BtS | Sacrifice

Whistle from Distant Bird stretched in the sunlight that was shining down through the trees. She was up unusually early for her and she felt energized to go do something today. She looked around the camp, seeing if there were any cats available to go do something for the day.

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Sparrow that Leaps over Water, was already bright and awake - just coming back after a morning stroll around the territory. She had awoken up rather early that day and had decided to just patrol around, wanting to do something productive for the Tribe. Her auburn tail twitched as a familiar scent hit her sensitive nose - a trait mark for most trackers, like her. Blue eyes peering into the clearing, Sparrow noted the russet she-cat from afar. "Whistle!" She called out, recognizing the she-cat at an instant.

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Whistle looked up and around and eventually over at the camp entrance when she heard her name called out. She smiled when she realized that it was Sparrow who had said her name. She got up and walked over to the tracker. "Good morning Sparrow. Up bright and early I see." she mewed, as she sat down near the other she-cat.

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Bright and enthusiastic blue eyes watched as Whistle padded over to the tracker, Sparrow dipped her head in a silent greeting. "Morning, yourself. Indeed, it is rather early but you know, I thought I'll contribute my part to the Tribe." She chuckled, closing her eyes for a moment there before opening them once again as she turned her head around to see if there was anyone else in the clearing. "I see we are the only ones who are early-risers. So, what's up?" She inquired casually, with an ear twitching.

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Whistle laughed along with Sparrow, and nodded as Sparrow talked. "Oh, well usually I can be quite the late sleeper," she smiled sheepishly, and continued, "but since I'm up so early today, I figured I would try to help the Tribe in some way. Maybe see if the amount of snakes in the territory has lessened." She frowned, she didn't like this snake problem at all. She looked at Sparrow and asked, "Would you like to come? I could use a tracker."

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"Ah, the snakes." Sparrow mewed, her eyes growing dark as she lowered her head. The tracker certainly did not approve of this reptile problem the Tribes were facing currently. Ears perked the moment she heard Whistle inviting her along to check on the issue, she mewed instantly with a load of relish in her voice "Of course I'll help." Sparrow ended her words with a wicked grin. Lashing her tail, she raised her head to the sky. "Guessing from the position of the sun... I'll say some snakes might still be snoozing so... we better be on our way to avoid any of them."

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"Alright then," Whistle smiled at Sparrow, got up, and then started heading towards the entrance. "I was thinking that we could head towards The Great Lake first." she mewed, looking back at Sparrow. "Snakes seem to like that sort of dry climate that the Lost Skies territory has, so if any are sneaking over into our territory, it's probably near the Lake."

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"True, true." She agreed, giving a shallow incline of her auburn head. Tail lashing once more, the tracker followed the scribe out of the camp. Being welcomed with the scenery around, Sparrow couldn't help but feel rather relaxed despite the circumstances. "We should watch where we're stepping for who knows, some snakes might be like us, early-risers. For all we know, one may be hiding and spying on us." She said, her voice was like a half-growl, half-whisper. Whilst saying that particular sentence, the auburn she-cat glanced over at the nearest bush with narrowed blue eyes and flicked a tail over at it.

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The anxiousness Whistle was feeling about potentially dealing with a snake slowly vanished as they walked through the forest. It was her second favorite place to be, although lately she hadn't been spending as much time in it as she used to. At Sparrow's whispered warning however, Whistle was reminded of why she hadn't. The cocoa colored she-cat watched nervously as Sparrow ran her tail over a bush. The sooner this snake problem is resolved, the better she thought.

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A simple lash of her tail caused the leaves of the shrub to rustle, Sparrow's intention to scare any hiding creatures or even predators out. Whether it was fortunate or not, nothing came slithering out or scurrying away for that matter. Flicking a tongue across her maw, she snickered softly before turning to glance over at Whistle, whose expression was one of those that was nervous. With her icy blue gaze softening, Sparrow smiled,"Relax, Whistle." She reassured the Scribe, "Being nervous results in one being stress and tensed, which wouldn't help should there be any sudden attacks." Turning her head away, she twitched her ears, thinking that she had heard something in the distance, not quite near but yet, not too far off.

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Whistle gave a sigh of relief when nothing came out of the brush. She gave a sheepish smile as Sparrow told her to relax. "Truthfully, I don't know how much help I'll be if something does come along," she mewed hesitantly, "I'm not much for fighting, that's partly why I became a scribe," she mewed as she laughed nervously. Her laugh died off though as she noticed Sparrow listening to something off in the distance. Whistle strained to hear whatever it could be as well, but she wasn't sure if she could hear anything.

