Ominous Night

[˚Reason˚]

[shadow=red,left,300]Galepaw[/shadow]

The marshlands were very wet this time of year with the rain adding to the overall squishiness of the earth. The wet marshes would stick to fur rather easily and would irritate the normally already sullen ShadowClan cats into even more of an irate mood. In Galepaw's opinion, it was the constant gloomy atmosphere of the Clan lands that effected the ShadowClan cats so. Along with the ever constant wetness of the earth around them, a dense humidity lingered in the air and weighed down the pelt of any cat. This added weight on the shoulders of every ShadowClan cat was a comfort rather than a burden that every cat got used to at an early stage in their life. At this time of night, with no moon in the sky and dark clouds blocking out Silverpelt; that weight seemed to be doubled. That may have been more caused by the dense smoky fog that rolled leisurely over the impenetrable vegetation of the Marshlands.

Moving through this gloomy atmosphere were the only cats brave enough to brave such a dark night; ShadowClan cats to be more specific. The cats born under this dank pressure benefit from such overcast conditions and use it to their advantage when hunting prey.

One cat in particular, a grey tom that seemed to just easily meld into the shadows and fog, was using these conditions to chase a particularly rare rabbit. The brown rabbit must have lost its way in the and entered ShadowClan territory by accident, because no rabbits naturally would step foot in such a dangerous environment. The tom cat, Galepaw, was watching with gleaming green eyes as the rabbit paused to catch its breath. It wasn't uncommon to see ShadowClan cats out in the dark, the best hunting was done a night, and mentors regularly took their apprentices out in the light of the moon to train. Galepaw wanted to challenge himself in these conditions to improve his hunting skills and impress his mentor with the prey he caught the next day. Flicking his tail eagerly, Galepaw decided to ignore the planning and just jump at the rabbit. Mechanically, Galepaw bend his body low to the ground, tensed his legs, eyes locked on the brown mammal and crept a few tail lengths closer.

When he was as close as he thought he could get, Galepaw bunched all his muscles and leaped at the rabbit with a hiss of excitement. The rabbit turned to look at him last second and bolted away, fast enough to just avoid Galepaw's outstretched claws. Chuckling at the futile attempt at freedom, Galepaw hissed at the rabbit "Nice try, but not good enough!" and righted his paws before darting after the rabbit. The two raced forward into the never ending fog, but Galepaw had more confidence in his paw steps from the countless times he wondered the territory. He swerved to the right and ran up a long since dead tree to gain some hight, all the time his eyes locked on the rabbit. As the tree was coming to an end, Galepaw hurled himself into the air and came down right on top of the rabbit's back and delivered a neat bite to the neck. The rabbit jerked, its jaws gaping in horror as it slowly lost its breath and died.

Galepaw loud out a meow of triumph and bared his fangs in an energetic grin. "Haha! Wait until Runningpaw sees this! She'll never believe me!" Puffing out his chest and trotted happily around the rabbit. The grey tom flicked his as he picked up the rabbit and glanced at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the star to judge what time it was. Unfortunately, all that meet his eyes was a blanket of fog.

[ravenclaw]

The sky was covered by clouds, no light from the moon or the stars were able to penetrate to brighten the lands below. That was fine as far as Frostfoot was concerned as long as she could sneak around ShadowClan unnoticed to think by herself. She often went off on her own, wondering what had happened to the brother she cared about so much. What was his name? Where did he go? Was he still alive? What was he doing right now? Frostfoot sighed at all the unanswered questions as she let her paws go wherever they wanted to take her. She found herself in a large area teeming with prey. Suddenly a voice rang out and Frostfoot immediately flattened herself to the ground, melting into the shadows as if she were one herself. Her icy blue eyes searched for the cause of the disturbance.

It was then someone flashed past her, a rabbit it seemed, with a small cat hot on its tail. They didn't even notice her. The tip of her tail twitched with satisfaction. "Rat-brains." She purred with triumph, but silenced herself as a squeal from the rabbit was cut off abruptly. She turned her head, squinting her eyes to prevent glare from what little light there was and recognized the apprentice Galepaw. He was a smart apprentice in Frostfoot's opinion, but not smart enough. She crept through the shadows, keeping completely silent. She knew as long as she stayed downwind that he wouldn't detect her scent. Finally, she was behind the tom. She crept closer, not making a sound, and held her breath. Just a few more mouse lengths... She thought.

