THE FAMILY} you can sure make an entrance.

[Rebecca]

He had actually expected it to be a little harder than this. Really, their scent had not been hard to find at all. Snapdragon was not with them but really, he hadn't expected her to have been. There were also many new scents, more than those of Adanna, Iris, Ahmose, Athena, and Dewlyn. Iris or Adanna msut have given birth or something, but as he knew all too well Adanna's family wasn't a very accepting bunch.

It was funny, really.
He used to be in the family, as small as it had been at the time. But that was because Adanna had been his mate and she had had his daughter. But Kestrelclaw was a ineClan cat; he had chosen to leave them for his Clan, and his daughter had chosen to go with him. Adanna had vowed to be the one who would kill him, especially after he mated with her sister, Snapdragon.
It wasn't surprising that Kestrelclaw and Snapdragon had become outcasts to the ever-growing family after that.

What was surprising was that Adanna and Iris had chosen to steal the kits away from Snapdragon. That didn't make much sense to him. But what he did know was that he had to get his kits back. They had never even met.
Kestrelclaw was close to their camp now, and the Siamese tom half expected Adanna to jump out of a random bush and yell "surprise!". Adanna or at least some other cat.

"Surprise..."
He murmered half-heartedly to himself, brushing away the thought.

"Suprise indeed."
A dead voice meowed from right behind him. He whirled around, caught off-guard. A small black and white she-cat stared at him, resembling what he knew to be a kittypet. He stared at her unreadable expression, trying to figure out who this cat was exactly. She stared back, no glared back at him.
"Your point of intruding on my family's territory is what?"
She asked coldly, olive green eyes narrowing impatiently.

Kestrelclaw blinked. This cat, although young, reminded him very much of Adanna, but seemed much more calculative. He would have to see if she was lacking in sadism.
"I'm Kestrelclaw."

Her eyes widened for a split second in realization before returning to their original state.
"You are not welcome here."

"Obviously."

"Leave now."
She meowed testily, taking a small step forward. Kestrelclaw couldn't help but smirk. He was three times her size... what did this cat think she was going to do, exactly?

"Not without my kits."

[Dawn]

"Not without my kits."

Green eyes narrowed, a smirk lined a thin maw. Long black tail twitched, and claws extended. This was perfect, absolutely perfect. If only she was here. She would have adored this situation.

"Oh come now, we should show some hospitality, should we not?"

[/color] A voice. Chilled and smooth, rang out of the shadows as a black tom cat stepped into view. His fur was laced with scars and torn in places, showing that he had been in many fights. Most of them deadly.

"We should at least invite him in, perhaps we can all... come to an agreement. After all, I am sure that is what my mother would have wanted us to do."[/color] His smirk widened slightly and green eyes twinkled with malice. If this tom were smart, he would turn tail and leave now. The deadly note was clear in the voice.

The calm, smooth voice. It was exactly as his mother had trained him. So that, if he were about to attack to kill, his enemy would know it and have a chance to flee. Not that she had trained him to let his quarry escape, no. Because it was more fun to give chase and then attack. That, is what Adanna had taught her son.

He took another step forward, inclining his head slightly, mocking the way Clan cats did so when addressing one of higher status or when trying so show politeness. "Welcome, Kestrelclaw. Welcome to our humble abode. I am Osiris - Adanna's son."[/color] He almost couldn't stop a hiss bubbling up at the mention of the tom's name. He had been told so much about him. None of it good.

At the end of his introduction, the black tom cat's eyes twinkled and he looked Kestrelclaw full in the face, wanting to see his reaction to it. He had, after all, been Adanna's mate a long time ago, but had been a fool and left to join a Clan. Along with their daughter.

But then, oh then. He had done something to infuriate Adanna even further. He had taken her sister Snapdragon as a mate. Big mistake. It was widely known by any cat who wished to survive, that it was never a good idea to cross Adanna. Doing so twice, well. That was suicide, in essentials.

Osiris looked sideways at his companion, another who lived in his mother's 'camp' with him. He knew that she could have easily taken Kestrelclaw on, but he wanted to be here. Wanted to help. If his mother could not be the one to finish Kestrelclaw off, then Osiris would be.
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[frosty]

Mewling? Who was mewling while she sleeping?

"Surprise indeed."

"Your point of intruding on my family's territory is what?"

"I'm Kestrelclaw."

"You are not welcome here."

"Obviously."

"Leave now."

"Oh come now, we should show some hospitality, should we not? We should at least invite him in, perhaps we can all... come to an agreement. After all, I am sure that is what my mother would have wanted us to do. Welcome, Kestrelclaw. Welcome to our humble abode. I am Osiris - Adanna's son."

