A [lovely] .T H R E A T

[//Cindy// l u n a]

The dead of night was a quiet time. Song birds were drifting off in their cozy nests - only their stealthy, nocturnal cousins were awake. Those predatory avians hunted darting little mammals on soundless wings. Although the forest was alive, it was shrouded in a layer of concealing darkness. All the animals of the night were careful not to make a sound - for fear that they would alert a hunter or hunted of their presence.

Delicate pawsteps, however padded, shattered the silence. Shimmer was not interested in catching food and knew that she was too big to be caught. So it did not matter to her that all the little mice and squirrels scurried into hiding at her approach. The lack of light did not bother her either; her eyes were built for this kind of dimness and she could scent what she couldn't see.

She smiled to herself as she carefully walked the heavily marked border between RiverClan and ThunderClan. On her right was ThunderClan, with RiverClan to the left. She was in the strange no-man's-land between each of the powerful Clans. It was too late at night for an after-dusk patrol, and too early for a dawn one. She knew this from years of border-crossing; the middle of the night was the best hour to break a rule. The cats that she ran into were usually sad and alone, weakened by depression. They trusted her kindness, and sometimes barely fought back when she attacked.

As she put one sleek, well-groomed paw after the other, she looked around. Her gray-blue eyes were round and clear; they took in all. Her fur, silver on her muzzle, ears, paws and tail, wasn't as shimmering as usual. Instead it was a stark contrast to the brown trees and green grass. The cream white that covered the rest of her was even more intense. It didn't sparkle like it did in the sunlight, but it seemed to glow. She was, indeed, a lovely threat.

[Mousefire]

Briarheart strolled along Thunderclan border, relishing the night's deadly silence. Not being able to fall asleep, he'd decided that walking through the territory would be better than pacing around camp. His pelt blended into the surroundings, the fog blurrying the world around.He sighed contentedly,about to turn back towards camp, when he heard mice scurrying away up ahead. He breathed in, and found a slighly odd smell, of a different cat than the clans, blending with the fog. He slipped into shadows and sneaked ahead, alert for the sound of pawsteps.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Another set of pawsteps, a different rhythm, caught Shimmer's attention quickly. The sound was muted and barely audible, but still there. Behind her. Following her, surely, because the wind would carry her scent in just that direction. She turned around, already starting to act her part. Her expression was nervous and her tail flitted back and forth hurriedly. Her sapphire-and-gray eyes went wide with very realistic fright. She even worked herself up enough to let out a distinct fear-scent. "Who.... who's there?" she called out in a small, shaky voice - it sounded as if she was hoping that the answer was nobody. She swallowed, letting the manufactured fright take over her system completely. She was a lost, quiet loner - lost in the dead of night in another Clan's territory. She was a loner who didn't know much about the hostility of the Clans, but was still terrified. She would quickly trust this ThunderClan cat, because she simply didn't know better. Perfect.

[Mousefire]

Briarheart's eyes widened in surprise. A rouge! What was SHE doing on the border? But then again, he realized there was nothing he could do. She wasn't technically on either side. And her fear scent was overpowering! She was terrified, or at least that's how it seemed... he'd heard stories about rouges who would do that and kill you when you weren't suspecting, although it was all just a fairy tale. He decided to go for the aggressive approach. Most frighted cats would scatter after that. He bunched up his muscles and leaped, landing in front of the cat. What are you doing on ThunderClan territory? he growled menacingly, hair raised as he halted the tresspasser, hair raised and eyes blazing with anger. The moon's eerie aura gave him a ghostly look, as his pelt rippled majesticly.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Shimmer slowed her instinctive fight reaction down with practiced ease. Instead of snarling, she crouched low. Her stance showed how completely submissive she would be. Her ears were back, but it was as if she was only making a half-hearted effort to be fierce because she had to. She hissed hesitantly. It was all part of the careful act, one which she had first practiced long, long ago - before her fight with Fang. She had learned to make other believe whatever she wanted, for the most part. Some cats were harder to fool - after all, stories of rogues' trickery circulated in the Clans. She wasn't sure if this one was wary or thorough, but he certainly wasn't quick to trust her act. "I'm not here to do any harm," she mewed in a small voice. Her eyes, the beautiful color of smoke and sapphires, were wide and her long, silver, plumed tail twitched nervously to and fro. She hated how it kicked up dust, and planned to give it a good washing after this tom was dead.

ooc; perhaps he should realize it's a fake after a few minutes and then they fight, but only briefly... how should that turn out?

