Lets get down to business (Closed for Seer)

Goldeneye had waited for the dawn patrol, and now she was waiting for Brindlestar. The Riverclan medicine cat had left under the cover of night, so no cat would stop her. She had to do this, she did not matter as long as she could fix her mistakes. So she could save the clans, rid them of Lichenmask once and for all, and to do that... she had to speak with Brindlestar. She wasn't entirely unreasonable and had a level-headedness that she appreciated, she just hoped that she would work with her. Goldeneye looked to the sky, the red-blackness that the whole world was drenched in, her will to succeed solidifying. Taking in a deep and raspy breath the she-cat looked towards Riverclan, wishing that she did not have to go behind their backs, but their need to keep her confined when there were things that needed to be done. They pushed her to do these things. Her health didn't matter.

She needed to discuss the path to the moonstone and Lichenmask. And she would not leave unless a compromise was reached.

The red sun sat heavily in the dismal morning sky, radiating only a cruel crimson light that brought no warmth and stirred no life.

From the moment that Brindlestar and Swiftstep had returned from that forsaken Fourtrees, WindClan had been launched into a frenzied preparation for the inevitable war that lingered just beyond the horizon. Yet, even with the certainty of a brewing war, they still had no idea as to who the enemy was. Were they meant to fight the dead, or the living? The dreary red light that painted the stark sky stained her pale fur a strange, off-red hue as she halted atop the crest of a particularly steep ridge. Glaring down at the ragged shape of Goldeneye, the WindClan Leader made no move to draw closer. Corruption and filth seemed to emanate from the RiverClanner before her, staining the air with its disgusting, foul scent. Features twisting into a grimace, the pale-furred molly stiffened slightly. There were truly no good RiverClan cats. They were a Clan that only bore destruction upon the forest, time and time again. "You're careless to travel alone," Brindlestar rasped, "RiverClan has provoked the ire of every last Clan, I don't doubt that many would like to see you suffer for what monstrosity your Clan has created."

"And yet, the code allows me safe passage beyond borders. This was between our two clans, Brindlestar is not my own. I don't have the same prejudice towards Windclan, nor my own clan. We're all equal in my eyes." Goldeneye rebounded, moving to meet the Windclan leader. "That monstrosity and much more is what I'm here to discuss. Jaystar has been weak in his leadership, Lichenmask should have been executed before this has gotten to this point. But because of my naivety and Jaystars soft principles, we have let this happen, and I apologize." Goldeneye meowed, dipping her head and tilting it towards her den. "Could we carry this discussion to your den? I wish to discuss this privately considering the sensitivity of this discussion." She meowed, giving her a slight smile though it was all for show.

Brindlestar remained an immobile smudge against the dreary morning sky, features impassive as Goldeneye scrambled up the steep cleft in the dry, broken earth. These are lawless times, irritation nearly drove her into pointing out the stark facts of the bleak reality before them, Old promises and dusty vows won't spare any cat- living or dead. However, she merely gestured to the shadow-engulfed shelter of her den with a tetchy flick of her ear. The feverish of activity didn't falter for a single moment, even as the pair of mollies had to skirt and weave along a nonexistent path between the throng of quiet cats. "Choosing to speak now is nothing but a waste of breath," Brindlestar's cold voice was sharpened by a critical note, "Your efforts would better be spent preparing for the inevitable."

"I can assure you by the time I'm through with you we will have reached some sort of compromise that is beneficial to the both of us." Goldeneye quipped as she dipped into the leader's den and settling herself down by wrapping her tail over her paws. Giving herself a moment to groom her tail and herself to look a little more presentable she fixed her gaze on the she-cat, her eyes seeming harsher than usual due to the gauntness of her face. "I warned you and every cat of what was to come, Brindlestar. I've been preparing for this for moons, we have nothing to worry for herbs that is for certain." Her own gaze was cool, calm, and calculated as she picked her claws of the sheath that was flaking away to give way to new.

"It's as if you and every leader has forgotten the warning I told, and now look at us. Littlestar dead in one fell swoop, and a cat with the power of the sun, moon, and stars in their paws. They should never have had that power, they were never supposed to have it." Goldeneye shrugged as if she was indifferent to the matter. "But first, I have to ask you something. What was going through your mind when you decided to prevent Riverclan safe passage?" She meowed stiffly, though she had an idea of what she would say. She mustn't be too hasty if she wanted a deal and to play her cards right she needed to be patient. Why were the good leaders always so difficult?

