hide and seek . [ / o p e n ]

[twig]

He had wondered where it led to, so he had followed it.
This was how many of his journeys went. Since he very rarely had a specific destination in mind, he fell to listening to his whims, walking in one direction so that the wind wouldn't blow in his face, then the other so that the sun would be at his back; going toward a city because he thought it might be fun to play with kittypet queens, and then deciding not to because it smelled bad. Sometimes he would close his eyes and spin around until he didn't know which way was which, then walk in whichever direction he ended up facing.
This last technique was not only time-consuming and sometimes nauseating, but it often found him walking right back where he had come from, which was nothing if not unproductive.
Luckily, that was not the story today. Today, he was following a river, and it had led him into the territory of the strange, possible insane cats.

His last meeting with one, short-lived as it had been, had not given him as many answers at it had questions. He still didn't know if this was a Clan or Tribe or Pride, or anything else, and he still wasn't sure what had been wrong with the she-cat when he had spoken to her. She had been terribly upset about someone going missing, then had started laughing uncontrollably, then had cut her paw. And not long after that he had taken his leave, with the disappointing realization that this was going to get him no food any time soon.

Which was not to say that he wasn't interested in going back. Indeed, if the group had somehow been in trouble prey-wise, they had no problem now. There was life in this forest--he had just killed and eaten a thrush to prove it. There was always the possibility that the individual he had spoken to was really not in her right mind, but he was inclined to think that something had driven her to madness. It wasn't that often that a place like this would allow a head-case to live with them, because they were dangerous.
Jasper wasn't here specifically to find out more about the cats, but now that he was trespassing already, he thought, padding along the bank of the stream and watching the water as it passed him, he may as well do a little investegating.

Yes, good idea. He still didn't know where the river ended, but he could do that later--he was pretty side-tracked with this new exciting goal.
Going to their camp hadn't worked, he mused, having turned to head in that direction but hesitated. Perhaps he could try a different approach.
Glancing around, the tom chose a large tree and clawed his way up to a branch that overhung the stream. It was steady enough so that he could lie down, so he did so, letting his tail hang over the water.
It was a position he assumed often, when watching things or waiting for things, mostly because it was the most comfortable way to sit in a tree. He rested his head on his paws and scanned the forest, wondering how long it would take some cat to come into his line of vision.

It was a bleak day--the sky was white, and the rest of the world seemed pale and dim in color. Shadows were soft, and so was light, and he didn't know where the sun was in the sky, but he thought it must be some-time in the early afternoon. That was a good time for cats to be outside, so they should show up soon, he thought, but was still impatient. They were taking too long already.

[Kisa-luff<3]

"You there." Lonefeather's mew was sharp and agitated as it usually was. "What do you think you're doing, this is HorizonClan territory." He eyes narrowed at the tom cat stretched out leisurely in the tree in front of her. Lonefeather hadn't expected to find anyone out this far, most of the clan was in camp recovering or enjoying their freedom, still too weak to travel too far away from the camp. Lonefeather had recovered quickly, not knowing why she was in the Medicine Cat den in the first place. All she remembered was blacking out missing Takai then waking up in the den face full of sunshine with the Adder curled up next to her. She nearly killed the serpent, having been without him for so long she had almost forgotten what he was and assumed that she had woken up with a strange snake next to her. Luckily Takai awoke and reminded her before Lonefeather killed him. It had taken the she-cat a moment to believe him, but had soon welcomed him back into his preffered place between her shoulders. The adder was now nestled comfortably with only his head moving. His off-yellow eyes were staring at the tom nestled in the tree, just as his cat-counterpart was. He was swaying slightly, but that was only a habit.

[twig]

It wasn't fun waiting, but he didn't have to wait for as long as he might have, and to be honest he could have been in a worse place. This was a nice tree, he thought. He might return to it--good vantage point, too.

