Private it can smell your fear [Moth]

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN​

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"Moth, come do some scouting with me." called Wolf from where he was loitering near the path up and out of camp, Like his request for a spar with Bone, there was no reason in particular he'd chosen the scrawny looking tom to accompany him, had simply let his ocean and dusk eyes land on the first cat they saw and then called on them. Now that he'd done it though, he didn't regret his decision.

Moth was a cat that was easy to pass judgement on at a glance. He was small and skinny, with thin fur that was never groomed right. Even their pelt betrayed their weakness, sunbleached and speckled with the remnants of fevercoat.

A runt.

Moth was covered in bullseyes flashing arrows that screams 'easy target', the kind of cat that Wolf would have made quick work of on the streets. Their food, their territory, the air they breathed– it would have all belonged to the mottled feline or others like him, those with the means to take, and take, and take. That same part of him– a beastly predator in its own right– didn't regard the younger cat with much interest, but *Wolf* was curious enough to entertain them as a scouting partner.

Marbles fault, he was sure. Ever since he'd met the shecat he'd been engrossed with the idea of a 'middle ground', a space between 'the ideal shadowclan warrior' and 'a useless waste of air and resources'. Moth was far from what he'd consider 'ideal', but it was possible that like Marble, he had his uses elsewhere.

Time to find out.

@Mothbite
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loner/future shadowclan - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars​

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[Mothbite]

Still so young, Desperate for attention!

indentttMoth's fur stands on end. From where he lay, on a downed log raised off of the frozen ground, he could feel an imminent sense of danger approaching. Was it a predator in camp? A raid for their enemies? A pack of wild dogs?

indenttt"Moth, come do some scouting with me."

indentttNo, it was something far worse. Moth turns to face Wolf behind him, doing his best to train his face into one of annoyance instead of abject terror.
"Ugh, fine." Had it been any other cat, Moth would likely have protested more. He didn't want to figure out what Wolf would do to him if he refused, though. Even in the colony, the mottled tom had a reputation for being... intense, for lack of another word. Moth had caught glimpses of him in battle, back at the forest. The sight of Wolf set upon his former allies with what seemed to be a sort of maniacal glee is something that would stick in his brain for moons to come. He had been lucky, up until this point, to stay out of Wolf's attention, but the forced proximity of the new 'clan' had caused his luck to run out. Now that Wolf had his eyes on him, trying to run would only be a sign of weakness, assuring his doom.

indentttMoth stands, stretching out after his long nap. His joints pop and crack, but he fails to force his muscles into relaxing.
"You take the lead, I guess." Moth avoids looking Wolf in the eye, which isn't unusual. Moth rarely meets other cat's gazes, preferring to scowl into the dirt. What caused him to hide away now, though, is not embarrassment or shame, but fear that looking Wolf in the eyes will somehow trigger his predatory instincts. Moth walks stiffly to stand next to him.

ababaugfbiufhufbdfduibabababa

Mothbite | 19 moons | Warrior of Shadowclan ababababbnihfibnfdifdhfhabbabab

 

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN​

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"You take the lead, I guess."

Obviously, Wolf wanted to say. Didn't, only because he felt it would be stating the obvious.

So, Wolf ascended the slippery slope out of camp on steady paws, well practiced from all the time he'd spent coming and going. He didn't bother waiting for the other as he reached the top, casually slipping past the short, stout pond pines and out into the territory beyond.

Here, Wolf did slow to allow Moth to catch up. Inviting him along would have been pointless if he was just going to ditch him right out of the gate after all– though to be honest that might still happen at some point should the other prove to be unbearable company. Wolf had never been good at suffering others when the option to get up and leave was present.

"So," he began once they'd fallen into step once more, Wolf setting a casual pace in a southwestern direction. "How are you enjoying the new territory?" he asked, gaze sliding sideways to rest on the other.

It was a normal enough question between warriors, easily passed off as something casual. And maybe it was. Maybe Wolf was just bored and was taking advantage of the company.

