x t i p t o e

[SHADE. :D]

The sky was a fairly bleak azure, though white clouds surfed across the blue expanse like doves. The sun hung in its usaul spot, humming happily as its rays beat down upon the forest. Weaker every day. Autumn was gradually taking over, and soon, winter would engulf the land. But, for now, it was pleasent. A rabbit, young and fat, was browsing the fields, fluffy tail shivering as it fed. A blackbird winged through the air, black feathers catching the light to cause a glossy sheen. A mother woodmouse scurried through the grass, tall as trees to her eyes, searching for berries and seeds to feed her young which waited in a nest not too far from where she foraged.
But the land around the cave was uninhabited. No creatures played on the grass, which was still as lush as on the rest of the field. No mice nibbled at the juicy stems. No birds landed to pick over the earth for worms. The cave itself was like a smudge of darkness upon the perfect landscape. The entrance was craggy with rock, the passage swirling with shadow. There was an air of mystery, and forboding about the place, as though to enter was to risk your life.
Specte gazed upon the cave, eyes dancing with awe and anxiety. She could scent blood on the breeze which ruffled her shoulders as she waited for Cursico.

[cursico]

Cursico padded up behind Spectre, noticing the lack of animals and the gloomy entrance. Cursico flicked his webbed paw, taking a half-hearted snap at the sticky stuff. The smell of blood barely ruffled him, blood was everywhere, hadn't they just killed?

[SHADE. :D]

Spectre turned to face Cursico, her ice blue eyes wide as full moons. The white loner gestured towards the entrance with her tail. "What do you think?" she mewed, voice tingling with awe. "Shall we go in, or what?" Spectre kneaded the grass with her forepaws, her feathery tail lashing impatiently from side to side. She had utterly forgotten the mistake of the previous day, and was once again filled with the urge to plunge into danger and the unknown.

[cursico]

Cursico smiled "This is your idea, I personally would rather go in, but its your call"

[SHADE. :D]

At Cursico's first statement, Spectre wilted. It sounded accusing, as though he were blaming her for the previous day's events. But his last words made up for it. Realising what he meant, Spectre grinned. She hoped Cursico had not seen the flash of hurt in her ice blue eyes. The white she-cat flicked her tail, before trotting towards the cave entrance. A breeze brushed past her nose, and the stench of blood was overpowering. Spectre fought the urge to cough and splutter. "C'mon," she muttered, her paws going over the threshold of the cave.

[cursico]

Luckily Cursico had been looking into the cave when hurt flashed across Spectre's face. He watched her go in and followed, feeling more lumbery than ever as the thick stench of blood that wasn't at all natural wafted up to him. He rubbed his nose with the cobwebs and sneezed with the irritation it caused.

[SHADE. :D]

Spectre fought the urge to cough as the stench of blook sickened her. She wrinkled up her nose, resolving to breathe only through her mouth. The white she-cat lifted her paws delicately, as if she were walking on sleeping snakes. She could not help noticing that there were splashes of scarlet staining the stone walls. Spectre shuddered, hoping they were not what she thought they were. The loner swallowed as she entered a patricularly dark stretch of the cave. She froze as a snort to her left hit her ears. Spectre blinked, tense with fear. The white she-cat waited until her eyes had grown used to the dark, when she could pick out the shape on her cave floor. It was a cat; black furred and huge. His shoulders were very muscular, and his claws unsheathed and bloodstained. But as he shifted, it was something else with struck horror in her heart. Two overlarge canines protruded over his lip. Spectre gave a strangled yowl and turned. She fled, her tail streaming out behind her. Spectre brushed past Cursico, her fear scent leaving a trail behind her. As she burst out into the sunlight, shivering uncontrollably, only one thought drifted through her mind; Lucky he was sleeping...

