Posts by Isa79b

Sounds like the welcome committee is arriving. Falseclan cats were gradually appearing, eager to gloat at the new arrivals. One, a black she-cat, was particularly scathing as she picked on the Shadowclan toms' weakness. Stonemaw was glad to be on the ground aiding the falseclan warden. Somehow, it helped the insults to roll off faster, being the one giving aid to the falseclanner.

He nodded to the warden as she rose, and carefully withdrew his paw from underneath the book. It fell with a thud against the floor, stirring clouds of dust as he removed the support of his shoulder. Stonemaw bared his teeth as he stood. The knot in his side was still giving him trouble. But a word from the black she-cat distracted him. Torture."Does your leader allow that?" he asked. Somehow, it seemed inconsistent with the she-cat who had saved his life twice in accord with the Warrior Code that she would permit the torture of wounded prisoners.

Macavity's derisive laughter followed the tortoiseshell out of the factory, but there was no glee on his face, only malice. He was making a point: the she-cat had been humiliated. And not only humiliated, but humiliated among a crowd of cats. If she wished to save her precious pride, she had better not return. Nevertheless, he turned to the surrounding felines. "If any of you see her around here again, I would be most grateful if you would kill her." Given her track record, chances were very high that she would return again, despite her "travel plans."

As his eyes fell on the black she-cat, Macavity's brow lifted, the only communication he shared with her for the present. He had expected her back, but not nearly so soon, and not nearly so openly. Had she truly decided to give his organization a second look? If so, he would not address her directly for the present. He was content to permit her to watch, to see what he and his company truly were rather than to permit her to form false conclusions from his words. Her turn would come much later.

He returned his attention to the ginger tom. "Apologies for the interruption," he mewed. "Drake, I sense great things for you in this organization, but you are still unproven. Be sure, I will be keeping my eyes open for an opportunity to test your skills. I hope you plan to stay nearby until then. I should like to learn from you what your strengths are."

His gaze shifted to the kit for just a glance. He'd have to get to her swiftly. Kits' attention spans were notoriously short. Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt her to see how the Hidden Paw worked any more than it would hurt the black street-cat. For now, he wished to secure the services of his future double.

Accepted. Grace's trouble with Mac is mainly that he could tell she thought herself above him, since she wouldn't wait for him to indicate when he was ready for her, toyed with him, and kept comparing his company to her old life, other clans, and her plans. Alice should fit in a lot better since she knows her place.

I like Lethal and Daemon. I'm curious to see how they'll fit in with the Company. I just need you to put their criminal specialties in the specialty/rank section, like thief, poisoner, contact, etc., and they'll be in. Is "Hydrome" in the appearance section Daemon?

((I don't think I'll wake up Faith until time for class. Doesn't hurt plot to have her angsting over how Jennifer's responding to Kate's absence for a day. :) ))

Faith's eyes blinked open for a brief moment. The room was dark, not the way she'd left it. She sat up, looked at the rain falling on the window, then scanned the room. One of the beds had a person-shaped lump in it. Jennifer. Faith sighed and laid back down, turning her back to the roommate. The explanation could wait until they were both awake.

Stonemaw nodded at the elder's sharp words. If she hadn't been so defensive, he would have thought nothing of her seating herself. Best not to dwell on it. Better to just answer her question.

"My last patrol was, let me see...." This was bad. He was traveling pretty far along memory's path before coming to the point he was trying to reach. "Just before the Thunderclan occupation. Between watching their camp and hunting, there hasn't been time for another patrol." His mind was a step ahead of where he expected hers to be, scolding himself for creating excuses.

He tried to keep his annoyance at himself from his face. She didn't deserve to have him pre-guessing her. After all, she'd passed by two attempts to lecture him, the first for the smile, the second for not asking her name. She may not be that kind of elder after all. Even so, he had something to correct. "If you're going hunting, may I go with you? Perhaps I could learn some things from you. I can't think of anyone I've seen who's more successful." Well, who'd brought in more freshkill, anyway. Who worked the hardest. No one had to work as hard as she did to bring in one piece of prey. "I'd be honored to know your name."

((Aww, I love Mant. Can we keep him? He'd make such a good roomie for Rin and Damaged. Or better yet, he could redeem himself by pretending to be a slave so he can overhear their escape plans and report back to the guards with them, how dangerous Damaged really is, and whether or not he and Rin work as a team, just in case they try something again.))

