Hemlockshade was present for the meeting, sitting off to the side as Owlstar spoke. As beaver was mentioned, the toms ears pricked slightly. Beaver? Those big lumbering things with the fat tails that looked like they could squash something?

Hemlockshade always kept well away from them. Those tails, coupled with those teeth were something to be wary of. He had found their den on the first moon of moving into the new camp during one of his wanderings, and had watched with interest. There was something to be admired about the way they swam, dark ripples under the water. And watching them build and repair their dens, like they were a clan of their own, was always an interesting watch. There has been many days in which the tom had used them as a source of entertainment, watching as they beaver-d away. And now Owlstar wanted them to catch one.

Not a particularly competitive tom, Hemlockshade was interested in who would win. Things like this weren't his thing, though he already had a few potential candidates in his mind of who might win the prize. Beaver was large, and he had never tasted any before, so that would be a new first.

Seeing as everyone else decided to move out, Hemlockshade does the same. He's gotten to know the territory fairly well, and in a few moons he's confident he'll be able to get wherever he wants in his sleep.

The cream coated tom sets off at a leisurely pace for the river, catching a few scents of other cats as he does.

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Nettlesnap

'Of course, what could go wrong?' The tom meowed with feigned confidence, keeping his voice hushed. He could hear his heart in his ears, his claws unsheathing into the soil as the young beaver tentatively approached them. 'If we die, I blame it on Owlstar.' He murmured under his breath, lifting himself up slightly into a pre-pounce and positioning his paws away from any thorns, ready to spring at the beaver if it came close enough.

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Palewind

She nodded completely unaware that Hemlockshade and Rustbelly had now joined herself, Nettlesnap and Morningecho on this adventure of bringing back the beaver. She stared nervously towards Nettlesnap but he was right what could possibly go wrong? Then her mind started to wander to what could happen she gulped softly but made sure that Nettlesnap wouldn't see how nervous she actually was about this. She's glad that she didn't try this by herself but at the same time it worried her that some of her clanmates had decided to go off by themselves for this challenge.

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Nettlesnap

He curled back his upper lip, baring his teeth subtly. His pupils thinned till the whites of his eyes were visible in the light, glaring at the beaver and stepping on his tail to stop it lashing and making noise. He'd hunted plenty of big rats in his time at the barn - how hard could a beaver be? The sickly vanilla scent was overwhelming, clouding his senses. The tom tentatively places one paw in front of himself and creeps forward, wincing as the leaves above him rustled and caught the beaver's attention. Oh starclan.

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Palewind

The she cat at first made herself smaller. This is the moment where she wished Morningecho or one of the older warriors would show. Even if it was a competition she couldn't help but feel very frightened as the beaver caught sight of Nettlesnap. But no matter how scared she was, she wasn't just going to leave him here by himself with this weird furry beaver thing. Her mind drifted only for a moment to back when she lived with her mother. She would have just told Palewind to run but when she became a warrior for this clan she learned that is indeed not what you do. She took a few deep breaths as she remained hidden or as hidden as could be at the moment.

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Nettlesnap

His whiskers twitched uncertainly. Was this task even doable? Oh well. too late to back out now. The tom sprung forward suddenly and let out a short yowl, leaping at the young beaver's face. He dug his claws into its head and tried to keep its mouth shut, hissing in disgust as his paws met the bristly fur of the creature. Nettlesnap bit at the beaver's scruff, feeling his teeth give purchase into the growling animal's flesh. Fresh blood coated his muzzle and he nearly fell off when the beaver reared up and hissed at him, the whites of its eyes showing as it attempted to bite at the tom's tail. This was obviously going incredibly well. so well, in fact. the fear scent was just from the beaver. definitely.

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Hemlockshade arrives at around the time Nettlesnap is attacking the beaver; taking a moment to examine the scene. The beaver itself was young, meaning there was a good chance that the other probably wouldn't die, probably. In his mind, that was as optimistic as it was going to get.

He surveyed the area, absentmindedly wondering if he should assist. It would be a very unfortunate day if they lost a clan mate, and would really sour the mood. Plus, that would mean no beaver, and Hemlockshade was curious to a degree on what one tasted like.

The tom bounds forth, nose wrinkling from the scent of fear that filled the air. Ah, guess he really should help out huh? It would be bad for this competition to end in a disaster.

Hemlockshade joins the fray, if only to make sure no one dies rather then actually win. Claws unsheathed, he aims a blow at the beavers face. Blinding your enemy was always a good go to strategy, especially with big predators. It gave you the upper paw, but only if done right.

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Palewind

The she cat watched the two toms nervously, she wanted to help but now her thoughts were she would get in the way and end up getting one of them hurt. She grumbled to herself about how irritated Nettlesnap might be if she didn't help. She rose to her paws and began making her way quickly out of her hiding spot, She stared to evaluate the situation and see where she might be needed. But oh what about the other clan mates competing would they be upset if they had taken the beaver back? No time for those thoughts she told herself as she began determining where she could possibly help.

