one such morning -- [open]

[!!elissebear]

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[atrb=background,http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l534/littledarkling/ghostmid.png] "talking" The day was warm and the sun bright against my dark and light hued pelt. Pale jade eyes scanned the land around me, taking it in with wide, delighted eyes. Bushy tail curled up before coming down and twitching around long legs. The scent of prey filled the light breeze that came my way and I felt my belly growl with a hunger that hadn’t been there moments ago. It was easy enough to ignore when I knew there were other clan members that needed feeding before I was fed. Muscles twitched with the need to run, but I would have made too much noise for my own liking and scared off any prey that others might be hunting and that was just plan shameful in my eyes. So, I stayed quiet and moved through the lands on slow steady paws. I was large and I stuck out a bit here, but that was okay, I was good at what I did. I’d always been good at what I did. I may not have been born a clan cat, but I had been raised as one since I’d hardly been able to see when I’d arrived here. This was home and that was all I or anyone needed to know about who I was. Sharpe ears picked up the sound of a waterfall and I wondered that way, taking a deep breath of the scents of cats and prey was strong here. My tail lashed from side to side as I moved with the stealth given to me. Quick beats of my paws against the ground brought me to the water’s edge. Sniffing lightly, I dropped my muzzle down to the surface and lapped at it lightly, quenching the thirst that burned at the back of my throat. I swallowed it down and turned my eyes toward the sky as I lifted my head. Nostrils flared and drew in sharp breaths. Nothing. Everything was stale smelling and would have been hard to follow with how choppy they were, but that was what I thought until I saw the bushes move and heard the soft rustle. The water that I would need to cross was shallow. My paws touched lightly down onto it and that was when I heard the hiss. It wasn’t some meek snake that would run away from me. The think in the bushes was a rattler; its tail shaking and its breath hissing from it. A growl rose in my throat and then I lashed out with a paw. The brown and gray snake lunged at me, but I jumped back causing my body to become soaked in water. As it was recoiling, I jumped in and bit through the things head, silencing that rattling tail and those harsh hisses. I dropped the thing and flexed my paws, claws digging sharply into the ground before retracting them and turning back to the water that I still stood in. I shook myself and felt the dirt and grime of the day fall from my body. I made a face and waded into the water until it covered my shoulders. I was much too lazy to clean myself and the water felt good, even with the soft, biting chill that touched the warm weathered day. I paddled through the water, enjoying it where most cats would have been out as soon as they could have been. I swam back to the shore and climbed out, shaking water lodged fur with a viciousness that was caused only because of the cold weather. I padded toward my snake and prodded it with a paw before digging a hole. Once my pray was safely buried, I laid out on a sun warmed rock to dry myself. I enjoyed the warm feeling and sprawled out and began kneading the air with massive paws. A low purr rose up in my throat and ricocheted around the waterfall. I quickly silenced myself, but refused to more for quite some time, seeing as I was still dripping and the rock was only becoming warmer thanks to the liquid that I had soaked it with. My breathing was easy, but my ears continued to move and flicker this way and that, listening for sounds of the world around me. If anything came toward me, feline or other, I would hear it and be ready. I was always ready. Sure, I hadn’t lost any lives yet and I wasn’t about to lose any for being too relaxed in my own territory. One could never relax in this world. Becoming too at ease meant certain death for some and certain death was not in my books right now. I flicked my tail at the idea and a slow, easy smile touched my feline kissers while wide, sharp green eyes scanned the land in a possessive, leaderly manner. words -- 808 comments -- finally!

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