The Starless of the Skies

This was something that I threw together for a roleplay that a friend of mine created called The Tests, specifically for the sequel. It revolves around one of my character's kin, Tempest, and some random OC named Zephyr developing a friendship. Technically this counts as a fanfiction, so I placed it in those categories. This is only going to be the four written and completed chapters, and I have no intent on continuing it currently. So for now I'm just going to say it's a completed work that was written a couple of months ago, with the end only being the newest portion of it.

Idk if this should be in 'short stories' though since each chapter is around 1,000 words soooooo not exactly short but not exactly long either

Terminology
So you aren't as confused by what the cats are saying.

The huge fallout of the world to explain why there are no humans and why the world it is in the fanfic and in the roleplay itself is known as:

- The Disaster

- The Fall

- The Crash

- The Burnout

The cats who want to live in groups in former human areas are known as:

- City cats

- Citydwellers

- The hordes (mostly by cats not in this belief)

- Civilisationist

The cats who believe that the cats should live in the natural terrain and in smaller groups are known as:

- The Wild Ones (mostly by citydwellers)

- Free cats

- Tribal cats

- Plainsdwellers

The cats who could've cared less about the conflict and go as they please are known as:

- Deserters (mostly by other groups)

- Loners

- Independents

- Sideswitchers

Chapter 1
Starless

Tempest knew that he shouldn't have, and really, it was a really messed up idea now that he thought more on it. He could practically smell and see the fear and horror in Aeroki and Yarran's eyes when he and Paratyl mentioned their plan to kill Sang so long ago- really, could they have blamed their siblings? At least Aeroki and Yarran had a moral code- clearly, he and Paratyl had either a heart made of stone, or just no heart at all. Tempest was now alone, Paratyl was dead along with Yarran, Sang was dead, Azize was somewhere far away from his family, and Aeroki was long gone, from what he knew.

Looking up at the murky sky, Tempest shook his head and sighed. It's so lonely in the city nowadays, He mused, closing his eyes, feeling the gentle night gale rustle through his fur. And if it isn't lonely, then it's because you're under attack or being kept prisoner. A shiver ran up the tom's spine as he let himself fall deeper into thought. ''I... I wish Aeroki was here with me still.''

Tempest knew that Aeroki could still be out there somewhere, probably in the plains. Tempest had no qualms with becoming a free cat if it meant seeing his only surviving littermate again. He'd much rather stick with Aeroki than deal with their estranged father, Azize- that cat was horrible and only cared for himself. Had Paratyl given Tempest the choice, he would've decided to track down and kill Azize in his sleep. No doubt that Tempest had some half siblings out and about the city and plains- Azize was always like that, being manipulative and cruel to those around him.

With another sigh, the black and brown tabby city cat decided to keep moving forwards, as there wasn't anything for him to do here. ''I wish Yarran was still alive. By the stars, Paratyl would be good company right about now.'' He wanted his family- well, no, his littermates- to be happy again, without any burdens or grudges against each other. Tempest struggled to remember a time when they'd been carefree- it had been so long. Too long.

"Aeroki, why did you have to leave me all alone?" He asked hollowly, his voice drifting off into the wind. "Everyone I know is gone..."

That much was true, at least. He didn't know too many cats in the city, which really wasn't a good thing. Where he lived in the city, most of the fights happened between fellow city cats, and even when they fought with the free cats, you could expect many cats to fight their personal enemies as well.

Tempest hated that. He wished that the world could be peaceful once again, but he knew he was just being a fool. With the current state of affairs, no one would care enough to put their differences aside for the greater- after all, that was the reason why Tempest stayed away from the conflict. No thanks to the Burnout, from what I've told. The Burnout had been an event he'd heard that was passed down from his family- well, told to him by the last remnants of his sane side of the family. Tempest felt a shudder run down his back as he thought about it- cats suddenly disappearing out of thin air, and chaos erupting that was so great that it wiped out the dominant species. I'd hate for something like that to happen again...

