[ti]Private[/ti]A Panther and a Cheetah

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Shiverthorn wandered toward the apprentice training grounds, quietly hoping that there would be a mentor and apprentice pair there that she could assist. The black she-cat would never give it away, though. What she came upon instead was a former apprentice, the newly named Cheetahspots. The she-cat recalled the cat having quite the reckless streak, so seeing her even remotely near another Clan’s border was a bit concerning to Shiverthorn. Nevertheless, the older she-cat approached the younger one.

“Already reminiscing of apprentice days, are you?” She commented, glancing around them at the smooth trees. She stalked to Cheetahspots’ side and stood next to her, the black cat’s tail twitching, “Congratulations, by the way,” she purred as she sat down, and gave a polite nod. Shiverthorn studied the younger she-cat’s reaction, and dragged her paw across the frosted ground.

GnawingOnIce

[GnawingOnIce]

It was particularly gloomy today. Cheetahspots glanced at the sky, and the studied the faint, fuzzy shadows the tree’s casted across the frosty ground. Her breath appeared as clouds in the air. She was currently hanging around the MothClan border and her former training grounds.

The spot brought back some memories, like wrestling with her siblings and tackling her dads whenever she could and whenever they turned up to watch her and her siblings train. Cheetahspots had dreaded Maplespring’s sappy self at her warrior ceremony but she was glad she had loving parents.

The she-cat was so caught up in her memories playing out before her that she didn’t notice someone else sneak up beside her.

“Already reminiscing of apprentice days, are you?” she jumped, her already long fur standing on end.

”You scared me!” the younger she-cat scowled, ”But yes, a little bit.” she relaxed, her fur smoothing down.

She recognized the cat talking to her as Shiverthorn. She had black fur with some lighter parts here and there. Cheetahspots had never spoken to her before, she pretty much had all the company she needed with her siblings. Shiverthorn then congratulated her on becoming a warrior.

”Thanks. So, what brings you out of camp on a gloomy day like this?” whenever the sun wasn’t shining in leafbare, it tended to get very cold and it looked like the other she-cat wasn’t exactly equipped with a winter coat unlike Cheetahspots.

Tags;; @twilightrain
Notes;; n/a

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Shiverthorn noted the young warrior’s distracted gaze before responding. The other she-cat’s fur actually reached the older warrior’s when it spiked up, and a part of Shiverthorn was glad for it in the chilly, cloudy air. It reminded her a bit of cuddling with Sweetfall many moons ago, considering her past mate also had longer fur and irregular patchy markings across her pelt. A twist between a sad and wistful expression crossed the black she-cat’s face quickly, before she composed herself again.

She found herself blinking a bit in surprise at the question back. Shiverthorn studied Cheetahspots again, suddenly wondering what had made her approach the new warrior in the first place.

Unable to figure it out, she simply responded, standing to wander toward a tree, “Hunting; when there are no apprentices training, this area isn’t too bad,” She paused, a hint of a grin forming, “if you know where to look, that is.” With that, the black she-cat clawed her way up the tree in a practiced way, and stopped at the first sturdy branch. She stood, looking down at Cheetahspots for a moment, then gently laid herself across the branch, tail twitching beneath it.

GnawingOnIce

[GnawingOnIce]

Cheetahspots watched with her brilliant golden eyes as Shiverthorn climbed her way up a nearby tree. The she-cat scoffed and smiled, raising an eyebrow, ”Even in leafbare?”

She made her way over to the tree, inspecting its trunk and the other she-cat’s claw marks on it. She hadn’t climbed much as an apprentice but remembers doing it once or twice. ”I’m not much of a climber, but,” the hybrid coiled the muscles in her hindlegs then released them and practically ran up the tree just like a squirrel, getting to a branch that was a little above Shiverthorn’s and laid herself out on it. ”My dad says he and my siblings were built for it.”

Tags;; @twilightrain
Notes;; n/a

[Deleted]

Shiverthorn eyed the spotty she-cat with a look of forced indifference. “Cocky,” She murmured under her breath, ears flicking as though something were bothering them. She let out a breath and stood, eyeing the tree branches for any birds or squirrels.

There, She caught the unmistakable sight of a cardinal, and glanced up toward Cheetahspots giving a look that clearly and strictly said don’t move. The cardinal sat a branch up and a tree over, so Shiverthorn backed up a bit on her own branch and took a running leap so that she landed as close to the trunk of the next tree as she could. Thankfully, she managed to land close enough that her branch didn’t shake and startle the bird.

Shiverthorn crept up the trunk, careful to keep out of the bird’s direct eyeline. Pausing two or so tail-lengths above the bird, the black she-cat bunched her muscles and sprang, snapping her jaws around the bird in midair. She turned to Cheetahspots.

“Yes, even in Leaf-Bare,” She said, even as she knew it was decently lucky the bird actually was on a branch a cat could stand sturdily on.

[GnawingOnIce]

Cheetahspots went stiff as soon as Shiverthorn’s gaze met hers. Her head followed the other she-cat as she leapt to the other tree. Soon she caught onto what the other was after, a cardinal. The red was unmistakable in the leafbare months. Shiverthorn caught it between her jaws with skill. Cheetahspot’s tufted ears pricked up in interest as she stood up on her branch.

”Wow! Nice catch.” she called from her tree. ”I wish I was that talented. I’m only a newly-made warrior. I should probably catch something myself to bring back.” the hybrid hopped down from the tree and started to wander away from the MothClan border, sniffing at the air, looking for something to lay her teeth or claws in.

Tags;; @twilightrain
Notes;; n/a

[Deleted]

Shiverthorn smiled at the younger she-cat’s surprise and compliment, then blinked in her own surprise as Cheetahspots abruptly jumped down and wandered deeper into IvyClan territory. To be fair, the she-cat did relax more as the younger warrior journeyed away from the MothClan border.

The black she-cat chose to follow in the trees, leaping between them with ease and skill despite her smaller size, and perhaps helped through her shorter coat. Occasionally she landed a bit awkwardly or not as close to the truck as she wanted, but she never stumbled or fell. She actually hadn’t fallen when jumping between them casually like this in many moons. Her chosen route had more than just a “just because” reasoning to it though; the she-cat figured that maybe she’d scare a squirrel or chipmunk from a tree for Cheetahspots to catch.

[GnawingOnIce]

As Cheetahspots trotted through the thin layer of snow covering the ground, a flutter of wings caught her ears. She crouched close to the ground instinctively, and turned to the noise. A chickadee, poking around the ground.

Cheetahspots creeped along the ground, staying as quiet as a long-haired hybrid cat could. When she was close to the bird, she pounced. It noticed her and frantically tried to fly up from the ground, but one of her claws caught it on the wing and brought it down. She sank her teeth into it, killing it, and silently thanked StarClan for it’s life.

She looked up and around for Shiverthorn and spotted her still in the trees. ”I got my share!” the younger she-cat called up to her. ”You ready to head back to camp?”

Tags;; @twilightrain
Notes;; n/a