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Post by Greymuzzles on Aug 22, 2013 21:58:45 GMT 1
A lean tortoiseshell she-cat slipped through one of the many concealed gaps in Mudclans thorny wall, then paused, allowing the greenish shadows to swallow her patched body and temporarily hide her from view. She knew that this camouflage was not one that would hold up to scrutiny, for her multi-hued pelt could only truly blend in with dappled light, and the space in which she stood was smooth and largely unbroken by the sun that still hovered above, but this didn’t really concern her. She was in friendly lands – this was her camp, after all – and her pause was but a temporary respite; an opportunity claimed only so that she could have a few moments to observe her cats without them observing her.
It was the only way to get a truly honest reading of her clan’s mood and affairs.
To her relief all seemed to be well with her cats: those she could see were either relaxing in various patches of gloom and light or getting on with their duties with amiable, purposeful airs, their movements guided by a combination of branch, common sense and command. The sound of the camp was one of ease and friendly taunts, intermingled, of course, with the occasional faint snore (many emanating from the space behind her) and the higher pitched cries of kits. In short, everything was as it should be for a Mudclan afternoon…save for one thing. One small, crucial little detail that had her brow furrowing with surprise.
The camps odd pattern of shadows was already nearing its maximum size and greatest complexity, allowing most of the Shadowers to move about with little fear of light-induced pain, and the sounds of slumber were a little less even than they were at earlier times of day. There were also more cats in camp than was the norm, and this, combined with the other little inconsistencies, suggested that she had somehow lost track of time. Worse, the missing interval wasn’t one of a few minutes but a good hour – a fact confirmed by a single upwards glance, and the fact that the sun was already beginning to trudge towards the uneven treeline.
Thornclaw had been right. Elders were good for advice, but also masters of keeping a welcome face in their company for inordinate lengths of time. Even the one-time-leader was guilty of shameless tangenting now.
Patchstar shook her head at the thought, stifling a sigh as she slipped free of the gloom that held the elders den in its paws, and angled her paws towards the fresh kill pile. Once, when she was younger, she would have been overly irritated by the aging warriors ceaseless chatter, and the fact that she had let herself be drawn in by him – had let herself forget how quickly a day could pass – but that was a thing of the past. She was old and wise enough now to understand why he and his fellows chattered so, and also that they were barely aware that they did so; could tell, every time she visited, that they were simply desperate for the attention of the cats with which they had once served. It was only natural, really, and she couldn’t bring herself to feel angry with them, or to chastise the X-leader for wanting to spend time with a cat who had not only been his deputy, but also his apprentice.
She would have to be more attentive to him in the future. He deserved it – they all did.
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Post by Svet on Nov 20, 2013 22:22:45 GMT 1
DARKBLOSSOM
The shadows were out and so were some of the Shadowers who could tolerate some light. This feline though had been out this whole time. She was making sure that the weaker of the Shadowers were inside the dens and that there were no Moonlighters trying to sneak out. She has seen it before. The feline had just walked out of the nursery after giving some of the Queens and Kits a few pieces of prey. She was still making sure that everyone else was fed. She looked over at the Elders den then and saw that Patchstar was just observing the camp. She figured then that the Elders had gotten their prey as well, and if they did not, she would send an Apprentice in with some prey.
On that note, she walked over to an Apprentice and nudged him. "Go see if the Elder's were fed. If not, then bring them some prey." She watched as the Apprentice scampered off and she saw that Patchstar had moved. A sigh came from her and she walked over to the prey pile to get herself a small rodent before she sat down in a patch of shadows. She may not be that sensitive to the light, but she still loves the dark patches.
She watched the clan silently as she softly picked at her rodent. She knew many Daylighter do not like to converse with most Shadowers, but then, she was bordering on being a Daylighter. The she-cat put those thoughts away and she relaxed knowing that her clan mates were still safe no matter what. She looked back at the prey pile though and noticed that it was starting to get a bit low. She would go hunting when the sun goes down, and take a few Moonlighters with her. She still remembered the day that she was made Deputy and it shocked everyone, not just herself.
