Lake Rodney burn

a fell clutch of mountain's named for a greek goddess of stars had formed the roost for the cat thus far; he did not come out until twilight, and in the dim there he sat, twitching his whiskers at each sound that could be heard in the weald below him, and a rare firefly flitted affably around the broad squareness of his muzzle. 

wolves.

the woodlands stank of the hairy beasts, and their ugly little cubs, whose sole purpose in the cat's mind was to provide a tender source of succulent meat. they were loud, uncouth, filthy in comparison to the meticulously groomed existence of a wraith, and prone to dewanee --  that is, the madness.

as the moon hedged above the horizon, shardul departed his post and followed the scent of water to its mother-pool; a lake that caught the gilded light of early night and reflected it into the citrus of the cat's eyes. a broad tongue lapped at its surface; he lifted his dripping chin. "augh!" came his derisive chuff, for his nose brought him the scent of their loathsome groupings, and he was not hard-pressed to turn and walk back along the water's edge in the direction of his rocky nest.

Hey! Do you mind if we bump this to current?

Dash had an itch that he just needed to scratch. While the mountain certainly tested his stamina, he just felt the need to roam a little. Adjusting to life as a pack member was a little more difficult than he thought it would be, and he hoped his leaders would understand if he needed to go off every once in a while. This time, he didn't go nearly as far. Just a short trot down to the lake. He really wanted to test out his fishing skills since he hadn't been able to since that day at the beach.

As he neared the lake, his keen sense of smell alerted him that he wasn't the only one who was visiting the lake. His hackles raised instinctively. He had never had a run in with the large felines, but every bone, muscle, and fiber in his body told him to be on alert.

A piercing yowl reached his ears, and his eyes found the source. The cougar was at the lake, about a hundred yards in front of Dash. He sat back on his haunches, wondering he would get lucky and it would just leave.

but it was not to be; shardul glanced upward and into the burning yellow eyes of a wolf. a growl rose in the panther's throat; he hissed through the gloom an epithet that perhaps only his ears could decipher. anger welled in his gut and in a blurred motion the cat had moved from the edge of the water into the treeline, skulking unseen toward the brazen animal.

had the wolf an iota of brainpower left, he would depart, for the night was shardul's dominion, and he hungered for the blood of that which was beneath him. long toes gripped the earth silently; the night's breath was a caress against his flanks as he glided inexorably toward the wolf's post.

Dash watched as the feline moved away from the water and towards the trees. Unfortunately for Dash, he had no idea that the cougar was stalking him. He thought it had simply given up. After a few moments, he began to make his way to the waters edge.

As he did so, he thought about the technique Nochtli had taught him. He'd never hunted at night before, but he figured it wouldn't be any different. Fish still swam at night, right? He would need to wade into the water slowly, and then watch... Dash stopped his forward motion. Wait, at night the sun wouldn't shine down into the water to allow him to see the fish swimming. The water would be too dark for that. He frowned. He obviously had not thought this through.

aided by the moonlight, shardul could see clearly the body of the wolf, moving down toward the water's edge. a foolish sort, he decided, padding noiselessly after the lupine. tailtip twitched at his heels -- the panther did not crouch to spring, for the taste of wolf-blood rested foully upon his tongue. he amused himself with the extension of his claws against the earth, the clench of powerful muscles in his shoulders -- shardul reminded himself that he could easily dispatch the stupid animal if he so chose.

"if thou leavest now, i shall not give chase," came the cat's voice, almost pleasant with the low purr beneath his words. yet as he emerged into eyeshot he knew his form was terrifying, and showed his long teeth unto the wolf.

Dash was contemplating his next move when a voice reached him. He turned, his hackles standing on edge. It was the cat he seen slink away just a few moments ago, coming up behind him. He made a mental note that these feline were quiet and able to move quickly. The words he uttered were an obvious threat, but Dash did not flee instantly.

The dark wolf knew his long legs, lean frame, and years of traveling had built muscle meant for running. His eyes went over the cougar, sizing him up. He had muscle, and his frame was large- a creature meant for taking down its prey. But, how fast was he? Dash was feeling a little risky. "Here kitty kitty..." he replied. Maybe he was being stupid, foolish, risking his life for nothing. But, he didn't take kindly to someone threatening him for no good reason. Besides, he wasn't going to let the cat catch him. His body braced for the moment his opponent would come after him, ready to turn and run.

the wolf was stupid. shardul blinked, nares flaring as he tried to assess the wolf's scent for that of madness. angered though he was by the taunt, his features remained arranged in their cool air - he would not risk the foaming bite if the wolf indeed carried the water-fear and anger. yet he showed his teeth in a great hiss, hackles flaring -- he appeared to grow in size, to heighten. 

shardul stepped toward the wolf -- he would not give chase, but his step was meaningful, menacing. the wolf seemed confident -- the cat intended to shatter that sense of self, and gave a growl of malice, though he did not speak again.