Dewlyn's pale yellow eyes flew open, a party of emotions swirling in their depths. AT first, they were like two small suns poised on her face, blazing with anger and vexation. Then, they widened with softness as shock ignited her eyes to a new softness. Butterflies soared in her belly with realization, but there was no pistol this time to shoot them down. Two of the voices were easily identifiable, they belonged to two of the cats she grew up with. But the third... The third voice, a tomcat, was frighteningly familiar.

Ears erect, the dappled silver she-cat dramatically rose to her paws. Her tail fanned out as it swept the earth, and her footfalls made silent echoes. Dropping into a crouch, she prowled forward until two of the three cats came into view. They were around the bend from where she had made her nest, on the other side of a fallen tree that spanned across the ground. Peering around the corner further, the third tom came into view. He was a Siamese with blue eyes, and his name was just on the tip of her tongue, though she couldn't quite place it.

Who was this cat? She felt as though she knew him her whole life, though she couldn't recall meeting him or even seeing him before. But somehow, in the back of her brain, she knew she had. Waning her eyes to slits, Dewlyn tried to recollect her oldest memories, the ones that she had locked into a box long ago, and were now collecting dust in the back of her mind.

She was so, so small. Her siblings were all pressed up close against. Dark ginger Gravity, pale tabby Athena, and dark gray Pluto. Oh, how she hated tiny, cramped spaces. Two cats were curled around the nest. She couldn't identify one because she couldn't see her face or pelt, so she assumed it was Snapdragon, but the second was the Siamese!.

The realization of the memory plunged her back into reality, and Dewlyn felt a flinch rattle her body. The Siamese that was in her camp was... her father. Drawing herself to full height, which wasn't very high at all, Dewlyn stalked out from behind the fallen log, her tail tracing delicate patterns against the sky behind her. With a threatening, angry gait she glided across the ground until she was nose-to-nose with her father. She locked her yellow eyes against his blue ones, burning color into color with a fierce air.

"I am Dewlyn, and I am your kit. Your's and Snapdragon's. And I want nothing to do with you, father," the mottled silver she-cat hissed, spitting venom at the Siamese as her claws uncurled out of their sheaths. "Leave this place now. Athena and Gravity and I don't want to see you. You abandoned us when we were so, so young and now your paying the price."

[Dawn]

Osiris heart a faint disturbance among the freshly grown green-leaf grass behind him. He looked around, and his eyes lit up with even more malicious light. Dewlyn, one of Kestrelclaw's kits, was making her way towards the siamese tom.

"I am Dewlyn, and I am your kit. Your's and Snapdragon's. And I want nothing to do with you, father. Leave this place now. Athena and Gravity and I don't want to see you. You abandoned us when we were so, so young and now your paying the price."

Osiris really had to bite back a cackle at that.
This was priceless. Absolutely priceless. Oh goodness, if only he could document this somehow. Seeing Kestrelclaw told off by the kit he had come to "save". Absolutely priceless.

"Well, it seems as though that has been taken care of."

[/color] His smooth, chilly voice swept through the clearing. "It seems as though Dewlyn and her siblings have made up their minds about you, Kestrelclaw. They unlike you seem to be able to use their heads and choose to not abandon their family. The family that actually cared about them."[/color] He stressed the last words, wanting the sting to hurt the foreign tom cat all the more.

He looked towards Dewlyn then, actually curious to see what she would do if her father even dared to try and reason with her. Osiris thought that he must want to. After all, he had made the journey to this dark place to get them back. It must be a real slap in the face to know you had made such a journey in vain.

He felt his paws tingling slightly and let his claws dig deep into the damp earth. Oh how he wished to attack now. To fight with these members of his family against this... this traitor. Traitor against his mother.

The very thought seemed to make him even more ready to leap at the tom cat. To sink his claws into his flank and tear away at his fur. To sink his fangs into the neck and feel the life slowly, painfully ebb away.

He took a step forward, his tail waving in anticipation. Oh how sweet it would feel, to bring shocking pain upon this tom cat. He wished the proceedings would hurry. He had never been a very patient tom cat. He attacked on impulse. Right now, his impulse was to leap into action.

But he knew he must wait. For the emotional pain he would undoubtedly see any moment now would be worth it.
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[Rebecca]

Nightingale's eyes narrowed when Osiris and Dewlytn came upon the scene. Really, she would have preferred to take care of Kestrelclaw herself. She would have been able to kill him easily. And, had the unthinkable occured and she was thinking that she may lose the fight, Nightingale could also yell for help, and undoubtedly someone would come running. Fox would be there first, and would kill Kestrelclaw easily if need be.
But she didn't wanted Kestrelclaw to be killed.
At least not yet.

But her cousins did make good company sometimes. Perhaps this would be one of those nice moments. The small black and white she-cat turned from Dewlyn to stare up at Kestrelclaw.

