the same side of the same coin [c]

The world was cast in grey, the last slithers of sunlight hardly peaking over the horizon. Its light reached the earth just enough to allow the gift of sight, but not the blessing of colour. The long grass swayed in the breeze and Louse found himself, stalking through the stalks, amber eyes alight as he snuck up on various prey animals, some he killed and some he released back into the maze. He didn't believe the practice cruel and unnecessary, he had to eat and he had to learn to hunt somehow. Plus whoever found the bodies of the rodents he didn't eat or bury to take back to the rogue camp had been given a free present. There was more than likely a trail to his location, but he was unbothered. The clan cats closest to hear was ages away, and they probably never bothered to check this spot anyways, what with it being so far way.

There was a flash of grey, and Louse surged forward grabbing the ground with his claws, and pulling himself forward, closing in on the fleeing mouse, only for his victim to be snapped up in the jaws of a fox. Louse let out a frustrated snarl, and the beast head whipped around towards him, clearly it was still hungry, and Louse was next on the menu. "Foxdung." he hissed, turning tail and pelting out of the long grass, where the undergrowth was shorter and visibility was back on his side. With his brief head start the rogue used that time to survey his surroundings for advantages. A flash of moonlight on a pelt, and he was calling out. "Hey! You! Mind giving me a hand, I'll let you keep its pelt!"

In the time it had taken him to call out the fox was upon him, sinking its teeth into calico's raised paw. A howl of pain, escaped his lips. "No need to dawdle, I'm fine over here." he called out again, tearing himself from the fox's grip. Blood streamed from the wound, but Louse bit his lip and retaliated back with a flurry of claws and teeth, hissing and spitting at the beast in a feral manner

Fox used Iron Bite on Louse. Dealing -17 HP and costing -30 SP
Louse used Snap and Dirty blow on the fox Dealing -12 HP (-7 HP + -5HP) and costing -14 SP (-7 SP + -7 SP)

Fox

48/60 HP (-12 HP)
150/180 SP (-30 SP)

Louse

23/40 HP (-17 HP)
86/100 SP (-14 SP)

The member 'Midnee' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

'Hunting Dice' : 10

Auburnpaw scented some kind of strange cat smell just out of the bounds of Windclan territory. She might have just kept walking, but the scent didn't match any of the clan cats she had scented at the gathering. A cat outside the territory technically should be left alone, but... why? This could be good practice for her outside of sparring... and she'd actually be able to use her claws. A malevolent grin cracked across her otherwise girlish features and she shamelessly stepped out of Windclan's territory toward and old barn.

A deep russet pelt caught her though... and she gazed in wonder as a fox approached the same direction she was going. Fun! Fun! Keeping downwind from the fox, she followed it curiously, expertly weaving through the grass that surrounded the barn unseen. As she neared the barn however, the grass became dramatically shorter. She poked her dark head out between the tall stalks and her eyes settled on another cat... about apprentice age... as the fox set on them.

If it wasn't interesting enough already... the other cat actually called out to her. A giggle escaped her lips as she smoothly stepped out from the grass completely, tail high in the air and her lithe, feminine features taking her sweet time getting closer.

"It would be far more interesting to just let the fox toy with you." She purred, not even so much as flinching as they dueled. "But, I digress... I could use the practice. Try anything cute and I'll kill you next." She gave him a flirtacious smile and a wink before she bolted forward toward the fox. Her lithe form and girlish appearance suddenly gave way to an expression of manic sadism and a surprising display of swiftness, accuracy and sheer power in her paw strikes.

Auburnpaw used Front Paw Strike and Swift Strike, dealing 11 damage and -17SP

Fox
37HP / 150SP (-11HP)

Auburnpaw
20HP / 43SP (-17SP)

