hunting [sly!]

[Winter]

The glittering moonlight cast upon his onyx pelt, making it shine. It looked, in the light, as if it was actually midnight blue, this was how sleek it was. The sleekness would be, of course, better suited to a slender, graceful cat. Krestalclaw, however, was neither, and yet he was adorned with a most beautiful coat.

If it was just his pelt that others looked at, prehaps he would not be teased the way he was. His body was overly large for his age. He was barely approaching warrior-hood, indeed he should be one soon, but he was still, all in all, a young cat. However, he had a body of a hardened warrior. His legs, oddly, seemed to thin out. And yet, as if to counteract that, his paws were massive, out of place.

He lept forward, and landed, digging his long claws into the ground. He could only hope that one day he would grow into his body, and become the large cat he was promised to be. Is this some cruel trick, Starclan? Am I meant to be forever ridiculed? Never given what I deserve? He growled, and he liked how menacing it sounded.

Something moved in the grass ahead of him. He paused, listening. He could hear a very faint heartbeat, and yet no heat came from the area. When the creature moved, he finally pinpointed its long body on the ground. It was a snake. No, he would not eat it, and nor would his clan, but it would be a challenge, and he liked that. And so, he leaned back, before charging forward.

He landed on the snake, which instantly turned, trying to bite into the tom's onyx leg. When it latched on, Krestalclaw felt heat flood through his paw. Growling, he flung himself away, escaping the snake. Once he had gone a good distance, he leaned down, and began licking the small wound. It would be fine, he knew.

He continued on, now extremly bitter. He stopped suddenly, upon hearing a noise that told him yet another living creature was nearby...

[Sly]

The russet pelt of Oakstar could be seen weaving among the maze of Pine Trees and toward a clump of tall grass. The young leader's ears twitched as he listened to the sounds of the night. Yes he was the leader of ShadowClan, and yes he was out doing some midnight prowling. Was that such a bad thing?

No. Of course not. Oakstar, even back when he was an apprentice, hated being cooped up in camp. ShadowClan camp was boring during the day, and what of it during the night? Of course during the night hours, he should be sleeping, but what if he wasn't? Oakstar despised the thought of sitting in his empty felt den during moon-high, both eyes wide open staring at the stone wall lined with moss. Not something you'd see Oakstar doing...

Rather than acting like a zombie kit, Oakstar came out and either hunted, or just patrolled. The crisp night air hung in the air with a stirring peacefulness. Signs of leaf-bare were apparent as the dead leaves under-paw crunched softly. Oakstar's gaze was fixed ahead, eyes shrouded in a mist, showing he was not really thinking of anything in particular, just a regular expression for the leader.

The tom's eyes changed however as he heard the sound of a soft thud and the soft growling of the feline kind. Oakstar immediately became alert, and changed his course and headed for the sound. Being out late at night like this was also the most dangerous, even for a clan leader. There was a high chance of intruders, or even surprise attacks from rival clans.
better check it out...sure nothing odd is happening this peaceful night.. Though, his green gaze showed off his uncertainness as he prowled among the tall grass.

Oakstar scented the air, and the scent of a ShadowClan tom waffled past his nose.
hmmm....that's Krestalclaw... The ShadowClan leader picked out the tom's scent right away as he followed the trail that led to him. The tom appeared behind the young warrior, seeing the onyx pelt that belonged to him.

Oakstar's eyes showed authority as he nodded at the tom in short greeting. "Hello Krestalclaw...out for a moon-high hunt?" The leader's low meow guessed, long bushy tail drawing over his paws as he sat down, getting a better look at the warrior. He breathed in and smelt something, rather off. The russet tom's eyes narrowed slightly as he followed his sensitive nose to a wound almost unseen in the night veil, on Kestalclaw's paw.

"What happened?" He meowed, his low, crisp voice demanding, yet holding a ginger tone, not seeming bossy, but only the actions of a concerned leader. He could smell the tang of the warrior's blood, but also something else....A rather sour and bitter scented mixture that Oakstar couldn't put a paw on right away.
Then it dawned on him.
he's been bitten by an adder. Oakstar didn't speak, for he waited for the tom's reply. He didn't' want the tom to be poisoned and not be treated for it, he would advise the onyx furred feline to go back to camp right away if he saw that he was having trouble, but some adder bites weren't fatal, not if they only injected small amounts of their venom. The russet tom knew the warrior standing before him was stubborn, but if his life was danging from a thread, he couldn't let him be a fool and not do anything about it.

