Ripple's Den

A large dark brown tom with familiar Bengal markings padded through the forest. His face expressions were a mixture of amusement, excitement, impatience, and most of all, fear. He padded on the white ground, his fairly sized paws crunching on the snow. He sniffed every bush and tree, curiosity flooding his eyes. "Wow..." He looked like a fully grown kit, examining and observing everything. "Twig would surely like this..." He whispered to himself. His striped peculiar looking tail waved behind him, coming barely next to his side. The tip was slightly rippled and curved at the end, like it was cut off with a curvy knife. It came to sight that it was only a half tail, due to a small accident in his past.

He sniffed a bush at the edge of a stream and poked his head through, discovering a hidden cave beneath the white layered plants. "This seems like a good spot." Walking in, his tail lashed behind him nervously, the plants brushing against his body. He plopped inside and what seemed like an underground cave appeared ahead. there was several pieces of crowfood creating an odor at the edge of the cave. He swept them out the den and sat on an already ready den, warming up inside it. Smiling to himself, he glanced around what already seemed to be his new home. It was dark and musty, the stench in the den creeping onto Ripple's nose.

He winced at the unbearable scent and rose from his nest. Stepping out, he broke some branches and created a hole in the bush covering his den, letting in a reasonable amount of sunlight. Sniffing around the den, he already noticed the strong scent clearing up. Nodding pleasingly to himself, he stepped out. Sniffing cautiously, he scented some mint on a nearby bush. Ripping a few leaves from it, he padded back into his den and placed them around. The slight scent of mint rose in the aroma, creating a sweet yet tasty smell. He sighed at the unbearably beautiful smell and sat in his den, enjoying the delicious aromas.

A short-furred black cat prowled low in the undergrowth near the stream. She wasn't particularly fond of fish, but they were easy enough to catch and she didn't feel like walking all the way to the forest just to catch a few scrawny mice. Tumble leaned over the running stream, her dark green gaze penetrating to the bottom of the water. Silver fish flashed by; Tumble raised a dainty paw and scooped out a minnow, pinning it onto the muddy ground beside the river. She dug her claws into the prey, watching blood trickle from its scales with an expressionless look on her face. She bent down and took a cautious bite, wrinkling her nose at the slippery texture, but glad to finally have some food in her stomach.
The black cat swivelled her ears and whipped her head up, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Was there another cat here? She thought she smelled it, and was embarrassed to have not noticed it earlier. "Who's there?" Tumble demanded, voice low and hissing.

Ripple's light green eyes can be seen from inside the den, as they glinted cautiously. His light brown paws first emerged, then half of his body slid out. His eyes glared at the black she-cat and scowled slightly. "Hello. I'm Ripple." He sniffed and his whole body popped out the den. Whipping his tail around, he watched the cat, his eyes fixed on her.

"Hello," replied the black she-cat curtly, observing the tom with eyes narrowed in curiosity. "Name's Tumble. This your home or something? Didn't mean to intrude." This was about as polite as Tumble was going to get, yet she still hated being even remotely courteous, and lashed her tail once with slight frustration.

He nodded. "Hello, Tumble." He replied almost as rough. He had a small manner of being too polite, as his mother always told him. So after the incident in his past, his personality changed, but not to the point of extremely rude. He still had an honorable amount of respect for others, whoever they were. "Yes, it is my home. I found it a few moments ago." He huffed and licked a paw. "I have plenty of kill. Would you like some?" He surveyed the cat calmly and flicked an ear.

Tumble's fur bristled angrily--who did this cat think he was?! She wasn't some dainty flower always in need of constant attention, she was more than that, she was Tumble! "Maybe you didn't notice," she replied icily, eyes flashing once, "but I have my own fish here. I don't need anyone else to live for me, and for me, hunting is life." She lashed her tail and took a bite of her fish, determined not to show her revulsion at its slimy texture.

He nodded. "That's fine. I'm glad you have your own fish. I hope you enjoy." He replied calmly. He had no problem with cats who can care for themselves. He just asked calmly, not with attention. After all, it was her choice. "This is a great place to fish. If you want, the fish here is yours. I prefer mice and squirrel." He nodded and flicked an ear. He showed no anger, because he was more of a calm, respectful cat.

