[Deleted]

Striding from camp, tail waving in the air behind her, the newly named Minkfire was just awake from sleeping off her silent overnight vigil and craving something fresh for her first meal as a warrior. Preferably before Smokestorm found her and started assigning her to boring patrols trudging all over the territory. On the one paw, no longer requiring permission to leave camp was nice, but on the other… it was kinda fun sneaking out. Even if she got caught, at least it provided her some amusement. Just walking out of camp without any cat caring one way or another was a bit of a let down.

She let her paws take her where they would, occasionally casting a wary glance at the dark, heavy clouds overhead, expecting them to drop at any moment. What a way to start her first day as a warrior, soaked through from rain. If it started, it would likely chase most prey away to hide in their nests as well and then she’d be wet and hungry. Her tail twitched in annoyance at the weather. Apprentices acted like becoming a warrior was some super special thing but really it just meant everyone expected you to do more. Somewhere up there, Eagletalon was laughing at her, she was sure. Could StarClan see through storm clouds? Surely if they could give leaders nine lives, they could. Whatever, it didn’t matter.

She found herself heading toward the mountain border, padding along the scent line until she spotted several sparrows up ahead, flitting around and taking dust baths. They were slightly outside the border, but the land didn’t belong to any cat. Minkfire fell into a crouch, stalking forward at an achingly slow pace so none of them would notice her approach, slower and slower the closer she got. StarClan, but she hated hunting. All the silence and stillness and waiting. She fought back the urge to flick her tail in annoyance, keeping herself still. One more step. One more. Just one more….

She leaped and caught one of the birds between her claws, ending its life quickly as the others all rose into the air squawking alarm calls. If she had done that on a hunting patrol, the rest of the patrol would have been furious with her, the alarms of the other sparrows likely sending all prey into hiding in the immediate area. But out here, who cared? She got her meal and that’s all that matter. Picking up the sparrow, she padded over to a nearby scraggly mountain tree that offered some shelter from aerial predators, and possibly any rain that might begin to fall, and settled down to dig in to her catch.

That was one good thing about not being an apprentice anymore. She didn’t have to make sure the kits and queens and elders had been fed first and she didn’t need anyone’s permission to eat the prey she caught, seeing as she wasn’t on a hunting patrol currently. She purred softly, tail flicking in contentment as she enjoyed her meal, icy blue gaze staring off back toward StoneClan territory, the scent line several fox length away.

---

Taxx

Newleaf 13 - Dark clouds hang heavy overhead as the wind picks up, the whole territory seems to whisper and rustle with the promise of a storm.

[Taxx]

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

It was a bad-tempered Tadpole that emerged from his den, greeted by rain-heavy clouds. He'd survived another leafbare and had been greatly enjoying the warming season that struck life into the valley, lifting the cold and making it easy, for the first time in moons, to fill his belly. He didn't know when this storm would break, but he knew it wouldn't be pretty when it did. Best to limit his trips to keep from getting caught in a downpour.

He was hungry. Not the achingly empty hungry that he had been, just the slightest grumble that had driven him to try to find something to catch and eat. A shake flicked off bits of grass and moss that his fur had picked up in the night, and a quick groom smoothed down a ruffled patch on his shoulder, and then he was off. There was a small dip not far off that was plentiful in rabbits, and he went there first; with any luck, they'd be up and hungry too. They were, but his approach startled one and the rest darted down the tunnel to safety. Tadpole sighed and then settled beside a bush, waiting on the hope that they'd come out again before too long.

It took some time, but patience was always key in hunting. Tadpole held his place, eyes fixed on the hole as his mind wandered a bit, but the motion at the entrance brought him back and he carefully, slowly, eased himself into a crouch as the wary creatures emerged to begin feeding once more.

Then, beyond them, he caught sight of another cat, who crept from the border of StoneClan toward a group of birds pecking in a patch of grass. Foxdung! If that cat sprang now, his own ambush would be ruined. but maybe he could jump first... A single breath more and he hurled himself forward, aiming not for any of the rabbits but the mouth of the tunnel. As he'd hoped, his charge startled the rabbits and one of them bolted for safety- just as Tadpole reached it. The two slammed into each other, but it was Tadpole who quickly pinned and then killed the rabbit while the others scattered, scurrying for other tunnels.

