Sinking, Like Quicksand [Shadowclan Sitewide Topic]

Spark walked into ShadowClan camp with Iniko. He was told to be part of the group that kept ShadowClan in line while they forced their surrender, which was fine with him. After all, Asylum was his home, and he trusted their judgement. The ginger tom was surprised by how easy it was, however. The ShadowClan leader, Flintstar, negotiated with Iniko quickly and offered ShadowClan’s surrender. Although Spark was expecting more of a fight, he was happy that it didn’t have to come to that, just like Iniko was. I hope the rest of Asylum was able to complete their missions as smoothly as we did. The tom knew that these cats weren’t happy to see Asylum, and in fact we’re very hostile, but they would learn. It would just take some time.

Flintstar's eyes narrowed as the tom spoke, explaining that he wanted no violence. A simple talk. The leader wasn't fond of talking but he also suppose he had no choice but to do so. He waited to hear the tom's offer - but something caught both of their attention. Tanglerose had slipped out of the warrior's den - not a claw raised to stop her as she pushed between Flintstar and the stranger - greeting him like an old friend as she questioned what was going on. The leader only titled his head, rather confused as the tom greeted her back before he turned to explain that they were of...Asylum? And came from far away and now...And now they were a part of it.

No more Moonstone visits, no more gatherings - the other Clans were, or would be, under their control as well. Patrols would require some of these...Asylum cats. But life would continue. He felt confused - more about how Tanglerose seemed at ease with this stranger but that was hardly a matter he would understand even if his Clan wasn't under threat. His eyes scanned the camp, looking at the different dens - each holding somebody he held dear. "...And no harm will come to ShadowClan?" he questioned, eyes turning back onto the stranger.

"You must understand, the safety of my Clan, my family, comes before all - even my own life. But I see we are out numbered. That I couldn't risk a fight without a terrible price but...Even then, I will admit that your terms are...Agreeable, at least on that front. Our lives continue, my Clan is safe. That is all I could ask for as a leader. So...I agree to your terms. ShadowClan...Surrenders. Release my Clanmates." He sighed, softly hoping he was making the right choice. He had been unwilling to ally with The Righteous Few cause it had meant his half-siblings were in danger. But these cats had little care for their bloodlines - if they sought the protection of ShadowClan as a whole, then so be it. "ShadowClan!" he called out, turning to sweep his gaze across the camp again. "Do not raise a claw against our..." he paused, glancing at Iniko. "...Allies. There will be changes, but know I make this choice to see to your safety. I want no bloodshed from either side - this would be a hopeless battle in their favor and I do not fight without a reason and I expect the same of you all."

Ebonysong screeched in surprise and anger as a cat lunged at her and pinned her down. "HEY you--GET OFF ME." The normally calm she-cat snarled at her attacker, until she suddenly remembered about Smokespirit. "SMOKESPIRIT?? ARE YOU OKAY?" Her ice-blue eyes frantically searched for his familiar fluffy white-and-black pelt, while attempting to claw at her attacker's paws. Stars, this can't get any worse...can it? Ebonysong had already lost her kits...she couldn't lose her mate. Not now.

Ichtaca stood at the back of the crowd of cats. Her tail was tucked in by her side as she watched, her body trembling. She knew exactly how it felt, having your homeland overrun by strangers whose behaviour meant you probably perceived them as crazy people. An absolutely terrifying feeling of fear and despair.

The sudden appearance of a grey Warrior made the Pelt Ward stare. This particular she-cat seemed to know Iniko. In fact, they seemed to be weirdly close. Ah, no wonder Iniko specified to not pin down this one particular Warrior.

As Iniko began to talk, Ichtaca found herself starting to grit her teeth and quickly forced herself to relax. She was not happy that so many cats around the clans had simply joined the Asylum of their own accord. At least the group she was once a part of had tried to put up a fight. She herself had fought with all her strength despite her weakness.

Iniko wasn’t a Clan cat, but if the rumours Ichtaca had heard were right, some cats from the clans were joining without question. One she had heard of was a white-and-yellow tom from one of the other Clans. To those cats, Ichtaca felt sick to her stomach. Have they no sense of loyalty? Are they just so ready to betray their clan? Turn on everything they’ve known and become a bloodthirsty machine?

Wrinkling her nose, Ichtaca looked at the few cats who may have a chance of seeing her tiny figure and smiled at them reassuringly.

Mirae watched Captain Iniko as he negotiated with the ShadowClan leader. She wondered how he could so easily persuade another cat to change their lives completely, even if she knew that it would benefit both sides greatly. Maybe someday she would possess the same verbal eloquence, but not today. It would take moons of practice and experience Mirae could get to that point, and the high-ranking tom clearly knew what to say and do. His interaction with the strange clan's leader had distracted her from her task of guarding the camp entrance to prevent any cats from fleeing. The pelt on her back, one of a sharp-quilled porcupine, would discourage any of the cats from trying to run away. With practice, Mirae had gotten used to using it as a weapon and not only as armor or a disguise. Though the weight had taken some getting used to, the creature's pelt felt almost like her own.

