.silent .watcher

[A Troope of Apprentices]

|x| H E A R T H P A W |x|

The only sound that reached the young tom-cat's ears was the gurgle of the water rushing over the stones, cascading over small inclines, fading to a soft roar in the distance. His eyes, a flaming orange that rivalled that of a burning fire, flickered as he lifted his dark head, a noble head perched upon a pair of broad, powerful shoulders with a elegantly arched neck and spine. His expression was a dark one, however; earlier that day he had heard a strange howl that was neither a cat's yowl nor the cry of some piece of prey as it died. The sound was a high, songlike sound that send chills wracking through his frame, and pulled a thread of uneasiness from his heart, sending it through him and igniting it into a blazing inferno.

The EmberClan apprentice shifted on his perch on one of the sun-warmed stones near the Rushing Rapids, his posture stiff and alert. He was watching for the source of that terrible, blood-curdling noise, and also listening. For the owner of that voice had to be a strong creature, to invoke such a terrible, fearful feeling deep in his soul. He hadn't felt that since he was a tiny kit, looking upon the dead bodies of his parents. His jaw tightened slightly upon remembering this, and Hearthpaw of EmberClan growled softly, his fiery eyes narrowing.

The apprentice glared out towards the rushing water, as if blaming it for his parents' death, his long tail bristling slightly. Then he forced his fur to lay flat upon his spine and tail, jaw still tense as he kneaded his claws into the stone below him. 'Who's out there?' he wondered ferociously, looking around him. It was a bad thing once you felt unsafe on your own territory, and the dark tabby felt anything but safe at the moment. He felt as if he was being hunted by some strange, malevolent force, and, at the moment, he felt as if he was about to be crushed under the weight of his unease.

[~*Silvey*~]

Cheetahpaw looked around, spotting Hearthpaw, and hearing the howl, "Not again!" she whispered in alarm. She remembered how Autumnstar and Talonscar had seen something, the wolf's paw prints. "Wolf, Great StarClan, we have a wolf in our territory!" she hissed in annoyance.

[A Troope of Apprentices]

|x| H E A R T H P A W |x|
Suddenly, the tom heard something, a voice that he knew as a fellow EmberClan, and turned as he picked out the word wolf in her sentence. Hearthpaw's blazing orange eyes turned two and fro until they locked on a figure. For a moment, he was stunned. Standing there was his ancestor, a cheetah, with the same kind of build and a magnificently spotted pelt. He did a double-take. Then he realized that this was not a cheetah (she was too small for such), but a she-cat, probably of his own Clan, one that registered vaguely as Cheetahpaw, a name that reminded him blazingly of her stark resemblance to the great, speedy cat in their ancestry. His dark tabby-marked pelt rippled as he stood up, and leapt gracefully from his boulder, walking over to Cheetahpaw with long, measured steps, finally stopping in front of her.

"Did you say a wolf?" he demanded, his voice harsh but not accusing, but it was worried, and slightly fearful. The uneasiness he had felt earlier was now engulfed in raging flames of fear and slight anger. He felt as if he was being hunted in his own territory, that all of them were being watched only so that the wolves would know when and where to strike, which cats to take down, and which cats to leave alive to hunt another day. Fur bristled along his spine and his claws slid from their sheaths to dig into the ground.

Suddenly feeling unsafe, the tom looked around him with wary eyes and ears pricked to detect any strange noises, but the only noise he could detect at the moment was the roaring of the rapids as they plunged over rocks and over small inclines. Turning his burning gaze back to Cheetahpaw, he took another step closer to her to make himself heard over the sound of the rapids. "Did you see it? The wolf?" he meowed, his tone a bit gentler. Then he paused, flushing under his fur as he forgot the common rules of etiquette. "I'm Hearthpaw."

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[~*Silvey*~]

Cheethapaw nodded, "Earlier today, Autumnstar, Talonscar and I saw it's pawprints, I saw one again while out hunting." she turned her gaze to meet his, "We have to leave, this area is not safe," she mewed evenly. Cheetahpaw nodded, "I am Cheetahpaw. The wolf will probably be patroling around in circles, it thinks this is it's territory, so we have to escape from it's circle." As Cheetahpaw spoke, she felt the wolf's scent disappear from her nose as it moved behind her, away from camp, "NOW!" she mewed, running a short distance away before pausing to make sure Hearthpaw was following.

[A Troope of Apprentices]

|x| H E A R T H P A W |x|
The smoky tabby tom nearly pelted after her, his body almost a blur on the grassy ground as he raced forward, padding next to Cheetahpaw, his orange eyes sharp and wild. This news about a wolf--it wasn't good, for certain, and a nervous tremor ran through him. "The wolf will probably be patroling around in circles, it thinks this is it's territory, so we have to escape from it's circle." Cheetahpaw's words rang in Hearthpaw's mind and his claws slid from their sheaths, flexing in the soft ground.

"Cheetahpaw, you actually saw one?" Hearthpaw breathed, staring at the she-cat who greatly resembled a cheetah. He shifted slightly, fur along his spine bristling--he didn't stop moving, but stayed next to his fellow apprentice. "Would you tell me what it looked like?" His dark ears swivelled forward, body tense and ready for anything, and he glanced around with sharp, flaming eyes, now as cold and hard as orange flint.

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[~*Silvey*~]

Cheetahpaw ran easily next to Hearthpaw, forcing herself to match his pace, and not go any faster, "Yeah, big, shaggy, dog. It, has, gray, brown, fur and long, teeth, and claws, that, look, loke, ivory," she mewed, gasping as she ran.