Posts by Edlyn

[size=9pt]Edlyn is a complex soul. She isn't the kind of cat you can simply get to know in a day - it takes moons of knowing her to even start to have an idea of what she's all about. From a glance, she can seem fiery, bold and stubbornly determined; which she is. She's got a sharp tongue, and she isn't afraid to use it. Edlyn is fiercely independent, this stemming from the fact that she was forced to grow tougher and fend for herself from a young age, and hates to be forced to submit to or be controlled by any cat. She revels in her freedom and is a willful, spirited young cat. When she's forced to accept restraint, she has a tendency to become sullen and rebellious.

Edlyn isn't afraid to let anyone know how she thinks and feels, and certainly won't suffer in silence. She's a born fighter, and has a strong sense of moral and justice. She knows what's right and wrong, and she fights and lives for what she believes.

However, that's only the surface. Edlyn also has a gentle, sympathetic side that, though, seldom makes an appearance, truly exists. Like any she-cat she possesses maternal instincts and has a soft spot for all children, although she doesn't always show it. She's particularly protective of kits, and some can see that as a weakness for them. She is strong and true, she knows who she is and is faithful and stands by what she believes. She's fiercely loyal to anyone she sets her heart to, and it's difficult to sway her from any goal when she's set it. Although Edlyn can be stubborn, clinging to her views and hating to release them, give in, or admit she's wrong, she's no fool and although with some reluctance, she knows when to back off.

Although Edlyn hardly shows it, and is possibly not even aware of it, she is actually quite intelligent. Perhaps though a tad uncooperative and bluntly straight-forward when it comes to interactions with others, she is exceptionally difficult to play for a fool or coax into a trick - except when it comes to kits. The only weakness in her armor is her love for her kits - threaten them and all her fire vanishes. However, she still remains fiery, her soul blazes like a flame with spirit and she also possesses the ability to inspire others, although she doesn't realize it.

Edlyn loves those that she is close to fiercely and is highly protective of what she holds dear. She always stands up for them, supports them, and remains stubbornly loyal to them. All in all, she's a great cat to have around as a friend, and someone to really watch out for if you're her enemy.[/size]

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[size=9pt]Edlyn has some considerable bulk for a she-cat. She's quite large, matching some small toms in size, and strength. She's quite powerful and sturdy in build, although she is quite lithe as well. She has soft, dense but short fur, and has a bi-colored coat; her main coat is a golden-tan color, and her belly, chest and paws are cream colored. Her back and tail are laced with ginger stripes, and her forehead and cheeks also carry a reminiscent of the tabby stripes on her back and tail.

She has a white muzzle that is linked to a white stripe that goes between her eyes. She has exquisite, sea-colored eyes that can be seen and described as teal. Up one can see that her eyes are ocean blue intertwined with wisps of forest green.

Contrary to the belief of some that she-cats must be soft, beautiful and delicate, Edlyn possesses true fighting power. She's an experienced fighter, having been taught well by her father, and she often sparred her siblings when they were young. Once she was separated from her parents, she was also forced to fight often to defend herself, her kits and her territory and prey. Her pelt bears no visible scars as a testimony of her successes in fighting.[/size]

[[Thanks Roo ~
Also, is it alright if you guys delete your posts so there aren't two random posts in the middle of the bio? Thanks guys! ]]

[size=9pt]Edlyn was born to a pair of loners and grew up well loved and cared for. This may lead one to wonder what makes her so fiery, proud and independent. The explanation is that at a young age of seven months, just a sparse moon or two after her parents began teaching her and her siblings how to hunt and survive on their own. When they were traveling as a family to move to a new den, a vicious storm caught them unprepared, and the family was separated in the wind, rain and lightning.

Alone and lost, the siblings managed to stay together, and found a sparse shelter in which they waited out the storm. When the storm blew over, they emerged and searched desperately for their parents, but they could not locate them, and were at last, forced to face bitter survival on their own. The eldest of the litter, Roy, took responsibility for his two younger sisters, and virtually worked himself to his death in protecting and doing his best to take over with looking after them. When he was badly wounded in a fight with a fox, the wound grew infected, and on a cold winter day when Edlyn and Elise were at one year old, he passed from the world.

However, it was his careful nurturing and self sacrifice that enabled the two sisters to survive. They mastered the skills of survival as loners, but in the process, all of them had become far tougher. Edlyn and Roy had been particularly close as siblings, and while their forced independence had already made her far more fierce, determined and tough, his death made her even more so. She felt that she had to live and be strong for the sake of her brother and her sister to ensure that his sacrifice was not in vain. And thus, with difficulty and hardship, the two sisters grew accustomed to their new life and survived.

