dies irae [open]

Two, glittering yellow eyes flashed as the light of the passing car caught them. A feline figure ducked into the surrounding bushes, padding deeper into the marshy territory of ShadowClan. It was night, the moon rising above as it gradually reached its zenith. From what the young tom knew about ShadowClan, they came out at night, so now was the perfect time to set his plan in motion. For this, it would require expert precision with an equally expert performance. It's a good thing I'm the cat on the job, he smirked to himself, his chest puffing in pride.

Justus, his father, had assigned him this mission of infiltrating the Clans in an effort to learn more about them. Their ultimate goal was to bring the Clans down. They were nothing more but boorish savages, with their strange names and even stranger religion... Mozart scoffed, padding across the wet ground as he did so. The feeling of mud between his toes made him want to vomit, but if he was to break into ShadowClan...he had to get used to it, and fast. As he walked, he kept his eyes, ears, and nose perked for any sign of cats. There were other rogues in the forest, and he didn't necessarily want to interact with them, unless they were his rogues. Today, he was hunting for ShadowClanners.

The smell of decaying wood, rats, and dirt clung to him, nearly suffocating the scents of what he was actually searching for. A rustle far off got his attention and he froze, parting his mouth slightly to get a taste of the air. Finally! Filthy Clan cats! They must be on a patrol. Immediately, he threw himself to the ground, covering his pelt in mud and dirt. Expert precision. Expert performance. Unsheathing his claws, he tore into his own fur, wincing at the stinging pain. When he pulled his paw away, his claws were tipped with blood. Injuries would make it more convincing. Giving himself a few more scratches, he finally rose back up to his feet and put on a limp.

"I-Is someone there? Please, help...! I n-need help!" Mozart cried, putting a waver of fear and pain in his voice. He was still a young cat, so his voice was suitably pitched to pass as a...what did they call them again, apprentices? That's what it was. Now to let the shadowy filth come to him.

With Loudnose as her mentor, Jasminepaw had quickly become well adjusted to ShadowClan territory. Creeping after a lizard, she was about to slam a paw down on it when a cry caused her to leap into the air, spinning around. "W-who's there?" Jasminepaw mewed, trying to put an edge on her voice as if to sound intimidating, but her stutter didn't help much.

Creeping around a bush her eyes widened. "G-great StarClan! A-are you okay?" She mewed, getting a feeling of serious deja vu, except with the roles reversed this time. Before her was a ginger and white tom, around her she, with scratches all over him and a limp. "D-did you get attacked by the r-rogues? It's not safe if you don't k-know the marshes."

(Ooc: do we have to do a rogue roll since Mozart is a rogue or no?)

Frostgaze had accompanied Jasminepaw on patrol, nobody could go out alone, and he was always ready to assist the clan with their needs. The air was cool, which the long-haired tom much preferred. The pine needles had thoroughly mixed into the cold mud beneath his paws, and he grimaced as it squelched beneath him. There'd be quite a bit of grooming needed after this. He had broken off from Jasminepaw, allowing her to go after a lizard, and he continued to scent the air when something came to him. Rogue. It was unnatural to the territory. Eyes widening in slight alarm, he heard a cry ring throughout the forest. He broke into a sprint, following the sound of the cry, incidentally in the same direction as the rogue's scent.

Coming to a skidding stop, Frostgaze spotted Jasminepaw near an unknown cat. There were scratches, blood, the works. He looked young, not more than a few moons older than a young apprentice. Not only that, but he looked scared. Possibly unrelated to the rogues that had been plaguing the territory. "Jasminepaw, step back." Frostgaze held his head high, calmly approaching the clanless tom. "My name is Frostgaze, and I would appreciate an explanation as to why you are on Shadowclan territory." No use in revealing the fact that other rogues had been attacking them as of late. The tom almost felt bad about being as gruff as he was on an injured cat, but they had to be careful around rogues. No telling what they could be planning.

ooc: idk if we need a rogue roll or not but I'll do one just in case :)
edit: no rogues today!

