Ask to Join A Squeak Among Us

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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It wasn't really like her to hang around so close to the carrion without a specific order, but Nightwhisper didn't need an order to peruse her own territory. And prey dwindled here, fat rats with a lot of meat to feed the clan. Even if another clan might rue her for it, Nightwhisper found the taste of them rather interesting too, especially the ones not covered in diseases and such.

Duskmantle soon caught her eye, swiping around at just the thing she was looking for. She watched as the rat tried to escape the other side of the pipe and saw her opportunity, she didn't cast a shadow on the percieved exit and when the rat showed its ugly head and grinned

"Got it!" She chirped before her jaw slammed down onto the rat's spine. She gave a hearty tug and then slammed it on the ground with a crack. And then it was limp. She knew it might have been a little... unorthodox, but she didn't want to risk a bite... she found out first paw once that those ugly things have a bite that stung like fire. She wasn't keen on getting a bite anywhere on her.

Finding her footing on the pipe, she balanced herself, prancing over to Duskmantle with the rat in her jaws, dropping it at the paws of the blue smoke mink tom. "We make a good team!"

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle barely had time to register Nightwhisper's triumphant chirp before his attention was pulled toward another rustle deeper within the refuse. "We do." He mewed but was already stalking towards the next sound. His shoulders dipped as he prowled around a debris heap, following the faint skitter of claws beneath the debris.

Another rat burst from beneath the rubbish attempting to dart past him. Duskmantle lunged, jaws snapping around her body before she could disappear between two piles and the large rat twisted violently in his grip. Its teeth found his lip and the pain shot through his muzzle, only making him clamp harder in retaliation.

The rat squealed sharply, legs kicking uselessly as it dropped from his mouth but Duskmantle made no move to end its suffering. He was already turning towards the second pile - what had made the first rat make a made dash back to it? From within he could hear small squeaking, offspring perhaps?

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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When Duskmantle made a bite to the rat and let it slowly perish in it's own blood, Nightwhisper shrugged and forced a heavy paw into the nape of its neck. However, she didn't move to end its misery just yet, it was more-a-less to keep it in place while Duskmantle committed to his investigation as he usually did. And with her paw away from the blasted rat teeth, she didn't have much to worry about. 

"Sounds like rat-kits." Nightwhisper chuckled, glancing down at the rat, some may look at the rat and hear the tiny squeaks and feel guilt for taking a mother away from their offspring, but not Nightwhisper. ShadowClan had to live, and if they had to, they'd catch anything that they would be able to sink their teeth into, Nightwhisper especially.

When the rat beneath her paw tried to pivot to a better angle to ravish her paw with bites, she made well sure that she held the rat down hard enough to weaken it with a lack of oxygen to the windpipe, nothing to a deadly level. But it was just until Duskmantle found out this information. And the rat was slowly dying regardless of what she did. So why not just make it less likely for an injury. "How many do you think? Sounds like at least five squeaking about in there. Unless it's something else. Then I don't know exactly what it sounds like."

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle's ears tipped forward at the tiny chorus of squeaks coming from within the pipe. "Five sounds about right..." He meowed out loud, listening for the distinct voices within.

Curiosity sharpened his gaze as he crouched lower, peering into the dark opening before slowly extending one foreleg inside. His paw scraped against the tube walls as he felt around, searching for the warmth and movement of the nest. Once some of his arm disappeared the squeak grew louder, more distressed.

"Rat-kits...Tender, then." He grinned, pushing his paw farther into the tube. His claws flexed out against the metal as he felt something small scurry beneath his paws. He immediately shifted his weight, eager to catch hold of it. "Let's find out how many." His cornflower eyes flashed towards Nightwhisper playfully. Another squeak sounded from deeper inside, and Duskmantle's eyes narrowed with predatory focus as he probed farther.

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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When Duskmantle went prodding around in the hard and cold tunnel, it didn't take much to snap the fully grown rat's neck with a harsh stomp of her paw and trotted over with curious, almost kit-like interest and enthusiasm. Her paw launched into the tunnel as well, it was roomier than it looked on the outside and the squeaks of distress grew louder. But there was no rat-queen to answer them.

