The Sky Is Different

[ladyspectral]

Honeyheart knew something was wrong, from the moment the sun seemed to vanish from it's place in the sky. The moon had turned a deep crimson, unlike anything she had seen in her life. Terrifying, truly. She leaped onto the flat rock, yowling out.

"All cats of the Alliance, please gather for the spreading of news!" Her voice was loud, carrying well through the rotting den. She had to put on a brave face, pretend that this whole mess didn't scare her as much as it did.

"We have a few ceremonies to announce, before we get into the... more recent events. We have kits moving into adulthood. Artemis, Hecate, Orion, Scorpio. Please step forward." Her voice softened as she spoke to her group's kits, looking the four over. "You have all grown well, and you will do great things. But now it's time to choose a path to tread. Of course, no path is set in stone and this can be thought over further or changed in the future."

The usual speech she gave for cats that have reached their sixth lunar cycle. She waited for them to choose.

Artemis stepped forward, speaking up,"I choose to be a scout, to help find new prey and discover new places." A bit of a more pacifistic role, perfect for the soft hearted calico.

[Dragon]

Cedar creeped out of her den as she heard Honeyhearts yowl to gather. It had been three days since her last dream connected everything. She knew she was Treekit of Ivyclan and she had a sister named Honeyfur and a brother name Shadowstop and her mom and dad were Longstep and Swiftfur. She didn't know what to do with information. So for now she stayed with the rogues pretending she was still oblivious to her past.

As she padded out she heard that four younger cats where having their job ceremony for coming to age and couldn't help but smile as she remembered her ceremony where she was able to pick what she wanted to do. Instead of choosing one she had chosen two, hunter and Scout. Cedar wondered what jobs they would choose.

[mewmehh]

A dark, fluffy sepia she-kit furrowed her brow and slumped into her seat, brown eyes flashing sourly with hurt. She sat beside her brothers, their well-sculpted and muscular forms held firm and heads high; Vulture and Buzzard were only twice as old as she was, but they were already respectable members of the Alliance, just as Chocolette wanted to be. However, she was all pudgy kit fat and downy fur despite how she trained to tone her body to match her brothers. It was simply a shame that she inherited her mother's thick frame versus her father's supposedly lean and strong one. No, it appeared she would have to wait still for her place within the group as she watched all the other kits of six moons approach their ginger and white leader.

Chocolette felt a dull throbbing of irritation in her wide paws and in the side of her head as Honeyheart's own litter chittered brazenly among themselves, all lucky little brutes they were. They had nothing to worry about; they were Honeyheart's own flesh and blood whereas she was kin to a traitor, as she had been told from an early age. Her mother Mocha hadn't been persecuted for Eaglewing's actions, but nevertheless felt discomforted and left with the rest of Choco's littermates. She simply left the largest of her kits, Chocolette herself, as a token of appreciation to Honeyheart for the scarred she-cat's protection thus far. Even still, it seemed that she as well was her brothers would have to jump through hoops to prove their worth.

Brown eyes flicked to her flame-furred idol. At least Hornet sees some worth in Buzzard. Even if the fiery she-cat never said it, she was always around the pale chocolate tom, always picking with or prodding him. It was near impossible to find one without the other. Hornet's part of the council! Maybe I can ask her to have Honeyheart accept me next moon. I'll surely be bigger by then! Lost in her thoughts, it took a sharp thwak! from Buzzard's whip-like tail to snap her attention back to the ceremony.

"Pay attention," he growled in a low voice, his olive eyes never leaving Honeyheart's form as she handled the proceedings.

"Yeah, whatever," Chocolette huffed in defeat, her chubby cheeks smooshing together as she slumped her head sideways against Vulture, glaring down the scene.

[foggy]

♚♚♚♚♚♚♚♚♚♚♚

Blaze didn't care much for his younger siblings, nor their father, for that matter, but he could appreciate their loyalty to their shared mother, or at least he could the one's who had that sense of loyalty. He doubted all of them did. Regardless, this was an occasion to be celebrated, even if it seemed wrong to be doing so at the moment. Something was happening, maybe not to them, but something in the air just seemed... off. Blaze was thriving on it, this sense of wrongness, it filled him with a sense of purpose. He couldn't be sure why, and he doubted he could figure it out before it happened.

However, he could dwell on that later, right now, his mother had demanded the group's attention. The tom had grown much more confident in walking now, though he was still slower and a certainly not a fighter, he could finally keep up with the majority of the group. This fact had helped him shed his younger self's flickers of self-hatred, giving him a sly but confident air now he'd grown up a little. The tom made his way over to the gathered members, not choosing to sit by anyone in particular, but close enough hat he could see the red and white pelts of the council member's and those of the new graduates. He rarely spoke to his half-siblings, apart from short, non-important dialogue, so he wasn't overly close to any of them. He doubted that would change, but if any of them chose the healer path, he'd by seeing a lot more of them, perhaps he could give them a chance, see if they were worth his time after all. Meh.

