by KittyandCat » Sat Jul 10, 2021 12:42 am
Username: KittyandCat
Cat Name: Phoenix
Gender: dfab , she-catp
Rank: rogue
Clan: xAge: 39 moons
Prompt:“First Impressions Aren’t Everything”
xxx“You seem to have lost your confidence now.” Stonegarden shivered as the she-cat murmured in her ear, talking a hesitant step back. “Get- get out of my territory!” She meowed, her voice trembling. The she-cat took a step toward her, purring, “You want me to leave, when I know your secret? When I could easily slip off to the Turf Treaders and tell them that you’re spying on them? That you’re disloyal?” She gave Stonegarden an innocent blink of her eyes, before turning and slowly beginning to stalk toward the tree-line. “Suit yourself.”
xxx“Wait!” Stonegarden called, flinching as the she-cat turned back toward her with a grin. “What good would that do you? You’re a rogue- starting conflict between two clans won’t benefit you!” She hoped to see a flicker of questioning flash in the she-cat’s eyes, but her heart sank as she smiled wider. “Leverage. This gives me leverage.” She sat, licking a paw and drawing it over her ear. “Because if you want your clan’s little secret kept, you’ll do as I say.”
xxxStonegarden’s pelt prickled. “What… what would you have me do exactly?” The she-cat raised a hind leg and began scratching absent-mindedly behind an ear. “That hollow tree on your territory; I’d like to live there.” Stonegarden flinched. “But that’s where our medicine cat meets with StarClan! It’s sacred- you can’t possibly lounge around there!” The she-cat yawned, her fur fluffing out. “Oh yeah? Well, I’m sure the Turf Treaders would be happy to give me somewhere to stay when I tell them about the imposter in their clan.” “Fine. Fine! You can stay there, but you’ll have to leave during the half-moon.”
xxxThe she-cat seemed to ignore her, now licking her back. “And you’ll bring me something twice a moon.” Stonegarden’s ears flattened indignantly. “Don’t you know how to hunt for yourself?” She hissed, and the she-cat paused to look at her. “Would you like to hunt more than twice a moon?” Stonegarden felt her shoulders droop. She was used to being in control; not being under it. “No.”
xxxStanding and stretching, the she-cat purred. “Then that’s it, for now. I’m off to your tree.” Stonegarden watched as the scruffy she-cat passed her, a lump in her throat. She’d messed up. Really messed up. How did this cat find out about her uneven loyalties? As she eyed the she-cat, a thought popped into her head. “Hey, wait!” She meowed, taking a few steps forward. “What should I call you?” As the she-cat turned, she narrowed her eyes, before meowing, “Phoenix.” and stalking off.
- - -
xxxPhoenix stretched in the trunk of the hollow pine, hissing as the previous night’s rain dripped down and pooled around her. In the past moon, she’d discovered this wasn’t such a grand place to live. I’ll have to tell Stonegarden I expect her to find me a new den, she thought, stepping out of the tree and shaking her pelt. She stretched, feeling her muscles quiver, before jumping as a scrawny squirrel hit the ground in front of her.
xxxShe looked up in annoyance at Stonegarden, who’d entered the clearing without her noticing. “This is thin.” She meowed disapprovingly, prodding it with her paw. “Then it fits you. I swear, sometimes I wonder if you eat anything besides what I bring you!” Phoenix snorted, before crouching and talking a bite from the squirrel, its flavors flooding her mouth. As she ate, she twitched her ear when she noticed Stonegarden was still there. Why hasn’t she left yet? She thought, but instead meowed, “Want a bite?”
xxxStonegarden rolled her eyes. “There’s barely enough for you there!” “And who’s fault it that?” Phoenix hissed back, twitching her tail in irritation. When the grey she-cat didn’t reply, she sighed, “Let’s just go hunting.” “Why?” Stonegarden asked, narrowing her eyes. After a pause, Phoenix meowed, “I’m still hungry. And you want me to keep your secret, don’t you?”
- - -
xxxPhoenix hissed under her breathe as she tried to untangle herself from the bramble bush. This was a terrible idea! I have to get out before Stonegarden sees… But her heart sank as she heard the she-cat excitedly purring nearby, “Phoenix! Look at this crow- it’s huge!” Rounding the corner, the grass-stained she-cat stopped in front of the bush with a look of surprise on her face. Phoenix flattened her ears, feeling her fur heating up, and waited for laughter. But instead, she flinched with surprise at the concern in her companion’s voice.
“Is this why you’re so thin? Because you don’t hunt? Because all that long fur gets tangled up so easily?” Stonegarden flitted around the bush, pulling at the thorns in an attempt to help untangle the scruffy she-cat. “Why didn’t you just ask me to hunt for you more? You could’ve easily made me do it!” Phoenix sighed. “Yeah, yeah, but I didn’t want to make you go out of your way too much. Besides, I couldn’t look like I didn’t know how.” The grey she-cat sighed. “I’ll hunt for you more often. As long as you keep my secret! You’ll do that, right?”
xxxAnd a mere moon earlier, Phoenix would’ve told her, ‘as long as it keeps working to my advantage.’ But now, she purred and looked admiringly and the other cat, at her friend, and murmured “of course.”
Last edited by
KittyandCat on Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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