Gray skies loom over the cats of the moor.
The expanse of clouds traveled on and on, over the treetops and-- if Laurelrunner had to guess, over the mountains. He stood atop a hill, content as a gentle newleaf breeze swept over the landscape and rustled the grass and heather. Though, in spite of the peace brought on by the warming weather and soft gales, his tawny fur bristled in an ever-slightly anxious way. Really though, in his mind, he wondered how he was meant to feel!

Tensions with RiverClan had been nothing short of uncanny, bordering tangible-- as though you could cut into it with claws! In some last-ditch effort to make some note of peace, his leader, Cricketstar, sent a message to their irritable neighbors in the hopes that they could get through to them. Now, Laurelrunner was sat at the River-Wind border awaiting a messenger of RiverClan's own-- almost scared to allow them entry into the territory. Though should it come to it, he figured that he'd have to relent-- Cricketstar's orders.

That was a later Laurelrunner problem, though. For now he stood apprehensively, bronze eyes glued to the undergrowth and treeline staring him in the face. Oh, how he longed to have a patrolmate for this.

You have liked this post!

FadedSun took a deep breath, preparing herself to deliver the news. Tensions had risen immensely with Windclan, and with the most recent message from CricketStar, FadedSuns leader had finally come to a decision. She emerged into the clearing where Windclan messenger awaited the news.

“ DawnStar has come to a decision. “ she started, tilting her chin up in the hopes of seeming superior. “ Riverclan is officially declaring war on Windclan. In Dawnstars words, ‘ We will not lose, and we will not show mercy. ‘ “ She stared at the messenger from Windclan, awaiting his response.

You have liked this post!

A hefty sigh rushed through the WindClanner's nose, eyes narrowing in a disappointed squint as the RiverClan cat spoke. Small paws shifted against the lush grass of the border, until finally he nodded.
"I see..." He mumbled, casting his gaze away and off to the side. "Will RiverClan still be attending our next gathering?" Maybe there was some chance that this could all blow over, still? He could only wonder; he knew very well that Hillockheart would be more than disappointed to hear about this.

"WindClan will still be attending," He clarified-- though perhaps that was unnecessary. "And we'll still be obeying the truce, as StarClan expects us to."
Was he doing this big, important message thing right? Neither Rootnose nor Ramdawn had given him anything akin to pointers, figuring on his own that talking all stiffly was the way to go. Oh well, unrelated and definitely less important worries. Another part of him worried that he was giving too much away-- hm. Best not to show fear.

You have liked this post!

FadedSun sat down, her tail curling around her paws as the messenger spoke. “ DawnStar has not stated her wishes regarding the gathering, and for that matter, the truce either. We will nit tolerate Windclan warriors on our land, should you choose to travel through Riverclan to fourtrees. “ Her eyes narrowed, wondering if the Windclan warrior had meant the truce comment in an offensive way.

Her ear flicked as a single heavy raindrop fell upon it. “ The storm will be here soon. If you have any business left with us speak it now.” She spoke in what she hoped was a commanding tone. It seemed the other messenger was new to this as well, so she wasn’t particularly worried about wether or not he noticed.

You have liked this post!

His ears slanted slightly backwards with her tone, maw tugged down at the corners in the start of a grimace. An entire Clan not attending the gathering-- or, so he'd assume? A flurry of questions began to whirl in his mind over it all, questions for Heathermire or Lapwing-- or maybe even Cricketstar himself?
"Right, alright-- um." His tail curled up and against his flank, the tip of it twitching apprehensively. Laurel looked up as the rain began to fall, droplets catching on his whiskers.

"That's it, I think." He took a step back, closer to his own territory. Bad news and nothing but, it would seem. Soon, he turned though didn't depart just yet. Against his better judgement, though definitely in-line with how his mother raised him, he spoke again.
"Safe travels, try not to get caught out for too long."

You have liked this post!

She stood as the messenger began to leave. He seemed nice, despite the foreboding messages they had exchanged. As his tail disappeared over the hill, she shook the raindrops off her pelt. The Windclan warrior was right, she shouldn’t stay here much longer. The river would be flooded soon. She turned to the sparse forest that covered Riverclan territory, an anxious feeling arising in her stomach.

[ At the Riverclan Camp ]

FadedSun was running now, the rain far harder than she had expected. Luckily, she hadn’t seen any lighting yet so hopefully everyone was safe inside the camp. She paused at the edge of the river, preparing herself for the probably extreme currents now that the storm was in full force.

