a meeting[open to all AE cats]

[Duskmoon]

"No! We've enver been rewarded for anything!" Kestrel yowled, suddenly taken by surprise. This annoucement was not at all what Kestrel had been expecting, and he grinned. So it was the members who were going to be punished. A change, and a good one. At once, Kestrel felt a feeling of joy. Deadstar was at least three times the leader the old Boss had been, and he hadn't even said 50 words to the Posse.

Excitement surged through the tom's slender legs, making him want to leap into the air. He controlled the urge, but his gaze locked with the Bosse's. He made sure that his eyes were appreciative. This new Boss was about to do something amazing, Kestrel sensed.

A change of heart isn't always a bad thing. Every moment gives new openings. New roads, new paths. And Deadstar's words ahd already opened more roads than Kestrel ahd ever though possible. His tail waved joyfully, a banner flapping in a wamr breeze.

[Deadstar]

Deadstar nodded at Kestrel. No! You werent. The lazy members sat around and made you do everything, didnt they? he yowled, enjoying this. He had never seen Kestrel seem so excited; for a moment, Deadstar let a soft chuckle slide from his lips before closing his mouth sharply. He wanted the slaves to have a chance to speak.

Kestrel! Did your master ever say thank you? Did the cat ever do anything or say anything nice to you? he snarled at the mottled tom, staring into his eyes. He noted appreciation there, and gave him a nod to let him know he saw it. Deadstar felt a flash of pleasure; the slaves were begining to respect him.

((Scuse the shortness. Nothng more to say xDD))

[`empty]

You have to be wondering where the hell he was going with this crap.

Hey, Deadstar, get on with it will you?

The words that slink through your maw are yelled, screamed even, cracked from the lack of water, and wrapped in the tainted world of venom. Some cats had more interesting (if you could count the fact that you had to fetch food for your master, 'interesting) and useful stuff to do then sit around the clearing with a bunch of lazy cats. But, whatever. Though you have an idea where this was going, your eyes don not shine with new appreciation, nor are they glazed with scorn. No, they sit at a level area, where they dwell undisturbed.

[[avert thine eyes from shortness fine children!]]

[Duskmoon]

"My master treated me like dirt. The only words he ever let fall out of his mouth near me were orders and trashtalk. He even scratched my side, deep, once, because I didn't clean out his dirt before he went to take his afternoon nap. And I got stuck out in the night, without a place to sleep, because he had to lay out as long as he could and take up a 5 foot square area with his crap." Kestrel screeched, letting his adrenaline pour the words straight from his head to his mouth. Deadstar really could make a difference, the tom saw. He nodded when Kestrel showed appreciation, instead of spitting at him. He didn't throw curses at him beacuse there was prey lying around.

This new Boss was treating him better than he might treat a full member of the Posse. Kestrel's mottled fur almost glowed, and an aura of joy suffused the air around the slave. His face split wide into a smile so wide, it almost reached from ear to ear. Literally.

((Don't feel bad, I have short post too.))

[Deadstar]

Deadstar looked over at Dee and nodded. Getting to it, Dee. he said calmly, not losing his temper and giving her another nod. As Kestrel spoke, Deadstar turned back to him, scowling in fury at what he said. He crouched on the branch and for a moment it looked like he was going to leap down there and rip the mottled cat's fur off for saying such disgraceful things about his master. But Deadstar gave him a smile and a nod.

Exactly my point, my friends. Your masters have treated you with nothing but hate since you were born. Are you going to stand for it any longer? he yowled to the heaven's, letting his commanding voice flow out, sliding into the slaves' eas. He knew he was doing it, turning them to his side.

((Same here ><))

[Duskmoon]

Suddenly, Kestrel regretted what he had said. Deadstar looked enraged that Kestrel had disgraced his master in such a wa. The tom cowered again, afraid for his life. His fur puffed up, though he tried to make it lay flat. The Boss had led him to say such things, and now he was going to be punished for it.

Even after Deadstar smiled, Kestrel still cowered. The changes in mood the Boss kept going through were making him uneasy. He decided to keep his mouth shut until Deadstar revealed his intentions. Kestrel didn't want to misstep again.

((It's hard to have long posts when we're the only people in a thread like this.))

[Deadstar]

The black tom watched the slave, then looked around again. He leapt down onto the ground, lifting his massive head. He stared around at the small gathering of cats. Now they could look at him from their level, on the ground. And he could do the same thing. His tail lashed a bit, still feeling fury at the master of Kestrel. He walked over to the cat and leaned down to talk to him.

