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[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

The sky was a beaten, faded blue; it was vast and ageless, dusty and simple and somehow clean.

The hills cast rippled shadows across the flat, dry land; the valleys were cool and shaded. It was an unseasonably hot day, but the wind was nothing but winter.

The wind. It sang across the wild hills and plains of RisingClan, stirring the soul, tossing the scrub-brush and spinning the dust. In the driving wind was the teeth of winter.

Kestrel faced the bracing wind, her fur ruffling in the gasping, fluttering gale. Somehow, the warm-colored and dusty earth did not stain her delicate, graceful white paws.
She did not narrow her eyes against the wind; no, she seemed to welcome it.
To speak with it. To dance with it, though she did not move. There seemed to be some kind of silent, still communication between her and the wind at that moment.

Then she moved, turning back to Chasm, the ancient and fine dust swirling around her and before her.

"This is my home," was what she said, her voice half-stolen by the wind, hoarse with the dust.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

Will the wind ever sing to me as it does to you...?

Chasm nodded, to breathless and excited to speak. He raced on with Kestrel, their pelts brushing as the wind buffeted both of their bodies slightly off course. He breathed in the fresh winter scents and blinked his eyes at the dust. The cold and snow washed everything clean and the forest smelled new and inviting. The tom's pale gray eyes took in everything that he could as it flashed past.

[Kestrel]

|ooc| There ish no forest here, Shadow ^^

You'll never ^take _me alive

Takeoff.

Kestrel leaped forward so quickly she left only a column of swirling dust behind her. The moisture left behind from the melted snow had lifted remarkably swiftly, but Kestrel suspected that clouds lurked just over the horizon. Though this day felt more like spring or summer, winter would return with a veangence.
Now the wind was howling a chorus in her ears, stinging her face with its bitter cold, screaming through her.

She ran up a hillside without slowing down, and when she reached the top, she did not hesitate.
She vaulted upwards and forwards, a high jump, a long jump. The ground dropped away below her, and for several endless moments she soared fox-lengths above the red-orange-brown earth.
The sun winked above. The ground sailed by below.

Kestrel flew.

Landing.

Kestrel landed with her paws spread at the peak of the next hill, the wind rocking her. Her eyes were wide and wild, and livliness sprang through her like electricity through a wire.
She was barely breathing hard at all.
She stood still for a few minutes, watching Chasm with open curiosity.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

Is this what freedom means...?

Chasm watched her take flight, awe blazing in his dull eyes. As she landed, he bounded over to her.

"That was...awesome..." he said, almost laughing at himself for using such a mediocre word.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel smiled quite pleasantly. There was little she liked so much as her 'flying' times.

She gestured at the hill with one neat white paw. "Try it," she urged.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

I see something in you that I did not know I could...

Chasm shook his head, black and silver pelt dancing in the ripples of sunlight. The unusual heat spell made his black coat itch and seethe with warmth and he hoped to find some shade eventually.

"I am built for fighting...not for flying..." he said, smiling at her awkwardly. "My body would never be considered graceful..."

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

"You might be suprised," she meowed, and a part of her voice was grave.

Somehow sensing Chasm's discomfort, she added, "There is some shade here." She flicked her tail in the direction of one of the small, shadowed depressions beside the hills.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

If I never wanted to be apart...would you hate me for it?

Chasm nodded and followed her gesture to a shady ditch. He slumped his overheated black pelt into the crevice and relaxed his muscles. Gray eyes closed to rest, he waited to see if she would join him or go on ahead.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel followed, sitting but not laying nearby.
She watched Chasm curiously, the dust spinning around her paws like gritty ghosts of legend.

"Why RisingClan?" she asked suddenly. "Was this the first Clan you knew of? The first you stumbled upon?"

She wondered how far away his old home had been.
Then, she wondered how far away hers was.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

What led me to this place...this place I might call home...?

Chasm opened his eyes and looked to his leader. She was so...forgiving of his mistakes and his awkwardness. It made him feel calm.

"Honestly...when the other twolegs came and stole all the others from my 'home'...." he said the word home as though it tasted bad in his mouth. "This was the first territory I happened upon...and it just...felt right when I met you..." He paused, trying not to sound so sappy. "You didn't chase me off or instantly hate me...it just...fit..."

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel nodded in understanding. "I know what the twolegs can do; living with them, it's no wonder you have such a strange way of viewing your own kind," she meowed softly.
She tilted her head back, not even narrowing her eyes as the sun blasted her face.
"With the exception of BoneClan and several skewed rogues, cats are primarily good. Or at least, thatm's my philosophy."
Her voice lowered slightly as she added, "But we are all haunted by the shadows of our pasts, are we not? It's debilitating. Why should any cat judge another for that?"

