Larkclaw || 15 Moons || Female || DawnClan Warrior
Location: DawnClan Territory || Mentions: Umbraclaw, Foxpaw (Indirect: Redeye, Sootpaw, Owlfeather)

Larkclaw stood with wide eyes and a gaping maw for a moment as she watched the strange cat leap away into the underbrush. After her moment of astonishment, she took a step forward to follow and was about to call out to the feline when the familiar voice of Umbraclaw commanded that the large cat be allowed to leave. Much of her wanted to protest, wishing to go after the cat and find out what had caused those wounds. If a cat their size had done that, whether it be a cat from DuskClan or some rogue out there, they were either insane or immensely powerful to be able to hurt such a formidable looking feline.

One of her ears twisted back in annoyance, and for once she probably felt like Foxpaw did most days. Larkclaw contemplated risking her deputy’s wrath for a few moments as the black she-cat moved toward the feathers that had been left behind, but finally just looked away back to where the dappled cat had disappeared. But something else seemed to be moving, and she squinted her eyes more in the direction of the river that bordered the two clans. She definitely was not seeing things, those definitely looked like cats crossing over onto DawnClan territory.

The fur along her spine started to bristle as she turned back to the deputy, hissing quietly, “Umbraclaw, it seems we have some friends visiting us from DuskClan.” Larkclaw’s tail lashed in the direction she saw the shapes moving, directing both the mollies to look that way. “I’m getting closer.”

Without waiting for an answer she crouched down low and began stalking towards the three cats, trying to place who they were in her mind. She hadn’t gotten a great look, but one was certainly all white, perhaps an unnatural shade of white, making her think it might be the strange red-eyed tom she had met on rare occasions during border patrols. The other seemed to have gray fur, but that was too common a color to figure out who it was from this distance. And the last seemed to have lighter fur that darkened at the face, paws, and tail… no. That couldn’t possibly be the DuskClan deputy. It took every muscle in her to keep from digging her claws into the ground and flying forward. Was this some sort of attack?

Dustpelt|Warrior of Duskclan|Leggy Calico Tom|Location: Duskclan Camp|Mentions: Wolfstorm, Vulturepaw
Dustpelt twitched an ear at her words. Personally, he didn't put much stock in the rumors about the strange bit of territory in the forest. As far as he was concerned, the Dawnclan cats were just overly superstitious. He glanced at Wolfstorm, noting her reaction. Perhaps it was not just Dawnclan that held the superstitious closely. Perhaps it was his own upbringing that made the tom a bit skeptical about all things 'spirit' related.
"I'm less scared of ghost cats in a cave than I am the living ones on its territory." He muttered with a snort.
However after this comment, he grew more quiet, scenting the air. His heart however, wasn't into it. After a few lackluster attempts at picking up a trail, he gave up, proceding to instead drag his claws along a fallen branch, looking around. He was near one of their common traveling paths, and he knew that while could be around, it was less likely to venture where the cat scent was strong.
Dustpelt was about to shift deeper into the forest, when a new sound hit his ear. Leaping onto the branch, he peered through the foliage, cream and black fur shifting through his viewpoint. He gave a call to Wolfstorm, hoping she was still near enough to hear before he hopped down, intercepting the warrior and apprentice with a curious tilt of his head.
"Something happen?" His eyes swiveled over them both, face trying to remain its usual jovial expression, but worry tinging his gaze.

Foxpaw|Apprentice of Dawnclan|Small Ginger Tabby She-cat|Location: Clan Borders|Mentions: Umbraclaw, Larkclaw, Duskclan patrol
Foxpaw felt her claws dig into the earth, and she turned away from Umbraclaw with a quiet growl to herself, the deputy already heading towards the feathers the strange cat had left behind. From her perspective, the strange hadn't been much bigger than a fox, and their clan had fought plenty of those before. They should be making it come with them, and explain itself. It could after all, speak; if a bit roughly.
Her yellow gaze twitched over Larkclaw, who, while silent, had twisted her own ear back in the shadow of annoyance. This expression changed however when Larkclaw gave her warning message. Duskclan. Those cats were on their territory again. It was mere days since the incident at the River Rocks, and they had the gall to blatantly cross the river. Foxpaw doubted they were hunting, but her mind instantly flew to, Spies!
With Umbraclaw no longer guarding her, she felt her muscles tense under her coat, ready to spring forward. She nearly did, but then her ears pricked, and she held her position. As if the apprentice was listening to something else, she stalked forward a ways, until she could see the offending patrol as well, now standing a little behind Larkclaw.
"We can take them by surprise." She muttered, and though the words could have been directed at the warrior, they seemed more muttered to herself.

