My Silent Prayer

[Barketh]

It was so dark the she-cat might've mistaken the trees for mere shadows, and it was a wonder how she managed to tell the difference as she weaved her way in between their trunks. Silver fur flashing beneath speckles of starry light, her breathing was steady as her paws brought her across the forest-floor, a flitting predator in the still of night. It was the sound of an owl in the distance, the whisper of the wind as it tucked the leaves in to sleep, or the biting of frost on the edges of tree branches that told the she-cat that there was never complete silence. Never.

Turquoise eyes vibrant in the night, they shone in a copper-blue as she stepped out into the clearing, sighing as moonlight basked her fur in a beautiful glow. Slowing to a stop, she scented the air carefully, shivering as the night tasted cold and wild. She could hear the cry of an owl as it silenced its prey, and the smell of vole and shrew rode on the breeze. Flicking her tail to the side, Whisperrain darted off back into the shadows, tracking the vole with the ease and skill of seasons of training in the dead of night. She was a medicine cat, yet hunting was not beyond her abilities. Even fighting was amidst her rang of knowledge, and though she might not be the best combatant, she could certainly defend herself just as well as any other cat. Lightshed had taught her long ago that the minute you expected mercy in Starclan's name, your fear would be taken advantage of.

Flexing pale white claws, she held her breath and shrank lower to the ground, her already fragile and smaller figure seeming to vanish into the undergrowth. The vole was a mere fox-length away as it fidgeted and curled deeper, trying to burrow beneath the dew-ladden leaves in search of a warmer sleeping location. She gave it no time to look any further, for in a split second the silver hunter had lunged forward and sent the rodent into an eternal slumber with a swift bite to the neck. Licking fur from her muzzle, she gently crouched and lifted the vole before turning, eyes shining as she headed back towards the clearing. Ears perked for the slightest movements in the bushes, Whisperrain was on edge. She had a strange feeling that something was waiting out there, something that did not live by the Warrior Code or respect the rights of any living being. She was not afraid. She had dealt with animals of the night. Rather than being afraid, she was tense. She did not know her enemy, and perhaps there really was none. Maybe she was paranoid and just imagining her predator watching her from the depths of the trees, but at the same time, it was just as likely that her suspicion was correct.

Setting the vole down where she'd left a mouse and rabbit, she turned and narrowed her eyes, looking over her shoulder as the moon illuminated the clearing and its inhabitants.
If there's someone out there, do both of us a favor and show yourself. I don't like surprises.
She thought in annoyance, praying to Starclan that it wasn't just some mouse-brained apprentice playing a prank on her. Then again, she hoped it was; that would mean it wasn't anything to be worried about.

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