A Unfriendly Reunion (for Chicken wing and Transient)

Laurelpaw had been staying with her clan mages or at least what remained of them after the flood.  Her great grandfather had been swept away and she hoped her siblings were okie. In fact out of curiosity some rogues and loners had made it here as well so pulling herself to her paws the curly furred she cat moved to look around for a moment.  She didn't call out their names afraid her mother was with them and tear her apart with lowered ears her golden amber eyes looked around.

Xuexi was dead—a desecrated skeleton all that remained of her. Shag was dead—drowned within the cold, dark depths. Who knew where Wuqi had gone? As much as his family knew, he could have died a long time ago. The Regime had collapsed. The Abandoned Barn, once their headquarters, was no longer a place fit for a cat to live. And Lengxue… Lengxue had chosen the clans over her own kin.

When had everything started to go wrong?

Mao did not know. She and Rift were the only ones left. At their birth, they had been handed down a dream—one of a glorious future, in which their kind would be able to thrive in peace and plenty. Their grandfather had laid the foundation, and their parents had taken the first steps to accomplishing it. For one glimmering moment, the rogues might have thought that dream would transcend reality. But if it had been possible, it would not have been a dream. There was no way it could ever have come true. Mao understood that fact now; hope was like the dying embers.

What did I do to deserve this? I worked hard; I gave it my all. So, why?

Why?

Mao clenched her jaws to keep the cry bottled up within her. Having fled all the way into the mountains, the two young she-cats were finally a safe distance from the floodwaters. This haven did little to cheer the cream tabby, however. They were farther than they had ever been from home and in a completely different environment. "What should we do now, Rift?" She murmured, pale whiskers twitching nervously, "We aren't alone here. There's a large group of cats nearby. If they prove to be hostile, this place wouldn't be safe." She knew that Rift could scent them just as well as she could. Nevertheless, her heart pounded against her chest. Without an audible delineation of the situation, she had the feeling that she would be unable to calm herself down.

There was a chance their company was from the clans. If that were so, what could the two of them do? Would they fight—fight and die just as their parents had? Thinking back on the past, Mao wondered why she had ever felt pity for the forest's inhabitants. Softness would only lead to a painful death. For almost all of her life, she had wavered between the two choices of war and peace, too indecisive to dedicate herself to either one. No more. Her unsheathed claws dug into the hard-packed soil. Here and now, she was ready to make her choice.

(ooc: just a thought, wouldn't Rift look a whole lot like her mother? This should be interesting...)
It hadn't been easy. The floodwaters had been hard to get through, even when they'd gone down, and even though she was related to Clan cats who supposedly swam, it hadn't been easy to get through it all without any training. But eventually, their paws tired, their minds numbed over from everything that had happened - including finding out that Shag was dead - they had made it to higher ground. If she hadn't been so tired or sore, Rift would have been smirking in triumph at having beaten the flood trying its utmost to kill them. Instead, she just felt oddly... hollow.

As they finally stopped at a spot that didn't seem so bad, the smell of another much larger group of cats drifted on the wind as the breeze changed, and she felt the fur along her spine rising, eyes snapping up to glare through the trees as if she could see through the terrain between them. Who are they? Her claws dug into the ground as she considered them being Clan cats, her lips peeling back from her teeth at the memory of her mother's skeleton, Lengxue leaving, and everything else the Clans had done.

Mao's question broke through the haze that had settled through her mind, and she found herself suddenly aware that she'd been grinding her teeth as she stared fixedly in the direction of that scent. She shook herself, standing up as she stared for a moment longer, the hazy madness turning into a focused, calculated rage. "Let's see just who these cats are. Rogues'll be fine, but if they're Clan cats...." She bared her teeth in a fixed grin that was more of a snarl, her unsheathed claws gripping the earth firmly. Let's see if they're as good at fighting as every cat thinks they are.