A large and fluffy calico spoke out first. He quickly identified her as Artemis - one of his aforementioned half-siblings. As much as he took a neutral stance towards the rest of his family, he also saw it as no surprise that they (or at least one of them) would know their mind before those who didn't share his blood. His opinion on his younger sister was divided though not strong, she was too gentle and soft for his tastes, but the calico cat had inherited their mother's passion and loyalty, and anything that reflected their mother was a plus to him.

The group fell silent when no one else spoke just yet, which wasn't that surprising. Although the path you chose could be changed, which took the pressure off a bit, he knew that most cats (himself included) usually preferred to spend some time thinking about it first anyway, if they hadn't already. Seeing as this would be their first induction into official rouge group work, they wanted to get it right and put their skills to the most use straight-away, or that was his opinion on it. Four more adolescents were to pick their path, but he was minimally more interested in Chocolette's choice, as the only one up there who wasn't his blood, who was actually the daughter of a traitor and a house-cat, it would be interesting to see how she chose to give back to the group who fed and sheltered her in spite of this. He knew his brother's death hit home for his mother, sent shockwaves through the group, even he was taken aback by the senseless murder. Maybe Eaglewing simply hadn't given up on his clan ways, hopefully he hadn't corrupted his children with his non-sensical ideologies.

----------------------------

Sitting just close enough to clearly be considered part of the group but far away enough to not be within the main crowd of his peers, sat Enzio. His size dwarfing many of them, even from a distance. The tom watched with an appropriate amount of interest towards the topic of the meeting, or rather the first topic of the meeting. Ceremonies had its appeal but they weren't the most thrilling thing in the world. He had learnt that it was common practice to remain quiet while the took place, though, which was fine, he could do that. The fluffy one chose the path of a scout, the same as his own path, he noted. More scouts was never a bad thing, and he couldn't help but notice the promise of a large amount of muscle already showing through on her broad build. Not a bad thing, probably a good thing. Her stocky structure would balance out his and Shadder's thinner athletic figures, with Owl who also had a more well-built form. He wondered if there would be any more to join him and the scouting crew.

[LupTacco]

LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

ORION
^{_________________________________}
{✿·✿·✿}
-*_✿_*-

Ah, the color of the sky- so red, vivid like a fresh and messy kill. Others seemed a little uneasy, perhaps even shaken, but not the thick-coated ginger and white tom. It's just the sky- but it is pretty, he sniffed disdainfully, maneuvering around the patches of pale red light and crimson-black shadows until he came to the meeting place, watching and musing as Artemis chose the path of the scout. Am I a fighter, or...? He tried to picture himself throwing himself on an intruder- oh, he certainly could do it- but his usually hard to move heart shook at the idea of that being his focus. No, there was only one option.

"Honeyheart- mother," he dipped his head without lowering his gaze, a blazing orange like contained fire under the odd moonlight, "I choose the hunter's life, to take away lesser life and put it to better use for our family." Yes, this felt right. A life of clawing subordinate beings apart with expert precision and giving them to the strongest children of the rogue family. And hell, perhaps he'd even get to hunt some cats, too. Unlike when he took the oath to remain loyal, he didn't bother glaring down his siblings, or anyone else for that matter. For once, he was... content. A placid smile rested on his muzzle. The world was in perfect harmony.

[ladyspectral]

Honeyheart nodded as two of her kits chose their path, speaking up again. "There has been a few... changes in the sky. Not even a few days ago, the sun vanished and left the world in silence. I fear this will get worse in time, and is a sign of worse coming. But I don't believe this is the end. Our family will survive, but we need to act. The clans are an obvious threat, one we haven't fought in too long. A patrol will go out at dusk, to Mistclan's territory. We need to start fighting again."

She scanned the gathered group, eying their reactions. They had been passive for moons, far too long. Stagnation was never a good thing. It was time to start moving again.

[LupTacco]

LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

ORION
^{_________________________________}
{✿·✿·✿}
-*_✿_*-

Signs? Orion sighed a little. His mother believed some weird things, but she seemed to lead well by following them. Perhaps there was merit to reading the sky dots or whatever. He lit up like a candle when she mentioned they'd need to attack- MistClan? Pfah! Mist was a weak sounding name. His smile dropped, becoming alert and focused once more. It had been rough, dealing with the monotony of life- it seemed welcome at first, giving him ample time to adjust and learn who was who and what was where, but it was so boring! What a waste! If I have kids, I'm gonna teach them as soon as their eyes open, he swept his tail in an arc behind him until it rested over his paws once again, from the opposite side now. "About time," he murmured under his breath.

