Urgent News Brought by the Thunder [Open]

Blizzardshine was doing her best to push her own emotions away, her usually cheerful expression replaced by a serious stare as her paws carried quickly through the territory the belonged to their neighbors, though she was mindful to not go too fast…mostly given Cloudstorm’s condition. She really wasn’t convinced when she volunteered for the patrol, but it was clear that nothing the deputy had to say would’ve changed the queen’s mind and between risking her to come in secret and get in trouble without them noticing, or allowing her to come with them and be able to keep an eye on her at all times…well, the choice was obvious. Every second was precious, and not knowing where the runaway warrior went only made things worse, he could be already causing trouble around this side of the forest, or getting ready to ambush them only a couple of tail-lengths ahead of them.

Shaking her head to get rid of such dark thoughts, she lowered her head as a way to show respect and lower the chance of being seen as a threat and entered in SkyClan’s camp. She just hoped some of the cats she met some time ago when she helped Crowstar return after the incident that came to the cost of one of his lives would remember her, letting her speak instead of attacking her and the cats that came with her.

Emberpaw's eyes narrowed as the scent of ThunderClan reached his nose; he heard pawsteps entering camp rather slowly, so it didn't seem like they were here to attack... Still, he was distrustful. What reason would ThunderClan warriors have to visit their camp? It wasn't as though SkyClan had been hunting on their territory or anything of the sort. Briefly, he thought of Falconpaw--but no, there was no way that he and Falconpaw were in trouble after meeting only once, and besides that, there was no way ThunderClan would send a patrol to discuss something like that with Crowstar. Emberpaw was very tempted to approach the patrol himself and demand to know what they were doing, but he had a feeling that job was best reserved for Crowstar or Rippedsky. So he stayed back, paying attention for any signs that the patrol could become hostile.

Cloudstorm, despite her condition kept pace pretty well. The she cat narrowed her eyes in concentration. She may have loved Rockthorn but he was a threat to all of the clans, and no matter what she thought of her mate he was a huge threat.

Sandblaze followed after the two, keeping one eye on his sister just in case.

Firkit looked up when a large white cat entered the clearing. 'Someone new!' Would they be joining SkyClan too? She did like the new cats, they were really nice to her and her brother. The mostly deaf kitten waddled up to Emberpaw and sat down with a soft plop. She noticed that she was almost his size now. Would she be an apprentice soon? Oh, she hoped so! The white and tan she-cat gazed up at the new cats, wondering why they looked so grim. Was everything okay?

Cherrymist's ears perked up as they picked up the sounds of footsteps nearing camp. The scent accompanying them was far from SkyClan. 'ThunderClan...?' she blinked in confusion, and got up from her sunning spot to join the cats already there to look at the intruder in camp, and her first instinct was to find her son, Cloudpaw. This couldn't be good, the blind cat thought anxiously, and hoped that either Rippedsky or Crowstar would soon come to sort this mess out.

Rabbitfoot had been taking care of business when the scent of Thunderclan filled her nose above the herbs she was working with. At first, she wanted to think it was her imagination, but as she poked her head out of her den, she saw Blizzardshine padding in with her head down. What could this be about? Padding out with the gathering cats, Rabbitfoot looked toward anyone that would speak up, but when no one did, she took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Um... Greetings!" she mewed cheerfully, trying to make the Thunderclan deputy feel welcome. She had seen the she-cat at gatherings but had never personally spoken to her before. "How... How can we help you?" However, upon seeing the frightful expression masked on the deputy's face, Rabbitfoot started to grow concerned. "Is everything okay? Do you need assistance?"

Cloudstorm looked at the Skyclan medicine cat with an empty and broken look in her eyes before speaking up. "Weve come here on business with Crowstar about an urgent matter." The queen meowed in a monotone voice.

Sandblaze rolled his eyes at his sister and looked around the camp taking notes.

Bubblekit bounded out of the nursery. The big fluffy maine coon skidded to a stop by her mother Cherrymist and looked at the cats in wonder. There was a big white and gray spotted fluffy she cat, and smooth coated white she cat and a bright red fluffy tom who looked bored. So these are some Thunderclan warriors! I wanna be big just like them.. The silver she cat meowed her yellow eyes shinning.

Blizzardshine looked around the camp as they arrived, soon noticing the many suspicion filled gazes directed at the. She couldn’t blame them for being cautious of their presence even if they were only three at the time, and even if they tried to show through their actions that they didn’t want to cause any kind of trouble you never could be too sure.

As soon as Rabbitfoot spoke, she turned her head to look at her, a half-smile on her muzzle. She recognized the medicine cat from the gatherings on their past “Greetings, forgive me and my clanmates for coming to your camp without an invitation or previous warning, but just like Cloudstorm said we need to speak with Crowstar or Rippedsky as soon as possible” Her usually cheerful voice had been replaced with a lower, almost gloomy one. Her gaze went from Rabbitfoot to Crowstar’s den as soon as she mentioned his name, hoping that he was around at the time.

The white deputy hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially since last time she came here some moons ago she had done almost the exact same. Would the cats of SkyClan start seeing her as a bad omen now? Hopefully not, that was obviously a label she hoped to never be the owner of.

