Sharpen Your Claws, Its Time For War [Important, Sunningrocks War]

Blizzardstar didn’t waste a single second after arriving to her clan’s camp after her disastrous attempt to negotiate with Ivystar. Now her clan was running against the clock, she couldn’t hide it any longer, they had to know, they had to prepare. Oh dear StarClan, she just hoped that she wouldn’t be forced to say goodbye to one of the many faces she saw every day in camp, she wouldn’t forgive herself for it.

She quickly climbed upon the High Rock, the awkward state of calmness she had been in during her time in RiverClan’s territory and the way back to her camp vanishing and being replaced with anxiety, fear and worry as the facts of what was going on finally started to click on her mind. She was about to lead her clan into war. She hadn’t been leader for a full year and she was already leading them into a war where many of them could get injured, mauled, or even worse, killed.

She had to take a deep breath and control herself so her legs didn’t give in under her weight. After calming herself as much as possible she finally decided to speak. She was wasting precious time, she had to act immediately “All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highrock for a clan meeting!”.

Birdflight was the first to settle down. She was sharing tongues with a fellow clan-mate when Blizzardstar called for a meeting. Her heart thumped as she saw Blizzardstar a little shaken and distressed. What in Starclan was going on? She was soon going to find out.

OOC: Oh, darn. Toadpaw didn't make it in time to level up to warrior.

IC: Toadpaw pricked his ears at hearing the clan call. Stretching from his resting spot, he soon bounced up onto his paws and bounded towards the meeting site. Spotting his mentor, he skidded to a stop next to her. Just as when he was a kit, he didn't realize that there was a sense of urgency in the event.

This was it.  Leopardclaw calmly took his place at the bottom of the Highrock, his face donning it's usual stoic mask.  The golden spotted tabby tom's limbs were tense, and his claws slipped in and out of their sheathes in an impatient way, yet his mind was hesitant to believe that any of this was actually happening.  Was ThunderClan really going to war with the cats across the river?  When Blizzardstar had returned, her chosen patrol trailing behind her, she did not appear happy or relieved as would be expected if the negotiations had gone well; instead her icy blue gaze was tinted with anxiety, her uncharacteristic frown telling him all he needed to know.  Ivystar had been less than cooperative.

Closing his eyes for a moment, the deputy let out a soft sigh.  He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried; if his suspensions were correct, this would be a hard-fought battle, and he could only pray that ThunderClan came out victorious.  There was much to risk...but just as much to gain.  Flashing open his narrowed greenish-hazel eyes, Leopardclaw searched the crowd for a moment to try and catch sight of any of his beloved family in the crowd.  His kits may end up in the coming fray...  StarClan...watch over us all...

Robinpaw walked over to the meeting and sat down, assuming it was just another apprentice ceremony. She looked up to her leader, and realised something was wrong... Why was brave Blizzardstar looking so scared? Robinpaw gave her chest fur a couple of nervous licks, returning her gaze to the leader. Now, she was worried on what was happening with her Clan.

Whitepaw exited the apprentice's den and spotted her sister sitting under Highrock. "What's going on Robinpaw?" The orange she-ca could feel the tension in the air. It seemed to arrive back to camp when Blizzardstar returned. Her stomach rolled around, she had an inkling of what was about to ensue, but she hoped to StarClan that she was very wrong.

Robinpaw turned her head when she heard her sister. "I- I don't know. Something bad..." For the first time since kithood, Robinpaw was quiet and confused. What was going on? She gazed steadily at her sister, fear flashing in her eyes. Never before had she seen Blizzardstar so tense. Was it an omen from StarClan? A battle, or a war? Some kind of death? Betrayal? Ideas whizzed around her mind, none of them good.

Specklefang padded out of the warrior's den, Blizzardstar's face so filled with concern had the she-cat on edge. What was going on? The abnormally large she-cat sat in her respective spot, her gaze darkening.

Emberpaw came out of the apprentice's den, wondering what was going on. It didn't seem to be anything normal, from the way Blizzardstar looked. A sinking feeling told her this wasn't just another ceremony.

Shrewheart walked out of the warrior's den, expecting some ceremony. The look on Blizzardstar's face confused him a bit. First off, why did she look scared? He thought his leader was smarter than that. And what was she scared of, some dangerous kit or apprentice that she still was required to rank up? Nearly laughing and missing the seriousness of the occasion, the brown fluffy warrior sat down and looked to the white leader, a small smile across his maw.
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Swooppaw didn't like Blizzardstar's tone or expression. Those words were supposed to mean happy things, like a kit becoming an apprentice, or an apprentice becoming a warrior! But this didn't seem like either of those, and didn't seem at all happy. Nervous, he padded over to his sister's who seemed just as confused as he was. He could scent their worry, and a similar scent was radiating off of most cats. Trying to be comforting, he sat down next to Robinpaw and Whitepaw. "I'm sure it's going to be okay."

Nightpaw walked up to her mother with a quizzed and worried expression. "W-What do you think is going on? Blizzardstar looks worried." she asked while sitting down next to Specklefang. Nightpaw couldn't imagine anything that could have their leader so concerned and nervous.

Robinpaw heard the familiar sound of her brother. She looked over at him, and found his words comforting. "Yes, Swooppaw. Hopefully, it should be fine... Anyway, even if it isn't, we still have each other!" she said, looking at all her siblings. She knew it probably wouldn't help, but, hey, anything to raise her family's spirits.

Leafstorm padded out of the Warrior's den, his tufted ears twitching. "What's going on?" He mewed, sitting next to Specklefang. "D'you think it's an apprentice ceremony?"

Sharptooth ducked out of the nursery with a small smile and sat near her friends, watching Blizzardstar expectantly.

Weedblaze came into the forming circle of cats and sat down, intrigued by the circumstances of this Clan meeting.

Blizzardstar waited until her clanmates gathered beneath the Highrock. She was unable to hide her emotions from the clan and it was clearly affecting them already, dear StarClan, if only the news she had to deliver could be good ones…but no, only bad news after bad news in this harsh season “My friends, I seriously wish that I didn’t have to make this announcement today but I’m left with no choice. Not too long ago I was visited in my dreams by one of our ancestors in StarClan, a deputy that went by the name of Flameclaw, with a direct request. To take back Sunningrocks from RiverClan” After some moons of keeping this as a secret she had finally revealed it to the whole clan. She expected to feel relief from it, have that weight lifted from her shoulders…and yet she felt like if that weight had only increased.

“Leafbare has been ruthless to us after the awful fires that turned most of our territory to ashes, the pre pile is always low and our medicine cats have trouble to restock their dens with herbs. You all probably understand why I couldn’t wait any longer to take action, as that specific piece of healthy territory could be the difference between our clan surviving through Leafbare or being forced to watch as our loved ones die out of starvation or illnesses that could’ve been easily healed if we just had the required herbs. Earlier today I left to meet with Ivystar in hopes of coming to a peaceful agreement to avoid unnecessary pain for both clans, but needless to say, my attempts were in vain as I couldn’t even start any kind of negotiation with her. In the end I was left with no choice…” The next words seemed to get stuck in her throat, she didn’t want to say them. It took her a good couple seconds to finally force the words to leave her muzzle.

“ThunderClan…we are at war against RiverClan”