Would you like milk and sugar? (Shads// open non-Clanners)

[sammonroll]

Tinsel was as happy as a kit in this green side of town. Although seemingly careless about prancing around twoleg areas, Tinsel was very much aware of the people around him. It wouldn't do to have one of those little brats trying to pick him up. He could handle those things fine, but if he scratched, he'd end up in bigger trouble. Still, this little tom wasn't worried. He had been living here long enough to know how to get around well enough. How long again? 32 moons? 35? Hrrrnn...

The little tom cast off the thought. What was the point in keeping track of his age? Everyone else assumed he was, probably six moons, max eight. He stretched out a tiny paw and preened by straightening his posture, just as the pigeons around him were doing. He froze when a particularly fat one stared blankly in his direction. With no warning, he pounced towards it, but markedly in front of it. It was just enough for the bird's heart to rattle in its feathers, before calming down and forgetting about what had just happened. "Dumb bird.." Tinsel told it, assuring himself that he was absolutely smarter and cuter than one of these grey things. Perhaps not much different in size, but Tinsel wasn't worried.

The cream colored tom rolled onto his back. He liked to think of his color as coffee, with a whole lot of milk in it. Deep in his subconscious, it must have reminded him of his father, Latte, but it had been so long since they were together that Tinsel never really thought about it. The smell of coffee was certainly nice, but the grass smelled sweet too and a life of green was tempting him.

Tinsel absolutely adored the city. Especially the most crowded and dirty parts. They had the best hiding places, and more often than not, there were too many people around for anybody to notice a small cat like Tinsel. The human food, their toys, and all the fun creatures waiting around to gut you... gosh, it was all a blast! But there was something missing. Life in the city was hard. Not to mention, if human food wasn't around, all you were left with was a bunch of sewer flavored "ratatouille" and pigeon mignon. A city cat could give all the fancy names he wanted to his daily meals but in the end, it all tasted the same. It was like licking the street.

Sometimes, he wished there weren't all those crazies living in that forest. He took a deep sniff of the dewy grass and was reminded of the lush flavors of the Clan forest. Even this grass was a lame imitation. The smoggy air hung around it and dulled its deliciousness, but the reminder brought the memory back, dense, like heavy cream.

Tinsel yawned as his mind wandered back to his current position, and it was starting to get boring. "Where's Az when you need him?"

[` `shadsywadsy.]

Come let the, revolution takes its toll
Rise up and take the power back
It's time the, fat cats had a heart attack
You know that, their time's coming to an end
We have to, unify and watch our flag ascend

A black form slinked across the lands. His pace was swift, and he was on a mission. It could be seen in the way his brow furrowed in concentration. His muscles rippled under his ebony colored fur, giving him power and speed. His body was broad and lithe, making him not only quick but powerful. He was a machine, a body made for one reason and one reason only. To take away the life of all that crossed his path. He could defeat almost anyone who crossed him, he was sure. He had confidence in that fact, and it showed.

But he would never kill an innocent. He would never shed blood that didn't deserve it. He was not the bloodthirsty Cass, his father. He was not who his father tried so hard to make him to be. But his appearance didn't allow him to make many friends. His unemotional steely gaze and intimadting size made most cats turn tails and run away. Not to mention the rumors that shrouded him. They encompassed him, making him someone who he was not. Honestly, he was probably the sweetest tom you'd ever meet. Just don't lie to him or provoke him and everything would be fine.

He came up to the park, where his group had told him Tinsel, his right hand man, would be. His breathing wasn't even labored from having traveled so many miles in such little time. He had just come from the clans, and had news to give Tinsel. He had not found his sister, unfortanely, but he had gained information that Tinsel would rejoice in. It would not be hard to find the cat in this place, he was always roaming around somewhere in plain sight like the idiot he was. Tinsel didn't worry about being picked up. He wasn't afraid to hurt the twolegs. But as Az slid between their legs he felt sorry for them. They had no idea how smart the animals they mistreated were.