The black cat scowled: Ripple's calmness frustrated her. The fur along Tumble's spine bristled slightly, but her claws were sheathed and her tail had stopped lashing. "Lucky for you," she began dryly, "I also prefer mice and squirrels. Guess we'll have to share." On the last word, her voice turned bitingly bitter.

He nodded. "That'll be great! There's plenty of mice and squirrel in this land. If you plan on staying here, I recommend you this: stay away from the badgers." He nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Tumble. Also, nice name you have there."

She chuckled darkly, swivelling her ears at Ripple's mention of badgers. Tumble hadn't been in many battles, and wasn't eager to get into her first, especially not with such a formidable opponent. "I'll keep an eye out," she replied, her tone beginning to soften. While Tumble wasn't exactly fond of this seemingly respectful cat, she was surprised that he hadn't snapped back at her. She wasn't trying her best to be friendly. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem, Tumble." He smiled and walked to a bush, ripping some more mint from it. "This is for my den." He said muffled. Tossing it back into the deep hole, he waded inside the stream. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take a wash." He smiled and started to splash water onto his Bengal pelt.

She flinched back at the splashing water, widening her eyes slightly. "You don't mind water on your pelt?" she asked skeptically, watching him curiously, forgetting to maintain her unfriendly attitude.

OOC: Exactly thirty words. x3

He shook his head. "Not at all. I love water!" He dipped his head into the water and swam around. Sticking his head back up, he turned on his back and his light brown underbelly showed as he floated in the shallow water. "It's not that bad. After all, we drink it, don't we?" He turned on his paws and cleaned his claws under the water.

OOC: wow. xD

She tilted her head cautiously dabbed a paw into the water, then withdrew it and shook herself. "Well, yeah, but . . ." She waded a bit into the stream, shivering involuntarily at the cold wetness. "That's different. When you drink, it's only your muzzle getting wet. This is just--unnatural." She gave a small, crooked smile.

He nodded. "I may seem different at first, but trust me, you'll get used to it." He licked his wet paw and spot a large catfish in the water. "Go, Go, get out!" He ran out the water as the Catfish swam by.

She leaped quickly out of the water, gazing into it after to see what the danger had been. "What? What did you see?" she questioned Ripple, staring at him with eyes narrowed in suspicion.

He glanced around the water and sighed in relief when the large fish disappeared down the stream. "A fish... a big fish..." His eyes were slightly widened, and his grip on the ground loosened. "But It's fine now." He sat on the bank of the stream. "I'm not going back in there..."

She smiled mischievously, her fur beginning to lie flat. "Fish? Fish ain't that bad. After all, we eat them, don't we?" Her eyes flashed a small, silent challenge at him.

He flashed a lopsided grin at her. "Aha, very funny." He jokes sarcastically. "What are you tying to pull?" He asks her. He smiles curiously at her and tilts his head.

Tumble flattened an ear. "What am I trying to pull? Not much," she said dryly, sitting down a fox-length or so from the riverside and licking her damp chest fur. "Your tail, maybe? I don't really know." Her voice turned slightly sad, but not noticeably so.

He watched her sit and nodded slightly. "All Right..." He sat about a tail length away from her and watched the stream flow by. "So..." He looked around then glanced at her.

Tumble shook herself off quickly, drying off the last drops of water from her fur. "How does prey run around here?" she asked as an attempt at conversation. Her guard was lowered; this cat didn't seem to be a threat in the slightest, at least not that she could see.

He looked up at her. "Great. It's a fair amount. I even find some around here in the morning. There are plenty of Voles; but my only problem is that they're not very fat and fulling. So I mostly go for squirrels." He looked around. "I hate fish so," He made a disgusted face and made a "blegh" sound.

She chuckled softly, rotating her ears without thinking. "Fish aren't exactly my favourite. I think it's only those weird WaterClan, or whatever it's called, cats who like them." Her eyes darkened slightly as she tilted her head. "You--you aren't part of one of those Clans, are you? I'm not a fan of them, any of them."

He shakes his head. "Nope. If I was, what am I doing here, living in a cave?" He tilts his head at the somewhat silly question. "Anyways, I hate them also. they're not the best of cats for me. I mean their lifestyles... Not my type." He looks at the ground and makes a grumbling noise in his throat. "My mother was part of a clan," he says softly.