To Stride Forward With Grace

[Fallow]

Follow the call of your heart.
__________________________
•F•A•L•L•O•W•
__________________________
Do not be lead astray by your fears.

Dusk settled thick and heavy over the moors, fields, and forests much as a blanket settles across a body to ease the way into sleep. The sky above was painted a brilliant mixture of deep plum, vibrant orange, pale lavender, soft pink, and a dark red that bespoke of the great golden circle of the sun setting to the west. All across the fields sparrows, robins, and other day birds were settling into the bushes, trees and eaves where they'd hidden their nests for the night. A few jarring sweet notes of evening birds sung out across the empty fields of thistle, grass, and weeds. A lone dandelion bobbed amidst the greater green see around it, the soft tufts of its white seeds being teased away by the absent breeze that rolled glibly in from the north to cool away the hot summer air. In the far distance a dog kicked up, yapping at some unknown intruder, and, closer still, a squirrel chattered in agitation.

The earliest stars were beginning to peek out and twinkle among the dark cloak of night to the east. The soft wah-wah of some bird flying by overheard in search of a nightly berth floated down, soft as snowfall. At the center of it all a dilapidated building sat, looking depressed, amongst the wild tangle of plant life left to grow will-ye-nill-ye when the twolegged creatures had abandoned the place. The scenic view was lost on the gray tom who wound his way through the growth at a quick trot, paws tripping nimbly over the outcast limb of a bramble to dart around a clump of burdock that had the well gnawed edges that bespoke of rabbit teeth. The scratchy limbs of grass and weed alike scraped heedlessly against his rather tattered looking whiskers, and, at the slightest touch he would adjust his gait and change his course. He paused, now, to listen; his large ears turning to the sides, forward, one twitched back as if to track every little crackle of life around him.

Fallow nudged his nose along the spindly long narrow leaf of a milkweed plant, only to find his nose amongst the round cluster of flowers. He sneezed, making it sway and backed up a pace to wend his way around it. He came up short again, listening to the low cadence of sharp little claws scratching on wood in the near distance. The tang of rodent urine, feces, and fur floated to him on an errant breeze. It made his stomach churn with a reminder that it had been a day or three since last he hunted successfully. His tail wavered in the air, back and forth in a liquid-like motion. Moles

, he thought. Moles and worms, but mother would call me all sorts of things to make a crow envious if she knew I was failing like this.[/color]

The problem being that rats in large quantities often made for a sore bitten hide, and rat bites seemed to take forever to heal. He suspected that they were vile nasty creatures. At least his badger-mother had had a great thick pelt to keep them off when they tried to bite her. He was not quite so lucky. Fallow laid back his ears, only to catch the skitter of claws on dirt. His head turned to track the sound, and through the crinkle of plant life he detected movement to his left. Turning, he followed after on quiet paws, low to the ground to keep from stepping on anything that would give away his presence. A rusty squeak alerted him to the nature of his prey: A rat out and about, skulking among the grass for seeds and eatables no doubt.

The stench of it grew in his nose the closer he edged, until, as luck would have it, the wind turned and carried the badger tainted cat-smell of his own pelt to the rat which immediately leaped out of the tangle and made a dart toward safety. Fallow heaved himself forward after it, paws tripping through the cantankerous growth with some difficulty until he made a last ditched pounce, claws unsheathed, and caught merely the tip of the things tail. It scampered off, leaving blood dotting a dandelion leaf and soaking into the soft soil.

Fallow put his nose down to examine his catch, lifting a paw away to sniff at it before batting the tiny bit he'd torn off with careful toes. It was hard an inedible beneath his paw pads. He chuntered to himself: A rolling, chuckling, chittering sound that was answered only by the distant call of a Nightjar. Fallow sat up, tongue flicking at his whiskers, then lifted his forepaw to lick at it. The faintest trace of blood did nothing but poke at his unsatisfied appetite.

For now, he decided, I shall make a closer inspection of this place and perhaps unearth a shrew or mole. If nothing comes about, I shall attempt to catch a rat again.

