Can I be your shadow? [open]

[Mika]

It was the day after he had officially became a member of the Tempest pack that he wandered the pack's territory. He explored the asylum, watched the ocean from the cliff, and now he was in the cemetery watching the older canines go about their daily routines. Right now he was watching another juvenile canine training with his soldier mentor.

It was only his first day here in the Tempest pack, so he had not yet been assigned a mentor. Apparently the mentor he would get depends on his skills, which weren't much. In order to achieve his goal of avenging his sisters' death he would need to become a soldier, but he was probably a slightly better hunter than a fighter. He wouldn't give up so easily on becoming a soldier, all he had to do was prove to himself and his pack that he could at least keep himself alive in battle then, surely, someone would be willing to teach him to fight.

But how could he prove himself, he wasn't as cold hearted as to simply go out and attack a loner or a lexis tribe feline, and boldly walking into Iris pride territory would be suicide. Lost in thought, he slowly weaved around grave stones when something caught his eye. He paused and peered around from behind a grave stone to see what looked like two felines carrying food in their mouths. One was a serval, that was just as big as he was, he only caught a glimpse of a black tail from the second cat.

'How convenient.' He thought with a smirk as he slowly made his way toward them. If anyone was watching at that moment they would know he would be discovered quickly. He moved around the gravestones until, thinking he could ambush them, he jump to the opposite side of a shorter gravestone only to find the cats gone. He spotted only the black feline running with the packs' food, but before Gus could chase after them he felt sharp claws dig into his back and someone push him to the ground.

Both felines had heard the coyote trying to sneak up on them and the serval had hid to allow it's companion a chance to escape. The serval mocked Gus, which made him angry and caused Gus to charge head-on at the feline which was easily dodged. Gusto felt sharp claws dig into his shoulders and equally sharp fangs draw blood from his ear as he tried to shake the cat off of his back and let the black cat escape back into Iris territory.

[SMIFFAGRIFF]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g399/SmiffDemon/Brooke2.png] "Speech!" Thoughts Actions ***

It had been a long while since disaster had struck, but Brooke new better than to let her guard down for a second. Not one moment was spared on such trivial things as rest - not for the Mistress of the Tempest Pack anyway. No, she would give them everything, she had given them everything, but her very last dying breath.

They were strong. But the Tempest dogs were only as strong as their leader. And she would put up her facade of being the most resolute dog in the world until the last breath was forced out of her dead body. Even then though, no one could deny the grey hairs beginning to show on Brooke's face. She was seven now. Seven. She had a good few years left, at best, but Brooke knew life wasn't fair. Soon someone would succeed her. But until then... until then--

The sound of scurrying paws broke the Mistress's train of thoughts completely, and with a sniff to the air, she caught the foul scent of feline drifting towards her on the breeze. How dare a cat come onto my packlands?! her mind roared furiously. Lip curling into a silent snarl, Brooke chose a path downwind and saw the attack come to Gus before it even happened.

The Juvenile would learn in time that cats were sneaky bastards. Has he been assigned a mentor yet?[/color] she thought idly as her body went into automatic mode. So many years of training had given her the ability to tune out most things while still being able to pack a punch. With a feral yowl, she leapt and cut the black cat off, snapping just short of it's face with her jaws, backing it up towards it's serval friend where Gusto was struggling.

"The fuck are you doing on Tempest Pack territory!? Do you have a death wish? You have thirty seconds, cats!"[/color] she swiped at the serval raking its claws along the young coyote's back and it was forced to let go to dodge the potentially damaging blow. After that, Brooke came to stand beside Gusto, and in less than a heartbeat, other members of the pack had gathered to make sure the two scumbags stealing their food weren't getting away so easily.[/font][/justify][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table][/center][/size]

[Jay]

