Dawn Patrol (WC border)

[Yoko]

Snaketail's thick pelt bristled as they travelled along the WindClan Border. Eventually, they would have to pass Carrion Place. He wrinkled his nose with distaste as if he could already smell it. Was this wise?

"Lizardeye? Must we go past Carrion Place?" he mewed to his brother, who was leading the way for the moment.

"It's the most logical place to patrol, Snaketail," Lizardeye mewed, unconcerned. "WindClan isn't exactly our ally at the moment. They could very well be spying on us as we speak."

Beside Snaketail, Twistedclaw flexed his claws. If that was so, then their pelts were his! Snaketail smirked at the thought.

"So, Honeypaw, while we can still breath through our noses, what do you scent?" Snaketail mewed.

[Amber]

Soon realizing where they were heading a frown appeared across the honey colored apprentice's face. She hated the Carrionplace, it was way far out of her tastes. She was quite amused when she heard the exact question going through her mind was asked. At least it would get answered one way or another. She let a yawn escape from her mouth as she padded along behind the brothers. The answer satisfied her, although she was only half listening.

"I say let them come and get us, we aren't going to hold back." she murmered not caring if she was heard or not. Honeypaw just needed to say it. And then she was asked a question. Great, now she actually had to participate. Why couldn't one of her sisters be asked this question?

"Other than the stench of what is soon to be the carrionplace? I smell a few pieces of prey, possibly a stale scent of something. I can't tell if it is a badger or something else, I think my mind is preparing for the stench that we are about to face." Honeypaw replied looking at her mentor.

[Yoko]

Eclipsepaw gave a slight snort of amusement. She agreed, of course. If any WindClan cat was bold enough to cross ShadowClan's Border in a time like this, then they were truly mouse-brained and deserved to die like helpless prey.

You're lucky to be spoken to, Honeypaw, Eclipsepaw thought mildly. Twistedclaw hardly asked her anything other than about battle moves. And Lizardeye was so quiet most of the time that it was amazing that Emberpaw ever learned anything.

"No, no, my Dear, that won't do," Snaketail mewed from up ahead. "We must be diligent in our observations, despite having to go near that wretched place. Now you are certain that you can't determine that odd scent?"

Eclipsepaw considered answering for her sister, but she didn't feel much like showing off.

[Kitty]

"The big, bright moon! Its gone!" The big black cat was dancing in circles, almost chasing her tail, holding a little celebration of her own. "Big, bright moon! You set very soon!" she sang, and jumped down the side of a heap of Twoleg rubbish. She stopped sliding down it just before she hit the ground, purring loudly.

"Hello, Mr. Sun! Thank you for finally joining all the fun!" Periwinkle exclaimed, looking at the rising sun. Finally she could continue her mission. Finding a bug. There were plenty of bugs here at Carrionplace. She wandered around, hopping from trash heap to trash heap.

And then Periwinkle found it. The bug. It was a medium-sized one. A black beetle. Why were so many bugs black? There was the fuzzy little caterpillar earlier, and those yellow jackets had some black on them too...and they all matched her! Her pelt was black, too! How ironic.

She settled down to observe the bug, keeping herself carefully off the ground. What a pretty bug...so very pretty...

[Yoko]

((OOC: Periwinkle is mine! *pounces*))

The three tabby toms stopped dead in their tracks. Was that singing? Twistedclaw unsheathed his claws first. Some WIndClan cat had really gone and done it now! He yearned to dash into the Carrion Place and rip the cat to shreds, but he forced himself to wait for his Lizardeye's orders.

The cold-eyed tabby tom turned back towards the rest of the patrol, his green eyes slits. "By scent...It's not a Clan cat. By sound..it's a she-cat."

Snaketail and Twistedclaw were silent, watching Lizardeye carefully to see what should be done. They would not move without his word.

"Snaketail, investigate. If she gets hostile, call for Twistedclaw. We'll be here, in case she comes out and needs chasing off."

But that was highly unlikely. Twistedclaw grinned darkly, his eyes wide with blood-lust.

[Kitty]

((xD Poor, poor, Periwinkle. Just bugwatching...what a nasty surprise. XD))

What a beautiful bug, so graceful. The she-cat was completely absorbed in the beetle's progress climbing a heap of Twoleg rubbish. She slowly, so as not to startle it, reached out a paw and let the beetle crawl onto it. It was a good match to her fur, like the caterpillar had yesterday. Only the beetle was too shiny. It stood out a little bit.

"Mr. Beetle, Mr. Beetle, you're my friend, you're my friend! You're my very best friend, you're my very best friend, yes you are. Yes you are." Periwinkle continued singing. So engrossed in her observation was she that she didn't notice the new, unfamiliar catscent drifting by.