Damaged was still rising from his response to the last attack when a set of claws dug deeply into his shoulder. He hissed, knocked back onto his opposite side. He didn't have the leverage or the momentum to roll the black tom off of him this time, but he did have hind claws, and he knew how to use them. His legs worked double time to deter the big cat from holding him any longer.

But he wasn't going to let Rin off the hook either. He had to admit, it had felt good, hearing Rin compare him to himself, hearing himself called an Anti-hero. But Rin had gotten one thing wrong. Damaged did want to end up like him. But hopefully he'd see to it that however Rin ended up was a little better than their current prospects.

"Rin, will you give it up?" he shouted, craning his head. "I'm not leaving until you do first. And if you actually want to help us win this fight, start talking again. I think I saw them starting to fall asleep!"

[hr]

Burlow's eyes flashed as the old cat turned in his direction. Everything was going according to plan. For an instant, the glanced at Cotter, then lifted his paws to defend himself. Despite the attempt, the sheer force of Rin's attack got the old tom through, and Burlow soon felt the slave's jaws around his throat. The big ginger had to use all of his strength to push back and get on all fours again, but it did nothing to aid his escape, only to hold Rin in place.

Cotter's eyes grew wide at the sight of Burlow in trouble. Burlow was one of the most observant dealers in the organization. When a fight was going crazy, it was Burlow who figured out where the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy were and got the dealers organized. If Burlow was killed now, the entire organization suffered. "Silas, go low!" He lunged for Rin, one set of claws reaching for the old slave's good eye while his teeth and other claws sought any purchase they could find on his throat or hide. True to his orders, Silas lunged for Rin's other hind leg, hating every moment of sharing his prize with the other cats.

Conner, the cat at Rin's front, had a similar reaction to his brother, having always admired Burlow's skill. He moved forward to attack as well, but a glance from Burlow, more like a glare, held him back. Apparently he was needed at this position, and any movement might open a way of escape for the old slave. He backed up a step. Unable to help his personal hero, he turned his head to look back at Damaged. "Hey, I have an idea!" he shouted. "How about you both give up? You two aren't in any hurry to leave anyway!"

((Hmm, maybe I'll sign up Burlow too as a dealer...if he survives this.))

Faith had already awoken to Jennifer's Whisper alarm, but had pulled the top cover of the bed over her head and pretended to still be asleep. Changing clothes had been much simpler when she had her own room, and she was still trying to work out how she'd manage it with a roommate.

A gentle nudge signaled her time was up. She shoved aside the top cover and looked up at Jennifer. "Oh, good morning," she said, smiling back. Judging by Jennifer's friendly expression, she hadn't met Assad in the hall last night. Yep, the explanation was still up to Faith.

Stonemaw blinked. From torture to a trip to the medicine cat, just that quickly. He was glad the she-cat who had brought up the possibility of torture seemed to be speaking out of turn; it certainly wasn't a pleasant prospect to think about. He nodded to Sageleaf and stepped forward, ready to assist, when another she-cat who had been pestering Deadlyfang came over and offered to take his place.

Stonemaw stepped back. "That would probably be better," he mewed. "She is part of your clan." He looked around at the other cats in the room. "Which clan is this, anyway? I never got a name." And he'd need one, if for any reason only some of the cats escaped and had to tell Shadowclan where their other clanmates were.

I've done that before. :)

Accepted, then!

((LOL. Okay, I can sign up Silas too. Hey, what happens to the Slave Trade after the plot is over?

And poor Rin! But it would definitely get Damaged over the "Hate me!" phase he's got going and get him to show his soft side. Hopefully Rin won't mind too much. The soft side, I mean. I'm sure he'll mind being totally blind.

And how many Ruff'N'Tuff/Rough'N'Toughs are there? At first I thought they were the same cat, but it looks like they're actually two?))

Burlow was beginning to panic. He'd hoped that with the attack on his seeing side the old cat would release him, but he should have known better. He'd seen Rin fight. Now, even as Silas and Cotter weighed down on Rin's seeing side, it only seemed to add to the pressure the elderly tom was putting on Burlow's neck. The ginger's sight was beginning to dim when Rin finally released his grip.

