If this is to end in fire... (Freyja)

The blue of the sky held a calm tranquility in its grasp. The soft tufts of cloud that drifted in its vast endlessness soft and inviting. It reminded her of rabbit’s down. Eyes green like the leaves around her which swayed. Brushed her pelt. It felt bare. The familiar weight left behind to embrace the forest’s sights… and its inhabitants. The journey to reach this place had been long… oh so long. Her head tilted, tufted ears flicked back when she remembered the reason. The curiosity of these forest dwelling cats, and their… messy… ways. Barbaric, truly. Her pale head lifted to the top of a large and mighty rock. It looked above her, tall and proud.

Just as the great oak trees did around her. They were interesting. Truly, they seemed to be as old as time itself. Their mighty trunks vast and wide, their branches climbed into the sky. She bunches up her hindquarters, and sprang neatly onto the top. Her pale paws delicate when they landed. Their were scrape marks here. Signs of cats in the grooves and white chalked up surface. She sniffed it, the long faded scents of the leaders in her muzzle for a moment before she looked up, and down, to the clearing below. Her fanged head tilted upwards in pride.

She had arrived.

Bloodstrike had been drinking in the silence of the morning and enjoying the peace of it all. No screaming kits to deal with, not having to jump to his paws to stop a fight... nothing. He'd make sure he got to camp soon though, as Smokefeather would need to go on her patrols soon as well. He' rather they go to their grandmother and have her watch them for a bit, but instead he decided that he really ought to not try to push off his own kits onto someone else. He sighed a quiet sigh just before he heard a soft thump below him. He snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes landed on a she-cat that he didn't recognize. She had a curious air about her... the way she confidently moved, her proud, tall posture, and the way she surveyed the field around her was exactly the same as some of the leader's he'd seen.

The same way that he himself, carried himself, despite not being a leader. Yet.

Bloodstrike slowly and silently got to his paws on the branch. With the skilled, practiced movements of a Skyclan warrior, he dropped slowly and silently down a few more branches without rustling the leaves to get a closer look at her. Her back was to him, which was absolutely perfect since he didn't want to be detected just yet. He inhaled deeply through his nose and parted his jaws to collect as much information as he could about the unknown she-cat. He desperately tried to place her fur markings at a gathering, but he couldn't. Still, he wasn't that surprised that he didn't remember seeing her at any gatherings he'd been to, because he would have remembered any cat that strode through the fields as confidently as he, or she, just did.

He scented her, but... he didn't recognize her scent, nor any of the landscape smells that clung to her fur-scent. He couldn't get very close to her from where he was, but he was still just close enough. She was a rogue... maybe. No, she was a rogue... but nothing about her said "alone". What lone cat carried themselves that way? His memory flashed back to Iniko, and just for a moment he felt a hot flash of anger. They had agreed to a spar, which meant no claws and yet Bloodstrike had clawmarks between his neck and shoulder that didn't seem to be fading away completely. He'd used it as a reminder to never trust clanless cats again, even if he didn't necessarily hate Iniko himself.

"The rock you stand on is pretty significant to us around here," He finally announced his presence, still about ten fox-lengths or so above the ground. He remained in a crouched position on the branch, his haunches ready like a loaded spring. "It's for leaders of the clans to stand on and to announce their news to the rest of the clans here at gatherings. It is not however, for dirty, lone cat paws like yours." Bloodstrike was smiling, but it was far from a friendly smile.

"You carry yourself differently from the rogues I know," A total of two, but whatever. "I'm curious. Why?"

Normally Bloodstrike would be a lot calmer and friendlier than this. It even surprised himself a bit. Maybe constantly having to fight with kits and be an otherwise strict paternal figure had changed his attitude toward outside cats a bit. That and lone cats could be a potential threat to his kits. That was something he would not tolerate. His eyes focused on her with a hunter's intensity, sharp and calculating inside glowing green irises. He waited for her to answer, lazer-focused on everything she did and any of her voice fluctuations.

Whatever Bloodstrike decided to do next was going to depend entirely on what this unknown she-cat did and said.

The voice came from above her. Her pale ears twitched at the sound, but she didn’t lift her head to fruitlessly search for the owner of the voice. While he prattled on about the importance of the rock, she lifted a forepaw and licked delicately at the fur between the pads. Perfectly calm despite the imminent threat.

