Thief of Theives

[synkah]

Birdsong filled the forest. Tiny scuffling noises of prey came from beneath the leaves. A shadow moved quietly upwind of a small mouse. With light paws, the shadow crept closer until it was too late for the mouse.

Synkah lifted his head, holding the tiny creature in his mouth. It was hardly a prize, but Synkah was very small. That was one of the benefits of being small; you didn’t need much to fill your belly.

He settled down and began to tear the fur off of his catch. He didn’t like to have to cough up any more hair than he had to. He flicked the mouse fur out of his mouth with his tongue, more than once using his paw to try to pluck the fur out from behind his teeth.

When he was satisfied that he had ripped enough fur off of the mouse, he began to crunch on its little legs first and then munched the rest of it. He ran his tongue around his mouth, and then sat up and began to lick his paws.

It obviously didn’t bother him that he was in the territory of the forest cats. He wasn’t afraid of them. Maybe he should have been, but Synkah was quite confident in himself. He was confident that he could get out of any situation alive and well. Maybe he’d bear a few more scars, but he’s be alright in the end.

The tears in his left ear were proof enough that he was willing to test other cats’ boundaries. He was a scrapper, and tiny as he was, he was swift and vicious. He lived by no code.

[~Spring~]

A flash of snowy white fur dashed through the forest, making bushes tremble as the cat ran through them. Not far ahead, a squirrel was running., but it wasn't long before the cat caught up to it. With one last burst of speed, the cat leaped on the squirrel and bit down on it's neck, hardly leaving time for it to squeal. Setting it down, a triumphant gleam rested in the cat's eyes. "Yes! Another catch!" She yelled out. Frostfire wasn't usually much of a hunter, and this was a welcome change in luck, considering the inevitable season of leaf-bare that was now upon the forest.

Picking up the squirrel with a noticeable happiness in her mood, Frostfire turned around and headed for Thunderclan camp, but an unfamiliar scent crossed her back. Probably a loner. Frostfire let out a grunt as she set her squirrel down and headed in the direction of the scent. Completely focused she narrowed her bright blue eyes slightly and followed the scent, speeding up her pace slightly to a swift jog. Sure enough, there was another cat there. "Hey!' A loud yell erupted from her mouth before she had a chance to stop herself. Well, great. I probably just frightened some of the prey. Frostfire jumped out from the shadows, and narrowed her eyes further. "In case you didn't know, this is Thunderclan territory." Her voice was challenging, but it was a bit shaky. "You might want to leave."

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[synkah]

Synkah looked over calmly from washing his face at the sound of a cat yowling at him. He yawned and stood up slowly, stretched, and licked his lips. He stared at the white she-cat for several heartbeats. The tip of his tail twitched idly as he examined her. Immediately, he dismissed her from being any sort of threat. She didn’t sound all that confident, and she didn’t seem too intent on chasing him off of her territory.

"Might I?" he asked. "Oh don’t worry, I will, after I wash." He sat down again, wrapping his tail neatly around his little paws. To a ThunderClan cat, Synkah would look more like an apprentice. He was a tiny cat. The most he ever weighed was six pounds, and that was on a good day. He was looking rather thin, now. The little mouse had been a welcome change from twoleg scraps.

[~Spring~]

Rolling her eyes, Frostfire began to speak. "So you expect me to just sit here and wait for you to leave?" Behind her voice was an edge of anger in place of her normally happy-go-lucky attitude. Unsheathing her claws, she prepared herself to attack. "Well it's not going to happen." The anger was absent from her voice this time, and she felt a bit more confident. She ran at the cat, claws outstretched, but she quickly dove to the left side and aimed her claws at the loner's side. A fiery expression revealed itself in her blue eyes as she quickly stepped back.

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[synkah]

Synkah blinked and smiled deviously. He could hear the anger edging her voice. His muscles tensed, but he remained sitting. Synkah may not have had proper warrior training, but he knew how to fight.

"Well, you certainly know how to scare a cat out of his fur," Syn said mockingly.

He watched her muscles bunch as she prepared to lunge at him. Synkah was on his paws in a heartbeat and ready to fight as the she-cat made her move. She had lost any form of surprise when she started talking. Synkah knew the signs to watch for. Being so small, he couldn't let the little details go unnoticed.

The white she-cat slashed at his side but Synkah dropped to his belly, feeling her claws ruffle the fur on his back. As she pulled back, Synkah leapt neatly to his left and faced her. His eyes glittered and the tip of his tail twitched. He didn’t seem to be at all bothered by this, but the ridge of raised fur along his nape spoke of his slight unease.

"Come on, Clan cat. Why do you want to waste your energy on me?" Synkah didn’t even bother attacking the she-cat. He just flicked his ears and eyed her cautiously, betting that she would try to rip his fur out again.

