don't you leave me alone[samma]

[tails//]

I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty,

Ivory paws disturbed the earth, flicking up rocks and dirt with their weight and the wind that traveled with it. Goldenblaze was bounding through ThunderClan territory, long hair bouncing and swaying as she moved. The fact that the ThunderClanner was running in ThunderClan territory, while odd for most cats considering their was no danger about to speak of, was normal for this particular brown and white tabby. In fact, this warrior had been running for so long that she had become particularly skilled at it. Despite the roots of oaks intermittently rising up off the ground, Goldenblaze never hesitated or tripped. No one ever discouraged Goldenblaze's speed, simply because it was in her nature and it did no harm. Even the prey didn't seem particularly bothered by her movement. Other than the low-lying dirt leaping off of the ground, her paws did not disturb a soul.

Goldenblaze ran for many reasons. Her biggest reason was for her personal safety. When traveling alone, as she often did, running from point to point made her feel more at ease. It kept things from jumping out at her or attacking her because if she was constantly in motion, they were less likely to target her or catch up to her. Another reason she ran was for the fun of it. Goldenblaze had a very long maine coon pelt that shedded little, even in the warmest months. The running she did let a breeze stream through her pelt and free her skin from her suppressive white and brown pelt.

Ears alert, Goldenblaze came to a complete halt, arriving at her destination: the Tallpines. Another warrior had told her that prey had been particularly abundant in this area over the past week and had decided on a whim to check it out. The pretty she-cat opened her jaws and scented.

[sammonroll]

Large paws gripped the earth in anticipation. There was tension lurking in the dark tom's joints, ready to spring and lash out at the unsuspecting victim in front of him. His stance displayed a well-practiced stalk, and the breeze in his whiskers confirmed his position upwind of the target. Ears and tail were laid low, blending in with the surrounding forest shadows. There was no way he could be found.

All of a sudden, a rustling noise ran towards the area. The warrior scowled, and a quick sniff identified the movements as ThunderClan. But there was no way he would lose his precious catch. Just as the plump squirrel ahead of him was also distracted, trying to assess the safety of the situation, Hulkfury pounced, ending its life in one smooth, developed motion. With a snarl, he turned to look at the offending warrior who had almost chased his hard work away.

The she-cat that stood there made him drop his catch immediately. His scowl disappeared completely, his brows furrowed, and he looked at his prey, rather than at his fellow clanmate. Bright green eyes caught the dappled sunlight through the trees, betraying his every emotion.

"Uhhh, jus' hunting," he meowed softly, as if anticipating her speech and trying to end the conversation as soon as possible. He gulped and looked at his catch, an idea sparking in his head. "Y-...you want it?" And he nudged the squirrel towards her, a little large to be eaten alone but Hulkfury having no intention of sharing it. He removed his paw immediately and brought it back to himself, feeling strangely vulnerable in front of his fellow warrior. He looked nearly black in the dim light under the trees, and he appreciated it. It was like a mask that covered his true skin, and maybe he could almost pretend that he was just another warrior, meeting just another clanmate.

[tails//]

I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty,

Chest still heaving slightly from the effort of running, Goldenblaze eyed the blackish tomcat before her with fear glittering in her eyes that was somewhat more intense than usual. Upon spying the black tom, she instantly recognized him as Hulkfury, the ThunderClanner who was nothing short of the creature from her nightmares. The way Hulkfury snarled at her for a moment added little to her initial fear, and Goldenblaze hardly registered his anger, let alone the reason the tom might snarl at him.

"Uhhh, jus' hunting,"

The brown tabby and white she-cat's eyes darted down to her paws as she sensed Hulkfury's behavior change from aggression to something she couldn't quite pinpoint. Still, Goldenblaze couldn't quite manage to size up her sometimes green opponent. She felt like if she looked at him, she'd hurl. Anxiety was building up in her gut furiously quickly and it was all she could manage to avoid thinking about the attack and the marks that took her moons to recover from.

"Y-...you want it?"

The ThunderClan warrior raised her eyes just enough to eye the edge of his paws and the ruddy, bloody body of the squirrel Hulkfury had caught. Instantly, the warrior's mind swam with unwarranted thoughts. Do I want it? Is this ... a peace offering or something? Is this supposed to make the moons of recovering in the warrior's den go away?  she asked herself darkly, though admittedly she felt no anger accompanying her thoughts. The she-cat couldn't dare feel anger towards a character who could so easily rip her apart. It was unsafe, and she felt that even suggesting anger towards him might put the black tom over the edge. "Y-you caught it ... It's only fair you keep it," the ThunderClanner sputtered out as best as she could, still speaking to her paws rather than to the black tom before her.