Maybe Dash was being a little stupid here, teasing an enemy he knew next to nothing about. But, he was feeling a little invisible since putting on some weight and muscle since joining Moonspear, and it was going to his head. He knew his own strengths and weaknesses, and it appeared as if he was going to learn the feline's as well.

It came in his direction, and Dash met him step for step, in the opposite direction, though he didn't turn his back on him. His head lowered, instinctively protecting his neck. The cat's growl reached his ears, but Dash still didn't run. "Come on you big, bad kitty cat," he taunted, continuing his steps in reverse.

the wolf was mad, and shardul was annoyed, but less so. piercing the wolf with a fierce glare, the cat turned away from the lupine fool and glided down to the water's edges, though his senses were alight for the threat of an attack. he waded into the cool shallows and then turned to look at the wolf upon the ridge again. there was no worth in giving chase -- he was not angered by the beast, and he would never devour the flesh of such a foul creature. and so they were at an impasse.

The large feline seemed to almost get bored with Dash, at which he frowned at. He was trying to antagonize it, and was failing miserably. Who have thunk it would be this hard to get something to chase him? Wolves chased him all the time when he was a lone wolf. Were all cougars like this? All show and no action?

His eyes watched as it changed it course from him to the water. He didn't retreat, considering his next move. He could attack the cat himself, though it was rare he went on the offense, and even then, food was on the line. Now, he admitted to himself he was simply bored, looking for trouble, and the cougar was smart enough not to play his game.

The feline wasn't going enough to keep his attention, and he was done with his game. He chuffed in disappointment before turning to head back to his home.

maybe a little playtime to get this thread to ten posts? :D

the wolf turned with a low sound, and shardul watched until it had faded from sight. then, and only then, did the silver cat move into the jungle of shadow and began to follow on noiseless paws, pads that spread across the ground to bear his great weight with velvet trod, and in the gloom his eyes glinted with predatory hunger and murderous intent.

Sure!

Dash took his time heading home, strolling along, unaware he was being stalked. His mind ventured from one unimportant topic to the next, but mostly he wondered what he was thinking of when he came up with the idea to go fishing at night. It had been a complete waste of time, and he had nothing to show for it. He supposed he could try hunting on the way home, but most of the smaller game he hunted would be sleeping right now. He paused in his tracks. He could probably find a temporary spot to sleep tonight, and get up early and head home.

the wolf did not look to the sides of him, nor behind him. he merely plodded along, like most of his foolish kind, drawing up suddenly to stand still in his path. shardul too paused, wondering what the creature intended, the taut musculature of his body carrying him closer noiselessly.

jaws parted and the scream of a woman emanated with chilling force into the air. the screech reverberated from the mountains about the cat and his prey - it would be difficult to pinpoint the location of origin -- and beneath this sound shardul gave a low growl and began to slither forward once more, mouth watering for the anticipated kill.

I'm sorry, I just can't see Dash sticking around :-(

A shrill scream came out of no where, jerking Dash alert, his eyes darting all around him. It seemed to bounce off the mountains, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from. It sounded like a noise that cat had made. Did it follow him? Was it stalking him?

He really couldn't be sure. For all he knew, it still could have been at the lake and felt like screaming. Or, worse case scenario, it was following him. Well, if that were the case, he'd make sure it would have a hard time keeping up, and if it did, he'd lead it straight to a waiting pack to attack.

Not wasting any time, Dash pushed off with his back legs, hitting full speed in no time, in the direction of the mountain he lived on. He knew he fast, but he didn't know how fast the feline was. He didn't bother looking behind him, just kept moving forward.

no need to apologize! <3

his shriek hit its mark -- shardul rocked back upon his haunches and smirked to himself as the stupid creature sped in fear away from him. when it had disappeared from sight, the silver cat sauntered back to the water's edge and sequestered himself in the branches of a willow overhanging the surface, for in the morning, prey animals would come for their morning water. he intended to be ready for that time.