[Deleted]

Morning sun filtered through the ferns that overhung the warrior’s den and landed on a thick grey and white pelt, breaths still coming in steady and even draws as though still asleep. Twitches however soon began to shake the young warrior as his breathing changed from to steady to ragged and low growls followed. With a start, Wolftail’s amber eyes shot open and the tom had to take several deep breaths to steady himself. He glanced around and sighed with relief when he noticed that the other warriors were either up early or still sleeping soundly. He hadn’t wanted to disturb them because of his bad dreams. Occasionally he still had nightmares about the death of his sister at the paws of the rogue cats that had been trespassing on their territory. His sweet, brave sister struck down defending her clan from those vile creatures. The thought nearly made the big tom hiss.

Even though he hadn’t been chosen for a patrol yet, and could still get some rest, Wolftail knew it would be in vain to try. There would be no more sleep until he had done a hard days work. Pushing himself up, the large tom stretched his powerful limbs and flexed each muscle carefully, letting the final vestiges of sleep leave his body. Opening his jaws in a wide yawn, Wolftail shook out his thick pelt and made his way out into the main camp. Looking around he realized there weren’t many cats out yet, a couple warriors by the fresh-kill pile who he flicked his tail in a friendly greeting and an apprentice emerging from the elders’ den. Figuring it was still too early for him to yet be needed, Wolftail decided a walk outside of camp would do him good, and he could hunt whilst he was out.

Brushing through the reeds that surrounded the Rainclan camp, Wolftail swung his head to the right and then again back to the left trying to decide where he should go. It would make sense to head towards an area rich in prey, however he felt himself drawn to the left, towards the sand bar and the border with Nightclan. Shaking away the odd feeling, the tom headed off at a brisk trot, he could always hunt at the sand bar and the river ran parallel to where he would be. Wolftail picked up speed as he neared the sand bar, the place where he’d done battle training and where he had honed his swimming skills with Moosejaw. The big tom launched himself into the water and paddled strongly across, enjoying the lapping water until he pulled himself once more onto solid ground. Giving his pelt a through shake, Wolftail once again set off at a trot. He always had enjoyed mornings, especially after he had become a warrior and no longer needed to be with his mentor outside of camp.

Before he quite realized it, Wolftail was nearing the Nightclan border. The big tom slowed and meandered along, making sure to keep a good distance. Best not to start any unnecessary trouble. Stopping, he opened his jaws to taste the air around him. The scent of Nightclan filled his mouth, no surprise there. What did surprise him however was the fresh scent of a cat that held no clan-scent. Ears pricked and tail flicking behind him, Wolftail let his amber gaze rake the area around him, looking for any trace of a cat that shouldn’t be there. Involuntarily his claws slid out and he flattened himself to the earth as if ready to pounce. Come out, come out wherever you are.


tagged: KARAZHAL

[KARAZHAL]

A small, slender shape, like that of a weasel, bobbed and wove through the clustered pines. If asked, a NightClanner probably would've boasted that they owned the lot, but this part was not like the foothills. In fact, it was not the valley at all, quite opposite actually. Some rogues had made their home in bat caves higher up the mountain, living alongside bighorn sheep and their own quarrels. The rogues were nothing like clan cats Pebble had been taught of. They were as vicious and relentless as predators; she feared they would eat her if they caught her, not drag her back to the cave where her mother remained imprisoned.

The little tortoiseshell she-cat ran at the edge of a sloping cliff. There was no guiding path to follow. Whatever lived here climbed or flew, maybe even jumped if they were good enough. Pebble didn't want to die. Turning back, she couldn't see them but she could hear their jeers and curses. She tried to keep her fearscent from tainting the air and alerting them. In her moment of distraction, she slipped off the rocks and let out a squeal of fear and pain. She dug her claws in trying to stop herself. Thankfully, she didn't tumble at a free-fall, but raking her claws against stone didn't feel good. She was lucky she hardly weighed anything. Although it meant not doing much damage to the bigger, tougher rogue cats, Pebble was able to climb up without much strain to her muscles.

