Detective Burdock (And Begrudgingly, Leopardsun) [Open]

The omen from a few moons ago hadn't left her mind. For some reason, she felt an itch to resolve this. Plumleaf had mentioned something about a member of their clan being murdered moons ago, so she felt as if SkyClan was the best way to start. She trudged along, Leopardsun by her side in a Burdockroot-imposed silence. She wanted to come alone, Burdockroot did, but Nightstar insisted for some reason the Deputy come along with. Stepping over the border, she didn't pause and kept going. She also didn't know where SkyClan's camp was.

They wandered for a while, and no SkyClan camp - nor cat - was found. Sighing, and looking at Leopardsun, she tilted her headback and screamed. "SKYYYCLAAANNNNNNNNNN" She yowled. Surprisingly, it felt good to scream. Hopefully, that should draw some attention. At this point, they were in the heart of the territory.

The member 'Stags' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

'Invasion Dice' :

Stalking quietly along a branch halfway up a tall pine, Sunpaw watched the bird he'd been hunting take flight as some harebrain yelled at the top of their lungs. He lifted his head, snarling under his breath and muttering a furious curse, his claws sinking into the branch beneath his paws. Hot yellow eyes narrowed, feathery tail lashing once in anger, and the sun dappled apprentice took a running leap to the next tree over. He skidded, taking a moment to steady himself - climbing came naturally to him, yes, but he was still learning - and then leaped over to the next tree, and then the next.

Eventually, he picked out the shapes of two cats. Strangers. Intruders.

He flexed his claws, a silent snarl on his lips, eyes following as the duo passed beneath him. He set his sights on the closer of the two cats, pinning his ears and slipping off the branch. He aimed, controlling his fall and landing squarely on Burdockroot's shoulders, immediately digging in his claws for the long haul.

Sunpaw used Leaping Bound on Burdockroot, dealing 5 damage at the cost is 10 SP. Burdockroot is stunned for one turn.

Sunpaw
20/20 HP
50/60 SP (-10)

Burdockroot
45/50 HP (-5)
120/120 SP

A solid weight slammed into her back and she let out a hiss, crumpling to the ground. "You stupid cat, I'm a medicine cat!" She hissed, flattened on the ground. She tried to stand, struggling against the weight despite her side. "I cannot wait to tell Birdstar I came to help your clan and got attacked."

Sunpaw has attacked a medicine cat and has a -10HP/-10SP penalty. She will be able to attack without penalty on the next round.

Sunpaw
10/10 HP
50/50 SP

Burdockroot
45/50 HP
120/120 SP

Leopardsun felt no shortage of hesitation and trepidation as she traveled through SkyClan territory, but her personal distrust in the medicine cat's ability to handle diplomacy meant she wasn't going to let her go alone even if she hadn't been instructed to accompany her. Besides, she knew the territory better than either Burdockroot or Nightstar could have hoped to, having sheltered with them before.

"Burdockroot," she hissed as the medicine cat shouted their arrival to any cat close enough to hear, "is that really necessary?"

They could have just waited for a patrol at the border, couldn't they? Loudly announcing their presence wasn't the introduction she'd have chosen, at least. It had the exact effect she had feared it would: some SkyClan cat (an apprentice?) charged forward, attacking first.

"We haven't come to cause problems," she muttered, questioning whether the words were true as she said them. "I'm going to assume you don't make a habit of attacking medicine cats. We didn't come to cause trouble for anyone, despite the... Loud and no doubt somewhat jarring announcement of our arrival. I'm Leopardsun, ShadowClan's deputy," she added, in case the cat in question didn't already know. "And that's Burdockroot, our medicine cat, who has reason to speak with your leader."

It could always be worse, she thought to herself. I can't imagine how right now. But it could always be worse.

"We certainly didn't come here to fight. I can understand the confusion, considering, but can we please not draw this out any further? I'm sure everyone would rather avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

Please. There's only so much I can take in a day.

Sunpaw's hunting had not been the only one interrupted, and Wolfblossom let out a soft hiss as she watched her squirrel dart into higher branches she had no hope of reaching safely just as Sunpaw's prey had fled at the loud yowl. What had been a simple hunting patrol with her sister, son and grandfather had quickly turned into something not so simple, and with a huff the deputy followed after Sunpaw and Birdstar. The scent of Shadowclan filled her nose, and she sighed inwardly, gaze sweeping their surroundings. It seemed to be only two, and one of which Wolfblossom recognized. This was no invasion, clearly, but if they had come to talk there were far better ways of getting Skyclan's attention.

Sunpaw was quick to drop onto one of the intruders from above, and Wolfblossom resisted a snort at the words of the she-cat. Shadowclan, it seemed, had all the diplomacy of rabid dogs. Leopardsun had the grace to look exasperated by the situation, and Wolfblossom couldn't imagine how the deputy put up with Nightstar's behavior or the clearly lacking diplomacy of her medicine cat.

"Scaring off all the prey within earshot is certainly helpful." Wolfblossom's eyes narrowed at the she-cat who had spoken to her son, expression drifting close to an uncharacteristic sense of disapproval as she took in the dark-furred she-cat and the much smaller apprentice. Attacking a fully grown cat was not Sunpaw's brightest moment, but Wolfblossom understood. And she would not be disciplining him in front of the Shadowclanners when Birdstar had already called him off. Still, the behavior earned him a sharp look. He'd not yet been to his first gathering, so it wasn't like he would have known what Shadowclan's medicine cat looked like, and in Wolfblossom's opinion being a medicine cat did not absolve one of the consequences of trespassing or making a fool of themselves.