The she-cat went to take another bite from her rodent and bit bone only. She shook her head at herself then and she started to lick her paws clean. She looked around again just to see Patchstar making her way to the prey pile now. She took that and kept it to memory that way she did not try to give the she-cat another one.
ooc: sorry but i thought that since it has been up for a while and no one has replied, i would take the openness. hope you don't mind
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Post by Greymuzzles on Nov 27, 2013 22:00:59 GMT 1
The problem, of course, was that the elders were not the only ones demanding her attention. It often seemed that half the clan was baying for her words and her gaze and her guidance - the whole clan, some days – and there simply wasn’t enough time for her to see to them all. No matter how hard she drove herself or how early she rouse, she could never seem to solve everything before she retired to her nest and turned the territory over to her moonlighters for the night. In fact, her near ceaseless efforts merely seemed to unveil yet more problems to resolve, more work to be done, more questions to stalk through her dreams.
And that was just in Newleaf.
In truth, had she been obliged to run the clan alone, she doubted she would succeed. Without her deputy at her side she would likely have buckled beneath the ceaseless weight of responsibility a season or more ago; broken herself, and perhaps her clan, by trying do too much herself. But, fortunately, she had never had to carry that weight alone – not truly – and she had long ago learned to delegate to, and trust in her deputy of the time. More importantly, these cats had never yet let her down, and so she had not yet been driven to bend or break.
Hopefully never would.
Although, she mused as she stood before the dwindling fresh kill and blinked at the available choices, It seems Mudclan would be in good paws…should such a day arise.
It was a comforting thought. Particularly given that she was dangerously low on lives. Had, in fact, fewer even than her predecessor.
The notion made her snort; drew the edges of her lips into a faint, grim smile. Somehow this knowledge struck her as amusing – to think that Thornclaw was so good at preserving his starclan-given lives – but she knew that this was not something she could ever share with another. There were some words that could not be said; some thoughts that must never be revealed. Besides…she had ‘neglected’ to let any know just how precarious her position really was, and that wasn’t something she was willing to change.
Mudclan had enough things to worry about.
Which was why, when she left the fresh kill pile – mouse in jaws – she was careful to wipe the smile from her face. It was better, by far, that the cats around her saw only the permanent scar-induced snarl; that the deputy she now approached had no reason to ask what was on her mind.
Ooc: …Apparently I’m more than a little rusty with Patchstar, and when I’m rusty, rambling happens in quite a big way. Sorry about that XP
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Post by Svet on Nov 29, 2013 4:40:49 GMT 1
DARKBLOSSOM
The clan just wanted Patchstar's attention and Darkblossom felt bad for the she-cat, but those duties come with being the Leader and the Deputy. It was only Newleaf and so many different things just keep happening, but the thing she is happy to know is that the clan is still active. The ebony she-cat knew that Patchstar had to have been glad for her to be around, for she knew that just being here right now as a Deputy, this clan was a pawful. So many different things and so many different problems, this she-cat even had a hard time keeping up sometimes.
Mudclan is in good hands now, things should not change. She mused silently as she finished liking her paws. After her paws her clean she started to lick her paws and wiped them on her ears. Her yellow eyes moved across the camp as she watched more and more Shadowers come out of the den and to eat and get ready for their patrols. She was glad that not much delegation had to get done right now, for she felt like Patchstar needed a break.
For that, she flicked her tail and the nearest cat came to her. Make sure that the patrols are sent out as soon as they can be, and please remind that hunting parties to bring back as much prey as they can carry, have them take the apprentices with them. She got a nod from the feline and it went to tell the forming parties what she just said.
As long as the clan runs smoothly for now, we should all be fine.
She looked over at Patchstar when the she-cat made her way over and Darkblossom got up and moved over so the other she-cat could have some room to sit as well. She nodded her head to the leader lightly and looked at the clan once more before deciding to dive into conversation.
I trust you are well Patchstar?
occ: its okay, I can understand some rambling;sorry my reply is a bit short though, working on turkey filled stomach muse haha
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Post by Greymuzzles on Dec 2, 2013 23:03:47 GMT 1
Ooc: The length seems perfectly fine to me :3
Bic:
Patchstar turned just in time to see her deputy addressing another member of the clan; closed much of the gap between them just quickly enough to ensure she caught the gist of the other she’s words. Though her expression hardly shifted, giving little, if anything away, she was inwardly pleased to find the younger cat acting on her own initiative. It helped to ease some of the ever-present worry from her mind: confirmed that some duties, at least, would be taken care of even if she herself was too busy to attend to them. More than that, it affirmed, again, that she had indeed made a good choice when she had named such a young feline her second-in-command, and would be sure to quieten any doubts her clan might still hold about the decision.