Barely waiting for her sister, she darted off in the direction of the scent, keeping low and moving as silent as possible  as she moved towards a spot they'd hopefully be able to see the cats from. A small part of her hoped that Mao was close enough to stop her from dashing down there and attacking if they really were Clan cats, and most of the rest screamed vengeance, a pumping, pounding rhythm that demanded she shred all in sight. She slowed, the buzzing in her blood snarling impatiently as she moved up behind a rock and carefully peered around the edge.

The cats who milled around didn't look exactly similar to each other, but there were small groups among them that had a certain... look, as though they came from the same background and lived in a certain type of territory. Her flared nostrils caught the scent of moorland, of marshes, and fish. She growled, her claws digging into the rocky soil. These were Clan cats, alright.

Her muscles bunched impatiently against her haunches, she leapt out from behind the rock before Mao could catch her. A caterwaul ripped free of her throat as she pounded straight towards the nearest group, uncaring of whether this would be her first, and last, battle. Teeth bared, strong claws ready to tear through fur and skin, she leaped towards the largest cat, her fur making her look twice as large. The startled cat looked straight at her, and she stumbled, the snarl immediately dying on her face as she skidded to a halt before the molly. For a moment, the world seemed to still, everything in her crumbling, her heart pounding with a mixture of emotions she could hardly identify as she stared into golden eyes she hadn't seen since she was practically a kit.

"L-Lengxue?!"

Laurelpaw had wondefed a little bit closer starting to doubt herself. Maybe they didn't make it through  the flood or maybe they don't want to see me,the large curly furred  thought bitterly to herself not wanting to think the worst despite feeling she had no choice but to leave them she still loved her two sisters, Rift and Mao, even though her and Rift had left on such terrible terms. Laurelpaw's ears lowered at the small memory the scratch on her face sxarred along with the one on her shoulder a forever reminder that her mother could be cruel. She had beleived Rift didn't mean to and had learned to forvive her for it. Ever since joining the clans the once shy weak she kit now was almost warrior and bad gained the confidence she needed. As she had stopped dead in her tracks though a acent wafted to her majing her prick her ears bwfore the cag leapt before her making her take a single step back to look at who it was. At first her fur started to stand on end as her mind reeled thinking her mother Xuexi was before her because she had no clue she was gone. Ear lowering slowly she prepared to defind herself until she heard the voice of Rift and as the she cat before her met her golden amber gaze she relaxed. Because it was not Xuexi but Rift her sister."oh jeez I haven't heard thag name in a long long time"Laurelpaw mewed smiling some"Its Laurelpaw now though how have you been Rift? ....did Wuqi,Mao,or Dad and Xeuexi make it out of tbe flood okay?"She asked.

Staring into her sister's golden eyes, Mao realized that Rift was thinking the very same thing she was. Neither of them had forgotten the pain and grief the clan cats had caused their family. Even if it was utter foolishness to throw themselves into a crowd of those savages, with only two against a multitude, Rift was not about to let the concept of "odds" stop her. If there was one aspect of the russet-furred tabby that had not changed from the time of their kithood, it was that courage which bordered on recklessness. Usually, being the voice of reason was Mao's job. But she had little intention of stopping her sister this time. So what if their actions would practically be suicide? In truth, she was incredibly angry. Beneath the fear, beneath the sorrow, a carefully concealed fury had been simmering. With Shag's death and the harsh travel of the past few days, that fury was finally reaching its boiling point. She, too, wanted to see the clan cats suffer—rake her claws through their flesh and watch as their blood spilled out unto the soil. Xuexi had taught them everything they needed to know in this aspect. If only an insignificant amount, she wanted the clan cats to experience some of the pain she felt. It was her kittish way of retaliation, the only thing she could do now. It frightened her to think such violent thoughts. A voice in the back of her head whispered that such thoughts were wrong, that she was heading down a path it would be difficult to step off of. However, it was that peace-seeking nature of hers that had always caused her to waver. What good had it done for her? While she had been reasoning with herself that the clan cats were not quite as terrible as the Regime made them out to be, her mother had been killed at their claws. They had cast her body right outside of their borders, leaving her to the elements and wild beasts. Xuexi had never been a particularly good parent. At times, Mao had even feared her. But Xuexi was their mother, and nothing would ever change that fact.

