Originally Posted by Empress Of Evil (Post 255919) Terror rippled as waves through her mind as Tundra stared at the eerie tom. How did she always manage to get herself into situations like this? She had come out into the territory in search of some peace and quiet. She had wanted to get a break from all the cats of the Dusk Syndicate. There was hardly any cat in this evil place that was pleasant to be around. And she hated it. The Siberian knew that she could always just run away, but where would she go? That was the thing, she didn’t have anywhere to go. How would she survive? She knew the basics like hunting, but unlike her sister, she knew nothing about healing. What if she were to be injured? She wouldn’t know how to react. There were just too many possibilities and dangers that forced Tundra into a position where she knew she wouldn’t live without the Syndicate. There were many dangers in the world that the Siberian she-cat hadn’t yet faced, and honestly, she didn’t want to ever face them. The fighter knew that the world stretched far beyond the territory of the Dusk Syndicate, and the she-cat found herself constantly wondering if she abandon this eerie place for the adventure that everything else held. But she had always managed to find an ‘excuse’. In terms of finding an ‘adventure’, Tundra wasn’t the adventurous type. She preferred to stay safe and sound, rather than risking her life to experience something amazing. In her point of view, it just wasn’t worth it. Normally, the she-cat wouldn’t dare look at the tom, but there was a feeling in her, urging her to just take a small, quick glance at the large tom cat. So, she did. She flashed a glance up at the tom before looking back down at her paws. All it had taken was that short moment. Those few seconds had been enough for Tundra to see his expression, to predict what was most likely going through his mind. He was enjoying this. Hannibal liked seeing the fear that he caused to spark in Tundra. But why wouldn’t a cat like Hannibal like spreading fear? Didn’t it make him feel powerful? Didn’t it make him feel like he was in control? The light grey fighter hated it. She hated how she knew just how scared she was of the large grey tom. He frightened her and she couldn’t stop it. Normally the she-cat wasn’t scared of most cats, for even if she wasn’t vain, she knew that she was perfectly capable of defending herself. But there were a few cats in the syndicate that just sent shivers up her spine. They sent alarm and fear through her, and Tundra knew that she couldn’t stand up and face her fears. The she-cat had to live through the torture of talking to those that she actually feared. All that Tundra wanted was a generally solitary life with only a few cats popping in and out of it every now and again. She wanted to be left alone so she didn’t have to talk. She hated hearing her voice and the awkwardness that tainted it. It was an embarrassment to herself. The Siberian’s head shot up as the tom spoke. “I u-um yeah, it w-was….fun,” Tundra replied, trying to sound enthusiastic yet failing miserably. It was clear for anyone to see, or technically hear, that she was lying. Although deep inside, the she-cat was trying to convince herself that she didn’t sound that obvious. Tundra knew that she just had to lie. What other choice did she have? Well actually, she could’ve just said that truth, but the she-cat was pretty certain that that wouldn’t get her anywhere either. Whatever happened, it probably wasn’t going to end well. Nothing ever ended well when it came to socialising. But she had lived through the pain before, so surely she could live through it again? Seeing as Hannibal was now in a comfortable sitting position, the she-cat was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon. So, she decided to follow by his example. Slowly, she settled herself down, making sure not to make any eye contact with the tom. “Oh um I w-was practicing. Fighting skills. Y-yeah, f-fighting skills,” Tundra stammered. Normally she didn’t stutter when talking, she just sounded awkward, however when she was talking to Hannibal, the stutter just came in automatically and she couldn’t stop it. Alone. The word struck through all of the worries and thoughts that were going through her mind. She was alone, which left Hannibal with all the opportunities to prod at her mind like she had last time. Right now, all she felt like doing was curling up in a ball and wailing. She needed some serious comfort at the present moment. No, she didn’t. What she needed was to be alone. She needed some more alone time, with no one around. Tundra had decided long ago that a solitary life was probably the best option for her, yet it was something that was really hard to get. Her thoughts were really starting to get to her. To the point where she was almost certain she could start bawling her eyes out at any time. Hannibal had done hardly anything yet and she was already at the point of a mental breakdown. This was why she hated socialising. Oh please someone save me.

Why is it that his appearance always sent cats away with shivers? It certainly shouldn't be because of his size, he was approximately average in both height and weight, slightly leaning to the leaner, skinnier side rather than the heavyset side. His pelt was perfectly normal, no interesting or unusual markings on it, no scars to show the battles he's fought or the cats he's killed, his pelt was perfectly clean, well groomed, even holding a small sheen to it in the right lighting. The only thing that he could think that would invoke fear were his eyes, that's the only plausible thing he could think of. His eyes that seemed to be the color of fire, his eyes that seemed to nearly glow in dim light, his eyes that held you in the spot you stood until he allowed you to no longer be held by its grip. Despite his intelligence, Hannibal just couldn't find why cats found his appearance eerie. Perhaps it was his lack of emotions, for some reason cats found that eerie and unsettling. It didn't make much sense to him, why was it unnerving for a cat to feel any emotion? Was it because it allowed him to kill with ease? Was it because he couldn't get angry {to a certain degree}? Was it because he could never smile with true happiness, or perhaps because he could never feel fear? He just didn't understand it. And particularly? He didn't feel like trying to understand it. There were some things in life that he wanted to understand, to study, and then there were things he couldn't care at all about.
Lets see what I can do to her mind today. Perhaps a bit of intimidation?
That will surely help her crack a little, it's always interesting to watch them flinch in fear, it's such a peculiar reaction. What does it serve to do? Flinching from words does nothing, it doesn't protect you from pain, it doesn't do anything at all so why is it a natural reaction to do such a thing? His mind pondered as he settled onto the ground as he prepared to speak with Tundra, in a way trapping her in the location they were in now just by sitting down. It was also interesting how cats didn't dare leave him before it was clear the conversation was ended. All he had to do was sit down near them and begin a conversation and it was like he was throwing a cage around them that only he had the key to. Very interesting indeed.