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(WARNING - GORE?)

Nettlesnap

The tom pummels his back legs into the beaver's flank, trying to do as much damage as he could with his small size. His eyes widen as Hemlockshade joins, doing his part. How dare he? This was *his* fight.

-gore here. summary: Nettlesnap bit the beaver and jumped off from it after attacking a little. the beaver bit his back paw-

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Palewind

She stared at the two toms now completely embarrassed that she had done absolutely nothing to help. Her ears flattened a little as disappointment in herself began to set in. She looked at the beaver for a moment before back up at the toms. They had taken it down why couldn't she have done the same or at least helped. In her mind she is planning on how she can get better and be braver like these two toms and even Morningecho but she pushed the thoughts aside and sat quietly as she debated on what to say. What could she say? These two had taken down the beaver without her help.

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Nettlesnap

The tom panted, limping back to the bush and licking blood off his maw, his bristly fur fluffed up as he shakily sat down to catch his breath. The beaver was still up, but was getting more tired as its efforts provided no reward other then a slash to its face. He smiled subtly with satisfaction. Serves them right.

Nettlesnap flopped onto the ground after a few seconds, ears flicking at the distressed growls of the young beaver. He got his paw injured and took the chance to opt out of the fight almost immediately, leaving Hemlockshade to handle the catch. He could still feel his heart drumming away in his chest, the vibrations sending a tremor up his body. His injured paw felt numb, small bite marks dented the skin as a purple bruise slowly began to form. was this how those trees felt?

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Palewind

The she cat paused staring at Hemlockshade to see what his next move would be. She was getting ready to help him but wasn't about to just jump in and risk hurting or getting hurt by Hemlockshade. The she cats ears were now pinned against her head. She glanced over at Nettlesnap making sure he was alright before turning her attention now fully on Hemlockshade and the beaver. As she stared she realized how....weird these creatures looked. They were much bigger than them but still they looked funny. She hissed loudly at the beaver now preparing herself to help the other tom.

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Rustbelly:

She felt the panic rising, quickly moving her paw back from the ground. She couldn’t stay here, couldn’t be caught. Who’d want to deal with the awkwardness and possible anger over being stalked? Rustbelly turned tail and ran, springing through the foliage without a destination in mind. She smelled it before she heard it. The wind carried wet fur, fish, clan cats and the metallic smell of blood. Had others found the beaver before her? Rustbelly stopped, letting out a frustrated huff. How’d she manage to lose? Her plan was perfect. Out her maw came tired pants, she attempted to take a breath. It wouldn’t hurt to check out the competition. Scenting the air she followed the scent of blood eventually finding the battle.

Oh no, it was worse than she thought. Concealing herself in the shrubbery, Rustbelly scanned the area. Her eyes widened at the scene of a beaver leaking from slashes across its face, lashing about in anger. Palewind and Hemlockshade were present but where was Nettlesnap? Hadn’t he and Palewind traveled together? No time to think about those details. Who knows when the beaver will attack next. Diving out the ferns Rustbelly charged. Taking a giant leap to land on the beavers back, claws sinking into blubber in an attempt to hold on. Though it seemed to make the mammal even angrier. Screaming while thrashing, it’s head angling backwards aiming to get a chunk out of the she-cat. She was terrified. One wrong move and it was a journey to Starclan for her. Rustbelly felt herself becoming dislodged. She tried to sink deeper into its flesh but the oils from the beaver's fur made it difficult. How could one cat stop this giant on its own? They needed a plan. Jumping off and twisting through the air, she landed. Moving closer to the other warriors.

“Hey! I don’t think a snap of the neck is gonna work this time”. Rutbelly was frazzled, her hairs standing up and tail moving everywhere but still. She had to do something…think of something….If they couldn’t beat it then who can? A thought struck. What if they didn’t need another cat but a thing? “What if…What if we led the beaver to a trap or something?” Something that can injure it for us?”.

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Nettlesnap

'Oh, if it isn't our knight in shining armour.' The tom murmured sarcastically and lifted himself to his paws, wincing as he put pressure on his back paw. His leg twitched in response to the muscle movement, forcing him to shudder. stupid beaver. stupid clan cats. stupid..
His annoyance was cut off as the she explained her plan, his ears pricking slightly. 'I doubt a monster is just going to fall out of the sky for us..' Nettlesnap tilted his head, lowering a little to sit down.

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Palwind

She gave Nettlesnap the "be nice look" she looked up at Rustbelly and nodded." If we can figure out how or where this trap should be we can lure it there." she liked the idea because while it might not work there is still the chance that it could. She began to think." Where are there traps?' she called to Rustbelly as she slashed now at the beaver who got uncomfortably close to her. Goodness that thing smells awful. She thought to herself as she began to think and think hard about how Rustbellys plan could work. If they had more paws that might also be helpful but thats the least of her worries right now. She huffed as the smell of blood and beaver began to irritate her nose.

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