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Summary and Disclaimer
This is originally titled Deck of Dreams.
This is what Herne's dreams... don't think dream is the right word, when he does sleep. This dream is based around cannon events, so continuity to real events and events taken place here are strictly for this.
This also directly follows the events of "Joker of Hearts".

Continuing his lone limp through the empty streets of Massilia... rain still pouring heavier and heavier, what tainted mosk that clung to the caraffory’s fur was gone, showing the golden yellow he was supposed to be. He continued as he reached the end of the street, which placed him at the center of the docks. The caraffory turned north, walked through the Heart of the Slums, and emerged at the Northern Docks. The most northern dock to be exact. However... upon arrival... he met something even he was not prepared for.
Out at the end of the dock, Herne saw what was himself, but this him was only a year old, if actually a full year of age at all. He saw himself relentlessly jump up at a flag that hung from the single flagpole. He was never able to get it himself. So his younger self surely had little to no chance. But then something caught the corner of his eye.
From the wall of the city, a dark caracal had taken notice to the apprentice going after the flag.
"Roy?" Herne uttered out, as the dark caracal jumped off from where he was perched and headed to where the apprentice was.
The two exchanged a few words... then the golden caraffory then chose to take an attempted hike up some crates to try and snatch the flag, only to fall short, and smack his chin against the dock.
Herne could feel the throbbing pain from it as if he just did it, but he continued to watch it play out. The dark caracal pulled the golden one out of the water, and the golden had seemed to have scolded the dark one for helping. Then acted like it was giving up on the endeavor. But only to wrap around the building and hike up it, and take a full-run at the flag, and leaped out, to have the flag smack him aside, and into the water again. The dark caracal pulled him from the water a second time. Herne smiled at this. He didn't even know Roy's name at the time, he didn't know Herne's name either, but... he was already acting like an older brother should. At that point the watching caraffory looked away, taking in the fact that Roy wasn't here, almost making tears run from the Broken Joker's eyes.
"Who am I kidding?" Herne gritted in his teeth, turning away from what he was watching, "I’ve been left for dead..." but he looked back at the scene, and his younger self, and Roy were out of sight.
Herne instantly turned to go to the Training Grounds, that's where he and Roy went the first time. He got there, and watched what took place. After that watching the brief argument, and again, catching Roy's very fast cut-down to Empire Cats. Herne growled at that, he had seen enough. He walked away, along the roof he had climbed up on top to watch, growling, "I know that you lied to my face Roy..." he paused, "so why can't I walk away..." he told himself, again looking back, seeing Roy mentioning he had to go to his farm, something about his master.
The younger golden apprentice looked disappointed, unsure on what to do with his day. Watching his younger self Herne felt the stake go into his chest at seeing it.
"Damn..." he uttered to himself, interested on where Roy was going.
Herne followed Roy east, until leaving the city, and was now in the woods.
Something had changed upon leaving the city though. The weather seemed to have morphed into a sunnier day, where the surroundings were lush with life. Something made Herne stop, and he noticed he wasn't in a sling, he didn't have any scars, though he did bare a slight limp on his front-right leg. He glanced down into a small still puddle near his paws, to see himself.
He was a cub? Only three or four months... before he had a chance to try and figure out what just happened, he had been tackled down and pinned.
"Ha!" the voice from what pinned him down declared, "Now you are it!"
Herne looked up to see Roy standing over smiling at him, before taking a bound off and away from Herne.
Roy too was merely a cub, about Herne's age when he began as a Hunter Apprentice... but the golden caraffory paid little mind to this to jump up to his paws.
"I'm not staying, you clumsy." Herne scoffed before pursuing Roy.
It didn't take long for Herne to tag his adopted brother, and making a hasty retreat.
The game of tag went on for a bit, then slowly turned into a straight-up wrestle match. Matches in this case. Each boy would pin the other down quickly and have the other chase them.
Herne was target again, and actually getting a lead running from his brother.
"I'm gonna beat ya to the farm!" he hollered before smacking his front-right leg on a rock that stuck up from the ground, "OWW!" the caraffory yelped, just as a flash of lightning crackled through the sky above.
Next thing the caraffory cat knew, he hit the ground landing in mud, with the cold icy rain deluging down on the coliseum, with loud and deafening roars tearing through the air. Herne turned his head to face the white tiger, known as Maximus.
Lying in pouring sleet, Herne slightly lifted his head to see Alastor leaping off the wall he was next to, smacking into the white tiger. The two collided but it didn’t take much of any time at all for Maximus to throw Alastor aside, leaving Herne completely vulnerable, who was struggling to get to his feet.
Then right as another jolt of thunder cracked the air, making the young apprentice flinch, a dark pelt appeared out of nowhere, stepping right in between the yellow caraffory and the huge tiger, letting out a warning hiss from his throat.
“Get up off your sorry butt Herne, Al and I can’t fight this battle for you if you’re going to pass this test.” Roy spoke keeping his eyes on Maximus. “And you.” He said towards the tiger. “You’ll regret hurting anyone in my family!” he gritted through his teeth.
Herne was finally able to pull himself to his feet again, still watching the dark caracal attack Maximus. In that instant he had blinked, Herne’s eyes opened to see that Roy wasn’t aiming for the tiger anymore, but at him! He was suddenly knocked backwards towards the wall, bashing his leg against something hard. He let out a hard grimacing noise, clearly showing he was in extensive pain, straightening himself out he looked forward eyes meeting the hunter who stood over him, the expression on Roy’s face was anger, the look of a hunter ready to attack it’s prey. Why was he doing this? This added another stabbing pain to Herne’s chest, he didn’t want this painful feeling inside him anymore, quickly he got onto his paws and without thinking he instinctively reacted by swinging a paw back.
Roy took a few steps back after getting hit in the face, a growl escaped his throat. “What are you saying?!”
In the shadows the dark caracal looked up at the leader of the hunters.
“Azrael, are you telling me that you sent Estelle and me to go and rescue a traitor! One who’s helped a family of Empire Cats escape Massilia?” Roy’s golden eyes looked over at the empty cage next to him, where the empire cats use to be held.
As Azrael explained to the dark caracal what had happened, Herne blinked, clearly seeing the emotion grow on Roy’s face... Anger, frustration, betrayal and hate. This was indeed no last minute decision… Herne had this planned all along, it was only a matter of time when he would put it into action. No one knew it was coming and Herne very likely would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for one of the Hunter Elites, Ventus, who was merely walking by the area at the time, and seeing it for himself, and took action on it, injuring the apprentice, who returned a blow and flew over the wall, with the Empire Cats.
Roy gritted his teeth. “All the apprentice’s training and hard work to become a hunter was just a cover up? I knew he always had this curiosity for those wild cats but...” His voice trailed off thinking for a brief moment before slamming a paw down in frustration. “That filthy Rat is going to regret hiding his plan right under our noses!” Roy growled.
Herne gasped seeing the dark caracal look up right over where he was standing watching this event unfold, walking forward Roy passed by the yellow caraffory heading out to inform Alastor, a hunter who had adopted both boys when they were younger, caring for them till they were old enough to be on their own, he thought of them as if they were his own two sons. Little did he know, Alastor’s heart was about to be torn in two, all thanks to Herne...
Alastor’s voice echoed inside the apprentices head. "Why did you have to go do something as stupid as this Herne? Are those wild cats worth more than your own family?"
Herne thought over the question for a moment in his head before arguing or defending his actions.
