[&&]Exploration

[kitsune]

The Twoleg Nest was rumored to house rogues. Vicious, merciless rogues who would kill you, or worse, as soon as look at you. They were supposedly a bane to ShadowClan, the horror of every kit-story.
Yeah, well, Aquaeyes could use some excitement.

His lithe shadow padded alongside him as the sun revolved down to its dusk position. Every pawstep seemed louder than life along the shattered Twoleg nest's floor as he glanced around curiously. He'd never gone there, of course. No, poor little Aquapaw just took care of grumpy old Elders and wasn't even allowed in the apprentice den. But he wasn't Aquapaw. Aquaeyes was ready to prove himself to ShadowClan... and what better way than to run off some rogues?
He glanced up at the holes in the roof, and sighed. The slender cresent moon that was soon to arrive wouldn't give him any light, but that was good... right? The rogues wouldn't be able to see him.
Suddenly, there was a rustle in the wall, and Aquaeyes lept up. The tom flattened himself against the cold floor, heart pulsing with fear. He couldn't breathe! Panic closed down his throat... until a grey head leered at him and disappeared.

Just a rat. He was scared of a rat.

Aquaeyes laughed anxiously, his voice echoing before escaping the confines of the Twoleg Nest. He'd have to be braver than that if he was going to prove himself.

[Fernear!]

[/i] MirageSoul stammered to herself.

Brown ears flicked towards the distant laugh she heard. Her curiosity took over once again. She took light steps, only letting the crackling of pine needles and old bark break under her paws. She could faintly scent ShadowClan, stale rouge and rat. She was now towards the front of the structure, the moonlight hardly helping her sight. She took a step onto the first stair. She could see the faint outline of a lithe tom. She let out a small meow to let him know her presence.

[ooc;; crap spelling x.x]

[/color][/size][/ul]

[kowala]

Nightfeather looked at the pale but ghostly white moon.
"Night; when all the wild things come out..." She grinned a sly yet seductive smile.
"Nightfeather... my name suits me," she laughed sweetly and pulled her dainty paw across the dirt and pine needle strewn ground.
Nightfeather heard a meow and a laugh, she listened in on the sounds and guided herself to where the other two cats were. Her longish midnight black fur covered her nice, muscular body, her small paws made no sound as they hit the ground, her fluffy tail swishing across the ground.
The beautiful cat sat down a little bit away from Miragesoul and the other cat.
Hmmm, funny. I do not know this tom... But every tom knows me.
Nightfeather smiled at the thought,
Seductive, sly, sweet Nightfeather.
Naughty, Death's mistress, Nightfeather.
Let's see what everyone thinks.
"Night is the best time of day, they say night is when all the wild things come out." She stared up at the sky, her liquid gold eyes seemingly shimmering in the bright moonlight, her black fur turned Midnight blue seeming to soak up the moons radience.
"It's nice to see you again Miragesoul,'' she smirked. Her odd fights with the other she-cat seemed endless.
What does the furball have against me? she thought and then quickly dismissed the thought.
The other cat had some reasons to be mad at Nightfeather but she hoped that she would forget and be more friendly toward the Night-loving femme.

[Fernear!]

[/b] she stammered. She turned her head to look into the twoleg nest. Who was in there? Whoever it was she wanted NightFeather to leave first. [ooc;; no hard feelings XD you don't have to leave ^^] She knew it was a tom and BlackStar hasn't been with her for moons, she wanted to talk to a cat besides NightFeather.

ooc;; geez!!! MirageSoul really hates NightFeather x.x Wonder why... really I do wonder.. [/size][/color][/ul]

[kitsune]

When the crackling of dry pine needles reached the tom's ears, he was sure it was a rogue. In a heartbeat, before he bothered to catch a scent, he had his claws unsheathed and was already bounding towards Miragesoul... before realizing that it was a clan member. Aquaeyes greeted the she-cat with a flick of his tail, ears pressed against his skull in embarassment. Great! "What are you doing here?" He snapped, trying to cover up his surprise. "Were you following me, or something?" Even if Miragesoul was a more experienced warrior - by far more experienced -, Aquaeyes still didn't appreciate being surprised, in the dark, when he was already hyperventilating.

The next voice, he didn't even bother turning around to look at. The voice was recognizeable immediately: Nightfeather... and the voice agreed with that thought. The young tom walked away from his company a moment, and reguarded them with a critical silence. Finally... "Well, this is quite the get-together, isn't it?" He commented dryly, sitting down and curling his tail around himself. "Am I being assessed before my warrior ceremony? Surprisingly enough, I'm already a warrior, if you two she-cats have forgotten that. Aquapaw is Aquaeyes." It wasn't often Aquaeyes snapped; he preferred to make silent comments to himself. Yet snap he did, and then regretted it moments later. "I-I mean..." the tom stammered, trying to recover ground. "I guess that both of you have the right to be wandering around an abandoned twoleg nest. In the dark. At night." Idiot. If it was in the dark, you tend to assume it's night. "Uh... nevermind." He winced at his less-than-smooth conversation, hoping that the two would somehow forget he was even there. That didn't tend to be too difficult lately.



ooc;; Aqua ish paraaa-noid! x3

[kowala]

occ: Jeez.. xD Ya, what the heck did Nightie do? Srry had to edit a lot my mind is racing!!