It was a warm spring morning on her second birthday when Edlyn met Conan at a river. She had been fishing, and having lost four fish in a row, she had grown frustrated. Conan, however, had already made several successful catches, and as they were both on the opposite banks of a stream leaden with fish, they met. At first, Edlyn had shown him the fire that she gave to all strangers whom threatened her pride, but it was clear from that moment that their personalities could not have fit together more perfectly.

Conan was a gentleman through and through, polite, good-natured and gentle. He taught Edlyn better methods for fishing, and through this, the two of them grew closer. They spent the rest of that day in each others company, and became friends, meeting together often there. And over a course of time, they fell in love.

Conan softened Edlyn's fierce temperament considerably, opening the doors to her sensitive, gentle and loving side that she herself hadn't even known existed. The two spent several happy moons together, but tragedy struck roughly a week or two after Edlyn gave birth to their kits. A coyote ventured too close to their den, threatening to attack and steal their kits, and Conan and Edlyn fought valiantly side by side, but when the coyote dealt Edlyn a blow that nearly knocked her unconscious, Conan took over. He bravely fought the coyote off, defending both his mate and kits alone, but just as he'd given the blow that made the coyote turn tail and run, it grabbed him by the neck and threw him against a tree before fleeing.

Edlyn was devastated by the death of her beloved, but she suppressed her grief for the sake of her kits. However, for the two long and painful moons that she raised them alone except for the occasional help of her sister, Edlyn was never truly happy. Since her mate's death, her living and happiness had steadily declined. Worst came to worst when Edlyn's kits went missing. They had ventured off to explore while she had been out hunting, and as their den was near the Skull's territory, panic had taken over and Edlyn went to search for them in Skull's land for the fear that the cruel toms of Skull had found and stolen them.

She was found by Belobog, a Skull of the Clan, and captured by him. However, as he did, he also took her as his Warrant, thereby protecting her from many of the horrors that Skull had to offer. Upon realizing that he truly loved her, and would be willing to sacrifice his own happiness for her's, Edlyn began to soften towards him, and perhaps some time in the future, her feelings would ripen into love.[/size]

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[An advanced roleplay for me, Randomness and Chocolatka - please PM me if you desperately wish to join. c; ]
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Each day Edlyn spent in the dark pit of the Dirt's Den was like enduring another day in purgatory. The rotten stench of filth that hung in the air, a rank, horrid smell that had been created from the suffering, misery and fear of countless individuals that had come and gone to this den. At times, it made her feel hopeless and crushed by the oppressive air, at others, she trembled with barely suppressed fury as she beheld all the wretchedness, cruelty and wrongness that lay around her.

Now was one of those times.
The gold and cream she-cat paced back and forth across the rough hard earth of the Dirt's den, her mouth pulled back in a grimace as she struggled to contain the unruly emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Sometimes, she would almost be able to bear it, living here. Other times, her inner flame got the better of her. Her teeth were clenched, her tail whisking from side to side, teal eyes glaring at all the misery that surrounded her. Days of confinement had brought her to this point. How she longed to see the sun again! How she longed to watch the moon and stars from the entrance of her den before she slept. How she longed for her freedom, her independence. Most of all, she wanted to escape the depressing, stifled air that hung over all the Dirt's about her.

What was perhaps most unbearable for her was watching the daily events for most of the other Dirts. There was not much variety in what they did - they ate, they slept, they groomed themselves and then sat and waited to be mated with when they were in heat, or cringed in fear before the toms who ventured into the den daily for the hopes that they might get lucky with a naive she-cat. All these going-ons, Edlyn would avoid, crouching at the back of the den and glaring at the intruding toms with narrowed eyes from a distance as they proceeded to terrorize one cat, or torment another. At times when she saw true cruelty being dealt to the helpless Dirt's, some declawed and defenseless, a terrible feeling of helplessness would engulf her as she watched, knowing that she was powerless to stop any of it, yet her instincts screamed for her to bring the offenders to justice.

But of course, that was impossible. And it was this helplessness, this inability to protect those who were weaker than her from those who mercilessly hurt and crushed them, that tormented Edlyn the most. At last, she had resorted to pacing to disperse her furious energy. She knew that her agitated strides back and forth might be disturbing the other Dirts, especially since it was late at night, but she had to do something, or she'd go mad. At last, after several minutes of furiously padding back and forth, she halted and lifted her muzzle to peer up past the wall she was standing beside and up to a point near the ceiling where a tiny crack in the rock allowed a slender, frail beam of moonlight to spill into the den. A heavy sigh slipped past the cream and gold she-cat's lips and she moved into the shaft of light so that the wan ray shed it's glow over her face, outlining her fur with silver and adding an eerie, ethereal tint of moonlight to her sea-colored eyes.

Perhaps her confinement might be easier to bear with a companion who was of true interest - not just another she-cat to wait for any passing tom to wave her heat scent in his face, not just another cat who succumbed shamelessly to SkullClan's rule. Someone with true worldliness who could lend her some ease from her discomfort at being so trapped. And it was then, that the shifting of rocks beneath another cat's feet turned Edlyn's attention to another cat approaching her.