[~Spring~]

Shaking her head, she stared at the ground for a few moments. Come on Frostfire, fight! However, she just couldn't get herself to move, and merely stood there for a few moments. Her tail tip twitched nervously for a little while, before she looked up. Beneath Frostfire's eyes, a great desire to win came up. Come on, prove yourself to your clan! Frostfire wasn't exactly a great hunter or fighter, and she seemed to have an immense desire to win this fight.

Staring at the other cat in the eyes, she took a few paces forward. Prove yourself! Slowly, she stepped forward. Cautiously, she moved. Then, without warning, Frostfire broke into a sprint, sharply veering off the the right Prove yourself! Show your clan that they made the right decision by making you a warrior! Almost instantly, Frostfire thought of her father in StarClan. The thought gave her strength, and a fiery expression came back into her eyes.

Narrowing her eyes, Frostfire leaped in the air as she got closer to the loner. Leaping at an angle over the cat, she aimed her claws at his back, hoping that the blow would connect.

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[synkah]

Synkah stared at the Clan cat. His yellow-green eyes glittered as he watched her uncertainty. She took too long to get something done. Surprise, on her part, was lost. He wondered if she would ever move. She just twitched the tip of her tail. Synkah narrowed his eyes curiously.

Suddenly the she-cat’s gazer lifted from the ground and met his. His clever little mind was already working as he studied his opponent. She seemed cautious, but Synkah’s muscles were tensed and ready for the fight he saw coming.

In a blur of white, the she-cat sprinted and veered to her right, his left, he spun to face her, his tail fluffed out and ears flattened to his head to protect them from being shredded even more. As she leaped in the air and aimed to catch his back, Synkah decided to do something far more dangerous than he usually would do.

Bunching his muscles, he sprang up at her while she was still in mid-leap. He aimed for her throat, but not to kill. He wanted to throw her attack-maneuver off, make her think, frighten her.

His puny size didn’t offer him the benefits of a larger cat making this move. A larger cat, no doubt, could bowl the she-cat over. Syn, however, could hope to only throw her off balance, maybe. Perhaps fear of him biting into her throat would make her twist away and try to alter her form of attack. If she didn’t react fast, then she would collide with Syn’s teeth and Syn would still feel the force of her weight and without a doubt, get a few scratches from her. If she did react before the collision, well, the move was up to her.

Living by no code meant that Synkah had not been trained to fight by a mentor, only by other not-so-merciful cats. By fighting other cats, Synkah had learned from trial and error what worked and what didn’t.

[~Spring~]

Watching the other cat jump up didn't surprise Frostfire, as she had thought that the loner would try something like this. Her eyes followed the cat, her gaze hard. Not this time, I'm not going to lose. Frostfire kicked out her back legs, hoping to throw the cat off balance and perhaps make him think twice about stealing food from ThunderClan again.

Her reaction was quick, and as Frostfire was kicking out her back legs, she was working on planning her next move in her head. The she-cat's paws landed lightly on the ground, but she was unsure if she had been successful in her attack. If she had been successful however, Frostfire strongly doubted that that would be enough to make this cat leave. But she wasn't about to run away. Not from her first real battle. Not from a chance to prove herself to her clan. "You are going to have to fight better than that to drive me away..." Her voice trailed off into a mere whisper, and determination shone in her blue eyes.

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[Annikia]

occ: Syn, dont you have to get ur cat accepted before you can role-play with it?

[~Spring~]

((OOC: Syn's cat was accepted. ))

[synkah]

ooc: Yes you do. My cat's been accepted. ^^ He's under "accepted other," or something like that, if you want to go and check.



Synkah felt the she-cat's back legs slam into his side. He hadn't been able to move away from them, and, in turn, her claws raked his side near his shoulder.

He hit the ground with a muffled thud, and scrambled to his paws, his fur fluffed out finally. He blinked as the she-cat that had seemed so uncertain only moments ago, now seemed ready to shred him. The blood trickling down his skin under his fur reminded him that she was doing a fair job of it, too.

Syn flicked the tip of his tail when she began to speak. "Alright, alright, Clan cat. There's no need to rip any more fur out of me. You've made your point."

Syn was taking advantage of her talking so much. Orating was his specialty. When someone else spoke, it gave him a chance to weasel his way out of trouble.

"Next time I see you, I'll give you a mouse," he teased as he turned, his ears angled toward the ThunderClan cat. He was ready if she decided to jump him again and give him a more thorough beating.

[~Spring~]

Frostfire decided to blatantly ignore the other cat's comments, and she narrowed her eyes sharply. Her demeanor had changed entirely from nervousness to determination, and her blue eyes held confidence in them. Taking a few moments to question herself about this, she thought, How is it that I can become so confident right after I was so nervous? Yet, sure enough, the unsureness which has plagued her mind for so long was gone.