Rosepaw hurried out of the apprentice den as the smell of different cats came drifting in. Seeing her mother and brother she hurried by their side her fur fluffed up as she looked at the Thunderclan cats. "What are they doing here?" She mumbled to Cherrymist.

"What do you need Blizzardshine?" The leader's voice rumbled as he stepped out of his den. He had her the commotion and hoped it was nothing but it turned out to be something as soon as he heard the Thunderclan deputy's voice.

The tall black fluffy leader padded closer to the smaller deputy. "What do you wish to share with me?" He hoped this would be fast, and not be something one of his warriors had done. He didn't want to deal with this maiming fiasco that seemed to be traveling around the clans.

Blizzardshine’s ears raised as soon as the well-known voice of Crowstar overcame the whispers around her, the big black leader walking out from his den like if he suddenly had materialized out from the shadows that surrounded him. If her mind wasn’t as troubled as it was at the time, she probably would’ve dropped most formalities and greeted him with a big smile.

“Greetings, Crowstar” She respectfully lowered her head for a second as he approached to them “I wish the motives of our visit were less grim, but I guess there are some things that we can’t control” Her expression suddenly turned serious and her gaze met with Crowstar’s as she quickly put her thoughts in order to be able to explain what exactly was going on.

“A former ThunderClan warrior that goes by the name of Rockthorn is roaming around the territories. He’s a heavily scarred dark grey tabby tom, you’ll be able to easily identify him, as a good chunk of his muzzle is missing” She was making clear that her voice was loud and clear enough for the cats around her to hear, and not only the black leader “He is really dangerous Crowstar. Just so you get an idea of what I mean by this, he not only maimed one of WindClan apprentices earlier today, but dared to gloat in front of Ashstar and my whole clan about how he ripped the younger cat’s face apart, leaving him disfigured and crippled for life. And if it wasn’t enough he nearly killed one of our kits in plain daylight and threatened his father to kill him and his whole family” Her voice, serious and confident when she started to speak, quickly acquired a tone of mixed anger and sadness, and she had to fight for her volume to not get lower as she progressed. Having to recall the crimes that Rockthorn had committed and say them out loud wasn’t really helping the white deputy to keep her composure.

“After those crimes alongside the many troubles he had caused in the past, Darkstar ordered death penalty for him, as exiling him would only put the whole forest in danger, but before he could be executed he managed to run away. Several patrols are trying to track him down already, but we are afraid that he may not be in ThunderClan’s territory anymore” She gave herself a couple of seconds to recover from the tornado of emotions that she tried to keep under control to not look weak in front of the cats of SkyClan, taking dissimulated deep breaths “He won’t even hesitate to attack or even kill one of your cats if they cross paths with him, no matter how big or small. Until he is found and justice is done, it would be wise for you to be cautious”.

Cherrymist followed Blizzardshine's words, growing increasingly scared as every moment passed. As the ThunderClan deputy finished, the blind queen couldn't take it anymore and raised her voice, in a manner so strong and decisive that after she spoke, the white cat lowered her head in embarrassment that she had dared to speak before the Clan leader himself, before her grandfather. "This is horrible, we must keep the apprentices and kits safe, and no cat should go out alone! How did an entire Clan not been able to restrain a single warrior?" she meowed but shut her mouth as she realized her behavior. She was acting like a small, dumb, kit! Cherrymist took a few steps back and then turned away, deciding that this was no matter for kits to hear. The blind cat guided herself by scent to Bubblekit and then to Firkit, ushering the two of them away with her bushy tail towards the nursery. She could just as well hear from there, or ask one of her relatives what had happened.

Rabbitfoot nodded at the small patrol and quickly moved to fetch one of two requested cats, but she stopped as soon as Crowstar came out of his den as if on cue. So instead, the medicine cat sat back down in her place, getting comfortable for the discussion about to commence. When Blizzardshine began to tell her story, however, the she-cat quickly became unsettled. A warrior marked for death? She had never heard of such. It sounded rather barbaric, but after some thought, maybe Darkstar had the best intentions in mind. Even so, she couldn't help but be wary of the Thunderclan leader. As Blizzardshine continued, though, she became even more unnerved about the information being shared about this Rockthorn. He wouldn't hesitate to attack or kill another cat... How could someone live like that? The thought was appalling, but she tried her best not show any expression on her face until Cherrymist suddenly spoke up.

Immediately, Rabbitfoot rushed to the she-cat's side. Being somewhat familiar with the queen from the kittings, she followed her to the nursery to try to calm her down. Even though there wasn't much she could do, a medicine cat's job was to make everyone feel better, right? "It'll be okay, Cherrymist. Crowstar will handle this," she mewed reassuringly.

Cloudstorm flinched when Blizzardshine talked about Rockthorn. Her ear laid flat on her head in an unbearable uncomfortableness.

Sandblaze eyed his sister making sure she didn't do anything rash.

Firkit looked up in confusion when she was pushed away from the scene. She wanted to know what was going on! The kit was getting rather good at reading other's lips to determine what they were saying. Well, decent. Words like "trees" and "treat" still got her mixed up. She frowned at both the queen and the medicine cat, making a short, indignant noise as she was shoved into the nursery. But she wouldn't give up! Instead of going to her nest, she watched from the entrance, eyes wide and tail twitching. 'What are they talking about?'