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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2016 12:24:46 GMT -5
So let me take this medicine to quench my love for violent things.
Sunblaze stalked through the tall grasses of the meadow LightningClan called home, a freshly caught hare dragging along, dangling from his jaws. Hunting was not entirely his favorite past time, after all, prey only ran, it never fought back. It was generally pretty boring. After the first one or two sprints through the grass, it got old fast. This was his second hare of the day and he was making his way back to the hole he'd left the first in to carry them back to camp now that his enthusiasm for hunting had worn thin. He wasn't on a patrol or anything, so it wasn't like he was shirking duties. He had been bored so he had gone out to hunt a little.
As he approached the hole where he had left his other hare, his hackles raised and a growl rumbled in his throat at the stench that struck him, even over the smell of the hare in his mouth. He set down his prey, ears flattening against his head as he stalked forward, his tail lashing. Dark ginger fur flashed through the grass ahead and he peered out to see a young fox tearing into HIS hare. It had to be young to be so stupid.
Enraged that one of the hares he had caught had gone to complete waste to this stinking fox, Sunblaze charged forward with a furious yowl. He had every intention of clawing enough meat from the fox to more than make up for the hare it had stolen. Not that he would ever actually eat fox, or expect any other cat to do so, but the StarClan forsaken creature was going to pay with its own flesh and blood for not only stealing from him, but from his Clan, and more importantly, his family.
He leaped on the startled fox's back, digging his claws in as deep as he could, a maliciously satisfied grin pulling at his lips as he heard the thing yelp in pain. He sank his teeth in a moment later, eyes squinted shut against the horrible taste of fox blood that flooded into his mouth. With a high pitched screech, the fox threw itself to the ground and rolled, trying to dislodge him. As it was about to roll on top of him, he released it and thrust out with all four legs, pushing them both away from each other before it could crush him beneath it and rolling swiftly back to his paws. As the fox turned to snap viciously at him.
My swan song will be like a bullet laced in anger. Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Sept 24, 2016 23:05:13 GMT -5
 74 Moons. LightningClan. Senior Warrior. She always hunted alone. Unless Redscar saw fight to assign her to a patrol (or, StarClan forbid, lead one), Cherrypool chose solitude over suspicious stares and uncomfortable glances every time. For the most part, she ignored her Clanmates as they were spread out through LightningClan’s territory, and occasionally caught the tell-tale signs of hunting in progress through the loud rustle of the grass as a clumsy apprentice chased a rabbit through the bracken, or even the high, petrified keen of a hare just before its throat was ripped out.
The latter sound always excited her, and she was forced to move away, isolate herself further unless hunting her Clanmates became the way she spent her sunhigh.
Scenting vole on the wind, Cherrypool slowly moved into position, maneuvering downwind of the creature snuffling around in search of worms, the sweet, odorous taste of rotting meat indicating the vole was near a piece of crowfood, and thus in just the right spot for grubs, worms and other crawling, nasty things.
It was a miracle she’d even scented the vole above the stench of crowfood. Born a white she-cat with blood-red eyes, Cherrypool had certain weaknesses the others did not--pain in direct, hot sunlight, susceptibility to sunburn, weak eyesight during the daytime--but she was also privy to certain benefits as well. Her sense of smell was one of them.
Growing hungrier by the second, the sudden outbreak of ferocious snarling had her wheeling around, fur on end as the sounds of cats fighting shattered any chance to hunt the vole. She knew without looking back that the creature had gone--likely as frightened as she was by the keens of outrage and pain nearby. Without thought, Cherrypool’s claws unsheathed, and she ran towards the sound, devouring the ground under her alabaster paws as she arrived at the scene of the bloodshed, watching with narrowed, calculating eyes as Sunblaze went claw-for-claw with a fox.
It had to be young, and very stupid, to risk a fight with a senior warrior who fought like Sunblaze did. She didn’t know if he would appreciate the backup, so that wasn’t what she gave him; instead, with a hiss of malice, Cherrypool dived for the fox, wanting her own share of the blood and tufts of reddish brown fur flying as the three predators tussled.
Cherrypool raked her claws along the fox’s flank, circling it like a white serpent, the dirty red pelt catching in the creature’s pelt as she hooked it with both paws, intending to rip it down onto its side so Sunblaze could go for the belly.
She would have liked to have killed it herself--but getting in each other’s way was the surest method to accidentally injure each other. Cherrypool knew better than to get too close to her Clanmates when her blood was singing like this, when violence was humming that irresistible tune in her ears again; what if she could not stop herself from attacking him next?
