Wandering Ways, a warrior (1x1 between boba_tree and Alpha*)

[Alpha*]

Fallen

He follows the apprentice; red cloth knotted around his throat like a fatal wound. The silver cat pauses infront of the queen, assessing the situation with brilliantly blue eyes, absolutely still. He takes a greedy breath, breathing in the scent of the missing kit and memorizing. "Don't worry, I'll find her." He promises after the slightly lemon scent tingles at the back of his throat. "I will be back soon."

North, says a dead cat without his needing to prompt. Quickly, this way. The pale orange pelt is merely fog; but this cat knows, and so he obeys.

The silver cat hesitates, "DawnStripe, i leave you in charge. Keep everyone here. There's water at the edge of the clearing and it has fish." Is demanded and then he is gone, following the spectre into the dark depths of the foreign forest. How many times is this? He tosses the red fabric at HollyPaw, expecting her to keep an eye on it, and its' contents.

[Ratfish]

dawnstripe

he looks on as the silver cat dashes up north into the woods. he looks towards the red cloth. it looks as if something is in it. knowing better then to invade others privacy, he leaves it for hollypaw to guard and heads toward the stream. he was surprisingly bad at catching fish, and only ended up catching 2.

hollypaw looks at the fabric with curiosity. "what could be in there?" she lays near it, dismissing anyone who asked about it. after all, it could be a secret.

meadowkit runs as fast as his tiny paws could take him. he stopped and gasped for air. that thing had been chasing at him all night, and all he wanted was to go back to his mother. his tiny size allowed him to hide, but this couldn't last much longer. "come out little kit, I mean no harm" called out a sweet voice through the fog. but that voice was laced with venom. the kit unknowingly backed down towards a large black tom who roughly snatched him by the scruff. meadowkit flailed in his grasp, but it was no use. "good, now let me take a closer look at the intruder. oh, it's just a kit." "let me go! I want to go back to my mom!" the kit sobbed. "ah well, we can't use you for anything, so..." the kit was gone quickly and painlessly, left on the earthy ground.

[Alpha*]

(O no!)

Fallen

He does manage to get to the open field, he sees the dead gather to collect the kit. Sees the black tomcat who had hurt that tiny kit: he has a choice, fight to kill the monster, or ... heal the kit before he is well and truly gone.

It isn't a choice, not really. His hearts ache and he begs StarClan Take one life from me! Let the kit live! Please. Please! That silvery cat inhales the scent of the murderer, committing it to memory and scoops up the kit. "I'll find you. " Is snarled so very softly at the black cat before using quick paws to carry the tiny young tomcat into the trees where he'd seen herbs and webs. And when I do I'll kill you.

[Or if MeadowKit is dead, then ...]

He lands in the clearing, leaves cascading against the ash of his pelt, and blue eyes turn wide in horror before loosing all color. It's spoken of white hot rage or absolute numbness when it comes to grief; not so much the quiet and the still as one tries to hear a heartbeat that is no more, or when one awaits a breath that will not be drawn again. Neither is the cold that comes spoken of, but it fills him the way a blizzard fills the air.

The spectre doesn't make a sound; his tail coils around one ankle, claws escape their sheaths and fangs are bared and in an instant he is on the night pelted he-cat, mauling and maiming because How dare he take what is mine?

[Ratfish]

(yep, meadowkit's dead)

Dawnstripe

It was a pack of rogues, the kind that could take down a small clan if they tried. the white angora yowled, seemingly calling her pack from the depths of the forests. seven or so cats pounced out of the trees, out for blood. the biggest one lunged at fallen, shoving him off of what was left of the black tom.

[Alpha*]

Fallen snarls silently, turning on the largest cat, nows the time, StarClan! is mentally prompted before he really starts to fight. He doesn't fight to maim, neither to incompacitate his opponents. No, he kills the largest cat and another before theres so many. Too many. those other two, they'll die from their wounds. So will that dastardly black cat. he assesses with colorless eyes before three cats hold him down. Five out of nine isn't too bad for a single cat, his fur slicked with blood and mud. They may hold him, but they won't keep him. Not if they wish to live.

His chin is pressed onto a clump of torn grass, he's itching to keep fighting, but.. well... he doesn't have a death wish. Those keen eyes watch the angora - the supposed leader.

These cats aren't the Mera. This is neither Rolyuk or the one who called herself Butterfly. No, he'd killed ALL of them. So what do these want?

[Ratfish]

dawnstripe

the angora ignored the fighting and ran to the dying black cat. "my love!" she choked out, stomach in a knot. the tom could only so much at look at her before drawing his last breath. her jade eyes, full of emotion turned into a bright green as she looked to fallen. she slowly made her way to the pinned silvery he-cat, ablaze with fury. "why" she asks, her tone dangerously soft "did you do this?" her claws pierce into fallen's back.

