At a Glance...(Stormy/Open)

[Swiftpelt]

Sunlight shines over the tree tops, giving off a image of beauty in the small park that was next to the forest cats. Benches stood on iron bars, trash cans filled with twoleg trash that they leave behind and of course, a bunch of places to hide and mice to eat.


Behind a bush and hidden in a large hole under an old tree, was a ball of fur with a barely visable tail. A dark blue tom was curled up in a ball, appearing to be asleep at first, but his orange eyes were wide open and alert. This is the tom's fifth day without any twoleg to pet him and call him fluffy, which he still hates and so far, manges to keep himself fed. His pelt still held the shine that told other cats that he kept his pelt clean and somehow, tidy ways. But yet, it still didn't fit in his nature and clever smarts.

Letting out a sigh, the tom remained curled in a ball with his right ear twiching slightly. But after a few moments, a sound makes the tom's ear flick and purrs silently with a sly smile. Now who could this be?

[stormy]

the smell of two-legs and the retched kitty-pets reached her nose. her lip curled against the putrid stench as she slipped out of the trees into the bright sunshine that the sky had so graciously spared to make the day ahead beautiful and warm. though, the warmth wasn't always good when you had a jet black pelt, but who was she to complain? she had no reason to be bitter at all, except for the now healing gasheds along her haunch where those disgusting brutes decided to have a go at her. her pupils narrowed as she focused on one of the hot iron benches that had just recently been occupied by a two-leg kit. standing behind it, she waited till they were gone before jumping -clumsily- onto the back. steadying herself, she scoffed as the strong smell hit her nostrils, she perched herself upon the back and looked down to the ground and all those below her. speaking of which, a movement, a shadow, caught the little she-cats attention, and she fell from her perch to her paws, cocking her head to the side. is a pet being a bad kitty and wandering away? silly kitty. she snickered the tip of her tail twitching.

[Swiftpelt]

Sounds contiuned to fill his ear, catching a kittypet's scent not far from him and simply twitched his stub of a tail in contentment. Kittypets were always around, even though he was one, it really didn't mean much to the dark blue tom and blicked his orange eyes in question.
Another sound, followed by a different scent that almost seemed foul to him and twitched his nose abit. Just by the smell, he could tell it was a rouge, a wanderer of some sort and from his point of view, a she-cat?

He couldn't tell really, all knew so far was that this cat was a rouge and that was it. Flicking his right ear back, he slowly uncurled himself, facing the opening of the tree hole with a slight tilt of his head. The tips of the dark blue tom's ears were white, as well as the toes of each paw, and a small line of white, parted his eyes and to his nose. Be careful and alert, the tom calmly rose to his paws and padded out of the old hole, his stub of a tail twitching quickly like a dog's. Pushing through the bushes that hid his place of rest, he spotted a jet black cat standing at least two tail leneths in front of him and a sly but warming smile showed on his muzzle.

This cat...is alittle smaller then me. The tom thought, padding foward abit until he was out of the thorn covered bush and tilted his head to the otherside with a flick of his right ear. Indeed, he was wondering why a cat that was at least an inch lower then him, would be wandering out here in these areas. Rouges wouldn't even come close to this place with so many kittypets coming and going. But then, he wouldn't ask anyway, knowing how some rouges were at keeping things to themself. Turning his head upright again, he simply blicked his eyes and nodded. "Hello." The dark blue tom spoke, not really amused.

[stormy]

intrigued by the continual movement, the little she-cat took another step forward before she caught the scent. tom! she instantly recoiled and tensed. the displeasure of realizing it was one of that gender angered her and her ears fell against her head and her tail lashed out behind her. just what she needed on a hot day! some horny tom trying to get a piece of her. the thought caused her to growl deep within her chest and unsheathe her claws turning away from the shadow that was now slinking from it's hiding spot. she didn't want to deal with some lost male kitty-pet. she'd rather go tango with a clan cat again. speaking of which, a sharp pain shot down her back end as she heard the toms deep voice and she whipped around chills spreading throughout her entirely hard body. eyes wide with fear and annoyance at the throbbing pain and at the bluntness and boldness of the tom in front of her eyes. not many cats would step out of it's place of luxury to associate with a forest cat. they were all to damn stupid to realize that not all of them were blood thirsty. but they were smart enough to stay away from her. slowly raising her ears from her head she slowed the lashing of her tail and she stood tall looking him in the eyes from an upward glance seeing as she towered over him. her lip twitched threatening to curl. her reply was curt.

