CLOSED The Flatlands

[Guest (Leya)]

The two lumps in the grass weren’t rocks. They were kits. Hungry, tired, and frightened kits. They mewed pitifully, calling out for help even though they knew no one was coming, the rain soaking through their thin pelts and biting into their skin. It hammered them into the ground, forcing them to succumb to the storm’s icy, spiteful will. Still, they tried, until their lungs were sore and their paws were numb they tried.
Hannah was only three moons, and was the most vulnerable. Her pelt was thinner than her companion’s, and she had a lighter build. It wasn’t long before she collapsed into a scrawny heap, her flanks hardly moving.
Max tried to lick the top of her head, fell short, and crashed into a pool of thick, oozing mud. He sneezed, pawing at his nose to try and clear it, and the tiny kitten turned. She had been rather quiet for some time, and it had alarmed the larger, more muscular tom-kit, but she crawled forward and rested her head on his back blindly. He sighed in relief, then sneezed again.
Even with her ears nearly being clawed off by the wind, she could sense him. It was not just the warmth his body provided, but the company. She would survive a little longer, if only just for him. Hard times brought cats together in strange ways. She clung to life, coughing, unable to speak. Not that it made much of a difference. Their mews might be carried all around, in bits and pieces, but words would be lost, useless. They had to focus on keeping warm, staying awake…Hannah had no hope at this point. The fire in her soul was gone; washed away by their long travels and the realization that she would never get home. The water was tickling their chests, and it wouldn’t be long before it overtook them completely. The situation could only get worse…No one was coming to get them. Her mother had probably moved on already, thinking her dead. “It’s alright Hannah, come here.” She heard Lady’s voice, echoing eerily as if she were speaking from a cavern far beneath the earth.  
Suddenly images flashed in her mind, eating away her sorrows. She smiled widely when she remembered their place. It was a small clearing, big enough to hold two adults and a litter of kits, but no more. Any passage to it was hidden by ferns and tall birch trees. The only way they could find the right path, the only one that wouldn’t lead them to a sheer drop and a sudden stop, was to search for a patch of brambles in front of a blackberry bush, then follow a curling, spiraled row of daisies. Her brother, Rocky, had fallen into a ditch there, once. Lady had told them to wait here as she took Thomas to the twoleg named Frog—he was called that because of his raspy call and his unusually slow movements--to get him looked at, so they had been alone. She and her sister Blair had tried to get him out by building him a bridge of sorts, throwing sticks, stones, and anything else they could find into the hole along one side. They had nearly buried him!  He was such a runt and was always so quiet that they hadn’t noticed until only his ears were peeking out. She had thrown herself down, and clawed her way to him. Blair had squeaked, asking if they were alright…Though she hadn't really cared if her brother was okay. She had always hated him, because he was so weak and so different.
_____“Yes. I’m okay. Rocky—” She gasped, licking the top of his head as if to revive him from a faint. He wasn't moving!
_____“I’m—I’m okay.” He coughed, trying to clear his lungs of dust as he stood on shaky legs, only to tumble forward down the small pile of debris.
_____“Hey!” She flew backwards, looking at her chest.
________“Ew! You spit on me!”
_____“S-sorry!” He was sneezing, eyes wide in fear.
_____“Not as sorry as you’re going to be!” She squealed in delight, battering his belly with her hind paws. He began to laugh, even though he was a bit winded already, and they ignored their sister as she began to let insults rip from her throat, trying to slice through their happiness.
She mewed in alarm as her vision was torn away, and she fell into darkness. Her eyes shot open to blink in confusion, then drooped when she realized she was back in the cold. She wasn't alone, but...She bit down, causing the fluff ball beneath her to bolt up faster than a rabbit.
_____"YOW! What was that for?" He hissed, as much as he could. The only reason she could hear him, and him her, was because the wind was dying down a bit.
_____"It got you moving. We have to keep walking!" She shuddered, and winced as pain shot through her legs--nearly making her fall again.
_____"My paws--" He was cut off, and stumbled forward, trying to help her even though he had no strength left.
_____"Yeah, mine hurt too. They feel like someone's tried to shred them using a tree-eater, but we can't let that stop us! You wanna die here? You scared of some hard work?" Her words were simple, and a little slurred, yet the tom's chest puffed out, and his eyes sparkled as determination set in.
_____"I'm not afraid of anything!"
_____"Prove it! Mouse."
Their stomachs were twisting painfully with the lack of food, but they trudged on. They weren't going to go down without a fight!