Louse
23HP / 86SP

”Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.” purred Louse, meeting her eyes. The help was appreciative, and he matched her smile, bearing his fangs. The fox yelled as the claws and fangs of both cats gouged its pelt. It was fun fighting beside someone that was willing to match his blows, and he couldn’t help, but admire the way the WindClanner darted so swiftly around the fox. The fox soon grew tired of their games and launched itself at Auburnpaw, who in her giddy state hadn’t noticed the fox’s attention snap to its newest attacker. Before it could close its teeth around the other cat, Louse was taking the hit, gritting his teeth and swallowing his yelp of pain. He wrenched himself free, casting a quick glance at the dark furred molly. “Wouldn’t want that pretty pelt of yours getting ruined, so if you could pay more attention, thank you…” his voice grew slightly darker “Plus, I know the clan rules. I doubt you want them asking questions on how you got those fox bites.” He smiled again, then ducked low as the fox came crashing forward, feinting and appearing on its other side, exactly where he wanted to be. The rogue let out a happy purr, placing an unsheathed claw on the canids tail. At the sudden pressure the fox whipped its head round, teeth gnashing, but Louse remained unfazed, amber eyes alight with enjoyment. Before the fox could break his hold, the tom grabbed hold of its tail, sinking his teeth in and tugging harshly, causing the predator to fall flat, its chin hinting the ground with a satisfying thump. “Shall we finish it off together? Or maybe we show this creature an act of mercy?” he sighed flicking his tail as he pondered. “Then again, I promised you its pelt if you helped me, you still want it, darling?” This adventure was so fun!

Fox used Iron Bite on Louse! Dealing -17 HP and costing -30 SP

Louse used Tail Yank on Fox! Dealing -7 HP and costing -15 SP
Fox is stunned for one turn!

Fox

30/60 HP (-7 HP)
120/180 SP (-30 SP)

Louse

6/40 HP (-17 HP)
71/100 SP (-15 SP)

Auburnpaw

20/20 HP
43/60 SP

Auburnpaw shot the rogue a look and a growl welled up in the back of her throat. This one was getting too familiar already. Maybe a nice evisceration or damaged jewels would remind him of his place in this world. The fox went for her, and while she had been ready to duck under his jaws and go for his exposed throat, the rogue was already on it. Apparently even a fox's jaws weren't enough to get him to shut his mouth. Scratch the evisceration. He needed his vocal chords cut.

"Definitely better your pelt than mine. I'm still beautiful. You? ... Stars... there is no hope for you anyway. A fox shredding it will be a perfect excuse for your appearance otherwise." She hissed, but brought her attention back to the fox. Something about how her clan would question her for the fox bites... whatever whatever. She got the gist. Hard to hear over the wails of the fox. "Oh you mistake me for someone who cares, toadstool" She wasn't referring to the mushroom either. Auburnpaw saw an opportunity to strike... but stars above the rogue was foxing talking again. Vocal chord removal. Yes. If he fell unconscious she was about to try her paw at it. If he died... well... it was no real loss of life anyway.

"Mercy? Fox me, don't be such a foxing girl." She leaped forward and went directly for the fox's weak points. She bit into it's soft belly, her teeth piercing, then twisting, then yanking.... then chewing. Crunch after crunch, she began to eat her way toward the fox's innards, swallowing whatever chunks of flesh that she loosened along the way. Blood stained her face and raced down her throat and chest. The tang of the iron in her mouth and the hotness of the blood practically sent her into a crazed state, making her that much more determined to finish the job. Her claws began to tear haphazardly into whatever they could, pricking, pulling, cutting. Personally, she could care less about a fox's pelt. It was it's life she wanted.

Auburnpaw used Snap and Desperate Blows, dealing 10 damage and -14SP

Auburnpaw
20HP / 29SP (-14SP)

Fox
20HP / 120SP (-10HP)

Louse
6HP / 71SP

Most cats would have been repulsed by the sheer ecstasy that eating the fox alive brought Auburnpaw, but Louse wasn't like most cats. If anything he wore a bemused look, mild interest sparking as to why she felt the need to kill it so destructively. Perhaps it was what it deserved, after all it had attacked them both. Once it was dead he'd probably have eaten it anyways, what did it matter the fight would still end the same way. It was a shame about its pelt though, the molly had ruined it in a very creative fashion. Louse leaned forward, an unsheathed paw still holding the fox in place. "I don't know if anyone's told you this before, but crimson really brings out the blue in your eyes." His grin widened, and he rested his head on his paws, looking at the crazed she-cat with big fake doe eyes. Of course, she was far too busy playing with her food to look at him. Very ill mannered, but then again maybe he just didn't get girls. He'd only met four and they weren't particularly girly, they al much preferred garbage to the finer things in life. Then again even his sister, Grub jnr had an affinity for pretty shiny things. Auburnpaw was just rude, and he hadn't appreciated the comment about him being a girl. Stars forgive him for having some form of chivalry, ladies first or ladies choice, whatever it was. Clearly, she didn't care for those sorts of things, nor was she even materialistic, having ruined such a gorgeous pelt. Just more rules that weren't even real, he'd have to tell Fish about this adventure.