[cursico]

Cursico fell back as Spectre rushed past him. He hurriedly moved out of her way and watched her back for a second before slowly, he looked into the cave.
He looked at some cat that reminded him of the wolf on the cover of lordloss. Hmmm, or a sabre tooth cat rather than lion.
Crouching down, barely realising what he was doing, Cursico moved closer, studying the animal, forgetting about all the blood around him.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire grunted in his sleep.
The black tom turned over, his large canine teeth protruding over his lips. Vampire was dreaming, but not pleasent dreams. They were never pleasent dreams. Vampire was lost in a sea of shadows, his paws flailing. Suddenly his eyes opened, they're amber eyes fiery with rage. The black rogue lifted his tail. A cat stood tail lengths from him. He knew this because of the training he had recieved before he had left MoonClan as Vampirepaw. Vampire glared at the intruder, teeth bared. He said nothing. He wanted to see whether the other cat would notice his bloody stare.

[cursico]

"Shweet" Cursico slurred. Stupidly feeling no fear, over-confident with himself. The black tom was fascinating, and quite frankly, Cursico wanted to look at him some more. The amber eyes held his green ones, a silly smile implanted on his face. "You look like a vampire!" He commented, tail swinging back and forth, seeing no danger yet. He always had to learn the hard way.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire's cruel smile widened as Cursico spoke. He rose, spitting contemptuously. It was obvious that he was not of a normal size as he stood. His legs were long and sturdy, his shoulders broad and muscular. His teeth were bared, the terrific canines sticking out threateningly. The large black tom took one step forward, his big paws making soft noises against the stone floor of the cave. Vampire lifted his tail, curling it over his back. "Yes, I do," Vampire agreed. His voice was silky soft, but full of cunning. "That is why I lost my home." He tossed his head, his amber eyes gleaming. Bitter memories rose, so that his ebony fur bristled. "Get out of my sight!" he roared, without warning. Vampire sprang, paws thundering against the stone, teeth inches from Cursico's nose.

[cursico]

Cursico sniffed as if it didn't matter. Thats probably why you have no clan, angry much" He turned with a contemtuous flick of his tail, and padded with pride to the entrance. Where upon he glanced back and continued to walk.

[SHADE. :D]

Cursico's contempt only served to spark Vampire's anger. The muscular black tom ran after the loner, jaws gaping and fur bristling. Vampire burst from the cave, letting rip an unnatural roar of rage. He turned, intending to claw the ginger and white tom to shreds, but something else caught his eye. A smaller, snow white cat, huddled a few feet away. Vampire leapt. Spectre gave a strangled yowl and rolled out of the way, but the large tom's paws pinned her to the grass. Spectre screeched in terror, her paws flailing as Vampire's claws slashed her chest. The rogue seized her by one leg, and tossed her as far as he could. Though this was not particularly far, Spectre landed heavily. The white loner heaved herself to her paws, chest dripping blood. One cheek was stained crimson and her right foreleg hung at an awkward angle. Vampire gave a loud hiss and charged again, aiming to kill.

[cursico]

Cursico smiled as he heard sounds of pursuit. Sometimes it was just too easy to anger cats, every one he annoyed was a point scored... Though what the points did he wasn't quite sure.
His eyes widened with shock as he went after Spectre. Coward! He though venhemently, of course the stupid Vampire would go after the smaller one who hadn't done anything. It took a while to reach Vampire, as speed wasn't exactly his main strengnth. But he stayed expertly silent as he went after the evil black cat.
It was all in hope that Vampire wouldn't hear him, even if it meant a few seconds knocked off. Cursico pounced, flying through the air with momentum, meaning to knock Vampire away from Spectre. No thoughts of what he would do after, just the silly herorics of putting yourself in danger to help another.

[SHADE. :D]

Spectre crouched helplessly as Vampire sailed towards her. The white she-cat flinched, quivering, but the blow never hit. The black tom had been knocked sideways by Cursico. Vampire yowled in rage, pushing the loner bodily off of him. The ebony coated rogue aimed a snap ay the tom's foreleg, large teeth bared. Spectre leapt into the battle, yowling. One leg still hung at an awkward angle. The snowy she-cat slashed at Vampure's eyes, lips rolled back in pain and anger. Vampire spat angrily as Spectre claws connected in his cheek. He batted her away with his paws and aimed a slash at Cursico's stomach, long claws unsheathed.