The only reason he didn't see her before she saw him was that she came from the wrong direction. He had to twist his shoulders to see her. Not having immediately recognized her voice, he did realize after glancing at her that this was the cat he had met before, and sprang up brightly upon seeing her.
Excellent: a second encounter. There was something odd about the situation, however, and almost as soon has he had stood up, he froze.

The she-cat didn't notice it, which was probably good. Jasper moved quietly, stalking forward in his tree with his eyes on the offending snake. He hardly remembered to answer her questions, and only just thought to listen to what she was saying now.
"Well, I thought I was being pretty clever, hanging around here without any of you noticing."
They were a Clan--HorizonClan. For now, he didn't mention that, though. There were much more important things at hand. Climbing slowly down the tree and stepping gingerly toward her, eyes fixed on the snake, he paused a few feet from her.

"I think you'll be glad I was here, though," he added, speaking carefully so as not to startle her or her passenger. "Listen, don't freak out or anything, but you've got a.. you've got something on your shoulders. But it's okay. I'll get it off. Don't move."

Now, how did one get a snake off of another cat's shoulders, without it biting them, or the other cat? He wondered how it had gotten there in the first place. Perhaps she was so crazy she hadn't noticed--that was probably it. It looked pretty content, so it could have settled there when she was sleeping, and gotten so comfortable it didn't want to move when she did.
What if it had already bitten her? She would have noticed that, wouldn't she have? Maybe it wasn't poisonous. It wasn't big enough to constrict anything, he didn't think, either. So that was good. Hopefully it wasn't trying to kill anyone at all.

Given confidence by that thought, he edged forward to stand very near the she-cat, and extended a paw to kind of prod the snake. This didn't seem like it should anger it, no matter if it was deadly or not, but it might scare it off.

It occured to him belatedly, as he glared at the adder, that this cat was much less friendly than she had been last time they had met. She also looked a bit healthier, apart from the animal on her shoulders. Maybe she wasn't as crazy as he had thought.
No, that couldn't be it. It definitely wouldn't explain the snake.

[Kisa-luff<3]

"What are you doing?!" Lonefeather cried outraged as Takai hissed and a bit agitated by being touch by a rogue, curled into a tighter knot. "Don't touch him! What is your problem?!" she took a few angry steps to the left out of the rogues reach. "Who do you think you are? A trespasser and now you're annoying my companion? Get off our territory." she snarled, her words dripping with venom. The she-cat certaintly didn't recognize the tom, but there was something vaguely familar about his voice. "Just who are you anyway? I'll need to report this." she hissed glaring at him through emerald eyes. "The clan needs to know that there's a lunatic rogue hanging around." She twisted her head back a bit to see Takai "Are you okay?" she asked her words dramtically softer. The snake nodded opening his own mouth to speak "I don't think he meant usss any harm, I am an adder after all. He probably thought I wasss endangering you life or sssomething..." his words were rather low and the S's drawn out. To any passerby it would of been a strange scene for a deadly snake to be sitting on a cat's shoulders, much less that the snake was speaking in cat tongue.

[twig]

What was wrong with this picture? It was hard to pick just one problem. First off, a cat who had been relatively friendly last time he saw her was now angry at him, and did not show any sign of recognizing him. She also just happened to have a snake on her neck.
Her next move was the one that really topped the cake, though. As he had expected, she freaked out, but not because of the adder. No, instead, she was mad at him, because he had touched it.

Taken by surprise both by the adder and she-cat snapping, he backed a few steps away. "I was--I was just.." he stammered, shaking his head and trying to figure out what he was supposed to be saying. What did she want to hear?
"Don't touch him!"
Well, that was easy enough. "Okay, okay. Not touching him." He grinned, letting humility color his expression slightly. "See? I'm all the way over here."
He curled his tail in front of his body as if it was a barrior between he and the she-cat.