'I am Dewlyn, and I am your kit. Your's and Snapdragon's. And I want nothing to do with you, father,'

"I believe you have your anwser, Kestrelclaw, and have heard iot rather bluntly. If you leave now you may leave with your life in tact."
Nightingale meowed coolly, starting to slowly pad towards the larger Siamese tom.

Kestrelclaw stared at Nightingale for a long time, then turned to Osiris and then Dewlyn. He stared at Dewlyn for a long time, half and wonder and half in disbelief. Not be with him, her father? The idea was insane! Why wouldn't she want to be with him?

"I was not with you because you were taken from your mother and I by Iris and Adanna. I left my Clan trying to find you. I cared for you, and still do. Don't let them tell you otherwise, Dewlyn."
He meowed with a small half-smile, his sky blue eyes softening at the sight of one who he had loved so tenderly.

"Is that so? How touching. But it shouldn't have taken you so long to find our camp, Kestrelclaw. Ask around. Cats know where we are."
A new voice entered the small Clearing from behind Dewlyn. A pale, light brown tabby stepped out, her fiery amber eyes narrowed in distrust. Nightingale glanced at Athena for a moment before turning back to the intruder.

"Quite."
She meowed in agreement as Athena padded up to stand next to her sister, fangs drawn and ears pulled back. Kestrelclaw stared at the two she-cats before him, contemplating on what to do next. He certainly wasn't going to leave now that he had found them.

"Athena, Dewlyn, please come with me. You are my beloved daughters, ones I hold so dear. Come with me."
He meowed quickly, glancing at the advancing Nightingale from the corner of his eye.

[frosty]

"I believe you have your anwser, Kestrelclaw, and have heard iot rather bluntly. If you leave now you may leave with your life in tact."

Dewlyn swept past Nightengale, casting her a glare as she stalked past the black and white she-cat. Whatever happened between her and her father was none of Nightengale's business, or even Osiris's for that matter. The mottled she-cat turned to the black tom, throwing him a somber look as well.

"I was not with you because you were taken from your mother and I by Iris and Adanna. I left my Clan trying to find you. I cared for you, and still do. Don't let them tell you otherwise, Dewlyn."

The silver she-cat bristled angrily. "Then you've wasted your time! Kestrelclaw, I don't want anything to do with you. Iris has never lied to me. She was a good mentor and cared for me like I was her own. I'm not a fool, I know everything about you and my history. Just go."

When his blue eyes softened, Dewlyn had to avert her gaze. She didn't care if he was her father. They were nothing alike, and she was happy here. And with Iris and Ahmose dead, and Adanna away, the younger cats ruled the Lawless Territory.

"Is that so? How touching. But it shouldn't have taken you so long to find our camp, Kestrelclaw. Ask around. Cats know where we are."

Dewlyn turned to see Athena, her sister, emerge from the edge of camp. As the pale cat advanced forwards, she stretched out her tail-tip to touch her sister on the shoulder. Were they right to be so harsh to him? He was, after all, their immediate kin. But he also wasn't there when they needed him most. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and her claws uncurled out of their sheaths.

"Athena, Dewlyn, please come with me. You are my beloved daughters, ones I hold so dear. Come with me."

"Leave now, Kestrelclaw. You've been told once already," she growled, lashing out a paw at lightning speed at the tomcat.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled, opposite from the place where Athena had arrived. The foliage spat out a delicate silver and white tabby she-cat with ghostly blue eyes. She had the same scent as Iris and Adanna, but softer and more... motherly. Drawing her lip back and bearing a hiss at the newcomer, Dewlyn leaped at the silver tabby.

"Peace, Dewlyn, Athena. I am Snapdragon, and I am your mother."

Dewlyn didn't cease her pace. She couldn't deal with two parents. Iris had told he so much about Snapdragon; how she had betrayed Adanna, how soft she was, and that she had no place in their world. Before Iris had been killed, she had told Dewlyn to never accept anything from Snapdragon. To never speak of her or to her. To kill her on sight. And Dewlyn had full intention of fulfilling her aunt's wishes.

Yowling furiously, she pressed her ears flat against her head and brought her unsheathed paw down hard on Snapdragon's temple. Her mother recoiled, but refused to fight back. Scoffing, Dewlyn watched as she fell to the ground. She wasted no time leaping on top of her mother and sinking her teeth in the striped fur of her neck. Snapdragon squealed a high pitched, ear-piercing squeal. But when Dewlyn locked her yellow eyes with her mother's blue ones, she saw that there was no pleading, only acceptance. Hissing, she tore her teeth free of her mother's neck and heard a sickening gurgle. Flaring her nostrils, Dewlyn watched as Snapdragon convulsed and finally died then and there.

Spitting, Dewlyn turned back to Kestrelclaw, her paws stained red with her mother's blood. "Leave, now." She flashed her pearly whites again at her father, the taste of blood salty in her mouth.

[Dawn]

Osiris flicked his ears slightly, listening to everything that was happening now.

