S.h.a.l.l.o.w. [open!]

[Mirrored Light]

A step foreward, and foreward and foreward...

The tom's eyes were focused so intently that the world may as well have been a dream. Perfect harmony, you see, as his senses heightened to draw in everything. The rustle of brush, the slightest twitch of his own muscle, but most dead certain, the prey he stalked through his home.

Don't run away, don't be afraid, death is only quick and painless...

His perfect white fur was neat and slightly damp, nothing less to be expected of a RiverClan warrior, most importantly their leader. His golden gaze hadn't strayed from the target of vole. Despite the fact he much prefferred fish, anything that could be wrapped in claws was killed to be eaten.

Stay still, keep hold, and finally left go and fall...

It was all so easy, with Lightstar cutting into motion and pouncing upon the unsuspecting animal. It did not have time for the slightest sqeal, with a neatly snapped neck and the scarlet liquid barely dripping over the brown soil. A clean kill.

Gone, but not missed, for we are still not alone...

The tom's ears pricked, assuming his moment was finished, everything returning to normal, in such a casual manner that would repeat itself until the last cat passed on. Ah, the joys of hunting, but when he was alone the tom always felt that there might be something missing in that simple pleasure. But what?

{ooc: By the way, I don't usually write this... erm... dark? I'm just in a poetic mood. }
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[Riverflame]

Riverflame's ears were pinned to her head, her belly fur brushing the ground. The she-cat's eyes were intent on a rather plump vole only a fox-length in front of her.
Her lips curled up, baring her teeth, as she shoved off of her haunches and landed on the creature. Claws slit it's tiny throat before any sound could escape it. Riverflame allowed a quiet purr before picking the rodent up in her jaws and padding a few tail-lengths away to bury it.

The spotted cat dug a shallow hole and dropped the vole in it before scenting the air for more prey. What she did scent, however, was a slight surprise.
From mere fox-lengths away was her leader's scent, stronger than that left on the wetland grasses. Riverflame cocked her head curiously, and padded over towards the tom. He was still at camp when she left; how could she have missed him before?
"Lightstar? What're you doing?" she meowed, quietly in case he was hunting.

(( Sorry it's short, I have to go to a softball game. ))

[Mirrored Light]

((ooc: That's fine~))

His own surprise did not appear on his face, for such emotions never sparked much expression in a collected cat such as himself. The prey fell from his jaws, leaving the edges of his mouth dabbed in blood, before he replied with a single word, "Hunting."

His meow was curt, making the tom appear serious and detached more than he had always been. Lightstar let his paws grace over the earth before returning a clasp of fangs around his kill, only to me dropped tail-lenghts away where it was hidden to be collected later.

With a fluid movement the tom let himself rest in a position that looked as if the leader were half-dead on his feet, but relaxed, before speaking once more. "How may I be of service to you, Riverflame?"

[Riverflame]

Riverflame dipped her head in respect before sitting a few tail-lengths away, her tail curled around her paws.
"Well, I just noticed you were here, is all," she mewed. "You were still at camp when I left to go hunting, so I wasn't expecting anyone, let alone you, to be hunting too. Though I've only caught a vole so far." she added, shrugging nonchalently.
That tom, she thought. is more serious than any other cat I've known. No one needs a reason to come up and say hello.

She sighed quietly, and then stood.
"I suppose I'll let you get back to hunting then?" she said, her tail swishing behind her, not in agitation, just of natural habit. Her ears pricked up, waiting for any signs of prey.

[Mirrored Light]

The tom began to purr in an almost mocking manner, as what one might call 'laughing' for, he had known Riverflame for many moons, but was yet unsure what she thought about him. His ear twitched for a moment, "Well, I noticed that we could use a bit more prey. You can never have too much, after all." His eyes misted thoughtfully, but quickly his slits sharpened again, brining him back from the turmoil of his own thoughts.

"Ah, well, I'm actually on my way to the bank to catch a few fish. Would you care to join me?" His tone was strictly polite, but at the same time inviting and friendly as a Clanmate should be. He wouldn't want to lead her on the wrong way after all, not to be vain but Lightstar knew very little about affairs of the heart and took every precaution not to get trapped.

He closed his eyes and upturned his jaw a bit, grinning as much as you could say for a cat. His tail-tip flicked around, curling and uncurling around the tom's paws as he waited for the she-cat's response.

[Riverflame]

Riverflame listened in amusement as the tom purred. She couldn't decide if it was meant as some sort of insult, or just a casual sign of amusement.
"I suppose," she meowed cautiously, unsure of what to expect from his invitation. Still confused over what the purr could mean- what good was it if your leader made fun of you, after all? -she was still considering what the tom was thinking of. It could be something as simple as, 'I wonder if my Clan is being fed well enough?' to something rather rude, such as, 'Riverflame is one of the most annoying warriors I know!'