[Fireflake]

Scorpio the Rogue Scout

Scorpio's tail, curved over his back as it often was now, flicked at the sound of his name. He wasn't called first. Not even second. Not even third. The young tom pushed through, ducked under, and stepped on cats in a struggle to get to the front first. They were his family, of course, but sometimes family played rough. His sister's voice drove him forward faster. Alright, second. He could accept that. Scorpio's ears flattened as his brother Orion's voice reached them.

Even Orion got up there before him! Artemis was one thing, close to their mother whenever he looked, but Orion? He peeked up and thought he could see a smug smile. Scorpio finally swatted away the last cat in his way and emerged triumphantly in front of the crowd. But by now, Honeyheart was talking again. He blinked, breathed deeply, and considered the possibility of a tantrum determined protest. No, I'm not a kit anymore. I'm not a kit after I get a chance to say this. As if he even needed to say it! Many of the group had already been unhappy to find him poking around their nests, and he had started to memorize the streets around the den. Fighting was interesting and hunting was fun, but they weren't his passion.

He hadn't been too indignant to listen to his mother's comments about the sky or about what they were going to do. He'd noticed as well.

"I'll be there," the rogue announced, feeling the need to steal everyone's attention. My turn. "Because I'm a scout. Scouts are good at looking around new territories."

Vulture the Rogue Hunter

Vulture pricked his ears. He didn't know if anything could get through them with his thoughts chattering and clashing so loudly, but it was worth a try. He wanted to know what was going on. And maybe just a little bit, he wanted to see what Chocolette would choose to be. He sat up straighter at Honeyheart's meow but cats had already started to talk before she was finished. "Please step forward" was only barely audible from where he sat. Mutters seemed to die down as everyone realized she wasn't finished, and Vulture struggled not to drift into his mind as she spoke of treading paths, switching paths...

His brother's harsh voice stole his focus. If he hadn't glanced down to see their sister's disgruntled expression, he would have thought Buzzard was talking to him. It was from this same expression that he confirmed what he had been wondering about. Neither of them had heard Honeyheart say Chocolette's name. None of them had. But Honeyheart did, didn't she?

He decided that she must have as Choc slumped against him. It was surely an accident if she hadn't been called up. Chocolette was six cycles just like her own kits, and she'd never even met Eaglewing so that wasn't it. Vulture cleared his throat. Too much thinking. Not enough action. Exactly the problem that Honeyheart had just been speaking about. Shoving his paw into Chocolette's back, the tom nudged her forcefully forward. "You too," he grunted. "Go choose."
Vulture turned slightly narrowed eyes to Buzzard in case he thought that was a problem.

[mewmehh]

Choco lurched forward with a short gasp as Vulture push he forward, the she-cat nearly falling over her forepaws and garnering a bit of the group's attention in her stumble. Her chocolate eyes flashed, startled. His force was far less rough than Buzzard's aggressive gestures, but it was so sudden that she found the whole situation jarring. Meeting his blue eyes, however, she heard his brisk words and a little film of tears glossed over her eyes. With a bit of a dumbfounded nod, the chubby sepia cat padded forward and worked herself in between Orion and Scorpio to stand with the rest of her peers.

Everything seemed to slow to a halt for the young cat as she stared Honeyheart directly in the face. Her paws trembled like her whiskers and her lips quivered, but her dark brown eyes remained ever stern in their assault. "I....I.." she started with a wobbly, unsure voice. She cast a glance back to her brothers, only to cringe slightly as the sharpness of Buzzard's narrow, olive gaze. Instead, she sought reassurance from Vulture. "I want to...be....a fighter! C-cuz I have this big body and I want to be like Hornet. But I also w-want to hunt! I've been practicing...with Vulture. I err...Please, ma'am." She bark out, a little nervously, but with more conviction.

[ladyspectral]

Honeyheart hesitated as Choco spoke up, hesitating. One of Eaglewing and Mocha's. A deep remorse settled in her heart at the thought, nodding her head as she racked her mind. How could she forget one of her cats? The she cat was like a ghost, barely making noise and rarely ever being seen. But still, a private apology was in order...

A fighter, a noble choice. One that Honeyheart herself was familiar with. "You will do a fine job, Chocolette." She meowed, hopping down from the strange boulder to murmur to the younger she cat. "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to leave you out. I hope you're able to forgive that less than kind gesture." She kept her voice low, nearly inaudible to any more than half a cat's length away.