You Aren't Birds, Get Out of those Trees! [Topic 2]

Larksong led her small patrol toward the SkyClan border, her eyes taking in the faint hints of the setting sun. While it was tiresome being awake this early, she couldn't deny the sight being beautiful - at least what little of it she could glimpse through the pine trees that made up their territory. Her gaze snapped back to in front of her when she found the ground beneath her paws start to harden - the simple sign that they were reaching the edge of their territory. She spotted Highpine looming up and was about to raise her tail in the simple signal for Flamestrike and Waspstep to follow her when she caught sight of movement on the SkyClan territory. Instead, she paused and moved her tail silently in a rippling motion, the sign to move forward with great care as she slowed down her pawsteps but kept moving toward the border.

Waspstep followed behind Larksong. He didn't really want to be awake right now. The day for Shadowclan was coming to an end and this was like being up at moon down for the other clans. It was a pain, he would rather be in the warriors den with the other warriors getting settled down for the day.

The brown warrior let out a small grunt when Larksong stopped. He just wanted to get this over with. Who cares if Skyclan was moving about? The sooner this was over the happier he would be, he didn't want to delay it.

Addergaze strode ahead of Hawkstrike and Bubblepaw, powerful shoulders rolling beneath her thick, wild fur as she continued to guide the little patrol towards the towering form of the Highpine. There hadn't been much talking between the little trio of cats as grogginess was still evident in every cat's eyes- Dawn Patrols were always the worst. She didn't mind the silence though; her constant state of an incredibly foul mood often resulted in other cats feeling slighted if they spoke. Addergaze slowed her brisk pace slightly as they drew closer to the Highpine, wariness evident within her now slightly tense form. The scent of Shadowclan was faint but definitely fresh- perhaps those mud lovers were simply lingering near the border. Just the mere scent of Shadowclan made her neck fur bristle slightly- oh how she loathed Shadowclan! Ever since she had snuck onto their territory all those moons ago with Eagleheart, they had been a thorn in her side for the most part. "Stay close." Addergaze rumbled softly, thick tail sweeping in wide lashes as they continued to approach the border.

The large silver she cats yellow eyes gazed around the territory as she walked next to Addergaze and Hawkstrike. Bubblepaw nodded as Addergaze told them to stay close.

Flamestrike padded along with the rest of the patrol, lost in his own thoughts. His brain was still a bit groggy with the remembrance of a troubled sleep. However, his ears were perked, just in case there was anything about. The orange warrior almost bumped into the patrol leader, but stopped short. At her signal, his fur began to bristle. There had been movement over the border. Not long after he picked the scent of Skyclan cats. With flattened ears, he crept forwards. There seemed to be another patrol along the border. Typically, he wasn't one for a fight. But it made him uncomfortable that enemy cats were so close nearby.

"Skyclan..." He hissed lowly.

Hawkstrike could never get used to being so close to his old clan, always feeling the fur on the back of his neck stand on end whenever they had to patrol this specific border. When asked about his reaction all he did was excuse himself by saying he never really liked ShadowClan, and the loathing he had towards them only grew bigger when their warrior nearly killed him after finally coming back to the forest.

This was the reason he was a couple of tail-lengths behind the rest of the patrol as they approached the border, and it wasn’t until he caught up with his clanmates that he noticed the ShadowClan patrol on the other side. He could feel his claws coming out from their sheathes and scratching the dirt below them as he narrowed his eyes and glared and each and every single one of them…though his attention mostly fell on Larksong. He could recognize him as one of the apprentices that were with his father the day he caused the awful wound that after some time had become quite a nasty scar on his face. He didn’t say a thing right away, but it wasn’t necessary, his glare was more than enough.

