Old Cat, Old Tricks

[Smokeleaf]

Phantom? The little gray apprentice was beyond words. She'd heard a lot of strange names before, especially from those TimberClan cats, but she'd never heard of anything like that. What was a Phantom? She closed her eyes and tried to imagine, and came up with a beautiful bird with scarlet wings and a flowing orange tail. Something pretty and elegant, she decided, but when she opened her eyes again, the image did not match the cat. Chills shivered down her spine.

"Oh, you've been looking for us?" Ravensoul replied strongly, his voice unwavering. He grew a bit more concerned now at the idea that someone was hunting them down - hunting, that's the only word that came to mind - and he now felt fear for his Clan. Had he said too much? Nonsense; what harm were names? Besides, this cat had offered just as much. Phantom, he was called. That's interesting. Slowly Ravensoul realized that he hadn't quite returned the favor, and goaded him onward. "Well, Phantom, where do you come from? How do you know of our Clan?"

Snort! Firleaf awoke with a jolt, sneezing from the soot that now filled his nostrils. He coughed and spluttered, getting to his feet and stumbling out into the middle of camp. When he finally had himself under control, he shook his pelt loose and inhaled the fresh air. Ahhh, lovely. But where was everyone? He couldn't see their harsh leader, or that spunky she-cat, or her cold brother and his quiet apprentice. As far as he knew, everyone else was asleep. I bet they went out hunting, he mused, and with nothing else to do, padded out to join them.

ooc: Just go ahead and tell us whatever you want. Just don't kill anybody - from what I remember, nobody actually dies until the battle - not according to the plot, anyway. Check with other people. Umm... start corrupting cats... Shoot, I forget the entire plot; I'm going to have to go look it up again...

[[[ShAdYCaUStI]]]

ooc;; Imma try to get in a decent post; I know I've been uber inactive. My apologies. =S

bic::
The little grey cat trembled briefly and Phantom wondered if she was already imagining her death at his claws. The thought put a spark of warmth inside him. That leader cat was beginning to be irritating - well, beginning to be more irritating at any rate.
"Oh, I come from here and there and everywhere; I'm afraid I've always been rather ... restless." His cold eyes tightened at the corner and his expression was almost a cynical smile - almost, but not quite. "I first heard of your clan from a lone she-cat I met once, a long time ago." He had murdered her; the memory of her shrill screams and desperate pleading, of the hot blood flying everywhere, soaking his fur, of the sweet warmth of her shuddering carcass - it filled him with a fire even now. She had been very amusing; entertaining at the least. Of course, telling this pompous cat as much was hardly a brilliant idea. "She mentioned it in passing, and after that I heard of it here and there from other cats I met from time to time." Actually, he had found the idea of ravaging an entire clan fascinating and had extracted as much information as he could about Sootclan from the various cats he killed over the moons. Some of them made up information, thinking perhaps they could save their miserable pelts - it never helped.

The death-scented cat was terrifying in a way she couldn't explain even to herself. He made her insides freeze and tremble; but she was the deputy of SootClan, the mate of Ravensoul. Showing weakness was simply something she didn't do. So she stood firm and kept her mouth shut - Ravensoul never appreciated any she-cat's words, especially in situations like this. Her nightmares came back to her mind, briefly. She pushed them away. Poor little Smokeleaf; she looked so terrified. She sneaked a glance at Ravensoul, wondering what possessed him to be so blatantly obnoxious now of all times. He was always maddening, but at least he usually had the sense to be less idiotic about it.

Sinistermask stifled a sigh. Of all the times for Ravensoul to make a complete nincompoop of himself, this seemed a particularly bad moment. The unnatural snakes might be gone, but he almost thought he'd rather the snakes and their freakish little cat-leader than this rogue who smelt of death and exuded pure evil. He looked at Smokepaw for a moment, almost pitying the poor little thing - but not quite. The little mousebrain had gotten herself into this mess in the first place.