Stifling a yawn, Louse finally released the fox's tail, but it hardly moved, pushing itself up just enough to create a small opening for the rogue to do some extra damage. "Alright, enough playing with your food, let's get this over with." He gathered his paws and trotted towards the two beasts. His pace increased as he did so, eventually using that momentum to slide underneath the canid. His claws sliced through the mess Auburnpaw had created, clean brushstrokes as opposed to her more abstract work on the canvas. He was careful to avoid the molly that still clung to its underside, goring the creature, he doubted that she would care, or even notice, if it was him or the fox she were eating alive. He emerged the other side pelt now splattered crimson, but he felt alive. The fox on the other hand... Maybe Auburnpaw had another hit left in her yet, or maybe she was too preoccupied, but he could finish it off just fine. If only she would save some for him, this fight was making him peckish too.

Louse used Belly Rake on Fox! It was a success! Dealing -10 HP and costing -25 SP
Fox is no longer stunned

Fox

10/60 HP (-10 HP)
120/150 SP

Louse

6/40 HP
46/100 SP (-25 SP)

Auburnpaw

20/20 HP
29/60 SP

The member 'Midnee' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

#1 'Effect Dice' : 1

--------------------------------

#2 'Effect Dice' : 6

What did strike Auburnpaw in that moment was that this rogue, for whatever reason, hadn't been negatively affected by her or her mannerisms. She'd sent other toms packing with wounded egos before, but this one seemed a little more resilient. He certainly wasn't about to know about that though. She retreated out of the way of his clawing, allowing him a moment to get some hits in. At least he'd pulled it off. That had been a risky move on his part and she had no intention of stopping the fox from mauling him if he'd messed it up. She would ignore his comments for now. His constant yammering was distracting.

The fox looked like it may have wanted to retreat, barely alive as it was. Was that going to happen? Absolutely not. As it got to it's paws and looked at her, she could see the fear, the exhaustion and the pain in it's gaze. Even beasts had feelings, it appeared.

Good.

Auburnpaw grinned, a mess of red around her face, her neck and her chest. She blinked, feeling that the liquid was beginning to stick around her eyes. This needed to end now, as he vision would begin to be impeded if she didn't.

"You lose." She taunted the fox with a kit-like mew. Then she struck forward, ducking under the fox's chin and burying teeth and claws into it's throat. Once the fox had dropped, the she-cat turned her attention to Louse. There was a malevolent sparkle in her eyes as she looked over his own injury. Her tongue slowly licked away the blood from her teeth, slowly dragging it across her fangs.

"Crimson brings out my eyes, does it?" She playfully cooed at him. With Windclan swiftness, she flicked a bloodied paw toward him, flinging a ribbon of crimson toward his own face. Maybe it will cover yours up. Whether it hit him or not, she would only giggle girlishly... and was content to recline on her haunches for now. He might be annoying, but so was everyone else. At least he made himself interesting for the time being.

"You have the pleasure of meeting me, Auburnpaw. I don't usually introduce myself to cats I don't believe are worthy of my time, so congratulations." She looked down her nose at him, eyeing him coolly, wondering what he'd do now. She shuddered every now and then, the adrenaline of combat still coursing through her and making her giddy.

Auburnpaw used Snap and Swift Strike, dealing 11 damage and -17SP

Auburnpaw
20HP / 12SP (-17SP)

Fox
Ded
0HP / 0SP

Louse
6HP / 46SP

The fox howled in pain as it was literally gutted and eaten alive, its eyes almost pleading for the two cats to just end it already. Louse would have if Auburnpaw hadn't got to it first. Her speed and agility a perk of being from WindClan he assumed. Her blue eyes were on him, and he opened his mouth to reply, only for the she-cat to fling the blood that soaked her at him, landing directly in his mouth. A confused look crossed his face as to why she would do that, but it vanished quickly as he licked the blood from his teeth and muzzle. A sigh escaped Louse as he padded towards the dead fox inquisitively. "Hmm." He stretched out a paw, prodding it until he just rolled it over entirely onto its back. With nothing to keep them in after being so thoroughly savaged by the cats, several of its internal organs slipped out of the large wound on its belly.

