Posts by THE EMPEROR.

The old leopard was delieghted by this news- he didn't need to bring him the downfall of Xerses, they'd done it for him. Now he would have to just soil the good name- taint the memories.
Because had the Xerses truely done anything of value?

"How did you find the neck in all that, hm?" The Emperor mused, laying on one of the other ribs, tail flicking under his robes. "And an American lion too, hm. Taller than a barbary, not as long. Not as big of a mane." His tongue clicks and he stares down at the creature, thinking.

So this was the one his apprentice had been quarrelling with, hm?

"Of course they do." He points out. "Manes can be very thick- it just takes a moment to find anything under all that fur. Have you seen Vader's new mane? You could fit at least five kittens in it... or his two daughters." Slight shade, testing the water.

"Jellyfish don't have necks." He comments, laying his chin on his paws.

"One, two, three!" The Emperor was still in full robes (you would think this would affect his mobility, you think he would be slow for his age, but both is wrong.) And he was holding a stick in his mouth, across from Vader. The leopard did not appreciate dumbing down for the lion- especially because Vader had required so little training, otherwise emotional, or dragging Vader farther to the Dark Side, or philosophical. Vader had needed a tug here and there, occasionally something to attach to, something to obsess and devote himself to-
Like Padme Amidala. Navi. Luke. Victorianpup. And the cubs the Emperor knew were coming, as he had foreseen.

"One, two, three!" They were sparring and practicing forms right now- Vader had accustomed to fighting with his hands, and now had to readjust to mouth-holding. The Emperor threw his paw, pushing Vader down and back with the Force, and coming to stand on the lion, stick at his throat. The leopard moved it with his telekinesis, still holding the stick at his throat. The lion was on his back, the floor of the cabin creaking under their weight.

"This body weakens you Vader. All these things... They are distractions." His claws dig into the lion's mane, tugging. "I had believed you to be able to see past these things. It is becoming more and more apparent that I could have possibly been wrong." The Emperor hissed, lowering his ugly and wrinkled face closer to Vader. "You rarely allowed yourself to think her name and now she is living in your cabin." Yellow eyes focused on his apprentice- always watching him, always questioning him.

"A sith lord does not hesitate to obtain what he wants. You hesitate to kill Navi." He tugged harder on the mane, then started kneading through it like a scratching post, watching as Vader withheld signs of pain. "You are constantly reminded by the ghosts of your past, Vader. Ghosts must be banished. Lingering on the past is weakness, Vader." The Emperor said, finally getting off the lion, and putting the sticks on the wall. "And this body has made you weak, and has served you no purpose, except for pleasure. I want to see you back in your old body before these cubs are born."
Vader was about to speak, but stopped and stared.

"You thought I would not foresee this? I am no fool, Vader. Now go."

--------

Vader nodded, and left the cabin, going outside, and laying down, licking new bruises on his front legs.

"He could have eaten it in the camp. Next to all the food and the children. And in front of the other lions." And it was better, that way. The leopard's tail continued to flick, and he looked down at Jekyll. "I'm sure Navi would be disgusted. Padme would be upset, watching you drain the life out a member of their own species. I don't know, Jekyll. Would you handle watching this creature gorge on another dog? Or would you throw up and scream?"

The Emperor had ordered Vader to sleep outside the last few days. "You might hurt accidentally Navi," He had said, messing with the Lion. "Besides, your old body could handle a little cold." And that had been the punchline.
Vader was splayed out next to the stairs the led to his porch, chin resting on the bottom step and the rest of his form spread out the ground. Halfway sleeping on his stomach, halfway on his side. The lion was actually sleeping- Vader's previous body didn't allow for true sleeping. It was designed to keep him in a fatigued state, but the lion was in the deepest cycle of sleep, for once. Deep enough for him to actually be able to dream.

And this was when the Emperor had his fun. It started with using his telekinesis, quietly stacking rocks and sticks and many of the tools taken from Vader's cabin, and a number of soft things.
It was close to dawn- Vader didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon, and the camp was still quiet enough to initiate this. And Victorianpup would probably be up, anyway. Or hiding under a house. So he would start with the other one. He would reenter the cabin, climbing up to Navi's bed and tapping on the cub. "Navi, Navi... Wake up. Let's play a game. Go find Victorianpup."

