Be Warned 4 (Closed for Crow/Ripped)

It was nearing dawn. He was so tired, but it was his last clan. Gingerstripe would be out of ShadowClan soon for sure, and he had to finish covering all of his bases. His half-apprentice, Mintpaw, was at stake. Besides just getting word to be her mentor, the tom felt afffection and a drive to protect her at all costs. The whole clan. The whole forest. The tom easily slipped through the trees, having come here a few times to speak with Mintpaw before. Entering camp, the clan was just starting to rise. He limped over to Crowstar's den. "Crowstar!" he called. "It's Nettlesting! I need to talk to you and or Rippedsky. It is urgent." his voice was almost emotionless now, drained.

The deputy was shocked to look up and see Shadowclan's medicine cat barging into their camp. It was early morning and he had just been preparing to send out the daily patrols. They would have to wait for a moment. If it were any other non-Skyclan cat, he would have immediately been bristling and jumped in front of them. But, this was not just anyone, it was a medicine cat. And even more than that, a medicine cat with urgency in his meow. Rippedsky padded over to him without hesitation, "What is it Nettlesting? What brings you to our camp?" More than likely he wanted to speak to the leader as well, but what second-in-command would he be for ignoring a foreigner in their midst.

Nettlesting looked beyond exhausted and he considered going to find Mintpaw for a moment, but the tone of his voice made the black and white warrior feel like he shouldn't leave that spot. If this was news that could affect their clan, Rippedsky needed to make sure he was well prepared and ready to alert the clan as well. His tail flicked and his eyes shined with concern while he awaited an answer from Shadowclan tom. Hopefully, Crowstar would be out to join them shortly and they would be able to handle any issues swiftly.

Nettlesting turned to the deputy. Rippedsky was beyond trustworthy, and he truthfully did not care if it was Crowstar or him that he talked to. He knew Rippedsky would pass on the information. "Well, you see, a former warrior of ours named Gingerstripe murdered Honeyspark and has been living in our midst ever sense. He has been exiled now, after StarClan told me of his act themselves. I come to all the other clans today to make sure they do not take in this dangerous murderer and shun any clan who does. He is a danger to our forest's medicine cats, queens, kits... Everybody. If he's as cruel as to kill a defenseless medicine cat that took care of him his whole life, he will not hesitate to murder someone else. He has been acting remorseful, but I assure you he is not or else he would have confessed." Nettlesting's eyes and tone were very serious.

Rippedsky's expression grew dark. A cat had murdered Shadowclan's former medicine cat. The two clans hadn't had many tensions between them lately and they had both chosen to stand by Riverclan's side. The answer was obvious. His black and white tail flicked with the slight discomfort of speaking without Crowstar here. Although, he knew the leader enough to feel that such an ambiguous answer would be fine, "Thank you for the warning, Nettlesting. We will keep an eye out. I'll send out some patrols immediately to check the borders. And one to make sure you leave safely as well." He caught the eyes of a passing warrior and called them over, quickly passing on the instruction to them.

"And Nettlesting... I'm sorry for your loss. Honeydrop was a good cat." He nodded stiffly towards the with genuine sadness shining in his eyes. The thought of losing their own medicine cat hit hard. Even though it had been a while since the she-cat's passing, he was sure that the sting of loss was still there. Nettlesting seemed like a level-headed cat. Yet, he knew better than anyone, that losing loved ones was something that stayed with you. His own mentor's loss was still felt seasons later. Once they were done speaking, he flicked his tail to dismiss the warrior and the non-Skyclan cat before heading to put together some patrols. If what Nettlesting said was true, as Rippedsky chose to trust him, they needed to make sure this cat did not cross their path.