Caught in the Brambles

< Piper º Orange-Light º Pheasant Woods º Summer >

    A figure prowled in the cool shade of a sycamore trees. Rustling echoed from the thick canopy hiding the blue sky from view. Only a few shafts of and fragments of light glided through the dense blanket of leaves that sat atop the sturdy trunks and hung on the solid limbs. The foliage provided an escape from the heat of Summer, which the particular silhouette disliked. It was sticky and uncomfortable, and the nipping cold of Winter was much more preferable to a feline with such a furry white pelt.
    As Piper slid across the gloomy floor of Pheasant Woods, intending to hunt, she kept her ears pricked up for any dangers. There were many possible enemies, including silly little things like ravens or falling twigs, but there were the more grave and serious threats, the Golden Butterflies. Piper had to admit in her head they didn't seem that scary, they had no tattoos, and mix and matched abilities, but in her chest the situation was much more dire. Now she was defending the Tribes, not just her own pride, or the honour of the Light Tribe, she was defending every cat that was loyal to their Leaders, and not some spirit story.
    Turning her head as a soft rustling near a patch of thistles, Piper's piercing turquoise eyes narrowed as a tiny dusty brown creature timidly crept out from the foliage. "Gottcha." Piper whispered to herself. Lashing to tail from side to side, Piper's belly kissed the forest floor as she stalked her way towards the mouse. It's dark beetle-like eyes were busy examining a small acorn that it held in it's small little hands. Crafty little hands those were. Piper let a satisfied smile, the mouse was just in her reach. Unsheathing her claws Piper licked her lips as she prepared to pounce, but suddenly the cry of a crow split through the sky like a bolt of lightning. The mouse, petrified, scurried back into the thistles, and in the blink of an eye Piper say it's wormy tail disappear into the darkness of it's nest.
    "For the love of Eden." Piper hissed, sitting up abruptly, ears pinned against her skull Piper sheathed her claws and got onto her paws. It had been so close, so very close. If she had pounced a moment earlier a good meal would've been provided, but now because of that stupid crow all was lost. Walking heavily away, Piper didn't even look back.

[Orange-Air | Aeverie | Pheasant Woods]

Why did she even bother coming here? The question became more and more relevant as Aeverie trudged through the dense brush, her thick pelt getting caught in the rough thicket with every other step. Releasing a sigh of annoyance, she managed to duck underneath a few twigs to avoid further irritation. Once clear of the undergrowth, the blue tabby slowed her pace to eye her surroundings, catching scent of nearby prey. Her mouth salivated as she remembered how hungry she actually was, and how her own Tribe would benefit greatly for a few pieces of fresh prey.
Thus began Aeverie's brief hunt. Delicately, her paws were placed silently onto the forest floor, her body lowered just slightly as she trailed the delectable aroma. Step by step, the pretty feline stalked the scent with a hopeful glint as the smell became more and more intense. It wasn't long before her wide blue gaze locked onto a target. The she-cat's heart fluttered anxiously as she caught the sight of a rabbit, scuttling about the Earth and nuzzling the floor to reveal hidden sustenance.
Aeverie came to a dead stop, dropping herself low to the floor. Although she had trouble enough navigating through the dense Nightwatch forest, she would never pass up an opportunity to hunt. Her rear wiggled just slightly as she prepared to lunge, cracking only a slight grin at the thought of capturing such a prized piece of prey. With that, her rear legs recoiled and lunged her body forward with a powerful spring.
The rabbit bolted feverishly just as Aeverie initiated the chase, startled by the sudden chaos. The feline's paws pounded against the Earth as she eased closer and closer to the panicked prey. Her intense blue eyes narrowed, and just as she thought the rabbits fate was sealed, her prey darted to the side and burrowed it's way into a patch of dense, thorny undergrowth. With a gasp and with little thought, Aeverie turned with the rabbit. The tabby grunted as her paws collapsed underneath her and sent her tumbling into the thick thorns.
"Ugh! Dammit, dammit, dammit..!" The she-cat gasped yet again as she attempted to rise from her painful positioning. The spiked vegetation managed to pull at her pelt, as well as penetrate her thick fur to her flesh. This only made her entire situation all the more uncomfortable.
Aeverie breathed heavily and with great annoyance as she attempted to escaped her painful trap. "Ouch!" She hissed loudly. With every move it seemed the thorns just embedded deeper into her pelt, at some points pulling out pieces to be carried away in the breeze. With a snort, Aeverie relaxed a bit. Well...What now? She asked herself as she surveyed her situation.
It was quite a pitiful sight. The young warrior was collapsed in the thorns, completely stuck. The spikes embedded in the majority of her body, a thorny vine wrapped across her muzzle and cheek, as well as her ankles. It seemed the tabby she-cat was engulfed in the malicious weed. Although it hadn't seemed to aide her, Aeverie couldn't help but struggle a bit more with an irate growl in the hopes she'd manage to free herself from the grips of the thorns.


