Competition (Spider/Ember)

some coincidences are deliberate

219  Emberfang  No notes  

One ivory tooth slid out from the dark recesses of Spiderstep’s maw to press sharply into the ebon line of his lower gums. His face was thusly molded into an unpleasant sort of scowl as he bit his lower jaw. It was very unbecoming, but to him that meant little in comparison to the grisly task he was finally finishing up. Indeed, one was more likely to find a fish hopping across the plans then to come across the tabby in such an activity. He truly hated cleaning his pelt.

Stretching out his leg, toes clawing the chill morning air, Spiderstep lapped his tongue across the last patch of unruly fur. Just one more lick, and then he was free. As soon as he was done bathing the warrior sprang to all fours, a joyous grin stretching his maw. Unfortunately his freshly cleaned paws no longer had the tight white balls of sticky snow clinging to their tufts. So, having unconsciously over compensated for them out of habit, and their annoying desire to stick to anything and everything relatively cold, he immediately stumbled, fell, and crashed. And of course, out of all of the warriors he could have tumbled towards, who else would be there but the grumpy tortoiseshell who wanted nothing more than to mind her own business?

 

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

some coincidences are deliberate

341  Emberfang  No notes  

Black, red, white, and brown collided in a mess of limbs and the carcasses of small mammals. As the seemingly frail and downright skinny little she-cat found her footing once more Spiderstep was not nearly so nimble. Laying in a hodgepodge pile of dead rabbits and his splayed limbs, the tom made no effort to get up. The reason for his stillness wasn’t sheer laziness. No, it was the deadly green eyes that pinned him to his place.

Emberfang. Now there was a she-cat he could learn to love. Her steely glare and piercing tongue were always a bright welcome to any day. It wasn’t that he enjoyed ticking her off. Or, maybe that’s exactly what it was. Well, to put it fairly it was probably a combination of things. For one, she could always be counted on for a reaction, and that’s what he lived for. But more importantly, she was a challenge. Any cat could be befriended if given enough time, but not Emberfang. No, she resisted even the kindest acts on his part. She gave him something to strive for, an outlet for his energy, a goal at the end of the day.

There was a part of the tom, though, that found her honestly aggravating. She was cold when he was warm, and kept herself at a distance. If he had been conscious of the source of his desire for attention perhaps he’d be able to understand that she created the same infuriating conundrum his father did. No matter how hard he pushed, how many times he got them to notice, nothing ever came of it.

Well, that just had to be fixed.

Finally untangling himself from the mess, Spiderstep stood up just in time to have an angry nose thrust into his. “And a bright good morning to you too, beautiful. I’m sorry, but we all can’t have your innate ability to gravitate away from others.” A grin flashed across his muzzle, sweeping the right corner up in dashing crooked smile. Oh was he enjoying himself.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

some coincidences are deliberate

393  Emberfang  No notes  

“Ouch.” The tabby tom inhaled sharply, body visibly cringing away from the other’s spitting remarks. His expression was an obvious overreaction, though. An exaggeration meant more for show then out of real concern for his bodily safety. He had wanted to garner a reaction, and he had surely gotten one. Perhaps a more sensitive feline would then proceed to back down, soften their smirk, or at the very least apologize. Spiderstep was anything but sensible.

She had, to be fair, insulted his pride and joy. After all, it was the way in which he carried himself that earned the tom his name. He could walk, oh boy could he walk. He’d show her just how well he could strut- but would that only be proving Emberfang’s point about being a kit?

The grin slipped from his maw in the slow, languid pace of warm honey. Though, to be entirely honest it was rather difficult for the warrior to keep from bursting out in laughter. She was just so tiny. Even fluffed out to twice her size the hubris tom found nothing to fear. He was tough, right? He was youthful, hot headed, and ready to take on an angry fox in the middle of a snow storm. Nothing could defeat his youthful ignorance, especially not a she-cat with her tail in a twist.

“Awww, kitten. Look, I didn’t mean anything of it,” he mewled in a soft, cooing voice. As he spoke one paw flitted in a small pile of snow which had been discharged from someone or something at some point in time. It appeared nothing more than an absent gesture, as if he was unused to being apologetic and thus needed to self-consciously fiddle with whatever was in a paw’s reach. Right, like he could ever be self-aware. “You’re right, I know. I should have been more careful. What was I thinking?” Warm, copper eyes looked up with a brief pleading expression before flitting back down to his paw. “You’ve just been StarClan knows where doing StarClan knows what, and all you wanted was a little cool down after working so hard. I should be helping you, not getting in your way.”

And with that he scooped up the small rough ball of hard packed snow he had been creating and aimed to smack it directly atop her head. Oh, he was a charming idiot alright.

 

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

some coincidences are deliberate

421  Emberfang  Oh Ember ;-;  

Twirling trails of flickering snow whirled in a flurry of agitated activity as they each rushed towards the ground’s embrace once more. Some, having met the velvety tortoiseshell coat, melted instantly. They clung to her form almost possessively. In their wake they left teeny little streams which curved through a forest of red and black. In Spiderstep’s eyes it was a magnificent sight.