Event for: Duskclan Patrol

As you enter the territory, the north slopes uphill, while the south remains flat. Now in, you can see what looks like stone in the peculiar shape of a wall off in the distance, a bit further south than where you crossed the river, slightly hidden in the foliage and trees. It smells like Dawnclan, but also like the serval scent.

| Wolfstorm | 38 Moons | Female | Duskclan Warrior |
Location: Duskclan territory
Mentions: Dustpelt, Vulturepaw

"Be cautious of those 'ghosts,' Dustpelt, they have more power than you'd think." She flicked her tail amusedly as they headed out properly. "They're the ones who directed me to Duskclan, I owe a lot to starclan, I think my faith in them is the least I can do." She purred, nudging Dustpelt teasingly. "Wanna see who can get the most prey before sundown? Winner takes the best piece of prey from the haul?" She barely let the tom respond before she was off, managing somehow to leap from place to place and avoid getting too much mud in her fur before she could even really hunt properly.

It wasn't long after that she heard Dustpelt calling for her, seeming worried, She picked up the mouse she'd just caught and hurried towards the sound of the call. As she came into the clearing, she saw Dustpelt and Vulturepaw, looking a bit shaken and concerned.

"Is everything alright?" The calico she-cat sat down, pulling chunks of dried peat from the fur on her paws as she listened to what Vulturepaw had to say.

Owlfeather|Duskclan|Deputy|36 Moons Old|Siamese She-Cat|Location: Dawnclan territory|Mention(s) Directly: Sootpaw, Redeye|Mention(s) Indirectly: Dawnclan cats

The deputy twitched her ear, at her apprentices words. The deputy turned and looked in the direction, Sootpaw was already searching with his eyes. She could not see anything, Owlfeather furrowed her brow. Probably Hopefully it was nothing, maybe just a squirrel. Tapping Sootpaw's shoulder, to get the young toms attention, Owlfeather nodded south. They had already walked a bit into the territory and now that they had stopped on a small rise, the she-cat had noticed a stone wall just south of them. Looking back at the white tom and the grey tabby tom, the siamese she-cat gave her orders with her tail, 'this way, stay quiet.'
Looking to the south, the deputy furrowed her brow. She did not like the idea, that they where on another clans territory. They needed to stay hidden, who knew what the DawnClan cats would do to trespassers, on their precious territory. As the deputy walked closer to this stone wall, Owlfeather's nose twitched. The wind had changed. On the air was the same smell as before, Dawnclan, but also.... also.... That smelled like the servl, like Shadow. Had that strange cat actually told the truth? As her mind started to race, Owlfeather's pace quickened. Was Shadow's sister realy there?

⇺ [ Redeye ] ⇻
36 Moons • Male • DuskClan • Warrior
Location: Outside Camp • Mentions: Owlfeather, Sootpaw, DawnClan Patrol

As they entered DawnClan territory Redeye kept watch for signs of their enemies. Any sound, regardless of how minimal, captured his attention, his unnerving crimson gaze snapping in the direction the noise emanated from. Thus far the source had been nothing more than the breeze shifting leaves or a brave squirrel risking darting across the ground in their presence, but this did nothing to quell his paranoia. The further in they ventured a new scent became apparent under DawnClan's thick musk. Perhaps this Serval creature?

He glanced toward Owlfeather, noting she must have noticed as well judging by her rapid pace. Trusting she had her eyes ahead, Redeye kept his gaze on their surroundings, freezing as he thought he spotted movement in the distance. It was difficult to make out, whatever it was blended well with their environment, but sure enough, he was quite certain he could spot hints of white on a brown tabby pelt. "Owlfeather," he hissed under his breath. "We have company." His claws automatically unsheathed, expecting they would soon be in for a fight.

