The Plot Begins [Private Thread]

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

The gloom inside the stony den was almost impenetrable. Blackness permeated the air, relieved only faintly by the pale, weak light of predawn. It would be a while yet before the sun rose; hopefully that would be enough for him to accomplish the plan that he had decided to follow. Rivermist wouldn't like it; he suspected that the silvery queen and he would be on quite unfriendly terms for the next while, at least. But it was for the good of the Clan that he did this, and perhaps it would benefit the kits involved as well. He hoped the rest of the Clan would see that.

Crouching in his nest, a shadowy shape even darker than the night, Ravenstar waited for those who he had sent for to arrive. Rivermist had told him which kits she had decided to send to ShadowClan, and that she would bring them herself to Fourtrees at dawn. But that would mean four more cats for ShadowClan, cats who would become apprentices just as greenleaf was ending, and ShadowClan would be the most ambitious. Despite the repercussions that he knew it would have on himself and his Clan, this was something that Ravenstar could not allow.

During the last couple days, the small tom had thought intensely about what he could do to prevent ShadowClan from gaining even more power. In the end, he decided that he had to take action regardless of the mother's wishes, and had roused four cats from the where they slept and told them to see him in his den. Now the WindClan leader waited for Doveclaw, Thrushtail, Heathertail, and Firepool to arrive. The four of them had an important task to perform, and it was imperative that they started early, so everything could proceed as planned.



Doveclaw had been one of the first to rouse, alerted instantly by the quiet tone of her leader's voice and the paw on her flank. Blinking her eyes awake, she had watched with bemusement as Ravenstar padded first to Thrushtail, then to Heathertail and finally Firepool, waking them each in turn. Once each of the warriors was awake, the black tom disappeared across camp, heading to his own to wait for the four who he had asked for.

Getting to her paws, Doveclaw glanced in Thrushtail's direction to make sure that she was coming as well. She waited for a moment until her friend was ready, and then padded quickly across the clearing to Ravenstar's den. The WindClan leader had been clear that they were to wake no one else, and that this was a matter of utmost importance. She knew that today was the day that Rivermist's four kits moved to ShadowClan... could this have something to do with it?

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Something told the warrior's unconsciousness that she needed to wake up, despite her deep, restful sleep. Gradually she was pulled away from her sleeping state, waking up slowly but surely. She moved slightly, dimly aware of other movement in the nearby and opened her eyes as she heard Ravenstar speaking in her ear. Soon he was gone, and Heathertail was so tired she wasn't sure if it had been a dream or not. She started to sit up and saw Doveclaw waking up as well. Silently she got to her paws and padded toward the leader's den.

Inside the den it was dim, almost as dark as the light outside, for it wasn't sunrise yet. Heathertail stifled a yawn, although her eyes gave away her tiredness. What had been Ravenstar's meaning for waking them up so early? It seemed very important and urgent, or else he wouldn't have been so secret about it and felt the need to wake them up so early. She had been chosen, but for what? She looked toward the black tom expectantly.

[Ki]

This was so unfair.

Thrushtail had been rudely roused from her sleep. And for what? Ravenstar wouldn't even say. He just murmured for her to meet him in his den. What was so urgent that he had to wake her when the sun was barely over the horizon? She padded just behind Doveclaw, her eyes clouded with drowsiness. Some part of her tired mind was going over what this could possibly mean. Were they in trouble? Had Ravenstar found out about their pact? Well, if that was the case, why were Heathertail and Firepool being dragged along as well? It made no sense. Were they supposed to go on some sort of patrol? No, that didn't work either! Why would he call them for something as trivial as that? No, it had to be important. But at the moment she just didn't care. The part of her mind working studiously to unravel this mystery was shut down. It seemed more as if Thrushtail was sleepwalking than anything else; her eyes were glassy and her paws moved mechanically. Mornings just didn't agree with her.

This is so stupid. she thought dully as she reached the leader's den. What in the name of StarClan could Ravenstar want?

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Within moments, the cool darkness of the den was filled with the soft sounds of feline bodies. Doveclaw was the first one there, but Heathertail and Thrushtail followed soon after, bringing an idle thought about she-cats and their promptness in relation to toms to his mind. But then Firepool slid into the den as well, settling his lanky frame in a clear space, and everyone was there. Ravenstar could finally begin, and set the plan in motion that would affect the fate of his Clan for moons afterward.

"Good, you're all here," he said in greeting. "I apologize for waking all of you so early without notice, but there is something that you must do that is of utmost urgency. As all four of you know, come sunrise, four of Rivermist's kits will be taken to ShadowClan to live with their father, Foxfur. They agreed on this two days ago, when ShadowClan came to retrieve their injured kits from our camp.

"However," he continued, "it is no secret that those kits have the blood of all four Clans running within them. It is also well known that ShadowClan is currently the biggest Clan in the forest. To allow them four more kits would bolster their numbers even further, making them a danger to all Clans, for at the end of greenleaf those kits will be apprenticed, and there is no doubt that ShadowClan will only use them as instruments of war.

"Therefore, I am sending you to RiverClan and ThunderClan to offer a proposal to Ashstar and Willowstar. If the eight kits are split four ways, and two are sent to each Clan, then it will mean that two more must leave their mother's side. However, it will also prevent ShadowClan from having any advantage over the other Clans. It could be argued that each Clan can lay claim to the kits in any case, so it is suiting that two of the kits should live in each Clan."

Having finished his explanation, Ravenstar gazed around the gathered cats, expecting protests or questions. Hopefully anything his warriors had to say would be quick and to the point, so that he could send them out. RiverClan and ThunderClan had to be ready by dawn, and that wasn't far away.

