Frosted Snakes on the Moor [c]

Klaus had said he declared war on the forest and he had meant it. That being said, he needed more information. Skyclan had been his target of choice for quite awhile, and would continue to be, but that didn't mean they were his only ones. He had enemies in Windclan as well, ones that he intended to make pay dearly for their betrayals. Ashfall would likely get a pass for now... but the instant she decided to make good on her threat to stop him, he would end what was left of her life. Lilacstar had lied to him about keeping his family safe... Sunnyskip was dead and Ryesnap likely was too. He had heard nothing of her since the last time he and Sunnyskip spoke. Someone was going to pay the price for that...

Someone was going to pay dearly.

The pale tom was at home among the light dusting of snow on the ground, helping him blend in in ways that he couldn't during any other time of the year. The sun was going down soon and cast the white world in a shade of golden yellow. Klaus looked like he was practically part of the landscape but was given fiery blue eyes. He slipped through the grasses of the moor, barely shaking the tall stalks as he went. Silver mist flowed from his mouth with every slow, careful breath.

He needed only one cat... just one... and he could get all of the information that he would need. Should things turn sour, Klaus would waste no time in fleeing. He wasn't his father... he wasn't about to fight a whole patrol and certainly not an entire clan all by himself.

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

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'Invasion Dice' :

Leaf-bare felt unfamiliar to them. They've heard stories from the elders, saying how difficult everything was during the season. Only now did they full take caution of it, experiencing the freezing weather by their own point of view. The elders haven't lied— and they wished maybe they should've prepared a bit more for the cold weather. With one paw at a time, they stepped out of the apprentice den, feeling the icy sensation of snow underneath their mitts. Their fur wasn't so much as thick as the others, and the small frosts of snowflakes landing on their pelt caused a sharp shiver down their spine. They gritted their teeth, baring the temperature that this horrid weather came with.

Dreampaw made their way outside of camp, luckily with no one asking. It always seemed somewhat too crowded inside, and so they'd wander off somewhere near camp to avoid the crowd. They didn't so much of enjoy conversations too, and small talk seemed.. More difficult, somehow. They shook themselves, padding off to a further distance and finally sat down; completely unaware of the danger that lurked behind. Perhaps if they were lucky enough, they'd be able to catch prey this time.. Or so they've thought.

Klaus didn't have to wait or sneak around very long. Windclan was lax in their security, as usual, he thought with a roll of his eyes. Upon spotting the lone apprentice... and he was sure the tom was alone... he practically flew across the distance that separated them. Klaus had been a Windclan cat before, knew how they trained and how to run efficiently thanks to their training. Even if the apprentice were to spot him despite his nearly silent, break-neck speed of an approach, he doubted the smaller cat could get away.

Running across the moor with Windclan speed, Klaus closed the last of the gap with a Skyclan leap. He aimed one of his forepaws to land directly on top of the apprentice's snout and the other to collapse and buckle the apprentice's shoulders and elbows beneath him. The result would be an immediate chin to the ground with Klaus's weight on top of his nose, firmly keeping the young tom's mouth shut. Whatever the apprentice thought he could do with his hind legs was of no concern to the battle-hardened, exiled clan cat.

"Good evening," He flashed his teeth with a sinister grin, a warning to be still as he put his mouth close to the tri-colored tom's ear to speak to him. "I'm going to let go of your mouth, apprentice... when I do, you will not scream and you will not cry out, or I will cut your throat and leave you for the crows. Do you understand me?" Despite the current situation, Klaus spoke as calmly as he would about the weather, but his warning was very very heavy in his wording.

"I want you to answer some questions and then you can go back to your clan with a message for me to your leader." Which... it only occurred to him it had been long enough that it might not be Lilacstar anymore. He'd better confirm, as long as the apprentice was willing to cooperate. If not... well.., it wasn't like he hadn't killed children before.

Suddenly, they felt uneasy. Even if they weren't sure what it was, they felt sure that there were something behind them. No, someone. They tensed, and the force of the chillingly cold winds blew in their ear, carrying the odd scent of someone they never have known of before into their nostrils. They attempted to leap away, though before they could've made a proper move, a large figure have already tumbled into them. Their eyes widened with horror, and they felt their body being pushed down. Roughly, straight to the dirt by a cat's paws. The unfamiliar, large cat threatened them, and yet their voice was alarmingly calm.

Then.. questions? The apprentice gritted their teeth. This surely was, undeniably a dangerous cat that was not to be messed with. What would he want, too? Questions ran inside their head, and although their heart was racing, they remained eye contact with the tom— nodding in response. The cat in front of their eyes seemed much different than any threats they've ever faced before, and his gaze seemed piercingly cold to the bones. As much as the urge to flee away overwhelmed them, they had a feeling resistance would end up horridly, and stopped themselves from doing so. The tom couldn't be a clan cat. He didn't smell like one. A rouge, maybe?

Klaus noted the agreeing nod in the apprentice's movements. He let his paw off slowly, ready to slam it back over the young tom's face if he dared opened his mouth to screech. When he didn't, Klaus stepped off of his face entirely, but his paw on his shoulder blades remained in place. He would keep his claws sheathed for now, but if the little rat tried to struggle... well he wasn't going to just let him get away.

"I suppose we can start with formalities. I'd like to know who I'm talking to, should someone mention you to me in the future. I am a cat of many names... but you can just call me Dawnhawk." He watched for a reaction to see if this young tom knew who he was. He wasn't about to give the kid his rogue name, that was for sure.