That interested Louse, and he immediately began inspecting them. Auburnpaw's voice caught his attention, and he flicked his ear in recognition, though he was far more focused on the creatures innards now. "Auburnpaw, hm?" he mewed, pulling a particularly large organ towards himself. "Well if we're introducing ourselves, the name's Louse. Shall we get to know each other over dinner?" Finally, he drew his attention from the bloody mass to Auburnpaw, flashing her what he hoped was a winning grin. "The pelts obviously no good for wearing, but I'm sure it would still make a half decent nest liner, plus I hate having fur in my teeth. I'll even be a gentleman and skin it for you, as I promise you its pelt, even if its..." the rogue trailed off into a laugh, not waiting for her answer, before taking a claw and beginning the process of skinning. If she didn't want its pelt he'd gratefully take it. It certainly beat the cold concrete and sour moss he currently slept on.

Once his handiwork was completed, he stepped back flourishing the rather poor quality pelt down in front of him. "Much better." he purred. Turning back to where Auburnpaw was stretched out, the shuddering was a little weird. It really wasn't that big of a deal. "Ladies first, Auburnpaw." he chided, stepping away from the fox with a bow.

Auburnpaw shamelessly chuckled at the rogue's name. "Fitting." She said smugly, but made no other comment on it beyond that. The way he talked to her made her blink slowly twice. She didn't answer right away. What was he trying to accomplish treating her this way? Her light scowling went away once he started to skin the animal. Suddenly fascinated, she crept closer and leaned in to watch. Wear it? What the fox is he talking about? But she just watched. Once it was done, he laid it out for her. Again, she just stared. So what was she to make of all of this? Something wasn't right. This wasn't typical cat behavior. At his offer for her to eat first and with the bow he gave her...

Her claws flexed, piercing the earth beneath. "What are you trying to do, Louse?" Her tail lashed at his name. Keeping her eyes on him, she moved around to the opposite side of the fox where she could keep her eyes on him and her back away from him. She buried her claws into the pile of meat and bones and rolled it so that it was on it's back. She plunged a paw in and pulled out the liver, shaking it free of it's connective tissue. Snatching her prize up in her jaws, she allowed the fox carcass to roll back over toward Louse.

"Don't sit there and think one battle, that you needed assistance from an apprentice with, by the way, and your obviously fake acts of chivalry will be enough to make us friends." She hissed, right before she tore off a piece of the liver and swallowed it. She visibly wiggled at the sudden, unexpected powerful flavor of another predator's liver. It had been so unexpected and so off-putting she wasn't sure she had it in her mindset to continue eating it. She would though, if she felt she needed to prove a point.

"Wait until you hear the name my deadbeat father gave my other siblings. It's probably the best name of the bunch" replied Louse with a laugh. He was over being offended by his unsavoury name, especially when it at least wasn't Maggot. Besides there were nice types of lice, the roly poly ones were kind of cute, he could just imagine he was named after those ones instead. Compared to the other things his father had done, or really hadn't done, being upset over such a frivolous thing. He cautiously eyed Auburnpaw as she approached, not trusting her at all. She was crazy and that made her interesting, but it didn't make her reliable in any sense. He had to be ready for her unpredictability, he didn't particularly want to end up like the slab of meat they'd brought down.

It seemed she was just as weary of him, clinging close to the corpse between them and ensuring she was always facing him. His eyes twinkled, it was new for someone to be weary of him to such a capacity. It was also smart, he liked they were on the same page. "Nothing." he answered dismissively, tail twitching. The rogue raised a brow as she pulled out the fox's liver, paws flexing and unflexing. Auburnpaw was certainly curious. Of course, he knew Liver wasn't particularly appetising, Ajex basically only ate predators, you picked up on things living around a cat like that. As the fox lolled to face him, Louse pulled out the creatures heart, he could match Auburnpaw's tendencies. Plus heart was nicer than liver. "I don't, but flattery goes a long way. Besides, I could have dealt with it on my own, maybe not brought it down, so thank you again for the help in that regard, but your help wasn't essential. You didn't have to step in either." His whiskers twitched as she took a bite, quite visibly detesting it. He snorted.

"I should have warned you about the taste, the heart is much better." For emphasis, Louse took a large bite of the organ, blood spraying him as he punctured it. As he had said before, the pleasant taste flooded his mouth, it wasn't too different from rabbit oddly enough, just more intense. His tongue swiped over his muzzle, cleaning what blood he could, before swallowing and beginning to speak. "One of the cats I live with only eats predators - you learn these kind of things. You're kind of weird, you'd probably like to meet him, but he's not particularly fond of clan cats. You can try the heart if you want, I'm not bothered as long as it gets mostly eaten." he shrugged "It is not good to waste such a large meal, and you helped me bring it down. I can't drag it back home, and I can't finish it on my own. I suppose clan cats don't see it that way, you have more prey than you need."

