[faceclaim]

[ 0 MOONS - 5 MOONS ] The life of a rogue was not an easy one. Every day was a fight and Fern knew that all too well. Despite the challenges of her lifestyle, she wanted nothing more than to be a mother, to raise children who would love her unconditionally. So when she had a chance to fulfill her dream, she took it. Fern had four kits, but of the four, only one survived. Afraid of forming a connection with her one surviving daughter and then losing her, Fern built a wall around her broken heart and refused to let her child know what a mother’s love is. She didn’t name the kit to avoid an emotional bond and when the young feline eventually chose her own name, Sage, Fern refused to use it. Since her mother often left her alone for nearly the entire day, Sage had no choice but to learn how to scavenge. She tried working out how to hunt by herself and with her technique as messy as it was, she failed to catch a majority of her targets. Sage discovered quite early on that she was on her own.

[ 6 MOONS - 13 MOONS ] One night, Sage was abruptly woken up by the shrubbery around her loudly rustling as strangers ambushed the camp she and her mother called home. Fern watched from across the clearing, her face emotionless and her body relaxed like she couldn’t care any less about what was happening. One of the cats tackled Sage and pinned her while another grabbed her by the scruff. She flailed and cried for her mother, but Fern didn’t react. She fought relentlessly as the unfamiliar cats dragged her into the undergrowth and her mother disappeared from view. Sage continued to thrash around and even managed to escape the grip of the cat holding her a couple of times, but they always captured her again. They praised her spirit and, perhaps in an attempt to dishearten her, they wondered aloud why her mother had been so eager to give her away to them, but she proceeded to resist.

She’d been so busy struggling, she hadn’t paid any attention at all as to where they’d been and where they were going. They dropped Sage in the middle of what appeared to be a makeshift camp, the dens hastily constructed and no walls to protect what they’d built. She hadn’t yet tired and she was quick to jump up and face her kidnappers, but an intimidating voice spoke behind her before she could act. Sage whirled around and glared at the massive tom looking down at her. He introduced himself as Hemlock, the enforcer, or leader of their group, and welcomed her to The Syndicate, but nothing about his greeting was warm. Hemlock told her she was at their camp because her mother hadn’t wanted her and if she intended on surviving, she’d obey his every order. She considered trying to escape, but she knew these cats would stop her before she could, or they’d hunt her down. Either way, they’d happily kill her after. Sage quickly understood that there was nowhere she could go.

Sage became one of The Syndicate’s recruits, a trainee. She’d never fought before, not even playfully, and the other recruits and those who trained them often used their claws during sessions. Terrified of hurting a peer or maybe even accidentally killing them, Sage preferred not to draw blood, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have to participate. She fought without the use of her teeth and claws, and of course, she lost - every single time. A slightly older recruit, Holly, loved to pair up with her, just so she could wound her with little resistance. As a result of her refusal to defend herself, Sage spent a lot of time with The Syndicate’s healer. Flash liked to give her advice, teaching her the techniques of the other recruits and showing her how to avoid their attacks. Using his tips, she managed to sustain fewer injuries, but she visited the healer’s den just as much, because Flash had become her very first friend.

She was still rather new to The Syndicate when she met Hickory, who was Hemlock’s son. He had only recently graduated to the rank of marauder after training for moons as a recruit. He was respected, not only as Hemlock’s heir, but as a talented fighter and hunter. Unlike a majority of the other marauders and recruits, he was kind and charming to Sage. She became instantly infatuated the moment his warm gaze settled upon her and he complimented the defensive battle technique she’d just performed. Flash had been nice to her, too, but there was something different about Hickory that drew her to him. He even ignored Holly’s attempts to get closer to him in favor of spending time with Sage, which increased the bullying, but she’d put up with it for Hickory. Flash would tease her for the way she padded after Hickory like a lovestruck fool, but she didn’t care about that.

[ 14 MOONS ] Due to her refusal to harm another cat, her promotion from recruit to marauder was delayed, but not for much longer. Sage reluctantly participated in a raid on a nearby camp that was occupied by a small family, a couple and their children. The Syndicate had been scouting the camp for a while now and had collected enough information to launch their attack. Hemlock forced Sage to take part, threatening her with serious injuries if she denied. During the raid, she focused on gathering supplies, but the marauders on patrol with her stopped her and told her about how Hemlock had said she needed to kill one of the rogues or else they’d report her cowardice and disobedience to him. She knew Hemlock would kill her if she didn’t do as he ordered and so with a heavy heart, Sage was on the offensive for the first time in her life. She was made a marauder that evening, but she felt no joy as Hemlock announced her new rank to the group.

[ 18 MOONS - 21 MOONS ] No one was surprised when Hickory and Sage became mates and even fewer cats were shocked when she announced she was expecting just a couple of moons later. She was still upset about the raid where she’d taken an innocent cat’s life and she became absolutely miserable when Hickory abruptly changed after she told him she was going to have his kits. He began treating her poorly and was quite controlling. He didn’t let her spend time with her best friend, Flash, anymore and he seemed rather fond of insulting her and everything she did. If she helped herself to a second piece of fresh-kill when there were leftovers, Hickory would call her names, and if she slept in one morning, he’d throw cruel remarks her way. Once, she’d snapped back at him and he told her she was lucky she was carrying kits.

