Duskpelt's Return (OPEN)

[xx snakey]

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Duskpelt twitched, a drop of slimy black water dripping onto his nose. The voices were getting restless, saying words he had no meaning for, sentances that didn't make sense. But he wasn't their slave anymore, they were his consultents, his council and he was their leader. They couldn't command him, only make suggestions. The gray tom rolled over, bumping into one of the furred bodies near him. His servants, witless, cowardly loners, slept on either of his sides, their steady breathing echoing in his cave. He stood, padding over to the Sacred Pool, as he called it, and bending his head to taste the acrid liquid that tasted so sweet to him. Then he turned, yowling so loud his subdorants jumped and started to bristle. They couldn't see him, but he could see them. The four of them, a ragged pelted tabby, a white tom, a black she-cat and a skitish orange kit. They all started to calm when they noticed they were not going to be attacked. Duckpelt's paw steps were silent as he glided past, flicking each with his tail to signal their following.

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The dawn light outside made Duskpelt blink, so used to the dark as his followers sighed in relief. He turned to them, looking over the group. He shook his head, this wouldn't do. None of them were good enough. He'd have to charm the clan into loving him again. That would be dificult... But this group wouldn't do. Flexing his claws against the clod stone of Mothermouth, he sprang at the orange kit, no more then five moons old, and slash his throat open with one swipe of his massive white paws. The tabby she-cat let out a strangled cry, but made no move to help the kit as his life drained out of him, staining Duskpelt's paws. He turned back to the group. "Defy me and die." He said as he did every morning and they all nodded solemly, not knowing that the kit had done nothing wrong. But he couldn't have these three following him.

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The black she-cat brushed against his pelt as they sat on the edge of the Thunder Path between the Moonstone and Windclan territory. Her belly was swollen with his kits, and she tapped his flank affectionately with her tail. Duskpelt stifled a disgusted sigh. "Darksnake? You love me right?" She whispers, and he grumbles a reply that's somewhere between 'yes' and 'I don't care'. She smiles at him, brushing her tail over his flank again. "Then lets loose these two and go off on our own, hm?" He sighs, twitching his ears in annoyance. I'll loose you... He thinks, before racing acrossed the Thunder Path. The other's stay on the other side, waiting for his signal. He signals the tabby, who makes it safely acrossed, then the white tom, who joins them easily. Then he waits, watching the black she-cat flounder on the other side, waiting for him. He turns away, jumping into the undergrowth. He doesn't pay any heed to the tabby's cry again as the black she-cat crosses at the wrong time. Duskpelt doesn't care though, the kits would have been useless anyway, in his mind.

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"What happens if they find us? They'll find us, We should run, lets run Duskpelt, please, they'll find us." THe tabby's frantic mewing is starting to annoy him as he watches a Windclan patrol pass indifferently. They don't notice the three cats however, and as soon as they pass over the rise, Duskpelt turns on the tabby, growling. He jumps onto her back pinning her to the ground. Grim staisfaction comes to his face when he sinks his teeth into her neck, her filthy blood pooring into his mouth and her strangled cries turning into mewling pleas before she stops moving all together. He moves away from the body, spitting in disgust and looking at the white tom, who stays quiet. He flicks his tail for the cat to follow him, and he does.

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Stepping into the clearing of Thunderclan's camp was like a dream. But this time it was different. This was no rabbit from the moors he was bringing to camp, no it was a message. He shifted the broken, bloodied body underneath him and tugs it threw the gorse tunnel, dropping it at his feet and look over the place that he once called home. Placing one blood stained paw on the white toms body, he calls out, his voice high and pure, a warning call that rings throughout the clearing, allerting every cat of his presense. It's time... Time for blood to rule this clan... He thinks, an evil smile curving on his lips.

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[W.in.DY.]

Spottedstorm stood up, as Duskpelt called out. Stepping over her sleeping clanmates, she noticed someone vaguely familiar, but not quite. She stayed where she was, she was still too nervous to move. "Hi..?" She mewed, her tail lashing. But then she saw the body. Spottedstorm furrowed her brows and hissed, her tail lashing. Duskpelt was crazy! She wanted to yell out, but she was frozen. He's insane... I should tell Midnightstar! She thought to herself. But you don't want to die, do you? A revolutionary thought taunted her, but she tried to force that away.

Spottedstorm found herself thinking of what she could of been doing right now, but then they quickly faded. " Uh..
" She mewed, not finding the right thing to say.

[Silver]

Isn't it tragic?

