cat name: bannion
clan: valeclan
rank: counsel member
gender: tom
age: 50 moons
prompt: that's the way it is
"listen, bannion, i don't mean to second-guess your decisions, but are you so sure about this? it seems...dangerous." jude shuffled his feet in the snow, his ears flattened to his skull and eyes wild with nervous energy. snow billowed around his face, framing it like a halo in the dim echo of twilight.
silas chuckled beside him, lightheartedly shoving the tom. "gettin' cold feet, are ya? don't you worry, bannion knows what he's doin'."
bannion glared quickly in jude's direction, but said nothing. the towering tom turned to look at the cats gathered in front of him. seven in all. most of them acquaintances at best, with the exception of his well-known friends: hazel, a small but agile brown molly; toad, a hefty, scowling black tom; and silas, a bi-colored tom with scars lacing his thin face. bannion quickly recalled the others' names as vervain, pascal, bonnet, and the runt, jude. he cleared his throat to speak loudly against the squalling winds rising off the slope behind them.
"now listen up! we're gonna follow this slope down right into their camp. hazel, silas, pascal, and bonnet are gonna go that way-" he shoved his paw in the direction to the west of the slope, "and the rest of y'all are with me. we're gonna be goin' the other way around and flank 'em."
"and what if they see us coming?" pascal's voice was barely a whisper in the high winds. seemed like the blizzard was already picking up.
"ain't nobody gonna see us in this mess," hazel puffed, letting out a billow of white and fluffing her fur against a particularly harsh breeze.
bannion turned on his paws and began trotting away. "let's give these rabbit-hearts a run for their dinner!" whoops and hollers lit up the air behind him as his party cheered. and with that, bannion fell into a sprint toward the small, secluded camp.------------------------
down in the shallow copse, there was barely a breeze. the dense tree cover combined with the thick undergrowth of the sheltered clearing made for a fairly quiet camp. the moon had not yet risen, but was peeking out from the canopies of the trees, shedding the faintest of light. all was silent, no cats stirred in the harsh night. everything was lining up perfectly.
bannion slunk along the shadows, hugging the edges of the camp like a burr sticking to his pelt. his team followed closely behind, nose to tail tip, all equally as sleuth and alert. no cat seemed to be awake, but that was no reason to let their guard down yet. bannion still worried about guards around the perimeters, though it was unlikely, and mostly worried about jude. this was the tom's first time out on a raid, and he was not entirely proud of the skills the young one had shown in training. bannion just hoped that he could keep quiet enough to allow them to sneak in and out without detection.
along the walls of camp they went, shrinking down at the slightest of noises, pausing when a cat within the den stirred in their sleep. but finally, they made it to the center. a heaping pile of fresh prey loomed before them, and he heard a few of the others gasp quietly in awe. these cats had been enormously successful in their last hunt. and now, all of that would be theirs.
bannion tiptoed forward to take the first catch, a juvenile marmot nearly the size of himself. the rest of his party followed, taking mouthfuls of prey and slinking off to store them safely outside of the camp's perimeters. bannion, on his way out of camp, caught sight of the other team just slinking up to the pile, and heaved a sigh of relief. this was going to work out fine.
the cats took several trips, slowly chipping away at the magnificent prey pile until there was nothing left but small songbirds and fish. bannion looked on proudly at his team as they worked quietly, and his belly growled at the thought of sinking his teeth into the massive snowshoe hare that toad was lugging out.
suddenly, there was a loud snap, echoed throughout the camp like an alarm. at once, everyone turned to see jude trembling over a pheasant he had dropped onto a pile of twigs, his eyes round with fear. the den trembled on the opposite side of camp, and three cats stepped out, massive and battle-scarred even in the darkness. they howled in anger, and launched themselves forward before anyone could react.
mostly, everyone scattered. bannion could not see where anyone was, just smell the gut-twisting tang of blood, and hear the screeches of fear and fury. he caught a glimpse of toad battling off one of the massive cats, and vervain nervously swiping at another while pascal tag-teamed, hissed and biting into their shoulder. bannion thought he saw hazel, silas, and bonnet flee, but was quickly corrected when they were rushed back into camp, followed by more enormous mountain cats.
suddenly, he was swept off his feet and someone bit fiercely into his shoulder, narrowly missing his neck. he screeched, clawing at his assailant until they sprung away. his opponent wasted no time recovering, instead launching another attack head-on. this was avoided easily, and bannion turned to get in a quick counter. his claws made contact with the cat's face, hot blood splattering against bannion's face. the cat yowled and scampered away while bannion panted, winded by the conflict.
he turned his attention to the clearing. it seemed as if they were losing. everyone was bloodied, and he couldn't even find half of them. maybe they had grown some sense and got out of there. but then, bannion's heart sank. in the center of camp, he was met with jude's gaze, frozen in horror.