The Emperor climbed half way onto the bed, poking the sleeping cub, trying to wake her up. "We're going to find out how many rocks we can stack on your dad and how much stuff we can fit in his mane. Come on. Get up." He prodded the cub more, and if she still refused to rise, the Emperor would pluck her up by her scruff and drag her out, taking her to the sleeping form of her dad, and using the Force to keep her silent.

"This will be fun, I swear. Find Victorianpup. Go."

// pls do not post until Victorianpup and Navi do!!

"I think your bible belt is a bit too tight, Luna. Seriously, calm down. Let the poor kitty eat." Irluuk said, casting his gaze down at them. "And my name is Irluuk." He said, standing up on the dragon rib, as if ready for action.

"Now children, we must be very quiet. Just a fun little game. I wanna see how much stuff we can stack on our friend here, and how much stuff we can stick in his mane. I have a bet to win but that's beside the point-" He waved a paw, giving a little grin, and picking up one of the longer sticks between his claws, and slowly pushing it into the mane, stopping when he felt a neck. "Oooo, That's at least eight inches. probably more." He left the stick, but pulled his paw away. "You two try. Whoever wakes him up gets the blame."

Maybe he had tagged along out of pure boredness. But Windclan didn't exactly order him around- besides, he was technically an elder, what were they gonna do, hurt an old panther? Hurt someone close to Vader? Please. He'd like to see them try.
So he had tagged along- the twigs and the branches had moved out of the way when the Emperor came up from the rear, his head lifting in the slightest to look at the other creatures. His eyes were cynical and killing, they seemed to rip its target apart at a glance, and glowed.

His gaze stopped for a moment, focusing on Iselotta. "Do my old eyes deceive me... a white panther?"

"Never have I seen a white panther... it suits you, very well." he comments, sulfuric eyes dead set on her, analyzing, thinking, mine. Oh, if he could ever rule his mighty Empire again-

then another panther. Only the Emperor's head turned, locking onto the other male, meeting the mask, meeting the gazes. A slight downward furl of his brow could have sent knives with his stare, as the glowing orbs outmatched the shrouded hood of his face. "Only a male with something to hide," he comments, his stare still dead set on the male panther. "That is, at least, from strangers." The Emperor had taken a fake name himself, "Irluuk." The ancient Sith word for fate, and the only name he would let them know.

The body language given off from Ala-whatever opened the book for him. He briefly thought of Vader as he made this assessment. A mask. Intimidating posture. A foolish child. The pure possessiveness and the way the female acted. "Yes, I think the pink one would him just fine. You know- we have this bear in Windclan. His name is Ivan. Poor soul, he got dementia- barely remembers his own name, and yet he's clutching to his knitting skills... Yes, I believe he made this one." He took the knitted, pink scarf out of the basket, yellow teeth plucking it out, and the end dragging in the dirt. Honestly, he had no idea where they got this stuff, but there was a truth in the lie- Ivan did know how to knit. He steps toward the male panther, flicking it forward, and letting it seem to take a life of its own, as he subtly used the Force, aiming to place it on Alastor's shoulders, and meeting his gaze. "It's made with love," If 'The Phantom' reacted, could he swallow hurting something made by the handicapped?

Back to the prettiest thing he'd seen since the Jedi Genocide. "Iselotta, my dear, you are too kind- truely, an angel among your people. Here- Ivan worked hard on this one too, before his paws started shaking." The Emperor took out one of the fancier scarves, one of those frilly scarves- a deep yellow like gold. (Ivan probably would have made this in his better days.) "And I cannot wait for your incoming visit to Windclan, my dear."

"Careful now," The Emperor would comment, sticking more sticks into his mane, and then lifting a rock with telekinesis, and slowly begin to stack them.