After a quick inhale, she dove into the water, powering her hind legs and propelling herself forward toward the camp. She emerged on the other side, pelt soaked. Is not as if my pelt wasn’t soaked before, she thought. She looked through the camp entrance, seeing that most everycat was either taking shelter in their dens or beneath the bushes scattered throughout the camp. DawnStar, however, was awaiting her return just beyond the camp entrance..

You have liked this post!

.. FadedSun approached her leader, dipping her head in a show of respect. At the flick of DawnStars tail, she lifted her gaze and sat despite the uncomfortably muddy ground.

“ Windclan has, uh, acknowledged your declaration. “ She raised her tone to be heard over the pounding rain. “ They want to know if we will be attending the next gathering. “ She awaited DawnStars decision as the rain continued battering her pelt. FadedSun shifted her weight to lean forward. She wondered wether or not the Windclan messenger had made back to his camp before this rain.

At last, DawnStar spoke, “ I will not attend the next gathering. Wether or not some of you others sneak off, I don’t care. It will only show where your loyalties lie. “ DawnStar, too, took on a raised tone to be heard. FadedSuns stomach sank. She would support DawnStar no matter what, but was it really right to skip the gathering? She had come up with an excuse to attend without disrespecting DawnStar.. some the information shared there may be useful to Rive clan anyways.

“ Might I suggest we send a scout team of sorts? .. Not to speak at the gathering, but gather information on the other clans and, perhaps, the loyalty of the warriors in this clan? “ FadedSun awaited DawnStars response apprehensively. “ …Very well. You, SharpSight, and DeerRush will attend the gathering only to seek insight on the other Clans. Now get to your den before we both get sick from this rain. We’ll need everyone we have when the war begins. “

You have liked this post!

[WindClan Camp]

Laurelrunner was practically bolting into the camp by the time the worst of the rain started, near-soaked to the bone. All of WindClan had taken shelter within their dug-out dens, or beneath brush and bushes-- whatever they could find. Cricketstar was no different, sharing a place beneath the Tall Rock with Hillockheart and Lapwing; the three had been engrossed in some conversation before the messenger arrived.

"Laurelrunner!" Hillockheart greeted him with a friendly chirp, though Laurel didn't return it. "You seem quite blue, my friend." The deputy's head tilted, expression shifting to something akin to worry.

"Bah," Cricketstar interjected; the gray and white tom sat up from his laying, little eyes narrowed. "If I was him, I'd be shaking in my fur. Speak, boy, what's the matter?"
A glint in the leader's eyes told Laurel of his leader's feelings, something akin to fury if he had to wager. Though, why wouldn't he be angry? With RiverClan...

"Dawnstar has um... Dawnstar has declared war on WindClan, and the cat who came to see me wasn't sure if RiverClan was coming to the gathering." Laurel explained, bronze eyes wide and a tight frown upon his muzzle. His ears slanted back, paws shifting on sandy soil.
"Dawnstar said that they won't show us mercy, and that they're keen to win."

"Well they sure won't." The old leader huffed, an indignant snort following. "We'll be leavin' cats to guard our camp, they aren't gonna catch us unawares." His amber eyes gleamed with something dangerous, chest puffed out. "We got kits in the nursery, after all."
Soon though, he settled. "Good work, boy. I'll decide who's gonna go and who's gonna stay, go find some proper shelter before whitecough spreads."

Laurelrunner nodded, turning and heading towards a sheltered dip. He curled up in the soil and stray stalks of grass and weeds, head resting atop his paws. It was with a bit of a heavy heart that he realized his thoughts kept drifting back to that RiverClanner, tension carved along his frame.
With a war with RiverClan so close, was it really wise to pay kindness to them? He felt that it was only right, though an apprehension tugged at him like thorns. Perhaps he would find out in time.

You have liked this post!

[The Morning]

FadedSun had woken up far earlier, when the rain had been a drizzle. Now, in the dawns early light, even the clouds had made haste towards the mountains, as if they knew the moon should glow brightly tonight at the gathering. She twisted to see SharpSight and DeerRush, sleeping across the Warriors Den in adjacent nests. She let out a quick huff and stood, stretching. It wasn’t as if being awake so soon was a bad thing. FadedSun exited the den, squinting as the suns rays reflected of the dew drops on just about everything in the camp. She sat at a spot by the camp entrance, similar to where her and DawnStars conversation had taken place the evening before.

