just know t h e i v e s get {CAUGHT}

[Shadewing]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=181717] the count;; 1555 the cat;; Shadestar the involved;; df the notes;; oooh scary. and if you know what song the title is, i'm not kinky, its the rock version and i listen to it because its awesome. WARNING: abnormally long post ahead. Shadestar lay asleep in his den, leaf-bare's cold winter still upon him. There wasn't exactly a blizzard outside, but the snow was falling to a sharp wind. He was happy to be inside, but at the same time, he dreamed of laying next to a love of his, keeping warm in eachother's pelt, and being happy. The dream was quickly morphed. The lithe black cat who he imagined as a mate's kind murky yellow eyes turned red, and then her skin started melting against her face. Shadestar got up, and took a step back, and then noticed a dark, dull forest. He stared in shock as the queen's pelt deflated as she croaked out cries of help. Shadestar was completely frozen with fear, and he had a feeling he was being bound at the same time. I need to move. I need to get out of here. I need to help her. No, she's dead. he thought as the scent of crow-food mixed with the metallic scent of blood and dead cat filled his nose. Her skin was just attached to her bones, her frame clearly visible, no more fat of muscle within her. Her skin then rotted into the darkness below her. Her bones turned to dust, and blew away from Shadestar. So many confusing scents filled Shadestar's nose, he looked behind him, and noticed a huge brown tabby with long claws, and deep red eyes. Shadestar was granted movement, and backed away from the much bigger tom, only to have the tom swipe Shadestar aside with one sweep of his long claws. Shadestar crashed to the ground, and before he could react, he could feel this cat's claws digging into the side of his face. His pelt twitched, and he tried to struggled away. The more he struggled, the worse the grip was. "Shadestar, Shadestar! You must calm down! We have company, some of your friends are here.. The cat narrowed his eyes, and let his head down, breathing his strong breath into Shadestar's nose. Crowfood. Shadestar looked up at the cat, and recognized him right away. Tigerstar, how he always imagined him. Tigerstar released his grip, and Shadestar scrambled away a few foxlengths. Shadestar then noticed that he was surrounded by cats who looked overly malicious and evil. "Am I dead?" were his first three words of panic, and his swung his head around, trying to make sense of everything. "I'm misunderstood, Tigerstar. I don't belong here, I--" Tigerstar's laugh made him freeze with fear. "Relax, we came here to talk with you, not to bring you here for eternity. Come, lay with us." He said the words in a comforting but chilling voice, looking out at the cats who stepped closer. Shadestar examined them. Great StarClan. Crueleye, Seamist.. I killed that cat.. He looked at the black and white tom with the blue eyes, who gave Shadestar a scar on his head. Most of his fur was covering it, but a gust of wind revealed the raw pink scar. The cats all sat down. Crueleye and Seamist stared at Shadestar, with creepy, dead gazes, as the black and white cat started talking. Shadestar didn't want to listen, but it was like he was being forced to. "It's such a shame that you killed me. And that your brother got my eyes. I would have liked my traits passed onto a tom with balls." Shadestar looked at this cat, the one who he had killed, the attacker, the rapist.. Who he had killed to try to save some cats of ShadowClan.. This cat was Shadestar's father. Shadestar growled, and his fur started to prickle. Crueleye locked eyes with Shadestar, and the black tom was immobilized with fear. He settled back down, and listened to his.. father.. "Let's not dwell on the past though. Like Tigerstar to Hawkfrost, I would like you with me. StarClan isn't quite like here. Sure, sometimes its 'lonely', if you're a little pussy (Shadestar didn't quite understand the tom's language) but we fight all the time, Shadestar, my son. We talk sometimes. We do things to cats. It's not as boring as they say. But you do never have to deal with little nuisiances, not like in StarClan. In fact, you could be one of our kings, just like the great Tigerstar. You could be better than him. Because he failed, didn't he?" Sin looked at Shadestar, and licked him quickly on the ear. This cat's breath smelled terribly of crowfood as well. "You're ambitious, right? You got that from old pops I bet. In your position, ruling the Dark Forest will be easy. But, first you must real the true cat's forest." Shadestar's eyes widened. They weren't truly going to ask him to... "I can sense your fear, Shadestar. But, you're in control. Of yourself, of ShadowClan.. well, no maybe not. Cats just don't listen to you, do they? Listen well, I have thought of this for a while. The first Clan's respect to gain is FireClan's. Let them have all of your females, let them do whatever you wish. They will breed by sacrificing those little useless things. Seamist, my apologies. You're not like the queens in ShadowClan. You're a different level." He nodded at Seamist, clearly not wanting to offend anyone, and continued. "Sure, you'll lose a few hunters. And maybe some things will be tough. A few kits will die, a few cats will die, but the good will outweigh the bad for you. Then you take over one Clan at a time. Get revenge on all of the Clans, and what they've done. ShadowClan will rule the entire forest." The cat rose to his feet, and paced about. He suddenly stopped, and looked at Shadestar."How rude, not introducing myself. Sin, father, daddy, whatever you'd like to call me, as you're my son," he meowed in an over casual voice, as Shadestar looked on, and started to get up. He wanted to stand up to the cat, tell him he wouldn't, but.. An evil though just crossed his mind. My mother's dead, she never did anything for me. Brother's never cared for me, mate never cared for me, as a fact, nobody does. Even if I can just get on FireClan's side using his methods.. Shadestar stopped his train of thought. No. I will live out this nightmare, and pretend it never happened... "Oh! You had me going there for a moment! I can read your thoughts, Shadestar. Frightening, but they can't, so don't worry. I won't tell them." Them being Seamist and Crueleye, he hoped. Not more frightening cats he didn't know. "Sin, I refuse. I can't do this. It's too wrong." "Oh, but then cats will like you! You'll finally be in control!" "I won't be pleasing the Clan that I want to impress." "Son, every leadership has sacrifices and risks. This is one step." "I'm not comfortable with leading my cats into war, and using the queens like that." "I will have you know that no Dark Forest cat gave you lives, Shadestar. Your mortal body only has the lives. If I killed your soul away from StarClan, you'd die in your sleep. Then Redeyes would take over. That doesn't sound so great, now does it?" Shadestar shook with fear, and didn't quite know what to say. Say yes, say yes.. a voice said, as Sin narrowed his eyes. You'll die here, and lead the Clans into disarray. Or, you'll take your crown as leader, and do as Sin says. Maybe, just maybe, I could lie.. Oh, Dark Forest, foxdung, mousedung, damn. Stinking piles of crowfood. Stop thinking. Stop, stop, stop... Shadestar thought endlessly in his head. "If you do lie, you'll wind up back here, and I'll kill you then. We are powerful now, StarClan has no power in your world right now. We manipulate everything." "If I agree to try my hardest at what you want, will you end this leaf-bare and let StarClan take over again?" "We shall end the leaf-bare, but your last wish cannot be granted, or else we would lose. And, no, you don't wish to be Drydusk." Sin sat down, and hung his head. "After all, if a cat dies under this moon, the Dark Forest claims their soul.. While we imprison the dead cats to the normal life, you may roam as you wish, along with your followers. The dark-forest will grow stronger. And all we need is someone smart, powerful, and in control. That's you, if you haven't noticed, Shadestar." "I will do it. Just guide me on what to do, and I'll complete it for you." Shadestar meowed, knowing he had no other choice. Crowfood. Crowfood. Crowfood. Crowfood. Crowfood. He tried to override any questionable thoughts that would come into this mind. Please end this nightmare. "Sure. Just hold up your end of the bargain. And since you're being secretive.. I'm watching.."