Nightfeather smiled sweetly but showed her pearly whites slightly; it was almost menacing.
"Gliding through the night is what I do... I heard a laugh and came upon Aquaeyes," she gestured to the cat near her.
She tilted her head slightly back to Miragesoul and said,
"Why are you here? Aren't you suppost to be looking for your soulmate? Your love?" She turned back to the Aquaeyes with her liquidy gold gaze, intimidating but mezmerising.
"And no, we did not forget. Especially ones with a mind like me.." She trailed off and gracefully sat down.
"And why do your eyes say you want to be forgotten? That you already were unseen? Us she-cats with sharp minds notice every. Little. Detail." She swished her fluffy tail back and forth behind herself.
Let's hope compliments keep Miragesoul at bay. She snarled mentally.
I mean really?! What did I do?!

[Fernear!]

[/b] MirageSoul said calmly, not letting AquaEyes' embarrassment seem like it showed. Then there was NightFeather. "NightFeather.. Why should you even be here. You should be asleep or hunting." MirageSoul was about to burst. This she-cat had gotten on her nerves one to many times before. She didn't want to start a fight infront of this farely new tom.

MirageSoul knew that BlackStar was missing and she may be loosing her love. She would never let her.. mate know this or he may banish her. Or gain his temper once again. ShadowClan shouldn't know quite yet. She wouldn't let them, especially NightFeather. The lithe she-cat let her claws sheath and unsheath untill NightFeather's responce would be caught.

[/color][/size][/ul]

[kowala]

"Like I said," she said smoothly, a hint of uncontrolled aggitation threatening to be released.
"Stalking the night, have you forgotten that others have called me Death's Mistress? Night is Death's element, thus my name. Anyway, I am in no need of sleep these days." Remembering her old neck wound almost made her think otherwise.
But why did Miragesoul have to spaz at her?
Cat has nothing better to do that's why.
Nightfeather stood like a statue, features almost immobile. Her dark pelt swayed lightly with the cool wind as it swept past; rustling the leaves and moving the grass as it passed.
She noticed the unsheathing and sheathing of Miragesoul's claws.
I don't want a fight Miragesoul, she thought carefully.
Lets leave harsh words and physical attacks out of this.
Especially infront of our clanmate.
He seems interesting, lets see what we can get out of you shall we?

[kitsune]

That was not the kind of response he was expecting, and he was happy it wasn't. They didn't seem offended: good. The second bit of Nightfeather's speech confused him. "...Where is Blackstar?" He asked, relaxing slightly. He glanced over at the bluish-black she-cat, catching her tiger-like gaze a moment before looking back over at Miragesoul, waiting for an answer.

"The prey's running good, I see." he commented, smelling the hare-blood scent that barely clung to Miragesoul. "I haven't seen any prey yet tonight, but I'll see if I can catch a peice before getting back to camp." Small talk. That was good. Meaningless little blabber with little importance, edging away from the thought that the leader was missing. Edging away from the idea that Miragesoul really loathed Nightfeather.
"Night is death's element." That sent a chill down his spine, and his short silvery fur stood on end. Although Miragesoul could be openly vicious when she wanted to be, and was deadly and merciless in battle, Nightfeather supplied an eerie atmosphere that was enough to give the enemy a heart attack. She moved with a deadly, fluent grace that seemed to freeze the air around her, and the look on her face seemed to say: I'm the one in charge. I know what I'm doing.
Aquaeyes glanced back up at the goldeneyed she-cat, studying her a moment before waiting for one of the two she-cats to speak.

He was almost afraid to sleep in the warriors' den, just looking at these two. It made him worry that his throat would be slit before he even knew what was going on.

[kowala]

Nightfeather studied Aquaeyes' eyes; they reflected the worry of sleep, and Death. She smiled at that.
"Don't be afraid of sleep, embrace the moments which you have not to see the night. Troublesome and intense things that aren't even real come to life and animate themselves to the levels of belief that can drive any cat to insanity." She paused, "I know that Miragesoul would never law a claw on your body. I on the other hand would never lay a claw on your soul, or mind for that matter. And your body wouldn't be harmed." She tapped her head with a paw.
"Sorry. I can't help that I can read thoughts through the eyes. It's second nature to me." Her blazing, metallic eyes scanned the area and she shifted her position. Her eyes were brilliant in the soft glow of the small cresent in the almost black sky. Their intimidating gaze landed on each cat, if only for a moment, but still left a scorching after effect.
Nightfeather waited for an answer from either cat, grazing the pine needle ridden floor with her tail; they were long and the small gesture was like Winter's cold touch.

