And the pain; [it’s] s-l-i-p-p-i-n-g /away/

[Pripyat]

[ sorry about minor powerplaying ^^; ]

The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the DEMON in me

Pripyat's blue eyes flitted to Spiderlilly. A slow smile curled across his face.
He bit down, his teeth pressing at Hiddenwrath's throat, the points breaking the skin, blood dripping--

Madness is the gift that has been given to me

A shadow blew across the terrain, a small, sharp shadow. The shadow of a falcon.
A kestrel.
Brightgate scanned the landscape with eyes keen enough to count sand grains from above, seeking a missing member of his Clan: the she-cat Hiddenwrath.
Kestrel had sent him out to find her, and find her the kestrel would.

Then he saw her. Her and four others, unfamillar, imposing. Brightgate flared his wings and slowed to circle above.

Hiddenwrath's throat was clenched in the jaws of a wolflike black tom; Brightgate could see her blood.

He made a high, shree-ing sound of rage. BoneClanners, he was sure; how dare they kidnap Hiddenwrath?

Brightgate dove, plummeting down and down, the wind rising to a screaming howl.
At the last moment he opened his wings, switching from dive mode to attack mode. With outstretched talons, the swift bird flew at the black tom.

The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the DEMON in me

The last thing Pripyat expected was to be struck in the face by a very fast-flying falcon.

He let go of Hiddenwrath's throat, snapping at the blasted bird as it dug its talons into his face.
In a fit of rage, he whirled, his teeth flashing, the metallic sound of fangs clipping together ringing out.

The kestrel disengaged, removing himself from Pripyat's bleeding face, and flew upwards.
Pripyat reared and leaped straight up, a high jump, and for a moment, it seemed he would catch the bird.
But a falcon is fast, and Brightgate the kestrel put on a burst of speed and escaped.

A few brightly colored feathers fluttered to the ground.

Pripyat blinked furiously, blood running into his eyes. It was amazing he had not been blinded.

Madness is the gift that has been given to me

Brightgate circled above, crying down fiercely at the to-be BoneClanners, "Heartless bastard BoneClanners! RisingClan will destroy you!"[/b][/color]

Thinking of nothing else to add, the falcon beat his wings and flew to the west, to Kestrel.

[Spiderlily]

A bird?
Working for Risingclan?
Wasn’t this odd?

“You’ll live, Prip?”

Yellow gaze lifted, watching the bird sour off.
Whatever they chose to do, it better be quick.

Before the damned beast brought the wheel clan down on them.
They needed to choose.

Narrowed eyes looked between them; form the still cat under her paw, to Anarchy, lastly falling on Pripyat.

She trusted the psycho’s judgment.
Which was scary.

What would he say?

“The bird will bring the leader.”

Her tone was monotone, with maybe a hint of sadness.
Pity, they may have to go with the willing prisoner, not the fighter.

[Pripyat]

The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the DEMON in me

Pripyat stood, his head down and his eyes turned in the direction into which the bird had vanished. There was something extraordinarily wolflike in his expression then.

"Yes. Even alone Kestrel would be a formidable force, but she would not come alone," Pripyat growled. He was very serious now, and when he was serious he was almost sane. He was actually a pretty smart cat; his madness hid his intelligence.

He turned to meet Spiderlilly's gaze, sullen, smoldering with rage. Not at his fellow, but at that damned bird and its entire blasted Clan.
"I believe we may have to return to BoneClan with little to show for our efforts. Though I suppose we could point out that we flushed out a traitor."
His voice was low and rather deep for a cat his size, like the growl of a wolf.

Madness is the gift that has been given to me

[Spiderlily]

“Pity.”

Spiderlily frowned, lifting her paw from Hiddenwrath’s flank, before turning her gaze to Anarchy.

“Gonna say some parting words to yer darlin’, hm?”

She was teasing him, none too kindly, and she knew it.
Ah, but that was only mild fun.

The true fun would start when they get him to Boneclan.
After all, she doubted Baney Boy liked traitors.

Who did?

And this ragamuffin of a tom was as much a traitor as they got.
Fool.

“It should bring up a good point. He may know somethin’ worth to Baney Boy.”

[Tragedy]

ThumpThump. ThumpThump.

Tragedy had never been this furious in her life. Furious at that tom. You, she said coldly, may have cost us all our lives. She turned to Spiderlily and Pripyat. We better get moving soon if we want to beat them to BoneClan, and cover our tracks well. Elsewise we're just as likely to be killed for leading the RisingClanners right to them. Back to Anarchy and Hiddenwrath. On your feet.

What are your paws
stained with?

[Bovine]

Treachery?
[ L o v e ]
.

What had just happened?
It was all so quick.
First the she-cat...courage...however stupid the others thought it was of her.
Then Anarchy...treachery? Love.
It happened so quickly as Spiderlily and Pripyat attacked.
Then the bird.
How magnificent a bird it was!