Burlow took a step back, coughing, and assessed the situation. The old tom was on the floor now. Silas had moved out of the way as he fell and was now trying to hold Rin's hind legs down. Cotter looked up from where he was holding the slave's shoulders. "I think I got his eye!"

"Which one?" Burlow asked.

"The only one!"

"Keep on him. And careful! If he's completely blind..." Burlow was worried. Rin's strength was on his blind side; the ginger had witnessed that. With both eyes out, he'd be twice the trouble. But he didn't want Rin to know that if he hadn't figured it out already. He took a step back , then moved around a bit further toward the opening to dissuade the elder from struggling in that direction. "It's useless now, Rin," he growled. "If you give up now, it's not too late to go back to your cell." He glanced back into the open-roofed cell. Yeah, that would work. There was no way the old tom could escape from there if he was blind.

[hr]

Damaged hissed back at the black tom and tried to remember his old training exercises. He knew he'd gone through what he'd do if a cat wouldn't jump off at being scratched. Suddenly, he reached up with both paws, trying to wrap his forelegs around the neck of his attacker so he could pull himself up for a good bite on the tom's throat. If it didn't work, chances were the tom would move enough for Damaged to make a quick get-away.

...Wait, did those cats down the steps say Rin was blind?

"Uh, yeah," Faith answered, confused by the unexpected information. "I am. So, you met Assad last night, then? I asked him to explain everything to you if he saw you." She got up on the side of the bed with the armoire and pulled out a uniform, still wearing her Christian t-shirt, Tower Prep hoodie, and blue jeans ensemble from the day before. She turned to face Jennifer, hugging the clothes to herself, then spread them out on the bed and sat down.

[hr]

Ariadne was humming a cheerful tune as she gathered her books and laptop together for classes, already attired in the drab red, blue, and gray of the school. She kind of saw it as her responsibility to have something bright and cheery to hum or sing to her roommates as they were waking up, since her ability was being able to influence their emotions through music. It was best they started their day on the right side of the bed.

A stray pillow flew across the room and landed at the head of her bed. "Thanks," she said, interrupting her humming to talk to her telekinetic roommate. "I was missing that one last night." She didn't seem too perturbed by having to sleep with one less pillow, though, as she returned to providing mood music to her waking roommates.

Stonemaw had heard a faint hush after his question, as if he'd asked how many cats it would require to drain the territory of its freshkill or what was the most likely thing to kill the clan's leader. Did the cats not answer him because they hadn't heard him, or because they were somehow ashamed of their clan, even though the one she-cat had been bragging about how they'd taken down the three Shadowclan cats? He was relieved when the clan's leader finally told him the clan's name. "Elderclan. Thank you." There was no reason to assume she was lying. Surely the falseclanners would want Shadowclan to know who was powerful enough to capture two of their warriors and an apprentice.

He quietly padded into his cell, hearing the lock click behind him. There went his freedom. He had little time to dwell on his circumstances, however, before the leader returned with a wet mouse, depositing it in front of Stonemaw's cell. He managed to give her an appreciative smile, but she was gone before he could thank her properly for the meal. He reached out to paw it into his cage through the bars. "Deadlyfang, you haven't gotten anything to eat, have you?" he asked, unaware that he was interrupting his clanmate's rest. They may have to split the prize if the other warrior wasn't going to be fed otherwise. It completely slipped his notice that he'd just revealed the name of the other Shadowclan warrior.

"I wouldn't know," Faith answered, glancing at her clothes. She was sure she was on a schedule. If she just sat around doing nothing while she and Jennifer talked, she'd be late to her first day of school. She brushed back a strand of hair and got up, walking around her bed and pulling out her messenger bag. "The boys would look pretty funny in skirts though, huh?" She smiled, finding where she'd left her laptop and shoving it into the bag. Hopefully that was one of the things she'd need. "So, Headmaster texts us when our roommates go missing? Did he say why Kate was gone?" Or who had gotten her sent away?

[hr]

"Sure!" Aria answered, smiling. "You know, you can call me Aria. Or Arrie, I guess, but I like Aria better. What are you having for breakfast today?" She was getting used to the complicated special-order meals Whisper was so good at preparing for them. Breakfast was one of her favorites.

Victoria's not an available RP character yet. We'll have to wait until other people grab the characters in the top post first.

And Macavity's already created his local Company of the Hidden Paw and begun roleplaying. He's the only one I'm aware of that has started so far.

