[Insidious]

G R A Y O W L
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He was on the outside looking in, a stranger that was no longer welcome to come and go as he pleased. Since his exile, he had known that it was best to keep his distance - give TreeClan some time to forget about him, and to convince themselves that he was nothing but a bad memory that would never return to haunt them. Of course, they would be wrong, but he wouldn’t put it passed his old Clanmates to always hope that things would work themselves out, and that their problems would just go away without a fight. Lionstar had made it impossible for him to switch his allegiance, with although pitiful, wasn’t overly problematic. He was limited to the wilderness of the mountains, and though it posed plentiful a danger, he was thrilled by the challenge. He wouldn’t make it so easy for TreeClan’s benevolent leader to get rid of him, like he was nothing more than a pesky flea that could be pecked from the thick fur of his neck. On occasion, he would wander dangerously close to the border, and today he had pushed the limit to brand new heights. His scent would be difficult to discern, but present nonetheless. Hopefully word would be taken to Lionstar that his malevolent pain in the neck wasn’t gone just yet.

There was rustling in the grass below, Grayowl having taken to the advantageous points of a tree just beyond the borderline. He ventured as close to the edge of the branch as he dared, putting all of his weight upon his back legs, luminescent yellow eyes unblinking as he waited for whatever member of TreeClan this was to be unmasked. A part of him, however small, hoped to see Mockingbird or Sootpaw push into the open, traveling the borders once again in search of their maniacal father’s face. Even though it wasn’t one of his spawn that had decided to make an appearance, he was no less enthusiastic about what was free to take place in this particular kind of company.

“Hello, little bird.” He cooed to the mute she-cat like she was a newborn, anticipating the sound of its mother or father’s voice. In the branches of the tree, he was thoroughly disguised, but she’d be able to pinpoint his location with ease, a pair of golden eyes seething as they locked upon her being as though she was planned to be his next meal. Dropping down from the canopy, he was now eye-level with the TreeClanner, a gross smile spreading across his charcoal muzzle in greeting. “Your companion isn’t near?” He confirmed his suspicions with a pronounced inhalation of the air, “such a shame that is. I hope he’s well and unharmed.” The exile took a gracious step closer, jaw opened threateningly.

His forepaws were just pressed against the line that differed TreeClan’s territory from NightClan's, whether his intention was to cross or to remain on NightClan's side yet to be determined. “He likely wishes that you’re well and unharmed, too. You certainly will be for another day, I’m sure, as long as you don’t run.” He put emphasis on the last word, adding an exaggerated roll of his eyes, as though nothing would burden him more than to see her turn-tail and race back towards her camp to try and communicate to someone that he was near their borders once again - that the menace had returned, after all. “Don’t think that I wouldn’t chase you, little bird. Nothing would please me more than to take from this Clan until there is nothing left of it for me to rip apart.” There was a demonic glimmer in his eyes, a suppressed chuckle hanging off the corner of his upturned lip. “Feel free to pass on that message.”