Mao loved Xuexi. Despite everything the vicious she-cat had done in her lifetime, the pain that she had inflicted on her own family members, Mao still loved her. It was only unfortunate that the sentiment had not really been mutual. Xuexi had presented Lengxue to the siblings as a failure and a traitor. Ever since the departure of the latter, however, Mao had more or less taken up Lengxue's former spot in Xuexi's eyes. The others in the Regime had kept their silence, but they knew just as much. Of the siblings, the pale ginger was the closest to Lengxue in terms of personality and appearance. She must have been a constant reminder to Xuexi of the cat who was no longer around. Nevertheless, Mao had only ever wanted one thing—her mother's acknowledgement. Back then, her cowardice and hesitance had caused her to fall short of her goal. It was too late now. But if Xuexi were able to read Mao's thoughts at that exact moment, perhaps she would finally have been pleased.

The young rogue scrambled to keep up with her sister. Once she had made up her mind, Rift seldom hesitated. With every step they took in the direction of the scent, the stronger it grew. Mao wrinkled her nose at the stench, but she did not slacken her pace. Many groups of cats had likely been mingled together, creating the odd, complex scent that was currently leading them on. If her imagination had not played a trick on her, she could pick apart the fishiness of the water-dwelling clans. Her mother's murderers—they could very well be here. The thought forced what little fear was left in her to the back of her mind. Amber eyes flashing, she set her jaw. If fate would have them cross path with the clan cats that day, she would not let such a chance slip out of her paws. Coming to a quiet standstill by Rift's side, Mao peered over her sister's shoulder, past the rock which hid them from sight. There they were, indeed—not too far ahead of her were the very cats she had been taught to hate her whole life. She confirmed their identity almost immediately. The scent of RiverClan was something that she could never forget. On that fateful day when they had stumbled upon their mother's skeleton, the memories had been permanently branded into her mind.

All of a sudden, a familiar form flashed before Mao's eyes. That pale, cream-colored pelt, the curly tufts of fur that had always looked so difficult to groom... Her eyes widened. "W—wait, Rift!" She sputtered. But she was too late; her sister was already lunging forward.

It could not be true. And yet, it was not a strange outcome.

Lengxue turned, locking eyes with Rift. At that moment, Mao was promptly rendered speechless. Time seemed to slow, her paws rooted to the ground. She would know that face anywhere—those eyes. The emotions that had built up within her to that point were thrown into complete disruption. Her anger, her determination, and her hostility practically stumbled over each other, spluttered, and extinguished themselves. The force that had been driving her on just minutes ago suddenly seemed to lose its strength. Lengxue. Lengxue. Lengxue. It was a name that she had not called in so long, but one that had never left her mind. Was the cat before her really her long-lost sister? Rift seemed just as stunned, choking out the name Mao did not. In that instant, a hidden weight was released from off the latter's heart. Lengxue was truly alive and standing before them. She had grown so much. Contrary to the secret fear Mao had harbored for so long, their sister had not been killed after leaving the barn. There was more than the two of them who had been left behind.

The speed at which that joy died, however, was almost incredible. Mao's relief, even the momentary spark of hope within her, was swiftly trodden underpaw by a few words.

It's Laurelpaw now.