But still, he really wanted to put and end to it, and that was just a foolish hope, it was like pyrite. Aeroki wouldn't have tried to stop it; Tempest knew she would be far too forgetful to remember her goal. Paratyl enjoyed the violence of the conflict; why would he even consider switching sides, if not to betray them? Yarran was too soft of a soul to even try; Tempest knew he was a coward, and only wanted to help cats in a world where you could only help yourself.  You only stick with your kin, Tempest had told himself. But now that seemed useless, in the ruthless, terrifying corridors of the city, with all the twists and turns that you could imagine. The betrayals. The backstabbing. The threats. The blackmail. All of it had turned his blood to stone. All his kin was gone. Even though Tempest hated the idea of leaving the city, he had to admit that maybe Aeroki wasn't so wrong after all, leaving them to join the free cats, even if she didn't mean to. Tempest honestly could understand why she wanted to leave the city now.

With a grunt, Tempest climbed onto an old, worn out stack of tires and sighed once more. "This place is awful," He muttered, curling up while resting upon the top tire. "I wish I could do more to fix it, if only..."

Overhearing the yowling coming from the cats nearby, Tempest narrowed his eyes, and huffed in impatience once he realized that his neighbors wouldn't shut up, even at this late. Must be another fight going on. Tempest unsheathed his claws wearily, and sheathed them quickly once his eyelids began to droop. They better not wake me up again, or I swear...

Chapter 2
Typhoon

Zephyr looked around himself, his sight still worn and blurry. With a small grunt, he narrowed his eyes once he realized where he was. In the city, He thought grimly. Taking a whiff of the air, the plainsdweller grimaced at the damp, murky scent. Surrounded by cats of the hordes, of all things! Zephyr has always despised city cats since he was young. He couldn't stand how they lived in the old human buildings and the like- they were like a horde of rats, waiting to pounce on you and give you venomous wounds. Of course, I've had the pleasant experience of never having to deal with too many of them until...whatever this is...

He felt a paw prod him on his side. He meekly turned his head to the left to face whoever had done it, only to be greeted with sharpened claws slashing against his face- more specifically, his left eye. Yowling in pain, Zephyr flailed his paws about, only for him to receive another blow, this time aimed for his shoulder. Just barely forcing himself to stay still, Zephyr groaned softly, his body quaking with anticipation for another attack.

Another cat seemed shocked by this, yelping out loud. "Why'd you do that to him?" They growled, and from what Zephyr could tell, the voice came from a tom. Oh, I don't know, maybe because you city hordes think it's fun to torture us plainsdwellers! Though Zephyr didn't say it out loud, he had enough of a scowl on his face to show the two cats that it was exactly what he was thinking. He wasn't too sure if his message had gotten across that well, though, considering that the two didn't seem intent on paying anymore attention to him.

"It doesn't deserve to have free range in our turf," The other cat snapped, their voice hushed. Zephyr could tell that this cat was a molly. ''Great. Another insane cat who wants me dead.'' He frowned. ''And why would I be an 'it'? Is it because of those idiotic citydweller beliefs of theirs? Wouldn't doubt it.'' After getting another look at her, Zephyr could tell that she was a ragged furred white and ginger tabby with pretty green eyes, which unfortunately Zephyr had to admit was decent looking, for a city cat. "Besides, it doesn't matter if it lives or not. We always have cats to catch us prey."

The tom growled again. "That's just low, even by a free cat's standards. Obviously you find overworking poor cats separated from their families fun, which is just...I doubt any of the wild one would even do that, though I bet some probably would..." He sighed, shaking his head. "You know what, Loon? Just shut up."

Loon, the she-cat, glowered him. "I could ask the same of you."

"I wasn't asking, it was an order," He hissed, which seemed to get Loon to shut up, to Zephyr's relief. The tom was a scrawny looking fellow, his light brown fur shimmering in the pale moonlight, which caught Zephyr's attention the most, besides his pale golden eyes that Zephyr personally thought as if they were mini suns.