[Thanks, I'm glad you like them <3 ]

"Can't sleep?" A hushed voice, hard to hear even in the silence, made Edlyn's head snap around and she spotted an unfamiliar Dirt approaching her. A harsh bark of bitter laughter escaped the gold and cream she-cat's throat. "Not tonight." She turned away from the other cat, lifting her head, tipping back her muzzle to gaze with yearning towards the little hole in the wall from which the moonlight filtered into the den.

"I'm Edlyn." She meowed after a brief pause, turning her head back to appraise the she-cat before her. Edlyn's watchful sea-tinted eyes took in the other she-cat in full. Her ash gray fur that held a dull lifeless look, her thin and lean build and her blue eyes, which contrasted with the dullness of her pelt and through a look of liveliness, of intelligence over her face. Perhaps she was one of them. Like herself and Sullen, not just one of 'those Dirts'. Someone of worth.

The tan and beige she-cat let out a sigh and seated herself, curling her tail around her paws and turning to face her new acquaintance fully. A wry smile twisted the fiery she-cats lips. "So, what keeps you awake tonight? Most cats are lost deep in their nightmares by now." SkullClan was a harsh place. If one wished to survive in such a skewed, wretched place, then they must grow tough or succumb into fear and submission.

And of course, Edlyn would never choose the latter. She had never been one to be particularly gentle or friendly, and Skull had blown her top completely. Only those whom she saw truly deserved respect escaped her sharp tongue, and this she-cat had yet to prove her merits.

"I just can't. We don't really do much except sit on our tail-ends all day, , so there isn't much to make me tired. It's not like running all day..."

A brief nod acknowledged the other she-cat's words as Edlyn listened. That was true - not much to a Dirt's life besides napping and lounging about, or being abused by toms. It suddenly occurred to her that she was fortunate - although her walks and hunts with Belobog were uncommon and brief, just the chance to see the sun again was like an enormous gift and pleasure. Or, at least, anyhow, it was better than what most of the other Dirts got - most of them never saw the sun from the day they were born.

As she contemplated this, she felt her fury rise like a black cloud again. Her shoulders tensed slightly, and her teal eyes glazed over with a blank look shadowed with rage that was subtle, but to a sharp eye, noticeable. Once again, moment after moment, she was reminded of the cruelty of Skull. As she swept her eyes over the she-cat once more, she suddenly took note of how unkept and dull her coat was, and the fact that her ribs were prominent beneath her ragged pelt.

It was clear that this she-cat had not been indulged with any of the benefits that Edlyn had. The day she'd arrived, Belobog had taken her as his warrant, which meant his delivering food to her daily, ensuring that she never went hungry, and occasionally bringing her out for hunts. This also meant that she was higher up on the hierarchy than Dirts, and not just any tom was allowed to come by and give her a scratch or force her.

She was blessed in comparison to the Dirts.
Her anger faded as she for the hundredth time marveled at all the kindness that Belobog had shown her since she'd arrived. At times, she even found herself wrought with guilt for having spoken so viciously to him earlier. And he really did love her. He hadn't forced her, nor had he ever truly hurt her. In fact, it was only because of him that she had escaped so many times she might have been clawed by another tom. Though she was not one to cringe from a fight, she never went looking for one either, and she suddenly realized how much she appreciated Belobog's presence in her life. He had captured her. He had interfered with her life... but... was she beginning to welcome his interference?

"I'm Venice."

The other she-cat's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Edlyn nodded in greeting, and allowed a brief pause to stretch between them before she inquired, "Have you been trapped in this dark hole for long?" She was clearly neither soft-spoken or particularly gentle... but Edlyn knew the difference between right and wrong. She was a bold and fiery cat who stood by her beliefs and justice. She also knew the difference between a cat that was yet another pitiful cringing Dirt, and a cat of true potential and worth. A cat that was her own, not just another SkullClan puppet.

And it seemed, that she might have found another cat with a soul in SkullClan. A companion to pass the empty and dull days of confinement, perhaps?

[Agh, I'm so sorry I didn't reply earlier! I've been busy, and I also sort of forgot about this thread for a while since I didn't have time to respond when I read your reply. Anyhow, here I am now, and I'll try to get to this quicker next time!]

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"A few moons, I think."

Venice answered. Her blue eyes darkened as she spoke, as though the reminder of her stay here had brought shadowy memories springing unbidden into her mind. Edlyn nodded briefly, "I've been here for roughly a moon." So this she-cat had been here several moons longer than she. Her teal eyes appraised the Dirt before her with new interest as Edlyn tried to gauge her state of mind and body.