[Smokeleaf]

Smokepaw could feel the eyes of the others drifting everywhere. Sometimes they looked at trees, or at Ravensoul, and especially at this new cat, but they also turned to her a bit more often than she would have liked. Was that pity in the eyes of Jadedtail and Sinistermask? What was there to pity her for? They were all in this strange situation, and the little gray she-cat was surprised the others hadn't said anything yet. Their leader seemed to be making a mockery of himself, yet the others did nothing. Was she the only one who thought this? Yes, she told herself. I must be wrong.
Still, she couldn't quite convince herself.

Ravensoul bowed his head respectfully, but wasn't quite content with the answer. There seemed to be something else that the newcomer wasn't telling them. He decided to goad him on further.
"Surely you must have a home. Every cat does! Even rogues find some place to set up camp." Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Do you think you could tell us about these other cats? Are you sure she wasn't a Clan cat? We haven't seen any loners in quite a while, and I wouldn't put it past a she-cat to spread stories."

A leaf fluttered out of the sky and landed softly on Firleaf's nose as he padded through the forest. He was keen to the scents of the forest, quickly sorting out the smell of foliage and prey. At least, he would have been able to do this, had there been any prey to smell. For some reason, it seemed like everything had disappeared into their dens, like they were hiding from something. Admittedly, the air did feel a little heavier today, but Firleaf decided to blame it on the weather. Sometimes incoming rain could startle the little rascals. A little bit of water never bothered Firleaf, however. He didn't mind getting his fur wet, unless it was from battle. He wasn't fond of battle. Hopefully the Clans could be silent for just a few moons longer.

[Molten]

(( lol i mentioned fang going into SootClan, right? ))
Fang tasted the air. The taste of SootClan filled his mouth. He looked around with his poor eyesight, and mimiced the snakes' behaviour by flicking out his non-forked tongue. It didn't help him with anything, but it was mostly just a habit now. Fang walked nearer to the cats and hid in a bush. His walk was awkward and looked more like him slithering like a snake. It was pretty obvious he was raised by them.

Fang tried not to be noticed. His stripes sort of camoflaged him, as well as the snake guarding him. He oddly fit in. He didn't know where the cats were, or more important, the food pile. That was pretty much the only reason he was here. He didn't know how to catch his own food, because whenever he tries to the mouse usually notices him and hops away. Fang was filled with envy at the thought of this.

"Make sure this place is safe," Fang commanded a few of his snakes. They obeyed without a word. Only one came back, shaking in fear.

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: Oh, you're coming back? Wow. This will be interesting. ( =

[Molten]

(( Yep :3 NOW COME ON CAUSTI POST!! Lol I got attracted to this post because of Phantom actually. Moongaze might pop up. ))

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: Sorry, Molten, I'm kind of waiting on some kind of response from Causti/Phantom, or else I would sniff you or something. At least now there's something going on in BlazeClan. ( =

[[[ShAdYCaUStI]]]

ooc;; Ok I know I was gone for ages and I don't have much right to come back and complain, but Molteh, love, your tense-swaps in that last post gave me whiplash. Can we PLEASE all stick with past-tense? ....and I don't really know what to do, because Phantom would probably attack and he would kill Fang. Phantom can't die, since he's so integral to the plot, and he would not back away. Not his personality. So... if I get some suggestion of what to do, I would love to post!

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: Wait. I thought you already stole our food pile? And wouldn't he already know if it were safe or unsafe, seeing as its only been, like, ten minutes since he left? Okay. Sorry. I'm going to try to make this work. Hopefully its better than my attempt to fix TimberClan...
bic:

Smokepaw continued to shake as they waited for Phantom's reponse. Oh, Flaming Eternal! she pleaded silently. Forgive me for my sins, for while I am only a lowly she-cat, I continue to pray to you every day! If every other wish should be denied, please answer this one! Tell Ravensoul to shut up!

