[Rouge] and a [Rogue] (Lunar!)

[[Acro.]]

ooc:// ℓυиαя I WANNA MEET RED-DUUUSSSSK please c:


You can't cage them...

It slithered.

A snake-like creature, its pelt darkly mottled and body kept low to the ground, wove in and about WhisperClan's junkyard, two crisp, yellow eyes shining like beacons in the fading light of the day. Being so near the New Leaf season, much of the snow had already surrendered to the warmth of the sun, but now that the day was cooling the white slush would again begin to thicken. The serpentine feline moved around as many of the chilly mounds as she could, leaving traces as only a shadow would against the landscape. In one moment, she was there, clear against a backdrop of rust and Twoleg monsters, and the next moment she would be gone, blended in to the creeping vines and scrap piles.

For a short while, she sat silently and watched the pale blue sky of early evening make way for the flames of dusk. but then she had proceeded on, her belly near to the ground as she moved with a gait that had, over time, become natural to her. Always low, always stalking. It had been some time since she'd seen another cat, having preferred to keep to herself for the past moon--or had it been two? but that morning, she had felt that all-too-familiar pull, telling her she needed something to change.

And what better way to incite change than to intrude upon a Clan's perfect little world of borders and boundaries?

With easy strides and an effortless leap, the snaking she-cat perched herself just inside the open belly of a decrepit Twoleg monster, its innards torn and weathered by the elements since its eyes had been shattered to pieces. 

What a beautiful monstrosity.

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

Leaf-bare was a rough time no matter your alliance.

For some cats it was the lack of a thick coat, for others it was the lack of food.

For the marbled tom stalking through Whisperclan territory it was both yet none. Or rather, there was more to worry about than the thickness of his pelt or that his stomach was empty. Much more.

Large paws made solid prints in the thick snow, snow that still fell from the sky in a wet sleet, coating his brown and red pelt and clinging to short whiskers. Opening his mouth, the tom scented the air but soon spun away with a snarl, dark green eyes scouring the white landscape. In this weather he would never find the bastard and though he didn't want to admit it, his brother was clever. He always had been.

The words of his clanmate, Moonblaze, constantly gave him a headache.

"I swore I saw you out on the slopes, only a little bit ago."

"Only...his eyes were an odd sort of colour..."

"He...may still be out there,"

"What are you going to do about it then?"

His answer was still the same, he was going to find him and though he had told Moonblaze he would go when the snow subsided, he hadn't been able to sit in camp with this new knowledge. And he hadn't the time.

Looking around, Red-dusk noted the junkyard before him, a notorious site of large predators. Shaking his pelt free of lodged snow, the muscled tom made his way over, eyes narrowing as a scent caught his nose and a shadowed frame caught his eyes. He knew without any closer inspection that the scent wasn't of his marbled kin however he knew enough to know they were in a place they shouldn't be. He closed in and instead of telling them to get lost, his eyes widened in surprise as the patterns of the tortishell she cat became focused and crisp. "What are you going here?" his deep voice rumbled when he was close enough to the rogue. Recognize her as he might, his words were not welcoming, almost as if he was trying to separate aspects of his life. Out with the old and in with the new.

Why was it that his past always seemed to find him?

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

"What are you doing here?"

A voice.

She had been found.

She smiled.

If she had wanted to stay secret, stay hidden, then trust in the stars that she would have. but today was not for hiding.

The feline turned her head, her bright eyes dancing over to the approaching tom. A flutter of surprise crossed her coy expression--it was not often she saw a face she recognized. A pleasant surprise. With a flick of her tail, the she-cat was on her paws, though she kept her belly close to the ground as she slithered her way out of the old monster's belly and into the falling snow, just a few tail-lengths in front of the tom. Crouched as she was, she had to peer upwards at the cat across from her to meet his gaze, her long tail weaving like a lazy snake behind her. "I could ask you the same thing, couldn't I?" she chimed, her tone light, her eyes playful. "You seem to be a long way from home," she remarked with a curious tilt of her head. And then, almost teasingly, she added, "Or... are you right where you're supposed to be?"