As he settled down into a comfortable sitting position, he didn't miss that quick glance at him. She's growing courage it seems, that's interesting,
but I suppose it has been a while since our last conversation. The dark tom would like his lips and watch her, reading her very carefully and very meticulously. Is she trying to read me as I do her? I'm not sure what she'll find, but it would be surprising if she could find anything at all. Perhaps she thinks I'm happy right now, happy because I'm making her scared. If only that were true. Happiness eludes me just as the answers to certain questions do. But let her believe as she will, I don't wish to speak on the matter, it's not why I came here and sat down. Hannibal was quiet for some time as he waited for her to respond, quietly sifting through his own thoughts, putting together how he wanted this conversation to go, figuring out just what he wanted to do. How far he wanted to crack into that brain of hers. Traumatizing cats, seeing the fear run through them as if they were being attacked by some beast when it was only his picking, jabbing words.. It was, in a way, entertaining to watch. Perhaps that's what he'd do. Strike some fear into her shall we? She's quite the fainthearted one too.
Ears perking up as Tundra responded to him, his eyes were already on her, paying close attention to her.
Almost as soon as she began talking, lights went off in Hannibal's head. She was lying. Some cats were slightly difficult to tell if they were lying, but this was too easy, it was almost as if she were directly saying it herself to him. Oh this will make it easy. Immediately he seemed to dawn an angry look, his pupils narrowing and his brows flattening, the tip of his tail wriggling. Despite not being able to feel emotions, he could mimic them very well. Half the time he didn't bother using it, but when he needed to, they came in handy.
"Are you lying to me Tundra? Because I certainly wouldn't appreciate it if you are. Liars don't sit well with me, just the same as rude cats. One might even consider lying a rude act." The tom wrinkled his nose slightly in a snarl, making one of his paws move so that his unsheathed claws might glint in the sunlight. He should get a good reaction out of that.
The conversation continued on, but the tom didn't remove the angry look from his face, in fact, he seemed to stand up.
"Fighting skills you say? Not that those would ever help you. You know,
I could end you right here. In the middle of the territory. Have that pretty coat of yours slathered in crimson. I doubt you would have cats that would give a mouses corpse about you being dead. Perhaps it would even go unnoticed." The tom took a step towards her, his tail giving a thoughtful flick.
"Do you think I would do that? Kill you I mean. Do you think I would kill you just as easily as a hunter may kill a bird? What do you think, do you believe what cats say about me, or do you choose to believe something different?" The angry look has faded from his face now as he stands perhaps two feet away from her, expressionless again.
Sometimes Hannibal liked to go the more subtle route, picking away at a cats brain slowly over time, but some cats, who had a weaker will, he could go with a much more aggressive style. One that could confuse the mind and break it down at the same time. They may wonder what he's truly feeling, what he's truly thinking because his outward appearance and outward words showed nothing of that, there was no real way of actually showing that, there was no real way of ever really knowing what was going on in his head. Perhaps that's what made him so scary to others.
He was completely unfathomable.

Originally Posted by moonfang (Post 258568) { @Ever } Onyx led the way, walking along the dead, soaked leaved that lay on the floor of the darkened woods, his icy pits the only things really seeable on his ebony black body. He flicked his tail, breathing in, and he honed his mind on the scents. There were a couple of kittypets around, no threat nor notice in their scents. The joys of being an empath. He took in another deep breath and sensed prey closer than the kittypets and decided to go for that. "Follow me." he said with a flick of his head and he started in a trot but as soon as she was following he broke out into a sprint. He kept breathing, pinpointing the location of a squirrel and he felt some anger in his heart. Knowing that a rabid squirrel blinded his sister (which made the loners who attacked her have the upperhand), he moved faster and faster and soon he tackled down the squirrel and he rolled, claws latching into the pelt of the animal, it squealing and flailing above him and with a thrust of his weight he forced the roll to complete and he pinned the helpless animal down where he bit the neck, fangs cutting through veins and arteries, and the squirrel bled out in less than a minute. He looked up at Ebony and gave a shrug. "Easy." he said simply, hiding his rage. Then he cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Do you even know how to hunt?" he asked, looking her dead in the eyes.

