Camp Clearing

Massive paws thudded heavily on the moss filled soil of the rest's shade as Grayflame left the leader's den, his stern frown plastered on his face as usual. He was contemplating the idea of simply leaving on his own and dealing with the ocelot himself, but even he wasn't that strong. Confident as he might be in his own capabilities, he wasn't so blinded by pride he would walk into a death trap of his own making with no way out. Not without any other alternative. Sunlight shone down upon his silver pelt as he padded out to the clearing, narrowed eyes looking at the cats gathered together there now.

EmberClan had grown relaxed of late. That was the only explanation he had for an ocelot to have traipsed into their territory unnoticed until now. It was his fault, really. He had been focusing too much on the border with ShoalClan. He should have known better than to leave the territory unwatched due to his fear of a sudden attack from the coral lickers. There was always a potential of an attack from those vile serpents. It was no excuse to not pay more attention to his surroundings. He had never expected his clanmates to keep an eye out for him before, now was not the time to start relying on them. He was the example to follow now, not the sniveling warrior who needed to be told what to do.

"Warriors of EmberClan, we have a problem that must be dealt with effective immediately," he roared out in the clearing, his tail flared out as he twitched it, calling everyone in attendance to him. "Those brave enough to come with me and secure our home from an ocelot who seems to have claimed parts of our territory for itself approach me now so we may leave for a most dangerous hunt."

Grayflame wasn't one for theatrics. He wanted the ocelot dead and he wanted it dead now. But EmberClan had been growing complacent of late. Like their spirit had been snuffed out by waves crashing on the shore. Perhaps a bit of a mind game would do well here today. It wasn't a lie to state that he needed the bravest and strongest among them to come fight with him. But honestly, at this point? Even an apprentice who needed little more than an assessment would suffice.

---

| EVENT SIGN UPS HERE |
EVENT HAS CLOSED

If you have read up to here, then welcome to the Ocelot Hunt event! This event will be fast paced, requiring a post per week before the ocelot strikes at those hunting it down. Because of the faster nature of this event, it will be running exclusively for volunteers. People who might be wanting a quicker roleplay with an end goal in sight... and to potentially give poor Dogskull a headache with all the sudden patients that arrive all scratched up.🤭 Rules will be posted in the event thread once it goes up!

While Grayflame is currently looking for experienced warriors, he is hoping for a patrol of three to five cats. As such, he will be happy to have an apprentice that has had battle training mastered join the patrol if not enough warriors enlist for the hunt. This event will be considered a battle, so for those looking for points to augment their characters, this should be a nice supplement to build up for those! |

---

wren doge Mykel marsh Valleyshadow DONNIE !! diego daisy 🌼 Chey

Grayflame's disdainful glare stared from one side of the camp to another, noticing the complete lack of volunteers to his plight. So this was what EmberClan had been reduced to? Simpering cats who could perhaps put up a strong front but balked so much at the thought of danger they couldn't even pretend to have that idiotic courage the clan was known for. It disgusted him. The deputy had never been one to care for bravery or put much stock in it. Having a general lack of fear to anything and everything was naught more than foolishness to his eyes, but he appreciated those who were willing to die for the clan for what they provided at the very least. Shields to keep those with bright futures and sharper minds safe from harm. He himself had been shielded by the simple mindedness of self proclaimed courageous warriors during the moons leading up to his deputyship. It was only because of the change in his status that he regrettably found himself in the position of needing to show more courage than the average warrior, and yet never had he seen such a sorry display in his life.

A growl rumbling deep in his chest, the massive tom shouldered his way through the clearing in the hopes of finding his nest. He would need to rethink his strategy. The thought of simply forcing cats to come with him occurred to him, but he just as swiftly dismissed the notion in its entirety. There would be little to gain from forcing cowards to face an ocelot. They would not serve even as shields, potentially freezing in the best case scenarios, providing some level of distraction while the worthier warriors attacked and brought down the beast. And in the worst case scenarios?

They would flee. Flee at the most inopportune of moments, causing his demise. That he could not allow. He was not ready to depart this world yet. He would not be taken down due to some craven pawn deciding to save their own life. It's what he would do if things got out of paw, yes, but with a group there should be no reason for it to result in any death at all. A bigger picture that the cats of EmberClan had failed to realize as he'd done his summons today.

Dropping himself heavily upon his nest as he reached it, he snorted, knowing coercion would be meaningless here. True, he could very well remind his clanmates that he was more dangerous than any wild ocelot destroying the fragile peace they had in their lands, but Singestar would have his hide for this no doubt. Meaning Grayflame was at an impasse, and would have to rethink his strategy. He wasn't certain if it was that EmberClanners as a whole had suddenly grown brains or were simply too complacent. That was the first order of business. Finding out which of the two he was dealing with. Alongside with finding out more of the ocelot. Where it was making its territory. What areas were safe and what areas were-

"SHIT!"

The yowl exploded within the warrior's rest with the strength of a roar, the silver tabby lifting himself from his nest with urgency as he brought a paw to his ear, slamming it harshly against the tufted orifice. A snarl on his previously stern features, the tom's tail lashed out violently behind him, feeling as if his paw pads and ears were on fire, the stinging of ants almost as vindictive as if he had stepped on an ant hill instead of laid down in his nest for a rest. Stomping his paws forcefully on the ground, making it clear that anything stuck there would die a swift and merciless death, he soon rolled on the ground, rubbing his ears against the dusty floor of the rest. An undignified pose, yes. But pride could be damned. He was not about to become ant fodder when he had bigger things to worry about.