That simple phrase was like a lightning bolt piercing Mao's chest. The small smile dying off her face, the young rogue narrowed her eyes. She felt an emotion rise up within her, one that was almost impossible to describe. Her heart grew hard and cold. "A long time, huh? It certainly has been quite a while." The tone in which those words were spoken was eerily calm. Stepping out from behind the rock, she made her way to Rift's side. Mao flicked the russet tabby's shoulder with her tail, before she met the gaze of the cat before them. Earlier, she had made a mistake. Their sister really was dead. She had died the moment she threw her identity away and joined the ranks of the clan cats. There had never been any chance of the three of them reuniting as family. "I've wondered how you were doing, Laurelpaw. How has it been? Ever since you abandoned us all those moons ago, have you been living all right? You must have, or you wouldn't be standing here today." The icy glint in her amber eyes was as sharp as unsheathed claws. "How nice of you to have remembered us." The injustice of it all, the little changes that had been wrought in her every time something went wrong—everything overflowed now, culminating in the cat that she now was. "The Regime is gone. Rift and I are the only ones left."

As Rift finally saw the face she'd somehow always expected to see again, a kind of kittish joy threw itself into the odd mix of emotions raging within her. The smile on Lengxue's face as she spotted Rift suddenly brought it all rushing back.  Memories of the warm barn - so big when they were kits - filled her, the recollection of days playing among the straw and poking into holes with her siblings. It was almost like she could hear phantom cries of joy in her mind from that time. A time of happiness. She almost forgot everything and nearly leapt forwards into her sister, a purr of pure delight ready in her throat. And then her sister spoke.

"Oh jeez, I haven't heard that name in a long long time. It's Laurelpaw now though. How have you been Rift? ....Did Wuqi, Mao,or Dad and Xuexi make it out of the flood okay?"

It's Laurelpaw now, though. How have you been, Rift? Sudden grief punched a hole into her heart so deep she felt everything almost break, and she drew back, the light in her eyes slowly dying as the memories became dim and cold. The confusion of emotions raging through her suddenly settled into one thing, an icy, cold hard anger that burned. Her face stilled, turning as hard as rock, her eyes sharp as flint. Everything became clear and cold. Her heart was being smashed into a thousand burning shards by her sister's words, but it had already been broken so many times. The scar on her sister's cheek which had initially clawed her with guilt she suddenly couldn't care less about. Good. She should be hurt for what she did to us. Lengxue had chosen to leave them  to be broken and scarred, so why didn't she deserve some of the same? Rift would have left right then, or torn a new scar into that face that mocked her with its joys, brought tears to her eyes with its familiarity, but she still needed to know. Despite everything, this was the sister she had always longed to find, to say sorry to, though she didn't care much at all anymore.

"Oh, sorry, Laurelpaw." She made sure to keep her voice light, the tone a mockery of how she used to address her sister as a kit. Inside her, she could feel nothing but the cold. An icy emotion that felt strangely liberating, and yet broke what was left of her old self inside as undeniably wrong. At her sister's question she narrowed her eyes slightly, but otherwise her expression retained the same neutrality. "They're just fine." A slight growl marred the otherwise kit-like lightness of her tone at the last word, her tail tip twitching behind her an even stronger indication of the wrongness.

From behind her, she heard Mao's voice, the other molly flicking her shoulder with her tail as she came to stand beside her. Rift could tell from the slight stiffness of the other cat's posture that she was giving Lengxue the same cold look. Keeping silent for now, Rift eyed her other 'sister' as Mao spoke, noting the other cat's expression as she looked at them both. Inside, her grief was cooling, leaving behind a hard lump. She felt almost... disconnected from the scene, her anger boiling, but her claws sheathed inside her paws, utter calm coolness almost completely unlike her usual self radiating off of her as she listened silently to Mao.

"Rift and I are the only ones left."

Rift let a cold smile onto her face, an expression vaguely resembling her normal smile, but at the same time more of a grimace. "Yes, we're the only ones left. But do you really care, Laurelpaw?" She let her lip curl upwards at the name, finally a small spark of her inner emotions searing through to the exterior as she let her eyes flick over the other cats around them before returning to look emotionlessly into  her other sister's eyes again. "You never did."

In that moment, she felt more of a resemblance to her mother than she ever had before, her mother's presence almost tangible around her as she recalled how she'd viewed this kit. How did I ever see this cat as anything but weak?

