QUESTERS Heading Along The Range

[Meany]

Blackfire, warrior of Darkclan, was padding along briskly. He was surrounded by cats of other Clans, all of them united under a strange, common dream.
But who sent the dream? Abyssclan, he looked warily at the odd silver she-cat and the silent gray tom, do not believe in Starclan. But for some reason I can't shake the feeling that they understood the dream far more than the rest of us... He kept his bright gaze to the rising moon, thinking of the prophecy. Mountains of darkness - my home. The mountains of Darkclan, of course. The fallen moon? The moon rises from the Darkclan mountains... Those made of surrendering? The black tom sighed heavily. Stone and it's shattered parts - why would a Dewclan she-cat know what that meant? And what does it have to do with Abyssclan? Is the dream meant for Abyssclan alone, and we're just along for the ride? What is the 'perfect unity'? Again, something that must have something to do with Abyssclan. Everyone knew they had songs and strange markings on the rocks, things made of juice and blood that resembled old battles and long-dead cats. Who are the traitors?

Jazz, Gatherer of Cityclan, wasn't thinking about anything Blackfire was. "I wonder if Block hit the alley near the sub-station," he thought aloud. "That cat always missed the best spots..."

Snowfeather, warrior of Dewclan, kept all of her thoughts in her head and off of her face. Whatever lay across these mountains meant something amazing - and she couldn't wait to see it.
A shadow crossed her face - no one saw.
Why are we bringing them back? They are ancient history - I thought they said they were beyond all redemption, that they would die out in time.
Snowfeather, daughter of Bloodclan and second generation spy for Abyssclan. She understood the prophecy as any follower of Those Above should.
She let out a long sigh through her nose, the shadow passing. Snowfeather of Dewclan had returned, still very excited to see what the dream meant - and rather interested in Blackfire's strong shoulders.

[Longstorm]

Jace, a cat of Cityclan, looked up at Jazz. "Yeah, well, there's some loners that hang around the sub-station... they're kinda fierce. I don't think Block has the wits to strategize against them all." It wasn't said in a superior tone, just matter-of-factly.

Icepaw, apprentice of Darkclan, had his own thoughts reeling. Bluepaw was gone? He sighed heavily. He had sat vigil for her the previous night without anyone knowing (or so he thought) and hadn't gotten any sleep. But he wasn't complaining. Bluepaw wouldn't complain.

[Runfast]

Cold had many trains of thought moving at once. His gaze, once again, drifted to Mosspaw's calico coat - something so familiar - then drifted away, Moonclan is over these mountains, then to the dark forests down the mountains, Wonder if any others live there, then to the rising full moon, The Gathering is tonight - then stopped.
His hind leg was tingling. It was now that he remembered the fragment of clear blue stone he had hidden in a tangle of his fur there.
Now he slunk off to a clump of shadowed bushes, using his teeth to remove it.

OOC: Pardons, Loki...

IC: Joyless noticed Cold leaving, as was her observant nature. She followed the silent gray tom into the bushes.
He didn't seem irritated by her presence as he nudged the tiny, beautiful stone into the moonlight. It glowed like the moon itself, and he touched it. Then was still.
Fascinated, Joyless touched it with the tip of her paw. She understood now.
She was everywhere - in Tawnyclan, in Dewclan, in Darkclan, in a place she'd never seen, a place of dogs, a deep, dark hole with the ringings of cats with odd accents, in the City - she stayed in the Clans the longest, and they stayed in the corners of her vision, but the other places were gone as fast as they blinked in her mind's eye.
Abyssclan was there, shining and wonderful, great stones she had never seen at the top of their hill, rain clouds thundering in the distance.
Then she was suddenly in their camp, and under it, in the tunnels, and in the dens, in the tombs - but then back in the camp.
Many cats were present. All Abyssclan. Many cats were dead. Servants wore battle claws. Warriors lay dead.
Shadowstar was dead.
The Servants had won. Flashes of things that had happened, that were in every Abyssclannian's mind, flashed into her own. The battle against Shadowstar. The poisoning of the Warriors. The insanity of Hopeless. How Sinface was named the Heir to Abyssclan. Present time, what was happening as she watched - Sinface stood (he had been in a heap on the ground, protected by a kit and the large white she-cat she knew to be her cousin and friend), and all the cats stepped back. "I am Sin of Scourge, your King."
The cats hailed him.
The moon turned red.