And what did you do about it? Did you ever tell him no? he asked softly, kindness shining in his eyes. The ice blue no longer seemed like chips of ice, but instead a swirling expanse of blue water. Deadstar's body was in front of the moon, so he seemed to be hiding all the stars and the luna body in his black fur. He rested his tail on the tom's shoulder, waiting.

((Yeah, but its still fun.))

[Duskmoon]

((Indeed. I love rping. =D))

"No. I couldn't ever deny him, or he would rake his claws through my fur, or take my food and eat it himself. I learned quickly to shut up and do what he said. That's what slaves are for, right?" Kestrel whispered, daring to look up at Deadstar. His icy eyes had melted, looking instead like kind water.

The Bosse's tail on his back seemed to relax Kestrel. No cat who was going to kill him would do such a kind thing. Unless they were crazy. And Kestrel still had his doubts about Deadstar's sanity. The thought made him grin, and he flattened his motttled fur, uncurled his tail, stood up.

This slave could hardly believe his luck. The Boss, even after hearing the crap he said about his master, was being kind and compassionate. What a lucky little cat Kestrel was.

[Deadstar]

The tom nodded gently. His eyes were soft as he stared at the bird cat. He lifted his tail and stroked it from Kestrel's shoulders down his back. Because you are a good slave, arent you? he murmured. His tone was soft and gently, silky smooth. Deadstar was deeply enjoying this, that was no doubt.

Then he leapt away, moving in two bounds across the clearing and leaping onto the branch again. Slaves! No longer will you have to endure the cruelness of masters! Save for myself and Dane, the members are now the slaves, and the slaves now the members! You are the masters! he yowled, looking down at them. Callie and Dee, you are free from your servitude!

For now...the black tom thought.

((Same))

[Duskmoon]

"I hope so, Boss. I never failed in what I was told to do." Kestrel replied. The black tom's voice soothed him, washing away any doubt in Deadstar's oceanic eyes. The slave purred, enjoying talking to another cat without being yowled at.

Deadstar suddenly leapt away, back onto his branch. He made his announcement.

Kestrel's eyes opened wide. Could it really be true? Would anyone be so crazy as to do that? Though it was strange, Kestrel couldn't question the Boss. Now, he was a master, and his master was a slave. Kestrel couldn't restrain his joy this time, and he raced around the clearing, purring madly.

((Who is Kestrel's master?))

[Basil<<]

((I have to backtrack a bit, and post from the beginning.))

Callie watched the scene unfold from her small place next to Dee, under the branch and her master's paws. Her head was bowed as cats filed in, master and slave alike. She kept her pretty eyes on Kestrel as he sat, looking nervous. She smiled and curled her tail with delicate grace over her small paws. Yes, she was being demure and coy, but she was enjoying it, damn it.

She turned and padded over to Dee, sitting next to her, so she could hear Deadstar's words better. He looked fairly angry. She put a paw to her face, where the scratch was just a pink line barely seen through the fur on her maw. She didn't want to be on the receiving line of that wrath again.

Deadstar spoke, making Callie jump slightly.
Cats of Achromatic Eclipse. Come closer. I have news for you all. Though everyone is not here, I expect you to pass my message on.
She nodded and dipped her head, an act of obedience, an act for the other slaves in the clearing. They all knew when it came to meetings it was a time to pretend to be obedient.

She continued to listen, ready to take on anything he dished. He had spoken to her before, but she didn't know how he was going to handle all of the achrome members. They would not be happy with the change.

She perked up as his little speech continued.
/No, we were never thanked, more abused for not doing something fast enough, or without enough finesse./ she thought, scoffing lightly.

She turned her bright eyes up to Deadstar, almost laughing. He hadn't been exactly friendly before. he had never thanked her, either. It was as though he had forgotten the fact that, yes, there was no thanks to the other slaves, and they had the right to be indignant, but he hadn't treated his own slave the best either.

She listened to Kestrel's reply quietly, her paw twitching. As far as she knew, no other time in history had a slave been able to speak like that in a meeting. It was not their place to speak.