Her ash-toned fur was unkept and she was thin and gaunt as most Dirts where. However, her blue eyes were her one feature that remained luminous and alive, suggesting that she might be a cat who appeared dull and placid on the outside, but, perhaps, was more on the inside. However, she, as with so many other countless Dirts Edlyn had seen, lacked the fire that blazed an inferno in her spirit. Even those who did have some fire eventually consumed their own furious energy into ashes, or simply exploded, and earned a punishment of maiming from the Skulls that truly quenched their spirit of hate and anger.

Did they all sooner or later, succumb to the toms that had so cruelly forced them under their rule? Or simply, eventually, just accept their fate? Edlyn wondered what she would look like a few moons, perhaps a season from now. Would she ever come to terms with her fate as well? It was not her nature to resign in any situation, but even the fiercest fires burned out eventually.

It was not until Venice spoke that Edlyn realized how deeply they'd both been lost in their thoughts moments before. "They took my kits away." The dark-furred she-cat whispered. Moons of grief and anguish dripped from her words like melt-water from a frigid, bitterly cold snowfall. A pang shot through Edlyn's chest and the sand-toned she-cat met Venice's eyes, her own eyes reflecting the other queen's sorrow. That she understood. That pain she knew. "I'm so sorry," she meowed softly. She lifted her head to gaze once more through the crack in the ceiling.

She felt her throat tighten with grief as she added bitterly, "I lost a litter too. I was looking after them on my own, and I just slipped out for a hunt... and when I returned, they were gone. I went searching for them. We lived near Skull as loners, and I feared that they might have taken my kits... so I ventured onto the land. And I was captured. I... never knew what happened to them." Her tone was flat and emotionless, as though she were recounting another's story rather than her own. However, her empty expression masked the searing anguish she felt in her heart whenever she thought of her children. It was one of the few subject she no longer had the power to keep fighting when mentioned.

[No problem. ;) I know how fickle muse can be at times x3 ]

"I guess I'm luckier than you. I know where my kits are. Maybe I'll even know whether or not they are safe. It's just...hard knowing one day they might be monsters."

Edlyn's eyes closed as she considered Venice's words. The love of a mother, she thought to herself, never ceased. Even if her kits did become monsters, their mother never stopped loving them. Such was the way of most cats. Deep within her heart, she wondered what she would want more for her kits if they still had a choice. Would she prefer them to reside in a cruel, twisted Clan like Skull or continue to live like loners, constantly watching their backs for foxes, rogues and all sorts of other dangers nonexistent within any Clan, even one as bad as Skull?

She was silent for several moments, then she reopened her eyes and answered quietly, "I understand how you feel. I wish things could be different... but fate seems to have its own ideas and ways of working." Another brief pause, and then Edlyn inquired hesitantly, "Have you had... no chance at all... to see them?"

If she ever had kits, would she be standing in the same position as Venice? She didn't want to bring forth painful memories to Venice, but she couldn't help but to wonder just how isolated from their mother's SkullClan kits were.

Did they all grow up never truly knowing the love and care of a parent? They were taken away at two weeks, which was too young for them to really have memories of their mother.

A single set of most magnificently toned cerulean eyes that held the flavors of the ocean gazed dully upon a flat gray wall as Edlyn lay awake in the Dirt's Den. Night hung over the world like a cloak, muting the regular scuffles and sounds of day until the only sound that could be heard in the Dirt's Den was the steady breathing of all the she-cats that lay at rest around her. Amidst the mounds of sleeping bodies, a single gold and cream she-cat remained alert, her head lifted as she lay upon the cool, hard earth.

Although she remained almost completely immobile, her mind was in turmoil. Shards of broken dreams and shattered delusions spun through her thoughts as she at long last, relinquished her hold on her stubborn belief that it wasn't happening. As she examined her own circumstances, more and more, with each passing day, she was forced to admit that things were not going to change. She'd finally shaken herself to reality, pushed away the denial and disbelief that had naturally arose and faced the brutal truth of it all.

She was going to be here for the rest of her life.
Eventually, some day, one day she would have to accept that. Despite the hatred and anger that she often felt for SkullClan, that coated her judgement of reality with a veil of acid, she knew that there was no longer a choice. This was now her 'home' and there was no escaping from it. Would she continue like this, to live till her dying day, spitting with fury, allowing her hatred and anger to possess her? To forever live in denial? To continue to hiss her hatred and insults to all those around her until her poisonous words rendered her not cat but monster?

No. She was not truly a hateful cat by nature. Fiery, rebellious and spirited, perhaps, but not hateful. And in the end, every cat, even with those that possessed the fiercest flames of fire in their hearts, boiled down to exactly what they truly were. More besides, no matter how much one struggled or fought, they eventually had to resign themselves to whatever hand fate had dealt them. Thus, at last, as Edlyn wrestled with her disquiet, a sense of reluctant and perhaps even slightly grudging, but calm acceptance crept over her. It was time she stopped running from the truth and faced it head on.