Zephyr shuddered. I hate this, I want out, I want out, I want out! Where even was he in the city? He knew the places that the hordes lived in were like mazes, but he didn't expect it to be this overwhelming. Could he even try to escape from these city cats who had apparently wanted him dead or as an easy way to catch extra prey? Probably not, as he was in 'their turf', as Loon had put it. ''How did I even get here? I don't remember all that much, and they just take me here without my permission?'' Okay, he was probably unconscious during that time, but he still thought it was a valid point. Well, I think it's valid.

"So, uh...when do I get to leave?" Zephyr asked, trying to seem as indifferent as he could. The answer to his question? Another blow to his face. Zephyr hissed in pain. "Seriously, just how much do you love seeing me in pain?"

Loon chuckled cruelly. "That depends, are you going to be a fun chew toy to play with or are you just going to be another dead dormouse?"

Whimpering, Zephyr bit back a yelp of fear. "Please, I just want to go home. Please."

"Loon, knock it off-" the tom began once more. ''Oh, for the love of- can't you just knock her out, or something? You'd think that this tom would've understood that by now...useless horde cat.''

"Zip it, Woodpecker," the city cat snapped. Glaring at Zephyr, she spat, "You should've thought of home before coming to the city, wild one. You're stuck with us and the rest of Zola's gang until he decides your fate."

Zephyr rested his muzzle on his paws, his breathing still shaky. He was in the city with a bunch of city cats. He was separated from his family. He was stuck with these two strange cats named Loon and Woodpecker who apart of this Zola's gang. This should be absolutely thrilling, He thought bitterly, already imagining himself unsheathing his claws and raking them against Loon's face.

Chapter 3
Starless

When Tempest woke up in the middle of the night to hear screeching cats, the scowl on his face said everything about his thoughts on it. That idiot Zola thinks that causing a mass panic late at night is amusing, doesn't he? Tempest wearily got up from the tire stack, his muscles hardly able to keep him up. It's too late for this. Then he glanced up at the dark sky that was slowly changing to become dawn. ''Or maybe too early...? Never mind that, I don't care.''

Leaping down from the tire stack, Tempest grunted as he felt a small crack in his neck. His body was always like this- he'd constantly hear tiny little cracks in his body due to everyday motions that he'd make. Really, Tempest hated it more than he could imagine. But complaining never did anyone good around the city, and who would listen to Tempest's complaints? The wind? The concrete floors? The starless midnight sky? Tempest held back a laugh. He was just being foolish like Sang and Aeroki, per the norm, exactly how Paratyl would've put it. That in mind, it's not like his littermates would've stopped to hear him complain.

Tempest walked through the narrow alley, his eyes blurry still from waking up. As he grew closer to the screaming cats, he could've sworn he smelled blood in the air. ''No, no, that's probably just fresh kill...right? Right. But Tempest still had his doubts, and he really'' wanted to know what was so important that Zola had to create such a ruckus this late. Scanning the surroundings, Tempest was vaguely disappointed when there weren't any cats there, but granted, who would even be up this late? Zola and his gang, that's who, He reminded himself bitterly.

Padding over to a broken looking object that looked as if it was part of a wall, Tempest hid behind it, craning his neck to spy on whatever it was Zola was getting so worked up about. But when he looked, he realized that hardly any cats were there...almost as if it was barren. ''What? They have to be here somewhere, I know they wouldn't give up this spot in the city for nothing.'' That was when Tempest heard the one making all the noise. From what he could tell, there was about four cats in the same place, and what had made him uncomfortable was the screeching that one of the cats was doing, as if they were...in extreme pain. However, Tempest knew how Zola's group worked- you get in their business, you either join or perish. Attempting to hide his fear scent, Tempest hugged the corner between the rubble and a rotting building and didn't dare move a muscle. He wasn't in the mood for dying today.