[Alpha*]

He shoves the cats off him and stands, eyes full of grief, Fallen flicks his tail towards the tiny form of the kit, expecting her to look. Demanding it. Then, he answers honestly, gazing past her with immense grief and horror at the broken body of MeadowKit. "He killed him. " he swallows at his pain, at the lump in his throat, "that black cat killed him." His voice shakes, "I watched him, tried to reach him. I wasn't fast enough."

His voice breaks, though tears dont fall. They would later, when hes alone. "Killed a kit for crossing a border that he didn't understand. A kit not old enough for the flesh of prey, only his mothers milk." he knocks her paw aside, ignoring the faint pain and sting, "a kit she-cat, surely you understand that. And the others because they attacked me. " The silvery cat meets her gaze, "He was separated from us by the rain, I went to find him and witnessed his murder by that black cat. Am I to stand for that? Be idle when my own eyes witnessed the life taking of an innocent? An accident is an accident, and what he did was no accident. When one of my own is killed in cold blood? It'd be one thing if Meadow had been an adult, but a kit, no. There is a Code, it says to protect kits and all those weaker than oneself. That kits aren't to be harmed and when they are - should it ever happen- then there's to be punishment. Should I have gone to his mother and said that I allowed the one who killed her kit to live, unpunished? When I knew his face. His scent. When I was here. What would you have done if I'd killed your kit like that cat you love did? Shouldn't I protect the rest of the kits by killing a murderer? There's others in the litter to keep safe, he was a kit murderer. It was a rightious death to deal."

The spectre expects no answer; he doesn't even expect to keep the nine lives that aren't truly his by the end of the journey to the new clan lands. But he did what was right. Whose to say that the black cat wouldn't have killed more kits? He had to keep them safe. Had to. "We stopped here to rest after the brutality of a cat who was murdering kits, so we fled. I never expected the world to be so full of kit killers that I met three in my life."

I will do it again.

[Ratfish]

dawnstripe

she grinned. a weird, psychotic grin. "that kit was exactly what we needed to lure you in." suddenly, several cats backed out from the shadows and into the clearing. they were thunderclan cats. the one's who tried to kill him. the traitors. "I had a vison one starless night. you would show to thunderclan and... save it. I needed the clan weak so we could take it down. but that fleabrain of a medicine cat got you there early, so we needed to get rid of you. we started rumors' in hope the clan would ditch you, we tried to threaten you with your friends too. but it didn't work. so we lured one of those kits here with some berries and left you to find the body. but you came... earlier then expected." she edged closer to him. "but the point is you're here now, weakened and outnumbered. not even starclan can save you now, can it?"

[Alpha*]

Not true, not true, call the dead in his ears as he spots her insanity. That grin. The mad light in her eyes. There's no reasoning with her. With them. monster, is thought, repulsed. Vile, sick, insane. is mentally decided by the spectre who doesn't truly understand why it is they want him. Sure, he'd killed someone from this... group.. quite a few someone's actually. But he didn't really have a choice. Did he? Especially not the black cat, that is a death he doesn't regret. And she's calling him weak? Him? Wanderer at the Edge of the World, Ghost of the Broken Plains, Murderer, Mercinary, HirePaw, Silent One, False Omen, Fallen -- "I haven't been weak for a very long time." Is said gently, perhaps far too gently. "And I have never needed saving. " it's a warning that should go over her head.

There's something coming alive in his chest, steel fills his spine, and those monochrome eyes widen a smidgen. "You can have who is left of the clan, have the territory. We, those who choose to follow me, are leaving. " is said, noticing as she moves closer, explaining their mad plan and twisted desires, "I am leading them to a new place;" he offers a serene smile as his mentality drops into the monsterious category that he has struggled for moons to escape. "What exactly are you wanting she-cat, from me? With the clan and myself, I mean."

Fallen takes a slow breath, "is it truly weakness to want something better? To care for those who cannot attend to themselves?" Is questioned politely, "is it wrong to want other cats to be happy, the young ones, when I grew up in blood?" He hadn't been raised as a cat, he'd been made into a soldier from less than a moon of age. The Mera took all kithood from him, he doesn't want that for anyone else. "I don't believe that wanting to raise kits in a safe place is wrong. I don't believe that helping others is wrong." All this is said in a warm tone, slowly, steadily, "so what is it that you want from me? Why take down the clan, why not change it from within as I am trying to do?"

[Ratfish]

dawnstripe

"oh, you fool. you miss the point entirely. we don't do this for the land, or the power. we do this because we have the power to do it. we must destroy every cat of the light, and reunite with our shadowed kin. for only then can we truly rule the lan-" her monologue is interrupted by a snickering noise deep within a bush. she pauses, and puts two and two together, but it's too late. a rather large fox pounces out from the bush and onto the angora. the other cats react just as fast, but the fox retaliates. for a second, the fox's deep blue eyes stare deep into fallen's. if there was any chance of escape, it would be now.