She shot a few more questions at him, then turned to talk to the snake, giving him time to mull over what had just happened.
He knew this:
1) She didn't remember anything about him, or was pretending not to.
2) The snake was the companion. She had talked about this before--the companion had been what was missing last time he saw her. Which explained her use of the word 'slither,' then.
3)

That was as far as he got, because that was the point at which the snake started talking back. In Cat--albiet a strange, hissing, accented Cat, but it was the same language. He could understand it. It seemed to sympathize with him more than the she-cat did, which was nice, but extremely unnerving. He stared for a moment, all other thought momentarily erased from his mind, then, wrenching his thoughts back to sense, made the decision to pretend that he was smarter than he was.

"Listen, I'm really sorry," he told her, trying to catch her eye so that she could see how earnest he could pretend to be. "Honestly--I had no idea he was your companion. I apologize."
He shot her a small smile. "That wasn't a very effective introduction, I guess. I'm Jasper, and I'm not going to testify as to how much of a lunatic I am. I think I said hello to you the other day. You don't remember me?" He paused, then went on without waiting for an answer. "Guess not. I do hope you won't kick me out, though.. I'd been hoping to hang out here for a while, check out the Clan; get, ah.. acquainted with the cats 'round here." She could take that how she liked, and if she took it as an innocent desire for company, well.. it was probably for the best.
"Speaking of which, what's your name?" He dipped his head respectfully, a smile still playing in his eyes. He wondered if he should introduce himself to the adder, also. He decided not to.

[Kisa-luff<3]

Lonefeather fumed silently while Takai patted her shoulder with his tail "Calm down. He didn't do anything wrong yet, other than tressspasss of courssse." The snake hissed smoothly. Lonefeather gave the snake a withering look "Don't patronize me. Why don't you go chase the intruder off then?" she snapped shaking the snake off her shoulder. "Fine." Takai said landing with a soft thud onto the grass. He unfurled himself from the complicated coil his was in and slithered over to Jasper. "I don't think ssshe' hasss met you before, after all ssshe usssually remembers intrudersss." he said curling up next to Jasper's leg. "Her name isss Lonefeather. I'm Takai. Pleasssure to meet you. I do think you ssshould leave though. Lonefeather isssn't very pleassant when ssshe isss angry. It'sss bessst if you leave now, before ssshe goesss off to get more catsss." He said staring at the tom intently. Lonefeather gaped at the snake, of course she hyadn't meant it literally when she told Takai to chase Jasper off. Obviously the snake hadn't understood her completely. However, there he was talking to a stranger. She resisted the urge to call her companion back, she wanted to see how well of a job he did chasing off the tom.

[Shadow]

"Left. Right. Left. Right. You're the picture of gracefulness. Mistress of smooth. Concentrate. Right. Hard right!" The strangled voice was somewhat hoarse but loud enough, as it shouted out commands. Crimson sat curled tight around Autumnpaw's shoulders, squeezing as hard as he could to her to keep from slipping right off of her neck. The dark colored she-cat herself had her eyes closed and was following the garter snake's instructions closely. She slowed and tripped slightly to avoid hitting the tree he had warned her about.

"A little late!" she gasped, opening her eyes as she regained her footing. "This is hard. Should we take a break soon?" She took a deep breath in through her nostrils. "The stream's nearby. I can smell the water. Should we take a little drink?" she suggested.

"Sorry," Crimson apologized. "Yeah, it is hard. Sure, that's a good idea." He nodded. "Hard as it is to believe, I'm thirsty too. It's not exactly easy to stay on a moving cat who has no idea where she's going." He chuckled, the sound very snake-like.

The two continued to chat as Autumnpaw, now with her eyes permanently open, made her way towards the stream. The smile on her face made it clear that she was enjoying herself, as did the happy shift of her Companion. Though it had been only a moon or so since they had met each other, it was clear that their friendship was strong. So was the way of the world, the choice of StarClan. They had chosen well, the two were perfectly matched halves of each other.

Their chattering subsided as Autumnpaw bent down at the stream. Her tongue flashed in and out as she drank, and her gaze shot upwards as she watched Crimson slither up to her head. He bent down as well, longer tongue sweeping to the water right above hers. It was a funny picture, but it worked.