Only, Emberfang did not seem to agree. The beautiful brilliance of snow was lost on the already chilled warrior, and instead had much the opposite effect. As she sunk in upon herself, drawing away from any interaction, Spiderstep stood in a horrified stupor. He had expected her to laugh, or even just to squeeze out the smallest of smiles. Snow was fun, after all. In his memory it was tied to times of great pleasure and relaxation. His own usually sour faced mentor, Harefoot, had instigated a snowball fight once. Joy, bliss, delight, glee – all things he would usually tie to the white powder.

Yet here he was with a heavy pit of obscure darkness grinding at his insides. It was as if a monster, trapped inside a gloomy winter night, was tearing away with its heavy black paws. Was this regret? Yes, and it wasn’t pleasant in the least. His own tail drooped, slapping against the frozen earth with a despondent thud. Chocolate ears lay flat atop his head, as his apricot eyes widened. Cautiously he took a pace forwards, leaving one paw lifted in indecision.

Whatever he tried always ended with anger and displeasure. Was this the way they were destined to interact? Some part of him knew the problem. It was him. This thick-headed brick of a tom whose only priority had been his own. He had expected her to behave exactly as he would, and of course that wasn’t the case. She was her own creature, and he had to respect that.

Determination sparked, flickered, and blazed. No, he would not leave it at this. Surging forward, the tabby carefully sidestepped a small, crumpled rabbit, before bringing his side to Emberfang’s. He hopped to mesh his thicker pelt with hers, bringing the warmth he had to offer. As the warrior did so he kept his eyes on his paws, away from her own prying glance if it came. He didn’t know what expression to make, and so he hid his blank features away.

In a hardly audible murmured mew he breathed, “I guess neither of us are very good at this sort of thing.”

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

some coincidences are deliberate

295  Emberfang  NOTES  

Colors interlocked in a mess of cocoa, crimson, ebon, and ivory as their pelts meshed together against the frigid air. The molly’s scent incidentally swarmed his sensitive little nose, and Spiderstep’s inquisitive whiskers responded with a twitch. Her perfume spoke of dissatisfaction, yet her side pressed ever closer to his own. Curiosity was an undefeatable beast. Giving in to the temptation, he finally lifted his gaze in an effort to catch her own. What would her eyes reveal? What thoughts kept her so preoccupied?

As her lilting words reach his ears a soft smile began to tug once more upon his lips. “A compliment? From the ever judgmental Emberfang this must mean a great deal. Thank you, I promise it’ll go straight to my ego.” He was being authentic, in his own sort of way. Her praise was indeed desired, and it warmed his ears in what could be a blush. Though, he’d never let her know that.

“And of course, I wouldn’t dare attempt to steal your beloved title of supreme rabbit chaser. That’s all yours, and yours alone.” Well, at least he had tried to continue to be honest. With Spiderstep a tease could never be far away. “I promise I’ll always come crawling to your paws when tummy’s a growling. No one else’s catch could possible do.” A full on smirk was stretched once more across his features, joyously tugging at his eyes in a friendly way.

Careful to be ever gentle, the tom then attempted to snatch his companion’s closest ear between his teeth. It was meant to be a jovial act, but now his usual cocky assumption of her response was replaced by a tingling fear of rejection. Would Emberfang find offense still in even the smallest of playful gestures?

 

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

some coincidences are deliberate

394  Emberfang  NOTES  

Relief flooded the tom’s pelt, washing his limbs in a heavy stillness and touching his orange eyes with light. She had taken several heartbeats to respond, probably lost in her own unexplored mind. With each moment passing the tom had grew increasingly tense. Each hair stood on end, creating a dense forest of pines upon his scraggly scruff.

He would have said something. After all, he did have a rather talented mouth if he did say so himself. But a strange anxiety had kept his teeth locked together in a cage of increasing pressure. It coupled with an unescapable building agony, clenching his chest in stone claws of malice. This feeling was somewhat alien to the tabby, and he didn’t like it one bit.

But for all the harrowingly slow escalation to a state of pure torment, the release came with a swift blessing. Relief, that’s what he felt now. But there was something more powerful about it in this instance. Made stronger by the torture of uncertainty, it swept him up as if he was nothing more than a tiny flake of snow. And all it took was a touch of her muzzle to his chest.

Was her opinion of him already so important? Did she have some strange sort of power to send joy with a touch of her muzzle? Or was it only he, only Spiderstep, who made himself feel this way? To be fair this wasn’t the first time he’d been swept away by his emotions. Certainly, it had happened a lot in his short life time. No, it was the source of such that left him mystified.

That made him uncomfortable. That caused him to flee.

Abruptly the brown warrior withdrew, disengaging himself from her body in a swift single motion. He was being rude but he didn’t care. That wasn’t it. No. But for all his might he couldn’t put sense to his thoughts and actions. He was moving without awareness. Thinking without feeling. Feeling without sense.

Once he had gained a few tail-lengths between them he turned, looking back over his shoulder with apologetic eyes. In an attempt to salvage whatever was left of their brief friendly interaction he forced a small, slight smile. It wasn’t a bad attempt, he was used to putting on a grin. Yet it still felt fake, false, and just wrong somehow.



 

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS