Look Behind You ... I said LOOK BEHIND YOU [NOW CLOSED]

Klaus flitted from tree to tree in skillful Skyclan fashion in near total silence. It had been a few weeks since he and Waterlily's return from the shelter, but a lot had happened in those few weeks. His most recent accomplishments included claiming territory and killing Riverclan's leader. He had managed to slip into Thunderclan territory as he had done many times before, hoping to spot Waterlily and not run into anyone who might actually know who he was. His eyes carefully watched the forest floor, as most Thunderclan cats were so used to ground prey and ground threats that they rarely looked up.

The sun was nearly setting, but not quite. The last of the patrols were doing their final rounds before bedding down for the night. The air was cold enough already that Klaus could see his breath. He wondered if that meant there would be frost upon the ground before long... and then snow soon after. It would be a good time to be a pale-furred cat against an equally pale background. The sky itself was monochromatic, matching Klaus fairly well aside from the golden colors weaved so elegantly through his fur and his blazing azure eyes.

Maybe his recent troubles had made him more bold than he should have been, but it was boldness that had gotten him far in his life. He had climbed to the heights of power that even clan leaders could scarcely imagine. Perhaps if he kept trying, he'd land himself in some other position of power... or he'd wind up dead. It was certainly a gamble. Regardless, Klaus felt fairly confident that whatever confrontation he couldn't physically overcome, he was also a Windclan trained cat. If he needed to beat a hasty retreat out of an unsavory situation, he could.

OOC: Honestly if Klaus passes this stealth roll, Thunderclan cats can definitely still reply here but just not notice him right away? And if it's someone who would recognize him he'd probably just "Nope" right out of there. I hope this will be fun!

UPDATE: SUCCESS! Okay I will allow 2 or 3 Tunderclan cats that don't know who he is before I close it. Maybe they can get up to some fun shenanigens off TC territory later if this thread goes well. Only if they don't know who he really is though, otherwise he'd just stealth away.

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Invasion Dice' :

Wolfblaze had decided upon a walk through the falling leaves that littered Thunderclan's territory. As chilly as it was becoming, it hadn't effected the molly much at all. Her fur was just too thick for that, and thank the stars for that. She was becoming worried about food for leaf-bare, however. They only had the territory that no other clan would dare encroach on without serious consequences. If Thunderclan wanted to stay fed, they would need to start taking things, and Wolfblaze was more than happy to fight for it. What was life without a little bit of combat after all?

Appledapple didn't usually walk alone, but in this past moon she'd started doing it more often. She wasn't sure exactly why, but sometimes she just didn't want to be around her Clanmates. Other times she loved them all and could smile for hours, but sometimes she needed a bit of alone time in the territory. So of course it was just her luck that one of the few times she wanted to be alone, another Clanmate was in the forest. When she caught sight of Wolfblaze, the tortoiseshell sighed. This is fine. I guess I could just go around another way... It's not a big deal... I'm really not in the mood to talk to anyone. I feel like I'd just end up with my claws at their throat.

Deputy duties stacked up almost immediately. Before, he'd dealt with the endless torrent of swirling thoughts by distracting himself with menial knowledge or seeking to indulge in the world around him. But now there was something within the tom's head that he not only had to dredge up but focus on. Somehow, Stoatfur found himself in his own head more than ever before - a thing he had always sought to avoid. But the position demanded it, as well as the gnawing fact that he genuinely felt an overwhelming desire to make sure his role was performed correctly.

None of this was a difficult task. And yet, the weight of lives imprinted itself into his very being. He had not yet watched a cat die before his eyes. Seeing Minkstar pine after an ailing mate was enough to keep him shying away from such things - he'd fight back against the cold with his own two paws, even if reality did not allow it.

One of the many tasks assigned was making sure apprentices were properly trained. The little warrior would never admit it but this was perhaps what he was most looking forward to about the new title. Thunderclan would have well-trained and knowledgeable warriors, if he could help it. Copperkit was a bit of a sticking point in his mind, something he'd been ill-prepared to wrestle with. Blood didn't matter, it never had, especially considering his own origins as Poppyflight's son. But taking in another mouth to feed as the climate grew colder... it was something he couldn't rationalize, even if he had to accept it.

Regardless, the young kit needed a mentor and Stoatfur wanted to give him to a cat whose skill would sharpen the foreign born kit. Appledapple had been the first to come to mind. Her quick paws against the snake had impressed him enough to be memorable. He had begun to follow after her when she slipped through the camp entrance. Cursing at the thought of having to leave camp, the deputy silently followed her pawsteps. A ways out from camp, he finally caught sight of her pelt once more.

