[Phoenix]

It was just as well that the cold season had come to an end. Though she embraced the challenge of surviving the snow and frigid winds like she did any other, there were only so many nights of huddling in a den of some form or another, trying to retain what heat she could, before the season lost its appeal. This one had been particularly bad, what with heavy snow fall and prey that was so scarce it might as well have been non-existent. A handful of times, she had been forced near the clan territories for prey, far too close for comfort. Luckily, she had avoided being noticed and vanished into the surrounding mountaince once more with what little she could catch clamped in her jaws. Though her past actions spoke for themselves, she was considerably thinner than she had been at the start of the cold season.

With practiced ease, the young feline let her senses explore the area as she travelled, ensuring that she was as alone as she believed herself to be. Amber eyes occasionally scanned her surroundings, movements brief and alert, just like her mother had taught her. She made a habit of traveling in the shadows whenever she could, attempting to conceal her bright orange pelt whenever possible. She hated her fur color, as it was completely counterproductive to any attempts at blending in with the neutral browns and grays - and wintery whites - of the landscape surrounding her. Since there was little she could do to change that short of bathing in mud - and she did have her standards, low as they were - the she-cat had learned to accept the cards that were dealt to her. It was with a similar outlook that she could sum up her nomadic lifestyle. If she really wanted to change it, she could find a den site and settle down. However, this life of wandering from place to place had been the only life she ever lived, and knowing no different, she had come to accept, and even appreciate, it.

What was that? A sound, one that usually indicated an approaching creature - feline or otherwise - broke through the silence that she had become accustomed to hearing. Recovering quickly from a brief startled surprise, the she-cat immediately turned and withdrew deeper into the shadows of the overhang under which she had been walking. Back touching the comfortably solid rock face behind her, the orange tabby peered out at the mid-morning light from the relative darkness of her refuge. Forcing her breathing to calm down, she took deep breaths, eyes peeled for any sign of life other than her own thudding heart.

[Insidious]

G R A Y O W L

It was little to his current knowledge that the abnormally loud snap of a misplaced twig had introduced his presence to the wary ears of a nearby, orange furred she-cat. It was unusual for Grayowl to be so genuinely uncaring toward the elegance he portrayed. His movements were so phantasmal; ghostly silk that flowed with a fluent supremacy. Now, however, there was little-to-no chance of being observed. Therefore, Grayowl wasn't deterring himself with the task of putting on a show that, sadly, had nobody attending.

It was only when he crossed paths with the feline's scent that his interest was pricked. His stone-like expression remained in tact, not a trace – not even the flicker of an ear – indicating that he had taken recognition of the nearby cat. At first, Grayowl wasn't bothered with attempting to locate her. He didn't travel to The Mountains for verbal purposes; having no desire to spark such a purpose within the nameless feline that was currently haunting his nasal cavities.

That was, until a treacherous thought twisted his stomach into a blood-broiling knot.

A smile curved the corner of Grayowl's charcoal lips into an ominous grin; dark gold eyes skimming the greenery with a newly unlocked drive to fulfill his awakened urge. His black nose wrinkled upward with an analytical search for her scent, pinpointing it to have just recently darted off into a tangle of thick brush. Momentarily, his hollow gaze fell upon the leafy concealment, averted elsewhere as to not indicate he was searching – hunting a more befitting term.

With an impatient flick of his thinly furred tail, the tom-cat, at last, was finished playing mouse-brained. With a sharp twist of his lithe frame toward the tangles of foliage he suspected her to be hidden within, he allowed his jaws to separate into a toothy grin; a radiation of malicious sadism hidden within each individual point of a carnivorous fang. “Imagine the sentimental damage one would obtain upon their company secluding themselves from vision.” Grayowl snorted, flicking a gray ear. “What you lack in hospitality can certainly be excused upon receiving a genteel explanation.”