[Mousy]

"She's loud." Toadpelt crouched low to the ground, and spoke in a whisper to the apprentices, his tail twitching slightly. He didn't think the creature posed a threat, and her recognized it as Periwinkle. "I know her. That's Periwinkle. One of Fireshadow's friends." He muttered to Twistedclaw, who he guessed wasn't listening. "Oh well. She shouldn't be on Clan territory, anyway." He sighed.

[Kitty]

((They probably wouldn't be friends. More of...acquaintances. xD))

[Amber]

Honeypaw sighed, she hated talking it just never has been her thing. She prefered to keep to herself, either that or speak to her sisters. She was the one to keep everything bottled up inside, never really showing much emotion, other than trying to be kind to everyone. It was her nature to put everything aside and ignore what she was feeling around her sisters. She wished one of them would pipe up and say something, but no Eclipsepaw looked like she was keeping her trap shut. Great, the one time she decides to not speak.

"I think it smells like..." before she could finish her ears perked up at the sound of, singing? What in the world would a cat be doing singing. This cat must be mental. Turning to her sister she grinned, this was just something she couldn't hold inside. "I think we found a cat that is crazier than our entire family put together." she murmered.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

((I have three minutes. I'm just gonna say that Emberpaw is sticking with Eclipsepaw and Honeypaw, whatever they're doing. She's... being her usual temperamental, fiercely loyal, and caustically observant self. And now I must depart. ))

[Mousy]

[Lol, true! She's too crazy for Fireshadow's likings... Anyway, here we are.

Toadpelt scented the air, terrified that Periwinkle would get hurt by his cousins. He knew that there was no point trying to stop them now, so he just stood back and watched. He suddenly realized he could smell four things: Fear-scent, blood, Fireshadow and... Hawktalon! What had he DONE to the mother of his kits?! Toadpelt ran forwards angrily as the grass rustled, shouting,

"Traitor! Murderer!" loud enough to scare all the prey in the forest, and found himself sinking his claws in to Hawktalon's muscular shoulders. Blood still poured from them, and blood was still in his claws from the fights. Fireshadow collapsed to the ground, coughing blood. "No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" He shouted. "What did you do to her?!" He yelled. When he saw that Hawktalon's pads were bleeding, and his shoulders. 'What happened to you...?"

********

As Toadpelt ran at him, Hawktalon made no attempt to dodge. He was injured, but Fireshadow required more and closer attention. Toadpelt was obviously stricken, and Hawktalon couldn't blame him. He decided that to take charge would be his only option. He looked Toadpelt straight in the eye, and saw what he felt: Anguish, fear, anger, desire to fight, hatred.

"A dog. There is a dog. A twoleg's dog. It's in the forest, and StarClan be thanked that it didn't kill Fireshadow. I just managed to stop it." He said. Fireshadow was breathing, blood running down on to the ground from the wounds, and her leg at a crooked angle.

********

Fireshadow could vaguely hear the voices of her friends around her, but they got increasingly faint, until Fireshadow saw and heard nothing. There wasn't much time. She needed to tell Toadpelt... But how? She couldn't, and Hawktalon was of no use at all.

********

[It's difficult to post with a half-dead and bleeding cat...]

********

"Fireshadow..." Muttered Hawktalon anxiously. "OK. All of you, listen. There's a dog loose, but Toadpelt, run to the nearest camp, and take Twistedclaw. Tell them that there's a cat in trouble at ShadowClan's Carrionplace. Tell them to come soon, and they won' hold on for long. The rest, go IN TWOS, or in a three, and look out for a dog. If you see one, come straight back here."

[Yoko]

((OOC: OK to make this work, we're assuming that the patrol was still fairly close to where both borders of ShadowClan meet. Mousy, has Fireshadow lost her kits in this incedent?))

Lizardeye heard Toadpelt's approach long before the dark warrior spoke. He turned to look at his cousin and noded greetings.

He observed without care as Twistedclaw wrinkle his nose in disgust at the thought of Fireshadow associating with any loner. And the smaller tabby was also clearly displeased that he probably wouldn't be allowed to harm her now.

He then watched what should have been a horrific scene unfold before his eyes. The wind had shifted drastically, no longer was he smelling the distant Carrionplace. The scent of blood now flushed his nose and interested him greatly. However, it was Toadpelt who reacted first.

As their kin delved into the bushes, Snaketail and Twistedclaw reacted on sheer instinct, following him without hesitation.

Lizardeye tilted his head to look back at the apprentices.

"Come for now, we'll leave the loner to her fancy for the moment."

He would have mewed 'Stay close', but he didn't want to waste time stating the obvious. He turned and, in long strides, sprinted after his kin. The distance was not long. And soon they found themselves beside the Thunderpath. A limp and bleeding Fireshadow was in plain sight, and Hawktalon was struggling with Toadpelt.

To his amazement, Lizardeye observed that Twistedclaw was incredibly still rather than tearing Hawktalon to shreds with Toadpelt. Apparently, the small tabby was more reluctant to harm their clanmates then he had imagined.

