Enslaved to the Cause [closed]

Finally. After days of wandering the RiverClan border, he had happened upon another warrior. It was entirely good fortune for both of them: right place, right time. If this she-cat could take up his offer, then surely, they could reach all corners of the forest with enough time to spare. Enough time... well, Beecloud wasn't sure exactly what "time" meant. The sooner, the better, right? Or, perhaps, before the end of Leafbare. That was a good timeframe.

Beecloud's greatest fear of all was the unshakeable worry that more Asylum cats would come. This great standoff could not last forever, and eventually, when the pelted cats had exhausted their current resources, they would have to call in reinforcements. Perhaps imprisonment would no longer be an option. Perhaps their final penalty would be death. The forest would be theirs, and among the flowers, trees, grasses, and streams they would litter the bodies of one hundred clan cats who refused to budge until the very end. They would be just another piece of prey on the pyre. What made Beecloud's stomach flip until he was dizzy was the dread that came with the question of whether or not StarClan could exist without living cats to worship and honor it. They would fade out of the afterlife, with no stars to take them. Silverpelt would run red with the blood of the fallen, and the clans would cease to exist as anything more than a legend.

Catastrophizing would not get the job done. Still, it was a great motivator.

Off the edge of Sunningrocks, Beecloud catapulted with a yowl, his huge body plummeting on top of the silver tabby as they both scrambled for their footing. The tom came out on top, holding down the RiverClanner's shoulders and resisting her desperate struggle to free herself. Leaning down, Beecloud got as near to her ear as he could, before whispering: "As long as we're fighting, they'll pay no attention to us. I need to talk to you. I'm from ThunderClan, and my name is Beecloud. Don't stop fighting!"

Beecloud used Leap-and-Hold on Wisteriabloom. Wisteriabloom is pinned for 2 turns.

Beecloud
80/80 HP
230/240 SP (-10)

Wisteriabloom (pinned)
47/60 HP (-13)
200/200 SP

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

At first, Wisteriabloom payed little to no attention to the Thunderclan warrior on the other side of the border. She was trying to hunt land prey for a change, and she was being unusually lucky, so she didn't want to mess everything up now. However, a thought passed through her head. What if I can try and talk to him? But she did nothing, since she was painfully aware of the standard's accusing gaze. It was soon clear that he had found a way around this. Without warning, he leapt at her, even though she was well within her territory.

When he introduced himself, she gave a brief nod to what he said. "Wisteriabloom." She grunted, still pinned. She was perfectly willing to continue the fight whilst they talked, since she wasn't one to loose a spar, no matter how friendly or faked it was. Although, she probably could've easily got out of his hold, but instead just tried her best to look as if she was struggling to get away. Being pinned made it easier to have a discreet conversation. "What do you need to tell me? It must be important if you've put the effort in to randomly attack me." She said.

Then she noticed the fresh wounds which criss-crossed Beecloud's pelt. Those are cat's claws. If they had been from a border skirmish, she doubted that he would purposely start one with her. So it looked like they both had motivation against Asylum, but at this point, which clan cats didn't?

Wisteriabloom is pinned!

Beecloud
80/80 HP
230/240 SP

Wisteriabloom (pinned)
47/60 HP
200/200 SP

Though in any normal circumstance, a warrior's willingness to chat with an assailant on their land would be considered foolish and downright suicidal, this was an exception. Beecloud sighed, long and loud, as panic ebbed out of his body and was swiftly replaced with a sense of urgency. He lifted his paws off of her every so slightly, allowing them to hover without causing her any further injury in the process. "Try to look like you're struggling," he whispered.

As curious as he was to find out what was happening in RiverClan since the clans had become so disconnected, there was a task at hand. He would have to get his information later, if he asked Wisteriabloom at all. Without a second thought, Beecloud launched into his explanation. "You seem like a good cat. I'm sure you'd like the Asylum out of the forest, right? Well, the fact is, we can never hope to do it without all five clans united. And I think they always knew that. Keeping us away from the Moonstone and preventing Gatherings wasn't to introduce us to their traditions. It was to keep us away from each other. Divide us, and it's easy to take our homes by force. It's smart... but I think we can be smarter."

Beecloud peaked behind to check on the guards. They were watching with vague interest, but they seemed happy enough to be catching up on whatever Asylum cats gossiped about. "They don't care if we kill each other, see? Just makes their job easier," he murmured. "So if we fight... most of the time, we can talk. If we can talk, we can make a plan. And if you want to be part of that plan, you'll keep your ears open a little longer."

Almost sympathetically, his paws lifted a little higher, even looser on her fur: "But... I know what they can do. They took my mate away. Look at what they did to my face. If you want no part of it, then say the word. You can make it look like you won, and I'll turn around and go home. You'll never have to hear about this again. If you're in... you have to understand that you might risk everything in order to free the clans."