In the distance, the birds had flown; a result of his attack? He spotted the white cat a moment later, lounged at the base of a tree, and eyed them for a moment. Maybe they were friendly? And from the feathers he could see getting blown about by the wind, they'd made their own catch, so there was less of a risk of him losing his. Might as well, he decided, and padded over. He paused a few tail-lengths away and gave a slight nod before dropping the rabbit and licking his nose.

She-cat. Younger than he, he was sure, but not by much; she didn't have the loose-pelted look of a cat who had growing still to do. Most surprising was the scent of StoneClan on her fur. He'd seen her close to the border, but he hadn't expected her to actually be a StoneClan cat. What was she doing out here? "I thought you Clan cats were all about staying in your territories?" he commented, a touch irritated. So they could come out here and take prey, but he wasn't allowed to hunt in their land? What hypocrites they all were.
@zen

Tadpole

Loner

[Deleted]

Enjoying her nice fresh meal, Minkfire was quite surprised when another cat appeared, and not one of her Clanmates. Her fur bristled slightly and she tensed, wary of the stranger as he approached and quite ready to fight if she had to. However, he was carrying a rabbit and when he paused to give her a nod of greeting, her fur began to lie flat again. That wasn’t exactly a hostile reaction, after all. And if he had his own prey with him, why would he want to bother her? His rabbit was certainly bigger than her bird. Abandoning his prey to try to steal hers would be low reward for the risk. And if he wasn’t going to try to steal her prey, why would he attack her? She supposed that might be a naive way of thinking. Who knows what goes through Clanless cats’ heads, after all.

Still, he seemed friendly enough so she allowed herself to relax. However, his words were slightly less friendly. Not outright hostile, but she snorted in surprise and amusement, “Hello to you too. Why yes, I’m quite enjoying my meal, thank you.” Her icy blue gaze narrowed at him, half challenging and half amused, as her tail twitched back and forth. Manners were not something she was at all concerned with, but what a way to start a conversation. Not that Minkfire had never done anything similar. She had never claimed to be immune to hypocrisy, however.

She casually took another bite of her prey, watching him all the while, “Maybe I was exiled for murder.” Her whiskers twitched, her eyes easily giving away that that was not the case, but she kept one with it, “Better watch out, you might be my next victim.” Her gaze fell to his rabbit, then back to the tom, a soft purr edging into her tone, “Are you just going to stand there like fear struck prey? I could use a good excuse not to go back and get put to work on some dumb patrol.”

She sniffed disdainfully, “Most Clan cats are boring rule followers. I prefer to live without limits. Not my problem if no one else seems to appreciate it.” She was a little surprised at herself for being so openly chatty with this stranger, but she supposed it didn’t really matter since it wasn’t likely she would ever see him again. She looked him over, “Don’t suppose you have too many rules to follow, huh?”

---

Taxx

[Taxx]

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

Wordlessly, Tadpole watched the white she-cat, one ear flicking as she spoke her greeting. The proper way to start any interaction, maybe, but he hadn't been in a very welcoming mood. Only when she carried on, suggesting that she'd been exiled for murder, did he offer a snort of amusement, and his tense stance eased as he settled into a crouch in front of his rabbit. "I think I'll take my chances," he replied, a note of playfulness in his tone now, and he took his first bite of the rabbit, carefully saving the fur he plucked to line his nest later.

He was surprised, honestly- from what he'd seen of Clan cats, in his life, they were all about serving other cats and very rarely about doing what they wanted. From hunting to feed other cats to being oh-so-annoyingly diligent about marking their borders to warn others to keep out. He couldn't imagine what they did for fun. This she-cat, however, seemed to be farther from that path than he'd thought a Clan cat could be. "No," he answered, relishing the taste of the rabbit. They were just starting to fatten up, and the meat was far better than the stringy meals he'd lived on in the past moons. "I do what I want, when I want. If I'm hungry, I hunt. If I'm tired, I sleep. And if I want to go somewhere, I go- I'm not bound by any of that Clan foolishness about boundaries. Rather stupid, if you ask me. And a waste of time and energy."