If Darkblossom kept this up, she should have no problem taking over when her time came.
Inclining her head to acknowledge the younger cats gesture, Patchstar silently settled herself within the space provided and set her mouse by her paws. Rather than striking up conversation, she opted to remain silent – as she often did – and instead focus on slacking her hunger before she faced the next round of duties; was quietly confident that no offense would be taken: that her companion would trust her to speak in her own time, and before the bounds of propriety ran out. There was just one flaw with her supposition. Darkblossom spoke first, unwittingly demanding that such a pause be cut short.
The leader flicked an ear in further acknowledgement of the she’s question. Swallowed her first bite of meat and straightened from her crouch before setting her gaze on the others form. “Assuming my ears have not been talked off by a certain ancient elder, I am about as well as ever,” she murmured, apparently not noticing the faintly mocking bite to her tone. “What of you, Darkblossom? Keeping my wayward ‘kits’ out of trouble, I trust?”
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Post by Svet on Dec 15, 2013 18:51:35 GMT 1
DARKBLOSSOM
She watched as the cats starting to form the parties and she purred lightly. She was happy that they were finally getting around to her being Deputy. She knew that a Shadower as Deputy was odd for the clan, and shew as glad that she was starting to gain their trust as their leader's choice. Her ears flicked when Patchstar lowered herself next to the ebony she-cat and she nodded her head slightly before she checked again to make sure that two parties were leaving the camp.
She then looked at Patchstar when the feline answered. Darkblossom saw her brotehr walk by and she looked back to Patchstar then when she answered her question. Her tail flicked lightly from the slight irritation she felt toward her brother but she let that pass. "I see you ears, so they are still there." She purred lightly before answering her leader's own question. "I am glad to hear you are well. I am having fun with your wayward 'kits' as you call them. They all seem to be finally taking to me, which I am actually feeling better on."
She spoke the truth to her leader and she looked back around then and back at Patchstar. She did not know why, but this she-cat just seemed to never have any luck with her brother. Oh well. Family can be picky. She pricked her ears back to the center of the camp and she focused on everything. She was good for that. The she-cat listened for anything her leader might ask or say and she would make sure all duties were done.
Darkblossom just wished that sometimes the job would be easier, she got the feeling that maybe Patchstar was setting her up on purpose with controlling the camp constantly, or was it just on accident? She did not know, and honestly, she was kind of scared to find out. She thought of something then and she focused back on her leader. "I trust that the Elder's have been getting enough prey. If not, I shall have to have a talk with the apprentices." She asked and informed her leader at the same time. Some things just needed to be checked on at all times.
OOC: sorry for the reply being so late. i blame school solely.
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Post by Greymuzzles on Dec 24, 2013 0:10:06 GMT 1
“Excellent. I suppose that explains why I still hear,” The words fell from her lips in an almost absent-minded manner, betraying the fact that there was much on her mind. However, the smile with which they were accompanied was both genuine and purely for the cat at her side: a sure-fire sign that the younger cat really did have her attention, even if it might seem that such was not the case. This was something to which Patchstar knew the other she would have to grow accustomed, for she was a busy cat – rarely faced any action or conversation without at least one other matter nagging at the back of her mind.
Fortunately, she had grown adept at multi-tasking.
This meant that tracking another’s words, whilst juggling those other concerns, was not as difficult as it had once been, and she found it reasonable easy to catch the answer to her question. Was soon uttering a satisfied purr at the news that was passed her way, and the confirmation that Mudclan was finally accepting her decision. At first this was the only answer that was forthcoming, for the leader was also adept at making use of opportunity, and soon snatching another bite of mouse as she noted the younger cats pause, but she trusted that it was enough. If Darkblossom was even half as competent as she surmised then she would need nothing more to discern the approval within the sound…
But the leader couldn’t be sure of that. Her deputy was, in truth, a largely untested cat, and certainly hadn’t been in her service long enough for the patched feline to know when she was understood and simply not. It was for this reason that she was quick to add a simple “They couldn’t remain silent forever,” the moment she had finished her latest bite.
Again straightening, Patchstar levelled a serious gaze upon Darkblossom, her tail flicking along a slow, faintly thoughtful arch whilst she made an attempt to read the other she’s form. Unfortunately, her lack of familiarity with the cat made it difficult for her to discern anything much more generalisations—a hint of unease, a touch of possible frustration—and it wasn’t long before she was giving up the attempt. Evidently she would have to rely on words for now, and hope that these alone would be enough to give her what she needed.