"A rogue? What a curious thing to call a wanderer.” She meowed softly when his tone shifted. The question spoke of intrigue, curiosity to who was beneath him. She placed her groomed paw on the surface of the great rock and tilted her head up, though she did not try craning it back to see him. Instead, she relied on her ears to pin point every movement of branch and leaf.

"Who might you be, tree cat?” She asked, her gaze lifted towards the blue sky. "The rock doesn’t care who stands upon it. It is simply a stone, unfeeling and hard.” Her ears twitched at a movement. Her head turned to meet it, a calm and pleasant smile on her muzzle when she saw green eyes among the leaves. There he is.

"It is amusing how you are quick to call me dirty, just imply I am another rogue, when I am just a humble traveller.” Something flashed in her hazel eyes, which narrowed while she watched leaves rustle above her.

Bloodstrike crouched on his limb, quietly, while she talked. If she could see him, he gave her a very unamused stare when she spoke about the rock not caring who stood upon it. Already she was being dismissive of the values of the clan cats and their culture. He took this into account as he surveyed her from above. She was confirming a lot of his suspicions. Like Iniko, if she was alone, she hadn't always been. That much was true from how calm she was. Lone cats were normally far more on edge around forest cats.

"You insult my intelligence, traveler." He growled, but then he paused. She wanted to play word games? Maybe he would indulge her for now. A puzzle perhaps? A riddle? Bloodstrike wasn't necessarily the epitome of genius word games, but he was smart enough to come up with a few.

"My name is what you want? I'll give it to you then." He inhaled slowly, then exhaled even slower as he came up with his own game for her.

"I, finch, crow, talon, am, goose, owl, feather, blood, sparrow, starling, wing, strike, beak, thrush, quail." he had said the words deliberately and slowly, then paused to let them sink in. After a few heartbeats, Bloodstrike smirked to himself and gave her the final piece to see if she could figure it out.

"The forest would be quiet if all of the birds were gone." And Bloodstrike went quiet again. He gave her a few moments to let those words sink in and to toss it around in her head.

"Tree cat is fine, if this is too much for you." And his challenge has been officially sent. He braced, ready to spring at her, should she seem like she was going to become frustrated and attack. He himself had little patience, but he had enough for now to see how she would navigate his words and his one helpful clue.

Freyja’s face twisted in amusement when the tom began to respond. His intelligence wasn’t remarkable, much less his little… riddle. When he began to speak bird names it wasn’t hard for her to track the pattern immediately. Her body shifted into a casual sit, tail curled neatly around pale forepaws while he continued.
"Self conscious about your intellect, hm?” Her tone was light, almost playful while she waited for the inevitable.

Oh yes. She knew these forest cats would attack her. That this one in particular would. It was merely a question of when. She lifted the paw closest to his direction. Licked lightly at the fur there. Her form was completely relaxed. Her gaze constantly observing.

Truth was, if he didn’t attack, she’d be rather disappointed. Freyja wanted to see these cats and their battle moves herself. It had been a long way to journey for that. Her shoulder dipped casually and she put her paw down.

"I’d give you my name.” She started, fixing Bloodstrike with a firm look. Let him think her stupid, that she didn’t get it. "Except I don’t think you deserve it.”

Bloodstrike waited and watched, still except for his tail tip twitching to betray his amusement. When she accused him of being insecure about how smart he was, Bloodstrike gave her a short chuckle and a half smile, but no answer. She wasn't the only one that didn't care if the other cat thought him dumb. When no answer to his game came to him, he gave a tired sigh through his nose. Don't play word games and expect to be the only one that knew how. Now bored of this lone she-cat, he supposed he ought to do his duty and run her off. Not that she was on his territory, but lone cats were always a threat to kits, and he had his own litter to protect. As far as he was concerned, any cat within line of sight that had no code to live by was on his territory.

"Oh Sweetheart," Bloodstrike purred at her, though it was far from friendly. "You're a lone cat... no one cares what your name is." Now... he readied himself to actually spring. "And not even your fleas will mourn you once you're dead." He kicked off of the branch and outstretched his powerful forelimbs, claws unsheathed, ready to tear into her face and neck.


Bloodstrike used Leaping Bound, dealing 7 damage and -10SP

Bloodstrike
45HP / 150SP (-10SP)

Freyja
Pinned for 1 turn
38HP / 140SP (-7HP)

Freyja’s head tilted slightly while the tom shifted. His threat was probably meant to sound intimidating or terrifying… but this was far from the first battle she’d ever encountered. She sighed, just before the leap, of course she’d have to fall for it. That didn’t mean she’d let him grab her throat. At the last second, she moved forward. Her body tensed as if to get away, like she hadn’t realised in time what he was planning to do.