"hello kittypet." she spat kneading the ground stirring up dirt around her paws, dirtying her claws and dusting up her black pelt. what did he want anyways? not scared of a rogue, and he was bigger. he smelled of two-legs, the scent repulsed her. he was to close, so close she could reach out and touch him with her paw. no, it wasn't the way it was supposed to be. she took a step back wards and with a sneer on her face she spoke again, the words cold and monotone. "what do you want pet?" emphasizing her disgust on the word 'pet' hinder looked away from his face to study his body. he seemed stronger and less plump then other male kittypets. the thought scared her. maybe he was another rogue. that would be bad considering rogues didn't like to be mistaken for kittypets. but his scent ... he had to be a kittypet. she prayed to the clan in the sky which she did not believe in that he was a kittypet. tearing her dead eyes away from his body she returned them to his face searching for a reaction, either hostile or amusement.

[Swiftpelt]

"Hello Kittypet"

Well, that's one way of saying it. The dark blue tom thought, watching the cat's reaction to him and paid close attention to it's eyes, a pool of both anger and fear. What was she scared of? Him? He couldn't put his paw on that thought, noting that this cat was indeed a female and by her body movement, not very happy either. Speaking of movement, he noticed that the she-cat had a long scar, not visble to a cat that didn't pay any mind, since it looked healed. But yet, one side of the she-cat's pelt was indeed growing differently, which he asumed that the she-cat had a tough time with something.

Hope's right ear twitched again, hearing the jet black she-cat speak again in a harsher tone since he didn't respond back and slowly blicked his orange eyes, somewhat unfazed by the she-cat's voice and tone. "Well, for one thing. I'm not a pet." He meowed, his voice still held the calm, unamused tone and raised his head abit to check if any other scars were on the she-cat. "Yes, I am a kittypet or once was, for the matter. But Kittypet is simply a form of a word that I am not even close to." He added cooly, confirming that the she-cat didn't have any other scars and lowerd his head again.

"Besides, can't a tom just say hello for once." He meowed, rolling his eyes with a twitch of his stubby tail. Turning his head, he looked at his shoulder, which still had two small but very visable scars. His eyes flashed with anger for only a second before calming again and raised his head back to the she-cat, his right ear twitching once again. Before he could speak again, he noticed a white spot under the she-cat head, a wonder of why she had that but also thought of it as just another mark that a rouge had. Bored of thinking, the dark blue tom yarned slightly, opening his jaws before closing them again with a bored look on his face.

"May I ask why your here? It's not every day that I see a Rouge wander on...Dumb kittypet grounds." He meowed, bordom capturing his voice and flicked his right ear. I'm surprised that she didn't noice yet..every cat does in time..I guess.

[stormy]

hinder cocked an eyebrow. the only movement of the cats body. her tail had stopped thrashing from side to side and her eyes ceased movement as they fastened on the toms blue ones. there was something odd about this cat, something that made hinder interested, yet terrified at the same time. he reminded her of someone, someone from her past, though the name and reason escaped her. she narrowed her eyes, another small movement, and her body loosened ever so slightly as he started to speak his voice calm, cooly calm. tilted her head ever so much, and looked at him with interest. he said he was a pet, yet that was not the word to describe him was basically what he was saying. odd.. maybe. no, she stopped the thought, he couldn't be who had given her the scar, he had been a calico.

the flicker of fear escaped her eyes and was replaced with her usual malicious glint. with the next sentence, '"besides, can't a tom just say hello for once.", she scoffed and looked away. what a joke! acting all tough, she could take him, she thought cockily, a little grin touching her lips. and, she observed, was still talking! didn't he ever shut up and let the she-cat talk!? such little manners the tom had. tsk tsk, she was going to have to teach him a lesson.

