Nightwatcher

N I G H T W A T C H E R

You can't outrun your own reflection.

44 moons | female | voyager (warrior) | frontierclan | sunlitsecrets

theme song

personality ;;
She's very quiet, so quiet that basically everyone in the Clan
assumes she's mute most of the time. Night isn't mute, not
really, but she doesn't like to talk anyway. She has too many
things on her mind, too many things she's scared to say. Maybe,
if she ever has an actual conversation, things can change for
the better. But as it stands she has her shields up, endless
layers of protection so no one ever finds out much about her.
. Nightwatcher's lucky she came upon FrontierClan. Wildstar's
a very welcoming cat... a leader who doesn't ask too many
questions. It's nice knowing you can find a home without getting
asked about your entire life history.
. ...Yeah, it's good if you're trying to keep a group safe, but not
if you want to hide away from danger without being shoved out
of every Clan, Tribe, or group you try to join. This place is so far
away from the rest of the world... there's only a few Clans around
here. She doesn't trust them... but she's glad that they're there.
When her pursuers come, there'll be a lot of cats around - and  
hopefully an easy way to sneak away in the commotion.
. She very much prefers the dark - the stars are always so
beautiful... but it's also easier to get around without being noticed.
Hence why Wildstar named her Nightwatcher.
. Admittedly, it's so different from what her name used to be...
but it's not like she's going to go say anything about it. So
Nightwatcher will have to do.

secret;;
Her parents lived in a group of rogues, nestled deep in the heart of a big city, and it would be Spiral's home in the many days before she was Nightwatcher. The group was fairly rigid, with a clear hierarchy - what the leader and his cats said was law, and anyone who got in the way vanished in the night.
. Spiral was never too fond of how the place was ran, but hey - she was near the bottom of the ladder, she wasn't going to start arguing about it. Not if she cared about her life.
. So she grew up in the chaos that came with that kind of life, always looking out for herself... until one day.

It was her, on the rooftop, going about her business quietly, and it was two of the higher-ups tormenting a younger cat, and it was Spiral, stopping silently, watching, and wishing she had never been around to see this - because if she hadn't, then she wouldn't have to get involved. Spiral was a cat that cared about her own well being, one who took no risks... but she felt a pang in her heart as one of the goons swiped a paw towards the poor little one.
. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she called down from her perch, making herself known.
. All three cats looked up, and Spiral immediately regretted her choice. That was Sling, the toughest, meanest cat around - the leader's second, in a way. And the other cat... not quite as dangerous, but she knew him either way. Query. The cat who taunted her as a kit.
. Oh, this was already bad. But she stood her ground on the roof, as Query yelled up at her. "Hey, Spiral! Whatcha doing round here?"

The rest of it all goes by as some terrifying blur. Query mocks her, Sling's stalking towards the young cat - Spiral leaps down, in some mad attempt to try and stop him, but she lands on him the wrong way and no, no, she can't have hurt him that badly but he's lying on the ground and his neck is turned the wrong way -
. Query's swearing to hunt her down, to take his revenge for what she's done, and Spiral doesn't know what to do, she runs for her life -
. When she stops running, she's far past any place she's ever been, and she stares down at her paws in horror.
. She just killed a cat.
. And the whole group would be after her for revenge.
. Spiral would never be safe again.

- - -

joining the clan;;
"Hey! You there! You know this is Clan territory, right?"
. She hears the voice and looks up, and a grey tabby is trotting in her direction. Ah, yes, another Clan cat. Spiral sits down where she stands and waits for them to come to her. No point in walking in further when that could just be seen as a threat.
. The other cat runs towards her, faster than she had expected, and skids to a halt a couple feet away. "State your business here," he says. Spiral struggles to find a way to phrase things that doesn't sound all wrong. Why hadn't she thought this over sooner...? She's sitting and thinking for a good half-minute until he speaks again. "Can't talk?"
. Ah. Now there's something to latch on to. Spiral nods fervently. It's the perfect lie, the perfect way to keep hidden.
. He seems a bit suspicious, of course, but to her relief he seems to believe it. "That's fine. Either way, you need to clear out - that is, unless you were planning on joining us?"
. She nods again at the second option - this is all turning out so unbelievably good. Few groups are so willing to let a random stranger in, and even if this one is skeptical, she can tell he still is worried about her.
. Well, Spiral is worried about herself, too, so this works out brilliantly.

"I'm Flameflicker. Herbalist. Come with me and I'll show you our camp, okay? Wildstar will know what to do." This Flicker fellow was already walking back off in the direction he had come. Spiral hurries after him, with quick but careful steps. Too easy.
. Now she just has to convince whoever Wildstar is.

The camp... well she wouldn't say it was full of cats, this was a fairly small group, but it was still quite an interesting place. Flowers all around her, the scent so intense at first that she halts in the entryway just to process everything. But once she does... she finds it enchanting. Who knew so many kinds of flower could grow in a single spot?
. The rag-tag group of Clanners come over to see what’s going on. Flameflicker goes over to a smaller brown tabby and whispers something in her ear. Ah. She must be the leader, then. Sure enough, the tabby steps forward and, with a friendly smile, says, “Hey! I’m Wildstar. I’ve heard from Flicker that you’re looking for a new group to call home?”
. She nods again, nearly saying something but remembering to keep the lie going. It was the thing most protecting her. “Well anyone’s welcome here,” Wildstar goes on. “Flameflicker said that you’re mute? That’s fine, but we’ll need something to call you... eventually I’ll give you a name, and you can tell me if you like it or not. That okay?”
. Another nod, and that’s it. Spiral’s in. She’s quite shocked that that’s all it took.

A week later, as Spiral is looking up towards the stars late at night, Wildstar approaches her. “I’ve been thinking about your name... how would you like Nightwatcher? You’re always out here with the sky, after all.”
. It’s not what Spiral would have expected, but then it’s not like she gave Wildstar much information. She smiles. It’s very good.
. This is the perfect hiding spot.
. But you never know how long you’ll have until trouble comes after you.
After all, you can’t outrun your own reflection.