Diversion (Loner Plot Thread. TC cats wanted!)

[Heathclaw]

(Part of Yoko's Loner Plot. See here)

Today served to be an interesting diversion from the drudgery of day to day life. The loner's trips into the forest were rare, and he'd never gone this far in. He didn't know if he trusted Snaketail, but it didn't really matter. He would do his job, and then... his mind wrapped around the kind of reward he was planning on asking for. He wondered if he dared to even ask.

Regardless, that was not the main point at hand. Their task was to spy on these "ThunderClan" cats, preferably without being spotted. A somewhat dangerous task, indeed, but the risk served to make the situation stand out all the more from his humdrum day to day life.

Upon arriving at a likely spot- a large tree in a clearing, surrounded by the bodies of prey, the loner crouched into a hiding position underneath a large shrub, with a backwards glance at his partner. He hadn't bothered to get the other cat's name- their relationship on this was in business only, and he hadn't felt the need to bother.

[:c a i:]

Ever the shrewd survivalist, Pann had involved himself in the dealings of some forest Clan-cats purely to better his own means. There was the potential for a fair amount of gain in return for work that did not seem very difficult or taxing, and so Pann had agreed to offer his services to the shadowy cat who had explained what it would involve. He didn't trust the smooth-talking tom one bit, but it was of no consequence. Pann planned to carry out the espionage trip as he was supposed to, but with perfect readiness to simply bolt if things turned ugly. No point in sticking around to brush with danger.

There was another cat who had been assigned to spy on the deep forest cats with him. He was a big tom with the air of a kittypet about him because of his well-groomed fur. He must have been a kittypet at some point, since he had the rather well-fed shape of one and his movements did not seem to match the light-footed skulking of a long-term loner. He was young, though, younger than Pann himself. And he did not seem to be a talker, which relieved Pann. Neither had spoken yet and it appeared that they both had the same idea - to get this business over and done with with minimum fuss or input.

Fortunate, really, since Pann was in no mind for dealing with a chattering, irritating partner who would not shut up and would inevitably cause them to draw the attention of every forest-dwelling cat within a day's walk of them. As it was, they made for a virtually soundless duo, slipping through the trees to arrive at a large old oak tree with a hollow in its thick trunk. Pann eyed the obvious signs of an owl's presence littering the ground beneath the tree, his mind making note of each little detail revealed to them. He felt a prickle of envy when he scented the air and caught the rich tang of abundant prey teeming the area. These forest cats would be well-fed.

"There's an owl living here."

[/color] Pann muttered, narrowing his eyes. "And this is a prey-rich area. We'll have to be careful. No doubt the Clan cats will come here often."[/color]

Now all that was left to do was wait, watch and take note. [/blockquote]

[Yoko]

The air was cooler than usual, but the leaves were still full and green. Amongst the lush undergrowth prey rustled, begging to be caught. Patchpaw's white, black, and auburn pelt didn't stand a chance for blending in during leaf green. The calico she-cat did not mind that much. After all, with so much prey in the forest, she hardly had to hide, it was practically going to fall into her paws. Although, Tigerheart's excellent teaching and her own well-tuned hunting skills might have had quite a bit to do with it.

She was feeling brave, confident, and very happy. Today was promising and she fully expected it to deliver. Nothing could ruin today. Not even Flameclaw's teasing. She looked back at the flame-pelted warrior and waved her tail. She'd never admit it, but her behavior was typical of any young and excited apprentice.

"Flameclaw, come on. The prey won't run this good forever!" she whisper-shouted playfully. The Owl-Tree was not quite in sight, but already she was being careful with her steps, trying not to make too much noise.

[:c a i:]

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

[/color]Flameclaw called back, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. Why had he agreed to come out with his little brother's apprentice again? Every time he did he ended up either worn out or covered in mud. Not that he didn't have fun while doing so, of course. Speeding up to catch up, he trotted through the undergrowth, the sun breaking sporadically through the canopy and catching on his bright golden fur.

