Silence Is Golden [open]

[Bloodpaw]

The seal mink marble half-Bengal cat walked, his muscles rippling under his silky smooth pelt. His eyes flashed as he looked up at the ceiling of the caverns. Hanging, pointed rocks were casting ominous shadows over him. His eyes glinted. The glowing crystals that lit the caverns only added to the strange mysticism of the place.

Marquis was drawn to the power that surged from them. He was drawn to the power of the Silence, and there was nothing that would stop him from discovering the secrets. He had touched the sacred Runestone, which had turned him insane and drove him to be an unspeakably sadistic killer.

He hid all that simply with a mask of calmness.

He watched the other cats slip by, all of them wondering why they had been brought to this place. Even they knew that there had to be a higher calling. Voices had echoed in their minds and called them forth, bringing them to this very place. They had no leader to guide them, save for one ex-Clan cat known as Silencefall, but she could not speak.

The oracle cannot speak, he mused with a look of disdain. I should be leading these cats to glory. I should be the one who guides them to the power of the beyond.

[ember]

Silas returned from his hiking, after having spoken with Sweeney, a rogue tabby who lived in the mountains. He happened to notice Marquis, a cat whom Sweeney had spoken of. He padded over to the cat, hoping to have a talk with him regarding intimidating the possible recruits to the Silence. "Greetings there," he meowed. "Silence be with you."

"I wanted to talk to you about something, if that's not too much trouble," he meowed. He didn't want to disturb the cat but he was curious about what Marquis had done to give Sweeney such a hatred for the Silence.

[Bloodpaw]

Marquis turned to the newcomer, the glow of the caverns washing over his face in a sinister way. His teeth gritted together, and he prowled towards the other cat in a meaningful way. His steps were almost gliding, and his physique was clearly shown off. "It's no trouble at all," he meowed, doing his best to sound sincere. "What is bothering you?"

He didn't sit down, or come off his guard. He just stood there, matching his eyes with Silas' and preparing to ward off any accusations that would come up against him. If only I could get through the day without being interrogated, he thought. I haven't yet done anything to wrong these cats. Perhaps my reputation proceeds me?

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/Obg.png] . . . O R I O N . . . For moons now, Orion had been following the whispering of the mountain. Or at least, what he thought was to be the mountain speaking to him. The tom hadn’t yet realized the nature behind the voices, but that did not deter him any less. They had led him steadily across the terrain, scarcely allowing him time to sleep or eat. Orion didn’t mind. They called to him as surely as his own voice. They needed him. And he would do as they asked. Orion hardly noticed where his paws led him. He was ascending the slope of the mountain; that much was sure. Sacrifice… one of the voices murmured, then the rest of them seemed to pick up the word. They repeated it in a fast crescendo like the rumbling of an approaching storm, until Orion’s very fur trembled with its power. It increased in urgency, in volume—louder than it had ever been before—overpowering the sound of his own beating heart. The only sign he even discerned that he had entered an enormous cavern was the dilating of his clouded eyes in the decreased light. Sacrifice…!! And then the voices suddenly left, like a breeze ripping past his fur. Orion was alone. It took a long moment for the Maine Coon to recover. He blinked his vivid, yellow eyes, which were clearing as the trance dissipated. Desperation at the loss of the voices made him hesitant, almost sad. But it was quickly replaced with a hot flash of anger. Where had they gone? Who took them away? His senses picked up the scents of many other cats. ”Cats!” the enormous tom hissed, swinging his broad head toward the two other toms nearby. ”Who are you?” Orion demanded. ”Why are you here?” Lost in his warped grief, he was ready to rip the throat out of the first thing that appeared to be behind the loss of his only companions for so many moons.

[ember]

Before Silas could speak, he heard the voice of the newcomer. He whirled around, his fur bristling ever so slightly. He was startled momentarily. He saw the large cat before him, thick furred, towering over his own lightweight figure. He found himself slightly crouching, tilting his head in examination. Cats seemed to find the caverns all the time. They were led right to the entrance by the whispers in the wind.