Suddenly, Firleaf bounded into the clearing. Ravensoul tensed up at his arrival, and Smokepaw jumped a tail-length in the air. The tom looked surprised with this strange meeting, and stumbled backward in shock.
"Ravensoul, I'm sorry to disturb you," he stammered. "I, erm, was hunting, and I guess I was so focused on finding prey that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going..."
His voice trailed off as he locked eyes with an unfamiliar cat. While many words seemed to fit him, the only one that could describe his scent was death. Clearly the cat was alive and breathing, but there was something unsettling about him, and Firleaf didn't trust his thoughts.
"Hello," he managed to say, forcing a polite nod. His only desire was to barrel into the loner and claw his head off, but Ravensoul didn't seemed alarmed, so he resisted the urge. Instead, he said cooly, "Who are you, and why is your friend hiding?"
He flicked his tail toward the bushes where another unfamiliar scent was seemingly located. From what he could tell, it was cat mixed with the scent of adder. These two oddly smelling intruders were making Firleaf nervous, and he hoped that his leader would run them both off the territory.

[[[ShAdYCaUStI]]]

The sudden arrival of the new cat rather surprised Phantom - the wind was blowing the wrong way, and with his attention so firmly fixed on the cats before him, he hadn't noticed the intruder until the tom burst out of the foliage. The little she-cat's startled leap almost brought a chuckle from the rogue. The new cat rattled off a ridiculously spontaneous explanation that rambled in circles and then trailed off stupidly. This new cat might be almost as irritating as the clan's leader seemed to be, but in a more amusing way. Perhaps he would be fun to consume...

"Friend?" he asked, abruptly yanked from his musings by the new tom's mention of a cat in the bushes. Friends were entanglements that Phantom neither had nor needed. If he ever gave them much thought, it was to scoff at those who found them so necessary. They invariably led to pain and bad endings - both of which he enjoyed causing, of course; but there was no cat in the world superior enough to be even his companion. Although, come to think of it, it could be very amusing to take up a companion, lead them along, and then slaughter them... That was a new idea. Perhaps the look of understanding in their eyes, when they caught the betrayal and understood that the entire purpose of the relationship had been this - the beautiful climax filled with blood and screams and writhing victim - that look might be far more stirring to his shadowy soul than the sudden terror of unexpected death at a stranger's claws. If he had a soul, of course. He opened his mouth and almost smiled. Yes, there was another cat there - the same slinking, skulking little adder-kit he had chased away a bit ago. Irritation trickled down his spine. He was in the middle of a most pleasurable exchange with these new... companions. Must the disgusting little snake-cat interrupt so soon?

Firleaf's arrival startled Jadedtail, but she kept her composure, amused to see Smokeleaf start so violently. The deputy was in part glad to see another cat - five on one were always better odds than four - and yet partly frustrated. If this death-scented rogue meant to kill them all, the fewer clan cats he got to, the better. Firleaf's words made her prick up her ears and look around, though. It was that nasty little cat with the snakes. Hadn't he left? Why was he back again? Firleaf's use of the word "friend" send a cold shiver down her neck. What if Phantom and the adder-cat were in league? The clan could never defeat them. They had no chance.

His ridiculous little apprentice - in his mind the word came out on a hateful hiss - jumped like a frightened mouse at Firleaf's less-than-graceful entry. Mouse-brained she-cat would die in her first battle. That was, of course, the point of female warriors - that they could die for the clan and leave the ones who really mattered - the toms - alive. But it was hardly a credit on his training for her to die of fright upon the arrival of a clan-mate. Flaming Eternal he hated the little thing. If she made him look bad... Oh joy - that little creature with the adders was back. Runty thing was hiding in the bushes like a scared vole. He hoped it died as easily. He glanced at his leader, waiting for some cue.