Harrow turned her bewildered gaze to Tragedy now.
They were to bring them both back?
Harrow spoke the first words she had since the beggining of this damned mission, they were suprisingly strong for her state by this point;
What will happen now?
Her voice didn't hint curiosity, just grim acceptance.

[/color]

[Hiddenwrath]

She shouldn’t have stopped.
Shouldn’t have turned back.

But she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself, if she hadn’t.
If he had…

Stop.
Just stop.

I don’t understand this.
Not at all.

And then they were on her, before she could respond.
Pripyat at her throat.
Spiderlily latched on her leg.

She closed her eyes.
Ready to die.

Then a voice.
A voice.

Anarchy?

No, no escape.
Escape.

His words, Pripyat’s ever strengthening bite, then a high-pitched shree…

Shree?

A bird of prey.
A kestrel.

More voices.
Words.

Murmured with cold malice from one to-be Boneclanner to another.
Was she to die?

A release of jaws.
The retracting of claws on her flank.

And she was let go.

Hiddenwrath sat up, blood dripping from her throat and leg.
Then, Tragedy spoke.

She was still a prisoner.
And so was Anarchy.

A hiss escaped her mouth, hazel hues narrowed in spite as she glared at the she-cat.
Was she weak?
Would she bow down to them so easily?

No.
No.

A true warrior’s spirit could never be broken.
And they couldn’t break her.

[Shadow Spirit]

All around me are the ones I thought I would call comrade...but that is no more...for I am Anarchy...and I know no such word...

Now was his chance...their chance. Anarchy flicked Hiddenwrath on the shoulder with his tail and when he caught her gaze, there was a serious look in his orange orbs. Then without warning, he kicked off with his heels and leapt straight over the heads of his captors.

"Hiddenwrath!" he called over his shoulder, willing her to follow and not stop. His fleet feet and lithe form would carry him tirelessly for miles, but he didn't know if she posessed the same agility. Hoping she would catch up, he sprinted across the wide hills of RisingClan, seeking out somewhere that no one could call their own...yet.

OOC: Sorry if this is powerplaying, but I did discuss my ideas with you guys...*pokes Kest and Umbee* So I guess its up to you if Hidden and Anny get to fulfill their "destiny." Course, if they don't get away, you don't get to read my wonderful plotness ^^ ZE CHOICE IS URS!

[Hiddenwrath]

Orange and hazel.
Hazel and orange.

Silence.

What could she read within those deep depths?
A question, maybe.
An order.

Through this world I've stumbled
so many times betrayed
trying to find an honest word to find
the truth enslaved

“I’m here!”

With her fluffy form; she wasn’t as quick as many cats.
But her paws had wings.

And she flew behind Anarchy.

She wasn’t quick.
But stamina?

That she did have.
Her father had insisted that she build that up; and her strength.

But…
She almost slowed.
Almost faltered.

Were they to leave Risingclan?
Her home?

[You know I’m up for the plooooooooooootness! ^^]

[Pripyat]

[ Powerplaying, Lilly, I know, but I think Anarchy should have a wee 'ittle scar to remember Prip by ^^; You can ignore this post if you want, I shalt take no offense. ]

The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the DEMON in me

Pripyat's instincts were sharpened to lethal perfection; as Anarchy moved, Pripyat snapped into action.

No thought, simply movement out of instinct.

As Anarchy leaped past, Pripyat's teeth flashed. A dim splatter of blood followed; the scent thrilled through the black tom.
The wound he had inflicted was not at all lethal, and would would hamper Anarchy's running only slightly...but it would scar.
Oh yes. Anarchy could not forget Pripyat, the wolf in cat's fur.

Pripyat's blue eyes smoldered with slow fury. He would have liked to tear that damned tom apart, but all he had was the metallic taste of blood on his tongue.
He snarled, baring wolfen teeth sharp as razors.

Madness is the gift that has been given to me

[Shadow Spirit]

Deception is my lifestyle...regret a foreign word...

Anarchy hissed in pain as Pripyat's teeth slashed across his chest. The bite would leave a scar yes, but it was superficial and would only add to his trophies, for yet again had he won. Their would be little point in them trying to pursue him. Since his kit days he could outrun a rabbit and out-leap a lynx. They wouldn't catch him this time, that is...if she could keep up. Every instinct screamed to keep sprinting and leave the she-cat to her own devices, but something else held him back, made him even a tad slower. He realized that he wanted to see if she could make it, if she would join him...

OOC: Yeah I know that I told you guys that Anarchy was gonna give himself up to go back to BoneClan and all, but....I LIED!!! Thats how Anarchy works, he's cunning as hell and not very nice Still interested? ^^

[Hiddenwrath]

The metallic reek of blood.
Pripyat’s snarls from behind them.

Blood?
Oh, no..
Anarchy…

Her heart wrenched.
She didn’t want to leave her home.

But this war?
How many of her clan would fight, and die?
Could she bare witness to that?

A flinch.
Yet Hiddenwrath kept on running.

Defying the odds, she kept on his tail.
Kept close.

She was going to be free.
Freed from all this madness.

Or she’d die trying.