Maybe he wasn't, and Moth was being handed a shovel while Wolf decided if he'd be digging his own grave.
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loner/future shadowclan - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars​

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[Mothbite]

Still so young, Desperate for attention!

indenttt"Eh?" Moth is a little caught off guard. Why would Wolf want to know what he thinks of this dump? "It's fine." He gives Wolf a noncommittal, inoffensive answer. "It's cold as hell, and there's not much prey, but it's not as if the other place was any better." He's less tense now, just by a little. His gait is a little looser, tail a little less stiff. He's still not calm, though. He watches Wolf out of the corner of his eyes, waiting for the other tom to make a move as he follows along.

ababaugfbiufhufbdfduibabababa

Mothbite | 19 moons | Warrior of Shadowclan bababbnihfibnfdifdhfhabbabab

 

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN​

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He scoffed as the other mentioned the territory being cold. 'It doesn't even really snow here. You're just too skinny to keep yourself warm." he noted, gaze cutting over their scrawny figure. No fat, no muscle– even their fur was thin[/i].

And he wasn't lying about the snow thing, either. Only the coldest winter nights brought snow with them to the marsh, and by the time the sun was up it was usually gone and melted, adding to the moisture of the marsh around them. Just wind to content with most days.

"You look like you expect me to do something, Mothbite." he mused after a moment, smirking at the others' apparent unease– at the way they kept watching the odd-eyed cat like he was going to double in size and swallow them whole. 'Or are you always so tense around clanmates?"

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loner/future shadowclan - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars​

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[Mothbite]

Still so young, Desperate for attention!

indenttt Mothbite's ears redden as Wolfpack points out his demure stature. 'It's not like we can all be as massive as he is, y'know.' He can't help but read Wolfpack's comment as a thinly veiled threat - If he didn't prove himself, Wolfpack might just discard him as 'dead weight'.

indenttt"You look like you expect me to do something, Mothbite."

indenttt"Of course I do! Mothbite snaps back, his fear temporarily forgotten.
"You're clearly up to something, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me for help. I'm not exactly the most useful guy in the world." He meets Wolfpack's gaze, finally, with a sidelong glance. Even his cowardice can't completely smother his fiery temper.

ababaugfbiufhufbdfduibabababa

Mothbite | 19 moons | Warrior of Shadowclan bababbnihfibnfdifdhfhabbabab

 

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN​

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'I'm not exactly the most useful guy in the world."

"At least you're self aware." he mused as they made their way along, which was one less issue for him. If Moth was already aware of his station then the chances of him overstepping it were lessened. Which meant Wolfpack had less of a reason to look their way with scorn.

Power in the wrong paws was exactly what had sent Frays group into a spiral, and the mottled brute fully intended on making sure Shadowclan did not breed or promote the same weakness.

"Not completely clueless, either." he admitted, begrudgingly. Wolf did have other motives, but they likely weren't as sinister as the younger tomcat was expecting.

"I didn't bring you out here to chase you off or hurt you, if that's what you're thinking. Though I like your instincts."

Moth wasn't wrong in assuming he'd be among the first Wolf took an interest in should he ever decide the clan needed to drop some dead weight. Had the group still been living at the old camp scrounging prey along the same old trails, it might have been a very different story, but here? The prey may not be the most favorable, but it wasn't in short supply.

For now, there was no 'need' to do anything drastic. Not when other matters were more pressing.

"You were just the first cat I saw. Thought I'd give you a chance to impress me like Marble did." Because really, that was the extent of it.

Regardless of what the rest of the clan– moth included– might think, Wolf did not prefer a solitary life. He enjoyed the company of another cat, be it on a hunt, for training purposes, sharing his nest, or just scouting the territory. Why bother joining a clan if he didn't? And Moth, well, he'd just been the first cat he happened to see. And sure, he could have passed them over and asked the second or third or ninth cat, but he was feeling generous. In an enough of a good mood to not mind having to stomach the presence of a cat that could potentially bore or irritate him.

Maybe he'd be pleasantly surprised. Apparently, Shadowclans cats had a knack for doing that.

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loner/future shadowclan - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars​

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