bannion could not move to help him. the cat that had jude pinned sunk his teeth into his throat, and his gaze went dull. bannion felt all strength leave his body. his mouth was agape with shock, but all he could process was the blood sputtering helplessly from the young tom's agape mouth.
and then, another howl of pain, but this one was different, familiar. bannion swung to find the source, and saw the moment just before hazel's small body was thrown against a stone, and fell harshly to the ground like a limp branch. all of bannion's breath was knocked out of his body, but he still found himself whispering the words "retreat, retreat" before sprinting out of the camp, past the slope where they had first communed.
the icy winds whipped across his face like claws. his lungs stung in the cold, but still he kept moving. all he could see was jude's pleading gaze before it darkened, hazel's body slumping against the rock. bannion kept moving, not sure of which direction he was headed.
eventually, though, he did stop. he collapsed under the roots of a large, gnarled tree, breath taken away and legs trembling. he had led his family into battle and then left like a coward, too terrified by the blood and death to save them. he was forsaken. devastated. and now, alone.------------------------
bannion was awakened by his stinging thirst and shivering bones. it was morning. the sun had barely risen, and the sky was drenched in a deep red. he stood up, shakily at first, and stumbled over to the snow for a mouthful of freezing ice that melted in his mouth.
he didn't know what to do now. for the first time in his life, he was alone. his body screamed with every movement he took, stiff down to the bone from the previous night's battle followed up by the run for his life. he wondered briefly if any of his party had made it out, but dismissed that thought once he recalled the blood-thirsty glint in the mountain cats' eyes as they slaughtered their enemies.
bannion felt sick to his stomach now, but he could not stay here in their territory. they would look for him soon. so he struck out into the woods, blindly walking.
about a day later, he came across a stream bubbling with snow melt. good, that meant he was heading down the mountain. and away from the murderous cats. bannion stumbled along, following the stream until he came to a large clearing littered with numerous burrowing prey holes.
cautiously, he scented the faint smell of other cats. but, more importantly, he also picked up prey scent. his belly howled with hunger, and so bannion decided he might as well eat.
he quickly caught a vole that was sniffing around the entrance of its den, and ate it in less than three gulps. he felt much more refreshed, but his bones still ached with exhaustion. soon, he would need to find shelter.
as he sat gazing across the wide stream, his eyes full of grief and body limp with fading shock, bannion did not realize that he was being approached.
"you need help, friend?" the voice nearly sent bannion over into the water. he turned, fur puffed, to see two cats staring tentatively at him.
"i-i don't want any trouble-" he started, backing away fearfully.
"relax, we're not gonna hurt you," the other cat piped up. nothing about these cats screamed danger to bannion, but after the disaster he had just been a part of, he was very hesitant. the cat continued, after a quick glance to their companion. "looks like you've been through something serious, mister. we have plenty of prey to share, and somewhere to sleep. it's a lot cozier in camp than it is out here in the burrows."
bannion took some time to think. it was tempting...but did he really trust these strangers? he shook his head limply. "you don't want me around. nothin' but trouble." he got to his feet to head out, but was suddenly blocked by one of the cats. there was concern in his gaze, so familiar that it hurt. jude...
"sir, you're in no condition to go out wandering this valley. please, let us help you." the other cat came around to lay his tail on his shoulders. for the first time in a while, bannion felt the tension in his body let go just a little bit.
"if you can spare the space..." bannion began, but was given no time to reply. the cats started to trot off, leading him toward safety. toward sanctuary.------------------------
bannion was eventually offered to join the ranks of the vale cats, once everyone learned of his loyal nature. he was a bit standoffish at first, not wanting to form relationships with any of the cats that took him in. this was out of fear that one day, he would lose his family again. but anything can happen with time.
he grew fond of his newfound purpose in life, and put forth everything he could to make valeclan a safe place to live. he never shared his story of being a thief in the mountains, living day to day stealing from others and cheating them of their hard work. that was a chapter best left in the past. but he never forgot the cats that he had failed to protect. in his eyes, every young cat that needed protecting was jude. every spunky cat with a tongue of silver was hazel. every good-natured, joking cat was silas. he found bits of everyone in each clan cat.
in this way, bannion found redemption from his own horrendous ways. granted, this was through tragedy, but he came out of it acquitted of his crimes. his life in valeclan was a much needed peace from the chaos that was his past, and he welcomed it with open arms.
in the sunset of his life, bannion no longer fights or hunts for his clanmates. rather, he advises the chief and tells them his opinions on important matters. in the inner circle of the counsel, he is a high ranked member, and greatly respected as a wise and intelligent cat. sometimes he wonders if he deserves this life, if he deserves the happiness that he accumulated throughout life. but then, he remembers his family, and knows that this is what they would have wanted.
