If At First You Don't Rebel, Try, Try Again

[duckyaisha]

Ooc: Never mind that part of my post then. 0_o

Bic: Rainstripe looked around for Drabheat. Frozenheart was easy to spot, standing out like a rat in a swarm of crickets. He stood taller than most of the other cats and his unusual fur was striking compared to the dull browns and grays of most cats. Drabheart, however, was more normal looking, and therefore harder to find. Finding him was made even more difficult by the Other constantly trying to unsheath her claws and attack. It didn't trust anyone here, and this time it was much harder to calm. Hopefully it would be calmer if she made her way to the edges of the crowd.
"Drabheart!" she gasped as she saw him talking to a she-cat. "There you are. What did Beetlepaw say?"

[Cloud]

"Oh!" He realized his gray tabby friend looking for him, her eyes unusually wide. Maybe she was anxious about something. He smiled, trying to reassure her. "It's fine. She accepted me, luckily." He rubbed Rainstripe lightly on her cheek. They didn't know each other that well, but it seemed the right thing to do with her seeming so anxious and all.

He looked over the other cats...and realized Beetlepaw was letting another tom - Bronzefoot, wasn't it? - join. He seemed familiar, though. Drabheart squinted. Hadn't he seen him with known Clanners? Maybe he was remembering wrong...

[Ten]

ooc| Guys, give Gosh some time to reply to this.

bic|

Well, Beetlepaw said it was okay, so... alright. Frozenheart stopped glaring at Bronzefoot and padded over to Pebbletail, hoping to get to know her better, blue eyes cheerful -- but soon after he had sat in front of her and tilted his head, he spotted his sister approaching, which dashed his warm demeanor into little chips of ice.

"Why, hello, everyone," was Woodstripe's initial greeting, polite but businesslike.

Frozenheart's gaze shot towards Bronzefoot and remained there as she spoke.

"Good day, Bronzefoot... Ah, Frailheart, it is good to see you again. I have good news for you. You recall the agreement we reached on what would be an appropriate way to test the effectiveness of authority, I am sure. I am delighted to tell you that the experiment is underway. This is a big step for the reformation movement; I owe you my thanks."

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe was shocked at the arrival of Woodstripe, and she stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide. Then the Other realized what was going on, and before she knew what was going on, the Other forced her body forward, hurling her towards the brown she-cat. /No!/ She shrieked mentally, gaining enough control to jerk her body back and tumble to the ground before she actually grabbed Woodstripe with her outstretched claws. The Other strained at her, but she glanced over at Frozenheart. /What would he say?/ Struggling against the Other's brute strength, Rainstripe managed to drag herself back to Frozenheart, body heaving and twitching with the effort. She curled up against his side, hoping it wouldn't control her again.

[Gosh]

Woodstripe! It took all of Bronzefoot's will to not arch his back and hiss. He was undercover, after all - he had to look normal. He nodded back at her politely.

Frailheart frowned a little and tried to think back. She faintly remembered making some sort of agreement like that.. had that been why Woodstripe had formed her mini-Clan? That wasn't good at all - especially if Woodstripe was 'delighted' to tell her that. Ugh. Even so, Woodstripe needed to leave so that they could start planning.

"Good to hear, Woodstripe," Frailheart meowed, hardly being able to keep the contempt out of her voice."Is that all?"

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe walked over to where Bronzefoot and Frailheart stood; fellow Woodstripe haters like them would help hide the Other's reactions. "This is a meeting of the Rebellion. As far as I know, you are not part of that organization." Her meow was more than cold, it was unnatural, almost frozen. Fear widened her yellow-green eyes; she didn't know where that voice came from but she could make a pretty good guess. The Other. Never before had it spoken, at least, not through her mouth to the rest of the world. She was used to arguing with it in her mind and sometimes thinking out loud, but then it had always been her voice, her opinion she was sharing. The fact that the Other was powerful enough now to speak to the rest of the cats, in that terrifying voice that made even the warmest words freeze over, scared her deeply. How had it gained enough power to do this? Her paws began to shake with fear and she leaned against Bronzefoot for support though she barely knew the tom, she hoped he wouldn't think she was out of her mind.

[Ten]

Rainstripe's aborted attack startled Woodstripe, to be sure, but she recovered from the surprise with unnatural immediacy, concluding from the she-cat's erratic behavior, sudden violence, and just-as-sudden meekness that Rainstripe was insane. She bent her head down (though Rainstripe was tall, this was a peaceful gesture of reassurance) and with a gentle mew, whispered, "Why, hello there." It was not the tone of voice that a cat used with developed adults.

The flash of motion had diverted Frozenheart's attention back to Rainstripe, and what he saw tore his heart. It wasn't just that his friend had deteriorated to such a deplorable condition. For the first time, he had to ask himself who he would defend if it came to it -- his Clanner sister, or the bi-polar con he hadn't known half as long? As much as he resented his sister, he wouldn't wish to see her mauled -- that level of hatred was not in him. But wouldn't it be a tactical advantage to the rebel cause, to have Woodstripe eliminated one day? Didn't Rainstripe deserve his loyalty?

Did she deserve more loyalty than his flesh-and-blood kin?