[cursico]

Cursico was glad he was four legged, he simply pulled his paw out of the way, hissing and seething with anger and rage for the despicable cat. He was even more glad for it when Vampire went for his stomach that was relatively low to the ground. Cursico hissed and yowled as the claws hit his side, leaving long marks that weren't really that deep.
Cursico didn't even stumbled, he just put all his pain into a long yowl that hurt his own ears. The ginger tom cat turned his yellow eyes on Vampire, the glare overflowing with hateful loathing.
Once more instinct took over, Cursico jumped to the side, making the movement uncharactaristicly fast. His neck pulled back and shot forwards, meaning to bite the back of Vampire's neck and grip on, his bared ivories shining and glittering in their own lust.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire yowled as Cursico's claws flashed before his eyes. The large black tom took a step back, examning his opponent carefully. He may have been a brute, but he was not reckless. His fiery amber eyes glittered with intelligence as he pulled Cursico apart with his eyes, layer by layer, trying to pick out a weakness in the ginger and white tom. Vampire smirked. Cursico was big, but not that big. There were few cats that could match Vampire's size. The black rogue paused to let his chest puff out arrogantly; then Cursico was flying towards him. The tom gave a loud hiss, jerking his head forward just in time to miss the fatal bite. He felt fur being ripped from his neck, and scolded himself for his moment of gloating. Vampire turned with a snarl, and aimed a bite at Cursico's throat, eyes flashing.

[cursico]

Cursico spat out the hairs from his mouth, angry at having missed his opponent. He had been so sure he would have grabbed Vampire. Though he was thankful the hideous monstosity was no longer after Spectre. His hiss rose to meet Vampire's in vicious harmony. He saw Vampire move towards him again, a copy of his own move, how uncreative. If he'd have had the time, Cursico would have laughed.
Instead of laughing, the ginger cat ducked his head down, and rammed it upwards, meaning for his head to smack into Vampire's open jaws and slam them closed hard enough to shock the cat.
Without even waiting to see how Vampire reacted, not even sure he'd hit, Cursico slashed for the chest that was now before him, his yowl growing in intensity, knowing how risky his move was, and that Vampire would probably take advantage of it.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire had no time for any noises of shock as Cursico smacked his teeth together. The sharp tips collided with a ringing shot of agony. The overlarge canine teeth pierced his bottom lip, leaving two painful, bloody ruts. The black tom flinched just in time to avoid Cursico's next move. In fury, Vampire leapt over Cursico's back, running a few steps to recover from the pain. After this, the large tom gave a roar-like howl and jumped onto Cursico's back. His paws scrabbled, and he knew that Cursico would either throw him off or buckle beneath his weight. Vampire hoped the second option was more likely.

[cursico]

Cursico tried to turn around in time. But his bulk failed, he only had one paw half-way around before Vampire pounced. Because of his ungainly position, Cursico bulked. But rather than just allowing himself to fall, he heaved himself to the side, then fell, hoping to catch Vampire underneath him and then use his weight to advantage. Or he could just get mauled on the stomach if he missed.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire let out a growl of triumpth as he felt Cursico buckling beneath him. But his triumpth turned to disbelief as the ginger and white tom rolled beneath his weight. The black tom lashed out, goring Cursico's stomach with sharp foreclaws, but moments later two of his legs were trapped beneath the tom's body. Wrenching himself out from beneath Cursico's weight, Vampire shook himself with a snarl. No cat had avaded him for so long. Baring his overlarge canines, Vampre sprang, aiming to sink his teeth into Cursio's exposed shoulder. If he could just bite hard enough, he might break part of the bone. This would disable Cursico's leg, making him easier to defeat. But it was unlikely that Vampire would strike, and even more so that he would bite deep enough to do real damage.

