Familiar Faces in the Dark's Shadow

The loner had wandered about quite a lot in the forest since the 'Night of No Stars', as he'd taken to calling it. He'd adapted rather swiftly to the supernatural changes to the depths of the clan cats' land. Of course, at first, he'd been surprised, after all, he'd never experienced such a thing while living in the twolegplace, which made it all the more exciting and fascinating. Really such unnatural things did unsettle him, but it was easily dwarfed by his sharp intrigue about the whole situation. Clan cats took as slaves in their own territories, living alongside those that had broken their foolish little laws, sinners and saints forced to coexist or risk death.

It was all hilarious, but he was buzzing with renewed energy as a result of it. Witnessing history in the making was always something of deep interest to him, and here he was, finally doing just that, watching the puppets on the stage get set up only to, one day, inevitably all be knocked down.

He himself was planning to try and snag the interest of any possible future deserters himself. Some for the Forgotten Order, to assist in his and Once-Klaus' legacy, some... for himself. He had one last major thing on his bucket list, and perhaps it may never come to fruition, but that wouldn't stop him from attempting to work towards it.

At the moment though, as he walked along the thunderpath and the very border of the adorable little Thunderclan, unafraid of the cars rushing by back and forth, he was merely letting himself admire the scenery. Once more, he had sunken back, largely, into the comfortable life as a loner, and he was enjoying every moment of solitude, alone with these thoughts, letting plans foster and hatch in his brain with the familiar sounds of 'monsters' roaring loudly in his ears.

Time was passing, and he was content watching it from the sidelines... for now.

Featherfrost was patrolling along the thunderpath, lip curled and nose wrinkled in disgust. She couldn't decide which smelled worse, the acrid gray path snaking through the trees and the monsters that ran along it, or the dead that prowled after the patrol like they were looking after wayward kits. Not to mention that this was their border with Shadowclan... And Featherfrost wasn't sure she really wanted to risk being recognized by one of the marsh-dwellers. Needless to say, this patrol wasn't exactly pleasant by any means for the fluffy tortoiseshell.

The scent of rogue... familiar rogue on the wind made her pawsteps quicken after a moment to check how far she was from her clanmates. Upon coming in sight of the scarred tom however, she couldn't quite hide the disappointment that it wasn't one of her siblings or mother, instead the cat in question was her... father's, is he my father still? right paw. "Tarot...?" She kept her voice low, having come up from behind the tom. "It's me, Ata. Well, the clanners call me Featherfrost now."

A familiar voice spoke up behind him, and he paused, glancing back. Upon hearing her words he shifted around an amused expression on his face. "Yes, no need to tell me your name, I recognize you. After all, I was there as you grew up." He chuckled lightly. He wasn't offended by the disappointment he glimpsed in her, after all, he doubted he was preferred over her seeing her kin. "Tell me, Atalante... or would you prefer that odd, needlessly complex clan name...?" He rose a brow, he never really saw the point in clan names, such odd combos of already-known words seemed so unimaginative and lacked any uniqueness in his opinion. "How has living with those adorable little clanners been? Have you been feeling content? or stifled under their laws and rules." He asked idly, no judgment in his tone. He then paused in consideration, "Well I suppose your opinion me be skewed with those phantoms meandering about."

The loner's amusement glinted in his violet eyes as he studied her curiously. Any of his old friend's little kits that decided to join or perhaps just lurk in clans were now connections to him, ways to see into clans without actually joining them. After all, he was likely a far more neutral figure to them now compared to his father, and he was hardly abrasive with his personality when he ever had idle conversations with them.

Though perhaps the mere fact that he had been so close to their father and never stopped his descent into darkness would be a point of friction? Who knew, he had hardly had time to talk to them after the Night of No Stars, it had all just been a scramble to pick up the pieces of the Order, and with minimal success.

Well, he supposed his idle musings might be answered in this particular conversation.

"Please don't, their names are terrible." Atalante found herself grinning, but the humor was quickly banished as Tarot continued to ask about how she'd found clan life. "It's been... Something, I suppose." She mumbled. "There wasn't as much suspicion as I thought there would be, at first. Their ways are strange, but most of the cats seemed like a reasonable sort. Things weren't so difficult." Waterlily and the kits had been easy enough to keep an eye on from a distance. " The dead ones though-" She couldn't suppress the shiver any more than she could hide the revulsion and disgust on her features. Usually she could hide her emotions well enough, but this was harder. She didn't want to ask what had turned her father into such a monster. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, as much as she regarded him with a newfound fear and anxiousness. A change of subject would be better, she decided. "How are my siblings? And mom? I heard you have the barn now too?" She was far more interested in the Order than she was talking about the dead, that much was clear.