“I took them a wren,” she stated at last, pleasantly surprised that the younger cat had thought to ask. “They seemed content, so I doubt they’re going short. Thornclaw would have had my hide if he thought any of them hungry.” Again crouching, she sniffed briefly at her mouse, distraction making her briefly unwilling to eat, though she knew that she needed to. She would do no one any good if she started going without. “It seems our apprentices are spoiling them, but no harm. It’s a good season for it.”
Ooc: Sorry about the delay; I’m afraid I’ve been swamped this past week, and it seems that Patchstar has a mind to fight me on the writing front, to boot XP
Hope you can work with this.
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Post by Svet on Apr 10, 2014 3:34:20 GMT 1
DARKBLOSSOM
She could tell that there was a lot on her leader's mind just by the answer that the patched she-cat gave her back in return and she held back a purr. She saw the smile though, and she knew that she had her leader's attention no matter what was on her mind, which was good in a way, and if she would have been a regular warrior still, unnerving. She knew that she was going to have to start to gather the ways that the patched she-cat did things if she was going to start to take control of certain things around the camp for the clan. This made her nervous but at the same time, it made her feel like she had something important to do with her life now.
Multi-tasking was something that she was good at, just not when it came to many different conversations.
That was something that this she-cat already knew that she needed to fix, and it was something that she planned on working on. She wrapped her tail around her paws then and she knew that her body language showed a little bit of her nervousness but she held most of it back. She did not want Patchstar to think that she made the wrong choice when she chose Darkblossom. The black she-cat wanted to make sure that she did everything in her power to have the camp run smoothly, no matter the issues that arise.
She purred lightly though when her leader remarked on the clan starting to talk to her and she nodded. "That is true, there are just moments when I actually might believe them on if you made the right choice on choosing me." She admitted that fact to the patched she-cat and she looked at Patchstar then. That was a response she really was worried about hearing, but it was something she wanted to know about, for she wanted to know if she needed to try better, or relax a little bit.
Her ears flicked to the camp entrance when a few warriors walked in and she focused back on Patchstar then right as she spoke about the Elders. She nodded her head and made sure the mentally note that the Elder's were fine, but once the season changed, the Elder's had to get fed a little less. "It is a good season for it now, but I will be sure that once the season change creeps upon us faster, that they stop taking so much." She flicked her ears behind her for a moment before they faced Patchstar once more.
ooc:
I AM SO SORRY that this reply is this late. School demanded attention and then I got my job and they placed me on strictly graveyard shifts. I feel really bad I am so so so so sorry.
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Post by Greymuzzles on Apr 17, 2014 17:24:49 GMT 1
Ooc: No worries, Svet. I couldn’t have answered you anyway – we’ve all been busy these past few months.
Bic:
Wrinkling her nose at both the prospect of eating more and some other fleeting thought, Patchstar forced herself to finish the remains of her mouse. She did so with a few rapid, conservative bites, betraying how common it was her to take meals rapidly—too rapidly, perhaps, to be healthy—then immediately straightened and turned her eyes back to the camp. This she studied with both rapidity and care even as she groomed her muzzle and whiskers; soon turned from as she determined that nothing had changed in the few moments since her last check. This reassurance allowed her freedom to turn a greater proportion of attention to her deputy, whom she also studied, though perhaps with a touch more hesitance than she had inspected her lands.
The workings of camp were familiar, after all – but those of Darkblossom were not.
She would need time to learn the younger she-cats mind.
That said, some things were easy to detect. The generalisations of body language were universal, meaning that it took but a good grounding in that ‘world’ to understand something of what was being said by near any form. The quieter messages born by subtler cues required a far more detailed individual-by-individual knowledge, of course, but what her deputy was ‘saying’ now was more than clear enough for her to discern. The uncertainty, restrained or not, was curled around much of the dark she-cats form, and it was obvious enough to bring a certain sternness to the leaders gaze as the first answer drifted into the air.
Patchstar lowered her paw. Narrowed her eyes.
“I don’t make mistakes, Darkblossom,” she made no effort to keep the growling edges of rebuke from her tone; didn’t even lower her eyes, lest doing so might seem to rob of the conviction from her answer. “You are young, yes, but also competent, and it is that competence that is important.” Softening, the she-cat dropped her eyes and turned away, allowing her gaze to wonder towards the Elders den, and the dark tabby that was even now making his stiff way out towards a fading patch of sunlight.