((Sorry this is so...Boring. It may take awhile before I am used to their character personalities. I know they wouldn't be smart enough to make a big speech, or have amazing pep talks, and I also know that they are childish and often act on impulse, but the will to survive is strong and sibling love is--in short, amazing.
Sorry it took me so long too, my sister's birthday was my top priority...Do you know how annoying little kids can be?_? I love them, but ahhhh they are a handful XD.))

[Meany]

OOC: Because they're there, the patrolling AbyssClannians may as well pass them by... Hi. I'm Meany. I'm not allowed to swear.

IC: Not too far from the place these kits were was a small group of cats. Their fur was flattened by the rain and clung to their skin, but they didn't seem to mind. In the threatening territory of towering pines and long shadows, these cats seemed at ease with the torrents of rain and sliding mud, and despite the size of their group, they knew no one would raise a paw against them.

Confidence. Strength. Respect. These were AbyssClannians.

In this group of three there was Snarlgag, a large dark gray tom (nearly black in the wet) with orange eyes, horrific scars surrounding his mouth and throat; Razorclaw, a slightly smaller lighter gray tom (very dark in the rain) with pale green eyes and a permanent sneer; and Luckless, a small dark gray tabby she-cat with a white belly and paws, her blue eyes almost glowing in the rain.
Each of these cats walked gingerly, careful to keep their long reinforced dog-tooth claws out of the muck and in the rain so they kept gleaming in a strange, stained way.

As they drew closer, their rain-scattered speech was becoming coherent.
"Why did we leave the Tawnies," Razorclaw mewed in a high-ish pitch that seemed out of place in such a menacing creature. "Those half breed crickets are still sniffing around in our lowlands." His tone was accusing.
Snarlgag sighed. "They'll never be able to make it up our hill," the tom rumbled. "Crickets or no, they'll only float back down if they try."
"Or be stabbed through the hearts by a sliding tree," Luckless mewed in a surprisingly hard voice.
Snarlgag nodded, but Razorclaw bared his teeth. He intended to say more, but Snarlgag interrupted him.
"You know as well as I do, Razorclaw, that attempting to access the eastern lowlands this time of year is foolish. Either we go back to camp, or risk being stranded like a motherless Forester for two moons."
"Fine," Razorclaw muttered.
Snarlgag rolled his eyes. "You'll have the blood for your claws some other time. There's plenty of cats in the Forester territories."
Razorclaw grumbled something that sounded like an agreement and fell silent.
The three walked in silence for a time, their bright eyes flickering all around, watching for enemies even though they knew they were safe in their own lands.

These times had become strange for them...

Razorclaw's ears flicked at what might have been the rain - but it was so...off, that he paused for the slightest of seconds. A second, but enough for Luckless and Snarlgag to notice.
"What," the older Warrior growled.
The younger Warrior shook his head, snarling in an inquisitive way. "Sounds like...squeaking..."
"Prey?" Snarlgag liked the idea of eating. "In this weather?"
Razorclaw shrugged his broad shoulders. "Shut up."
The older Warrior flattened his ears and bared his teeth but didn't make another sound. In fact, all three of them were now listening to the rain, listening for an out of place sound in the constant pattering of rain in mud, on leaves, and down trunks and branches.
"Squeaking," Luckless murmured, catching a slight sense of what Razorclaw was hearing.
"Squeaking," Razorclaw agreed.
Snarlgag, though, shook his large head. "Not just squeaking..."
Luckless' eyes narrowed. "Oh," she hissed, dismayed that she hadn't realized what the sound was sooner, "it's been far too long..."
The three looked at each other, knowing what they were hearing. Their ancient Code beating in their ears like a heartbeat, the three began to basically tread water to walk towards the sound of the kit voices.