“No! They’re not!” the caraffory said, clearly upset by what he was seeing, but he couldn’t pull himself out of it, he was forced to watch, “you think it was easy to hide that?” he paused… struggling to keep himself from breaking down. “I fought and fought to not tell you, not to tell Roy, Ivory, anyone!!” He went silent, watching Roy make his way across the city. “It killed me to keep it from you… I couldn’t tell you because you would get hurt more than you have been already…” He gritted his teeth. “You getting involved would have endangered your lives… I couldn’t do that…I kept it silent to keep you safe...to keep you alive. Yes I knew it was against the Hunter’s Code to let that family free! But I didn’t grow up in it… I grew under the code… you have no idea of my life… sitting idle where I had capability to keep a family together… even if it meant risking bridges of my own family… -they’re my actions -that I hope I have here… isn’t anything I could live. I know what it is like to have family ripped away, it’s the last thing I wanna see happen to someone else.”
He stopped for some time, continuing to watch his brother run through the city…
“Would you kill him if you saw him again?” Alastor saddened voice asked inside Herne’s head.
The golden caracal went to respond to Al’s statement but was spoken over by another voice… his brother’s…
“Herne is nothing to me now...” Roy answered coldly.
“What?” Herne asked glancing around.
Inside he could feel the stakes for his actions tearing away at him, he looked to Roy as an older brother… he couldn’t have said that… Herne refused to believe these words he was hearing inside his head.
He then continued his thoughts aloud that were impossible to hold in. “I couldn’t be selfish if I tried… in some-ways… I think I still am… thinking of families I really had no part in before my own… but I still find myself thinking about them. I’ve tried to take a family member away from someone before and I could NOT DO IT!! I COULDN’T, I wouldn’t. I won’t replicate what was done to me as a cub. I wish you could hear this… but I can’t regret an action that’s kept a mother, father, and innocent beautiful children together and free… I cannot denounce that as if it was wrong… keeping you all in the dark was the only way to keep you free, safe, and alive. I’m sorry there was no way to keep you from being hurt.”
Herne blinked and the scene around him changed.
People, lots of them moving about in Massilia's streets.
The scent of fresh fish being carried by a man in a bag could be smelt strongly in the air. The caracal could taste them in his mouth, fish was something he had always loved, he couldn’t help but smile despite what previous things he had seen in this dream. Men were seen walking back and forth unloading a wagon full of supplies, carrying barrels and boxes off towards to shops. Nearby a human called for a hunter to help, this drew Herne’s attention forward to see what the commotion was about.
Upon arriving to the scene his ears dropped back, peering through the legs of the gathering people, looking inside the open crate on one of the wagons to see a group of young caracal, they were about nine or ten weeks old. The biggest of the group stood above all of his siblings, hissing at the two hunters who had walked up to the wooden crate.
"Now now we aren't going to hurt you." one of the hunters said.
The other hunter went on explaining to the cub's that this was their new home, "Your trip here must have been long, are you all hungry?"
The group of young cubs ears all lifted at the sound of food, without much trouble the hunters were able to pick up the young cats and help them off of the wagon. One of the hunters looked back at the crate, Herne also looked to see that there hadn't been three caracals but four, the smallest of them had been hiding in the corner.
"Come on young one..." The hunter spoke with kind words.
Herne realized who he was staring at… the solo spot on the side of the cub's face and the amber eyes gave his identity away. Herne’s eyes widened, it was Roy....
One of the hunters turned back and leaped up onto the crate.
"I don't want to, I want to go home." The small Roy pouted, wrinkling his nose.
The Hunter spoke with the young caracal for a moment, in soft words Herne could barely hear. The Hunter assured him that everything was going to be alright, young Roy still didn't move. The stubborn cub wasn't going to budge, the hunter picked up the small caracal by the scruff and carrying him over to the others. The oldest of the caracal cub's ran over to Roy, who was soon placed on the ground. The older brother placed a paw on his back, telling him that everything was going to be alright. Was everything really going to be alright? Herne watched them start down the streets with the Hunters towering over them, keeping a close eye on all four cubs.
Before Herne could follow them, everything changed around him once more. He blinked, now looking around to see that he was standing in a nursery where all the young cats were being held with their mothers. He spotted Roy who was nearby, the only caracal in a cage of a young lion family. The mother liones didn’t look interested in the little caracal… she was ignoring him. Herne watched this and could not understand why she was neglecting the cub. Why isn’t Roy with his siblings and why weren't they all together? Herne looked around with no sign of the cubs anywhere. He turned his head back to see that the lioness’s own two cubs. That duo would often push and bully the strange small cat, making fun of his long ears, not allowing him to join in when they played games.
Days seemed to have as if it were a time-lapse... Herne could hear the quiet sobbing and mumbling of words in the corner of the cage at night, tears staining the caracal’s little face.
“I... I don’t want to be alone...” the dark caracal cub sniffed. "I miss my family."
“You don’t have to be.” A familiar voice said kindly.
Herne’s ears went up as he glanced over to see Alastor standing next to him.
“Al?” the golden cat uttered surprised, suddenly seeing the lynx.
He went to say something but the call of a person caught Herne’s ear, taking his eyes off of Alastor for a brief moment. Seeing nothing he glanced back at Al, who had vanished… with what looked like a plum of pollen or dust being blown in the air.
The golden caracal then glanced over at Roy, confused… to see him standing on his paws and making a sudden run right towards the cage wall as the bars strangely melted away. He sprinted right for the yellow caraffory, Herne didn’t move as the young dark caracal cub made contact.
I felt a very cold feeling come over my body, yet also hot to the point where I jumped out of my skin taking a step back. I couldn’t identify what had just happened so when the cold and hot stopped, I turned around to see where Roy had hurried off to but the young caracal had vanished? So I stepped forward slowly, then started into a run as my surroundings changed around me once more.
Breathing hard I glanced over at my master who ordered me to climb the wooden post once more. I hadn’t been able to reach the top yet but I wouldn’t give up, swishing my tale I jumped as high as I could. Gripping the wood with my claws I began to climb the tall post, using my back feet to help support my little body up. At the top, swung a small stuffed cat dummy from a rope, I took it one step at a time and climbed. I had trained so hard, knowing that others believed in me, I would make the top this time! I smiled as I held my breath, I kicked off with my back legs, pushing myself upwards, stretching out my front paws to grab the dummy.
Unfortunately, I again fell short at my reach for the stuffed cat, my paws smacked hard on the stone and concrete floor in an instant. I was in a coliseum.
Yet I instantly spun as if I knew what was happening, and whipped around to face my opponent. It was a male fishing cat that looked more than beaten. Kicking up dirt, the feline rushed at me head on, my heart pounded inside my chest, quickly rolling to the side, avoiding the larger paw that crashed onto the ground next to me. I wasted no time at all to get to my feet and take a dive at this cat, barreling into it. There were a few tumbles but it ended with me standing on top of this cat, who had been knocked unconscious.
“Nice going!!” an unexplainably recognized voice said my direction as I turned my head to see a close friend of mine, a margay cat padding over to greet me, jovial in her posture. “Ya beat your opponent first try!”
“Yup! Thanks Tullia.” I replied, before asking a dumb question, “now what?” I tilted my head.
“We walk away deerstalker,” she joked, slightly batting my nose with her paw.
“Can you call me something other than deerstalker?” I started, following her.
At that we walked out. We weren’t around each other very long because I was soon called home by my master and we parted ways.
The following day, I was given the day off from having to do any training, because of last night’s first coliseum match, I chose to find Tullia and see what she was up to today.
