RENEGADES - Horizon's Story

[MysteriouslyMaple]

RENEGADES

PROLOGUE

    The sounds of the jungle briefly distracted the golden-furred tom that was walking through the night, his black gaze searching around frantically for signs of movement. His unnatural-colored pelt was perhaps a bad thing to have in the jungle, but he didn't care. What mattered tonight was getting answers, above everything else. Vigenere's pawsteps were careful as he navigated through the thick undergrowth, his ears pricked for the person he was looking for. You better be here tonight. The feline thought to himself, his ears flicking now as he neared a small pond in the middle of the jungle.
    "Bruce?" Vigenere called out, his tone rough as he spoke. He didn't have time to wait for the much larger feline; he had to keep his identity hidden away. It was risky even meeting Bruce here, but the panther insisted on doing so.

    "I'm here." A thick Australian accent made Vigenere turn around, briefly narrowing his eyes at the underwater panther that pushed through the ferns, revealing himself. Vigenere let out a breath he hadn't realize he had been holding and decided to let himself relax. Now that Bruce was here, the male could tell him what was so urgent. The savannah cat didn't appreciate being drawn out of hiding, but at least Bruce respected his wish of wanting to meet at night. At least with the moon high in the sky, Vigenere knew that the guards his brother had weren't going to stalk around. They needed to sleep, unlike their leader. But Vigenere knew his brother wasn't going to patrol the borders himself; he was too high-and-mighty for that.

    "I'm assuming you have news about Caesar?" Vigenere asked Bruce, slowly allowing himself to lay down and relax, looking up at the larger predator. Caesar was a tyrant, and he led the group that led in the jungle. Bruce and Vigenere were luckily outside his territory, but that didn't mean his lackeys could be lurking around - which was precisely why Vigenere wanted to meet Bruce at night, because he knew for a fact they would be sleeping, thanks to Bruce.
    "I do, actually." Bruce responded, though Vigenere could hear the amusement in his tone. "Why else would I call ya 'ere?" The panther went on, his whiskers twitching. Vigenere rolled his eyes, not making a comment on the matter. He enjoyed Bruce's company and appreciated the guy trying to make the situation less tense with a joke, but Vigenere wasn't too keen on being so near his brother's territory.

    Bruce cleared his throat, clearly getting the hint that Vigenere wanted to get this talk done and over with. The panther's ears flicked, and his fish-like tail moved to covered his paws as he sat down. "Caesar has a daughter." His words were flat and Vigenere hardly believed him at first. The feline blinked at Bruce for a couple of seconds, a look of pure confusion covering his face.
    "What?" Vigenere's tone revealed how shocked he was by Bruce's statement. A daughter? Vigenere echoed the words in his mind. That definitely wasn't a good sign. He knew how his brother was, and him having a child wasn't going to change him. He was aggressive, a tyrant, murdering and torturing those who disagreed with him. Who's to say he won't do the same to his own daughter? Caesar had already proven that he didn't care for family before, when he destroyed their Home Dimension. He left their parents to rot with the Dimension and disowned both Vigenere and his sister, Atbash. Vigenere didn't entirely mind though; he didn't want to be associated with Caesar anymore. Definitely not after that stunt.

    "Her name is Horizon." Bruce went on. The panther's tail tip was flicking in thought now, as if he was trying to recall or think of something. "I'm 'fraid I don't know 'er mother's name, though. But she's not a feline." Vigenere was once again surprised at this fact. The demon's tail swished about the ground, moving leaves and mush around.
    "What do you mean, 'not feline'?" He asked. Of course, he was aware that his brother had the ability to possess other bodies and shapeshift at will, if he wanted to. It was one of the perks of being a demon from another Dimension, though Vigenere hadn't expected Caesar to sleep around with some of the mortals here. Or was having the child a mistake? Had he even planned on having a child? No matter what the answer was, Vigenere feared for the poor child's life. But of course he couldn't just walk in and steal Horizon, nor could Bruce. Besides, Vigenere wouldn't ask his friend to risk his life like that. Especially not when he recently gotten scarred from that very place a few months prior to tonight. Vigenere was just grateful that Bruce was even going back to spy in the first place.

    "She's a tasmanian devil, if I'm recallin' the species correctly." Bruce responded. "A stocky, rodent-lookin' creature. Black fur with a couple white markings." The panther seemed sure of himself and Vigenere trusted him enough not to search through his memories. Besides, what was the point in lying about the kid's species? The species wasn't even important, other than the fact of knowing would help in case Horizon ever escaped or needed help. That was assuming she didn't listen to Caesar, anyway. Who knows, Vigenere thought to himself. She may even grow up to be just like her father.
    "How old is she?" Vigenere asked out loud, frowning in thought. They could potentially try to find her on patrols and try to lure her over to speak and convince her to leave Caesar, but of course that would depend on her age, among other things.
"Oh, she's only a couple days old." Bruce replied, seemingly sensing what Vigenere was getting at. "She won't be weaned for another five months. But his eyes should open in about three months or so." He shrugged. "Perhaps I could try and start talking to 'er then."

That was an awfully long time, wasn't it? Vigenere sighed, shaking his head. "Don't risk your life like that." The demon said, getting to his paws. Time was ticking and he was worried about the dawn patrol coming around soon. "I wouldn't ask you to. Just getting information is enough, stay away from his temple as much as you can." He knew that Bruce was only hearing rumors, so it was likely that this kid wasn't real or the information was a bit outdated. But then again, it wasn't a very large group, so perhaps not. "If she doesn't like Caesar then, well... you'd hear about it." The news of anybody who opposed Caesar definitely went around quick, he knew, though that was mostly because Caesar held public 'trials' for those who went against his so-called rules. "Do something about it then. We don't even know if she'll even like Caesar." Vigenere continued on. "Or, Hell, if she'll live longer than five months. I don't trust Caesar enough to say the kid will last long. But... thanks for the information anyway." Vigenere dipped his head, turning away from the pond and facing the direction he came from.

    Vigenere heard Bruce let out a sigh behind him, and the feline stopped as he heard the male's rumbling voice say his name. The demon turned his head, frowning at Bruce. "Yeah?" He asked, his ears flicking, searching for any sounds of somebody approaching.
    "Just be careful, a'ight?" Bruce was frowning back at him, concern in his brown eyes. "I think the kid will know what's best for her. But..." The panther let out another sigh before he tried giving Vigenere a reassuring smile. "I won't get involved. I'll keep ya updated when I can."

    Vigenere only gave another dip of his head to show he heard the larger creature's words before he focused on the sights ahead of him again as he started making his way back to his hidden den.
    I hope Horizon knows what's best for her. Vigenere thought to himself as he trudged along, trying to focus on the sounds around him to make sure nobody was nearby nor following him. Caesar will only destroy her life if she doesn't learn soon.