Suddenly he found himself being grabbed by little hands on his stomach. He quickly jumped from the hands and turned to hiss at the little girl who had only wanted to play with him. Tears swelled in her eyes, but he didn't have time to make an apology that she wouldn't understand. She had startled him, and now his heart was racing. He had let his guard down, but now he was only high alert. His ears swiveled and his eyes scanned. Where's Az when you need him?

He turned 360 degrees at the voice of his friend. His gray eyes spotted the apprentice sized killer and he swiftly made his way over to him. A smile was on his face as he used to the shadows to conceal his body. As he neared the deputy, he materialized out of his cover and came up from behind the tom. Always right behind you, as I promised to be His deep voice resonated in the air. It was soft and gentle, caressing the ears of all who heard it.

I've just come from the clans, my dear friend. But first, why is it you need me? He glanced around at all the twolegs and made sure his friend wasn't in any danger. He would hate to have to pull his ass out of trouble again. That'd be just like Tinsel, picking a fight that landed him in a box that he was too small to get out of or something like that. Oh that would kill the little fellows ego, but just the thought made Az want to hysterically laugh. Sensing no immediate danger, he guessed his friend was just bored, but would wait for his answer anyway. That was the kind of tom Az was.

A Z R A E L

[sammonroll]

Tinsel was wriggling his paws in the air without a care in the world, when the dark tom popped up behind him with impeccable timing. The little tom jumped in his pelt a little and gave an over-dramatic gasp; it was hard to tell if he was honestly surprised. He grinned once he saw who it was.

"Speak of the devil and here he comes," Tinsel purred, jumping to his paws and flashing his tail playfully. The childish tom hardly cared to listen to the more serious tone on his leader's lips, but it was Az after all, and Tinsel respected him in the way that Tinsel knew how. Though any other cat might be surprised at the way this deputy acts towards his commander, Tinsel was thoroughly a spoiled brat and wasn't used to all the seriousness that normally came with deep respect. Still, he listened.

"I've just come from the clans, my dear friend. But first, why is it you need me?"

Tinsel looked confused for a moment. Why did he need Azrael again? "Oh!" he piped in his recollection. Then turned a bit impishly sheepish and fidgeted his paws. "Nothing reaaaally. I was just thinking... it was kinda boring with just pigeons around," emphasizing that last bit with a snarl at a pigeon who had gotten entirely too close to them. It flapped its wings out in fright and stepped away, not taking off into the air, but just sneaking far enough so as to feel safer.

Tinsel took a deep stretch downwards before stepping up and down in place with all his boundless kitten energy. "But now that Az is here, we can...! Uhm.. Hm... Do you have anything in mind?" The creamy tom pouted, trying to think of something to alleviate his boredom. It vaguely occurred to him that Azrael had news for him, but if it was really that important, the black tom would surely pay no mind to the smaller tom's idle chatter. Tinsel hardly paid any mind to himself sometimes.

[` `shadsywadsy.]

Come let the, revolution takes its toll
Rise up and take the power back
It's time the, fat cats had a heart attack
You know that, their time's coming to an end
We have to, unify and watch our flag ascend

The rather large tom purred at his deputy's joyfulness. He really did act like a kitten, a spoiled kitten at that. But he loved Tinsel, in the friendship kind of way. He was a good tom, a tom that he knew he could count on no matter what. He trusted Tinsel deeply, even with all his mystery. Trust was the basis to any good relationship, no matter how odd this one seemed. For Tinsel was always playful, whereas Az was mostly serious, never having time to really play or have fun at all. He was a leader now, with a group to command and demand respect from. He had to act like this, he couldn't let silliness such as pigeons get in the way of the respect the group had for him.

But as he looked around, he and Tinsel were the only ones of the group in sight. No one would know if he decided to be playful once and have some fun. But Tin sure did have a big mouth, and he might just go blabbing it everyone. Then again, who would condemn him for having some fun? Didn't everyone need fun after a while? Didn't everyone just need to have some down time, to relax, to relieve some stress and for a few moments just be completely care free? He knew the answer was yes, but her father had always told him to keep up appearances. That appearances were everything. Plus the tom in front of him had asked him if he knew of anything they could do. And Az sure didn't know of anything fun. He didn't even know what the word meant most days. Fun was not something this serious kitten was used to.

