Fleeting Shadows [c]

Pantherpaw stalked slowly through the marshes. She had no idea why Flintstar had agreed to her and Cheetahdawn patrolling together, but he had, and she was grateful. (although, if she was honest, she was pretty sure he hadn’t really been paying attention. Still.) She was going to use this opportunity. She was going to apologize, if that meant anything, and…

She’d do something. She had to. She couldn’t continue like this. She’d heard that the leader of ShadowClan before Flintstar had regained a lost eye somehow. She wished she could do that. She had to atone. Someway. Pantherpaw squared her shoulders and turned to her sister. “Ch-Cheetahdawn…”

Surely she wouldn’t ignore her, not when Flintstar had put them both on patrol together. Pantherpaw’s ears pricked at the sound of something in the underbrush… it was probably Flintstar, come to reprimand her. She had to be quick. “Cheetahdawn, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I-I’m a load of fox-dung. I…”

The rustling was louder now, and somehow she didn’t think it was Flintstar or Murkystrike. “Cheetahpaw?” She asked, fur bristling, falling back into the old name. “Do you hear that?” She stared at the undergrowth, taking a step back as an unfamiliar yet all too familiar stench hit her nose. The shape of something, a cat, a dog, but not a cat or dog, something with russet fur and glittering eyes. “F-fox…” Pantherpaw stuttered. It was big. Far too big. And it was hunting them.

(Dice roll)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

To be honest, even with the cat who had torn her eye out around, right beside her, Cheetahdawn felt calmer.

Maybe not exactly, perfectly serene, but she at the very least didn't feel infuriated, either; or any of her usual grim emotions, for that matter. She had already proven her point, had proven her worth and had proven her superiority over Pantherpaw. Her brawny shoulder blades slid gracefully under her fur as she trudged through the marsh, mere inches away from her sister. Flinstar had made the puzzling decision to put them on a patrol together, with no cat else accompanying them -- just the two sisters with a history of.... a sibling rivalry quite honestly unlike any other.

She continued looking straight as her sister suddenly, desperately addressed her. She felt kind of taken aback by the apology, she wasn't gonna lie. Or, well, rather the abruptness of it more than anything else. She halted, shoulders hunching.

"It's fine," she grunted, ears flicking. "There's nothing you can do to reverse it at this point, but.... eh, at least you realized your mistake. Good for you there, I guess." Quickly, discreetly, she pressed up against her sister's shoulder, just ever so sightly purring. Things seemed to be changing for the greater good, she wasn't going to complain about that.

Just then, a rancid stench hit her nose, wafting past her like the stink of Carrionplace. Cheetahdawn tensed and nodded quietly at her sister's inquiry. The threat leaped into sight just after Cheetahdawn registered that it was there. Her hackles spiked as she stared the russet predator down, without really meaning to. Its burning amber eyes scanned the two cats. Catching it, Cheetahdawn felt a pitch of fury flare within her. It didn't matter what Pantherpaw had done in the past, Cheetahdawn wasn't going to let a pesky fox harm her sister if it meant her death.

She hardly realized it as her claws sprung from their sheathes, her tail lashing the chilly night air. "Go on," she prompted in a low growl. The throaty noise then escelated into something fiercer, much fiercer; a roar of sorts, almost. "OR ARE YOU TOO SCARED?! HM?" She resorted to taunting the narrow-faced canine, then, cooing it. "Awh... Is the little ragged excuse for a dog scared? Scared of its own prey? Mmm... Pitiful."

She lurched closer to the predator, snapping her jaws just inches away from its face. Those long, savage canines dripped with saliva. She would make mince-meat of this thing, she didn't care what it took. And she would tear into it's flesh, swallowing all of it as she did so, with delirious glee. This runt-of-the-litter dog might think itself fierce right now, but soon.... Soon its lifeblood would flow through the forest like a river, Cheetahdawn would make sure of it.

OOC: Srry I suck at death topics ugh


IC: Glittering yellow eyes began to pulse with fury as the spotted she-cat began to taunt it. Pushing aside the undergrowth it had been stalking in, the fox stepped out into the moonlight and snarled. It was big, scarily big, and hungry. Since the rogues had arrived, ShadowClan territory was not enough for a Clan, rogues, and one enormous fox. The fox’s ribs were starting to show, and it knew it had to eat soon, or it would die. There was scarcely any prey left in the marsh… except cats. These two young ones ought to be an easy kill. Especially the one without an eye. The fox’s head turned in her direction, mouth slowly opening to reveal long, sharp teeth and a mouth big enough to seemingly swallow her whole.

Pantherpaw shrank back, terrified. What was Cheetahpaw doing? Didn’t she know foxes had killed Condorpaw, and plenty other cats over the moons, warriors far more skilled than them. Oh. Oh stars. The fox turned to Cheetahpaw- Er, Cheetahdawn. Oh stars. Oh stars, she couldn’t let this happen, oh, oh oh.