Her whiskers twitched. The scent of the strange ShadowClan cats was unusual, but not bad. Definitely more intense than Mirae had expected, but she wouldn't make anything of it. As far as she knew, cats couldn't control their scents save for rolling in strong-smelling materials. But the scent of fear overlayed much of the cat scent, and that one made her nose wrinkle. Fear-scent gave her a sympathetic response of sort, feeling somewhat more agitated. Mirae shifted her paws. The terrified screeching that burst out from a cat being held down didn't help either as her anxiety rose.

Parvus had been hidden amongst the shrubbery on the driest ground he could find. The new type of ground was... interesting. He wasn't sure he liked it, but he didn't think he disliked it either. Once Flintstar announced his surrender, a wave of excitement jumped through the tiny cat. He was an adult cat.... but being a Singapura, he looked like an apprentice. The excited little tom came out of hiding, wearing a black and tan colored rabbit pelt that he had carved and made all by himself.

"That was impressive, Iniko!" The little tom whispered once he had skittered up to the much taller calico. Iniko may not have been wearing any pelts, but their captain still needed to look stellar in a takeover. That bits of caked on mud on his paws was unsightly and quite frankly... drove the tiny cat absolutely crazy.

Iniko's paws were currently wiped over with a scrub-like plant, easily brushing away the mud with surprising swiftness. His eyes darted around the camp, hungrily searching for any sign of imperfections in the nightstriker's pelts. Skittering around, not unlike a little bug, the obedient, cheerful pelt ward scrubbed every pelt that had even a tiny mark of imperfection on it. A bloodless takeover was always nice.

"Okay... who else needs pelt maintenance?" .... The his eyes landed on Tulipfang and his breath caught in his throat. ... I like this clan. This clan can stay. Especially her... I need to find her later. And with that, he made a mental note. He had a job to do first, but he was already thinking of what he could say to one of their newest she-cats. There was definitely a nervous flutter there... but he was hopeful. If he just tried his best, maybe she'd come to like him with a bit of time. Until then...

Oop! There is mud on that badger pelt! He skittered away with his own rabbit pelt shining and sleek in comparison to a lot of the other pelts being worn around here...

-Wisp-

The young Asylum scout ran up to the group. Was he late? Wait, how could you be late to a... what were they doing again? Oh right! Getting these cats to join them! Anyways, how could you be late to convincing cats to join others? Could you be late to that?
The small white tom with cream splotches had thoughts going through his head like the wind goes through the trees. He seemed to be drifting off.

Mistyfalcon's dark gaze swept over the other cats in the den, seeing that most were in much the same predicament as he was. Pinned. Trapped. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Brighteye was pinned, and Ebonysong's panicked yowls reached Mistyfalcon's tattered ears, and he began to struggle once more, desperate to get to his friend's side. It only took a heartbeat for the cat above him to tighten their grip dangerously, forcing Mistyfalcon to lie still.

Flintstar's voice reached him, and after a moment the dark tom managed to twist to get a better look from where he was pinned inside the warrior's den still. He was talking with what looked like a calico tom.

Surrender? No. They couldn't... But Shadowclan was outnumbered. Badly outnumbered. Mistyfalcon was stubborn, but he was no fool.

A gray form approached Flintstar and the strange tom, one Mistyfalcon recognized. Tanglerose. She wasn't pinned down, in fact, the strange cats in the clearing seemed to be ignoring her presence. She spoke then, and Mistyfalcon felt his lips curl in a snarl as he caught the edges of her words. Was she with this group that had attacked them? If she was, she certainly seemed to be playing dumb and doing a decent job at it.

But Tanglerose wasn't pinned down like he and the rest of the warriors (and supposedly the rest of the clan) were. Brighteye and Ebonysong were pinned beneath these strange cats with their strange pelts. While they suffered, she seemed to be walking free. Resentment stirred in Mistyfalcon's chest at the idea of it.

Ashflame was dreaming. Her mate was beside her, her kits were alive and healthy, and they were one happy family. Suddenly, she was jolted awake by something that looked vaguely familiar. "Ember... Emberspark, is that you?" Then claws poked at her vitals and she realized it couldn't be. Her mate was gone, and even if he was alive he would never harm her.

"Get off me, you-" she froze when her attacker poked at her neck in warning. Her clanmates' yowls and sounds of battle reached her, but she could only glare at the cat that pinned her down. Then she sighed helplessly and relaxed. She would do no good to the clan if she were dead, and her attacker was stronger and had the advantage. It would be better to wait for the other cat to be distracted before she attempted to escape.

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(OOC: Hyacinth is pinning down Ebonysong)

For Hyacinth, blood and death was something she grew up around, so it was just... normal. She didn't enjoy taking lives, but she would kill if she was ordered to or there was no other available option. Hopefully, these odd forest cats would listen and they could go about as normal, or she and the other Asylum cats would have more blood on their paws. "Be quiet, please," she mewed almost politely to the cat she pinned, although there was a threat hidden beneath her voice, "I'm sure both you and I don't want me to slice your throat open," Hyacinth purred.

The Asylum cat's unsheathed claws dug deeper into the helpless she-cat beneath her, though Hyacinth tried her best not to break the skin. "I would be terribly sorry if I had to leech the life out of your pretty blue eyes. So stop moving around unless you really want to die."