Still Renegade's Son

[*Sinister*Dreams*]

Night was falling on PewterClan, swiftly. The air brought with it a crisp chill that bit through fur like feline fangs. Wind whipped around, dying and becoming more powerful as if in a sort of crazy dance with itself. The colors of the landscape were dimming with the light, turning from dull greens and browns to dark grays and blacks. The sky above was a twilight gray, the horizon on one side tinged with bloody crimson, and the other with storm clouds that were smoothly rolling in. Birds fell silent, the air grew still. Darkness had arrived.

Within the landscape of jagged rocks and jutting precipices trotted a gray tom. The few larger things around- the trees and boulders- were silhouetted in black. His electric yellow eyes peirced the shadows like headlights. The toms claws unsheathed to grip the cooling ground. He wasn't up for a disgraceful fall tonight. The clouds that swiftly traversed the sky were dropping their burden not far away, the sheets of water faintly visible against the indigo sky. It fell sideways, slanted by the wind that had moved away from where the large cat stood.

Rocktail stood at the top of a rise, watching the rain fall and draw closer at the same time. Lowering his eyes, he saw his former homeland stretching out before him in waves of rock. Rogue canyon wasn’t the place he’d remembered as a kit, even if his sinister father had passed on. His dark brown talons sunk into the pine needle-peat under paw, kneading gently to ease the tension in his shoulders. His pelt bristled slightly, but soon his hackles flattened again. The young tom was pretty good at comforting himself. After all, he'd done it so many times after his father had abandoned him.

Although he felt more calm, he still wanted to take a peek at the border. Just a quick visit. And then he'd catch some prey before returning to the camp and greeting his friends in PewterClan. He retracted his claws, heading down the steep incline. The shale beneath his paws slid around a lot, so he found his claws unsheathed again to keep him steady. Finally, reaching the bottom, his golden orbs glared into the gloomy cavern They were hardly visible, but the look was good enough for him. Memories flooded his brain in a flurry, shoving each other greedily out of the way to be the first to grab his attention. But he pushed them back, back to the darkest recesses of his mind. He would need to keep them there, if he wanted to stay loyal. Even though he’d hated his father and his life there, something still allured him about the Rogue Canyon.

Rocktail turned his back on the eerie blackness he had been staring into, and looked back up the slope. He saw another form sliding down after him. Had somebody been following him? A pang of worry struck somewhere in him, but soon was replaced by indignance. He had done nothing wrong! Right? He raised his tail straight up behind him and flicked the tip in friendly greeting, although he could not yet make out the face of the cat. He tried hard not to flatten his ears in discomfort, keeping them pricked forward disarmingly instead.

[Moonlight]

Skypaw And Treepaw stepped out from behind a tree. Skypaw held a mouse in her jaws as Treepaw tilted her head to look at Rocktail. Skypaw Set her mouse down and swiftly hid it. She then looked back up. "Rocktail, why do you look to the rouge canyon?" Treepaw tilted her head and remembered her mother, Midnightsun say something about rouges. She shook her head. Rocktail was no rouge, He was part of the clan.

She stepped forward. "You do not smell like a rouge yet like Pewterclan." She tilted her head to the side. "Do you still have family that are rouges?" Skypaw hissed silently. "Treepaw, you don't just ask someone about their family out of the blue. It's not nice!"

Treepaw sniffed and batted a leaf out of the way. "I just wanted to know you know. Theres nothing wrong about wanting to know stuff."

[» Sacrifice]

The new warrior had been watching the whole thing, although he flet no concern for what was going on with Rockpelt. That was a great thing about the warrior who's pelt blended with the deep grey shadows of the coming night. However, as the two apprentices came and began to bother the older warrior, a grin flickered on the maw of the warrior. He never spoke much, but when he did, Deathfire was most often a manipulator, although he had a good sense for adventure.

Moving from where he had been hidden, he seemed to suddenly emerge from behind the two apprentices, dark brown eyes gleaming slightly. "Apprentices. Shouldn't you be in camp, instead of bothering Rocktail?"
Looking up to the elder warrior, the young Deathfire dipped his head to Rocktail. He had been born to rogues as well, although his mom had moved him here before he had any memories about the canyon in which he lived. He was son of none, child of Lilytears. Of course, he had different siblings, but what fun were they? All he had ever found was the fact that they annoyed him to no end, with their attitude toward everything. They were not the silent type, that was all he could say.

"Good evening Rocktail. Enjoying the view?"
His question was not meant to be hostile, it was just the usual question that most would ask in the means to be polite. After all, being a warrior meant that you had a bit more dignity then the apprentices. He couldn't just go off asking random questions, now could he?

[*Sinister*Dreams*]

Rocktail smiled lightly, turning away from the intuiging place and back towards the cats. The cats he was loyal to, the one's he'd sworn protection over at the cost of his life. He couldn't allow such awkward thoughts to risk his relationship with his clan. Still, how would he feel fulfilled if he didn't find out hwat other family he had?

"Don't worry, Treepaw. I'm not offended. It's often a good thing, to be curious. It's the exact reason I myself stare into the canyon. I don't know my family, only that Renegade was my father."

Rocktail turned with clouded eyes towards the apprentices. Would he be the first to tell the story of Renegade? He knew he'd not be the last.