"you're still a kittypet. you live with the scum, and you reek of one." hinder shrugged, her tone monotone. there was no undertones of boredom, nor amusement. she just was. now to address his second sentence had made her angry but amused at the same time. her tone changed. "it's not heard of for a kittypet to have enough guts to talk to a rogue. even if that rogue is . . . small." she cooed, putting on the charm. her smile grew a little greater, but not reaching her eyes. she glanced back up at him, and noticed him serveying her. oh hello, little snoop, looking for something in particular? she thought to herself, suddenly self conscience of her long ugly white scar along her left side and the healing scratches upon her haunches.

why did he have to scan her body with a hungry look. she shifted her posture and spoke again. " i'm sure you can ask why I am here, well, obviously you just did. i wonder though, " she paused for dramatic effect, her tail tip flicking back every now and then. "why, sir, you are so interested? a lot of rogues come here to torment the kittypets, or just to sneak a quick snack from the lazy mice that hide out in the dens." a small purr started in the hollow of her diaphragm, she she stood upon her paws and walked to wards him, touching his chin with her tail. time to dazzle hinder, make this worth it. the thought made her giggle softly. "i'm hinder by the way. please don't let my name fool you ... i know it's not very pretty name ... "

[Swiftpelt]

The dark blue tom just tilted his head to the she-cat's words, quite bored of this talk and seemed to lose intresnt in it all together. Of course, he was never good at being a listener and because of his left ear, it was kinda the point why he never was. Ah, but yet once again, rouges have lost the knowing fact that some kittypets aren't that easy to scare for the matter. He thought, silently laughing at the she-cat and suddenly found amusment in the so called rouge. But noicing the change in the she-cat's eyes mean trouble and when he saw that, he became more alert then normal but held his calm eyes.

"Your still a kittypet. you live with the scum, and you reek of one."
Hope silently let out a snarl, his amusement vaished and flick his right ear in annoyence but yet, still kept calm when the she-cat spoke again.

But when the she-cat started to pad toward him, his body began to tense up and suddenly became very edgey about the she-cat. And why are you so intersated in Kittypets? All they do is sleep and eat dog poop all day. The dark blue thought, hissing silently in his mind as the she-cat came too close for comfort and was touched by the she-cat's tail on his chin. Charm...heh. You think I'm one of those toms, now do you? He thought, chuckling alittle and simply pulled away from the she-cat, which he now knows as Hinder.

"Well Hinder..I think that's a beautifu name, since it shows how strong you are." He meowed, padding away from the she-cat for a few moments before stopping with a flick of his stubby tail. "My name...if you want to know, Is Hope." He turned to face the she-cat again, still feeling a little edgey and blicked.

"So....What happened to you? I mean, I fought a few fights and won before but I haven't seen a she-cat like you Hinder. I guess you give the new meaning to the word Rouge." Hope spoke cooly, tilting his head to one side and smiled. "And by the way, I was already hit with the Charm of she-cats....the kittypet I was once with, left me for a lazy fat tom." He added, his voice turned bitter and his eyes flashed with anger.

[stormy]

shooting a look at him through her eyelashes she smiled a little, though taken a back slightly when he moved away from her. oh, i see how it is, mr. kittypet. she said to him silently. this was going to be easy though, she decided, turning back towards his head and stopped in front of him, facing the large tom once again. he looked amused, and annoyed at the same time. her own annoyance started to prickle at her paws, he wasn't being fooled by her charm. hinder's lip threatened to sneer but she fended it off as soon as he spoke, obviously lying that her name was beautiful. alright pretty boy, you wanna play this fame? i'm the champion, hinder thought.

"i'm not like other she-cats hope. " hinder said bleakly. it was true, not a lot of other she-cats had enough guts to try and single-handedly rip the throat from a tom three times the size of them. of course, she didn't say this out loud, it would definitely be a cause for panic on his part, seeing as he was about three times her size. breaking her gaze from him, she shrugged her shoulders when he said she brought the meaning to the name rogue. "i just don't let people walk all over me, and sometimes it results in life long scars." she sighed flicking her ear to wards the gnarled white scar tearing through her sleek black pelt.

she stopped talking for a while trying to gather her thoughts. how could she make her life sound like hell? the storty was already writing itself out in her mind. the ideas came flooding all at once and when they were all together, she looked back up at him, sadness soaking her eyes. he had to believe this, and if he did, then it would be hilarious and it would prove that tom cats will believe anything a pretty she-cat said. oblivious and stupid they were. taking a deep breath she spoke again.