OOC: So, yeah, they're walking towards your kits now!

[Longstorm]

OOC: Because Leya isn't here, I'll move this along...
Btw, this is some epic RPing here, Meany!
NOW GET ONLINE.

IC: Hannah stumbled through a treacherous patch of debris made up of snapped branches and some unknown bits. She pressed under the branches and squeaked in pain when a sharp twig punctured her paw. That was it. That was the very last straw. She wanted to be brave, she wanted to keep going, she wanted Max to keep following - but she wanted to stop, too, she wanted to be warm and fed, she wanted her mother!
She was what she was: a kit.
Hannah whined pitifully as blood began to gush out of her paw.
Max, hearing her though not seeing her, lurched forward but tripped and tumbled into the branches, knocking Hannah over. They both fell into a muddy puddle that had been disguised by the rocky ground and the torrential rain and shadows.
"Help!"
In reality, the puddle wasn't too deep, but it was dark and cold and the kits were frightened and hungry.

OOC: It's sooooo cliche to turn a kit situation into a dangerous situation, but here we are.
I think I'll rethink this post then edit it...

[Meany]

(This is a;; happening before TawnyClan decided to go to the Bloodstones! It's a few days behind the DewClans being in AbyssClan territory too.)

Snarlgag growled and bounded towards the cries for help, Razorclaw and the ex-Servant (because one topic says Luckless and another says Charmless!) hot on his heels. The orange-eyed Warrior sniffed around the soaked brush and shadowy tree, the two others spreading out and sniffing as well.
Razorclaw was slightly impressed (but he'd never say) that the she-cat knew what to do without being told.
"This way," called the she-cat. The two gray toms looked at her and she gestured to the south direction.
"The southern lands are dangerous this time of season," Razorclaw snarled in dismay.
"I think they know," she snapped back, and she made for the faint scent.
They quickly followed her and they confidently strode towards the cries.
They stopped before a bush that was surrounded by debris and had a steady stream of water going under and around it.
"Those Above," Snarlgag spat out. He flicked his tail and the three walked towards the bush, their paws almost beginning to sink into the mud, but AbyssClan techniques helped them keep their reinforced claws from getting stuck.
Razorclaw reared up and began to tear away at the branches and debris with his dog-tooth claws, the two other following suit.

[Longstorm]

Hannah and Max, upon hearing the sounds of the branches being torn apart, both cried out pitifully in fear and helplessness. Max stumbled into the icy puddle again and accidentally snuffled up water into his nose, burning the back of his throat. (OOC: We've all been there.)

OOC: @Meany: I know, right? We're all sort of behind...

[Meany]

The three ripped into the bush, Snarlgag tearing out a prickly branch with his teeth. With their efforts, the kits were uncovered in little time. Razorclaw, being closest, looked down at the little soaked lumps of fur. Huh, he thought.
He reached in and picked up the two little kits at the same time by the scruffs and roughly lifted them out of the puddle. He was about to set them down when the she-cat snapped, "Not yet! They'd get swept away here!"
Snarlgag nodded, his tongue stinging from biting the prickly branch. "Come on," he slurred, his mouth slobbery from blood and drool. This was obviously how he'd gotten the scar around his mouth - from doing similar acts in the past.
The she-cat flashed a glare at Razorclaw and bounded up the hill after Snarlgag. "Gently," she growled back to Razorclaw. The long-furred tom flattened his ears and began to bound - then stopped, realizing that made it harder to hold onto the kits. He growled in frustration and began to carefully and quickly walk after his Clanmates.

[Longstorm]

Hannah and Max mewled in surprise as they were suddenly lifted out of the horrid nasty puddle. They couldn't see the tom that had picked them up, and Max could barely smell him, but they were both very tired and very relieved to be out of the puddle, so they made little fuss. Though, they cried out when the Warrior walked to vigorously and jostled them. Aside from that, they purred gratefully now and again.

