Predator vs. Prey

((Emerald, Cookie Dough, and Jinks hunting))

Emerald limped through the streetlit city. This area of the city was never really busy at night when it came to humans, unlike just south of there where many humans lived the night life. Cookie followed quietly, ears alert for any sounds.

Jinks slinked along at the side, keeping his senses sharp and making sure nothing got past him. He moved next to Cookie and glanced over at her, wondering why she was so different from the other leaders. He could tell almost from the moment all three of the sisters lined up that she wasn't quite as mean as the others. That fact brought out his curiosity.

Emerald and Cookie continued walking until Cookie felt herself suddenly trip over her own feet and fall flat on her face onto the rough pavement. Emerald stared at Cookie who was now on the ground, eyebrow raised at her. Cookie slowly got up, head down and tail drooping, embarrassed. She reluctantly turned her head to Emerald. Emerald stared at her with the same gaze for a little while longer, then rolled her eyes and lowered her eyebrow.
"I think we should split up around this area to cover more ground. I'm gonna go west of here, you guys do what you want." Emerald said, limping westward and dissapearing down another alley.

Cookie watched her go, clearly not happy that she was going off on her own with a heavy limp to hunt. She kept her mouth shut though. Cookie glanced at Jinks for less than a second, then spat out some gravel that she had gotten in her mouth when she had landed. She then trotted over to a different alley, looking and listening to everything around her carefully.

Jinks nodded and watched Emerald walk off before turning to Cookie Dough. "So, you wanna split up?" he asked, his steady gaze leveling onto the other cat. He looked over in curiosity as she spat out some gravel, and just barely held back the urge to laugh.

Cookie turned around. "I'm fine staying or splitting up. You do what you want." Cookie said cheerfully, turning her attention back to the alley she was about to walk through. She started walking and then felt something mushy under her foot. She made a high pitched squeak and jumped back a step, some of the mush still on her paw. She looked under her paw and saw a bit of rotten mashed potatoes on her paw from one of the human homes around the area. Cookie shuddered, gagging a little at the smell.
"That's just beautiful..." She muttered to herself sarcastically. She wiped it onto a clean part of the alley floor, eventually gettng it off. She then walked over to a puddle and dipped her paw in it reluctantly, not liking the feeling of water on her fur. She then flicked the water off her paw a few times, and smiled at her self accomplishment of a clean paw.

Jinks thought about it for a second before following Cookie Dough, tactfully stepping over the mashed potatoes. "Where's the best place to hunt around here?" he asked, glancing back at Cookie Dough as he passed her. He himself usually hunted in a completely different area, but since this was the turf of the gang he was now a part of, that wasn't a possibility.

"There's food everywhere, there isn't really a 'best place' to hunt. Although you can constantly hear mice and other critters at Emerald's spot on top of one of the home alley building walls. No one but Emerald has seen up there though, since no one else but her is able to get up that high or is agile and quick enough. She's like a ghost when it comes to movement." Cookie said, stopping suddenly when she heard movement behind a box. She went low, beginning to creep forward toward the box. She then darted forward, knocking the box over and grabbing the critter that was behind it. it was a possum. She snapped it's neck before it could do anything. Cookie smiled proudly, and picked up the possum in her jaws. As she turned around to start walking again, her hind left leg caught on the edge of the box she had tippid over and she fell flat on her face once again, dropping the dead possum. The box flew up in the air and let out the tons of spoons it was holding. The spoons fell out and crashed onto Cookie. Cookie yelped as they fell, one hitting the back of her head. She grunted as she stood up again, picking up the possum she dropped.
"Damn spoons." She hissed, her tail flicking annoyedly behind her.

Emerald limped across the alley, very pissed off at herself. She had not caught a thing, and had missed about five mice she could have caught. Damn it Flash, you just had to start trouble and leave us both looking like wobbly idiots! She hissed in her head, continuing to limp onwards through the alley.

Jinks watched the whole scene in fascination, this time actually breaking down and chuckling a bit. "You okay?" he asked, walking back over to Cookie to make sure she wasn't injured. "Yeah you're fine." he nodded, tensing when he heard something scurrying behind a dumpster. He crept up to the edge and lept behind it, coming back out with a large, dead mouse in his teeth.