Failure was not something that bothered him: Success was something that one must work hard for, as he had learned. Fallow had long ago stopped letting things such things stop him.

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words: 864
tags: Ashcloud, Yellowthorn, Smallpaw
credits: none
comments: none
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[Ashcloud]

All was silent as a patrol of cats made their way through the forest. They stopped frequently to refresh scent markers, keeping their ears pricked forward for intruders. There was a rumor spreading through camp that ThunderClan had been hunting on their side of the Thunderpath recently. Apparently they weren't able to feed their own, so they thought they'd just help themselves to ShadowClan prey. Outrage had spread like fire, and the deputy decided to thicken patrols along the border. Not to be outdone by other Clans, the she-cat took it upon herself to organize hunting and patrolling to be done at the same time. Once a patrol was finished, they were expected to report back to camp with fresh-kill for the pile. StarClan help any who didn't.

That same deputy now stood at the head of the patrol, waiting for her cats to catch up. She'd chosen her two apprentices to accompany her; ready to show off her skills as a mentor to the remaining cats in camp. Though to be fair, that wasn't the only reason for her choice. These were the two cats she could stand for longer than a mouse-breath. Truth be told, she enjoyed their company, though she'd be the last to tell them. Even now, as she looked over the gray she-cat she'd mentored moons ago, she felt a swelling of pride tingle in her paws.

Smallpaw, her own kin, still had some time before he was ready, but she could feel his determination like waves heating his pelt. It was a shame that StarClan had given her such a tiny son however. It was a bother how the others could look at him and think he wasn't worth a mousetail in battle. Perhaps that's why she was so hard on him, even more so than she had been with Yellowthorn. The she-cat felt fiercely protective of her only surviving kit. In her mind, if she worked him harder than any other cat in camp, he'd prove his worth ten-fold.

Not to forget her own selfish reasons. If she showed any signs of going soft, they might attribute her looming retirement on it. The dark gray deputy pulled her ears back, a hard expression set on her face. She may be old, but she wasn't ready to just lay about all day telling stories and waiting to be fed. She still had so much energy to contribute. Really, she wished everyone would just leave her alone about it. Besides, who would take her place? Some hot-to-trot newblood who didn't have the sense of a shrew?

Really, what could they do that she wasn't? She'd been on top of most of the patrols. Granted, she'd fallen asleep once or twice by sunhigh and even missed a Clan meeting while she dozed. Even so, Ashcloud wasn't ready to step down and StarClan themselves would be hard-pressed to make her.

[♥Rösε]

Smallpaw followed Ashcloud and Yellowthorn out of camp this evening, not really surprised by the matter at all. Ashcloud wanted to show of her old apprentice and over work him, again. Sure she wasn't like the others in camp who always watched him like a newborn kit but she had her own ways of making him feel just the same. She was trying so hard to make him seem like the others by working him so hard but it was her way of saying let me change you, you can be trained. It was a pity thing he knew it. He hated that he was so small, so scrawny looking like an underfeed mouse or something, he was thin at least he wasn't bone thin but still. He remembered in a dream he had that he was a well filled out warrior and those words echoed in his brain. Good things come to those who know who they are. what ever that really meant. He had that dream a few times before, maybe it meant he would not always be so small. How weird would that be though?

He lifted his ice blue optics to see that Ashcloud was also still in deep thought. Probably about what patrol he could be sent on later or how early to wake him up in the morning. He looked to his side, rolling his eyes at the thought. His shoulders slanted a and hunched a bit as he walked, looking like an awkward panther, his eyes fierce but his body, not so threatening. His body was easily shifted though which made him quite a bit quicker and flexible than that of his clanmates. They just looked at his flaws rather than what he could bring to the clan. It was rather depressing really and the tom had to fight to keep his ears from flattening in disappointment. Lift his head he tilted it towards the trees now, seeming to be surveying everything his territory had to offer. He parted his lips to drink in the air, nothing that was fresh. He knew this would turn out to be a double patrol he knew it, a boarder patrol and then a hunting patrol, yippe. Include sarcasm here. No matter how hard he tried his efforts were useless he brought in prey and was sent for more. He wanted a few hours to nap and was scolded while others were in there nest almost all day.