< Piper º Orange-Light º Pheasant Woods º Summer >

A blood curdling screech caught Piper's ear. She stood frozen in her tracks, her heart thumping in her chest so loud, it seemed to roar in her ears. Panic exploded in her heart, a lump in her throat holding back her own scream. Calm down. Calm down. she repeated in her head. Standing for a few moments, Piper caught the faint sound of something crashing through the nearby brush. Spinning around towards the sound, Piper heard a voice. It was one of a female cat, it was scared, angry and petrified. Listening closely while her ears flickered around for sounds of a third party, Piper heard the the she-cat moaning and groaning. Well it must've hurt to fall into the brambles, looking around with sharp eyes for a cat who might've pushed the she-cat into the slope covered in the prickly bramble bush, Piper activated her tattoo. It took no effort at all for the orange stars to connect her two tattoos, and the feeling of burning blood filled Piper's body, it began at her cheek, then it sped down to her heart, where it then crept up her torso and spread into her limbs, but then it seemed to fade. Piper gasped a bit as she felt the power surge throughout her body, it was stronger then before. Her eyes were wide with fear, both of her new abilities and the possible danger.
Gulping, Piper walked forward, hoping to see who the identity of the cat who had fallen into the brambles. Staying on edge, with eyes peeled Piper circled the trap of twisted tendrils and sharp vines. A rustling noise caught Piper's ear, and creeping forward she saw the figure of a blueish Orange-Air, caught in the thorns. There was barely, or no blood, but thorns on whip-like vines were curled around the she-cat's paws and torso. A few had embedded into her fur, but what frightened Piper was the cat's expression. It was filled with horror and pain, and as she twisted, trying to escape her painful prison, Piper felt a pang of pity for the cat.
Piper had to get the Orange-Air out. "Don't worry, and don't move." Piper hissed, clenching her teeth Piper concentrated on contaminating the plant, to make it suffer. It would wilt and crumple to a crisp, and the she-cat would be free. Piper hoped the she-cat wasn't a Follower of Alriyel, that would be a mistake. But taking a chance, Piper slashed forward, her claws tearing through the thorns like a dry leaf. The poison spread and soon a hole appeared in the thick brambles. Deactivating her tattoo, Piper didn't want to poison the Orange-Air, in case she had any open wounds. Ducking down to enter the hole she had created, Piper felt her ears brush against the flaking plant, and as her flank passed over the sides of the hole she felt the vines crumble with the slightest touch. "Come on idiot." she said sarcastically. Taking a few steps forward Piper felt the tendrils become stronger, they caught her fur, but twisting away from the dangling vines Piper lunged for the Orange-Air's scruff. "You better not be heavy." she snapped, grabbing a hold of the back of the Air Triber's neck, Piper pulled. "Sorry if this hurts." she said through a clenched jaw. Tugging again, Piper saw the thorns slip a few centimetres off the cat's back legs, they still clung on like burrs, but Piper was determined to get the Orange-Air out of whatever mess she was in.

[Orange-Air | Aeverie | Pheasant Woods]