The sudden cry of Mosspaw brought the Abyssclannians out of their trance, the stone losing its glow.
"STARCLAN IS DEAD!!!"
The two Abyssclannians stepped into the moonlight (Cold first tucking the fragment back into his fur) and saw why the Clan cats were crying out.
The moon had turned to blood.
Joyless's pale eyes turned a strange blue and she said in a strange voice, "Blood is blood, shadows run red, a vow is death when death is led."
She came out of it suddenly. The moon is blood... Shadowstar is dead... His blood shed his blood, the shadow lies dead in blood's shadow... Sinface is Shadowstar's blood, and the Bloodmoon hails him as King... "One part left," she said in a breathy whisper.

OOC: I hope I did her justice...

Sinewpaw cowered against Mosspaw, trying to put on a brave face. "It's," he managed to hiss out, "it's probably just a trick of the light."
He wasn't sure if he believed him own words, though.
Mosspaw just buried her face in her paws.

[Longstorm]

OOC: Cool.

IC: Jace simply stared at the moon with a mildly interested expression. "Interesting..."

Icepaw was one of the cats who wasn't spazzing out. He had his reasons, though. His mother had once told him of a time when the moon had turned to blood long before, but it had been before her time.
All the same, it was rather disconcerting, so he clawed the ground anxiously.

[Meany]

Snowfeather sat down in shock, awkwardly crouching as she stared at the moon in horror - or was it horror?
While she was gaping, the unmistakable gleam of wonder was in her eyes.
The Ritual...

Jazz, like Jace, wasn't freaking out. "What's 'Starrsclan," he asked. The moon was interesting, no doubt, but to him it was just a new color for it. "Hope it changes soon - it'll be hard to see with it being red and all..."

Blackfire didn't understand how the strange cats couldn't be frightened - how? Why? Did they not see blood over the sign of peace? Surely even cats from the City knew what it meant?

[Longstorm]

Jace looked at Jazz for a moment, then found he agreed in his head.
"Doesn't look like it's gonna last," he pointed out the sliver of silver that was returning. He stood. "Well," he mewed off-handedly, "that was odd."

[Runfast]

Joyless looked over at Cold when the silver began to return to the moon, but, regardless of what they had shared, he didn't look back. Instead, he returned to the crowd, forever that gray shadow that most ignored.
Joyless sighed, thoughts drifting to when he had spoken to another of Abyssclan but not to her, her kits, and how they were the only two Abyssclannians left in the group.
That alone should be reason for him to speak to me.

Cold didn't have very much in his head - nothing but the fact that he realized where he knew Mosspaw's pelt from.
Most fascinating... how foolish of me not to see it before... But then, there's one more factor to consider, then I will be certain...
He looked at the calico she-cat once more, then to the East, where they were headed.

Mosspaw felt herself relax, and she let out a long sigh. "Oh... thank goodness..." She felt very weak as the moon was almost silver again.
Sinewpaw felt the same way, but he preferred not to show it. He wanted to just shake it off like the weirdos from the City. "That was - interesting," he tried to match Jace's tone, but somehow only mimicked his accent.
Mosspaw gave him a look and rolled her eyes, standing with the warriors.

[Loki]

OOC: Runfast I think I love you
IC:
Sinewpaw sighed hopelessly as he watched the calico she-cat disappear from his sight. He looked back to the moon and felt a horrible sensation across his spine and his fur stood on end. Thinking nothing of it, he padded on.