She recognized this tom, from moons ago--didn't she? She was practically sure of it...

Either way, she would, no doubt, have her answers soon enough.

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

The flicker of surprise on her face mirrored his as he watched her slink till she was a few tail lengths away. She was exactly as he remembered, her bright yellow eyes playful in a dark black face, copper making appearances over her body in no order in particular. What cemented her identity however was the way she crept low to the ground, and seemed to slither. Quite disconcerting in the least.

From a distance she could be mistaken for any other cat. but that gait, the way she walked - meant he could see her from miles off.

"I could ask you the same thing, couldn't I?" There was that tone of voice, one that chimed and lifted and fell like the wind, with her emotions. "You seem to be a long way from home oare... are you right where you're supposed to be?"

Home. Where was that now? He guessed it was here and while he now lived the clan life, his kithood memories were all of someplace else. Once he would have said wherever his brother and father were but that had all changed now hadn't? His lone ear flicked in reminder, green eyes narrowing on the mostly black cat before him. He had to be careful with this one. Like most rogues she was liable to change her mood with the change of the wind. He would know. "I'm now not with the others." Red-dusk's normally deep, reserved voice was steel stroked with cautiousness. He wasn't scared of this she cat.. rather.. hated what she represented and what she reminded him of. Even more of a reason for her to leave. "You shouldn't be here." Yet again that impenetrable tone. What was her name again?

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

She could see it in his face: recognition.

Her already bright eyes lit up. How interesting. His eyes on hers were like stories, and she read them greedily. She could see, behind his staunch wall, the... disgust he felt toward her. Or maybe... not disgust, just simply a natural aversion. More-so than most cats she ran into on the territories, he especially did not want her there. Perfect.

"I'm not not with the others."

Oh? As if that was already clear enough.

"You shouldn't be here."

The serpentine feline tilted her head coyly in the other direction, her ears perking up toward the tom. She smiled at him innocently, the expression slight and whimsical, and then she began to purr. The gentle ring danced pleasantly beneath the sound of falling snow, and then she spoke with tones of intrigue. "Now, that's not fair," she commented, eyes shining. "Is that what they said to you before so graciously taking you in?" 'They' referring to whichever WhisperClanner(s) had been the one(s) to come upon him. He didn't get into the Clan with no one noticing--she knew it was safe to assume someone must have found him, first. Her mind reeled with curiosity--how had it happened? Had there been a skirmish? Had he been at first chased away? Or had they kept him prisoner until they decided to trust him?

Her eyes danced up to his ear, and then flitted over to where its partner should have been. "I think you left something back in your Nest, this morning," she commented with a laughing purr, the sound not mocking as much as it was... innocently amused. 

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

"Now, that's not fair." 

Wasn't it?

"Is that what they said to you before so graciously taking you in?"

No, he guessed they hadn't but he would have rather have had those words, uttered in hostility than what he had been. Found bloody and unconscious as a rogue on clan territory, Reddusk had been lucky they had decided to take him in rather than go with the alternative. Vulnerable, put in that state because of his own blood. It was something he had vowed to never be again, it was then he had decided where his true alliances lay, to those that betrayed him not.

It had been.. moons since he had last seen the sly rogue before him and it felt like everything was in the wrong place, like holding a puzzle piece and not finding where it fit. His new life here did not accommodate for those of his old. It felt out of place to see her there him having been so different then. Would this be what it was like when he finally found his brother? Eyes hardened at the thought and anger washed over him once more, coating and sweeping away the surprise that had filled him at her appearance. With a low growl, he watched her carefully. "Something like that." A curt dismissal of her questions, they were of no importance to her. His past was his and his alone.

"I think you left something back in your Nest, this morning."

