Private Territory yours anyway ] maplefrost

[MONSTERGROWL]

Monstergrowl moves like a shadow dragged across the earth, his massive paws pressing into the damp forest floor with a weight that seems to sink into the land itself. The air is thick with the scent of rain—fresh and cold, clinging to his fur in a way that makes his already-dark pelt seem slick, gleaming like wet stone in the half-light of dawn. ThunderClan's camp is behind him now, swallowed by the undergrowth, and he doesn't look back. He never does. His breath curls in the morning air as he exhales slowly, tasting the forest on his tongue. He listens, ears twitching as the wind stirs the branches above, rustling the leaves in a way that almost sounds like whispers. Something is near. His muscles tighten, the powerful coil of a predator who has never forgotten what it means to hunt.

Then—movement. A flicker of motion beyond the ferns. Monstergrowl stills, his body lowering instinctively, shoulders rippling beneath his fur. His eyes gleam like embers in the dim light as he watches. Prey? No. The scent reaches him a moment later, too sharp, too familiar. A cat. His lip curls, baring the edge of a tooth. "You've been following me," he rumbles, his voice as rough as gravel, low enough to shake in the air between them. He doesn't turn fully, only angling his head slightly, enough to catch sight of them from the corner of his eye. It's not a question. He already knows the answer. There is a pause, heavy, filled with the damp hush of the morning. Then, finally, he shifts, just enough to let his full gaze settle on them, piercing and unreadable.

 

[maplefrost]

❄︎

Maplefrost has taken to aimless wandering, mapping the Thunderclan territory with his paws, trying to keep his head empty of noise. There was so much noise. His own thoughts chasing themselves like rabid dogs chasing rabbits. It had been moons, now, since he'd killed the grey tom in the clearing. He still saw his face when he closed his eyes, saw him in dark corners of the warriors den, in the slivers of black between the stars. He had not seen the star-swept cats that came down from the sky, and he does not know if the grey tom joined them. He's not sure if he wants to know. He's not sure he wants to meet him again. What do you say to someone you killed?

He brushes against a plant, morning dew clinging to his ears– he flicks it off, sighing. Plants make him think of Rowanpaw now, which is no good– plants are all around him, everywhere, and so is she. She's his sister as much as she's his shadow. She still can't quite look at him. She talks to him, though, which is at least an improvement. After the rat attack, she'd looked after his wound.

His nose catches a scent, as familiar as it is unfamiliar. Known and unknown. Maplefrost comes out from behind the fern, and Monstergrowl addresses him, accusatory words angled in his direction. Following him? Not really. Maplefrost had been walking entirely without purpose. But he supposes… a familiar scent on the breeze, something curious. Perhaps subconsciously, if nothing else. His ears flick, part annoyance, part apology.

"Didn't mean to," he replies. "Wasn't thinking about where I was going, just… went where my paws took me," he pauses, unsure of why he's explaining himself. But at least he's not thinking about the other thing.

"Little early for hunting, isn't it?" Maplefrost says, attempting to make casual conversation for the first time in at least a week. "Unless you're out looking for more rats, I suppose."

He's only guessing that Monstergrowl was out to hunt– a supposition based on two things; Monstergrowl did not seem like the kind of cat who went for a meaningless stroll, and Monstergrowl had been crouching like he was going to jump Maplefrost like a shrew coming out of the ground. He could be entirely wrong, but that would at the least lead to more conversation, something else to think about other than ghosts and shadows.

would you stare forever at the sun

and never watch the moon rising?

• ooc: -
• 

  MAPLEFROST, he/him, 24 moons / thunderclan warrior
  large tortoiseshell tom cat, lawful good
  healing and soft powerplay allowed