the night is dark & full of terrors [open]

The night was cool, though even with her short fur Vultureheart wasn't too bothered by the temperature. It was a welcome relief from the blazing heat of the day. A cat could barely escape the sun's wrath even in ShadowClan's shady territory. But clouds kept scudding over the moon, heralding rain to come, so the deputy had decided to beat the weather and see what prey she could scare up from their nests. Leave rain hunting to bad-tempered apprentices, was her line of thinking. Personally, she'd have a lot to do soon. A good long rain necessitated border patrols on both sides of the territory, and maybe even a scouting trip down to the shoreline to ensure RiverClan wasn't making a move on the Twoleg water-bridge that was supposed to be neutral territory. Aside from all that, fresh growth could be expected in the herb areas, and though she was well aware Bluerain could take care of himself she wasn't above sending out an "assistant" just to be on the safe side. Adderstar would probably slit her throat if she let anything happen to the leader's brother, especially since he had no apprentice yet.

A muted crash from in front of her jolted the black she-cat out of her planning. If she didn't know better, she'd have guessed that a cat had fallen out of a tree on the other side of the little clearing she was slinking around in. As it was, she hazarded at baby squirrels or a hapless fledgling - either way, an easy catch, something to give to the kits back home to try their teeth on. She strode towards the origin of the noise on long legs, even in the near-complete darkness never rising to her full height as a matter of habit. She lifted her head to pinpoint the prey-scent and was met only with a vicious, wordless hiss.

Vultureheart immediately returned with a yowling battle cry of her own, claws springing forth as she readied herself for an attack. But a heartbeat later, she realized she knew the scent of her so-called attacker, almost as well as she knew her own. Of course it was Adderstar, who else would be out here this late at night besides a cat as equally devoted to the success of their Clan? Every cat knew of Adderstar's battle prowess, it was likely she was practicing some valuable move in the dark to make sure she had it memorized. Vultureheart's bared fangs became a sort of anticipatory grin. SHe never had been one to say no to a good old-fashioned fight.

"Well, dear leader," she called into the night, "if you ask me to put my claws away for this, I'm afraid I'll have to refuse."

She could see Adderstar's fur bristle even in the dim lighting as her leader called back, "Then I shall put them away for you!" before lunging, immediately on the offensive. Adderstar never had been one for defense, her thick fur seemed to protect her well enough. Objectively, Vultureheart knew her leader was stronger than she was, from sheer size and from long moons of experience, but she didn't care one whit in the moment. It was always a relief to just let everything else slip out of her mind and feel the life in her claws and teeth and well-trained muscles. Right now, she felt like she could do anything.

Adderstar's jaws clamped down on the fur of her right shoulder, and she repressed an instinctive reflex to yowl. Her fur was definitely not on the same level of protection as the bigger she-cat's. She hoped it got stuck in her opponent's teeth, just for spite. She reached out with her forelegs to try to scratch at Adderstar's chest and chin, but felt herself being pushed downward by Adderstar's body weight. She'd be trapped if her leader managed to force her all the way to the ground, and the black she-cat wasn't having that today. Instead of waiting for gravity to take its inevtiable effect, Vultureheart relaxed suddenly, dropping hopefully faster than Adderstar expected, and tried to slip out from under her leader. If she made it away successfully, she'd have to make sure to go for Adderstar's legs to try to get her down. If not, she'd be forced to batter her stomach in an effort to escape.

Either way, she wasn't going down anytime soon.

The black she-cat bared her teeth with glee as Adderstar fell for her little trick and hit the ground. Quick green eyes scanned the other's chest to ascertain if her desperate scrabbling had had any effect. Adderstar's fur was a bit disheveled, but there was no sign of blood. A useless measure, then. But now she had her leader in a compromising position, belly up. Still, Vultureheart hesitated to go in for the full strike. Adderstar's long fur would still protect her, not to mention both her front and back legs were poised to deliver the same sort of blows that so frequently felled and disemboweled larger prey.

And there was something in the way Adderstar's eyes glinted in the near-darkness that practically yowled Don't even try it, foxdung. Adderstar was in prime battle mode now, and was an even more formidable force since her focus was nowhere else but on her enemy- that is, her opponent. But Vultureheart refused to follow suit. She knew very well that her strength lay in keeping a clear mind and holding all her options open. No way was she going to go vicious and dive straight for her leader's trap. It wasn't that she was scared of getting herself injured or having to go to Bluerain's den and explain where all these cuts had come from. No, it was simply that the only clear way she knew she would be able to stand a chance against a stronger, more well defended opponent was to outsmart them. It was slim chance, but it was one she chose to take.

Vultureheart made a feint toward Adderstar's exposed stomach, but swiftly altered course and aimed a few blows at the tabby's head instead. It couldn't hurt to keep the bigger she-cat on the ground for as long as she could, even if she earned a few scratches of her own in the process.