Nightwhisper gave a playful sideglance to Duskmantle and swished her tail with a strange sense of curiosity and playfulness "I'll chase them out and we can both try and catch one or two... depending on how many there are." She suggested, carefully unsheathing her claws.

All it needed to take was a poke the the rat-kits, but she wouldn't dare move until Duskmantle approved of their plan. Otherwise it would go awry fast. She narrowed her eyes and grinned excitedly. Eagerly awaiting Duskmantle's approval.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle's grin widened at Nightwhisper's suggestion paw still buried within the tube as another squeak sounded off beneath his claws. Definitely seemed more than two or three. "Go on, then." He goaded her with a rare playful edge. He withdrew his foreleg just enough to give Nightwhisper room to smoke them out from the other side.

"Drive them toward me.So many rat-kits but we should have enough space for both of us." His tail flicked once, anticipation evident in the movement. He glanced toward the darkness of the tunnel, listening carefully to the frantic little scrabbling within as they bundled up, then scittered away as if to divert their attentions.

"Just don't let them scatter past us." His eyes narrowed, smile fading into focus. "I'll snatch the first one." Duskmantle lowered himself, muscles tensing as he prepared to strike at anything that came scrambling out, hoping it was a fat one like the rat-queen.

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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A moment of silence feel over the two, the only noises being the faint, almost mouth watering squeaks of the rat kits in the tunnel. And suddenly, with a burst of movement, Nightwhisper launched her paw furiously into the tunnel. Sending the rat-kit's bursting out the opposite side towards Duskmantle.

"Incoming!" She called out as the left the tunnel, they seemed barely old enough to leave their mother, but were certainly large enough to eat. Once the last of the squeaks had broken into screeches, the last rat-kit leaving their dark tunnel home, Nightwhisper burst onto the scene, claws and fangs at the ready as she slammed her teeth into one of the tiny rats. Dispatching it almost instantly before moving to the next, and the next, and the one after. Still leaving some for Duskmantle to take in tandem.

After the chaos had subsided, Nightwhisper perked up her head and purred in triumph, a gaggle of rats would make some cat happy back at camp, she was sure of it. 

A brief moment of thought followed before the triumphant purr returned "Maybe Murksong will enjoy one of these. He's still not been in the highest of spirits recently." Nightwhisper missed Haresprint just as much as any other cat, but she decided to spend her time launching into her duties, and hanging out with Duskmantle, it seemed to distract her enough.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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His paw snapped out as his claws caught the first mouse-kit as if it was promised. It squealed briefly as he caught it mid dash, pulling it towards himself. Unlike the queen he dispatched it quickly but allowed it to fall from his claws as he anticipated the second.

Duskmantle was grinning now, boredom temporarily gone. He lunged after the next one, swatting it off course before pinning it beneath his paw, then spun toward another as it tried to slip between his legs. A quick snap finished it but be barely paused before another hapless rat-kit skittered by. 

By the time the squeaking had finally stopped he looked over the scattered catches, then toward Nightwhisper with a huff of laughter.  "That was more entertaining than I expected." He gave a nod or two at her mentioning Murksong, expression settling slightly. "Take him one. Might cheer him up. We certainly have more than enough to share..."

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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Nightwhisper joined him in his laughter as she went to collect as many of the scattered prey as she could, placing it in one spot so it was easier to collect when they decided to head back to camp. "Guess I can put a smile on your face!" She trilled proudly, giving Duskmantle a playful bat on the nose and giggling mischievously to herself like a cheeky kit.

Her curled ears perked as he confirmed what she planned to do and another thought caused those same ears to twitch. "What if we all share some, you me and Murksong." She offered with a twitch of her white tipped tail. "Who knows, he might need the company." She trilled, the offer was given with a smile and something a little more earnest than usual in her eyes. She was all that her second sire had now... unless...

Her mind suddenly flicked to kits. She hadn't really thought about it before, then again, she wasn't really getting any younger and she was born as a singleton kit. She could give Murksong something to look forward to, a bloodline of sorts. And it wasn't like she disliked kits, she loved Glowkit and she loved spending time with Emberdust's kits just as much as the next cat. But baring kits was something that was a massive commitment. That was most of the reason she didn't ask anyone yet. She didn't know if she'd even be a good mother to the kits.