[sandfire]

((Hope it's alright... ))

There was an uneasy feeling in Drydusk's pelt. He picked up a scrap of prey from the fresh kill pile, suddenly uncaring about if anyone else had been fed first. It was just a tiny scrap, a bony piece of fur. He didn't even care to make out what it was was he chewed on it. He hadn't eaten in a long, long time. He could feel the weight of starvation creeping on him. He wasn't going to die from this. He didn't like the fact that he had to upkeep the Warrior Code. He didn't like it anymore, it wasn't an honor. It was a torture.

It had already been decided in his mind to talk to his brother this morning. He wasn't sure why, but he was hopeful to have a chance to go hunting with him. To do something... Kin was kin, and in a place as lonely as ShadowClan had become, he wanted that company. His ears twitched back. He should probably bring his amazing leader something, especially since now he looked down upon him so. He hoped that... He prayed to StarClan that Dustfeather would have a tom. He needed something in his clan to keep his loyalties in check... The smallest of thoughts about his rogue father... No. He was ShadowClan, not half-clan rogue. Besides, hadn't ShadowClan become a rogue hole?

He noticed Whisper for a moment as the cat slipped out of the clan, and his tail whisked. Not all FireClan cats were bad, he reminded himself quietly. He tried to keep his sanity in this way. Good cats were in this joint clan. All of them needed to be cared for. When he hunted, and a FireClan cat got pick of his prey, his pelt would prickle and he'd have to think of Whisper. With a sigh, he got to his paws, leaving the remains of bones. He looked over what should have been a pile of prey, picked up a blackbird which didn't seem to be all feathers and trotted over to Shadestar's den, each pawstep becoming more and more concrete, real, and even more worrisome.

"Shadestar?" He mewled softly, detecting his brother's scent inside the den, past the mouthwatering bird in his jaws. When he got no answer, he padded inside, his pelt set on end. He settled it quickly when he just saw that the tom was sleeping... Perhaps even dreaming. His nest looked a little torn apart, and he was twitching. His ears flicked as he padded over to him and set the bird down, before turning around. He should just leave now... He didn't know if Shadestar would take kindly to being woken up.