She continued to ponder in silence until the faint whisper of pawsteps behind her jolted her from her thoughts. She wondered briefly who else would be awake so late at night before she slowly turned her head towards the sound, and her teal eyes would turn expectantly and questioningly towards whoever had just arrived.

"I...don't know, really. They'd already be learning the ways of this Clan, and apparently my duty is finished with them."

A mother's duty to their kits is never truly over, Edlyn thought to herself. She could hear the anger that lay behind Venice's words, and the flare of resentment in her own heart echoed the other she-cat's feelings. "Just as I would expect from Skulls," Edlyn answered bitterly, her eyes narrowed into angry slits. Even as a queen's kits grew far beyond clinging to their mothers, Edlyn new that a mother would always feel affection and protectiveness for her children. Many a time, she'd seen a parent sacrifice themself for their young ones. She'd seen cats throw their lives away so that the new generation, the young cats, could have a future.

But what future existed for a young cat in Skull? I'll never have my own kits here, Edlyn vowed to herself, unless I can be certain that they'll be safe from the worst of this place's horrors. She was jolted out of her thoughts as another voice spoke out. "Hello, I'm Rylance," Edlyn's head snapped towards the sound and she suddenly found herself staring into the eyes of an unfamiliar snowshoe she-cat who called herself Rylance. She was surprised to see the she-cat had seated herself nearby - Edlyn hadn't noticed her. Perhaps in the darkness, she'd been so preoccupied with her own thoughts and Venice that she hadn't noticed anyone else awake.

As Venice meowed a greeting, Edlyn's keen teal eyes inspected the newcomer that sat near her in the darkness. She could see that this was still a fresh she-cat, who did not yet bear the weight of moons of suffering underground in the Dirt's Den, nor the burden of constant starvation and abuse from the toms. She could still see the fire of spirit in the cat's eyes, and the ampleness of her both flesh and muscle that had not yet been worn down to stringy sinews from both disuse and malnutrition.

Even Edlyn, who as a Warrant, was fed better than the average Dirt, had grown thinner than when she'd first arrived. Though she was brought food more frequently, ate little, lacking an appetite from her boredom and misery in her confinement, and only drank as much as necessary to keep herself from dehydration. But of course, this she-cat would not know any of that yet. Edlyn could still smell the flavors of the forest on the she-cat's pelt, which meant she'd only been captured recently. She had far more to learn of the ways of Skull.

At last, Edlyn gave the newcomer a faint not of greeting, her teal eyes narrowing into slits. As it was, she was not a cat who warmed up to others quickly. Especially after many harsh moons as a loner had made her wary of strangers, and slow to trust and grow friendly. "I'm Edlyn." Her greeting was curt as her eyes swept over her thoughtfully once more. "So, did some tom drag you in here recently?" Edlyn inquired Rylance. She knew of course, that this she-cat was a new arrival, having not seen her before, but she was more curious in the exact story of how she'd gotten here. Would this she-cat prove herself someone unique to stand out in a crowd as well?

[Whoa. This post turned out longer than I thought it would. oxo" ]

"Kitten,"

Belobog's familiar voice reached her ears before the notion of who it was that was moving through the dark towards her did. It was then that she faced him in full, watching him approach her, his bi-colored eyes gleaming as they caught the thin light that filtered through a crack in the back of the den. His long white fur gave him an almost ghostly appearance in the dim light, and lent him a wraith like, surreal look. "Belobog?" she answered, speaking his name in both a greeting and a questioning tone, surprised to see him awake as well at such an hour.

"Why are you not asleep, Luv? Did something happen?"

A sigh slipped past the gold and ginger toned she-cat's lips and suddenly, she was grateful he was here. Along with her resignation to spending the rest of her life in Skull, she had come to truly and fully appreciate that everything Belobog had given her. After various experiences with other Dirts, she had quickly come to see exactly what a difference Belobog had made her life from theirs. Not only had he been kind to her, but he wholly, sincerely loved her. Few other cats here could claim as much, even those who were Warrants like herself.

More besides, he had become something of a confidant to her. Someone to whom she could speak to without holding back, someone whom she could pour her heart to and still trust to be there for her. Of all the cats in Skull, he was the only one that she really, whole-heartedly trusted. All of this rushed through her head in a matter of seconds, and closing her eyes briefly, she meowed, "No. I was thinking."

She reopened her eyes and gazed up at him, remaining in the position that she was lying; stretched out on her side, her head lifted. I've missed you. The words sprang unbidden into her mind, and she almost spoke them, but the words caught in her throat, and, unable to get them out, she was rendered mute for several moments. It had been a while. Of course, she'd seen him here and there, but it had been quite some time since they'd really talked to each other. Besides, if she looked deep within herself, she knew that she in truth, had come to enjoy his company.