Funny, but a smile didn't curve his features as it would with someone he knew. Because he didn't know her anymore did he? His thin level of trust had diminished with his betrayal and she was just in time to see the new him. That ear flicked again and he decided to grit his teeth against the memories and play it off calmly. "Yeah, I have a habit of doing that." There, a tendril of his usual dry humour but it held a edge of steel to keep her at a distance. 

Once more,

"What are you doing out here?"

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

There was so much... anger.

Her eyes gleamed with inquisition--the hostility she saw in him for her was... noteworthy. but why? As far as her memory served, she had never done anything to affront him, personally... Was it truly just this new-found allegiance with a Clan that had him so repulsed? Hadn't he been in her paws only moons ago? And now, there he stood, ready to chase the scary rogue out of his Clan's territory.

Oh how quickly the winds may change.

"Yeah, I have a habit of doing that. What are you doing out here?"

Her smile leaked into her eyes and her chiming purr continued. She had anticipated her comment upsetting him, somehow... but, if it had, he was doing an excellent job of hiding it. And she could appreciate that. The dark creature let out a thoughtful hum and stretched her long legs out in front of her, her claws unsheathing. Her eyes narrowed onto the tom... and then she rolled her shoulder into the light dusting of snow on the ground, her flank and hindquarters faithfully following its lead until she had turned completely belly-up, either oblivious or entirely unafraid of how exposed and vulnerable this left her. She craned her neck just enough to smile coyly up at the tom, her eyes bright with innocence--fearless with her soft underside open to a world of danger. "See," her posture was saying. "I am lying down. It must mean all is safe for lying down."

No danger, here.

"Certainly nothing questionable," she replied at last, her tail flicking idly back and forth against the ground. The snow was cold, seeping into the fur along her back, but she relished in the sensation. "And you?" she returned, tone curious. "Where's the rest of your patrol? Surely they don't yet trust you enough to send you off on your own in their territory. After all..." Her smile had just a hint of her taunt. "You might be going off to meet in secret with some dangerous rogue."

And just what would those Clan cats think, if they could see him now?

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

Looking down at her rolling in the snow, Red-dusk raised a brow at her show of confidence, her actions speaking for how safe she felt. Or was it to show him she meant no harm? Either could be equally correct and with the black feline in front of him, with snow peppering her pelt, it was hard to tell. Those hard eyes never left hers.

"Certainly nothing questionable."

Sure, he knew how the mind of a rogue worked, he still did. A couple of moons was not enough time to change how he had thought for his entire life. but he had seen, seen what it was like to be on the opposing side.

And he had hated it.

"And you? Where's the rest of your patrol? Surely they don't yet trust you enough to send you off on your own in their territory. After all... You might be going off to meet in secret with some dangerous rogue."

Finally she got a response out of him, a flare of those green eyes. They were words he still thought of, words that still screamed around his head when he was alone. What if they didn't trust him, what if he was sent from his place he had come to like, the company he enjoyed and the trust and reliance he craved. He couldn't go back to what he was knowing what he would now be missing out on.

Yes, he had already thought about all those things which was why he didn't need her reminding him of them.

Bunching his muscles, the broad tom crouched down beside the black feline, yet he still dwarfed her in both height and sheer mass. His voice was quiet but no less deep and forged from steel. "You forget yourself. I wonder if you really met me at all and if you did, your ignorance astounds me, my dear." Did she not remember the day that blood had coated his pelt and his eyes had been wild with bloodlust. Did she not remember the grin on his face as he had slain anything and everything around him?

He did and though he now lived a different life and used his skills to protect rather than to maim, a trigger was easily pulled and she would do well to remember that. Red-dusk lived a very black and white life, he was very sure on right and wrong.

And what was wrong now was her presence here on Whisperclan territory, his territory. Straightening once more, the muscular tom looked down at the sly cat before him, green eyes brightening. "In regards to my clan, I have never trusted, or been so trusted in my life." Which is why I regret so much what I once was. "We are not as similar as we once were. I have seen the error in my ways and will not hesitate to do what is necessary to protect those here. I suggest you leave." Never had he thought he would have to do something so hard. This rogue before him had never raised a paw in his direction. but she now threatened everything he held dear. It was either befriend her once more and leave, or remain as was.

