Battle Plans

[Yoko]

Specklestar strode through camp quickly, not paying attention to how far behind Dustpaw was. She was rather proud of her apprentice, although she had some unauthorized help. All the same, it was dark when Specklestar returned. All the camp was drowned in beautiful shadow, with only the faintest spears of half-moonlight reaking through. Only the lightest of pelts like her own were bright in the darkness.

Specklestar dismissed her apprentice with a tail flick, and passed by Icepelt. She beckoned him into her den with her tail.

Her den was fairly tidy beneath the roots of the oak tree, and incredibly a single pool of moonlight gathered on its right edge, landing on a blank slate of muddy sand.

"As you well know, tonight is the night that StarClan will inform Feathercloud about whether they approve or disapprove of my plans. However, until we receive actual words. I should very much like to discuss what I've been thinking of so far with you. I know my decision seems rash and sudden, but in truth I've been wondering about it for quite sometime. ShadowClan is overcrowded, and if we wait till leaf-bare, we may face starvation."

[Kitty]

The sun had set by the time Specklestar returned, Dustpaw following along behind. Icepelt still sat in camp, although he had moved his position to the center of camp rather than beside the fresh-kill pile, where he'd been sitting for a bit. He'd just been contemplating popping into the medicine cat den to check on the cats inside while Feathercloud was away when Specklestar passed by him, beckoning with her tail for him to join her. Obediently he rose and followed her to her den under the oak tree.

The deputy chose a seat near the moonlight shining through, making his white fur glow in the darkness. He listened intently to Specklestar as she spoke, giving a slight nod. It was true, her decision was rather sudden, but Icepelt understood why she'd done it. The Clan was very crowded, and with more litters on the way there was a very good possibility that his Clan would starve during leafbare when prey ran thin.

Amber eyes intent on Specklestar, the white tom meowed when she finished speaking, "I agree. We're overpopulated now, and if any more litters are born, we'll be even worse off." He thought of Smokeheart and what she'd told him earlier that moon. She would probably be having a litter of kits in the next couple moons. "I, too, worry that our territory will not support us during leafbare. So, what have you been thinking of?" he questioned in interest.

[Yoko]

Specklestar nodded, glad that she and her Deputy were on the same page because Feathercloud, as loyal as she was, was not on board. Not that Specklestar could blame her. Her own hesitance to go into battle was fear of seeing their Clanmates dead.

"I'm thinking of which piece of ThunderClan we can best protect. Now we know from traveling to Four Trees through the Thunderpath Tunnel that the Owl Tree is about here."

Specklestar unshethed her claws and began to dig in the muddy patch, sketching a crude map from ShadowClan Camp to the sliver of ThunderClan territory along the ThunderClan Path.

"Now all though Owl Tree appears to be the most reasonable place to strike, since it is nearest to the secret Thunderpath tunnel, it is also possibly the place that ThunderClan will fight the hardest for, because beyond Owl Tree is Four Trees, and ThunderClan would dislike being separated from that. On the other paw,"

She drew some squiggly curves along the Thunderpath line.

"There is Snake Rocks. This is surely a place that ThunderClan will not try nearly as hard to defend, but as you can see," she nodded to the line, "it would be dangerous to have our own warriors battle so close to Thunderpath. And also, we are unsure as to how much edible prey actually resides there, and I feel rather hesitant to send our apprentices out to hunt snakes. Lastly..."

She drew two long slender lines and scribbled at its top.

"The Great Sycamore. It's fairly far into ThunderClan territory. They will fight very hard for it. But it would be the greatest accumulation of prey-rich land we could get. The question now is...where to strike?"

[Kitty]

Icepelt gazed down at the rough drawing Specklestar had made in the mud in front of him. He considered what she was saying as she talked and drew with one claw. What she said was all true, and she was right. Where were they to strike? He nodded down to the map.

"Your points are all good ones, Specklestar. As to the answer to your question, I think it will take some thought." The tip of his white tail moved to point to the squiggly curves that signified Snakerocks. "While Snakerocks is likely the place that ThunderClan will try the least to protect, I, too, am not so sure of the safety of fighting so near the Thunderpath, and it may be too dangerous for our apprentices to hunt at." He gestured to the path to the Owl Tree. "This place would be the easiest to reach, but yes, ThunderClan will probably fight hard for it, so they can still reach Gatherings." Upon saying that, he moved on to the Great Sycamore. "And here is probably the most prey rich place that we've talked about so far, but it is also closer to the heart of ThunderClan. It would be much easier for ThunderClan to get help in the event of a sneak attack, and may result in the worst injuries for our Clans. I don't want any cat from either Clans to die if we can help it." He gazed down at the map uncertainly, considering. "I'm sure that isn't much aid in our decision. I feel that we don't know ThunderClan's territory quite as well as we should to make a good decision, but it may be hard to get a chance to learn more about it. If we send in scouts to look around, ThunderClan may suspect something."

[Yoko]

Specklestar blinked. Icepelt was right. Although it appeared to be a fairly good layout (badly drawn though it was), there was no sure way to know how prey-rich any place was or how far things were from each other. If they sent their own cats it would be obvious spying...

An idea struck her. She looked up at Icepelt, mouth half open but she closed it again. Was it too crazy? Well the idea of attacking the ThunderClan would be equally crazy considering how peaceful that Clan had been.

"Icepelt, what we need are cats that are without ShadowClan scent. Cats that ThunderClan would not recognize!"

[Kitty]

Icepelt continued considered their options, gazing down at the crudely drawn layout off ThunderClan's territory. It was surprising to the deputy that his leader even knew this much about ThunderClan. Snakerocks and the Owl Tree were pretty easy, but the Great Sycamore was farther in ThunderClan's territory. He didn't look up until Specklestar said his name, and when he did his blue eyes came up to gaze at the she-cat, a bit surprised by her tone.