He backed up, noting the hostility in the tom's voice. His ears flicked back, pinning against his head. The marble tabby edged around, crouching close to the ground. He stood next to Marquis and his claws extended. "We... we are the Silence," he spat out. His voice was slightly shaking, but he knew he had to say something. "We live here."

"My name is Silas," he continued. He figured the best he could do was try to talk his way out of an attack. "This is Marquis. We are what you call revolutionaries. We followed the voices here." He tried to cover all the bases, hoping the run of information would calm the new cat. "We have a leader, our oracle. She does not speak, but she still guides us."

He looked back to Marquis, hoping that the other cat did not have a less friendly approach to the situation than he. He hoped that the whole thing would go over without any teeth and claws sunk into flesh.

[Bloodpaw]

The half-Bengal cat looked up, his blue eyes gleaming. He let out a furious hiss. All of his fur was bushed up. He looked at the foreign cat, twisting his head back and forth in fluid motion. While Silas seemed to prefer to talk about the situation with the new cat, Marquis had his claws out and ready for a fight.

"What are you doing here?" he spat. He followed the voices, likely. But what if he didn't? Perhaps he's just a threat. He gritted his teeth. The glow of the caverns illuminated his face in an intimidating manner. "Are you a threat to us?" He looked over to Silas, scoffing at the fact that he would dump all the information about them out in one breath.

He swerved his head back and forth with snake-like motion. It was getting hard for him to keep himself together. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to keep himself collected. It would only jeopardize your position and reputation if you were to kill this cat.

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/Obg.png] . . . O R I O N . . . The tabby’s words had a lulling effect on Orion. The Maine Coon dulled his ferocity enough to acknowledge that the tom was speaking, but the content meant very, very little to him. He had roamed the mountains for much of his life, contacting little with other cats. Thus Orion knew absolutely nothing of this Silence, or of any Oracle. What is the Silence? was his first coherent thought, and he opened his long, wide jaws to ask, until the half-Bengal Marquis took his attention. The fluid movement of the tom’s head, much like that of a serpent, only served to unnerve and unsettle Orion, whose senses were still dulled from the long trance. The motion blurred in the Maine Coone’s vision, and his yellow eyes narrowed to slits. Marquis’s spitting words hit Orion like solid blows; the anger built up in him again, snowballing up into his chest until he could not hold it back. “What are you doing here? And what have you done with my voices?!” he roared back in fury. Breathing heavily, Orion dropped to a defensive crouch and glared at each cat as if daring them to attack him.

[ember]

For a moment, Silas thought that his calming words were working, and then Marquis stepped in. Much to his dismay, the half-Bengal did not handle the situation as well. He stepped back, startled as Orion roared at the both of them. "Marquis, what have you done?" he hissed.

This was not what he had wanted to happen. He was trying for a peaceful way to introduce the newcomer to them. He shook his head, trying his best to think of words that would calm Orion down. "Listen to me, I apologize for Marquis' behavior. You intimidated him," he meowed. "Please, we mean you no harm."

That mousebrained Marquis! He was beginning to understand why Sweeney had such a problem with him.

[Bloodpaw]

Orion's sudden roar made Marquis hiss and he stepped back, with all of his fur standing on end. The half-Bengal growled, regaining his balance after the startling and moving towards Orion. "What are you talking about, you lunatic?" he yowled at Orion. "We live here."

He bared his teeth, ready to fight if he had to. He he knew that he was doing the exact opposite of what Silas would have him do. He was not about to be threatened by this newcomer on his own land, and if there was no peaceful way to come to a conclusion, he would use his claws.