Suppressing a huge sigh he decided to taste the air again. This time something was slightly odd smelling. He stopped walking allowing his ears to do a little flicking like radars sensing the area for bombs. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to pinpoint a location. Soon his gaze locked on the way to the shack, which was just outside their territory. SOmething, or someone was to close for comfort. "I smell something."

he announced though his tone was hard and yet emotionless, but he started to walk towards the smell. Pausing once or twice to retest the air and make sure he was smelling something important, and not old. His eyes narrowed into tiny slits his fur slightly ruffled a bit, but not to much. His tail started to flicked at the tip impatiently and he seemed slightly irritated by whatever he was smelling. [/blockquote]
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[Shadow Da Smiffster]

Yellowthorn padded out of camp after her former mentor, Ashcloud, along with the deputy's daughter and apprentice, Smallpaw. While Yellowthorn did not mind being out on two patrols, something she often did without being asked to, she was a bit upset to have Smallpaw around. Her former mentor she could handle, but an apprentice right now? Not so much. Her patience with today had already worn thin because of the heat of green-leaf and her several attempts to catch a piece of prey worthwhile for the Clan.

That and Yellowthorn had longed to talk with Ashcloud alone for a while. Among all the cats in ShadowClan, Ashcloud was probably the only feline Yellowthorn could hold a conversation with without feeling irritated. She wanted to tell the deputy her desires to one day become leader, and be respected. She wanted to know what she was doing wrong... just like the days she would ask as an apprentice.

But those days were long gone now... and Yellowthorn didn't have the luxury of asking other warriors what to do. She was, after all, a senior warrior herself. She was supposed to know the answers so that others would excel... but Yellowthorn just couldn't figure herself out. She was lost... and that conclusion made her all the more irate.

At last, the trio made it to the next spot on the boarder, stopping to mark everything as usual... but Yellowthorn couldn't help but feel something was amiss. Her ears perked, suddenly, she could hear a rushed scurrying. Smallpaw announced that he'd smelled something, but Yellowthorn paid him no heed as she dropped into a hunters crouch. Within a few moments, she had a rat in her jaws, and she walked with it back to Ashcloud.

"Seems Smallpaw was right. This guy only barely escaped another cat just moments ago... or a badger. The smell is odd," Yellowthorn explained. "We should proceed with caution."

[Fallow]

Follow the call of your heart.
__________________________
•F•A•L•L•O•W•
__________________________
Do not be lead astray by your fears.

Crouched low to the ground, Fallow eased his way through the tangled vegetation in a slow, careful hunter's glide. His ears were in near constant motion to follow the soft sound of buzzing insects; the last sawing of cicadas, the rising chorus of crickets, and the humdrum buzz of a bumblebee making it's way back to the hive with a last load of pollen for the night. The heavy dewy scents of grass and wild flowers settled low in his nostrils. All of it served to paint an image of his surroundings for him in scents and sounds that guided the blind cat on his quest. Eager as he was to continue his search for his badger-mother, his stomach called more strongly now. The dirt and grass was inked over with scent trails that he followed, snuffling softly until dust made him settle, crouched and sneezing, until he resumed his search. During one pause, he crouched with his mouth open, whiskers tilted forward and breathed. Saliva speckled his chin, and Fallow gave another sharp sneeze and licked his jowls clean.

Tucking his paws under his chest he tilted his ears at the shrill of a rat somewhere not far off. It had cut off in such a way that suggested it had been surprised. Another predator about, perhaps? For now, he brushed it aside and snuffled under the intertwining stems of grass around him. His prodding startled the little rodent he'd been tracking into giving an eerie screech, teeth bared at the oncoming predator. Fallow didn't give it a chance to run, merely flowed forward with claws unsheathed and teeth flashing in an attempt to grab it. The shrew, however, squirmed away from his paws and he was met with nothing more than a mouthful of vegetation.

