Practice makes...

[Pirate Cat]

Ghost crawls through the grass almost completely flat, his icy eyes narrowed and locked onto his target. His whiskers twitch at the sound of his prey chewing through the rubbish. As he edges closer it looks up. Ghost stops with his paw in mid air, unblinking he waits frozen, until the rodent continues it's scavenging. He crawls forward some more...
The rat turns round but barely had the time to register it's feline assailant. In a flash of white-grey fur Ghost sinks his claws into it and bites through it's neck.
...Perfect.
He licks his paws clean purring softly and proceeds to pick up the limp rat in his mouth.
Casually strolling off like nothing had happened he moves over to a lonely corner to enjoy his late evening meal.
Knowing very well what might happen if he were to let down his guard, he looks up every so often to be sure that he is not likely to be hunted or to loose his catch.

[Redshift]

"Entten taar/ kabanel naar / isafel, popanel, pim pim pam," Rua sang along the empty sidewalks of the park. She repeated it with different tunes and beats, just liking the way the Finnish words rolled off her tongue. It had been a while since the old dog was able to just go on a walk. Her stomach was pleasantly full and there was no imminent threat of death. The city park smelled of sweet grass, leaves, and... dead rat?

Rua's moment of bliss was interrupted by a skittish cat, sulking in a corner of the park, tearing apart what seemed to be a large rodent. He seemed to be trying to blend into the shadows, but his dirty white pelt did him no favors. Honestly, the elderly herder just wanted to go about her business, but the age old instinct to chase the feline was rising within her heart, making it pound with excitement. For a moment, she stood debating, her head cocked and tail slightly wagging. Finally, she decided to test the cat's reaction. She let out a sharp bark, saying, "Hey kid! Whatcha doin' huddled in a corner like that?"

[Pirate Cat]

The bark vibrated Ghost's whiskers so suddenly he barely caught what was said.
Wincing a little with the knowledge that he was not alone, he stops eating the rat and looks up.
A dog?! Shit! Okay, I need to calm down... it's just a dog and it doesn't look like it's going to attack me... wait what did it say?
Taking a moment to work out what the bark might have been, he eventually replies.
"Well I'm eating a rat..."
He takes another bite out of it barely moving his eyes away from the dog. He swallows the lump of rat and continues.
"...and I'm not a kid."
He prepares to pick up the remains of the rat and run should things go south from here.

[Redshift]

Rua nearly jumped as the cat's head spun around and revealed his two large, blue eyes. She felt the narrow slits judging her every fiber. Any muscle movement could possibly send the feline running. So, the old herder proceeded with caution.

She did, however, let out a chuckle when he remarked that he was, contrary to Rua's previous statement, "not a kid. "
"Sorry there, bucko. Unless you've seen seven, almost eight, years go by, I'm afraid you are a kid in my book." Then, she paused, staring into the cat's eyes a little longer, and began to ramble, "Wait a second, ain't a cat with white fur and blue eyes lucky or somethin'? I swear I heard that before. There's the black cat, that's bad luck, and you're the opposite. Isn't that how it works? I dunno, maybe my mind's goin'again. So if ya are good luck, do I have to trick you into givin' me yer gold like a leprechaun? How does it work exactly? " In the midst of her tangent, Rua seemed to forget she was talking to a cat, since she no longer had the urge to chase him up a tree.

[Pirate Cat]

Ghost just looks at the dog.
What is this dog rambling about? Lucky? Gold?
He takes a couple more mouthfuls finishing off what seems to be the last of the edible meat, still not looking away for more than a second. He pushes the remains aside with a paw. Licking his lips clean he slowly stands up still very prepared to run.
"I don't know what all this lucky talk is but it's not funny."
The cat's eyes narrow into a frown, as he cautiously steps away from the dead rat, and hopefully the crazy dog.

[Redshift]

Rua was just about to continue, but the cat seemed especially unnerved and looked like he was trying to escape. "Ah hell," she mumbled, shaking her head. "You know, sanity doesn't come with age it looks like. I know it seems like I've wasted yer time, but sometimes you gotta humor an old coot like myself. Much appreciated, by the way. Not a lot of folks like yerself stick around this long. I mean, it's not like our kinds usually get along all the time, but you don't seem half bad." The herder blinked and sighed. "There I go again. I'll just leave then if your rarin' to skeedaddle. Hei hei!"

She was turning to go, but a lightbulb flickered in her mind and she could not help but flipping back around and saying, "Hold up. I've gotta return the favor, o' course, ya puttin' up with my ramblin' and all. How's about this, come with me to some of the food vendors round here and I'll help ya catch a bite that's better than that stinkin' old rat. Then, I'll let you be if you wish. How's about that?" Her tail wagged happily, though she knew cats did not often do this when they were similarly excited. Perhaps there was something to learn from this strange, white pelted feline. "The name's Rua by the way," she added hastily, cocking her own head as if to ask for his name in return.

[Pirate Cat]

Ghost pauses mid step as his whiskers twitch, a twitch that translated as an offer of food.
I'm not sure what this dog's motive is but, I am still hungry...
He walks over to Rua still a little cautious.
"Alright, I'll follow, and it's Ghost."
He stops a good couple of feet away from her and waits to move on, hoping that she doesn't expect him to stay close.
I may have to find a way to loose her shortly after the food, I can't have her finding out too much about me...

[Redshift]

Rua wagged her tail, sure to make a show of friendliness as he accepted her offer. True, it was not often that canine and feline got along, but there were a few occasions. This cat was hungry and Rua was bored. Surely that made a good combination. "This way," Rua replied. She padded along the winding sidewalk, heading toward the outer edge of the park. The cat did not accompany her by her side, but that was understandable. It must be hard trusting an insane dog for a meal.

To pass the time getting there, Rua tried again to initiate conversation, "Ghost, huh? Nice name for a cat. It suits you, ya know. You seem like the quiet type, I can tell. My brother, Taavi, was like that. Never said much, but was sharp as a nail. You'da liked him. Maybe you two would be better company than an abrasive coot like myself." The old herder let out a laugh. "You ever talked to many dogs, Ghost? I can't say I've had many pleasant conversations with a cat."

Finally, the trees parted to the sight of passing cars and pedestrians. As the two rounded the corner, a strong scent of hotdog hit Rua square in the face. She was familiar with this stand in particular. Years had passed since her first attempt at stealing from the gruff, aging man. He was brutal in defense of his processed meat. The Hotdog Man never gave freebies to passing strays, cat or dog. He would often curse, yell, or throw things at animals. Rua had never successfully stolen any of this man's merchandise. It seemed temporarily befriending this cat would be useful after all.

She looked over to the cat, bending down if he would offer to get close to her. "I don't know if you've ever passed this stand, but this guy's a real beast. He's never shared one bit of meat with any stray, not in my knowledge at least. He'll be a challenge, but we could also win eternal glory. You up for it?"