Training cave [Mafia training area II]

[Exis]

Blackhaze’s area of expertise would need something else, two spaces in one, and where better than his own home. It wasn’t too far from Talonstone’s area, within earshot in fact. It was his cave. The only way to enter was through a hole that used to be the size of an apprentice but he’d widened it to be larger than himself. The inside was complete with a small pool of water and a backwat to other caves and tunnels. That’s where they’d do sensory training as it was too dark for them to see. If you got lost, you got lost. Outside was the clearing, full of spindly trees, perfect for brute strength training. They’d have to use their claws and chop them down, just like weaselblaze made him do when he was younger. It really was a good exercise. The clearing itself would be used for communication therapy, or social skills. In all honesty, he wanted these cats to know how to talk to other cats. Not to far we’re what he loved to call the dark woods. It would be perfect for stealth training. As he arrived he looked around for Ashenpaw and illicit, Ashen would be helping him train while he wanted illicit to stay in his den and just stay there. That wasn’t possible however and so he’d be helping with manipulation training. He was sure it would be different from Talonstone and more courses the better. Coldpath would be helping Talonstone for now, hopefully Cold can exercise his rage in some battle training, if not he’ll come here to do that. “Ashen, illicit, we should get started here.” Any cats who had wanted this specific training should have followed him.


(Please wait until Mumble and Cobra have replied.)


gs29513 VALLIANCE ghostwriter S t a r ChillCat Mumble Cobra Leafí Minty Eve

[Cobra]

Illicit followed Haze, tossing a grin over his shoulder at the rest of the cats. So he would be teaching manipulation training, huh? Well, they'd better get started - he was just dying to twist some young brains. And, oh, Loverboy had invited that.. seriously weird apprentice. Illicit laughed in his mind at his own joke. Seriously. Besides, he was actually quite weird. He was positive that he'd never been like that as an apprentice.. wait. Illicit frowned. How had he not seen Haze before? He'd never met a cat called 'Hazekit', and he doubted his lover would've had another name. Former Clan cats tended to use their prefixes as their names once they'd switched their affiliation to the Outskirts. Maybe it was his suffix. Illicit stopped short, the thought going through his head. Suffix. Haze. He's black.. Blackhaze. Thinking about it, he might've met a young kit / apprentice who looked like his boyfriend, with the cool spotted tail and the sea-blue eyes that made you feel like you were the only cat he loved. Or that was probably just for himself, cause reasons. Reasons that made him feel all fuzzy and warm and tingly and sparkly. Reasons that only he could think - well, maybe Haze could think them.. or should he call him Blackhaze? Ooh, that was a good sentence he could use. Definitely. BUT MAYBE HE'D ALREADY USED IT UP. Could you use up words in your head? Illicit wasn't exactly sure. "Loverboy," he meowed, winking at Ashenpaw as he said it but motioning the words at Haze, "I've gotta ask you about our.. motives."

// Mumble Exis [ gs29513 VALLIANCE ghostwriter S t a r ChillCat Leafí Minty Eve ]

[Exis]

gs29513 VALLIANCE ghostwriter S t a r ChillCat Mumble Cobra Leafí Minty Eve (Feel free to post now.)

[ChillCat]

Scorchstrike padded into the area and started grooming her face. It was a habit she had picked up in the medicine den of constantly grooming her injuries so it wouldn't get infected. The calico she-cat sat in silence, indicating she was ready for whatever was next. Exis Mumble Cobra

[S t a r]

( it is time to cause the gay bois trouble Cobra Exis )

The dark-furred apprentice bounced after her brother. Ooh, training! From her brother, which was far better! She grinned and stood next to her brother, "So, Blackie, how've you been lately? Ah, well right now might not be the best time to ask.. but I just wanted to talk to you!" She hadn't seen her brother since she found out he was dead. Her heart was still broken over it. He was all she had left. And now, he was dead. But atleast, she could see him more with this mafia! She seemed to be standing.. really close to Blackhaze. But she didn't notice. Darkpaw seemed kind of oblivious to anything going on between Illicit and Black, then again, she didn't even know Illicit. So she suspected nothing and had seen nothing. She also didn't know much about what was going on with Blackhaze.. since he was always caught up in things that were considered treason for the clans. That was probably what separated them in the first place. Ever since her apprenticeship, he seemed.. awfully busy. Even neglecting her as a mentor. But she had locked away those days, considering they were when the voices in her head were the worst. Then Hailscratch practically banished her voices somehow, his words making them silent. Well, all except Star. He was still there. Oh, right, focus on Blackie. This might be her only chance to talk with him!

[vampy]

~ Nightpaw ~ Exis ~ Mumble ~ Cobra ~

Nightpaw trotted into the area, glancing side to side with his bright green eyes. This place wasn’t so bad if you got used to it. It was kind of comforting for him. He went a bit faster, almost catching up to Scorchstrike, then backing away behind her slowly. She didn’t look, well, super friendly. But the dark apprentice continued on. He would learn such cool stuff, then actually be able to use it outside of here. Nightpaw wouldn’t necessarily brave and courageous, but he was called here for a reason, wasn’t he? If he denied their invitation, who knows what would happen. He shook his head to clear the worries for his mind and attempted to pay attention.

[gs29513]

Shrewpaw wasn't sure what he was exactly supposed to do, but he was here for training and training he was going to get. Letting Darkpaw and Illicit, that cat Blackhaze had found somewhere, babble on a bit, he sat down twitching his tail. This wasn't social hour, he wanted to learn. He wasn't normally testy or impatient, but since the whole purpose of this place was to know more things, and he was going to take his assessment soon, he was in a bit of a rush to learn as much as possible, as soon as possible. Exis VALLIANCE ghostwriter S t a r ChillCat Mumble Cobra Leafí Minty Eve

[Exis]

Blackhaze looked around at those that had followed him, seemed good. “Strength training for wait by those trees. Stealth training into the woods. Social therapy stay here in the clearing. If you’re the only one at your area, find some friends to come next time.” He mewed before turning to Darkpaw,

“Shadow me today.” He wasn’t so sure he wanted her strength training. At all. He smiled at his younger Sister before turning to illicit, “Do you want to do social interaction with illicit instead?” He asked, she’d be really good at that anyway. He hoped illicit didn’t mind but he was sure that illicit and Darkpaw would get along.
Cobra ChillCat S t a r gs29513 Minty Mumble

(Any cats you recruit must still apply. Cats that recruit more will be seen as more adept and trusted more as a result. Proof must be shown of recruitment for this to work.)

[gs29513]

Strength training or stealth training? Somehow he had a feeling social interactions would NOT be helpful with Dawnstar. He doubted they would be fighting in the dark, so Shrewpaw moved quickly towards the trees, flexing his paws in an attempt to be somewhat menacing. His small size likely ruined it, he was only up to Blackhaze's shoulder after all, but he still would need to have some amount of strength to be able to fight Dawnstar. After all, she was one of the biggest cat-mountains he'd ever seen, let alone fought. Exis

[vampy]

~ Exis ~ Mumble ~ Cobra ~

He thought about the three options. He might need social therapy, but he wanted to fight well! Then again, stealth would be a good option for surprise attacks. Gingerfrost would teach him fighting.. aaand he wasn’t sure he wanted any scratches right now. Nightpaw padded into the woods, attempting to look as confident as he could. He was already mute, so stealth might not be too hard for him. His first few days as an apprentice would be amazing, he was sure. Maybe he would even make a friend or two! If they’re actually.. friendly, that is.

[ChillCat]

Scorchstrike's social skills were...inadequate. She stuck around in the clearing. Maybe I could check out the other training later? My ability to manipulate other cats is laughable. Exis Mumble Cobra

[elaif]

Thorn'Claw thought about the options for a moment, social interaction was probably the better choice, but he couldn't stand talking to others. Maybe strength? He was already pretty strong.... Pondering a bit more he finally decided to choose stealth. Getting up he strode towards the woods and waited.

[Cobra]

Illicit forced himself to not whine. He was himself - he would never whine. Especially about a daring, no-good, annoying, adorable, perfect, idiotic boyfriend. Never. He would never give in. But talking to Haze's little sister? Maybe he was supposed to get.. "acquainted" with her in order to officially start a relationship with her. Such things were probably the norm. "Hi," he meowed after he had walked a little whiles away from the group. "I'm Illicit. Sometimes, I'm.. something else. Sometimes. Never talk to me about that or I'll kill you. But call me Illicit - please. I'm begging you." A gruesome first start? Ah, well, who cared?!

// S t a r

[S t a r]

( Cobra )

Ooh! One of Blackie's friends! Yes! Finally, she could have some mutual friends with Blackie! She grinned at Illicit, "Great to meet you, Illicit! I'm Darkpaw. And don't worry, I'll never spill your secrets." She giggled at his words. Stars, he was funny! Well, not the killing part, but the rest of it! They did seem really close. It was odd how she didn't know Illicit already.. maybe, he was Blackie's real brother?! WOAH! That would be so cool! Her eyes sparkled at the thought, ooh, Blackie's real brotherrr! Oh, well, maybe he wasn't, but he probably was! Oh stars, oh stars! She might be talking to his real brotherr! Her grinned seemed to widen as she overthought their relationship. But then again, Darkpaw never thought of Blackie being.. well, possibly gay.

( oh my gosh, poor innocent dorkie )

[Cobra]

Why was she so.. happy? It was almost sickeningly happy - no, scratch that. It was sickeningly happy. His true nature coming out, Illicit forced a smile. He was good at acting, after practicing for such a long time. "Yeah. Real pleasure." Never spill his secrets?? But.. ".. they're not really secrets," he muttered. "Just.. words. Ish. No, not really. It's hard to descr - why are you making me do this? Are you really Cuteguy's sister? I'm - " Illicit drew in lungful of air and puffed out his chest - "His boyfriend." Yeah, she was definitely not his real sister. Haze would not have such a dumb, sweet sister. He adopted her, possibly because her real parents disowned her. Illicit could get that. He would probably get along with them.

