Dusk Syndicate Clearing

[Gusty]

Originally Posted by NightWarrior4Life

"I want to inquire about the condition and reputation of the syndicate as of this past moon. We lost the battle with SkyClan and in it, we lost the co-commander. We are more vulnerable than we should be...I fear you are in danger, Halite. Don't you think it's better to appoint a new co-commander sooner rather than later, when you are gone and the syndicate is left without a leader like it was for all those moons after Renn." The Tom explained, trying to sound as sincere as possible. When he spoke about co-commander, he wasn't necessarily referring to himself, trying to get appointed for he was truly concerned about the status of the dusk syndicate and the fate of all it's cats. They deserved so much better. "I sense you are in a hurry commander, so if this is the least of your worries, I won't influence you any more on the subject..." Fleck dipped his head and stared At the ground, hot as magma, at Haliye's paws until he replied.

Halite twitched his ear. For a second, he seemed lost deep in his thoughts. After all, this tom Fleck seemed... genuinely concerned about the situation. At first glance anyways, he seemed like a very trustworthy, diligent, intellectual cat. And perhaps Fleck really was, but the Commander couldn't assume things so quickly. After all, he knew well enough that each cat had their own flaws and blemishes.

"Yes, I am well aware of the situation of the Dusk Syndicate." He stated, forcing his voice to sound monotone rather than sarcastic. Of course, I'm the Commander. If I wasn't aware about these things, then I really shouldn't be in position, should I? But attempting to be respectful in his exterior self, and not wanting his words to bite back at him later on, Halite refrained from saying his thoughts.

"To be honest, I don't believe that Renn's situation will repeat itself: with the Commander leaving and all of that," he stated firmly. I have to make sure that it won't. The Dusk Syndicate... during those times after Renn left... was not very strong. "After all, times are changing. I know that the DS lost against SkyClan in the previous battle, but if we continue to train hard enough and have a steady flow of trainees, I believe that we will be strong. Even if I do somehow disappear- which isn't going to happen, mind you- I'm positive that the Syndicate will still be up and running like usual."

As for the part about the Co-Commander, Halite bit his tongue. He wasn't sure what to do on that note yet. Who would be a good choice? The tom has spent more time concentrating on the SkyClan battle than this issue, which may be a bit of a problem. "I have not decided who the Co-Commander will be yet." With that, the gray-pelted tom scanned through the clearing, inspecting each of the cats with the precision of a hawk.

"I cannot be sure of anything yet, and I don't want to make rash decisions." He shrugged at Fleck. "I'm only trying to do the best for the community."

[goddess of ducks]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Donovan was pleased when Cassius wanted to do something mischievous as well. The Abyssian had always wanted a partner in crime, and in a way, Cassius was kind of like that. He just had to learn and get a little older. Donovan listened to Cassius combat the words of other cars he had told him. "Thank you! At least someone understands!" He meowed, flashing Cassius a smirk. Donovan believed that hunters were kind of just throwaway cats. They were there to feed the Syndicate, but otherwise bore no other purpose. Fighters were the cats who kept the Sybdicate strong and mighty. Except for their recent defeat, the battle against Skyclan. Donovan absolutely hated those tree-huggers. They were no better than squirrels, the way they climbed through the trees. And squirrels are prey. Oh, Donovan would make sure that Skyclan paid for thier actions. Maybe not all of Skyclan, but at least a few cats. The tom had already been thinking up something ever since their defeat to cause some mishap for some Skyclan cats. This time, it may even include a murder. "I am positive you are going to be a great fighter Cassius. Maybe even better then you'd dad one day, huh?" The fighter meowed, giving a suggestive smile to the younger cat.
Then Donovan was right back to business. "Okay, so I think my next act of trouble will include some brambles, moss, and ferns." He snickered, flicking his ears over to a bramble patch at the very edge of camp. "We could remake the nest of one of the hunters, or maybe even an older, grouchy fighter. But we make it out of brambles, then disguise it with moss and ferns. So the next time they lay in it..." Donovan unsheathed his claws and turned them upwards, a mischevious grin on his maw. "They'll have to spend a day in the healer's den, getting thorns plucked out of thier pelt."

