``shiver of excitement [leopard]

[xxspade]

nettlestar looked up the side of the tree and studied it for a moment. ferngust was named for her great ability to climb trees. with a grin on his face he glanced behind himself to make sure that no one was watching. where did they think that ferngust learned it from? not him of course. thinking quickly nettlestar bounded from where he was sitting and threw himself up the tree pretty quickly. he loved the thought of the high wind rushing through his fur and being so high up off the ground that the overwhelming excitement was just too much to handle. when he reached a branch about 20 fox tails above the ground he looked down at his accomplishment. he could see like a bird up here. looking up into the sky a long way above him he felt like he could just jump of the branch he stood on and float into starclan. but if he did that, his clan would be without him and he wouldn't have used his lives for the good of them. he wouldn't achieve his goal of protecting his clan for as long as he lived. as he was sitting in his spot a bit of movement caught his eye and he was immediately drawn to it. it was a squirrel. and now that his eyes were locked onto it, he was sure to get it. dropping into a crouch and hoping that he was down wind, he watched the little creature quietly. he waited for it to get onto a branch big enough for him to catch and snatch the squirrel as well. then he pushed himself off the current branch and landed on the the next one with both his front paw and his jaws snapping onto the small squirrel's tail. biting down hard he could hear it squeak in pain. then he was hanging from a branch 23 fox tail lengths from the ground with a dangling, struggling squirrel in his mouth. it took all his strength and might to pull himself up onto the branch with the squirrel in his mouth still. he quickly bit the neck to kill it painlessly. then he made his way back down onto the grassy ground in triumph over his catch. well, his day was going quite well indeed.

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[Vicious]

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[atrb=background,http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu167/Rippedshadow/Templates/leomid.png] Thundering through the forest was Leopardfang, hot on a elusive squirrel's heels that had already gotten away from her once today. As soon as she saw it again, she broke away from leading her hunting patrol, yelling over her shoulder for the, to gather her catch and head back to camp. It was all warriors, and a small group at that, and they were perfectly capable of getting themselves back. The tips of its fluffy tail practically brushed the speedy warrior's nose as she forced her muscles to push her harder and faster. She hadn't started to pant yet, thankfully, or the squirrel would know for sure she was still there besides the pounding of her feet above its hammering heart. Her prey was making a beeline for The Great Sycamore, Leopardfang's favorite tree to climb and test her limits to see how high she could go. This squirrel wasn't getting away this time, that's for sure. In mid sprint, Leopardfang was capable of jumping into the lowest branch, quite high for a cat. But because she had all of her momentum, she could easily clear that branch, which is exactly what she did. However, the squirrel still had the advantage in the tree, but not by much. The dappled she-cat knew this tree like her own pelt, as confusing as it was with the many spots scattered about it. They circled the trunk, and for a moment Leopardfang though of this as typical squirrel play she had watched before. Only for a heartbeat, she felt dizzy, but quickly came back into focus as her claws stopped the creature from moving. Luckily, she was near a branch and scrabbled towards it, not knowing how much longer she could grasp the squabbling squirrel. Once she steadied herself and felt the world come to a halt from her climb, Leopardfang bent over and gave a crisp killing bite. At last. Huffing out a sigh of relief, she let her catch dangle from the bough as the huntress rested her temporarily tired muscles. Swiftly making her way down the tree did Leopardfang realize just how high she climbed in a matter of seconds. The squirrel led her almost half way up the tree for StarClan's sake! No wonder she was tired! They rodent, limp in her jaws, weighed down her neck as she remembered she had a whole other squirrel and thrush hidden in the roots of another tree on her way back to camp. By then, she would probably be dead and have to pile them on her back. Suddenly, the she-cat spotted another cat in the midst of catching a pesky squirrel. Hopefully he's not a mouse-brain like me and chased a scrap of prey halfway across the territory... Leopardfang's thought gave her a little chuckle through the flesh of her prey. Coming closer, she realized it was her leader, Nettlestar. Honest and truly, she had no idea why he had chosen her to be his deputy. They barely ever spoke, and didn't know each other that well. Could one of the senior warriors have advised him to chose her? That would be the only sensible inclination to. However, she felt she needed to know him now that they were running their clan together. Dropping her prey a few tail-lengths from the tom as he walked in her direction, proud of his kill, she settled herself, wrapping her tail around her paws. "Nice catch, Nettlestar." Casual s always, Leopardfang dipped her head to him. Her eyes neared the squirrel in his jaws, taking pride that hers was noticeably larger than his. Good, I deserved that from the fight I put up for this darned thing! With that, a smirk ran across her maw, waiting to hear the tom's response. 626 words written for nettlestar && spade Notes? do forgive me, i had to gather up my muse before posting!

[xxspade]

as he was making his way back from the tree he noticed leopardfang sitting in the clearing and drop her own squirrel in front of her paws. suddenly noticing her presence, nettlestar slowed down his pace. he hadn't even noticed her there. why had he made leopardfang his deputy? nettlestar had the habit of watching the other cats in his clan, just because he cared so much about them all. he had seen leopardfang, though she hadn't realized it, she had popped out to him. he had noticed her leadership skills and was willing to apply them now. he knew that she would be a brilliant deputy and possibly and even better leader. why had he chosen leopardfang as his deputy? because she was the cat that best fit the description he needed. nettlestar tended to be very outspoken and a bit impulsive when it came to little decisions. he would keep his mind open to anything but his thought process was quick to answer. he needed someone on his team that could tell him when to slow down and be able to handle his enthusiasm at the same time. he needed someone professional by his side. he settled his squirrel at his paws only a few tail-lengths away from the spotted she-cat. suddenly feeling a bit awkward, nettlestar saw her own catch. it was noticeably bigger then his own. he smiled and then gave a grin of his own. "oh you saw that did you. serves me right for catching squirrels with the art of flying that i don't have. but it gave me enough adrenalin to last me a few sunrises. i needed that. been feeling a bit bored." he shrugged his shoulders and dropped his hunches to the ground. "nice catch too by the way." he said quite casually.

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