Suddenly, Crimson drew his head up and settled around Autumnpaw's shoulders again. He prodded her once, twice, three times with his tail.

"That was quick," Autumnpaw murmured in between laps. It wasn't until the third time that she realized Crimson was jabbing her in the side. "What.." she trailed off as she finally realized what he was trying to say. They weren't alone. Her eyes widened as she spotted Lonefeather and Takai, along with a rogue that she'd never seen before. "Oh." Quickly she scrambled back onto the bank, catching herself and shifting at an odd angle so that Crimson didn't slip off of her shoulder. "H.. hi, Lonefeather. Takai." She dipped her head respectfully. "I.. I didn't know you.. found.." she stopped again, embarrassment forcing her to look down at her paws.

[twig]

His instincts said to get away from the snake, but his paws stayed rooted on the ground, and he didn't flinch as it slithered toward him.
Strange, that it seemed as intelligent as a cat, and arguably more pleasant than Lonefeather herself. Not that he had every met a snake before, as an equal or even close, but all the ones that had had seen had been either bent on hunting something or fleeing from something.

Talking to it was also odd, but he did his best to make it look as if he was comfortable in the situation, talking back to it as naturally as he could.
"She did, though. I'm sure it was her. You weren't there, though--I think she was missing you. And, uh, she wasn't doing too well, if you know what I mean." What he meant being that she had been acting utterly insane, not to mention vastly different from what she was now.

"Uh, pleasure to meet you too.." he returned, "but I'm not leaving." If they had thought it was going to be that easy, they were mistaken. "See, the thing is, I'm not really afraid of Lonefeather. And I'm not really afraid of other cats, either." Looking over the snake, he shot a smirk to Lonefeather, who was looking horrified for some reason or another. He spoke to her, then, patiently explaining. "I've met Clans before, and they're honestly not that scary. It might be kind of nice to see a bunch of cats, actually. I haven't in a while.."

Speaking of which, the sound of another cat broke his train of thought. He turned to watch the river, where a young she-cat was taking a drink. The catch: she had a snake, too. He couldn't help but let out a little noise of surprise at the other companion--were they all snakes? Could they all talk? What sort of Clan was this?
He put himself together again within a few moments, and by the time the cat turned to notice them, he was looking downright pleased to see her. It might have been his imagination, but he thought the snake had touched her shoulder before she turned, alerting her.

"Found?" He frowned teasingly, taking the opportunity to sidle over to the young she-cat. "I didn't need finding, darling. I knew exactly where I was. No, Takai, Lonefeather and I were just having a chat, right, guys?"
And they would probably tell her that they weren't just having a conversation, and that they were in fact about to chase him off the territory. But it was always worth a try.

This new one was, as he had acknowledged before, much younger. He wondered if the respect he showed to Lonefeather and her companion was not just in her nature--what did they call younger cats in Clans? He didn't remember. They were cats in training, though, if he remembered correctly; students, learning about the strict Warrior rules, and the elaborate religious system.
He had met a lot of weird cats, but Clans topped the cake.

[Shadow]

((Random ooc note:// "Were they all snakes?"

That made me laugh, Twig. XD))

ic:// Autumnpaw looked up at the tom, braver now. Her intelligent amber gaze was fixed on him as he smoothly talked his way right over Lonefeather's angry gaze. This arrogant loner- he seemed farmiliar. Maybe she had seen a glimpse of him when she was looking for a Clan. She shuddered slightly at the thought- she might as well have seen an oversized rabbit in those times. When she was tired, hungry, and almost mad with loneliness, journeying in circles but never finding anything. It seemed to have happened so fast- finding HorizonClan, receiving Crimson, and starting her training.

Not that she was complaining, of course. Though she missed ValleyClan, she couldn't ask for anything better than what she had now. Yes, she would always wonder what had become of her family, but she couldn't let it control her life. She was Autumnpaw of HorizonClan, and she had a job to do. Become the best warrior she could be, and defend her new home.

