Dead cat walking [Open to RC Apprentices]

She hoped that she didn't look a tired as she felt.

Lying on her side, the leader spread out onto the cold sand, relishing how the ice bit into her skin and left her refreshingly numb to everything. It wasn't exactly healthy, she didn't need Cloudstone to nag to know this, but the only thing that would alleviate this weight on her shoulder was ThunderClan burnt to ashes and Blizzardstar dead. She'd seen this play out several times in her life, this feud wouldn't end with Lionspark sent back. Even if ThunderClan took Sunningrocks from them, it was her obligation to take it back. And then ThunderClan would be obligated to take it back. Again and again it would go on.

If StarClan cared, they'd send another fire to burn those shrub-dwellers in their dens. But that would be too easy.

'If you care, send me a sign. Let me know that I'm not throwing my kin onto a pyre for no reason.' She prayed with her eyes closed, but when she opened them again, there was nothing. No miracle, no sudden appearance of a silvery cat. 'Useless.'

Getting back onto her feet, the leader shook the snow off her pelt as she trotted off to the freshkill pile. She snagged a mouse, it was bony and thin, but in Leafbare, it was a veritable feast. As she went to chomp down on her meal, she spotted an apprentice shuffling in the corner of her eye. "You can approach, I'm your leader, not a feral fox."

OOC: Cue the depressed untrustworthy apprentice

Spotpaw shifted his weight from one side to the other. He had started toward the fresh-kill pile, but Ivystar made it there before he did, and he did not want to encounter her after all that had happened. The tom snapped up a skinny little fish, shuffling back over to his little spot(no pun intended), but Ivystar seemed to have noticed him. The first thought that ran through his head was the worst thought for someone trying to prove his loyalty. That isn't entirely true. He scolded himself for thinking it, and he didn't move. Hopefully, Ivystar had been talking to another cat.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, Spotpaw." The leader meowed with a quirk of her mouth as she bit into the mouse's skull, incisors slicing through the bone with a crunch. Her teeth gleamed red, hardly making her seem less intimidating. Contrary to what many seemed to think, she didn't hate even the most ThunderClan swayed cats. To have their own minds, to be able to think critically was essential, they'd all learnt that when the Dark Forest took over for those harrowing moons.

Blizzardstar had cleverly divided them on grounds of morality and wishywashy code ideals. Ivystar was happy to let her clan have their internal conflicts, to grow as they challenged and rethought their position in their little society at first. But now the danger was compounded, WindClan and ThunderClan allied to bring them down. ShadowClan seemed divided on the matter of aiding them, and SkyClan seemed unwilling to get involved. Lionspark was the only barrier between them and Blizzardstar's invasion, a prized piece in the game. She couldn't risk the hostage getting loose, to do so would spell doom for her clan.

How could they fight when their herb supply was low, and prey was scarce?

She wanted to shout this, at times, to her clanmates. To let them see the inner turmoil that wracked her, and left her crunching numbers again and again to think of how they'd survive this Leafbare. But... But it wasn't their burden to bear. So instead she polished off her mouse in swift bites, and beckoned the apprentice closer to share her warmth. "How's fortifying the camp going? I trust that you're obeying Splashwillow and Duckpuddle's every word?"

Spotpaw's hope fell. She was talking to him. Reluctantly, he picked back up his fish and padded over, stopping about half of a tail-length away. Then, as he sat down, he set down the mouse and took a small bite of it. "It- It's going pretty well, but there are some p- pieces of ice that don't seem to want to move. Turns out one of them was attached to a rock buried in the m- mud at the bottom of the water. Heronpaw and I want to maybe gnaw it off at the sk- skinnier base and then perhaps smash it and scatter the pieces so the Thunderclanners step on the sharp shards of ice unless they're extr- very careful about where they step." He took another bite. Telling Ivystar about possible plans was much easier than he thought it would be. "O- of course, we'll ask Splashwillow and Du-
Duckpuddle first."

"No need to ask them, I can give you the answer. It's no. Firstly, Spotpaw, you must think of RiverClan. How would we be affected by this? If we have ice shards scattered around our camp, what if a kit stumbles upon it? What if an elder cuts their paw? Not that it's very likely considering how easily ice melts, even in the Leafbare sun, but we must consider everything before deciding on a decision." At times like this she came off as a taskmaster, though it was her intent to explain how to think critically to the apprentice. Noticing that she was raking his plan to shreds, she took a softer approach. "I admire your initiative though, Spotpaw. Strategic thinking is a good think to cultivate, our lives aren't all about hunting and patrols... Has Rainstorm been helpful in his teachings?"

Spotpaw shook his head. "No, the ice would only be around camp, in some formations that would be easy to see, if you knew what you were looking for. I don't know what those formations would be, though. But I do know that if it worked right, and then Thunderclan came stomping in, at least half of them would suffer cuts before the battle even began." He then answered her question. "Well, I suppose I'll say that without Rainstorm, I could be in Thistlepaw's place. He taught me the battle moves so well that I even beat an apprentice, one older and bigger than me! And, um, my hunting skills, he said I'm a natural, but I've still got a lot to learn."