In the Darkness

The Hunter
^{Dancing with the Devil}

The Hunter moved silently through the forest, stalking carefully. He was looking for something either to eat, or to keep him entertained. He had heard of the clan cats. Now all he needed to do was catch a smaller, weaker, she-cat unawares. His tail flicked in anticapation.
No one here knew who he was. And he intended to keep it that way. He would use fake names. But he would Always be The Hunter.

<sup>Crystalmoon
I wish everything was normal again

Crystalmoon wondered away from the rest of her clanmates traveling back to camp, wanting to get away from everyone for a bit. She needed to clear her mind from the chaos she had just lived. Why did the rogues have to attack at the gathering?

The real question is, why did StarClan not warn them, or any of the medicine cats? They had to have known...Crystalmoon and the others could have been more useful and could have been healing instead of standing in the sidelines useless. All they could have done is watched their clanmates die. They had no herbs, no nothing.

It made her think of her former mentor, Midnightmoon. And how useless she felt when the most precious cat to her die. Why did she just leave Midnightmoon by herself? She always went by her side, especially when collecting herbs like Midnightmoon seemed to be doing. But instead she was playing with Cloverpaw, who had died anyway.

But nevertheless, it seemed like the medicine cat knew she was going to die. But Crystalmoon could have prevented that somehow. Just by making her stay she could have. But no...
Crystalmoon shook her head. It was done and over with. There was no use dwelling in the past when it wasn't going to bring her back to life anyway. But if only things were different...

Crystalmoon kept padding on, her mind empty now. She just wanted to make sure all emotions of her memories were gone. And it was relaxing just to walk in the forest alone. Or...was she alone?

The small gray-and-white she-cat stopped in her tracks, her muzzle stuck up in the air. A stench poisoned the wind, carryihg an unpleasant scent. Crystalmoon's fur bristled, "Who's there?" she growled icily, waiting for the stranger to show.</sup>

[/sup]

The Hunter
^{Dancing with the Devil}

The stranger didn't respond. Instead there was a small amount of rustling. Then the scent was gone. Behind her a pair of hungry yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. Then, with a snarl, the massive dark tom leapt, landing squarely on his target. He quickly clamped his jaws on her scruff, preventing her from fighting back.

"I can promise you, she-cat." He growled. "This won't be over quickly, and you won't enjoy it one bit." He clawed her across the face and kept his grip on her.

<sup>Crystalmoon
I wish everything was normal again

Crystalmoon growled, at first startled by the sudden appearance, then angry. His chilling voice...his dark figure...his vicious attitude...it reminded her of Nightstalker exactly. The cat who had killed her mentor.

Rage flamed in her chest, attempting to bite at the tom's paw as it clawed across her face. "G-get off of me!" Crystalmoon spat, unsheathing her claws. "You're the one who won't find things pleasant around here!"</sup>

[/sup]

The Hunter
^{Dancing with the Devil}

Of course he didn't get off. With his jaws on her scruff, he knew that she couldn't fight back. He pulled on her scruff, triggering the kitten instinct that would keep her immobile.
-----
He stepped back, leaving her clawed, bleeding and bruised.
"I'm letting you live she-cat." He snarled.
"Live with the knowledge that you are now carrying my kits." He swatted her across the face again.
"And I know that the other cats won't believe you... and even if they do... they will never find me." He laughed in her face, then slunk away, vanishing into the darkness.