Just as she heaved her head above the ledge, she was met with two gruesome faces. The closest tom looked like his face had been smashed against a rock wall when he was a kit, and his leumy orange eyes glinted harshly down at her. His partner was a big brown tabby, chuckling cruelly as he ran toward her with claws unsheathed. Pebble yelped and let go, plummetting down the incline with her paws grating across stone. A ledge hit her hindquarters, causing her to topple right onto the tops of soft fir saplings. "Get 'er!" the Persian snarled angrily, for they would be forced to go around unless they wanted to break their legs.

Pebble scrambled, kicking away small boughs and practically throwing herself into the grass below. It was taller than the black tortoiseshell. Surrounded by tall evergreens and bushes, the very young she-cat's heart pounded. She was lost. How could she escape them? She forced herself through the grass and ferns head-first, grateful for the gentle fronds when she could've landed on nettles. Suddenly she broke through to open air and sunshine, for here the forest abruptly ended and the biggest stream she ever saw stretched fox-lengths ahead. Water tumbled over stones in some areas and meandered in others. As she gazed on it in muted awe at its beauty and size, her pretty eyes caught sight of another cat, a huge fluffy one, standing on the sandbar in the middle of the river. She didn't recognize him by sight, but rogues were known to press anyone into their service. Pebble yowled in surprise, thinking her pursuers had already found her. Seeing the way he was flattened to the earth, ready to pounce, the tiny tortoiseshell cried out in terror and ran along the riverbank. Undoubtedly they were trying to pincer her in, two behind and one in front!

"Leave me alone!" she wailed at Wolftail.

The brown tabby, faster of the two, twitched his remaining ear and urged his partner in the direction of her voice.

@wolftail

[Deleted]

Narrowed amber eyes watched closely around him as the large tom searched for the source of the scent that he had detected close to the Nightclan border. Aside from the river flowing gently alongside him, all was quiet in the area that he was surrounded by. Or so he thought. Pricked ears picked up a faint yelp coming almost directly diagonal to him and Wolftail jerked his head sharply to the right. He heard a faint rustling and unconsciously his claws unsheathed and pricked the earth beneath him as he rocked slightly back onto his haunches. As the rustling grew louder Wolftail felt every muscle in his body tense and all the battle moves he had ever learned ran through his head. However, the thick pelted tom was unprepared for the young she-cat who burst through the fronds and stopped abruptly before him.

Wolftail assessed the cat before him quickly, she seemed to have not yet noticed him, which worked in his favor. The she-cat was small, and not just small, the tortoiseshell before him could be no more than older apprentice/newly made warrior aged. Her youth showed in her size and in how she looked. That’s when the overwhelming fear scent hit his slightly open jaws and the young cat noticed his presence. Shaking, she took off while yowling at him to leave her alone. Wolftail growled low in his throat, refusing to let the the trespasser get away, no matter how young and unassuming she looked. The big tom thrust off powerful hindquarters and lunged forward in the direction the she-cat was running. Long limbs ate up the distance between himself and the tortoiseshell and before he knew it he was nearly at her hindquarters.

Who are you!? Why are you on Rainclan territory! he yowled sharply as he made one final lunge to come alongside the cat. Her fear scent was still wafting off her in strong waves and Wolftail had to wonder what was scaring the young cat so much. He needed to know why she was here and continuing to chase her wasn’t going to do much good if was to figure out who she was and what had brought her into this territory in such a rush. Look, I don’t want to fight you. I just want to know why you’re on my Clan’s territory! he yowled once more.


tagged: KARAZHAL

[KARAZHAL]

The new tom's imposing features and low growl struck a terrified chord within Pebble's chest. For a moment, when she'd fallen off the high ledge, she had an instant of hope where she believed she could outrun her pursuers and escape their clutches. Seeing Wolftail, however, crushed that brittle bit of hope and twisted it into despair. There really was nothing she could do if they'd planned so far in advance as to set up another cat ahead to cut her off. The young she-cat was past the age where clan apprentices receive their warrior name, but she knew little about the art of war. The rogues, battling and killing their whole lives, were experts at tracking her down; she may as well have been prey, dumb and helpless.