"That cat's ascent to power is no Clan's fault but your own, do not play this game of burdening others with your own failures and shortcomings." Brindlestar's unobtrusive voice was sharper than flint, "You and Jaystar let this wound fester, just as you and Jaystar let this infection spread to the very blood of every last Clan. If you had simply dealt with this cat while the threat was nothing more than a tedious pain in your side, then you wouldn't have another Shade to your name. WindClan did what you asked of us- to keep an eye out for a threat and to prepare, and yet it was you who unleashed this plague upon the forest, so you'd best remember that." The pale-furred Leader's ears were pinned back in an inexpressive display of her rapidly dwindling patience, while her slim tail twitched sporadically. The Leaf-Fall brittle grasses that carpeted the dry earth of the shallow clearing trembled under the weight of her body's irritation-fueled movements, the stiff grasses crumbling into nothing but mere ashes. Her gaze was inhospitable at best as she gazed down at the golden-furred Medicine Cat, blatantly unwilling to give even the slightest amount of ground. Was this the best RiverClan could do? Try to guilt others into compliance after creating yet another mess within the forest? Pathetic.

"RiverClan is poisonous," Brindlestar simple words were much too casual, "Whether you accept it or not, something is rotting within the heart of your Clan- it's destroying you, tainting the blood. To keep RiverClan away is to protect my Clan, to keep that same disease from rotting the flesh of those I swore to protect." The wicked vermilion light that wept from the eclipsed sun, oddly enough, seemed to emphasize the cold sincerity of the older molly's words. It only strengthened the sour atmosphere of the dreary day, adding to the already heightened tension that had descended upon the forest in the immediate aftermath of the ill-fated meeting at Fourtrees. Brindlestar's phosphorescent eyes gleamed an alien color in the crimson light, seemingly glaring into Goldeneye's soul with their off-color hues. "Your Clan slaughtered an Apprentice from a starving, desperate Clan and never once made an effort to even rebuke the killer, you act as if stealing herbs from the young and unable was something to be proud of, your Leader's inability to rule with strength gave birth to Shade and Lichenmask, and you welcomed the murderer of Medicine Cats among your ranks without shame. Must you really ask why I feel the need to show you that there are consequences to actions?" Although the clipped, judgmental tone of voice was still painfully obvious within her cold words, she suddenly sounded tired. In truth, she was exhausted down to the marrow of her bones- she had been exhausted since she had initially become Deputy, an exhaustion that would surely follow her into the grave.

"But why must you come here to bicker over something as tedious and useless as a mere trail? StarClan has shown us how little they value the lives of those who still walk this earth, regardless of innocence or not. Why should we value those dead idiots?"

Goldeneye listened as Brindlestar ranted, told her everything she already knew and in all honesty, she had to agree with her. "I wish none of that had happened. And I agree with you, it is my fault and Jaystars fault that these threats have been left to fester. But I was blinded by my wish to save lives without violence that caused Lichenmask to rise, and I'm terribly sorry. I should have killed him, but there is nothing I can do now. I never agreed with how Ivystar handled things, nor do I agree with how Jaystar runs the clan now but there is nothing I can do about that. Gingerstripe shouldn't have come to Riverclan, but Jaystars word is law. I've had nothing to do with how Riverclan has destroyed lives, you have to understand that. I've done my best, but I am no leader or deputy, just a medicine cat." She Meowed flatly, determined to put herself in a more positive light.

"Was it not I that trained your Windclan apprentices when their mentors passed away? I'd give Windclan everything I've got to help repair this, to prove that Riverclan is not as horrible as these cats have been making it to be. Which is why I want to give back the gorge to be under Windclans control again, Ivystar had no right to take your prey and your territory or your herbs. Jaystar should have immediately returned the territory after the turn-over of leadership." Goldeneye features softened just a little, trying to make this a movement of generosity, to repair the gap between their two clans, though when she mentioned the herb-raid it took everything in Goldeneye not to flinch, she wished that she could have taken it back but there was nothing she could do now. "Because they are the reason we are not senseless rogues, killing each other at every opportunity, they give leaders lives in which to lead. I speak to them to try to prevent things like this from coming true. Starclan never meant for this to happen, you have to believe that. I need safe passage to the moonstone so I can ask them what to do next, I need to know what they want me to do." Goldeneye almost pleaded, almost. She wasn't the young cat that came stumbling into the camp all those moons ago.

"The only reason your services were forced into the conversation was because my daughter had to work herself into an early grave to ensure her Clan would actually live to see Newleaf." Brindlestar's voice was sharp with exasperation, a forepaw lifting to press against the point within her skull where the beginnings of a raging headache had stirred. The tension coiled within her skull, throbbing sharply with each fluctuation of her stress-thready pulse- the events of the previous night, coupled with the lack of sleep, were proving to be quite detrimental. Or perhaps it was just that inescapable pain that always seemed to become prevalent when thinking of Featherlight. For several agonizingly long moments, Goldeneye's words seemed to go entirely unacknowledged as she merely pressed against the unseen point of pain. The pale-furred Leader's whiskers were stirred under the force of a grandiose sigh, one that expanded her slender rib-cage to its entirety. "You claim to be just a Medicine Cat who holds no value, yet you would presumably go behind your Clan's back to negotiate a rivalry that was borne long before our time?" The rhetorical question only earned Goldeneye a single eye trained upon her, a gaze that was still unreadable. Although externally she was quite impassive to the young Medicine Cat's plight, the facts that she was able to glean were quite interesting indeed. If a Medicine Cat thought themselves more capable to handle affairs a Leader often delegated, then what did it say about the Leader's abilities?

