On The Prowl (Fawn/Open)

[|Stryker|]

|Stryker|
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The clans... Bah! They were all just pampered cats living their pampered little lives in their cushy forest while the real cats froze in Twolegplace. The alleys were cold and prey was rare. For the most part he had to depend on the occasional rat and stealing food from a terrified kittypet. Sure, that lead them to have a little more food but it was nothing compared to the taste of freshkill. Real, freshkill.

Four brown paws fell silently on the earth as a cat stalked through the sparse undergrowth after an animal. The animal in question was a tiny mouse. The thing was scrawny and underfed, hardly a mouthful but the cat didn't care. It would be the first thing he'd had all day and he'd been tracking it for a while. He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, to do that he didn't need to be hasty. He had to have patience. If there was one thing that this particular cat had, it was patience.

The mouse stopped to scratch at the hardened ground, it's mind focused entirely on the task. Stryker edged closer, his paws silent as he appeared to almost glide over the ground. His hunting techniques were taught to him by his late leader, the leader that he'd killed himself. It was nothing personal against Chorat. In fact, he had actually liked the old cat. He just wanted to have the Strikers for his very own and for that purpose he had to have the leader dead. A task that had been quit easy due to the old fool's trust in him.

The paws of the cat stopped moving as Stryker paused in his stalk. He was close enough now to pounce and as he gathered the muscles in his haunches... He leaped! There was a moment when the mouse looked up from its scratching and then as if on a whim it turned to him. Striking blue met terrified brown for an instant but before the mouse could even run, the cat's fangs closed around its throat. Its life ended swiftly.

Stryker thanked no one but himself as he quickly ate the mouse in a few hungry bites. After he finished he stood up, his blue gaze looking around. Something set him on edge, a scent... He was in clan territory! Now, normally he would not care if he had other cats with him but since he was alone he was vulnerable. Anything could happen and no one would ever know. Stryker cleaned the blood from his muzzle and buried the bones, trying to conceal the evidence as best he could, then he was on his way. Hopefully he could reach the border before anyone noticed him.

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"What's there to talk about?"
What shall I mull over?
I suppose I'll take a walk.

Words: 455
Muse: 5/10
Thoughts: ---
Tags: ✗ Ottersplash ✗

[✗ Ottersplash ✗]

The young warrior had been out with a small patrol early in the day to check out the borders and make sure everything was fresh and nothing to report. However, his energy was full, they had eaten well this morning and he was itching to do something. That was the main reason that he now found himself prancing along the territory with three small, but plump fish dangling from his jaws. They were thriving this leaf-bare, and Ottersplash just loved ice fishing! It was much more fun to smash his claws through the ice to catch the fish rather than just flip it out with a paw. Where was the thrill in that? Starclan had simply blessed the clan of water this year! Suddenly, a strange scent made the solid, brown cat stop all together, setting his kills down on a mini snowbank to keep them from catching dirt. His ears perked, mouth opening to make sure it wasn't a mistake for another clan mate. After a moment, he knew it wasn't it was a rogue. Instantly, the tom kicked snow over his kills and made his way toward the scent, being sure to hide in the dark shadows and keep his paws silent. Finally, the cat came into sight, and what he was doing burned the dark brown tom's fur right through the bone.

He had killed a mouse and was eating it right in there territory.

Without even letting out a warning or  sound, he flew forward. Lunging at the stranger to jump on his back and sink his claws into bare skin for balance. If he managed and caught the attack, he would instantly bite down and sink sharp fangs into the intruders neck for. Only after that would he fly off and land about three tail lengths from the other brown colored tom. Ottersplash's fur was bristled, tail lashing and hisses springing from his throat as well as growls. "This is riverclan territory! You will pay for stealing food!" He yowled, his abnormally long tail swinging wildly behind him. Large brown eyes wide with anger. In his mind, it was a mess. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to fight the rogue off or get help. Either way, he was not showing this thief where his camp was. The only option the warrior could see was to teach him a valuable lesson. Unlike most of the clans, riverclan was thriving. Which gave the brown warrior an advantage. His muscles were strong, his belly full, and his head clear. He was a powerful warrior, no one could doubt him.

Tags: |Stryker|
Notes: I am so sorry it's so late! ;c

[SELENE]

Selene had been tracking her leader for a while now; he had left the camp alone today, likely for a hunt, but she had always made a habit of following silently when he did not take a bodyguard - and today was no exception. Still, she had awoken from her nap a little late, and as such could not have followed him quite as soon as she had hoped; as it were, she still hadn't caught up to him or found exactly where he was, though she was hot on the trail. Still - she knew she was approaching Clan territory, and, thusly, Stryker had entered it as well. This realization made her blood run cold - Clan cats could fancy themselves as quite vicious defenders of their territory, and while she was confident one wouldn't stand a chance against her (especially not with their petty code to hold them back), she wasn't so sure about her leader, out there on his own. Selene quickened her pace, ignoring the numbness of her frigid paws as she tried to pinpoint exactly where Stryker had gone. 

It didn't take her long to find him, however. As she approached where she thought the scent, recent, had led, she heard a yowl from nearby. "This is RiverClan territory!" came an unfamiliar voice. "You will pay for stealing food!" The loud snarl was enough to carry Selene's paws the rest of the way - and to help her discern exactly where her leader had gone - and within a moment she had crested a hill and sprinted down to where he was facing off with a strange tom, probably one of the Clan cats who lived around here. As Selene reached her leader's side, she skidded to a stop, making an effort to stand as tall and as straight as she could in an attempt to tower further over the stranger - and to let him know exactly how large and how powerful she was. 

"We're very sorry about that," she mewed silkily, voice smooth and soothing even as she flashed long, sharp claws on one raised paw. The action was meant to seem unintentional - a raised paw, almost placating, upon which her claws just happened to be out - but of course, it was not; she fully intended this cat to know the deadly force she could so easily employ. "My associate clearly didn't realize he had wandered into your territory." The word - associate - wasn't one she would have usually used, especially in regards to her leader, who she was meant to respect and defend - but around this stranger, she would say whatever she could to keep Stryker from being injured - whether it meant she could talk their way out of the situation, or resolve it with claws and fangs.  

"We're very sorry," she repeated, though her voice was much less polite now, turning gruff, as she lowered her paw and sheathed her claws. She dipped her head briefly to the Clan cat, but immediately raised her chin again afterwards, refusing to show any shred of submission despite her forced air of politeness. "You can just let us off with a warning and we'll be on our way." At the words, which were hardly in the form of a question at all, she raised her chin even more, letting her huge paws shift slightly as her claws slid out once again to dig into the earth and snow. The meaning, she hoped, was clear - he would let them go, or she would fight him. Still, Selene did not come out and say this - she preferred to maintain at least a false sense of politeness, at least until she had Stryker's orders - even when she truly was ready to rip out the stranger's throat at a moment's notice.