Frozenheart didn't want to deal with these questions. All he knew was that Rainstripe needed to control herself. Looking into her eyes now -- paying no mind to what she was saying, and not hearing it anyway -- he wondered if that could really be her, standing there now. She wasn't herself. The tom would have liked to resolve this matter by batting her in the face to snap her out of it, but he feared that would only make her worse. This filled him with a feeling of futility. How in the walls could he help her? Frozenheart tilted his head, eyes pleading for his friend to come back.

Leaning against Bronzefoot, she seemed to recover somewhat, but he did not know how much or for how long, and so he did not approach her. Let her find support in more cats than himself. She might take a big rub as an attack, anyway. Still, he could not help gazing at her in frustrated sorrow, and he resolved to have her talk to him later. For now, he stayed away.

Meanwhile, every aspect of Woodstripe's appearance suggested that the large tabby was altogether unaware of any animosity from the surrounding cons. Rather than giving a direct answer to Frailheart's question in the negative or affirmative, she divulged, "We have elected Spiderstripe and Redstream as leader and deputy, respectively. You might remember them, as you have met them before -- that same inspirational day. You'll be interested to know that we have Bronzefoot and even Patchfur participating. I do not believe they have encountered anything to put them off the idea of continuance.

"...Pardon me; I am not familiar with the Rebellion. If you do not mind me asking, what are you rebelling against?" Judging from current company, Woodstripe entertained the idea that the rebellion consisted of the weak, the disabled, the insane, and other marginals, but as she could not see how that would include Bronzefoot, she tossed the idea aside.

ooc| ha, way to blow it, Rain. Now she knowsss. Sort of.

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe immediately realized what she had said and fled to the back of the group of cons. She simply could not give away any more information. Of course, she had already revealed that there was, in fact a Rebellion, but she hadn't told Woodstripe anything about it, which was the good part. Shaking from head to toe, Rainstripe tried to stop the Other from taking over her mind entirely. It was furious at Woodstripe's words, but especially the tone. It was so condescending, as if she were talking to a kit. Neither of them were kits. Of course, the Other wanted to attack, but Rainstripe knew it was futile. Or was it? For once, the Other had a logical, strategically sound idea. Woodstripe was alone. No other Clanners were nearby. The cons could kill her, and the Experiment would lose its peacemaker and true leader.

If she had eaten anything that day, it would've spilled onto the sand as she retched. Killing a cat? Not a rat, not an insect, but a cat? There was no way to justify such a heinous crime; committing it would make her just as bad as Grimykit. There was no way she ever wanted to be compared to him. And besides, Woodstripe was Frozenheart's sister. Killing her would cause Rainstripe to lose one of the few friends she had. He may despise her, but blood is thicker than water, and no matter how much he hated Woodstripe, Rainstripe was sure he would stick up for her.

It was a confusing question, a clash of ideas. The strategical- kill Woodstripe and leave the Clanners leaderless. After all, everyone knows they can't hunt by themselves without a leader scenting the crickets or lizards for them. Or the moral- leave her alive and kill her in a real battle. What should she do? There was no one to tell her what was right or wrong, no one to tell her what to choose. For the first time in her life, she wished she had a leader to tell her.

/I'll be your leader./ The Other's voice, slippery as a snake, slid into her thoughts as she agonized over the choice. /No!/ Rainstripe replied, repulsed by the very idea of following its commands. She knew, of course, what it would deem the best course of action and killing wasn't what she wanted to do right now, or ever. /Think about it. Woodstripe dead, the Clanners running around with no direction whatsoever, like an ant mound without their queen. And we could get some of the more reluctant Clanners to join, too./

Rainstripe growled, a low, menacing sound that made her fur stand on end when she realized that it was coming from her mouth, not her mind. Luckily she was still at the back of the group. One trembling paw inched through the sand, more of a drag than a step. It was a battle of wills, and right now the Other was winning.

[Gosh]

Bronzefoot was startled by Rainstripe's erratic behavior, and alarms started going off in his head when the she-cat mentioned the Rebellion. He scrambled for some kind of explanation or excuse. That she-cat must be crazy! But, wait - maybe that was it. He coughed nervously before speaking. "Ah, Woodstripe! G-good to see you again. All is going well, I see." He glanced furtively towards Rainstripe and lowered his voice. "Sorry about her. She's a bit of a batbrain, you see. I never know what she's talking about." He hoped very much that the crazy she-cat wouldn't overhear him.

[Ten]

ooc| Weird how some cons regard Woodstripe as the leader of the Clanners.

bic|


Woodstripe nodded. "Ah, I see. The Rebellion -- this is a figment of her imagination, then?" she asked, her tone low and confidential. "I did get the impression that she does not possess a mind of normal functions."

Oh, seasons, what was Rainstripe doing now? Frozenheart wished she would just give him a glance, one little look, so he could see from her eyes that she was all there. The problem was that she wasn't. He shuffled his big, white paws, stirring up a cloud of dust, and looked to Pebbletail and Beetlepaw. But what could they do? What could any of them do?

Something. Frozenheart's fur was standing on end from tension as he set his mind on attempting any form of interference. Rainstripe was still focused on his sister, so his first idea was to break her eye contact.

A tad puffed up, he cut through the other cats and stepped into her path, bringing him right before her. Maybe it would be best if she left now. He swished his tail and jerked his head toward the wall, anxious to get her away.

Come on, Rainstripe. He let out a soft, plaintive mew, hoping to at least draw her attention towards him. But he feared his weak voice wouldn't be enough, and it seemed to die in his throat. So, turning up the purr, he took a deep breath and dared to press his big pink nose against hers.