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

Whatever you do...I'll be right here waiting...always...

Chasm had to agree with her. So far his only impression was that cats tried to live their lives as peacefully as possible and didn't go looking for fights. He'd never heard of this BoneClan, but he imagined he would not like to meet them. He rested his head on his paws again, gray hues still watching her.

"Even if it's not right...some will still do it..." he said, mutedly.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel stood. "True; BoneClan does wrong, they know they do wrong, yet they continue on their path." Her voice grew harder at the mention of the rival Clan.

Kestrel raised one paw and examined it. Wickedly long and sharp claws slid from their sheaths.
"Which is why it is the duty of RisingClan to oppose them. I will not rest until there is an end to this. BoneClan shall fall."
Her voice was ringing and defiant as hell; she didn't look at all the sort of cat who had second thoughts.
Though she did, of course.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

Is there nothing that phases you...?

Chasm lifted his head again, studying her with his pale eyes. He shifted a little, feeling uncomfortable with the serious waythe conversation seemed to be going. He'd hoped this run would be lighthearted and calming.

"So you have no reservations at all...?" he asked.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

"Sometimes," was Kestrel's softly spoken answer.

She watched Chasm with eyes of two-colored fire, and for some reason she looked grave. "When I dream. At night, when she sun has set and the light is gone from the earth; when my restless mind has finally settled and I sleep; that is when the dreams come, and sometimes I don't even know who I am."
Her voice was distant, and it wasn't entirely clear now who she was speaking to.
"I always come back."

Then she seemed to visibly shake herself. "But those doubts are never real," she meowed briskly. "BoneClan is wrong to do what they do, same as the twolegs. Those who can stop it, should."

But she noticed his discomfort and offered a change of subject. "Life is a funny thing, is it not?"

From there, the topics were endless. Even if Chasm had never seen the lighter side, Kestrel had. And she had a few stories that weren't entirely serious.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

Do you care for me...or do you pity me...?

Chasm smiled slightly at his leader, wondering how she could slip from topic to topic so easily. He found it hard to talk at all, let alone to be so comfortable with himself. He shifted a little, putting his paws in the sun. He had cooled down enough and the cool leaf-bare chill was returning to his fur.

"So what are we to do now Kestrel?" he asked, peering at her with his ever-so-gray eyes.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel answered with a directness that was not altogether rare for her.

"You need to learn to live, Chasm," she meowed matter-of-factly, almost briskly. "The shadow of your past stretches out long and dark, but you can get away. You can take it back, and win, as you have said, 'some semblance of an ordinary life.'

However you want to do it is fine. It really doesn's matter; I will do what I can to help because I feel you did not deserve the hand you have been dealt."

For Kestrel, some things just were.

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

I didn't ask to be broken...to be bred and treated like a worthless token...
My skin is thick...my mind is strong...I've done nothing wrong...
...so free me...
I just wanna know what life should be...

Chasm rose to his paws and strode over to Kestrel. He brushed shoulders with her and looked straight into her eyes. His cloudy gray hues brimmed with gratitude.

"I've no idea where to start with the healing...but I want to take what I know of fighting and aide you in the battle against BoneClan..." He stared into her eyes with a confidence that wasn't there before. "Please do not object...I want to help you...it is my payment for your acceptance, and I think...that maybe if I fight this one last battle...then I can finally put my shattered past behind me and become a normal tom..."

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel did not move, but instead stared boldly back, her gaze sharp.
She missed nothing. She never backed down. That was Kestrel's way.

"I would be grateful if you would," she meowed. "BoneClan is as bad as the twolegs-- something must be done. If you wish to repay me by using the skills you possess, I would be glad of it."

She was silent for a moment, and when she spoke, her words seemed almost random. "I've decided that no past is better than a shattered past, Chasm."
She blinked slowly, nodded. "Any way you can put it behind you."

Then Kestrel's eyes left his and she turned her gaze down.
She watched her claws slide slowly from their sheaths. With the faintest of sly grins, she added, "And I, too, will fight. Of course."

^I'm alive

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[Shadow Spirit]

Have I just signed my will...?

Chasm understood her need to drive evil away. If there was anyway for him to punish the twolegs that ruined his life, he would've found it. He knew she was a powerful cat and the best kind of leader there could be, but he still felt...protective of her. Nothing would stop her from fighting, but he hoped he could at least make sure she came back from it in one piece. As she turned her mismatched hues away, he did the same, his gray ones swirled in a strange emotion.

"So, I imagine we should go back now..." he said. "The clan will need our strength..."