That stranger's voice boomed suddenly behind her, and Pebble shrieked in fear. She zigzagged like a rabbit and kicked out, launching onto a tree trunk. "I'm not!" she yelled at him. RainClan territory? What was he talking about? She hadn't crossed the river or even stepped foot in it. The little she-cat had no practical knowledge of the borders, but she knew from her mother's stories that NightClan bordered the clans of RainClan and TreeClan. She remembered her mother saying the border was a river, a huge water-place, bigger than the water that trickled down the cave walls. She hadn't understood what a river was until now, and now that she'd seen it, she wouldn't stand to be accused of something when it wasn't true.

Pebble's claws dug into the bark as she hauled herself up through the labyrinth of pine needles and branches. She reached a good height and stared down the way she'd come. Her yellow-green eyes glared down at Wolftail. "Go away! If you get me killed, may StarClan drag you to the Dark Forest!" she spat, her fur puffed up to make the tiny she-cat bigger.

"I heard her! This way somewhere! Check this way!" Like the braying of the hounds when they located the fox, the rogues distant voices and evil cackles echoed on the nearby mountainside. They were coming! Pebble closed her eyes shut and willed herself to disappear. She pressed against the sticky pine tree, rubbing frantically in order to mask her scent and blend in. "Go away!" she repeated, this time in a desperate whisper to the river cat. She could hear grass crunching in the distance.

"Let's hurry before a patrol shows up. Stupid bitch dragging us all the way down here where those clan cats live," the Persian's voice carried through the trees, although the grass was too tall to see the rogues or know their numbers.

@wolftail

[Deleted]

Hard amber eyes stared at the small she-cat that was spitting at him and puffing herself up, even still she was much smaller than Wolftail’s large frame and slowly he let the tenseness fade from his muscles, if only slightly. He wanted answers and he wasn’t going to get them by being hostile. This cat obviously had a story to tell. Look, you obviously are confused as to where you’re at. But you crossed into Rainclan territory a few rabbit hops ago.” The large tom spoke calmly and let his serious gaze fix onto the younger cat who was now crouched on the branch of a small pine. Her fear-scent was still overwhelming and her next words shocked Wolftail nearly speechless.

And what exactly do you know of Starclan!” he said gruffly as he fixed her with an irritated stare. Now that she had mentioned Starclan, and the Dark Forest, Wolftail was doubting his initial impression that the tiny cat was a rogue. No rogue had any care for Starclan or the warrior code which the Clan cats held dear. Wolftail’s ears pricked as the small She-cat begged him desperately to leave her be. Behind her quite mew, he caught another noise. Distant voices and distant scents that he had been too angry to notice before. Was this what the she-cat was afraid of? If she were in danger then that meant something to be afraid of was on his Clan’s territory.

A new anger seared sharply through the large grey and white tom as his claws once again unsheathed and pricked the earth beneath him. Who are you running from? Why are you so scared of them?” If Wolftail were to do anything about the situation then he needed some answers. As reckless as his loyalty could make him, he knew how stupid it would be to run into something that he knew nothing about. His ears pricked once more as he heard another voice, closer this time. His ears flattened to his skull, he needed answers and here was not the place to get them. Look, I’ve given you no reason to trust me. I understand that. But whatever is chasing you, I can help. Just come down from the tree. There’s a spot not far from here with strong smelling herbs, they’ll hide our scent and the willows will conceal you. Please.” The big tom willed her to believe him as he waited tersely for her answer. 


tagged: KARAZHAL

[KARAZHAL]

"Oh no...," Pebble let out a soft mew. She'd gone in completely the wrong direction, and now she was in the territory of a different Clan, one she doubted would be so willing to help rescue her mother. In fact, she knew her mother would spit on a stranger for trying. "I'm lost," she mumbled softly to herself, pressing her chin against the soft downy fur of her forelegs. Oh StarClan, what will I do?