MY FRIENDS DON'T WALK, THEY RUN
I'M PEELING THE SKIN OFF MY FACE 'CUZ I REALLY HATE BEING SAFE 505 Words Tags: @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 21:21:18 GMT -5
So let me take this medicine to quench my love for violent things.
A flash of white fur caught his attention as the fox cut its lunge short, whipping around as it too noticed its new attacker. It yelped in pain as claws scored its flank and attempted to tear away, but Sunblaze arched in front of it and spat, lashing out and sending the creature stumbling back toward Cherrypool, its fear scenting the air. The white warrioress dug her claws in, pulling the fox down as it stumbled, unbalanced, and it yelped again, struggling to get back to its paws as its vulnerable belly was revealed.
Sunblaze's eyes flashed triumphantly as he leaped in the moment the weakness was presented to him, churning powerful hind legs, claws tearing into the soft flesh of the fox's belly, as his clung to the fox's side with his forepaws, claws digging in as deep as they could. Part of him wished the creature had been a cat, so he could ask it if a stolen rabbit had been worth its life. He vaguely registered Cherrypool's presence as a flash of gratitude passed through him for the assistance she had provided.
Without it, he certainly could have given this fox some wounds to remember him by, taught it never to steal LightningClan prey again, but with her he could ensure it. In his all consuming fury over the theft, he didn't even think about how impossible he was making it for any cat to hunt anywhere near them. The cries of pain from the fox would have prey hiding away for some time after he finally silenced it. Fangs grazed his side as the fox lashed out desperately, but he leaped away before they could do any major damage.
His tail lashed as blood welled on his side, not stopping to consider the wound as he stalked around the fox, which was bleeding heavily from its belly which he had nearly torn to ribbons, as well as the gashes on its flank that Cherrypool had given it. It panted and tried to get up, whining, its tail tucked and ears flattened in defeat. Sunblaze's own ears were pressed against his skull and he stepped in front of the creature, fangs bared. No, there was no escaping this. It would never make the mistake of stealing from him, his Clan, his family ever again.
He caught Cherrypool's eye, his eyes flashing as he lifted his muzzle slightly in invitation. Let this one be a warning to any other mangy fox that wanders into our territory. Leave now or never you flea-bitten piece of crowfood. And then he darted forward, sending the fox scrambling away toward Cherrypool, forgetting the she-cat was even there in its fear.
My swan song will be like a bullet laced in anger. Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Oct 3, 2016 11:35:39 GMT -5
74 Moons. LightningClan. Senior Warrior. Sunblaze had caught her eye since apprenticeship, and held it ever since. Cherrypool had always been uncomfortably aware of the warrior's presence, so even in the midst of their savage fight with the fox, she couldn't miss the inviting look he gave her as the mangled creature tried to escape.
Sunblaze was merciless. If she'd had any doubts before, they were swept aside; it did not occur to her that her own brutality would frighten him, like it had frightened her 'friends' what felt like a thousand moons ago. Cherrypool merely answered the call, the whispering in her blood that demanded she sink her claws in deep and her fangs in deeper.
The fox didn't have a chance. It's whimper became a death gurgle as Cherrypool lunged for its throat, fastening her teeth in through the reeking ginger fur to bite with cruel precision. The animal struggled, stumbled, and nearly fell on top of her as she took it's life from it, but the albino warrioress held on.
When the last twitch of the fox subsided, the she-cat dropped the beast, leaving the corpse to cool on the ground as she regained her bearings. Blood red eyes matched the fox blood staining the white fur of her chest, and the darkness receded a little to come back to her senses. With a nauseous feeling of revulsion at herself, Cherrypool said nothing to Sunblaze and turned her back, mercilessly trying to lick the fox blood out of her pelt.
But there was the foul creature's blood on her tongue and on her teeth already, and it was a wonder if she was making any progress at all or just making it worse. Her tail lashed self-consciously, ears flattening as she stole a glance at the striped warrior. She was a terrible sight, Cherrypool knew. It would surprise her none if he snorted in disgust and dragged the fox back to camp by himself.
Perhaps the worst of it all was... the fun of it. He was fun to fight alongside; there was an ease-of-killing that she felt only in Whiteshade's presence, though Sunblaze lacked her brother's maliciousness towards his own Clanmates.
