This one's a little short but it's not too bad. I realised that so far, all the one shots have been from Iceclan, so why not do one on Blazeclan. So far, I like to thank everyone who has reviewed, it have been a great help to me.
Anyways I've decided to change this series up a bit. Instead of me following a list of themes, why don't you guys suggest a new theme every week? It would be way cooler, just don't suggest something impossible to write about. So don't forget to include your themes for next week in your reviews. ENJOY!
Creativity
Leopardspot crouched in the shadows, ears pricked for any signs of movement. Despite the intense heat and the gnawing hunger in his belly, his concentration never wavered. He opened his mouth to taste the air for the fifth time today. Much to his disappointment, all he could smell was the earthy scent of the forest. How much long can this go on? I am hungry, the apprentices are hungry, the whole clan is starving. New-leaf was the time when there was supposed to be plenty of prey. Since when did it become a time of pain and suffering? A twitch of movement caught his attention. Quick as a snake, Leopeordspot assumed a hunting position. He focused his eyes on the robin, determined to not go back to his clan empty handed. Hoping that the robin would not notice him, he started sneaking forward, keeping his tail close to the ground. As he neared the bird, he accidentally brushed a against a bush, warning the robin.
"Fox dung!" he spat.
Leopardspot sprang forward, reaching out with his forepaws. Starclan was on his side as he managed to hook the bird with a single claw and brought it crashing down to the forest floor. Not giving it a chance to escape, he quickly killed it with a bite to the spine.
"That's a good catch." Leopardspot turned around to see Brightfur come up to him.
"Hardly worth the long wait though," he muttered around his fresh-kill that he was still holding.
"A catch is still a catch," Brightfur mewed. "We better get back to the clan, they must be hungry."
"We all are, it's a miracle that we managed to catch what we did today."
"Yeah." he agreed, "I just wish that this drought will not last any longer. It's slowly destroying the clans."
"If only Starclan can make it rain, I would be so grateful, I will even do apprentice duties for an entire moon."
"Don't tempt them," Brightfur said with a chuckle, "you never know what they would do."
"They are back!"
Sounds of the apprentices greeted them as they arrived at the camp.
"What did you catch?" Redpaw asked eagerly.
"See for yourself," Leaopardspot answered as he delivered his two fresh-kill onto the fresh-kill pile.
The fresh-kill pile looked pitifully small as it only contained six pieces of fresh-kill.
"Well done you two. Both of you deserve a break." Sunstar praised them.
"It's the most I can do." Leopardspot replied humbly, "I just don't know what else I can do in this heat."
"This heat has to end soon," Sunstar mewed hopefully, "It has been so long since the last rain that it must rain soon. Why don't you head to the river to cool off?"
"Sure, come on Brightfur." Turning around Leopardspot headed to the ice stream. It was called the ice stream as it would often freeze up in leaf bare, making a solid bridge across to Iceclan. The elders always enjoyed telling about the great battle that took place on the river itself. He skillfully navigated the numerous branches and bushes with Brightfur close behind. He have walked these paths for moons. He felt that he could navigate the entire territory with his eyes closed.
"Hey, umm.. Leopardspot."
"What is it?" he asked.
"What do you think that Iceclan cats eat?"
"What they eat?" Leopardspot asked incredulously, "How would I know?"
"I dunno, I just thought that they are faring better than us this new-leaf. Every time I see them, they all seemed to have full bellies."
It's true, Leopardspot realized. At the last gathering, all the Iceclan cats seemed very well fed, unlike the Blazeclan cats who were skin and bones.
"I guess that they eat fish," Leopardspot guessed.
"That's it!" Brightfur exclaimed, "Why don't we copy them?"
"We are Blazclan cats, not Iceclan. We eat mice and vole, not fish." Leopardspot wrinkled his nose just at the thought of eating the scaly animal, "Fish probably tastes disgusting too."
"It's not like we have much choice right? I would much rather eat fish than starve."
"I guess you're right."
"Let's just try to catch some fish and see how it goes."
When they reached the ice stream, they immediately jumped into the shallow water, enjoying the cool feeling that it brought them. Despite the amount of water it still contained, it was supposed to have twice as much water. After they had enough of the water, they climbed out, shaking themselves dry.
"Okay, how are we going to do this?" Leopardspot asked, staring at the flickering shadows of the fish that were just beneath the surface of the water.
"I dunno," Brightfur muttered, staring cluelessly at the river. "I guess you just try to grab them with your paw."
Concentrating hard, Leopardspot tried to measure the distance between him and a fish. Here goes nothing! Bracing himself, he unsheathed his claws and plunge his paw into the water. Despite what he thought was a good strike, his paw somehow managed to curve when it hit the water.
"Hey!" Brightfur complained, "You scared away my fish. I was just about to get it too."
"Sorry," he mewed, "It's not easy as it looks. The water somehow bends your paw."
"Bends your paw?" Brightfur looked as him as if he was mouse-brained.
"Look!" Dipping his paw into the water, it seemed that it was bent strangely at the point at where it entered the water.
"Big deal, we just have to aim higher than the fish when we strike."
Despite their new strategy, they somehow only managed to get two fish each.
"This is not going to work!" Leopardspot exclaimed, frustrated after another failed attempt. "There has to be another way."
"Hmm, you think about that, I'm just going to rest a bit."
Think Leopardspot! There has to be another way. I know that the Iceclan cats sometimes swim after them but neither of us can swim very well. Looking up at the sky, Leopardspot sent out a silent prayer to Starclan. Please show us how to do this. If we succeed, the clan might not have to suffer anymore.
As Brightfur sat lazily in the shade he muttered wistfully, "If only the stupid fish would come to me, then I can scoop them out in huge numbers."
"That's it!" Leopardspot exclaimed. Why didn't I think of this before. "I got an idea."
"What is it?" Brightfur asked doubtfully.
"Stand in the water over there," he instructed, "Don't move, and when the fish goes towards you, scoop them out on to the shore."
"Okay... but how are you gonna get them to come to me? Are you gonna ask Starclan for help?" Brightfur meowed playfully.
"No, but I can do this." At the end of his sentence, Leoparspot jumped in the other side of the stream. At once, all the fish swam to the other side, where Brightfur was standing. The first few fish swam right past him, but as he got used to it, he started scooping fish out of the water. Leopardspot them killed them each on the shore by biting it on the head. By the time the fish were all gone, they had tons of fish on the beech. Leopardspot looked proudly at his kills, glad that it worked.
"It actually worked," Brightfur said, astounded.
"Well, I guess we won't have to worry about fresh-kills anymore."