Brindlestar remained silent for several more moments, considering the situation rather than the offer. The thought of forcing Jaystar to comply with whatever Goldeneye was willing to negotiate was quite riveting- after all, what Leader would go against the wishes of their Medicine Cat when it came to their ability to travel to the Moonstone? Although why would any cat wish to go to the Moonstone after all of this? The lines had been clearly drawn in the sand. "I will allow RiverClan safe passage through my Clan's territory once more in exchange for the return of the old boundaries of the Gorge- but Jaystar will search for territory elsewhere, he shall not press WindClan's nor ThunderClan's preexisting borders. Take advantage of ShadowClan's lack of a Leader or SkyClan's pitiful numbers if you must, but allow my Clan and my ally to face Leafbare and Lichenmask without any extra battles on the horizon." Her tail twitched as she conceded to the agreement, her posture still as stiff and unrelenting as ever. "However, there is one more thing I require in exchange. There is a kit who I believe shall be the next Medicine Cat of WindClan, although he is still a bit too young to begin his training. Once he comes of age, I'd like to see that you take as much time as you can spare to mentor him."

"If I am to care for all cats, is it so bad that I at least try to help push the clans to an era of peace or at least tolerance? Despite the rivalry has been before our time, it's not too late to try to rectify it." Goldeneye stated before Brindlestar stated her terms. "It seems as if you're getting more out of this than I am." Goldeneye joked, a small smile quirking on her muzzle. "I'm sure you understand that while I agree to these terms I cannot make an absolutely certain promise, I will do my best to prevent a battle between our two clans for as long as I stand but there will times where it is simply out of my paws so I will warn you before so you have time to prepare. Is that to your liking?" She questioned, tilting her head inquiringly.

"I would be honoured to train this kitten, Brindlestar. Though there is a problem. Every Windclan Medicine cat passes down their knowledge of all the herbs that can be found on their territories, just as I do my own. Unless you know due to your kinship with Featherlight, or I can get Starclan to tell me, it will be difficult to find all the herbs that you carry on your lands. So I would like to request some time on your territory to learn it and plant herbs that your territory may need. I'm not adverse to bringing some of my herbs to Windclan, I'm aware that your territory will not have the herbs that my territory carries." Goldeneye spoke with growing uncertainty, unsure of how Brindlestar would react to her request to spend time on Windclan land, learning the territory.

"You said it yourself, your code allows you passage between the borders. Do whatever you must to ensure that this kit gets the most of out your training." Brindlestar eventually concurred after another short heartbeat of intense thought. Although spending copious amounts of time with Sageleaf and Featherlight had given her an amount of knowledge that was slightly greater than the average Warrior's, it was hardly enough to substitute the gaps that would inevitably lapse. However irking the idea of a RiverClanner having what equates to free-roaming privileges on her territory was, it had to be done. For Briarkit, the thought rang above the ensuing displeasure, for WindClan. Tail giving a irritable flick, the pale-furred Leader was content to see that the end of the conversation was likely drawing near. "Medicine Cat you may be, but tread lightly on this trail. You've likely earned quite a bit of vexation in doing these proceedings without Jaystar or Scorchclaw present." Giving herself a vigorous shake to fend away the stubbornly lingering tendrils of exhaustion that clung heavily to her coat, the molly turned away from the Medicine Cat and began to pick her way up the narrow trail that had been interwoven into the steep cleft the two molly's had been perched upon. They had earned their borders back, but that meant they would have to spread the Clan even thinner to place sentries there as well.

"If you plan to travel directly to the Highstones from here, go with your wits about you. Our patrols tracked Lichenmask and his group to the edge of our territory- it appears that they've set up camp at the Abandoned Barn for now. You'd best avoid that route for the time being." Brindlestar called, peering down at Goldeneye for a brief moment before disappearing over another ridge, heading back towards the bustling camp that was shaded within the tendrils of a gorse wall.

"Thank you Brindlestar, I, nor will Riverclan forget your generosity. I will see to it that once this kit is ready, I will give them the best training that I can give. May your clan find light and hope in these... dark times. A war is coming after all... at four-trees." The she-cat took a few steps away, padding over the hills towards highstones when the leaders strong voice rang across the moor. Turning to face her she heard her warning, nodded her head and disappeared over the ridges towards mother mouth, their old path renewed once more.