Voyage Nearer to Victory [closed]

Beecloud slunk towards the river's edge, anxiously toeing the rippling shore with his paw. This cat was new to him. If he was lucky, this cat knew of their secret chain. If he was very unlucky, it was going to be a very sore battle for him. With a flick of his ear to steady his spirits, the ThunderClan warrior crept ever closer. What would be his excuse this time?

Time was not a luxury he had; with a single misstep he had been spotted. Beecloud's muscles acted on instinct. He barreled into the tom, rolling into the bushes along the side of the water. Upon finding his footing, he snarled into the opposing warrior's face. "You're caught... like a mouse in my teeth," he huffed with the effort of keeping the other tom firmly underneath him. "Are you prepared to receive a message that could bring the Asylum's control to an end? A message that comes from StarClan itself, RiverClanner."

Beecloud used Run and Tackle.

Beecloud
80/80 HP
230/240 SP (-10)

Jayshriek
34/45 HP (-11)
160/160 SP

The rough, unanticipated, collision of Beecloud's rapid approach set the sharp lines of Jayshriek's skull rattling with an unpleasant recourse, the shark spark of molten defense and surprise gently hazing the narrowed slits of his gaze for several brief, tension-wrought, heartbeats. The frigid chill of adrenaline and fright coiled tightly within the base of his spine, a gossamer webbing of apprehension and tension knotting and entrenching itself within the sinewy tendrils of nerves; hair instinctively prickling into a great mane of sun-bleached dark fur at the subconscious knowledge of the watchful eyes mirroring across the opposite banks of the partially-frozen waters. The rough drag and bristle of the barren bushes slipping through the prickling webs of Jayshriek's coat served a sufficient tether, carefully redirecting the sudden burst of outrage and irritation slipping through his veins- what was with ThunderClan cats and acting in such a way? Beecloud's superior weight pitched forward and continued to bear him down into the frozen riverside, the constriction within his heart eased slightly at the glimmer of carefully concealed urgency within the ThunderClan tom's gaze, his own distorted and frantic reflection glaring back at him.

For the briefest of heartbeats, a pulse of hope fluttered faintly within the hollow fathoms of his chest, the sudden realization that others had also sleuthed against the tight weight of Asylum's claws, a modicum of validation- however insignificant it likely was. "Speak quickly of this... mouse," Jayshriek seethed out, sharp words bleeding profusely against the tightly clinched confines of his pristine teeth, low voice strained against the heavy weight seated atop him, "I don't care what ghosts have to say, I wish to know what the flesh and blood meant to enact their schemes has to say." There was little signaling that the Asylum overseers had realized anything was amiss in the current engagement happening before them, but it was always a risk; who could know for certain that their eyes and ears weren't made aware of the secrecy of whispers shared between bared tooth and claw?

Letting out a low snarl, Jayshriek lurched his weight around in a violent jolt that sent the pair rolling across the broken and spindly riverside debris, practiced movements displaying a false sense of aggression that easily belayed a fraudulent message.


-

Jayshriek used Half-Turn Belly Rake, Dealing -11 in Damage & Costing -20 in Stamina.

Jayshriek
34/45 [HP]
140/160 [SP]

Beecloud
69/80 [HP]
230/240 [SP]

There was a lurch in Beecloud's chest that was almost like sickness, but not nearly as dizzying or unpleasant. For quite a few sunrises he found himself terrorized by phantoms that spoke disbelief into his tufted ears that his plan had been a complete and utter failure. He had seen it in his sleep: a glistening silver fish being dashed upon a stone, beached by a predator and left to suffocate. That was what the Mousehunt amounted to in his sleepless daydreams. A rotten fish on a riverbank. But this tom was proof, beautiful proof, of the revolution in motion. Hardly a word was spoken between them, but there was understanding in the subtleties of their secret language.