Remembering her manners at last, she dipped her head slightly to the tom in greeting. "Err.. no offense, what's your name? But.. Lonefeather doesn't look too happy. You shouldn't really be on HorizonClan territory.." she mewed, her voice starting to gain strength. However, she looked to Lonefeather again, wondering what the she-cat's intentions really were. Did she know this loner? Was she going to let him do whatever he wanted, or was she going to fight back?

"Darling?" Crimson snorted from Autumnpaw's shoulder. "You ssound like you're talking to a princessss... ow!" Crimson's giggling turned into a squeak as Autumnpaw halfheartedly pinched him beetween her shoulder in neck. She sighed as her fierce stance was ruined.

"Don't mind him.." she muttered. "He's a big fan of jokes. Crimson, you're a meany."

"No I'm not!" the snake protested, starting to laugh under his breath again.

[Kisa-luff<3]

Lonefeather glared, if Takai couldn't chase him off nicely then she would have to do it herself. "Of course we were just having a nice chat." she hissed with false kindness. As she let that sink in she hissed at him under her breath "Leave now and I won't involve you in a fight. That adder over there is deadly, one bite would have you dead in a few breaths." She was bluffing of course, Takai didn't use his venom on petty things such as this, he only used it when hunting for himself, but Lonefeather didn't doubt that if her life was in jepoardy, Takai would save her. Even if it meant using his poison on a cat. Lonefeather turned back to Autumn "Hello there, I think I've got this handled, but I'm sure having you as back-up will come of use if he doesn't comply." she added pleased to have another cat there.

Takai, who was now curling around Jasper's leg, blinked in surprise at Lonefeather. Surely she knew that he didn't bite cats over territory? He was about to mention this when Lonefeather shot him a warning glare. He returned her glare with a understanding look, before turning back to the rogue tom. "Yesss, I do carry sssome deadly poissson. I do not think you would like to sssee it in action. Correct?" Takai didn't wait for him to respond before continuing "Of courssse if you leave now, you won't have to."

[Shadow]

Autumnpaw's whiskers twitched as she considered a question she had not yet thought of. Is Crimson poisonous? She didn't know. ValleyClan had had its fare share of snakes, but there seemed to be nothing to distinguish the venemos ones from the non-venemous ones. Some of the warriors there had suffered fatal bites from huge snakes of a mottled brown, yet she had seen kits die from playing with colorful little ones. She truly had no idea what species Crimson was, or if he could hurt a cat.

"Crimson?" she whispered, so quietly that no other cat could hear. "Are you venemous?"

The little snake stopped laughing and looked up at her. "Um.. no," he told her. "I'm a garter snake."

Autumnpaw blushed. "Wow. You're.. colorful for a garter snake," she chuckled. Straightening up, she looked back to the group. Lonefeather had said she might need her for battle. A fight! Autumnpaw and Crimson hadn't even learned battle training from Mountainfang and Sasori yet. Though, she wasn't about to let these cats know that. She straightened up more, to her full height, looked Lonefeather in the eyes, and nodded. "I'll stay.. in case you need me," she assured her.

Her gaze turned to the loner, and slowly became more menacing. "I suggest you leave," she growled.

"And don't say something sssmooooth like, 'Now ladies, don't overreact!" Crimson piped up with a flick of his tail. He happily snuggled with a hmmph in closer to Autumnpaw's neck, apparently proud of his prediction.

Autumnpaw started. That sounded exactly like something this tom might say. "Nice going, Crimson," she whispered.

[twig]

The little one seemed not as timid as she had been a moment ago. Perhaps he had been wrong about being a separate rank--she might be no different than Lonefeather in status. He should give up trying to guess these things. Was always getting different groupd confused.
Or maybe she was a lower rank, and just bratty. That was possible, too.

"I have gathered that I shouldn't be here," he confirmed lightly. "That's all the two of you have said to me.. it's very unhospitable, you know." Not that they were much different from every other territory defender. Cats in the city would have killed him by now if he was doing this to them, in fact, so really he could consider himself lucky.