// S t a r

[Cobra]

[ PLEASE DO NOT MENTION ME UNLESS YOU ARE STAR.
gs29513 ChillCat Leafí Minty ]

[S t a r]

( Cobra )

What? Boy.. friend? Wait, since when was Blackie gay?! Was she really that uninvolved? She was so busy trying to please everyone and make friends, that she rarely had talked to Blackie. That's when it hit her. It wasn't his fault. It was hers. She was the very reason they rarely talked anymore. Her heart ached. She did this. She was the reason. She could mope later, right now, she had to focus on just.. putting up with the act. The fake happiness. The lies. All of it. She could.. talk to Hailscratch later. He could make her happy again. Not this small mask she hid behind because it made others happy. The voices arose from their short and silent slumber. They yelled and laughed like hyenas in her ears. All so loud.. they drowned out everything. She could feel her smile slipping. She had to keep it up. She couldn't stop now. Darkpaw's smile faltered for a mere second before perking back up again. "His boyfriend? OhmySTARS! I can't believe Blackie has a boyfrienddd!" She giggled and bounced up and down. She kind of felt happy now. But not like that other time. That other time.. it was all she ever wanted. To be happy. She had always thought making others happy made her happy. But that was never happiness. That was a lie. A charade she played for herself. No, focus. Focus. Ignore the voices. Ignore your insecurity. Ignore EVERYTHING. Focus on.. wearing the mask. The moment you return to your clan, go cry to Hail. Stars, this was hard. But she would be just fine. She just had to be perfect for them. She had to be. And so she would.

[Exis]

Blackhaze first walked twords the strength area, it was the same type of trees Weaselblaze had had him chopping down. The trees were skinny but the further you went into the forest the fatter they would be. He’d marked these “levels” with rings of rocks. There were a lot of them, maybe 15? He didn’t expect anyone to get to 15, it was full grown trees. No cat can chop them, but once one gets there they’d spend their time on that same tree. He looked to those he had with him, just Shrewpaw. “Shrew, what I want you to do is claw this tree until it falls, when it does come get me. I want it down by end of night. Do you understand?” He asked knowing full and well if he made it it would be just barely. He needed him to get used to disappointing others.


( gs29513 Shrewpaw shouldn’t be able to chop it down fast, it should take him at least 9/10 of the night. He can get some other training in at that time.)


_______________________


After he was done instructing Shrewpaw and answering his questions he padded over to the dark woods. “Thornclaw, Nightpaw, you’ve chosen stealth training correct?” He asked before continuing to talk without waiting for an answer, “Good. Today I expect nothing less than a train wreck. Now, to start, show me what you can do.” He waited, this was a test of some kind. The outcome was neither good nor bad either way, it just was.

( Minty Leafì )

[vampy]

Blackhaze first walked twords the strength area, it was the same type of trees Weaselblaze had had him chopping down. The trees were skinny but the further you went into the forest the fatter they would be. He’d marked these “levels” with rings of rocks. There were a lot of them, maybe 15? He didn’t expect anyone to get to 15, it was full grown trees. No cat can chop them, but once one gets there they’d spend their time on that same tree. He looked to those he had with him, just Shrewpaw. “Shrew, what I want you to do is claw this tree until it falls, when it does come get me. I want it down by end of night. Do you understand?” He asked knowing full and well if he made it it would be just barely. He needed him to get used to disappointing others.


( gs29513 Shrewpaw shouldn’t be able to chop it down fast, it should take him at least 9/10 of the night. He can get some other training in at that time.)


_______________________


After he was done instructing Shrewpaw and answering his questions he padded over to the dark woods. “Thornclaw, Nightpaw, you’ve chosen stealth training correct?” He asked before continuing to talk without waiting for an answer, “Good. Today I expect nothing less than a train wreck. Now, to start, show me what you can do.” He waited, this was a test of some kind. The outcome was neither good nor bad either way, it just was.

( Minty Leafì )

( Leafí )

Nightpaw breathed in nervously as he spotted Blackhaze approaching the woods in which he was standing. He nodded a little late at the confirmation of what skill he wanted to learn. Apparently Blackhaze wasn’t expectant of an answer. That was fine, he supposed. Now for a test to show what he knew. Of course Nightpaw hadn’t had much training, but all he could do was try. He already had the part of keeping your mouth shut down, and recalled a warrior teaching him how to crouch correctly as a kit not too long ago, so he referenced from that. The dark apprentice flattened his tail and crouched down steadily, careful for none of his fur to touch the grass. He hoped he was doing it right. Oh, how he hoped with all his might. Then he creeped around, his pawsteps reaching the grass gently each time. He got up as quiet as he could, and shared a gaze with Blackhaze, awaiting his denial or approval.

[gs29513]

Blackhaze wanted him to.......chop down a tree? Shrewpaw had no idea why, but he supposed it was going to toughen his claws and muscles up a bit. That was probably why. Beginning, he swung a paw at it, claws unsheathed, and was dismayed when his claws merely sunk into the wood, now trapped. Yanking them out he tried again, this time going a bit farther in his already made grooves. How he was ever going to get this done he had no idea, but he had to do it quickly. He had to do it before the night was over. Swinging with both paws, he tried to go towards the middle from both sides. It was going to be a long night.

[elaif]

Minty
Exis

Slightly wrinkling his nose Thorn'claw wondered what the hecc he should do, was he supposed to crawl around like someone idiot? Exhaling thru his nose, he crouched low and lifted his tail slightly. This was how they taught him to stalk when he was an apprentice, was he supposed to do this? Shaking his head he took multiple swift but quiet steps, hardly rustling the fallen leaves. Eventually the tension in his muscles began to build up making it particularly hard to be silent. Thorn'claw stopped and flexed his muscles, how much more of this crap did he have to go thru??

[Exis]

Blackhaze has to admit Nightpaw did better, feeling the darkness without knowing it. But, they were both a bit sloppy. “Hey hey hey. Stop stop you’ll give yourselves cramps doing that. Short tense is how they first teach you. Now, we do it differently.” Black walked forward and slowly reached the ground as he walked, like a stairway. He moved in long fluid motions, mapping the ground in from of him so he knew he wouldn’t hit it with his back paws. He practically melted into the shadows, feeling it in every fiber of him bones. As if the shadows clung to him. Up a tree he went, still shrouded in darkness before leaping away and landing back next to he protégés. “It’s about feeling the darkness around you and becoming a park of it. Close your eyes and feel it shifting and moving around you. Darkness is a living thing, learn that it moves and breaths and that you must take that into account when moving through it.”

Minty Leafì

[vampy]

Blackhaze has to admit Nightpaw did better, feeling the darkness without knowing it. But, they were both a bit sloppy. “Hey hey hey. Stop stop you’ll give yourselves cramps doing that. Short tense is how they first teach you. Now, we do it differently.” Black walked forward and slowly reached the ground as he walked, like a stairway. He moved in long fluid motions, mapping the ground in from of him so he knew he wouldn’t hit it with his back paws. He practically melted into the shadows, feeling it in every fiber of him bones. As if the shadows clung to him. Up a tree he went, still shrouded in darkness before leaping away and landing back next to he protégés. “It’s about feeling the darkness around you and becoming a park of it. Close your eyes and feel it shifting and moving around you. Darkness is a living thing, learn that it moves and breaths and that you must take that into account when moving through it.”

Minty Leafì

Leafí

He got up from his decent crouch as Blackhaze instructed. Crouching was the only way he knew how to be stealthy. What was the other way? Nightpaw watched as Blackhaze disappeared into the shadows, though you could still hear his voice echoing in your head. The apprentice was amazed — for the most part the black apprentice had had his eye on him, but he lost track of his position. He wanted to learn how to do that! It was as if Blackhaze had become invisible to the eye. Nightpaw offered a small nod to the tom, wherever he was. He closed his eyes cautiously, then calmed himself. He felt the breeze spin around his body. The trees were rustling, and that seemed to be the only sound at the moment. Nightpaw opened his eyes suddenly. He padded into a clump of ferns, gentle with each pawstep. A shuffle meant they would hear him. He padded around in a circle at a slow pace, watching Thornclaw. Instead of wondering what lurked in the woods, he knew that he did. It was an interesting feeling, indeed, but he enjoyed it.

[elaif]

Minty
Exis

Clenching his jaw he tried with every bone in his body not to think of Black'Haze as a show-off. This was getting annoying and agitation was pretty much radiating off his pelt. He needed to calm down or a stinking apprentice would do better! Thorn'Claw stood still and collected himself, he then slide into to bushes and let the shadows engulf him. Eyes narrowed to slits he he walked at a smooth pace. His paws lightly touching the moist soil. Thorn'Claw kept his breathing soft and even, he had to prove he could do better no matter what it took...

[vampy]

Minty
Exis

Clenching his jaw he tried with every bone in his body not to think of Black'Haze as a show-off. This was getting annoying and agitation was pretty much radiating off his pelt. He needed to calm down or a stinking apprentice would do better! Thorn'Claw stood still and collected himself, he then slide into to bushes and let the shadows engulf him. Eyes narrowed to slits he he walked at a smooth pace. His paws lightly touching the moist soil. Thorn'Claw kept his breathing soft and even, he had to prove he could do better no matter what it took...

Exis

Nightpaw watched as Thornclaw let himself dissolve into the shadows. Now he had no idea where anyone was. That feeling of being powerful faded away quickly. There were other cats here too, now. They had done this training for a while now, maybe it was time to reveal himself. The black-furred apprentice stepped forward.
”Gur.?” he let out a questioning croak.

[Exis]

Blackhaze looked at the both of the cats with eagles eyes. Nightpaw was a natural, Thornclaw was good as well. He’d push Nightpaw more and allow Thorn’claw to catch up. “Very good Thornclaw, Nightpaw, concentration is key. Keep aware of your surroundings. I want you both in the cave tomorrow. We’ll be doing sensory training in there for half the night and out here for the rest. Now, let’s do it again. Remember to feel the earth under your paws, and the wind in your whiskers. If I can smell you I can see you.” He barked a bit. “Shrewpaw! Hey over here I want you to try this once today. And you should he finished with that tree.” He called to Shrewpaw. Hopefully he did better than the others swings as he was working with Shrewpaw before he died anyhow.