Joyless felt her paws drag. She let the others go on ahead until there was a fair distance between them. Her company would be the cold breeze of summer, it whispered and murmured things in her ears while she walked on and she looked back from where they'd came; "They'll come, and I'll kill you, That is my vow. Their blood or not."

[Runfast]

OOC: I looked in their bios so I would get it right-ish. BTW, that blood prophecy is EPIC.

IC: A few hundred yards later... (OOC: It's all just along this range, soooo)

Mosspaw found herself padding alongside Cold, much to her surprise. The silent gray was just staring ahead, his expression stating that he was somewhere else at the moment.
The calico she-cat looked for something to say to the Abyssclannian but her mind went blank. She 'huffed' softly under her breath, frustrated.

[Longstorm]

OOC: LOKI!!!!

IC: Icepaw saw the two cats together and wondered if the cats that were his age were talking about anything interesting. Bluepaw would have something to say right now... Due to his Darkclan-ness inability to trust those outside of his Clan, he stayed next to Blackfire.

Jace, on the other paw, wasn't so introverted. He strode ahead. "All this walking in silence bores me," he did sound bored as he mewed this to Cold and Mosspaw. "Let's talk."

[Runfast]

Mosspaw looked at the pale cat in surprise. He hadn't made any attempts to speak to anyone before - he'd just voiced his occasional opinion. Mosspaw had become convinced that he lived in his own little world.
"...About what?"

Cold, by listening to the many padding of paws, knew they were one short. She must have her reasons, he thought.
Now he was being bothered. His ears flicked in annoyance at the Cityclanner's intrusion of his thoughts.

[Meany]

OOC: @Loki: Good to see you, Admin.
So the cats in this group are like?... Blackfire and Icepaw in the front, now Snowfeather too, Cityclanners and Abyssclannians middle/backish, Tawnyclanners middle?... Blackfire and Snowfeather are the oldest cats in this group aside from Jazz, I just noticed.

IC: Snowfeather, not liking being near the back, moved to the front where Blackfire was. "So," she mewed to the quite Darkclanner. "Do you see eagles very much in these mountains?"
She assumed he'd know.
Blackfire looked at the she-cat in surprise. Now that he was looking, he could see that many cats had begun to speak regardless of Clan. "Er... not around here. No. ... You'd usually see them in the lower places... Near cliffs, which is where they like to nest - more warmth and prey..." He fell into awkward silence.
The Dewclan she-cat nodded, not willing to give up. "What's your favorite kind of prey?"
Blackfire looked at her again, almost stopping mid-stride. "..."

Jazz, seeing he'd lost his walking buddy, went forward to the interesting colored tom who looked about the same age of a lot of cats there.
But the Abyssclannians look like their a little older...Now what was his name again? Snailpaw? Snoopaw? He didn't know, what with weird forest names.
"Hey there," Jazz mewed all friendly-like. "I'm Jazz."

Blackfire finally stopped walking, glaring at the Dewclan she-cat. "Listen," he hissed, "I'm thinking here. I don't need anymore interuptions."
Snowfeather suddenly glared back at him. "Well, how about instead of thinking it you say it aloud! We're all thinking about the dream, about Mudbloodclan, about how we might die. I'm afraid!" Her expression changed as she admitted it. "I'm afraid for my Clan. For my family - my friends. We all came on this journey for the same reasons. There's no point in being such a bitter old sourpuss who thinks no one understands his troubles, that no one's been through what he's been through - well, wake up, you're not special. You're not alone. And it's time you accepted that."
She let out a long, angry hiss and the stalked off.

