[ti]Private[/ti]Mice in the Kitchen

[LupTacco]

The mournful howl of the vast, terrifically fast monsters of the Vauxhill Station blared over the sparse bushes behind the benches where twolegs sat and waited, some staring at sheets of thin paper and others at little squares with bright faces. Orion's ears flattened at the high-pitched whine of the monster coming to a stop, glaring at it from the corner of his eye as it let out a large hiss- the signal that it was at rest for now. It was safe to cross. Four cats hustled out of the far end of the tended planters and across the hard, flat bone-like path the monsters always followed, Orion among the two in the center of the line. Up front was his father, Alaric, well-seasoned by now in the workings of the town and never outwardly daunted by anything; at his side, Hecate, his sister and one of the few cats in the Alliance he considered his equal in skill; and behind them all, keeping a wise eye and a sharp tongue ready, was Aster, the Alliance's healer, poisoner, and leading lady in the art of death. Orion wouldn't have joined a patrol of any lesser group of cats.

The feeling of soft, natural grass on his paws was a relief from the stiff, short-cut grasses and cobbled stonework in town; if he had to credit the clan cats with one thing, it was their choice of location. No twolegs harassing them, no monsters yowling in their ears at odd hours of the day, no dealing with simpering housecats or bold loners. It was simple- fight your neighbors. Live in the woods. Whatever. He almost felt ashamed to allow himself to think it, but- the clans seemed to be completely unaware of their existence anymore. Ever since Honeyheart had been slain by Patchfrost- the only warrior name Orion had ever memorized- the Alliance had been slacking. Doing things in town, "recuperating"- all euphemisms for being weak, he felt. Today, that would change. With Alaric at their head, they were going to sneak into MothClan's territory and do some real damage. It was currently just before twilight, the sky pale cream, grey, and bright pink with hints of stars at its far edges. By the time they arrived in clan territory, it would be twilight, that dim and murky time of the evening where they would be the hardest to spot.

At least, that was the plan- Orion's head flicked up as he swore he heard something a bit bigger than a mouse or a startled bird. Someone out this far...?

[Miss Tactical]

As the sun began to set, the large toms paws thundered across the fields kicking up ash in his wake. He didn’t have the time to deal with all those who had complaints about his new ideals. Losing to one of the smallest clans, despite being stronger…or THOUGHT they were stronger took his toll and he would do whatever it took to make sure MothClan would not lose again. His whiskers twitched as the scents of rogues and loners filled his nose. Taking a deep breath he exhaled slowly. Yes this was the answer that he had been seeking. There wasn’t much coverage with most of MothClan’s territory now being barren and ash, but still the black toms fur blended into the night so well, as long as he stayed low to the ground perhaps he would simply look like a moving shadow.

As he neared the two-leg place, he felt grass underneath his paws once more, still a long ways to go but at least this part of the territory was still intact. He paused however, as movement caught his one good eye. With a slight head tilt, his eye adjusted to see what appeared to be a patrol, and looking at their course of movements were heading straight to Mothclan, so at least half the work was already done for him. With swift movements, he ran to their head, only to stop in front of them. No fear reflected in his eyes. Many moons ago the sheer mention of rogues sent the chills up even the strongest warrior’s spines but not his. No he had other plans.

”Good evening, I see you appear to be on a patrol…..” Eveningstar looked at Alaric at the lead with a few strong abled cats behind them all battled scarred some had similar scars on their pelts perhaps a marking of some sort it was truly impressive. He sat down wrapping his tail around his paws, tail tip twitching slightly as a growl could be heard from one of the rogues, he could hear the light dragging of claws in the grass yet still he stayed.

”No need to get antsy I actually came looking for you.” He swiveled his ears when he heard a slight mew of confusion, his eyes landed on Alaric and even he didn’t know whether to lead the attack on or sit and listen. With a coy smirk the black leader watched each of them, looking for any sign that one may attack him, ready to lunge if he needed to. ”I figured we could have a chat about giving you….things a home.” He wasn’t really quite sure what to call them. They weren’t warriors, they weren’t kitty pets, but fierce cats ready to kill at any moment.

Rogues were known for hating the clans that was for certain. They played dirty, murdering in cold blood something that peaked his interest. ”Now before you say anything you hate clan life but what if I told you, you would be able to kill MANY clan cats while you stayed in my home whether as a permanent resident or even temporary for a few moons….doesn’t that sound nice?” His tone was sing song almost as he stood up pacing back and forth. ”All you need to do is take on a clan name, and follow me back to MothClan and I will show you where you can use your claws, all you have to do is say yes.” He mewed. He looked from Alaric to another small cat waiting to see what they would say.