Minty Leafì gs29513

[gs29513]

The tree was all over him. Bits of wood and leaves that had been shaken loose were covering his fur, and his claws were also tingling as he swung his paws, small splinters lodging themselves in him. It hurt. A lot. And Shrewpaw certainly did not like it, but he was at last close to done. It was a good thing too, since Blackhaze was calling him over towards him. Kicking out with his hind legs to severe the last few strands and allow the tree to topple fully, and then scoot rapidly away so he didn't get landed on, Shrewpaw shook out his fur. And then again. Most of the tree bits left him, but he wasn't sure they were all gone. What am I trying? he asked, wanting to clarify before he messed it up. Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze used his tail to flick off a few pieces of tree still on Shrewpaw. “Stealth training, melting into the shadows remember?” He asked. His eyes said, Sgow Em how it’s done. He knew Shrew would be better simply because he’d been training him for longer. If he did as he was taught, he’d be free to choose his own training tomorrow, if not, he’d end up with Cold and Talonstone.
gs29513 Minty Leafì

[gs29513]

Yes, melting into the shadows. Shrewpaws dark pelt and small size were certainly advantageous in this area of study, and he quickly checked for any slight breeze, making sure to stay where his scent wouldn't be carried to Blackhaze. That would give everything away. His small paws settling down softly on soft peat and needle mixture, he was glad there were few sticks in the Dark forest. He kept his tail low and tucked beneath his belly, not allowing it to swish and perhaps catch anything that might begin rustling. He also lowered his stance, knees bent slightly, his whiskers constantly moving along with his ears. After a moment moving without direction, he began to move up behind Blackhaze, hoping to go unnoticed. Exis Minty Leafí

[Exis]

Blackhaze listened out for Shrewpaw, he’d taught him well, the only indication he was behind Blackhaze what the creeping sense someone was behind him. That could not be measured or stopped. Otherwise it was perfect. “Good job Shrewpaw, tomorrow you get first pick of training.” He called out to the apprentice.

gs29513 Leafì Minty (let’s wait for them to reply)

[Cobra]

Illicit grinned. He had gotten through her shell. Now he just had to dig deeper. He doubted anyone had ever managed to crack her open and find out her true personality: a scared, frightened, insecure girl who didn't know what to do. Who had to rely on her big brother. He stared at her, judging the moments it took for her to have her panic attack, then watched as she quickly sealed herself back up. The smile, it faltered. Dang, it had to be hard to keep that up all day. Illicit knew that he couldn't do it - he could have it on for an hour at most, then it disappeared. "Yeah, we're gonna make it serious," he replied. "Now, c'mon, manipulation training. Scorchstrike! Darling, get over here!" He flicked his tail and sauntered off, expecting Darkpaw to follow him.

// posting order; S t a r , me , ChillCat

[elaif]

gs29513
Minty
Exis

Thorn'Claw was impressed but he was NOT going to show it, yes Shrew'paw did well but he just didn't... care. Letting out a small yawn, he blinked and flicked his tail in annoyance. Would this session end soon? Hopefully so.

-------
Sorry this is short and crappie, I'm doing school at the moment c(-_-c)

[ChillCat]

Scorchstrike listened to the strange cat and followed. "So...what about social stuff will we be learning? I'm not good at that sort of thing, so I can't get cats to do what I want." Why would they? Scorchstrike didn't exactly have attractiveness on her side, with her missing half face and large scars. Self confidence was also a big part in socialization, and that didn't exist in her brain. S t a r Cobra

[S t a r]

( ChillCat Cobra )

Oh, and there they went. Snapping to it, she padded after Illicit. She put up her smile again and looked over at the warrior with them. Her name was.. Scorchstrike? Oh stars, she looked cool! Scars seemed to litter the warrior's pelt and although half of her face seemed to be missing.. she was very pretty! Darkpaw grinned at Scorchstrike, "I think you could do it! I might not be able to.. but you can!" Scorchstrike was clearly a seasoned warrior considering all the scars and such. Darkpaw didn't have a single scar on her dark-colored pelt, let alone any "manipulation" experience. Wait, was that when you convinced other cats to do things for you? Oh, she definitely was going to be terrible at this. Why did she need to learn this though? She'd never needed to.. manipulate.. before, why would she need to now? Hmm.. maybe she should ask Blackie that later.

[Cobra]

Illicit stared at Scorchstrike resentfully. Honestly, he was hating this right now. Practically the only reason he'd shown up was to support Haze - nothing else. And now he had to talk to his idiot sister and some weird baby? This was not ideal. "Scars are not a sign of successful battles, they are a sign of lost battles," he snapped. There. That would show the two mollies - Darkpaw that scars weren't the coolest, Scorchstrike that he thought she was incredibly dumb.
Illicit turned around to face them, a little ways away from the rest of the group, then titled his head upward to look at the canopy. He brought his head back down and looked at the pair. The cat towered over both of them, considering he was enormous, and he enjoyed the little bit of leverage it gave him. "Do as I say, not as I do," he meowed. "That's the first thing you should repeat to yourself before you begin to manipulate somecat. It shall be a short of mantra. Later, you will come up with one's of your own to motivate yourself, but right now this is what we are sticking with. Any questions?"
[ S t a r ChillCat ]

[BubbleFish~]

Skykit limped through the blackness, and soon her eyes adjusted to see the cat figures all tussling and conversing around her. She was unsure what was happening, and if she was asleep or not, but she had remembered something about... traning. "H-hello? Is this.. the training place?"
(Open)

[nocturnal]

// Fern | Exis

The frosty warrior had wandered away from his section of the training grounds... not from lack of diligence, but because no one was there. Blackhaze must've had his paws full with whatever lessons the feline was teaching. If Talonstone was irked with the lack of participation on his side of the clearing, then he made no comment. He scanned the area for the mafia leader, only pausing upon hearing a pitiful voice.

"Yes," he replied, watching the three-legged kitten warily. "Wait here."

With the ghost of a scowl, Talonstone called, "Blackhaze! Did you seriously invite a kit to join your mafia? What do you see in... her?" Honestly, he'd thought that the warrior had more sense that this. "Not even true warriors of the Foreverdusk pick their apprentices that young," he added in veiled exasperation.

[Exis]

Blackhaze padded over to Talonstone, nodding to the warrior in respect. “Well I believe that as long as we don’t stray into hurting her, she’ll be ok. Plus, if what harm could we really do to her. I’ll be watching to be sure no harm comes to her, unless you wanted to do that?” he asked with a smile in the direction of the kit. Truly, age wasn’t on his list of concerns, rouges learned to dinghy from when they were born. Dawnstar herself didn’t seem too concerned with it. He wondered though, if he would ever take it too far.
bmkmb Fern

[ChillCat]

(idk why everyone is so MEAN to my characters XD ) S t a r Cobra

Scorchstrike didn't want to get on anyone's bad side here, but she just couldn't resist being a little mean. "Yes, I do have a question. Did you fight 2 huge dogs and live to tell the tale? I don't think you did, but if I'm wrong, I'd be happy to be corrected." Scorchstrike's mental health may be a little off the rails, but she wasn't stupid. Illicit was half right though, scars weren't fun.
"And by the way, I beat one dog." she said, her tail brushing over the large scar on her flank. Scars weren't always a sign of lost battles, more often than not they were a sign of being able to keep fighting even when you were injured.

[nocturnal]

// Fern | Exis — [apologies for breaking posting order; just needed to get this in real quick]

It wasn't that he had anything against early training. After all, he himself had gathered a handful of kittens for a personalized sparring session. However, he valued tradition, and kittens waltzing around the Foreverdusk didn't exactly scream normal; the kit didn't even scent of the shadows.

Though, his main reason for challenging Blackhaze was because his entire point was to talk back and keep the deceased tom in line. It was somewhat relieving to let out his more negative emotions without consequence; something he could only ever do beneath the infinite sunset.

Talonstone didn't watch over kits. Apprentices, he didn't mind, but kits? They were bad news for him. He cast his gaze back towards the she-cub and ordered, "Name, reason for joining, and preferred supervisor." The frosty warrior would rather Blackhaze keep his eye on her, but his former attention might've given the kit a false sense of security with him. Hopefully not, but kits were naive like that, disappointingly enough.

[Exis]

Blackhaze looked over at Talonstone approvingly, this was what he was here for. Good. And now for the kit, if he was going to pair her with anyone I’d be another she-cat, sadly, there were no shecat in the leadership rolls here. He needed to fix that. Anyways, he was going to have to have someone watching her and any other kit that came, problem for another day.
bmkmb Fern [no worries, it seems to be a thing here lol. I think it’ll happen a lot with these two.]

[S t a r]

( Cobra ChillCat )

The she-cat looked to the female warrior, a look of marvel spread across her face. SCORCHSTRIKE FOUGHT TWO DOGS?! OH MY STARS!! "You- You fought two dogs?! Oh my stars, that's sooo cool!" She grinned at the warrior, the marvel still filling her deep, blue eyes. "Can you tell me more?" It was like Hailscratch, he was covered in scars. But he had so many amazing stories to tell her! She couldn't wait to see him again! (little does she know the person who played him left recently :c) Maybe Scorchstrike would be a friend like him! Illicit would be.. cool! He was Blackie's boyfriend, so that made him the best! Darkpaw hadn't noticed it before, but Illicit did seem to.. cling to Blackie in a way. It was cute! She was 100% on board with this, no questions asked. Her grin wided as she could feel the false sense of happiness slip through her hands like water. Instead, she felt the real happiness. She was happy about this. Happy for Blackie and Illicit. Ah, right, focus on everything else. She stopped spacing out and she looked back at Scorchstrike again, the grin on her face again.

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis

Ashfeather blinked open her eyes, finding herself in a clearing. It smelled like pines, and looking around, she noticed some spindly trees. At first, she was confused; then she remembered the whole confrontation with Blackhaze. Scared, the queen stood up, her skinny legs quaking. Steadying herself, she tried to see if she could find any other cats there, but there weren't any... for now. Meeting Blackhaze had honestly been a shock: the tom had looked like a Dark Forest spirit - he'd been in the Dark Forest - and he had invited her into this... group.
"B-blackhaze?" she asked quietly. From a while back, she remembered what Twilightstar had told her, multiple moons ago, when she had just become a warrior: Avoid that tom. He's bad news. And she had obeyed. Yet now he was dead, something that she hadn't even realized, she thought guiltily. Was she betraying her Clan and her leader?
Her mind also went to WindClan's current situation. Gulping, she remembered that Dawnstar now had full control over the Clan. Not only that, but Twilightstar was missing, and Breezefeather had died. So many bad things were happening... did Blackhaze know of this? Of what was happening in his former Clan, with Dawnstar as the leader?

[Exis]

Blackhaze strode from inside the cave, confidence dripping from him like rain, "Ah, Ashfeather, you did show up!" he mewed happily before stopping in front of her. It was nice to see the warrior again. After all, there was a certain irony to all this. They finally got their training session together, who'd have known it would have taken his death. "For today, I think we shall start with social therapy, it'll help with your confidence, sound good?" he asked with his smile never faltering.
TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis

Blackhaze's sudden appearance made Ashfeather startle, jumping, then she nearly toppled over due to her mangled tail. Luckily, she caught herself by digging her unusually sharp and somewhat long claws into the ground. Then she looked up at him, embarrassment flushing her pelt. His smile, and kind words, made her feel better. However, something still kept her on edge. Hesitantly, she slid her claws back in, and gave a small nod. Social confidence? Well, that would still help - a lot.
"S-sure," the she-cat stammered. Oh, the irony: she was to learn social confidence, where Blackhaze was totally confident, yet she still looked like a featherbrain. That was Rosebriar's favorite insult to use on her.