Her proposition was brilliant, clever, and completely unexpected. His mouth opened a bit in surprise, but then after he thought about it for a moment, it sounded great. What they needed were loners, possibly even kittypets, that could discover all the secrets of ThunderClan. Where they tended to spend the most time, where the prey ran best. It was a good idea, and ThunderClan would never suspect that ShadowClan was behind it. They would suspect a group of loners passing through.

He gave a nod of agreement. "That is a brilliant idea, Specklestar," he meowed. "Very clever. ThunderClan won't suspect a thing. The only question is...who will we be able to find to scout out ThunderClan for us? There are plenty of loners and kittypets in the area, but the problem will be finding which ones are willing to help us."

[Yoko]

A secret grin spread across Specklestar's muzzle. Her dark green eyes glinted in the darkness. Her mind was racing. Her heart too. If she were not leader, she would send herself out to seek these brave cats. Well, as brave as Kittypet's loners and rogues could be. In the meantime, she needed cats with skill, charisma, and stealth. She smirked. Well in that case she just needed one cat.

"We shall send only our most sociable, amicable, knowledgeable cat," she mewed. "Snaketail. And to ensure that he stays in line, we shall send Lightningclaw with him. She's young, loyal, and most importantly, dedicated to the Warrior Code. She'll keep him in line."

[Kitty]

Icepelt dipped his head. The cats Specklestar had chosen were good cats, loyal and clever. They would be able to find cats for the job. Although Icepelt wouldn't have minded going, either, he was needed in camp, preparing the cats here for the upcoming battle for ThunderClan territory. It would be up to Snaketail and Lightningclaw to pick the right loners or kittypets for the job, and he would have to trust their judgement.

"Wise choices," he agreed. "Both young, but loyal. The young cats are the future of our Clan, after all." Without young cats there would soon be no Clan, after all. "We'll have to trust their judgement in who they decide to send out to spy on ThunderClan's territory. I've no clue as to how they'll be able to convince any loner or kittypet to help us, perhaps we'll have to give them something, but I'm sure we can think of something. Perhaps they could just find cats that might be willing to do the job and bring them back here."

[Yoko]

Specklestar wrapped her tail around her paws. She was smiling amicably at Icepelt now. He always made himself sound so old, but he was a long way from an elder. His wisdom was always greatly appreciated as a Senior Warrior, that was why she had chosen him to be Deputy.

"Yes, I suppose I was getting a little ahead of myself. We do have to consider rewards for these allies of ours. I am sure that Lightningclaw and Snaketail would not return with cats that would be too demanding or dangerous. Perhaps we ought to tell them to go after younger cats, apprentice age. ThunderClan is full of such soft hearts, they would never dream young loners to be spies. As for bringing them to camp, it would risk ShadowClan scent clinging to them too much. The Clan should be informed of our plans, yes. But we should handle it gently, perhaps even after the fact. The problem is when to execute this brilliant plan. Leaf-fall is nearing...I believe the time when this could be best executed would be a Gathering night, because no border patrols would be roaming ThunderClan that night. But I believe a half-moon would not be enough time to find proper candidates. So perhaps the Gather Night after this one? It's only a scouting mission, so we would need to make proper plans immediately afterwards. We're losing so much time and we would be weakened by mid leaf-bare."

[Kitty]

"Ah, you're correct, Specklestar. I forgot about that." Forgetting that their scent might rub off on the loners or kittypets chosen to do the job had been mousebrained. A stupid mistake. Ah well. "As for the younger cat idea, I'd say that that would work well. Besides, its against the warrior code to hurt kits, so maybe if they were closer to kit age ThunderClan will be more lenient. And you're right, ThunderClan is full of soft-hearted cats. They aren't likely to injure a young cat we send in." Icepelt listened intently to the rest of what Specklestar proposed - about the date to send in the scouts. "The Gathering night sounds like a good idea," he agreed. "Most of the Clan will be at Fourtrees and even then, there'll be no patrols. The fullmoon after this one should be good - it would give us plenty of time to search for cats willing to go in to ThunderClan." His face became grave. "We need to attack before leafbare, though. I fear our Clan won't last through the lack of prey unless we gain more territory."

[Yoko]

Specklestar was silent for a moment. Her green eyes cast down at the soft earth of her den. A sadness was welling inside her. The Clans were all full of cats. Cats who would want the same rights as ShadowClan. Cats who wanted to raise their kits in peace, who wanted their families well-fed, who wanted to find love and friends. She shook her head of it. All Clans wanted these things but ShadowClan needed them, deserved them.

Straightening herself up she mewed, "We won't inform the two cats until dawn of Gathering Day, and they'll depart when our Clan departs for The Gathering. The problem is the length of time they'll be out searching. Knowing Snaketail, it won't take long, but a day of his absence might cause a panic. We know how talkative he is. And Lightningclaw isn't without her friends also."

[Kitty]

Icepelt gave a nod. As much as he disliked the idea of having to take some of ThunderClan territory - spy on it, even - he knew that it was for the good of the Clan. If they didn't get more territory, there was a good possibility that some of his Clan wouldn't last through leafbare. He might feel bad about it, but it was what needed to happen.

"Alright, Specklestar. We'll inform them on Gathering Day, and we'll just have to think of something to tell the rest of the Clan about their absence. Running an errand, maybe looking into some suspicious 'loner scents'." They were all lies, of course. They could just go the easy way and say that they were sent on a super secret warrior mission, the tom supposed. "We'll worry about that when the time comes, though."