Spitting it out, Fallow lunged after the shrew, overshot, and stumbled. His head whipped around, ears rapidly trying to pick up the trail, and gave chase again. Fallow followed the quick, darting little creature across the open grass, pouncing and clawing for it in his blind chase. At times it would duck into a particularly tightly woven cover of grass, but, persistent as ever, Fallow would claw at the tangle in an attempt to get at his prey. Some cats would have given it up as a lost cause, but he'd been taught to be far more stubborn.

Then it darted in bounding leaps across a open patch of dirt and into the thick undergrowth beneath some trees. Fallow pulled up short, whiskers twitching at the feeling of the close knit space before him. The fur along his back and nape prickled. Something was making his tail fluff up, making him feel agitated. Curling his lips back, Fallow breathed in.

There was a heavy cat smell to the air here as if it was often visited by felines. Fallow backed off a step or two, perplexed. He'd only dealt with a few solitary cats in his time: He had he capability to speak to them, and his badger-mother hadn't wanted him to lose it. Fallow crouched down a few feet from the trees and sniffed at the faint breeze that curled around him, paws tucked beneath the thick, shaggy fur of his chest. His tail curled along his side, placid and still for the moment. Lifting his nose upward he angled his round head and protuberant jade eyes toward the tree tops he could only hear.

He could only wonder if it was a good or bad thing that he had stumbled across. Hadn't his badger-mother mentioned something about congregating cats? Fallow's nose wrinkled in contemplation.

Mother hadn't been too interested in groups of anything: She had quite enjoyed her solitary existence, thank you very much.

And his meal had gotten away again.

words: 630
tags: Ashcloud
credits: none
comments: Sorry, this one is kind of short. @_@
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[Ashcloud]

The elderly deputy hissed as pain lanced across her belly. A sudden cramp momentarily crippled the she-cat, and she flicked her tail at Yellowthorn giving her the chance to lead them. Her movements were shaky now, and though she wouldn't admit it, her fear-scent would alert them soon she was sure.

Even in pain, she held her head high and her eyes hard. She stared straight ahead, her mind focused on the patrol rather than the spasms in her gut. She wondered idly if she'd eaten something that decided not to agree with her. That mouse from sunhigh seemed like moons ago, and yet she didn't feel hungry. She felt sick. Her whiskers trembled and she veered off toward the underbrush, taking a momentary leave of her Clanmates while she retched.

When she returned to Yellowthorn's side, she said nothing of what had happened, deciding it would be far more prudent to take her concerns up with Onefang if her symptoms continued. For now, she felt better, so the stubborn cat felt it silly to turn back. Though she did wait as Yellowthorn and Smallpaw set the Clan markings.

When Smallpaw's revelation was made, his mentor lifted her own nose to the air. At first, she didn't scent anything besides sparrow and shrew, and a rat- though that was now in Yellowthorn's jaws. She nodded to her former apprentice, pleased with her catch, and returned to sniffing the air. "No, no there's something else here." She walked on, calling over her shoulder as she passed Yellowthorn, "bury your catch. We'll swing back and pick it up later." Her dark gray paws splayed out as she stepped through a mess of pine needles, thick fur between her toes blocking out the sensation of being pricked.

Her hackles rose as a roar of cicadas drowned out the songs of crickets in the grass. She pulled her ears back, whiskers twitching, as her head exploded in the noise. As they quieted, the strange scent grew stronger and now the fur along her back bristled. "It reeks! Badger, it must be." She was about to sneak through over the soggy ravine and look down near the border with the Twoleg shack when the smell registered another familiar trace. "Wait, no. That's not right," the old she-cat growled. She twitched her tail, ordering the patrol to fan out with a cat on each side of her as she slunk forward. Her lips pulled back, expecting to see a badger and cat in battle with the way the scents mingled in her nose.

Instead, what she saw baffled her.

