Cry of the Nightingale

[The Higher Cow]

The moon shown bright overhead, illuminating the field brightly. not a sound could be heard other than the shrill call of the nightingale. It was truly beautiful. Loner cats were scattered throughout the grassy plain, their heads poking above the foliage like so many posts. Near the center of the gathering, there stood guard over something three large cats, each no doubt fearsome cats.

From his vantage point high in a tree, Xiphos gazed over them all. Although just any cat would have not even noticed anything, he saw them all. A tough job, but the Rogue leader had expressed his need to have whatever they were guarding there at any cost. Xiphos would get it, whatever it was.

He descended, careful to make no noise. Once, at the base, he slipped into the grass, low and silent. He then thought about why the Loners would be so stupid as to leave whatever they had here and not bring it to their camp. Was it something that could not be carried? Something they did not want to carry?

He came upon the first cat. Xiphos arced around it, then quietly, slit its throat from behind with a sharp claw. The stunned cat probably didn't even know he was dying until his chest was covered with wet blood. Unable to speak, the Loner gaped at the pool at his feet and fell, twitching.

Xiphos blinked, then slithered away to the next cat.

[Knightwarrior™]

OOC oh my gosh! but so amazing!

Knightwarrior crouched along the ground, her belly fur touching the bloodstained dirt. She sniffed and cought a familiar sentXiphos

She came upon the first dead cat, with it's throat slit, and the eyes open, unseeing. She put her paw over it's eyes, closing them. She sighed, why was he doing this? she wondered.

[The Higher Cow]

The black tabby was a little harder, and made more noise, but soon, she too, fell to the earth, her throat ripped out. It was as painless as Xiphos could manage under the circumstances. Besides, painless usually mean quietly. That was also needed.

Instead of just killing all the cats in the field, Xiphos had simply taken all the cats in his path of entry, which would also be his path of escape. In this way, he would be able to make the mission more time efficient, as well as conserving more strength for the final confrontation of the three larger cats in the center.

In fact, he was seconds away from jumping on them right now. Apperantly, they had been disturbed at the black tabby's sharp movement in the grass. Enough to make them more alert and nervous. But this would only delay Xiphos, not make it impossible.

[Knightwarrior™]

She lifted her muzzel to the air, but instead of getting a wiff of something, she herd something else. Knightwarrior twitched her ears to find the noise. To her left she herd a cat struggling and meowing. She veered to her left without breaking pace, the cat she came apon was black. Her throat was also slit, blood pooling around her body.

Knightwarrior gave a growl and walked on. Her silent paws stepped on fallen branches, and crackled leaves. She peered around bushes and stepped over dead cats, to only find more in her path.

[The Higher Cow]

Totally devoid of noise, Xiphos leapt into the air and landed on the first cat, thrusting a claw straight into its throat, then pulled. The cat vomited blood and convulsed as it lay on the ground. The other two whipped around in surprise.

Xiphos lunged at the brown tabby to the right, while the other, in turn, lunged at him. Xiphos and the tabby collided with terrific force, clawing and yowling. He bit deep into the cat's jaw, kicking out against the other. He was losing strength with every second of the grapple. Would he survive?

[Knightwarrior™]

Knightwarrior rushed through the bushes and pounced on the other cat that was running for Xiphos, she grabbed his throat in her jaws and crushed down hard, taking the cats life. She through the body from him and stood their panting.

[The Higher Cow]

The second cat wasn't attacking Xiphos, but just to be safe, he kept up his kicking. The first cat was trying to scrape at his eyes as the huge gray tabby bit tightly down on its jaw. Furious, Xiphos brought his unsheated paw up, planning to slash the Loner's throat, but it anticipated the movement, bringing one of it's own up to block.

Moment by moment, Xiphos was losing his strength. But he kept pushing against the other cat's paw, fighting it to reach its throat. With a burst of primal strength, the gray cat shoved hard and caught one claw his opponent's throat. He twisted and pulled, slicing it open. In defiance even to the death, the Loner cat raked its claws over Xiphos' face, cruelly laying open his nose and mouth. The Rogue pinned the weakening cat to the ground and ripped its jaw from its shuddering body.

He blew blood from his nose, then turned to the spot the three cats were guarding and almost had a heart attack as he ran straight into Knightwarrior. "Knightwarrior! What in Spatha's name are you doing here?"

[Knightwarrior™]

Knightwarrior looked up from the dead cats, surrounding her, " I don't know! I was going for a walk then saw all these dead cats!"

[x-xDarkyy [+] Buddiiesx-x]

//Wow! You have a mission?? Cool! Where's the thread where Dark gave it to you?? I'll post as a little kit wanting to come. //

[The Higher Cow]

((But it's too late, Darky. Too late...))

"A walk in Loner terra?" Xiphos demanded. "Do you do that trick a lot?"

The grass shook as a dozen cats closed in on their position. Xiphos thrust his paw down the hole that must have contained the object of the guarding. He felt his claw scrape against something hard. A rock? He reached further, and managed to hook three claws on it. Since it was quite heavy, he was able to keep his grasp on it. Xiphos whipped it out quickly, then stood in awe, staring at it. It was a talon. But not any ordinary talon. The thing was at least as long as Knightwarrior's front leg, ending in a razor-sharp point.

Xiphos held his breath. "Oh, my..."

[Knightwarrior™]

"Yes I do as a matter of fact," Knightwarrior replyed, her gaze shifting ot the object in Xipho's hand, "What in the name of Starclan is that?"

[The Higher Cow]

"I don't know," Xiphos hissed, glancing at the areas where the cats were closing in, "but we're leaving now!"

He shoved the claw into his mouth and dashed off toward his path of entry. "Cuh uhn!" He yelled to Knightwarrior, his speach slurred by the artifact.

[Knightwarrior™]

Knightwarrior spun around and followed Xiphos the way they had come, she glanced behind her, the cats still coming.

[The Higher Cow]

The ferns parted right in front of him, and a cat barreled through, snarling viciously. Xiphos twisted in mid-air to avoid the Loner. His head was jerked toward the Loner and he heard a tearing sound as it flew by. The cat had run straight into the claw, where the cruelly dug deep into its cheek and traveled down its body, cutting through flesh and bone. Xiphos still sped through the grass, ignoring the wretch writhing on the ground, dying of blood loss.

Blood trickled from the tip of the claw into his mouth. A taste that, had it been any other animal, probably would have been delicious, but this was a cat, and it brought horrible images to mind.

[Knightwarrior™]

Knightwarrior gave a shriek or terror as she witnessed the cruel scene infront of her, she veered away from the writhing cat, running in stepp with Xiphos.

[The Higher Cow]

((It's really cool to finally write something like this, you know? I'm getting all my pent-up violence out.))

Finally, they hit the tree line. Xiphos darted through them, ignoring the pain as branches and such whipped his face. "Knightwahah! Hu rihuh!" He yowled, hoping she could understand him.

[Knightwarrior™]

"I'm coming!" she yowled back, trying to dart away from the whipping branches, "Where are we going?"

(actually it is pretty fun, but I g2g right now bye!))

[flashthunder]

THIS SUCKS! yOU SUCK! MUFFIN! CHODE! =D

[Meerful]

[This is actually alot of powerplaying, but it's interesting.]