Larksong had been hoping that things would be settled quickly, a simple greeting passed between the two patrols before they went on their separate ways but any hope of that was dashed when the she saw the final of the three cats step into view. The first two she had spotted, a warrior and an apprentice hadn't really bothered her but she recognized the brown tabby that followed after those two, her eyes narrowing to return the glare. "Owlstrike," she scoffed under her breath, recalling when she had witness that rogue attack her brother only to learn that Owlstrike was family...Family that had betrayed the Clan for the Dark Forest. She bit back a hiss as she turned her head to the she-cat that seemed to be leading the SkyClan patrol with cold expression. "I didn't know SkyClan allowed themselves to take in bad company," she retorted sharply, wanting to say oh-so more but resisted for the moment.

Addergaze was slightly surprised to see the look upon Larksong's face when she spotted Hawkstrike shambling behind her and Bubblepaw, although her face remained a neutral mask as she continued to glare at the ShadowClan cats. Swinging her head to look back at Bubblepaw and Hawkstrike, she was a bit more surprised to see the seething glare upon his face- perhaps they had clashed once before on a different patrol? Who knew at this rate! She continued to observe her Clanmates for several more heartbeats until the ShadowClan she-cat spoke once more. However, at Larksong's words, her large head snapped forward once more, eyes slitting in momentary rage as the bulky muscle beneath her wild fur tensed even further. Oh boy..

"Bad Company?" Addergaze echoed lowly, seething out the words as if they were poison, taking a challenging step towards the black and gold she-cat with fierce eyes- it was too early for her to just brush off an pretentious and seemingly unjust comment such as that. Perhaps a more mild-mannered cat such as Rippedsky or Tinylegs could of brushed off the blatant disrespect shown, but since when was Addergaze known for her ability to keep her cool? "Funny thing to hear from a ShadowClan cat- considering the fact that your entire Clan is composed mainly of 'bad company'." She crowed lowly, glaring down at Larksong with cold eyes as she continued to speak- just who did this condescending brat think she was? Did ShadowClan have nothing better to do other than pick petty squabbles with their neighboring Clans at the crack of dawn?

"Although I suppose it's not your fault that you can't distinguish the difference of good and bad company- after generations of inbreeding and eating disease-riddled rats, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a rotting snake and a rabid rogue- but more often than not it seems that you welcome both into your dens." Addergaze heatedly spat, teeth bared in a feral grin as she continued to glare at the ShadowClan patrol, taking a few more steps up to the border in an obvious challenge meant for Larksong to return. Despite her obvious anger and excitement at the prospect of a scrap, Addergaze's thick fur remained smooth..well as smooth as it could be..as she waited for any of the ShadowClan cat's to return her harsh words.

Flamestrike stepped forwards as a large, Skyclan she-cat began to confront Larksong. He stood in front of his clanmate protectively. It made him even more uncomfortable that she wasn't only spitting at Larksong, but also inching towards the border. He fixed the cat with cold, green eyes, "There's no reason to start a fight. We're just patrolling." His voice was low and controlled. The words came out as some strange mix between a hiss and a growl. He unsheathed his claws to knead at the ground. If anything were to happen the tom wanted to be prepared. Clearly, both parties were aggravated simply at the sight of each other. He had no idea what Larksong's past with the Skyclan warrior was, but the other she-cat's response was unnecessary. As he thought about it more, the more his blood began to boil. Who was this Skyclan cat that thought she could speak so poorly of his clan?

"Besides, with the amount of rogues you bring in, I'm sure you're just as good as what you accuse us of being." He spat back, against his better judgement. Normally, the orange warrior would not have said much. But another cat was insulting both his clan and clanmates. Speaking out, Flamestrike gained confidence. He stood up straight and just managed to look down at the enemy warrior. His paws were planted firmly into the ground as his fur began to bristle. Unusual amounts of anger caused his blood to boil. It had been so long since he confronted another cat, especially an enemy cat. His eyes briefly glanced down at her paws before flickering back up to return her gaze, "Step back."

Waspstep let out a sigh. Just what he needed before going to rest for the day. There was no stopping it now, but he wasn't going to enable it either. The brown warrior stayed behind the others hoping this wouldn't turn into a skirmish. He just wanted to get back to camp as soon as possible... Oh Starclan was that too much to ask? There was a comfy nest waiting on him back at Shadowclan camp, and Blazeflight. Neither of those were here besides bitterness on both sides. He didn't know what was happening but he didn't really care much he just wanted to go home.

