Not Quite Good Enough [c for kj]

The day following Asylum's takeover, Tigersong woke in the warrior's den, surrounded by his clanmates. Most of them had clustered together, closer than they'd ever been in his experience so far. It wasn't the cold that drove them together... no, Leafbare wasn't quite upon them yet... but the looming presence of the Nighstrikers had drastically changed the atmosphere in SkyClan's camp. Cats were quiet, and spoke mostly in glances and fervent whispers. There wasn't a place they could go without being watched, listened to... for most of the clan, that was a problem... but Tigersong wasn't much of a talker, anyway, and he'd never bothered to hide anything.

Stretching out his forelegs, he relaxed for just a moment, ears trained at the entrance of the den. He had a mission today, and for that, he needed Smokefeather's help. Stepping around the rest of the warriors in the den, Tigersong moved over to where Smokefeather was curled, and nosed her shoulder gently before pulling back to look down at her with inquisitive, mismatched eyes.

Things had been tenser than Smokefeather could ever remember with the rogue group having taken over, but the warmth of her clanmates was comforting enough to let her mostly sleep uninterrupted. Mostly. Her paws and ears twitched, signalling that her sleep wasn't quite as peaceful as it might've been. Images from the day before flashed behind her closed eyelids, unpleasant images.

So when a nose was pressed to her shoulder, no matter how gentle, her head snapped up, fur bristling and gray-green eyes wide with alarm. A moment of staring blankly, before Smokefeather managed to shake off the last of the nightmare. Not that the waking world was any less of a nightmare at the moment.

"Tigersong? What is it?" Smokefeather asked quietly, gray-green eyes lifting to meet his. For him, she'd shake off the cobwebs. He deserved that much from her.

To no one's surprise, Smokefeather was ready to fight when she awoke. Tigersong had stepped back, out of reach of potentially angry claws, but it didn't get that far, and eventually the she-cat woke enough to ask what he wanted, and Tigersong bowed his head. "Will you take me out training?" he asked. "I'm feeling a little rusty, I think I need to do a little bit of sparring."

He wouldn't say it here, not with the potential for so many ears overhearing, but Tigersong saw a fight in the future, and he wanted to be ready.

Smokefeather stretched, taking care avoid disturbing their still-sleeping clanmates as she stood up, shaking out her pelt as she did so.

Tigersong wanted to spar... because he was feeling rusty. Gray-green eyes narrowed slightly, they were both aware that Bloodstrike would never allow his (now former) apprentices to become anything of the sort. His wording sparked curiosity in her, but there were too many ears in camp. Whatever it was could wait until they were alone.

"Of course." Smokefeather mewed, tail gently brushing his shoulder as she made her way out of the den. Shadowy figures lounged toward the edges of the clearing, and Smokefeather felt anything that might've resembled a good mood disintegrate at the unwelcome reminder of the rogues.

It seemed she understood, so Tigersong nodded and stepped out into the camp. The Nightstrikers by now had faded into the background for Tigersong... he simply ignored them and continued life as usual. That seemed to be the best for everyone... no one was antagonized, and no one got hurt. He knew that a lot of SkyClanners displayed open hatred for the Asylum cats, but that took too much energy, and in the end, wasn't worth it.

He preceded Smokefeather out of camp, heading to a spot where he and Bloodstrike used to train. Part of him hoped that he'd push through the foliage and there his mentor would be, standing there, ready to spar, but... he wasn't, and despite himself Tigersong's tail slumped in disappointment. SkyClan needed their deputy back.

The young tom offered a half-sigh, turning to face Smokefeather. And he ducked his head, voice lowered so that any nearby Nightstrikers - because he knew they were there - couldn't hear. "Do we have a plan?" He queried. "One to... to find him?"

Smokefeather trailed Tigersong silently, ears pricked as they made their way through the still-ashen forest. Her jaws parted slightly as she scented the air, but it was futile. Any scent of Bloodstrike was lost under fresher scents... If they'd even brought him this way at all.

"It's likely they wouldn't keep him in our territory... I hate admitting it, but these rogues are organized, and not as dumb as they look." Smokefeather spoke softly, pitching her voice for Tigersong and Tigersong alone. If Bloodstrike was still in the territory, the rogues would make sure that he was heavily guarded, of course. And were very likely to keep any Skyclanner away from the deputy entirely. Smokefeather hadn't heard of any patrols being denied access to a certain part of the territory yet, so that left them crossing borders. The question remained as to where, though. Not knowing worried her far more than she wanted to admit.