I was up in the open attic of a building, since it was rather hot out. It was nice to sit in the shade, when I saw Tullia strolling by. My original plan was to simply greet her… but then an idea came to mind and I couldn’t resist. I followed her for a few blocks making sure she hadn’t noticed, planning to pounce her but when she entered the upcoming crowd, I lost sight of her. So I went looking… little did I realize she had somehow known that I was following her.
I actually gave up on searching, finding a spot in a ring area, with lots of stuff of tables, powders, paints, some food, some of which was hard to not snag a bit of. But as I watched the people work with their horses, there were countless people and more than a dozen horses in this area, so if something went wrong, it would be quite a show. I enjoyed gags every now and then… bad thing was I could not ever do a small scale gag. It was always outrageous.
I sat, minding my own business, when out of nowhere, something plows into my backside, with the phrase, “Gotcha!” in my ear.
Next I knew, I tumbled forward and down onto one of the tables of things… I crashed into the table’s edge, making the table flip up and launch everything that what was on it, land on me, on my friend and out onto some riders and their horses. Thus began the derby of horse jumping. I got to my paws, to see my friend, covered in powder and foods.
“Why’d you have to do that?” I coughed at her, still having powder in the air.
Before she could reply, we caught the attention of the people, and Tullia decided to make a jump onto the table, while I watched from the ground. Her jumping up onto the table, plus the big crash we had just caused all the horses in the room to literally freak. Skittish, naiying, a few bucking. But then her next action… set everything into chaos.
I had put my front paws onto the table, and at that time, she had jumped from the table, to the back of one of the horses. Which made it buck, kicking the table I was leaning on. So I got a face full of table, before joining Tullia and her ludicrous plan of horse-hopping. The place was chaos, we got thrown around, but we managed to get out of the place.
We got onto a roof, and I glared at her, “Why?!” I spat out at her, not angrily, but not pleased, “why’d do that?!”
“You should know me by now,” she smirked then lightly batted at my nose. “Now we bettah vamonos,” she then darted the other way.
I didn’t waste any time to follow her, jumping from building-top to building-top, until I clumsily jumped too soon… and smacked face-first into the side of a building. Making a scoff as I hit the wall, then again as I hit a pile of hay, which was luckily a soft impact.
I laid still for a few moments, having the wind knocked out of me.
“Psssh…” I heard Tullia sigh. “you alright?”
I didn’t reply at first, I had my eyes shut but then a third light bat on my muzzle made my eyes open.
“Will you ever stop hitting my nose?” I muttered, looking at her.
“Nahh dah chance deerstalker.” She uttered playfully before doing it again, making me spazz to my feet.
“Quit it!” I squawked at her, not amused at all.
Tullia did it again, “Nevah!” she teased.
“Ya ta-ta-ta-ta-tat!” I said, making a time-out gesture with my paws, she stopped for a moment, but to only to bop her on the nose before making a fast run for it in the other direction. “panseh!” I said at her as I ran.
“You goin down deerstalker!” she yelled after me before making chase.
Sadly my great run was short-lived, when I wrapped around the corner, a door flung open, smacking me right in the face.
“OOF!” I yelped, taking a brief step back, to only have Tullia barrel into me and pin me down. Where I faced her, she literally just triumphantly stood on me.
“You are not a very great hunter are you if you let em doors be slammed into your face.” The margay cat flatly said.
“I’m still growing… and there’s not much I can do about the doors.” I replied to her, in a similar fashion. “now get off me please.”
“Only because you said please Roy…” she said to me as she got off of me.
“But I’m not Roy?” I questioned back but then another voice spoke... as if it were still me. “Finally.”
The first thing that entered my head was… what? But I got no time to think on this because I continued to talk to Tulia, glaring at her.
“Why do you always call me deerstalker?” I questioned, “sounds rude.”
“You just haven’t grown into the name, Roy,” she told me again.
“I’m not Roy,” I repeated but then spoke something else as if I didn’t say anything, “har har… very funny. Now what?”
“Lunch?” she shrugged.
“Sure.”
Walking through Massilia together Tullia and I looked for some lunch, we would have gone over to the restaurant or something but that was clear on the other side of the city.
My long ears picked up the sound of wings flapping overhead and I grinned.
“What?” Tullia asked seeing my smile.
“I think I just found our lunch.”
We padded around a corner spotting a flock of about twenty or so birds over by a fountain in the center of the square.
“Roy I’m not so sure.” Tullia said looking a bit worried.
“I’m only going to grab one.” I said giving her a smile. “And we can eat it for lunch.”
I ran forward and the flock of birds scattered around me, flying in every direction. I had my sights locked on one, who spread its wings a little too late.
Tullia watched as I leaped into the air to grab it, a smile forming on her maw just as my claws went to wrap around the bird and pull it down. I slammed it onto the ground as hard as I could.
Everything around me at that moment changed in a blink of the eye.
It was no longer daytime, night had engulfed my surroundings. I again didn’t understand what was happening… but then the chaotic sounds around me very quickly filled me in, but the sounds were too script-book for my ears, I had been here before, yet this was the first time I was seeing this, It made absolutely no sense whatsoever!
I glanced down at what was in my claws, no longer a bird but a feline. And of everything… I was glaring down at a medium coloured caraffory, a deep goldish red cat. Then it hit me with who I just slammed to the floor of the Massilian streets.
“Dad?!!” I yelped, but on top my yell, I somehow also said something else, “You empire cats will pay for stepping into our city!” A growl ripped through my throat, pinning the feline down. “NO STOP!!!” I then yelled, trying to stop what was going on, but the voice spoke over me again. “Don’t worry, I will finish you off quickly.” I got ready to attack when a sudden hunter appeared stopping me.
“Roy, it’s Tullia she.... She needs you.” The hunter said, a sad expression showed on their face.
My eyes grew wide with fear and my heart pounded in my chest.
“I’ll take care of this one.” Said the hunter seeing me push the empire cat away for them to grab.
I ran, ran as fast as my legs would carry me, the clouds overhead started to pour down on the city streets. The sounds of the Hunters and empire cats seemed to blur in my ears as the sight of a small margay cat lay by the riverside.
“Tullia...?” I breathed quickly running up to her, the rain dripping from my face as I leaned over her. “Tullia I’m here. Please wake up...” I closed my eyes as tight as I could as hot tears rolled down my face, lowering my head to touch hers.
I couldn’t understand it… but I felt all the pain. It was at this point… I realized that I was reliving a part of Roy’s life… but what I could not understand was why? Why was I being shown this? Why in this manner? Why these events? Tullia… she meant so much to Roy… I couldn’t place if they were best friends, family, or something more. I could feel his heart being ripped in half, if not shattered into a dozen pieces when he placed his head on hers, I couldn’t help but mimic his wailing.
It explained a lot about this cat… but… the nightmare of Roy’s life I was living, and my own were only beginning…
My head rested against Tullia, when something suddenly smacked into my side, knocking me over. Jolting me back into reality. I looked up to see two felines, a mother and her daughter. And another thing floored me. I was staring at my mother and my sister. I glanced back a little to see a cub, reddish gold like the bigger cat I slammed down earlier, following, with a crowd of hunters behind him.
“Oh no…” I cried out, but I could not get up, my body was too exhausted, I was too stunned, as I witnessed hunters down-right ram my mother and my sister into the water. “NOOOOO! MOM!!” I screamed in anguish, to be forced to look away and see one of the hunters grab my brother, and v-lined back to the city.