After some more waiting, Tempest could hear pawsteps coming from the opposite direction. He shuddered violently once he realized who it was. Zola. Tempest never dreamed of meeting Zola once- if he didn't count the nightmares, anyhow. Now to be face to face with the little terror? ''Oh, please. I'm out of here, at this rate.'' But Tempest didn't move, as he was too afraid of what Zola would do if he caught Tempest in his territory. As he waited for Zola to leave, he saw one of his members -Loon- throw a cream tabby tom onto the ground, his body battered and bruised. Zola and her probably did this, didn't they? Tempest wouldn't put it past them to do it, but he knew Woodpecker wouldn't harm a poor, defenseless cat. If he did, I would avoid him for the rest of my days. A small dark ginger tabby tom padded over to the cream tom, a sneer marked on his face.

Zola spat in the tom's face. "You're lucky I'm kinder than most, wild one. Now get out of our sight and never come back, unless you happen to be in the mood to spill some plainsdweller secrets with us...which will be never. So get off of our land." Surprisingly enough, Zola had turned away from the tom and padded away, with Loon trailing behind him. He didn't bother to check to see if Woodpecker was following them, which didn't surprise Tempest too much. After all, to them he was always the 'stupidly kind' one.

Woodpecker helped get the tom to his feet, and sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, but Zola's right. Most other gangs I know would've killed you on the spot. If you're lucky, you might meet a citydweller who can and will take care of you, but unfortunately, I'm not that cat who can help."

The tom didn't say a word, but as Woodpecker walked away, the cream tabby looked faintly disappointed. What was that about? Seeing as the major threat was gone, Tempest decided to walk up to this free cat, now that Zola wasn't here to attack him. The tom was clearly spooked by his presence, which Tempest couldn't blame him for.

"Oh, not another citydweller!" He rasped, his voice shaky. "Please, I'll get off your territory, just don't kill me-"

Tempest narrowed his eyes as he interrupted the cat. "Look, do you want help or not? If you do, I'd suggest you keep your voice low for the time being. Zola doesn't take kindly to anyone intruding on his territory. His unspoken rule around these parts is either join or perish."

And with that, Tempest was able to get the tom to shut up, thankfully for the rest of the walk back to where Tempest was sleeping.

Chapter 4
Typhoon

Zephyr woke up, his muscles still sore from yesterday. His wounds still stung from Loon digging them into his face and flank, and he was quite tired as well. Although, Zephyr was grateful for the help from the citydwelller that had happened to find him. I never thought a city cat could ever be so kind... He mused. No, he must've been born a free cat or a deserter, no horde cat could ever be so forgiving... But that was the least of Zephyr's concerns. He was somewhere in the city with no one from the plains to help him, as he doubted this citydweller knew anything about herbs. He was on some kind of strange round rubber stack of rocks, and looking down at the ground, he could see that strange cat who had helped him last night.

"You're finally awake," the city cat commented, not bothering to look at Zephyr. From what Zephyr could tell, this tom was a scrawny cat- he had ragged, ruffled fur like rough looking mottled grey feathers that shone in various different shades due to the lighting. Zephyr thought this tom was rather attractive, but he decided not to comment on that. He's a citydweller anyways. The tom leaped up onto the tire stack, sitting down next to Zephyr. "Thought you might like it better up here. Much more fresh air."

Zephyr nodded in agreement. "There is. Do you really...live here?" Zephyr was a little curious, but didn't want to admit it- he didn't want to know what a citydweller did in their spare time, nothenless learn where they live. But that might be an advantage for an attack later on...hmm.

The tom twitched his whiskers. "Well, of course I do. Did you seriously think I lived elsewhere?" Before Zephyr had the chance to reply, the tom had already leaped back down onto the ground, already beginning to pad away from Zephyr. Before he left, the tom called out, "Stay here, I'll be back in a few."

