PrankFox

The Rise of WillowClan

Mentions: @savannahssu

Stormheart sighed slightly, why couldn't Maplestream just stay in camp rather than wandering to the unknown reaches of their territory and ending up with these strange cats. He followed Sunfur's lead, for a short time, but in other directions. He stuck within shouting range, but wandered a bit away with jaws parted to see if he could follow the scents of either the strange cats or Maplestream. It was difficult to follow anything at all with the spray of water coming from the rapids and diluting the scents.

He looped back around and joined back with Sunfur, frowning at the conundrum they'd found themselves in. The ginger tom was right, Fernstar had told them to keep looking until their paws were about to fall off and he didn't want to disobey that, but he couldn't go any further with the knowledge that the whole camp might be in danger. "Maplestream's scent is with these cats. Maybe they caught her off guard and dragged her back to camp as a way of getting something from Fernstar?" He stared down at his paws, warring with his sense of duty to Fernstar or to the clan. Would she be mad at them for going back to camp if they thought it was in danger? For potentially leaving Maplestream injured or worse somewhere in the territory? He had no idea and he hated not knowing, it made him anxious and that was the last thing they needed out here.

He hadn't noticed Sunfur wander away, as lost in thought as he was, but he turned to see his clanmate's head sticking out of a bush. "What did you find?" he padded over quickly and looked at the flattened and disturbed bushes in confusion. "This is a terrible place to try and rest. This close to the rapids you can't hear anything coming and all the scents are muddled." He parted his jaws again, definitely picking up the scents of those strange cats that had been over by the rapids, and followed it deeper into the woods. Away from the rapids and towards their camp.

His fur immediately prickled with nerves and his breath caught in his throat. "The scent is headed towards camp Sunfur. I know Fernstar said to stay out until we found Maplestream or the sun rose, but there aren't enough cats in camp to defend it. We have to go back, and maybe if we're lucky Maplestream will be with them." Fernstar would understand right?

Warriors: Trial of Shadows

The eyes of the rest of the clan prickled across his pelt, and Wolfheart had to resist the temptation to glare, pace, or dig his claws into the ground as Pikeleap ran off. They were strangers in MistClan's camp, they had every right to be curious about what a bunch of BirchClan cats were doing in their home. He would feel the same if any other clan came barging in and demanding to speak to Jaystar. It wasn't exactly something that happened frequently.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye as Squirrelpaw moved slightly closer to Greenpool, and he saw Finchwing lean down to gently touch her nose to Ashenpaw's ear as the apprentice leaned against her mentor. She didn't push her away and instead returned the pressure; seemingly appreciative of the contact with the tension that was swirling around the camp. It was soft, but Wolfheart couldn't entirely blame them.

He turned his full attention back to the camp as he heard Pikeleap returning, with Silverstar following behind. He would always be fascinated by the swirling black patterns that swept across her silver fur and the icy intelligence in her blue eyes. She was truly a leader to be respected, but he couldn't help but notice the sheer size difference between her and her deputy. She was almost engulfed by his shadow and he had to stop his whiskers from twitching in amusement at the thought.

Silverstar blinked warmly at the two apprentices and nodded in greeting to the rest of the patrol. She sat down next to Pikeleap and curled her tail around dainty paws, seemingly waiting for Wolfheart to speak.

"Of course we don't mind. I think this something that everyone needs to hear." He saw Silverstar's ears twitch and her eyes narrow slightly, hopefully he wouldn't be overstepping his bounds here. "Early this morning our medicine cats returned with Russetfern, one of our newest warriors, who had been murdered and his body thrown into the Moonbrook." There were a few murmurs from the cats that were around, but they were quickly silenced by a wave of Silverstar's tail. Maybe she hadn't told the whole clan then. He took a deep breath and continued, "We believe DuskClan is responsible for this, how could they not be when the body was so deep in their territory, and Jaystar wants to know if we would have your aid if we were to take the fight to them. Before anyone else gets hurt."