The member 'Alexcreepia' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

"R-Rogues?" he squealed, then bit down hard on his tongue inside his mouth to spark tears into his eyes. "I-I...haven't seen any rogues, it...was a fox, my...my mom and dad--" Breaking down into sobs, Mozart's eyes flickered up to see an older tom approaching.

"Jasminepaw, step back."

Ah, so the little one was Jasminepaw. He stored that information away for later. The warrior, he assumed, introduced himself as Frostgaze and pressed as to why he was on ShadowClan territory. Mozart sniffled and limped a pawstep closer, his legs shaking as if he was about to collapse. "I-I didn't realize, I--...I'm so sorry, pl-please don't hurt me...! My parents and I, we...there was a fox, and I...was the only one that got away..." Heavy tears spilled down the orange tom's face, making teartracks through the mud. "My mom, Lily...she, she was a housecat, and my dad, Fiero...he was a lone cat, a-and...I haven't been in a house with people or anything, I've always l-lived outside...I-I can hunt, sorta, and fight, I..."

Mozart teetered then, stumbling, before letting his legs give way. "Pl-Please, help...I don't have anywhere else to go..."

Webshadow had lagged quite a ways behind the rest of the patrol, allowing Frostgaze and Jasminepaw their space to hunt and wander unburdened. Perhaps his reasons were more selfish than that, and he'd only projected his own want for space onto them, but regardless, the two cats had wandered out of sight, and the dark tabby was content to take his time catching up.

He had scented a frog, and was about to slip off to go after it when a sudden cry rang through the quiet night. Tail stiff and straight behind him, Webshadow lifted his head, ears swiveling to see if he could pick up the sound again. Settling into a hurried, uneven trot, he set off in the direction of the noise, arriving just in time to hear the tail end of the rogue's story.

Oh. More rogues. It's a little one, though, Webshadow thought idly as he moved forward to stand in front of Jasminepaw. "House... cat?" The older warrior echoed slowly, as if he was rolling the first word around for any sort of familiarity. It felt odd on his tongue, and his sharp eyes narrowed as he surveyed the rogue. Young, and attacked by... something, though he'd missed what it'd been, and clearly distressed.

"We won't hurt you, if you don't hurt us." Webshadow's meow was flat and even, and he stood still as stone as he stared down the little tom. "But... you– you don't really look like you would." The tabby turned to Frostgaze briefly, half expecting the other warrior to have an answer, before he quickly remembered he was the oldest. Still, he focused his attention on his Clanmate, blinking as he thought. "We can try to figure out more of his story, and I suppose take him to Basilpaw and Flintstar if it seems genuine."

As Frostgaze told her to step back she hesitantly stumbled back, looking at Mozart with worried eyes. When he began explaining what happened, the fur on her back stood up. That's just like that happened to me..! Jasminepaw thought, eyes wide. "F-frostgaze, we should help him.. I-I know how s-scary it is to be a-attacked by a fox all a-alone, that's how I ended up in ShadowClan, r-remember? Besides, he's hurt.. He needs h-help!" Jasminepaw pleaded, desperate to get the injured cat help. He wasn't much older than herself... and it would be absurdly cruel to deny him any help. "W-what's your name? I-I'm Jasminepaw." Before she could say anything else, Webshadow appeared, standing in front of her. They're both protecting me. She thought, smiling softly. ShadowClan really did want her, huh? Even now the concept of being wanted was foreign, but the tabby pushed away these thoughts. "I-I agree with Webshadow, Frostgaze. I d-don't think he could attack us e-even if he wanted to, and I d-don't think he does.."

Frostgaze flicked his one full ear, listening to everything the rogue had to say. He had to admit, he had a soft spot for young cats without families. A huff of air escaped his nostrils, looking back at the young tom before him. His clanmates had also advocated bringing the injured cat to camp. So it was agreed. A part of him harbored suspicion, he was older than a kit, but still young enough to be mostly harmless. There was little danger in bringing him to camp. "Alright then, what is your name? It appears we should acquaint ourselves. Do not worry, we will not harm you, so long as you do not harm us." He paused briefly before questioning the tom further. "I would like to ask if you would be interested in returning to our camp to receive attention for your wounds. You seem genuine about your plight, and I do not wish to see you injured alone on Shadowclan territory."