As Frostfire ran at the cat, she was almost completely oblivious to the chilling wind and the leaves crunching under her paws. In a blur of white fur, the she-cat sprinted as fast as she could, and she was close to colliding with the loner, but she moved quickly to the left. Frostfire was close to the loner now, and she could feel his fur touching hers for a moment. She slowed down quickly and aimed her claws at the loner's side. The entire move was quick, as Frostfire wanted to give the loner less time to react to her attacks.

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[synkah]

Syn had been prepared for her to attack him. He really didn't think she would let him walk away so easily, but he had to try. He could handle her, but he wasn't so sure about how he could handle any more cats.

As the she-cat raced to his side, Synkah kicked out at her with his back paws. Let her run into my claws, he thought wickedly.

If he hadn't been so alert to her, the element of surprise would have remained on her side. She was fast, but Syn was ready. Syn's small, wiry body was agile and swift. He knew he could outmaneuver this she-cat, but he would prefer to just walk away with his belly full.

[Annikia]

OCC: Oh, ok, sorry! I didnt see him.

[Super Lemon]

Snowleaf was looking for mice, and suddenly, an unfriendly smell hit her nose. "A loner." She mewed to herself and sped off to investigate. Suddenly, she heard the sounds of a struggle and smelled Frostfire. "I Should check it out," she said to herself. Even if Frostfire's handling it, better safe then sorry. But, worried as she always was, a thought creeped into her head. what is Frostfire was in trouble?

[~Spring~]

Frostfire slowed down a little bit, noticing just in time that the loner had kicked out with his back paws. She knew that she probably couldn't avoid the attack completely, considering how agile this cat was. Making a quick decision she turned sharply so that his back paws wouldn't connect with her head. Frostfire let out a grunt as she felt paws slam into her, and blood trickled down her side.

Yet, she wasn't quite finished.

I'm not going to run away. Her eyes blazed with anger and determination. Ok, well, this loner is faster and more agile than me. I have lost the element of surprise. But... I'm probably stronger than this cat.

Thoughts circled around in her head as she quickly planned her next move. Taking a few slow steps forward, Frostfire fluffed out her snow-white fur and hissed. Unsheathing her claws, she ran straight at the loner's side, and jumped up as she got close, aiming to rake her sharp claws down the loner's back, and possibly, knock the cat down.

Suddenly, Frostfire scented another cat nearby. Snowleaf? Is that you? Hope surged through her, as she was pretty certain that she would need some help fighting off this loner.

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[Super Lemon]

Snowleaf careened out of nowhere, immediately jumping to Frostfire's aid. She charged at the loner, planting a well-aimed gouge at his flank.

[synkah]

Syn grunted as his claws connected with the she-cat's flesh. He gave a wicked little smirk of satisfaction, and jumped forward. He was ready for her to try another swift move on him. This time, however, she seemed to have learned her lesson. Well, it was about time.

Watching as the she-cat fluffed out her fur, Syn lashed his tail and prepared for another attack. When she leaped at his side, obviously ready to use her strength against his speed and agility, he dropped, although still feeling claws rake across his back and rip clumps of fur out.

He rolled onto his side, moving with her attack, going with the flow. He spun around on his hocks in a heartbeat, slashing at her haunch.

Suddenly, another cat streamed into the fight. This time Syn was caught off guard. The cat's claws raked across his flank and he yowled in pain, spinning around to slash at her face.

He was attacking blindly, he knew that, and also defensively. Synkah knew very well that two against one was suicide. He leapt away from the two she-cats and dashed several fox-lengths away before pausing and calling over his shoulder, "Remember what I said, Clan cat!"

Not waiting for a reply, Syn dashed off, ignoring the stinging pain. He would deal with that back in Twolegplace.

[~Spring~]

Frostfire's blue eyes followed the loner as he ran off. "Well, he's not that stupid, I'll give him that." She mumbled under her breath. "He knew that two cats could probably have beaten him..." Her voice trailed off, and she turned to Snowleaf. "Hey, thanks for the help there." Her voice had a friendly tone, and a bright happiness returned to her eyes. I hope he won't be back any time soon. She thought, looking in the direction that the loner had dashed off.

I wonder where he went anyway... Thinking, she took a few paces in the direction where the loner had ran. Twolegplace... Frostfire shrugged and turned around. "Shall we head back to camp?" Feeling like she was forgetting something, she paused for a few moments. "Oh yeah. I need to go back and get the prey that I caught." A breeze blew by in the forest, reminding Frostfire of the season of leaf-bare, gripping the forest like an icy claw.

"Well, I'm going to go get that prey that I caught." She trotted off, thinking. At least I finally caught something to help feed the clan. Frostfire looked back one more time at where the loner had ran off, and then went to collect her prey.

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[Super Lemon]

"No problem." Snowleaf mewed warmly. "See you back at camp." with that, she sped off back to the place where she knew there was a mouse, hiding.