But as he saw the playful sparkle in his deputy's eyes, his heart softened. Though you never would be able to tell. His steely gray eyes were always emotionless, always void of any emotion. However, a smile appeared on his maw, looking out of place on his detached face. He glanced around the park, wondering what the pair could do that even might remotely be fun. His business could wait until later. After all, it was only life changing for the young kitten. He would be ecstatic to hear what the tom had to say. In fact, he just might have a heart attack at the news. It was a gift to the dear Tinsel, from one friend to another. Az had gone to Windclan and put a start to the plot that would send the clans into chaos. And Tinsel would love what became of it.

But his eyes found nothing immediate that could be fun. He kept looking, and soon found the child that had tried to grab him earlier. He was near the fountain, playing with water. A sadistic smile crept onto his face, and his vengeful side was coming out of the woodwork. He normally wasn't like this, but sometimes his father's teachings manifested themselves. He jerked his head toward the child. He tried to grab me earlier. What would you say to working on our tag team fighting skills? They might getting a little rusty. And we might be needing them soon. He didn't want to add the last part, it might be a bit too much foreshadowing for the young tom. You distract first. I'll attack from above when he least expects it. Az began padding off, but waited to jump up onto the fountain's edge until Tinsel was in position.

A Z R A E L

[sammonroll]

(Pssst, Shadsy, the person that picked up Az is a girl in your first post >w< )

Tinsel's pout was quickly dispersed when he noticed the curl of a smile on Azrael's lips. The dark tom's eyes were as emotionless as usual, and the ordinary cat might see the expression as fake, but Tinsel knew his leader well enough to tell otherwise. That smile looked like an idea. A fun idea...

Azrael's eyes started scanning the park, and Tinsel's gaze followed. His eyes darted around, his attention span too short to be kept focused on any single decision. Rather, he thought about what his friend could be plotting. There were all those pigeons, but Tinsel was already bored of that. Some squirrels were around too. A couple of humans with their baby, but those were dangerous to mess with. And then there was the little girl by the fountain. The creamy tom looked up at Az and saw his look settle on this girl up ahead. Tinsel's little smile perked up as he started figuring out the plan coming together in his leader's head.

"She tried to grab me earlier. What would you say to working on our tag team fighting skills? They might getting a little rusty," Az finally spoke.

Tinsel purred, "Thought you'd never ask!" Az continued to lay out the plan and Tinsel couldn't contain his growing delight. He started bouncing lightly on his paws again as he imagined the approaching game. There was absolutely no hint of malice on this tom's face as one might have noticed on his darker counterpart's. Tinsel was still as kitten-like as usual. Evil did not mark the face of Tinsel. There was no sign that any cat or human could discern of harmful intentions, because Tinsel never saw them as harmful. He looked cute as ever because all he was doing was in the name of fun.

Azrael padded away once the plan was unfolded, and Tinsel bubbled with glee on the spot for a couple moments more, just to get himself calmed down. Once the excitement was contained, Tinsel put on a calmer face and padded slowly on the other side of the girl that Azrael was on. Tinsel rubbed his face against her leg, surprising the human for a moment, before she squealed with glee. Her eyes looked red, as if she had been crying, and Tinsel made sure to put on his cutest face to cheer her up.

He meowed up at her, "Don't be sad, princess." He knew full well that she couldn't understand him but his high-pitched mewing melted humans and older she-cats alike. The girl babbled at him, her eyes quickly clearing up, and she bent down to pat Tinsel on the head. It was uncomfortable, but it vaguely reminded him of the girl that lived with him when he was a teeny kittypet. He was too young to remember what she looked like, but the untrained handling of the cat brought back hazy memories.

Childish, grubby hands grasped him, harsher than he would have liked, and Tinsel meowed, sounding as cute as before, as the girl lifted him off the ground. Her attention was completely focused on the little cat in her hands. Tinsel looked over at where Az had gone and smiled sweetly, as if to say, Yay! I did it. Did you see??