"Is the leader of Windclan still Lilacstar? I have been away from Windclan for quite awhile now... though I certainly don't appreciate the clan giving up on finding my son's body when he supposedly died in a tunnel collapse." His claws came out just a bit then, just enough to break the skin of the younger cat just a bit. If he even remotely suspected him of lying those claws would dig in quite a bit deeper. He'd let the apprentice find out what happens to liars on his own though, rather than warn him.

Dreampaw resisted the urge to loudly gasp as the tom's paw stepped off their face, and though they felt much easier to breathe now; their chest continued to grow tight with fear. Of course the tom still wouldn't have released them so easily. Then he introduced his name. Dawnhawk.. They definitely have never heard of him before. Why hasn't any cats been mentioning about Dawnhawk to them, especially if he posed as such a threat? Then as he required their name— their throat immediately froze in response, and they had to force the two simple words to come out from their mouth. "Dreampaw," They introduced themselves, although vaguely.

The cat now known to them as Dawnhawk asked something about Lilacstar, and the apprentice tilted their head, shaking it. The tom continued to talk about his.. son's body...? As a tunnel collapse was then mentioned, their eyes weighed down with sadness for the cat, though quickly snapped out of it as they felt a pair of claws just barely breaking through their skin. The claws were sharp, to say the very least. "No, I don't know who Lilacstar is.. Daystar's our current leader now." They spoke up, seemingly puzzled at the thought of Lilacstar.

The apprentice spoke and Klaus was... maybe not as surprised at the answer as he thought he might be. "Lilacstar was the leader before her. Well.... good for Dayspri- Daystar I guess. Regardless, she wasn't one of my allies within Windclan either. Too bad for her." He was half informing the apprentice and half venting just to himself out loud. He did note the lack of reaction to his name... and he wasn't sure he knew how to take that. Its true no harm had come to Windclan cats since he left... but that was about to change. Especially with Daystar... she was no ally of his. Not even a little.

"Well, Windclan either doesn't take me seriously... or they don't care about you, Dreampaw. I'm leaning towards the latter... I have killed many cats, but never a Windclan cat. Maybe I should start." His claws dug in a little bit deeper, now enough to leave significant puncture wounds. As soon as he had dug his claws in, he loosened his death grip just a little bit.

"Oh right... I did tell you I was going to let you go didn't I? My apologies." Though he looked and sounded anything but sorry. His tail lashed behind him as he let his thirst for vengeance run away with him momentarily. This apprentice had a job to do... and he was going to do it whether he was aware of it or not.

"Dreampaw... I am going to let you live, but in exchange I want you to do me one favor. Go to your clanmate, Swiftspirit, and tell her that her scouting mission is over, we have all of the information on Windclan that we need, and that the new Asylum Head says it's safe for her to come back home now. Tell her to bring the others with her, she'll know who I'm talking about.

Tell her and her only, do you understand me? Don't try to be some hero and warn your leader or your deputy first. You don't want me as your enemy kiddo." Dawnhawk suddenly brought up the paw that had been pressing down on the apprentice's shoulders. In a flash, he struck out towards the apprentice's face with unsheathed claws. Just an instant later, he struck his teeth downward, buried his fangs into the apprentice's back and shook him like a dog might.

It was a brief attack, but he didn't want the apprentice to go home looking untouched. That wouldn't stir up quite the same emotions or bring the tension in the clan that he so desired. He wanted the strife... the distrust... he wanted the breakdown of the entire clan before he, Tarot and any other rogues or exiles that they found invaded the camp and made Windclan pay dearly for their betrayal and their complete lack of regard for what family of his remained within.

It might not have been Daystar to have broken the promise.... but Windclan would pay for the previous leader's mistakes all the same. Once he dropped the apprentice from his teeth, he growled low in his throat, daring the apprentice to retaliate. If he wanted to fight, Dawnhawk would absolutely fight before giving the apprentice the boot.

"Get moving, before I decide to chew your paws off and make you crawl painfully back to camp."

Pure horror showed on their face as Dawnhawk's claws dug deeper into his skin, and the older cat threatened to end their life right then and there— until he stopped himself, saying that he was going to let them go. Dreampaw let out a hidden sigh of relief, though his gaze continued to seem to pierce through their soul. The apprentice gulped. Just as they thought they would finally be free, the rouge spoke up again, and told them something about the Asylum Head. Wait, Swiftspirit knows him? Of course Dreampaw just couldn't the suspicious rouge carry out his plan so freely. Though as he threatened them again— they took note that they wouldn't ever want him as an enemy in the battle field.

Just then, the rouge brought his unsheathed paw high in the air, then struck out to their face. They let out a surprised yelp, flattening their ears down in pain. It had only been a matter of seconds, and the mark left on his face felt as if it burned. They gasped, pupils forming into slits as they felt sharp fangs piercing through their back— and shook them harshly. They felt as if everything was blurring away, and though they tried to fight back, the nauseous sensation that the shake brought to them made them feel unable to do so. Once they felt themselves released form Dawnhawk's jaws, they immediately backed away, though still feeling horribly dizzy from the shake.

They were no match for the cat in front of them, and they knew that.

As the last sentence practically growled out from Dawnhawk's throat, the image of Mistypaw returning from the border skirmish appeared in their mind, and they couldn't seem to bear the idea of experiencing the same event. The apprentice shot the large tom a fearful— yet bitter look, then fled.