never forget what you are. the rest of the world will not. [p]

[taillow]

Restlessness has kept her from the solitude that sleep provided as Mirehound lay awake in the warriors' den. A cacophony of thoughts was imploding in her head and amidst the storm was this... tugging. Thoughts that she knew not to be her own infiltrating the barriers of her mind, curling their dark tendrils over its edges and consuming everything. It felt awful and yet... there was the faintest detectable trace of power within them.

Mirehound, for all her strengths and weaknesses, coveted it more than breathing.

Her wounds still ached from the battle, and subconsciously her head turned to draw her tongue across her shoulder wound - though her eyes remained on the den entrance. Almost as if on edge, as if she expected the dark thoughts within herself to manifest before her and strike with their shadowy claws.

But after a moment that proved false, and Mirehound felt a heaviness to her eyes that had them fluttering. Paws flexing before her the Enforcer laid her head down upon them and gave into the feeling. Behind closed lids she was met with nothing, and then...

-

This was a place she knew not by familiarity of having been here, but by stories from Scorchedraven. Rotting pines, thick, gnarled branched extending upwards towards a black sky. Not a trace of light anywhere and yet an eerie dim lighting that showcased scraggly undergrowth and a thin layer of mist snaking around the forest floor. The scent of decay and blood was pungent, yet Mirehound didn't appear bothered by it in the slightest as she rose to her paws.

The Dark Forest. The Place of No Stars. It had many names, but the shadow knew it by one; Nightmares. Though she couldn't recall ever having set paw here, there were nights during the time she was stolen away from her home where this very scene flashed through her mind. Poking and prodding at her, whispering for her to give in. She hadn't though, and soon enough they had faded away like morning fog.

"Hello?" Her call echoed around her with no sign of being answered. Dreams only happened when cats were called upon - at least, that's what Scorchedraven had taught her. Mirehound turned around to see if she could catch a glimpse of whatever cat was lurking. Part of her wondered if she would finally come face to face with her mother once more - but she knew the former ShadowClan warrior to be too cunning to submit to death. Her face wasn't the one she would see here tonight...

[ BEAR. ]

[BEAR.]

"The ambition that shrouds you is admirable, but you still have much to learn, kit."

Wolverine did not care to beat around the bush, and he stepped from the shadows he nearly blended into. There was a ghost of a smirk etched across the muzzle, fierce eyes fixated on the dark enforcer.

He rarely chose to make his presence known, preferring to keep a distance from the affairs of the living. But Mirehound had piqued his interest, and he was curious to see how the young cat would fare in the time to come. "Tell me. I know of your plans to overtake that little enforcer posse of my granddaughter's, but surely your schemes extend beyond that."

[ daenerys ]

[taillow]

Eerie. That was the first feeling that had the fur along the back of her neck rising as Mirehound's head snapped over to the source of words spoken to her. A dark cat, one who appeared birthed from the very depths of terror itself. Blue eyes watched as he melted from the darkness, shadows falling off his pelt like rainwater off leaves.

"I'm no kit," she shot back, jaw set hard as she turned to fully face whoever this stranger was. The shadow didn't recognize him, and there was no use in using her scenting skills here - not with death clogging everything.

When he spoke of her plans though, Mirehound blinked in surprise. It was gone quickly however, and she twitched her whiskers in thought. Her mind was still stuck on how he knew her plans that she almost missed the wording. "...Granddaughters?" Echoing the word as if it would bring clarity - which it did. She knew from stories Scorchedraven told her as a kit of Dawnstar's family, though they had mainly circled around Hailstorm and Icestar. This cat... she couldn't recall the name.

"...I covet a life where I no longer have to bow to anyone."

It was the first time she had admitted it, and apart of her was terrified suddenly. Her expression remained steady, though there were cracks. She hadn't even confided in her own kin about this... obsession growing within her. This need for control. "Control. Cougarivy has it. Dawnstar has it. I've dedicated my entire life to ShadowClan... and I'm done hiding in the darkest parts of the shadows instead of taking control."

[ BEAR. ]

[BEAR.]

Amusement glistened in his eyes, and Wolverine merely smiled at her. "You are to me." She could be as insistent as she wanted, but it wouldn't change the reality of the situation. Wolverine was long before her time.

"Taking control is easy." Anyone could claim themselves a leader, but they failed to maintain the position of power they were in. To Wolverine, it was the main reason why the other Clans were so weak. "It's keeping it that can be a challenge - for the faint hearted. You need to assert yourself to stand out from the shadows."

[ daenerys ]

[taillow]

Easy? Mirehound felt frustration to his words at first. It was never just that easy; if it was, she wouldn't have been separated from ShadowClan, fighting for her life, for half a moon. She wouldn't have had to mold her mind into a steel trap to ensure her survival. She wouldn't...

Eventually the game got exhausting though so the shadow dropped it from her mind. It was in the past, and there was nothing to be gained from continuing to revisit it. She knew how to avoid that mistake now, at least.

"I plan to. I already have. Foxtooth, and the name of that WindClanner he brought onto our territory. The fight with ThunderClan." She stopped herself then, clearing her throat. "It's a large step, but I believe the next way that I can separate myself from the shadows of the average cat is to become the commander of the Enforcers. It'll take work," she let her voice trail off as her eyes seemed to go distant. Something felt... odd. Unfurling in her chest and scraping along the sides of it like tiny claws. Then, just as quickly, her gaze recovered its focus and flickered back up to the cat before her. "But I'm not afraid to get my claws dirty to do what needs to be done."

Her voice. It didn't sound like her. At least, not a part of her that she recognized. But Mirehound's desire for control over her own life far overruled her own morals - it was just a matter of time until she realized it.

[ BEAR. ]

[BEAR.]

Perhaps Wolverine would have been more sympathetic had he known of Mirehound's struggles, but in reality he simply would not have cared. Excuses were easy, and so was taking power. A flick of a paw, the spillage of blood .. Death was an easy way to assume a role.

But maintaining that? One needed an iron paw. He had faith in his granddaughter: few cats could paint the forest so beautifully crimson, and remain on top. This cat.. She definitely had potential. Dawnstar level? That was to be seen.

"You don't need a label to stand out." His voice was a low, rumbly purr. "But it'll definitely help pique Dawnstar's interest." Now, more serious. "But are you prepared to take on one of Dawnstar's finest? Cougarivy has been her commander since the beginning, defeating her will not be as simple as ThunderClan waste and disgraces."

If Mirehound hoped to make a dent in the Commander, she'd need to prepare. The simpletons she'd previously faced were nothing in comparison.

[ daenerys ]

[taillow]

'You don't need a label to stand out.'

It sounded like something her littermates would say. And to a point, Mirehound understood it. But for as long as she had lived, power and control only came with labels, and though she knew she stood above some of the Clan where intelligence and common sense was concerned, she desired more.

"I trained my entire life in battle; to know the weakness of those I face inside and out. Cougarivy prides herself in playing games - she likes a show. Of course she'll be above the challenge of ThunderClan, but I do not plan on going as soft on her as I did with them." She had shown them mercy, whether they wished to believe it or not. Death had only come for the one who had wished it upon her, and her apprentices, first.

Curved talons dug into the ground below and Mirehound gave a single lash of her tail. "Though I am not foolish enough to believe if we went claw to claw right now I would win. That's why I'm training. I want to make sure the ground I stand on is solid when I face her. Anything less and I would disgrace my own name; I don't plan on doing that anytime soon."

[ BEAR. ]