Bear's Reign (open)

Occ: this is open for anyone whose cats have been taken already, or those who reside in the barn. DO NOT post if you haven't been recruited yet. Message me, and you can jump in after your cat has been taken. Part 2 will be posted after Wolffang's exile and she joins, and a couple other cats are taken.

Bear lay in the comfortable shelter that was the barn from a high up perch that overlooked the whole structure. Settling here was one of the best ideas he had come up with. Not only was there comfort and food, but there was plenty of room for the cats he was recruiting and more. He cast a glance around. A handful of cats from the various clans were there. Most of the clans were represented, save for a few he hadn't gotten to yet. But soon he would get more. While roaming the territories and finding unsuspecting cats to claim was exhausting, the rogue found it enjoyable. It had been a long time since he had something exciting to keep him going and was well fed. Some of the group was not yet happy with being here. They had yet to realize that once he had taken over the territories, they would share in the wealth too. With such a concentrated group, and so much land, they would all be the most well of group around. Bear would be in charge, and the clans would be eradicated.

The brown tom was not much for conversation, but he felt the need to talk with those who spread throughout the barn. They were his cats now after all. Fresh wounds dotted his already battle-scarred pelt. It made him slightly uncomfortable, but he still hauled himself up onto his feet. Later on, he would ask the barn cat who knew about herbs to give him something. She was a useful addition. He made his way down among the other cats. It was a well-known rule that those who tried to leave would die quickly. It wouldn't be long until he trained up more enforcers to keep the others here. For now, it all rested on his shoulders. However, he didn't mind.

"You've eaten already, right?" He grunted to the nearest cat. The rogue was still working on their names, not that he really cared much though. The clan names were stupid in his opinion.

Pansyface's head jolted up when the rouge leader, his name was Bear she had heard, spoke to her in his gruff voice. Murky green eyes narrowed, the slender she-cat didn't respond. Adjusting her body, she turned her back on the tom and flicked her tail in a dismissing manner. The bi-color she-cat refused to conform to his ways, it was not within her nature. She had always been a free, adventurous spirit and her friends and clan had fostered that; but even the strongest spirit could be broken if someone tried hard enough.

Lichenpaw sat by herself looking outside of the barn. She wanted to go home. She didn't want to be hear but she was forced to. She glanced to Pansyface as she was spoken to.

Storm skirted around Bear, keeping his eye warily on the scarred brown tom to see if he would suddenly lunge out again and pin him to the ground again. Storm wasn't even his name, Bear just called him that after a storm that scared the young cat. He can't even remember what his birth name was, he can't pull any memories from any time before Bat rescued him from the frothing cold waters and nurtured him in the Barn and the Barn cats never really gave him a name. The cat still gave him a chill, his look reminded Storm of his claws pushing against his throat, threatening him with death if Pepper, Bat, and Luna didn't join him. For Storm, the usually stoic tom had nightmares of him.

Sitting near the enterance by a... clan cat, they were called, Storm started talking nervously. "Uh, hey there. You're another one that Bear...," he whispered, "kidnapped. But don't worry, I don't support him either. So, where did you come from? I mean, I heard your a... clan cat. But like what are they? The name nags me and I have a feeling that I had some experiences with them before, but then again I don't have any memories," he laughed nervously, hoping he was not being awkward and that Bear wasn't watching him.

Lichenpaw blinked looking at Storm for a moment warily."yeah..pretty much I'm Lichenpaw"she mewed flicking her gray pale grayish finger and white tail."I came from a clan called Thunderclan....most of the names represents personality looks or traits I guess..."she mewed

Bat carried in a rather large bird, a red grouse. It was around the size of the birds twolegs cared for. His eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion as he searched for his mate. He dropped the large hen-like bird and sauntered on, giving each clan cat a good warning look and the others one of even more meaning. Rouges knew how this game went. The clans would come, take their cats back and demonize all outsiders for the problem. He muttered some choice words as he passed others. He had thought of slipping that foxglove into Bear's food ever since the horrid tom arrived. All his work, his mate's work, the lives lost. Wasted! He wordlessly hopped up the haystacks and onto the loft that looked over all, a post he often kept when he was restless. He watched Storm and tried, he really tried not to feel protective of the younger tom. With a soft hiss, he looked away and instead glared at the freshkill pile.

Bear growled lowly at Pansyface's blatant ignorance, but chose not to do anything about it. Instead he turned towards the younger cat's conversation. At the sound of clans, his ears pricked with interest. Despite having a variety of clan cats around, he knew very little about the clans. The large tom padded over to interrupt, "Tell me about the clans." While his words were almost demanding, his tone was curious.

Lichenpaw blinked and looked at bear wars flat for a moment before she hesitantly spoke up again"what do you want to know about the clans?"she asked quietly.

Cherrymist was terrified for her kit, terrified for her sister, but she had to be strong. Her belly was growing and she was feeling the signs of pregnancy again just like before. Her eyes stung with tears whever she though of poor Brierkit and Swankit, motherless. She longed for her Clanmates like she had never longed for anything. But she had to stand up for herself. The blind queen sat huddled besides her younger sister, Pansyface, her head hung over her paws, her mind working. Her ears twitched at Bear's voice intruded her quiet thoughts, and she turned her head away instinctively. But he wasn't talking to her, but to her sister. She growled on the inside, but Pansyface's cold and unwilling ignorance made her glad, and soon his scent was drifting away to others. Cherrymist settled more comfortably near the other she-cat's side, feeling her last meal heavy in her stomach with miserable feeling sweeping over her. "Pansyface I fear for my kits..." she whispered, shaking with distress.