[Meany]

Razorclaw rolled his eyes and snorted at the kits' purrs as he followed the others up the hill. "What're we gonna do with these kits anyways?" He spoke around the annoying kit fur.
"We keep them," Luckless snapped. She paused when she realized that the two toms had stopped. Luckless looked back at Razorclaw then forward at Snarlgag. Right?
Snarlgag looked at the she-cat for a long, thoughtful moment, his gaze flickering back to Razorclaw and the kits he was carrying.
Now that the idea was in the air, it was rather catching. The two toms could see the benefits of bringing new kits into the Clan. The two were already finding themselves in agreement.
Snarlgag nodded once, and Razorclaw was fine with it.
Luckless was relieved, but she only showed it by nodding in return. Snarlgag sniffed the damp air and his licked his slavering lips, tasting blood and bush branch. "Let's move," he rowred. He jerked into motion and the other two followed.
Lucky, lucky, lucky kits, thought Razorclaw. Better to live in AbyssClan than anywhere else. Lucky, lucky, lucky...

[Longstorm]

Hannah could feel herself drifting off in the soft lull that was created as Razorclaw continued to walk. Her paws hurt and she was hungry, but she was oh-so tired...

Max occasionally let out a small mew every so many steps. He was cold and miserable and just wanted to go to sleep, but he wanted to be warm.

[Meany]

OOC: It's too bad Leya didn't stick around. She was pretty good at RPing.

IC: Razorclaw noted that one of the kits wasn't making any more noises and he allowed himself to jostle the kits as he stepped into a dip in the ground. Won't be so lucky lucky if they're dead, he reasoned.

Luckless followed Snarlgag closely. Sometimes she inhaled, attempting to scent for anything out of the ordinary as she'd seen on previous patrols when she had jyst been a normal Servant. I'm not a normal Servant now - I'm not a Servant at all, she thought smugly, but a little surprised and a little relieved too. The gray briefly wondered if anything would have changed by the time they returned to the camp.
We staged a revolt while a patrol was out - it could happen again. She was uncomfortable with this revelation.

Snarlgag inhaled deeply as he walked, enjoying the smell of the downpour. Sure, he didn't like getting wet just like everyone else in AbyssClan, but the rains always gave him a sense of security.
The dark, dark gray tom lead the group around a massive wall of bushes and onto another obscured path.

OOC: Should we skip?

[Longstorm]

OOC: Sounds good to me.

IC: Hannah mewed in protest at being jostled so, but she was more awake now. Where were they going, she wondered. What was going to happen to them? The ground seemed far away beneath her small paws, in the jaws of such a large cat.
Max grumbled and spat a bit as Razorclaw took care to step roughly. He grumbled a little more and looked over at Hannah (which wasn't difficult, seeing as they were pressed against each other). Hannah shushed him in response. Max huffed silently and looked at the gray and murk and dark, threatening trees and tangled overgrowth that seemed keen on hiding the path - whatever path there was, if there was actually one - from the three strangers that had rescued them.

[Meany]

Time went by, and the three kept walking. It was getting later and later, but none of them made a mention of the time, not even Luckless. She didn't really care. She'd been on very long walks before, never given a moment to relax so long as her master couldn't. Something about keeping up her master's spirits, or whatever. Something that probably wasn't ever going to matter again. Not for the first time, Luckless felt warm satisfaction at the thought of not being a Servant ever again.

Honestly, right now the three cats were still patrolling the territory. They wouldn't start heading all the way home for a little while, so they were just walking and patrolling and they had two extra kits with them. Razorclaw was a little bored with having to carry them. He said so a couple of times. The third time Snarlgag had spun around with an exasperated snarl and carefully took the kits from him, then continued walking like nothing had happened. Luckless had said nothing while her whiskers twitched in amusement at Razorclaw's dumbfounded shock.