Gingerstar | DawnClan Leader | 36 Moons | Mollie | Camp | Blackstar

Gingerstar stilled slightly when she heard Blackstar's comment about the loss of their medicine cat. She inclined her head just slightly as a sign of respect for the medicine cat. Though Gingerstar had very little patience for her own, she had a funny sort of respect for them and knew that the loss of one, in any circumstance in any clan, was one to be mourned. Her tail flicked, and she straightened again when he mentioned that Dustpelt would remain Harepaw's mentor. She had seen the abnormal creature once or twice along the borders, he was if anything an abomination. It made no sense for a male to have that patchy fur. Her ear flicked irritably and she sighed slightly, nodding in thought.

"Your medicine cat apprentice. Mothpaw. The little patchy kit out there. I will speak to Ravenblaze and Hornetpaw about potentially helping him fill any gaps in his knowledge. No clan deserves to go without medicine- even one as dirty-blooded as yours."

She turned slightly, blinking as she contemplated his other proposal. Flamepaw wouldn't know the quickest way through the territory- but Lightsong would. As with this Dustpelt character, Lightsong was apprenticed under Mousefur for awhile, perhaps they could collaborate a bit more than she had originally thought. She didn't like the idea of removing Scorchwing as Flamepaw's mentor, not so far into training, but it may be beneficial to have them work in a joint task force.

"Flamepaw's messenger apprenticeship is still rocky and new," she said calmly, "It was only four days past that our last messenger was killed and she does not yet have a good grasp on the role. Her brother, Lightsong, trained under Mousefur and I believe should remember the routes he was taught. He and Flamepaw will escort your messenger back to DuskClan camp, do your best to familiarize her with the terrain if you would. Lightsong will do the same."

She rose onto her paws, stretching slightly. "Do you have any protests or concerns?"

Her voice was cool, obviously hinting that she would not be particularly thrilled if he had anything to say about it.
If you ask too many questions, or seek too much approval, nothing ever gets done


---

Weaselflight | DuskClan Warrior | 21 Moons | Tom | The Traps | Sootpaw; Owlfeather; Redeye; Vulturepaw; Dustpelt; Wolfstorm

Weaselflight ducked his head when Owlfeather ordered him back to camp. Part of him was upset by this development, but an even larger part was terribly grateful. He nodded weakly at Redeye when the albinoid tom asked him to watch over the little stubby black tom. He watched them recede towards the DawnClan border before turning around and limping after Vulturepaw. The little tom took the initiative on returning home- he was a lot swifter than his stubby legs would make one think. With his fat paw, he was having a significantly harder time moving towards the camp.

He was a bit later than Vulturepaw, but he stumbled into camp in time to hear Dustpelt's question, followed up quickly by Wolfstorm's secondary inquiry. He kinda dropped down on one side, rolling down onto the ground and huffing tiredly. Limping was a lot more work than expected and he was simply exhausted. With his lack of sleep due to the nightmares and his constant fear and anxiety, he was feeling a bit faint.

"N-n-nothing happened," he said, voice strained. He closed his eyes and lifted up his infected foot which was throbbing painfully. He opened one eye and smiled very faintly at Dustpelt, as he was now almost entirely on his back. "I think t-t-that I look a l-l-little like you w-when you sleep," he teased mildly, trying to ignore the pain.
Better safe than sorry


---

Event For: Umbraclaw, Larkclaw, Foxpaw, Owlfeather, Redeye, Sootpaw

As the DuskClan and DawnClan patrols catch sight of one another, there's a strange yowling noise- sounding most definitely like the wordless sounds the strange cat had been making earlier. It is apparent that she is nearby- but her dappled and darker pelt is very good camouflage, and it is near impossible to locate exactly where she is hidden. All that is immediately apparent is that her voice is loud but not in either patrol's ears, placing her somewhere central between them.

Blackstar|Leader of Duskclan|One eyed Black Tom|Location: Dawnclan Camp|Mentions: Gingerstar, Harepaw, Mothpaw
Blackstar felt himself not relax, but nod in acceptance of Gingerstars words. Though the two leaders did not have a pleasant past, even they were smart enough to put the past aside for the current predicament.
"Mothpaw has come far in his training, but perhaps at the next full moon, he can travel with your medicine-cats to the Starpool." He mewed. It was a good compromise in his mind, if the medicine-cats met earlier, it would perhaps give them more time if the young cat needed any aid.
"Thank you." He rose from his position, meeting her coold gaze with his own, though there was almost a flicker of amusement across his face. He had never imagined himself sitting with, and agreeing with the sharp she-cat. Then, the moment passed and he shifted on his paws to turn, ready to leave her den.

