Forevermore and Nevermore

Chapter 1

He paced silently among the long grass, the only sign of his annoyance was the subtle twitch of his fluffy silver tail. Where was he? They had agreed to meet upon the arrival of sun high, and it was clearly pass that now. With an exasperated sigh, the muscular silver tabby whose pelt was riddled with scars promptly sat down. It wasn't like him to be late. Did something happen to him? Surely not. Ebony was his finest. Trained personally by himself, there was no way the little black cat could disappoint him like that.

"Boss, I apologize for being late," his ears perked at the soft emotionless voice behind him. It was about time. Turning to face his subordinate, he glared down at the much smaller cat.

"So what news do you bring?" his whiskers twitched as he stared back into those unreadable eyes. When was the last time he had seen emotion in those eyes? Too far back for him to remember... For a brief moment he allowed his mind to wander. What would have happened if he had never dragged Ebony into this? If he had left the innocent kit alone? Would he never have turned into the monster standing before him today? Mentally shrugging these thoughts back into the depth of his mind, Boss refocused on his loyal follower's words.

"... claimed the west. It is unknown how many of them there are. But what is known is that they wish to keep this land as their own. Shall I deal with them like the rest?" again those cold blue eyes met with Boss' golden-orange ones, patiently awaiting his orders.

With a heavy sigh, Boss answered. "Yes."

Respectfully nodding at the heavily scarred tabby, the black tom turned and slipped away. His small, slim body disappearing amongst the tall grass.

~~~

Soon enough he arrived to the stretch of land bearing the markings of the intruders. He studied the invisible border before casually crossing over. He still could not understand. Why would they live here of all places? Did they not know how powerful Boss was? Well no matter. There is no reason to understand their folly. After all, his duty is not to understand. It is to ensure that Boss will continue to rule the Savannah, no matter what must be done. Even if they are far stronger than himself, he will fight. Even if it means his own death, he will never let down the silver tabby that took him in.

The breeze tore across the dry patch of land and among the soft rustling of tall grass, the small black rogue could make out soft whispers. It seems that he has been found already. He closed his eyes, imagining the façade he would wear in order to earn their trust. Should he play the weary traveler looking for a place to live? Or should he be the hapless stranger incapable of surviving in these wilds. His ears flicked, the decision would have to be made after further examination of these intruders.

The grass rustled and Ebony casually focused his gaze on the spot. He could see movement in the shadows of the dry grass, and occasionally he was able to spot a pair of stunning green eyes. "Who are you?" a clear voice rose above the whispers, and its owner slowly stepped forward. The lanky she-cat studied him wearily, her golden tabby fur slightly bristled and her gleaming eyes narrowed. "Why are you trespassing on StrongClan territory?"

"StrongClan?" he titled his head slightly, trying to act inquisitive. Like he had no idea about them, even though he had been the last few days studying their borders.

"Yes that's right," the golden she-cat's gaze quickly switched from weary to slightly annoyed. After all, only a dense idiot wouldn't have been able to grasp the concept of the freshly marked borders. "And I want to know why you are here."

"Well... I guess, I wish to join."

~~~

"Here we are," the she-cat whose golden pelt seemed to glow under the bright, glaring sunlight stepped aside to reveal a small clearing located between two ridges. With the two high walls surrounding the clearing, a good amount of shade protected them from the blistering heat. How appropriate, for them to chose such a place. Staring down into the clearing below, the current cats were briefly replaced with those from a memory that refused to remain buried. Yes, what a fitting place indeed... "Grouncrack will show you around while I'll go and inform our leader that you wish to join."

"Sunleaf, you can't possibly be thinking of accepting this rogue into the Clan! Not only is he a complete outsider but he looks so... puny and weak," shouldering the tall grass aside, a large tom cat came strutting out of the grass with his head and tail raised high like he owned the entire Savannah. The muscular brown tabby frowned down on Ebony, his blue-green eyes gleaming with obvious disapproval as he scanned the newest recruit.

"Grouncrack, we're not in a position to be picky! Our Clan is in dire need of warriors and we should accept any help that comes out way," Sunleaf scolded while flicking her tail. This comment caught Ebony's attention. Something must have happened to result in them becoming weaker than they're used to. This is indeed a good opportunity.

"Humph, whatever you say," the tom's harsh glare seemed to soften when he turned his gaze towards the pretty she-cat before him. But he still wasn't pleased as he practically shoved Ebony aside to continue towards the edge of the gorge in order to proceed down a well trodden but rather narrow path. "Come on... kit, let's show you around them camp."

If all of the strong cats in this group are like this Neanderthal, then I'll have no problem dealing with them. And surely the best way to earn their trust, or at the very least get them to view him as less of a threat, was to play the hapless type. Satisfied with his deductions, Ebony casually made his way down. Reaching the bottom, he was greeted by an impatient Groundcrack. "Took you long enough," he huffed, his tail lashing wildly in annoyance. "This is StrongClan's camp..."

"Now I'll just give you a quick tour, and if you get accepted into the Clan than I'm sure your mentor will give you a better one," he looked down at the small outsider, not even trying to disguise the disgust on his face. "Now then, this is the warrior's den. That's the medicine cat's den. Over there is the apprentice's den. Next to it is the elder's den and the leader's den is over there," he spoke quickly and vaguely waved his tail each time he brought up a new den. "And that's the end of the tour."

"Why thanks for the ever so helpful tour," the small black rogue rolled his eyes, trying to add sarcasm to his usually emotionless voice. It had been moons since his last mission. His acting felt rusty. At the same time, he silently observed the camp. It was easy to tell which den was which, each one had different scents. He could tell that the den located in a crevice in the gorge wall was the medicine cat's den due to the smell of herbs and illness. Located among a patch of tall grass that grew a little ways away from the rest of the dens was clearly the elder's den as the scent of the old came from it. Which would mean that the apprentice's den was most likely the among the small outcrop of rocks. The tightly woven clump of twigs and grass that rested against one of the gorge walls was the nursery, due to the scent of milk and kits. The warriors den seemed to be in a cave a little ways up the gorge. And the leader's den would be... he looked towards the lone tree that grew in this part of the gorge. Nestled among the branches of the tree was a nest, most likely an abandoned bird's nest, that would be the perfect size for an adult cat.

Standing underneath the tree was Sunleaf, her golden pelt standing out among the shadows cast by the towering plant. She seemed to be saying something and then a silver head rose above the edges of the nest. The Clan leader... The one that he eventually will kill.