"Appledapple!"

Klaus heard Wolfblaze before he saw her... and he froze on the tree limb that he was on. He clung to it like a squirrel and rested his belly upon it. Slowly, as squirrels do, he shimmied to one side, keeping the limb between himself at Wolfblaze's line of sight. He had no need, apparently, because the Thunderclanner never bothered to look up. More sounds of paw steps and he looked at their source to see another she-cat, though this one was still not the one he was looking for. She seemed like she wanted to be alone...

"Appledapple!"

What in the Dark Forest does that- Oh... it's that she-cat's name.

...

Well that was mean of you, Minkstar.

He clung to the branch, frozen in one spot like a squirrel would. A whole Thunderclan patrol was here and not a single one noticed. He might have laughed if he had any less self control. Two mollies and a tom... but no Waterlily. Once they had moved off just a bit, he pulled himself silently back onto the top of the limb. Curious, he leaped quietly to the next branch, practically a ghost as he followed.

It was nearing the end of the day... would they lead him to their camp, he wondered? He'd follow them silently for now, though once he was sure he knew where their camp was, he might reveal himself by then. He would have no use following them afterward... and they'd be a lot less likely to just let him go probably. Besides, any information he could get might be useful, before he would let them know he was there and start asking about Waterlily.

Mostly he was curious, and hoping to hear, that she was getting slightly more round. As far as he knew, none of these cats were familiar to him. He could introduce himself as Klaus and they would be none the wiser to his real identity.

Klaus is following in the trees, waiting for the camp location to be revealed. He will reveal himself after.

"Appledapple!"

Wolfblaze's fur bristled in surprise, and she looked around her wildly for her... apparent clanmates? In her frenzied state, she almost thought she saw a flash of gold and cream before it was gone with the wind. Amber eyes finally fixed themselves on the forms of Appledapple and, further back, Stoatfur. "What in Starclan's name? How did this turn into a patrol?" She approached the other two quickly, breaking every branch in her path with reckless abandon. "This feels weird," she mewed, confused, "what are you guys out here for? Is this just one big coincidence, 'cause that would be interesting! I mean, we always could hunt, but I'd turn it into a competition you guys should know that by now... oh yeah but original question!" The molly absentmindedly scraped her claws on a tree as she awaited the responses of her clanmates. She had just wanted a peaceful walk, but this was good too! Excitement was important!

She thought she heard a rustle in the trees, but.... Who was that calling her name?! Appledapple whipped around in shock, only to see-- oh, it's Stoatfur. Interesting. Shoving her annoyance down to the bottom of her throat, the tortoiseshell plastered a polite smile on her face. I will not attack him. I will not attack him. I have no earthly reason to do so, I'm just feeling bad today. I will not attack a Clanmate, let alone Stoatfur, the deputy. Hopefully her inner turmoil wasn't visible.

"Oh, hey," she said, as neutrally as possible. "Stoatfur. Did you need something? I was just... walking." What a weak excuse. Her fur bristled as another familiar voice sounded out of the shadows. Oh, StarClan, just what I need... Wolfblaze had noticed her. How could she not, with Stoatfur yelling her name for all the forest to hear. "I can't be alone for five seconds," the tortoiseshell meowed, exasperation breaking through her formerly calm tone. "I just wanted to walk. I don't feel like hunting, I've already patrolled today. What are you doing out here yourself? Does any of us have any real reason or are we just wandering like some kind of crazed loners?" Trying desperately to keep her annoyance in check, she turned again to Stoatfur. Her voice was noticeably more terse, but still not at the level of anger yet. She wouldn't let it get there. "What is it?"

Before he could even begin discussing his proposal of her taking on an apprentice, there was another voice chiming in. Wolfblaze. Stoatfur regarded her with a slight tip of his head, trying to hide his own annoyance as he muttered, "Since when do warriors just wander the territory in their free time..." Maybe it was enjoying the last bit of decent weather they would have, or being ignorant of the biting leafbare to come. Either way, the lack of efficiency bothered him but that could be stuffed away for another time.

"As fun as a hunting competition would be, I'd rather not chase what little prey there is away over silly games. The next patrol will grab it for us." Stoatfur meowed as he flicked his tail, "I came out here to ask Appledapple about mentoring Copperkit. He's ready to start training and Starclan knows we need all the capable paws we can get." The urge to mention that maybe mentorship would then keep both their paws busy was an overwhelming one. Surely he had other duties to attend to, but he couldn't think of anything.