"i was attacked by a tom when i was younger . . . it was terrifying . . . i was asleep and he tried to kill me, he almost did." she broke off playing up the effect of how painful it was to talk about her 'past'. wiping her tongue across her nose, she continued to talk. " he scratched me along the back as i ran away, and it was a deep cut . . . and he hurt my neck a little bit but that healed quickly." hinder finished looking down and her body shook, as if she was crying, trying to stifle her 'tears' she took a deep breath and then looked up at him again with a smile. " but the past is over right? you can't rewrite your past so change your future."

[Swiftpelt]

"Im not like other she-cats, Hope."

Heh..I heard that before, then they back stab you before you can blick. The dark brown tom thought to himself, narrowing his eyes at Hinder with a spark of anger and flicked his right ear. He was never the sort of tom to easily trust another cat, even a she-cat would have a hard time with him since he was heartbroken before and had to safe guard his heart and kindness from everyone. Once in awhile, he does have the heart to help a cat in need...but this she-cat had something he didn't like, at least not in his case. Hearing the she-cat answer him with a sigh, he raised one eyebrow abit, wondering why the sudden change of mood.

But once again, he got bored of the slow talk and the long pause between them only made it worse, tilting his head to the sky and closed his eyes for a bit. He didn't even noice Hinder look back at him as he opened his eyes again, letting out a yarn and shook his head abit.
What he did catch however, was what Hinder was saying and for once, felt sorry for her. But that feeling went faster then it came and was replaced with boredom once again, this time feeling alittle annoyed by the sudden switch of tone that the she-cat spoke.

"Well.." He began, tiltling his head to the sky for a moment before looking at Hinder again with a dull look in his eyes."I guess you had a tough time then...Anyway, I really don't have the time to hear any sob story...so save it for someone else who does, ok?" Hope finished,
his tone almost cruel but calm at the same time and simply started padding away, his stubby tail twitching as he went.

Somehow in a way, he really didn't want to say that to a she-cat like Hinder but what else could he do? Pretend to care and comfort her? He couldn't bring himself to do either, being that he was already hurt by someone else and rather be alone then deal with a she-cat. But really, he wished he could have someone to call his own for a change and not backstab him or turn against him over nothing. No, if he had someone, he would stick with them until the end. But yet..no she-cat ever did care.

Stopping near a trash can that was made of medle, the dark blue tom turned to find Hinder still sitting from where he left the she-cat and sighed. Being cold isn't going to get you anywhere, just give this she-cat a chance. Hope thought, rolling his eyes before calling out to the black she-cat with a slight form of regret in his eyes."Hey! You coming or what?"

[stormy]

the lack of interest the tom was showing was starting to piss hinder off. what the heck was his problem? she was practically throwing herself at him, and showing her weaknesses and he wasn't even batting an eye. was he stupid or something? it made her want to rip his throat out. but of course, that would look bad for all the other kittypets around. it might traumatize them. grinding her teeth together, she looked away from him, trying to keep her temper in line. he could easily due away with her if he wanted and she was not cool with that.

running her tongue over her nose, she turned her cold yellow eyes upon him again and willed him to say something that would show he cared, or was at least a little bit interested in what she had to go through. her story was kind of true, she just left out the part about how she tried to maliciously kill him and the part where she ripped apart the kittypet that had decided to become her 'mate'. but of course, those were unnecessary points in her past that would just scare the disgusting creature away. searching his face, she seen that he was indeed bored.

and then he spoke. she froze and a snarl snuck up and was unleashed from her small mouth. how dare he?! the foul piece of fox dung. a hard time her tail! she had nearly been killed and it was considered a 'hard time' in his mind? what the heck was his problem. this disbelief and anger clearly showed on her face as he continued to rub it in his face how little he didn't give a damn. he was a real nice guy, she concluded. anyone else would care about the pretty little she-cat with the ugly scar on her back and the 'sob story' so he called it.

as if to add salt to the wound, he turned and walked away from her, leaving her fuming and confused. the expression on her face as he walked away was one of pure loathing and it looked stupid to be honest. standing by herself, now abandoned by the large tom who called himself hope. hope ... ironic. huffing a sound of rage she went tot turn around and leave to the sanctuary of fireclan territory when the tom spoke. yet again. the sound of his voice sent a shiver of rage up her spine, but she wiped the look off her face and smiled hugely.