Auburnpaw was content to listen to Louse speak. He certainly liked to talk a lot... Thoughts of tearing out his vocal chords again ran through her mind. She had a feeling she'd be doing the world a favor... maybe a favor it didn't deserve.

"...he's not particularly fond of clan cats." She smirked at that.

"We have that in common." Though to be fair, she didn't particularly like anybody. At the mention of the heart she merely blinked at it. No, she'd eat what she had, distasteful or no. She flicked an ear dismissively and took another bite of the liver. It was just as horrible as the first bite, but she was more prepared this time. Proving a point, or so she believed, she swallowed it and licked the pink smear from her lips. She suppressed her shudder this time around, but hoo boy she would never eat another fox liver again after today.

"I suppose clan cats don't see it that way, you have more prey than you need." To that, she frowned and stared at him, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Better to have too much than not enough, rogue." Bracing herself once more, she bit off another chunk. "If you're so bothered, why not move on to better lands? These ones seem a bit crowded for your taste, and your friend's." She decided to put the liver down for now. She ate what she could stomach. There was no way she was eating anymore of this fox, muscle meat or otherwise. She preferred hare or rabbit. The flavor was far less... "slam you in the back of the throat with iron" and far more tolerable. "And I can assure you that the clans aren't going anywhere. I imagine if you tried, we'd all unite to cast you out, then go back to squabbling over pettiness and idiocy amongst ourselves once more. It's what we thrive on." She was speaking matter-of-factly rather than with any disdain or pride. It's just how things were, and she was astounded that other apprentices and ever warriors older than her couldn't see it for what it was.

Auburnpaw sure had a lot of questions, and she sure was stubborn. The liver eating really was pointless, and he couldn't care less about the point she was trying to prove was, that she wasn't to be messed with so easily? He'd just seen proof of that with the fox, he didn't need much convincing after that display, but if she wanted to look foolish eating it Louse wasn't going to stop her. It would be pretty funny if she threw up, the effort she was going to now to act like she could handle the strong flavour would all be for nothing. Louse's moth quirked upwards at the mental image of the dark furred she-cat spewing. "If you feel like throwing up please try and avoid my dinner." he mewed, ignoring the organ he'd just been eating to take a bite of the Fox's flesh.

He swallowed the bite he was chewing, gazing up at Auburnpaw as he bent down to take another bite. "If this clan business doesn't work out you could always seek us out. He's not the only oddball that hangs around with me." He wouldn't mind seeing Auburnpaw again, she was interesting. That being said, he wasn't sure he wanted to live with her or share any form of den with her. There was a cold glint in her eyes that just screamed 'I want to put my claws in your back' or maybe it was the complete lack of and deterioration of humanity he'd seen as her claws and teeth had torn gleefully into the fox that made him weary. The proverb 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' echoed in the calico's mind, but with a flick of an ear he dismissed it. They weren't friends or enemies yet, and perhaps that was the best way to keep it. A mutual understanding, or truce, or respect with banter on the side, that was fine. Better than fine.

"Packing up and settling somewhere else takes far too much effort, believe me." he answered, making a brief reference to his very unenjoyable first few moons. "The clans are the least of my worries, and sometimes they can be fun. Like today,
WindClanner," He took another bite and chewed as the conversation kept flowing. Auburnpaw hardly seemed to realise, or care, that she was talking just as much, if not more than he was. His eyes shone, realising he'd broken her down just a little bit, even if she was just as snarky as before. "I don't think the clans could ever work together, though your wishful thinking is cute." This was a fact he knew, the kitten he'd met wandering SkyClan territory, had clued him on that. He'd also thought the clans might be able to work out there differences. Having met several clan cats now, Louse could safely say there was no hope in the stars that they revered so much that they would ever truly get along. "It's exactly like you say, you guys are all far too petty and stupid. It's nice you're self aware of how stupid the clans are." he paused, quickly swiping a paw over his head to give himself a quick clean. "Say, if you detest the clans so much why put up with them and their stupid rules? The pros don't seem to exactly outweigh the cons to me, but I'm welcomed to being enlightened."