It irritated her that he was asking questions instead of doing as she asked. And how dare he have the nerve to look pissed off? She was the one in danger here, and probably him too; the rogues spared she-cats they wanted to use as slaves but killed the toms or forced them into service. "Look, tom, we can talk about my ancestors later," she replied curtly, giving this gray midge of a cat a pointed look. "Enough with the twenty questions, alright?" She had quickly put aside the idea that this tom was a part of the thugs chasing her. He would have followed her into the tree already, sneering and taunting her like the others always did. Didn't this tom know anything about these kinds of cats? Why didn't he fear them or shoot off in the opposite direction the moment he heard their voice? Maybe belonging to a Clan afforded him such confidence. Pebble envied him. He must belong to this RainClan, which was why he was challenging her so hard. He was right; she had no reason to trust him.

Pebble seemed to deliberate but she slowly crept down the ladder of branches and landed right in front of Wolftail. "... Okay," she replied reluctantly. "Show me the way. Quickly. The moment they find out another tom has taken me, they'll strip all that nice fur off your body and leave you to the condors." She swallowed audibly, lashing her tail, waiting for him to lead the way so she could follow.

@wolftail the rogues will appear in my next post.
we can have a 2 on 2 if you like, or the faster brown tabby can rush ahead and fight wolftail alone.

[Deleted]

Tense, narrowed eyes watched the young she-cat before him as he watched the doubt run across her face and then tuck into herself. Slowly, Wolftail felt himself being softened by the dejected look that crossed her. She was obviously in a deep struggle for her life, the things she had said so far made that apparent, and he supposed he wasn’t making it any easier by being so gruff with her. But he just couldn’t help it. After his sister, cats who belonged to no clan immediately seemed a threat to him. It was almost second nature now to fall into the familiar anger and recklessness he felt whenever he was in the presence of a non-Clan cat.

Wolftail was pulled from his thoughts by the distinct irritation in the higher pitched mew belonging to the younger cat. Hmph, feisty little cat had spunk. He had to respect it. Already she was being chased by rogues and now here she was, giving lip back to a cat that was much larger than her that she didn’t know. He watched as she quickly considered what he had said to her, praying to Starclan that she would trust him and just let him help her. If not then they were both in for quite a fight. That he was certain of, he refused to leave her here alone now. Mainly because he didn’t like the idea of leaving her to fight alone, but there was also the fact that she was a random cat in his territory and he wanted some answers.

No rogue has any chance with me. He growled low in his throat and felt the fur along his spine bristle. If they know what’s good for them they’ll tuck their tails and run. Now quickly, this way. The fire that blazed in his eyes was tempered only by the passion behind his words. No cat would harm another the way that had been done to his sister, not while he was breathing and had a say in it. He would fight to his last breath. With those words, he nudged the she-cat in the direction he had in mind. There were some dock leaves close by they could roll in that would hopefully disguise their scent so they could hide.


tagged: KARAZHAL
notes: maybe have the faster tabby run ahead and he and Wolftail can duke it out?

[KARAZHAL]

Pebble stepped on a stick on her way to follow the gray tom. She ducked, grimacing, but it was enough to force her enemy's attention in their direction. She could smell the brown tabby's rancid scent--like batpoop and old dried blood. Wherever this place with the herbs was, she hoped it would be enough to mask her scent. Nervous as she was, she stuck close to Wolftail and followed him through some low-hanging branches. Though she'd been raised in a cave, she knew of trees, but none like these grew in the territory she hunted in. She could hear a lot of rushing water around them.

"I'm going to hide," she told the other cat after rubbing against and walking through the patches of dock. Pebble sniffed around, but her nose was rather numb. All she could think about was finding a good place to hide.

She kept her body low, seeking out what she was used to, a cave or shelter of some kind. Thankfully there were many trees stretching over the river, their large roots arching past the riverbanks they clung to. Pebble slid down the angled bank to a shelf of stones and mushrooms. She ducked under a root and curled up in the little nook, hoping her mostly black fur would give her some camouflage. Her green eyes peered out from over her curled-up frame, carefully listening to the noises of the forest.