My head dropped at that point, I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore…
“Why did I have to freeze in fear?” I told myself… “if I had followed my mom, she might be alive… there is a chance Tullia would be alive… why did I freeze in fear…” at that I blacked out.
I wasn’t sure how long I was out but something brought me back, opening my eyes I found myself in a dark mist, Roy suddenly appeared in front of me.
“Roy…” I muttered, in an almost shocked state, starting to take a few steps towards him, “why didn’t you tell me…” spoke a little louder, but my voice was very cracked, so speaking was hard to do, “why didn’t you say… that…” I glanced down, but back at him, “I know… I know about Tul…” my voice trailed off, catching that Roy himself was speaking.
But only when I did? But I didn't hear anything he would say… My eyes blinked in confusion, turning my head to the side, he then did the same? Was Roy really here? Mimicking my every move or was this some kind of joke…
“Roy?” I asked taking one more step forward and he did the same. It was as if I was looking into a mirror... Though Roy’s golden eyes seemed very distant, almost like he was hypnotized.
A sudden series of voices played inside my head. It started out just one, Al’s… but every word that was spoken, another voice jumped into play, saying something else. It started with Al, then Estelle’s voice, then Ventus, Coden, Basilius, Ambriel, Ivory, Vesta, Adin’s, Chioni’s, Deandre, Emerald’s, a whole series of cats on one of the many caravan patrols I was on, Calypso’s voice, all of Chioni’s kids, then Slate showed his face, Eumenide, cats he didn’t know, Riina, Zak, then my own family, then voices I was already hearing starting saying multiple things. Within a moment, it went from a silence to roars and mangled speech, but the terms ‘traitor,’ ‘runaway,’ and ‘coward’ bellowed out every time any of them were said. Then ‘fire’ was added to the mix of mangled words. It was so loud, the noise would ring in my ears, and it would almost cut-out. But… when a sudden jolt moving me, all the voices vanished from my head. I couldn’t understand it… but the single jolt, ripped my energy out of me. Then it happened again, almost knocking me over.
I looked up, and I saw Roy. He was glaring at me, a glow illuminated in his golden eyes that seemed unreal and yet very unnerving to me. He shook and my body moved again, as if we were fighting for control in the mirror. Shaking my head I couldn’t hold on any longer, something was pulling me back. Suddenly I was thrown, like a kitten across the room.
Right as Herne was thrown backwards, the glass in the mirror shattered, scattering around the caraffory, who hit the ground on his side, completely dazed to what just happened. His daze slowly subsided… he was laying in thin grass with shards of glass stabbed into the ground around him, all seeming to point at Herne. He attempted to stand, but his legs buckled, and he fell again… then he looked ahead to see Roy, standing in front, no longer contained by a mirror. Roy was much larger than Herne. Herne glanced at himself, he was a cub again. Roy was fully-grown, wearing brass armour.
"You think you can just help those Empire Cats and get away with it!?" Roy hissed, circling Herne, "Anyone who breaks the hunter code is marked as a traitor."
"What?!" Herne gulped.
He wasn’t sure what was going on… all he could do is say something… he didn’t know what else to do, actually catching what Roy said, who he could now hear… but at this point… he wished he wasn’t.
"I... I… ... I'm your br… brother?" He practically stuttered out to Roy, facing him as he hesitantly pushed to his feet, terrified for what was going to happen next in this nightmare.
"You’re not my brother!" Roy hissed, his ears flattened on the back of his neck. “You’re a traitor… and you’ve always have been.”
Herne swallowed again, backing up.
“I’m not a traitor?” the cub uttered, with his voice ready to crack, “it was a misunderstanding…” he tried to explain, but his cracking voice got the better of him, "They needed help?!" Herne sheared through his face and Roy just growled but with what he witnessed prior to this was still dancing in his head, he had a feeling this wasn’t entirely about him helping Empire Cats, but what though?
Herne's ears had dropped, he had never seen Roy look like this, it was terrifying.
“Why don’t you run away like the COWARD you are!” The dark caracal said with an coo grin, wanting Herne to run.
“I’m not running…” the cub shuttered out of his face, but the realization of what he witnessed also filling in blanks in his own mind.
“Do I need to motivate The Traitor?” the dark caracal spat, taking a pace closer to the cub.
Herne hesitated, taking an equal distance back, to match the dark caracal’s pace coming towards him. The caraffory cat started to open his mouth again… when what he wanted to say, what he saw, looked as if it was just yanked out of his head, making him cringe, and stagger a bit. It was only an instant, but when he looked back up, he looked at Roy and panicked.
The caraffory cub took several more steps backwards before he turned around and ran from Roy, but only got a few feet away before tripping over the same rock he had tripped over when he was here the first time, and he fell again. Herne rolled to try and stand up, but Roy had already quickly pinned him against the ground with a strong paw. The cub struggled to get himself free, but he couldn’t get out of Roy’s grip.
The cubs shoulders where hard on the ground, he couldn’t move his front legs, and Roy was too big to even try kicking free. Herne was genuinely fearing for his life. He couldn’t comprehend that Roy, was really doing this?!
Herne's heart was both ripped into shreds, and going at a million miles an hour.
”Roy!? Stop it!" Herne pleaded, when the dark caracal repositioned his grab on him, having him pinned down with one paw now. Using his other paw suddenly to push the small cats head upward, making the little ones throat easy to access.
"Traitors should cease...” Roy spoke breaking up his words slowly. “On their knees...” He lowered his face getting right up to Herne’s. “but a committed traitor..." he said through his heavily gritted teeth, backing his face up a bit, “should cease…” he held his head up, almost looking around to see if anyone was watching, before looking back at Herne’s horrified face, “on their backside!”
At that statement’s finish, the dark caracal then open his mouth for a sudden jolt forward for the killing bite.
At that moment, Herne truly believed he was about to lose his life… to what he still saw as his older brother... but just has he felt the teeth of Roy break the skin on his throat, the caraffory found himself going from a sleeping position, to flying up to his feet, pretty well hitting his head on the cell bars and almost knocking himself right back out. He let out a moan, and held his head with his paws… but that didn’t last long. He shook it off and sat upright. He looked forward to see a group of felines who were in the rehab program talking outside, among them a dark pelt stood out from the rest. Roy... Herne’s eyes grew wide, all the fur along his spine stood up, and his breath was shortened, but fast, as if he was panting. A whole mess of mixed and jumbled emotion flooded through him. It instantly made him feel nauseous. He was at this point, scared of Roy. An entire allotment of shame. Herne wanted to talk to him… but… where… where would he even begin?
After a minute or two of an emotional blender, Herne looked down to his paws, followed by dropping down to his stomach… of every nightmare… turning his position so he didn’t face Roy, the yellow feline curled up, unsure what to do with the nightmare he just saw… and what he was going through when facing reality.

Word Count: 6407
Herne || FeatheredSeclude
Roy || ICUDO
Other Characters Mentioned/Played
Maximus (NPC owned by FeatheredSeclude SophieMacaulay )
Tullia (NPC owned/played by ICUDO FeatheredSeclude )

+5EP for Active Role-Play
+2EP for NPCs
+2EP for Extra EBC Characters (Herne and Roy for Picture)
+4EP for Full Picture (collaboration with ICUDO)
+5EP for Halloween Event (Herne and Roy)
+12EP for Word Count

+30EP to Herne and Roy

IC's Submission:
icudo.deviantart.com/art/Being…

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Description

EDIT:
The image resolution was not set right and has been fixed.

