The Start Of... Something (For Sharppaw)

Mange trotted along the strong smelling grass near the hard stone path, he carried a few lizards that had only gotten caught by pure luck and one squirrel that had gotten hit on the path recently. It was lucky for sure, the small cat was glad he had roamed into the strange realm. He followed the path out of the twolegplace very closely. He started to run further ahead, the land turning to a marsh, it made his paws cold and he was really not eager to run along the puddles anymore. With a sharp turn, he skirted to the other side where conifer mixed with oak and maple, the ground firm and relatively dry. He noticed the smell was different too... He halted and hid in some of the roots to eat his catch, halfway through the squirrel when he heard rustling in the nearby ferns.

Sharppaw had been wandering through the woods, her ears perked as she trotted through the undergrowth. She wasn't going anywhere in particular, but the mysterious pains in her joins had momentarily left her, so she had taken the opportunity to explore Thunderclan's territory. Perhaps if she managed to catch a few pieces of prey on her own Leopardclaw would decide she was ready to be a warrior. Suddenly she stopped, her tail twitching furiously as her ears swiveled towards the Thunderpath. Her eyes squinted so she could better hear this dangerous smell. What was that? It smelled sharp and tangy, like twolegs and blood. A bad combination. She crouched and slowly made her way towards the scent, her brow wrinkled in concentration. It was near the Thunderpath, but she was certain whatever it was had crossed into Thunderclan territory.

She paused in a patch of ferns with a mixture of curiosity and wariness as the scruffy rat (Was it a rat?) trotted past her and began rooting around at the base of a tree, carrying a bloody... thing. It smelled like squirrel, but was so mangled that Sharppaw couldn't tell. She shifted to get a better view of the creatures before she caught it, but suddenly the 'rat' turned and Sharppaw caught a full view of it's face."Oh my Starclan..." The apprentice leapt forward, her paws outstretched towards the cat-monster. This was clearly something from the Dark Forest, or maybe even worse. She landed on it's chest, using her momentum to knock it onto it's back against a tree.
"What are you?!" She half-whined, half-hissed. Her green eyes avoided it's own, in case it was planning on bewitching her.

OOC:
57:57-58-52 for a full understanding of Sharp's reaction

Mange lifted his gaze to see the newcomer, having met another loner only a few days prior, he didn't mind meeting someone else, he opened his mouth to mew in greeting only to have it choked off as he was pinned to the tree, winded and left with a blank mind. He scrambled to push her away with his paws however, a lack of experience, fear, and his well being revolving around food scraps left it as a rather pointless attempt. Rust-colored eyes were wide, and his pupils were dilated in fear. He had heard stories of the forest cats but, had never seen one before. Only vaguely seeing the ferns twitch from their hunts far away from the border fences. He tried to shrink away, small as he was already and fumbled for words. "What are you t-talking about? I'm a cat like you!"

Sharppaw's green eyes narrowed. If this cat wasn't an agent of the Dark Forest, it obviously had some kind of disease that made what little fur it had slimy and disgusting. Sharppaw and to fight the urge to vomit at the sight of it. "Disgusting..." She muttered, pushing against him as she scrambled to get away from this strange cat. All thoughts of defending her territory forgotten, she took a step back as curiosity began to take the place of fear. "What disease do you even have?" She spat thickly, still struggling not to vomit. "Why is your fur like that? And why are you so skinny?"

Mange gave a glare before thinking better of it and clearing his throat. "Well, you could have worded that a little better..." His nose twitched as he groom his back fur, more messy than usual from Sharppaw's little attack. "I don't have any disease, this is just the way I look." He meowed, trying to keep a level tone. Her next question was one he didn't expect, skinniness was the standard for younger cats in the twolegplace. "I try to avoid eating as much carrion as possible, other food doesn't come by too often." He rubbed some dust off his barren muzzle with a paw and looked at her flatly.

Sharppaw's ears flicked indignantly. 'You could've worded that better'?
This rodent was testing her. She frowned, but shrugged it off. Clearly he didn't know who he was talking to- The great Specklefang's eldest child and apprentice to Leopardclaw, future leader of Thunderclan! An ordinary cat would be kissing her paws by now, surely.
She shook herself and turned her attention back to the scrap of fluffy that was speaking to her in time to catch his next words. "Just the way you look." She repeated, almost feeling sorry for the creature now. If she looked that bad, she'd never stick her muzzle out of her den.
"You eat carrion?" Sharppaw grunted angrily. Great, now she'd have to feed it!
"Right, you're coming with me." She grumbled. She'd find a way to get him food, so she could feel better about the urge to knock him down again.

"Wait, where are we going? What's so surprising about eating carrion?" He paused for a moment, "And, what's a StarClan?" This cat... She was so strange, first she attacked him muttered something about a 'StarClan' and was confused about a cat being skinny. It was as if she never saw another cat.

Sharppaw rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Starclan is where all the dead cats go- the good ones anyway. Do you know anything?" She frowned and muttered something like 'Mange-pelt' Before trotting towards Twolegplace. "I'm getting you some food. In return, you won't cause any trouble. It's hard enough being near your insufferable stench. I bet you've never even groomed yourself..." She lead the Starclan-Forsaken tomcat through a bit of Thunderclan territory, carefully covering their scent and tracks so nobody would be suspicious. She felt something (Was it pity?) pressing at the inside of her chest. Once she got this ugly little street rat fed, it would leave her alone and never bother her again. Her ears twitched as they approached the row of fences that marked Twolegplace. Casually, she pounced on a fat little mouse and spat it at the cat's feet.
"Eat. Now."

Mange followed her, pondering on the idea of StarClan, it sure was a strange idea, dead cat's just made their own clan? It must smell pretty bad there. He hoped he never ended up spotting them. He shuddered at the idea of a camp full of walking corpses. "That's... Interesting I guess. Albeit a bit strange." He tried to chuckle off her comments about him, it sounded incredibly forced. Mange watched her catch the mouse and was rather confused. Why would she go all this way to catch a mouse. He supposed he shouldn't question a gift. He knew it wasn't poisoned, it had been caught before his eyes. Waiting for a moment to see if Sharppaw would do anything, he crouched over the mouse to eat it. He had a rather protective stance over his food, even he wasn't naive enough to forget the stealing in the twolegplace.

Sharppaw lifted one lip in a scowl. "Now beat it!" The fluffy she-cat's empathy was wearing off fast. "I don't know why I even brought you here..."
The Thunderclan apprentice was already regretting her momentary weakness. This could get her kicked out of the clan, or worse!
She nudged him towards the fence. "I fed ya, didn't I? Now get! Go! And don't count on me to take care of you like a newborn kit- this was a one-time thing."

Mange dug his heels into the ground to not get thrown off balance before giving Sharppaw a curious look. She had taken him all the way home and caught him a mouse yet, she had so much hostility toward him. "You're a rather spontaneous she-cat, errm..." his ears perked. "I didn't get your name! I'm Mange, you're..." he trailed off, hoping the odd she-cat would catch on.

Sharppaw turned away from him with a scowl and began to walk back to camp, hoping the rouge would get the message.
Please leave, please leave...
No such luck. It seemed he had to introduce himself first. Mange. Of course, he'd have some weirdo name. And he wanted to know hers? As if.

"Not your friend." She mewed, her ears twitching. "And don't think this was a favor- I just didn't fancy seeing you starve in front of me."