Here, at the entrance, she awaited the Dawn Patrols return. With war coming, they’d need to be far stricter about the borders and gather far more herbs, not to mention fresh-kill… She shook her pelt, forcing herself to stop worrying. Her mind wandered back to the young Windclan warrior whom she had seen at the border. He had seemed nice, despite the news she had shared. She wondered if Windclan was hoping for war. Perhaps they were tired of those horribly flat fields.She chuckled at the idea, Windclan had been stuck in the moors for generations and still insisted it was a lovely place.

[After the Dawn Patrol had returned, probably around 9:00]

Dawnstar stood atop the rock, her deputy only a few paces behind her. “ Tonight, only SharpSight, DeerRush, and FadedSun will attend the gathering, and only for the purpose of seeking information on Windclan. As you know, we are going to war with them. We cannot show any weakness tonight, or the day after, or the day after until we defeat them! “ Dawnstar paused, allowing the murmur of agreement to ripple through the warriors before continuing, “ For now though, we will continue on as normal. CreekRun will assign patrols. “

CreekRun stepped forward, and FadedSun looked up attentively to the deputy. “ FadedSun, SparrowHop, FierceClaw, and ToadCroak, you will go on a border patrol effective immediately on the Windclan border. StormChaser, FinchFlight, and ScarletBlaze, you will go on a hunting patrol when SparrowHops Patrol returns. We can’t have too many warriors out at once. IceEye, TroutFlip, you’ll accompany DaisyPaw in collecting herbs this morning. If anyone else wants to go on a patrol, be my guest. Just bring a few others with you, and notify someone before you wander off. “ FadedSun stood, bounding over to her patrolmates. For now, it was a good distraction from what might come.

You have liked this post!

[around 9:00]

Laurelrunner woke from his nest beneath a gorse bush, met with the bright rays of a morning sun; stark contrast to the gloomy weather just the day before. From his view, he could just well see Cricketstar leaping atop the Tall Rock, while Hillockheart sat anxiously below. Slowly, his Clanmates filtered into the clearing to hear what their leader had to say.

Laurel rose to his paws, trotting across the camp to join them and sitting beside Doesight and Rootnose-- who spared nervous glances about camp. Doe greeted the tawny tom with a nod and smile, before her attention turned to Cricket.

"G'mornin', everyone." The gray tom began, tail hanging just over the edge of the stone. "Dawn patrols have come back, but before we continue with the rest of the morning, I've got a couple of announcements." A pause, as he looked over the clearing.
"Me, Hillockheart, and our medicine cats have been talking about what to do with our wonderful RiverClan threat.. Dawnstar's taken it upon herself to declare war on us, sayin' that she's gonna win and show us no mercy. I personally believe she's bluffing, but Hillock made the point that we can't be too careful- and I gotta say that I agree with him. So,"

Cricketstar lifted his chin, "Laurelrunner, Rowanbeetle, Hillockheart, and Hickoryscratch will be attending the gathering, while the rest of us guard camp in the event RiverClan attacks. Stars forbid they break a sacred truce, but you never really know with cats like them."
Mumurs of worry mingled with agreement rolled throughout the gathered crowd, "Secondly." He lifted his tail to silence his Clanmates. "I want work done around camp to reinforce our camp walls and most precious dens, Heathermire will be in charge of organizing such work. Hillockheart will be sending out border patrols, so stick around."

With that, the leader leapt down from his perch, taking a seat beside his taller deputy. The brown tom cleared his throat, "Tempeststrike will be leading a border patrol beside RiverClan with Laurelrunner, Flaxwhisker, and Tawnyfield. Please mark it thoroughly, and try not to anger our fishy neighbors." The large-eared tom flicked his tail towards the side to guide the patrol.

Laurel wandered over towards Tempest, Flax, and Tawny, awaiting dismissal. Hillock continued; "Doesight will lead a brief hunting patrol with Havenpaw and Wrenreed. The rest of you will stay behind and chat with Heathermire and Lapwing about herb patrols and camp reinforcements. Dismissed."

"Time's'a wastin'." Tempest grumbled, ears slanting backwards as she began her way out of camp. Her patrol followed, apprehension prickling at the very tips of their toes and fur strands.

You have liked this post!

Her patrol had just left camp, crossing the now far calmer river that surrounded the camp with a raging current just the night before. SparrowHop, despite her cheery sounding name, was a very serious warrior. She certainly wasted no time on their venture to the border, stopping only after they had crossed the river surrounding camp to make sure everyone was there.

On their path, they had encountered a small creek. Well, not as small anymore. Although the river at camp had calmed, this creek, usually a small trickle, was now what could be considered a small stream, a few tail-lengths across. It wasn’t a problem for the RiverClan warriors, but perhaps a good place to retreat if they were to encounter a Windclan patrol.