And despite all the she-cats that lay around her, and the many toms that came in and out, none of them could ever really fill in the gap of loneliness that had started to yawn in her heart the way he could. However, all she managed to choke out was, "You're up late as well." Her teal eyes met his gold and blue ones, and for once, there was no flame of anger or rebellion in her gaze. Instead, her ocean-toned eyes were calm and clear, for one thing that showed through her eyes was the cause for it all.

Acceptance.

A sheepish grin touching his muzzle, Belobog answered, "I was checking up on the queens and decided to slip in here." Then he meowed, "Do you want to go for a walk? Or are you too tired, Luv?" At this, the gold and cream she-cat brightened, already rising to her paws. "I'm never too tired for a walk, Belobog," She replied, gripping the hard earth with her claws, arching her back in a long, satisfying stretch before she straightened, already anticipating the cool and fresh night air that she was soon to breathe. The touch of wind in her fur, the frosty glitter of stars overhead. She could almost taste the sense of freedom of it, of existing out of the miserable Dirt's Den.

"Let's go," she meowed, trying to hide the eagerness in her voice. Once he began moving, she would fall in step right by his side, weaving her way through the mounds of sleeping cats that lay about them. Her teal eyes focused on the dark tunnel that lead to the world outside, to the open skies and lush trees and grasses that she had so deeply yearned for when all was dull, flat and gray within the Dirt's Den. The longing was almost like hunger - a feral, instinctive drive for something that she simply could not live without.

Was it for better or for worse that she would never again walk beneath the skies without a tom at her side? It was a chain to her independence, and a rein to her freedom, but could she really fully resent it, knowing that she was so much better off than so many, knowing that it was Belobog who walked beside her?

For several moments as they walked, Edlyn would remain silent, and then she mewed, "You know, Scythe called all the Warrants together not long ago and told us that all Warrants now need to stain their fur with berry juice so that no Dirts can pretend they're Warrants." A wry smile touched her maw as she glanced in his direction before she asked dryly, "Well then, what color would you prefer for my fur?"

[size=9pt][Hey, is it okay if I pop in here with my character Edlyn? :) If not, or anything needs to be changed in this post or anything just tell me ;)

Also this turned out a bit long ^^; this is probably a tl;dr for most so feel free to just start reading from the last 1 or 2 paragraphs - the rest is pretty much just character development that you don't really need to know to reply.][/size]
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[size=12px]Shattered, that was her world.

When at last Scythe and his followers, the weeds of treachery that choked the land, had been uprooted and cast far into the recesses of the wild where they would never again wreak terror as they had before, everything had erupted into chaos.

And she had been free. Freedom, the very essence of it, had been unthinkable to her during her captivity in Skull. How she had longed for it, how she had loathed those who had held her prisoner; nurturing the flame of fiery hatred towards them all, fantasizing the ways she might plot their demise.

Now, she finally had all she had ever wanted during her time in Skull.

And it was worthless.

He was gone. She hadn't seen him for some time - after the revolt, for a time, it had all been confusion. A perfect opportunity to make the escape she had planned for moons. But she hadn't run at the first chance she got. An irrepressible, inexplicable feeling had gripped her, and she had searched for him, desperate to find him, and hardly knowing why. He alone, among them all, had been the one to treat her with true kindness. He had loved her - the one cat in the entire world that remained who actually cared for her. Her parents were dead. Her former mate was dead. Her kits were dead.

There had been no one left but him, and now he was gone too.

What was freedom worth when she had nothing left to make of it? There was no reason for her to continue. Nothing remained to drive her, not love, not purpose, not even hate. She was an empty vessel floating over a tumultuous, bitter, black sea, and she no longer possessed the desire to fight it. After a long and fruitless search throughout Skull's old territory, Edlyn had at last been forced to admit defeat. The cream and gold she-cat slowly trudged away from BoneClan's camp, her tail trailing against the earth, ears drooping, fur unkept, utterly defeated.

A gentle breeze rippled through the foliage of the forest before her, carrying two scents - one foreign, the other so familiar it sent a jolt through her. Throughout this entire event of Skull splitting, Edlyn had not found one familiar face in the throngs of cats she'd seen. Without thinking, the tan and white she-cat raced forward, forcing her way through a dense bush to see Sullen padding alongside a tom she didn't recognize. She stumbled towards them, ignoring the tom, her teal eyes on Sullen alone.

"Sullen!" Her voice, hoarse from disuse cracked as she called the other she-cat's name, continuing to rush towards her, unsure of what she even wanted from her, only that she hoped she would stop and see her. And recognize her.[/size]

[size=12px]For a moment, as Sullen's eyes turned to her, the silver tabby she-cat hardly seemed to register Edlyn's sudden appearance. Then disbelief and joy flooded her expression and she rushed forward to touch noses with Edlyn. The gold and beige she-cat blinked in surprise at the unexpected warmth in Sullen's greeting, yet her friendliness came as something like relief to her. A contrast from the cold stares and disregard most of the other cats had given her since Skull had been abolished from the territory.

