Dawn Patrol

[Yoko]

Ahhh, the clean morning air filled her chest. The sky was a lovely dark violet, tinged with pink where the Sun was stirring. The rising of the Sun was far from a silent event. It's prelude was a crescendo of bird calls and a thunder of beating wings, accompanied by the slurps and burps of the swamp as well as the steady croak of frogs and toads. Even as they inched away from the main swamp, the sounds drummed strong in her speckled ears.

Paws sinking comfortably into the mud, Specklestar led her small patrol towards the ThunderClan border. She was rather excited to get there, but kept a steady pace in case there were unwanted visitors leering from across Thunderpath. With her were Nettlefang and Lightfeather whom she trusted to make a fair and unbiased assessment of the border. It was important that she get a fresh take on how this would all appear, even at the cause of some interrogation from them both.

The border was just barely in sight when the stench hit her nose. She flexed the delicate nose fiercely and crouched into a suspicious stalk as they neared the border, ears pressed back. Perhaps some cats were still here? If they were they'd be sorry for lingering.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Lightfeather walked with a lighter step these days, since her sister had seemed to have come so far since the frightening day when she was injured on a dawn patrol very much like this one. As if she was the one who had suffered the slow-healing shoulder injury, the cream-striped she-cat had been slower and more subdued for the first several days after Brindlepelt was injured, when it seemed as if she would never recover. It was only after the slender tortoiseshell had finally moved out of Feathercloud's den and begun to take part in daily tasks once again that Lightfeather had regained her former cheer and enthusiasm. She had been so worried for her quieter half's sake, although Brindlepelt had repeatedly told her not to be. It was good to see her acting more like herself.

And privately, Lightfeather thought that Brindlepelt's shoulder wasn't the only thing that had been healing over the past moon. She didn't know why, but it seemed that her sister rested easier these most recent nights, and was happier during her waking hours. Brindlepelt was rarely completely open with anyone anymore, even with her, but whatever it was that had lightened her heart, Lightfeather was glad of it. Ever since a few moons after they had become warriors, she had seemed so sad, somehow, and had started to isolate herself. Lightfeather was happy for any improvement regarding her sister's demeanour, even if she didn't know why it had dimmed or why the suggestion of brightness had returned.

Currently, she was aiming that newly-unburdened gait across the soggy ground of the swamp, as she followed ShadowClan's leader Specklestar on a dawn patrol of their borders. The young leader didn't lead patrols often, and Lightfeather was both pleased and honoured to be able to accompany her on one. She walked a few paces behind the speckled cat, next to the warrior Nettlefang, and let her senses comb the stagnant air as they approached the Thunderpath. The cool morning mists stank of Monsters and the path that they patrolled, although the occasional cricket or frog peeped from the reeds near the path's edge, unperturbed by the giant, shining beasts that snarled periodically by. But, so far Lightfeather scented nothing unusual, no fox or badger, and nothing from a rival Clan. The border seemed peaceful.

They still had a distance to go, though. There was plenty of time for that to change.

[{ i z z i e }]

The dawn had broken in a haze of indigo and rose, and Nettlefang was padding along the border, on patrol with his leader and fellow warrior Lightfeather. The ginger-and-white warrior had a sense that Specklestar seemed on guard lately, as if there were something she was waiting for, but he wasn't sure what that could be. In any case, he was honored to be accompanying the leader on this dawn patrol -- it was better him than most of those other excuses for warriors. ShadowClan contained a number of fine cats, but there were others who just felt wrong to him.

Treachery in their Clan was far from impossible. He already had his suspicions about some; it wasn't even that they were traitors, necessarily, but that there was the potential for disloyalty. That potential made all the difference to Nettlefang. Specklestar was his leader, and he believed in her judgment. Icepelt, too, was a respectable deputy. It was the others around them that couldn't be trusted.

Lightfeather was a good sort, though, and he accepted the idea of patrolling with her. She was the kind to wear her heart on her sleeve, and he hadn't seen anything in her that suggested treachery. Her sisters were relatively all right as well. No, it was the toms they kept as company who rankled him a little. Those three, and their former apprentices...

Well, there was no use thinking about it right this moment. The three cats were approaching the border to ThunderClan, and Nettlefang had to be on the alert, especially judging by Specklestar's reaction. There probably wasn't anything too suspicious going on, but one never knew.

[Yoko]

No word from her warriors yet. Perhaps it was better covered than she had thought? Her knowledge of the event was affecting her sensory perception of it. She would commend the the other two latter for their work. Meanwhile, the speckled leader straightened up and smoothed her fur back.

Anxiety aside, it was a beautiful morning. The ground was more solid near the border, but it was still soft and molding under her paws. The grass was long and pliant. Although the sky was radiant with colors, the world around still seemed dark and unclear. Her ShadowClan trained eyes swept confidently across the border, not a ThunderClan cat in sight. It appeared that the day would be quiet after all, but she had to push a bit further, to be absolutely sure that her own warriors noticed nothing of the other cats' scent.

"Do the two of you sent anything odd? Or is it just me?" she mewed with an air of curiosity.