something wicked this way comes [open]

With the sun peeking just over the horizon, a new dawn had arrived and painted the sky in wondrous tones of gold and white, wispy clouds swirling across the seemingly never ending canvas in a whirlpool of delight. The coursing river crashed and splashed across the large stones that lined its borders, creating a murmur that could even be described as a lullaby. In such a perfectly constructed paradise, one might naively assume that nothing could go wrong. How could something so flawless ever go awry?

Greenleaf had healed the wounds inflicted upon the territory and its inhabitants by the Asylum, both their sinister presence being banished and time working in harmony to soothe those who’d suffered their wrath. Since their defeat, things had remained rather quiet- a petty squabble here and there, a tiff at the border- but otherwise, everything remained relatively calm and relaxed. A seasoned warrior would be quick to remind any unsuspecting youth that a greenleaf spent so peacefully should elicit reasonable suspicion. Something was always brewing just beyond the horizon.

This time, they were certainly right- and this threat quite literally lie just on the horizon.

Alongside the bubbling river, an alarmingly large group of twolegs swarmed, their trusty canine companions yowling and barking horrendously at their sides. Surrounded by their awkwardly large and seemingly pointless belongings, they lounged around the side of the river with little care as to who had been there first. Careless and irrational, they’d likely scared away the fish from the area, and any land prey that lingered nearby. Any Clan cat that dared to stray too close to this massive flock of twolegs would surely be chased off… Or worse.

Dewlight had been asked to find the border patrol to report odd scents caught by a hunting patrol earlier in the day, and she had readily agreed to follow after them to inform and join them in investigating. The past weeks, nearly a moon at this point, in the medicine den had made her feel weak and useless.. Getting out of camp for the first time since the battle against the hawk would be a welcome distraction. Her ear flicked as the wind shifted suddenly, and an odd scent far stronger than she had expected filled her nose. She froze as a strange sound made her ears perk, and forced herself to crawl forward, belly low to the ground as another similarly odd sound echoed over the river. Crouched down as low as she could get, she slowly crept forward until she could see through the reeds. Her eyes widened as she took in a seemingly endless river of twolegs, odd brightly colored pelts that stood out of the ground, and yipping, howling and barking dogs chasing at the twoleg's kit's heels. Her eyes searched for a reason, an explanation, and found none. "This is bad.... This is really bad. I need to let the rest of the clan know," she muttered softly to herself. Turning, eyes wide with terror, she realized that she couldn't scent the border patrol. They must not have arrived yet... She would search on her way back to camp. Leaving the terrifyingly odd scene behind her, she sprinted towards camp as if a fox was on her heels. After what seemed like moons, she splashed through the water that surrounded the camp and dashed through the reeds, ignoring the sharp tingles in her pads as the sharp edges of the crushed river grasses sliced at the soft flesh. "Ivystar! Quick! There's a bunch of twolegs next to the river, with big bright pelts! And dogs, they're everywhere!"

Dennis rated his head on his paws, head sticking out of the medicine den to soak up the early morning rays. They were warm enough to be comfortable but didn't quite manage to burn his bare face, which Sunhigh light certainly did. For once the creases in his face were smoothed out by relaxation, the help from Cloverpaw allowing him to get more rest these days. A particularly bright ray of light shone through his eyelids for a moment, causing his sleep to lighten- and in that very moment, Dewlight came galloping into camp with a panicked tone.

The old medicine cat's ears swivelled forward in a flash, followed closely by his eyes opening. He struggled to get to his feet, but once he had all three beneath him he trotted towards the source of the commotion. Dewlight sounded serious enough that is may warrant his attention. Had something happened to Yarrowpaw again? He shuddered at the memory of the blood-soaked cat. He sincerely hoped that that wasn't the case as he drew nearer.