MY FRIENDS DON'T WALK, THEY RUN
I'M PEELING THE SKIN OFF MY FACE 'CUZ I REALLY HATE BEING SAFE 375 Words Tags: @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2016 16:35:56 GMT -5
So let me take this medicine to quench my love for violent things.
His striped tail lashing behind him in satisfaction, Sunblaze watched the fox struggle beneath Cherrypool's fangs until it grew still. The ivory she-cat backed away from the creature and Sunblaze stepped forward, leaning down to make sure the stupid thing was dead. He didn't doubt Cherrypool's ability or willingness to kill it, but he would feel better if he was certain. Blood still seeped onto the ground from the fox's many wounds, but it was slowing. He took a step back, taking in the bloody scene.
His ears twitched as his rage began to ebb away, wondering if he hadn't perhaps... gone a little too far. The scent of fox and death was sure to remain here for some time, and it was likely no prey would come anywhere near the area until rain could wash it away. Woops. He turned to look at Cherrypool, noticing she had her back turned to him and seemed to be trying to clean herself up. It had to be nasty work. Fox blood tasted horrid. He glanced at himself, his hind quarters were covered in the fox's blood as well from when he tore into the creature's belly.
He moved toward Cherrypool, letting his tail tap against her side as he passed, “Come on, we'll go to the creek and wash off. Can't be any less pleasant than tasting fox blood.” He didn't entirely relish the idea of hopping into the creek waters, especially with the cooler days leaf-fall had brought. If it had still been greenleaf, with how hot it had been, he wouldn't have hesitated at all. He glanced back at her, “I'd rather lick water off my fur than fox blood, anyway. But if you like the taste, you're welcome to it.”
He thought about the way she had leaped into the battle out of nowhere as he started toward the stream again. There hadn't been any sign of hesitation in her, not when she'd joined the battle, nor when she'd ended it. He glanced back at her again, covered in blood, and he slowed a bit until he walked beside her rather leading the way. He heard plenty of the things their Clanmates said about her, and right now she looked the picture of all the nightmares they attempted to paint her in. But all Sunblaze could see was a fierce, brave warrioress that he was proud to call his Clanmate. To hell with them and all their whispers.
He grinned, his voice rumbling in a low growl, “So that was exciting. Fighting is always more fun with a partner.” He looked over at her, clearly rather pleased about the turn the day had taken, “You came along at just the right time too. Mangy fox might'a taken a chunk out of me before I got a chance to kill it.” He glanced at the small wound on his side where the fox's fangs had grazed him. The bleeding had already nearly stopped, but it would leave a decent scar to remind him of the day's events. “You're brave, I like that. Most cats probably would have run back to camp for help.”
He snorted derisively, thinking that was all fine and good for apprentices, but a warrior was meant to fight when danger presented itself, especially when a Clanmate was in danger. He hadn't needed the help, of course, but need or not, you helped a Clanmate when they were fighting, so long as you didn't get in their way. He likely would have come away with larger wounds if she hadn't jumped in, but he would have survived and taken down his opponent just the same.
My swan song will be like a bullet laced in anger. Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Oct 12, 2016 17:50:41 GMT -5
74 Moons. LightningClan. Senior Warrior. Sunblaze looked unperturbed by her appearance; if anything, he almost seemed to be in a good mood. With an apprehensive stare, the albino feline's tail still bristled from the fight, Cherrypool followed. He's treating me like a regular Clanmate. What is this, a trick? First Wildstripe's kindness, now Sunblaze's...
Just when she suspected that his kindness had run it's course and he would stay quiet all the way to the crystal creek, Sunblaze spoke up again, his voice a low, rumbling growl that reverburated through her ears. "Yes," Cherrypool mewed back, once again surprised by his amicable words. "It's more fun that way... Fighting alone is exhilerating, though." Strange, to actually put a voice to her feelings; few cats ever spoke with her willingly. Few cats ever asked for her opinion on things.
The only partner I've ever had is Whiteshade. I wouldn't describe what we do as fun, though. Only out of a futile denial of her own monstrous behavior, did she refrain from ever admitting hunting with her brother was fun. Because it was. There was a rush unlike anything else she'd ever experienced; there was a certain beauty, a certain skill to it that only Whiteshade truly understood.
But that was precisely why she kept to herself. Sunblaze would throw her such a disgusted look if he knew, oh if he knew.
“You're brave, I like that. Most cats probably would have run back to camp for help.”
