Patrolling the Border ((Pantherstar/Raggedpelt))

[Malicious]

The black tom sat only a few fox lengths from the border, hidden by the shadows of one of the trees. His amber gaze scanned over the surrounding land, searching for any sign of an unfamiliar pelt; his ears were perked to catch any little sound, and his nose raised as he smelled for any unfamiliar sight. He stood deathly still, the only thing visible being the slight silhouette, and even that was difficult to spot from the border. Nothing seemed out of place, and no one seemed to be snooping around where they shouldn't. Now that he had looked for any obvious signs, the tom decided to walk over for a closer inspection. Keeping his head low, he sniffed around, jaw slightly opened to catch any foreign scent.

Raggedpelt, the new ShadowClan deputy, had gone out on the dawn patrol. He had recently been given the position, and wasn't about to botch things up or give himself a lazy reputation. Now, he was determined to work even harder, bring back twice as much prey, and patrol. It was quite the ambition, and he would soon find that waring himself out was not the correct approach to be making. He couldn't smell or hear any cat near the border, so he decided to continue on. Pantherstar, the Clan leader, was supposed to be joining him, but he decided that since he got there early he might as well get a bit of border out of the way. If he was caught off guard by rouges or cats from other Clans, he could stall until the other cat showed up.

With a sigh, the tom continued searching the border, not really expecting to find anything. It was highly unlikely that a group of rouges or RiverClan cats or something would show up and attack a single-cat border patrol. The chances that there was an invasino planed was even less likely. The deputy knew that if he did run into another cat, chances were that it would be someone who didn't notice they had crossed the border or an apprentice or newly made warrior trying to prove that he or she was 'though'.

"...I wonder when Pantherstar will get here..." he muttered softly, turning his head upward to look up at the sky. A few birds flew overhead, and a couple clouds drifted by, but nothing of interest. No signs of a storm, no odd things flying around like the 'birds' his Twoleg often pointed out and called 'planes'. It was really a dull morning... Maybe he would find more to do when he went hunting after the patrol. Raggedpelt stalked along the border quietly, blending in with his dark surroundings, tail flicking from side to side whenever he paused to look around. When he found that there didn't seem to be anything to worry or fret over, he decided to climb up one of the trees and wait for either his leader or a border-crosser to show up.

Turning, he found a nice tree with strong-looking branches, and chose to climb that one. The tom unsheathed his claws as he approached it, darting with all his speed when he reached it and running up, claws catching the bark of the tree just long enough for him to push himself up. It all happened in the blink of an eye, but every step was made carefully. Once he reached the desired height, he trotted out onto the branch, yawning before lying out across it. He could wait for Pantherstar there... and perhaps even surprise the other tom.

[BokehBubbles]

Pantherstar narrowed his amber gaze at the clouded sky. The sun was just rising, and making the sky turn into fleshy pink, red, and purple colors. He hated the dawn. It always made him sick to his stomach, and the ShadowClan leader had never really figured out why. It was supposed to be a "promising of new and greater things" or something like that, but frankly, Pantherstar never saw it that way. The sun setting was really something to behold, at least in his eyes.

His deep black pelt glistened in the light as he stretched, his muscles flexing and his spine popping. Pantherstar's midnight pelt and glowing amber gaze were the exact definition of ShadowClan, and every single cat's first impression of him was that he was a huge, mean, ruthless cat that just wanted all the territory and glory. Well, those cats were sadly mistaken. He kept up the calm and wise appearance quite well, but few knew the real him. Not the take-charge leader, but the quiet, soft-spoken, true-to-the-heart warrior he had been. But there was no time for sentiments when you were in charge of a Clan. He had to be what everyone expected him to be, so that's what he was. A fake.

Pantherstar shook these troubling thoughts away, and it was thanfully replaced by the invigorating thought of patrolling and hunting. He was struck with a conversation he'd had late last night, with his newly appointed deputy Raggedpelt. They were going to patrol the border together, then Pantherstar was going to go hunting by himself. He hadn't had the chance too in a while, what with the Twolegs traveling deeper and deeper into their territory and the added concern of possible attacks by ThunderClan. Today, all Pantherstar had planned was patrolling, hunting, more hunting, then resting and relaxation. He thought he deserved it.

With one last shake of his pelt, Pantherstar stood and surveyed the camp with his sharp golden eyes one more time, making sure everything was ok and running smoothly before turning and slipping out of camp. No cat ran after him or questioned him, which was all the better. Pantherstar broke into a run as he trotted farther and farther from camp, and he let his paws pound the marshy surface of the squishy mud. All the snow melting from last leaf-bare was sinking into the ground and making it more undurable; harder to hunt or walk in. But if there was any Clan that was used to it, it was ShadowClan.

Pantherstar paused at the RiverClan border, and before he had time to scope it out, tensed as the scent of a cat drifted over him. His strung shoulders instantly relaxed as he recognized the familiarity of it. It was only Raggedpelt. Closing his eyes and swiveling his ears, he pinpointed the location of the deputy. Well, he wasn't the leader of one of the strongest Clans in the forest for nothing. "A tip would be to not lay so far out on the branch and to keep your breathing steady." He pointed out with a good-natured chuckle.

{Eh, forget my PM. I thought this was a pretty good length xD}

[Malicious]

Raggedpelt's ears perked as he heard someone approaching. Judging by which side of the border they were running on, and the fact that they were coming from the direction of camp, he guessed that it was his leader. He watched as Pantherstar came into view, tensing up for a few seconds. Soon after, however, he's muscles seemed to relax, and the other black tom closed his eyes to sniff out something. Had he already found-

"A tip would be to not lay so far out on the branch and to keep your breathing steady."

The deputy blinked a few times, slowly rising to his paws as he stepped over to the very edge of the branch. Well, it was worth a try at least. He found himself smiling, able to hear teh good-natured chuckle. He would surprise the other tom one day. Stretching again, the one-eyed cat jumped down from his perch and trotted over to the leader. He kept glancing around, making sure that there was no one else moving around through the shadows; not a rouge, and not a RiverClan cat.

"Well, I'll have to keep that in mind next time..." Raggedpelt chuckled back. He could remember how he was never used to joking kindly in his first few moons as a Clan cat. He was so used to his brother's "jokes", when he would hide some sort of malicious intent behind them or use them as a distraction. He had met cats who assumed that all kittypets lived lazy, carefree lives and never had to worry about a thing... but they were wrong; being in a constant battle with an one's enemy was easier than being in one with one's own family. Clanlife meant more risks, but it was a much happier and more meaningful life.

"Where did you want to patrol first?" the deputy asked, looking around slowly at the surrounding area, "I didn't see anything suspicious on the way here... Should we try the ThunderClan border?"

((I'm sorry that it's such a short reply <<'))