Operation: SKYLIGHT

Alright, operative, listen up. Last night, one of our patrols failed to report back in. Firepaw(*) was on a routine hunt near the border and was scheduled to return by nightfall. It's currently 2200 hours and there's no sign of her, and it's not like her to be late...

... so we send out a rescue team (thread 1A). And things don't look good. We've got some shreds of fur, a blood trail leading across the border, and the stench of a cat from another Clan.
Pretty obvious what happened here- she's been taken hostage, likely as revenge for our lack of assistance with the Righteous Few a few moons back. Clearly, they're not holding back, and neither should we. Claws out, troopers, and be ready for anything. This is Operation: SKYLIGHT, and your mission is simple.

Just before dawn the next day, you're going to infiltrate enemy territory and get her back (thread 2). No cat left behind. On the way, you find an apprentice of the other Clan headed in your direction- likely scouting your borders for weaknesses. And hey, if they're playing dirty enough to take out an apprentice, so should we. Subdue them, and pay no attention to anything they're saying. You can smell lies a mile off, and their excuses won't work on you.

So bring them along, make for the other Clan's camp (thread 3), and try and trade this apprentice for Firepaw. Simple hostage exchange. Nobody has to get hurt.

*She'll be Firepaw when the plot happens, shh

So there you are, doing one last border check just before sundown (thread 1B), and another cat confronts you-- apparently you're over the border. You're sure you're not (are you? You can't be, right?), but this SkyClan apprentice (Firepaw, apparently) seems insistent. You're pretty sure she's about to pounce on you when a predator appears to take your mind off things; it can't resist the temptation of two apprentices in one place. Together, you fight it off, but Firepaw is hurt-- she won't make it back to her camp without healing, so you take her back to yours instead. You might not be from the same Clan, but you're not heartless.

At sunup the next day, you head towards the other Clan's border (thread 2). Maybe you'll find someone you can explain the situation to. And as it so happens, you do--  several of them, in fact. And despite (or perhaps because of) your attempts to explain, they attack you and take you captive, because they think that's what you did. You're beginning to think this whole situation is a complete misunderstanding.

So as they take you back to your camp, it seems the plan is to exchange you for the apprentice; you return to your Clan, the apprentice returns to hers. A simple hostage exchange, aside from the fact that Firepaw isn't a hostage and you'd really appreciate not being one either. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

(She approaches you later and apologises for all the trouble, at least. So hey, you got a friend out of all this!)

Thread 1A: Firepaw challenges an apprentice at the border; a predator shows up. They fight it off together, but Firepaw gets hurt. She's taken back to the (non-SkC) camp for healing.
Thread 1B: Meanwhile, a SkC rescue team finds the scene and mistakenly (but understandably) believes Firepaw was attacked by the other Clan and taken hostage.
Thread 2: The next dawn, the apprentice heads towards SkyClan territory to explain, but they're attacked and taken captive by the SkC rescue team, who plan a hostage trade.
Thread 3: At the other Clan's camp, it turns out Firepaw was never actually taken hostage, which makes it all kinda awkward, but Firepaw goes back to SkyClan, the apprentice goes back to their clan, everyone's happy. The end!
(Thread 4: "oh stars i'm so sorry that all spiralled out of control real fast can we just FORGET ALL THAT HAPPENED")