Now they were still walking. Snarlgag didn't mind carrying the kits too much. They smelled pretty decent, compared to a lot of other things he'd smelled in his life. And kits were a nice change - lot of dead people lately.
Snarlgag nearly snorted and cried at the thought. He'd killed a lot of cats in his life, and he was proud of most of those killings. All but maybe three, but it was only three out of a lot more. And now most of his friends were dead. It was all rather ironic and hilarious and stupid, all just a confusing bundle of "What the hell is this," and a lot of things Snarlgag didn't usually think about. And he wasn't going to.
Snarlgag put that bit from his mind. What was left over was a bunch of Servants overthrowing trained Warriors. It had been growing in the Warrior's mind for a while - hell, it had only happened yesterday! But he wasn't exactly fretting about it. No, the new King seemed to like the Servants. He'd keep his questions and ponderings in his head, just until he could ask someone who'd really know.
He'd leave the she-cat alone. He'd probably be killed if he didn't.

"We should be heading back," Luckless meowed as she realized what impact patrolling would have on the kits. Her speaking brought one of Snarlgag's questions to his cut-up fur-filled mouth. He set the kits down suddenly on a sodden patch of ground and meowed, "Can you fight?" Snarlgag looked at Luckless curiously, glancing at her reinforced claws with a hint of a smirk.
Luckless glared and warily nodded, her shoulders set.
"Huh," Snarlgag said again. He made to turn away then looked back at her again. "I'd like to see that." He really would.
Razorclaw watched the two in silent bemusement. He sensed the tension in the air, the questions hanging overhead like a fog bank, but this exchange told him something; it told him that it would be okay - whatever the current definition of okay was, anyways.
Snarlgag saw Razorclaw watching and scowled. The younger tom shrugged, smirked, picked up his paws, and continued walking.

Luckless couldn't figure Snarlgag at the moment. She wondered what his wanting to see her fight might mean for her in the future, and what it would mean for the here and now.
Putting the thought to the back of her mind for later analysis, she strode past Snarlgag in an almost impudent manner and picked up the kits. Luckless was considerably smaller than the two Dark Toms and the kits hung near to the ground, but she held her head high and followed Razorclaw. She was pleased to realize that Razorclaw was leading them back towards camp. Snarlgag must have realized this as well but he said nothing and followed the two.

[Longstorm]

OOC: We need to finish up this topic quickly. Do you think so?

IC: Hannah and Max had listened in confusion to the brief and tense exchange. What was with these cats? Why were they talking about fighting? Why did they all seem so angry?
And why, oh why, did the big tom put them down? The two had mewled in protest at the action, hating the cold and wet ground on their already cold paws.
They were glad when Luckless picked them up, though Max didn't like being so close to the ground as Hannah did. The she-cat carrying them didn't seem too nice as well.

She had mentioned 'back.' Where was that? Was that a home?
Max noticed that they had changed direction and were now heading up the hill instead of around it. Where were they going now? This 'back' place? Not back to the City! Max suddenly stiffened. He didn't want to go back to the City. He liked it out here in the forest! Sure, it was a little cold and wet, but it smelled better! And it was way more fun! Well, it was, until he got cold and wet...
But it was still way, way, way better than everything in the whole wide City!
He really didn't want to go back.
The smoke colored tom looked down at the weird, plant-covered ground and wondered if this was the way back to the City...

Hannah felt Max tense up beside her and grumbled at him, not liking how his back was arched against her's. It'll only make it tough for the she-cat to carry us, she thought grumpily.
"Stop pushing," she grumbled in her kit-voice.
"I'm not," Max snapped in his kit-voice, but he relaxed anyways.
Hannah 'hmmped' and could feel herself dozing off, and said nothing more.
Max, however, was wide awake, afraid that the City would appear past the next tree, or the next bush, or the next pile of sticks.

[Meany]

The Dark Toms looked around and

OOC: INCOMPLETE

[Longstorm]

They walked. There were kits. They ran into Terra and Paleclaw and they whisked away with Snarlgag, off to CityClan on a special mission.

OOC: Finish it Meany?

[Meany]

OOC: Finished.

IC: And the other two and the two kits went on their way, with some grumbles, back on to AbyssClan camp to bring the new kits into the Clan.

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