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

He crouched.

He was close to her now.

So close, she could feel the way the heat behind his words mingled with and disturbed the air by her whiskers.

She had done something to him, and it only made her want to purr again. but she quieted herself in order to pick up every word he was detailing.

"You forget yourself." Oh, if only he knew. "I wonder if you really met me at all and if you did, your ignorance astounds me, my dear."

The snake quirked her brow, coy smile never faltering. She had seen a lot--she had done a lot--in her time spent "playing rogue," and while she still had no fear of this tom... she was now paying more attention to him. She had heard him.

When he lifted himself away from her once again, her whiskers reached after him. "No!" they cried. "Come back! Let us feel you!" They missed the heat of his darkness brushing by.

"In regards to my clan, I have never trusted, or been so trusted in my life. We are not as similar as we once were. I have seen the error in my ways and will not hesitate to do what is necessary to protect those here. I suggest you leave."

She blinked up at him.

"And just what are you protecting them from?" she asked with kit-ish tones of naivety, extending one long foreleg to reach up and bat lazily--playfully--at the air beneath the warrior's chin. Then she withdrew her paw and rolled over again so her belly was now pressed against the cold of the snow. She tilted her head up at the tom, and purred out a playful, "Me?" Did he really think she, a lone she-cat, posed some kind of threat to all of WhisperClan just by wandering about in these piles of Twoleg junk? Just what sort of damage did he envision her doing?

...granted, the last time she had found herself roaming Clan territory unsupervised, she had killed an apprentice.

but that didn't necessarily mean she was about to do something like that again, today. She liked talking to this tom--he was interesting. She currently for sure did not want to kill him.

"And, Starling," she cooed, her eyes dancing. "We may be more similar now than you'd like to believe. I suggest you do well to remember: to them, this Clan, you're nothing but another body." Another doll, another machine programmed to follow strict regulations--the Code. Warriors were merely sacks of flesh and blood and fur, controlled by invisible forces and kept in place with illusions of trust, faith, camaraderie, and power.

She wondered... did he feel more powerful now, with some other cat telling him when he could and could not use his own claws? Was that power? Was that better?

She wondered.

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

"We may be more similar now than you'd like to believe. I suggest do well to remember: to them, this Clan, you're nothing but another body."

Ah, but that was where she was wrong.

He was stronger this way, he now had something to fight for rather than merely being caught in the throes of it. He now had those that cared about him rather than a veil of mistrust and false truths.

He now had support rather than betrayal.

And to the marbled tom, that was all he wanted now. He hadn't realized how wrong and backwards everything had been prior. On his arrival to the clan, he had been full of anger at being a part of what he had worked to destroy, ashamed that he had needed their help, hurt that his brother had left him to them. but as time had moved on, he had seen how the clans had worked, how they pulled together and forgot their differences in times of need and protected their own.

Those clan cats that had fought against him had all cared about the other to their right and their left, they had all had families and a strength that he only now realized. He saw it now, was a part of it now. And so he eyed the dark female before him and wondered whether she realized how different he saw things, how she saw things and what she could be, could have. With the rogues there was no trust, only lies and broken beings.

"Do you never wish you weren't alone?" What use was it to use his claws if only because he felt like it, what use was it to kill when it hurt innocents? He had done that enough and sure, sometimes he felt.. restless but there were other ways to satisfy is urge to kill. There was always another option it was just some were too narrow sighted to see. "That someone cared rather than chased you from place to place?" Watching her as he spoke, the tom then moved his dark eyes off and around them, watching the horizon and the shadows between the dead monsters. Finally they moved back to her and that sole ear flicked as he waited for her to reply.

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

"Do you ever wish you weren't alone."

She blinked.