Shrubwhisker, curled asleep in his den, awoke instantly when a cry echoed through the air. A shiver slipped down his spine, hearing something menacing in the ghastly wail. Instantly he was on his feet, hurrying outside, not even bothering to take care in avoiding the other sleeping warriors. Rosethorn did not stir and as he scrambled past her.

Outside, the sun had just risen over the horizon, spilling its weak morning light. The bitter chill in the air sank into his bones the second he emerged. His ears caught a soft voice speaking before his eyes noticed the cats in the clearing. His paws rooted to the spot when he saw the white tom, bloody and very clearly dead. His initial shock wore off, and he advanced on the tom, ignoring Spottedstorm, standing cautiously nearby. The face seem very familiar, but Shrubwhisker couldn't put a name on it. "Who are you to enter ThunderClan camp?" his hissed, hackles raised, eyes glittering suspiciously. "What is your business here?" it came out as a snarl.

[xx snakey]

Duskpelt regaurded Spottedstorm with some sympathy. The poor she-cat looked terrified, and she always had been on his good side due to her feisty personality. He glanced toward Shrubwhisker and licked some blood off his chest. "Do you fail to recognize your former deputyy and comrade who was so deviously stolen away from his home but a moon after his apointment? Shrubwhisker, I expected better from you. It is I, Duskpelt. If you take a minute to halt your snide accusions maybe you can hear my story." Duskpelt lashed his tail once and was off the subject, looking around for Midnightstar. She seemed to be missing from the picture and he quietly kneeded his claws into the white tom's still warm body. He turned back to Shrubwhisker, "Would you like to hear my tale?" He looked at Spottedstorm questioningly to see if she was interested as well.

[W.in.DY.]

"Sure." The she-cat answered, sitting down. She felt slightly overcome by her dark side, which urged her to take over the forest, that of which she could never do.She blinked, her claws suddenly flashing out, and scrapping the ground. Something was oddly wrong here. [[urg.. no muse]]

[Silver]

Shrubwhisker hesitated, studying the tom's face. Finally, the young tom nodded, taking a small step back. "I apologize for not recognizing you, Duskpelt. It has been while,"
he said quietly. Though he knew and respected the tom, he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that haunted him. Stop being foolish! You should be welcoming your Clan-mate back! he scolded himself. But as his piercing green gaze settled on the bloody body, he still couldn't summon the enthusiasm to greet him as a Clan mate should. "I would like to hear your tale, as I'm sure the entire Clan would. Perhaps I should wake the others..." he said quietly, staring distastefully, and somewhat sympathetically at the body, before hurrying into the Warriors den, poking what warriors were not already awake and looking around curiously.

[hazel]

Midnightstar awoke to the sound of voices in the clearing, the noise irritating her sensitive ears. She opened one eye and yawned silently, stretching her mouth wide. She got to her paws and stretched, arching her back and digging her paws into her bedding. She gave a satisfied sigh as she felt her limbs crack, standing up properly out of her stretch. The voices outside made her curious, so she padded to the entrance of her den and out, spotting three cats standing in the clearing. She recognised Spottedstorm and Shrubwhisker, who were conversing with... Duskpelt?
"Duskpelt!" she mewed, running over to join them. "What happened to you?"

( Eh, ignore all the suck in this post. >.< )

[xx snakey]

Duskpelt smiled at Midnightstar, nodding respectfully to the she-cat. He flexed his claws again, the new muscles he'd built since his last time in camp ripplinging under his pelt. His short fur no longer looked as if it hung off his body in a fluid coat, but instead stuck to each contor and curve of his body, showing his strength in every movement. "Midnightstar, I am glad to see that my attempts to protect the clan were not in vain and that you, my dear leader, are safe." He took a moment to bow before her in a lavish manner before straightening up againt. He glanced at the dead tom at his feet. "This cat here had some rather odd accusations about you, and was planning to attack. When he heard I was deputy, he sought to capture me. He inisisted that if I didn't tell him where the camp was then he'd kill me. I'm not one to back down from a challenge but the cats he had with him were fearsome, evil, they had no mercy. I watched them kill innocent cats for no reason, kits even..." He stopped, his voice choking up and his eyes clouding as if he was deeply troubled by this. Then he looked up again, collecting himself. "I had to stop him, so I lied to him that I was on his side and that I'd bring him here. But I led him and his followers to Snake Rocks instead, and there I faced them." A flash of triumph painted his face and he puffed up his chest proudly. "Their had to be ten, no twenty of them! Hard as stone with claws like dog teeth, they came at me, but you, Midnightstar, kept me fighting. I didn't want to see my clan fall to ruin, and truly I think we'd all be lost without you." Admiration sparkled in his amber gaze, still intently locked on Midnightstar, He'd forgotten about Spottedstorm and Shrubwhisker. "So I battled them, with the feircousity of all of Lionclan, and soon they were running back to their kit mothers. Of course, the adders helped too." He tried to look humble, but was much to proud of his boasting. Of course it was all a lie, but wasn't that what had happened to him last time? Caputered by rogues and battling his way out. It was plausable, and with Midnightstar here... Wow he'd forgotten how beautiful the she-cat really was, never mind his leader, now that his mind wasn't fogged with maddness he could actually take a minute to look at she-cats. They were all stunning, but Midnightstar was something else. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill her in the near future. "I brought him to camp so you would see the proof of my endevers, and know that you are safe." With that he smiled sincerly, nodding reassuringly and looking at Spottedstorm and Shrubwhisker. "There's no need to worry, I don't think they'll be back anytime soon." The hidden meanings in that statement held so much for Duskpelt, but know one would every know. He smiled, and sighed as if relieved. "It's good to be home."