He nodded to the snake, unsure of whether he could meet its eyes or not. "Yes, I know. I treat all she-cats as princesses--I try, at least. But you cats.." Lonefeather was hissing again, and he cut off, ears flicking back momentarily. The snake was cozying up to his leg, too, which made matters worse.

"Yesss, I do carry sssome deadly poissson. I do not think you would like to sssee it in action. Correct?"
He swallowed hard. "Uh, not particularly." He finished his earlier thought, then: "you cats, and snakes, have no sense of manner at all. I'm here for a visit, and all you can do is threaten me with battles and poison? I'm hurt."

But the other was agreeing with Lonefeather now, and unless he made some fast headway, he was drowning. He laughed nervously. "Hey, now..." The snake had called him out on trying to calm them down, and he grimaced at it. "They are overreacting, though. You don't even know what I'm here for yet."

(( Ehh, short. Sorry about that. o.o ))

[Z]

((ooc:// Hope you don't mind if I jump in... ^^)

bic:// The small, white tom padded lightly across the grass, staring at the ground in front of him and fallowing the scent to the stream. His icy blue eyes glanced up only every few steps to make sure he wasn't going to trip on anything, then back down to the ground directly in front of him. This was unfamiliar territory, but he had nothing better to do than to wander though it and figure it out; he was going to stay with the rogues here, anyways.

Kuro finally stopped and glanced up when he heard voices, many voices, maybe four or five different ones. He lowered himself more to the ground and stalked forward silently, before finally glancing around a tree to see a group of three cats, along with one of them with a snake draped over her shoulders, and another one looking just a bit uncomfortable with another snake right next to him. It must have been a snake with the other she-cat... he thought. He suddenly tipped his head in confusion; cats with snakes...? Strange. They were on the other side of the stream from where he was, but there was a very shallow patch where the pebbles were less than a whisker length below the water, where he could cross.

He glanced back at the cats, and noticed that one of them was one of the loners or rogues; he knew there was a difference between them, but he could never tell. He stepped out from behind the tree when he noticed this, since it was two on one against the rogue, and the other two had snakes with them, and they both smelled like they were from the same group of cats. He creeped out from behind the tree and took a few steps forward, knowing that one of them would notice him, since his white fur stuck out brilliantly in the clearing. "Is there something going on...?" he asked quietly, yet with a strong voice. He was still young, but he needed to look stronger than he was... It looked like the smaller one of the two cats was just a bit older than he was; he might stand a chance if a fight broke out. With his smooth, white fur sticking out slightly with anxiousness, he did look a little bigger, he thought.

[Shadow]

ooc:// A'course not, Z! ;D

ic:// Autumnpaw blinked, but said nothing, her small tail flicking agitatedly across the ground. This rogue was here for something other than to annoy the warriors of HorizonClan? Interesting. She turned her head as Crimson let out a small hiss, blinking in surprise. He looked angrier than she'd ever seen him. He must really have something against rogues, this one in particular. "What?" she whispered to him.

He turned, looking slightly distracted. "Nothing, really.." he mewed. "I just.. don't want to fight. I just want him to leave."

She nodded. "Me too," she told him. "Is that why you're so angry? Because you don't want to fight?" It dawned on her that this was also one of her strongest characteristics. She preferred peace over war any time. Her heart swelled with sudden joy. Oh how she enjoyed having an other half, a soul mate.

Crimson suddenly turned, and, a half a second later, a clear voice rang out. Autumnpaw jumped and turned, quickly spotting a bright white tom. He didn't look that much younger than her, but he was bigger. How had her companion sensed him before she had? Embarrassed at her mistake, she drew herself up to her full height. "You're on HorizonClan territory," she mewed pointedly.

[Z]

"So I've heard..." Kuro mewed. "Along with half of the rest of the forest." He sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws carefully, not taking his eyes off of the younger she-cat. He groomed the fur down on his chest while thinking of something to say, almost looking casual. He really wasn't one for fights; the blood always stayed in his fur for days, but he would be ready for one if it happened.

