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Post by Kathryn on Jan 29, 2011 3:37:41 GMT -8
The silver clouds drifted in the sky, casting beauty in all directions as the moonlight filtered down onto the tom’s dark brown pelt, turning his eyes a magnificent blue. Howls echoed as the wind blew through the camp, split in two by the strange stone objects that stood over the land, signalling not just the Clan Meeting area, but also something significant to the two-legs. Gazing up, he perched gently on one which had a thin base, two branches like a tree and cut off half way up and became thin again. Amazingly, the silver moon seemed to return his gaze and he felt warm, his stomach tightening slightly from the sight. Sighing something inaudible, which sounded close to ‘wow’, he rose to a sitting position and curled his tail softly around the thin top part of what he was sitting on. Gracing his features was a smile, warmer than the sun, and the pure brown tom inhaled his own, welcoming sweet scent. Obviously the Medicine Cat smelled strongly of herbs, but there was a tinge of Catnip that he liked to keep there too, just so he could calm cats down without actually needing to have the herb itself.
Nearby was the path to Drop Canyon, but instead of going there, he hopped down to head toward Sunrise Shores. Experience taught him, personally, that the sight of the water rippling under the bright moon light and the distant clouds was the most beautiful thing. However much you tried, the words to describe it would always escape you, and if you did somehow manage to find a word, it would be so much of an understatement that it would almost be as bad as lying. Stepping along the winding path to finally set his paw down on the cold, nostalgic sand, he began to push his way up and slowly move along the waterline, eyes fixed onto the horizon. White specks gazed upon the water; the ripples and dips shimmering luxurious silvery-white. Once clear, golden sand was stained with greys and blacks, dull in comparison to the icy, peaceful water. Dangerous were the flowing waters that lapped hungrily at the tips of his deep brown paws, but instead of retreating, the Medicine Cat closed his eyes and inhaled at the heavenly feeling that it gave him. Serenity flowed through his mind; the tranquillity of having no fears, no problems, and no cats to heal was relaxing for his mind. Dappling his fur with a brightening sheen, the moon seemed to hide for a moment, frightened, and Gazelleheart saw this through closed eyelids – the light being stolen from his path.
Opening his aqua-coloured eyes slowly, he smiled to see the sky as dark and striped with white as a badger’s fur. Letting a smooth, amused exhale escape his maw, he turned and began to walk further along the waterline. Seaweed draped the rocks like lichen, tickling his paws and making them feel slimy as he stepped over them. Ears tuning into the sound of the cheering waves, he lay down slowly at the edge of a small ledge at the far side of the beach and let his mind wander gratefully. Times like these made it great that he was a Medicine Cat and not a Warrior – he could use the excuse, if ever need be, that he was collecting some rocks to use to help him crush or keep the herbs down if they were prone to liking the wind. Otherwise, he could just say he was coming to find some moss, perhaps a few raccoons at the tree line, or even some Usnea Lichen – which was a special herb he used to treat parasites and strengthen a cat’s immune system. Lichen was all over the place, but not all of it was the right kind, so he needed to come out and check that it was good to use before he took it back. Sighing, he wondered how long the peace would last, and a feeling of loneliness began to prick at his pads... |
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Post by Juniper on Feb 7, 2011 19:24:51 GMT -8
As the silver moon cast its pale light over the camp, not a sound disturbed the peace. Inside a wooden construction by the Twoleg Domain, a few apprentices were quietly snoozing. Only one was wide awake, glaring at the smothering night. The dark tabby’s whiskers twitched in irritation and her tan tail whipped and lashed at her flank. Rebellious eyes of emerald squinted at the center of the camp, where the tempting fresh-kill pile lay, no doubt piled high with fat and juicy rats. Despite not being particularly hungry, Adderpaw felt she couldn’t exactly let perfectly fine food go to waste, right?
Suddenly, she barreled out of the apprentices’ ‘den’, a dark brown blur dappled white by the moon’s light. Without giving much thought to the amount of noise she was creating, she streaked to the fresh-kill pile, her tail slapping nearby rocks, dark and irregular-shaped. Once at her destination, she pawed the fattest mouse and began dipping her muzzle to tear at its flesh. Darkened scarlet blood sprayed the misty terrain with droplets of crimson. Her maw was stained dark as well. Finishing her meal, she flung the bones away, scattering them about haphazardly. Bits of skin were still apparent on the white bones.