"I haven't seen you in so long... I thought--- I worried--"

Sullen swallowed, then meowed, "How are you?" Her words brought a fresh twinge of pain in Edlyn's heart and she dropped her eyes to her paws, unable to meet her friend's gaze. For a moment, she was silent, struggling to master the anguish that threatened to overwhelm her, promising herself that she wouldn't lose control, especially since there was another cat with Sullen whom she didn't know.

At last, she took a deep breath and answered, "I... don't know... He's gone, Sullen. Belobog. I can't find him anywhere." Her voice was low with defeat, her eyes fixed on the ground before her. Despite her efforts to hide the anguish that pierced her heart like a shard of ice, her voice shook, betraying the depth of her grief. She raised her head slightly to look into Sullen's eyes, suddenly wondering if this was how she had felt when Locuran had died.

She swallowed past the hard lump in her throat, not wanting to dwell on the subject and inquired, "How about you?" Her sea-toned eyes flitted briefly to the tom beside her before they returned to Sullen as she eyed her questioningly. "And who's this?"[/size]

Time passed interminably, inconsequential minutes, hours, days, trickling through her life without meaning.

And in essence, it was no different from how her imprisonment in Skull had been.

The atmosphere of the dark, molding, depraved place in which she had been housed for moons had seeped an extrinsic bleakness into her heart, instilling a seemingly irrevocable shadow over her mind. It festered at her soul, twisting any pleasant thoughts or feelings she had into pinpricks of grimness and discontent.

She had long since lost track of how many days, perhaps even moons, had passed since Skull's fall. For some, it had been vengeance. For Edlyn, it had meant freedom. She had finally attained what she had so desperately yearned for during her captivity; the breath of a cool breeze in her fur, the warmth and radiance of sunlight, the liberty to sleep under the stars once more.

And yet... it was worthless.

She was alone. She no longer had any purpose; her kits were gone, her mate, dead, with little to none of her family and friends alive, and none at all within reach. Though she had, for a time, resided peacefully in SpineClan with Sullen, Edlyn had never been able to find her feet in SpineClan. Though she had been, by no means, unhappy there, a growing discontent within her had compelled her to leave. Now, as she roamed the unclaimed lands alone, she no longer knew where she was.

As she crouched beneath a thick fern, staring emptily down at the mouse she had just caught, oblivious to the icy breeze that pierced her fur, her mind turned one more, unbidden, to the bleak thoughts that had plagued her since she had escaped Skull. Belobog. Even now, the very thought of the Maine Coon tom she had grown to know better than any cat in Skull sent a bolt of anguish lancing through her heart, arousing a familiar dull ache in her throat. He had been the one cat in Skull to truly care for her; he had loved her, entirely, and unconditionally. And now, too late, she realized that he had been a second chance for her, an opportunity to start her life afresh after losing her former mate, and her kits.

But instead, she had barred her feelings for him, isolating herself between thick, impenetrable walls of stubbornness, anger and spite. Now, as she recalled all the thoughts and feelings for him that had ever crossed her mind, she wished that she had expressed them. Had she a single chance to relive her past, she would have given to him every word, every expression of affection she had ever withheld out of her own pathetic stubbornness. But it was too late.

At that moment, to her complete surprise, she caught a whiff of SkullClan's distinctive smell in the air. Instantly, the cream and gold she-cat stiffened, ocean-toned eyes darting from side to side as she fell to a half crouch in readiness to defend herself, drawing her lips back in a snarl. Yet, at the same time, it brought a sense of pathetically desperate hope within her, as well as an inexplicable yearning mingled with her instinctive hatred and disgust at the smell. Nonetheless, she prepared herself to fight. She could only assume this was some malicious, traveling SkullClan tom in search of another victim. She could see him now, the cat, moving through the undergrowth toward her.

Her claws unsheathed, sinking into the earth.

She would not allow herself to be taken again.

[Sorry about that ^^; I always end up with really long opening posts for some reason - I'm actually always afraid they'll like, scare people away Dx Anyhow, I'm okay with any sized post, pretty much - as long as they aren't one liners, lol. Also, I just wanted to say that I really, really enjoyed your post <333
And omg that plot is amazing it has so much potential for character development 8D I'm not sure what Edlyn would do if she found out Belobog and the she-cat had kits though xD ]

She could see him now. A massive tom moving swiftly toward her, his long white fur just visible through gaps in the foliage.

...Long white fur?!

Without warning, an infuriated caterwaul split the air, and an instant later, an enormous white tom exploded out from behind the bushes, claws extended, jaws agape in a snarl to reveal an array of gleaming ivory fangs before he landed directly before her. His sudden, violent appearance elicited an instinctive, fierce hiss from Edlyn, but as his scent flood her nostrils, her hiss died away into a gasp of disbelief.