[Loki]

Joyless scented something odd. She looked around, "Who's there?"
She turned and looked into the mist which seemed to fade in, closing in on her.
Suddenly she felt quite cold and hopeless and un-sheaved her claws.
A fox? A badger? Wolf? Rogue?...
There was silence and then the urgency to flee, She turned to run but couldn't see where to go.
"I'll be waiting."
At the sound of his cold, calculating voice, she cowered; "Leave me alone!"
"Your vow was a mere empty threat," The voice stated.
"No... it was..."
The voice laughed and she hissed.
She closed her eyes and flattened her ears; let it stop, let him die, shut up, go away... I want to be alone.
Slowly the voice faded (as did the mist) and she was left cowering in the grass ounce more.

(OOC: Sorry I took so long to reply, I cut my lip).

[Longstorm]

OOC: Yowch...

IC: Jace's ears pricked in surprise. "Well... we could talk about that." He smirked.

Icepaw watched the Dewclan warrior stalk off then saw Blackfire's expression. He suppressed a grin and hurried to follow her, not wanting to be told off for smiling.

[Meany]

Jazz hadn't really caught all of what the snowy-what's-her-name she-cat was saying to the Darkflame cat, but it made the tom smile when he caught the tom's look of surprise. "Well," he mewed to Snoopaw, "guess he had that coming. Funny, though - I thought only City cats knew those names."

Blackfire felt his pelt flash in embarrassment after Snowfeather stalked off. He glared at the cats behind him and continued on, somewhat thinking about what the she-cat had said. He paused when he had looked back - "Come on, Joy," he called to the far back. "We don't want to leave anyone behind!"

[Runfast]

Mosspaw felt her whiskers twitching in amusement. "Well - I think that's been long in the coming!"

[Loki]

Joyless looked up, looking harassed and embarrassed she trotted after them.

Sinewpaw stropped and dragged his paws as he went by.

[Longstorm]

OOC: I've made the arrival posts, but people can post in the traveling topics (and make more) until Moonclan and the Questers start to head back.

IC: Jace nodded. "I'll say," he chuckled good-humoredly. "My, my - Blackfire avoiding talking about the big stuff 'tsk', how not like what I've heard warriors to be - " he looked at Mosspaw. "Tell me, Mosspaw - how'd you come to be a great apprentice for a Clan?" He spoke with a friendly tone, his eyes bright with charm.

[Runfast]

Mosspaw smiled. "Oh, well, you just gotta be born into the Clan - or join it and pledge loyalty, like my mother did. My mother was a loner..." She fell silent for a moment. "But she couldn't take care of me - so she went to Tawnyclan and pleaded to Lokistar. Lokistar said yes, and when I was born I was named a kit of Tawnyclan." She smiled at the thought. "I never knew my father..."

Cold was listening even if he wasn't looking.

[Longstorm]

Jace shrugged, "I never knew my father, either. But I'm still a cat named Jace who's a Gatherer of Cityclan. That's not too shabby - and being an apprentice of Tawnyclan really isn't shabby." He smiled at her. "Now, if I know stories, your mum wasn't around very much?"

[Loki]

They probably never noticed, probably didn't care... but a large black bird flew above.
His wings cut through the still air as he watched, beady eyed, at those bellow him. Not only was he there
for information but a small cat would do fine.
He set his eyes warily on the bigger clawed creatures and laid eyes upon a calico and a grey cat, not too far away.
He was wondering whether these were to big for him to snatch up as fast as possible...

OOC: How bored am I???

[Runfast]

Mosspaw nodded. "Yeah - she left not too long after I was born..." Her voice faded.

Cold's eyes narrowed for a moment. And there it is... He glanced up, feeling like someone was watching him.

[Longstorm]

OOC: Teehee, sorry...

IC: Jace nodded.
Any further conversation they had lightly danced around the topic of why they were traversing the treacherous mountains, but after that was silence.


A while later...

A rustle from nearby bushes.
Earlier, a she-cat with dirty lilac fur and pale eyes had seen the strange group of cats. "Well, now," she'd murmured, "What are so many rogues doing together?"
The she-cat followed the group, her tangled fur making it so no cold wind touched her skin.
But now she'd made some audible noise.

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