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Tags: BlooRey DVD
Word Count: 630.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Broken[/smear:ff6633][smear:ff6633]song[/smear:ffffff]

~~~~~~~~~

You know those days when you just... Feel like you need a walk, and that's the only thing on your mind? A pretty tortoiseshell she-cat was having one of those days, even though the last time she'd had one of those days, she'd gotten herself in a pawful of trouble. You would think that getting stuck in a log and having to stare silently at three trespassing NightClanners, unable to do anything, she would have learned her lesson. On any regular day, that lesson was learned. She never left the camp without someone else. But it was just... One of those days.

She'd made it deep into TreeClan territory, padding along and scanning the surroundings with her hazel eyes. She was relaxed, the wind carrying her scent off somewhere into NightClan's territory. Her ears flicked to and fro, listening for any sound of prey that might alert her to its location. She wasn't there with the purpose of hunting, but as a warrior, she would never push away the chance of bringing her Clan food. What did make it to her ears was anything but prey. It was a voice, one that was strangely familiar... Even before she registered what had just been said, a pinprick of unease staked her heart and began to dissipate through her veins.

Ears rotated back until they lay flat on her skull, and her eyes widened. She found herself immobilized by dread, unable to turn tail and run. The dread increased tenfold when a blurred shape dropped down from the canopy above. Gray paws dominated the earth below them, crushing the life out of anything they touched. And those eyes... Perhaps it was simply biased because she knew what a monster this particular character was, but she could have sworn that his eyes were searing a hole through her very soul.

I should have brought Zephyrfang. It was the first thought that burned through her brain. Or Feathercloud. Or anyone. They came rapid fire from there, names, images, faces whom she wished were standing beside her now, to give her the strength that she lacked. As much as it had been contested by her mother, her father, her friends, Zephyrfang... It was moments like these were she realized she really was broken. What good was she when she couldn't even scream for her, warn others? I should never have left camp this morning..

And then he brought up Zephyrfang. She felt as though Grayowl had just seized her very heart in his paws. Her chest tightened at the thought of any harm coming to the tabby tom she loved. And then the threat was turned on her. She felt as though her whole world had been turned on its head. Common sense told her she should turn tail and run as fast as she could. She was fast. She could make it back to camp, back to safety. Maybe. What if she didn't? What if he caught her? Then she would no longer be the only one in danger.

On the other paw, his clear threat paired with the terror she was feeling kept her rooted to the ground where she was. Her tail was tucked between her legs, the plume-like appendage just as immobile as the rest of her. Every word he spoke was a fresh blow, as though he were reopening a healing wound. He had called her 'little bird', more than once now. It twisted the pleasant memories she had of being referred to by her mother as 'My Broken Little Songbird.' It was as though he were mocking her in calling her that.

And then there was his last line, about passing the message on. He had basically admitted to her that he held a grudge on TreeClan, that he would take pleasure in destroying the Clan that had banished him. And he knew that she would be incapable of warning anyone of his intentions. Every word he so slyly breathed crushed her just a little more. He was a parasite, feeding on terror, on taking her happiness. She tried to take a step back, but her muscles locked and she stumbled painfully. Scrabbling to her paws she fixed him in her gaze, not trusting him for a moment. If I look away, he'll kill me. I just know it.

It had been a long time since she'd felt so afraid. And the worst part? He likely knew exactly how terrified she was, reading it from the expression on her features, from the volume that had suddenly picked up her fur, causing it to stand on end.

[Insidious]

G R A Y O W L
- - - - - -

There were few things in life quite so precious to him. He found a sickening satisfaction in the fact that his presence alone demanded to be feared, as though he could so much as press the tip of his paw against her leg, and she would stumble helplessly to the ground in fear. His thought was proved to be true when the she-cat stumbled, attempting to back away from him but, instead, tripping on her own paws. She had been rooted to the spot by his words, the warning that they promised to act upon, and for that she was rewarded with as pleasant a smile as he could muster, for she was showing promising signs of behaving like the good little kitten he expected her to be.

He knew that he was taking a huge risk by being here, so close to TreeClan’s territory, after Lionstar had banished him and made it clear to his whole Clan that he was not welcome within a single mouselength. His being here was proof enough of how lowly a regard he held whatever Lionstar had to say in. There was nothing the leader could say, nor do, to shatter his benevolent disposition. There was no denying that Lionstar wanted him dead, so that he may be sure that the burden was gone for good, but it was a matter of whether or not the almighty leader was capable of committing such a crime. Grayowl wanted to drive him to it; he wanted to push every last one of his buttons, until maybe he would be lucky enough to see Lionstar snap. The Clan, after all, had no use for a leader that had lost his mind, driven insane by his overwhelming hatred for the despicable tom that had caused him such high quantities of stress. He would welcome Lionstar into the mountains, into the domain that he had been forced to familiarize with so that he may survive. It had been tough to do, to say the least, and for that the leader would pay. In what form, however, had yet to be decided - he was sure that something would come to him with time.

“Let this be a lesson that Lionstar cannot banish his problems. They will come back to him, and they will come back feeling horribly vindictive.” He crossed the border in a single stride, circling the pathetic she-cat, the circle getting tighter with each turn. “They might not take from him though, not directly at least. That’s far too easy. There are ways that will hurt him even more . . . he can suffer in the long-run for somebody else’s pain.” He stopped directly in front of the mute warrior, golden eyes unblinking, shining as if he they held a secret inside of their depths that had not yet been shared. There was still the traces of a smile on his lips, unbearably close to the she-cat as he leaned forward to whisper into her ear. “Your pain?” His tongue slithered out of his mouth like a snake’s, gently rasping along the edges of her ear before, in one quick motion, he drew away and there was once again distance between them. He hungered for her reaction; for her to worry about when he would lash out at her and cause the pain that he forewarned of. Her terror was a beautiful thing, truly, and he would do everything in his power to prolong it - to make sure that, even in his absence, it still felt like the cold remnants of his sadistic tongue was scraping against her ear.

- - - - - -

Tags: BlooRey DVD & Fawn
Word Count: 599.
Notes: CUE ZEPHYRFANG. I promised not to add to your postcount, and I have not broken that promise. xD Fawn is going to bring in Zephyfang next to save the day!

[Fawn]

ZEPHYRFANG
28 Moons - Tom - Luckiest Cat in TreeClan

---

It was his disobedience that saved her. Frustrated with this leash Lionstar had placed around his neck and handed over to Thornstrike, he had taken the opportunity to break away once Thornstrike was momentarily occupied by Emberstorm; it was the confirmation that Brokensong too had left camp that was enough to put speed in his paws and his nose to the ground to pick up her scent. His pace was a confident stride, not that of a skulking young apprentice who knew he was breaking the rules. Zephyrfang jumped over a fallen log, sodden with the rains of Newleaf, and it was there, at the edge of the border that a familiar - distinctive - scent all but punched him in the nose.

Brokensong. And she smelled afraid. You didn't have to grow up with stories of TigerClan to embody their ferocity, Zephyrfang was proof enough of that, the tawny warrior plunging into the forest towards the source of Brokensong's distress, the backlog of stealth tactics Shatani had instilled in him since before he could even start hunting his own prey came rushing up to the surface. Aware of every leaf and every twig, every stirring of the breeze, he sought out his little frightened songbird, lips pulling back in a deadly hiss when he caught sight of her - and the cat Lionstar had exiled.

"You."

Claws unsheathed, he advanced towards Grayowl with the conviction of a killer, throwing no thought to the consequences. He would kill anything that attempted to harm his mate, and this gray-furred piece of bile that would attack his own sister could not be trusted to have a last minute attempt at a conscience. Zephyrfang followed a different set of laws, a harsher set of laws that included killing someone over a scrap of food, fighting aggressively to protect what was yours, and casting aside camaraderie if it would ensure your survival. He didn't grow up with a sense of unity, with any kind of hesitations over attacking a Clan mate - besides, he didn't consider Grayowl a Clanmate. No one did. And to have him standing, coiling like a snake around the one he loved most in this world, it was enough to make the loner's blood boil and the light of hatred fill up his eyes like water in a hollowed out bough. Without second thought, Zephyrfang put himself between Grayowl and Brokensong, feeling the softness of her fur against his as he stuck close while maintaining his battle stance.

"Get out, before I rip you apart." Zephyrfang snarled, the expression fashioning itself in the shape of a strange grin, as if a small part of him would delight in having the honor of killing Grayowl himself. He wouldn't do it for the Clan, he would do it for Brokensong's safety - but all that mattered in the end was that Grayowl was dead, didn't it? Lionstar would likely never admit to being covetous of that honor himself.

Word Count: 489 Words
Tags: Insidious, BlooRey DVD

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Broken[/smear:ff6633][smear:ff6633]song[/smear:ffffff]