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/Obg.png] . . . O R I O N . . . Like a receding ocean wave, Orion’s anger ebbed as quickly as it came and his bristled fur began to lay flat. ”You.. live here?” he asked disbelievingly, a snarl still in his tone. ”Then why was I lead here? To other cats?” The whisperings of the voices were beginning to make less and less sense. They never told him anything about other cats. Orion did not care for other cats. The Maine Coon locked gazes with the smaller tabby. ”What is the Silence?” he demanded. Unmoving, Orion occasionally glared at Marquis to keep an eye on him as he waited for answers. It was obvious enough the half-Bengal wanted a fight. Orion would give one, too, but not before he better understood what was going on. He had a better sense of what was happening since the trance had left him. A panging of longing for the lost voices hit him, and he wished for them to return and tell him what to do. What was the last thing they had said to him? Sacrifice? Orion glanced around at the cats in the cavern. Did the voices want him to kill these cats? Mind whirling, he sat and pulled a thick tail over his paws.

[ember]

Silas stood in front of Marquis, trying to block Orion's view of the vicious feline. "The Silence is a movement," he replied. "We're a group of cats, we followed the voices to the mountains. They wish us to all live together here, we're their followers. We're the revolutionaries." He tried to explain the strange cult to the best of his abilities. "Silencefall is their chosen prophetess, and she's the one who tells... well... she guides us to what we should do, that and the voices."

"Please forgive Marquis for his hostility. There are cats out there who wish to do us harm because they do not understand us," he meowed, dipping his head to Orion. While he did, he gave a piercing glare back at the half-Bengal. "He's only being cautious."

[Bloodpaw]

Marquis let Silas speak, but continued to remain in an aggressive stance. He didn't like the fact that this cat had barged in here. Compared to so many of the others who had gone on the pilgrimage, he seemed so uncivilized. Not to mention he'd never really seen such a large cat in his lifetime. He couldn't help but feel intimidated. What if he wants power? I would have been the best for it before, but what if they want a leader who is stronger?

His eyes glinted. He was struggling to hold back from saying biting words or even actually biting. Maybe he'll leave.

ooc: sorry it's short

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/Obg.png] . . . O R I O N . . . Orion narrowed his glinting eyes at the tabby, his anger subsiding to doubt and curiosity. His madness was leaving him temporarily—at least enough to process what Silas was saying, anyway. The mention of the voices was enough to hold his interest. ”They speak to you as well?” he asked suspiciously. ”And this prophetess… she controls the voices?” Moving that winding, snake-like cat, Marquis, out of Orion’s vision had done wonders to calming him down. He knew that the half-Bengal was more than ready for a fight; but now that Orion’s mind was clearing, the Maine Coon knew a brawl was the last thing he could afford. In the mountains, his sheer size was enough to scare off most threats. Malnourished, half-starved, and fractured as he currently was, and without any formal training, Orion doubted that he could fight off the two cult cats. (ooc: it’s no probs. :) )

[ember]

"Yes, the voices have spoken to all of us. As for our prophetess... well, she doesn't exactly control the voices, but she has their power within her. They've set her up as sort of our spiritual leader, I suppose," Silas replied. He was glad that Marquis seemed to be keeping his mouth shut for now. He was also relieved that Orion seemed to be calming down.

"You could join us," he offered. "We accept all the cats who have followed the voices to the mountains, or wish to become a part of our movement." He knew that Marquis would likely not react well to what he had said, but Marquis was not the decider of such things. They would have to take Orion before Silencefall to see if he gained her approval.

[Bloodpaw]

Marquis' ears flicked with agitation when Silas offered the outsider to join. He was alright with the strength in numbers, but he feared that the larger cat would jeopardize any potential power grab he were to organize. He knew that if he were to say anything about it, Silas would no doubt tell Silencefall of his harshness to the outsider.

Of course, there was always the chance that Silencefall would not allow Orion into the Silence. The half-Bengal narrowed his eyes. "Yes, we should go and speak with Silencefall," he meowed. Figuratively, since she can't really talk. He scoffed internally. He still did not understand how an organization could thrive through the guidance of a cat who could only nod yes or no.