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: !!! I just wrote a good long-ish response, went to post it, and lost everything. Now I have to re-write it, and it's gonna fail.
bic:

Shivers coursed down the spine of the little apprentice, still so much in shock that she did not sense the disapproval of her Clanmates. It wasn't Firleaf that scared her, necessarily; his untimely entrance had simply released the fear that she'd been trying to hide. Her composure was lost, though, and she could not get it back; it was just like if a fire had burned down the camp: all the cats would flee, and they could not immediately return. As she shook, Smokepaw looked around at her brave Clanmates, waiting for directions. She caught Sinistermask's eye and knew what he was thinking: she could not make it out of battle alive. Perhaps if the fighting distracted them, she could go back to camp for reinforcements. Casting a quick glance at Jadedtail, she silently pleaded for instruction.

Firleaf was not stupid--or at least not as stupid as his Clanmates thought--and could tell these cats had already fought one battle this morning. Would they be ready for another? He quickly thanked the Flaming Eternal for his full night of sleep, and tensed his muscles, preparing for battle.

"Show yourself, rogue!" Ravensoul snapped. He knew full well who was behind the bushes, but in the presence of Phantom, he felt as if things must be conducted formally. That mysterious, gray cat gave him a sense of courage, and a thirst to prove himself. He knew without a doubt that they could beat the adder-cat with Phantom's help. And perhaps if they fought in battle together... We could convince him to join our Clan!

ooc: Molten, you and Night have SootClan cats, right?
Okay. I have no idea how to handle this. Let me get this straight: Phantom CAN'T die. I'd rather none of my cats die, and I assume you all feel the same way. We also can't kill snakes without permission because its power-playing. And whatever creativity I currently have is focused 100% on MMH, so I personally can't find a way to avoid battle without making this entire thing awkward and strange. I hope you guys have an idea! *ka-splodes*

[[[ShAdYCaUStI]]]

ooc;;
Okeydokeyz, I agree with Smokeh's synopsis of this ridiculous situation. Molten, what are the chances that if the cats charged your lil snakey guy would leave? Unless you don't mind some snakes dying before the adder-kit turns tail? Cause that's the only solutions I can see - though I admit there are most likely possibilities that I haven't thought of. Whatever the matter is, I think I'll leave it to you, Molten, since you've got to decide how the snakies will respond. Lemme know, wontcha? And Smoky, love - I absolutely adore your avie, and so will Lighty when I show it to her. XD

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: I'm kind of just replying for the sake of letting y'all know I'm paying attention... I just kind of can't say anything because I was the last to respond in character, and have no more useful information to add....
Actually, Fang may or may not have gone to EmberClan, which would totally clear up that part of the cafuffle (which is totally my favorite word right now, next to taco and 'staging a coup').
And Causti, I was sort of brainstorming a bit whilst you were gone.... In BlazeClan at the moment, for lack of anything else to do, Roantail, Amberheart, and Molten are about to leave the volcano to get Molten food/water. I was wondering if maybe while they were out there, they could meet Phantom, and that's how he gets to them....? BlazeClan is just kind of a mess in terms of the plot. I wish Night would come back...

[[[ShAdYCaUStI]]]

ooc::
Yah, this is so massively confusing. And me being on once every four months or so isn't helping at all! I wish I could be on every day again! Im so lost with the plot right now that I dont know what to do. You should all know first of all that this is my favourite RP ever - or at least, my favourite Warriors RP - and I adore the awesome crap between Jaded and Raven, and Smoky and Sinistermask. I also adore Phantom and Jadedtails random premonition nightmares. Just tell me what to do, as far as plot, and I'll do it. I can't think right now. Also, Smokeh - I adore your words! "fasciculate" is my latest favourite. ...or maybe its "fasceculate"... idk. It's a muscle twitch!

[Smokeleaf]

ooc: Haha that's awesomesauce. I love "defenestrate." Who came up with that? Are things/people thrown out of windows so often that they needed a special word for it?
I have no idea what's going on plot-wise. I haven't been on in, like, a month. Partially homework, but honestly, I feel like we have no where to go... Darkie's basically given up hope and I don't think there's any way I can get her back this time. I have no idea what happened to Night, but as far as I know, no one's heard from her in months. So... yeah. I have no idea.