Pre-Exodus [Closed]

In a previous life, Sparkfrost had also been no stranger to wondering. His soul was prone to movement and hard to bind to any one place, even if he was sworn loyal to Riverclan. Before his injury, the calico had found himself in the tunnels near Shadowclan territory, and making friends from other clans on more than one occasion, even if those memories had been lost to him. Always his paws had lead him back to the kin near the riverbed. But, a piece had been lost beyond the simple memories. Moons of connections and relationships had fallen away into nothingness within his mind. Shortly upon waking up from a moon-long sleep, the flood had lead him to find friends in other clans. Since coming back to the forest, his mind had been restless with thoughts of being with them once more. Even after returning he had found companionship with the handsome Thunderclan tabby, Lynxtail. Supposedly, that wasn't how a warrior was supposed to act. But his allegiance to the code was about as thin as ice in newleaf. He had not grown dedicated to the clan or code, at least not that he remembered, and he was not the cat who had stood underneath Jaystar and swore to the stars on his very life.

No. Sparkfrost was a simple cat, with a complex, always running mind, and a drive to see his friends. It was what had set him on course for Skyclan territory. Amberdawn and Sagepaw had become his companions throughout the ordeal and Amberdawn helped him to reshape his muscles after not using them for so long in order to walk again. He owed her a lot. But more so, he just wanted to be around them. He knew them. There were so few cats he had grown to know. Several denmates he'd talked to in passing or swapped simple stories with over a patrol. He longed for more than that, even if he did love all the cats he had met in Riverclan so far. Shaking his head slightly, he trotted further into the territory. Having never traveled here before, he had no idea where the camp was and hoped a patrol might come by to help take him there. Eventually the scent of cats nearby crossed his glands and his ears perked with interest. He couldn't quite see them yet, so he called out, "Hello? I'm looking for some cats and I'm a little lost. I was hoping you could help me."

Burningpaw had been assigned to a patrol that morning. Nothing too special, but it was a perfect time to show off to her clanmates what kind of skills in the trees she had. They were practically the most important cats in the clan- Tinystar, Hawkstrike, and her own mother Daylily. The patrol had hardly started before she raced up a tree. It was so easy to go faster than her clanmates on the ground; the apprentice was nothing but a red streak through the treetops. She had almost gotten too carried away with the thrill of being up in her favorite place that she nearly missed the smell of intruder. But when it hit her, she froze solid. Slowly, she stalked her way to a branch that was hanging over the intruder's head.... RiverClan... But looking around from up high, she only saw the one.

With a deep breath, she called out from above. "A little lost? Looks a lot lost from RiverClan! Get lost in your own territory! We don't want you here, fishbreath!" Her multi-colored eyes stared daggers at him as she crouched, flaming pelt close to the branch. She dig in her claws to the bark and flicked her tail with agitation from side to side. She had not battled yet, but the advantage of being on a tree was that this flubberbelly couldn't attack her until she attacked first. The warriors would be coming soon.

The brown tom’s steps were mostly calm as he walked across the territory, occasionally looking up to the tree-tops to keep an eye on the excited apprentice above him. At times he felt the sting of jealousy making itself present within his chest just by watching. He had tried very hard to adapt to life in SkyClan, and while he had managed to do so fairly well…he knew that the experience of jumping from branch to branch with the grace and agility of a squirrel would never be his to enjoy. He had learned to kind of climb on trees…but there was a reason he avoided doing so as much as possible.

Hawkstrike’s ears perked up as soon as the conversation reached his ears. He could recognize Burningpaw’s voice, but the other one…he didn’t even try to make the link in his head with a gathering cat to know if he could recognize it. All he knew was that there was an intruder in the territory, and that was more than enough.

'I knew it…I knew it! It was only a matter of time…Lost my tail’s fur, I’ll make those mouse-brained pieces of crowfood think it twice before daring to walk into SkyClan’s territories like it’s their own ever again'

His eyes suddenly acquired a long lost scary glint in them, his claws unsheathing as he quickly moved forward without even waiting for instructions, or listening to them if given. His blood was boiling, it almost felt like steam was coming out from his ears. Using the shadows on his advantage like he had been taught so many moons ago, locking his eyes on the intruder, he approached before darting out from his hiding spot, fur raised, claws unsheathed and fangs bared, looking like he had just turned into some kind of demon.

Giving no chance to the intruder to explain himself or even react, he slammed against his flank at full force, having chosen a rather vulnerable low end of the ribcage where he knew ribs could break way more easily. Being trained in not-so-honorable ways during his apprenticehood, he had learned how to pick the most vulnerable spots of a cat when attacking, regardless if it could be considered fighting dirty or not…when you aimed to kill under the name of the Dark Forest, broken bones, lost eyes and lost limbs were fair game after all.

Now, while the loyalty he had towards SkyClan had helped him to let go of the habit of always aiming to kill, mostly to keep the clan out of trouble with others, he still was more than willing to cause serious injuries to outsiders…especially in these times.


Hawkstrike used Run-and-Tackle on Sparkfrost, causing 11+3 damage and using 10 stamina

Sparkfrost
46/60
200/200

Hawkstrike
80/80
230/240

As soon as Hawkstrike came from the shadows, Burningpaw took that as her cue to strike. With a yowl, the ginger cat jumped from the branch. Claws unsheathed. The wind buzzing through her fur was pure bliss! She would happily jump from any branch, at any time. The euphoria of the jump ended as she landed on Sparkfrost's spine, shoving him into the dirt. She growled, and bit the back of his neck and latching on.

Burningpaw used Sky Drop for 15 Stamina and dealing 7 damage to Sparkfrost.