With a powerful, well aimed leap, Frostfoot exploded from cover and landed squarely on the apprentice's shoulders. Her hefty weight was sure to pin him down as she clamped onto his shoulders with claws sheathed. Her sharp teeth bit into his scruff and she rolled to the left, hoping to unbalance the young tom. She let go and leaped away, spinning and launching herself at him again to strike another blow. Pinning the apprentice to the ground, Frostfoot lowered her muzzle so her mouth was right by his left ear. "Always be prepared. Never get caught off guard. It could mean life and death to be ready than to get caught chasing rabbits. If I were a real enemy cat, rogue, loner, kitty pet, or rival clan, you would be dead. Would you like that?" Frostfoot snarled as she let go of the tom.

Backing away a few paces and glaring at Galepaw with satisfaction, she sat down and wrapped her ginger and white tail neatly around her paws but kept her muscles tensed and ready to spring away if Galepaw attacked her. "Now listen closely, kit!" She hissed. Frostfoot was hard on all the apprentices. She was taught that the harder you were worked the stronger you became in the long run. "I caught you off guard because you were hunting. Just because you are hunting doesn't make you unbeatable. Always be on guard. Always listen, always scent, always be ready to fight." Her voice was as sharp as a badger's claws. She narrowed her icy eyes at Galepaw. "Attack me. Now." She hissed, her muscles coiled and ready to avoid his attacks. Frostfoot was one of the best fighters in ShadowClan, that was part of what being deputy was all about.

[˚Reason˚]

Galepaw glanced away from the sky to look back at the rabbit. It was slowly losing its blood to the wet earth underneath it. Quickly snatching it up in his jaws, the apprentice stashed the prey under a nearby tangle of vegetation. As soon as the tom straightened up he was forced to buckle down under the weight of another cat. Galepaw's eyes widened with surprised and couldn't suppress a yowl of shock and outrage. His heart beat quickly picked up until it was slamming in his chest and his breathing quickly matched.
Galepaw narrowed his eyes as his mind swiftly went into defense mode; but it was too late. In his moment of confusion, Galepaw was pinned to the ground under a familiar she cat that Galepaw recognized as Frostfoot, the ShadowClan deputy. She must have been watching him hunt.
Galepaw winced slight at the feeling of blood and wet marsh water shocking his fur as the deputy whisper threateningly in his ear. The tom pinned his ears back at the harsh accusation but quickly grinned and replied with. "No, of course not. That would be a waste of talent for ShadowClan."
As the blue-eyed she cat backed off, Galepaw quickly launched in to his feet in case she attacked again. He was instead meet with the sight of Frostfoot giving Galepaw a few quick instructions, followed by a quickly order "Attack me." Galepaw knew he should be careful (Frostfoot deserved her deputyship from what he constantly heard about her), he knew he should consider his options carefully. That's why he launched himself at the she cat confidently without much thought. Galepaw covered the space that separated the two cats with as much speed as he could muster and rose on his hind legs to swipe (with sheathed claws of course) at the other's face with his front paws. When his front paws touched the ground with a wet squelching sound he backed up a paw step to avoid her retaliation. With his four paws solidly on the ground Galepaw grinned at the Frostfoot and happy glitter in his eyes. He bunched all his muscles the in his legs and lunched himself at the deputy with all his power in the hopes of bawling her over with brute force.

[/size]

[ravenclaw]

Frostfoot snarled when he spoke of wasted talent for ShadowClan. "Big words for an apprentice. Don't get too confident in battle kit, especially if your against a clan's deputy, especially if that deputy... is me." Her words were sharp with impatience. As he leaped at Frostfoot, she flicked her paw out and swatted him toward the ground. Instantly she leaped on him, too close to actually miss him. She placed a firm paw on his shoulders, her claws poking his skin under the fur, while the other paw rested on the side of his head. She let a claw slide out, just above his eye. "If I were you, Galekit, I wouldn't move a muscle. How about a few tips? Yes, you could use a lot of help! First off, think before you attack. Consider your size, your strength, your speed." Frostfoot instructed.