Pansyface ever so slightly turned her head to watch Bear's retreat. The large brute padded over to join that rouge kit and apprentice, the former scenting of ThunderClan. Wary, the patched she-cat kept an eye on the two younger cats just in case something happened. Their new 'leader' seemed quite unpredictable at times.

Her sister's worried meow stole her attention from the other group, and she turned to meet Cherrymist's gaze. The bi-color she-cat had already noticed that the white she-cat's belly had begun to expand once again, and had also began to worry. What if she gave birth here in the barn, without a proper medicine cat? Would the kits grow up not knowing their true clan, or their father? For her sister's sake though, Pansyface did not speak her worries aloud.

Nuzzling Cherrymist's fuzzy white shoulder, Pansyface forced herself to purr comfortingly. "Whatever happens Cherrymist, I swear I will protect you and your kits at all costs." Glancing back at Bear, she leaned in closer towards her sister's ear to whisper; "SkyClan is going to notice cats are missing sooner than later, along with the other clans. A rescue mission is inevitable."

Pepper coughed as she sat up from her nest to watch the newest members talk amongst themselves. She felt downcast, the whole problem overshadowed her recent joy to be reunited with her mate. Now they were both prisoners once more. Her gaze trailed off to the herbs storage, untouched,thankfully. Perhaps Bear knew their value.

She dragged herself across the barn with effort and sorted through the cats until she got to the cat of her interest. Her trained eyes knew the sight easily and she looked down at the pale queen. "Stress isn't good for you in your condition, miss." The cripple began. "Please don't worry yourself into a sickness." she mewed, her voice going soft so her words weren't picked up by the tyrannical leader they shared. "He's one of the few in your stories that are without dignity. No one wants a hurt queen, you have others keeping his claws off you so rest easy, dear."

"Everything," He encouraged, a little more kindly than before. The younger cat would be able to tell him all of the things he needed to know about clan life. The rogue did not want to admit his lack of knowledge about the forest cats. All he knew was that they were star worshiping fools. While Bear knew he was not the kindest of cats, he considered himself above them in a sense.

Lichenpaw blinked as he spoke a bit kinder. She was quiet choosing her words carefully as she thought of where to start. She then figured it was best to tell him lest she get hurt and the fluffy gray orange and white apprentice didn't want that."well....there are five clans each one having a set....territory....Thunderclan...the clan I'm from set in a forest,Shadowclan set in a pine forest which also has marshes....Windclan has the moors, and Riverclan the river..."she mewed starting off hesitant of that was one of the things he wanted to know."we have a set rank for each...memember of the clan...queens,the ones who are caring for kits,kits are the well kits of the clan...I'm apprentices....we grainy I be warriors but occasionally there is a medicine cat apprentice...who..I'm deals with herbs and stuff...warriors are the ones who fight hunt and help the clans...there's the deputy The ones next in line to be leaders they usually handle making patrols and making decisions....leaders are the ones who..um well lead the clans. We have elders warriors..or leaders who have given there part to the clans and are taken care of by the clans....We have medicine cats they I'm receive prophecies and ...help heal cats"she mewed figuring that was a good start.

As Luna rounded the corner of the barn and approached the entrance with a small thrush and two mice hanging from her maw, she jumped a bit at the sight of Bear. Hoping he hadn't noticed Luna picked up her pace a bit and skirted around him. Going straight to the fresh-kill pile she dropped the prey she had caught onto the pile and then headed towards her nest.

A not long after Bear's takeover of the barn Luna had encountered a Windclan warrior who she had met with later that night. When she had returned Bear had questioned her as to why she smelled like clan cat and thankfully she was able to make up a lie about hunting in their territory which, thanks to the hare she had brought back, he believed.

Now, her belly had started to grow and she knew that she was expecting kits. So far she had continued to go on like usual, not even telling Pepper, but it was getting closer to the point where she wouldn't be able to hide it any longer. As she passed the previously mentioned rouge she-cat Luna brushed her tail against Pepper's shoulder in greeting.

Bear nodded, listening intently as the apprentice spoke. His eyes flickered around as she spoke of the different clans. He began to recognize them as Skyclan, Thunderclan, and more, instead of simply knowing them as the "tree" or "forest" cats. The knowledge made him feel more powerful. Before it hadn't really bothered him to not know the clans, nor would he start calling them by their clan-names, but it helped to know. A snort of laughter broke from his throat when she spoke of prophecies. Other than the ridiculous notion of speaking to dead cats, a medicine cat sounded useful. He quickly glanced at Pepper. She's like our medicine cat. It was good to have a healer around.

"Thank you, forest cat," He meowed, showing a light spark of gratitude, "Do all of the cats in the forest believe that its possible to speak to star cats?" While his tone was slightly mocking, Bear was curious about it. To him, the idea of believing in that sort of thing was absurd. When cats died, they were gone for good. Luna's entrance caught his attention despite her attempt to avoid him. Instead of saying anything to her, he acknowledged the she-cat with a tight nod. Her hunting skills were definitely appreciated.