[cursico]

Cursico felt something strike across him stomach, but it was gone too fast for him to take heed of it. He got back onto his feet to face Vampire again, feeling happily pleased with himself. His grin taunting and mocking.
As Vampire moved, so did Cursico. He just noticed the drops of blood coming down from his downy white under-side. His grin faded slightly, he felt pain flare alive as he jumped to the side. Vampire's teeth left marks across his shoulder, but of course nothing serious. A low hiss built up in his throat, despite himself he was scared about the stomach wound. He hoped none of his organs were dangling out, the thought of it was enough to made him shiver.
But he'd have to deal with it later. His pride took over, he wanted to make Vampire pay for hurting Spectre. His eyes regained their hateful spark and the ginger cat pounced within a second of regaining his courage. He slashed for Vampire's face, his shoulder's hunched as he tried to cover up the stomach wound, pretending as if it wasn't there and hoping the black cat hadn't sene it.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire noticed Cursico proud look fade slightly, and a spark of fear gleam in the tom's eyes. The black tom also picked up on the way the loner hunched over as he pounced. The large black rogue stepped back to avoid Cursico's slash, baring his sharp teeth menacingly. There was something wrong with the ginger tom's underbelly. Vampire feigned a slash to Cursico's chest, peering under the tom's legs. Yes; a slash to the stomach was bleeding onto the grass. Finally he had an advantage!

Spectre had also noticed Cursico's swiftness fall slightly. The she-cat's ice blue eyes widened as the tom leapt at Vampire again, and she knew the cruel rogue had spotted her friend's weakness. "Stop!" she begged, tears pouring helplessly from her eyes. "Please! Cursico, stop!" Spectre's legs quivered, her ears drooping.

[cursico]

Cursico hissed even louder, Vampire had noticed. Such... Bad luck. He readied himself to take another strike whilst Vampire peered under his legs, it was the perfect chance to strike the tom cat on the head. He hesitated at Spectre's call, he was saving her. Surely if he stopped the brute would attack again.
He looked questioningly at the white cat, aware Vampire could strike at any moment, but unable to draw his gaze away. He moved to walk to Spectre.

[SHADE. :D]

Vampire lashed out as Cursico halted, his paw cuffing the tom's ears violently. As the loner began to pad towards Spectre, Vampire stepped back, posture triumpthant. "That's it, run away!"

Spectre ran towards Cursico. "Leave it," she pleaded. The snowy she-cat drew her tongue over one of her wounds, her ice blue eyes worried. "We should leave. Come on." Spectre shot Vampire a burning glare. "Don't think we'll forget this, scum," she spat, her spirit leaping up into her throat. "We will take our revenge. We will claw all of your hideous fur out, then rip your body to ribbons. Your fur will line our nests." Spectre's voice became a spit, before she turned and half stalked, half limped, away. She hoped Cursico was following.

[cursico]

Cursico wondered at her spirit. His ear ached horribly, but it matched nothing to the stabbing pain within his gut. She'd stopped him fighting but given a pretty violent threat. He smiled, she certainly was odd, always wanting to go on adventures with him but never quite having the heart. Cursico followed obediently after her, wondering where their long adventures would wind up now.

[SHADE. :D]

Spectre glanced behind her. In the distance, she watched the dark shape that was Vampure move off into the trees. The white cat shuddered with anger, surpressing a hiss. Her heart filled with relief when she looked at Cursico. The ginger and white tom was limping, and his stomach still dripped blood, but he was alive. That was all that mattered to Spectre. One of her own hind legs was crumpled and seared with pain if she tried to walk on it. She hopped determinedly on three legs, hoping that she didn't look too comical. Her limping gait allowed Cursico to easily catch her up. The snowy loner licked her friend's cheek. "Sorry for chickening out," she mewed meekly. "But I didn't want to lose you." She gave Cursico's shoulder another swift lick, her eyes bright.

[cursico]

"It'll take more than that to fell me" Cursico smiled, still hunched because of the wound. "How about we go home and plan our revenge?" He grinned.

[SHADE. :D]

Spectre pulled a mock face of fear and concern. "Oh, no, Cursico," she mewed. "Revenge is for ruffians." An evil smile lit up her face. "Like us." Spectre lifted a paw and prodded Cursico lightly in the flank, smiling weakly. Suddenly a fierce expression crossed her face. "Yeah," she mewed, in response to his question. "Let's go home and plot how we can pull out his entrails and make them into kittypet toys." Spectre limped on, her face still lit with fiery battle light. Hatred for Vampire filled her heart, but she knew one thing for certain. He will pay.

[cursico]

Cursico grinned. His flank rippling violently at her touch. He shook himself briefly and continued on. "You're certainly in a violent mood ain't ya?"