He eyed her reaction curiously as she spoke observing her for a few moments before moving on to the idle question she posed. After a moment of consideration, he let out a hum, responding."Well last I saw the ones that remain in the Forgotten Order were alive, shaken but still going. After Morningstars' abrupt departure, which I really wished he would've at least warned me about, there's been a scramble to try and vote in the new Eagle. Calypso is a promising candidate, but it's not up to me to choose who fills the void." He chuckled lightly, then paused, expression thoughtful, "Only issue is, due to the members being scattered it's been a struggle to pull everything back together. Our numbers have dropped considerably, which is why I'm out searching for clan deserters to offer a paw to." His tail twitched idly, "So the future of your kin is, admittedly, uncertain overall. We do, indeed, have the barn though, so at least prey isn't as much of an issue."

He paused then, eyeing the molly, faintly wondering if she may simply report this all to the weasely leader of Thunderclan. He couldn't quite come up with a conclusion to that muse though, but at least he knew who to set his sights on if Thunderclan strikes at the Order in the future.

"I may not be the Serpent once the new Eagle is chosen. So perhaps you may see me in the future as a simple loner wandering about, admiring this interesting chapter in the forest's history." He smirked slightly in amusement.

"I can understand shaken." Atalante muttered wryly, "You all had no idea either, then? Revolting creatures, aren't they? At least these... dark forest cats, the clanners call them, seem more interested in them than rogues." Void take it, nobody needed the attention of those wretched beasts, but Atalante cared far more about what happened to her siblings than she did most of Thunderclan, she could admit that much. "With how some of them act I'm surprised we haven't had anyone run off. Though I suppose the dark forest would make it difficult. Da- Klaus is here too, tried spending time with Waterlily and her kits. I don't think they took it well." She wasn't sure if she could call him dad anymore. Dawnhawk felt strange on her tongue though, so Klaus it was. Atalante felt bad for Waterlily and the kits, truthfully. They hadn't known about anything either, that much was clear.

Tarot spoke of selecting a new Eagle, and she nodded. With Klaus dead... Undead? It made sense to choose someone knew. Not that there was an overwhelming abundance of options to choose from. "Calypso would make a good choice." She agreed quietly, "Mom too, I think."

At the mention of his old friend visiting the clanner, he also had kits with, the tom's eyes lidded in amusement. He could remember the reaction of the molly to Morningstar at the gathering where it all started. He let out a slight snort, "Ah yes, her, he really did spread his seed far, didn't he?" He mused, in contemplation, "I believe having more kits, with a clanner no less, was a mistake on his part." He didn't often call out the tom's actions, but with that particular group... well, all logic was obviously thrown to the wind with her. Klaus was always more emotion-driven than him though.

As she mentioned who'd be a good choice as the eagle, he nodded, "I agree, but as I said, I won't meddle with such a thing, whether they build the Order up or it breaks under the change will be entirely dependent on them..." He mused.

He then observed the young feline in consideration. "... Tell me, Atalante... are you content in this forest? Do you feel you're living your life to its fullest here?"

Atalante's ears twitched back briefly at the comment. "I'll be happy if there's no more surprises sprung on us." She shrugged, "And I thought his hatred of the clans was all-consuming? It's like he wants their scorn." She couldn't help adding, clearly not thrilled by any of it. "The kits are... decent enough. I know it's not their fault. Can't say I'm thrilled to be stuck here, but I'll carry out this order while I have to." Atalante was born in the order, and that was where she belonged.

The tomcat smiled slightly at her response, mildly amused by her conviction. He'd never understand such a thing. He'd never had any ties to anyone strong enough to garner such a response within him. Morningstar had come the closest to such a thing. He didn't even have kin left that whom he had a bond to, all of them had perished in that pit of suffering he'd been born into.

It was a curious thing, the bond cats had to kin. Almost curious enough for him to wish to experience it himself. Idly, he let out a slight puff of air. "Vere well then, Prowler. I will need you to return to the barn briefly at some point though for the voting of the new leader. I'll be trying to gather them together for the event. It will take place on the next half-moon." He tilted his head. "Try to make it if you can. If you're unsure, though, then I can take your vote here and now."

"If the dead didn't talk and follow us everywhere... Sneaking out would be risky. Maybe if there's a way to get rid of them I could..." Atalante murmured, "In the event I can't make it, I'll cast my vote for Calypso. She's seen both good leaders and bad, both clan and rogue. I trust her judgement." She mewed. She was confident in her vote, and hoped the Order would do well even if she wasn't able to make it back to the barn on the date Tarot had chosen.

As he heard the molly's answer, he dipped his head, a slight smile on his angular maw. An expected answer, a valid one, Calypso would, indeed, be the best fit from what he's seen, what he knew, but it wasn't his choice to make. If the rest of the Order agreed, then all the better, if not, then it was still their decision that led them to whatever results would come of it.

"Very well then, Atalante." He meowed calmly, then tilted his head, "Are there any other things you wish to discuss?" She had been the one to approach him, after all, perhaps there was more she had intended to speak about, "Perhaps a report you'd like to give on Thunderclan's current situation?" He quirked a brow at the undercover Prowler curiously.