He could feel his fur prickling with nerves as Silverstar dipped her head to stare at her paws in thought. After a moment she looked back up, "Lightningnose," she looked to the yellow she-cat, "You were there and saw the initial reactions. What are your thoughts on this?" She turned to look at her deputy, "And Pikeleap, I want your opinion as my deputy of course."

Wolfheart couldn't begrudge her for wanting to include her clan in the discussion, this would involve all of them after all, but she was their leader. She could decide and then they'd be done with it. He made sure none of his internal thoughts showed in his posture or expression as he waited.

Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

Finally they had someone who actually knew what was going on. Eclipse did feel bad for the RainWings, having their lives threatened was nothing to ignore, and he couldn't even find it in himself to fault them for not trying to fight back. While they might not be as lazy as was written in the scrolls they were still pacifists as far as he could tell. He could tell Skua was getting irritated at everything that was going on, but hopefully they'd be on their way soon.

He was surprised to say the least when Ardent changed her tune and completely stopped talking about what was important. Instead telling Viper to go get a drawing and even as he went to protest Ardent gave him a keen look. She was much more intelligent than anyone else seemed to give her credit for.

He moved up to stand next to Skua and Dreamseeker as the scroll was unfurled and felt his brow furrow in confusion. This couldn't be right. What reason would the SeaWings have to start this or threaten the RainWings? The drawing was unmistakable though and the rest of his troupe also realized quickly.

"You think so? They're a real nuisance but tougher to get rid of than one would expect." Ardent's voice kept that bored tone as she spoke to Dreamseeker and Viper moved back to the small table beside her. Her pale blue scales were swirling with a pale green. He had no idea what that meant but judging by the way her eyes were darting around the room she must be nervous about whoever these SeaWings were. Ardent's scales hadn't shifted at all, Rainwings were so confusing.

Eclipse nodded in agreement with Dreamseeker. "If you could give us an idea of where they might be I think we have a pretty good chance." He didn't want to risk the lives of the RainWings, but they needed more information and what better place to get it than from the ones responsible.

The jewelry jingled as Ardent shifted on the throne, "Usually they stick to the outskirts, I believe, or any place with quite a bit of water."

He nodded and filed away that information, "I think we need to have a conversation about all of this," he looked to the rest of the group, "There's a lot that we have to consider."

"Whenever you make your decision let me know. Viper can inform me if you don't wish to come back and wait in line." She gestured towards the door with one paw, "Best of luck to you."

The Rise of WillowClan

Mentions: @The Elvenqueen @Hazelrah @savannahssu

As the cats finally spoke, and Stonefall relaxed, Duskwing let some of the built up tension leak out of her muscles. She wasn't about to lower her guard, not until Fernstar and the other warriors came back. There story seemed to make sense, at least to her. Raccoons would be more likely to spend time near the two-legs during leaf-bare so that they could scavenge, but that didn't mean she was happy about these cats showing up and potentially leading them here. She could appreciate their willingness to help, but with how scratched up they were she didn't know how much help they would really be in the event of a fight.

She appreciated how deftly Stonefall avoided answering their question about their numbers. She didn't want them to get any ideas. If it came down to it though, as injured and tired as these cats seemed to be, they hopefully wouldn't have too much trouble fighting them off. The three of them, and Moosepaw, were all well trained warriors so if they had come from the two-leg dens they probably have little experience in a true fight. She'd rather it didn't come to a fight though.

"Of course Stonefall." She dipped her head to him and padded past the three strangers, sharp green eyes scanning over the three of them for any sort of twitch or tell that they might be hiding something, before she settled at the entrance nearby where Spidernose had been sitting previously. She kept one eye on the three as they prepared to walk to the nursery while keeping her ears pricked for anything that might be coming near camp.

Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

Most of Viper's focus was on the shorthanded scrawling that she was getting down on the scroll as a record for the meeting. She could only imagine how important this might be down the road if something did come about due to the death of Queen Ember, and she couldn't imagine the any tribe letting the death of their queen just letting it be.

