The Walker (Open)

"Look out!" Redkit squealed to any cats nearby as she crashed into a pile of hay from the beams up above, landing with a big 'oomph'. Dissolving into a fit of giggles the she-kit stumbled to her paws and shook out the straw as she panted with excitement. The redness of the world was normal to her, unaware of how truly unusual the whole situation was. Skittering towards the beam she climbed up she huffed and puffed as she made her way across the wood just above the hay pile, shifting her crouch she prepared herself to leap, fear and adrenaline hyping up the little troublemaker.

She sent herself into the hay again, sending flurries of straw up into a cloud, effectively making a mess as she once more dissolved into a fit of giggles. Shuffling to her paws with lots of struggling she shook her long spiky fur clean, turning to look around the crowded barn she searched for some cat to play with, normally she would be sticking next to her siblings but she was tired of playing with them all the time. Redkit padded up to one of the cats, if it were the exiles or the 'regime' it didn't matter, nor could she tell, their smells all blending together. Though one fact was true, since she was the leaders daughter, she could play with any cat she wanted! "Play with me!" She ordered, pushing her big paw against her new victim. They'd have no choice but to play with her!

The scraggly looking tom had not expected anyone to talk to him. Especially based on the fact that one night he had come back covered in bloody wounds, no one really wanted to know why. Perhaps they just didn't care. He turned carefully, not wanting to re-injure his paw, which was now scabbed over. His amber eyes looked into the young green eyes of a kit. One of Lichenmask's. A rather surprised look came onto his young face. "O-oh hello. I can play with you... I just don't want to hurt my paw more. You can choose the game though!" He gave a rather kind smile to the kit, hoping she wouldn't want to play too rough. "My name is Canren, what's yours?" The brown tom wondered if the she-kit was doing this out of curiosity, playfulness, boredom, or all three. He was happy to play with her though, kits needed some playtime after all.

Even at such a young age, Burntkit found his satisfaction in watching others. He would often sit near Lichenmask or Brushgaze and settle back to see what they did underneath his curious gaze. There were so many interesting cats here. With Aspenpaw out, there was no one to coax the calico-kit into playing. Redkit might have attempted but she likely knew by now that her brother was not always enthralled by such things. His interests lie elsewhere. A pair of mild green eyes cast a somewhat judgemental gaze over his sister as she prodded one of the regime cats. Although there was supposed to be an allegiance, he had always sensed that there was something different about the cats who bore different names than he and his kin. It was for this reason that Burntkit opted to stray away from these cats.

A short breath was sucked in through his nose as he watched with mild hints of disdain. Given his young mind, the tom was not able to fully comprehend why he felt these things, he only knew that they were there. Burntkit allowed his look to stray briefly towards a crack in the barn wall where he hoped that the form of Aspenpaw might just materialize. This particular one of his father's followers he found amusing. The one-eyed cat seemed to hold a rather erratic emotional state to him. He admired the passion to a certain degree. It seemed to match Lichenmask's but go beyond in an imperfect manner. Lichenmask was not one for erroneous speech.

"What sort of name is Canren?" The long-furred kit meowed evenly as he leaped down from the patch of hay he had perched on and padded over to Redkit's playmate with narrowed eyes. There was not any disdain but merely calculation, curiosity. Burntkit was here to learn. And he had abandoned the hopes that his friend would join him. Before he looked up at Canren, his eyes caught sight of something that peaked his interest, "And what happened to your foot, Canren?"

Wolf watched from nearby, thin tail curled around silver paws. After watching him for a few days, Canren was an intriguing cat, in that he seemed to hate the Regime, her, Xeuxi, and Shade, but could be so gentle, playful, and kind with other cats. Giving her chest a few quick licks, she relaxed in the shadows cast by the barn's rafters. After all, playing was for kits. Real fighters, cats that wanted to help the Regime, trained. Stretching, she sank her claws into a support beam, sharpening them.