"Wha-? Who are you calling an idiot?" Aeverie snorted in annoyance.  Although with her slight movements, the Orange-air winced as the thorns dug into her flesh.  She was in no position to argue with the Light-tribe she-cat; however Aeverie wasn't one to cooperate when she wasn't inclined.  Seeing that the she-cat was being more-so helpful than harmful, she relaxed a bit.  Despite the fact that she could very well be a follower of the Golden-Butterflies, Aeverie was willing to take that chance.
Her deep blue eyes watched as the vines surrounding her wilted and shriveled in their demise. She was poisoning them. The warrior announced silently. This made her fur prickle; a slip of the Light-triber's claw and Aeverie'd be stricken in pain. Lovely.
Just as the Orange-light yanked on her scruff, the feline couldn't help but thrash a bit.  Being in the jaws of a literally venomous feline didn't seem to appeal to her; but eventually, cooperated.
"You better not be heavy."
"First you call me an idiot; then you're gonna ask if I'm fat." The she-cat grumbled hoping to take the edge off of herself. "You know, you're not very nice." She mewed sarcastically, her face stricken with pain as she was pulled from the thorns.  She was a fairly lean feline, so she'd likely move through the hole in the thorns with ease once cleared, despite the thorns that were already embedded in her pelt and flesh.
The Orange-light still grappled the blue she-cat's scruff, yanking her from the clutches of the thorny brambles. Aeverie's paws stung as the thorn's in her paws deepened with each step, yet she managed to ignore it for the time being, desperate to be freed. The vines, mostly dead, stretched out as if they were unwilling to release the Air-triber, still wrapped around her body.  With a final yank, the dying vegetation snapped and recoiled back into the brambles.  Upon being freed Aeverie nearly tripped over her front paws as she was surrendered from the grips of the thorns.
"Ouch...!" The she-cat sighed, regaining her balance and plopping onto her haunches to examine her frontal paw pads. Blood seeped from her paws, as well as a small nick on her ear.  She suffered from a few small lacerations; mostly on her limbs, belly, and a small scratch on her snout.  All were small and would likely heal without scarring or further complications.
Quickly, Aeverie dipped her head a bit to rip a thorn from her paw, spitting it to the side with a groan. She hadn't finished picking the thorns from her pelt when she directed her attention to the Light-triber. "Nice trick with the vines. Thanks, Orange-light."She must admit if it weren't for that she-cat she'd likely be stuck in the brambles all day.

< Piper º Orange-Light º Pheasant Woods º Summer >

Piper grimaced at the Orange-Air. "Well you sure can talk." she hissed back in retort. Piper leaned over her shoulder to pluck out a string of thorns from her pelt, with a strong yank it came undone, and tossing it to the side Piper turned back to the Orange-Air, who seemed to be preoccupied in her bloodied paws. "You know if you want I can poison you just like that ridiculous plant." she snapped. Running her tongue over her paw pad to clean up a small scratch, Piper tasted the disgusting taste of blood fill her mouth for a moment, but swallowing the taste went away. She was in great shape compared to the Air Triber, who was covered in loose thorns and vines, and on top of it all had bloody paws.
Piper felt a laugh erupt in her chest, she let out a cold cackle, which had initially been a cruel snort, but exploded into a full on hysterical laugh. The Orange-Air looked silly in Piper's mind, all draped in the vines, her blue-grey pelt all ruffled up, her bang all crooked. After a few awkward moments, Piper calmed down, then spoke. "Sorry it's just," a snicker inturrupted her apology "You look like you fell from the sky!" Piper held in her giggle, and soon felt her chest deflate.
Regaining her cold hard stare, Piper waited for the Orange-Air to finish cleaning up herself. She was a mess. "Since I saved you I think I ought to know your name, not some fake name you made up to save your butt against Secondary Shadows, your real name." Piper enjoyed asking favours, pestering cats for repayment, in her mind, it made things much simpler.
Sitting up straight Piper waited to hear the Orange-Air speak. She was just as annoyed and as snappy as Piper, they seemed to mirror one another in  a sort of quirky manner. Cocking her head to the side Piper examined the Orange-Air once more. She seemed a little on edge, though not on the verge of explosion. Must be traumatized by those thorns. Piper thought to herself. She would never approach another bramble bush again if she fell into it. Water was bad enough, but prickles seemed worse.

[Orange-Air | Aeverie | Pheasant Woods]

Aeverie arched a brow at the she-cat's sudden aggression. "Yeah? And I could just as easily roast you from the inside out." The Orange-air grumbled through a mouth full of thorns, spitting them aside. Aeverie wasn't very concerned at this point with the threats of the she-cat. "Seeing that you've just pulled me out of the thorns, I doubt you'd wanna let all that work go to waste by just poisoning me." The Orange-air added, swiping a tongue over her bloodied paw.
Even if the light-triber suddenly turned more aggressive, she wasn't afraid to electrocute the she-cat if need be. Then again, the feline began to cackle, then broke into a sort of maniacal laughter; hysterically she laughed. She figured it was at her appearance.
Shrugging with a small, amused grin, she shook her pelt sending debris flying from her ruffled pelt. The majority of the thorns were displaced from her flesh and pelt now; she figured she'd likely discover a few more sometime later hiding in her fur.
Aeverie glanced back at the Orange-Light, the stranger regained her cold stare. "What, you think I owe you now? So, I guess you didn't help me out of the kindness of your heart then." The blue feline joked a bit; but with a small shrug she answered. "You can call me Aeverie- and yes, I assure you it's my true name, Light-triber." She announced easily. The Orange-air was never too concerned handing out her name, and often did so whether the cats asked or not. Especially seeing that this was a Light-triber, she'd likely have no use for her name whatsoever.
"What about you, Orange-Light? Are you gonna tell me your true name or are you just going to make one up?" Aeverie queried, tilting her head just slightly. Seeing how unstable the she-cat's emotions seemed, it wouldn't surprise her if she rejected her question completely; but it was worth a shot.