The she-cat watched her leader suspiciously. The tom was too serious to ever think of insulting another cat, surely. But could he, possibly, be doing just that, directed to her?
If that's the case, she thought indignantly. then I'll be sure to apologise for interupting his secret hunt when we get back to camp.

(( Lol, she's never this suspicious. x3
I felt like making her seem all, "Good lord, this cat is the worst!" because I'm feeling a bit melodramatic right now, lmao. ))

[Mirrored Light]

(ooc: She takes him the wrong way, he's not that serious... just extremely curt. xP)

He led her, of course, as it would seem odd for the leader to be following a warrior in patrol, until the tom stepped to the edge of the marsh, where it opened out into water and the ripples water were evidence of the bobbing fish. He flicked his tail to test the wind, before settling down beneath a willow tree.

His shoulder's hunched up, and his eyes once again fixated, the elevation of senses rising as he had felt himself fall to instinct. Lightstar was incredibly sharp, focused on a single shining body among the massive turmoil beneath the water's surface. The tom stayed patient.

An eternity seemed to pass before Lightstar struck, dragging a fish from the water and bringing it up to his teeth to deliver a death blow. His eyes wandered to Riverflame, checking upon the warrior's progress.

[Riverflame]

Riverflame followed Lightstar and padded over a few tail-lengths away from where he sat.
Out of habit, she mewed, "Good catch," before settling down herself. The she-cat watched patiently as a few fish swam by, oblivious of what was to come.
Her paw raised in preperation, her gaze wandering to a sleek, silver fish. It danced beneath the water, wandering closer...
Riverrflame's paw darted down, claws unsheathed. She hooked them around the silvery body and tossed it up onto the shore beside her. She quickly bit down on it's neck, holding it until it stopped moving beneath the pressure of her jaws.

The she-cat spat the fish out, and licked the traces of fish from her mouth. It made her hungry, but she had come out of camp to hunt anyway, and there was no chance of breaking the warrior code around Lightstar, even if the thought occured to her.
She shook out her fur, and dipped her paw in the water, causing a few small ripples to break the surface. Pulling it out, she sheathed her claws and watched for any more fish.

(( Lol, since she's not technically a full Clan cat, (her father was a rogue, and her mother left RiverClan. More in her bio thingy) she has trust issues and tends to judge cats the wrong way. x3 ))

[Mirrored Light]

"You're aren't quite lacking in skill either." His eye's had already left Riverflame, and the tom was returning into focus. The same cycle, once more, in a never ending circle. He raised a paw, cautiously, and for moments remained unmoving. Even as his foreleg grew sore and he refused to allow the slightest twitch. With a warrior watching Lightstar could not disappoint, his claws sunk into the water at an incomprehensible speed and dragged out a fish of gleaming orange.

Snapping the neck of his prey, the RiverClan leader tossed his catch next to the previous one. His gesture was careless and cool, with a quick snap and relaxed manner he returned to hunting once more.

Silence ensued, although it was more serene that awkward. The rhythm of constant water and splashes blew the tension right from the air. Lightstar's mind began to get lazy, pawning over different duties and reflecting on a few actions he might regret, but nothing hardcore or worrisome. 'What a fine day this is...' He almost felt like yowling his joys, but how silly that would appear, he resisted the childish urge. '...its as if everything wrong has vanished.'

[Riverflame]

Riverflame shrugged.
"I guess so," she meowed. "I'm better at catching mice and the like though."
The she-cat watched the water for a moment, and her paw darted down. Again, her claws came unsheathed as they hooked around the body of a fish, but unlike the first time, as she brought it up, it flopped to the ground early.
The silver body flailed on the ground, and Riverflame hissed in frustration as she placed a paw over it. It thrashed for a moment, then the she-cat lifted her paw.
At the same time, it's tail smacked the ground, launching it skyward towards the water again.
"Foxdung!" she spat, jumping up to grab it. It slipped into it's home again, sending the she-cat in with it.

She paused underwater, watching as the tiny fish swam away.
Of course, she thought. swim away little fishy. I'll see you again, and next time you'll be my meal.
Riverflame resurfaced, her legs paddling her towards the bank again. Her spotted pelt was drenched, but the water rolled right off. However, several droplets stayed. Though she was a RiverClan cat, and ate fish, leaving her fur glossy and water-proof, she tended to catch her own meals when she was out hunting. She returned to camp with plenty of prey for her Clan, as well as a mouse or vole for herself. Therefore, she ate less fish than the other cats, leaving her fur prone to staying wet for longer periods of time.
She climbed back onto the ground and shook herself, trying to keep most of the water away from Lightstar. She knew that no cat liked to be sprayed with water, let alone a leader.