Zephyr was about to protest, but he didn't say anything out of respect and fear, as this cat had just saved his life and he himself was rather injured. Looking at his surroundings, it was safe to say that this citydweller didn't seem to get around much. And they call citydwellers 'adventurous'! He scoffed inwardly, not wanting to say anything aloud. Still, the cream tabby tom was grateful that this city cat took pity on him. However, Zephyr couldn't shake off the suspicion that this cat had more of a reason than "not wanting to watch a cat die" when saving him. ''You can't trust citydwellers to be nice and have morals. Most of them are selfish, anyhow.''

With a yawn, Zephyr stretched his muscles and shook his fur. "Can't believe I had to be saved by a cat of the hordes," He muttered underneath his breath. But still, at least Zephyr was alive. Hearing pawsteps coming in his direction, Zephyr stifled back a yelp. What- who is that? He relaxed a bit once he realized that the dark grey tom from earlier had come back. The citydweller had a scrawny mouse in his jaws. "Back already?"

The tom nodded. "Yef, juft caught fome prey," He replied, though the fresh kill in his mouth made his words sound all garbled, to Zephyr at least. Dropping the mouse at Zephyr's paws, he tilted his head, asking, "Want some?"

Nodding, Zephyr dug into the prey, savouring the juicy medley of flavour that rushed into his mouth. How long has it been since I had mouse? Mouse was Zephyr's favourite type of prey- he was shocked that mice even appeared in the abandoned settlements. As he tore into the mouse, the cream tabby looked up to see if the dark grey tom was going to eat.

The citydweller shook his head, sitting down next to Zephyr. "No, don't worry about it. I'll probably go hunting later when most cats -specifically Zola and them- are taking their midday snooze."

Gulping some down some of the meat, Zephyr ventured, "So...is it always this dangerous in the abandoned places like these?"

"Depends on what you mean by that." The citydweller licked his paws, grooming himself.

"I mean, as in...is it always dangerous, being a city cat? Back where I lived, it was perfectly safe. Wouldn't it be better for every cat if they just left to be in the open, away from others?"

His eyes narrowed, the city cat shook his head. "It'd be better for every cat to let others live however they want. We only have the Burnout to blame for the way things are now." Sighing, the tom went on. "I bet you're one of those tribal cats who believe us to be monsters. Well, we aren't. Zola, Loon, Woodpecker...all of them used to be decent cats- well, Woodpecker is still vaguely decent, but you get my point. But nowadays the only thing driving us to keep going is hatred that we've been feeding off of since being kitted."

Zephyr frowned; Zola and Loon being decent cats? It seemed impossible. Can I even trust this cat, anyways? But the citydweller wasn't wrong- the only thing keeping most cats going seemed to be the hatred they've been carrying since their youth. ''But what about all the things the hordes did to us? What about the Deserters who left us in our darkest hour? Can this cat really expect us to push this feud away as if it isn't nothing? It's everything!''

"No one in these parts trusts each other because we've all been betrayed too much. Seen too much death." Ruffling out his fur, the citydweller murmured, "I've seen several close relatives either leave or die. It isn't pretty. The conflict around here is either because of the wild ones, or coming from within. The only time you'll see anyone band together is when organizing an attack. Rightfully so, if the news of some plainsdwellers slaughtering an entire nursery of young city cats is true."

Blinking slowly, Zephyr recoiled at his statement. "Well, I didn't know that. But I don't see the reason in why you stay here if it isn't safe."

Sighing, the citydweller shrugged. "Nowhere is safe these days. You can't even be safe around your own kin. I only stay because it's where my family has lived for generations now. And the only place where the last remnants of my littermate remain..."

Oh. Zephyr wasn't too sure what to say after that; the tom had brought up several...reasonable points that didn't make him want to kill someone. Not to mention how this place was personal for the citydweller- Zephyr wouldn't want to leave his birthplace for the unknown dangers of this world, either. Is this cat living all alone, then? Zephyr had guessed so- otherwise he probably would've smelled another cat nearby. Remembering the sorrow in his voice, Zephyr turned back to the half eaten mouse. ''I guess I can stay for a bit longer than intended. After all, I'm still injured and he seems pretty lonely...''