He blinked at her, speaking before he tore another mouthful from the prey held beneath his forepaws. "I thought you were all the same, though. I've talked to another of your Clan, a little thing... black and white she-cat. She was more like what I expected. Why are you different?" Were there others like her, too, among the Clans? Funny, to realize suddenly that not all of these cats were so completely of a mind about their Clans? "I'm Tadpole," he added on. "What's your name?"
@zen

Tadpole

Loner

[Deleted]

Minkfire purred softly as the stranger called her bluff about being a murderer, “Nice to find someone else that doesn’t mind a little danger.” Her whiskers twitched and her blue eyes sparkled with mirth as she relaxed further, enjoying her meal even more with some interesting company to chat with. She sighed wistfully as he explained how he lived his life, “That sounds way better than going on constant, stupid patrols.” With a glance off up the mountain, away from StoneClan’s territory, she considered what it might be like to just go where she pleased and not have to worry about any stupid duties.

But she liked being around other cats. Well, she liked messing with them mostly. She was certain she would be lonely if she just left her Clan to go wandering off on her own. Lonely and eventually bored without any others to talk to or pull pranks on or compete with. She turned back to the tom as he continued about apparently meeting one of her Clanmates. Black and white she-cat? Her gaze narrowed slightly, sure it could only be Cicadasong, “Did she talk a lot? Like, constantly?” She rolled her eyes.

He introduced himself and she purred softly, “Nice to meet you, Tadpole. I’m Minkfire.” Her new name was still fresh on her tongue. It felt strange to introduce herself without being a ‘paw anymore. She snorted at his question about why was she different from what he expected of Clan cats. “I dunno, are all loners the same as you? I bet not,” she tossed at him. What a dumb question, as if all cats were the same based on where they came from. It was a pervading viewpoint, though. NightClan cats were all selfish and evil, according to the elders’ stories.

“Doesn’t it get boring, being by yourself all the time? Or do you have friends and family you visit?” He had to have family somewhere, right? Did loners have friends? He looked young, but maybe he was old enough to have a mate and kits somewhere?

---

Taxx

[Taxx]

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

Was she supposed to be dangerous? Tadpole eyed the she-cat; she was smaller than he, but that didn't always mean anything; she was close enough she could give him a good fight if he tried anything. Not that he was going to; they were having a nice meal and a talk, and there was no reason to do anything to change that. He'd be on his way before too long. "It does?" he asked, tipping his head toward her again with surprise. She was a surprise, but he couldn't help taking a liking to her attitude on Clans, since it matched his own. Maybe not to the same degree, but still.

"So much," he replied with a glimmer of amusement at Minkfire's eyeroll. "I thought she'd never run out of breath." He dipped his head in greeting as she gave her name, tearing off another bite and chewing, his long tail giving a flick as she turned the question of cats all being alike back at him. Fair point, he supposed. But then, if some, like Minkfire, didn't really care, then what made them stay? Family- or loyalty? Pah. Loyalty to self was what mattered. He sure wasn't going to starve by handing hard-won prey over to a cat who couldn't catch a mouse that ran by its nose.

"No," he replied, flicking a scrap of fur from his whiskers. "I like being by myself. It's quiet, and I'm sure I wouldn't take well to some cat trying to push me around because they thought they had the right. There's only me to please. No family, no friends. Only Tadpole." There was no way he was going to tell this she-cat about the brother and sister in NightClan. As far as he was concerned, they didn't matter. They had each other and he didn't need them. He'd thought they were dead already, so it was hardly a change of pace to continue considering them dead.

"What about you? Family, friends? I hope you're not going to get in trouble being out here."
@zen

Tadpole

Loner

[Deleted]

“Ugh, you have no idea,” she responded to his surprise at her statement about Clan life, “You know if we’re out on a hunting patrol we can’t even eat anything we catch without getting in trouble? It all has to go back to the Clan first. And without fail whenever I catch something good and take it back to the Clan first some greedy cat is just waiting to snatch it up.” Her tail flicked in annoyance. Bringing back her extra prey to the Clan was fine, but she should get first dibs on what she had caught with her own claws, not someone that had been lazing in camp all morning.

She snorted at Tadpole’s confirmation that the Clanmate he had met was a real jabberjaw. Cicadasong for sure. But his admission that he didn’t have anyone, not even to visit, had her eyeing him curiously. He liked it that way? Her tail flicked thoughtfully when he turned the question back on her, along with an expression of concern that she might get in trouble, and she laughed lightly, a purr entering her voice, “Aww, worried about me?” Her pale blue eyes sparkled with amusement, “I’ve got plenty of family. My father is StoneClan’s leader.”