A large cat, tom by the smell of it, was backing away from the border line. Normally she would have signaled an attack right there and then, but this time, Ashcloud held back. Crouched in the grass with her patrol, the old cat was trying desperitly to figure out where the badger was. Here's the cat, where's the badger? She knew she could smell one- it smelled of crowfood and carrion. So she waited, unwilling to order her cats into an area where a badger could be hiding.

[♥Rösε]

Smallpaw kept his lobes tilted forward he was very intent on listening for any signs of danger ahead of them. His ice colored optics were locked on the place where the smell was coming from, the stench of it all caused the small tom to wrinkle his nose. He took a step towards the smell letting his glands drink in the scent. It was an odd smell, it smelled like a cat yet it wasn't. Was that even really possible? He narrowed his optics slightly as his tail twitched back and forth in his confusion. He never smelled this kind of scent before. Maybe it was badger who ate a cat? No no there would be a slight tingle of blood scent mixed with the others if that was the case. He had to say this really perplexed him and rarely was Smallpaw this surprised by a scent. He lifted his head to glance around, Yellowthron seemed to notice something was off, but he couldn't see Ashcloud. Where had she gone? Before he could really look into it a rat darted from the bushes and ran under his legs and right into Yellowthorns claws.

He was to surprised to really react and just stood there for a few heart beats. Finally he blinked and turned around to stare at the limp creature under her paws. He listened as Yellowthorn afreed with him saying it could be a cat or a badger. He slightly narrowed his gaze, he already knew that much what was he, stupid now? Though all you could have gathered from his face was confusion rather than the snappy remarks his thoughts were making. "We should proceed with caution."

He heard her finish and turned to see Ashcloud with them again. In his mind again he rolled his eyes, duh they had to be careful. His tail swished like a moving snake as he waited for Ashcloud to say something. "No, no there's something else here."[/color] she had said to them and Smallpaw nodded slowly. "How can something smell like two things? At first I thought maybe a badger who killed a cat but then it would be hinted with blood so that wouldn't be plausible either..."[/color] he mewed letting his voice soften into thought again.

His gaze flicked forward as she began moving and Smallpaw slowly followed behind his mother. His paws walking over a field of pine nettles. He was careful to lift his paws so he wouldn't get them stuck again. He heard her announce that it was a badger, and his lips bent back into a snarl. He would not let a badger into HIS territory if he could help it. She surprised him by taking the accusation back and he blinked even she didn't know what it was. Seeing her signal them to her sides he quietly yet quickly walked to her right side his body lowered slightly for more stealth. This was Smallpaws best weapon, stealth, he was light enough to not make any noise when he moved and it proved quite effective. When he noticed a large tom cat backing away from the border he gave a low threatening growl, though he did not make an effort to move. Despite what he wanted to do he knew better than to rush out there he wasn't mousebrained. GLancing up at his mothers confused face he waited a bit before turning back to the other cat. "Who are you? And why are you so dangerously close to ShadowClan border?"[/color] he demanded his voice was stern and he kept t only at that, though he fought to keep the threat and challenge from his voice. [/blockquote]
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[Shadow Da Smiffster]

Yellowthorn nearly snapped at Smallpaw's ears when he called out to the cat. Way to make it obvious to any badgers that more cats were nearby. She looked down at the apprentice for a moment, but restrained herself from scolding him. That was Ashcloud's job, and she was just as intense as she was when it came to this stuff. They were almost the same cat in a sense....

Though Yellowthorn was debatably more irritable. Giving a nod to her old mentor, Yellowthorn stepped forward, claws sheathed... for now. If anyone were to make or take the first blow, it would be the one with the lust for fighting, right? Yellowthorn smirked rather vilely as she neared the cat, but as she did, her face grew more stoic. The scent of badger was stronger now that she was closer to the cat.

Now, Yellowthorn wasn't stupid. Something was odd about Fallow... but why in StarClan's name would this tom be hanging around with a badger? It defied so many laws of nature. Yellowthorn grew a bit sick thinking about it, but held back her emotions on the subject as she finally came close enough to examine the tom's face. Blind. So that would explain the failed catch of a simple rat, and the scurrying back and forth between the boarders. While normally Yellowthorn was harsh, she figured this would be okay to let slide... especially because she was now curious as to what the hell this cat was doing hanging out with badgers. Perhaps.... perhaps they could use that to their advantage?