Beecloud continued using Leap-and-Hold on Wisteriabloom. Wisteriabloom is pinned for 1 more turn.

Beecloud
80/80 HP
230/240 SP

Wisteriabloom
34/60 HP (-13)
200/200 SP

We feel the exact same way about Asylum, don't we? Just as Wisteriabloom had expected, she wasn't alone in her want for revenge.

"No. Let me join you. I can't bare to live with claws on my throat for the rest of my life. My kits' lives are in danger. My daughter was one of the missing, and it that and Asylum have to be linked in some way." Talking about Snakekit still made her heart ache - Wisteriabloom refused to mourn her, but she was probably warrior age now and absolutely nowhere to be found. But she could stay strong. And she had found her way to revenge. 

Caught up in the conversation, she had almost forgotten to fight back against Beecloud. Clearly she wasn't a great actor, but it wasn't like the rouges payed enough attention to notice. He might've been an ally in the moment, but at the end of the day he was from Thunderclan. She rolled over and kicked him off of her, using a little more power than she would in a normal spar to make up for her terrible pretending earlier.

"I'm willing to risk it. I would rather die trying than roll over and do nothing. How many other clans cats have you done this with?" She asked, genuinely interested. If they could get this network big enough, they would be unstoppable, right? With enough willing cats spread across the clans, it would hopefully be easy to take down the opposition.

Wisteriabloom used Duck and Twist on Beecloud, costing 25 Sp and dealing 7 damage. Wisteriabloom is no longer pinned!

Beecloud
73/80 HP [-7]
230/240 SP

Wisteriabloom
34/60 HP
175/200 SP [-25]

Beecloud nodded as she recounted her story. It was a familiar one. He slashed out in a faux attack as he thought of the right words to say. "There's not really a... well, a plan, yet" he admitted. "I just need numbers. I've personally spoken to three, including you. ShadowClan, SkyClan, RiverClan. I can't reach WindClan, and speaking about this to my clanmates is too risky. There are ears everywhere, and I won't be the one to put them in jeopardy."

He pretended to dodge, slip, and stumble as he circled his "opponent," though he could hardly call her that. "Right now, we need to make the spiderweb of messages. We need to link the clans together. Mousehunt is what we are, and 'mouse' is our codeword. You'll use to to learn who is in and who is out. Who's safe to talk to. And when I have a plan, and when cats from every clan have been made aware, we can come together and fight back. The way it was meant to be; all clans standing together for the good of the forest. With these border battles to disguise us, they won't be able to catch our conversations. You'll have to go to the other clans and spread the word. I would visit WindClan, if you could."

The warrior began to sway back and forth, putting on a display of fatigue and misery. "I'm going to lose now," he whispered. "But if there's any news from your side of the river, I'd love to know it. I miss Gatherings. I miss normalcy." His ear-tips briefly went hot. "Is... is Snowflight... doing well?"

Beecloud used Front Paw Strike on Wisteriabloom.

Beecloud
73/80 HP
220/240 SP (-10)

Wisteriabloom
22/60 HP (-12)
175/200 SP

"I'll go to Windclan as soon as possible." Wisteriabloom said, the seriousness and importance of this mission suddenly dawning on her. A little slip up from one cat could make everything go downhill for everyone. That's not going be me. Just gotta hope it doesn't happen in the first place. 

She slipped under Beecloud's belly, trying to appear like she was doing proper damage, since it would be strange if the warrior retreated with no reasoning. "Got it. I promise, I won't let you down. We can do this for all the clans." The spar was coming to an end, so she was surprised when her 'opponent' questioned about Snowflight. Why? Were they friends? However they knew each other, Wisteriabloom didn't look forward to breaking the news to him, since it looked like the warrior had lost enough already.

"He uh... fell into the river... trapped under the ice." It had happened a fair while ago now, but she had almost forgotten about how news wasn't passing between clans. She had never been particularly close with the white warrior, but he had been respected among the clan, and, at the end of the day, he was a clanmate. "News wise," She said, trying to move on from the topic and share Riverclan's happenings as fast as possible, "Stormbringer stepped down as deputy, but she hasn't retired, she just a warrior now. Loonwhisper's taken over... I'm sure he'll be a good deputy in time." Wisteriabloom certainly wouldn't have chosen him herself, but maybe she was just bitter. She hadn't given him a real chance yet, anyway.

Wisteriabloom used Belly Rake, costing 10 Sp and dealing 14 damage

Beecloud
59/80 HP [-14]
220/240 SP

Wisteriabloom
22/60 HP
165/200 SP [-10]