"I'm Redkit! And my dad is Lichenmask, and my mom is Brushgaze, I have three other siblings, Burntkit, Slatekit, and Dawnkit but I'm the best out of them all!" Redkit babbled, about to demand that despite his paw he would come up the rafters with her and jump into the hay when her brother came along. "Don't be mean Burntkit! It's my time to play with him, so go away!" She huffed, swiping her paw at her sibling as she defended her new playmate. "You can play with him later! If you wanna bug some other cats go bug someone else!" Redkit huffed, trying to shoo him away. "Come on Canren, let's go play away from my big mouse-brain brother!" She huffed, trying to pull him away by the tail pulling with all her little might. He was always trying to ruin her fun!

A singular eye drifted open, eyelids curling back to reveal a petrifying glare of molten amber. Sprawled out a lengthy distance away from where the small crowd congregated, Lichenmask's partial attention was fixated upon where he knew several of his offspring to be located. Watching as they tottered about on unsteady limbs, the tom's restless apathy was given a reprieve in the form of absent ministrations preformed by his tail. The frothing hatred he felt in regards towards the litter that he had borne still remained, yet had cooled with the brief passage of time- perhaps it was due to rational, perhaps it was due to simple disinterest. Mayhaps it was just the realization that he had larger issues to focus upon, regardless of whatever disaster would inevitably awoken by this brood. Watching as Redkit and Burntkit pranced about Canren, wholly naive to the ire that drifted after the mangy young tom. Emotional fallacies aside, it was his duty as the sire of the kits to ensure that the cowardly young vermin who slunk about with a tucked tail didn't bring any harm to his younger counterparts. And if he didn't, Brushgaze wouldn't ever let him hear the end of it.

"Stay with your brother." Lichenmask merely called, cold gaze remaining focused upon Canren as he addressed Redkit's antics.

---

Scrambling over Lichenmask's flank, and ignoring the subsequent hiss that was tossed in his wake, Duskkit's reflective gaze took shape in the form of pools of amber and green light. Tentative curiosity bubbling up within the mismatched depths of his inquisitive stare, the long-furred tom was quick to scuttle towards his littermates. If there was trouble to be found within the limited confines of their home, Redkit and Burntkit would certainly guide him right to it! Pausing a short distance away from Canren, the young tabby's muzzle twisted upward as he caught a whiff of the sour scent that bled from the different wounds that marred the dark fur of the unfortunate young tom. "Why'da smell like that?" Thrusting his tongue out for extra emphasis, Duskkit pulled a rather unattractive face. Brushgaze and Lichenmask never smelled like that!

Almost as soon as he finished talking, he felt the cold gaze of Lichenmask burning holes in the back of his head. He held a nervous smile at the now three kits that surrounded him. A calico tom had come up right after the she-kit. He seemed much more curious in who he was than she did. Then soon after a more cinnamon colored kit came up to him. "O-okay. You-" He looked to Burntkit. "I'm not quite sure why my parents named me this. My foot was injured by... another cat." Canren didn't quite feel like sharing information with the kits. He wasn't sure why, but it was just quite unsettling to him. Also, the brown tabby knew that if he told the kits who had injured his foot, some bad rumors might start. Shade wouldn't be happy about that one bit.

His gaze then settled on the one called Duskkit, as Redkit had said. "I guess it's because I'm injured." He had noticed the scent himself, but everything seemed to be healing. He couldn't complain. He just hoped he wouldn't get sick, but he had been washing the wounds every day with his tongue. That seemed to be keeping it okay-ish.

Of course, his amber gaze landed back on Redkit last. His fur fluffed slightly at the sight of Redkit batting her paw at the others. Violence wasn't his paw of water. He made a small noise as his tail was pulled away from the others. "A-alright I'm coming." He turned and limped along with Redkit. "So, what do you wanna choose for playing?" He dared not suggest anything. He was afraid of what might happen if he angered a kit and they went to Lichenmask. Maybe Shade would hear and hurt him again for being too soft. Oh, Starclan he hoped not. He had learned about Starclan from Cinderfall, and it seemed nice enough. Something to believe in, to guide him towards a better future. At least once he can get outta this place.