[Mousefire]

ooc: i dont want to kill briarheart; maybe just have him escape?

Then why are you here? Briarheart growled, starting to pace the cat. His claws instinctivly slid out as he pawed the ground, waiting for an answer. He stared at her intensly, his gaze never leaving her, as his tail twitched back and forth in aggitation. The fog swirled around his feet as a cloud passed over the moon, dampening the light till it was almost pitch black, only the smallest shimmers of light showing through. When she didn't answer he bared his fangs. Why are you here! he repeated, hair starting to rise.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Shimmer pressed herself low to the ground in submission. She was just short of raising a paw for pity, but that was simply too canine. So she let her fear scent grow and took a deep breath, trying to think fast. What would her character's reason to be here be? She was... lost, perhaps. "I... I found myself of Clanner land, and I d... dunno how. I musta forgot myself catching prey. So I went to the border, but there was another Clan, and you came out of it. I was j..just following the border to try an' find my land." It was good; it showed that this cat - Aqua, Shimmer quickly named her - was terrified of the Clans as a few loners were.[/size]

[Mousefire]

Briarheart snarled. Since you apparently can't follow your own scent, I'll show you the border. Follow me! He pushed the she cat and padded forwards offendidly, checking to make sure the loner was following. He hated loners who always sucked up to the clans. Just because they owned most of the forest didn't mean they were gods! He waded through the mist, as trees loomed out from nowhere, and the bushes became mere shadows.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

ooc; I have a RiverClanner who could hear them and come help Briarheart team up on Shimmer and chase her away...

Shimmer nodded timidly, reacting to the annoyance in the tom warrior's voice. He wasn't a softy - that would probably mean he would be a better fighter. Excellent. Shimmer kept her her act, a perfect mask of fright and relief, for less than a second after he turned away from her. She smiled. This was her moment, the perfect time to strike her unsuspecting victim. She transformed in that moment. One second she was a dainty, terrified loner. The next second she was a proud, beautiful huntress. Her lips curled up, displaying her strangely white fangs and her eyes glinted in cruel anticipation. Her sleek fur was just as perfect, her body just as delicate and stunning. And yet, muscles rippled beneath the carefully groomed coat and deadly sharp claws slid out from hiding. She stepped forward, and even the delicate but careless sound of her pawsteps reflected her sudden change. She took in a breath and noticed with glee that the wind had swept away all of the fear scent she had forced herself to create. She crouched down, then waited for Briarheart to turn. She wanted a long, painful kill today.

[/blockquote]

[Mousefire]

ooc: sure, if you want

Briarheart sensed the cat's sudden change in additude, but didn't turn around. She's probably waiting so she can attack me, he thought. He heard her slide her claws out, and get ready to pounce. Here's the border, he yowled at her, voice echoing in the darkness. He flicked his tail at the Thunderpath. Now go, he growled, pretending to not care to look at her. He started to pad away, waiting for this cat's next move.

[&&Ðяëāmÿ[ðòñò]]

[[ Mousefire, when your cat speaks, can you please color, bold, or " " the spoken words? This way, other members know when your cat is speaking and when it is not. Such as how Cindy bold and uses " " when Shimmer speaks. ]]

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Shimmer let out a quiet snarl and moved quickly. She didn't leap; it was a common move that everyone expected and could defend. She knew that this tom wasn't stupid enough to pass up a chance to get his claws into her soft underbelly fur. Instead she ran forward and aimed to bite his lower back with powerful jaws. His spine was there, and she knew that if she bit down hard enough it could partly paralyze him, making for an easier kill. Her starting move was easy to defend - all he had to do was move - but he seemed not to have even noticed the end of her well-played act.

Dawn heard a soft snarl from near ThunderClan. She froze, her two instincts telling her completely different things. She was poised to run away from where there obviously were other cats, and at the same time her fight response overweight flight. Her second reactions were just about equal as well; she knew that an awkward situation would occur if she went near other cats and at the same time she had to defend her fellow warriors. If could be a ThunderClan trespasser, after all. She decided to follow the sound and then, after helping, run away.

[Mousefire]

Briarheart heard the loner charge at him and did a spinning leap, claws extended as he snarled at her, aiming for her back."Get off my territory!" he yowled at her fiercely, letting out a battle cry.
ooc: better?

[//Cindy// l u n a]

ooc; that's a bit of powerplaying - she could easily dodge. Can you fix your post to something like tried to dig into her back with his claws so that I can make her get hurt as little or as much as I want?

[Mousefire]

ooc: heehee.... sorry ill fix