Now, though, having heard the news, maybe he'd rather the blood. Twoleg in the forest? With dogs? His breath quickened at the prospect. He hadn't even seen a dog since... Well. Let's just say he knew the damage one could cause. And from the sound of things, this was far more than just one dog. A whole pack, maybe several. He tried to still himself, but a noticeable tremor had taken over his body and his eyes were wide with panic. He couldn't bring himself to speak, though he doubted any words would be coherent if he tried.

Ivystar's breath hitched in her throat when she heard Dewlight yowling from the camp entrance, preceded by her thumping pawsteps as she rushed into camp. She'd been sent to catch up with the current border patrol to report odd scents that they might be able to further investigate and get answers to, but now she was back, all by herself. This was particularly odd, as she was supposed to be joining the border patrol- something had to be really wrong for her to show up back at camp so soon, and without an entire patrol behind her.

Twolegs? Bright pelts? Dogs?

Ivystar's heart raced as she sped toward Dewlight in the center of camp, panic settling in while she tried to maintain a calm exterior. "Twolegs next to the river? Dogs?" She repeated in disbelief, tail swishing back and forth in the sand. "How many were there?" She questioned quickly, mind sorting through all the possibilities. If they were lucky, it was just a few twolegs with their slobbery companions that would be gone within the hour... But if they weren't? She feared the worst as she looked into Dewlight's eyes, body rigid except for the occasional twitch of her whiskers or tail. What had happened to the border patrol? Were they safe?

Turtlefur stirred from his dozing. He heard Dewlight’s yowl but didn’t process the words until held sat up and given his head a soft shake to clear it of drowsiness. Shocked and admittedly afraid of the news she carried, the patched tomcat jumped to his paws and darted to his leader’s side. Would she give orders? Declare that no one could go near the river? He shuddered. The river was the Clan’s lifeblood, how could twolegs do this to them?

He considered the news of dogs. When Turtlefur was a kittypet at the farm, dogs ran freely; however, their duty was clearly to watch and protect the livestock. Although sometimes slobbery and much too excitable, they’d only given him trouble now and then. But with Dewlight’s report sounded much more dire than that. Turtlefur’s bright eyes turned on Dewlight, wordlessly begging her to share good news to counter the bad.

The clan started to gather around her, and Dewlight tried to catch her breath enough to speak. Her eyes roamed over her clanmates before finally landing on Ivystar as she dashed over, and through breaths she attempted to make her report. "Many, too many for me to count. They covered everything, I ran as fast as I could..." She gasped, eyes wide with terror as she recalled what the scene had looked like. "I couldn't find the patrol, I hope they went the other way. I..." Her voice trailed off as she shuddered at the idea of the patrol walking into that mess. They were experienced warriors, surely they would notice before they stumbled into it. "I can show you where exactly, if you want. You can see it for yourself."

Loonwhisper's mouth parted in surprise with Dewlight's frantic approach. Instinctively, he hunted for the pelts of his two apprentices, assuring himself of their momentary safety. There was nothing good about a cat bursting through the bushes with such commotion. It always meant trouble, which was typically danger, which meant cats were hurt and the clan was in jeopardy. He followed Ivystar's footfalls and stood at her right side, absorbing the warrior's report silently. Too many dogs and twolegs to count. They covered the river?

He held the questions at bay. All would be answered when they went to see it. "Yes, we should go. Twolegs are poor swimmers. They always keep to the edge of the wood; they do their splashing in the farthest creek. If they have come now to this part of the territory, then their purposes must be extreme."

The deputy nodded to Dewlight. "Will you lead us?"

"It's alright, Dewlight. We'll get this sorted out," Ivystar mewed softly, noticing the she-cat's panic. Ivystar's focus shifted to Loonwhisper as he approached and shared his views on the subject, and her whiskers twitched slightly. He was right, and so eloquently spoken. He'd lead RiverClan well, someday. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it and focus on the task at paw, she nodded slightly in response to Loonwhisper's observation. "He's right, Dewlight. Can you take us to where you saw the dogs? And we'll look for the patrol on our way, they may need our help." She mewed regretfully, already padding toward the camp exit.