[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Beau

Cloudstrike tilted her head thoughtfully as Duskfeather spoke, replying afterwards in a contemplative voice, "That's true. Though, I'll never be as intimidating as a naturally large, tall, muscular cat. I've accepted that. But, you're right. My fur might add some intimidation factor since it makes me appear larger. Then again, it is soft and fluffy, which doesn't often inspire fear in the hearts of my enemies." Cloudstrike laughed at the absurdity of her remark, knowing and priding herself on the fact that she had no enemies. At Duskfeather's comment, Cloudstrike turned her sapphire pools onto the Riverclan warrior's sleek and short fur. "Perhaps not, but at least you can swim without the weight of a full other cat dragging you down!" The white cat mewed lightheartedly, making a fake exasperated expression that quickly dissolved into a smile. All thoughts of possibly fighting Duskfeather one day had fled from her mind, but somewhere in her brain, Cloudstrike already knew she'd never be able to hurt her friend. The she-cat found it hard enough to harm strangers, let alone someone she knew and genuinely liked. One of the many thoughts that crossed her mind in that moment was the hope that she'd meet Duskfeather again. They weren't done talking yet, but soon one or both of them would head back to the camp and get lost in other duties. The busy lives of warriors tended to sweep friends away from each other like a strong current, and Cloudstrike could only pray to Starclan that Duskfeather and her would remain close.

Cloudstrike contemplated Duskfeather's argument, finding herself nodding along with her words. "That makes sense, Dawn. I know it doesn't really hurt them and that their deaths are necessary sacrifices. I also know that it isn't really all that unfair since eventually the same will happen to us. But, I still find it difficult to kill them. They're just so cute! I don't think it will ever come easily. But, maybe it isn't supposed to..." Cloudstrike's voice was gentle and had a slight philosophical note to it. But, there was not a hint of anger or offense anywhere within it. In fact, she was rather confused by her friend's apology and she responded innocently, "You don't need to apologize, Dawn. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and just because ours differ doesn't mean one refutes the other." The ivory warrior gave Duskfeather a friendly smile to calm the other she-cat's worries. "I do agree with you that death shouldn't be feared or hated," Cloudstrike added, "When you die, you go somewhere better. Besides, living forever would be terribly boring and I'd imagine rather lonely.

Duskfeather's comment about pine needles made Cloudstrike laugh and she purred, "You get used to them." Her ears perked to better catch Duskfeather's description of Riverclan prey and she mewed, "It makes sense that you eat so much fish. I never knew that it helped to keep you're fur so sleek and water-resistant." That fact was common knowledge, and the forgetful she-cat most likely was told about it before, but as of that moment she didn't remember. After finishing her words, Cloudstrike rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, letting the sun shine on her belly fur. One of the odd she-cat's many quirks was that she liked laying on her back. She found it comfortable, and could stay there for hours, just dozing or watching her surroundings.

"Well you never know the muscles that might hide under that soft and fluffy exterior." Duskfeather purred out, but nodded. "But you're right,
not every cat is meant to be intimidating or even good at fighting. What is true however, is that every cat is good at something, and that applies to you too." Hearing the white she-cats remark about not having the weight of another cat dragging her down while she swam, she couldn't help but snicker and nod her head. "That's very true, I am grateful for that!" Sighing out a bit, the smile on her maw remained, her eyes momentarily looking up at the sky for a moment before focusing back on Cloudstrike. "Of course you have the advantage during leafbare, I imagine you're able to stay much warmer than I am, of course we could go back and forth with this all day, sure I'll be cooler in greenleaf and so on and so on,
what matters is that we are able to stay alive. Right? Long fur, short fur, doesn't matter, so long as we're still breathing and our heart is still beating, then the length of our fur doesn't matter. Just like our clans, we're all trying to survive under different circumstances, whether you're from my clan or not doesn't matter. If you're kind and friendly, then I can consider you a friend.
Or at least consider myself on friendly terms with you." Blinking about how much she had spoken, she awkwardly shifted her weight a bit on the pebbles, flicking her tail. "Er, I apologize, usually I don't ramble on like that."

Looking at Cloudstrike for a moment, Duskfeather tried to think of the prey as cute, as something other than what they were and found herself having a hard time of doing so. But regardless whether she could put herself in the other cats paws or not, she nodded quietly in understanding. "Yes, perhaps it was never meant to be easy for some cats. Just like for some cats fighting another isn't easy." Killing wasn't hard for Duskfeather, and sometimes she didn't like that, nervous that maybe one day it won't be just prey. But then again, her thoughts circled around death constantly, she was comfortable with it, comfortable with the idea of bringing another creature to the end, whether it be cat or prey. Of course she'd never share this with anyone, but she wouldn't have a problem with killing another cat. She wouldn't feel guilty, or upset, well, unless it was an accident and it was someone she cared about. But if it was someone who she didn't know, and fully planned on committing the kill, then she would hold no sorrow for them. No one knew she had these thoughts, and it was likely no one ever would.
Blinking a bit as she was brought back to the voice of the Shadowclan cat, she dawned an appreciative smile. "That... Is true. Thank you." Her head would nod again as Cloudstrike agreed with her statement about death, a clearly happier look now on the she-cats face.

"I imagine they harden your paws too huh? Since you say you get used to them." Flashing a grin, she did believe what she had asked, but at the same time she almost found it silly. A cats paws hardened by the very ground they walked on, by little pine needles. Was it really that far of a stretch?
"Ah yes, Riverclan's little secret! Except it's really.. Not that big of a secret, I just like to say it is since none of the other clans really eat fish." Snorting a bit, Duskfeather would roll her eyes and slowly sit up, fully turning to the stream now to stare into the water. It might look like she was doing just that, looking at the water, perhaps still intrigued by the beauty of the rhythm, but really she was just hungry. All the talk of fish and prey and what not had stirred up her hunger again.
"Are you still hungry?"