First Encounter =Open=

[Slate]

I just joined a group... A GROUP... I can't believe myself.

Slate's paws left large, webbed paw prints in the soft ground as he padded through Deathclan territory, planning to explore most of it before he made his own den in it. He wanted to keep low for his first days, not wanted to make much of an impression. Almost everyone who met him expected him to be an aggressive beast, considering his size and mass of bulk.

But Slate was quite the opposite, he was quiet and pretty passive, unless you really got him mad. He didn't want to see anyone due to his shyness, and he joined Deathclan hoping it would make him learn to be more assertive and stronger. We'll see, but I need to get stronger soon if I heard everything about this place is correct.

Slate stepped into a clearing, small puddles of snow littered the ground around what he assumed to be a rabbit hole. He sniffed, yes, it was a rabbit hole. He dug around the hole, making it so he could fit and started to dig, flinging dirt out of it and towards the creature that hid at the end of the tunnel. He quickly found it, and snapped its thin neck. When he got to the surface, his heart froze when he saw another cat peering into the hole. Slate stopped, staring up, what was it going to do?

[Dove]

lowkey. Slate looks like Dove's older brother (Crowwing) in your avatar other than the eyes and ears. not to mention both toms are Maine Coons!(:

She was watching this tom for a while now, seeing the resemblance of her brother in the stranger. As much as she knew the tom was not Crowwing, part of her wished her was. 'He only survived like a moon out here though,' she recalled, remembering how she begged for her Fireclanner brother to leave his clan and live with her. Things did not end well between them after that.

Many times she wanted to approach the stranger and introduce herself, but she didn't. She'd rather have cats find her instead. He didn't seem to be a harmful fella, keeping to himself. Or maybe that was just because that was a Deathclan nature - to remain in solitude until you needed something from someone.

The tom then dug into a rabbit's burrow and in a flash killed the poor creature. She was impressed. So Deathclan was able to still feed themselves. The silver tabby crawled to the hole and looked at the cat that was in it. How odd. "Do you intend on living with the rabbits too, or are you going to get out of there?"

[Slate]

(Oh, that's cool! I didn't know he was Maine Coon X3)

Slate stared up at the gray she-cat as she went down the hole and asked him the question of living with the rabbits. Hm, so they do have a sense of humor. "...Um, not with the rabbits, no. I was just hunting." He replied putting the rabbit down, clearing his throat and trying to look confident in front of her.

"So I assume you must be Deathclan as well," Slate guessed, scented the musty swamp smell from Dove's pale pelt "I'm Slate, may we take this conversation out of this dirt tunnel?" His heart pounded with anxiety. Did I say the right thing? Am I good? Is she going to refuse and attack me? Ahhh!!!

[Dove]

Oh, hunting. Right. Dove nodded her head at his request to converse somewhere more appropriate - more like on land where it would be suitable. She moved a bit away from the hole and awaited for Slate to crawl out, while stealing the rabbit off the ground. 'He's got to be more aware of his prize if he's going to survive out here.'

"You're lucky that you ran into me instead of some other cat who would already shred you into pieces after having a rather satisfying meal," she stated, placing the freshkill beside her. "I'm Dove."

'I'll attack him if he's asking for it, but he seems to be quite passive about this.'

[Slate]

Slate sighed as Dove started to move out, but stared when she grabbed his rabbit. But... But I caught that MYSELF. She can't take it! "Uh, can I-" He shook his head, no! He shouldn't ask for it, he should outright state the obvious.

"Hey-" Slate stopped after Dove said she wasn't going to shred him, and he was lucky he bumped into her instead of someone else. Oh... Well, she seems kinda nice. I guess she can have it... He felt some internal conflict, one part of him wanted the rabbit back. The other part of him wanted her to keep it and not have to fight her... I need to be careful here.

"Well, nice to meet you Dove." Slate first stated then got a more serious tone "If you're taking the rabbit, you can have it. I can find another piece of prey." He gulped, almost planning on running due to pure anxiety, but smoothed his fur "Because it is leaf-bare and I don't want to get into a pointless scrabble over a single rabbit... And because you didn't shred me when you had the chance."

[Dove]

She looked up with curiosity as he began his statement, only to stop. What was that about? She refrained herself from asking

'If you're taking the rabbit, you can have it. I can find another piece of prey. Because it is leaf-bare and I don't want to get into a pointless scrabble over a single rabbit... And because you didn't shred me when you had the chance.'

Weird. A Deathclanner willing to just let it go without a fight? 'Man, he's a pacifist like me,' she noted. "You can keep your catch. It's getting cold anyways," the she-cat said, giving it a quick sniff. "You're not like my clanmates. Why's that?" Assuming that Slate did not know who he was in the presence of, Dove began to circle the tom, noting his size, smell, nervousness. Young, but still had the potential to survive out here.

[Slate]

Dove said she wouldn't keep his rabbit, and that she was confused at him for being such a pacifist. "Well, I haven't been here the longest." He replied, shaking some dirt from his thick fur "And I don't really want to fight with cats who are on the same side as me, it doesn't make such sense."

Slate's fur fluffed as Dove began to circle and observe him. "I take it you've been here a while," He ventured "Do you think I really need to be aggressive to others who live in this group?" While he was saying this, he went to his fresh-kill and scraped and patted snow over it for later. I still need to be careful, she could just lure me into a false sense of security and then kil- no, she won't do that... Right? Right?

[Dove]

would you like a mini battle/training session to happen here? I don't think it's a serious fight since they seem to get along so well, so Dove will certainly be keeping an eye out for him.

'I don't really want to fight cats who are on the same side as me, it doesn't make much sense. Do you think I really need to be aggressive to others who live in this group?'

Dove stopped to listen to Slate's words. Just like what she said to dear old Fuzzyink and Viper when she was still a youngling herself. "You can't trust much out here," she said bluntly. "Cats will forge alliances and end up using you for their own goals, so you just got to watch out there."

She eyed the rabbit and shrugged. It was not to proper way of burying, but he'd have to learn that for himself in his own time. She avoided his question of her time in Deathclan. "What if I were to turn on you now without you suspecting anything? It's rare to find a cat who would simply talk and not try to gain experience in tooth and claw."

[Slate]

[Nah, sorry for this being late. I think Slate will get into fighting a lot bit later when he doesn't freak out over it]

'You can't trust much out here.' Was the line that caught Slate's attention. Is she... Saying I can't trust her? That she will turn on me? She even asked him what he would do if she suddenly attacked, which made his suppositions towards her motives spike. Dove also said 'It is rare to find a cat who would not simply talk and not try to gain experience through tooth and claw.'

"Well, I am lucky I found one." Slate replied, feeling less shy the more he tried to talk. "I don't know you, but I'm pretty sure you can be one of those cats I can trust. If you really wanted to hurt me, I wouldn't be here. I would be in that rabbit hole," He pointed with his tail "bleeding and never talking to anyone ever again."

Slate exhaled out, he had never talked that much at anyone, ever. He looked at Dove, hoping that he was right about her that she won't just randomly leap at him.