The stings burning but no more being incurred, Grayflame stood, muscles rippling underneath his pelt as he stared down at his nest, noticing the ants crawling all around it. A leaf that looked magnificently out of place was still crawling with ants that seemed intent on exploring his sleeping quarters. It would appear that while he was giving his summons to the clan some worthless cretin had decided to make an ass of themselves, opting to humiliate him over joining his side. A crime that he would shred the culprit's ears for and feed the remains to the very ants they had summoned. Icy cold fire flickering with murderous intent on his eyes, the deputy shouldered his way out of the rest, knowing full well whoever had done this had not stuck around within the admittedly light confines of the den, turning his attention instead towards the clearing. Eyes seeking the culprit so he might have his vengeance in blood.

---

daisy 🌼 [Ryepaw]

Bites still burning rather fiercely, the lack of any new stings slowly restored the tom's composure, albeit his steadily calming demeanor not quite extending to his murderous eyes. As per usual, most cats gave the EmberClan deputy a wide enough berth. While the silver tabby was not known for his flaming hot anger the same way the leader was, the respect to authority was highly reinforced from a young age in the clan. Their militaristic views on life left little room for anything other than a value towards the chain of command, the strength it provided too great to ignore. And yet this provided the question... who had been so stupid as to go against this fact of life and try and prank him while he had been busy attempting to ensure the safety of the clan? His ocelot hunting companion, potentially? Most certainly the bait once he was through with them...

A young tom whom seemed to sprout from the shadows approached him, and Grayflame merely raised a brow at first, the kit's nonchalance at his anger wholly out of place considering the stench of fear wafting from him. It was unusual for any clanmate to approach him so amicably - save for Silverstripe - let alone one so fresh out of the nursery he still carried the scent of milk on him. Eyes narrowing, the tom studied the shaggy furred paw intently. Had this runt been the one to play this prank on him? Perhaps it had been by misfortune that he had picked the deputy's nest, thinking he was targeting a parent or mentoring figure instead? As far as he knew, there were only two apprentices - medicine cat apprentices not withstanding - who were currently under the tutelage of an exclusive mentor, meaning narrowing down who this tabby was looking for would be infuriatingly slow and not worthy of his time. And yet he couldn't simply let this slide. Not if he was looking at the culprit for this discomfort he now suffered.

"What is going on? I suppose you weren't paying attention when I called for volunteers to hunt down the ocelot that will be preying on us if we do not act quickly. Must have had your paws full, I would assume. Apprentices your age are known to get... antsy when training has been going slow. Not that it would have made much difference. With your age I can only assume your training has rendered you as being little more than bait for a situation such as this" the Maine Coon drawled in his usual gruff growl of a voice as he stared down at the young tom with indifference, gaze adopting its more commonly seen stern scowl as he spoke.

Despite his anger at the situation, his remark on Ryepaw's training was not made with the intent to antagonize or mock. It was merely a fact that one so young would be unsuited to fighting a predator. Any predator, really. Glad as he would have been to shred the warrior that had dared to disrespect him in such a kittenish fashion, the serious tom was not one to extend such violent thoughts towards the youngest of the clan. They had yet to learn, and even Grayflame had been ignorant at their age, his knowledge only more expansive than most other's due to his own father's preference to never cloak or hide the world's ugly truths from him, no matter how young. The tabby had been a colossal pain in his ass today, yes, but he wouldn't kill him for it. Not while he was young and unlearned, in any case. The time for more dire punishments would come... assuming the jungle did not lay claim to his life before his shenanigans got him into even thinner ice than he already treaded today.

---

daisy 🌼 [Ryepaw]
| Ryepaw and Tinypaw are going to have to get together at some point to vent their woes at having picked on the wrong cats on their first moon of training at some point. 😂 |

It was cold today. Far too cold. And the overcast sky made it so that not even sunning herself was an option. Despite this, however, the apprentice lay comfortably in the cooled clearing, eyes closed as a lazy purr of contentment escaped her. So far, being an apprentice had been the best. There were no rules. No responsibilities. Well... actually... That wasn't true. There was one rule. You couldn't go out of camp on your own. Which was honestly the best. If you couldn't go out on your own, then you couldn't be expected to work overtime and train on your own either. In the petite she-cat's mind, this meant only one thing.

Perfect excuse to laze the day away. How was it her fault that no warrior had offered to take her out and about to train? It wasn't, that was how! Tinypaw had this measured. You see, back as a kit? Nursery had all the rules. Have to share with your littermates - and everyone knew Ryepaw was the stinkiest - and you had to make sure to do your part and help with the nests... and you couldn't go out to rest in camp unsupervised... and the other kits would pile up on you when you were resting. Which... hello? What gives! If she wanted to sleep, then buzz off! Ugh, just thinking about it made her blood simmer.

But now? Now she didn't have to put up with that shit. She could just sleep and be left well enough alone! Unless some iguana breath decided to come take her out to some mandatory training. Which... Granted... She wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't deny that! But with the odds of that happening, she was pretty sure today at least was guaranteed to be a breeze.

---

| Open |