She froze slightly as Dreamseeker began to speak and gave a furtive glance towards Queen Ardent. As the NightWing continued to speak she could feel her own scales paling and that deep panic beginning to set in at the idea that someone might be watching what was going on within the hut. That the dragons who had been threatening them somehow knew that they were going to be giving away information and would bust in to kill all of them.

If she admired Queen Ardent for anything it was her ability to keep her emotions well hidden. Despite being a RainWing the only indication that she gave that this line of questioning bothered her, and the only reason Viper caught it was because of how much time she spent here, was the slight twitching of Ardent's claws where they were crossed in front of her.

Ardent kept silent for some time, her head bowed in thought. Her eyes flicked to the door of the hut before they landed back on their visitors and she sighed. "We did not do it because we wanted to. I know the other tribes think that we are lazy and clueless of our own abilities, but that is not true. We are well aware of how dangerous our venom can be, but they did not give us a choice."

Viper couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath as her queen continued to speak. "You have to understand, they threatened my tribe and continue to do so if we tell anyone what has happened. They have dragons around, listening to the things we say in a hope of catching us breaking the deal we made. I did only what I had to in order to stop us from being attacked," she grimaced, "We are not a tribe of fighters."

Her long neck turned so she could give Viper a pointed look, but when she spoke her voice was airy and disinterested, the opposite of her quiet and serious tone from before. "Viper why don't you show our guests the wonderful drawing that you did for me the other day."

Confusion filled her mind for a moment as she struggled to follow the line of conversation before, after a short moment, she snapped up. "O-oh of course Queen Ardent! I'm sure they would all love to see it."

"I apologize but we don't really have time for this." She heard Eclipse say as she rushed to a stretch of bamboo shelves that were covered in scrolls.

"I think this will very much interest you." Ardent told him as Viper came back with a single scroll in her paw and laid it on the ground to unroll it. The drawing was crude and not incredibly detailed, but it was unmistakably a SeaWing.

Warriors: Trial of Shadows

Wolfheart nodded along with what Lightningnose was saying. It sounded like Silverstar had a good handle on everything going on in MistClan. She would be a valuable ally if they could get her on their side. His pelt immediately began to prickle with unease at the idea of three cats being taken down by one singular foe. It didn't make any sense, unless the killer wasn't a cat, but they would be able to scent anything else with the bodies. "That's good to hear. Jaystar and I are doing our best to make sure everyone is kept safe. The last thing we want is to have any other cats we care about get hurt."

"Could it have been some other creature like a fox or a badger that took out those three cats? I know you said it's just a rumor, but there's usually some truth to it." Finchwing meowed towards the front of the group.

Reedmask's head turned back towards her, "I don't think so, but that'd be a better question for the ThornClan cats. We only heard snippets of the conversation." The brown she-cat nodded in agreement.

From Lightningnose's phrasing he assumed that meant that their medicine cat hadn't received any signs from StarClan either. Jaystar had informed him that StarClan had been silent and it made him nervous. He pushed past the reeds to follow after the two MistClan cats and couldn't help but grimace at the droplets that slipped into his thick fur. He was just thankful it wasn't raining, his pelt would take ages to dry.

Squirrelpaw snickered quietly from where she stood next to Ashenpaw, "Well they're practically related to fish at this point with how much time they spend in the water." Her voice was quiet, but Wolfheart couldn't help but faintly roll his eyes at the two apprentices. They weren't doing any harm, but they better not let anyone hear them.

He pulled his attention away from the patrol towards where Pikeleap had moved to step towards them. The tom looked very similar to him aside from the sharp blue eyes that watched them and he dipped his head respectfully to the deputy. "It's good to see you well Pikeleap. We've come to speak with Silverstar about the recent discovery at the Moonbrook." He ignored the curious glances and heads peeking out from other woven dens. He hoped she would be receptive to their idea of a preemptive strike against DuskClan, or if not then she might have more information to give them about what was happening.

The Rise of WillowClan

Mentions: @The Elvenqueen @Hazelrah @savannahssu

Duskwing frowned at the continued silence of these cats. They seemed nervous and somewhat shifty, but she couldn't tell if it was because they were still shaken up from what they experienced or if they didn't have any explanation at all. They weren't difficult questions that were being asked of them.

