[Empress Of Evil]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

Hannibal loved the territory, he took walks in it nearly daily, he enjoyed the atmosphere it gave off, the dim feeling of being alone, the darkness and solemnity of it. It was sobering and refreshing. He was allowed to do as he pleased out here, no one to watch him, and if they happened to try, he'd most likely know. Hannibal knew that some cats hated him, it was something to expect after killing cats for many many moons, you were bound to kill a cat that some other truly cared about. Some cats likely wanted to end him, wanted the glory of killing such an infamous cat, he wasn't an idiot and knew to keep his guard up regardless of how certain he was of his safety. There was a reason behind him living to such a ripe age.
But I digress, right now, he was interested in 'catching up' with dear old Tundra, approaching her as politely as he would with most cats, even feigning a smile for her.
When the she-cat turned around, fear was as stark on her face as her pelt was against the gloomy atmosphere, it was such a common emotion that others expressed around him that he was used to it. It was an interesting one, one of the emotions he liked to study more than others, and it sometimes gave him the closest thing to satisfaction as he was capable of feeling. But his face remained holding that polite almost friendly look there, a smile present on his lips and his eyes calm as he looked right back into hers.
"And what a shame that is, I quite enjoyed out last chit-chat. I do hope you enjoyed our last talk as well." His head seemed to tilt slightly as if expecting her to confirm this or answer it in some sort of way, a polite gesture.
Hannibal would give a slight pause before resuming a normal position of sitting, head no longer tilted to the side, his back straight and ears erect, focused in her direction, tail curling neatly around his paws.
"What brings you out into the territory on such a day? All alone too hm?"
Now this would be interesting, he enjoyed pointing out the fact that she was alone, and by enjoyed I say it very loosely. He was more interested in how she would react and whether she had already realized that she was alone with him. Now that they were alone he could pick at that brain a bit more, there would be no cats to stop him and if he happened to decide to just end her? He could do it without any cat noticing. Not saying that he planned on doing that, but some things just aren't planned for.

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.