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Ears alert, twitching with anticipation as Sparrow strained herself to listen closely to her surroundings. Closing her eyes to help concentrate better, the tracker let a small smile form on her face as Whistle's words flowed into her ears. However, that smile did not last long.

A soft hiss of a snake's in the near distance jolted her, startling the tracker to open her eyes with her pupils narrowed into slits. I..it can't be... It's a little too close to camp for comfort.... Sparrow thought worriedly, her mouth hung agape with horror. Deciding to go check it out first, she whipped to the scribe and mouthed her message, "I'll go check out what it is...." before darting into the shrubs - the direction that she heard the hiss from -, not caring about Whistle's response.

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Whistle watched intently as Sparrow shifted from concentration to horror. Now thoroughly scared, Whistle's tail started twitching in apprehension. Her terror only intensified as she realized what it was Sparrow had heard. A snake.

"Ah, S-sparrow! W-wait!" Whistle stammered out as the tracker disappeared into the bush after the sound. The cocoa colored scribe hesitated a moment, pacing back and forth. Then she dove into the bush after the tracker. She had to help her!

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Cerulean eyes widened in shock and aggression soon took over the tracker's expression as she locked contact with the slithering reptile before her. Fur bristled sharply, Sparrow did her utmost to look intimidating, though it seemed to be fruitless.

A rustle came from behind her and just as she was going to whip around to claw at the assailant, the tracker's sensitive ears - well defined after a period of time being a tracker - caught the voice of her ally, Whistle.

Glaring at the snake, she feared that it might be poisonous and if that was true, her chances in this incoming and rather... inevitable battle are rather low. She gasped inwardly as Whistle's words echoed in her ears, "I'm not much for fighting, that's partly why I became a scribe." The auburn she-cat flattened her ears against her skull, she had to defend her friend and tribe just in case this snake decides to feel hungry and eat kittens away.

Whispering softly so as to not startle the snake into an early battle, Sparrow mewed in a dead, cold hushed voice, "Whistle... I have an ominous feeling. However, I just want to know, do you have any idea if our scaly 'friend' here is venomous?"

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Whistle burst through the bush and halted as soon as she made it through. Sparrow had found the snake and she looked like she was about to attack. Her heart racing, Whistle could feel her fur puffing up as she got closer to Sparrow. She couldn't help much, but there must be something she could do...

However, Whistle felt a chill run up her spin when she saw the snake. She suddenly remembered standing on a hill with her father when she was young, watching a snake take down a fox with one bite. "Now Whistle, that's one of the most poisonous types of snakes I've ever seen in my travels. You should avoid them at all costs."

Whistle glanced over at Sparrow, trying to mask her fear as best she could. Sparrow's ears were pinned back and she looked absolutely ferocious. This won't end well... Whistle thought, feeling her stomach sink.

She felt her skill crawl when Sparrow mentioned that she had an ominous feeling as well. At Sparrow's question, she looked over at the tracker's determined face sadly, "It's one of the most poisonous snakes you will ever encounter." Her mew was barely audible.

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Upon hearing Whistle's barely audible whisper, Sparrow sucked her breath in, either out of fear or another strange way to imitate opponents. If cats could sweat, the tracker probably felt one dripping down her forehead to the side of her face. Blue eyes glaring with equally ticked off amber ones, it was literally watching a stare-off between a cat and a snake.

Lashing her tail, she snickered despite the timing, "Well then, let's dance with the snake." With that interesting sentence, the auburn tracker bared her sharp teeth over at the snake - challenging it. Practically, Sparrow had no idea what she was doing and what her action's consequences will be ; certainly the mindset of protecting others and her tribe had clouded her sense of judgement which lead to this poor decision to battle with the most venomous snake alive.

Making sure that Whistle was safe at all times, the hazel coloured she-cat was, metaphorically speaking, dancing with their reptilian friend - evident in the ways each time the snake tried to get a bite on her, the tracker did her best to get out of it's way. Yep, Sparrow has clearly lost her mind to do such a thing.