It wasn’t a statement of pride or arrogance, just fact. Her father wouldn’t grant her special treatment just because she was his daughter. If she broke rules, there would be consequences. But when your father had the whole Clan to look after and your mother was more preoccupied with your sister, who was not only more like her, but also sickly as a kit, you looked for attention where you could get it. Getting in trouble was never a negative thing in Minkfire’s life, because it meant both parents gave her their full attention, and she couldn’t get enough. It wasn’t that she was neglected, or that her parents had never made her feel loved or wanted growing up, but Minkfire was a cat who required more attention than most, and with both her parents otherwise distracted by other concerns, what they gave her just never seemed to be enough for the greedy young she-cat. So she forced them to give her their attention in less ideal ways, but attention was attention.

“I’ve got sisters, a brother, a mother,” her tail flicked as she ticked them off, “None of them really get me though. But whatever. I don’t understand how you don’t get bored. My Clanmates are so fun to mess with,” she purred, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She finished off her meal and swiped her tongue over her mouth, leaning back to look over at him, “So what do you do all day? Wander around talking to yourself?” Her whiskers twitched with some amusement at the thought. Even with how dumb patrols were, Minkfire would never want to wander off to live by herself in order to get away from them. She was sure she’d go mad with no other cats around. She rolled onto her side playfully, reaching out with both forepaws, claws extended in some form of mock threat, taking on a mocking tone as well, “Aren’t you afraid Demon will come and eat you up for a snack?” For all the elders liked to talk about that so called giant monster cat, she’d never seen nor scented him, nor did she know anyone that ever had. She was pretty sure he was just a story, or long dead. She was curious if loners told the story to their kits too. If Tadpole had never heard of him, she was sure he was made up. If he had, maybe he had been real at some point, even if he was dead now.

Taxx

[Taxx]

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

Tadpole knew little enough about Clan life, only that they marked out their territories and did not like loners crossing their scent lines, and his tail flicked at the thought of simply passing over prey you had caught. Life on his own was hard, but at least he didn't have to fill the bellies of old, lazy cats. "Who enforces these rules? The same cats who get the first pick of prey?" His tail lashed and his claws curled into the pelt of the rabbit he'd caught; he dipped his head and took a bite. Her tease tugged him out of his momentary irritation and he snorted before flashing a mischievous glance back at her. "Do you need me to worry about you?"

Plenty of family- her father was StoneClan's leader? "Is that so? So what does that make you, in your Clan? Are you special?" Did the kits of leaders become leaders themselves? He didn't know Minkfire very well, but somehow he couldn't see her being the leader of anything. Maybe not her, though, if she had siblings- one of them might get it.

"Who says I don't mess with cats?" he protested, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'll have you know I like to mess with them in my own right. Have you ever seen your Clanmates get all agitated over a stranger's scent mark? Yeah," he purred, and straightened, shaking his head to flick off a bit of loose rabbit fur. "That's me. I like to watch, sometimes. And sometimes I might do a bit of hunting, if I can't find anything outside the territory. Usually at night." She might scoff at him for that admission, but he wasn't an idiot. Night hunting was the best time, in four of the Clans, to hunt without risking detection.

"I hunt, I sleep, sometimes I visit. Loners are interesting, if a bit annoying at times. I can show you around to a few of them if you want. I don't know what your Clan's told you about loners but most of them are friendly." Too friendly, in regards to a few of them, but he wasn't afraid to be blunt if necessary. And sometimes the company was nice, if it was minimal.

His gaze cut to her, suddenly, at the mention of Demon, and his fur rippled down his spine. "I'd like him to try," he growled. "If I were bigger I'd teach him to hunt cats." His tail lashed, his eyes clouded briefly. "You should be careful though. He hunts us loners like we hunt prey. We keep our guard up, and keep ourselves safe. Most like to stay within the forest during the night, for added protection. Can't dig through tree roots. Me, my den's over there." He flicked his tail at a pile of rocks. "It's safe enough, and if anything comes prowling around there's another tunnel I can use to escape. What do you know about Demon?"
@zen

Tadpole

Loner