just let it sink [eagleh]

[AVARICE]

GOLDSHARD

Scent of decay in the morning. Nothing like it. Goldshard stood on the mound of relatively dry soil, inhaling the scent of black earth and dead plants and slimy frogs, the true ShadowClan inside her enjoying it. She was even in a generally good mood today! Ah, the scent of the marsh was always so rich and interesting. No wind to muffle the scents, only the chirping of the crickets and the bellowing frogs; which would soon fall under her claws.
The golden tabby's claws slipped out of their sheaths and kneaded the dark soil, clumping up the fur between her toes but unable to resist. She couldn't control her unwavering stare just below her, locked on, her rear shaking back and forth rythmatically, gradually hastening. It was instinctual, natural.
Just like flying from the hill to land on top of the frog.
The frog croaked with surprise, but was soon silent by her teeth. Goldshard slowly became aware of her own body, sitting up from her pouncing posture to give her dirty paws a little wash. The grit of the dirt soon deterred her tongue, though, so she instead lowered her head to grab the frog by one leg to stick it somewhere. Better to bury it, as she had always been taught but... in a place where the soil was no better than water that was easier said than done. Her eyes flitted around for a bit, their color matching the warm beams of sunshine filtering over the horizon. Her gaze came to rest upon the base of a tree. She carelessly dropped it there, half-heartedly shoving some ferns over it before slinking soundlessly away. She was far more interested into hunting at the moment, than making sure her prey was secure.
Unfortunately, the marsh seemed to have a mind to scold today.
"YOWRL!" Goldshard bellowed unintentionally as her foot sank into a particularly tender spot in the soil she hadn't noticed before. It wasn't that loud, but it sounded pained and was rather a high-pitched, startling screech.
The marsh sounds stuttered, frightened by the unexpected yowling. It resumed shortly, but with less enthusiasm as before. The prey animals knew the hunter was in the midst now. The hunter cursed under her breath, good mood chased away by the vulgar language and the mud.
"Fox-dung! Fox-dung! Fox-dung!" Goldshard cursed again and again, her sleek golden pelt now ruffled and splattered with gushy mud. Delicate ears flattened against her head.
Good day gone wrong. The marsh laughed quietly to itself through the singing crickets. That might teach the foolish cat.

[Eagleh]

ebonypaw
i felt the hate rise up in me kneel down and clear the stone of leaves
i wander off where you can't see inside my shell i wait and bleed

[/color][/center]
Almost a warrior. He was so close that he could almost taste it. The cheering of his Clanmates, the gentle warmth in Sharpstar's eyes, being able to curl up in the warriors den. It was also so tangible. Ebonypaw felt like he could reach out and grasp it with his claws, touch it and feel the warmth. But he wasn't there yet. His ceremony would be any day now, but the tom hadn't recieved a head-ups. It was all just based on how his mentor felt - and who knew how they felt. Ebonypaw had never formed the bond that mentors and apprentices were supposed to. He had been too silent, too well-developed, too unlike the other toms his age for it to have worked. Well-developed... his pads were strong, his black fur thick and glossy, and his eyes sharp.

Not to mention he had a certain flavour for she-cats.

A sharp cry caught his attention. It sounded like a cat had been injured. Though the voice sounded vaguely familiar, Ebonypaw couldn't place it. After hesitating a moment, the senior apprentice ran off towards the sound. When he found its source, he was torn between rolling his eyes or padding away silently. It was Goldshard. Her beautiful pelt was stained with mud and she was looking (lovably) pathetic as always - not that Ebonypaw thought highly of anyone else either. He sighed and padded towards her, his pelt prickling. Was she still scared of him after what had happened beneath the pine trees? How he had been on top of her and almost - no, he shouldn't think about that. That had been a mistake. But as he looked at Goldshard's slender body and her bright eyes, the tom ached to make such a mistake again... by accident, of course. No. He cleared his head. I can't.

"You hunt a lot," he said in a deep voice after assessing that she was, in fact, not damaged. Don't want to damage the goods... It seemed like every time he met her, she was hunting.[/blockquote]

[AVARICE]

GOLDSHARD

Goldshard's whiskers tingled with surprise as a deep voice met her ears. The sound made it to her ears faster than the cat's scent to her nose, so as she whipped her head around she had no idea who she would come to face with. What a nasty shock, to see Ebonypaw there... ...or not. She looked at him indifferently, a cold amber stare, seeming to have forgotten about their.. last... encounter, if you will. The golden tabby seethed quietly. Oh, doesn't he just have perfect timing? she thought, spitting under her breath. He couldn't stoically appear while she had the frog pinned, or as she perched on the mound of soil? No, that wouldn't make things awkward. Wherever this cat went, when it involved Goldshard, it always seemed terribly awkward.
“You hunt a lot.” What the mousebile was that supposed to be? Goldshard flicked her tail with vexation. She couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or an insult, and she couldn’t think of any stinging comebacks either. Fox-dung. She was brain-dead.
Goldshard paused, giving him a sideways look, buying herself time to think of something painful to say back; something with bite.
”And you…” a slight hesitation. ”..don’t.”
A crow cackled somewhere far off, laughing at her lame comeback. Oh, my StarClan. The kittypets have gotten skinny. Goldshard couldn’t think of something snappy to say.
"What else am I supposed to do?" she said, carefully laying a mental band-aid over her injured ego. And it was sort of true. What else was she to do? Lay around all day? Terrorize the kits? She couldn't do anything else productive besides hunt.

[/size]

[Eagleh]

ebonypaw
i felt the hate rise up in me kneel down and clear the stone of leaves
i wander off where you can't see inside my shell i wait and bleed

[/center]
For all the disdain that the powerful black tom held in his neutral golden eyes, he had a little bit of faith that Goldshard performed adequetly sometimes. Just not a lot. That or his timing was simply impeccable - or, dare he suggest, that his prescense distracted her from her hunting? The tom shivered. No, she had been mud-covered before he had arrived. But still, it was a nice thought to think that he could influence her so much. As mature as he had been at the young age of seven moons, the tom had grown even more. His muscles rippled under his thick black pelt and his stance was confidant. But maybe the oddness she had around him wasn't anything to do with his strong body. Maybe it had to do with their encounter in the woods. Maybe she was scared.

He shrugged. She was right - he was always about prowling, but rarely hunting. At least, she never caught him hunting. Ebonypaw twitched his whiskers, a glimmer of amusement in his bright yellow eyes. Maybe it was just because he was an effective hunter that all his time wasn't spent out falling into the mud. Taking dainty steps, he carefully avoided being splattered and moved closer to her. The air seemed to get warm with tension inbetween them, but the tom wondered if that was just him. His prescence was large and she was just... No, he wasn't going to think about that. Ebonypaw thought long and carefully about his next words. He wasn't one for talking. The more he talked, the more he showed about himself. The more he showed about himself, the more of his edge and advantage he lost. "Don't worry about the mud," he said gently, edging closer to her and starting to groom it off. The tom felt a tremor run through him as his tongue rasped against her soft fur. [/blockquote][/color]