No, the first sound that would be noticeable was the sound of breathing. Heavy and hollow, accompanied by the shuffling of leaves and the way the branches moved out of the way for them. Ilruuk, a black leopard, being followed diligently by a creature in not just a mask, but a helmet and several other layers. Maybe it was his own version of the Phantom- Darth Vader. It was hard to tell was it was, until it would register that the cloaked being was a lion, and most of his form was hidden by the cape. For Vader, too, had something to hide. "Iselotta, how nice to see you again!" The leopard would cheer, stopping just short of the border and the figure behind him stopping a few steps back. "I must apologize- Ivan does not leave the camp that much. He gets lost. But if you are allowed into the camp, you could meet him then. In the meantime, this is Darth Vader, my own companion." His mask is cooler than that other panthers.

"Now hang on Henry.... a... what did you call it, a Masquerade ball? Will Windclan be invited this event?" Maybe I could drag Vader along? He knows his apprentice- That if Lessa came back, he would kill her. But if they ran into eachother, at a public setting, the same rules wouldn't apply. Under normal circumstances, Vader would kill her right then and there, anywhere, but normal circumstances rarely applied anymore.

Maybe making his apprentice stare at his failure would spur something. "Would we have to bring a guest?" He would ask then, as if she had already said yes.

"And... ah." His eyes flickered, his ears laid flat under his hood, and his sulfuric gaze found its target. "Lessa, Ren, Solo... we have not seen your Grandfather, not since the accident.... I thought he would have ran off with you."

So Irluuk here lives in Windclan and normally keeps to himself, and his "old man" facade makes him an easy to assume target.

My idea is that Irluuk fakes it and lets himself be captured, for the sake of collecting information and checking out Shadowclan.

Whoever captures him will be allowed to pull back his hood/rip apart his robe, shove him and scratch him, but nothing too rough.

Awesome! Who makes?

Awesome! Just note that she doesn't have to knock him out or anything- he'll come willingly, but that's up to you.

Yes!

The Emperor allowed himself to be captured. The feigned identity of being a frail, old man had come through for him again, and now he knew all he needed to know about Shadowclan. He and Vader both knew he would not need rescue, and Vader knew the Emperor had a few cards up his sleeves if he had allowed this to happen. Vader had asked his Master if he wanted to be rescued by and an angry Vader, a staged play to tell Shadowclan just how dangerous the pair was.

But the Emperor refused- he could handle himself and didn't need the puppy-lion on his tail.

So the old panther had teleported out of Shadowclan, after he felt he had collected what he needed. And it was a series of short teleports up to this point, and it was slowly wearing him out. He upheld himself, landing on the snowy island of Blizzardclan, his ripped robe a black stain against the snow, and squeezed his eyes shut, blinking away blood and feeling it drip off his face.

Stupid horse.

^{The Emperor did not ever greet joiners, lest he was venturing out with Vader. He did not answer to anyone, he did not go to anyone. No, they would come to him. And that was the case here.}

[sup]The Emperor, or, Irluuk, his alias he had hid under, was sitting on his tree branch, tail drooped and flicking. It was his favorite tree- it gave him a view that went for miles and it gave him the illusion of the godly high ground he so rightly deserved.

Yellow, sulfuric eyes stayed on the cat, the approacher- his super senses lazily clued in. He watched as they shifted into a horse, and rolled around in mud. Shifting had a purpose for the weak, in his eyes. You shifted into a dragon to be a key player in combat, you changed bodies to hide identity.

You rolled around in mud to hide your scent.

The Emperor wasn't stupid- he knew every dirt move and he knew how to play politics. He had decided to take this opportunity, and decided to fall up his role as the helpless old man.

After all, horses couldn't climb trees. This made Irluuk's move- to rise and to jump off his branch, landing on the earth, toxic eyes dead set on the horse. "You know, my people ate beings like you." He comments- whether or not he had an idea of the stallion's true intentions, he would have said that in the first place. Irluuk had an uncanny knack for making those around him uncomfortable.

"So, why come here, stallion? Why would a horse be on his own and cover himself in fresh mud? Do you like to play in it?"

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