Her happiness seemed to melt away moments after Mao came over and started talking to her. Her eyes cold and angry. It didn't take long for Rift's to do the same. She didn't understand for a moment ears flat against her head"it...has I've wanted so long to come and see you both but training has been left and right"She mewed quietly her words hesitant because she could since the anger towards her"I didn't abondon you my life was at stake I had to leave"She mewed her confidence waning in the light of their hidden anger"And I've never forgotten you sisters or I wouldn't have tried to search if you were alright"Laurelpaw mewed taking a single step back. They had changed just as much as she had. They raised in the loneliness and anger of the mother and her taken in by the clans cared for and surrounded by a clqn of those who accepted her as she was. They grew cold and angry almost as if she didn't know them. She was someone they couldnt even relate to anymore. She wasn't the scared little kit with the wounds that could have been words she was the apprentice and soon to be warrior who was confident and compassionate and not a killer as her mother was. Pricking her ears and lifting her head she pushed the sadness from her golden amber eyes as she faced them"well if your the only ones i pity you for being angry at me for leaving it was never safe for me as it was for you at the time but i see i still made the right chouce and I won't regret it. I can see you two don't care for me as the sister you once had and that is fine im not the sniveling kit you and mom scarred. I have become this confident she cat  "She mewed her golden Amber gaze moving looking to Rift as she said you. "But assure you sisters I cared for you both and dreamed of seeing you again one day as i had pomised but i see you only hold anger towards me and it is obvious I'm not wanted around"She mewed flicking her curly tail."And I'm sure whatever happened to mother it was something long awaited for her much like grandfather. But i may have an idea gow it happened from cats after one of the clans gathering but i only find releif that she won't hurt anyone anymore."She mewed."but i did not come to fight i came to see if my sisters were alive and they are but i know when im not wanted"She mewed turning quietly .

Laurelpaw's words hurt like claws raking across Mao's face. Yes—Laurelpaw. She was Laurelpaw now. In comparison to her sisters, there was no animosity in her voice. However, that lack of hostility was precisely what lent an edge to her words. Those golden-amber eyes, so familiar a shade, flashed with sorrow; the joy died rapidly out of them. Her ears flattening, Laurelpaw took a step back. For a second, Mao was hit with a wave of guilt. The sharp twinge in her heart caused her to draw a breath through clenched teeth. She had already lost most of her family members; now, she was about to push another one away with her own paws. The pain she felt at that moment—Laurelpaw would likely never know of it. Or would she? Their bond as siblings had broken a long time ago; Mao had simply never realized it. Foolishly and naively, she had looked forward to a day when the whole family would be able to reunite. Now her dreams lay dashed and broken at her paws, their shattered pieces digging into her flesh. Never again would she make the same mistake. She would learn her lesson right then and there.

Mao had been so close to letting the familiar she-cat shake her again—so close. At the last instant, she hardened her heart. In some ways, she supposed Laurelpaw was really to be pitied. The cat before her had been deceived by Canren, Xuexi's brother. While Canren and Xuexi had been blood relations, the former had been a clan-sympathizer. Perhaps that irreconcilable difference was what had driven the two siblings apart; Mao felt almost certain of the truth. Whatever deceit might have initially existed, however, Laurelpaw had obviously swallowed everything she was fed. Rather than lies, they were now a sort of twisted truth that made up a part of her. As Mao gazed upon her former sister, she stamped out the last embers of yearning that had plagued her for so long. In their place rose the tendrils of disgust, entangling her very being in their grasp. Laurelpaw was a clan cat through and through—in mentality, if not in blood. Of course Mao could tell that the other had changed; Lengxue had changed so much that she had practically ceased to exist.

