Diecast [Shrikesong]

It had been some days since Murkystrike had been taken, and Mistyfalcon's anger at the Asylum had yet to ebb. He stalked along the Thunderpath now, an Asylum cat trailing a couple fox-lengths behind him. His gaze swung towards the Thunderpath, the reaction only natural. The path reeked, doing a fine job at obscuring Thunderclan's border-scent, and the loud roars of monsters rushing past was excellent cover if one were to be planning an ambush.

And why shouldn't he be wary, when he'd been attacked here not long ago, by a Thunderclanner? At least, that's what he hoped the guard trailing after him would think. In reality, Mistyfalcon hoped to see Beecloud's tabby and white form once more among the trees.

Instead of Beecloud, what Mistyfalcon found was a different cat, though she still reeked of Thunderclan. Brown tabby fur stood out starkly against the frost-covered ground just on the other side of the thunderpath, and Mistyfalcon stalked along the thunderpath, dark eyes locking briefly on his target before he turned away. Silently, he slipped through the tunnel that ran below the thunderpath, fur rising at the rumbling overhead before he darted free. His Asylum guard trailed him, looking more confused than anything. Mistyfalcon, after all, wasn't usually known for crossing the borders... But the aggressive way he eyed the Thunderclanner as she came into view once more said that he was a tom on a mission.

"Another fox-hearted Thunderclanner skulking around our borders, how unlucky for you." Mistyfalcon growled, bounding towards the she-cat with unsheathed claws.

When he was close, Mistyfalcon reared up, raining blows on the Thunderclan she-cat's head. Between blows, he growled low, in a voice only meant for the she-cat's ears. "My name is Mistyfalcon. Act like you're really fighting me. Do you not find it interesting, how our friends over there ignore fights against both cat and predator?"

True to his words, the cat that had been trailing after him drifted towards the shadow that had been watching the she-cat, and the pair seemed more concerned with each other than the border skirmish unfolding before them.

Mistyfalcon used Rear-Up to Slash on Shrikesong for -15sp, dealing -13 damage.

Mistyfalcon
60 / 60
185 / 200 (200 - 15)

Shrikesong
47 / 60 (60 - 13)
200 / 200

All Shrikesong wanted a chance. A chance to take down the Asylum for good, a chance to rid the forest of these pelted vermin. Just because she didn't dare say it in front of the Asylum didn't mean that she didn't think about it all of the time. As the brown she-cat padded towards the Thunderpath, she looked around.

The first thing that she saw once she got there was a ShadowClan cat on the other side of the border. The next thing she saw was that same ShadowClan cat dashing towards her and slashing at her claws. Why did he attack me like that? I didn't even cross the border!

Surprisingly, the tom gave her an answer, one that made Shrikesong excited. It was all a distraction, to be able to talk to each other with Asylum being none the wiser. This was the opportunity I was looking for, she thought. This is how we can take down the Asylum. Giving her attacker a toothy grin, she smirked. "It's very, very interesting," she said quietly, trying to not alert any of the Asylum cats to the conversation that was going on. "But it allows us to be able to talk right under their noses, and I'm more than elated to have this opportunity."

The she-cat slashed back at Mistyfalcon with her front paws, trying to knock the cat off-balance. After all, this had to really look like a real fight for Asylum to be convinced. "My name's Shrikesong," she growled. "Just out of curiosity, who was the cat who came up with this brilliant idea?" WHat Mistyfalcon described resembled the fights that Kitefire had with a RiverClan apprentice, which made her think that the origin point of this idea was her sister. However, it could have also came up from that RiverClan apprentice, who was also probably a warrior now. "Also, what's happened in ShadowClan since the takeover?"

Mistyfalcon hadn't expected the she-cat to immediately agree with what he was saying. Perhaps he wasn't the only one that was nearing their limit with how much they could take of the rogues.

"A little mouse told me, I suspect you'll figure it out." Mistyfalcon bared his teeth in response, placing extra emphasis on the word 'little' had not been an accident. Beecloud was far from a small cat, after all.

"Stars help us if this gets out. I'd rather us not wind up looking like your poor clanmate... Or worse. They dragged one of our warriors out of camp and we haven't seen her since. Nobody can speak against them, nobody can try to turn their own against them. No clan has the numbers to stand alone against them." As he spoke the words, the dark-furred tom twisted beneath Shrikesong, half-sheathed claws raking through her belly fur. Hopefully his words were enough to give the she-cat what she needed to figure out who had said it. Part of Mistyfalcon was reluctant to outright say what he meant, just in case...