If you look near the bottom of the first post in the sign-up thread, you can see a list of people who are roommates. There are about 3 to a line, and everyone on that line would be roommates with each other. That's how I figured out that Ariadne is rooming with Ivie and Nicole.

((Nosha, it doesn't make sense for Lethal and Daemon to be in the room with the fight between Shadow and Nightly Star (the she-cat Shadow was trying to block the window from earlier). Macavity's office, where the fight is, is on the top level, with the only entrance being through a window like Werekitty said. Before entering, Lethal and Daemon would have been able to see that there's a fight going on in there, but nothing of much more interest happening. Macavity can't see or hear them there, so in order for them to speak to Macavity, they would have to be on the ground floor where they can't see the fight. They could come in through the front door or any number of broken windows.

We have a few options: We could have them in the fight room, which means they somehow slipped in without either of the other cats noticing, but that's going to be a kind of dead-end scenario, I think. We could forget having them inside the room and have them outside on the windowsill, which may be more in character, but that's also kind of dead-end, since they can't talk to anyone but themselves (there would be no one there to listen, since all the cats are inside). Or we could forget the whole entry and have them re-enter so they're able to talk to Macavity on the ground floor.

Don't worry about the confusion. Where you came in, it would be very difficult to figure out what was happening. :) We just need to figure out which scenario works best for you.))

Macavity noted the questions and requests of the surrounding cats, but he focused on Drake until the tom had made his reply. He was well pleased. Drake was one who knew his business, Macavity could tell from his terminology and the way he described every step of a carefully thought-out heist. He would be a true asset.

"Of course," he purred. "I presume anyone would be glad for a roof in this downpour." The rain had been pounding on what was left of the windows, coming in at the western side through the cracks in the glass, though where the cats were seated was and would remain perfectly dry. "Given your skills, I may send you on a raid of one of the nearby clans ere long. The Company shall require freshkill to keep things running smoothly, and I find it is often easier to take than to hunt."

He next fixed his attention on the two cats that entered the warehouse together. They were siblings, by look and scent, instantly triggering memories of Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, the sibling duo that had served him in his old home. For a moment, he missed them. They at least knew enough of the Company's workings to help him manage this mob.

Still, he had to make do with what he had on paw. "Greetings," he meowed to the siblings. "Thank you so much for sparing me a portion of my explanation." His eyes turned to the black street-cat. "We are the Company of the Hidden Paw, and if you were at all familiar with the twoleg place I am from, you would have all you need to know from that. You would also know we have our fair share of dogs and squabbles for survival," he said with a smile, referring to her earlier insistence that London was nothing compared to the town in which they now stood. "There are cats who find it difficult to survive under such conditions using the typical skills of hunting and fighting, therefore the Company of the Hidden Paw was established to give them an edge by teaching them new skills: theft, assassination, and espionage, among other things. We often serve the surrounding felines for a high price, while our members may avail themselves of our services for free, as long as they are willing to lend a paw in their area of strength. Now, if you'll excuse me," he looked down at the kit. "There's a promising young she-cat here who has been waiting longer than any of you."

The leader laid down to draw closer to the kit's eye level. "Now, my dear, you've been so patient. What is your name?"

I can play it as if Plato is Macavity's "sensible name" (given by twolegs) and Macavity is his "singular name" (only one cat in the history of cats gets it). That fits well with Eliot's poem "The Naming of Cats."

Stonemaw kept his soggy mouse close until the warden came with food for them, still wary in case not all of them were to be fed. Only when the warden gave Deadlyfang his mouse did Stonemaw relax, setting the mouse the leader had given him out in the open so the warden would know he didn't require the regular meal.

He picked up the rodent and brought it near the bars, the better to talk to his clanmates while he fed. It wasn't terrible, actually. The time he'd waited had allowed it to dry a good deal, and it wasn't worse than any freshkill he'd catch on a rainy day in Shadowclan. Maybe a bit small....

"I never got your name, apprentice," he meowed between chewing a couple bites. "I'm Stonemaw."

"Mmm, I was thinking chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a side of bacon with chocolate milk." Aria slung her bag over her shoulder and crossed the room to open the door. "I'm trying to find something difficult for Whisper, but I can't come up with anything that would be a real challenge for her. Can you? Oh, I know! Chocolate soy milk!"