[Exis]

Blackhaze smiled and sat down in the center of the cave, where the moonlight shone through a small group of holes in the roof. "Ok so let's start, try and start a conversation with me." he mewed with a smile, he hoped she felt comfortable. He'd hate to be the source of any more anxiety for her.
TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis

Ashfeather glanced around, watching how the silver light lit up the rings on his tail and his lighter underbelly. Nervousy, she padded forward a little before sitting down as well, the bulging, dented tip of her tail twitching nervously. Would this go properly? How would it go? How was she meant to just start a conversation?
"Um... uh... h-how are you?" was what she began with. Out of her nervousness, she had forgotten the other questions that she was dying to ask, but at the same time, they'd be very rude... right? Such as how he died, why he was in the Dark Forest, why he had attacked Rosebriar all those moons ago...

[Exis]

Blackhaze shook his head, "With confidence, here watch me." he turned before facing her again with a smile that only showed a hint of his teeth, "Hi, I'm Blackhaze, who might you be?" he asked before laughing a bit. "See the trick is to use confidence, even if you don't have it. 'Fake it til you make it.'" he mewed with a brighter smile.
TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis

Ashfeather felt anxious. She was supposed to lie? Wasn't faking emotions bad? Twilightstar did warn me about him... and I suppose that Icestar liked him, and he is in the Dark Forest... Anxiety wormed its way through the she-cat, but silently, she admired how confident the tom sounded.
"I-I don't want to lie," Ashfeather mewed quietly, then tried to straighten a little. She shouldn't let Blackhaze down like this. "Um..." Whelp, she'd already failed. She cleared her throat.
"I'm Ashfeather, a... queen of WindClan. And you are?" she tried, attempting to sound more confident.

[Exis]

Blackhaze frowned, “It’s not lying...” Well that, hurt. A lot actually. “Trying to seem confident isn’t lying, it’s trying to get places. The more you act confident, the more confident you’ll be.” He said with a small, kinda sad smile. “Try again.”
TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis

Ashfeather noticed that Blackhaze's own confidence had dropped. Oh, StarClan, had she offended him? He definitely seemed upset. Panicking, she mewed, disregarding his last words, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend y-you, honestly..." His explanation on confidence made sense, and she felt terrible. The she-cat hung her head, starting to tremble. StarClan, she was making this training session go horribly, wasn't she?

[nocturnal]

// Exis | TheNyanCatMinecart — [Feel free to disregard this.]

He watched the therapy session curiously, and wondered if Blackhaze had ever been in a position that would need such... treatment, for lack of better term. If not, then he wondered why the tomcat thought himself qualified enough to play therapist. Being dead helped to realize things, but not all problems were solved in death. The session seemed to be going pretty well until that moment where they spoke of lying and confidence.

"That's not necessarily true," Talonstone murmured, loud enough for the two to hear him, but not loud into to seem as if he were purposely interrupting the session. He would know. After all, holding his head high had never helped him feel better. Perhaps it depended on the feline's personality, but if it were up to him, he would try a different approach to help Ashfeather.

[BubbleFish~]

bmkmb
Exis

Skykit was unsure what to say. "U-uhm, I'm Skykit. I came here to train, s-so maybe I can protect me and Threekit."

[Exis]

Blackhaze looked over at Talonstone with a smile, he liked this cat more and more as time went on. “Ahhh no worries Ashfeather, I just hope you know I’m not a liar.” he mewed with a smile to her before turning to Talonstone again. “So, what’s your way?” He asked curiously.
bmkmb

[nocturnal]

// TheNyanCatMinecart | Exis

He was tempted to incline his head ever so slightly, yet he refrained. Blackhaze was not—and never would be—his leader. Not unless the tomcat came back from the dead, launched a successful raid on their clan, and then somehow managed to secure the position. Which would definitely not be happening anytime soon.

"Faking confidence would be similar to faking... battle skills." They were all warriors here; they should all be able to understand what he was about to say, though even Talonstone acknowledged that his verbal guidance skills were terrible. "A new apprentice who has never unsheathed his claws, who has the worst possible coordination, may claim that he fights better than his mentor. The apprentice knows that his claim is false, yet he follows it and does nothing to improve himself. He does not practice, trusting that false abilities are enough. His mentor sees this, yet his mentor does nothing. The mentor teaches the apprentice, yet he builds on the apprentice's claim of his exceptional fighting skills rather than backing up and correcting the apprentice's basics."

The frosty tom flicked his tail. "Who are telling someone who has low confidence to fake having high confidence without realizing that one cannot properly fake knowing the forepaw slash if they do not already know it by heart. One who fakes swimming will drown in a flood," he elucidated.

Was that too much? Perhaps. "I would start with comfort, as you have done, followed by casual conversation. Once you have set how she speaks, move onto more difficult topics. Introductions should be saved for last—they are difficult, requiring communication with strangers, those who you cannot predict the reactions of."

Why did he know so much about this? Yes, he was rather introspective, but still... it unnerved him how much he could relate. They were nothing alike.

[Exis]

Blackhaze smiled at the kit, very noble. “That’s good, but I don’t think you answered Talonstone’s question kid.” he mewed nicely.
bmkmb Fern

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis bmkmb

Ashfeather had been scared to see the newcomer, despite Blackhaze telling her that they wouldn't be the only ones. She wanted to reassure Blackhaze that she didn't think that he was a liar - she knew that he might not be perfect, but a liar wasn't one of those things, even if Twilightstar called him "bad news" - but the tom began to speak. She didn't know him, but his words were wise, even if they were... what? A little scary? You aren't a kit. Great StarClan, you even have kits of your own! The tom spoke the truth, and she gave a small nod of approval.
"Y-yeah... th-that makes sense..." she meowed quietly.

[Exis]

Blackhaze backed away from the two to watch and encourage from the sidelines. “Be sweet Talonstone, she’s a bit nervous.” He mewed with a smile.
bmkmb TheNyanCatMinecart

[nocturnal]

// Exis | TheNyanCatMinecart

Like he didn't know that already, Talonstone thought at Blackhaze's remark. He watched as the dark-furred feline retreated, bemusement mixing with dread upon realizing what the mafia leader expected him to do. Curse the stars. He hadn't wanted to play therapist; he'd only wanted to point a few things out! His communication skills were just as bad at his now-patient's without some formal topic to direct the discussion.

Refraining from releasing a drawn-out mental sigh, the warrior turned to and scrutinized Ashfeather. "How did you learn of this place?" he asked. He'd get to the therapy part later. Besides, answering questions should be easier than querying, and speaking of unpersonalized topics might not be interesting, but it carried a lower chance of ushering the conversation in the wrong direction.

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

bmkmb

Ashfeather took a deep breath, looking at this new cat. Talonstone, Blackhaze had called him. Attempting to keep her composure calm, she replied, "I-I..." Oh, great, her stutter. She concentrated on fixing that, feeling intimidated by the newcomer. She'd heard that there might be other cats, but she had been expecting only Blackhaze. "I'm... well, Blackhaze approached me in a dream." It was difficult to keep her voice steady, especially because she already had to focus on tensing her twisted jaw so her voice could be better distinguished. "I... I knew him when he was alive." She took a deep, shaky breath, driving her claws into the ground to prevent her skinny legs from trembling. "And I thought it might help. So, that's why I came." She didn't want to say anything about WindClan's current situation; what would Blackhaze think? Or Talonstone? It felt too precarious for her to just... tell these two toms.

[nocturnal]

// TheNyanCatMinecart

He didn't care that she had… disabilities, deformities; both or whatnot. Talonstone would treat her as he normally treated others, and truthfully, that might rub her fur in the wrong direction. Fortunately, Blackhaze would be there to clear up any misunderstandings that might come to light during the session.

Had she, now? She'd known the rosetted tom while he was still alive? That was unexpected, but not necessarily surprising.

The warrior noticed her shaking legs. If not for that, he would've asked if she would rather walk while they talk. "Sit if you wish," he allowed. His tone was astonishingly amiable considering the guarded stance he held himself in. If Ashfeather chose to relax her legs, then he would follow; it would be rude to stand while another sat.

"You made a brave decision," Talonstone remarked. "Is there anything specific you would like to discuss? Or anything you would like to rant about?" He leveled his gaze, something similar to reassuring amusement in the depths of his abyss-shaded eyes. "I will not judge you for your words, emotions, appearances, or actions amongst other things. Everything said here remains confidential for the both of us. Or, if you prefer, we could play a game of questions and answers. That tends to let secrets out inti the open, even if not our intention."

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

bmkmb Exis (Blackhaze is watching from the side so that's why I'm mentioning them)

Ashfeather wished that she could be as confident as the long-furred white tom. He seemed so confident, so self-assured. If only she could be like that, without her stuttering and shaking, and always worrying about what she was going to say. At Talonstone's invitation, the black she-cat sat down, sitting upright. She probably looked like a mess, with her dull, matted fur, the ribs that pressed against her fur, and her light gray belly, which had now shrunk back to its normal, pitiful self. Could she really express her emotions to this tom? Swallowing, she eyed him, then knew that she had to lighten up a little. This was the whole point of the lesson, right? Looking into his piercing yet comforting blue eyes, Ashfeather decided to tell him some of her troubles. Nothing about ShadowClan, especially with Blackhaze watching.
"Thanks... and, uh..." There she was, with her stutters and "uh"s. She had begun to glance down at the ground, her voice growing low and mumble-like. Forcing her gaze to lift, she decided to try again. Badly clearing her throat, she decided to tell Talonstone a bit about what was going on in her life.
"Things are shaky, like really shaky, for me right now," she admitted, her gaze occasionally flicking away from the white tom's. "I had a litter of kits, but one of them was stillborn. He - he was named Dogkit." She swallowed; she'd said this to Blackhaze, right? But not Talonstone.
"A-and then my mate, Flameclaw, died too. I'm glad to have so many g-good friends in WindClan, but I have troubles with some cats." The grief for her lost ones was building up, especially after the escapades of Ravenkit and, pretty soon, Whitekit. Her heart fluttered in her chest. How could she just... talk about it like it was normal? Like WindClan was still average? It all burst out before she could stop it.
"Things are terrible right now! My two remaining kits are almost apprentices, but Ravenkit ran off, and Whitekit almost followed him. I don't understand, was I a bad mother, what have I done? Could they not handle a deformed, half-rogue cat's legacy?! Or was it because of what's happened?! How can anything be normal anymore? Dawnstar's taken over WindClan and kidnapped Twilightstar somewhere, and killed Breezefeather, and I have no idea what to do!"
Ashfeather was trembling so hard that she couldn't even sit upright anymore. She slid to the ground, laying down, her body trembling so hard that she couldn't speak. Mist gathered in her eyes, and she stared down at her broad, round paws. Oh, StarClan, why did I tell them that? She realized that Talonstone smelled of ShadowClan... and Blackhaze had lived there once. What would they think of her outburst?!