Sparkfrost
HP - 39/60
SP - 200/200

Burningpaw
HP - 20/20
SP - 65/80

OoC: sorry for posting again, wanted the battle credit lol

One moment him and his clanmates were on a patrol, and the next, a fight between them and some RiverClan cat had broken out and boy was he not in the mood to deal with such antics. While he hadn't really been paying too close attention to the situation, it seemed as though Hawkstrike had been the first to strike, which sent a flame bubbling through his veins.

Racing to the scene as fast as possible, the little legged leader skidded to a halt. "Hawkstrike! Burningpaw! What in Silverpelt's name are you doing?" he yowled, rage beaming from his pale blue eyes.

Sparkfrost's inquiry was met with enraged yowls and pain. One minute he was standing there and the next the cats he had scented had descended upon him. There was a crack as Hawkstrike slammed into his ribs and forced the air from the Riverclan warrior's lungs. He lay there for a second trying to catch his breath before attempting to get back onto his paws. But before he could the apprentice had dropped down on him from the tree above. It seemed all that he had managed to suck in with quick gasps for breath was lost once more. Everything paused for a moment as another cat yowled to its clanmates. He glanced up through slightly dazed eyes to see another small apprentice. After a moment, his vision cleared slightly and he recognized the sight of those stumpy legs. It was Tinystar! Perhaps the leader would take him to Amberdawn and Sagepaw.

He rolled over onto his stomach, wincing at the pain. Nothing in Sparkfrost's body gave the impression he hoped to retaliate. The tom had not come here to fight with Skyclan, he merely wanted to see the companions that he had met during the flood. Dull green eyes looked up at Tinystar with hope shining in their depths, "I came to see Sagepaw and Amberdawn are they here? I just wanted to visit. You see, we met during the flood and they both helped me out. I was thinking we could just talk or something." The words that came from his maw were surprisingly laid back for a warrior in enemy territory. But Sparkfrost was not your average warrior and he was driven by a fearlessness, even stupidity, that was unmatched by any other. So, as he sat in the middle of the Skyclan patrol, he offered the leader a pleading half-smile, even if his ribs ached with an unbearable fire.

A smirk flashed across the tom’s face as he felt the cracking under the outsider’s skin, allowing him to know he hadn’t lost his precision and the hit had struck in just the perfect area with enough momentum. However, as quick as it formed it vanished as he saw the other cat lose its balance and fall, only for Burningpaw to drop on him.

A compliment to the apprentice was already forming on his head as he took an aggressive posture once more, ready to strike. However, neither the compliment reached his muzzle nor he had the time to land a second attack while he still had the chance, before Tinystar walked into the scene and caused him to turn around and look at him with the same stern glare he was giving the newcomer only a heartbeat ago, though he clearly made an effort to at least somewhat soften it.

“You better than anyone should know that outsiders shouldn’t cross borders and walk in other clan’s territories without a care, like its normal, like they own it. Not only is it against the code, but it's disrespectful for the clan they are invading, of course I’m not going to let them get away with it! There is a reason warriors are allowed to rid of intruders as soon as they spot them, Tinystar” He hissed while trying his best to keep a polite tone while talking to his leader, though the stress, anger and impatience could be still clearly heard.

His attention returned to the outsider as he tried to explain, his glare hardening once more as he listened, feeling his whole body tingling as he kept the attack pose he had. While this cat was giving no real signs of wanting to fight back, he was way too familiarized with lies and acting to fully buy it, and so he kept his guard high and claws unsheathed, ready to give him a scar or two to remember him by should try anything funny.

However, he couldn’t help but scoff at his words as soon as they reached his ears “Couldn’t you wait for a gathering if those were your real intentions instead of blatantly breaking one of the clans' most important rules by crossing our border? It is mouse-brained at best for you to expect a warm welcome from another clan if you do that”.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Tinystar listened to his warrior. What he said wasn't wrong, but of course such brute force wasn't the answer either, which he needed to learn to understand. "I agree with you Hawkstrike," he began and cast a glance at the RiverClan warrior before turned back to the tom. "It is disrespectful for some-cat to try and cross the border, but you of all cats should be keen enough to catch onto their intentions," he understood where Hawkstrike was coming from, seeing as though he used to think the same as well. But after living through many battles, he knew that a little grace could be in order, depending on the situation. Of course, he didn't nessisarily like RiverClan, much less Jaystar, but even so, that was no reason to maim their warriors, no matter how much a pain in his tail some of them were...

"But are you trying to start a war?" he hissed, locking his baby blue gaze with Hawkstrike's. "The last thing we need is RiverClan breathing down our necks because you decided it was a great idea to maul a cat who had faultless intentions, no matter how reckless and mousbrained he may be," Tinystar huffed, his voice unsparing. Of course, he could've chose to not trust what the stranger had said, for it was possible that he had other ideas, but from what it looked like, he was no threat.

Turning back to the RiverClanner, he stayed quiet for another moment as the Hawkstrike spoke once more. "While we will spare your life, he is right; you have no right being here, especially when that's what gatherings are for," he growled. Not to mention, why in StarClan's name was this cat trying to visit his granddaughter and an apprentice? He couldn't help but be somewhat skeptical of what his intention actually were, but at the same time, he trusted Amberdawn with his life, so there must have been some explanation. Whatever it was, he would ask the medicine cat about it later.

Burningpaw felt a new sense of fire coursing through her veins. She loved fighting. Her scratching attacks continued until the voice of Tinystar pierced through the rage filled haze where she dutifully jumped off, but taking a stance next to Hawkstrike. She listened quietly to the interaction, a rare occurrence from the apprentice, but she was too caught up in the adrenaline to speak. Burningpaw carefully dissected every word the leader was saying, looking for anything to argue with. "And if you come back," the loud mouthed apprentice finally decided on. "I'll be waiting up there to drop on your head again!" Her multi-colored gaze stared straight into the RiverClan warrior.