Temeraire had not had the best of days. After a fairly unsuccessful day of hunting in very hot weather(which was made worse by his having black fur) he'd returned to his home in Iris, only to be buddied up for a quick trip into enemy territory. The trip involved him and some serval slipping in an stealing from Tempest's food. It had gone fine at first, slipping through the outskirts of the territory and heading for the Tintagel Cemetery. but as they slid through the gravestones of humans who had died, both Temeraire and his companion caught the distinctive scent of dog(coyote to be exact) and heard the canine following them. His companion quickly slipped off, obviously perching for an ambush, as he would most likely have an easier time attacking a larger creature than Temeraire would. Temeraire quickly grabbed as much of the food as he could carry with him and started running, hearing his companion behind him attacking the coyote, a young one from what he'd seen. He was just becoming sure that he could get to a hiding place, stash the food, and come back to help his pride mate when, seemingly out of no where came another canine. jaws snapped mere inches from his muzzle, causing him to stop as quick as he could, dropping a good portion of his stolen food, as the female backed him towards his pride mate and the coyote. He now recognized the female as the Mistress of Tempest, Brooke. The initial thought process that ran through his mind was something along the lines of 'I am in trouble now' as she swiped at the serval and went to stand by the coyote.
"The fuck are you doing on Tempest Pack territory!? Do you have a death wish? You have thirty seconds, cats!"
Temeraire hissed in response, blue eyes glaring at the two canines before him.
"It's pretty obvious to my eyes, but I suppose I'll humor you. We are taking food, plain and simple. Our prey is short, and we follow our orders." He shared a look with his companion and then turned to the pair.
"And some old bitch and her pathetic lackey pup are not going to stop us. We have better things to do than waste our time on you fleabitten freaks." Perhaps it was the heat and frustration of the day adding to his seemingly insane actions, insulting a pair of canines, both of which were quite a bit larger than himself.

[Mika]

Gus was sure he would end up losing a good chunk of his ear when he felt the cats fangs tighten around his already bleeding ear and claws sliding painfully slow up to his back. He clearly heard the cat chuckle as the coyote struggled even more to shake free from the servals' grip. He didn't hear the anyone else at first but was relieved when the mistress, Brooke, arrived to stop the second feline from escaping and forced his opponent to release the young canine and stood next to him.

He was relieved that someone had come to help, but also embarrassed that he was possibly seen easily caught off guard. He tried to hide his humiliation as he glared at the serval and his accomplice. His only real injury was the bite on his ear, the claw marks on his shoulder had left welts. The serval though it had time to toy with the juvenile canine until it would try to kill him.

He looked between the serval and the black cat, if any of them tried attacking he would be more prepared now. More dogs had come to help by now, even if it was only Brooke and himself there at that moment trying to attack or escape would most likely be a bad idea. Neither the cat nor the serval tried either of those options, the cat, instead, glared at the both of them and spoke.

"It's pretty obvious to my eyes, but I suppose I'll humor you. We are taking food, plain and simple. Our prey is short, and we follow our orders."

After the, seemingly insane, black cat shared a look with his companion He looked back at Brooke and Gus and spoke again.

"And some old bitch and her pathetic lackey pup are not going to stop us. We have better things to do than waste our time on you fleabitten freaks."

Gus growled and retorted, "If you didn't plan on 'wasting your time on us' as you put it, why did you bother coming here at all?" He wasn't intending to sound too intelligent, but he didn't want to sound like a complete idiot either. If it would somehow make his mistress feel superior he didn't really care how others reacted.

[SMIFFAGRIFF]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g399/SmiffDemon/Brooke2.png] "Speech!" Thoughts Actions ***

Brooke only gave the two felines a hard stare. The insults made her blood boil. Oh she could shred these two with glee right about now. She wanted that bitter taste of blood on her lips suddenly, a sadistic glint in her eyes. Fur began to bristle along her spine as her hackles tightened in preparation to just leap at the cats who dared steal from The Tempest Pack, but Gusto spoke up, and she was forced to remain calm... for a little while longer.

"The kid has a point,"[/color] she growled, giving an approving nod to Gusto. He was young, but he knew where his loyalties were already. And besides that, his tactic wasn't bad - sneaking up on the felines - he just needed to be taught about staying downwind and keeping his paws silent on the ground. It was easier for cats, with their retractable claws, but it wasn't impossible for dogs either in the right environment. "Did you really think you'd get away with stealing? Or maybe Panja just wanted to fucking get rid of you, coming here to get your death sentence!"[/color]

She gave a malicious sneer to the two cats, licking her chops, "Fine. Eat the food. Fatten yourselves up right here and now and then we'll slaughter you and share your flesh amongst the pack! It seems fitting for a couple of thieving bastards!"[/color] She took a step forward, tail erect, lips curled up as she let out a feral snarl. The black cat that liked to run his mouth would watch the serval die first - then she'd decide what to do with him. "Gusto, are you going to let the serval get away with scratching you? What do you want to do to him. I'll gladly help... and you! Black cat - don't think you can escape either. You'll be next."[/color]

[/font][/justify][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table][/center][/size]

[Jay]

