Making Allies (OPEN)

Pantherkit sighed, tracing random shapes in the dirt with a long claw. He was bored, being stuck in camp. Standing up, an idea came to his head. The strongest warriors had allies, friends that would fight with them no matter what. If he wanted to be a strong warrior, he needed allies. But he wouldn't just settle for any old cat. They would have to be loyal, trustworthy, willing to stick by his side no matter what. There weren't many of those in RiverClan, but he might as well scope things out and see his options. Retracting his claws, he tried for a friendly smile, and padded toward the nearest cat.

Ooc: if you want your cat to officially join Panther's gang, post here.

(OOC: I don't think Myrtle will join Panther's gang but he can try and convince her if he likes.)

Myrtlekit was sitting daintily in the area just outside the nursery, small tail curled up around her body. She was simply watching the camp with interest, light green eyes alert. She didn't know many of her Clanmates yet but hoped to meet them all soon. The small sandy tabby wasn't much of a talker but she loved hearing what others had to say. There was movement in her field of vision and she watched as a larger tom made his way towards her with a forced smile. If she remembered correctly, his name was Pantherkit. Word around the nursery was that he was an apprentice that got demoted for attacking an ally apprentice. She blinked, waiting for him to stop before her before she offered a quiet, "Hello." The molly wasn't visibly on edge but she made a mental note to be careful around this tom.

"Well, aren't you a pretty little she-kit." The grey and black tom rumbled in a deep voice for an eight-moon-old "kit". He did his best to sound friendly, after all, no one made allies by acting hostile. He sat next to her, unusually large form, as well as his age, caused him to practically tower over the smaller kit. Flicking his tail, he tried for a warm, soft smile, but couldn't quite bring himself to show emotion towards a cat he had just met. He ended up settling for a serious, solemn expression. "What's your name? I'm guessing you already know mine." He strained to sound calm and relaxed, but every moment he spent with other cats seemed to just remind him more and more of his unjust punishment. Jaystar and Scorchstar were mouse-brained toms without an ounce of sense between them.

"Thank you." She looked up into the tom's face with an intent stare, searching it. He was much older than her, as to be expected, but she had miscalculated how big he was compared to her. Her fluffy tail tip tapped once on the ground as her eyes strayed away, back to searching around the camp. She wasn't sure if she liked this tom. More thinking needed to be done on the matter. The light tabby nodded to herself, then turned her attention back to Pantherkit. She did already know his name. "I'm Myrtlekit. And you're Pantherkit. You hurt an ally cat."

He looked down at her, tail almost lashing, although he managed to restrain his temper enough to sound calm. Of course, a little kit like this wouldn't understand the reason why he did it. "Alliances don't last forever, Myrtlekit. One day, we will have to face them in battle. It could be in a few moons, it could be in many. And I may have just saved one of our cat's lives by disabling that apprentice. You see, smart cats think into the future. She might be a harmless apprentice now, but apprentices grow into warriors. And warriors are able to kill younger cats like yourself. I've saved a young cat like you from having to face a warrior in the battle that will surely one day come."
He gazed over the camp, fluffy tail still swishing. "You might not believe me now, nobody does. But I only want the best for our great Clan. It's a shame how rumors spread, twisting facts. I would never hurt one of my Clanmates."

(OOC: oof, short, mobile ;; )

She listened carefully to his little spiel, staying silent for a long while afterwards to think of a good response. She didn't know much about the world yet but it seemed wrong to her, his thought process. "I think..." she said slowly, shifting little paws in the dirt. "That it's not up to you to decide what will or will not happen in the future. Maybe we will always be allies with ShadowClan. Thinking forward...is helpful. But hurting others based on what could happen is wrong..."

Ooc: Welp, Myrtlekit has kick-started his thought process from honorable to slowly going to evil.

Pantherkit looked down at her again, eyes gleaming. "Ah, Myrtlekit. How little you know. What I've explained is only half the reason. I figured you could understand it, but it turns out you seem smart enough to handle this. What I'm about to tell you is a secret. You must swear upon your life never to tell it to any other cat. And if word gets out, I'll know exactly who mewed." He extended his long claws, slightly threatening as he licked down the length of one, clearing away an old, dry drop of blood.

ooc: ding dong whats that panther just made a rival enemy!!! there will be art :)

Firepaw was about to approach the little kit, but the hot-headed Pantherkit had come first. Eyes narrowed, he watched. She wasn't subjecting to his violent ways... good. Allies or not, blinding was bad. And he was there- she hadn't done anything wrong! At all! If anything, she hadn't even fought back! What the tom had done was not right. Pantherkit began to have a malicious gleam in his eyes so Firepaw trotted over. "Will you be blinding innocent Clanmates too? After all, they could revolt and end up being dangerous." He pointed out, turning Pantherkit's words back on him. "Any of us could grow up to kill. There's no way of knowing." He moved diagonal to Myrtlekit, in a protective manner but not hostile in stance. "Except when there's cats like you. Who maim without thinking. Without letting them fight back. On neutral territory. When it's an ally clan. Without caring that that cat had a family. A family who might want you dead because of it. You're not going to be hurting any of our clanmates, unless they are someone as bad as Shade.

Not if I have anything to say about it."