She shook her head and sighed, turning her gaze to Duskmantle for a moment and letting out a soft sigh. "Duskmantle?" She began, a little shyer than what everyone else was used to. "If I were to make the choice, what do you think I'd be like as a queen? Would you think I'd be a good queen?"

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle's whiskers twitched when Nightwhisper batted his nose with a swipe of her paw, making no effort to stop her. He blinked at her slowly, her suggestion earning a satisfied glance at the pile of prey they had collectiively caught.

"You could put a smile on my face." He admitted, dusted with amusement. "On occasion." He began gathering a few of the larger rats beside the others, though his attention shifted when Nightwhisper's tone changed. Her question caught him off guard enough that he paused.

Duskmantle studied her with a newfound shyness, caught off guard before he shrugged to mask it. "You'd probably have fun." Kits weren't really his business... "You like having something to do. You'd have plenty of that with kits." He licked the residual blood from his muzzle with a swipe of his wrist.

"You'd probably care too much to be a bad one - if 'bad queens' even exist."

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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When Duskmantle answered, evidently the answer she was hoping for, her mood rose once more, shyness vanishing in a near blink of an eye. "Glowkit might be able to get a friend or two, or maybe not, depends on what the stars decide." She hummed gently, her tail swiping just above the grass. "I have been thinking about it here and there." she added as she rounded up the last of the rat-kits and tried to fit as many of their tails in her maw as she could, leaving them dangling like well... limp prey.

There had been a few faces that showed up when she thought of sires, after all... kits don't just appear out of thin air. Duskmantle was one of the few, and now that the topic had changed, now seemed to be as good of a time as any. At least in theory.

"Theoretically," She meowed, teeth clenched around little rat tails. "Would you want to sire kits if you had a she-cat... come up to you and ask?" She hummed through the rats, stepping beside Duskmantle on cue with her words while letting out an almost amused purr. He tail sprang upward in a playful curl, white tip fluttering over her back as she waited eagerly for an answer.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle's expression remained remarkably composed as her question drifted through his ears, momentarily shifting sideways. He glanced at Nightwhisper then back toward the collection of prey as though she had asked him something considerably... less consequential.

"If she asked... I'd assume she had a reason." While his shoulder was shifted, he dipped his head down to continue to help add to the pile. There was a faintly smug edge to his expression now... confidence that seemed to come from someone older than Duskmantle himself and far away.

"If a she-cat did ask me...I'd make it worth her while." His thoughts lingered on his last suggestion, entirely casual even if his tone dipped a bit...suggestively. Tails lined up in his jaws his eyes lowered to her as he lifted the remaining tails, saving the queen for last.

Packages secured he meowed through his fangs. "Depends on the she-cat, of course." With a sweep of his tail a soft grin touched his face. "Shall we drop these rats off back at camp?"

I did not wake up to be mediocre.

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"Well where else would we drop them." She hummed, amusement causing a slightly higher and cheerful lilt to her tone. To her, this meant that Duskmantle had shown some interest, if not flat-out accepted the offer put forward. While it was a spur of the moment thing for Nightwhisper, she knew that she would be happy in the nursery, even if she'd miss moving her paws and running around the territory.

Nightwhisper slipped a little further ahead than Duskmantle, tail swishing in an almost flirtatious or perhaps suggestive manner and a little smirk. "I should hope it's worth my while then~" She chirped, a spring in her step as she pushed forward, unperturbed by the rat-kits hanging in her jaws.

Duskmantle did seem to be a good choice, he'd shown her a new perspective on things, places that he had gone outside of ShadowClan territory. At least once anyway. It was an interesting ordeal and it opened her eyes a little to other cats' lives outside of the warrior code, outside of StarClan. It wasn't her thing though, she couldn't imagine a life without her ancestors watching over her. She didn't necessarily intend for him to be involved if he didn't approach. He wasn't required to, but she did need him for something all the other, later.