"No concerns otherwise." He mewed, perhaps as eager to leave as she was for him and his cats to get out of their camp.
Padding back out into the dappled sunlight, he looked for the other two apprentices.
"Harepaw, Mothpaw!" His mew was sharp, alerting them that it was time to go. He hoped that Mothpaw had sufficient time to speak with the Dawnclan medicine-cat apprentice. He twitched his tail to beckon them closer.
"Lightsong and Flamepaw will be escorting us back. Harepaw, you need to pay close attention. It will be a path you need to know." His ear twitched.
"We will also be showing them the best path through our terrain." His ears gave away a tinge of doubt. Adderflight had known the best path, and the route had been kept rather quiet as most Messenger paths were. While Blackstar knew the terrain like his own fur, the messengers saw ways that were unique and unseen by the average cat.
With that last thought, he nodded to his clanmates, then to the Dawnclanners who would be traveling with them, giving Gingerstar a last, lingering look before he waited for them to lead on.

Dustpelt|Warrior of Duskclan|Leggy Calico Tom|Location: Duskclan Territory|Mentions: Weaelflight, Vulturepaw, Wolfstorm
Dustpelt's attention shifted slightly as Wolfstorm emerged, prey in her jaws but eyes concerned. He was glad that nothing seemed to be wrong, he felt as if the tension in the forest was getting to them all. Relaxing slightly, he glanced at the group of cats.
"I think you probably win the prey contest." He mewed lightly to Wolfstorm, trying to relax the mood. As he spoke he padded towards Weaselflight, concern etched into his face despite him trying to hide it.
"You really need to get off that paw." He pressed his side into his friends, trying to give him some support. As he did, his tail tip twitched.
"We should probably get back to camp. Blackstar should be getting back soon, and hopefully Owlfeather and them." His gaze shifted between them all. It felt like his whole day was just a flicker of one odd moment to another, with little getting done. His paws itched to run or do something useful, but their enemy was untouchable, and the clan was scattered across the forest. He gave a faint shudder of his fur, but tried to remain optimistic.


Foxpaw|Apprentice of Dawnclan|Small Ginger Tabby She-cat|Location: Clan Borders|Mentions: Umbraclaw, Larkclaw, Duskclan patrol, Serval

Foxpaw was glad to see that Umbraclaw was looking far more eager to challenge the Duskclan cats than before. She bounded forward a few paces, but was stopped in her tracks by the sudden yowling. So the creature hadn't made it far. Perhaps the appearance of the Duskclan cats had thrown it off. She twitched her tail, torn between wanting to find the strange cat, and rip the fur off of a Duskclan cat. So, she decided on a bit of both. Trotting forward with claws unsheathed, she lept onto a stone that jutted from the earth, giving her small frame a better vantage point.
From there, she could see the Duskclan cats more clearly, her eyes shifting over them. She could see the white tom who had pinned her at the Rocks, and a growl bubbled deep in her throat. He wouldn't get the chance to do that again. Her gaze then shifted to the smallest of the trio, a tom who looked about her own age. Her claws flexed, ready for a fight.
At Umbraclaws call, her ears swiveled towards the deputy, for once aware of why the she-cat wasn't barreling towards the patrol. With the yowl of the stranger still echoing in her own ears, even she would know barreling across where it had sounded would be a rather foolish choice. She glanced at Larkclaw, curious what she would do.

News/Event for Anyone
None for now.

Larkclaw || 15 Moons || Female || DawnClan Warrior
Location: DawnClan Territory || Mentions: Umbraclaw, Foxpaw, DuskClan Patrol, Serval

Larkclaw allowed the deputy to move past her, taking the lead. Regardless of the fact that she had wanted to ambush them much like Foxpaw suggested, such things were not up to her, and it seemed like the albino warrior had noticed them, too. No longer needing to try to hide among the foliage, she stood and followed close to Umbraclaw’s flank, muscles tense and eyes scanning the enemy patrol, ready if they chose to spring at them. Clan cats or not, many of DuskClan’s members were former rogues and kittypets, and rogues especially tended to become unpredictable when cornered.

