[ti]Private[/ti]Shadows

[Fireflake]

Vulture the Hunter Rogue

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Vulture skulked warily through the shadows, slipping between obscured areas with the practiced skill of a hunter. His steps paused as he cast narrow blue eyes to a house across the street that seemed to have become encased in cobwebs overnight. Vulture blinked a few times and carried on. The place wasn't too different from Vulture himself, whose light brown fur held horrendous scents, along with patches of blood, but was never matted. The tom glanced over his shoulder before moving forward.

The rogue scanned the path ahead of him with a sharp stare until a speck appeared in the distance. Moving closer, yet still far enough back for a cat without his superior sight to notice, he straightened his slouched posture somewhat. His steps paused once more. A grimace rippled across his face as he finally managed to get a proper look. It stuck while he seemed unable to decide how he felt, then slipped into something that resembled annoyance. Vulture approached directly and settled nearby the disfigured cat as he watched her... do whatever she was trying to do. Whatever it was didn't seem to be going so well.

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[Mama]

Shadespirit had not been doing exactly.... Well, these days. The bitter Leaffall, soon to be leafbare winds and tempatures made it hard for her to stay warm, considering her short fur and missing fur held no heat. She had a twoleg blanket once, some cat stole it followed by the two fighting. She would have won, if not for another two cats ganging up on her. So much for that.


In the meantime, with the dry air settling in and the prey starting to hide, she had to start missing meals again. Her pride made her refuse the soft food of kittypets, and dumpster food. Besides, there was too many cats there. She was an easy target.

Today, however, she had some hope to fill her grumbling belly. There was some critters out, and desperation had started to set in for food. The former warrior had taken to the town, despite not liking the area, she knew there was a few abandoned homes. As she was wandering along, the smell of mouse caught her limited vision, and the feline crouched down to go after it. 

Creeping up, she could already taste it, her good ear perked fowards and the remains of her tail raised up. But she wasn't the only one after the food. A owl had dove down as she was approaching it, snatching the mouse before the feline flung herself fowards.


Claws met feathers, and she moved to bite towards the neck as she was shakliy lifted in the air. The large bird smacked her tender underside where the burns had healed up, along with some other scars, causing her to hold on tighter with pain.

The bird flew up another foot, where they were about five feet high, before a few rough wing smacks sent the cat tumbling off and landing on her side with a thud.

"D-damn it.." she hissed under her breath, puffing to regain her breath.

Fireflake

[Fireflake]

Vulture the Hunter Rogue

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Vulture briefly broke away from his examination of the she-cat as another speck scuttled toward her, apparently without either realizing it. He glanced back into the shadows and took a single step forward before settling back to watch. As he looked back, Vulture tensed. The she-cat had started to stalk the mouse, and another hunter hovered above both. His eyes snapped to the owl as it descended rapidly.

The tom broke away from his passive spot. He crouched and bunched his muscles. His leap toward the other three animals came too late. Well able to observe from a distance, he had stopped too far away to reach them quickly. The she-cat had already failed in her struggle against the bird by the time he arrived.

Vulture himself swooped into her field of vision as she regained her breath. The rogue wasn't a thin cat. He definitely wasn't a kittypet, but didn't carry the appearance of a cat that missed meals. "What a waste," he muttered. His blue eyes flicked up to the sky as the speck faded, then back to the she-cat. Seeing her face up close sent mild surprise across his features. "You in the alliance?"

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[Mama]

Watching the bird fly up with a grumble, she spotted the new tom in her line of vision and snapped her head towards him. She could tell he was well fed and kept clean, but he didn't carry a collar and he smelled of... The rogue group.

"Mmm." She growled in reply, giving a huff. Guess she was skipping a meal again.


"I'm just an ally of the group." Shadespirit replied, her voice rough and raspy, as if she was older. However, her lack of grey fur and her appearance showed that she was younger.


Keeping a wary eye on him, she lapped the soil from her pelt off, the burnt side still sandy but she didn't mind at all. Her good ear was pricked with alertness, and her singular eye narrowed down on him cautiously.

[Fireflake]

Vulture the Hunter Rogue

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Vulture stretched out casually and started to prowl in a wide circle around the she-cat. His eyes locked onto her, looking her up and down. It was an unfriendly gesture on its own, but his ears stayed pricked and his posture was generally relaxed. His face flickered between interested and unimpressed. "Hmm. You a scout?"

The tom finally stood still in front of Shadespirit. By now his eyes had returned to her face. He flicked his dark tail toward himself and nodded a greeting. "Vulture."
Vulture paused for a heartbeat to look expectantly at the other rogue, then changed his mind, going on with his introduction, "I hunt for the group... allies too. Pile's in the den."

Now he stopped to observe again. What would she say to his words? More importantly, how would she react to his gestures?

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[Mama]

As he paced in circles around her, she made minimal head movement and sharpened her posture, like a soldier in line. Her eye narrowed and her pupil focused on his form, before he decided to freeze up directly across from her.

"Shadespirit." The feline muttered, her paws shifting. Her name was well known around rogues, rumors popping up constantly about her scars and her former warrior status. However, everyone that heard her name also knew of her greatest feat: Claiming a Clan Leader's life.

"So every cat there has a purpose, if it is to hunt, fight, or protect." The Bengal replied cooly, keeping her tone frosty but not defensive. There was no need for hostility if he had not shown any.

[Fireflake]

Vulture the Hunter Rogue

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Vulture's head jerked up at the she-cat's answer. His unimpressed look flew away as quickly as the owl had, though also with a bit of a struggle. Vulture's eyes scored across her scars once more. He apparently had no issue with seeming rude. "Mhm." The tom paused. "You can kill a clan leader but not a bird? Hmmm. Fighter?"
His tone was a touch less condescending this time.

Vulture looked away for the first time since starting the conversation to peer at the rooftops. The sun's glare bouncing off of a few sent his eyes over his shoulder, then down the street, before finally returning to Shadespirit. He shifted back under the cover of an overhanging roof that shielded him from the sun's strangely cold gaze.

For a few moments he stared silently. The only sound was his breath. Then he stood and flicked his tail, beckoning for the she-cat to follow as he stepped back into the relative darkness. "Back to hunting?" he suggested, his eyes locked onto her once more.

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