With an annoyed huff she followed a few cat lengths behind the tom, not wanting to take over nor interrupt his hunt. Though his pace and animosity in the kill left her with a sole though: that was dramatic. Her eyes and face were twisted in a smirk as she watched him and registered his question. It made the fur along her spine bristle displeasure as she met his gaze easily. This is why I do not leave with others. She silently chastised herself as she thought of something to say in response. Honestly she just didn't see the point in wasting her energy. "Nah, I can only fight." She said, her voice drawn out and dripping with sarcasm. Her mismatched eyes were narrowed crossly at the tom cat. She watched him for a moment before trotting past him, chin high in the air and eyes trained on him out of the corner of her eye. "Hope you can dig quick." She grumbled before disappearing under the thick underbrush that was scattered throughout the Dusk Syndicate's territory. She'd warned him that she wouldn't wait up for the tom if he slowed her down. Ebony had very little night to live out her plans and she wanted to check all the boxes. At the moment very little taste of kittypet lingered on the breeze, especially none recent. She had to find something to toy with to bring enjoyment to this evening.

Originally Posted by moonfang (Post 258751) He rolled his eyes at both her statements and he buried the prey, not quickly, but not slowly, and then he breathed in, instantly catching her scent and he bolted and slowed to a trot as he padded beside her. "So, Ebony. What is the history between you and Hannifool." he grumbled, as he was still angry at Hannibal for leaving him to die when he was in battle against Auroraflame and Grousestar. Damn fool. he thought. I would have won if he hadn't left me to die. He then cleared his thoughts and looked down at her. "Bad past." he said in remarks to him calling Hannibal what he did. He then breathed and let the anger flow out through his exhale and then awaited her response patiently. She wasn't a talker, but she did have some faunas to her. He liked it, in his opinion. She obviously wasn't one to be pushed around like a toy, and could certainly hold her own.

Ebony sighed as she heard him catching up to her quickly, though she was thankful for the moment of peace and quiet that she had gotten. She couldn't envision the conversation between them going anywhere this evening, he seemed to eager in her mind. Plus he wouldn't quit hassling her about hunting, if she had the time and energy perhaps she would hunt but it wasn't her place. While he fell into a trotting pace beside her, she kept her gaze trained on the forest path before her. It was turning out to be quite a dark night, a little overcast. It made the forest comfortingly dark, at least that had her in a good mood as he asked his question. It was answered at first with a shrug. "We're siblings. There's not much more than that." She said simply, almost in a bored tone. She didn't like to think about Hannibal, nor to bother with him at all. The silent agreement that they had to keep out of each other's lives was enough for her. Though aside from that she wasn't involved in any of her siblings lives. She just felt awkward to be around them, constantly wondering if they knew what she had seen. Had they seen it too? She didn't know and likely never would.

Originally Posted by moonfang (Post 259076) { want me to have a random cat that they kill together ;u; } He nodded and smiled slightly to get rid of the deadpan look he had, and let the silence consume them. He liked the darkness and a slight outline was the only thing that made his body seeable in the darkness. That, and his icy-blue eyes beaming with a small mist emitting from them. He liked the dark, it brought the element of surprise and a perfect kill. He smirked at the thought silently and breathed in, trying to catch scent of a nearby kittypet or loner, hoping to find one soon. There was a few sneaking around and he figured they were naive and had no idea where they were, s they straggled along the border, aimlessly trying to find a home. Wrong place to search. The guard figured he should check it out, seeing as it was his job to protect the Syndicate and Commander (the recent loss of the co-commander was hard enough on him), but he figured it could wait. He had no foul scent of clan anywhere and deemed it safe for travel. He lost Renn, a good friend of his, he lost Boreas, he was determined not to also fail in protecting Halite. He looked down at Ebony and after a while of silence, he broke it with his voice. "You know, you are nothing like your brother. You seem more... content with the world, instead of being... stoic about everything." he said slightly. He felt a snarl threatening to escape his maw. He had to hold it in and he breathed in letting it fall from his lungs in contentness.

(oooh yes that could be very fun for them!)
The silence wrapped around her like a the warmth in the den did. Ebony thrived on darkness and silence. The two black cats would be impossible for the untrained eye to notice at this rate. However she was rather thrown off by his remark. Her golden and ice blue hues looked over at him and lingered for once since their conversation had begun. It was a compliment that had caught her off guard. Ebony was never complimented, she was typically overlooked due to her ominous silence and lack of friendly connections in the Syndicate. For a moment, something of her old self came through as she watched the tom stare ahead angrily, and a small smile formed on her maw. "Thank you." She said quietly, before finally being able to pull her eyes off him again. The feeling the compliment left within her, the strange warmth, was foreign and made her uneasy suddenly. So she immediately dove back into silence. Her ears and chest began smoldering with an embarrassed blush as she thought of how silly she must have looked a few moments ago; caught up in a tom's compliment. The black molly chastised herself for falling into his paws so quickly and easily, told herself that she was better than this. He could be lying, she thought as she stared into the darkness ahead, ears tipped back with unease, he could just be trying to get me on his side, to use me. Her tail swayed behind her in thought and she nervously picked up the pace again in hopes of masking the sounds of her heart skipping beats.