Oh wind, oh wind. (Gale)

[Red]

Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
and the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Keep It On Wax lyrics © Alexisonfire


-----

How long had it been? A year? A couple months?

Two months. Yeah, that sounded about right.

Two months since he had been exiled, released from his shackles as a warrior and thrust into the cold, cold world beyond that of the Clans. Two months that he'd been living on meager prey; skinny rats from that carrion feeding ground in ShadowClan's territory, gamy birds with too much bone, and the occasional mouse he'd find around the farms. While the places beyond the twoleg fences and their colored barns was great, there were two many feral cats adamant about keeping their territory back there. Too many to fight for even a small catch of mice a day.

Red glanced around, silently making his way around the edges of WindClan's territory. Moorland spread far and wide to his dark eyes, constricted pupils and sharp ears flicking and turning and observing the yellowing fields. While they normally pleased the eye with a rich, amber color, Red could see that the greenleaf sun and StarClan's lack of rain was turning the grass into a sickly pale tone. As the afternoon slowly melted into dusk, shadows growing in length like demons in their object's wake, the field looked as if it were on fire.

A wind whipped up, dry blades of grass picking up and blowing in a singular direction toward highstones, a hazy figure in the distance. It brought the scent of the moor, rabbits, and WindClan's scent markers to Red's nose; and a sense of both nostalgia and nausea settled in the pit of his belly. They were traitors. But they were also his old home. Red scowled as he settled on his haunches, shuffling his paws together and lashing his tail behind him. He'd never win the fight over whether he should grovel with his chest to the ground for a third chance, or simply sabotage his revenge against WindClan somehow. Maybe he'd grovel, maybe he wouldn't.

A chance to see his daughter was all he wanted. And then he'd turn his tail in a fair dismissal to the rest of those cats in mice skin.



-----

word count;; 354
audio;; love, ignorant by valzi (ORGAN TRAIL soundtrack)
a/n;; location is near the northern end of windclan's territory, in the general area between the farms and highstones.

[Galestar]

The golden orb in the sky promised sunlight, and that sunlight made golden fur stand out even more gold. It enhanced a green eye to appear emerald and a blue eye to appear sapphire. One paw in front of the other, and Galestar was one her way slowly across the moorland. Her days were lately spent lazing around the camp, issuing out orders and seeing that all went well. She had too much on her mind, and needed the open moorland to clear it. She had told Blueflight to keep watch.

She sent herself off racing, enjoying the breeze that caught her fur. The smell of rabbit was high in the air, and the near-to-death grass crunched beneath her paws. She almost didn't care at that moment. She just enjoyed the rich moorland that she ran on. It's all she enjoyed. The heat from the blazing sun didn't bother her one bit. She just ran, and never let her paws stop flying.

Minutes later, she collapsed on the grassy floor, catching her breath. How long had it been since she had been racing through her territory like that? Not since she had become leader. She sighed, taking in the rich grassy smell laced with the scent of rabbit. All of her troubles seemed to blow away from the wind until the breeze carried a slightly familiar, yet unrecognizable scent.

Opening her eyes, Galestar glanced into the distance to see a dark ginger blur. Her thoughts instantly went wild, and her fur stood up to one end. Galestar almost knew that look too well, she almost knew that pelt on the top of her head. No other cat she'd ever met had such dark ginger fur as one that came at the top of her head. She prayed to Starclan it wasn't him as she stood up and raced in the direction the cat was in. He didn't seem to budge.

As she neared, a face that she loathed came more visible and she reached him, just in time to snarl and bare fang like teeth. "What are you doing here, Redpelt?" she demanded, her voice dripping with anger and hate.[/size]

[Red]

Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
and the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Keep It On Wax lyrics © Alexisonfire


-----

The sun cast its light against the side of his face, firey orange as it started to sink beyond the fences and rooftops of the twoleg nests and barns. Behind him, highstones grew darker and darker with each passing moment; a royal purple against a dying sky. Red remembered being there once: as an apprentice, when he was young and spry and when Dawnstar still held him in good favor. The moonstone with all its shining, celestial glory still burned the back of his eyelids when he closed them and bothered to remember, a reminder that he used to be a Clan cat. But no longer.

Fresh WindClan scent suddenly hit his nose and Red snapped his eyes open, ears immediately catching the sound of crunching grass underfoot. Turning his lightening eyes to the source of such a sound, his attention was caught immediately by the soft golden pelt approaching him; a familiar scent he wouldn't dare to forget because she was his own kin, his daughter.

Tail tip twitching with a curiosity burning in his chest, the ginger rogue stood up from his haunches and almost seemed ready to greet Galestar with a chirp. Her words proved differently. Hurt flashed in his eyes as he backpedaled from her very tone, the dark fur along his shoulders and spine bristling with apprehension at this cat, this leader. Red narrowed his eyes, scrutinized Galestar's face, but didn't make any move to fight back with physical force. "I'm simply reminiscing, Galeheart. Can't an old tom find some joy about his home territory?" A slip of the tongue; he didn't know that his daughter had been chosen as deputy the day he was banished, let alone bestowed the nine lives of a leader. Too short of a time had passed, or maybe it was just enough for all these events to happen.