"Mouse-hearted Thunderclanner!" He raised his voice a little in anger, giving the Asylum watchers the show that they wanted.

As Shrikesong effectively sparred with the ShadowClan warrior, she heard him speak about who he was talking about. While the tom didn't give her a straight answer, the mention of her clanmate's scars made her realize exactly who came up with this idea. Beecloud came up with this idea, she thought. I guess he's just as mad at the Asylum as I am. When Mistyfalcon spoke of Asylum taking away one of ShadowClan's warriors, the she-cat grimaced. Still, it was far from unexpected.

"I can see that," she said, trying to dodge the ShadowClanner's swipes. "Really, I wouldn't dare open my mouth to speak ill of the Asylum so I don't get taken away." Now with that conundrum, she at least was able to pretend to be a silent supporter of Asylum, not willing to speak but seemingly on Asylum's side. It wasn't the best scenario, but it was workable. She remembered when Eris threatened Dustcloud's death, took one of Nettlestar's lives away, and mauled Beecloud for trying to fight back. And as far as she was concerned, they probably took Laurelkit away as well. "And that's why we need to stand together as one," she finished. "I'll spread the message to the other clans."

Right after Mistyfalcon slashed at the she-cat's belly, the warrior jumped away. Jumping into the ruse, the she-cat ran towards the tom. "Fine!" she shouted, loud enough for the Asylum cats to hear. "I'm not holding back anymore!" Of course, Mistyfalcon knew that she was definitely still holding back, mostly since her claws weren't even fully-sheathed. But nobody else had to know about that. It was basically her little secret, one that she and Mistyfalcon were going to keep until the Asylum was finally toppled from their overwhelming power. Their control over the clans isn't going to last very long at this rate.

"I'd never speak ill of our captors, either." Mistyfalcon let out a derisive snort. He absolutely would, and he honestly didn't care if they heard him most of the time. Here though, he did care who heard, and the only person his words were intended for was Shrikesong.

"Good." He gritted, "Now, one of us should go, we've been here long enough." The dark-furred tom shied from Shrikesong's blows, pretending that the she-cat was overwhelming him. He lashed out with his own paws, though his balance didn't seem to be perfect under the raining blows of his "adversary." The warrior took a step back, then another, seemingly losing ground to the Thunderclanner he'd attacked first.

Clearly, the Shadowclan warrior had picked the wrong she-cat to fight.

Shrikesong smirked, pretending to fight in a way that overwhelmed the tom. It seemed like he understood it, since he was "Did the cat who told you about this give you a code-word? So if I met someone else in the revolution, per se, I could say the code-word and explain it?" If she had to guess, the code-word was something that Mistyfalcon had uttered before, but also not something too obvious. It was probably something like 'Fox' or 'Mouse', if the she-cat had to guess. Of course, she would rather know for certain what it was, so she didn't pass on the wrong codeword to the other cats.

Pretending to overwhelm the gray tom, she pushed him back farther and farther. "Seems like you're not doing so well, ShadowClanner," she said rudely. Her speech did contrast with the bubbly exterior that she normally portrayed, but with her getting a compliment on her fighting skills in ThunderClan's warrior games, she could probably pass it off as trying to sharpen her skills against the 'dirty ShadowClanner' who attacked her first. Perhaps she could even attack other cats herself, passing it off as sharpening her fighting skills against other cats. She had gotten stronger since the Asylum took over, and that combined with the web of rebels that Beecloud was beginning to grow... well, it would cause the Asylum to fall, fast.

"He called it the Mousehunt. Codeword is mouse. Go, then, just... be careful. We've already had one clanmate betray us for the rogues, her name's Tanglerose, or... Tavora. Gray she-cat, flat face, nasty temper." Mistyfalcon growled at the Thunderclanner, taking a seemingly unsteady swipe at her chest before prancing backwards once more, retreating slowly toward the safety of the tunnel connecting both sides of the Thunderpath.

"Fox-hearts!" He spat, louder this time. "Just... Just stay on your side of the borer and stop snooping around." He added, finally turning from the she-cat. Her blows had been overwhelming, she was clearly an adept fighter, and so it was time for this ill-fated adventure to end.