He eyed the snake on the younger she-cat's shoulders carefully, not sure whether or not it would strike at him or not. The only other snakes he'd seen were slithering across smooth rocks way outside this, HorizonClan's "territory," and they snapped at anyone who decided to come across them. He definately wasn't comfortable being around these cats, but he didn't want to look like a coward and run. "What exactly is this, HorizonClan, anyways?" he asked, glancing from one she-cat to the next. He came to a conclusion that this rogue, or loner, he still wasn't sure, wasn't with them, so he didn't bother pointing the question to him.

[twig]

(( The more the merrier.. except now we should let Kisa post, I think. ))

The first thing he noticed about the new cat, other than his fur color, was that he did not have a snake. This was a huge relief--already having been faced with two cat and snake pairings, it was a nice change of pace to see another cat who not only did not have his own adder, but also looked surprised to see Takai and the other coexisting so closely with cats.

This cat was probably another loner (or rogue; whichever). He smelled that way, and was certainly acting like it, and though Jasper hadn't seen him before, he wondered whether there were other rogue sanctions around here. He had been involved with groups of them before, and knew a great many cats from the city, so there was a chance he could meet up with some of them, if this cat had come with others. Meeting others could, of course, be a good thing or a bad thing, but he'd still like to talk to this young loner. It was an interesting coincidence that they had stumbled upon this place at the same time.

He asked if something was going on, and Jasper nodded, but didn't speak. He was watching the younger she-cat and her snake conversing with each other--their exact words he didn't make out, but he didn't get the impression that it was anything of the upmost importance to him. She started when she noticed the white tom as well, and informed him that he was on HorizonClan territory. He, as it turned out, did not know much about the Clan at all.

"It's a Clan of cats that follows the StarClan religion, if it's like any other Clan I've seen," he cut in, hoping that he was right. "Most adult cats are warriors; follow the warrior code. They're typically noble, just, and somewhat melodramatic. They often find themselves in tragic relationship situations, and have trouble commiting dirty or dishonest crimes." He left it at that for a moment, watching Takai cautiously, then added. "Uh, HorizonClan specifically also features companions."
That was where his knowledge ended, and he fell to silence again, glancing up at the white cat and smiling slightly.

Yes, he had a vague idea of what Clan cats were, and his experience had led him to classify Clan cats as mostly squares, with a few oddballs thrown in. This did not entirely discredit his theory that HorizonClan was made up of insane cats--they could be squares and crazy at the same time. He had seen it before. The thing was, though, that their strict rules and tendency to overact to all situations made them very entertaining to watch.

[Kisa-luff<3]

"And how exactly do you know so much about us?" Lonefeather directed to Jasper. "Have you been spying on us or something? Takai get over here." she called waiting for the snake to unwind himself from Jasper`s leg. The adder complied and slither over to Lonefeather up her leg and between her shoulders. "I think you've scared him enough." she remarked happily to the snake. "Yesss I agree. I ssshould think that we give them both one more chance to leave before we attack." He hissed making sure Autumnpaw and Crimson could hear him as well as Kuro and Jasper. "I'd hate to break up a lovely chat between you two rogues." Lonefeather mewed sarcastically. "But you heard Takai, if you do not leave now we will attack and I'm not sure if either of you can beat an Adder's strike." She said dragging Takai in to use as a threat. The adder tensed a bit hoping that he wouldn`t have to back down, he never used venom on a nother cat over something like this. It was a cowardly thing to do. Lonefeather however was almost hoping it would come to a fight. She wanted nothing more than to claw the smooth talking grey tom`s ears off. As for the new arrival, she didn't really like him either even though she hadn't spoke to him yet. She just didn't like the fac that he was on HorizonClan territory. "You should be prepared to fight too." she whispered bending close to Autmnpaw before straightening back up and fixing each of the rogues with one of her trademark glares.