Adderpaw snatched yet another juicy piece of prey and gorged herself on it, licking her lips and tasting the sweetness of the meat. Once she was satisfied, she abandoned her half-finished meal and stalked about the camp. A movement by the edge of the camp caught her wary eyes. Grass-green orbs turned to stare at a dark figure looming up ahead, its shape growing smaller as it edged away. Adderpaw’s nostrils twitched and her jaw opened to try to identify who it might be. Hmmm… Gazelleheart? She catapulted over to the mysterious cat, who had by then moved on further.
All the way to the waters of the Sunrise Shores, she stalked the medicine cat, displaying her best stalking skills. She watched, half amused, as Gazelleheart’s larger frame clambered up onto the face of a rock and lay there. She crept closer until she was three or four tail-lengths away. Her lip curled and her nostrils twitched again at the suffocating smell of salt that then overwhelmed her. She squeezed her eyes shut as a twitch developed. Shaking her muzzle to clear her head, she padded even closer. “So. Gazing at the water again?” Adderpaw’s voice was dripping with scorn as she said those words. Her lip curling, she continued, “I don’t get why you like coming here so much. It’s all wet and uncomfortable and stuff. Stupid and too quiet. Creepy. How can you… how can you stand it?” She cast Gazelleheart and inquisitive glance and moved away to a nearby rock.
The pale tabby’s uneven footing almost caused her to fall off the rock she was trying to scale. It was slippery with ocean water, and even worse, it had seaweed strewn all over it. She reeled at the moldy stench of it. Repulsed, she exclaimed, “Ergh! This is gross! It’s all… slimy and yuck!” Tentatively, she prodded the substance with doubt written all over her twisted facial features.
Word Count 526
Tags Gazelleheart
OoC Adderpaw does not like the sea…
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Post by Kathryn on Feb 13, 2011 9:43:18 GMT -8
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Lost in thought as he lay, basking in moonlight like a lizard under the sun, Gazelleheart curled his tail around his paws and sighed. Thoughts of protecting his Clan and training Adderpaw seemed distant now, as he gazed at the horizon. Of course, the Medicine Cat wasn’t senseless; he knew that Adderpaw had followed him because he was older and wiser. He appreciated the nature around him and had been raised to nurture it as a Medicine Cat. His nose wasn’t run down; his moons had made him more capable of picking up disturbed scents.
...And besides, she had stuffed herself with prey before she left. It wasn’t hard to notice the scent of prey-blood around you. Sometimes he wondered about her habit of talking to him when he was trying to relax. In some circumstances it was garrulous, but in others... It was refreshing, he had to admit. Of course, not out loud. Swinging his tail around to comfort his paws, he turned his head a moment before Adderpaw came out and smiled in welcome to her. Even so, that was quickly replaced with a frown when he heard what she had to say.
“Because it looks beautiful, Adderpaw,” the tom murmured quietly, letting his claws flex and scrape against the stone he lay on. Below him, the water lapped at the shores, almost as if it were drinking the sand. “Clearly it is wet, Adderpaw. It’s right next to the sea, if you haven’t noticed. But it’s not uncomfortable if you know where to settle down. Why you picked the mossiest ledge on the entire beach is beyond me, but that might explain why it’s uncomfortable. Come and lie down next to me instead and explain to me why you’re eating at such a late hour.”
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Post by Kathryn on Feb 13, 2011 12:14:36 GMT -8
Slate grey eyes held the figure of a horse as it bent its broad head to drink from the water. Right now that horse could probably taste the overwhelming salt that grazed against its tongue uncomfortably, but that was none of his concern. It was in his territory now and that meant it was feeding time. Slipping toward the edge of the bank, his eyes stayed on the chestnut creature intently; he was starving. No sound escaped his closed – but massive set of jaws as he prepared to go in for the kill. Thankfully he was masked by the moon, which meant the horse couldn’t see him, but he could see it...
Mentally he smiled. Before he had found the horse, he had been watching a pair of cats talking up on the ledges. Apparently the younger one had eaten and the older one wanted to know why. Well, did it really matter? As soon as the horse leaned out to nibble at a bit of moss that floated out, he snapped up and closed his jaws around its neck, dragging it into the water with him with a ferocious growl. Kicking out, the horse panicked, trying to get upright onto its legs to run away, but there was no chance in the Dark Waters that it would escape the Alligator’s jaws. Once he had something there, nothing could make him let go. It was almost as if his jaws locked in place.