< Piper º Orange-Light º Pheasant Woods º Summer >

Watching the pile of bloody thorns slowly grow as Aeverie picked them out of her pelt, Piper kept a dissatisfied grimace on her face as the Air Triber  threatened her with careless insults. "The name is Piper. And my parents would've have chosen such a simpleminded name so of course the Spirits chose it for me." She riposted. Leaning forward a bit as she clenched her teeth, Piper backed down loosened up a bit. The Orange-Air wasn't trying to scare Piper, just matching her moodiness with equality, a game Piper rarely got to play.
"I'm just asking for a thank you." Piper hissed. Thinking back at it, Aeverie had never thanked her for saving her from the thorns. "You know I could've just left you there." she suggested, with little sarcasm in her voice. It was true, Piper could've just moved on with life, and Aeverie's more severe injuries would've been just another story. But Piper would've lived on with the guilt of not saving the soul.
Feeling her fur puff up in frustration, Piper clenched her teeth as she spoke. "But I would've never done that. I couldn't left you there, I just couldn't have. It's just something inside me, to leave you would've hurt me more then if I dove into the thorns to get you out."
Looking down as she finished speaking in embarrassment Piper felt something heavy lift off her heart. To save Aeverie from the thorns was what Piper would've done, even if she was a Follower of Alriyel, to leave a cat to bleed out on a bed of thorns was the worse death a cat could take. To have your last breaths bleeding out as you dripped to death. A cruel way no one deserved to die.

[Orange-Air | Aeverie | Pheasant Woods]

Aeverie blinked, her muscles relaxing a bit now that she had picked most of the thorns from her ruffled pelt.  Why was this she-cat being so aggressive? The Orange-air didn't suppose it really mattered.  The Light-triber's previous actions clearly displayed that she meant more good than harm, so the Orange-Air wasn't too concerned.
"I suppose you could have just left me there; but it's a little late for that now." She she-cat shrugged.  Her tone was a bit dry, yet not ungrateful. It was true the she-cat could've easily just walked past and not batted another eye to the trapped Air-triber.  That was indeed something to be appreciative for.  Aeverie couldn't imagine perishing in some brambles.  It'd be quite the horrible way to die.
"Well, Piper," she began.  "I guess I should thank you." The she-cat managed a small grin. "I don't think I would've liked to be remembered by 'The cat who was killed by a thorn bush'."</b> She joked half-heartedly; but it was true.  Aeverie doubted she could've managed to get herself out of the grasps of the brambles without the held of Piper as much as she hated to admit it.  Nonetheless, she was grateful.
"Y'know, as tough as you make yourself out to be, you're really not too bad." Aeverie purred sarcastically as she swiped her tongue across her bloodied paw. Again, it was true.  Piper may be acting like she didn't care whether or not Aeverie was stuck, yet the Light-triber admitted her good intentions.  

< Piper º Orange-Light º Pheasant Woods º Summer >

Confused a bit by Aeverie's words, Piper blinked a few times. "I-I'll try to take that as a compliment." she said with utter perplexity. Kneading the ground with her paws in embarrassment, Piper looked down, then looking back at Aeverie she tried to smile, but only a weak grin was able to appear on Piper's face. "A lot of cats think I'm horrible." Piper let out a quiet laugh, then continued. "But I'm glad you don't think of me that way."
Looking up, past the canopy of trees, Piper looked at the blue sky, tinged with only a few streaks of gold and orange, sunset was on it's way, though just barely. "I can bring you back to the Air Tribe if you want, just in case I need to save you from any more evil bushes." With a widening grin Piper stood up. "Otherwise I could just leave you to fight your own battles." Stretching her forearms and arching her back Piper flexed her claws and then stood up. Slowly she began to walk away. "See you later clutz." she called playfully, then leaping over a bush Piper disappeared. A happy sort of flutter was sitting in her chest as she headed back to the Light Tribe camp. She hoped to see Aeverie again, hopefully not in battle, but in a meeting again of some sort. Whatever way, Piper let her smile to herself as she ran in and out of the shadows.