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Whistle watched in awe as Sparrow expertly dodged and danced around the deadly snake. She looked as fierce as a mountain lion. The Tribe was lucky to have her. Then Whistle shook her head and growled at herself for standing around like a moony kit. I should be helping Sparrow! She's risking her life! And yet, Whistle continued to stay where she was, rooted to the ground. She felt her paws grow cold, and she let out a whimper. I should... help... She glanced at Sparrow frantically, then quickly back at the snake. They were still engrossed in their dance of death, neither really landing a hit on the other. Finally, Whistle cried out "Sparrow!" In desperation she called out, "You can't win! We should leave, alert the tribe, and start an evacuation! Please stop this!" Sparrow couldn't do this on her own. And I can't help... Whistle's eyes widened in fear, and she stared at Sparrow.

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Rather focused on her opponent, Sparrow grinned maliciously as she 'danced' around with her partner, the snake who looked equally ferocious. She growled at the reptile and it answered her with a hiss of its own, certainly a sight you don't see everyday much.

The silence of the entire battle broke as Whistle's words destroyed the grim tranquility. Shock surged through the tracker and for a brief moment, she was distracted and had her attention elsewhere, particularly at the direction of Whistle's voice. Has she been hurt?! Sparrow thought wildly, wondering if there really was a partner in crime with the snake she was currently having some stand-off with.

Unfortunately for the auburn she-cat, that moment of vulnerability led the snake to strike at its opportunity and nip at her neck. The slithering creature leap into the air and brought it's jaws down onto the leaping feline. Its fangs sank through her fur and down to her skin. Sparrow gasped in horror as she felt the impact of the fangs protruding her soft fur, making her feel pained. Alas, she dropped to the ground from mid-air, landing on the grass with a soft thud. The snake hissed at her before slithering away, thankfully away from the tribes.

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Whistle looked at Sparrow as she turned to look back her, worry and confusion on the tracker's face. Whistle tried to make a noise to warn her, but she could only watch, horrified, as the snake launched itself at Sparrow's exposed neck. The moments seemed to stretch out as the snake sunk its poisonous fangs into Sparrow's throat. The tracker gasped and fell to the ground, while the snake slithered off into the forest, away from the Tribes. Whistle stood in shock for a few moments before the reality of the situation came crashing down on her.

"SPARROW!" she shrieked. Whistle ran over to her friend's fallen body. She skidded to a halt in front of the blank blue eyes, frantically searching for a sign of life. "You'll be okay! You'll be fine! I'll get Forest. He'll fix you right up, I'm sure he will. You'll be fine. You just gotta hang in there. Don't worry. I'll help you. I'll g-get- I'll get he-" the scribe broke down sobbing, unable to finish.
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Sprawled on the sandy soil, Sparrow lay there, feeling all numb. A few bones had probably been broken from falling, hence explaining the numbness the tracker felt. Her cerulean gaze was slowly starting to cloud her vision and the surroundings were gradually becoming blurred. It must... be the effects of ... the venom that .. wretched snake ... had injected into me... Her ears soon picked out a sudden shrill scream echoed in the air.Whistle?

Her eyes managed to follow and trace out the dark figurine of the Scribe as she ran over by Sparrow's side and began to mumble words frantically. Waiting  patiently until the cocoa she-cat had stopped fumbling for words and began to sob, the auburn she-cat cracked a reassuring smile - though, Sparrow figured that it probably looked like a grimace -, the tracker croaked, "I-it ... w-would... not.. h-help. I-I... can feel ... t-the .. venom running ... t-through my ... body." That mere words sucked a lot of energy and strength from the already weakened she-cat and she burst into a small fit of coughs.

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Whistle's heart nearly broke as she watched her friend give the best smile she could, all the while her energy visibly started to fade away. The scribe was sobbing and she was close to hyperventilating now. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! It's my fault- I jus- I couldn't- I'm sorry!" she buried her head in her paws, her body heaving from her crying. Why couldn't I help her?! ... is it because I'm a coward...?

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Reaching out a paw to ruffle Whistle's fur in an attempt to comfort her, Sparrow stopped coughing as she patted her friend's fur. "D-don't...cry... W-whistle.." the tracker whispered as life slowly drained from her body. Sparrow could no longer feel her body as the effects of the venom began to kick in. Figuring that she had only about a minute or two before she falls victim to the snake's venom, the auburn feline decided to ask a last favour from the cocoa Scribe. "P-promise... me t-that... you'll be ... h-H-Appy" Unfortunately, more energy was fading faster and Sparrow nearly choked on the last word of her sentence as her breathing was going faster.

To be continued?