Against most of the cats patrolling on both sides, Hawkstrike needed absolutely no provocation to get all fired up and ready for battle, not when talking about ShadowClan, but with the insults being thrown from patrol to patrol he could feel his motivation growing. His glare turned darker, his fur started to rise, his ears went flat against his head and claws unsheathed.

The first one to talk was Larksong, and following suit he answered to him first, his carefully trained silver tongue no longer trying to hold back the words that could cause suspicion or confusion from the cats from SkyClan. After all, the emotions were going wild anyways and the nearly perfect lie that had become his story within his new clanmates would give him an easy escape route if any danger came from the other cat’s words “Bad company?” He spat the words “I remember you, as one of the apprentices that accompanied the warrior that I was forced to battle when I was going through your territory before finally arriving here. You not only didn’t do anything to stop him from battling a clearly weaker opponent, but also cowered away from us while the fight developed instead of trying to help or even just speak up. Even the rats of your territory are known to help each other in battle, you can’t even do that. I’m surprised a coward like you ever made it to warrior” He bared his fangs at Larksong as he hissed at him, his story though somewhat true, was carefully told in a way where key points would be easily skipped or ignored and it could fit in perfectly with the story he had told to the cats of SkyClan about his past, of having to go through ShadowClan’s territory to reach his home at SkyClan only to get attacked by a fox-hearted warrior and almost get killed in the process while being extremely weak by a mix of malnourishment and lack of rest.

His eyes were on fire, the rage of old mixing with the rage of the newest events, it made his blood feel like liquid fire going through his veins and his muscles tense, his heart beat faster and his senses becoming sharper. It was something he sincerely missed, something he had been forcing himself to hold back for moons. For any cat that didn’t know him well he would simply look angry, but someone like Larksong, who had seen him on the past like this and knew of his real past, would easily recognize the killer rage on his eyes and recognize the dark aura that came from him at this point. He was no longer the Hawkstrike SkyClan had grown used to, his mask cracked and falling off to reveal the ruthless cat that wouldn’t hesitate to kill without remorse hiding underneath.

His fiery eyes went from Larksong to Flamestrike as he spoke, causing him to hiss once more. He could recognize the cat from the tales and probably a gathering or two “Oh, you surely know about rogues, don’t you? You’re nothing but one more of them after all” Against his command to step back, he took one step forward, still not crossing the border but at less than a tail-length of distance from it “You probably will try to deny it, everyone would if we were related to such a monster as the rogue of the barn, what was is name again? Bear?” He said the last words with a mix of clear insult and mockery “SkyClan may take in rogues, but at least we don’t kill our own kin. And don’t dare to tell me you had no option, even if death was the only punishment he could’ve gotten for what he did, there were many other cats fighting him as well and just as capable as you. But you wanted the satisfaction of killing him yourself, right?!” His words though harsh held also some personal meaning to Hawkstrike. After all, there was a certain cat he was related to who he coulsn’t wish more to kill with his own claws. While true that it made his own statement controversial nobody had to know about it, at least not yet, plus, it added a lot of security to his words and probably could make those hit somewhat harder.

His gaze finally fell on Waspstep, he felt like he should know him though couldn’t really place his paw on why. Plus, he hadn’t said a thing even if he looked annoyed, so he decided to hold back his tongue for once to not make evident how bad he wanted to just jump into battle.

Larksong ears fell flat as she stared though narrowed eyes at the SkyClan cats, already making it a note to tell Leopardstar and Thrushstripe about Owlheart seemingly being a SkyClan tom however. Part of her was ready to turn away and led Flamestrike and Waspstep away but then her ears twitched as the once-exiled tom spat at her, her eyes becoming pin-points as he called her a coward. Her claws dug into the ground as she felt something she hadn't expect rise up in her - rage.