In the distance, she heard cackling.

The brown tabby had come across the pine from before and sniffed the air, turning in the direction she and Wolftail had gone. Leaving his slower, flat-faced companion behind, the brown tom bared his teeth in a predatory sneer and threw himself into a run. Two of them now? The tom unsheathed his claws as he prepared to eliminate the competition.

"You can't hide from me...," the tabby drawled as he stood on the other side of the willow curtains. His eyes flashed as he glimpsed a silhouette, mistaking Wolftail on the other side for his prey. Without thinking, he leapt through the long leaves with fangs bared.

@wolftail (mortal kombat voice) FIGHT!!!!

[Deleted]

Brushing against the dock leaves that surrounded him in this part of the forest, Wolftail watched the young she-cat desperately searching for a spot to hide in. These rogues had obviously done a number on her to terrify her to this extent. Of course, he supposed he shouldn’t act surprised. Any cat who would do what those rogues had done to his sweet sister would have no problem chasing a prisoner to the ends of the earth. The familiar flare of anger rushed through him once more. How could there be such cats in the world? Cats who felt no loyalty to anyone but themselves. Who had no desire to protect those they cherished.

Pawsteps approaching from behind alerted Wolftail to the presence of another cat as he was moving to hide and he cursed himself for not catching the new scent, the dock was interfering with his sense of smell. He heard the rogue rumble something from his throat and he tensed, all his muscles ready for attack and defense, all the moves he had learned were rolling through his mind as he prepared himself for what was sure to be a dirty fight. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. he silently promised the tiny cat who was currently hidden somewhere behind him.

Wolftail crouched low as he awaited the inevitable attack from his enemy. He could hear his mentor’s voice clearly in his mind Feign fear and defeat. And then attack at the last moment. Surprise is your friend. Not a moment later the willow curtain was thrown apart as he the ugly tabby rogue leapt at him. Big mistake, rogue. The large grey tom waited until he could see the tabby clearly and quickly rolled onto his back and thrust upward with his powerful back legs. A rush of satisfaction warmed him as his hind paws made contact with the tabby’s belly and flipped the brute over onto the ground.

Without a moments hesitation Wolftail rolled and jumped, claws outstretched and fire burning in his eyes with all the pent up rage he usually hid so well.


tagged: KARAZHAL

[KARAZHAL]

The brown tabby had closed his eyes only briefly, just to protect them as he leapt headfirst through the lanky willow branches. When he opened them, he fully expected to see that skinny pussycat and his lust heightened. Out here, separated from the boss by distance, he could have his way with that tortoiseshell she-cat and drag her back to where she belonged. However, his eyes met the harsh golden orbs of a stranger. Surprised but not stunned, the tabby could hardly stop his momentum anyway and he crashed into the gray and white cat. As Wolftail rolled, the tabby rolled with him, and Wolftail's powerful hindlegs sent a punishing double kick into the brown tabby's abdomen. Letting out a harsh exhale of air, the tabby was thrown to the ground. "Ugh!" His dirty belly fur fell out in clumps. Blood welled up slowly from the scratch marks, proof that Wolftail had landed his blows.

The tom's facial expression scrunched together as he gathered his wits and legs beneath him. His eyes opened as Wolftail jumped right at him with claws outstretched. The brown tabby let out a loud echoing yowl, hoping to strike some fear into the other tom. His muscles bunched up and he met Wolftail mid-spring. His forelegs reached out, wrapping around the RainClanner's frame in a savage embrace, and the tom screeched in an effort to show his dominance. He was fighting for a she-cat after all, and so he fought harder than he would've normally would. It had nothing to do with the divide between clan and non-clan, and everything to do with she-cats he could exploit.

"The she-cat is mine!" the brown tabby hissed, his face close to his opponent's. His foul breath polluted the air between them. "You don't stand a chance against a rogue, river-scum!" He aimed a bite for Wolftail's jaw, hoping to pierce through the skin and drag him into submission.

@wolftail brown tabby 34/40 HP