The tom kit beamed with pride under thr praise. He was glad he had another cat to be his friend, rather than just his father. He knew that Onyx would be busy dealing with other cats sometimes, so he needed some cat to lean back on when that did happen. He didn't know what to think about beating his dad someday though. Onyx was the best, how could he beat the best? And besides, did he even want to beat Onyx? They had a perfect bond, would beating him ruin it? "Thanks, but I don't know about beating my Dad. He's the best, I don't think I can beat the best." He responded slowly and thoughtfully, almost coming off as humility instead of questioning. He perked back up rather quickly, his small kit mind not staying focused in One thing for very long. "Ferns, moss, and bramble: gotcha." He repeated. "Oh yes, let's do it! I can go scrounge up some ferns, they're all over the side of the clearing." He volunteered happily.

[haha put it in Singe's nest xD]

[NightWarrior4Life]

Originally Posted by Gusty

Halite twitched his ear. For a second, he seemed lost deep in his thoughts. After all, this tom Fleck seemed... genuinely concerned about the situation. At first glance anyways, he seemed like a very trustworthy, diligent, intellectual cat. And perhaps Fleck really was, but the Commander couldn't assume things so quickly. After all, he knew well enough that each cat had their own flaws and blemishes.

"Yes, I am well aware of the situation of the Dusk Syndicate." He stated, forcing his voice to sound monotone rather than sarcastic. Of course, I'm the Commander. If I wasn't aware about these things, then I really shouldn't be in position, should I? But attempting to be respectful in his exterior self, and not wanting his words to bite back at him later on, Halite refrained from saying his thoughts.

"To be honest, I don't believe that Renn's situation will repeat itself: with the Commander leaving and all of that," he stated firmly. I have to make sure that it won't. The Dusk Syndicate... during those times after Renn left... was not very strong. "After all, times are changing. I know that the DS lost against SkyClan in the previous battle, but if we continue to train hard enough and have a steady flow of trainees, I believe that we will be strong. Even if I do somehow disappear- which isn't going to happen, mind you- I'm positive that the Syndicate will still be up and running like usual."

As for the part about the Co-Commander, Halite bit his tongue. He wasn't sure what to do on that note yet. Who would be a good choice? The tom has spent more time concentrating on the SkyClan battle than this issue, which may be a bit of a problem. "I have not decided who the Co-Commander will be yet." With that, the gray-pelted tom scanned through the clearing, inspecting each of the cats with the precision of a hawk.

"I cannot be sure of anything yet, and I don't want to make rash decisions." He shrugged at Fleck. "I'm only trying to do the best for the community."

Fleck suddenly straightened himself up, ears pricked and eyes wide with curiosity. "So you're saying you may choose a co-commander soon?" he inquired only briefly before the commander finished. "R-right I see. Make sure every cat is happy and then when all has settled down..." but he couldn't be sure, trailing off midway through his sentence. "Oh yeas, many trainees. My mate actually gave birth to two healthy kits recently and I have more on the way! I assure you they will make fine trainees. So what do you look for in a co-commander? Certain genders? Body-type? Manners? Loyalty? Or perhaps you ought to start appointing some more guards?" Fleck added hastily changing the subject back to...himself. Or at least, to please himself as this entire conversation was for his own sly, ambitious gain.

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by meraki

The young calico cat was startled out of her head by a voice that she hadn't ever heard. A rather deep voice that belonged to a tom, middle aged most likely. It was interesting, how hard it is to perfectly imagine a new voice in your head you've never heard, but once you hear a new voice, it's not at all startling. Maple glanced in the direction of the voice, and her firey amber gaze fell upon the dark, ash grey colour of Hannibals short pelt. His own fire-like eyes fell upon her, seeming to show absolutely no emotion whatsoever. She blinked, and repeated his words in her head.
"Hello, and yes, my name is Maple. I believe you are my mento- trainer." She meowed in a false friendly tone, correcting herself quickly. She wasn't used to the slang of the Dusk Syndicate, and the foreign words would take some getting used to, although Maple had no problem with change, as she was aware of the fact that she was a mere speck in the clans that was there for no purpose, just like every other car in the glands and Syndicate. But it just so happened that some cats decided to do different things with the tiny amount of time they were given to live. Some waste theirs. Others, like those in the Dusk Syndicate, did not. Maple did not believe in an afterlife or so called StarClan. The thought of it made her feel her IQ lower. No, she believed in what was there. She believed that if you've got only one chance to live, you might as well accomplish something before time runs out.