"You'd do yourself good by answering the question," Yellowthorn said calmly. "We are ShadowClan, and you have broken one of our laws by trespassing. I surely hope you were not looking for a fight, because it'll be the last breath you ever take," she warned sternly. "So state your business here, and explain the scent of badger. Have you run away from one? It seems to be engraved in your fur... the scent I mean...."

[Fallow]

Follow the call of your heart.
__________________________
•F•A•L•L•O•W•
__________________________
Do not be lead astray by your fears.

The faintest crinkle of pine needles beneath carefully treading paws alerted Fallow that something was moving about. His ears flowed around, honing in on the sound of a sharp, demanding little voice. It took him a little longer than strictly necessary for the meaning of the words to sink in. He wasn't slow, but he wasn't particularly used to communicating in the Cat dialect either. Though he dearly hoped this cat learned fast lest he find himself a meal for something. It wasn't a good idea to give up the element of surprise when one possessed it. However, before Fallow could formulate a reply to the demand the near undetectable pat-pat of cat paws came closer, touching crispy over dirt and undergrowth. A second voice with a feminine undertone yowled much closer. Fallow angled his head in her direction and swiveled his ears toward her. His wide, weathered jade eyes stared a few inches above her head and to the left.

Confusion warred across his features, making his whiskers twitch and the end of is tail flick. His jaws parted, pink tongue visible among the slightly yellowed ridges of his fangs. Rather than appear insulted by her brusque nature Fallow seemed amused. In fact, he even seemed to relax a little more, though his shoulders and haunches remained tensed for movement. His nose twitched in a show of amusement and he gave a slight, catty smile. At last, with no indication that he was lying, and with a tone that suggested he found this to be nothing but the truth and couldn't fathom why this cat didn't already know the obvious answer, he said, “I am a badger.” His voice was rough, full of deep throaty growls and with a bit of a rusty undertone as if he were unsure of how he was speaking. It made it obvious that he wasn't used to the mewling feline dialect.

Fallow turned his unseeing gaze toward where the first voice had issued from, though his gaze was far from the mark and answered, “As for who I am... I suppose my name could be Fallow, because Mother called me Fallow as a field. However, I've never really had need of a name.”

Mother hadn't really called him anything other than 'cub', after all, and he'd rarely been around other creatures. He'd had a few encounters with cats before, but they tended to stay upwind and away from him and keep their conversations to a few words about hunting, and whether or not they were going to cause a problem. He'd had quite a few conversations with a... what word was it that cats used? She-cat, was it? Yes... A she-cat that lived with the twolegs near the sett. She had preferred to stay in the hayloft of her barn and call down to him. She'd been a talkative thing, and more than a bit silly but it had given Fallow a chance to work on his conversation skills.

He sniffed in the direction of the cats then, at last, spoke again, “As for business? I have none. I am merely searching for my mother so if you have seen another badger about I'd appreciate if you could point me toward the scent trail.” Then, he paused, twitched his whiskers again, and flicked back one ear. He turned his sightless eyes onto the closer cat, head craning forward as if he could locate her by the nuance of the air. “Now that I've answered your questions perhaps you could answer one of mine? What,” he asked, “is a ShadowClan?” The words tasted awkward on his tongue, though he knew the word 'clan' in a way. Badgers had clans as well, though they weren't really close knit groups. Many badgers preferred solitude like his mother had. As such, he'd never really been exposed to such a thing.

words: 648
tags: Ashcloud
credits: none
comments: none
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[Ashcloud]

"How can something smell like two things? At first I thought maybe a badger who killed a cat but then it would be hinted with blood so that wouldn't be plausible either..." His mentor had nodded her head, a pleased gleam to her eyes. She had scented shortly after his point was made and confirmed his observation with a flick of her slender tail. "Very good, Smallpaw. The wind would have brought the trace to us. Well noticed." She had twitched her whiskers and continued forward to where the three cats now crouched.