"i thought for a second you were just going to abandon me." she giggled nervously, as she pranced over to him with her tail flagged up like a deers. "i'm sorry i got all sappy on you by the way." hinder mewed quickly, glancing up at him briefly to see his reaction.

[Swiftpelt]

The dark blue tom just blicked for a moment, flicking his right ear back with a look of annoyonce but sighed."Then I wouldn't be a nice tom, now would I?" He meowed, a tease in his voice before hearing the she-cat speak again and this time, narrowed his eyes abit but spoke again in a calm manner."It's ok. I've heard too many sappy storys, mainly from she-cats. So I asumed that your's was no different" Hope finished, being true in his words and turned his head up to the sky with his eyes closed.

"So...If you are willing to. Tell me the truth to your story, so I know your really not one of those..." Hope pause, looking back at Hinder with a sudden flash of anger."Backstabbing she-cats." The dark blue tom blicked, his anger vaished from his eyes and with a flick of his ear, sat down. Hope never did this before, only to toms that he knew were his friends or at least was, but never really wanted the truth from a she-cat. But yet, the tom felt like Hinder was a nice she-cat. Dispite all the anger and mood switches that the she-cat gave him, plus the snarl that she gave him when he didn't care.

But after thinking about it, the dark blue tom couldn't bring himself to let his guard down for only a moment. But looking up at Hinder, he manged to at least say was he thought about this before the she-cat could speak. "If you think I'm being too cautios, then your right. But I can't afford someone hurting me again or using my trust in mouse-brained ways." He tilted his head to one side before adding with a slight smile."And if your willing to trust a tom like me, even though I have good feeling you won't...Then I will tell you mine. Although, mine is more of a bore." He finished, yarning abit before nodding his head, findlly giving the she-cat a chance to speak her story.

[stormy]

it seemed, regardless of what she said, he was annoyed. it was frustrating really. almost as if he was trying to make her lose her temper on the poor tom that had so willingly trudged up to her and introduced herself. what an interesting fellow. aggravating, but interesting. it was the way that he talked that proved him interesting. he always spoke with a cool tone, emotions very well hidden, making it hard for her to read what he was feeling, though right now, he was giving off vibes of annoyance. but his tone, this time around, had underlying notations of teasing her. was he finally loosening up to the lithe cat like all other toms did? if so, perfect.

hinder's lurking smile at the thought of him falling for her trap froze on her lips as he asked a very bold request. tell him her true story? no, no no no! panic prickled at her stomach. panic? why was she panicking exactly? he couldn't know about her past. there was simply no way at all. hinder took a ragged breath in, and averted her gaze from him. what would she tell him? fill in the blank parts of her story? like, for example, how she came to be in these parts? yes, that would probably be her best bet. if he wanted to know her real past, he would have to pry it from her dying body.

"i told you my past hope. there isn't much more to it then that, so i don't know what you want to know." hinder shrugged coldly. she had barely snuck in the words when he spoke up, again! she however, ignored the comment about backstabbing she-cats and looked at him with her dead yellow eyes as he continued to talk. hinder only caught little tidbits of what he was blabbing on about, her mind wandering at the tone of long drawn out monologue. he just kept talking. and didn't stop! hinder was floored by how much he just talked, and talked, and talked. before she could stop herself, she released a yawn, instantly snapping her jaws closed, her ears growing hot. hastily, she spoke.

"i guess i could trust you, you don't seem very suspicious, but you do talk a lot." she teased, embarrassed by her yawn and sudden flirty tone. that wasn't apart of her game plan at all! "i was born to one of the clans, don't ask which one, cause i don't remember . . . there was my sister and someone else who were my litter mates if i recall correctly. " pausing , hinder furrowed her brow in thought, trying to weed out all the poison from her story, while still making it believable. "my father, came into the clan one day and told me that i was living a lie, that my birth mother was dead, and then i ran away, i came back once i cooled off and he was dead. no, wrong word. destroyed" the last word was spat out with such disdain and anger that her tongue burned.