Belobog.

It had been his scent, and deep within her, she had known all along. Yet she had not dared to allow herself to believe it, to arouse a futile kindle of hope only to have it crushed. As Edlyn stared speechlessly at him, her eyes wide with disbelief, for a single, brief moment suspended taut between them, their gazes met, her sea-green eyes boring into his duo-toned ones.

In at that very second, a myriad of jumbled, incomprehensible emotions poured through her body. The most prominent were her incredulity, intermingled with her inexplicable joy, longing and relief at seeing him again. When the chaos of the rebellion had erupted in Skull, she had been unable to find him, and deep within her, she had harbored a terrible fear that he had been badly injured - or worse - killed. However, the very concept of such a possibility had been so horrific she had not allowed herself to dwell on it. Nevertheless, her elation was also tempered by a twinge of anguish and fear at the foreign, distant look in his eyes.

Had he moved on? She had left him. Spurned the love and devotion he had shown her and left him. With the abundance of she-cats in and surrounding Skull, could she really even think that he would not have found someone else in her absence? She had hurt him, doubtless, and she knew that it would be entirely fair for him to have found someone who bothered to return his affections. And yet, despite this, the very thought of such made agony sear at her heart. She knew she should say something. She wanted to say something, but she was frozen, unable to move, any words that her mind might have been able to form lodged in her throat.

And before she was able to utter a single sound, he turned and began to push his way through the undergrowth, away from her. In an instant, the ice that locked her in place shattered, and, her paws, seemingly on their own accord, moved to follow him, terrified of losing sight of him so for him to become only a figment of her memory once more. "Belobog... wait!" The words choked from her throat as she desperately began to force her way through the thicket after him, praying her words would not fall upon deaf ears.

"Belobog... I-I'm sorry." Her voice shook as she spoke. Her words seemed so paltry to express the true depth of the moons of bitter regret, anguish and torment she felt at all she had done to him. She drew a sharp breath, hoping he would stop and listen, silently begging that she had not lost him forever. At that moment, she vowed to never again withhold her feelings, to let him know how she really felt, to take this final chance, if she still had one. And so, before either he or her courage deserted her, she meowed shakily, speaking from her heart.

"I've missed you so much."

[Okay ^^ Hmm, maybe we should put up a thread in the Advanced RP Resources, or Plot Discussion board? :3 ]

As she spoke, he paused, head hanging, before flicking his tail and whirling to face her. “My my, luv, His voice was a rough growl, but it was his voice nonetheless - a voice that she, in entirety, had never expected to hear again. "Fancy meeting you here. How’s the family?” Every word that left his maw fell like a blessing upon her ears, yet the meaning of them seared at her heart for she knew he was suggesting that she had moved on - that she had not lingered in her memories of him as she had. She knew that this was the impression that she had left him with, and the thought of how much interminable pain that she must have caused him when he had loved her so much knifed at her windpipe as though she had swallowed thorns until she could hardly breathe.

For several moments, she could only stare at him, incapable of speech, but his eyes flitted away from her's, studiously observing their surroundings, but never meeting her gaze. Finally, Edlyn answered quietly, "You know I have no family." As she spoke, her mind flitted back to the hazy summer evening they had spent in the woodlands encompassing Skull's camp, when she had told him about her family. Her former mate. Her kits. Figures that had melted into specters of the past now, cats that had long since been left behind in an earlier age of her life. Did he remember as well? Or had she become a faded monolith in his past?

“How’s life? Fine and dandy I’d assume. But then again, you did greet your old friend like an enemy. It’s not how we did things back home.”

His poignant words lacerated at her heart, and Edlyn could do nothing to hide the pain stark in her sea toned eyes that she felt at his caustic tone. "Belobog..." His words were cutting, but what truly anguished her was the blatant evidence of how much she had hurt him. Despite his jaunty demeanor, she knew how much pain lay behind his own words and actions. Then a strange smile touched his maw, and he spoke slowly, breathlessly, “I appologize. That was terribly rude of me." And then he lifted his eyes to meet her's.

As her ocean stare met his bi-colored eyes, Edlyn was caught in his gaze. However, looking into his one gold and one blue orbs only made her more sharply aware of the pain she had inflicted on him. At that moment, she knew she would have given anything to take away that agony, anything to eliminate the reflection of pain in his eyes. Yet she also knew that no words were sufficient to do such a thing, nor express how she felt now.

So instead, she let her actions speak for her. Edlyn stepped forward, closing the distance between them and reached forward to gently press her head against his shoulder, burying her muzzle in his thick white fur as she once had so long ago in SkullClan. Closing her eyes, she breathed his familiar scent, knowing that he might move away at any moment, that such a sense of rightness and security could only be ephemeral. She also knew that this had perhaps always been what he had wanted.

And deep within her, she knew it was what she wanted as well.