~~~~~~~~~

Bile rose in her throat. Her ear blazed as though it had been coated in corrosive poison that was eating away at her very flesh. She could still feel the heat of his breath against her cheek, the burn of his rough tongue as it had rasped over the side of her ear. He was no longer by her side, but she could still feel his presence, taste the tang of his scent against her tongue. It was smothering her, driving the air from her lungs and rendering her more useless than a newborn kit. Larchclaw would have been terribly disappointed in her.

So focused on the gray demon before her, she didn't notice the approach of another cat, not until Zephyrfang tore through the undergrowth. His features were twisted into a snarl she'd not seen on his face for a long while, looking like a reincarnation of the fiercest of TigerClan warriors. Her heartbeat seemed to freeze momentarily, her throat constricting almost painfully. All she could think about was that Zephyrfang was there. He was there, and if he got hurt, then it was all her fault because she'd been too stupid to bring someone else with her when she left camp this morning.

His coat was so soft against hers, a bizarre contrast to the ferocity she could see in every line of musculature she'd become so accustomed to. Slowly, her breath slipped from her maw, and when she breathed back in, she drew in his scent. It was the strangest thing... The simple notion of knowing he was actually there, feeling his fur against hers and tasting him on her tongue... It brought a new sense of strength. It started in her chest, a flurry of warmth that seeped through her veins. And slowly her pelt lost a little of the volume fear brought with it.

Ears still pinned against her skull, she let her claws curl into the ground below, rooting herself there, drawing on the strength that the trees around them did. Her tail flicked once, and she stepped forward slowly. Her shoulder was pressed to Zephyrfang's flank now, and though she was still slightly behind him (for fear she'd ultimately just get in his way), she was prepared to stand by him and fight with him. Her stance was similar to Zephyrfang's, if not a little less intimidating. The beautiful TreeClanner felt his strength in her, and she was prepared to be one with him, to be part of his team. They could fight Grayowl together.

...Right?

Fawn Insidious