"Renegade was a dark rogue, a leader who's mercury eyes haunt the dreams of our warriors. His crimes were darker, more sinister than the occaisional rogue raid. He was born to the clever and charming Warheart, leader of the Council of the Brave. Warheart had three children, Cannon and Lily of CrescentClan, and Renegade. Cannon was a strong cat, easily the most promising cat of the three. He was chosen by his father as a personal apprentice, of sorts. Warheart spent alot of time with Cannon, while his mate Blackriver did Lily. Their affection for the stronger, more kindly cats, drove Renegade to exclusion. The young silver tom did not know what to do, growing up and always trying to prove himself to his father. One morning, a rogue invaded their family, and Cannon startled it. The rogue fell from the cliff, and Cannon was considered a hero, though he had done nothing. Jealous that his brother recieved attention, Renegade wrongfully decided that to kill was the only way to be noticed. In the midst of the night, Renegade slaughtered Warheart's uncle Crossbone, bringing his body to Warheart for comfort. Warheart grew angry, sending Renegade away to exile.

Renegade stalked the shdaows, confused and angry at his fathers reaction. As he grew older, Cannon and Lily chose to leave for CrescentClan, and Renegade became more and more feared for the cats he killed in anguish. None of the blood he spilled was enough to make up for the loss he'd felt as a kit, and so it was decided. Only the blood of his father Warheart would make him feel truly satisfied. It was then he plotted revenge on his father and his siblings. Warheart was a kindly tom, always ready to help the clans, and so Renegade planned to use this against him. Somewhere during his time of darkness, he'd used many she-cats in hopes to produce him an Heir to the throne of vengence.

I was one of those kits, and I was born and raised in Renegade's cave. Each night, I heard the plotting of Renegade grow darker and more sinister. He would threaten my life almost every night, until I decided to leave. It was then I found PewterClan, and made my home here. Renegade's anger only grew at the loss of his eldest son, and his plan turned into a mroe concrete form. He slaughtered Unicornsbane, leader of the Tunnels of Masquerade, named himself king. From here, he set up a raid on PewterClan, to take away the clan from me, to make me know the loss he'd felt when I left.

And so, Renegade attacked PewterClan. From here, you'll remember the way the story goes. You were driven out too, and you were with us. Renegade's motives were dark indeed, the fall of PewterClan and CrescentClan being his only means for survival after the final death of his father. So yes, to answer your question, I do have family in the rogue canyons. Everyone related to him, my siblings, my mother, everyone."

[Moonlight]

Skypaw bowed her head towards Deathfire. "We were just hunting and we heard Rocktail." Treepaw sat down and looked up at Rocktail. Do you feel sorry for what Renegade did? do you still think of him as your father?" As she spoke she licked a paw and drew it across her face. Skypaw sighed and began to scent for some more prey. She could not wait to be a warrior.

Treepaw watched Skypaw hunt for a little then looked back at Rocktail. "Skypaw's Mother Lukio, my aunt, and my mother Midnightsun were rouges before. They were running from the terrors that they saw. My mother seemed to describe that the lands out there are hard to live in. Constantly fighting for a smal piece of territory when your the only one defending it. Expecially if you have kits. My mother fled here with Skypaw as a kit to live a better ilfe to live with a family, and to protect something worth protecting. I don't know renegade but I somewhat understand why he did those things." Treepaw looked down at her paws not know what else to say.

[*Sinister*Dreams*]

Rocktail smiled a bit darkly, his thoughts sinister yet still amusing. Likely it'd be his father who was the terror that drove Midnightsun and Lukio from their previous home. And yet, though departure seemed difficult, it was the best thing at times. He would know. With bitter eyes, Rocktail turned back to them.

"I feel no sorrow for my father. Though I am upset that Warheart, of all cats, could have mistreated him, I do not respect his way of dealing with it. He never even spoke to his father about why he did what he did, not until the day of his murder. The thing that eats my heart like prey is that knowing him, he'll have been with half the weak she-cats of the valley. No doubt I've got brothers and sister, and no doubt they were misled. He can't have brought them up right before...They could be the next cats to come kill my clan if I find no way to save them. I don't mind being a father...Even to corrupt cats, if it means saving the ones I love."
With a low rumble, Rocktail thought of the clan. He thought of what he wouldn't do to protect them...Even his life was no sacrifice to great for the repay they had done. If he'd have remained with Renegade he'd be dead now. A pang of sorrow struck briefly as he realized that had he not lived in PewterClan, they might have many more living warriors. Vengence would not be Renegade's against them.

[» Sacrifice]

He had been quiet throught the whole story, typical of Deathfire. Interested by the tale of pain and sorrow, not to mention bloodshed from Rocktail, the young warrior turned his gaze over back toward the canyon, wondering if there was anyone out there that he was related too. He had never learned of his father sadly, it had just been anther thing that she had kept hidden from them. Why, he had never really known. Just another one of those things in life that you just never knew about, he guessed.

"A noble cause, but maybe a bit insane at the same time. Those corrupt cats are going to be just as deadly as their father, and there are going to be more then just one of them. Unless you can get them alone, there is a good chance you will be killed in those canyons as you search for them."

Although he had not torn his gaze away from the canyon, Deathfire actually looked as though he was searching for something, his words were soft, but full of truth. Memories flickered back to him, only, not what he remembered seeing. Rather, it was like a trip back into time, how many efforts like this had gone wrong, ending in the death of an innocent cat from the ones he had tried to save. Finally turning his gaze back to Rocktail, there was a calmness in it, the only emotion visible to the outside world.

[Moonlight]

Treepaw tilted her head as she listened to Rocktail speak and Deathfire. She shook her head. "It's all confuseing, why don't the clans and rouges get along so there is no fighting, bloodshed and death any more? I think that would be much eaiser." She shook her head and looked over at the canyon. "My mom did say that though I had this aunt that was evil. She looked kindof like Lukio but had an evil mind. All she could think of was blood And seeing blood being spilt." Treepaw shivered as her voice continued to grow soft. "I know what it's like to have family outside of your clan and not know if they live or not. Or if they would turn out to be someone evil..."