[Samma lazy]

The tom carefully eyed the quiet warrior, seeing a similar reserve in her eyes as was in his. He chewed his inner cheek in anxiety and in a vain attempt to calm the pangs of guilt that stabbed him through his back. He heard each word of her answer clearly, "Y-you caught it ... It's only fair you keep it." When she spoke, albeit softly, all other distractions faded away. Goldenblaze's words held more weight than anything else around them. If she had asked for it, he would get it. Anything in this world that she wanted him to do, he would do it for her. His dedication to her was like that of the desperately lovestruck, but that wasn't Hulkfury's case. Rather, the extreme guilt of events past but still very present brought him to this desperation. He realized nothing would ever be good enough to heal her, or him for that matter, but any effort to marginally make it up to her was worth every bit of Hulkfury's effort.

He wanted her to know his loyalty, but it was hard to say these words in tense situations, as every meeting with Goldenblaze was. He looked up, anywhere but her eyes and insisted, "It was jus' gonna go in the fresh kill pile anyway, so...I mean, if you're hungry...if you like squirrel...yeah." There was an uncontrollable tension in his joints, but not the red, hot tension he was used to. This tension didn't want him to strike out; it wanted him to turn to stone. He didn't know what to do. He hardly moved, wanting to make sure he didn't surprise her in any way. He gulped and looked down at the squirrel, his only tiny barrier against the guilt that pervaded from Goldenblaze's presence. Finally, he glanced up at her, still making sure not to look in her eyes, but could at least make out her face. His bright green orbs were round and glittering, and they spoke an apology deeper than his words could carry.

[tails//]

I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty,

The longer the oddly colored warrior hung around her, the more uncomfortable the she-cat began to feel. While she had recovered physically and emotionally from the attack, Goldenblaze had decided upon how to properly handle a tom as emotionally unstable as Hulkfury. Whatever you do, don't give him a reason to get angry. If he wants something, give it to him. If you want something from him, don't ask him for it. Most importantly, don't act like he scares you or is any different from another one of your clanmates, the brown patched warrior thought to herself. The intention of listing out ways to keep peace with Hulkfury was supposed to calm her down, but the result of it only made her more anxious. Listing made her realize that she had already broken the most important rule when dealing with Hulkfury. She was scared out of her wits and he knew it. How can I get out of this?

"It was jus' gonna go in the fresh kill pile anyway, so...I mean, if you're hungry...if you like squirrel...yeah."

Goldenblaze could hardly look at Hulkfury. Even as he spoke, her orange eyes fluttered from one of his paws to the other. He won't take no for an answer. He's determined to do good by me when really all I want is for him to leave me be, she thought to herself, her stomach churning with anxiety at the thought of having to answer him yet again. Denying the squirrel, of course, would mean displeasing Hulkfury and possibly lengthening their already unpleasant encounter. "I love squirrel. As long as you're willing to give it, I'd love to have it," the ThunderClanner meowed to the tom, still avoiding his gaze and maintaining a rigid and almost mechanically unemotional tone of voice.

No matter what she did or said to Hulkfury, it felt like she was walking on eggshells.

[sammonroll]

The air had grown thick and heavy on the dense fur of both cats. It was almost hard to breathe in it, never mind move. Green ears perked with cautious delight as Goldenblaze told him, "I love squirrel. But as he gulped her words down, realized they were not all sugar. Her words were forced, and no expression on her face made their meaning seem real.

"I mean...you don't hafta..." Hulkfury mumbled, the words dying on his lips as the cats merely stared towards each other, analyzing the danger on each end. Then there was silence. Hulkfury took another gulp, and made the first move. The long-furred she-cat showed no signs of being about to approach the tom, and if this went on, they could stand there for centuries.

Breaking the stone spell, Hulkfury slowly brought his head down and gingerly picked up the squirrel before him. He glanced up to make a quick judge of Goldenblaze's reaction, wondering if she would suddenly disappear if he looked away, and then padded over to her, but still not too close. He placed the squirrel before her as gently as he had picked it up. At least, that's what he tried to do.

The tail of the squirrel snagged on his tooth as he tried to drop it, so he jerked his head slightly to untangle it, flinging it right on top of Goldenblaze's pure white paws. Its body landing with a quiet thud, splaying itself out in a less than elegant manner in front of Goldenblaze. Hulkfury's breath caught in his throat and he could have choked right there, but he saved himself with a couple of rough coughs. His eyes scanned all over the timid warrioress for reassurance that it was alright. He wasn't trying to be rough. He didn't try to be rough. Not now, not then. Certainly this instance did not compare with the first one, but it always came as an accident, and it might always be perceived as not.