A lie. Or at least a partial one. Red found half his emotions fluttering at the thought of home, these scents he was so familiar with. Another, darker half glowered, festered within his heart with a burning need for revenge, for the unfairness that he believed were Dawnstar's past decisions. Red took a few steps back to put some distance between himself and those glistening fangs, a careful timing to his paws, and sat back on his haunches to observe Galestar even more.


-----

word count;; 398
audio;; Aerodynamic by Daft Punk
a/n;; nope

[Galestar]

With teeth still bared, Galestar continued to glare at the cat she came to knew as her father, but more or less the cat she grew to loathe. As he took a step back, she took one forward. "You don't belong here, mouse brain!" she spat, her tail lashing in annoyance. She would fight this cat if she had to. She'd kill if she had to. Galestar had no trust in her heart for him.

"I still stand on Dawnstar's words. You are not welcome here, and she said you would be killed if you set paw on this territory. You're lucky i haven't done so already!"

Galestar felt as she was about to spring at him any moment. She knew there was something nagging her lately, and it was so ironic that he happened to show up. The Windclan leader snarled at him. "And my name is no longer Galeheart. I am Galestar now."

[Red]

Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
and the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Keep It On Wax lyrics © Alexisonfire


-----

He wasn't in the mood for a fight; too tired from trekking around all day, hunting for his food and scattering rocks as he climbed down from the cliffs of highstones. Too much journeying, and he still had to find a place to rest for the night. Maybe on that land across from ShadowClan? Or even just in a twoleg's squarish territory, in a bush perhaps.

Red snorted as the wind picked up again and blew dead pieces of grass in his face, another blast of WindClan scent hitting his nose. But he wasn't in the territory, now was he? Oh, he knew the rules, the word that had sent him scurrying across scent markers and into other, more dangerous sets of jaws. "Technically," he drawled, exasperation starting to show through his voice, "I'm not in the territory. Your scent markers are over there, on those rock piles." He pointed with his dark tail to the mentioned rock piles, at least a couple foxlengths away from where he and Galestar were positioned. With a wry smile, he settled his tail again and shuffled his paws into a more comfortable pose. "I'm doing no harm at the moment. Dawnstar's words mean nothing if I'm not in the territory."

He blinked, suddenly caught by the news. So all those mishaps as an apprentice hadn't hindered her performance at all. Despite the welling feeling of annoyance gathered in his chest with his daughter's aggressive stance, he dipped his head slightly, never letting his green eyes leave her face. "Congratulations," he murmured softly, carefully, a question on the tip of his tongue.

"So is there any chance a weary traveler can find a place to stay? Just for the night?"


-----

word count;; 286
audio;; The Changing Game by Thomas Ferkol (Homestuck, Vol. 9)
a/n;; :V

[Galestar]

The fact that her fury didn't even make him flinch annoyed her even more. What was with him, anyways? She sat down, sighing, shaking her head. He wouldn't give up, would he? She glared at him for several long seconds as he went on about how he was just right outside the border. She knew he was right, as much as she wanted to deny it. She wanted to tear him apart. Piece by piece. Her tail still lashed in annoyance. But then, he congratulated her. She felt her anger vanish for a moment. As an apprentice, all she ever wanted was for him to praise her for something. And it was happening now?

"Redpelt" she growled, her voice calming down a little but still showing her anger. "You don't belong here. This is Windclan territory, and you are no longer a part of Windclan." she told him, trying to convince herself she was saying the right thing to him. But then, he asked for a place to say.

"No, you may not stay here! What do you take me for, a cat with no brains? You are a jealous, greedy murderer. No sensible warrior would ever consider trusting you. You killed my mother and you killed the cat that I grew to think was my mother. You can not be trusted, therefore you are not and never will be welcomed in Windclan." Galestar snarled. Part of her wanted to welcome her father back into the clan, but what would the others think? She would be a brainless leader to allow a murderer back into their home.[/color]

[Red]

Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
and the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Keep It On Wax lyrics © Alexisonfire


-----

That glare was as piercing as it had been during her apprenticeship. The keen glint in it was exactly the same, right down the shade of her eyes; nearly inherited from Red himself. He sniffed, meeting that look with a poker face, a hopeful quirk twitching the corner of his mouth as they stared down. He really doubted that the Clan would welcome him back after only a couple moons of solitude, even if his daughter was the leader. And judging by the venom her words simply oozed with, it didn't look like a murdering ex-Clanner was going to find a place to stay in camp tonight.