"Oh dear. You mean you plan to kill me… in this significant place of yours?” She questioned beneath his grasp. Her eyes wide in disbelief while she held still. Her pelt pressed against the rock she was now pinned to. Hazel gaze narrowed. "I wonder what your leaders would have to say about that.. Hold a meeting over the blood of a curious traveller.”

---

Freyja is pinned this turn.

Bloodstrike
45/45 HP
150/160 SP

Freyja
38/45 HP
140/140 SP

Bloodstrike landed easily on the lone cat and pinned her to the rock. Her lackluster attempts at making him think she didn't know what she was doing irked him a bit. Iniko had done something similar... what was wrong with these lone cats? As she finished what she was saying, Bloodstrike pressed his claws into her body right up the his first knuckle. He'd gotten bored of her games.

"As I said," he growled, now sounding far less amused than before. "Your life doesn't matter to anyone." He flexed the powerful muscles in his forelimbs and drug his claws down her flesh, unzipping her fur to reveal red meat beneath.

Bloodstrike used half-turn belly rake, dealing 11 damage and -20SP

Bloodstrike
45HP / 130SP (-20SP)

Freyja
27HP / 140SP (-11HP)

Flesh tore, not unexpectedly. The tom above her was larger and his powerful claws were borne of a life climbing trees. She considered the time such a skill must have taken to be honed, he came from the clan of skies, obviously enough. Still, she wouldn’t just sit there and let herself be beaten.

She wriggled, until her hindleg was lifted just so, and slashed out at the joint of the tom’s hind leg. It bought her enough time to slip free, then double back just as fast to slam her body against his, a small smirk on her face when the momentum pushed them off the great rock and she forced him to land on his back. Not allowing him the freedom to get his paws beneath him.

"Oh, I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft. That impact hadn’t been light, not with her weight and gravity. "Is it hard to breathe?” Her claws sunk into the dark fur of his chest. Hazel eyes narrowed from something pleasant and naive to unmistakably serious. "Be thankful I didn’t land on your head.”

---

Freyja used Leap and Hold. Bloodstrike is pinned for one turn.

Bloodstrike
36/45 HP (-9)
130/160 SP

Freyja
27/45 HP
130/140 SP (-10)

The member 'Cays' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Bloodstrike had a momentary smirk on his face as she finally began to react and fight. That smirk was gone when they took a tumble over the rock and she dropped onto his chest with her weight. His air, as well as a good portion of spit shot from his mouth. She kept the pressure up, taunting his inability to draw breath. He had done something very similar to Iniko.

Still... the size difference between the two remained relevant. Bloodstrike wedged his massive paws between himself and her and kicked off with a powerful force to lift and throw the smaller cat off of him.

"You should be thankful you didn't land on my head. You'd be hurt." A tiny shot at himself for giggles. "Too bad you're not bigger. That was almost bad for me." he taunted back, though he coughed a bit toward the end. His lungs still burned... He readied himself to counter strike after her next attack.

Amusement graced Freyja’s face when she was shoved off of Bloodstrike. Her claws dig into the grass while the other tom staggered to his own before she lunged forward. His taunt fell on ears that caught his cough at the end. Clearly, she had done a number even if the tom didn’t seem to think so for the moment.

"I think you’ll find, little Bloodstrike, that there is more to battle than how strong you think you are.” She lunged forward. Her claws outstretched and ripped a few good strikes into his pelt before she carefully leapt out of reach. On even ground, one on one, he was bigger than her.

---

Freyja used Upright Front Paws.

Bloodstrike
25/45 HP (-11)
130/160 SP

Freyja
27/45 HP
110/140 SP (-20)

Bloodstrike knew she'd run in for another hit. Once it came, he braced for the claws that sliced into his flesh. Blood trickled from the wounds, but Bloodstrike could only peel his lips back just enough to reveal the points of his fangs and chuckled. He bolted after her when she tried to move away and leaped toward her, again with claws outstretched and aiming for her face and throat. He collided into her and pinned her to the ground.

"Well whatever your solution to my strength is... you don't have it... Sweetheart." He hissed the last word.

Bloodstrike used Leap and Hold, dealing 9 damage and -10SP

Bloodstrike
25HP / 120SP (-10SP)

Freyja
Stunned for 1 turn
18HP / 140SP (-9HP)

The member 'Bloodstrike' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 2