[Z]

Kuro said nothing, but his ears fell backwards and he felt himself tense up. He wasn't really one to fight, but he wasn't just going to run from these two. He couldn't tell if the she-cat was bluffing when she said that she would sic her snake on them or not. He glanced at the loner, and then from one she-cat to the other, catching the older one's glare. He merely stared blankly back, not willing to tear his gaze away from a clan cat. They sounded like a bunch of wusses to him, banding together to protect each other, and getthing these.... companions to protect them.

Even if these two did attack, Kuro was on the opposite side of the stream from them. He was also closer to the younger one, who he actually may have a chance against if a fight did break out. He also had an advantage; if he knew he couldn't win, his slim frame let him run quickly, dodging all of the trees around him with ease. He glanced back at the scruffy loner again, not sure as to what he was supposed to say, if anything.

[Shadow]

Autumnpaw gave a slight nod, straightening up and puffing up her fur so that she instantly looked about two times as big. Slowly she slid out her claws, and they made no noise as she dug them into the cold, hard leaf-bare ground. Crimson twisted in a loop around her neck, coming back to settle at the base of her spine. He hoisted himself up in the air, blinking at everyone around him and letting his tongue flick in and out to take in scents.

Autumnpaw glared at both loners, first Jasper and then Kuro, letting out a long hiss. She stopped, however, when she saw Kuro's expression. The smaller loner was just staring at Lonefeather, no fear, anger, resentment, anything in his gaze. That confused her. Blinking, the she-cat tipped her head to the side and stared at him for a moment. It was then she realized that her mouth was still open, and she snapped it shut with a shake of her head.

Instantly she was back into battle mode, her tail flicking irritably behind her. The other rogue, Jasper, was really starting to get on her nerves, and though she was scared about fighting with no training whatsoever from Mountainfang yet, she wanted to show that annoying tom what she- and the cats of HorizonClan- were made of. Strangely though, she didn't want to attack the smaller white tom. Probably because he hadn't really said anything to annoy, hurt, offend her, anything like that.

[twig]

(( I'm really sorry. o.o I'll edit this with a reply.. tomorrow. Because I'll have to do homework tomorrow. So I'd rather be doing this.
-dies- ))

Relieved as he was to have the snake off of his leg, things were not exactly shaping up. He was floundering, and he wasn't sure why--were they just less leniant about their boundaries than the other Clans he had met? Did they have something in particular against rogues? They were different, it seemed, than others. He was relieved that the information he had spouted seemed to be correct, but it hadn't gone over in the way he had hoped.
He had hardly had a right to hope anyway.

"Of course I haven't been spying--don't send him at me until I've said my piece." He changed tact half-way through the sentence, glancing at Takai as the threat about the adder caught up with him. "I'll just come back in if you do, and speak to some other cat. You can't all be this straight-edged."
He took a moment then to figure out what he was going to say next, keeping his eye on the white tom. Rather convenient that he had showed up, as they were now two-against-two rather than two-against-one. It was much less likely that he--they--would be attacked.

"Listen, I'd just like to see your leader, alright? Snowball here can come, too." He flicked his tail to the white loner. "I guess I can't speak for him, but I'm not here to fight. Just to talk. If you'd bring us to your camp, that'd be really helpful." He smiled, genuine rather than smirking this time, and dipped his head slightly. "We're really not very threatening, if you think about it. The worst that'll happen is that we'll misbehave, in which case you'll beat the crap out of us, then kick us out."
That was the worst case scenario for he and the other tom, also. They'd try to avoid that one.

He didn't know what he was going to talk to their leader about--his statement that he wanted to do so didn't sound like a lie, but he hadn't yet thought of foundation for the claim. Could he be warning them of something to come? Not easily, no. He'd have to think of something believable, and then an excuse for why it didn't happen. Maybe, he thought, he could pretend to want to join the Clan. He had never done that before. Except that he didn't want to have to pretend that he was something he wasn't--not stray that far from the truth, anyway.
Well. He could think of something later, when the time arose. He thought best under pressure sometimes (when he didn't panic. It all depended on the situation).