The closer they got, the easier it was to recognize the cats. She had been right about Redeye and Owlfeather, though she still couldn’t remember the name of the third cat. Redeye definitely looked the most threatening of the trio, but she knew that was more because of his unsettling red eyes than anything. Larkclaw found herself watching him the closest, expecting the two deputies to square up against each other should a fight break out. Before such a thing could occur, however, a loud yowl erupted from somewhere between the two groups.

Her fur bristled as she cast a quick glance in the direction the sound had come from, but her gaze quickly fell back on the DuskClan cats. Now they had an injured wildcat somewhere that didn’t trust cats on top of this DuskClan patrol. So much for ripping the fur off these trespassers. Instead she stood near Umbraclaw, glaring down the slope at the three below them.

Owlfeather|Duskclan|Deputy|36 Moons Old|Siamese She-Cat|Location: Dawnclan territory|Mention(s) Directly: Umbraclaw, Redeye, Sootpaw, Female Serval|Mention(s) Indirectly: Foxpaw, Larkclaw

Owlfeather looked over, in the direction Redeye was staring in. The deputy's claws extended and a snarl came to her lips, this was exactly what she had not wanted to happen. Stepping forward, the she-cat placed herself just in front of the two Duskclan toms. Her eyes locked onto Umbraclaw's, the siamese cats eyes blue eyes narrowed. Where they going to attack? Owlfeath could not blame them, if they did. Taking several steps forward, Owlfeather built herself up so she looked bigger. Letting her tail move back and forth, the Duskclan deputy glared at the Dawnclan deputy's. Some of Umbraclaw's words drifted over and Owlfeather looked over her shoulder to the toms behind her, "Get ready for an attack", the she-cat said, snarling. The siamese she-cat shrank together a bit, as the call of an injured cat came from somewhere between the two opposing groups. It sounded a lot like...
Owlfeather's breath caught in her throat, a serval. This must be Shadow's sister, so the strange cat had been telling the truth after all. Before any of the Dawnclan cats, namely Umbraclaw, could do anything hairbrained, Owlfeather stepped closer. She was now, standing at the edge of the underbrush spanning between the two groups. Lifting up her chest, Owlfeather called, "We know you're there. Please come out, we will not harm you." The Duskclan deputy glared at Umbraclan and the other cats standing behind her, she could not really deccern the cats, but she was pretty sure the smallest one, was the ginger apprentice that had attacked Redeye. Not sure if the serval would believe her, Owlfeather added, "We met Shadow That Walks Beside You, your brother. He was the one that told us where to find you."

Flamepaw|Dawnclan|Apprentice|13 Moons Old|Ginger She-Cat|Location: Dawnclan Camp|Mention(s) Directly: |Mention(s) Indirectly: Blackstar, Gingerstar, Mothpw, Harepaw, Hornetpaw, Lightsong

Flamepaw looked up, as she noticed movement coming from the leaders den. The ginger tabby apprentices stood up and looked to the leaders. As Blackstar called Harepaw to him, the apprentices breath caught, she had overheard a bit of what the leader had told the messenger apprentice. Me and Lightsong? We're going to lead them back. Wait, was Lightsong her mentor now? Flamepaw did not know how she felt about that. The ginger she-cat had not really wanted to speak with her brother, ever since the death of her mother. Looking to the ground, the she-cats claws dug into it. She was unsure what to do.
Flmepaw shook her head, 'No, stop thinking', the ginger tabby thought. Soon Gingerstar would probably come up to her and expect the apprentice to follow her orders, make Dawnclan proud. She needed to get her head out of her bottom and start acting like a messenger apprentice. Setting her shoulders, her blue eyes looked to Gingerstar and waited for her orders.