She could tell Stonefall was getting irritated by the lack of response, but he still gave a definitive decision for Spidernose to stay with them. She gave a nod of agreement, but she really had nothing further to say to these cats until they gave an explanation. She was already fairly far outside her comfort zone with these strangers and it made her pelt prickle uncomfortably. She resisted the urge to lash her tail or dig her claws into the ground. That would only show them that she was uncomfortable and she couldn't have that.

A bit of surprise flashed through her as Stonefall's voice dropped into a dangerous tone. He'd only ever been soft-spoken and kind with everyone in camp, but these were unfamiliar cats who had slammed into their camp while two-thirds of their leadership was gone. She couldn't blame him for it and maybe the harsher tone would compel them to speak.

She tilted her head slightly towards Spidernose as she whispered to her, and responded in just as quiet of a tone, "I'm not sure, but their story doesn't add up. None of us have scented any raccoons on the territory and if they can't tell us where or when then we can't confirm it." She scrutinized each of the strangers, trying to pick up anything unusual past the scratches and wide eyes. "How did they know where the camp is? It doesn't seem likely that they just stumbled into it while running away, it's like they knew we were here." She hadn't scented any unusual scents while on patrol, but the camp wasn't exactly right out in the open. Odd.

The Rise of WillowClan

Mentions: @The Elvenqueen @Hazelrah

"That's alright Spidernose. This definitely seems to be more important." Raccoons, huh? She scented the air once again trying to pick up any indication that that's what these cats had been running from. She couldn't pick up anything, but depending on how long they'd been running it could be the scent got covered up by the forest or the blood that was leaking out of the scratches on their pelts. "Moosepaw and I were out all across the territory today for hunting and training. I didn't see or scent any signs of raccoons nearby. The largest threat was that fox that came around and attacked the border patrol."

She nodded towards Stonefall, "I"m inclined to ask the same questions. We'd like to know if there's any immediate danger to our camp before we decide what we're going to do here." she hoped that these strangers had some answers. She didn't like the idea of there being creatures out and about that could potentially follow the scent of these cats all the way to camp, so knowing when and where would be important for them deciding what they should do. Unfortunately two of their strongest were out of camp along with their medicine cat and leader. This was probably the least ideal time for them to have to deal with something like this.

Her fur prickled with nerves as Spidernose suggested leaving. They were already down to the bare minimum to keep the camp running and it didn't seem like a good idea. "I don't know if it's the best idea to go out by yourself, but I would like to know at least what direction they came from if they can't remember." Ultimately it was the deputy's decision, but she didn't like the idea of Spidernose being out by herself or having even less cats in camp if these strangers decided to try something.

Mentions: @savannahssu

Stormheart frowned at Sunfur's assessment of why Maplestream might've run off. "That doesn't seem very wise, but I guess she probably knows that and just doesn't want to bother anyone." He could understand not wanting to burden anyone unnecessarily but they were all in a clan together now and, from the way that Fernstar had explained it, that meant looking out for each other and being willing to help when someone needed it. That was one of the big reasons why he actually joined in the first place rather than just staying in the barn or as a loner. Even if Sunfur seemed to think that nothing bad had happened he couldn't help but feel concerned, he'd feel the same way about any of his clanmates.

He had to squint his eyes as they approached the edge of their territory so that the freezing water didn't blind him. It was an effort to keep from flattening his ears against his head to try and dampen the sound of rushing water that came from the nearby rapids. He was thankful that his large paws were effective at keeping him from breaking through the thin layer of ice that covered the thicker snow underneath, but that was about the only positive thing he could think of as more snow began to fall and stick to his already white pelt. He stayed at the base of the rock as Sunfur bounded to the top to get a better look, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might try to leap from the tree line and attack.