Maple then turned her attention back to the new cat who smelled of the Dusk Syndicate, but with a hint of something... different. He seemed normal enough, although there was something about him that just seemed a little off. Like he was missing something, but a quick glance showed he had all limbs in tact. But this sudden knowledge of something nor being right made her curious to find out what it was, and perhaps she'd figure that out during their moon's of training.
"May I ask your name?" Maple asked in that false polite tone, a tone she faked when meeting new cats.

Definitely used to be from a clan. I truly didn't have to do much digging to find this out, in fact, I didn't have to do any digging at all. She simply let it slip. Then again, she is a young cat, I suppose I can't expect her to be so well at hiding things. His thoughts fired off bullet fast as soon as she nearly used the word mentor instead of trainer, his pupils not so much as narrowing at her though. No change whatsoever to show that he had caught this small slip up, no change to show that he was really taking down any and all notes he could about this young cat as he all but simply approached her and began introducing himself.
Something's off about her tone, it doesn't quite mix with her demeanor.
She must be putting up an act, but why. She knows nothing of me. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism, after all, she is in a new place with cats that are hardly like those of the clan she was likely in. The tom's ears simply gave a small flick, getting rid of the thought, putting it in the back of his mind so that he could return to it later and ponder it further.
"My name is Hannibal. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance young one." His head lowered slightly in polite respect, his eyes remain focused on hers.

"What did they have you do for your test?" Questioned the tom with an air of curiosity, sitting down and neatly curling his tail over his paws, head tilting slightly. While the look of curiosity was faked, it looked perfectly real and perfectly natural. He even made it seem like as if he truly did want to know the answer to the question. But he already knows the answer, for he had watched her during this test of hers, he knows what they had her do. This was just a simple test of his own, desiring to see how she responds. Would she lie? There would be no reason to lie, but some cats were compulsive liars. Was she one of those? If not, then how would she state that she had to kill a cat? Would she seem excited? Unphased? Perhaps even bored? Her answer to this question would allow him a little more information on her. Questioning another cat was how he could slowly weasel himself into their mind. A place he fully enjoyed being because he could wreak all of the havoc in the world once there.
Regardless, the question stood and he continued to hold the curious, polite look.

[meraki]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

Definitely used to be from a clan. I truly didn't have to do much digging to find this out, in fact, I didn't have to do any digging at all. She simply let it slip. Then again, she is a young cat, I suppose I can't expect her to be so well at hiding things. His thoughts fired off bullet fast as soon as she nearly used the word mentor instead of trainer, his pupils not so much as narrowing at her though. No change whatsoever to show that he had caught this small slip up, no change to show that he was really taking down any and all notes he could about this young cat as he all but simply approached her and began introducing himself.
Something's off about her tone, it doesn't quite mix with her demeanor.
She must be putting up an act, but why. She knows nothing of me. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism, after all, she is in a new place with cats that are hardly like those of the clan she was likely in. The tom's ears simply gave a small flick, getting rid of the thought, putting it in the back of his mind so that he could return to it later and ponder it further.
"My name is Hannibal. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance young one." His head lowered slightly in polite respect, his eyes remain focused on hers.

"What did they have you do for your test?" Questioned the tom with an air of curiosity, sitting down and neatly curling his tail over his paws, head tilting slightly. While the look of curiosity was faked, it looked perfectly real and perfectly natural. He even made it seem like as if he truly did want to know the answer to the question. But he already knows the answer, for he had watched her during this test of hers, he knows what they had her do. This was just a simple test of his own, desiring to see how she responds. Would she lie? There would be no reason to lie, but some cats were compulsive liars. Was she one of those? If not, then how would she state that she had to kill a cat? Would she seem excited? Unphased? Perhaps even bored? Her answer to this question would allow him a little more information on her. Questioning another cat was how he could slowly weasel himself into their mind. A place he fully enjoyed being because he could wreak all of the havoc in the world once there.
Regardless, the question stood and he continued to hold the curious, polite look.