⇺ [ Redeye ] ⇻
36 Moons • Male • DuskClan • Warrior
Location: DawnClan Territory • Mentions: Owlfeather, Sootpaw, DawnClan Patrol, Serval

As the DawnClan patrol drew nearer Redeye's features twisted into something vicious, baring his teeth at Umbraclaw boldly as she addressed them. Claws unsheathing, his pelt bristled and tail lashed behind him, a hiss making its way past his exposed fangs and muscles tensing. It was clear he'd be more than happy to tear into them if they came any closer, but the serval's shriek only proved to complicate things further. His ears twitched and an irritable growl rumbled in his throat, but his eyes never left the approaching cats.

He recognized Foxpaw nearly the moment her ginger pelt came into sight and his intense gaze lingered on her for a moment longer than the others, letting her know without words he wouldn't be so gentle this time if she chose to make a move toward him or either of his Clanmates. However, when Owlfeather chose to turn her attention toward the screech and speak with the serval of all things rather than answer Umbraclaw's questions he tossed an exasperated look after the siamese deputy before stepping up beside her and staring across at Umbraclaw.

"We found a...a creature in one of the traps the Twolegs left on our territory. It was some kind of cat, Much larger than us. They came to collect it, but it claimed another one, it's sister, is living in the cavern. We chose to act immediately and investigate since the circumstances appeared dire," he explained gruffly, his eyes darting between the patrol and the area where the serval was presumably hiding. He didn't have any kind words for her, and if anything, he was more likely to utter a threat if he said anything at all. Wisely, he decided to let Owlfeather do the talking in that regard.

Sootpaw | Duskclan Apprentice | 13 moons | Small, gray tabby tom | Location: Dawnclan Border/Territory | Mentions: (Direct) Owlfeather, Redeye, Dawnclan patrol (Indirect) Serval

At Redeye's warning, Sootpaw stood stalk-still at attention to see the Dawnclan cats reveal themselves. His muscles tensed as he watched the trio look over him and his clanmates. He didn't like that one bit. Sootpaw began lashing his tail aggressively and started sizing them up as well. Immediately his eyes shot to the smallest of the group who had crawled up onto a large boulder. Although the look on her face was vicious, to say the least, he figured he would probably stand a better chance against her than against the other two. They looked a bit larger and more experienced, and frankly, the black she-cat that seemed to be taking the lead was more than a little intimidating.

Sootpaw's eyes grew wide as a yowl pierced the air, but he dared not look away from the opposing patrol. That wasn't the call of an average cat, he was sure. Perhaps it was the sister that Shadow had pleaded them to find? This would've been a pretty lucky break to have found her so soon and so close if these rigid flea-bags weren't here as well. Hopefully, Owlfeather's words would get through to the hidden serval. Maybe she'd even help them get back onto Duskclan territory in one piece! Imagine the looks on their faces if a serval came out to Duskclan's defense! No way could they take on a four to three scenario when one of those four was larger than the lot of them. Maybe they were lucky after all.

⌘{ Patch }⌘
:: Female :: Rogue :: 35 Moons ::
:: Location: Two Leg Nest Site (South West Near Cavern?) ::
The large she-cat crouched on the northern edge of the river-shore rivulets of water dripping from her usually water-resistant fur. When the housecats to the south had told her that there were rumors of wild felines living in the forests to the north of two-leg civilization Patch's reaction had been quick and not quite thought out...she had decided to swim the whole distance across instead of looking for an alternate route. Foolish perhaps, dangerous even, but it had gone much better than expected and had resulted in not only less travel time...but had also gotten ridden of the thick layer of dirt that had made it's home in her fur while she had moved from place to place in search of myths and rumors.

Now, finally, after almost six moons of searching...it seemed as if she was finally close to her goal! The female's golden gaze, bright against her waterlogged patchwork pelt, darted from the tree-line to the nearby houses of the bipeds. Though she had certainly expanded her knowledge of what these cat clans MIGHT be like...she didn't truly have any solid information. It was during times like these that the rogue wished she had encouraged her mother to speak more of her grandmother and the rumor of wild cats living together in a society that didn't thrive on the concept of 'survival of the fittest'. The past was the past though...and she seemed to be close to her goal despite her lack of information.

Leaning back into her full height, the female started to groom her fur free from the bothersome weight of the liquid attached to it. Little thought was given to how exactly the female planned to approach these fabled strangers, her mind instead wandering into a twisted path of what type of morals these tribal-like felines might hold. And where she herself might land on this intangible map.