◄◄ are you toying (semi-advanced,tom needed!) with me? ◄◄

"Oh!I'm sorry!"Alarm flashed through the she-cat's small features,and she hopped to her four paws,heat burning off her pelt.The loner shook pieces of moss off her dappled fur quickly,her smoothness from earlier replaced by a shy,careful feeling.

"The game was off the moment the sun set, Ember."The she-cat answered,wondering why it wasn't obvious as she stared at her lifted alabaster pad.She flexed her claws in and out,licking the moss-matted pad.Her head lifted as well as she set her paw down once more,her green gaze glittering with accusation."Well,did you want to call of the game because it's difficult sharing with a friend?Is that it?"The thought had sprung up to her mind like lightning,her ears flattening as she locked her optics on the tom.Was Ember that selfish?With her teeth bared,she prepared to speed off,every muscle tense.

A sigh of relief echoed through her parted lips,but her gaze remained slightly hard,and she nodded curtly."This was enjoyable,but really."She paused momentarily,wondering how to leave her playmate without being cruel."It was fun today,with you,Ember.But I must be going."She answered,narrowing her eyes as she attempted to make her voice cold and frosty.

Although she tried suppressing a sigh of longing, her playful smirk didn't cross her maw anyway.The tortoisheshell-and-white she-cat shrugged softly,her small ears flickering as if she was considering coming back,"Maybe." was all she said,before she turned and slightly adjusted her head so she could see the tom.Delibrately drawing her tail under his chin--as she was close to him enough,Winter dipped her ehad politely,but her gaze remained hard.The effort of keeping her gaze cold was nearly killing her,so Winter shuffled quickly out of the den,making sure to make every pawstep echo through the small cave.Then,she vanished abruptly into the undergrowth.

The air had grown colder,and Winter had had trouble finding a warm den to rest for the night.A hollow large enough for a cat was seen buried beneth layers of fern and moss,hidden in a tree.Resisting a satisfied nod,the tortoiseshell-and-white loner grasped each branch carefully,delicately hopping into the hollow as pain raked her left flank.Looking down at the slightly bleeding wound,Winter gritted her teeth and leaped into the hollow,huddling on the soft moss below her paws.She started licking her bloody flank,exhaling slowly as rain began to patter on the hollow's exterior.

After her brief washing,Winter curled up without regret,sighing into the night as she began to fall asleep.The trouble was there seemed to be a fluttering sound that annoyed the she-cat.The small feline raised her head drowsily,her teeth bared in surprise as a large crow-significantly larger than her,had appeared.Its small beady eyes glared at her,and it lurched forward,hitting the loner on the shoulder with a sharp peck.A screech of pain rang from the hollow,and Winter leaped painfully to her paws,ready to fight the intruder.

Maybe the crow didn't appreciate that she was in its nest.The she-cat glanced behind her unconsciously, noticing that a few black feathers had indeed littered the corners of the hollow. The small feline winced as the creature leaped forward with a quick lurch,and Winter clambered out of the hollow--rapidly clinging onto a nearby branch just outside of the hole in the oak tree."Hey!I'm not supposed to be the prey!"She had tasted crow before, but it wasn't her who had caught it. A possible mate had, and he had used weight to kill it. The tortoiseshell-and-white cat knew she was too small to kill it, and let out a hiss as the crow hopped onto the branch,tilting its head menacingly at her. It came closer and closer, and the she-cat jumped onto another branch below her, clawing the crow's outstretched wing as the bird crowed and fluttered away towards a faraway branch to prepare its next move. Winter was exhausted,and clung to the branch with her hooked claws, her muzzle trembling with fear.

The she-cat caught sight of Ember approaching her and the confident crow, but she was too proud to let the tom fight her battles. Lifting her head defiantly, she glowered at Ember below her."Stay back, Ember.I can fight it!" She attempted to make her message clear by baring her teeth at him, but the crow leaped directly in front of her white paws. Scrambling backwards, she tripped over her long tail and plummented towards the lower branch beneath her paws,and screeched as her claws dug into the soft bark of the long branch.Clawing her way up again, Winter's orbs fell upon the approaching crow--who seemed much more angry than before."CAW!"The strange noise echoed in her ears,but Winter unsheathed her claws as she swiped at it carefully.

((meh,i dislike green and by accident, i put it in instad of white... ^^))

ic;Winter nodded briefly at Ember, recognizing his determination and doing nothing to stop him as she aovided yet another peck at her muzzle. This time, the sharp hit caught her scruff, and she growled as blood leaked out slowly. Her frst instinct was to lap at it, but the bird approached her with mroe confidence,towering over her like Ember had when they were together.The dappled cat hissed and swiped,catching the crow's other wing.The animal made another strange sound, and flew away, directing towards Ember. It didn't notice the tom, and Winter feared the crow might hit the courageous tom isntead.