To her, it had seemed as though this whole situation was going in a particular direction... but now, suddenly that direction had changed in a way she had not anticipated.

How truly wonderful.

"That someone cared rather than chased you from place to place?"

She met his gaze steadily, holding her eyes to him even when his fluttered off to the horizon... but he looked back to her, eventually, and then she looked away. Did she care? If she thought about it--really thought about it--would she uncover some empty place inside herself that was just waiting for someone to come along and fill it with compassion?

Well, she'd probably find a whole mess of empty places trying to sort out all kinds of things, but she didn't really care to deal with them. So she found other ways to either fill them, or simply ignore them. "I don't see much 'chasing' happening," she teasingly pointed-out, avoiding the actual questions, her eyes bright as they found their way back to the ex-rogue. "Does that mean you care?" Her smile danced across her expression and she tilted her head coyly to one side. "I hope your Clan doesn't find out about our little meeting," she remarked, quirking a brow with an implicit pause before she again looked away and continued. "I certainly won't tell them if you don't."

Or maybe she would.

One could never be too sure.

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

"I don't see much 'chasing' happening."

A tick sprang up in his tensed jaw.

"Does that mean you care?"

Eyes narrowed to clash with that seemingly innocent smile of hers.

"I hope your Clan doesn't find out about our little meeting, I certainly won't tell them if you don't."

Oh but she would if given the chance wouldn't she? Her smooth avoidance of his questions did not surprise him in the slightest, it was a skill the both of them possessed meaning this conversation was going no-where fast. They would just sit here while she danced around his questions and him hers, round and round until what?

She was exactly as he had remembered her which was unfortunate for him now in his current situation.

Unlike his words had said, the tom would find it hard to hurt the she cat from his past because she had never really done wrong to him had she? but he was a clan cat now and she was not, a striking difference in how they now lived. The only thing he had to separate himself from her and to know what the right thing to do, was to follow the clan rules. She had to leave, now. And where would she go, he wondered. Would she run into other rogues? Would she run into M- 
An idea sprang to mind, too close to the surface for him to push away. He had to know and with the constant snow, he wasn't exactly able to traipse out to find him himself.

Pinning her with that gaze, the tom crept towards her with a searing hatred. "Masquerade. Have you seen him?"

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

She watched him calmly for only a moment before feeling herself beginning to lose interest. He seemed set on obeying this new life of his, so she wouldn't rile much more out of him... the most she might hope for is a brief scuffle or a stoic escorting out of the territory. Neither of which sounded appealing. Her bright eyes danced away, watching the light fade from the sky, her dark tail brushing rhythmically against the snow. The serpentine she-cat felt that he had reached a similar conclusion: their conversation was little more than winding avoidance and clever evasions, now.

Which was all well and good and fun for a while, but if nothing changed she'd be leaving feeling very... dissatisfied.

Antsy.

Unfulfilled.

Thankfully, he was drawing her attention back to him, not by his approach, but rather by the unsettling energy she felt creeping toward her through the air. Her eyes found their way back to him, her chin lifting so she could meet his gaze from her downed position. She watched him with sharp eyes, her smile no less beguiling than it had always been. When the tom spoke, her whiskers spread with curiosity, her ears reaching forward to pick up on every tone, every ounce of anger beneath each syllable he breathed.

"Masquerade. Have you seen him?"

Masquerade?

Hadn't she heard that name somewhere, whispered among the pines on a breeze? Masquerade...

It really didn't matter, because this... this was promising.

With movements smooth as running water, the mottled feline lifted herself into her typical crouched posture, taking a few winding strides away from the tom, creating an arch that was, presumably, the start of a wide circle around him. She paused and tilted her head curiously toward him. "Masquerade?" she repeated, her eyes contemplative. "Masquerade... a tom, looks a bit..." She paused, giving the warrior a noticeable once-over, her tail weaving slowly. "...like you?" And then she shrugged and looked away, examining some miscellaneous piece of Twoleg garbage. She appeared inattentive, though one ear was always trained in his direction. "Except, you know," she remarked coolly. "He manages to keep track of both of his ears."