“Anarchy!”

She called, attempting to conserve her breath but seeking if he would slow down.
There were no sounds of pursuit.
The demented wolflike tom and bad-mouthed New Yorker she-cat wasn’t chasing them.

She noticed he slowed, a tad bit.
Hope.
He wouldn’t just ditch her; leave her to them.

[Shadow Spirit]

I never needed anyone...so why is she different?

Once they were seemingly far enough away, Anarchy slowed a little more. He fell back to run beside Hiddenwrath, watching her with interest in his bright orange eyes. Finally, they seemed in a remote enough place to stop. Thankfully there was a tiny stream cutting through the underbrush and Anarchy stooped to drink heavily from it.

Satisfied, he looked up at her again. "Tell me..." he said, a calculating look entering his eyes again. "Why did you follow me?"

[Hiddenwrath]

Finally.

Hiddenwrath sat down, panting heavily.
Goodness, running wasn’t the fluffy she-cat’s forte.

Once she had caught her breath, she glanced at the small stream, moving to take a small drink from it.

They may need to run more.
And one should never drink heavily before they had to run.
It slowed you down.

She heard his voice, his words, and her head lifted to look over to Anarchy, hazel eyes piercing as they searched his orange ones.

“Why did you try to save me, when you had every opportunity to escape and leave me?”

A question for a question.
And, within, perhaps the answer they both sought.

[Shadow Spirit]

Anarchy means no order...so how can we go on like this...?

He hated when questions were answered with another question. There was no right answer and for once, no brilliant words were coming to him. All he could do was stare back into her hazel eyes, his orange ones burning through her.

"If you want the truth...I don't know..." he answered simply. There was nothing else to say.

[Kestrel]

zetsubou kara no hajimari te ni shlta kara ;;


A flash of color like silent lightening; speed, soundless but impressive.
With a soft shree, a falcon appeared, flaring to land upon a branch.
It watched the two cats for a long moment, its dark eyes intense, missing nothing.

Hiddenwrath. ...BoneClanner. The bird was smart. It knew who these were...the RisingClanner, anyway.
It seemed there was something between them. Something in their eyes in voices, barely glimpsed but so tangible.
Falcon eyes were some of the sharpest around, after all.

Suddenly, the bird exploded from the branch. It was very fast indeed.
Circling wide around the pair on rainbow-feathered wings, the falcon -the kestrel- made another high shree-ing sound, sweeping through the trees to land--

On the back of a cat.



Without warning, the she-cat was there. The she-cat who was reputed to be one of the fastest -if not the fastest- cat in the Meadow, a strong-willed cat, both famous and infamous depending on who was talking.
The leader of RisingClan.

She stood, her mismatched eyes as sharp as those of the falcon on her back. Blue eye, yellow eye. She was a pretty cat, but though her face was composed, she was very serious.
Her fur was white and gray, ruffled and medium-length like feathers.

Kestrel. What cat had not heard her name? She was nearly as well-known as Bane. She was, after all, Bane's rival, his polar opposite.

Kestrel.


;; arukitsuzukeyou

[Hiddenwrath]

“Neither do I…”

Hazel eyes lowered, looking at her paws. She didn’t know, both were admitting to something new to them.

But then…
Shree?

Wait, hadn’t Hiddenwrath heard that before?
Her head lifted, ears twitched.

Then she was there.
Kestrel.
Her leader.

Those Boneclanners wouldn’t come for them now.
Kestrel was here.

[Shadow Spirit]

A new element thrown into the mix...

The sudden arrival of Kestrel had not gone unnoticed by Anarchy. The RisingClan leader may have thought she had the advantage of surprise, but he'd smelled her a long way off. The veritable reek of Clan cats was unmistakable, no matter who they were loyal to. It made him glad once again that he gave allegiance to no one and therefore carried no tell tale aroma to alert his presence. His orange orbs were fixed on the mottled leader, not a flicker of fear in their bright depths.

"So, I see news travels fast..." was his sour greeting, a scowl adorning his maw, eyes narrowed slightly.

[Kestrel]

zetsubou kara no hajimari te ni shlta kara ;;


"Fast indeed," she meowed lowly. "This is my land and I know what goes on here."

Kestrel then turned her mismatched gaze to Hiddenwrath. There was no hostility in her eyes, but she was grave.
"What happened here, Hiddenwrath?" she asked.

And I suggest you tell the truth. I will know if you are not.


;; arukitsuzukeyou

[Hiddenwrath]

What reason would Hiddenwrath have to hide?

“Boneclanners came here to Risingclan, Kestrel! They attacked me, were going to take back to Boneclan for some nefarious purpose.”

She shuddered.
It was likely she wouldn’t have ever returned after that.
Not alive, anyway.

“Anarchy saved me, gave us the means to escape.”

It was true.
Anarchy did save her.
And she wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

Not now.
Not…ever?

The light orange and white fluffy she-cat match Kestrel’s gaze.
Something burning deep in her striking hazel hues.
But what, exactly, was it?