[nocturnal]

// TheNyanCatMinecart — [No need to match the length—I may have gone a bit overboard.] || Exis — [Talonstone nonverbally commands Blackhaze to leave in the shortest and third to last paragraph if you wanna skip to that.]

If only Ashfeather knew that he wasn't nearly as confident as he let off. He must've seemed so coldly determined, maybe flamboyant even, in that strange way of his—nowhere near Blackhaze, of course, but that's why the two of them opted to work together. Although, from Talonstone's perspective, it hadn't been much of a choice.

Anything that Ashfeather saw on his exterior came from his resolute, frozen resolve. Something that had been beaten into him, quite literally, at a young age. If not for that, he would've died long, long ago. He, too, was broken. Only, it would be too shameful to admit such a thing aloud. His inner demons were for him to face alongside a select few, but really, for him and said demons alone.

He briefly wondered how long it would take for his demon to crash this party. Said demon had been lenient with him recently. Proud that he was following in his pawsteps, no doubt. Or perhaps he had enough of a heart left to change for the best? But that was unlikely. Highly unlikely.

When Ashfeather spoke, he listened. Talonstone was particularly good at that. He made a note to address her stutter and lack of eye contact later, but for now, he allowed her words to wash over him. And the sheer force of them… startled him, although not a movement he made displayed that.

Death came first, then external troubles. It sounded complicated, each event digging deeper into the trench left behind. And then… Dawnstar what? Without anyone's notice? That was… highly impressive. And somewhat distressing. How did that molly manage to run a clan without telling them a thing? If the windrunners despised them before, now there was no going back. So much for peace; they were a clan built on power and war. They couldn't—or rather, their leaders couldn't—survive without war.

As much as he wanted to inquire more about that incident, this wasn't the time. Frankly, he shouldn't even know… how would this affect his plans? He decided then, to keep the knowledge to himself. His clanmates couldn't hear of it, and his lack of surprise later on wouldn't bother them much with how inexpressive he already was.

Unsure of what his next move should be, Talonstone took a risk. He approached Ashfeather and (attempted to, for the sake of not powerplaying) gently rested his tail on her back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. The "tail treatment" worked on the majority of his friends, so why not? One should note that the warrior rarely, if ever, purposely made contact with others. He avoided touch like most felines stayed far away from water, so this had better work.

With that, he shot a glare at Blackhaze that more or less warned, 'Go find someone else to train. You are no longer needed here. Also, I absolutely despise you for leaving me to deal with this situation alone.' He could be very expressive with his glares if he wanted to be.

"It is not your fault," the shadowdweller assured with an air of affirmation laced into the words. Last time he'd spoken like that, it had been to Nightshiver after the windrunners demolished their home. Now he said it to a windrunner after a shadowdweller basically imprisoned them. Wasn't there a saying about not befriending the enemy? Or what comes around, goes around? Regardless, the ironicness of the situation didn't escape him.

"Dogkit and Flameclaw likely live in comfort, and I like to think that all felines go through a rebellious stage," Talonstone remarked, referring to Ravenkit and Whitekit. "If you have given them any sort of attention, then you are not a bad mother—believe me, I have seen much worse. As for Dawnstar… I cannot tell you what your role should be. What she did, she did without the knowledge of anycat but herself—I doubt that our deputy is aware of this… advancement." It was bizarre that he was still speaking calmly throughout all this. "Before you question what lies in the future, you must calm yourself now—in the present. Once you quiet and comprehend your thoughts, you can plan for future actions. I will not share my own thoughts on the matter until then."

[Exis]

Blackhaze’s eyes steeled. Dawnstar was taking over other clans now? Great. He nodded to Talonstone and padded away to deal with another apprentice.
bmkmb TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

bmkmb

Ashfeather lifted her head as Talonstone began to speak. In the corner of her eye, she spotted the ringed tail of Blackhaze disappearing, but hardly glanced at it with her only good eye. Instead, she focused on the white ShadowClan tom, wondering how he could speak so calmly. It didn't make any sense... or was it because he was in ShadowClan? Yet he also seemed grim, despite his calm and comforting words. She got a lot of mixed vibes from him, and she wasn't sure what to think. The words about Dogkit and Flameclaw were comforting; she knew that they were in StarClan, but it was better to hear it from somecat. "I just wish that they were here with me," she whispered, and continued listening. What he said about Ravenkit and Whitekit didn't make her feel any better. "B-but Ravenkit could die! I have a feeling that he went to follow Dawnstar. And Whitekit won't even tell me anything!" The thing about rebellious kits made sense, though. She hadn't been rebellious. Wolffang had been, she remembered vaguely, but she preferred not to think of the deformity-phobic tom. Knowing that Talonstone had no idea what in the name of StarClan Dawnstar had done made her feel better... about him, at least. Something had to be done, and desperately. His last words made sense, at least, in context. Yet Ashfeather wondered how she could get anything back to... normal, if that was even possible.
"Okay," she murmured, surprised that she had managed to keep eye contact with the tom. "But it's so hard. None of WindClan is handling it well, and I don't know what to do about Dawnstar or any of it." That much was true. Her words were quiet, but shockingly, her voice was much steadier than it had been before.

[poppy]

( bmkmb should we do the Darkmoon thing?)

[Quasar]

Ashenpaw silently stalked over to the designated training area, scowling as he saw that he was late. His pelt stung as the not-quite healed wounds brushed against the bare tree branches that hung from the withered trees surrounding him, as he roughly shoved his way through the rest of the forest separating him from the group. That damned loner was the reason he was late to training. ¨Blackhaze. Im here¨ he drawled as he approached the larger black tom.

// Exis S t a r (in case dorkie wants to pester him haha)

[S t a r]

( oop p e s t e r Exis Mumble )

As the apprentice stood to the side, unsure what to do, she noticed someone talking to Blackie. She looked at their face and.. it was Ashen! Ohhh, he was finally here! She grinned and quickly made her way over to Blackie and Ashen, "Hi Ashen!" Eek! She was so happy! And he was.. ohstarshewasstillsuperhOT- It took everything she could from not leaping on the other apprentice and hugging him and squishing his face. She had to keep her composure.. in front of Blackie, at least. Her heart leapt in her chest as she looked at Ashen. Oh stars, if she didn't stop looking at him, she would EXPLODE. Darkpaw looked over at Blackie instead, her heart and mind calming themselves down. Ohhh.. she definitely couldn't keep looking at Ashen. His beauty was beyond words! Stop, you're looking at him! She looked away from Ashen again and back at Blackie.

[Exis]

Blackhaze looked at ashen with a bit of a glare, “Where were you?” He asked, not very nicely but not meanly either.

Ahh, Darkpaw. “Hey Darkie, how are you getting along here?” He asked not failing to notice the way she looked at him when he arrived.
S t a r Mumble

[nocturnal]

// TheNyanCatMinecart

He was not a therapist, nor was he a counselor, and stars knew that he was not—by any means—good "friend" material. Yet he was capable of listening with his mouth shut, capable of keeping any negative thoughts solely to himself, and so here he was with Ashfeather (and it was still all Blackhaze's fault).

"Dawnstar would not kill a kitten," he (hopefully) reassured. The leader enjoyed testing others, but if the last moon had shown him anything, young, inexperienced felines had a higher chance of surviving her ruthless mannerisms, though mostly because she took it as a sign to train them and twist their opinions to reflect hers. Regardless, if Ravenkit actually dared to confront the leader, he would likely survive.

Talonstone noted that Ashfeather no longer spoke with a stutter. Perhaps the advancement would only be temporary, but it was an improvement considering her prior actions included quivering against the earth. "Step up," the warrior suggested. "If the windrunners are leaderless as you say, some felines will need to cross the river and step up. A clan is lost without somecat to guide them. You may not know what to do; however, others might. Gather them and discuss your options…"

Was this treason? To lend advice to the enemy? If the clans merged, were they really the enemy or simply an oppressed group in a complex society? He dismissed those thoughts warily. No one would know other than Blackhaze, he, and Ashfeather.

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

bmkmb

Ashfeather shook her head. No, nothing that Talonstone said would work. How could she trust herself to pour this out to a ShadowClanner? Blackhaze trusts him. That hardly helped. But then, Twilightstar doesn't trust him. Why did this have to be so complex? Ashfeather took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, and focused on Talonstone. It was odd seeing a ShadowClan cat with such pure white fur, she had to admit, but she'd never say it out loud.

"She stepped on Thunderkit and badly injured him," she pointed out, her voice shaking a little. Did ShadowClan not view their leader as being as ruthless as she was? Ashfeather took another deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. It sounds like I'm hyperventilating. Was she? She glanced down, worried about making the tom angry, but was able to meet his gaze. Yet she couldn't keep it still.

"But we can't. Dawnstar will probably tell you about this later, but..." Ashfeather shook her head, imagining Wolffang there. The tom would talk about her being a deformed mistake, her betraying her Clan. Her legs quaked harder; the she-cat couldn't keep standing. When had she stood up?

"That won't work," she resolved, taking in a breath. "Dawnstar has... precautions set up. A-and we..." She shook her head. "I-I'm sorry. Please don't be upset, but... I can't say more. I need to do something!" The black she-cat was distressed. Not only had Ravenkit run away, and all the other terrible things happening to WindClan, but right now, the world was collapsing around her.

Ashfeather knew that some other WindClan cats were conspiring. Shakily, she looked away from Talonstone and slumped down to a seated position.

[gs29513]

Shrewstep didn't want to be in the Dark Forest tonight. He normally didn't mind, it meant seeing Blackhaze and that was always a thing to enjoy, but this night was the one where he would have preferred a normal, deep sleep. His vigil had been uneventful but he was tired nonetheless, and he certainly planned on doing things with his day. Or not it might seem, as he could see himself being here for a while. No one else was about, it was day and everyone else was doing duties, but Blackhaze hadn't gone anywhere. He couldn't.