There was no time to ask for names or exchange pleasantries this time. The RiverClan tom seemed endlessly on edge, and though it could be related to Beecloud's ambuscade, the older warrior was all the more wary lately. It would not be long before they caught on. Breaking points were a funny thing, but they were not this funny. Increased territorial aggression in a difficult Leafbare was easy to turn one's nose up at, but it was not as simple to explain away one particular tom routinely picking fights with other warriors, taunting them where he wouldn't have before. So, the warrior prowled forward, seeking out the most direct explanation for what he had experienced in his dream.

"'To kill a snake, you must cut off its head,'" he murmured through hissing teeth. "That is what they told me. I was told that the viper's den is where Silverpelt shines brightest. I can only assume that's Fourtrees."

He yowled and made a move for Jayshriek's face, only half extending his claws for an incredibly half-hearted yet swift swipe across the other tom's nose. It had all the speed of a true attack. "In a quarter moon, a battle patrol of warriors from all five clans will meet on the northern Thunderpath. We will go to Fourtrees together, and we will capture the Asylum Head by any means necessary. It's less than ideal. The surprise we've been afforded may not be enough to award us victory, but the forest has run out of options. The least we can do is use this chance to shake them at the roots and hope that it is enough. The current state will end with the fall of the clans. We've been given just a brief moment of opportunity, and we need warriors to be willing to take it."

Grief sucked the air from his lungs, deadening his eyes as he swallowed dry. The other news was not fondly shared. "There is something else."

Beecloud used Upright Front Paws.

Beecloud
69/80 HP
210/240 SP (-10)

Jayshriek
20/45 HP (-14)
140/160 SP

The weighted arch of his nape deepened sharply under the lackluster strike of Beecloud's vicious display of faulty aggression, the rhythmic flutter of Jayshriek's pulse heightening to an erratic wildfire, an alluring movement concealed only by unkempt dark fur and delicate flesh. Something hot and dark lingered within the molten depths of his golden gaze, a taunting undercurrent of a misplaced question weighting heavily against the tightly clinched teeth, an urgency unrelated to the revelation of StarClan's interference. The quiet words from Beecloud did little to settle the seemingly perpetual flames broiling hot and low within the fathoms of his chest, did little to settle the deep undercurrent of longing that scored vicious and bloody through his heart. There was a tickling sting blossoming across the sharp bridge of his nose, a tingling pulse of unwarranted stimulation that remained ever at play as he bared his chin upwards, further exposing the delicate lines of his vulnerable throat to the older tom currently sat astride him, head titling softly in a silky flourish of dark fur.

"Took them long enough," Jayshriek simply sniffed out in acknowledgement, smoky rasp of his voice sending gentle ripples of vibrations ricocheting through his heaving chest, "though I must admit- I was hoping for something a bit more... fantastical, something that won't likely kill us all. The unfortunate cannot ask for more than utmost necessary, I suppose."

What could possibly be more ideal than a death-march into the awaiting tooth and claw of a vassal all the greater than them? The idea of leaping into the inevitable chasm of death that surely awaited them wasn't entirely too frightening in the eyes of Jayshriek; it wasn't as though he had lead a very remarkable life that would resonate with his own absence, and it wasn't as though Ivystar would find herself sick with grief for a son she hardly knew. But the realization of likely dying without seeing Kitefire for a final time stabbed low and mournful within his constricting heart, grief and desperation blossoming outwards in a macarbe ripple of dark emotion. The intense longing and billowing sorrow could've been surprising to a lesser cat, but he was thankfully shaded with some pitiful resemblance of self-awareness- all these moons apart lending him a small flicker of emotional intelligence. A familiar emotion shaded Beecloud's dark gaze, one which made Jayshriek all the more wary, his own misery reflected in a similar tone.

"I don't believe any of these whispers were shared fondly," Jayshriek pointed out with ease, callousness easily overtaking any semblance of emotion that could've whispered through his words, "speak now, before they separate us."

-

Jayshriek used Front Paw Strike, Dealing -9 in Damage & Costing -10 in Stamina.

Jayshriek
20/45 [HP]
130/160 [SP]

Beecloud
60/80 [HP]
210/240 [SP]