Cherrypool's skin burned beneath her pelt, and for a horrid couple of heartbeats, she was certain the bright pink of her skin would show through her snow-pale fur. When that didn't seem to be the case, and Sunblaze's compliment had sunken in, Cherrypool replied modestly. "The fox wasn't going to wait for me to fetch a patrol. You... had it handled," she mewed slowly, wanting him to know that she didn't think of him as a warrior who needed help. "It's just been a while since I've fought a fox."
And I missed the feeling. It was rare that she got to kill something her Clanmates wouldn't object to.
They arrived at the creek, both of them reeking of fox and with the blood on their coats. Cherrypool's own pelt, sticky with drying blood, fluffed a bit, finding the cleaning process unpleasant. He was going to laugh as soon as he saw her emerge from the creek; her fur would plaster to her body as if it were trying to be her second skin, and then he could see the unsightly bright pink skin underneath. With a hiss of displeasure, Cherrypool waded in, closing her eyes so as not to see his expression while the water flowed around her body, taking the bloodscent with it.
MY FRIENDS DON'T WALK, THEY RUN
I'M PEELING THE SKIN OFF MY FACE 'CUZ I REALLY HATE BEING SAFE 455 Words Tags: @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 0:09:50 GMT -5
So let me take this medicine to quench my love for violent things.
Sunblaze tilted his head slightly in allowance of her statement. He had certainly been having plenty of fun fighting the fox by himself. But he rather preferred having a partner or a patrol fighting with him. Maybe he liked to show off a little, but that wasn't the only reason he liked to fight with others. He didn't really know what it was, he had never thought too much about it and didn't plan to start now.
He grinned as she continued, admitting that it had been a while since she fought a fox, as though that was something most cats enjoyed doing and would hate to miss out on. But that wasn't the case. Foxes were a source of fear for most cats, if they never had to fight a fox in their lives, they would consider themselves lucky. He outright laughed, more pleased than she knew to hear such an admission from her.
“Well then, we'll just have to hunt down some more foxes some time, won't we?” They reached the creek then and with a hiss, Cherrypool waded in, and Sunblaze followed after her. He hissed as well, but only because the water was far colder than he had expected as it lapped at his belly fur. He waded a bit deeper, his tall frame taking him to the middle of the creek before he was deep enough without crouching for the water to reach all the blood in his fur.
Gritting his teeth, he turned into the current, letting the water do its own work, and bending down to lap up a few cold drops to help wash away the taste of fox blood. After a short time, he waded back out, shaking out his fur and turning to check on Cherrypool. Taking in the sight of her, he wondered how ridiculous he looked, and growled, “Cats are NOT meant to swim, I don't care what any RainClan cat says.”
A chill wind blew, seemingly right through him in his sodden state, and he shook out his fur again, padding over to Cherrypool, “Better dry off quick. Getting sick and spending some quality time with Rookfrost isn't exactly my idea of a fun time.” Without any further warning, he rasped his tongue over her pelt, the wrong way, knowing it was the quickest way to warm a cat up and dry them off. It would go faster if they helped each other, and they were Clanmates, that's what Clanmates did... help each other.
My swan song will be like a bullet laced in anger. Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Oct 22, 2016 20:04:02 GMT -5
74 Moons. LightningClan. Senior Warrior. “Cats are NOT meant to swim, I don't care what any RainClan cat says.”
Cherrypool's jaws parted, the drenched albino warrioress about to hiss her assent when Sunblaze, seemingly disregarding the very concept of personal space, suddenly moved close enough that she could feel his breath on her fur. Whiskers twitching in shock, that shock turned into stunned horror as the tom growled something about not wanting to get sick, and then started licking her fur dry.
As if someone had set her on fire, Cherrypool lurched ungraciously away from him, ears flat, voice scathing. "What do you think you're doing? Don't touch me!" The words were hissed from her mouth even before she could properly consider them, but it was clear from her arched posture that if the weight of water in her pelt wasn't plastering it pathetically to her body, she would have fluffed up every strand. Embarrassed, uncertain and worst of all - confused, Cherrypool moved a bit downstream from him, burning with frustration and resentment at herself and the moons of abuse rushing to the surface.
Cats will treat you as if you carry the plague if you ACT like you carry the plague. It was a late moment of clarity for Cherrypool, that after 74 moons, perhaps some of her behavior had exacerbated everyone else's treatment of her. Ears staying flat to her skull, when she felt the fox blood finally purged from her alabaster fur, Cherrypool leaped onto the bank, shaking as much of the creek out as she could.