Summary and Disclaimer
This is originally titled Deck of Dreams.
This is what Herne's dreams... don't think dream is the right word, when he does sleep. This dream is based around cannon events, so continuity to real events and events taken place here are strictly for this.
This also directly follows the events of "Joker of Hearts".

Continuing his lone limp through the empty streets of Massilia... rain still pouring heavier and heavier, what tainted mosk that clung to the caraffory’s fur was gone, showing the golden yellow he was supposed to be. He continued as he reached the end of the street, which placed him at the center of the docks. The caraffory turned north, walked through the Heart of the Slums, and emerged at the Northern Docks. The most northern dock to be exact. However... upon arrival... he met something even he was not prepared for.
Out at the end of the dock, Herne saw what was himself, but this him was only a year old, if actually a full year of age at all. He saw himself relentlessly jump up at a flag that hung from the single flagpole. He was never able to get it himself. So his younger self surely had little to no chance. But then something caught the corner of his eye.
From the wall of the city, a dark caracal had taken notice to the apprentice going after the flag.
"Roy?" Herne uttered out, as the dark caracal jumped off from where he was perched and headed to where the apprentice was.
The two exchanged a few words... then the golden caraffory then chose to take an attempted hike up some crates to try and snatch the flag, only to fall short, and smack his chin against the dock.
Herne could feel the throbbing pain from it as if he just did it, but he continued to watch it play out. The dark caracal pulled the golden one out of the water, and the golden had seemed to have scolded the dark one for helping. Then acted like it was giving up on the endeavor. But only to wrap around the building and hike up it, and take a full-run at the flag, and leaped out, to have the flag smack him aside, and into the water again. The dark caracal pulled him from the water a second time. Herne smiled at this. He didn't even know Roy's name at the time, he didn't know Herne's name either, but... he was already acting like an older brother should. At that point the watching caraffory looked away, taking in the fact that Roy wasn't here, almost making tears run from the Broken Joker's eyes.
"Who am I kidding?" Herne gritted in his teeth, turning away from what he was watching, "I’ve been left for dead..." but he looked back at the scene, and his younger self, and Roy were out of sight.
Herne instantly turned to go to the Training Grounds, that's where he and Roy went the first time. He got there, and watched what took place. After that watching the brief argument, and again, catching Roy's very fast cut-down to Empire Cats. Herne growled at that, he had seen enough. He walked away, along the roof he had climbed up on top to watch, growling, "I know that you lied to my face Roy..." he paused, "so why can't I walk away..." he told himself, again looking back, seeing Roy mentioning he had to go to his farm, something about his master.
The younger golden apprentice looked disappointed, unsure on what to do with his day. Watching his younger self Herne felt the stake go into his chest at seeing it.
"Damn..." he uttered to himself, interested on where Roy was going.
Herne followed Roy east, until leaving the city, and was now in the woods.
Something had changed upon leaving the city though. The weather seemed to have morphed into a sunnier day, where the surroundings were lush with life. Something made Herne stop, and he noticed he wasn't in a sling, he didn't have any scars, though he did bare a slight limp on his front-right leg. He glanced down into a small still puddle near his paws, to see himself.
He was a cub? Only three or four months... before he had a chance to try and figure out what just happened, he had been tackled down and pinned.
"Ha!" the voice from what pinned him down declared, "Now you are it!"
Herne looked up to see Roy standing over smiling at him, before taking a bound off and away from Herne.
Roy too was merely a cub, about Herne's age when he began as a Hunter Apprentice... but the golden caraffory paid little mind to this to jump up to his paws.
"I'm not staying, you clumsy." Herne scoffed before pursuing Roy.
It didn't take long for Herne to tag his adopted brother, and making a hasty retreat.
The game of tag went on for a bit, then slowly turned into a straight-up wrestle match. Matches in this case. Each boy would pin the other down quickly and have the other chase them.
Herne was target again, and actually getting a lead running from his brother.
"I'm gonna beat ya to the farm!" he hollered before smacking his front-right leg on a rock that stuck up from the ground, "OWW!" the caraffory yelped, just as a flash of lightning crackled through the sky above.
Next thing the caraffory cat knew, he hit the ground landing in mud, with the cold icy rain deluging down on the coliseum, with loud and deafening roars tearing through the air. Herne turned his head to face the white tiger, known as Maximus.
Lying in pouring sleet, Herne slightly lifted his head to see Alastor leaping off the wall he was next to, smacking into the white tiger. The two collided but it didn’t take much of any time at all for Maximus to throw Alastor aside, leaving Herne completely vulnerable, who was struggling to get to his feet.
Then right as another jolt of thunder cracked the air, making the young apprentice flinch, a dark pelt appeared out of nowhere, stepping right in between the yellow caraffory and the huge tiger, letting out a warning hiss from his throat.
“Get up off your sorry butt Herne, Al and I can’t fight this battle for you if you’re going to pass this test.” Roy spoke keeping his eyes on Maximus. “And you.” He said towards the tiger. “You’ll regret hurting anyone in my family!” he gritted through his teeth.
Herne was finally able to pull himself to his feet again, still watching the dark caracal attack Maximus. In that instant he had blinked, Herne’s eyes opened to see that Roy wasn’t aiming for the tiger anymore, but at him! He was suddenly knocked backwards towards the wall, bashing his leg against something hard. He let out a hard grimacing noise, clearly showing he was in extensive pain, straightening himself out he looked forward eyes meeting the hunter who stood over him, the expression on Roy’s face was anger, the look of a hunter ready to attack it’s prey. Why was he doing this? This added another stabbing pain to Herne’s chest, he didn’t want this painful feeling inside him anymore, quickly he got onto his paws and without thinking he instinctively reacted by swinging a paw back.
Roy took a few steps back after getting hit in the face, a growl escaped his throat. “What are you saying?!”
In the shadows the dark caracal looked up at the leader of the hunters.
“Azrael, are you telling me that you sent Estelle and me to go and rescue a traitor! One who’s helped a family of Empire Cats escape Massilia?” Roy’s golden eyes looked over at the empty cage next to him, where the empire cats use to be held.
As Azrael explained to the dark caracal what had happened, Herne blinked, clearly seeing the emotion grow on Roy’s face... Anger, frustration, betrayal and hate. This was indeed no last minute decision… Herne had this planned all along, it was only a matter of time when he would put it into action. No one knew it was coming and Herne very likely would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for one of the Hunter Elites, Ventus, who was merely walking by the area at the time, and seeing it for himself, and took action on it, injuring the apprentice, who returned a blow and flew over the wall, with the Empire Cats.
Roy gritted his teeth. “All the apprentice’s training and hard work to become a hunter was just a cover up? I knew he always had this curiosity for those wild cats but...” His voice trailed off thinking for a brief moment before slamming a paw down in frustration. “That filthy Rat is going to regret hiding his plan right under our noses!” Roy growled.
Herne gasped seeing the dark caracal look up right over where he was standing watching this event unfold, walking forward Roy passed by the yellow caraffory heading out to inform Alastor, a hunter who had adopted both boys when they were younger, caring for them till they were old enough to be on their own, he thought of them as if they were his own two sons. Little did he know, Alastor’s heart was about to be torn in two, all thanks to Herne...
Alastor’s voice echoed inside the apprentices head. "Why did you have to go do something as stupid as this Herne? Are those wild cats worth more than your own family?"
Herne thought over the question for a moment in his head before arguing or defending his actions.