[Mirrored Light]

The tom couldn't contain a purr of amusement, watching any cat with a dislike of water fall in was somehow fascinatingly funny to watch. He coughed to cover up that he was having trouble stopping, but he didn't spite her by mocking the way she fell in. The tom turned back to what his small catch was and considered for a moment.

"We can head back to camp now, there will be plenty of time to continue hunting later." He padded over to the disorganized little hill of fish and a vole. It would be enough to feed the queens and elders for now, if you didn't count the two cats feeding themselves, which they could obviously do at any appropriate time.

His tail flicked indicating that she needn't avoid him, simply because of a splash of water. After all, his own reputation was to never be found without a little bit of liquid weighing down his pelt, save leaf-bare of course. He began to chuckle through the kill, imagining a cat similar to him covered in icicles.

(ooc: Short, kind of boring, but I'm having a space-case. We need to do something :3)

[Riverflame]

(( Short? Have you even read my posts? Really, Mir, you think any of your posts are short, and I will personally hunt you down and show you tons of my posts. You shall drown under the amount of short postage... *begins to plot*
And as far as something to do, like what? Like... a badger? Or... a fox? Or something simple like someone falling and hurting their paw? x3 ))

Riverflame's eyes narrowed a bit in both annoyance and embarrassment. Falling into water like that was embarrassing enough when it was with any cat, let alone a tom. And then her perfect timing made it happen in front of a tom that just so happened to be the leader of her Clan. Perfect.
"Alright," she meowed calmly, her voice reflecting nothing of her bemused expression. The she-cat picked up her single fish, and with what dignaty she had left, trotted over to retrieve her vole.
With a fish and a vole in her jaws, it was difficult to talk, therefore leaving her quiet.

[Mirrored Light]

(ooc: Well... for me... ehe... ^^'' I have high expectations. Anyway... um... I've no idea where to go. Short enough for you?)

Lightstar trotted over the marsh, his white legs being covered in globs of muck and other substance. 'Ick... this is the worst part of our territory.' He continued to move along, as if the weight was not bothering him. This tom was a warrior, and no wild cat was afraid of a little dirt.

The bright light had begun to fade, simply because of the random plant shoots spurting from the ground and leaving the cats with reeds hanging over them. He focused on getting to camp and delivering the prey, but a subconcious thought began to annoy him. Something was... wrong.

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[Riverflame]

(( It's fine. I don't care how short or long posts are, lol. ))

Riverflame's ears flicked subconsiously as she carried her kills. Her eyes showed a bit of annoyance as she padded through the muck that was their territory.
"Ew," she grumbled to herself, too low for the tom to hear.
The spotted she-cat lifted her head to jump over a bit of reeds that had fell and were now coated in mud and muck. Her tail wove back and forth behind her, while she trotted confidently along.
"What's wrong?" she meowed, noting Lightstar's expression. It was as stoic as ever, but the slightest hint of... what was it? Worry maybe? Fear? Whatever it was, there was a slight bit showing in his eyes.

[Mirrored Light]

Lightstar dropped his fresh-kill and allowed his nose to shoot in the air. It was faint, but he had figured out what put him at unease. The cat who was either dead or abandoned the Clan, and now he knew which. The scent belonged to a she-cat he knew as Willowspring before her disappearence.

Now that I think of it, this somehow resembles that white she-cat with the black stripes on her legs... she ran away too. I never did learn who she was though.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and flicked his tail to Riverflame. "Do you smell that?" Of course the scent was stale and faint, it must have been days ago, but if a rogue was visiting it could cause problems for RiverClan.

[Riverflame]

Riverflame tilted her head to the side in confusion, then dropped her prey as well to clear the air around her. She lifted her head and scented the air.
"Yeah," she meowed hesitantly. "It's a cat. It smells familiar, but... I can't tell. Why? Is it a rogue? Or those cats that ShadowClan told us about before?"
The she-cat waited for the leader's reply, and meanwhile she sat. She lifted a paw and stared at the muck in disgust. RiverClan territory was so... muddy, and disgusting, in almost every place. But it was her home, and unless she wanted to be a loner again, she'd stay here until the day she joined StarClan.

[Mirrored Light]

"That's right... you never met Willowspring. She left the Clan and became a rogue. Perhaps many former Clanmates have joined them, which might explain the situation and purpose revenge. Let's hurry." His words, despite their true meaning, were not held with emotion or even blurted out in a rush. His voice was steady and stoic, and even as he picked the prey up back into his jaws ignoring the dirt that covered his vole's pelt, he only ran at a reasonable pace without demonstrating nervous or rash behavior.

His paws beat on the ground, and he ignored sharp pains of hidden rocks pricking his pads, for knowledge that it could easily be fixed up later. Every couple of heartbeats he looked back to see is Riverflame followed him, and then turned back to looking ahead.