Hunting and Gathering

[Phoenix]

A soft breeze whispered over the swampy terrain, carrying the musty, thick smells of mud and water-rotted plants. Insects buzzing chorused with toads uttering deep melancholy groans of discontent. Vegetation swayed lazily, various leaves flitting up from the muck-soaked ground.
Upon said ground ambled a black mass. It was bulky and large, almost too big to be a cat. Almost a small badger's size. That said, no badger would gamble its luck in such a sad, forlorn place. Which left none other than Eclipse.
Upon close inspection, if one dared nearer, they would find that it was indeed a cat; a black tom, to be precise. He made his way with inhuman grace and skill, carefully picking his way over puddles.

There was a slight unevenness about the gait, however. Almost a limp, that which caused the feline to stumble every few minutes. such mishaps caused him to hiss beneath his breath, grumbling in an irritated manner, then continue on.
In his mouth were several carefully held leaves; nettle, to be exact, folded over in a way that the punishing spines would not irritate his tongue or the roof of his mouth. His tail swayed like a banner behind him, alerting any other cats that just might happen to be in the area of his presence.
Other cats...
Dully, he wondered if his trainee planned to show up any time soon. The small she-cat was on a roll of disappointment lately, and he wouldn't hesitate to begin a more severe chain of punishments, especially after he specifically asked her to be present.

Shaking his head, he leaped across a rather large pool-or at least tried to-and his back end ended up in the water. He kept his jaws clamped, but growled loudly with frustration. Clambering up the bank, he shook himself, thinking of how long it would take until he would be dry again. Longer than he had patience for.
And that patience was waning.

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[*(SHADE)*]

lachance, the large caracal tom, walked forward coming face to face with the large black tom. this wasn't his territory, he shouldn't be there, but that tom couldn't help himself he had to ponder the unknown. who are you? lachance, the leader of coven's elite, asked softly.

[Phoenix]

Eclipse stopped suddenly, the breeze bringing up the trace of someone new. The hair upon his neck stood up, hackles raising just the slightest bit. This new approach was not his trainee. The cat knew that if whoever was daring to seep into his clan's territory was hostile, he'd be able to hold his own well enough, as long as they weren't exceptionally skilled in agility. That was his weakness.
Enough force to knock a dog unconscious with one well aimed clout, but lacked the ability to maneuver and run with swiftness.
He took the slightest step back, eyes scanning.

When the unfamiliar face of a tom of an unknown breed showed itself, Eclipse began to lash his tail. To hide his weak leg, he sat back, trying to appear as daunting as possible in such a position.
"Who am I?" he echoed, eyes narrowing.
"I should be asking the same, no? But as it is polite, I am Eclipse, the Medicine cat for Rougeclan. Now who are you?"

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[Admin]

A large white tom thundered forward. His clear eyes narrowed at Lachance. A low growl errupted in the back of his throat and his claws were unsheathed. Behind him was the patrol of Adder, Eclipses apprentice, Twister and Chain. He stepped forward comming nose to nose with the tom."May I help you Lachance.."His tone was sharp and bitter. certainly he did not like this toms company.

Twister cackled and stood closely next to his leader. He was one of the stronger fighters but certainly not Banes favorite. He was a large tom but not as big as Lachance and Bane, both who were fairly large for their age."Lachance you are one cat we are 5 you can't beat us. Go back to your territory while you can..." He thought he did a great job of threatening the tom until he got a fairly nasty look from his leader.

[*(SHADE)*]

adder looked at lachance, her orbs sparkling in curiousity. perhaps it would not be wise to chase him out, she began glancing at her mentor than to the caracal. he is after all, your neighbor. she added.


lachance, smiled softly at the new arrivals. and you assume i came alone. he said with a laugh. ignorance is bliss i suppose.

[Admin]

ooc: YOU OWN ADDER....FINALLY I FIGURED OUT WHO IT WAS!!!!!!

ehem

Ic: Bane whipped his head around and snarled at the apprentice."You speak when you are spoken to and otherwise do not speak at all." His nostrils flared and of course in the distance many of the coven cats were around."Your elites mean nothing to me Lachance." He did not want to make an introduction."Twister step back you didn't even know his name until I said it." He narrowed his crist Amber eyes and snorted."How many Elites do you have with you?"