The deputy tasted the air, taking in the scent of cat and the stale, but clinging, rank of badger. She observed the gray cat with interest obvious on her face. Ashcloud may be old, but she wasn't a fool. She guessed that the loner had been staying in a badger sett. That would explain for his odd scent. She was about to tell her cats this when Smallpaw yowled. While she admired his courage and strength, the mother pressed her ears flat against her skull and swatted at her son's ears with her claws safely sheathed. "Mousebrain! If a badger were out there, do you think it'd be deaf?"

As she was scolding her apprentice, Yellowthorn stepped up and with a nod, stepped forward into the open. Ashcloud's eyes narrowed venomously. She hadn't given the signal to break formation! She expected mistakes from her young apprentice, but from her grown learner as well? The elderly she-cat hissed, eyes flashing in the growing darkness. With a snort and a flick of her tail, she ordered Smallpaw to accompany her down the shallow hill to where her former underling was facing off with the loner.

As she walked, she leaned heavily on her left side. Tempted as she was, for a short moment, to press her side against her son for support, the cat trudged forward without a complaint. As she neared Yellowthorn, she hissed her displeasure at the pale gray she-cat before listening to what she had to say. Despite her sour mood, and the pain she was in, her whiskers twitched with amusement at how calmly her fiery warrior was conversing with the the stranger. She had half-expected her to spring onto his back and drive him away with the same passion for fighting that seemed to make her so strong and respected in her Clan. What Ashcloud was seeing instead was a compassionate side to Yellowthorn. Looking more closely at their charge, she could see why.

The tom was blind.

His eyes stared unseeing into the night. Large disks of jade seemed to look everywhere at once, as he held them wide and unfocused. The fur down her spine twitched and her paws tingled as she watched him with such a fascination that she was surprised when he started speaking. His dialect was hard to grasp at first. She hadn't heard any cat speak with his odd accent- almost too guttural to be cat. When she got the hang of it, she found herself entranced by what he was saying. She'd missed the first part of it, and as she listened keenly to his namesake, she narrowed her eyes. Surely 'fallow as a field' could be considered an insult? Why would a queen call her cat something like that? Was she displeased that her kit was born blind?

And then it clicked; what she had been trying to understand flowed into her mind as he once again mentioned the word 'badger'. She curled her lip, "A badger? Why would a cat seek out a badger?" 'I am a badger', he'd said. It didn't make sense until now. Did this fool actually think he was a lumbering badger? Well, he was one of the largest toms she'd seen, especially for a peaceful loner, but surely he couldn't be so mousebrained as to not know his own species? She hardened her voice, watching his reactions warily. "You think you're a badger do you? Well let me tell you this, I may be old but I know a cat from a badger. And lucky you aren't one, I'll tell you now. Or you would have a whole patrol of warriors scoring their claws down your sides."

She knew she was pushing him. It may look cruel, but she had a reason for it. Even if she was the only cat in the forest who could, she'd learn this tom a lesson about himself before she sent him off to lose his life to a badger he mistook for his daddy or some such nonsense. Her nose twitched with an errant thought: why did she care though? Who was this non-clan cat to her anyway? There was something unsettling about him, besides his blindness. His gray pelt, his eyes, even his scent. Under the reek of the badger sett, there lay something else that she just couldn't place.

She flicked her tail, warning her cats to back off a bit in case he attacked. Though blind, he was large and could very well do some damage if he decided to hook his claws around a warrior. Of course, he'd be crow-food before she let him kill Yellowthorn or Smallpaw. "Listen here, cat," she added pointedly. "ShadowClan owns this part of the forest. We rule it, from here to the start of the Twolegplace. I am Ashcloud, the deputy or second-in-command as it were. Smell my apprentice, the tom who called out to you? He is Smallpaw. The cat before you is Yellowthorn." She sat down, wincing as pain ripped across her belly. "So, Fallow. What happens to you now?" She smirked, though the gesture would be lost on him.