Cookie watched as Jinks hunted... without tripping or being attacked by a box of spoons. Balance and grace had never been her forte, even as a kit. Shesmiled as he came back with the large mouse.
"Nice catch." She said cheerfully, turning around to continue walking down the alley.

Jinks set the mouse down and waited for Cookie to lead the way. "It's kind of inadequate compared to catching a opossum." he pointed out, picking up the mouse and following her as she went down the alley. Apparently talking time was over since they couldn't really chat with dead things in their grips. He didn't really mind though. Silence had always been something he was glad for.

Cookie shook her head. "Every bit of food is valuable." She said, a little muffled since her mouth was full. She kept walking, her tail swishing happily behind her. The scent of spaghetti suddenly drifted from one of the buildings in the alley, from one of the lower windows. Cookie stopped, inhaling the delicious scent. She placed the possum down on the alley floor, and walked over until she was just below the window. She then hopped up a couple of crates until she was right in front of the window looking in.

Through the window was a family sitting down to a meal of spaghetti. There was a mother and father, two little girls and two little boys. They all feasted on the homemade spaghetti happily, speaking to each other in tongue she couldn't understand. A pang of sadness rushed through her at the sight of the family, remembering her own human family that her, Emerald, and Scooter had stupidly strayed from and couldn't find their way back. Cookie's tail stopped swishing, but drooped a little instead, her eyes locked on the sight of the family eating together at the table. Another piece of her heart seemed to tear as she watched, her eyes quickly turning dull and saddened. She studied the happy faces of the human family, longing to see the happy faces of her human's once again. But she knew that this wasn't going to happen. She sighed, forcing herself to turn away and brighten up her face again as she turned her face back in the sight of Jinks. She smiled, hopping down the crates and back onto the floor.
"Their spaghetti looks good." She said, faking happiness in her voice easily.
She picked up her possum and waited for Jinks to follow.

"I guess you're right there." Jinks said, setting his mouse down and waiting for her to get off the windowsill. Jinks was no idiot, so he could tell there was sadness in her voice, even when Cookie was trying to hide it. Jinks himself had never had a human family to take care of him, so he didn't understand why she was so sad. "So is that what that smell is?" He asked, taking another whiff of the air. He could tell that staying here wouldn't do any good, so he picked up his mouse and followed her.

Cookie began walking once Jinks started following her again. "Yeah, I never got a taste of it, but it always smelled good when my humans made it. Oh, I guess I should explain first. Me, Emerald, and Scooter lived in a human home at one point. But we wandered off and weren't able to find our way back." Cookie explained, dodging another piece of rotten mashed potatoes on the ground.

"Oh, I never had a human family." Jinks replied, his words muffled by the mouse in his teeth. "But I think it was for the best." he said, moving forward so they were walking side by side. Jinks found it easier to speak this way, so that's how he liked to walk unless otherwise instructed. "If I hadn't been alone all this time, I wouldn't be as quiet or fast if I had been with a family. I'm not saying you're worse than you could be of course." he said quietly, hoping he had avoided insulting one of the leaders of his gang.

Cookie laughed a little at Jink's comment. "That would explain why I can't move without making noise" She said, still laughing a little. "Scooter is average when it comes to being quiet. Emerald is like a ghost most of the time though, it's scary." Cookie said, still grinning with the mouse in her jaws. She tripped over a piece of rotten wood that fell off from one of the barrels leaning on the wall, but regained her balance quickly without dropping her mouse.

Jinks chuckled a little bit at Cookie's accident, but decided to help. "See, you're not as clumsy as you think." he said, waiting for her to catch up. "A normal cat might have dropped that mouse." he said, wondering exactly why he was talking so much. It was very out of character for him to be so kind or sociable. Maybe it was the fact that he got into this gang that made him a bit odd.

Cookie grinned. "A normal cat would have noticed it and stepped over it." She said through a bit of laughter. She then stepped on a sharp pebble, but she managed to hold back a yelp and calmly continue walking, though her paw still remained a bit sore as she continued.