Umbra hissed loudly, his tail lashing the air.
"Filthy... filthy....FILTHY." he spat, smacking a half eaten mouse away from him and high into the air. He glared, watching it as it arched above a bit of rubble before landing with a soft plop on the other side. A nasty, almost sick sounding growl escaped him as his eyes narrowed. He heaved and coughed a bit, sides pulling in to further show his ribs before he stood up, spitting again. "Ash... it all tastes like ash....what I wouldn't give for a proper meal..." he groaned to himself, his voice sounding strained and scratched.
Image of a hairless calico she cat popped into his mind that caused him to both growl and smile. "Ooohh...oh my little Zombie...you only think you are safe now.... I'll find you..." he wheezed to himself again, moving towards the back of a ruined and collapsed room, rummaging through various oddities, some even poorly smashed into broken glass bottles or half vases left over from the twoleg that used to occupy this space with him.
Barkfang had been on a self sent mission, having been granted permission to be gone for a few days while she investigated. She'd discovered quickly that the dogs had been no threat and that damned tomcat who'd interrupted the clan gathering had just been toying with them, she'd wanted to kill him there and then but instead she had another idea, she'd taken certain herbs with her that would make the dogs sick, hopefully she could trick that Omen cat into eating baited kills too. She wandered, looking for somewhere that had some nice juicy rats, twoleg places ALWAYS had rats.
She came across what seemed to be an old, crumbled twoleg den and was debating entering when a half eaten mouse hit her in the head. "WHAT IN FORESTCLAN?" she screeched, backing up from the pitiful thing, it had come from the other side of the broken wall. She eyed the wall and jumped up on the top, only to see a pathetic looking black loner on the other side. She snorted loudly, "I really don't think you can afford to waste even that bit of crowfood you threw at me" she said to him, eying him.
Fea:
Umbra about lept out of his fur, spinning around and hissing at the voice that spoke to him. He locked eyes on the she cat before him, eyeing her up and down. Something in his belly rumbled loudly and he had to fight back a smirk. "Such....a strong....queen...." he mumbled, almost broken. A tongue swiped across his fangs but he took a step back instead of forward.
"You wouldn't understand.......ash....the lot of it. It all tastes like ash!" he spat, shaking his head, his tail puffed out to the extreme. He slid something back into a jar quickly before giving this she cat his full attention.
"Who are you...what do you want with Ol' Umbra....ehh?" he squinted, his mind still elsewhere when he looked at her.
Rev:
Barkfang held her ground as the male freaked out on hearing her voice, holding back a chuckle at him as he retreated a little."ash you say?" she said softly as he hid something quickly, well that was his business. "Perhaps something fresh and not half rotten would taste better" she sneered a little. "Me? i want nothing from a pathetic half starved tom" dismissively, she half turned away as if to jump down and leave.
Fea:
Fresh?
Umbra snorted, shaking his head and making unintelligable sounds, claws tearing into the rotting wood and exposed bits of earth beneath him. "No...no...all ash. All of it....you'd never understand..." he chanted again, shaking his head, whiskers twitching madly.
As she began to leave, something stirred in side him and he took a few steps forward, blurting out "Wait!" before realizing what he had said. He stopped in his paw tracks, eyeing her up and down, tongue sliding across his face before shaking his head. "No...no...impossible...impossible..."
Rev:
Barkfang feigned a yawn "You're a strange one" she muttered loudly, curious, most loners were more defensive. "How would you know it all tastes of ash unless you try" she did wonder why he kept saying that, if she was as starved as this tom looked, ash taste or not, she'd be eating every scrap
She stopped when he yelled 'Wait' .... "Yes?" she said, turning back towards him properly, nose wrinkling distastefully at his tongue swipe ... how DARE he shake his head at her... She jumped down and shoved her bulk in his face practically "What... is impossible?" she said angrily. She was clearly better than anyone he'd met before, she was BARKFANG...
Fea:
What was it with this she cat that she couldn't understand??? Sighing again, Umbra grumbled. "I can't explain...not to you..." he about groaned, looking as if an intense pain had just sprouted up in his head.
Before he could open his mouth again she was in his face. Her scent about toppled him over a lone, his moth watered and his legs seemed to temble from hunger. "I've tried... I've tried..." he eyed her, backing up and moving away.
He dared to turn his back to her, for at least a moment before rummaging through the broken two leg vases again, pulling something out that looked shriveled and dried, like a once been piece of prey. He dropped it to the floor and pawed at it before leaning down to sniff it. "Compared to this??? All....ash....but I have no more..no more.... you smell... different? Tell me, stranger. Please....have you seen... a " he paused, face twisting into a strange contorted laugh. "Pale...no fur....beautiful she cat.... I've lost her....and i miss her so.... so dearly..."
Rev:
Barkang raised a paw to smack him but held off as he scurried away, tried what? i should just leave this mousebrained fool she thought but ... she was curious, rummaging almost desperately among the twoleg rubbish, her lip curling in disgust and almost horror as he pulled out what had once been a...... She shook her head .. this tom was insane... she barely resisted the urge to smack him in his stupid face "Pale... no fur?" she said, taken aback but acting confident, if she could have raised an eyebrow, she would have, she may have heard something but she wasn't going to tell this tom.. not yet... "You miss her? she ....hunted.. for you?" if the pair hunted for what he showed her, she would have to warn Shadowstar but something made her stay and listen, talk with this werid... disgusting.. tom
Fea:
Hunted for him?