“No! They’re not!” the caraffory said, clearly upset by what he was seeing, but he couldn’t pull himself out of it, he was forced to watch, “you think it was easy to hide that?” he paused… struggling to keep himself from breaking down. “I fought and fought to not tell you, not to tell Roy, Ivory, anyone!!” He went silent, watching Roy make his way across the city. “It killed me to keep it from you… I couldn’t tell you because you would get hurt more than you have been already…” He gritted his teeth. “You getting involved would have endangered your lives… I couldn’t do that…I kept it silent to keep you safe...to keep you alive. Yes I knew it was against the Hunter’s Code to let that family free! But I didn’t grow up in it… I grew under the code… you have no idea of my life… sitting idle where I had capability to keep a family together… even if it meant risking bridges of my own family… -they’re my actions -that I hope I have here… isn’t anything I could live. I know what it is like to have family ripped away, it’s the last thing I wanna see happen to someone else.”
He stopped for some time, continuing to watch his brother run through the city…
“Would you kill him if you saw him again?” Alastor saddened voice asked inside Herne’s head.
The golden caracal went to respond to Al’s statement but was spoken over by another voice… his brother’s…
“Herne is nothing to me now...” Roy answered coldly.
“What?” Herne asked glancing around.
Inside he could feel the stakes for his actions tearing away at him, he looked to Roy as an older brother… he couldn’t have said that… Herne refused to believe these words he was hearing inside his head.
He then continued his thoughts aloud that were impossible to hold in. “I couldn’t be selfish if I tried… in some-ways… I think I still am… thinking of families I really had no part in before my own… but I still find myself thinking about them. I’ve tried to take a family member away from someone before and I could NOT DO IT!! I COULDN’T, I wouldn’t. I won’t replicate what was done to me as a cub. I wish you could hear this… but I can’t regret an action that’s kept a mother, father, and innocent beautiful children together and free… I cannot denounce that as if it was wrong… keeping you all in the dark was the only way to keep you free, safe, and alive. I’m sorry there was no way to keep you from being hurt.”
Herne blinked and the scene around him changed.
People, lots of them moving about in Massilia's streets.
The scent of fresh fish being carried by a man in a bag could be smelt strongly in the air. The caracal could taste them in his mouth, fish was something he had always loved, he couldn’t help but smile despite what previous things he had seen in this dream. Men were seen walking back and forth unloading a wagon full of supplies, carrying barrels and boxes off towards to shops. Nearby a human called for a hunter to help, this drew Herne’s attention forward to see what the commotion was about.
Upon arriving to the scene his ears dropped back, peering through the legs of the gathering people, looking inside the open crate on one of the wagons to see a group of young caracal, they were about nine or ten weeks old. The biggest of the group stood above all of his siblings, hissing at the two hunters who had walked up to the wooden crate.
"Now now we aren't going to hurt you." one of the hunters said.
The other hunter went on explaining to the cub's that this was their new home, "Your trip here must have been long, are you all hungry?"
The group of young cubs ears all lifted at the sound of food, without much trouble the hunters were able to pick up the young cats and help them off of the wagon. One of the hunters looked back at the crate, Herne also looked to see that there hadn't been three caracals but four, the smallest of them had been hiding in the corner.
"Come on young one..." The hunter spoke with kind words.
Herne realized who he was staring at… the solo spot on the side of the cub's face and the amber eyes gave his identity away. Herne’s eyes widened, it was Roy....
One of the hunters turned back and leaped up onto the crate.
"I don't want to, I want to go home." The small Roy pouted, wrinkling his nose.
The Hunter spoke with the young caracal for a moment, in soft words Herne could barely hear. The Hunter assured him that everything was going to be alright, young Roy still didn't move. The stubborn cub wasn't going to budge, the hunter picked up the small caracal by the scruff and carrying him over to the others. The oldest of the caracal cub's ran over to Roy, who was soon placed on the ground. The older brother placed a paw on his back, telling him that everything was going to be alright. Was everything really going to be alright? Herne watched them start down the streets with the Hunters towering over them, keeping a close eye on all four cubs.
Before Herne could follow them, everything changed around him once more. He blinked, now looking around to see that he was standing in a nursery where all the young cats were being held with their mothers. He spotted Roy who was nearby, the only caracal in a cage of a young lion family. The mother liones didn’t look interested in the little caracal… she was ignoring him. Herne watched this and could not understand why she was neglecting the cub. Why isn’t Roy with his siblings and why weren't they all together? Herne looked around with no sign of the cubs anywhere. He turned his head back to see that the lioness’s own two cubs. That duo would often push and bully the strange small cat, making fun of his long ears, not allowing him to join in when they played games.
Days seemed to have as if it were a time-lapse... Herne could hear the quiet sobbing and mumbling of words in the corner of the cage at night, tears staining the caracal’s little face.
“I... I don’t want to be alone...” the dark caracal cub sniffed. "I miss my family."
“You don’t have to be.” A familiar voice said kindly.
Herne’s ears went up as he glanced over to see Alastor standing next to him.
“Al?” the golden cat uttered surprised, suddenly seeing the lynx.
He went to say something but the call of a person caught Herne’s ear, taking his eyes off of Alastor for a brief moment. Seeing nothing he glanced back at Al, who had vanished… with what looked like a plum of pollen or dust being blown in the air.
The golden caracal then glanced over at Roy, confused… to see him standing on his paws and making a sudden run right towards the cage wall as the bars strangely melted away. He sprinted right for the yellow caraffory, Herne didn’t move as the young dark caracal cub made contact.
I felt a very cold feeling come over my body, yet also hot to the point where I jumped out of my skin taking a step back. I couldn’t identify what had just happened so when the cold and hot stopped, I turned around to see where Roy had hurried off to but the young caracal had vanished? So I stepped forward slowly, then started into a run as my surroundings changed around me once more.
Breathing hard I glanced over at my master who ordered me to climb the wooden post once more. I hadn’t been able to reach the top yet but I wouldn’t give up, swishing my tale I jumped as high as I could. Gripping the wood with my claws I began to climb the tall post, using my back feet to help support my little body up. At the top, swung a small stuffed cat dummy from a rope, I took it one step at a time and climbed. I had trained so hard, knowing that others believed in me, I would make the top this time! I smiled as I held my breath, I kicked off with my back legs, pushing myself upwards, stretching out my front paws to grab the dummy.
Unfortunately, I again fell short at my reach for the stuffed cat, my paws smacked hard on the stone and concrete floor in an instant. I was in a coliseum.
Yet I instantly spun as if I knew what was happening, and whipped around to face my opponent. It was a male fishing cat that looked more than beaten. Kicking up dirt, the feline rushed at me head on, my heart pounded inside my chest, quickly rolling to the side, avoiding the larger paw that crashed onto the ground next to me. I wasted no time at all to get to my feet and take a dive at this cat, barreling into it. There were a few tumbles but it ended with me standing on top of this cat, who had been knocked unconscious.
“Nice going!!” an unexplainably recognized voice said my direction as I turned my head to see a close friend of mine, a margay cat padding over to greet me, jovial in her posture. “Ya beat your opponent first try!”
“Yup! Thanks Tullia.” I replied, before asking a dumb question, “now what?” I tilted my head.
“We walk away deerstalker,” she joked, slightly batting my nose with her paw.
“Can you call me something other than deerstalker?” I started, following her.
At that we walked out. We weren’t around each other very long because I was soon called home by my master and we parted ways.