Breaking the surface of the water, the horse whinnied with fear and Elijah initiated the Death Roll. Using his tail to spin his body around, the waves around him shattered and broke away, the surface becoming disturbed. Moments later it was over; Elijah had won his meal, and to bonus that it was a large one, too! He would have a feast tonight. Clamping his jaws around the back of its neck, the Alligator dragged his prey out towards the sand and clawed his way up the bank, his eyes gleaming with triumph. By now the cats were probably staring at him like there was a beast on the-... Well, obviously there was a beast on the beach, but there was nothing they could do about it. Since they had been talking about food before, Elijah pushed himself up so his chest was lying on the broad stallion’s shoulder and he growled loudly, declaring that it was his meal. But straight after that had ended, he opened his jaws and said,
“Cats on ledge, you want food? Share, come down, I don’t bite.”
The brown cat - the older one, he noticed was experiencing a mixture of confusion and fear, and with a flick of his tail to his younger friend, dropped down the ledge and cautiously approached him. "Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened. My name is Elijah." |
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Post by Juniper on Feb 14, 2011 17:49:51 GMT -8
Dark paws scrabbled at the lichen draped over the rock, as if doing so would magically cause it to vanish. Claws extended, prying at various bumps along its sharp sides, but the barnacles refused to be uprooted. Finally, Adderpaw gave up and collapsed by its side. To calm her frustration, she aimed a punch at the hard surface and yelped at the pain. Luckily she wouldn’t bruise easily from all the cuts and abrasions she usually received in her training as a Medicine cat. Her gray ears lay flat as she listened to her mentor speak.
Gazelleheart was by no means a fierce cat unless seriously provoked. The misty coated apprentice had to admire his steely resolve in not being too bothered by her presence. But she never showed this admiration. Instead, she cast him an accusing look, as if it were his fault the rocks were blanketed in moss. Still, she grudging accepted his offer to share the dry bit of stone he was perched on. She padded over and settled herself next to his sleek, umber body. Her eyes scanned the scenery, trying to see why he thought it looked so beautiful.
To stubborn little Adderpaw, the shores reminded her of a mangled piece of crowfood. Shimmering waters blinded her eyes and flowed over eerily pale sand. The waters were gooey and pulsated weirdly, like some deranged and ill badger. Flecks of black dotted the mottled beach, and various, slimy seaweed had washed up, adorning the sand. And the waters were a deep black, darker than midnight itself. It blended so well with the evening sky that it was difficult to tell where they met. It was as if the sky itself had swallowed the ocean whole, or vice versa. In the sky, freckles of stars beamed down on the repulsive scene.
The apprentice grunted and was strangely silent for a time. She eyed her mentor for a while without speaking. It was as if she were considering whether or not it was safe to reply. “I… I was hungry,” she grumbled at last. “Look, I’ll hunt some to make up for it okay?” A mysterious rippling then caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed to see a large animal lapping at the ocean water. By the looks of it, it was either a horse or a very large cat. Then, a slender creature leapt from the sea and dragged the horse down into the treacherous waters. They thrashed about, splashing saltwater here and there. A few droplets landed near Adderpaw, and she flinched. However gruesome the scene was, she could not keep her eyes off of it. “Wow,” she whispered. “Now that is beautiful.”
The sea monster hauled its scaly body out of the dark depths of the ocean, still dragging its prey. For a bit it gnawed flesh off the bones before turning to the two cats. Without caring for the older Medicine cat, the apprentice crept closer. To her surprise, the other did likewise and spoke. “You… You can talk?” she asked in amazement. What a stupid question that was. But then, approaching the dangerous creature was even more stupid.
Word Count: 524
Tags: Gazelleheart and Elijah
OoC: I hope he doesn’t eat her.
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Post by Kathryn on Feb 15, 2011 4:03:18 GMT -8
Of course the little cat was hungry. Everybody was hungry. Well... Except for Elijah; he had different prey to them so hunting wasn’t too much of an issue for him. Angling his head back to tear a chunk of meat of out of the horse – which was bigger than the cats – he swallowed it in one gulp and several sharp snaps of his long, toothy jaws. Turning and creeping forward towards the two cats, he halted and opened his jaws as far as they could go, almost subliminally warning them not to get too close. Then he slammed his tail against the earth and dove into the water with his mouth still wide open, swimming down into its dark depths. The large Alligator tore up the earth as he caught several fish and leapt out of the water again with a thud as he landed.
“You think I can’t talk to cat-predators?” The giant grey-scaled creature asked with a hard-to-distinguish voice as he clawed up the beach again. The water behind him moulded around his tail carefully and he tilted his head to the left, dropping the fish out of his mouth. “I speak tongue for many storms, little cat. Now take back to home when you leave later. Fish good for water-proof scales... No, water-proof fur of your kind, I believe. Do not think that home will appreciate dead horse carcass, especially with big chunks from Alligator out of it. You have names?”