The white tom stepped closer to the rogue, looking over the wounds. They seemed fresh, and some even still bled. Frostgaze was known for his attention to detail, and the fact that the wounds were so fresh momentarily confused the tom. Where was the scent of fox? Perhaps the small tom had fled far enough that the mud and leaf-fall air had covered it. "Can you tell me where you saw the fox? I would like to inform others so we can dispatch it if it is wandering on Shadowclan territory." His blue eyes glinted in the small amount of moonlight, watching the forest closely for threats. Perhaps this one would be useful to the clan.

"M-My name is Flame," he whimpered, struggling to get back up to his paws. "I won't h-hurt you! I-I-I'm very glad you aren't going to hurt me...O-Oh, yes, please, if you'll have me...! I'd feel m-much better somewhere safer..." Phase 1 of his plan was complete. Stupid Clan cats!

His gaze flickered up to the white warrior that looked him over. What was he looking at, checking if the wounds were real? There was something else, a glimpse of disbelief in his eyes. He'd just have to quell that disbelief. "The fox, it f-found us right after we had crossed the, the road...I don't know how far away from th-that we are now, but...it could have crossed back over onto the other side...!"

Jasminepaw's voice rose behind him, and Webshadow flicked his tail against her shoulder as silent thanks for agreement. His eyes didn't leave Frostgaze as he waited for response from the other warrior, and when the assent, the tabby was content to turn around and head back to camp as quickly as they'd left. They had found one harmless rogue, and he wasn't keen on pushing their luck with a different one; besides, he wasn't interested in making a show of introductions. There would be time for that with Flintstar.

But the white tom moved, not to turn around, but to hover just in front of the rogue. Webshadow let out a little huff, twisting to look Jasminepaw over, as if something would come and swipe her away as soon as he left her side. Seeing the apprentice was in one piece, and looking satisfied by this, Webshadow slipped forward to join the rogue's side, their pelts a whisker away from brushing together.

The little tom offered them his name, and Webshadow craned his neck to be eye-level with Flame as he spoke. "Road." The dark tabby's echoey voice came again, and he tipped his head. "You use funny words, Flame. Lean on me." The change in subject came quick, and Webshadow nodded towards himself, seemingly having moved past the rogue's strange vocabulary entirely.

He hummed thoughtfully, green eyes finding some distant point past Frostgaze's shoulders to focus on. "I would like that fox chased off," he agreed slowly, pausing to think over his words before continuing, "but not with an apprentice, and... the little one with us. I would rather Jasminepaw got home safe. And I do not want to bury a cat this small." He nodded gracelessly towards Flame, still not quite looking at Frostgaze. "We can talk while taking him to Flintstar?" The offer came hesitantly, but another idea quickly followed. "We can introduce him quickly. I can look for the fox with you after?" Webshadow's whiskers twitched, and unfocused eyes trailed their way to Jasminepaw. ShadowClan had lost enough cats, and Webshadow had had enough of young cats he was watching over getting hurt or dying. Neither of these two would be joining their fox hunt if he had a say in it.

( OOC: gonna go ahead and post to get Mozart out of limbo! )

"Road"? They thought that was weird? You should hear yourself talk, Mozart quipped in his head, internally rolling his eyes. He did as he was told, however, leaning his weight against the bigger warrior for support. He said nothing as...what was his name, Web-something, continued on, speaking to the other warrior. He was only half-heartedly listening in, instead focusing more on keeping his act up properly. Another name sparked his interest then, and his ears pricked. "Fl-...Flintstar? Is he your leader? Clan leaders have th-the 'star' name, right...? I hope Flintstar is nice..." He mumbled that last part mostly to himself, blinking down at his paws before looking back up at Webshade, Frosteyes, and...the other one, the she-cat.

"I-I hope you find that fox. Kill it for me." If Mozart was lucky, they would find a fox. It would only support his act. If not...at least traces of one. He couldn't strike out so quickly, Father would be very mad at him.