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

[ℓυиαя]

His body was tensed, shaking from the energy it took him to keep it in check, muscles bunched under the heavy hand of anger. One wrong word would be all it took. The tense tom watched her every move from slitted eyes, his breaths causing clouds to form at his muzzle as the snow rained down on his back.

    "Masquerade?" 

Red-dusk merely waited, that tick once more kicking into action at his jaw, his claws unsheathing in the deep snow, unnoticeable. When she continued that single ear swiveled in her direction, straining to hear if she had or had not seen his brother. When all he was greeted with was more words of a musing cat, Red-dusk growled low in his throat, a warning.

   "Masquerade... a tom, looks a bit...like you?"  

A pause.

A pause that caused him to step forward, that tail weaving threateningly. Normally, in another circumstance, the tom might have been more relaxed, more lenient towards this difficult behaviour. but knowing that she could possibly have a lead on his.. brother and was stalling, that seriously spiked the well built toms anger.

   "Except, you know, he manages to keeps track of both of his ears."

That growl resonated into a snarl, his green eyes darkening as they seared through the black rogue. She didn't know, or at least he didn't think she did but why was she taunting him like this? Just to get to him? Something about him changed in that instant, there was no easy smile like usual when someone made a joke, there was no dry comeback or gleam to his eyes. With that lip curled off of his teeth, Red-dusk stalked towards her, head lowered, eyes pinned on hers, dark, shadowed, but nonetheless scary.

How dare she make this into a joke. He could have died and his brother would have never cared. Would she? Would she have even known? Memories clawed back to the surface of his mind of the two of them before.. everything. She had never told him her name but they had gotten along if his memory served him correctly. And now? Now this is where they were, one taunting the other, gone was the old comradary, the jokes. And here he was left with this unquenchable fire in his gut. He guessed thats what happened when you trusted a rogue.

He leapt.

One ear flattened, claws outstreatched, his emmense weight behind him. Even with his size he moved fast, expertly, aiming to hit her in her side, low enough that she couldn't shrink away further from him.

[[Acro.]]

You can't cage them...

She heard him approaching, but did not turn to see.

Let him think she was unawares.

Let him think he would win this.

Honestly, didn't he think he might be overreacting just a tad? She had only been trying to help him by confirming an accurate description of this... Masquerade fellow: male, similar appearance, has TWO ears, on a typical day. She must have gotten lucky with her baiting, though, to have earned such a reaction from the once-steely tom. He'd lost composure. It was beautiful.

When he lunged for her, her eyes lit up and shone like beacons, fueled by excitement. Didn't he know it was silly to pounce on a crouching cat? It took her only half as much time to bound away as it would for one who is standing. She didn't slither about in her unusual gait for no reason--it kept her ready... and it kept others thinking she was small.

Hah.

The feline's long, mottled legs were released from their readied stance, rocketing her nimbly away from the tom and under a rotting Twoleg monster. The dark she-cat darted out the other side and made an easy leap up onto the face of another rusting beast, scattering a small flurry of snow up around her. She was back into her crouch before halting there, turning to face the tom, should he have followed her, her long tail swaying calmly from side to side.

There were some instances--many, actually--where it was typical for her to allow the attacker to land their initial blow, let them pin her down, get the anger out of their systems... but even a creature as fickle as she was smart enough to know that this was not one of those times. This tom's anger was deep enough to keep her from being... too reckless.

"Attacking from behind," she chimed, teasingly, into the falling snow. "Feels more like a rogue's tactic than a warrior's."

Okay, so it hadn't really been from "behind," more like "beside"... but she had still been looking away.

That still counted.

... they're such wayward
                                dancing things

ooc:// Just to be clear: he came at her, she dashed underneath the nearest old vehicle and ran to the other side of it, and then she leaped up onto the hood of a second car, which is where she is waiting, now :3