Never Moor [C]

Dawnhawk followed Hollyhock's instructions to the moor, a place he never in a million moons thought he would end up. The expansive, vast field was downright trippy to him, a Skyclan cat originally. How did they hide? How did they hunt? Where did they sleep? Dawnhawk was about to learn all of that, he supposed. He looked down at his legs and paws, still cringing at the change that clung to his fur. Black. He had black fur now and no markings to speak of. Hollyhock had helped him, but he knew he’d need to more or less reapply his new “makeup” every now and again to prevent anyone from figuring out who he really was. Being the Standard Captain had had it’s drawbacks after all.

His scars on his shoulder were well hidden behind his medium-length fur, but if he got wet and his fur clung to him there could be a problem. His eyes went to the sky, pleased to see there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Things should go smoothly, at least today. He only needed to stay for one gathering… he hoped, and then he would be on his way with his family somewhere else. Anywhere else. The plan was to pretend to be Hollyhock’s brother. He’d chosen his rogue name to be “Cerberus”, the name of the guard that he had to kill in the nursery. It seemed that his loyal, brown tabby guard was not done serving him yet. Even his name was helpful.

Dawnhawk overall was impressed by the work Hollyhock had done. He could tell that even his scent was non-existent and his knowledge of how to erase scent from his time in the Asylum had helped with that. He’d also never been more thankful that he had a talent for singing, which required changing his voice or force it to sound in certain ways. The only thing that remained of “Dawnhawk” was his fiery azure eyes, but so many cats had blue eyes that it hardly mattered.

I was born to be a deceiver.

He stood at the edge of the territory and waited for a patrol to arrive. These fools took in every rogue they came across, from what he understood. Well... he had no reason to think that was magically going to change now.

After what had happened with the Asylum, Lilacstar had begun to make it a point to patrol the borders herself. Too many cats were lost, good cats. Goldengale, Dappleshine, Raventail, Gingertalon, Morningdove, Olivestar, Finchkit, stars they still hadn't found Finchkit. She hoped her little brother was okay. She had too little time to spend with him before he was taken. Well, now she was going to take the brunt of the attack should something happen again, after all, she had the lives to spare. And she would gladly lose every single one if that meant one of her Clanmates got to live.

As she was making her rounds, she caught sight of a cat...waiting by the border? He didn't look or smell familiar, but to know to wait at a border meant he knew of the Clan. Perhaps a friend of Elsa's?

"Hello there. My name is Lilacstar, I am the leader of the Clan in this territory. It's not often outsiders just politely wait at the border, although I certainly respect you for it. Is there something I can help you with?"

Dawnhawk hadn't been to a gathering in so long that he didn't recognize the she-cat that began to approach him. His heart thudded against his ribs. Well... moment of truth... he thought to himself as he watched her body language carefully. Then she announced that her name was Lilacstar and his innards tensed. He managed to keep a pleasantly neutral expression despite his bubbling anxiety. She didn't know who he was... clearly. Hopefully. He would go along with this for now and if he had even the tiniest doubt that she was fooled, he would leave immediately.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lilacstar." He felt a flood of relief when the voice that he had been practicing and getting used to during his journey to the moor seemed to flow from his lips naturally. It was only a bit deeper than his normal voice but he managed to make it sound scratchier and with a lighter but still noticeable accent that Hollyhock had. So far so good. "I actually came to... humbly request a place in Windclan. My sister told me about you, her name is Hollyhock, if she should ever travel your way. She learned of Windclan from a warrior of yours and said that you may take in an outsider." He put both of his ears straight out on either side of his head like airplane wings and gave a nervous smile, as if he wasn't entirely sure. "I won't be useless, I promise. I'm a decent hunter... though I admit I've never hunted on the moor before. I'm certainly a decent fighter too, should Windclan ever need such a thing. I actually can survive fine alone, it's just the... aloneness that doesn't suit me." He shrugged, then relaxed his facial features and dropped his head respectfully.

"My name is Cerberus... I'll be of great service to Windclan if you accept me."