EBC - Collude, the Wayward Silhouette

Though his memory is fuzzy, he remembers his father and brothers most of his family. There were four cubs to his litter, Collude included, with two brothers, Theus and Tantur, and a sister, Amilel. Collude, while he's sure that was his sisters name, did not see Amilel after they were weened as she was was separated from the males as a young cub. A man came and purchased her one day, and that was the last he saw of Amilel... Their father and mother disappeared shortly after...

Collude and his brothers lived in the city coliseums thereafter. They were trained from a young age, from cubs basically, their trainers and masters would harshly teach them to be silent, obey orders and to fight.

As they grew older, they became skillful fighters. Their first fights in the coliseum were a success and they went on to do many more. Tantur was the first to fall victim to the horrors of the blood sport. He was killed in a fight, and the crowd cheered for his blood. Collude was heartbroken, but had no one to turn to. Theus had taken on their teacher’s cold attitude and with a simple shrug, he crushed Collude, indifferent as he spoke in Coll's ear. “He was not strong enough”.

His brother felt nothing, it was just another casualty of the coliseum, he did not care. And he would show no mercy to what would come of Collude’s fate.

Collude wandered for a while, looking for food when he came across a patrol of felines, hailing from the Fire Empire. They warmly welcomed him into the Fire Empire, where there were other cats just like him, runaways and free cats, unchained by the terrible humans and their coliseums. 

He now makes his home in the Fire Empire, fighting against the cruelty of the coliseum and liberating cats like himself. Little is known about his brother Theus, but he is almost certain that he would have risen to the position of bounty hunter.

Shortly after making his home in the empire, while on a border patrol outside of Cemenelum, Collude was captured by Massilia bounty hunters and taken to their nearest camp. He is currently being held prisoner there by the hunters until he can find a way to escape. The war seemingly about to start may be the hopeful break he's looking for. He's just happy he hasn't seen his elder brother, Theus yet. But once word gets around that his little brother was at Cemenelum, there's no telling what he'll do.

Escape Back to the Flames of Home
It'd been over a year now that Collude's been back home in Fire Empire from his capture. He's been keeping a low profile now that Andromeda has stepped down and Mirum had become Leader. It's with quiet compliance and an open mind that he follows after the maned lioness, only because of the predicament he encountered with his rescue that night of the Empire War. He held a tentative life in Fire while he could, even coming to adopt a cub while he went about life. Kei proved to be the perfect distraction for him, letting him divert his care and attention from the worries of his old life towards the cub's needs, and in time he made a small family with the cub. Kei was... Well his everything. He'd never known fatherhood could make life have more meaning that skirting around corners and hiding in the shadows of his past... But that all changed.

The Fires of Hell Burn Brightly
Life in Fire Empire was safe... Mostly. It's always a vague expression, but safe was very... Loose.

It started with tensions with Shadow empire... A cub of their own, Nitzie was killed along the borders of Fire and Shadow, and it wasn't just any cat. It was one who cared not for the laws the Empires held, that even Hunters held... Nitzie was killed in cold blood, and Lazarus and Wyndigo, and many of Fire mourned her passing. But this rose to its peak at the gathering, accusations being thrown left and right. Fire and Shadow were at each other's throats, tensions high. 

It was recommended none pass borders to see others, hunting be done in pairs... Collude, foolishly, didn't listen to these words, too wrapped up in the tensions that lingered around camp, simply wishing to have a moment to himself. This was how he met Zhar, a cat that effectively changed everything. A little run in at the border while hunting, and it was an almost instant connection between the two. Collude found himself wanting to see the other more, and they planned little chats during gatherings. Though things were tense, it was... Finally starting to look up. Until it wasn't.

Air Empire was the first to fall... They had suffered Illness, Famine, Fires, and finally War with the Hunters, the four horseman of death almost having it out for the smallest faction... Air was destroyed, its cats scattered and captured. Kestrel was cautious in increasing guards, more patrols. But the hunters were out for blood when their own Fire Empire was the next victim. 

Collude, for as small as he was, was captured by Rubyna, a tigress, and thrown into a cage harshly, watching as one after another of his friends and family were captured or killed... But seeing Kei about to be captured was enough to have him break out of the cage when it was opened again, frantic to get her and her friend Bean out of there if he could.

In the chaos of the camp and fighting, the three managed to escape, though not unharmed. It took them traveling with other refugees from Fire and being found by an Ice patrol that finally had them safely escorted to what would only be their new home.

Collude wasn't sure if Ice would be home anytime soon, but Kei and Bean expecting a litter and Zhar's constant presence made things... Easier.

Here's to hoping it stays that way....