At Sunfur's call he turned his head and followed where the orange tom's tail was pointing. "Alright." He followed after, watching his feet to make sure he didn't slip or cut his paws on the stone, that was the last thing they needed out here. He looked around the bare patch under the trees, picking up Maplestream's scent for sure, but the others were unfamiliar. "I don't recognize the other scents here," he began to scan around the area, avoiding stepping to close as to not muddle what was there, "What reason could she possibly have to come this far out of the territory? Just to meet with some strange cats?"

Warriors: Trial of Shadows

Relief washed through Wolfheart at the ease with which the two MistClan cats permitted them to come and meet with Silverstar. He'd expected at least a bit more resistance given what had just happened with Russetfern, but he wasn't going to complain. He dipped his head towards Lightningnose to reinforce what Greenpool had said. He locked his eyes with the yellow she-cat, "We're grateful that you're so willing to help us. It means a great deal."

He shook his head fondly at Greenpool's request and turned slightly to look back at his patrol, just to make sure they were all prepared. Squirrelpaw smiled warmly at Ashenpaw and said something quietly to the other apprentice that he couldn't quite catch, but he could pick up how nervous Finchwing appeared to be. He'd make sure to keep an eye on the brown she-cat.

He turned back around and nodded,"Lead the way." He always felt a little bit uncomfortable stepping over the border, even with a guide. He always made sure to respect the other clans in hope that they would do the same for BirchClan, so being able to do it so easily made his fur prickle slightly. Stepping through the marshland was as unpleasant as always though, with the mud that got in between his toes and stuck to the thick fur around his legs. He could hear a faint grumble of discontent come from behind him though he was unsure who it came from.

"How is MistClan faring?" He directed the question towards Lightningnose. "Any exciting news?" He kept his voice friendly and mildly curious. He didn't want them to think he was fishing for information about the clan when in reality he was mostly trying to avoid the dead silence that would follow them all the way to camp. Learning about any new warriors or apprentices would be a bonus.

He hoped the walk to camp wouldn't be too long, but he wouldn't give up the opportunity to talk to Lightningnose, and Reedmask, outside of their camp where there weren't prying ears other than his own clanmates.

Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

"Got everything here," Aardwolf grinned faintly as he lifted the cord of the leather pouch that was still slung around his neck.

Viper nodded enthusiastically, "Great!" Her nerves and concerns from the previous day slipping away a little bit more as she finally had an idea of what she needed to be doing. This had been the most excitement she had every experienced in, well, her entire life really. Queen Ardent should definitely be awake by now so at Skua's call that they were ready she leapt off of the platform and soared in between the trees to the vine and ivy covered hut where her Queen lived.

Thankfully there was no one in line yet, everyone else was probably still asleep. As they landed outside the hut she turned to glance at the others, "I came to see her yesterday after we got back to let her know you were coming, she should be expecting us." She could see Eclipse take a deep breath and Aardwolf reached into his pouch to pull out the items that he had.

Stepping inside the hut, the outside highly contrasted with the inside. While the walls of the hut were covered in vines and flowering ivy the inside was glamourous and comfortable. There were thick woven mats that covered the floor and colorful silken fabrics of various different colors that hung like streamers across the ceiling. The back of the hut had a long, plush throne. Viper lowered her head a bit, "Good morning Queen Ardent."

An amiable smile crossed the face of Ardent. Her scales were colored a deep royal purple that was accented with gold. Her neck and even her wings were strung with jewelry and the whole hut likely sparkled in the sun with all the trinkets that were scattered around. "Good morning Viper," her voice was deeper and more regal than Viper's but held a faintly disinterested tone, "These are the ones you said would be coming to see me?"

"Yep!" Viper chirped. She gave Aardwolf a pointed look before stepping over to a small table next to the throne where there were a few scrolls and vials of inks. She settled down behind it ready to record the meeting like usual.

Aardwolf stepped forward and laid out the various different items he'd mentioned before and the disinterested posture of Ardent immediately changed and brightened. Her claws carefully reached forward and she picked up each item, examining them carefully, before light blue eyes landed solidly on the other four for the first time since they'd entered. "Well, you've gained my attention," she crossed her paws in front of her, "What can I do for you?"