black cats are bad luck [open]

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Penetrating the "thunder-Clan's" territory was almost embarrassingly easy.

It was more a matter of preparation and observation than skill. The Twoleg fence that ran parallel to one part of the territory was a prime location for watching the thunder Clan's cats go by, for mapping their habits and movements, and deciding the opportune time to strike. Nyx and Ciar found that during the dark hours of the night, there was nary a cat to be seen, nor heard in the surrounding woods. It was determined that they would embark on their mission just before midnight, on a night when the moon was still waning and round from the previous full moon.

Upon arriving, both kittypets parted to scout out the area to which they had been "assigned." It was easily recognizable by the bare, sparsely-foliaged ground and tall, slim, rough-barked evergreens which populated the land. Their exploration of the place had been thorough; they had no need to rush, with sunrise a whole night away. The scents of the prey, the makeup of the land, the trails of the cats who had been there, everything was noted. Although their tracking skills and knowledge of the wilderness were limited at best, nothing went unnoticed, so that when the two returned, it would be with a full understanding of the ins and outs of that particular piece of the thunder-Clan's land.

"Awfully prickly here, isn't it, brother?" the slimmer of the duo commented idly, flicking a pine needle with her claw. The feline's long black tail swished slowly behind her as she surveyed the darkness with bright, critical eyes as her twin came up from behind her to stand at her side.

"Not terribly accommodating, no," the tom agreed. He glanced up as a bat fluttered overhead, his attention attracted by the quick motion, and watched it disappear into the surrounding gloom. Once the muffled sounds of its small wingbeats had faded, he blinked and addressed a question to his sister. "Are we going to linger here for the entire night?"

"That is the plan, dear" Nyx confirmed. "Best to check out the entire thing, after all. We don't want to miss anything... vital." With another swish of her long, furry tail, the sleek cat sauntered away, a mere shadow over the forest floor, and her likeness followed without missing a beat. No further words needed to be shared between them--the conversation was more for pleasure than anything else. They both knew that they would be silent from now on, and keep a careful watch out just in case some restless thunder-Clan cat did decide to appear. They still had much examination to do, and an abundance of time in which to complete it.

This night would be fun.

[slack]

     The large tom sauntered noiselessly through the moonlit forest, his apprentice a smaller obscurity in his wake. The ginger tips of his pale fur glowed faintly in the soft ethereal light of the moon, but the moving shadow at his heels could’ve effortlessly passed as a complete fabrication. Earlier in the day, the sunlight had glittered and shone across Duskpaw’s swarthy pelt. The spectacle had planted the seed of a theory in the fertile depths of his mind. He’d nurtured the notion for the better part of the day, coming to a conclusion when the sun had begun it’s descent in the sky. He’d calmly approached his apprentice and very briefly requested his presence at the thorn tunnel when the moon had reached it’s peak on Silverpelt’s twinkling canvas. ”Moon-high. Be at the thorn tunnel.” The exchange had been more than a touch vague, no doubt leaving the young apprentice bewildered. He’d waited patiently at the tunnel, nodding politely to the warrior on duty at the entrance and wordlessly motioning for Duskpaw to follow him into the night.

     Their short journey had been one of silence. Only once they had reached the outskirts of TallPines did Whitethroat speak. ”You’re probably wondering what we’re doing in the forest tonight,” Whitethroat stated, his voice a quiet rumble in the dark forest. The Deputy paused in his steps and breathed in deeply, his sharp eyes scouting the underbrush and his ardent ears flicked forward. He motioned Duskpaw to his side with a wave of his plush tail, his gaze still picking through the stretch of undergrowth before them. ”A great deal of the prey in our territory are active at night, versus the animals we hunt by day. They’re ‘nocturnal’, meaning that they sleep while we are awake and vise versa.” He paused in his quiet lecture, allowing his apprentice a moment to absorb what he was saying. ”Now, with your dark fur, I thought perhaps we might try a hunting lesson at night. I wouldn’t count on it being any easier, though, so proceed with every caution you would normally use. Understand?” The question was quite rhetorical. Duskpaw was a bright young tom and the information hadn’t exactly been complex.

     Whitethroat stepped back and nodded for Duskpaw to advance and scout the area. He sat back on the spot, idly wrapping his thick tail around his haunches. A very light, cool wind ruffled the bristles on the evergreens. ”Mind the breeze,” Whitethroat advised in a soft voice, warning his apprentice about which direction his scent would spread towards. His warm jade eyes followed his apprentice closely, judging his every paw step. The rustles of life surrounded the two toms. Which would Duskpaw choose to investigate?

[{ i z z i e }]

The day had been a pretty normal one for the dark-furred apprentice; he had been doing the usual chores around camp, spending some time with the few elders of ThunderClan, and dealing with the apprentice drama that always seemed to arise somehow. Whitethroat had approached him at sunset, requesting that Duskpaw meet him at the thorn tunnel at moonhigh. Since then he had been wondering what they could be doing that night -- exploration, maybe? Whatever it was, it would probably be something interesting, and something that the other apprentices hadn't been able to do. Duskpaw was the type who was always eager to learn, desperate to just prove that he could do it.

It was in the dark of the night, when the moon was shining in the sky over the forest, that Duskpaw finally found out what he and his mentor were going to do tonight: hunting.

Prey was nocturnal; he had a pelt that would blend in with the nighttime. That made sense enough, and it was a little exciting to the young tom to be in the forest at night anyway. Not having been on night patrols, this was a new development to him, and he was fascinated by the way the night seemed to amplify every sound and rustling movement.

"Mind the breeze," Whitethroat advised, and Duskpaw nodded, making sure to keep tabs on what direction the wind was blowing. It wouldn't do for him to broadcast his presence to every creature in the forest, not when he was trying to follow his mentor's instructions as best he could. The air was full of normal forest smells, but as he scented around for squirrel or rabbit, he was instead confronted with something strange, something unexpected.

It wasn't like a smell he had really known before. It wasn't RiverClan, or ShadowClan, or even WindClan. In fact, the closest thing he could liken it to was the smell of Rookpaw and Lilypaw when they first arrived at the ThunderClan camp...

He was immediately alert, ears pricked for any suspicious noises, eyes peeled for anything that might pop out of the surroundings, and still observing the scent. Were there loners intruding on their territory?