"i swore i would never set foot near a camp again, or talk to a clan cat again." hinder finished with a shrug. " there you go, that's my story, up until i almost got murdered by a filthy tom. no offense." hinder added quickly shooting him a glance to gouge his reaction to her story. it was very polished, and preened, though it did make sense. releasing a sigh, hinder licked her chest crest, making it shiny and smooth, growing bored of this conversation and in all reality, she didn't give a foxes tail what his story was. but, hinder was playing nice today and giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[Swiftpelt]

At first, Hope just blicked at the she-cat's reaction with his right ear twiching abit. Now what? Are you hiding something, is that why your scared? He thought, half closing his eyes and yarned. Sometimes he wondered why this she-cat had sudden mood changes, angry when he didn't reply quick enough or annoyied when he wasn't caring. This was just another reason why he never had another mate, let alone talking to a she-cat and wanted to turn away.

Catching the she-cat yarn though, he blicked with a slight smile and heard the tease in her tone. Now, there's what I'm looking for. Hope though with a chuckle, but it ended short once Hinder started speaking again, her voice somewhat hard again. As she talked, the dark blue tom seemed to drift away and stared off into the tree behind Hinder. A kittypet was wandering near his hunting spot and didn't even noice himself narrow his eyes in anger. But after a min or so, blicked his eyes and was barely able to catch the rest of Hinder's words, tiltling his head with a blank look on his face.

"Um....yeah, sorry. I...Have to take care of something real quick." He meowed, rising to his paws and quickly bouned past Hinder, running to the kittypet with a snarl. "Get away from there, you stupid kittypet!" The dark blue tom yowled, nearly ramming the tom as he got close and sent the kittypet running after a few yowls and snarls. His pelt stood up like spikes as he stood there, showing his teeth in a snarl and had his claws unsteathed.

He watched the kittypet vaish amog the steel benches before his fur layed flat on his body and his eyes that were like flames, now seem like embers as he relaxed. Hope steathed his claws, blicking a few times before turning and padded back toward the black she-cat with a shake of his head."Kittypets..it's bad enough that I have to deal with them." He grubbled, his right ear twiching abit with his stubby tail twiching rapily.

"Now, about me talking about my past? You can forget about that." He meowd cooly, suddenly bored stiff and started padding down the path again, glancing over his shoulder with a flick of his right ear. "Come with me, if you want. Besides, your story does make some sence." He meowed, even though it had a hint of boredom in it.

[stormy]

after pouring her life story - a little tweeked; of course- to the tom, his response was certaintly not what she was expecting. actually, in all honesty, this cat was not what she expected at all. he was harder to get to then most toms, usually she would have them trying to comfort her, telling her it would be alright and that they aren't like those other toms. but not this one. hope interested her. very much so infact. it was mostly the fact that he just seemed like he didn't have a care in the world for her 'woe is me' past. but she was also very annoyed with his lack of interest. haughtily, she wrapped her tail around her small paws and looked away from him, fuming.

she waited for him to return from his little jaunt with the stupid kitty-pet, plotting out her next ploy to snagging the toms attention and pulling him into her clutches. but if he was so concerned with a mouse-brained cat trying to take his sleeping spot, then it would be harder then she ever imagined. groaning to herself, she flicked her tongue out and licked her shoulder as she waited for him to come back. she heard his deep voice carry through the opening to her ears and she rolled her eyes. what a tool. she thought to herself with aggravation, as she watched him make his way back to her.

"that's why i ignore kittypets, or give them a good smack to show them who's in charge." hinder said matter of factly, her voice flat and her annoyance very clear. turning her eyes up to look at him, she glared when he told her he would not tell her his story. what a crock, she growled inwardly to herself, scowling now at the ground. he wasn't making it easy to get him under her wing and it was started to get on her nerves. never had she had this much trouble. but she wasn't going to give up, she was way to damn stubborn too. curling her lip as he told her to come along after him, hinder sighed a very deep one, and begrudginly followed after him, tail laying flat, and head low, feeling slightly used and manipulated by the tom. "where are we going hope?" hinder asked in a low voice.