The re-emergance of the former leader proved to be the perfect compliment to Darkblossom’s next words. Something within the incidental mixture drew a faint purr of amusement from the older tortoiseshell, and it was long before she was tilting her head in the Elders direction, using the little movement to direct her deputies attention that way. “That one will see to it long before you can. The other elders might be his juniors, but that doesn’t mean he can’t put them, or anycat else, in their places.”
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Post by Svet on Apr 27, 2014 12:40:39 GMT 1
DARKBLOSSOM
She saw as her leader quickly finished her mouse and she held back a purr of amusement. She was not in the mod toe get in trouble yet today. It was still semi-long for her, and she knew that another cat must have some kind of trouble planned for the night. She did notice how Patchstar acted as if that was her normal routine, to eat the mouse quickly. Maybe it is, you are not around enough to see how cats eat most of the time. She reprimanded herself then. She knew she had no room to talk of think on the matter anyways, for she has done it several times herself, mainly when she is running late for something but that seems to be most of the time now since she became the Deputy of MudClan.
She could tell though that Patchstar kept trying to read her body language, and she knew that the leader must not be getting very far. Darkblossom's body language was different than most felines in this clan, and that was mainly because she did not like acting like every single feline. She liked to act on her own, which was why her body slightly moved to the left as she grew tired of thinking to herself.
Her own thoughts and mind betrayed her within her words most of the time though, for her words tend to hold more emotion in them then her body language does. That was because she has trained her body, not her vocals. Something that is programmed in the mind, is hard to change, and it took her a great deal of time to change the programming for her body language, to where she had just given up on her vocals. Her thoguths were interrupted quickly as she heard Patchstar's stern voice then.
Uh-oh I said something wrong...
That was the first thing that popped into her mind when she heard the leader's vocals and her did everything in her power to not to cringe. She did hold her leader's eyes though as the leader explained her choosing the ebony she-cat. When Patchstar's vocals softened, she relaxed a little and she shuffled her paws like a kit then. "I am sorry if I offended you Patchstar, I just cannot help what I think at times, as I am sure you have those moments as well." She lightly pointed out to her leader.
Her own eyes followed that of the gaze of the tortoiseshell she-cat then.
The Elder's Den had a tabby tom walking out of it, and Darkblossom knew who it was right then and there, the leader before Patchstar, Thornstar, now Thornclaw. The old tabby tom had taken his warrior name back as he retired to the Elder's Den and left Patchstar in charge. She heard the purr of amusement and she could not help but to purr as well. It was just an odd coincidence that the tom would stagger from the den at the moment she spoke about the Elder's and the food. Her ears swiveled to Patchstar as she spoke once more and she purred lightly again. "That may be, but I thought he retired so he did not have to be in charge?"
She was just in the mood to point out random facts, and that might just get her into trouble soon.
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Post by Greymuzzles on Apr 30, 2014 23:11:24 GMT 1
‘I’m sorry if I offended you, Patchstar’
A simple, seemingly well-placed response: the sort of thing one would expect a leader to find appeasing, even pleasing…but Patchstar had never had much patience for such nonsense. She expressed such with a sound somewhere between a snort and a huff, filling the noise with all the disdain she could muster even as the supporting words—collected, faintly frustrated—left her mouth. “You’ll offend me many more times, Darkblossom. It’s part of being a Deputy,” she cast the younger cat a side-long glance; tugged her scarred lips into a thin smile, “and of growing up.”
And it was truth. The leader was many things, but she wasn’t stupid: was more than wise enough to recognise her own stubborn nature, and understand that that, combined with her pride, practically guaranteed that she’d take offence to some word or action from her second-in-command. It had been the same with her former deputy – a reliable, well-spoken sort – and the same again even with her mentor, though he had never tolerated her early outbursts. That being the case, it was simply a matter of time before Darkblossom stepped wrong, and if she couldn’t handle the fallout or even the thought, then she had no business being Mudclan’s deputy. Competent or not.
Still, there was no sense in verbally clawing her over it this time; she was still new, after all.
Still had much to learn.
