Cat slinks through the undergrowth, shaking one of her front feet to rid it of debris that had stuck to her fur. She hasn't been into this part of the forest before, and is captivated by the new terrain.
Suddenly, she freezes. Something is wrong. She doesn't know what, but something is wrong. She holds still and waits.
A few feet away, one particular bush abruptly stops rustling.
Her eyes snap to it, but she doesn't dare move. She stares, stretching all her senses to detect movement.
The rustling starts again. It seems to be moving around to her left...
Or, wait, is it going to the right?
She hunches down even more, the fur along her spine rising. Not good, not good, not good. Her tail wants to lash in indecision; she doesn't let it.
Rustling from her left.
Sudden movement - something small and orange, springing towards her -
The kitten's pounce falls short, and he splats on the ground just to Cat's left, all four paws splayed out.
"Ow."
She reacts on reflex, springing to a defensive position and only checking her counterattack when she realizes how young her assailant is.
"...Are you okay?" she asks, a little awkwardly.
He hisses at her, and picks himself up with all the dignity a four-month-old kitten can muster.
The bushes on the other side have stopped rustling.
"You may as well come out," she tells the bushes, then returns to the kitten. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here!" the kitten snaps, offended.
"This is ShadowClan territory," he informs her, "and you're trespassing."
Cat flicks her tail in surprise, and sits. "I didn't know there was a colony around here." On second thought, she can kind of smell it. Not very well, though. "Where's your queen?"
He hisses.
"I'm not a kit!" he protests, puffing himself up and arching his back to look as big as possible.
Cat yawns at him. She's easily twice his height, even sitting down.
"So who's ShadowClan, then, you and the bushes over there?"
"Maybe..."
He dances around her slightly, hopping from side to side on stiff legs.
"Why do you care? You should just leave!"
"I can go where I want," Cat says skeptically. "Do you really not have anyone taking care of you?"
"But - that's - no you can't!" he insists, ignoring her question.
"You're trespassing and you have to go away!"
Make me, Cat is tempted to say, but she's never actually been in a fight in her life and doesn't want to lose to a kitten - or worse, hurt him accidentally. "Okay," she says instead. "I'll go." She stands and continues walking in exactly the same direction she was going to begin with.
He splutters a little, apparently not having any idea how to respond to that.
"You're - going the wrong way," he manages after a moment.
"Am I?" Cat says, sounding vaguely interested and only thinly concealing her amusement. She doesn't stop walking. "You'd better come along with me and make sure I don't get lost, then."
He stands up as straight and tall as he can while trotting to catch up with her.
"Yes! I will escort you to our borders," he decides, trying to sidle round and redirect her.
Cat is maybe having a little too much fun with this. "That's an excellent idea," she says, and lets him herd her just far enough that she can tell where he's trying to go - and then blithely corrects course in the other direction, giving the kitten the option of either going along with it or running smack into her side.
And he is a kitten, no matter what he says. Maybe not in the strictest sense of the word, but no adult would be acting like this.
"So what's your name?"
"...Littlepaw. And you're going the wrong way again!" he protests, skittering backwards to avoid colliding with her.
"Maybe I should lead the way?"
"You certainly are that," she says, giving him a once-over. "And go ahead. No guarantee I'll be following, though." She hasn't stopped walking leisurely.
"You have housefolk that feed you?"
"No!" He looks offended at the very suggestion.
"I'm a ShadowClan warrior's apprentice. I hunt for my own food."
"Why?" Cat waves her tail. "That sounds like a lot of work."
"Better than being a lazy kittypet who relies on the pity of their housefolk for their survival," he hisses in disgust.
He's still trying to herd her in the right direction, without much success.
She laughs. "Do I look pitied? I can go wherever and do whatever I want, and at the end of it I'll be fed whether or not I've caught anything. I'm four winters old and perfectly healthy, and I'll probably live to be at least fifteen. 'Lazy' I'll accept, but I'd much prefer 'smart.' I'm not hungry. I'm not cold. Why should a harder life be a better one?"
"But - don't you have any pride?" he insists.
"Do you even know how to hunt? Could you, if you wanted to?"
"I can't eat pride," Cat points out. "And of course I can hunt, and I do. It's fun and interesting. Why, can't you?"
"Of course I can!" he replies indignantly. "I already told you that."
They're still moving in the wrong direction, deeper into ShadowClan territory.
"—do you have no sense of direction?"
"Nope," Cat lies blatantly and cheerfully. The scent of unfamiliar cats is stronger here; she pulls back her lips to taste it better.
"What happens if you don't catch anything?" she asks after a moment. "You don't eat?"