The small tom couldn't help but feel excited however. He had passed the assessment, and become a warrior, and what else was there to really do? The only way from here was down, unless he somehow became a deputy or a leader, which he found extremely doubtful, but a nice thought. His manner was light despite his fatigue, and he scampered to the area of the forest where he imagined Blackhaze was be. Blackhaze? Are you there? he chirped. Verifying that his friend was indeed present, he hastened on, his tail waving. Guess what I did? he asked, his head cocking to the side questioningly. Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze turned twords Shrewpaw with a bright smile, “What’s up butter cup?” He asked. Inside we was currently worried about how everything was going but outside we was completely calm.
gs29513

[gs29513]

He was NOT a buttercup. Not a weak little flower easily crushed underpaw, no, he was a warrior. But he wouldn’t let what he might consider as a small slight to himself ruin this, his day of celebration. I’m a warrior now! I fought Dawnstar and everything! I was surprised, but also it was AWESOME! Shrewstep chirped, his tail curled happily over his back. Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze puffed up his chest a bit in pride. Man he’d watched this kid grow up. “Shrew, I couldn’t be prouder of you bud. Tell me, what should I be calling you? And tell me all about your battle with Dawnstar, did you tie?” He asked. He knew very well Dawn would never let an apprentice beat her, so that was a plus.
gs29513

[gs29513]

His mouth was stretched in a rumbly smile-purr, and Shrewpaw answered happily I'm Shrewstep now. The question about the battle made him think a bit more. He should remember what had worked. He could think of at least two cats who would want to know, one of whom he would be only to glad to tell. It went well I guess. he hadn't beat her so it hadn't gone delightfully, but he also hadn't died which was good. I would attack her, and then she would throw me across the clearing, and we just.....kept doing that. It hurt, but at least she hadn't done any serious damage. He could have broken bones if he had landed wrong. Oh, but I learned a few things! he added, his own tail twitching nervously. She gets very mad if you chomp on her tail. She also does not like it when you jump on her back like you would do with a fox. And she's kinda slow. it made sense considering her size, but it was still something very exploitable by a small, speedy opponent. Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze nodded slowly, weaknesses. Huh. “Well I think you were spectacular my boy. Now, what will you do with your life huh?” He asked.
gs29513

[gs29513]

His chest puffing a bit, Shrewpaw dipped his head. The praise meant a bit more than he wanted to let on, and his tail raised high in the air, almost straight. The next question was a bit confusing. What did he want to do with his life? It was obvious, wasn't it? But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't. He had been so focused on becoming a warrior that he didn't know what he did now. He didn't know, and it surprised and hurt him. Had he been that single minded, that selfish? I.....I don't know. I was so focused on becoming a warrior, and now I don't know WHAT I'll do. How had this happened? Exis (Midlife crisis for you lol)

[Exis]

Blackhaze smiled, “I know how you feel. Be careful Shrestep, there are cats that will use your weakness to their advantage. Like I would do. I want to do that but... it’s not a good thing to do to a friend.” He mewed. If he was going to be honest he might as well, he was a hair away from trying to manipulate Shrewstep as he’d been manipulated so long ago.

gs29513

[gs29513]

The first words were comforting. Maybe everycat focused solely on warriorhood for the first bit of their life. The next words were not. He hadn't thought of it as a weakness. He wasn't weak, was he? He just didn't know what he wanted to do. Not specifically anyway. He wanted to become a better hunter, his skills had become skewed towards battle the past few moons, he wanted to keep his friends safe, he wanted to make Frogpaw jump in a river. Most of them were noble anyway. But longterm, aside from what others might regard as petty concerns, he had nothing. I'm sure you wouldn't! I trust you! he mewed, confident in that at least. Maybe other cats. Like idiot Frogpaw. But not him. If Blackhaze wanted him to do something, he could just ask! Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze smiled, shrew’s confidence in Blackhaze astounded him. “Maybe, but if you don’t have a plan, even just a rough one, then someone will put their ideas in your head.” He said thinking once again of Falcondive.
gs29513

[Exis]

Blackhaze stood alone his rock, “Let us all gather here tonight.” he said as he called to all those that were apart of his mafia.


gs29513 Starry Nightfall Jackpot Snook bmkmb ChillCat Cobra Leafì Minty Eve Kai Trouble TheNyanCatMinecart -Skyfall- Lynxpaw Exis (This is for a plot. A murderer is needed in the ‘real’ world.)

[ChillCat]

Scorchstrike padded up to the rock and sat down, grooming her face. "Hello, Blackhaze. How are you?" Exis (Scorchstrike would be interested in murder)

[gs29513]

It was a bit cryptic and a bit weird, but Shrewstep wasn't worried about it just now. As Blackhaze clambered onto the rock, he scooted into the front. He wanted to be around and pay attention, and just........be useful. Maybe someone was going to need to fight Dawnstar, and should know to bite her tail. Although he really, really doubted it. Exis

[Cobra]

➵ Illicit ⛓️

Illicit emerged from the shadows, a sly expression on his face. "Hello, darling," he purred, a playful smile appearing. "So, what'd you need this time? I am yours - wait, no, you are mine. Actually, you're mine and I'm yours. Perfect, wouldn't you agree, Loverboy?"


@Exis

[nocturnal]

// TheNyanCatMinecart

He wasn't upset. Not at all. The molly seemed to have something in mind, even if she couldn't tell because… well, they were enemies despite all this. The second they left the realm and returned to the living world, they would be enemies. There would be no leniency, not when their clans were in the midst of war and rebellion. Whatever Dawnstar had done to them, it couldn't have been good. The windrunners had no use to her; they were her puppets. Unlike the shadowdwellers who were bound but mostly protected from the wrath of their beastly leader, the windrunners held no such privilege, and without someone to guide them, they were like frogs, bouncing around frantically in an effort to evade hungry predators.

But since she couldn't read his mind, the frosty warrior stated, "I am not upset. We are of different clans. I would be concerned if you shared such private information to an enemy, even if only by circumstance, so easily."

The shadowdweller watched her for a moment, then muttered, "We do not know each other." He made sure that he had Ashfeather's attention before continuing, "The second we leave this place, we do not know each other. Otherwise, it would cause suspicion. Once we leave, I do not know your name; you do not know mine. We do not converse unless absolutely necessary, unless we find ourselves here again." At that, Talonstone motioned with his tail. Here, meaning the otherrealm or the dreamverse. Not in the forest.

His gaze bore into hers, soothing yet solemn and piercing. He waited for her to agree—or to disagree—to say something. Enemies by circumstance… if they had been from different clans, the unaffected ones, he wondered how this interaction might've gone.

[elaif]

---------

Thorn'claw stalked forward, head down and eyes narrowed to slits. Agitated more than usual he sat at the back of the group glowering. Hopefully they had a choice of what they wanted to learn, cuz there was no way he was gonna do stealth again. His mind was soon clouded with thoughts, which ran rapid in his head. He was dimly a wear of the other cats around him


--- apologies for this crappie reply I'm stressed and tired at the moment c(-_- c)

[nocturnal]

// Exis — [You forgot to mention me, haha.]

The frosty tom turned as the rosetted feline called out from atop a rock. He mentally chuffed to himself in wry amusement. Blackhaze acted like he was the leader and they were a clan... in a way, they sort of were. But the shadows would come first and foremost, always.

Talonstone approached the crowd, adopting an area near the back as usual when it came to him and meetings. He wondered what his peer wanted to say that was of so much importance.

[poppy]

( bmkmb should Darkmoon join this rp, im only asking since we haven't finished the prp when Storm introduces her to the mafia?)

[Quasar]

Ashenpaw stalked over to stand beside Blackhaze, a slight limp to his step. The handsome apprentice looked quizzically at him, an ear flicking.

// Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze turned twords Ashenpaw and whispered so no one else could hear, “There is someone that I believe wants to test their training.” Before turning around. This would get two birds with one stone. A cat brain for illicit and t training thing for one or two cats. How lucky for us.
Jackpot (no one else can hear this.)

[stag]

Charredpaw padded up and looked up,he couldnt really see but it was towards repsect at least. Putting some pep in his step he waited quietly

[Quasar]

( oop p e s t e r Exis Mumble )

As the apprentice stood to the side, unsure what to do, she noticed someone talking to Blackie. She looked at their face and.. it was Ashen! Ohhh, he was finally here! She grinned and quickly made her way over to Blackie and Ashen, "Hi Ashen!" Eek! She was so happy! And he was.. ohstarshewasstillsuperhOT- It took everything she could from not leaping on the other apprentice and hugging him and squishing his face. She had to keep her composure.. in front of Blackie, at least. Her heart leapt in her chest as she looked at Ashen. Oh stars, if she didn't stop looking at him, she would EXPLODE. Darkpaw looked over at Blackie instead, her heart and mind calming themselves down. Ohhh.. she definitely couldn't keep looking at Ashen. His beauty was beyond words! Stop, you're looking at him! She looked away from Ashen again and back at Blackie.

Blackhaze looked at ashen with a bit of a glare, “Where were you?” He asked, not very nicely but not meanly either.

Ahh, Darkpaw. “Hey Darkie, how are you getting along here?” He asked not failing to notice the way she looked at him when he arrived.
S t a r Mumble


Ashenpaw tensed as he heard the shrill voice (well, it sounded shrill to him at least. Honestly, anything that didnt sound dark and broody was too high pitched to him) calling out that stupid nickname, and he immediately knew exactly who it was coming from. Deeply inhaling through his nose, he briefly squeezed his eyes shut before grunting out a halfhearted response, refusing to look at her. At this point, she was bothering him so much that he was seriously considering humoring her and becoming her... friend. Bleagh. But if thats what it took to get her to leave him alone, then so be it ¨Hey. Darkpaw, right?¨ he muttered through gritted teeth, feeling completely and utterly humiliated. Really? He, the great Ashenpaw, was already cracking? Ughhh...

Ears perked as he heard Blackhaze speak up, he felt rather...relieved? Well, not that Blackhaze did anything particularly noteworthy, but he did save him from a whole load of embarrassment. For the briefest moment, he discretely gave a nod that most likely only the larger tom would be able to notice or understand. Being brought back to what he originally had to say, he felt a sour taste fill his mouth at the thought of that damn loner ¨I was training in the territory, and this weird loner ambushed me.¨ he blandly mewed, ¨I fought him off, of course, but it was still a pain in the tail to get back to camp¨ the dark brown apprentice shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. But really, the attack had really surprised him (not that he was ever going to show or admit it, of course), and the wounds were more annoying to get around with than he thought they would be.

[Quasar]

Blackhaze turned twords Ashenpaw and whispered so no one else could hear, “There is someone that I believe wants to test their training.” Before turning around. This would get two birds with one stone. A cat brain for illicit and t training thing for one or two cats. How lucky for us.
Jackpot (no one else can hear this.)