She watched as Deadstar leaped from the branch and padded over to Kestrel. From her vantage point she could see both their faces. Her eyes widened with surprise as she took in Deadstar's face. It wasn't dark, for once. It was kind, almost handsome. It was his eyes that shocked her the most.
They were tranquil pools of aquamarine blue, the ice melted away like spring rain, or a fresh summer stream. They hurt her, made her think. He had never looked like that before, and it brought a new side to things that she didn't want to think about, that killed her slowly, just the thought.

She missed his next question to Kestrel, her ears back, her tail twitching. Inside was a dark struggle, fear, hate, and another emotion, one she wouldn't admit even if it killed her.

"No. I couldn't ever deny him, or he would rake his claws through my fur, or take my food and eat it himself. I learned quickly to shut up and do what he said. That's what slaves are for, right?"

Callie glanced up, startled out of her reverie. It took a moment to process his words and make sense of them. Deadstar looked so kind, smooth. That was not an image she would be able to rid of.

Slaves! No longer will you have to endure the cruelness of masters! Save for myself and Dane, the members are now the slaves, and the slaves now the members! You are the masters!

Callie started, her eyes widening. The slaves the masters? Well, surely not her, she was the boss's slave. She looked around, joyful for her friends. They were all free!

/for now./ she thought. She stared up at Deadstar, her eyes wide. She was surprised, to say the least. He looked kind, sure of his words, so...handsome. Damn, it hurt to say that. It hurt like hell.

Callie and Dee, you are free from your servitude!

Callie stumbled without moving, her eyes blank with shock. shell shock, that's what it was. It was like a blow to the face, but a surprisingly welcome one. She had never known anything but slavery, even before she had been assigned as Deadstar's personal slave. Now what could she do? She was sure it would not last long. Achromatic Eclipse had always had slaves. This was so different, she didn't know what to do, how to act.

She felt tears in the corners of her eyes, felt the pain from her life pounding like a hard iron band around her heart. It had always been there, all her misery, the death of her mother and the cat who killed her, the cats who kicked her, raped her, ordered her around until her paws were bloody and her limbs numb. She could feel the past like cuts on her pelt, but now..she had a sort of...vacation from it. She wasn't a slave. Who knows how long it would be until the switch again, but...at least she had this little jewel of a time, freedom.
freedom.
It was little more than a releasing of breath, but it was so sweet, like honey, as she stared up at her master- no, not anymore. what was he now, her Boss? Just only that, her leader? And for how long would she be this way before the switch back was made? No, she hadn't expected this, not at all, and you could see it in her pretty face, her crying eyes.

She tried to reign it in, slow the flow of tears. This was not the way to behave, like a stricken kit. She needed to be strong, like she tried to be every moment of her life.

((woo, that was a lot. need to get up and stretch for a moment.))

[Duskmoon]

Kestrel saw Callie, Deadstar's slave, taking in the news that Deadstar had given to them. She was crying, her beautiful face sparkling with tears. He couldn't forget the coy looks she had shot him before Deadstar had begun talking. The pretty she-cat had been coy with him. The odd outsider. The bird cat. StarClan's baby. And he felt a need to be coy right back at her.

She had been mentioned especially. Callie and Dee, you are free from your servitude! So these two slaves were special. Well, they couldn't exactly be masters, being slaves of the Boss and his Agent, so they had reason to be mentioned specially.

A spring in his step, Kestrel bounced over to where Callie sat, tears streaming down her face. It felt like the world's most tremendous weight had been lifted from his back, and now he was going to exercise that freedom. The pretty former slave was sitting, obviously extrememly shocked at the news.

"You okay, Callie? You wanna sit with me for a while?" Kestrel whispered, slyly, into her ear. Hopefully, she would tell him what was wrong. It might start something special.

((Two things. One, feel free to react badly. Because she was raped and all. And two, sorry. I know that we shouldn't reply to beautifully crafted long posts with a short post, but I was only replying to the last three paragraphs or so. I already went through the rest of it so I couldn't do it again.))

[Deadstar]

Pride flashed through Deadstar as he watched the sla-no, members-talk about his order. It pleased him to know he had made himself an ally to the cats treated the worst. Suddenly, he felt a prickle of unease run up his fur. He hadnt ever said thank you to his slave....Oh well. He'd do it later. He let his gaze wander to Callie, then flick to kestrel. The mottled tom had leapt up and started running around the clearing when Deadstar had accounced his idea.

He watched the tom walk, with a spring in his step, towards Callie. He spoke to her, and through careful listening, Deadstar could hear what he had said. '"You okay, Callie? You wanna sit with me for a while?"'