The following day, I was given the day off from having to do any training, because of last night’s first coliseum match, I chose to find Tullia and see what she was up to today.
I was up in the open attic of a building, since it was rather hot out. It was nice to sit in the shade, when I saw Tullia strolling by. My original plan was to simply greet her… but then an idea came to mind and I couldn’t resist. I followed her for a few blocks making sure she hadn’t noticed, planning to pounce her but when she entered the upcoming crowd, I lost sight of her. So I went looking… little did I realize she had somehow known that I was following her.
I actually gave up on searching, finding a spot in a ring area, with lots of stuff of tables, powders, paints, some food, some of which was hard to not snag a bit of. But as I watched the people work with their horses, there were countless people and more than a dozen horses in this area, so if something went wrong, it would be quite a show. I enjoyed gags every now and then… bad thing was I could not ever do a small scale gag. It was always outrageous.
I sat, minding my own business, when out of nowhere, something plows into my backside, with the phrase, “Gotcha!” in my ear.
Next I knew, I tumbled forward and down onto one of the tables of things… I crashed into the table’s edge, making the table flip up and launch everything that what was on it, land on me, on my friend and out onto some riders and their horses. Thus began the derby of horse jumping. I got to my paws, to see my friend, covered in powder and foods.
“Why’d you have to do that?” I coughed at her, still having powder in the air.
Before she could reply, we caught the attention of the people, and Tullia decided to make a jump onto the table, while I watched from the ground. Her jumping up onto the table, plus the big crash we had just caused all the horses in the room to literally freak. Skittish, naiying, a few bucking. But then her next action… set everything into chaos.
I had put my front paws onto the table, and at that time, she had jumped from the table, to the back of one of the horses. Which made it buck, kicking the table I was leaning on. So I got a face full of table, before joining Tullia and her ludicrous plan of horse-hopping. The place was chaos, we got thrown around, but we managed to get out of the place.
We got onto a roof, and I glared at her, “Why?!” I spat out at her, not angrily, but not pleased, “why’d do that?!”
“You should know me by now,” she smirked then lightly batted at my nose. “Now we bettah vamonos,” she then darted the other way.
I didn’t waste any time to follow her, jumping from building-top to building-top, until I clumsily jumped too soon… and smacked face-first into the side of a building. Making a scoff as I hit the wall, then again as I hit a pile of hay, which was luckily a soft impact.
I laid still for a few moments, having the wind knocked out of me.
“Psssh…” I heard Tullia sigh. “you alright?”
I didn’t reply at first, I had my eyes shut but then a third light bat on my muzzle made my eyes open.
“Will you ever stop hitting my nose?” I muttered, looking at her.
“Nahh dah chance deerstalker.” She uttered playfully before doing it again, making me spazz to my feet.
“Quit it!” I squawked at her, not amused at all.
Tullia did it again, “Nevah!” she teased.
“Ya ta-ta-ta-ta-tat!” I said, making a time-out gesture with my paws, she stopped for a moment, but to only to bop her on the nose before making a fast run for it in the other direction. “panseh!” I said at her as I ran.
“You goin down deerstalker!” she yelled after me before making chase.
Sadly my great run was short-lived, when I wrapped around the corner, a door flung open, smacking me right in the face.
“OOF!” I yelped, taking a brief step back, to only have Tullia barrel into me and pin me down. Where I faced her, she literally just triumphantly stood on me.
“You are not a very great hunter are you if you let em doors be slammed into your face.” The margay cat flatly said.
“I’m still growing… and there’s not much I can do about the doors.” I replied to her, in a similar fashion. “now get off me please.”
“Only because you said please Roy…” she said to me as she got off of me.
“But I’m not Roy?” I questioned back but then another voice spoke... as if it were still me. “Finally.”
The first thing that entered my head was… what? But I got no time to think on this because I continued to talk to Tulia, glaring at her.
“Why do you always call me deerstalker?” I questioned, “sounds rude.”
“You just haven’t grown into the name, Roy,” she told me again.
“I’m not Roy,” I repeated but then spoke something else as if I didn’t say anything, “har har… very funny. Now what?”
“Lunch?” she shrugged.
“Sure.”
Walking through Massilia together Tullia and I looked for some lunch, we would have gone over to the restaurant or something but that was clear on the other side of the city.
My long ears picked up the sound of wings flapping overhead and I grinned.
“What?” Tullia asked seeing my smile.
“I think I just found our lunch.”
We padded around a corner spotting a flock of about twenty or so birds over by a fountain in the center of the square.
“Roy I’m not so sure.” Tullia said looking a bit worried.
“I’m only going to grab one.” I said giving her a smile. “And we can eat it for lunch.”
I ran forward and the flock of birds scattered around me, flying in every direction. I had my sights locked on one, who spread its wings a little too late.
Tullia watched as I leaped into the air to grab it, a smile forming on her maw just as my claws went to wrap around the bird and pull it down. I slammed it onto the ground as hard as I could.
Everything around me at that moment changed in a blink of the eye.
It was no longer daytime, night had engulfed my surroundings. I again didn’t understand what was happening… but then the chaotic sounds around me very quickly filled me in, but the sounds were too script-book for my ears, I had been here before, yet this was the first time I was seeing this, It made absolutely no sense whatsoever!
I glanced down at what was in my claws, no longer a bird but a feline. And of everything… I was glaring down at a medium coloured caraffory, a deep goldish red cat. Then it hit me with who I just slammed to the floor of the Massilian streets.
“Dad?!!” I yelped, but on top my yell, I somehow also said something else, “You empire cats will pay for stepping into our city!” A growl ripped through my throat, pinning the feline down. “NO STOP!!!” I then yelled, trying to stop what was going on, but the voice spoke over me again. “Don’t worry, I will finish you off quickly.” I got ready to attack when a sudden hunter appeared stopping me.
“Roy, it’s Tullia she.... She needs you.” The hunter said, a sad expression showed on their face.
My eyes grew wide with fear and my heart pounded in my chest.
“I’ll take care of this one.” Said the hunter seeing me push the empire cat away for them to grab.
I ran, ran as fast as my legs would carry me, the clouds overhead started to pour down on the city streets. The sounds of the Hunters and empire cats seemed to blur in my ears as the sight of a small margay cat lay by the riverside.
“Tullia...?” I breathed quickly running up to her, the rain dripping from my face as I leaned over her. “Tullia I’m here. Please wake up...” I closed my eyes as tight as I could as hot tears rolled down my face, lowering my head to touch hers.
I couldn’t understand it… but I felt all the pain. It was at this point… I realized that I was reliving a part of Roy’s life… but what I could not understand was why? Why was I being shown this? Why in this manner? Why these events? Tullia… she meant so much to Roy… I couldn’t place if they were best friends, family, or something more. I could feel his heart being ripped in half, if not shattered into a dozen pieces when he placed his head on hers, I couldn’t help but mimic his wailing.
It explained a lot about this cat… but… the nightmare of Roy’s life I was living, and my own were only beginning…
My head rested against Tullia, when something suddenly smacked into my side, knocking me over. Jolting me back into reality. I looked up to see two felines, a mother and her daughter. And another thing floored me. I was staring at my mother and my sister. I glanced back a little to see a cub, reddish gold like the bigger cat I slammed down earlier, following, with a crowd of hunters behind him.
“Oh no…” I cried out, but I could not get up, my body was too exhausted, I was too stunned, as I witnessed hunters down-right ram my mother and my sister into the water. “NOOOOO! MOM!!” I screamed in anguish, to be forced to look away and see one of the hunters grab my brother, and v-lined back to the city.