// cloning him for this /w\

Ashenpaw cringed away when he felt Blackhazes breath on his ear, and he immediately whipped his head around to glare up at the dark tom, ¨What the hell man-¨ he mewed in shock before realizing that he was actually just being spoken to, presumably about something private. Eyes narrowing, a glint of curiosity shone in them as he listened to the former warrior. ¨Well? Get out with it, then. Who is it.¨ he gestured for his partner to continue on, a single brow raised.

[Exis]

Blackhaze chuckled at Ashenpaw, “We’ll this seems like enough cats anyhow.” He mewed before turning to the others to speak. “Living cats of this mafia, I ask if two of you would like to test your training, this is not for the faint of heart or the weak minded. You will be hunting what is supposed to be your equal, sadly, they won’t be.” He called out as if talking to a group of superior cats. They were superior to the others in his eyes. They were going to be the perfect warriors.

gs29513 Starry Nightfall Jackpot Snook bmkmb ChillCat Cobra Leafì Minty Eve Kai Trouble TheNyanCatMinecart -Skyfall- Lynxpaw Exis (Remember the two that call out will be privy to a murder plot. They will end up killing a cat and will have specific instructions for the post kill actions.)

[nocturnal]

// Exis

His gaze locked onto Blackhaze, only flickering to Ashenpaw for a moment when he made to stand beside the unofficial leader. The frosty tom paused. Murder? No, they were asking for assassination. He weighed the possibilities, the outcomes of stepping up. He'd only killed one feline in his life, and that was enough. He'd come close to ending the lives of two others...

Talonstone nodded subtly towards Blackhaze, showing that was an interested, was listening and willing to participate. But, he wanted to see who else would step up first.

[ChillCat]

Murder? It wasn't exactly her forte, but if Scorchstrike wanted to fight Dawnstar, she might have to sink to her level. I've never killed anyone. I'm not one to stain my claws with blood, but there are other ways to kill a cat. "I'm interested," she meowed before she could change her mind. Exis

[S t a r]

( Exis cloney clone also it's time for evil darkpaw c; )

( eek darkpaw out of character moment b e w a r e - )

She looked up at her brother on the rock. Her eyes filled with interest as she stared. Murder. Why did that word roll off her tongue so easily? It seemed so.. interesting. As the thought of killing another cat began in her head, her body seemed like it was filled with adrenaline. Oh how.. invigorating..! A sly smirk slid onto her face, fitting in a very.. different way with her wide eyes. Murder. Murder, murder, murder! Haha.. such a.. fitting word for something so crazy! She opened her mouth to finally speak, "I want to join." Her voice seemed.. odd. But she LIKED the difference. The happy and positive apprentice gone from entire view. Even the air around her had changed. Her smirk became a toothy smirk now, her teeth showing clear as day as the thought of murder replayed in her head over and over and over. MURDER. MURDER MURDER MURDER. She wanted to MURDER. She would BEG Blackie if she had to!

[Exis]

Blackhaze jumped as he heard Darkpaw speak up, what.. why. Why was she asking to do this? Was he wrong to bring her here? Was this place having control over them. “Darkpaw, Talonstone. Will you meet me in the cave please?” He asked leaping down from the ledge. Darkpaw... he’d known that choosing Darkpaw was not the best idea but... it was what he did. He’d chosen Talonstone to watch her and, now that he thought of it he’d send Ashenpaw too, just in case. “Ashenpaw you too. There are specific instructions for this one. illicit Id like you to hear it as well. The next way to prove yourself won’t be fore a while so keep training until then!” He called out to the others as he entered his den. He only needed illicit to hear because this was his gift to him. A brain.

He waited inside the cave, tapping his tail impatiently as he sat. Once everyone he needed was there he sigh, “Darkpaw this mission is mostly for you. Since you seemed so eager. Use it as a chance to get your anger out. And anything else.” He was speaking of her voices and he hoped she knew that. “There is a cat, their name is Spottedsplit, this is the cat you’ll be assassinating. Before you do it cover yourselves in mud from any creek, that will mask your scent and pelt. After you assassinate her you will bring her corpse to the border of the clans. illicit will detail you as to which border. You will leave it far enough away so no one will see or scent it. You will then go wash everything off of you. You will not, I repeat, NOT stray into anywhere you are not supposed to be. You are each other’s alibi so get your story straight. And for the love of all things holy, keep Darkpaw out of trouble.”


bmkmb Starry Nightfall Cobra Jackpot

[S t a r]

Blackhaze looked at ashen with a bit of a glare, “Where were you?” He asked, not very nicely but not meanly either.

Ahh, Darkpaw. “Hey Darkie, how are you getting along here?” He asked not failing to notice the way she looked at him when he arrived.
S t a r Mumble





Ashenpaw tensed as he heard the shrill voice (well, it sounded shrill to him at least. Honestly, anything that didnt sound dark and broody was too high pitched to him) calling out that stupid nickname, and he immediately knew exactly who it was coming from. Deeply inhaling through his nose, he briefly squeezed his eyes shut before grunting out a halfhearted response, refusing to look at her. At this point, she was bothering him so much that he was seriously considering humoring her and becoming her... friend. Bleagh. But if thats what it took to get her to leave him alone, then so be it ¨Hey. Darkpaw, right?¨ he muttered through gritted teeth, feeling completely and utterly humiliated. Really? He, the great Ashenpaw, was already cracking? Ughhh...

Ears perked as he heard Blackhaze speak up, he felt rather...relieved? Well, not that Blackhaze did anything particularly noteworthy, but he did save him from a whole load of embarrassment. For the briefest moment, he discretely gave a nod that most likely only the larger tom would be able to notice or understand. Being brought back to what he originally had to say, he felt a sour taste fill his mouth at the thought of that damn loner ¨I was training in the territory, and this weird loner ambushed me.¨ he blandly mewed, ¨I fought him off, of course, but it was still a pain in the tail to get back to camp¨ the dark brown apprentice shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. But really, the attack had really surprised him (not that he was ever going to show or admit it, of course), and the wounds were more annoying to get around with than he thought they would be.
( it seems we're multi-quoting now pfpfpf- )

Ohstarsohstars- He remembered her nameee! Oh oh, wait, Blackie asked her a question. She smiled at Blackhaze, "It's great! But nobody really seemes.. uhm.. happy? I don't know if that's the word.." Well, it wasn't meant to be offensive. But most of the cats seemed.. depressed or something like that..? But why? What was there to be sad about?? They should've been excited! ..Or maybe that was just her. Probably just her. She, for one, was so glad to be here! She could be with her brother AND Ashen! She could meet so many others here too! Darkpaw finally looked to Ashen, "Yes yes! Glad you remembered!" She gave him a grin and could barely keep herself from bouncing up and down like crazy. Gosh, it was hard not to be so happy! Maybe she shouldn't keep looking at Ashen. Though she did feel okay now. Eek, she couldn't help but admire Ashen's beauty.. Don't focus on ittt!

[S t a r]

( bmkmb Exis Cobra Jackpot just mentioning everyone involved in this- )

She listened to her brother. Kind of unsure why she was here. Did she.. black out? Uhh.. weird. Just don't say anything? Wait wait, he was asking for.. murder? Woah woah. Now that was.. weird. Weird weird weirddd- What had she missed?? Also, why did Blackie seem.. off? About her? What had she done?? Worry shook within her as she flipped through her memories quickly. Nothing. Nothing about this! She remembered gathering beneath Blackie and his rock but.. nothing else! What in Starclan's name did she miss?! She looked through her memories over and over, nothing at all! Why didn't she remember?! Darkpaw managed to hold up a straight face as she nodded to what Blackhaze was saying. She kept herself from blurting out or anything mentioning her lack of memory. She would just listen. She was.. fine, yes? She was fine. Just a random skip in memory. Yes, that was it.

[Exis]

Ashenpaw tensed as he heard the shrill voice (well, it sounded shrill to him at least. Honestly, anything that didnt sound dark and broody was too high pitched to him) calling out that stupid nickname, and he immediately knew exactly who it was coming from. Deeply inhaling through his nose, he briefly squeezed his eyes shut before grunting out a halfhearted response, refusing to look at her. At this point, she was bothering him so much that he was seriously considering humoring her and becoming her... friend. Bleagh. But if thats what it took to get her to leave him alone, then so be it ¨Hey. Darkpaw, right?¨ he muttered through gritted teeth, feeling completely and utterly humiliated. Really? He, the great Ashenpaw, was already cracking? Ughhh...

Ears perked as he heard Blackhaze speak up, he felt rather...relieved? Well, not that Blackhaze did anything particularly noteworthy, but he did save him from a whole load of embarrassment. For the briefest moment, he discretely gave a nod that most likely only the larger tom would be able to notice or understand. Being brought back to what he originally had to say, he felt a sour taste fill his mouth at the thought of that damn loner ¨I was training in the territory, and this weird loner ambushed me.¨ he blandly mewed, ¨I fought him off, of course, but it was still a pain in the tail to get back to camp¨ the dark brown apprentice shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. But really, the attack had really surprised him (not that he was ever going to show or admit it, of course), and the wounds were more annoying to get around with than he thought they would be.


( it seems we're multi-quoting now pfpfpf- )

Ohstarsohstars- He remembered her nameee! Oh oh, wait, Blackie asked her a question. She smiled at Blackhaze, "It's great! But nobody really seemes.. uhm.. happy? I don't know if that's the word.." Well, it wasn't meant to be offensive. But most of the cats seemed.. depressed or something like that..? But why? What was there to be sad about?? They should've been excited! ..Or maybe that was just her. Probably just her. She, for one, was so glad to be here! She could be with her brother AND Ashen! She could meet so many others here too! Darkpaw finally looked to Ashen, "Yes yes! Glad you remembered!" She gave him a grin and could barely keep herself from bouncing up and down like crazy. Gosh, it was hard not to be so happy! Maybe she shouldn't keep looking at Ashen. Though she did feel okay now. Eek, she couldn't help but admire Ashen's beauty.. Don't focus on ittt!

Blackhaze nodded to Ashenpaw, better that he did have a good reason. “Maybe we should be training you.” he chuckled a bit. Before looking between the two, “Ashenpaw I see you’ve met my sister. Darkpaw, Ashen is my second here so treat him with some respect.” He mewed trying to be serious before laughing, “Kidding. I’m glad you are friends, it saves me time trying to make you two get along.” He turned and a little bit quieter to Ashenpaw, “Someone needs to watch her, if it has to be someone I’m glad it’s you.” He whispered.