SparrowHop continued leading the patrol towards the border, now only a short distance away after the stream. FadedSun spotted the clearing where she and the Windclan messenger had first met. Any scents to signify their meeting had been washed away the torrents of rain last night.

They walked along the border, everyone silent and tense. FadedSun stood behind the rest of them, making sure each marker was properly marked and no Windclan scents crossed over the path. She stopped to sniff a fern, a little sprout that was only just unfurling. Yet, there was already a dead leaf. There must be too much water, she thought.

She was distracted from the sprout suddenly, hearing a commotion ahead with the rest of the patrol. FadedSun bounded forward, taking place next to FierceClaw, who was staring grimly ahead at Windclan.

You have liked this post!

From atop the hill, the patrol began its trek towards the Riverlands. Dewdrops shimmering in the rays of bright sunlight, making it appear as though the star themselves had descended from their places in the skies. Tempeststrike led the way with an intense confidence, one that worried Laurelrunner if he were to be honest. He scarcely listened as his patrolmates chattered on about the RiverClan threat, only hoping that their pride wouldn't get in the way.

Rivercat land, unfortunately, wasn't as far as he would've liked it to be; there was an easy chance that both patrols would encounter each other, leaving a cold stone to drop into the young tom's stomach. Tempest stopped at the crest of the hill leading towards the Riverlands, a torn ear flicking as she gave the air a sniff.

"Down there." Came the voice of Flaxwhisker, who stepped just ahead of them with his tail raised. His blue eyes narrowed sharply, Tempest lifting her head slightly to better see over the grasses. Their lips curled back to reveal slivers of fang, Tawnyfield approaching to stand beside Tempest.

"Should we bother engaging?" She asked, her stout ears twitching. The former RiverClanner shot Tawny a pointed glare, a sharp huff puffing from her maw.

"Of course we should," Came the warrior's growl. "Stay behind me, and don't attack unless they do so first." With that, Tempeststrike led her patrol down the hill to confront RiverClan.

You have liked this post!

FadedSun glared at the hill where Windclans patrol stood, the now bright sun making it seem as they were looming over SparrowHop and the others. Despite the intense lighting, the did manage to make out the messenger she had spoken to yesterday. He seemed unsure of his step… perhaps he would her opponent, should this encounter lead to a battle.

SparrowHop spoke. “ Leave now, before you have something to show Heathermire or Lapwing. “ She had a serious look to her, although FadedSun could tell she was prideful and perhaps overconfident. If the Windclan patrol were the same, she suspected both patrols would have something to show their respective medicine cats.

You have liked this post!

Tempeststrike raised her head, shoulders squared and body tight with brimming tension; she glared dangerously at Sparrowhop, tail lifted. "'Leave'." Echoed with a head tilt, "You're threatening WindClan on our own land? I remembered RiverClan to be proud but, not mousebrained." She growled lowly in her throat, rumbling and treacherous.

Laurel stood towards the side, echoing his patrol's tension with his own. For now he kept his claws sheathed, sparing glances Fadedsun's way every once in a while; partly to read her expression, or so he was telling himself. Beside him, the rest of his patrol sported whipping tails and pinned ears, the fur along their spines bristling irritably.

"This isn't a battle that you'll win, Sparrowhop." Tawnyfield hissed, eyeing the rest of the RiverClan patrol.

You have liked this post!

FadedSun ducked her head as she once again managed to somehow lock eye with Laurel. She managed to disguise it as a glare towards TempestStrike, her ears slanting back.

SparrowHop narrowed her amber eyes, a low hiss escaping her throat. The rest of the accompanying warriors took place next to her, a well practiced formation they seemed to naturally fall into. FadedSun took her place next to ToadCroak, perhaps the most experienced fighter there. Her mind wandered back to the stream they had encountered earlier. Maybe a false retreat would be smart, considering the higher number of more experienced warriors in Windclans patrol.

SparrowHop let out a yowl, and each of them began to charge toward their opponents. FadedSun wasn’t paying attention to the others anymore, she now was focused on choosing, and hopefully beating, her opponent. In the instant, she figured the youngest warrior - the same who she had exchanged messages with - would match her strength best. She would let everyone else handle the older, stronger, warriors.

She barreled forward, making it clear she was heading his way. At the last second, she leaped up with her powerful hind legs, clearing his head easily and landing behind him. This was a tricky move she had learned from IceEye, it both confused your opponent - who had probably assumed you were planning to tackle them - and gave you the advantage of being out of their line of sight, even for a split second. The battle had begun.

You have liked this post!