"If you didn't plan on 'wasting your time on us' as you put it, why did you bother coming here at all?"
Temeraire let out a soft snort at the coyote's response. he really must be just out of the puppy stages, he'd just explained that.
"The kid has a point," Brooke had stated, giving the pup a nod of approval. "Did you really think you'd get away with stealing? Or maybe Panja just wanted to fucking get rid of you, coming here to get your death sentence!" Temeraire stiffened in outrage, fur bristling sharply, his companion had a similar reaction.
He growled softly, mostly to himself. "If he had wanted rid of us, at least he did that instead of taking off to play with a bunch of insane mutts like those Scavengers, he's no coward like Gravity was." He muttered under his breath to the serval, who snickered. He then responded to the question.
"Of course we thought we'd get away with it. We're here aren't we? We just weren't expecting a pup to be away from his training." Brooke's sneer was plain sinister as she licked her chops.
"Fine. Eat the food. Fatten yourselves up right here and now and then we'll slaughter you and share your flesh amongst the pack! It seems fitting for a couple of thieving bastards!" Temeraire stepped back slightly, ears pinning themselves into the back of his head as he narrowed his eyes as the Mistress stepped foreward, tail standing up and erect as she snarled at them.
"Gusto, are you going to let the serval get away with scratching you? What do you want to do to him. I'll gladly help... and you! Black cat - don't think you can escape either. You'll be next."
Temeraire shared a look with his companion, both looking back to the dogs. He growled softly, bewildered as to what to do. A quick, sidelong glance at the serval reflected his own frustration and determination not to show fear in the face of such a threat. He lashed his tail as he frantically tried to think of a way out of the situation, a way for both he and his pride mate to get to safety, to survive this ordeal.
So far, he came up blank.

[Mika]

He stood there glaring at the two felines the whole time while Brooke spoke.

"Did you really think you'd get away with stealing? Or maybe Panja just wanted to fucking get rid of you, coming here to get your death sentence!"

Gus didn't like the two felines' reaction to that. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were probably mocking them since he could clearly see the serval snicker at something his companion had said. His glare hardened as he continued to stare at the cats but softened a little when the cat backed away from his leader.

He stood there thinking for a short while, his gaze now focused on the cat that scratched him earlier. A small smirk appeared on his face once an idea came to him. Gusto was only hoping to invoke more fear into the two feline, but he also thought he had a good idea. "You'll probably object to this, Mistress, but maybe we could let the black cat go?" His smile widened slightly as he continued. "The black one can keep the food and leave, but he has to kill and eat his serval friend there." He finally looked at Brooke and smiled at her innocently. "If that doesn't make you happy, I imagine cats to be useless without claws." That was truly the best he could come up with, if it wasn't good enough then, surely he would learn. He wanted to make the Iris pride suffer in the same way they made his sister suffer.

[SMIFFAGRIFF]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g399/SmiffDemon/Brooke2.png] "Speech!" Thoughts Actions ***

Brooke's eyes dilated for a moment at the mention of her old alpha. A coward. Yes - she had called Gravity a coward a few times herself. Even now, his refusal to stay in Hexasol made her blood boil with fury. He left his mate, Rikki, and his pups here for the Pack to look after... and yet he himself decided to save face and skip on out on Brooke again?! She was far from apathy despite the fact that he'd betrayed her so long ago. She was still bitter, in fact... because had he stuck around one more day, before leaving (for what she assumed was the final time), she would have resigned and gladly let the old Alpha back onto his throne.

She didn't want this job anymore. She'd lost everything to this... this glorious, honorable, yet such a painful duty. She lost her dignity, integrity, mate, pups, and severed friendships and bonds with those around her. The very last thing she could do now was throw her life away for the Tempest Pack. But she wasn't ready to go yet. Oh no. She knew she didn't have the leisure of just going and dying yet... and not only that... but Brooke wanted just... one last taste of happiness before finally departing from this world.

"Bold words scum,"[/color] she spoke evenly. "You're not in a position to be insulting any of our members, no matter how cowardly you might perceive them to be."[/color] She wasn't going to lie, even in the face of a cat, about her inability to counter that accusation against the old Warden. Besides, she herself was no coward, even if that old furball was.

The young Gusto spoke again, and Brooke felt a twinge of pride swell up in her at how clever even her youngest members were becoming. She liked that idea a lot. Send the cat back scarred after killing an ally - what better way to take down a foe then by doing it mentally, shredding every bit of sanity one strand at a time? Florence had done it to her. Now it was her turn to exact her vengeance in the same exact way.

A stray little thought passed through her head - something that sounded like "you're sinking to her level if you agree to this, Brooke"[/color] but the Mistress ignored it. "You heard him, cat! Whichever one of you survives can go. Now fight. Entertain me enough and maybe I'll even let you take that scrap of meat home too!"[/color][/font][/justify][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table][/center][/size]