[ 22 MOONS ] While Hickory was out leading a raid one day, Sage and Flash slipped out of camp for a walk. They very rarely found the time to be with each other, but when they did, he always made her laugh. This time would be different. There wasn’t much laughter as Flash helped Sage welcome four kits into the world. When one kit didn’t even get the chance to breathe air for the first time, neither one of them could summon any other feelings besides sorrow. And when Sage revealed her concerns to Flash about how Hickory would be as a father there was a tense silence as they pondered what to do. Eventually, they came to a conclusion, one that was hard for Sage to accept, but one she knew was necessary. They dropped the surviving three kits off at the entrance to a twoleg nest and watched from a distance as a twoleg discovered them and brought them inside. Flash comforted Sage as she wept.

When she returned to camp and told Hickory the kits were gone, he erupted and then avoided her for a few days, but Sage wasn’t stupid. She saw how frequently he and Holly left camp, glancing around before they went, as if to make sure nobody noticed. She saw how they sat closely together while sharing a meal and she heard the rumors about how Hickory had found himself a new mate. She just wished he could’ve been forthright and told her it was over instead of the subtle approach he’d taken. Sage retreated into Flash’s embrace every time she saw Hickory and Holly spending time together, looking happy, but she hadn’t meant to make him think they were anything more. She felt awful when Flash told her he loved her and asked her to be his mate. Not only was it too soon after losing Hickory and her children, but she’d never thought of him as anything besides a friend. She rejected him and he became distant, and she was all alone again.

[ 23 MOONS - 25 MOONS ] After her friendship with Flash ended, Sage became aloof and fierce. Everyone started to steer clear of her. Her bond with the healer had given her hope and now it was gone. While Hickory ignored her, Holly found pleasure in taunting her. Sage didn’t hesitate to provoke her right back. It wasn’t unexpected when Holly and Sage’s rivalry eventually resulted in a physical altercation, but nobody was pleased with the timing of it. During a raid, the two of them scuffled after Holly claimed to have mistaken her for an enemy and slashed her flank. Sage came out victorious from her battle with Holly, but the two she-cats and the other marauders were then promptly chased off by their opponents, who’d taken advantage of the distraction. They returned to camp without any supplies and Sage, who had been the one to lunge at Holly, was blamed for the patrol’s failure. With dignity, she quietly accepted her punishment and would later proudly sport the scar she’d received from Hemlock that day.

[ 26 MOONS - 31 MOONS ] As the moons passed, marauders began dying under Flash’s care. The healer would report that the deceased’s infection had been persistent or their illness had been too resilient. When two marauders died in one moon, Hemlock paced around camp, appearing deep in thought, but he didn’t do anything. When three marauders died in one moon, Hemlock fumed, but he still didn’t do anything. When Holly died, Hickory and Hemlock forced Flash out of his den and pinned him in the center of camp. Hemlock asked him why they shouldn’t kill him and Flash argued that he’d tried his best to save all those marauders. Everyone knew The Syndicate couldn’t go without a healer and even Hemlock and Hickory couldn’t deny that. They had no choice but to trust Flash’s word and release him to continue his duties.

[ 32 MOONS - 34 MOONS ] A stranger had been captured by The Syndicate after they’d settled down temporarily again in unfamiliar land and she was severely wounded. Hemlock warned Flash to keep her alive or else they’d kill him, and so he kept her alive. She woke a few times, but she wasn’t aware of what she was doing or saying, and Flash reported that the stranger spoke of a RidgeClan and even said what he thought to be a few odd names. When the stranger gained consciousness, she introduced herself as Dustfern. Sage was tasked with trying to earn enough of her trust to gather information about the group she belonged to. She thought the best way to do that was to teach Dustfern about The Syndicate’s culture. Sage wasn’t completely honest and twisted the truth a few times to make The Syndicate appear more honorable than it was, but it didn’t seem to matter what she said, because Dustfern didn’t seem willing to share anything about her group.

Sage hadn’t trusted anyone since Flash abandoned her, but she eventually saw the goodness in Dustfern’s heart and came to trust and even like the other molly. It didn’t matter that Dustfern kept her background a mystery, because who she had been no longer existed and all Sage cared about was who she was now. Dustfern must’ve learned to trust and like Sage back, because she would beam whenever Sage approached and she even told her a little bit about her family. Sage never told anyone what Dustfern shared with her. She had a friend again, even if said friend was considered a prisoner of The Syndicate. Flash must’ve noticed and disapproved of Sage and Dustfern’s friendship, because he cornered Sage one day while she was out hunting and he tried to kill her after growling that if he couldn’t have her, then nobody could. She killed him, and with adrenaline still rushing through her, she collected Dustfern and they fled The Syndicate before anyone could realize the healer was missing.

[ 35 MOONS - PRESENT ] With nowhere else to go, Dustfern brought Sage to the valley she’d grown up in. They settled down amongst the barn cats, even though Dustfern had grown up elsewhere. After realizing they were very much unlike the cats of The Syndicate, Sage warmed up to the barn cats, as well as the clan cats who visited. As for the conflict between the clanless and clan cats, she preferred not to get involved. PrairieClan had always been good to her, but she understood why those who have been wronged by the clans desired vengeance. Now that she finally had found peace, she tried not to think about the disputes between clanless and clan, instead focusing on the life she and Dustfern had built.

Pre-Plotting: Sage prefers not to involve herself in the conflict between clan and clanless, which sometimes proves to be difficult, but she tries. She personally has no reason to want to hurt the clans, but she also understands that some have been wronged by them and desire vengeance. If she had to choose a group to align herself with in the [Clanless Plot Ad], she’d pick Temperance.

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