Tu Es Mort ((private))

[GnawingOnIce]

Snaketongue hadn’t been feeling exactly the best lately. He had found out that Honeyheart, the she-cat he had taken liking to, was the leader of this rogue group presumably trying to invade the Clans. He had been trying not to thinking about it too much, hunting and patrolling whenever he could. That meant going on patrol with other cats he didn’t talk to a ton, such as Liongaze.

Yes, he was on patrol with Liongaze near the Ivyclan border. It was just the two of them, with crickets chirping, hidden in blades of grass underpaw and jumping out of the way when the two toms got too close to their hiding spots. It was at the end of the day, the sun just disappearing behind the horizon, stars scattered across the sky.

Snaketongue was keeping a steady pace ahead of Liongaze, head and tail slightly drooping. Though Snaketongue didn’t know his day was about to get a lot worse.

[silverfang218]

Liongaze trots along just behind Snaketongue, his gaze pointed towards the ground. He had a terrible night and his day so far hadn’t been much better; after he came to Elkpaw for help with his injuries, she had nearly shoved poppy seeds down his throat. The seeds dull the pain that stabs his sides with every step, but they are also creating a haze in his mind, making all his thoughts fuzzy. The claw wounds, new and old, were hidden beneath his long, ginger fur, leaving most of his clanmates unaware of the state of the large warrior.

With a blink, Lion lifts his head to regard the cat he is currently patrolling with. Snaketongue looks like he’s having a bad day as well, though Lion would bet that Snake’s day didn’t compare to Lion’s own. Lion’s ears half lower as IvyClan’s scent overwhelms his nose. An IvyClan patrol must have just refreshed their border, as Lion can barely even smell his own clanmate just a couple tail lengths in front of him.

[GnawingOnIce]

The Ivyclan scent wafted over Snaketongue's nose as soon as it did Liongaze's, making Snake's ears prick slightly. He glanced toward the border, then back to the earth in front of him. "Watch for Ivyclan cats, just in case they get too close if they turn up." He called over his shoulder to Liongaze, not too loud but loud enough for his Clanmate to hear. Snake nearly tripped over a rock that was in his way, narrowly avoiding it. Maybe Lion would do a better job than him at that. He turned to the sun setting. It was getting darker by the minute, soon the sun wouldn't be visible. Snake and Lion better hurry if they want to get back to camp before the moon is in the sky.

[silverfang218]

Liongaze gives a little huff in response to Snaketongue’s order to keep an eye out for IvyClan cats, irritated that his fellow warrior seemingly thought so poorly of Lion that he needed to state the obvious. They are patrolling the IvyClan border specifically to make sure no IvyClan cats have crossed the border and to strengthen the MothClan border, no dung they have to watch for IvyClan trespassers. That’s kind of the point.

Liongaze pauses as Snake nearly trips, taking the momentary pause to glance up at the sky. It’s starting to get late; soon they’ll have to head back. Lion rarely goes on dusk patrols as he hates being out with clanmates after dark. He associates the dark of night with the Dark Forest, as he spends most of his nights there. He tends to get jumpy and transition to a more combat ready mindset. That being said… it’ll be safest if they hurried and got this done. Liongaze brushes by Snake trying to take the lead and set a bit faster pace; the gesture would be taken as rude by more cats than not, but in all honesty, Lion is just trying to speed things for Snake’s own safety.

[GnawingOnIce]

Snaketongue lifted his head a bit as Liongaze brushed past him, taking the lead now. Snake flicked one of his ears irritably. Lion seemed to be not in the best mood on this patrol.. which was annoying Snake. Or maybe Snake was the one annoying him. He picked up his pace a bit, catching up with Liongaze and then keeping pace with him. "Someone put dirt in your fresh-kill or something?" He tried to joke, a small smile appearing on his brown and gray tabby striped face. Any other cat probably would've taken Snake's joke, but who knew if Lion would.

[silverfang218]

Liongaze shoots Snaketongue a warning glance as Snake takes a place by Lion’s side. He recognizes the other tom’s words as a joke, but Lion thought he had made it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. There is no reason to slow the patrol down with interaction, and there are plenty of reasons to avoid interaction with Liongaze at the moment yet Snake is unaware of those. Blissfully unaware.

“Hush. Let’s just finish the patrol and go back to camp. I’m tired so leave me alone and watch for IvyClan cats.” Liongaze huffs, a growl barely disguised in his voice.

[GnawingOnIce]

Snake was taken aback by Lion's response, raising a brow. "Gee, fine. If you're so grumpy we can just head back to camp." He glanced toward the sky again, just to check. You could no longer see the sun, only orange streaks where the horizon was. "It'd probably be best to, anyway." He stopped in his tracks, expecting Liongaze to agree with him. If Liongaze is to tired he probably shouldn't have come on this patrol.. He thought to himself, somewhat anxiously waiting for a response.

[silverfang218]

Fury builds up at the suggestion, like Liongaze wasn’t stable enough to finish the patrol. Sure, Lion was exhausted mentally and he was physically tired and sore, but he’d love to see Snaketongue be ripped to shreds every night then work hard every day. Unlike many of his clanmates, Liongaze takes very few breaks during the day, to make sure he doesn’t have any time or energy to think. Unfortunately, his body has hardened to take the constant abuse and it’s usually just his mind that becomes hazed with exhaustion. That exhaustion seems to make him lose his temper just a bit.

Liongaze turns on a paw, his eyes glowing like living fire, not thinking at all as he aims his sharpened claws right at Snake’s throat. Should the attack hit, it’ll likely kill Snake on the spot; Lion puts the full force of his weight and strength behind the attack, ripping open his wounds from the night before from the quick movement. If Snake survives the initial blow, he’ll be faced with an injured Liongaze who’s expression and wounds makes him look nothing short of demonic.

[GnawingOnIce]

Surprise completely overtook Snaketongue as Liongaze lashed out at him. His marsh green eyes widened, feeling pain sear through his neck. He stumbled backward and fell onto the cool ground, blood beginning to seep from his wound. His vision blurred as he tried to look up at Liongaze, not being able to choke out any words, for the blood was beginning to clog his throat. Lion would've looked scary either way, his wounds opening. Snake wasn't able to think, red clouding his mind. But, he did know that he was definitely going to die.

[silverfang218]

Liongaze instantly switches back to his normal personality; his eyes go from firy and looking for a fight to wide with horror. He takes a couple shaky steps back from what his temper- no, what he did. It’s almost like a heavy collar snaps around his neck in that moment, as his shoulders, head, his entire body feels like it’s being weighed down with guilt once more, and for a few moments, he can do nothing but stare. After a few moments, he backs several tail lengths away before pausing once more, eyes still wide with fright. There’s nothing much his clanmates could do for Snaketongue at this point, and… Liongaze is terrified that he’ll snap again if he were to be surrounded by clanmates. Rather than running back to camp, Liongaze flees a short ways into MothClan territory.

It’s the next morning before Liongaze returns to camp, covered in wounds that had not been there the night before. His injuries, courtesy of a temper tantrum by Spottedheart, made his story of a rogue attack believable. Since this “attack” was so close to the IvyClan border, between how faded the scent would have been and the strong scent of IvyClan overpowering any MothClan nose that gets too close, few clanmates have any reason to doubt whether the scent had been there the night before yet none could find it again in the morning.

//da end :3