LOCKED OR FREE, WHAT WOULD IT BE | spooky

[Cloudyfur]

Cloudypaw knew she was becoming a better hunter, even if it was slow going. The crouch that had once taken all her concentration to maintain she now stalked through the territory. The scents that she had once struggled to recognize were now clear. The trees that had once looked unfamiliar to her now stood out as landmarks. With just a glance about she knew she was near sunningrocks, and the realization made unease prick at her fur. The disputes of the gathering still hung heavy in her mind, and she resolved to head in the opposite direction.

She would rather trespass in Skyclan than Riverclan.

Of course, it would be better not to encroach on either, but she wanted to go a bit further before she linked back up with her hunting patrol. She was certain she had heard movement ahead of her. She couldn't smell any prey though. There wasn't any of the clan scents she had come to know from the gathering in the air either, aside from those of the border, so it wasn't any cats. At least not any clan ones.

Then again just because her nose had gotten better didn't mean she wasn't missing something. Her skills were still leagues behind those of her clanmates. She pushed out of the underbrush, tensed and ready to leap upon prey if she spotted it, only to find another pair of eyes staring into her own.​

 

[SPOOKY]

( 🕸 ) Spooky loves getting to venture out of their twoleg-den. Their twoleg has been letting them outside far more lately, now that the flowers and the leaves have returned. She never let it play in the blankets of white which not long ago coated the world, a transgression for which Spooky is very miffed. They will leave when they please, thank you very much.

And they will go as far as they like, too! Today, it's made its way farther than ever before, making up for lost time, out into the dense pines of the forest. A daring journey, to be sure, and one they are more than willing to brave. Though their pawsteps land clumsy on the uneven ground, they find themself moving far quieter than they would except. They thank their twoleg for gifting them a bandana rather than a useless collar; all their friends with bells can be heard coming from halfway across a twoleg-nest.

Spooky isn't really expecting to see anyone this far out; for all the scary tales they've heard (and oh, how they eat up each one) of half-wild cats who disappear into the forests during the day to satisfy some primal bloodlust, they've never actually met anyone who's seen forest cat. Truthfully, they've never met anyone who's even been out this far. Oh, they are going to have so many bragging rights.

Of course, Spooky is very surprised when they find themself quite suddenly face-to-face with a fluffy gray molly.

"Woah! Heh heh, watch where you're goin', kid, you nearly ran right into me." The cat is large, but has a youth to her rounded face. Younger than Spooky, probably. They don't care to ask. There's a strange scent to her: she doesn't smell like twoleg, but like the forest around the both of them. For a moment, Spooky lets itself indulge in its whims of cutthroat wild-things, but this kitten is surely not one of them. She looks far too friendly. Spooky tilts their head, scrutinizing the cat. "You're pretty far from home here, aren'tcha? I hear there's wild cats this far out, would gobble you up in a second!" They grin at her, voice crooning and conspiratorial, head still angled and eyes open wide. They aren't passing off this perfect opportunity to scare the kid back to her twoleg-nest.​