"It's Red now," he quipped sharply, a reminder of his former status. "I once belonged here. My parents were raised here and so was I." The red tom's gaze hardened as he spoke, quickly erecting the walls of his emotional fort in order to fend off any more scatching comments. Oh, he wasn't going to be welcomed at all. With a lash of his tail he was on his paws again, taking a pace or two back to curl his lip in the beginnings of a snarl; to try and retain his calm position from moments ago. "The only reason I murdered in the first place was to let WindClan live!" He spat, a warning growl rising in his throat as the dark hairs on his shoulders stood on end. There was no fight left in him for the time being. And he did not want a pawful of leader and maybe even backup if a patrol heard them.

"She couldn't save your sister!" One of his most vulnerable spots. Losing Whitekit had been a reason why he disliked Leafheart in the first few moons of the kits -- or more specifically, Galestar -- being in the Clan. She had had Whitekit in the curve of her belly for what? Two, three days? And despite the constant hunting he had done to support her, Whitekit had gone and perished. He had hardly trusted her after that one.

Red backed up even more, arching his spine as he realized that no, Galestar's words were true and WindClan had truly deserted him. Just as he thought. Demoted, banished, and then rejected when he was starving and aching on his paws. Well.

"Fine," he hissed, turning to show his flank to Galestar in a defensive move. "Let the Clan abandon the cat that led them for moons. Let them neglect the one who gave them their leader!"


-----

word count;; 426
audio;; Horchestra STRONG version by Alexander Rosetti (AlterniaBound)
a/n;; :V

[Galestar]

Red?

She sat in silence, listening to him ramble on about why he had to kill. The sound of his voice mixed in with his so called reasoning made her stomach sick. It made a growl rise in her throat and it made her fur bristle. More hatred pooled in her eyes. She almost lunged forward, to just rip her father to shreds. But she stopped herself and kept glaring.

"You!" she hissed "Did.not.have.to.murder! My mother was a good cat. My mother was an innocent cat! And you murdered her! Why didn't you just steal us? Why did you have to take her life? She never harmed you! She loved you!" Galestar's growls and hisses soon turned into desperate, mournful wails.

She gulped down her cries, and turned to silence for a few moments. The golden tabby sat there, glaring and shaking. After a moment or two of silence, her father started to speak once more. She loathed the sound of his voice. She hated it so much.

"Leafheart couldn't save Whitekit? You blame her? You tell me, you fox hearted coward! You tell me! Do you think you could have saved her? Do you think any cat could have saved a young, vulnerable kit from the claws of leaf bare? If you blame Leafheart for not saving her, then you might as well blame the whole clan as well. Nobody could have saved her."

Galestar stood up, started to pace back and fourth, shaking her head. Why was she speaking to this cat? Why was she allowing him to live right in front of her? Why didn't she turn on him and claw his ears off? She didn't know. She stopped and looked him dead in the eye. It wasn't a glare. Just a simple look, eye to eye, and hers were filled with pain.

Then, she calmly said-

"And do you know what hurts to worse, Redpe---Red? That I was never good enough for you. That I was a flawed, stubborn apprentice that would never amount to anything. So, if you really thought all of that...if I really was so imperfect and a disgrace like you put me, were the murders truly worth it for the clan? Or do you think maybe it was for your own selfish gain?"

She turned away, and shook her head once more. "I think you should leave here. Do not show your face again around here. You will never be welcomed." Galestar heard a little of what he said, but she tried her best to block it out. She couldn't stand him anymore.

[/color]

[Red]

Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
and the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Keep It On Wax lyrics © Alexisonfire


-----

He couldn't say anything. Couldn't react, flinch, or even widen his snarl as her words hit him. Red's fur bristled on end in his silent fury as she spoke of Whitekit and her death. No! She didn't understand, didn't know how much he had endured frozen paws for prey each day just to give to Leafheart. He starved himself in the usual leafbare way by giving the prey to any nursing queen, but he had also sacrificed his own health for his daughters.

"She hated me!" He finally spat words out, the top of his muzzle wrinkled where it sloped into his forehead, eyes narrowed. "I had broken the warrior code and I fled because I was scared! And what did she do?" Red's claws slid out and dug themselves into the dry ground, dragging grass and soil. "She hated me! For something I couldn't even control." Ohhh, how he had hated her right back. That she-cat hadn't understood his emotions either. She wasn't a Clan cat and couldn't comprehend that outside relationships were forbidden, taboo, and kits that were half-Clan were looked down upon -- no matter how great their Clan blood was. Red hissed.

He couldn't take this anymore. It had been a mistake to come here. His emotions were being wrecked, trampled, and the last traces of love were being ripped from his heart. So be it.

"Fine," he snarled, the entirety of his spine bristling as he abruptly turned, turning his back to Galestar. "I'll leave." With a single, burning glare over his shoulder, he began stalking away; claws still extended and sinking into the earth with every pawstep. They'd pay. Oh, they'd pay.


-----

word count;; 287
audio;; If I Fell by The Beatles
a/n;; FIRE STARTER, YO. also red's last reply, i suppose, until he burns half the moor down.