A Dangerous Game [CLOSED]

Night had just fallen upon the forest, but instead of being in the camp, Falconstar was standing near the edge of the Thunderpath, his medicine cat right next to him and not ignoring the clan, Echo. Since ShadowClan would most likely be out at night, the WindClan leader hoped to talk to one of them, and hopefully also talk to their new leader, Thrushstar. This was a dangerous game, though: tensions between WindClan and ShadowClan had been high for moons now, and he was on his guard for an attack, though he kept to his territory to make sure they couldn't accuse him of code breaking. The birdsong was vanishing as the birds started falling asleep, so the only sound were crickets and the rare monster that rushed across the path. All there was to do now was wait. This was too important. The fate of the clans was at stake.

Surprisingly, on the first dusk patrol was Thrushstar himself. He preferred to go in the first moon's rays mainly because he knew that it was really the only time that his patrols would run into any of the other clans. He was usually around the Windclan border at this time, making his way from the Carrionplace towards Thunderclan, and tonight was no different as he sifted through the grass and the mud towards the Thunderpath, but this time he saw a new figure standing across the hard, disgusting ground. Just on the other side was Falconstar, someone Thrushstar was definitely not expecting to see. On top of that, the Windclan leader seemed to be waiting on him. Walking to the edge of his side of the Thunderpath, Thrushstar did not stop watching the tom. "Greetings, Falconstar," Thrushstar meowed, saying the words like he was spitting out poison. It was rather difficult to stay calm. "You seem to be looking for someone or something."

Another monster roared down the path, breaking the two leaders' eye contact for a moment. There was no denying the active dislike in the new ShadowClan leader's face, though. It was almost palatable. "Actually, I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about SkyClan." He collected his thoughts for a moment, then continued. "SkyClan's return to this forest has brought nothing but war and misery to the clans. They're led by a Deomilite who wishes nothing but our destruction. I don't know what she has told Reedstar to make him her puppet, but it endangers all of us. I know you are loathe to trust me after what we all did to your clan, but we are all still part of this forest. All four of us. This SkyClan is not the one who left the forest before, but a collection of murderers and rogues who care not for the ways of our clans."

Another deep breath. He didn't know if this would mean anything to Thrushstar. Maybe he would just hate him for what the clans did to ShadowClan, but he had to try to explain what was happening… even if it took making a deal to get it to work. "I know there's been bad blood between our clans since what happened with the SkyClan territory, but I would be willing to return to ShadowClan your half of the territory. Of course, there are some… unwanted settlers on it." His voice was calm, never wavering. He didn't make himself appear to be threatening to the other leader though, to hopefully keep his admittedly-deserved rage quelled.

Thrushstar's tail flicked up and down in annoyance. He listened to everything Falconstar had to say, but he really didn't know what to think of it. If anything, he was a little surprised the Windclan leader wanted to speak to him in the first place, but the tom didn't know if he wanted to carry on the conversation. While some of what Falconstar said was true about Skyclan being full of rogues, Thrushstar wasn't quite sure if they were filled with murderers. He hadn't heard the stories quite yet and Skyclan hadn't done anything except mind their own borders, which was good enough for the Shadowclan leader at the moment. What did concern him was most definitely Elea. He could not bring himself to trust the strange cat, especially with the stories of the Deos, but he had also heard of Amalric, which was what caused so much conflict inside of him. But the land sounded nice. It would be good to have what was once Shadowclan's, but it was Windclan that took it away from them in the first place. "How can I trust you?" he asked coldly. "Not just after the savage attack on my clan, but this deal was attempted before between Raccoonstar and Sagestar. Both of us know how that ended."

"Circumstances change, Thrushstar. I'm sure you don't trust Elea just as much as I do, and it will be to the benefit of the forest if she is gone. I know you have every right not to trust me, but I give you my word as a leader that the half of SkyClan territory that before belonged to ShadowClan will be returned to you the moment SkyClan has been removed from the territories." The distrust Thrushstar had was obvious. The less-obvious point was if he was receptive to the ideas Falconstar was putting out there. If there was any way for WindClan and ThunderClan to get past RiverClan to remove SkyClan permanently, they needed ShadowClan.

It was an interesting offer, if nothing else. More territory meant more room to grow. Maybe, if all was played right, there was the possibility of getting all of Skyclan's land after they had gotten out. Of course, if that were to happen, it'd be long into the future...

But that wasn't a priority in Thrushstar's mind at the moment. Instead, he was far more concerned on how much he could rely on Falconstar. Shadowclan had never been an ally with Windclan, not even in the stories he had heard as a kit. The only time they even remotely worked together was when the Deos attacked and that was because the entire forest was in danger. It was usually Riverclan that Shadowclan had leaned on when they absolutely needed the help, but that tie was completely broken. "This is not an offer that can be taken lightly," he muttered, deep in thought. "While I am grateful that you would think of Shadowclan to help you, Falconstar, I cannot agree to any deals at this moment. I will have to think it over as this plan involves a great deal more than just a bit of land. Until something happens to my clan that needs to be taken care of, I don't believe I will be entering this dispute between the clans, but I will keep your deal in consideration." That was a mouthful, but it was all that he wanted to say. Nothing had happened to bring Shadowclan into this mess, and Thrushstar wanted to keep them out of it as long as possible.

That was not the answer Falconstar had wanted to hear, but it was the one he had expected. At the very least, it didn't seem as if Thrushstar was leaning towards allying with SkyClan and RiverClan. "I understand that, Thrushstar. If ShadowClan is ever in need of assistance, WindClan will be more than happy to help. For now, I will leave you to continue patrolling your borders. My offer still stands, of course, for whenever you may wish to accept it." With a courteous nod, the WindClan leader backed up from the Thunderpath, preparing to head back to his clan. "May StarClan light your path." If StarClan even deemed them worthy to have their paths lit. If they weren't too busy betraying the clans that had remained.