Approaching Sunblaze, she stared hard at the handsome tabby warrior, her voice accusatory but with an edge of confusion in there that was hard to ignore. "Why did you do that?" She had seen Clanmates dry one another after a hot greenleaf day spent swimming in the creek; it's what lovers, close friends and family members did.
She and Sunblaze were neither. Is he trying to catch me off guard? Does he think he can trick me? What was Sunblaze playing at? Cherrypool would deny it until the moon fell out of the sky, but... it hadn't been unpleasant, what he'd done. It brought to mind the only she-cat that had ever loved her regardless of her appearance; her foster mother, who had told her she was beautiful when no one else shared such an opinion.
To deal with a soothing, rather intimate gesture from a cat she had always felt a strong attraction for was... Not something she knew how to confront.
MY FRIENDS DON'T WALK, THEY RUN
I'M PEELING THE SKIN OFF MY FACE 'CUZ I REALLY HATE BEING SAFE @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2016 23:31:09 GMT -5
So let me take this medicine to quench my love for violent things.
Blinking in stunned bafflement at the ivory she-cat as she reacted as if he had struck her, Sunblaze could do little more than stare at her as he tried to register what had just happened. He watched her move farther downstream, away from him, in silence. Well, it had been a rather... extreme reaction, but if she didn't want his help then it really wasn't THAT big of a deal. His ears twitched in consideration. Maybe she didn't like him. It wasn't any fur off his pelt if she didn't, but he tried briefly to recall anything he might have done in the past to make her feel so... passionately against contact with him. He couldn't think of anything, but then, he didn't really try THAT hard to remember either.
He turned his attention to himself, rasping a rough tongue over striped fur as he focused on drying himself off, since Cherrypool wanted to be ungrateful. He was finishing up when she finally approached once more, and he raised his head, giving her an impassive look as she asked him WHY he had attempted to help her dry off. His ears twitched again, vaguely annoyed that he had to repeat himself. His voice was his normal deep rumble of a growl, however, his annoyance rather short lived, “I already told you. I don't enjoy the idea of getting sick and having to spend time in Rookfrost's den. I figured you probably didn't either, but maybe I was wrong.”
Curiosity getting the better of him, his ears flicked forward with a certain amount of interest, “Did I do something to piss you off?” It wasn't as though that was an uncommon occurrence for him, he just had never had a Clanmate act so violently opposed to his help. Of course, the fact that it was a fairly common occurrence made it all the harder to remember specific events, so again he conceded to himself that perhaps he HAD pissed the she-cat off somehow. He scratched one of his ears with a hind paw, “I'll try not to do it again if you tell me what it was, but I won't make any promises.”
My swan song will be like a bullet laced in anger. Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Oct 28, 2016 17:58:56 GMT -5
74 Moons. LightningClan. Senior Warrior. “Did I do something to piss you off?” [...] “I'll try not to do it again if you tell me what it was, but I won't make any promises.”
How did she explain herself without sounding like a freak? Terrified of saying something else that would sabotage whatever sense of "Clanmates" had been going on between them, Cherrypool snapped her jaws shut, trying to pick her words carefully while Sunblaze scratched his ear.
"Cats don't touch me willingly." She finally replied, wet tail flicking water off the tip. "Not without their claws unsheathed." And never with their tongues. In case he needed it further spelled out for him, Cherrypool added in a clear, flat tone of displeasure. "I thought you were trying to be nice just so you could trick me. I was mistaken... Sorry." And the last cat that tricked me, that tried to be 'nice' to me, I killed him.
It was embarrassing to admit, but there it was. Ears pinned back, she set to work grooming her own fur, rasping her tongue quickly over the wet strands, trying to ignore that it felt as if fire ants were crawling all over her bright pink skin.
She did not want to relive old horrors. Not with Sunblaze, who had become something of a weakness of hers - a stupid, apprentice-ish weakness - so she wiped a damp paw over her face and hurriedly changed the subject. "How is your-" Apprentice? He didn't have one. Sisters? Both dead. "-family?" Cherrypool finished, watching him with the half-formed expectation of getting a snort for an answer. It was probably obvious she was trying to make conversation.
And equally obvious that she didn't know where to start.
MY FRIENDS DON'T WALK, THEY RUN
I'M PEELING THE SKIN OFF MY FACE 'CUZ I REALLY HATE BEING SAFE |
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