The wheels in head began to turn before he let out a scratchy thraoty cough of a laugh, licking a paw and swiping it over his bent and broken whiskers. "Yes... you could say that... oh shes so lovely.... I love her so. But she got hurt...then oh... the nest fell again and she got scared and ran. I tried to follow her. Find her, I did. But the forest is so vast and i'm..." he paused again and gestured to himself with a tail.
Something told him she knew, or she knew of something. Maybe not where his precious Zombie had went but perhaps a cat that knew or seen her. "I lost her scent. It started to mix with so many others... so many others." he coughed again, as if he were clearing something long stuck in his throat.
Picking up his shrievled piece of food carefully, he placed it back in the broken jars that littered this litte nook. "If you've seen her.... oh I'd be most appreciative..."
Rev:
Barkfang frowned, she didn't know much beyond the look of a newish cat that had gotten injured so his story rang true there, perhaps she would warn Shadowstar if this cat showed up but ..... let Lightningclan rot... "Yes, the forest IS large... " she said, cogs turning in her head, she figured by now Lightningclan had taken in this cat he spoke about, watching as he so very carefully placed the little scrap back.
She sighed "I won't lie, i'm afraid i haven't seen this cat you're talking about" she said. which was true. "You need to eat if you want to go find her" after the gathering, if this cat meant harm to whoever took his female, she would leave Lightningclan to it's doom, in the meantime perhaps she could get something out of this, what though she wasn't sure but if the clan cats wanted to paint her as a monster, well perhaps she should show them
Fea:
His ears dropped as she had mentioned not seeing her and he frowned, his face twitching as he mumbled yet again some unintelligable sounds. "I see...." he sighed, sitting down and hanging his head, tail curling around his paws. "I'd give so much to have her back." he admitted, gold eyes flashing briefly to gauge her reaction before returing back to his paws.
"Eat....eat... I've tried and tried." he groaned again like a tired kit refusing to sleep. He glanced around breifly and if she did too she'd notice several piles of rotting crow food. "I can't get the ash taste to stop. Up, down, all the same. But if you insist it will help..."
Rev:
Barkfang stared at him, "If i find out something, i'll let you know" she said, watching him carefully, he kept seeming to switch between pathetic.. and calculating.. but which was the act?
She'd noticed the crowfood... "Just because something doesn't taste good, doesn't mean you just don't eat..." was he really that stupid? ... "I don't like rolling in herbs to prevent fleas but i do it, because it's good for me" she added, reasoning, Forestclan help her if she had to hold his paw and help him hunt .... she didn't need something else relying on her.
Fea:
For a breif moment he really did feel like a kit being scolded by his mother. His ears went flat against his head. Despite all the crazy inside, he knew what she said was true. He wasn't exactly all gone.
"That's what he says too." he laughed again, his raspy cough of a laugh. "You remind me of him. of Voodoo. In fact." he paused, looking her in the eye now, much more confidence seemed to be brimming on his features when there hadn't been previously.
"He says he'd love to meet you."
Rev:
Curious... she didn't smell any other cats, stale smell of the female and maybe blood but he was the only tom smell, even that was strange though.
"Voodoo?" she asked, pausing to lick at her paw, weighing her options if she needed to get away, well.. in this crumbled old den, it was going to be difficult to catch her, unless there was a whole clan hiding somewhere.
Fea:
Umbra glanced around as if saying his name would have summoned him. He shrunk down a bit at the name too. Out of fear was it? Or Perhaps submission?
When he didn't show, Umbra laughed again, slinking slowly towards her as if he were to attempt possible flirting, steal a head bonk to her chin, but he never quite got that close. "Oh yes... he wants to meet you. But not today. Tomorrow. He doesn't meet for free though.... he says he'd like to strike a deal. Says.....that might be your fancy?" he grinned, his whiskers twitching as he backed off a bit, tail high, onep aw slightly raised, and for as much as his face was twisted, a charming smile.
Rev:
Barkfang was insanely curious now, how would he know what another cat says that wasn't here.... "Perhaps i will return.... but what would payment be?" she asked, hunting wasn't a problem, perhaps one of her prepared kills with herbs, in case she needed it? Not ignoring how he seemed to cower about this, voodoo character. Who on earth was he?
Fea:
Aahh he piqued her interest! Good, good all according to plan!
But what could she possibly want?
She was a she.... all she cats desired kittens....didn't they? He too desired kittens.... but would that seem too much in his favor? "Hmmm...only the most worthy yes? He... likes kittens. Keep his line alive you see...your a beautiful ... strong queen. Surely you wish the same no?" he eyed her a moment, seeming to fumble over his own front paws before steadying himself. He seemed to breath a bit heavier and he fought back the hunger that gnawed at his stomach. "If you can find out about her... I need her. We need her. Food too. If you can deliver one or the other... he can make it worth your while!" he said almost frantically, perhaps desperatly.
Rev:
Barkfang smiled, flattered, she wondered who on earth this Voodoo was, this Umbra was such a strange cat but there was that flash of .. something else, something intriguing behind those dull eyes.
"i will do what i can" she said, she planned in her head what she would do next, since Foxcry's betrayal by getting attached to other clan cats, she HAD been wanting someone to train that wouldn't abandon her like Foxcry had. "Tomorrow then, i'm afraid you'll both have to settle for a couple of rats" she said, before flicking her tail, turning and jumping away. She was going to go and carry out her plan of inconveniencing that damn tomcat, and hunt a few rats while she was at it.