That last was evidenced by the question that next left the dark she-cats mouth, for this was of a kind that no experienced Mudclanner would ever think to ask. And in that Patchstar saw a flicker of logic to back her clan’s questions and reluctance: evidence to support their doubt in their new deputy. Darkblossom lacked experience, and it was easy to see how that might make her peers wary of her new position, but experience could only come with time…and Patchstar herself had been far, far younger when Thornclaw had placed the leadership upon her shoulders. If she could do it, then this youngling could too – after all, she had the guidance of two leaders to turn to should the need arise.
“He did,” the words had again shed their harsher edge, trading in its growling undercurrents for a more informative, mentor-like air, “but you never stop being a leader. It is our life, Darkblossom. Him and I have spent countless seasons at Mudclan’s head; ‘being in charge’ is not something either of us can simply put aside.” She paused, watching the cat in question whilst he curled within his patch of sunlight, eyes and ears alert for trouble despite the tarnish bought upon them by age. “See how he watches? How he guards? Retired or not, that old tom still has the leaders heart and habits, and he’ll doubtless have them even after Starclan has called him to their side.”
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Post by Svet on May 13, 2014 20:36:24 GMT 1
DARKBLOSSOM
She nearly jumped when Patchstar made her disapproving sound at the she-cat's apology and she looks at the patched she-cat then. She waited for a true StarClan scolding, but instead, Patchstar spoke a mere calm scolding. She even got a thin smile from the she-cat at the end, and the ebony she-cat relaxed once more. I need to start to watch what I say. I am not used to being around the leader... She ended up scolding herself then and she sighed lightly.
She knew that she had pawsteps that she had to fill, for she knew that the Deputy before herself, had done a better job at staying on Patchstar's good side. That was hard to do though when you are a Shadower who is the only one in your family who can walk around most of the the day. But she was not going to let her stop that, and she proved it by becoming the Deputy of the clan afterwards. She knew that there was still tension between her and the clan, but they would get over it,, just like she would soon learn what to say and how and when to say it.
She was young, and it showed in the way she acted and held herself. She was going to change that soon.
She could tell though through the small emotion that could be seen, that she said something that showed that the clan was right to doubt Darkblossom. She did not want to be the young she-cat who was a Shadower and inexperienced, but there was only so much that this she-cat could learn, without making herself look like a fool, more than she already does though. She waited for a slight more brutal scolding, but instead, she got an explanation, and it seemed relatively calm.
She listened to Patchstar and watched the tom as he curled up in a patch of sunlight. She cringed on the inside, for that was something that she had to regulate herself on doing, but she still had those moments when she could. Then she noticed what Patchstar meant about him being on alert still and she she nodded lightly. She looked back to her leader then and she took a slight notice of the she-cats movements and she smiled lightly. "Kind of like how you are talking to me, yet subconsciously, you are on alert right now." She let the small moment of observation be heard and she waited for a response on that, whether it good or bad.
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Post by Greymuzzles on May 17, 2014 18:09:32 GMT 1
‘Kind of like how you are talking to me, yet subconsciously, you are on alert right now.’
She couldn’t help it. The moment the words were uttered, she found herself twisting around to face her deputy, her eyes lit with a curious tangle of confusion and surprise. For a moment she was too startled to respond, but within short order she recognised the very signs to which the younger cat had alluded, and realised that she was, indeed, trapped within the grasp of a permanent unconscious state of vigilance. It was evident within the regular twitches of her ears and the irresistible, barely noted flickering of her searching gaze: in the fact that every misplaced sound, every phantom of threat, half-stirred her from the calm that held her frame. Lessons she had learnt from Thornclaw. Habits honed by seasons of service.
Purring anew—she was surprised, yes, but also impressed—Patchstar dipped her head to the cat at her side, silently praising her for this moment of shrewd observation. When she lifted her chin the look within her eyes had shifted to appreciative satisfaction: a gleam that softened the harshness lent to her features by the scar that had locked her lips within their permanent half-snarl. And that satisfaction was an edge that was far from limited to her features, but rather spilled into her tone when she finally stirred herself from silence, adding light words to the gestures that had first carried her pleasure into the waiting world.
“Exactly right,” she purred, temporarily allowing her gaze and attention to linger upon the she-cat at her side. “Vigilance is the best defence, and one I’ve no doubt you’ll learn for yourself.” Falling again to the habits of a lifetime, she finally allowed her eyes to slip back out towards the movements of the clan, searching the building shadows for any sign of trouble amongst her cats or within her lands. “Who knows. Perhaps you’ll grow to be better at it than I.”
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~