Jealousy erupted in the tom's body; for a moment, he crouched, fighting the urge not to leap at the tomcat. Finally, he looked away; Callie was free to like whoever she wished. The boss cat turned to Dane. He had not said a word during the announcement. What was his agent thinking?

[Basil<<]

Callie struggled with her emotions, sitting a little bit away from Dee. She kept glancing up at Deadstar, still quite amazed at the situation. He was still there, taking in all their emotions. She didn't know what to think right now. There was so much playing in her head, so much burning in her heart. His eyes, his words, they were playing with her, destroying her control and wreaking havoc on her emotions.

She wiped her eyes with her paw, noting a rather bouncy Kestrel heading her way. She sniffed and tried to compose herself. He padded up and sat close to her, whispering in her ear.
"You okay, Callie? You wanna sit with me for a while?"
It took a moment to really hear his words.

Callie pulled away from him, one ear back. She looked sharply into his eyes, forgetting for a moment this cat was a fellow slave like her. All she saw was cat, male and capable of so much hurt. Her green eyes were dark, unsure. She shook her head, trying to come to her senses. This was a cat like her, joyous and obviously acting on her previous behavior. She didn't think he noticed the act was not entirely for him, so she couldn't be too indignant.

She sat a couple pawsteps away, curling her tail over her paws.
I-I'm alright, just a little shell-shocked. she said, her eyes their normal friendly bright green. She smiled and lifted her paw, licking away wet salt. She was still struggling with her emotions, but she was starting to put a lid on it all. Starting to hide her raw emotion and push down the vulnerability, the fear from knowing something she didn't want to know, feeling something she really didn't want to feel. And it wasn't with the cat in front of her, it was someone she knew she hated, but today had brought something new, something much more troubling...

She shook those cobwebs away and focused on Kestrel, who was looking at her in a peculiar way. She tried to claw back mentally the conversation, and gain control of her thoughts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dane had been listening, yes he definitely had. It was a surprise to him as well. Deadstar had discussed training plans, but never a whole switch. Not that he was averse to the idea, he thought it was great. Really, Dane was a good cat at heart, and he thought it good to see the slaves getting what they deserved...for now, at least. He could not see this being permanent, even though the slaves would be much better members than the actual members ever would.

He was deep in thought as the cats reacted to the news, sitting on the branch with his head lowered. He was considering, planning, creating ideas. He was on the verge of laughter. This was better than any punishment he and Deadstar could have done, so much better. He glanced up and his temporary un-slave, Dee. He had not noted her reaction yet. He had treated her badly in the past, and he now knew she deserved so much more. He figured she- well, all of them- would relish bossing around their masters for a while. He wouldn't be surprised if a few of the members died at their slave's paws. That would be quite the justice.

He felt Deadstar bristle at his side, and looked around. He saw nothing unusual, just Callie talking to Kestrel and slaves running about or sitting with shock. And members looking rather, erm, angry. They needed this lesson, that was for sure.

He turned to look at his boss, grinning.
That was surprising but a great punishment, boss. I very much approve of your handling.
okay, so he was a suckup, but it was true. He had so many ideas he wanted to share.
Maybe we should have a meeting with our new members and give them some ideas and plans, like training and such. It may even strike a bit more fear into those lazy members....excuse me, slaves.
The words were said quietly, only for Deadstar's ears.

[Deadstar]

When his agent did not reply immediatly, Deadstar looked back over the crowd. The black-hearted cat smirked cruelly at the me-no, slaves-noting their furious glares. He had made enemies and friends today. Not that he expected any of the former slaves to come bowing down to him, but it would be nice for the new boss to be shone some respect. He took a second to stretch and to shoot a look at Callie before turning his attention back to the now speaking Dane.

'That was surprising but a great punishment, boss. I very much approve of your handling. Maybe we should have a meeting with our new members and give them some ideas and plans, like training and such. It may even strike a bit more fear into those lazy members....excuse me, slaves.'

Now Deadstar could see why he had made this cat agent. He was brilliant. Yes, we will do that soon, tomorrow, perhaps. I wish I had thought of this when I first arrived. he chuckled sadistically then looked at Dane. I am glad you approve. I thought you would disagree with me, that is why I never told you. he intoned carefully, keeping his voice neutral. Deadstar's respect for the cat beside him would not allow him to strike him. Deadstar knew he needed this cat. he wasnt an idiot.