Patchpaw was full of energy and boisterously making her way through to the Owl Tree, and Flameclaw darted forwards with surprising speed for such a big cat, overtaking her with his longer legs. "OK, Patchpaw, since you're so confident, let's see who can catch a squirrel first!"[/color] he challenged her cheerfully, throwing a grin over his shoulder at her. He knew Patchpaw liked a challenge, and she almost always delivered.

Having reached the big old tree that was home to the forest's tawny owl, Flameclaw made sure to keep an ear out for signs of it, though it would likely not emerge at this hour. He ambled in a different direction to Patchpaw, keeping an eye out for a squirrel but doing a quick check of the territory at the same time. A small mouse blundered into his path as he went, and so he caught it and buried it for later, then carried on at a leisurely pace, giving Patchpaw plenty of time to catch the prized squirrel.

For the time being, he was unaware of any abnormal presence.

_{[[... that was a bit of a bad post; sorry x3]]}[/blockquote]

[Yoko]

Patchpaw picked up her pace as her "guardian" of the day passed by her. She always enjoyed his company in spite of his teasing. He challenged her in imaginative ways and she felt like a better apprentice, soon to be warrior, with each completed challenge. Currently, the challenge was squirrel hunting.

"You're on!" Patchpaw mewed, then remembered to keep her voice down.

She crept off in another direction. Determined to be successful. ThunderClan was full of squirrels. How tough could this be? She parted her jaws. Well, it was full of squirrels...but not around Owl Tree. She started moving towards the edge of the area, hoping to catch scent of one near the edges of the clearing.

[:c a i:]

As he padded on around the Owl Tree with unhurried steps, Flameclaw scented the air carefully, checking both for squirrels and for signs of any abnormality in the territory. He breathed in as the wind brushed through the trees and carried... What was that? Flameclaw was immediately suspicious. His muscles tensed as he narrowed his eyes, trying to place the faint scent, a scent which somehow said "stranger". Something - or more likely someone - that was not normally present at the Owl Tree was lingering, still a distance away from him, but definitely there. And he would find out what it was. But as he began to track the scent, he remembered himself.

"Patchpaw..."

[/color] he muttered, at once worrying for her safety. If whatever it was was a hostile creature then he did not want the little she-cat wandering alone. He turned sharply and bounded back the way he came, intent on finding Patchpaw before he went to find the source of the foreign scent. Her wellbeing had to come first, and he hurried to find her, slipping through the undergrowth and following her scent trail.

"Patchpaw!"[/color] he called as soon as he came within earshot. "Forget the squirrel; looks like there's something more interesting. Come with me, we've got some investigating to do!"[/color] he said, making sure to keep his voice light even though he had concerns about the foreign cat scent. No point worrying her until there was something concrete to worry about.

o-o-o-o-o

Something was off. Pann frowned, lip curling as the sound of voices drifted over to where he and the other loner were hiding. Pann tensed, fearful, and crouched lower to better hide himself, hoping the wind would not change and bring their scents to the owners of the voices. One was a deep, male voice, full of authority, and the other was a higher, younger, female voice, excited and carefree. Pann shot a warning glance at his companion, praying he wouldn't do anything stupid to give them away. The two voices passed by, but did not go out of Pann's earshot, and his heartbeat thudded wildly as he prepared to have to fight or run.

But then there was quiet for a few moments. The two cats seemed to have gone in different directions... maybe they were safe? But no, there was movement painfully close to him and the other loner... Pann held his breath and caught a distant glimpse of flame-gold fur and a huge form, still too far to notice them, but far too close for comfort. His heart sank. He started to shift backwards slowly, very slowly, but a breeze caught his fur and he knew at once that their scents would be brought straight to the cat. He swallowed, prepared to bolt the second it became apparent that they were caught. Sure enough, the flame-pelted cat seemed to look right in their direction...

...and then he disappeared in the other direction. Pann frowned, confused, and looked sharply at the other tom. "Where's he gone?"[/color] he muttered. "We have to move, or he's going to find us."[/color] The question was, did they dare linger on the territory, or was it time to go altogether?[/blockquote]