[Ki]

Well that woke Thrushtail up rather quickly. Her ears rose to an erect position instead of laying flat against her head in irritation. All grogginess in her eyes was filtered out with a few quick blinks. She glanced at Doveclaw to see how her friend was taking this news. Ravenstar was splitting up the kits even further! Instead of four kits going to ShadowClan, there would be only two! Something about this news made her knead at the den floor uneasily. ShadowClan would not be pleased. That went for Rivermist as well. But Rivermist, well, she was just one she-cat. ShadowClan had many she-cats. Toms too. They were a vast Clan with a lot of strength and power behind them. How would they react when they found out Ravenstar had stiffed them out of two kits?

War? She hoped not. Battle would seriously cut into her time with Russetfang.

"ShadowClan won't be happy..." Thrushtail said in a quiet, sing-song voice. Well, they wouldn't. She could only image what Rivermist would do when she found out. As for Specklestar and the rest of those swamp-dwelling cats...well...lets just say she didn't want to be the one to tell them that Ravenstar decided to only fufill half of their demands.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Heathertail shifted her gaze to the entrance of the den as Thrushtail and Firepool came in as well, and she made a silent remark in surprise that he was actually up. She was surprised that he of all cats had been able to wake up so early. But it was probably because it had been Ravenstar who had called them into his den. This had to be something important. They were all here, and she looked back at Ravenstar has he began to speak.

They were going to what? Ask Ashstar and Willowstar to agree to split the kits four ways? Heathertail tried to wrap her mind around this, and she thought about what Ravenstar said. It was true that ShadowClan was the largest and strongest in the forest. Depending on how much they wanted the kits, they could easily threaten war if they didn't get the four that were agreed on. But giving them the four would only make them stronger. However if they got ThunderClan and RiverClan on their side... maybe it would be enough to make them think twice about starting fights.

She thought about the parents and how they would feel, each losing two more kits. This would be going behind both their backs and possibly causing even more conflict. However, this wasn't about them any more, was it? It was about the kits, and how much stronger their rival Clan would become with four new warriors.

She looked down at the ground for several moments as she thought. "ShadowClan won't be happy..." But what can we do? Say 'No, Ravenstar, I won't do it.'? Heathertail knew better than to disagree with her leader. Ravenstar was smart and he knew what he was doing, even considering the risks. If they had the other Clans on their side then maybe things would work in their favor.

"...But I think we should." she said, going off of Thrushtail's thoughts. "We might be able to get the other Clans on our side. I'll go, Ravenstar."

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Ravenstar regarded the warriors in front of him patiently, unsurprised when Thrushtail brought up the problem of ShadowClan. It was a valid concern, antagonizing a Clan that already had the largest fighting force in the forest. But he had thought this out thoroughly, and he felt sure that they could pull this off without inviting an attack from ShadowClan. "ShadowClan will not be pleased, but they should know better than to argue. Both ThunderClan and RiverClan will be in our debt if we do this; Specklestar will know that to attack us in retaliation is to attack all three of the other Clans."

"You haven't spoken to Rivermist about this yet, have you?" Doveclaw challenged. The petite she-cat was sitting next to Thrushtail, gazing soberly at her leader. Looking at her, Ravenstar shook his head.

"No," he said steadily. "I will speak with her once you leave, so that she is prepared when it comes time to move the kits. I regret that this can no-longer be her decision, but it is for the good of all Clans. Sometimes there is no right decision, but hopefully she will see that this is the best thing." After a moment Doveclaw nodded, and closed her eyes without further comment. Tilting his ears towards Heathertail, Ravenstar dipped his head towards the she-cat. "Thank you, Heathertail," he mewed. "You will go to RiverClan with Firepool, and inform Willowstar of what I have said. It is best if you go as soon as possible; sunrise is not far away, and we're going to be late as it is." Flicking his tail toward the exit, he regarded Firepool as the lanky warrior rose to his paws and spoke for the first time that night.

"We'll get it done, Ravenstar,"" he mewed, and turned to pad out of the den, waiting for Heathertail before slipping out of the entrance. The small black cat turned his pale green eyes to Doveclaw and Thrushtail, noticing that even in the short time that they had spent speaking, the blackness of the den had lightened a shade towards grey.

"You two must be even faster than the other patrol," he informed the two she-cats, "for you have to journey all the way to ThunderClan's camp. Do not go through Fourtrees; it will be faster to cut through RiverClan's territory, and I don't want you running into a ShadowClan patrol before we're ready."

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[Ki]

Well, that was good, wasn't it? Thrushtail blinked at her friend and smiled sleepily. At least they could go on this mini-adventure together. Part of her was curious as to what the other Clan territories looked like; every kit had heard about where each of the Clans lived, but it wasn't like being there yourself. She wished she could ask for Russetfang to come. Maybe if he was a warrior she would ask so that they could have some extra 'protection.' But he wasn't. He was a medicine cat.

Stupid Russetfang and his stupid medicine cat-ness.

Stupid StarClan for giving stupid Russetfang his stupid medicine cat-ness.

Stupid Ravenstar. Just, stupid Ravenstar.

She nodded to her leader and rose to her paws. Being swift would not be a problem. They were WindClan warriors after all! It shouldn't be too hard to sprint to ThunderClan. What made her nervous was ther RiverClan bit. There could be some very serious misunderstandings should they get caught by the wrong patrol. But for the moment, Thrushtail turned her mind away from this subject. The sooner they went, the sooner they could get back. And the sooner they could get back the sooner Thrushtail could either 1) go back to sleep or 2) flirt with Russetfang. Hopefully the latter.

"C'mon, Doveclaw." Thrushtail mewed tiredly. She started to pad out, then looked back at Ravenstar with a impish smile. "Good luck telling Rivermist." She hoped the mother of eight clawed off his ears. It served him right for waking them up so early! With that she slipped out of the den and into the soft morning light.