[Shadewing]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=181717] the count;; 323 the cat;; Shadestar the involved;; Drydusk the notes;; suree Shadestar's vision of the forest and cats slwoly morphed into a dark version of his den. His den then regained color, and became somewhat brighter, and he found himself curled up tight, claws deep in the frozen soil. He heard his brother's voice, and slowly picked his head up, noticing that his den still smelled of crowfood somewhat. However, the blackbird that he noticed his brother was carrying washed away the scent, as Shadestar rose to his paws, and looked at Drydusk coldly, though inside praying to StarClan or the Dark Forest or whoever was out to hear him that he wasn't talking about his dream in his sleep. "What are you doing, Drydusk?" Shadestar meowed, holding back a hiss. He really didn't need to let out his anger on his poor brother: The nicer tom may as well enjoy his life before being damned to the Dark Forest forever. He wanted to mewl on his brothers neck, tell him about everything.. But something told him that it wouldn't turn out quite right, and that the Dark Forest was watching his every move. "Oh, you brought me a blackbird. Thanks," he meowed, followed by a cringe, noticing that he must have picked up the 'oh' from when he first saw his father. Shadestar's fur prickled, not wanting to remember anything. I have to do this, or else everyone will die. I can die in control, or die useless. Shadestar didn't want to pray to the Dark Forest, but they seemed to be the only present afterlife, the only one who could grant his Clan anything. Please grant ShadowClan and FireClan soem gifts, please. We need more prey, our cats are starving.. Maybe StarClan would hear him. Or maybe the Dark Forest would, like just about any prayer. Shadestar tried to intercept his thoughts. "So.. that blackbird is for me, right? We should at least split it."

[sandfire]

Drydusk was on his way out- he was so close to leaving. He cast a glance back over his shoulder as his brother rose to his paws, still bristling slightly as he addressed him. He was going to say something, but now all he wanted to do was leave. Come on, he hissed in his mind to himself, he's your brother for Starclan's sake. Stop acting like a kit. "Yeah, I did... You're welcome."

He turned around, knowing he should probably ask. He wanted to go hunting..or do something, anything, with his brother. He shouldn't just turn tail and leave, no, not now. It was just his brother. They were kin... He wouldn't turn down an offer to just act like normal clanmates for once. Right?

His whiskers twitched with appreciation when Shadestar offered to share it with him. He could feel his pelt clinging to his sides and he wondered just how thin he looked. He dipped his head respectfully. "I already had something... And you need to keep up your strength." So did Drydusk, but he figured he was just one warrior... Expendable. He didn't like that thought, but he felt it was basically the truth. Just being leader made you nine times more of a cat than any other.

He decided that he should definitely change the subject- hopefully Shadestar wouldn't argue. "But I was also hoping... We could go on a patrol or something. Like... hunting. Or border-... but I suppose we would need more than just us to do something like that, with Thunderclan..."

[Shadewing]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=181717] the count;; 210 the cat;; Shadestar the involved;; Drydusk the notes;; Shadestar took the bird, and lay down, slowing eating it. He looked thoughtful as Drydusk talked, even though it wasn't too much to think about. "A hunting patrol sounds fine." Shadestar finished up the bits of meat on the bird, and then easily ate its hollow bones. "I should stop stressing out and get out. I've just been having the weirdest dreams lately, and I'm sure being out for a little bit will help cure the paranoia and stuff." Shadestar stopped so he wasn't going to ramble, and he stopped because what he was thinking of wasn't comforting his latest dream. He felt like he was being watched, and he needed to monitor his every word and thought. And for a rather outspoken cat, that wasn't incredibly easy. Shadestar looked at his brother, and flicked his tail. "You should take on deputy duties for the next sun. At least you know what you're doing, right?" he grumbled to Drydusk, though half way to himself. "Redeyes is the worst deputy." He stood over by the west side of camp, wanting to hunt in ThunderClan's direction. "I don't think patrols have come here for a few suns.. some mice may still be around.."

[sandfire]

Drydusk's tail whisked against the floor of the den, his ears flicking as he took in his brother's answer. A shot of hope pierced him painfully, but he felt weightless because of it. His paws tingled as a warm smile pulled at the corners of his muzzle.

However, he was a bit worked worried when his brother mentioned weird dreams. Drydusk himself hadn't had any dreams recently, not even of eating. That was, when he did sleep. He often felt very restless at night. He was sure he wasn't the only one. He prevented his ears from pinning back in his distress, twitching his tail dismissively and nodding. No need to get all comforting- Shadestar could handle himself. It would probably only be insulting.

"If you'd like me too, I could," Drydusk meowed in response to deputy duties. He understood why Redeyes had to be deputy- for FireClan to be cooperative... But he didn't like it either. Of course, he would never say a word against the deputy. He'd get his ears torn off at best. He followed his brother, his whiskers twitching. "Yeah, I bet there might be something to catch..."

He wished they had gone after RiverClan territory. Like the fisheaters needed all the territory they had... But obviously they were a lot more well fed, they could fight even better than ThunderClan. He didn't like one whisker of the path ShadowClan was treading. He prayed that Newleaf come soon... He couldn't handle the lack of prey much longer.

"Only one way to find out," he mewed hopefully, his whiskers twitching.