[Mudmasknotlogged]

((hope u dont mind Hardsoul))

Hardsoul was padding around the forest, he couldn't sleep, after hearing Blackstar at Halfbridge. But then he heard something else.
Miragesoul, Nightfeather, Aquaeyes
He sniffed and walked over. His muscles pounded as he jumped over a falen tree. Hardsoul padded over openly, his eyes gleaming and searching for a conversation.
"So, we are all out for a midnight stroll I see." His tone was cool, chilling and smooth. He fixed an icy gaze on Aquaeyes. "We must get to know each other. But Miragesoul, I wouldn't have guessed you'd be here. Now don't claw me, it wasn't THAT offensive..."
He flicked his tail and sat on the cold ground, between Miragesoul and Aquaeyes. His paws urged to claw, but he kept them silent, for now...

Aquaeyes could be good...

[Fernear!]

[/b] With that MirageSoul leaped off the stairway and went off.

While the lithe yet muscular she-cat padded away she knew she would feel the burning feeling of being watched. NightFeather may join her, maybe they could end their quarrels, for once in moon. She was quite worried about BlackStar, but right now she would have to ignore all her worries and walk. A lonely, misty, night walk.

The moon was high in the sky when the twoleg nest was distant. She waited for a figure to appear beside her, or if at all. [/color][/size][/ul]

[kowala]

Nightfeather saw the lithe shape of Miragesoul leave the scene. Nightfeather turned to the remaining toms.
"Sorry boys," she sighed, the signs of a smile dancing on her lips.
"But I have some loose strings to tie with that cat." She started to leave but turned toward Hardsoul and brushed his flank with her tail.
"See you Love," she smiled her wicked smile. She turned to Aquaeyes and her smile deepened.
"Remember what I told you. Wild things come in the Night." Her voice hardened.
"Embrace sleep and shun the Night. Unless you are able to handle the cold hand of Death." A crooked smile danced across her face.
"Can you handle it?" Nightfeather then turned tail and raced after Miragesoul.

occ: Kitsune!! omg i love your Pic!

[kitsune]

Aquaeyes had to listen carefully to catch Nightfeathers' words: "Don't be afraid of sleep, embrace the moments which you have not to see the night. Troublesome and intense things that aren't even real come to life and animate themselves to the levels of belief that can drive any cat to insanity." Wow. That was really comforting. "I know that Miragesoul would never law a claw on your body. I on the other hand would never lay a claw on your soul, or mind for that matter. And your body wouldn't be harmed." Joy. How did she know that? The next sentence answered his question, but he wished that the conversation had ended there already. Now Aquaeyes sounded like a frail little kit who was afraid to leave the nursery. He nodded politely, eyes drifting down to the carpet of pine needles and slivers.
Aquaeyes could almost believe that she could read a cat's mind with those eyes. They seemed to be reflecting light from a sun.

The tom glanced over at Hardsoul, and met the cold gaze with his unusually bright-blue eyes, almost defiantly.
He hoped that not every other ShadowClan cat besides him could read minds from eyes. His mother always said they were windows to the soul, but do you really listen to a mother who won't tell you who your father is?
"Hello, Hardsoul. It looks like there's half of ShadowClan out here." He greeted coolly, flicking his tail in the direction of the more experienced warrior.

"Welcome HardSoul. And for the remark, I shall not harm you. I shall not harm any hair on any of your pelts." The tom blinked a few times, surprised, extinguishing his attempt at a calm demeanor. "StarClan light your path..." he said quietly, as if hoping to redeem himself a bit in Miragesoul's eyes. Perhaps the search for Blackstar would end soon...

When Nightfeather looked back at him, Aquaeyes met her gaze one more time, bright turquoise eyes staring back at her calmly. "Embrace sleep and shun the Night. Unless you are able to handle the cold hand of Death. Can you handle it?"[/i] Could he handle it? Last time he'd encountered Death, he couldn't. It had sawed a little chunk of his identity away, leaving him behind confused and uncertain... and most of all, broken. Nightfeather was asking him to face something that he'd tried to turn his back on, in a way. She was asking him to meet what he'd tried to ignore since he was an apprentice.
Uncertainty showed in his eyes a moment, but they then cleared. He mewed a farewell, and waited until both she-cats were out of his sight.

"Talking to some she-cats is like walking on eggshells while hunting." he commented to Hardsoul, tail flicking and curling like a living beast. "So, what brings you out of the camp in the middle of the night?"

ooc:; Thankees. ^^;[/size]

[mudmask]

Hardsoul smirked inward after Miragesoul left.
She may be Blackstar's mate, but she's not deputy or leader!
He gave Nightfeather a glance that said, Go show that proud peathingy her place! Then he turned his cool gaze on Aquaeyes.
"Some of them! They need to learn the lake doesn't revolve around them!" He changed his tone. "I can't read eyes as well as my mate there. She has a way, you could say."
"I came to get away from that camp. My claws were aching to dig into something. Of course, if I can't find something, I settle for flesh." He gave a sneaky grin. "So these kittypets better watch their backs." He flicked his tail towards the direction of Thunderclan. Then he sat, satisfied.