The remark about Xuexi seemed to ignite a sort of fuse within Mao. The young rogue twitched one ear, her stance growing stiff. A wave seemed to ripple through her pelt, as the pale-ginger fur began to rise. If looks could kill, Laurelpaw might have dropped dead almost immediately. It could very well be the first time in her life Mao had ever displayed such visible hostility. But cats changed easily with the passing of time. She was only just growing acquainted with the darker emotions that lurked within a cat's heart. How dare you? Just what do you know of the grief Rift and I have experienced? They were lost—utterly lost without their mother who had been the guiding influence in their life. What gave Laurelpaw the right to speak of Xuexi? Unconsciously, Mao had unsheathed her claws. She had so much she wanted to say that she could barely find the words she needed. Then again, why had she ever expected Laurelpaw to understand? Why was she expecting Laurelpaw to understand? In the end, Mao did not argue. Forcefully suppressing the anger that churned within her, she simply listened as Laurelpaw finished her little speech. "Go ahead. Play the victim, just as you've always done." The words would have left a bitter aftertaste on her tongue, if only she still cared enough to taste it. "Sisters? I don't have any sister by the name of Laurelpaw." The feathery tail lashed once. "Thinking back now, I feel foolish for having wept at our parting. Lengxue was dead from that point onward. Should I congratulate you on having successfully become a clan cat?"

Mao wanted to leave. In a little while, they would be surrounded by Laurelpaw's allies—her new family. The initial blood lust surging through her veins had died away at the unexpected reunion. Now she mainly felt empty and cold. Her heart seemed to have shriveled up within her, temporarily exhausted of all feeling. Forget attacking the clans—she just wanted to leave. If she had to be in Laurelpaw's presence a second longer, she felt as if she would not be able to bear it. Everything about her former sister brought back memories of happier times that no longer existed. At the thought of personally destroying one remnant of those memories, her paws grew weak. Almost desperately, she looked to Rift.

"I'm not the sniveling kit you and Mum scarred. I have become this confident she-cat." The cat she'd once known as Lengxue looked straight into her eyes at the words "you and Mum" and Rift felt as though her sister had just scored claws straight across her face. Her own leapt from their sheaths in her paws, digging so hard into the ground she could feel gouges being dug into the dirt. In that moment, every connection severed, every spark of guilt she had ever felt melted and burned into a raging river of hatred. You were the one who ruined everything. Her paws itched to fly at that face once again, but it was ironically the very words that had cleared every last shred of familial bond away that kept them from scarring her again. Think what you like. I won't prove you right. But containing the snarl that wanted to come to her lips left every hair on her pelt trembling with the effort of keeping it at bay, a flash of burning rage evident before it turned back to the bitter cold of her former expression. Despite that, a curl of her lip still made itself evident as Laurelpaw proclaimed she'd always cared for them.

"...I'm sure it was something long awaited for her much like grandfather." Rift's eyes burned hotter and harder as the words came out of Laurelpaw's mouth, until they finally finished and every hair on her pelt was standing on end, her claws digging so hard into the ground it was almost as though they were rooted there. Her throat was so constricted she could barely speak, a buzz filling her ears as Mao's voice distantly responded. YOU DARE? YOU DARE INSULT EVERYTHING WE EVER LOVED? The words rang through her head with the force of a raging hurricane, slicing through every other thought and cutting through to the very fiber of her being.

A snarl like that of an enraged fox erupted from her jaws, an incoherent sound of rage that shook her frame with its intensity. "Every word you say just digs you deeper. Care? You care? What a pathetic joke," She spat, her tail lashing uncontrolled behind her. "No, we don't want you. You aren't our sister. You never were, and you never will be. If I see you again, if I even catch a whiff of your pelt, you're dead."

She had made her choice, and Rift would gladly leave and never come back, if only so she never had to see that face that accused her with the very marks marring it. A monster? I can live with that. She turned with a flick of her tail, too enraged to understand at that moment just what she'd done, and too uncaring to change it. You'll regret everything, sister. I won't. Everything she had ever been taught, every hurt she had ever suffered, had brought out the hardest core of her being and tempered it in their flames.

The rift that had opened between them could not be closed.