[Phoenix]

It was both gratifying and worrying to find that she had been correct, that she was not as alone as she would have liked, and hiding against the rock, shielded by a modicum of foilage, she wondered how those two conflicting emotions could coexist fairly peacefully in her mind. Amber eyes warily watched as the newcomer strode forward into the light, and the instant she realized that this was a tom, a battle of a different sort had begun. She could deal with fellow she-cats, but toms were a complete matter all together. Having been raised primarily by her mother, relying solely on that source of knowledge and her past experiences, which were blurred memories from kit-hood, for any information regarding the other gender, she had not only developed a strong dislike and aversion for the male species, but was also unpracticed in interacting with them. Her father had left after a series of fights with her mother, taking with him her two brothers, whom she never saw again.

Quelling the fire that rose in her gut, she froze as the tom pivoted to stare directly at her, as if he could see through the brush that concealed her from view. He was well-fed in comparison to her, and the scents of other cats clinging to his fur made her believe that he was one of those clan cats. She had always thought them relatively weak, since they relied on each other for survival, but seeing the dark grin spread across his lips, she was quickly rethinking her opinion. A shiver coursed down her spine, and immediately she was disgusted at herself. She had survived far worse than a grin, regardless of the creepiness that lurked in the shadows. Tom or not, this was just another cat. She could survive the encounter, as she had survived all her previous encounters with felines.

Paws smoothly carried her small orange frame into sight. Watching him somewhat warily and not attempting to disguise the fact, she furiously shoved away the observation that she was that much shorter than the tom. "I apologize for any sentimental damage I may have caused you with my actions," She spoke a moment later, not able to completely take the sting from her words as she shot back some of his fancy phrases. The orange tabby had never had much time, or patience, for the art of twisting words and weaving them around others, and fully aware of her disadvantage in this area, she did not appreciate the tom's skill at it. She preferred the blunt familiarity that conversing with a normal cat brought. In any event, she did not feel the desire to play his word games and offer up a 'genteel explanation' for what she 'lacked in hospitality'.

His gender and size had set her on edge, and that creepy smile had done little to help his cause. She wanted him gone, and the fastest way to do that, without showing just how much he had unnerved her, was to make it a one-sided conversation. Perhaps he would grow bored and disappear back to his clan.

[Insidious]

G R A Y O W L

A small flash of orange hue grew increasingly larger as the she-cat, at last, departed from her underbrush concealment. Dark gold eyes skimmed the she-cat's frame, inwardly satisfied by the subtle caution that laced her facial features. Grayowl wasn't the type to take size differences into consideration. Just because a cat was small, did not in turn mean they were completely harmless. Although, he couldn't necessarily say that he hadn't noticed the crystal-clear difference. The apology the she-cat offered gained a snort in return. His amber gaze evolved into something skeptical, staring the opposed feline down with the crackling intensity of a thunder storm. Did she believe that her hiding had actually caused him sentimental damage? He hadn't exactly made his sarcasm detectable. Regardless, it wasn't as if a feline in hiding was going to send him fleeing to camp with his tail tucked and hurt feelings.

Then again, this orange she-cat knew nothing about him. Nothing.

The window of possibilities presented with a feline that lacked knowledge of his motives was inviting. It was nearly impossible to keep the sadistic tinge off of his tongue, though for the time being, he would attempt to manage. What an unlawful first impression an attempted act of treachery would rub off as. Surely, she would find the goodness of heart within to understand his urgency to fulfill a craving. Though, it was unlikely. When it came to attempted sadism upon a fellow feline, very few turned out to be understanding.

The charcoal warrior shook out his thinly furred pelt, dark gold eyes returning to the she-cat's own gaze upon taming his fiery hunger. “Consider yourself pardoned.” Flashing yet another creepily defined smirk, the tom-cat took a gracious step closer, beginning to ever-so-slowly close the gap between the duo. “May I inquire your identification, miss?” The TreeClan warrior blinked a facade of thoughtful eyes, glazing the dark realm of his mindset with one relatively more pleasant. If he could just convince this orange feline that relaxing wasn't such a terribly bad idea... it could assist in closing the gap for escape.