Pantherkit's tail lashed as Firepaw approached. "You know nothing!" The large tom spat, letting his anger loose. "The little "Aliances don't last forever" thing is just an excuse. The real reason behind what I did, I don't tell, because most cats are mouse-brained foxhearts who don't think past their next meal, who would give away a friend in a heartbeat if it meant protecting their Clan. Cats to whom real loyalty doesn't matter! Weak mouse-hearts, afraid to go out and do something for fear of punishment." Finished with his tirade, he settled back down into pacing back and forth, claws out, tail whipping around. Finally settling back into a sitting position, he muttered, mostly to himself, "You can't trust anyone with secrets. You can't run from the little society you are trapped in. You can't escape or change fate. We are all just pawns, in this great game set by our "honorable" ancestors." His voice was soft, albeit tinged with a slightly angered edge. "And if you leave, the Clans, the dictators of this forest, force you to the outskirts, while they keep the good lands to themselves. We're trapped, Pantherpaw. Trapped."

Ooc: Yes, the Pantherpaw was purposeful. I'm kind of introducing the fact that he talks to himself quite a bit. He still thinks of himself as an apprentice. Also yes arts

A gray and orange pelt flashed in front of her as an apprentice stood in between her and Pantherkit. Myrtlekit blinked, poking her little head out from around the apprentice's shoulder. If she remembered correctly, his name was Firepaw. She hunkered down into a loaf position, her eyes flashing back and forth between Pantherkit and Firepaw. Pantherkit was definitely dangerous, she decided, curling her tail around her body. She made a note to stay away from him. Her ears pinned back warily as he went on his little rant but she stayed quiet. After a few moments, she leaned over and brushed her cheek against Firepaw's body as a silent "thank you" for stepping in to help.

Firepaw blinked, unrelenting. World views like those... A week as a kit wasn't long enough. "Are you implying that we're all mousebrains? Oh, we think past our next meals. We think into the future fine. Escpecially the leaders. And they have chosen to remain allies and from what I've heard, plan to for a long time. However, the only reason they'd break it is if a cat like you did something more to their Clan. Shadowclan could very well save all our lives and that cat? Could have saved one of us in the future. Maybe even one of your own kits. I don't think you understand alliences, Pantherkit."

"Yes, we'd give away our friends. For the greater good. If it meant saving the rest of the Clan, I'd do anything. And that includes things as low as killing. You, however, would kill just because they're not an obvious Riverclan cat. I ask you this, Pantherkit. Would you save one life and leave the rest of us for dead? Or take a life and save us all?" He stepped closer.

"Or would you take all of our lives, since we're just a bunch of mousebrains?"

ooc: Welp, scratch the subtitle of this thread. And oh Fire you made Panther very mad, you are now mutual enemies

ic: Pantherkit sighed. He really was trapped. Trapped in this stupid camp. Trapped in this stupid life. But attacking Firepaw would not make him more popular among his Clanmates. "Well, then, if I'm such a danger as you say, why don't you just kill me, here and now, and get it over with?" Growling under his breath, his previously still tail started up lashing again. "We can't escape fate. We can't outrun it. We can't hide from it. And you had better watch your back, because today you made an enemy. Because you can alter the details. I might be trapped, but that doesn't mean I must keep my head down, obeying every order. There might be punishments-there will be punishments, but every claw mark, every ally gained, is worth it. And, one day, when I gain the strength to escape, all of my efforts will come to fruition. My ideals will be realized. Everything will be worth it."

"...I hope you learn that you're wrong, Pantherkit," she spoke up, poking her head out from around Firepaw's body. Her fur was bristling a little, light green eyes wide with fear that she was too inexperienced to hide. She had half a mind to go find Jaystar and tell him everything, but she would definitely put herself at risk of Pantherpaw maiming her, or even worse. Myrtlekit shrunk back down behind Firepaw, pressing gently into the tom's fur for protection.

Firepaw hissed. "Because I believe in second chances, and because killing is wrong. But you wouldn't know that, would you?" The tom paused to let Myrtlekit speak. "Yes. I too hope you realize it soon. It would be better for you if you did. Because news flash; the cats that forged the Code and Clans were a lot smarter than the tiny hotheaded kit you are."

"How. Dare. You." Pantherkit was beyond angry, he was in a rage, vision tinged with red mist. Maybe he was hotheaded. Maybe he was a kit. But that didn't make him any less dangerous, any less powerful. He sighed, his fur rippling a final time as he tried to calm himself. So much for making allies. And if Firepaw spread bad words about him, he would have an even harder time. Clearly sharing his worldviews wasn't the way to draw cats to his side. He needed a change of plans, a new tactic. One that wouldn't drive him or other cats into anger. Clearly good leaders couldn't lead by fear. "We're trapped. But we need to make friends in this prison, Pantherpaw, before we can try to escape. He muttered, barely audible. Standing up, he padded off, eerily calm, casting a glance over his shoulder at Firepaw. "Perhaps I overreacted and lost my temper. It would be better for everyone, Firepaw and Myrtlekit, if we forget this conversation ever happened." He himself, however, had no intention of doing so. Firepaw had made a nemesis today, and, when Pantherkit escaped, he would be the first one on his hit list.