Snaketail was already crouched beside Fireshadow, checking her over.

Lizardeye motioned with his tail for the apprentices to stay put, though he did not look back to see if they were actually present. The cold-eyed tabby strode to his Toadpelt's side and tapped the furious and frighted brown tom on his shoulder.

"Get off of him, you have your mate and kits to care for," he mewed in a voice so cold it was nearly metallic. He looked down at Hawktalon with cold green eyes that did not even reflect emotion. "You are in no position to give orders. We have yet to determine your innocence in this incedent."

He then whipped around to see his brothers. "However, he does have a point. If there is a dog running loose, the matter must be handled." Lizardeye thought darkly of the similar incedent occuring only yesterday. Of Brindlepelt...He would do better this time. No big risks.

"Therefore, Honeypaw, Eclipsepaw, and Emberpaw will hurry back to camp. Inform both Specklestar AND Runningfrost of the loose dog. The REST of us, are heading straight to camp."

" Snaketail and Toadpelt get on either side of Fireshadow. If sahe can't walk, Toadpelt, carry her!"

This way, if Hawktalon was responsible and not the dog. They could keep a good eye on him.

[Kitty]

((Oooh, good. ^^ Periwinkle is not of any immediate notice now.))

What was all the commotion? All the loner knew was that something was distracting her from her bugwatching. And this was something that was not allowed. Illegal, even. Someone was going to get hurt now.

Periwinkle sat bolt upright, yellow eyes narrowing angrily as she searched for the source of the cat voices. Then she picked up the scents of several different cats. Mostly ShadowClan. Ewww, Clan cats! Icky, icky, icky.

Worst of all, they stuck together. Mouse dung.

Periwinkle sighed. Well...maybe if she rolled in some Twoleg rubbish, they wouldn't notice her scent....Oh well. Probably too late, anyway. Those Clan cats' noses missed nothing.

The large black loner climbe dup to the top of a pile of Twoleg rubbish and glanced around. Anf there the group was - a rather large one for what she expecte. Usually they were smaller. SHe leaned in closer, as if that would help her see what was going on better.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

OoC// Finally, I am back home and able to post! I shall do my best to catch up on all I have missed.

Yoko, you mean "Lizardeye heard Toadpelt's approach," not "Toadpelt heard Toadpelt's approach," yes? XD *Tries not to freak out at the mention of Brindlepelt's name and fails*

And what is with these cats who seem to know they're pregnant as soon as they've conceived? Fireshadow isn't having her kits for a while, right? So why's Toadpelt all "Nuuu, my kits! D="

IC// Emberpaw strode easily behind her mentor, walking alongside her sisters with a quick step and a light heart. Now that she had been awake for a while and she was out and doing something, the grouchiness that came with being roused before the sun had worn off and she was feeling glad to be out of camp. Of course the murky surroundings of the swamp and choking odors of Carrionplace weren't exactly lovely to experience, but she was well used to them and wasn't bothered by the dismal conditions of her home. Some cats may look at ThunderClan's territory and burn with envy, but Emberpaw appreciated her own territory as well. It didn't stop her from dreaming of the day when they could take some of ThunderClan's land as their own, but she liked the swamp well enough to be content with it in the meantime.

As for the big black she-cat that had popped up in their territory, Emberpaw definitely didn't just want to let her stroll around on ShadowClan territory, but she would obey orders. The small tortoiseshell waited with her sisters and smirked at the loner, who was obviously completely insane. "She'd have to be crazy to wander onto Clan territory just to look at bugs," she muttered, keeping one incredulous cobalt eye on the cat called Periwinkle. But a moment later the stench of blood permeated the foul-smelling air, and there were suddenly much more important things to think about. Turning, sharply towards the source of the smell, Emberpaw pelted after Toadpelt and Lizardeye until they reached a clearing by the Thunderpath. Her eyes narrowed at the scene that greeted them.

"Arrogant piece of crow-food," Emberpaw muttered under her breath, regarding Hawktalon with distaste. He thought he could order her sisters and their mentors around? He may have been a senior warrior, but it was also entirely possible that he was guilty of trying to kill Fireshadow. He had no right to act like Clan deputy. She spent a short moment hoping that Lizardeye and his brothers would keep a close eye on him before her mentor began issuing cool commands, and Emberpaw was told to leave with her sisters to report what had happened. "Come on," she murmured, beckoning to her sisters with her tail. With a final glance at Lizardeye and Hawktalon, she raced away from the bloody scene. As she ran headlong back to camp, Emberpaw hoped that her mentor's good judgement and cool head would be enough to remedy the situation.

[Mousy]

[OoC: I guess so Spore. Is he? Oh. Yeah.
Also: I can tell that Emberpaw likes Hawktalon. What to do with Fireshadow. I'm going to have her see StarClan, methinks
@ Yoko: No, she hasn't, but she might when they get back to camp..]