Take it all into consideration and don't take on anyone you can't win again. Like me, you will never beat me. Not in your dreams, not in the waking world. Not even in StarClan. So keep dreaming, apprentice. Rule number two, don't think for a moment that you can win every battle. To be honest, you can die in every battle you fight. Lesson three, never take on a clan's leader if you can help it. They are the most dangerous opponents because if they die, they'll come back and bite you in the tail! Lesson four. Playing dead is popular in battle. Always be prepared. Use it yourself if you want. You just go limp and wait for your attacker to loosen their grip on you, then you push up, knock them off balance, and go for the kill. The warrior code says not kill another cat, but the warrior code isn't alive. It's just an outline of how we should behave. Now how we have to behave." Frostfoot growled and sheathed her claws.

She backed away two fox-lengths and sat down, her tail curled neatly over her paws. "Now this time, think before you attack. Picture the move you are going to do in your head, and then preform it. I want you to try a belly rake. Knock me off balance, flip me onto my back, and then rake my belly with claws sheathed. Open my belly, and I'll open your throat." She growled her warning and waited for Galepaw to preform the move. "Hey Galepaw, can you preform this move before I join StarClan?" Frostfoot was taunting the apprentice, trying to fire up his attitude to make his moves a little fiercer. She waited patiently for him to start, her tail tip twitching as she yawned. It was getting later and the first rays of dawn were starting to appear. Frostfoot crouched as she laid on the ground. It was all part of her game. With a powerful leap, the deputy launched herself into the air like a bird, landing just in front of Galepaw and striking him in the head, claws unsheathed. "Fool! You took too long!" Frostfoot snarled. "Now pick yourself up and get your tail back to camp! Your on the dawn patrol." She hissed and melted into the shadows as she headed back to camp. Once in camp, Frostfoot sat in the center of the clearing, tail wrapped around her paws and ears flicking about. She wouldn't put it past Galepaw to take her off guard. Thing was, Frostfoot was never off guard...

Notes: Do you think Galepaw and Frostfoot could become close friends? I mean, she is hard on him yes but that is only because she wants ShadowClan to be as strong as possible. Maybe he could admire her determination to strength ShadowClan, and she can admire his determination to please her? Just a thought that I had.
Muse: Eh.[/blockquote]

[˚Reason˚]

Galepaw hit the ground the second time that night with a 'oof!'. Her shook his head warily and glanced at the deputy with a bit of a pout on his face. The she cat was good, but he wasn't discouraged; he was only an apprentice he had lots of time to become strong enough to beat her! A grin overcame his maw as he gazed up at the deputy above him as she started to speak. he wrinkled his nose at her words of "think first", the usual talk he would get from his own mentor. But why would he want to waste time thinking when he could be saving the lives of other cats in those few moments he spends thinking about the situation?

A little put out by her opening sentence, Galepaw continued to listen to her light voice as she explained he could never beat her. He laughed quietly at that. Of course he would never beat Frostfoot, not now at least, but one day... a determined glint came to his eye. The apprentice now had a goal in mind become a warrior that Frostfoot would be proud of and eventually be strong enough to beat! He was practically vibrating in excitement as the she cat went on. He listened to the advice she gave with rapt attention. When the she cat finally finished and got off him he slowly got to his feet grinning at the she cat across from him. "I guess that makes some sense. How are you supposed to think all of that in the middle of a battle though?" The tom hesitated when the he cat taunted him and took a moment to shake his pelt free of dirt that had attached its self to it. The blood mixed with dirt was hindering his movements slightly so he shook some more to get it off.

Suddenly the deputy leap at him and he jumped back to avoid her but still felt the sting of claws on his cheek as a claw nicked him. He let out a little hiss of frustration he just couldn't do anything right tonight, could he? He let out a small snort of self anger as he turned to watch the deputy melt into shadows, mostly likely heading for camp. The tom took a few paw steps in the same direction before pausing and turning back to grab his rabbit. At the very least Spottedfern would be pleased with his catch.

Galepaw raced back to camp and deposited the rabbit in the fresh kill pile. Her turned his head and spotted Frostfoot a few fox lengths away but not his mentor. Frowning slightly he went in search of his mentor.

((OOC: Yes i would love for them to be friends! Galepaw will be like "You're so cool and strong Frostfoot! " and then Frostfoot would be like "Well, you're right, I am pretty cool "

Oh gosh I suck at dialog D': ))