"If we're out here, maybe we spar at least? Give our paws something to do since apparently none of us have anywhere else to be."

Klaus listened to their conversation with interest, gleaning what information he could about the cats and their personalities. Judging by what the little one was saying, he must have been the deputy. He was sure he'd never seen that tom before. An odd looking cat like that he'd remember. Stoatfur... he'd remember that name. Copperkit... he briefly had memories of Copperfox. He'd liked his brother, despite their disagreements and their physical altercation that one time. That was just family in Skyclan.

He was content to remain perfectly still and watch these warriors spar, if that is indeed what they were going to do. What a great way to judge their skill level... especially with a legitimate bird's eye view of it. The feisty larger she-cat had his attention for now, curious to see what her response would be. She seemed like the impulsive emotional type, very much like his sisters. If he ever needed to aggravate someone for kicks like he used to, she'd be a prime target.

He made the minimal amount of movement possible as he observed and kept completely quiet. They needed all of the capable paws they could get? If only Minkstar didn't know who he was. How interesting it would be to join Thunderclan and be with Waterlily. He was sure he'd be able to keep up with their training. He had proven to be a capable Skyclan cat and a respectable Windclan cat. How tough could Thunderclan be?

Wolfblaze didn't hear Stoatfur's annoyed words, she was more focused on the fact that it was a crazy coincidence that they had all found each other out in the territory! Of course, then she was obsessed with the word spar, so that helped too. "I would love to spar Stoatfur. I knew being out here would have something good come of it! Well come on then, one of you, come at me! It'll be fun!" The large molly was practically bouncing with excitement, plunging down into a defensive position with her dopey half-smirk on her face.

The evening wind whistled through ThunderClan's trees. Something felt weird... something felt off... but Appledapple couldn't tell what it was. Her mounting annoyance was a distraction. If she couldn't be alone, she guessed she would just have to deal with these two. Now didn't seem like the time to discuss apprentices with Stoatfur, and the idea felt foreign in her mind. She wasn't feeling it, and he seemed to move on to other topics just as quickly. They could talk about it later. For now, they had another cat to think about.

Sparring, huh?... Stoatfur wasn't much of a problem, but Wolfblaze... reminded her of herself. And that was a bad thing, especially when she was in the headspace she was now. Something itched at the back of her claws, and her frustration came to a head. Her slightly wild gray eyes grew calm.

"Fine. You want to spar? Then let's spar."

When the tortoiseshell lunged at Wolfblaze, she almost forgot to keep her claws sheathed. However, her attack would likely hurt somewhat, she guessed. She bowled the fluffier she-cat over, using her superior dexterity to pin her onto the ground.

Stoatfur's ear flickered at Wolfblaze's enthusiasm. He supposed it wasn't a bad thing to have cats that leaped at the thought of battle, to make up for those who shied away from it. His claws had unheathed but Appledapple surged forward first, bowling over the other warrior. The deputy decided it would be better to resign to watching, giving pointers for a spur of the moment session; he enjoy the logistics of outsmarting an opponent even if he'd hardly been in real combat. Perhaps this would be a decent break. Pushing away thoughts of the cold pricking at his coat, the little brown and white tom meowed, "Nice start, Appledapple. I want to see what you can do, Wolfblaze, come on."

With all of the nonsense going on down below, Klaus was inclined to focus his attention elsewhere. Now... if where the deputy came from was any indication as to where camp was... He silently climbed higher to look, maybe get a better vantage point. If they were going to be sparring, perhaps they wouldn't notice him moving from tree to tree away from them. He looked for anything, any little sign of broken twigs or wet leaves that had been kicked up out of their original positions on the forest floor... anything that would tell him where to find Thunderclan's camp. If he found that one, then all he would need to find afterward would be Shadowclan's camp.

He was not looking forward to that... what a crap-hole that place was. Klaus landed upon a final, low hanging branch and dropped down as quietly as he could to the forest floor. He crept quietly toward a disturbed wet leaf.... dry on one side and wet on the other. Stoatfur had definitely come from this way... The pale tom abandoned the trees for now in favor of the bushes. If he was to be spotted now at least it wouldn't be in the trees and raise suspicions.

If things turned nasty... well... he was ready to bolt out of here... or maybe he could talk his way out. Only time would tell... and only if he was going to be spotted.

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Camp Invasion Dice' :