[*(SHADE)*]

adder bowed her head respectively and stepped back, walking to her mentors side. respect, bane, respect, soon i will be the healer of your clan. she muttered loud enough for him to hear. she was quiet, but she was firey, as was typical.

lachance smiled once more before allowing it to fade into nothing. i did not come here looking for a battle, Bane. he said, his voice seething in amusement.

[Phoenix]

The large Healer had stayed silent for most of the interaction.
"Hmm...so that is the Elite leader..

[/i]" he thought to himself.
When his own clan members had made their charge, he hadn't so much as flinched or flickered an ear. In a way, he felt that he was above all of them. Without his wisdom and tellings, the entire clan would shrivel and die of sickness and go mad without the words of their Fire ancestors. Still, though, there was always just that slightest twinge of bitterness when he watched the other clan members. His gaze briefly drifted down to his leg, glaring a seething scowl.

It was then that he looked up and noticed Adder was among the group. Sweeping his tail around her when she came close, he finally stood up on all four legs, and cleared his throat.
"Bane," he said slowly, thoughtfully.
"It is not my belief that he is here for hostility. If he was, don't you think that he would have ended me when he had the oppertunity for a sneak attack? There would be no proof of what my death was caused by, either."

Eclipse nodded then. He had not been looking to Bane when he addressed him, but instead the turquoise moons bore inquisitively into the Coven feline.
He was genuinely curious.
"But if it is not that," he said slowly,
"Why are you here Lachance?"

:: I'll post as Zel later, gotta go now ::

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[wolfgirl007]

Gypsy stepped forward and stood next to bane. She narrowed her eyes and bared pearly white fangs but her claws were stained from a crimson liquid, blood."Your inches from our territory Lachance can't you mind your own buisness and stay away? Another Rougeclan Fighter stepped forward. It was fairly rare for a female to even have such a rank."And you adder perhaps you are only defending Lachance because you and your brother Tackle come from his clan. You were his weak ones so in return he tossed you out. However atleast your current leader saw something in you and pulled you and your blind brother in."She hissed between bared teeth."Lachance if your not here for a party then please excuse yourself from the area."

[*(SHADE)*]

a low hiss escaped from between adder's teeth, her frustrated form seethed in fury as she brought her sapphire orbs up to meet lachances.

lachance looked at gypsy now, surprised to see she had spoken. i will do as i please, and no, they were not saw as weak in my eyes. he said in a low dangerous voice. but adder was not meant to follow the females path in our group.

[Phoenix]

The breeze then blew again, carrying the sound of..a chuckle? The unmistakable scent of feline rolled over the swamps, mingling with that of muddy water and bloated corpses. He appeared without so much as a rustle, as if manifesting up from the water.
The coloration of the large cat was exotic, to say the least. He appeared to be nothing less than a miniature tiger; brilliant orange with black stripes, stunning emerald eyes that were nearly hollowed out with madness.

"What have we heeeere~?" he sang cheerfully. A long tail trembled and twitched behind him, as if it had a mind of its own. He tilted his head and looked from his leader, to the members of Rougeclan. Maw-lips pulled back, and he flashed his almost freakishly long incisors in a Cheshire cat grin.
"Master Lachance..were you making friends? Do they...like to play?" he hissed threateningly, eyes dancing with sickened pleasure and eagerness. He shifted his weight from one leg to another, running his tongue over his lips.
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[Phoenix]

The large black tom bristled, and bared his fangs. Though, not at the Elite cat. Quite the contrary. His hostility was directed at the Fighter who had made the decision to insult his trainee. A scowl came over his face, and his claws slid in and out from his paws. They were long and powerful, much like fish hooks, poised for rending flesh.
"Silence yourself!" he snapped, fury blazing in his gaze. The ice cold fire was intense, smoldering.
"You were not addressed, and certainly have no place to make claims on my trainee. She is MY property, to judge how I wish, not yours. It would be in your best interest to back down, female."
He meant it, too. Adder was the closest member of the clan he had, even if he seemed not to be fond of her, constantly annoyed and disappointed. Yet he had a sense of protectiveness over her, much like a bear protects an irritating cub. What he said about ownership over the young cat may have been degrading, but in his own way, it was a sign of affection.
Eclipse drew Adder closer to him, huffing as he did so, sending a few last glares at Gypsy and the other female fighter.
"Peace," he muttered to his trainee, his gaze going back to Lachance.
"You never answered me, Outsider. Why. Are you here?"

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