Maple's eyes tuned in closely as well as her ears as she heard her new trainer introduce himself. She'd never heard of the name Hannibal ever before in her life. It was an odd name, one she wouldn't forget as it was the sort to stick like glue. Hannibal seemed friendly enough, based only on his respectful nature and calm tone, but you never know. He could be doing the same as she- faking, Maple thought. If so, he was particularly skilled in that area, as his expression and tone matched perfect. Even his posture seemed to flow correctly.
Maple decided that if this cat really was missing something, he could easily hide it if he was as skilled at deception as she thought she was. But then again, he could simply be like that. She decided quickly that she was not going to let any sort of guard down, as she knew not much of these cats or their origins. Perhaps while they trained, she'd find a way to weasle into his mind a bit to figure out what he really was like, but a cat with the skill of him would be difficult to break or even crack. But, of course, before she did any sort of investigating, she'd ask around the camp. First starting out a normal conversation, then bringing up Hannibal.

It was always a good idea to figure out the weakest spots- if there even were any. If Hannibal turned out to be a psychotic killer, well then- they might just have something in common. If not, she might need to be extra careful with her words. Seeing the lowering of his head in respect sent a thought into her head once more. Seems a little sudden for respect, after all, he hardly knows me. A cat living in the Dusk Syndicate would likely be a little less trust worthy. But what do I know about these cats? Maple quickly put the though away, as she still had lots of investigating to do.
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance as well, Hannibal." She meowed politely, returning the slight dip of the head, and looking at him in a relaxed manor as she tried to clear her brain of most thoughts. Maple knew from experience that eyes could potentially show more emotion than body language or even tone of voice at times, so keeping a blank mind was always a good idea in case there was another who knew of this. And seeing as this cat seemed to have a blank gaze as well, he was clearly protecting something. Thoughts, perhaps. Anything was a possibility. At his question, Maple recalled once more the feeling of that power she'd held at the very moment before she stole the light from the cats eyes.

"I was to kill a loner," she meowed calmly, not sounding to enthralled, but not sounding ashamed or horrified by what she did. Actually, she sounded rather relaxed, as though telling him that her favourite food was vole. Switching the question on him now, she asked, "If you don't mind me asking, were you born within the Syndicate? Or were you tested also?" Maple asked, curious to hear his response, as well as what his test was, if he was indeed tested like she.
As she awaited his answer, she took note of how he asked rather intelligent questions-good questions if he was trying to dig into her mind. Maple didn't take kindly to cats to asked much of her, but she was so interested in figuring out what he was missing that by this point, she didn't care. Maple was focused on figuring out him, so she decided to try to ask more questions about him than he asked about she. Of course, he could easily lie, but then again, so could she. But one thing she didn't know was whether or not he was good at lying, but she assumed Hannibal was, judging by his strong skill in pretending. Then again, she couldn't even be sure he was pretending. Maple'd just have to wait patiently and find out.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Ever

Though his words did seem like the truth, she didn't feel much relief. She still felt as though he was just being polite, and perhaps he was, perhaps he wasn't. She wouldn't know until the evening they went out to see if he seemed to be enjoying himself or not. Because of this distrust she sat in silence for quite some time after he had finished speaking, considering her options. Or at least that was what she was supposed to be doing, but instead she only felt herself growing more irritated and stuck on her initial read of him. Deep down her anxious side was whispering quickly to her that he didn't like her, that her efforts were futile, that he would never consider her a friend. She wanted to swallow the voices down and let her desired level-headed self take over, but as the heat of the day picked up so did the anxiety.

After a handful of minutes of silent debate and struggling to find some sort of response she abruptly got to her paws. A quick arch in her back for a stretch and she finally glanced back at Arrow, her expression was heavily guarded. "Alright. I'll see you tonight?" She said, preparing to leave to retreat to the cool warrior's den. Perhaps she could catch some rest although this conversation would blur through her head; she was quite tired from last night's adventures after all.

The brown tabby lowered his head as he spoke, almost as though he were avoiding looking directly at her-- while her uniquely colored hues were fascinating, indeed, they seemed to have a sort of negative spell-like effect on Arrow. Almost as though she were really able to cast a spell with them, even though he understood it was just his fascination. "Absolutely. Meet you back here?" Anyone would have thought he was asking her out by the way his voice sounded and his expression at that moment-- but only for that moment. This was going better then he could have hoped, although he was still wary. What did she want from him? Company was always appreciated in a place like this, but even so... Arrow wasn't sure whether her intentions were good or not. He would keep his guard up. He would be careful. And, under no circumstances, would he turn his back on her... just in case. Here, you didn't turn your back on anyone. Here, you were careful. Thankfully Arrow was not a reckless cat, nor was he technically impolite. After all... being polite would get you places. He had learned that long ago, and now he stuck to it. Even as a young kit, Arrow had hated this place. As a trainee he had hated it more. And as a fighter now, he despised it. If even a young cat could hate the hellhole that was the Dusk Syndicate, it must be an awful place indeed.

