Moss'Eye and Moose'Ear go on a fox hunt

The two had been travelling for what felt like to Moss'Eye as hours. He had long since given up hope of trying to convince Moose'Ear to turn around, and instead had given into the idea of hunting that damned fox. As Moose'Ear had put it, a fox around the territory was always going to be a problem, and Willow'Star didn't know what she was talking about. It was, at least according to Moose'Ears mind, the most logical thing to do. And so, Moss'Eye had followed along, as always, and kept quiet. Just following along.

For what felt like hours, the two ran through the shrubbery, over rocks and around the berry bushes that littered the moor. The grass went on for as long as the eye could see, which wasn't much as the mist that hung around the camp caused everything beyond a stone's throw to become blurry and dim, blending the animals and plants into one beast. Finally, the grass beneath their paws slowly turned to pebbles, then small steppingstones, and then finally huge boulders, covering all grass that may have wanted to grow there. In-between the stones long cattails grew, drifting to and fro lazily as the breeze blew, causing Moss to tuck his paws in as he jumped stone to stone, the huge boulders causing their claws to scratch painfully whenever they leapt over the chasms between. Moss thought painfully of the stories he had heard as a kit of warriors falling into the small divides, never to be found again as the mist and the surroundings stones encased all sounds that they may have tried to make. A truly terrifying thought that used to prevent Moss from going anywhere out of camp when he was younger. But he was a warrior now, and he should be better than the old stories that the elders used to tell. He should be braver. But as he ran along the stones, his claws managing to snag on every crevice and lip, he found that he was petrified. The idea of becoming injured somewhere, and no one being able to find him, that terrified him. But, as he thought with a false hope, Moose was with him, so if either became injured, the other would be able to help. While this thought didn't fully quell his thoughts, it did help ease his worries slightly.

On and on the two leapt, occasionally stopping to taste the air to see where the fox may have been hiding out. The mist didn't help this much, as it dampened the air and caused many of the usual smells to disappear, making it especially hard to find a scent to track. But Moose seemed to know where she was going so Moss followed along, simply focusing on the task of making it over the boulders without falling.

Moss nearly tumbled over the boulder below him as Moose suddenly held out a paw, indicating him to stop. He hissed quietly as he scrambled on the edge of the boulder to stay standing, thinking quickly of the many stories that he had been told. Moose wasn't looking at him, instead standing with her head on a swivel, her ears flicking around as she tried to locate whatever she must had heard. "What do you-" "Shhhh!!" Moose cut him off, putting her tail over his nose, a common hunting signal the two used. Moss looked around, flicking his own ears around. He couldn't hear anything, save from his own panting breaths. Yet Moose was still looking out into the mist, her ears searching for whatever sound she had heard. The two stood, still as the boulders below them. He soon gave up on looking for the sound Moose had heard, instead looking toward her for the next step in their plan. Moose eventually shook her head with a small snarl, scrunching her nose "I swear, I thought I heard something", She mumbled, looking around for one final moment. Moss simply shrugged, flicking an ear. "Maybe it was a rabbit or something, now come on! The fox must be-" A blur of orange and black flew past Moss, their paws and talons landing on the feline ahead of him. Before Moose could make a sound, the fox bent down, tearing into her throat. Moss watched with horror as in a single moment the fox killed his one and only friend. One moment they were talking, and now... he barely had time to look at her now blood red corpse when the fox turned toward him, it's mouth pulled back in a snarl that showed her sharp teeth, the same shade of red as Moose'Ear's fur. Moss took a singular step backwards, and then it was all over. The last thing he saw was the utter hatred in the foxes eyes when she ripped his throat in two. With a thud, the cat landed on the side of the boulder, before rolling off into the cattails and shrubbery below. He looked glassy eyed up into the blue sky that was above him, unable to actually see any of it.

The fox looked at the two with satisfaction, flicking her tongue over her lips to clean them. They had been fools to trespass in her territory, and now...they had paid the price. The boulder that she stood on was littered with maroon splotches of blood and fur, and she noticed with annoyance that her own fur was already becoming dry, despite the blood on it, causing her fur to prickle and pull uncomfortably. She spent a few moments fixing this, cleaning her fur as the cats around her bled into the terrain. She was almost certain that these were the felines who were sent to kill her own kits. Sent to kill a litter of defenseless and innocent young. She snarled, her anger renewed. With a tug, she picked up the feline that was still on the boulder with her maw, before leaping back toward the cats camp. Perhaps this would send the message to their 'leader'. But of course, she knew it wouldn't. No, as long as they lived on this land, they would claim it as their own. Okami needed to do something a bit...bigger. Something to destroy the forest cats once and for all, just as they had destroyed her life. But for now, sending this message would suffice.