My head dropped at that point, I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore…
“Why did I have to freeze in fear?” I told myself… “if I had followed my mom, she might be alive… there is a chance Tullia would be alive… why did I freeze in fear…” at that I blacked out.
I wasn’t sure how long I was out but something brought me back, opening my eyes I found myself in a dark mist, Roy suddenly appeared in front of me.
“Roy…” I muttered, in an almost shocked state, starting to take a few steps towards him, “why didn’t you tell me…” spoke a little louder, but my voice was very cracked, so speaking was hard to do, “why didn’t you say… that…” I glanced down, but back at him, “I know… I know about Tul…” my voice trailed off, catching that Roy himself was speaking.
But only when I did? But I didn't hear anything he would say… My eyes blinked in confusion, turning my head to the side, he then did the same? Was Roy really here? Mimicking my every move or was this some kind of joke…
“Roy?” I asked taking one more step forward and he did the same. It was as if I was looking into a mirror... Though Roy’s golden eyes seemed very distant, almost like he was hypnotized.
A sudden series of voices played inside my head. It started out just one, Al’s… but every word that was spoken, another voice jumped into play, saying something else. It started with Al, then Estelle’s voice, then Ventus, Coden, Basilius, Ambriel, Ivory, Vesta, Adin’s, Chioni’s, Deandre, Emerald’s, a whole series of cats on one of the many caravan patrols I was on, Calypso’s voice, all of Chioni’s kids, then Slate showed his face, Eumenide, cats he didn’t know, Riina, Zak, then my own family, then voices I was already hearing starting saying multiple things. Within a moment, it went from a silence to roars and mangled speech, but the terms ‘traitor,’ ‘runaway,’ and ‘coward’ bellowed out every time any of them were said. Then ‘fire’ was added to the mix of mangled words. It was so loud, the noise would ring in my ears, and it would almost cut-out. But… when a sudden jolt moving me, all the voices vanished from my head. I couldn’t understand it… but the single jolt, ripped my energy out of me. Then it happened again, almost knocking me over.
I looked up, and I saw Roy. He was glaring at me, a glow illuminated in his golden eyes that seemed unreal and yet very unnerving to me. He shook and my body moved again, as if we were fighting for control in the mirror. Shaking my head I couldn’t hold on any longer, something was pulling me back. Suddenly I was thrown, like a kitten across the room.
Right as Herne was thrown backwards, the glass in the mirror shattered, scattering around the caraffory, who hit the ground on his side, completely dazed to what just happened. His daze slowly subsided… he was laying in thin grass with shards of glass stabbed into the ground around him, all seeming to point at Herne. He attempted to stand, but his legs buckled, and he fell again… then he looked ahead to see Roy, standing in front, no longer contained by a mirror. Roy was much larger than Herne. Herne glanced at himself, he was a cub again. Roy was fully-grown, wearing brass armour.
"You think you can just help those Empire Cats and get away with it!?" Roy hissed, circling Herne, "Anyone who breaks the hunter code is marked as a traitor."
"What?!" Herne gulped.
He wasn’t sure what was going on… all he could do is say something… he didn’t know what else to do, actually catching what Roy said, who he could now hear… but at this point… he wished he wasn’t.
"I... I… ... I'm your br… brother?" He practically stuttered out to Roy, facing him as he hesitantly pushed to his feet, terrified for what was going to happen next in this nightmare.
"You’re not my brother!" Roy hissed, his ears flattened on the back of his neck. “You’re a traitor… and you’ve always have been.”
Herne swallowed again, backing up.
“I’m not a traitor?” the cub uttered, with his voice ready to crack, “it was a misunderstanding…” he tried to explain, but his cracking voice got the better of him, "They needed help?!" Herne sheared through his face and Roy just growled but with what he witnessed prior to this was still dancing in his head, he had a feeling this wasn’t entirely about him helping Empire Cats, but what though?
Herne's ears had dropped, he had never seen Roy look like this, it was terrifying.
“Why don’t you run away like the COWARD you are!” The dark caracal said with an coo grin, wanting Herne to run.
“I’m not running…” the cub shuttered out of his face, but the realization of what he witnessed also filling in blanks in his own mind.
“Do I need to motivate The Traitor?” the dark caracal spat, taking a pace closer to the cub.
Herne hesitated, taking an equal distance back, to match the dark caracal’s pace coming towards him. The caraffory cat started to open his mouth again… when what he wanted to say, what he saw, looked as if it was just yanked out of his head, making him cringe, and stagger a bit. It was only an instant, but when he looked back up, he looked at Roy and panicked.
The caraffory cub took several more steps backwards before he turned around and ran from Roy, but only got a few feet away before tripping over the same rock he had tripped over when he was here the first time, and he fell again. Herne rolled to try and stand up, but Roy had already quickly pinned him against the ground with a strong paw. The cub struggled to get himself free, but he couldn’t get out of Roy’s grip.
The cubs shoulders where hard on the ground, he couldn’t move his front legs, and Roy was too big to even try kicking free. Herne was genuinely fearing for his life. He couldn’t comprehend that Roy, was really doing this?!
Herne's heart was both ripped into shreds, and going at a million miles an hour.
”Roy!? Stop it!" Herne pleaded, when the dark caracal repositioned his grab on him, having him pinned down with one paw now. Using his other paw suddenly to push the small cats head upward, making the little ones throat easy to access.
"Traitors should cease...” Roy spoke breaking up his words slowly. “On their knees...” He lowered his face getting right up to Herne’s. “but a committed traitor..." he said through his heavily gritted teeth, backing his face up a bit, “should cease…” he held his head up, almost looking around to see if anyone was watching, before looking back at Herne’s horrified face, “on their backside!”
At that statement’s finish, the dark caracal then open his mouth for a sudden jolt forward for the killing bite.
At that moment, Herne truly believed he was about to lose his life… to what he still saw as his older brother... but just has he felt the teeth of Roy break the skin on his throat, the caraffory found himself going from a sleeping position, to flying up to his feet, pretty well hitting his head on the cell bars and almost knocking himself right back out. He let out a moan, and held his head with his paws… but that didn’t last long. He shook it off and sat upright. He looked forward to see a group of felines who were in the rehab program talking outside, among them a dark pelt stood out from the rest. Roy... Herne’s eyes grew wide, all the fur along his spine stood up, and his breath was shortened, but fast, as if he was panting. A whole mess of mixed and jumbled emotion flooded through him. It instantly made him feel nauseous. He was at this point, scared of Roy. An entire allotment of shame. Herne wanted to talk to him… but… where… where would he even begin?
After a minute or two of an emotional blender, Herne looked down to his paws, followed by dropping down to his stomach… of every nightmare… turning his position so he didn’t face Roy, the yellow feline curled up, unsure what to do with the nightmare he just saw… and what he was going through when facing reality.

Word Count: 6407
Herne || FeatheredSeclude
Roy || ICUDO
Other Characters Mentioned/Played
Maximus (NPC owned by FeatheredSeclude SophieMacaulay )
Tullia (NPC owned/played by ICUDO FeatheredSeclude )

+5EP for Active Role-Play
+2EP for NPCs
+2EP for Extra EBC Characters (Herne and Roy for Picture)
+4EP for Full Picture (collaboration with ICUDO)
+5EP for Halloween Event (Herne and Roy)
+12EP for Word Count

+30EP to Herne and Roy

IC's Submission:
icudo.deviantart.com/art/Being…

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