Fireshadow opened her eyes. But no more was she near the Thunderpath. She was in a beautiful place with twinkling stars and the sound of flowing water, for some reason. It suddenly occurred that this was StarClan. She tentatively got up, and found her leg healed. Definitely StarClan. Then, a small, smoke-grey creature came bounding over excitedly.

********

Upon hearing Fireshadow's arrival, Smokekit came bounding over to the sister he never thought he'd see again, apart from watching over her. He knew about the kits.

"Sister! Sister! You're here!" He mewed excitedly. "I mean, dying and leaving your mate behind is bad and all, but I've always wanted to see you for real!" He mewed, excited.

********

At the mention of the word 'sister', Fireshadow panicked. She couldn't help it. She just knew that she had no kin. What was this kit doing, calling her sister?

"What do you mean, sister...?" she asked, not impolitely. StarClan should be treated with respect. Smokekit looked sad. Poor, poor Fireshadow. Didn't know who her kin were. Couldn't be helped. It was up to Gingerpoppy whether to tell her 'kin' about her heritage. "Who are you, anyway...?" Fireshadow whispered, feeling like she was about to faint again.

********

"I'm Smokekit. Your brother. Fireshadow, there's a lot that you you don't know. You are from RiverClan. Your mother is Lionfoot, your father is Snowyfang and Claw the Rogue and I are your brothers. I'm sorry Gingerpoppy didn't tell you... You were taken from RiverClan during a cold winter, the night after I died. Your brother, Claw, wasn't told about you until just before he left to become Claw." He said. He knew that Fireshadow was surprised. Why wouldn't she be? It was frightening to find out about this. He sighed and nosed the larger cat's side.

If he had grown up, he would be a good warrior by this time. He wasn't large, but a large cat didn't always make a good warrior. There were huge warriors who were great lummoxes. Smokekit was just... Vertically challenged. Or, in other words, small. But who cared? "Oh, and give Hawktalon a chance. That lot down there," he flicked his tail towards the ground, "really don't like him. Particularly that Emberpaw." He mewed, turning his back and leaving.

********

As Smokekit left, StarClan's starry hunting ground totally disappeared. Fireshadow was not yet ready to join StarClan and to leave her friends behind. But she was shocked by what Smokekit had told her. RiverClan? How was she descended from RiverClan? And who was Lionfoot? Probably about time to go looking for that Rogue...

She hadn't seen much of him when Smokekit had been talking, but she knew he had long, knotted white-and-ginger fur. Strange. He didn't look like her, Fireshadow knew that much, but, chances were, lion Swiftstorm and Jaypatch, he would much rather roll in foxdung and go to the Place of No Stars than look like his kin. But still.

Fireshadow moved her right front leg an inch, and felt a searing pain rush through every muscle in her body. But she put up with it, for the sake of the others, if anything. She hadn't seen where they landed, but she guessed from the feeling of the grass and the faint smell that they were at Carrionplace. Fireshadow hated the foul-smelling Carrionplace. But it was better than nothing for a dying cat. She opened her eye that wasn't pressed down on to the grass a fraction.

********

Toadpelt sighed, relieved to see Fireshadow move. He glanced apologetically at Hawktalon and carefully lifted Fireshadow up so that she was resting against his shoulder. She growled, but glanced at Hawktalon and smiled slightly. Toadpelt didn't notice.

"I thought we'd lost you there, Fireshadow..." He muttered softly to her. It was quiet. Deceptively so, Toadpelt thought. As he walked, he found himself looking behind himself if any of the other cats on the patrol put a paw down, afraid of the aforementioned dog. He hated twolegs. They were so irresponsible. They didn't realize that other animals lived in the forest. If he could, he would kill every twoleg, just for being a twoleg.

He lifted his head and glanced at Periwinke. Totally oblivious, as she often was. She was a nice cat, although deceptively strange. She could fight, definitely. She was a huge cat, but if this twoleg dog the injured Hawktalon had told them about was real, she needed to get out of there. It definitely wasn't safe.

********

Hawktalon was annoyed. Sure, the brothers didn't think he was to be trusted, but all the injuries? How would he be able to do all that? Fireshadow was way too fast for him! She would kill him before he could lay a paw on her! He hated the Clan. They always persecuted him. But while Fireshadow was coming round, he was comparatively happy. He really didn't want things to take a turn for the worse, though.

********

Toadpelt was relieved to see ShadowClan's camp, quite close. He glanced at the apprentices, slightly worried. Fortunately, he didn't scent dog at all, apart from on both Fireshadow and Hawktalon. He was sure that no-one would believe Hawktalon, but there was a chance that they'd believe Fireshadow, once she had a chance to recover and explain. Always a chance.