[LupTacco]

Just as he'd suspected- not long after his first pause, a large one-and-a-half-eyed black tom slunk from the brush. Instead of aggression, though, he seemed to be... calm? He was dimly familiar, too, but only just. Orion felt an itch in his paws, an instinct trained into him since birth to attack, to show this clan cat who really knew how to fight- but something about just how collected this cat was unnerved him. The young rogue's eyes widened incredulously at the clan cat's offer, then narrowed with suspicion as he strode forward to stand by Alaric. "I'm Orion, and that's the only name I will ever go by. Why should we trust you? Are you supposed to be the 'leader' of MothClan?" he stared back at Eveningstar, matching the cool yellow gaze with his own burning orange one, "Prove we can trust you not to cut our throats when we turn our backs, and I'll come back with you. Help you kill whatever other clan cats you want. But I will never be loyal to anyone other than Honeyheart." His tail flicked as he stood, a little shorter than the MothClan leader, a gleam entering his eyes as he imagined his mother at his side, her false claws gleaming in the last sun rays of the day. Would she be proud of him? He hoped so. The dent in his paw pad from his initiation rite scar itched, and he took it as a sign that, if ghosts existed, hers was with him after all. "Well?"

[Miss Tactical]

Eveningstar was impressed with the toms aggression just what he needed. ”Fine keep your name.” He mewed, he was in no such mood for bicker. ”You have my word, if for some reason you feel threatened you may come to me and I will deal with the problem, if you are attacked attack back no questions asked.” Eveningstar mewed firmly. If his clan was so foolish to attack his new recruits, then his new recruits could attack back, it was self defense was it not. ”Yes I am MothClan’s leader, and by joining me you are joining a new era! How exciting!” He chirped as he circled around the group of rogues. ”You see I have this……this VISION of great power, my own clan, and the clans around us will fear MothClan. Elders for generations to come will tell the tales about the vicious fights they lost at the claws of our warriors!” His voice got louder clearly the black tom was over zealous in his ideals, but it was certainly a good selling point. ”Finally I want to get rid of this NEW clan so to speak, StarClan willed they become a clan but I think StarClan was wrong….they must be killed or chased off….every single last one.”

Eveningstar stepped into the moonlight, raising his chin to reveal a deep flesh wound. The blood still on his fur. ”They made a joke out of me killing me just hours ago yet here I stand once more. They must go….all of them…” His tone suddenly turned dark as he stepped closer to orion, his nose barely touching the fur on his cheek.. ”I know that is something you like to do…orion to kill….” he whispered into the toms ear ever so softly. He stood back, a dark expression on his features as he turned around. ”Come follow me.” He mewed.


Alaric wasn’t really sure what to say about the presentation before looking at orion. The brown tabby seemed almost baffled at the toms confidence normally MothClan cats were known to run or avoid them. Yet…here this tom was…. ”Beats sleeping in the alleyway….” Alaric didn’t wait for Orion to answer before walking a few tail lengths behind the black tom. His muscles tensed, he would be ready to strike if this leader did anything….out of the ordinary.

[LupTacco]

"I can handle my own problems," Orion growled, remaining unmoved as Eveningstar drew almost uncomfortably close, whispering to him- for a brief moment, a tiny tremor of uncertainty tugged at his heart. How did the leader know this about him? He huffed as he rationalized it away- the clan cat must be doing that cunning speech his mother used to do, or even Aster. Of course it made sense to assume the Alliance rogues enjoyed the rush of the kill. Any of them that was worth their own weight did, right? He couldn't imagine what clan cats would be dumb enough to start something when their own leader let their enemies in, but the ginger tom felt that he would find out soon enough. Though.... this cat had died.... today? Ah, right. That rumor about special cats with nine lives. Could it be true, or is he just tricking us...? Not one to dwell on doubts, though, Orion watched Alaric stride past him before nodding.

"Fine. I'll join your 'clan'," Orion maintained eye contact with the leader as he passed by, choosing to take the side with the working eye, until he was behind him and standing beside Alaric. In the back of his mind, he could feel a burning hatred- this would have been the prime opportunity to take the MothClan leader's life himself, perhaps with Alaric's help or even the rest of the rogues. Yet, there was something else rising up in his subconscious too. Leaving the alleyway. Leaving that house full of ghosts. Maybe, just maybe, I could finally choose my own path. He glanced down at his front paws, at the extra toes on either side of them with the half-length claws that always poked out. Maybe for once, he could be known for something more than these dumb paws of his.