She said nothing as Owlheart turned his gaze onto Flamestrike, fighting down the anger that rose up in her. She had been a coward, hadn't she? She had ran away from ShadowClan when they needed her most those years ago and she hadn't raised a paw to help Mudfoot when this traitorous tom had spoken to her. Finally silence drifted between the two patrols. "Perhaps I was a coward then..." she said after a few heartbeats, her gaze becoming unwavering. "But I am certainly not a coward now. Perhaps you would like a taste."

Suddenly she dropped into a crouch, her claws digging into the ground for a quick second before she launched herself forward straight at Owlheart or whatever name he had taken on now. She was certain that the Flamestrike and Waspstep would have sharp words with her afterwards but she didn't care as she rammed into the tom, slashing at him with her claws. She had made it her goal to prove to ShadowClan that she wasn't the same apprentice she had been those many moons ago - and she was happy to prove it to him.

Larksong used Jumping Strike on Hawkstrike, dealing 12 damage and costing 20 stamina.
BATTLE START

Larksong:
60/60 HP
180/200 SP

Hawkstrike
48/60 HP
200/200 SP

Addergaze simply scoffed in a heated mixture of amusement and annoyance as Flamestrike tried to coerce her into backing down from the apparent challenge- did this skinny little runt really think he could scare her? She'd seen twigs that were more imposing that this routine that the tom was presenting her with. However, the bulky she-cat simply fell still and silent as Hawkstrike let loose a barrage of heated insults thrown at both Larksong and Flamestrike, her teeth twisted further in a smug grin as she continued to listen to her older Clanmate verbally assault the opposing patrol. She was pleasantly surprised by how much fire was apparently boiling within Hawkstrike, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. "My my my! Brother killing brother? I guess it just goes to show- you can take in a rogue cat but you can't take the rogue out of a cat." She chirped in a starkly sweet, faux amused tone as she swung an amused glance towards Hawkstrike before her attention fell back to Flamestrike fully.

"Or what?" Addergaze breathed lowly, thrusting her face towards Flamestrike's own, eyes narrowing to crescent-like slits, "Are you going to murder me too? Gonna make me suffer the same agonizing fate as your dear, sweet brother?" She rasped slowly, teeth curling into a cold grin as she observed the ginger tom with a newfound interest- Hawkstrike's little story suddenly making the scrawny ginger tom in front of her heaps more interesting. "Well jokes on you, you mud filled brute- your mediocre flailing might of been enough to kill your hollow-headed, starving fool of a brother," She hissed, whiskers brushing Flamestrike's own as she leaned in even further- promptly crossing the border at this point, "but do you really think those lazy forepaw swipes of yours could fend off a real Warrior like me?" She tutted, scorn practically dripping from her tongue at this point. However, before she could further slander the ShadowClan tom any further, the ShadowClan she-cat she had previously exchanged heated words with was leaping the border to attack Hawkstrike.

"I guess we'll find out! I get to deal with the kin-slayer himself." Addergaze snarled lowly, the menacing glint within her fiery eyes matching the enraged snarl written upon her broad face. Her blood felt alive with a throbbing heat that made her entire body feel more alive than it had felt in moons and copious amounts adrenaline flooded her system- this was going to be fun. Lunging forward, the massive she-cat flung her bulky forelegs around Flamestrikes nape, twisted her head to the side, and sank her teeth into the tender fatty-scruff that encased the area just below the tom's ear. Hard. Using her powerful forelegs to crush the foul-smelling orange tom even closer to her own form, she proceeded to thrash her head back and forth- jerking Flamestrike in an awkward, painful manner. Her claws embedded themselves deeply into the flesh of the ShadowClan tom's shoulder, holding him in place and forcing him to remain captive to her barrage of tooth and claw.

Addergaze used 'Teeth Grip' on Flamestrike, Dealing -10 in Damage & Costing -20 in Stamina.
Flamestrike is pinned for 3 turns.

Addergaze
60/60 (HP)
180/200 (SP)

Flamestrike
70/80 (HP)
240/240 (SP)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6