"Play with him?" Burntkit snorted softly, incredulously, at his sister's sentiment. He had not come here to play with any of the regime cats, it was only his curiosity that compelled him to come near Canren. As she cuffed his ear, the young tom let out a low hiss in response. There was no reason for her to do such a thing to her own kin when he was merely trying to protect her from this unknown cat. Much to his delight, Lichenmask's voice crackled through the air. He shot his father a brief and appreciative glance before he trailed behind the pair of other barn cats. Neither of Canren's answers were particularly interesting nor satisfactory for the kit. Although the older cat seemed to be kind, there was an obvious weakness in the way that he conducted himself. With the exile leader as his example, Burntkit held much higher standards for those around him.

"He does smell strange," The kit echoed his brother with a growing disdain in his words for the tom that he viewed to be lesser than himself. Duskkit's ridiculous face almost caused his eyes to roll to the side but he did agree with the statement. While it appeared Redkit was still set on playing with Canren, Burntkit was not satisfied to simply stay back and let that happen. Especially not when Lichenmask relied on him. With an increasingly challenging stare in the depth of his young eyes, the calico remarked, "Why did you let yourself get injured by another cat? Don't you know how to protect yourself?"

Redkit frowned angrily at her father, her tail lashing as her spiky fur bristled, setting her sharp green gaze on her brother she bared her teeth. "Stop it Burnkit!" Redkit snapped, her brother asking questions about Canren was keeping his attention off of her and on her brother, and she did not want to share her playmate. Frustration welled quickly in the little she-kit, unequipped to deal with surging emotions, she leapt for him and clamped her jaws around her ear. Little claws fastened around his shoulders as she sent them both tumbling. Redkit was now in a full-blown tantrum as she pummeled her brother, blind to everything around her.

”Canren!” a voice suddenly yowled, slicing through the silence like claws across a cat’s throat. Shade stalked over to his son and the younger kits, glaring down at the tabby. ”What do you think you’re doing, socializing with the kits of Lichenmask? You’re going to soften them with your Clan-loving nonsense! If they’re to help protect their father’s beliefs and ideals in the future they’re to have untainted minds. If you really want to do something, you can go train for the upcoming battle with Xuexi and Wolf. If I don’t see you on the battlefield, Canren...” He didn’t finish his sentence. It’s not that he didn’t know what he would do. It’s that he didn’t want to say what he would do in front of young kits. With a clawed paw, he shoved Canren away to approach the kits.

Fully aware that Lichenmask was watching — and not wanting to scare them off anyway — the heavily battle-scarred tom smiled down at the toms and molly. ”So, you must be Redkit, Duskkit, and Burntkit. I’m Shade, leader of the Regime, your allies. I’m afraid Canren can’t play with you, he must train to fight for a better future, a battle your mother and father will partake in as well. Be sure to cheer them on, won’t you? After all, we’ll all be battling for you lovely kits, so you can live somewhere much better than this tattered old barn.”

Having been awoken by a ruccuss not far away from where he'd been taking a nap, Slatekit blinked open his eyes to spot a small gathering of cats. Standing up, the large kit gave his ruffled pet a shake. His siblings were all fools, playing like a bunch of newborn kits. If they were smart, they'd already have started their training for battles, like he had. Head and tail high, they grey and black kit meandered over to the group and peered up to the cat known as Shade, whom he remembered was his father's ally, though he didn't know why Lichenmask would seek help from such a rag tag group of cats... well, what ever his reason was, it better have been a good one.

Casting a glance at Canren who'd explained that he'd been injured by another cat. "Injured by another cat? Some fighter you must be, being bested by some other lowlife," he sneered, not caring how blunt or rude his words were. Why did Lichenmask partner with these rogues? From the looks of it, they weren't capable of simply protecting themselves, which made Slatekit's fur bristle. If a cat was to be strong and powerful, they couldn't allow themselves to be injured, for that's what cowards and weaklings did...