[Silver]

Shrubwhisker hovered near the warriors den entrance, watching the reunion. He slowly approached Midnightstar, still confused. "If Duskpelt used to be deputy, what about Iceleaf?" he whispered. Iceleaf had been in the warriors den, sleeping, and decided not to alert her yet. He still couldn't shake off the bizare feeling that this was not your normal circumstance in any way. He eyed Duskpelt suspiciously. "What kind of accusations? Midnightstar hasn't done any rouges wrong. We haven't even seen any around here for a few moons now," he asked, his voice soft, almost as if he was talking to himself. He fidgeted, wishing Rosethorn was here with him. She'd know what to think about Duskpelt. She'd be able to tell him he was silly for disbelieving the handsome tom. But no, Rosethorn was off hunting, as the leaves had started to litter the campground, and even now he could feel the cold settling in his fur.

[xx snakey]

Duskpelt shook his head. "I was not aware of the whole story, but the tom had a serious bone to pick with Midnightstar, but the reason why was not brought to my attention. He just wanted to get rid of her. Maybe he was working for an enemy? Have there been any recent fueds between the clans? Any cat that seems that dispicable?" He waved his tail curiously and then dismissed the topic with a sharp backward lash. "As for my rank as deputy, i am just glad to be back with my clanmates and I would be happy to give any assistance to you, Midnightstar, but I do not desire my former rank to be restored." He dipped his head solemnly but respectfully to his leader and then raised his head, scanning the crowd for a certain cat. He wanted to see Silverflower. It wasn't like he liked the she-cat, but with that beautiful pelt of hers, she was the perfect canidate for him to take as a mate. She was strong and beautiful, no doubt the best mother for his kits. The last she-cat he'd picked hadn't been quite his taste. Well, maybe he did want to see the she-cat, but only because she'd been so kind to him before...

Silverflower parted her jaws in a yawn. She stood, and stretched her forelegs out infront of her. Something was going on, with all the commotion coming from the clearing. Being careful not to distrub other sleeping cats, she picked her way out of the den and padded into the clearing. "What's going- Great Starclan!" She yowled, bounding toward the gray tom standing in the clearing, her silver pelt sparking. "Duskpelt!" She purred, pushing passed Shrubwhisker and completely ignoring the other cats in the clearing. "Duskpelt, where were you?" She mewed worriedly, pressing her muzzel against his cheek. She purred loudly and glanced at the dead tom at Duskpelt's paws. "Oh my goodness! Did he attack you?" the silver she-cat gasped, completely oblivious of the tom's lies.

[Silver]

Shrubwhisker said nothing as he was pushed aside to let the silver she-cat through. He was all the more confused as to why he couldn't remember Duskpelt at first. Surely, he was well loved among the Clan, seeing the reaction at his welcome. You were an apprentice then; you never spoke to anyone except Rosethorn and Solarwind... he reasoned. He glanced at Spottedstorm, but the she-cat seemed to have lost interest and was walking away. He shrug, then turned his attention to Midnightstar once more. "We should probably bury the rouge..." he said uncertainly, his soft brown ears twitching.

(Fail post ;3)

[W.in.DY.]

Spottedstorm had zoned out -- not completely, during Duskpelt's story. The she-cat was able to tune out the unnessicary details, and leave the important ones. It wasn't hard, actually. Just ignore the stuff you thought was not needed to be said, but listen to the stuff that was needed. Catch my drift?

The she-cat blinked her dark eyes as they flitted around the clearing.