He turned his head slightly to one side as Athena appeared, stopping beside Dewlyn and glaring at her father. This was interesting, though he did wish Adanna were here. Perhaps they should keep him prisoner until she arrived. After all, there was none he had hurt more than Adanna.

His eyes flicked towards where Snapdragon had just appeared and his eyes narrowed. His aunt was just as his mother had told him. Slight, small, and weak. She didn't look as though she would be able to fight off a fly let alone Osiris and his family. But he had no patience for her. She did not matter.

He watched with cool, empty eyes as Dewly attacked and murdered her mother, right before all of their eyes. Oh this was a very curious day, very interesting. He didn't think that anything like this had happened in quite a while. The change was nice.

As Snapdragon gurgled her last sounds and slipped away mere fox-tails from his paws, he stared at Kestrelclaw, his eyes cold. He didn't like the situation with this tom anymore. There were too many of his family here. He would not get a chance to attack and slash painful blows at the tom cat as he had anticipated.

He had caught a look in Nightingale's eyes, a look of irritation. Well, if she thought he was going to sit back and allow her to finish this tom off, she was very much mistaken. As it was, he thought that she should be the one to leave. She had no connection with this.

Dewlyn and Athena, well he was their father. They did have a right to suck the life from his body with him. This foolish cat who had made the pointless journey here to "rescue" his kits. The idiot.

Osiris glared down upon Kestrelclaw, awaiting the emotions to flash across his face. His mate had just been killed before his eyes. And by his own daughter. It was sure to cause him unbearable pain, and Osiris wanted to witness it all.

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[Rebecca]

Nightingale's eyes narrowed into a glare as they flickered from Osiris to Dewlyn, watching as her cousin proceeded to kill and murder an unexpected guest. Snapdragon. How were all these cats getting so close to their camp without thier knowledge? They had noses, didn't they? It made Nightingale worried for a moment. Who else was lurking around on their territory without their knowledge? It was an off-setting thought.

She blankly watched Dewlyn attack and kill Snapdragon without moving an inch, her expression still unchanged. Snapdragon had died quickly and without a fight. It was almost as if Snapdragon had wanted Dewlyn to kill her, as if she had been suicidal. No, it couldn't be. Wanting to end your own life was something Nightingale would never understand.

"Hmm..."
She murmered to herself, contemplating these things. It was interesting. Had Snapdragon really wanted to die? Or perhaps she didn't want to fight her own kits even thought they wanted to kill her. Whichever it was, they would never know. Snapdragon was dead now. The blood was the she-cat's wounds colored the ground below a deep, rusty red. She stared at it for a moment, then turned her attention back to Kestrelclaw, Dewlyn, and Athena.



Athena watched Dewlyn kill their mother with cool, uncaring eyes. Usually when her family decided to kill a cat, she protested against it. Ending another life without reason was not something Athena could live with. But Snapdragon had wronged her, and so had Kestrelclaw. Snapdragon had abandoned them and had let them be taken away. She had never once tried to see her or Dewlyn, and that was unforgivable. Snapdragon had never cared for them.
And neither had Kestrelclaw.

'Athena, Dewlyn, please come with me. You are my beloved daughters, ones I hold so dear. Come with me.'

"No."
Athena meowed coldly, glaring up at the tom who claimed to be their father. How could he just stand there and act like everything was okay when it wasn't?

"No?"
Kestrelclaw repeated quietly, staring at the body of Snapdragon.
"No? You could have just said that instead of killing your mother! What did you have to gain by doing that?"
He yowled, lips drawn back into a snarl. He bent over his dead mate's silver form, his mouth agape and eyes wide. Shock, not greif, had claimed him.

[Dawn]

Osiris watched this exchanged with bored interest. This was becoming tiresome. It should not have lasted this long at all. Kestrelclaw should be laying on the ground, his life bleeding slowly out of him. Not standing upright, attempting to reason with his estranged daughters.

He almost wanted to say something, make the proceedings hurry up. But then, a scent hit his nose. His ears pricked and for the first time, his eyes moved from the cats before him. Such a familiar scent, the first he had ever come to know.

It was her scent. She was back. She had returned. Adanna had traversed to the 'camp' from her unknown journey.

Osiris stepped forward, feeling his paws tingling with excitement. He was not imagining this, her scent was stronger now as a breeze swept through the trees towards him. She was drawing closer.

"Now now dear family members. Let us return to our camp. It is ill-fitting that we be seen with such a twisted family affair going on."

[/color] He meowed cooly, though his eyes sparkled with anticipation.

His eyes moved to Nightingale, Athena and Dewlyn, wondering if they too could scent Adanna's smell drifting towards them. They of all cats should know how Adanna's rage touched this tom. She would want to see him before he was killed. Would be furious with them if they killed him without giving her the chance to cause him the pain she had been dying to inflict.
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