not loosing.

Dropping the squirrel at Fleetfoot's paws with his single mouse, Firebreeze sat down partially on his fluffy tail to protect his still rather tender rear end. He shot an amused glance at Minkfluff. "Buttering up the judges now, Minkfluff? What would good old Mountainstorm say?" He blinked warmly at her, nodding his fine head towards her mountain of prey. "No one can beat the tricky Minkfluff when she's on her game. I pity anyone who won this round if they have to go against you." Unlike some, Firebreeze would never tattle on Minkfluff's underpaw tricks, it was his own fault for not being more alert in the first place.

[SpoodleDoodles]

Due to time constraints with the plot, this thread is now FINISHED AND LOCKED.

The winner is MINKFLUFF, who will participate in the Hunting Challenge Final Round!

Make sure you post there to find out the winner for the first Challenge!