(would you rather timeskip to tonight or take a break from Arrow and Ebony?)

[graves]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

{I'm so sorry about the late reply to this wolymum ;;}
Hannibal was always aware of his surroundings, or rather, as much as possible for any cat. He never let a moment go by where he was unsure if there was a cat approaching, a cat looking at him, silence, he always made sure that he knew what was going on. It wasn't because he was scared of being attack, in fact, the tom was literally incapable of feeling fear, but it's simply because he was no idiot. You had to be aware of your surroundings, it was just plain survival. So when he heard pawsteps relatively close by, his orange-red gaze flickered up to focus on Percival who was now looking at him. While he had never met the hairless tom, he could tell by his scent and.. Weak looking demeanor, he was very likely a healer. The tip of his tail flicked lightly as he moved his gaze back to what he was doing. The strokes of his tongue precise and at a constant pace, flattening and smoothing his chest fur, a small, dull sheen of light giving it a small shine. The scent of blood must have brought him. He thinks I have an injury.
As the healer approached, the dark tom didn't bother bringing his gaze up to look at him, only when Percival say something did Hannibal stop what he was doing and look up, deciding to put on a happy, pleasant demeanor even though he truly felt nothing internally. He was starting to do this more, practice these emotions on others, see what they would do.
"No.. No, I am fine. The blood is from a messy hunt, the poor thing kept trying to escape every time I went in for the kill and so I had to continue to inflict wounds until it couldn't escape anymore. Messy, but the Syndicate must be fed." There was a small pause.
"Thank you though, I appreciate the concern. I don't believe I know your name, you might be..?" Names were always a good place to start when it came to collecting information. @woly

Large green eyes scanned over the grey toms pelt, searching for any source of injury. But there was none, giving a small nod and a smile. "Oh, sorry I assumed. I guess I should be used to blood all over the Syndicate now a days.." he never say the reason for so much brutality and violence in the group. Aggression was a common theme among personalities of these cats, but for some reason Hannibal seemed...calm. Not dismissing him just because of his lower rank, but being kind enough to even ask his name. "My names Percival, and Im guessing youre Hannibal?" Of course he knew the other toms name, regarding rather gorey things left around the territory or bloody paw prints hed leave constantly, there were bound to be complaints coming to the healers. He was no stranger.

[NightWarrior4Life]

Originally Posted by Swiftheart

Fox groomed his fur in the clearing. Why did I have to be hunting when the war came?! he thought angrily.He was one of the few cats who did not fight. We lost anyways.The co-commander died,and now there is a spot open again.I just have to try harder to make an impression on the commander. he lifted his head and walked out of camp silently and unnoticed. @NightWarrior4Life

As Fox got to the entrance, the black and white Tom, Fleck, appeared. "Hello, Fox. Going somewhere? Oh, do let me accompany you there my dear friend..." as they strode side by side together, Fleck could sense Fox's slight agitation. "Thinking about something? Anything on your mind? Something...troubling...bothering...worrying you?"

[Static]

Originally Posted by NightWarrior4Life

As Fox got to the entrance, the black and white Tom, Fleck, appeared. "Hello, Fox. Going somewhere? Oh, do let me accompany you there my dear friend..." as they strode side by side together, Fleck could sense Fox's slight agitation. "Thinking about something? Anything on your mind? Something...troubling...bothering...worrying you?"

" Nobody told me there was going to be a battle.I just wanted to fight a certain cat in skyclan." He said,continuing to walk but slowing down so fleck could keep up.

[NightWarrior4Life]

Originally Posted by Swiftheart

" Nobody told me there was going to be a battle.I just wanted to fight a certain cat in skyclan." He said,continuing to walk but slowing down so fleck could keep up.

"It was a mistake that could've been avoided...I understand...you saw it as the perfect chance to get revenge...I know we lost but we can't sulk about it. We must get right back up again and train our cats to be stronger, appoint a new co-commander and then...we can rise from the ashes and get revenge on that filthy kittypet clan..." he sneered.