Truthfully looking at the smaller cat and scenting the blood around her mouth made him hungry. He hadn’t eaten cat for a long time, even though he didn’t like their meat, and truthfully he wouldn’t mind taking a tiny nibble... No! He couldn’t. His ‘tiny nibble’ would be half of the cat’s body, and he wasn’t willing to kill another cat for food. The last time it had been...
“Ah, cat meat does not taste nice.” He shook his long head and spun back around to tear a chunk out of the horse. Dropping it in front of the two, he said, “Try Horse meat – I think you never eat Horse. It common prey for my kind, taste nice, but greedy Alligators always try to steal, so I move here for peace. The water and beach is my territory.” Obviously it wasn’t, because to the cats it belonged to SoulClan, but he’d like to see any cat be stubborn enough to try and say otherwise. Opening his jaws to tear off another large chunk of meat, he swallowed it up and let out a satisfied – and dangerously fierce growl.
"You wash face please?" Elijah glanced toward Adderpaw, "Blood-scent making me want to... Do very bad thing for your health."
"I've never seen an Alligator before... And what do you mean your Territory, Elijah?" His slate-grey eyes landed on Gazelleheart.
"My territory, I live here. If it not okay, I take up with your Leader." |
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Post by Juniper on Mar 4, 2011 19:09:39 GMT -8
The slimy beast, his multi-layered scales glinting various shades of cool green and stone gray, dipped back into the waters. They parted as he slid in, spraying the two cats with mud that barely muffled the stench of blood. Hurriedly, Adderpaw swiped a slate gray paw along her flank, flinching as it dirtied her once-clean fur. But she wasn’t too fussy about her appearance so she returned to staring at the alligator in an absorbed way. She was sure her mentor would not approve. Then Elijah emerged again, cresting the splashes that marred the surface of the ocean until they simmered out into ripples. He opened his massive jaw wide, strings of saliva flying free into the air as he spat out a few fish, rendered inert from his death-inducing chomp.
It was a nice gesture for a creature so fearsome, but Adderpaw’s dark emerald eyes glittered with hints of anger. She nodded curtly at the offering, prodding the gifts with a tentative paw. She gave a half-hearted sniff. “Thanks but no thanks,” she merely replied, an edge creeping into the intended polite tone she used. “I can catch my own food.” She turned tail and padded closer to the tawny medicine cat, her usual stubborn expression prominent. But at this moment, the alligator seemed not to care. He queried their names and the silver tabby hesitated at first. Did she truly wish Elijah to know her name? She fought down her instinct to claw the enormous beast and settled on saying, “Adderpaw. And that’s Gazelleheart.” She shot a quick glance at the medicine cat, wondering if she did the right thing. It would do no good to have them simply known as “The cats”.
She perched back onto her moss-riddled rock and stared impassively back. Elijah met her forest-green stare, his dark stormy eyes holding something dangerous. They gleamed with hunger, which unsettled the pale gray apprentice. She slipped off her rock, nearly cutting her forepaw as she tumbled backwards. Quickly, she dislodged herself from the seaweed that ensnared her legs. She gave a hasty lick of her lips as she slowly wound her way back.
Elijah continued his ramblings in a voice thick with an accent she couldn’t place. It was raspy and menacing, even when he tried not to be. Sometimes it sort of gurgled and words were lost. But she could still comprehend the gist of it. At this particular moment, he seemed to be conversing on the prey he ate. Adderpaw shuddered but internally she desired to sample the prey he described. It sounded heavenly – rich food teeming with flavor, sometimes tough and stringy but other times soft and juicy. She nearly drooled at this, her eyes hungrily picturing the delicacies as he wove them in her mind. But then he uttered a phrase, so casually that she might have missed it had he not hidden a threat in it, she stopped her reverie to speak. Her neck fur bristling, she returned, “The water is your territory, not the beach. The beach is ours.” A fierce glare accompanied this short speech, newly sharpened claws flexing with anticipation. In response, Elijah tore off more of the poor horse’s flesh.
Adderpaw was pleased to hear Gazelleheart chiming in to defend their territory. She shared a look with the pale tom before aiming her glare back at the alligator. She continued to allow her fury to sizzle the air though her words were fairly calm. “You may stay here to live. But you cannot claim it as your own.” Her words were brave for she thought she could overcome him in a battle. But she was too young, too innocent to really know…
Word Count 615
Tags Elijah and Gazelleheart
OoC Poor thing, should be funny to see her in a fight but she’d probably die.
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