[Winter]

Krestelclaw was startled by the abrupt appearance of his leader. His head lifted and his eyes centered on Oakstar's autumn gaze, which was intense even in the dense darkness. It took Krestelclaw a while for him to recuperate. 'Good evening Oakstar' he said and dipped his head. He felt little respect for his leader, perhaps because he barely knew him. Yet again, Krestelclaw respected no one apart from himself. It was a prevailing characteristic of the tom. However, he wasn't oblivious of Oakstar's power and he wasn't just about to disrespect his leader, despite his own self-involvement. If he had to suck up to Oakstar to maintain the reputation he had in his clan, then so be it.

Krestelclaw glared at his injuries and quickly composed himself. He changed the awkward angle he was standing from and a polite (but eerily malevolent) grin rose in his face. 'Nothing to worry about' he assured Oakstar. 'It was just a snake. But it's taken care of.' He ventured his head in the direction of where the snake had attacked him. The bushes were now still, no trace that anything had ever occurred there. The tom gnashed his teeth silently, conscious of how the smell of his blood was dispersing in the air. Why did his blood smell so strongly? It was something he should feel proud about, he knew that, for it meant that he was in a healthy and fit state. But if he ever got injured, or more injured than he was right now, his enemy, along with anybody else, could easily spot him. That wasn't convenient.

Clearing his head from those thoughts, temporarily, Krestelclaw focused on Oakstar. What was ShadowClan's leader doing in the midst of the night wandering around? Was he up to something? Krestelclaw smiled inwardly, suspecting treason. Yet, a glisten in the leader's eyes denied that option. He evaluated all reasons as to why Oakstar would be out: meeting with a foreign cat he fell in love with, planning to ambush another clan, meeting with a loner or rogue and plan an assail to some place... His imagination ran with corrupt and degenerate speculations of what a leader would be doing. Krestelclaw hoped it was the first one, desiring the thrill he would get by finding out about it and of course, of exposing it.

What better way to find out but ask? Krestelclaw thought, knowing his leader needed an alibi and he had to answer a humble warrior's question one way or another. 'Oakstar' Krestelclaw began, his voice firm with the tuft of cynicism it always had. 'What brings you to this place at this time?

[Sly]

Oakstar listens to what the warrior has to say. His face remains neutral as usual.
hmmm, his blood does smell strongly. I guess he'll be fine. Oakstar brushes off the disrangement and his ears prickle at the tom's question.

of course he would be interested in why I'm out. I have to remember that I'm leader now. So everything I do will have every cat in ShadowClan on their toes about me... Oakstar thought with a rather annoyed manner. Just because he was leader now didn't mean he should be treated like an unloyal rogue. It seemed that every clan had to have the group of warriors that weren't all too trustworthy of their leader.

Also, Kestalclaw wasn't the....most up and ready cat the young tom knew. Not meaning he was lazy, but he always had the air of mischef about him. Atleast to Oakstar, never was too fond of him even as a young warrior.

"I'm just taking an evening stroll." He informed the tom, with a casual tone. "Nothing to ponder about I'm sure." He added, his voice carrying off as he stared off into the misty woods beyond.

"I'd like to ask the same for you. But I suppose you have the same reason." He meowed, tail twitching as he moved on his way, not looking at the warrior. He didn't expect him to follow, but didn't show any signs that it was unwelcome. His paws led him over across a small opening as the soft pine needles below brushed against the soft pads underpaw.

ooc: sorry for the bad post. my muse is low... =/

[Winter]

Krestelclaw lifted a single eyebrow, unamused by the response. 'Oh' he replied, expecting to hear a more scandalous answer. Yet he reminded himself that it was perfectly possible that Oakstar was lying. If he was doing something felonious, he wasn't going to share it with a humble warrior like himself. So he lifted both his eye brows and raised his voice in an empathetic tone. 'Ohh, I see' he said and nodded in comprehension. He still believed Oakstar was doing something against the code, but well, all ShadowClan leaders (and leaders of all clans) had been corrupt so no surprises there. He curtly grinned at his leader. 'Not really, just felt like doing a little hunting. Didn't have much time to do it this afternoon, with all the problems in the RiverClan border and such.' Krestelclaw shook his head, this time actually preoccupied with the territorial conflicts that were going on. He looked at his leader curiously, wondering what he was going to do with those issues.

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ooc; np, mine wasn't good either xP[/size]