The King's Guard [C]

Bloodstrike waited at the edge of the Old Twoleg place after running into a Skyclan patrol earlier in the day by their border. He'd asked them to bring Birdstar and travel with her, if they wished, to come to the very edge of the Old Twoleg place. He'd wanted to speak with her, but only at the end of the day just before Skyclan bedded down to sleep. He didn't want to distract her from huer duties as leader, as he knew all too well how time consuming and tiring they could be. The old tom cat was lying on a cracked and crumbling brick wall, one that was likely used as a barrier between twoleg nests at one point, or tow separate the twoleg nests from the forest. He'd been here before after the fire, after Mistrain had died. Before Smokefeather had died...

That seemed almost a lifetime ago... the fire at least. Bloodstrike had been younger back then and certainly far better looking. Stars, he even still had his tail back then. Bloodstrike stretched out and waited patiently in the dusky evening for Birdstar to arrive. He hoped that she would. It would be awkward to have to enter Skyclan camp with a dozen of her warriors attached to him and trying in vain to hold him back. That wasn't how he wanted to go about doing things. He wanted to do this respectfully and right.

Bloodstrike watched for other warriors, but was pleasantly surprised that Birdstar had come alone. So... she trusted him. Maybe this would be easy after all. He didn't make any moves that could startle her, but he did rise to a sit so as not to seem disrespectful.

"Well I'm not here to deliver bad news, only that I haven't seen Beechfang. I will not make any assumptions beyond what I see." He had a feeling Birdstar may have asked at some point anyway, or maybe she would have told him where Beechfang might be.

"However, I imagine the next time I see her, it will be near Skyclan's borders... which is what I wanted to talk to you about. I'll be blunt and brief with you, Birdstar, I have even less patience for beating around the bush than I did when I was in my youth. I am old... and I will be dying sooner rather than later. I have dedicated my life to Skyclan even outside it's borders. I was born in that nursery, as was my first mate and all of my children. I don't want to die outside of my homeland, in some strange place that holds no warmth or meaning for me. I want to be accepted back into Skyclan, not as an elder that will be nothing but a burden, but as a warrior. When my body becomes too slow to dodge the fangs or claws of a predator, then I will rest. I will never accept an elder position, so if you'd be willing to take me back in, please don't do it with the intention of forcing me to be there."

Where she used to be... His thoughts traveled briefly to Smokefeather whom had been sentenced to that place long before she was due. There were too many memories in that elder's den... too many that should have never been.

"Please let me live out the last of my days serving the clan that I once lead, and currently love so much still. Beechfang will come by the border, no doubt... if she still lives." It was a painful thought, but on the off chance his daughter was gone, Bloodstrike spoke the truth. He didn't want to die in foreign territory. He was a Skyclan cat through and through, and he wanted to die like one just as he had lived.

Bloodstrike watched Birdstar's expression carefully and listened quietly to her words. His stoic face betrayed almost nothing... save for when she mentioned that Skyclan would always have his mark on it. There was a flicker of surprise briefly in his eyes, but just like that it was gone again. His first thought was Riverclan when she mentioned what kind of position Skyclan would be in. If Perchstar had something to say he'd tear out her tongue before she could-

No. He forced himself to stop. That couldn't be his approach anymore. It had worked for a lot of things and for a time, but it was not what would help him or Skyclan now. He didn't fear death, he'd proven that many times. What he feared was failure. He had redeemed Skyclan when he charged at a Dark Forest cat head on; redeemed them from when Spottedstar cowered away from a rogue group of Starclan. The black stain on Skyclan had been removed by him, just as he swore he would do. He'd accomplished what he needed... now what he needed to do was listen.

He made another promise to himself just then, that he would keep his temper in check, remind himself that he was no longer the leader, not even the deputy, and he needed to show that same restraint that he had as a warrior. His time had come and gone, his purpose fulfilled. Now... he needed to repair his relations to those in Skyclan that he had hurt.

Once Birdstar had invited him to follow, Bloodstrike hopped... carefully... off of the brick wall.

"I'll follow you. There is nothing I need from this place." Memories of Ivystar coming to rescue Skyclan from their starvation flashed in his mind out of nowhere. He couldn't say that he ever truly liked the Riverclan leader as a cat, but he had been grateful enough to her for her generosity that he'd worked his tail off... not literally... for Riverclan just as hard as he had for Skyclan. A conflicting memory of Riverclan defending Windclan entered his mind next. That had been Ivystar too.

They are as fickle as the river they live near. He wondered if they were just as changeable and adaptable too. Perchstar had a concern about her medicine cat's death, which was fair. If it had been any cat but Beechfang, Bloodstrike may have punished them accordingly. Likely, he'd never say it out loud, but perhaps he'd been wrong. Maybe he needed to figure out a way to make things right and keep as much strain off of Birdstar's decision as possible.

But this was all talks for another time... Sometime soon.