[nocturnal]

Exis | Starry Nightfall | Jackpot | Cobra

He followed the black-furred tom into the makeshift den that stood, gaze lingering on Darkpaw as he settled down inside. The young feline seemed too bouncy for murder. Any excitement she'd displayed earlier had withdrawn from her face. Talonstone wished to inquire whether or not she felt alright, but he kept his maw shut as Blackhaze began talking. They would be assassinating Spottedsplit, a feline he'd never heard of before, and it would be foolish of him to accept without additional knowledge of their task.

"This Spottedsplit," the frosty warrior spoke up. "What clan is she from? What has she done to require elimination, and how are we to find her?" He wasn't going to scour the entire forest for some rogue feline, and definitely not if they bowed to the thunder or river. Those clans were overprotective of their members, and he had no way to infiltrate their land... although he was familiar enough with thunder to find a way.

"When will we set off?"

There was also the issue of meeting up together... Ashenpaw and Darkpaw were both apprentices, which left him in charge of them both. Luckily, they were all shadowdwellers, which gave them an excuse to be wandering around in the dead of night.

[Cobra]

➵ Illicit ⛓️

Illicit followed Haze into the cave, his tail swishing as he followed the black cat and his motley crew. At the mention of a murder, his eyes immediately lit up with delight and interest. "So," the huge cat spoke, tapping a paw impatiently, eager to hear the rest of the instructions. "Who's Spottedsplit? Love the name, by the way - split. Sounds ultra cool." Dang, did it sound like he copied Talongroan? Cause, for the love of darkness, he hadn't. "C'mon, man. Cheer up! This'll be fun! Plus, I haven't killed in ages, and the last time I had such a meal was - " He frowned, slowing his tapping front paws. "Actually, it was quite recently. Buuuuuuut. I bet I know what Loverboy's talking about, huh, Haze?" Illicit leaped to his feet. "He wants to get me a brain! Yeah, let that sink in to your sweet ears!"


Exis Starry Nightfall Jackpot bmkmb

[gs29513]

Shrewstep was completely unsure about this. He did want to prove his skills, be useful to Blackhaze and everyone else in the little group, but at the same time, murder? Could he really kill a cat with no concrete reason why? He was sure Blackhaze had one, and it mustn't be to dangerous if he was allowing Darkpaw to go. Who he was worried about. Did she know what she had gotten herself into? But Talonstone wouldn't let anything happen to her. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his racing heart. He wanted to help, but murder......he might draw a line there at least for now.

[Confuzzled.Lynx]

[ Exis ]

The tabby slipped through the shadows, coming across Blackhaze and a large group of cats. She stood there, eyes wide with fear. Cats. Many, many cats. Failpaw took a deep breath and walked on, stepping away from the friendly shadows that hid her. "Sorry I'm late" she apologized to her very dead friend, her voice trembling as she glanced at the gathered beings. Scary.

[Exis]

Blackhaze called out of the den for Shrewpaw, deciding against using Darkpaw in the state she was in. “Shrew, come on!”
gs29513 bmkmb Cobra Jackpot

[gs29513]

Gazing curiously at Blackhaze as he called his name, Shrewstep padded over. He wondered what was going on. Did Blackhaze want him to go along to keep an eye on the killing or something? Just in case some other cats were to show up and Talonstone and Darkpaw got outnumbered maybe? Yeah? he mewed, slipping into the den. Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze looked at Shrewstep, “I’d like you to take Darkpaw place.”
gs29513

[gs29513]

Take Darkpaw's place? He hadn't exactly expected to take her place, he understood why he might be going but not replacing. Replacing would mean he might be doing the killing. Did he really want to do that? But at the same time, he really didn't want Darkpaw killing any cat. She wasn't even a warrior, she seemed fragile, he couldn't let her do it. Could he? I'll do it. he mewed, trying to sound a bit less terrified than he felt. What if he DID have to kill the cat? What if he got caught? What if.....what if.......what if. Exis

[Exis]

Blackhaze nodded, “Good go now. And remember to bring it to illicit.” Turning to his love he smiled, “Your wish is my command my darling. You shall have your head soon.” Ahh, all he needed to finish up this night was a nice massage. He needed one, all of everything was weighing on him again.

gs29513 bmkmb Cobra Jackpot

[gs29513]

Nodding quickly, Shrewstep drifted out of the dream world and into reality before awaking, already beginning to regret his decision.

[S t a r]

( Exis posting surprise, just posting a handful before making her disappear- )

A look of bewilderment crossed her face. The alter ego taking her over again. What was he thinking!? She was perfectly capable of this! "Why can't I go!? It'll be my first time!" she snarled at her so-called brother. Was he delusional?! She was perfectly fit to go! Her desire to kill something was strong and she was angry that she didn't get to go! Why was Darkpaw hanging around this guy anyways?! He was only a bad influence when he wanted to be and randomly a sickly sweet idiot after! She seemed completely different. The way she stood, the way she spoke, the way she looked, bizarre ways for her to act. She bared her teeth at her brother. "I don't get why I can't go! You were on board with this a minute ago!" she spat. Anger grew and grew within her, the urge to kill something.. anything.. only growing alongside the overflowing anger. "I knew I shouldn't have been hanging around you." The she-cat huffed angrily as her back arched and her tail lashed wildly behind her.

[Exis]

Blackhaze turned to her, well that was strange. He wasn’t scared, Darkpaw couldn’t exactly hurt him. “I said no because you acted like this. The Darkpaw I know wouldn’t take another life. Until you calm your tail, you’ll be doing no such excursion.”
Starry Nightfall

[S t a r]

( Exis )

She roared with burning hatred for him. But it was not her own. "I don't need you! You can't tell me what to do!" She snarled in his face and then turned away. She was going to kill something on her own. Yes, she would! She growled on her way out and muttered under her breath, "I hate you." Soon after, she bounded out of the cave and forced herself to awaken mere seconds later. She would never forget this. At least, this side of her wouldn't. The normal side of her would never remember.

*insert what we discussed in vms here pfpfpf*

[Exis]

Blackhaze sigh, he turned to Ashenpaw and nodded for him to watch over her. Something about this wasn’t sitting right with him. “Alright then, let’s get to work.”
Jackpot (star is on hiatus so it’s not rlly like an rp thing, Dark is about to get kidnapped anyhow.) Starry Nightfall

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

// TheNyanCatMinecart

He wasn't upset. Not at all. The molly seemed to have something in mind, even if she couldn't tell because… well, they were enemies despite all this. The second they left the realm and returned to the living world, they would be enemies. There would be no leniency, not when their clans were in the midst of war and rebellion. Whatever Dawnstar had done to them, it couldn't have been good. The windrunners had no use to her; they were her puppets. Unlike the shadowdwellers who were bound but mostly protected from the wrath of their beastly leader, the windrunners held no such privilege, and without someone to guide them, they were like frogs, bouncing around frantically in an effort to evade hungry predators.

But since she couldn't read his mind, the frosty warrior stated, "I am not upset. We are of different clans. I would be concerned if you shared such private information to an enemy, even if only by circumstance, so easily."

The shadowdweller watched her for a moment, then muttered, "We do not know each other." He made sure that he had Ashfeather's attention before continuing, "The second we leave this place, we do not know each other. Otherwise, it would cause suspicion. Once we leave, I do not know your name; you do not know mine. We do not converse unless absolutely necessary, unless we find ourselves here again." At that, Talonstone motioned with his tail. Here, meaning the otherrealm or the dreamverse. Not in the forest.

His gaze bore into hers, soothing yet solemn and piercing. He waited for her to agree—or to disagree—to say something. Enemies by circumstance… if they had been from different clans, the unaffected ones, he wondered how this interaction might've gone.

Ashfeather listened to the white-furred tom's words. What he said was entirely true: what would her Clanmates think if she knew Talonstone by name, or by personality? Would they think that she'd betrayed WindClan? Wolffang and Rosebriar would've made those rumors run wild, and who knew what would happen to her? Anxiety forced the she-cat to dig her long, oddly sharp claws into the ground. Then she remembered that Talonstone couldn't read her mind. Did she look agitated by his news?

"That would be for the best," she meowed, attempting to keep that stupid stutter out of her voice. "Things would be so much easier if you weren't my enemy... but we should part now." She swallowed. "I need to make sure that Whitekit, and the rest of my Clan, is okay." An image of the black-and-white kit flashed in the deformed she-cat's mind, along with an idea. Ravenkit had run away; what if Whitekit did, too?

And action must be taken. Taking a deep breath, Ashfeather lifted one paw, then turned to look at Talonstone. She just wanted some indication that she should leave.

[Exis]

Blackhaze climbed atop the cave and brought forth all those in the mafia. “It’s tike to train!” He called out.


(I want to get some other threads notice. Only two or three cats will train in this thread today.) @gs29513 Starry Nightfall Jackpot Snook bmkmb ChillCat Cobra Leafì Minty Eve Kai Trouble TheNyanCatMinecart -Skyfall- Lynxpaw Exis UpperclassFailure

[nocturnal]

Talonstone watched idly as some felines materialized. Blackhaze always earned the most attention out of all the mafia members. Obviously, he had nothing wrong with that—the black-furred feline was the self-proclaimed leader, after all. But still, it would be nice for the instructors to actually host a lesson for once.

[For lessons on the fighting process, strategy, pain tolerance, and manipulation, please redirect here (http://warriorcatsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34481) and have your cat ask Talonstone for training.]

[poppy]

Blackhaze climbed atop the cave and brought forth all those in the mafia. “It’s tike to train!” He called out.


(I want to get some other threads notice. Only two or three cats will train in this thread today.) @gs29513 Starry Nightfall Jackpot Snook bmkmb ChillCat Cobra Leafì Minty Eve Kai Trouble TheNyanCatMinecart -Skyfall- Lynxpaw Exis UpperclassFailure


bmkmb

Tumblepaw faded into view, and he looked around. A feeling of satisfaction bubbled up inside of him. He was back. Maybe he´d leave with all his fur intact this time.

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Exis

Ashfeather looked at Blackhaze. So much had happened since the last time she'd been here. First, she'd begun gathering cats for a rebellion - she hadn't gotten very far yet, and things were progressing, but at least things were better. Second, Whitekit had run away. A pang pierced her heart as she thought of her two runaway kits. After the deaths of Flameclaw and Dogkit, she really couldn't lose her two precious kits. The she-cat focused her singular seeing eye on the black-and-gray tom, curious what this night's training had to offer. She was worried about the current situations, but she knew that she had to stay strong and vigilant if she was going to get through this.