Running From The Pack (CLOSED for Wolven, Transient)

Tonight was the night. She would run. Escape from here. Go home at last. Memories flashed through her head against her will. Graybriar. Her brothers. Xeuxi taking her back to the Regime. Her training, how she had attacked that SkyClanner in battle. Her talk with Graybriar, which revealed to her just what the Regime was doing. Her saving of Rift. Stars, she would miss those kits. So sweet, and pure, yet destined to become monsters, as she once was.

Bold blue eyes opening, she slipped down the rafters, quiet as a mouse, before jumping the last tail-length. She cringed at the small creak, sighing in relief at Xeuxi's sleeping form. If she were caught, she could always say she was going out to hunt. After all, she had told nobody of her plans, so her former mentor had no reason to be suspicious. As she was almost out, she heard soft paw-steps behind her. Breath catching, she turned around, a warm smile on her face in case it was Chase, Dante, or Xeuxi.

Mao's eyelids fluttered open. For a second or two, the young she-cat lay silently, her gaze darting from corner to corner of the barn. It was the middle of the night. Faint starlight streamed through the cracks in the rafters up above, gently illuminating the Regime's temporary headquarters. ... What was that? She wondered, somewhat on edge. She was certain that something had woken her, but when she tried to peer past the clinging shadows, all seemed to be in order. Was it just her imagination that she had heard the creak of wood? Her littermates lay still in the darkness, their slumber undisturbed. While embarrassing to admit, being the only awake at this hour caused her to feel a little lonely. Just as she was about to write the disturbance off to a critter of the night, she saw it.

There! The dark silhouette of a cat passed briefly into a patch of starlight. She hadn't been mistaken after all. Who could it be? In this lighting, they might as well have had fur of silver. In an instance, Mao had slipped from her bed of hay and was hurrying after the figure on quiet paws. The thought of waking anyone else didn't even occur to her. When the distance between the two had shortened to a tail length and a half, the cat turned. "Wolf?" She whispered in confusion, making out the features of a familiar molly, "Where are you going?" She was acutely aware of Xuexi's presence in the back of the barn. Was it okay for Wolf to leave the barn at this time of the night without informing her? Encouraged by the smile she was met with, she added, "It's the middle of the night..."

Wolf's smile faltered as she sighed. It's only Mao. I'm on my way out, I think I could risk telling her. "Hey there, Mao." She whispered, her smile resuming. "Can you keep a secret, at least for a little while?" Her tail twitched. Was this really a good idea? "Several moons ago, I had a talk with my mother. She's from WindClan. Your grandfather, Shade, was one I once looked up to, as you do to Xeuxi. But he was actually a horrible cat, killing for fun, not just to take over land. So I'm going back home. I miss my family, even though these cats might have pretty much raised me." Wolf leaned close, her voice very low. "I'm going to miss you and your siblings. But I need your help. I need you to do me a favor and not let Xeuxi know what I've done until morning. Can you do that?"

"A secret?" Mao echoed, surprised. What kind of secret? Every other cat seemed to be asleep; consumed within the night, the barn was eerily still. Very faintly in the distance, an owl might have hooted. Wolf spoke quietly, and her hushed voice lent itself to the air of mystery that already permeated the dilapidated ruin of a shelter. Shifting her stance to lean forward, Mao pricked up both ears in order to take in every word. When Wolf had finished speaking, the younger molly wore a frown. Her feathery tail, its shade of pale ginger lost in the starlight, swished uneasily from side to side. Usually, she would be glad to cheerfully accept whatever Wolf had for her to do. However, this turn of events was unexpected.

"You're leaving?" Mao asked, her tone revealing the struggle that had risen within her. "You're not... coming back? Ever?" Wolf had a family of her own--the truth should have been obvious to her, but she had never thought of it before. Wolf had once told the kits of her origins. Still, she had always been a part of the Regime. Why did she want to leave now? Trying to digest all the new information she had just received, Mao had not even gotten started on the news that her grandfather was supposedly evil. "If you're returning to the clans, does that mean that you're going to become an enemy?" Wolf had just said that she would miss them, but the clans were the enemy of the Regime. Following that line of thought, Wolf would also become an enemy. Mao didn't think that she would be happy with such a result. As she spoke, the frown further impressed itself unto her features. Looking down at her paws, there was a brief pause, before she said earnestly, "... I think Rift would be sad about this."

Wolf paused for a moment, the smile falling. "I'm sorry, Mao. I wish things could be different. I love you, your siblings, and all my friends here, but my mother needs me. After the great battle, before you were born, I visited her while the rest of the camp was empty." She sighed. "Before she knew I was there, the look in her eyes was that of a grieving mother. A mother that had lost her kit and had no idea where she had gone. But when she saw me, her eyes lit up with such a joy I will never forget. When she asked me to return, how could I refuse? I headed back to the Regime to spend a little more time with my friends here, and I promised I would return." Pressing her body against Mao's small, pretty little frame, her features drooped further. "Yes, Mao. I will become an enemy. But I swear upon my life that I will not harm you, if I can help it. You and your siblings are such joyful kits to have around, and I will miss all of you." Wolf chuckled a bit at Mao's attempt to make her stay. "Yes, Mao. Rift will be sad, and I will be sad, too. But it is long past due time for me to return to the family I was kitnapped from so long ago. Goodbye, kit." With a final lick to the top of Mao 's head, the lithe silver bengal turned and ran into the night.

OOC: Wolven isn't too active right now, and I'm kinda eager to get Wolf on the road.

Mao did not back away from Wolf's touch. Rather, she leaned into the larger molly's pelt, relishing the warmth that stemmed from doing so. She supposed that she could understand a little of what Wolf felt. If she had to be separated from Xuexi and her siblings one day, how would she feel? She would definitely be overcome by a longing for them. She was not yet ready to accept Wolf's departure. There were still things she wanted to say, things she could still learn from the former clan cat, but the words would not be formed. The seconds slipped by rapidly. When Wolf finally stepped apart, Mao's amber eyes widened. "W--wait!" She sputtered, her voice louder than she had meant it to be. Panicking at her mistake, she whipped around to face her sleeping family. There was a brief rustling in the darkness, likely a cat shifting in their sleep. Then, silence. Mao exhaled in relief. As she turned back to the exit of the barn, she was faced with an empty path in the starlight. Wolf had gone; she was nowhere to be seen.

Mao wasn't sure how long she stood there alone. The time that passed before she started to her senses couldn't have been very long. Now that Wolf was gone, the frosty breath of the night air seemed to take her place. Mao shivered, her tabby pelt fluffing out. "... Goodbye." She whispered dejectedly. Padding back to her bed, the young rogue huddled into the hay. How would Xuexi react in the morning? What about Rift? She wasn't doing anything wrong by keeping this news from Xuexi, was she? Mao had the sneaking suspicion that her mother would be very angry. "Wolf will keep her promise, right?" The uncertain murmur was quiet enough that it escaped unheard by any other cat. With such uneasy thoughts drifting through her head, Mao closed her eyes again.

OOC: This takes place before Lengxue leaves for the clans. Otherwise, Mao would never let Wolf leave.