The black one let out a squeak, but the fox ignored it, ramming into the spotted one and preparing to tear its throat out, but its jaws clamped down unexpectedly on something else. The black one. Hmmm. Well, the fox wouldn’t complain. If the black one went about rushing into predators’ jaws, it wouldn’t last long anyways. Ignoring the spotted one (it only had one eye, and the fox took that as weakness), it went about making sure the black one was truly dead.

Pantherpaw hadn’t been able to move fast enough to prevent the fox from ramming into her sister. Fueled by adrenaline and fear, she thrust herself between the fox and her sister. Pure, searing, all-consuming pain shot through her. It hurt too much to yowl, to sob, to think, and Pantherpaw lay limp in the fox’s jaws, eyes flickering shut. At last, regret and guilt left her, and she came to StarClan unburdened.

Cheetahdawn stared the russet beast down a few moments longer, claws flexing to score long, jagged grooves in the dirt. Her ears curled back as it gave a guttural snarl, a sound that would match better with a badger or, heck, a pack of dogs rather than one fox. She wasn't scared, no. Pantherpaw might be, but what was new there? Cheetahpaw flicked her tail-tip back in the direction of the smaller she-cat for her to stay back, not peeling her gaze off the vulpine.

It all happened in a flash, quicker than Cheetahdawn could properly register what was happening. The fox bombarded into her side, salivating jaws snapping. Cheetahdawn's own fangs were long and lethal, but the fox's were uncomparably deadlier: like a bunch of thorns, its fangs grazed her shoulder, barely missing the skin. Cheetahdawn lurched back, snarling, as she prepared for the next onslaught.

But in her place, a black figure darted past. The young warrior's eye widened.

She wanted to scream, to let out a caterwaul of all the pain and turmoil she'd gone through: Moonshine's torn body, Pantherpaw's face twisted in anger, the sight of her own eye in a puddle of blood... But her throat wouldn't allow it. Suddenly, Cheetahdawn found herself frozen to the spot.

Weak.

Tears rimmed the bottom of her eye as she stared at what was now dangling from the fox's jaws.

A carcass, a black-furred carcass, paws dangling limply and blood dribbling down from a gash in the throat. Cheetahdawn's gaze shifted to meet with her sister's eyes, glazed over and suddenly drained of all their previous life.

That spirit, that soul of wisdom and playfulness she'd always remembered of her sister. Images flashed in her mind, of not Pantherpaw, but Pantherkit. That joyful little bundle of fur hopping around the nursery, begging to play with its sister.

In the memory, Cheetahkit only shoved her littermate away, growling. As the images blacked out all-together, Cheetahdawn let out a miserable sob. "No..... No, no, no..." Her breathing quickened as she felt her claws pop back out from their sheathes. "No... NO!"

Looking back up at the drooling beast, Cheetahdawn took in the satisfaction of its expression. "YOU KILLED HER!" The scream came out on a choking sob. Paws propelling her forward, Cheetahdawn leaped into the air, crashing down into the furred predator. With the fox now knocked back in surprise, she took the opportunity and ripped out the windpipe, eye blazing with a vengeful sort of ferocity. Chest heaving, she let the dislodged trachea fall from her mouth into the mud. Her claws sunk into the cheek of the dead predator as she gazed down at it. "Thank you, StarClan, for this prey," she murmured. She still refused to believe in StarClan-- but she wasn't speaking for them. She was speaking for Pantherpaw, knowing her spirit was up there somewhere, in the sky, back to its kit-like time of joy.

And she was certain of that: Pantherpaw wasn't gazing sadly down at her living sister from the stars, she couldn't be. Pantherpaw had fulfilled her purpose -- she no longer had to feel bad for her littermate. Cheetahdawn didn't think so.

The job done, she turned away from the fox carcass and to the other one, her sister's. Setting her jaw, she gazed solemnly down at Pantherpaw's body, and without another word got to work.


~~TIME SKIP~~

An hour had passed, something along that span. Cheetahdawn couldn't tell, she didn't care. Tossing aside the last bone, she turned to her trophy.

In place of Pantherpaw's furred carcass, now lay a smooth pelt of black. The lining where the paws would be were still in-tact, so was the start of the tail. Gently grabbing the pelt in her jaws, Cheetahdawn hefted it over her shoulders so that it draped across her back. It was a way to remember her sister, and Cheetahdawn would wear it till her death. Pantherpaw hadn't died for nothing, Cheetah wouldn't allow it. Her sister would stay, even if that wasn't spiritually.

Taking hold of the fox's carcass in her jaws, Cheetahdawn started back in the direction of camp.


OOC: Ok so just to clarify, Cheetahdawn has basically taxidermied her sister's pelt. I'm not gonna explain how, I honestly don't know how. But I guess in her own cat-sort of way, she did it. Just to clear up any confusion XD