"Leopardsun?" Wolfblossom inquired politely. Birdstar had already spoken and Wolfblossom wasn't going to repeat what had already been said, though her expression had returned to a carefully neutral one.

Burdockroot finally shoved to apprentice off and shook out her fur, hardly fazed by the Leader and Deputy's harsh or aggressive words. Well, fazed in the sense of fear. Annoyance, yes. This whole situation was making her blood boil since Nightstar refused to let her go alone. What did he tell him? That a single medicine cat would be less threatening than even a patrol of two? Look what happened. These cats were so ungreatful and as she stared blankly at all of them she hated them. The apprentice got a free pass. Now that she could actually see him, he looked quite young. But this leader and deputy? No. This was the first time Burdockroot had ever gone out of her way to be nice, especially for another clan. She had healed Coyotegrin because she was ordered too. She would heal a dying SkyClan cat, because that was her job.

But her job wasn't to go out of her way to share an omen with another clan. This was because she was trying to be nice. With StarClan as her witness, this would be the last time. If she got an omen that this clan was going to rot away into nothingness, her lips would be sealed. She was under no obligation to share this omen now or any omen in the future.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. I'll be sure to keep urgent matters from StarClan to myself next time, as to not disturb you further. I am only here to speak to Plumleaf about an urgent matter. I tried to speak to her two Gatherings or so ago, but it got disrupted by the actual Gathering. I wanted to come alone, medicine cat to medicine cat, but here we are. Please just take me to her so I can get this over with." Despite her not-so-hidden passive aggressive comments, the actual tone of her voice portrayed no emotions or inflections. She wanted to enjoy this but at this point, she wanted to get back to camp to be ordered around some more and spoken down to. At least then it would be her own clan and not some self-righteous Leader and Deputy who truly thought a medicine cat was a threat to them. Maybe they didn't follow the code, but she did. What a helpless clan.

As the cat he had his claws in flailed beneath him, Sunpaw grinned, fully prepared and ready to take a chunk out of one of those big fluffy ears. That would show these intruders what for! Until, of course, the angry little beast revealed she was a medicine cat, and everything he'd thought about doing dissolved into a big puddle of disappointment. The other cat, who Sunpaw noted did not come to the aid of their own medicine cat when under attack, launched into a boring rant about how they were just here to help and didn't want conflict.

He opened his mouth to say something that without a doubt would have been snarky and condescending, but that's when Birdstar showed up. Sunpaw flattened his ears and retracted his claws from Burdockroot's shoulders when ordered to step off, but he did so without complaint, cooly making his way to his mother's side as the deputy came to join them. He flashed her a charming grin, but the look she returned was... not promising. Yikes, that had the potential to get messy.

Bark fell from the trees above the group and haphazardly fell onto the cats beneath. It was light and harmless, but the cat whose claws loosed the bark from the branches above was neither of those things. Bloodstrike had silently made his way to the area where the spastic screeching from the medicine cat had come from. Once he listened and realized there was not to be any conflict, he then decided to make himself known. In true Skyclan fashion, descended the tree trunk with the smoothness and grace of a young cat trotting across level ground would have.

Bloodstrike landed behind the Shadowclanner's, his heavily scarred face betraying no emotion. If he had been leader, he may have greeted the medicine cat's inappropriate border crossing and ear-piercing caterwauling with fangs burying lethally deep into the back of her skull. He then would have thrown the body over the border as a warning for Nightstar and any other fool dumb enough to cross the border uninvited.

Alas, he was no longer leader, and he was content to just watch for now. Should he feel that Birdstar needed advice, he would give it. Orders however, were up to her. He took one look at Sunpaw, and though he wanted to give him a nod and reassure him that his reaction was exactly what he should have done, he thought it would be wise to wait until later.

Shadowclan cats were dense. If you didn't beat sense into them they didn't have any. At least... until he'd heard Leopardsun speak. If she didn't have the stench of the bog clinging to her pelt like a blanket of ticks, he would have thought her to be in any clan but Shadowclan. The ones he knew were impulsive and stupid... like the medicine cat. Leopardsun seemed like she'd be a promising leader. Hopefully he'd live long enough to see her ascend so that he could see whether or not he was right.

---

Pine needles dropped around the group shortly after Bloodstrike had come to the ground. Falconpaw had made his way toward the group as well, seeing Sunpaw pounce, then get off of the Shadowclanner, and caught the last bit of what was being said by everyone. He inhaled the new scent of the intruders, memorizing it. Shadowclan cats smell like this. He said it in his head so the information would stick better.

He was also content to just watch for now, a pile of living snow in the pine branches above the Shadowclanners. He flicked his tail a few times like a squirrel trying to get Sunpaw's attention. If he had it, he mouthed the words "Nice pounce!" and grinned mischievously. They'd talk later.

Leopardsun bristled at Burdockroot's words, wondering if all the work she'd done to prevent conflict between ShadowClan and other clans was entirely pointless. Realizing that there was only so much she could do, she nodded politely to Wolfblossom and Birdstar. "Apologies for the intrusion. Sincerely."

She was pretty sure they knew she wouldn't have wandered onto their lands if it had been her decision- it wasn't like she made a habit of being on other clans' land, after all. And besides that she liked both Wolfblossom and Birdstar well enough: they seemed to be reasonable and level-headed cats, and she hoped that Burdockroot's lack of tact hadn't cost her what she viewed as a pleasant acquaintanceship.

More cats joined them, and she hoped that Burdockroot at least had the sense to know when they were wholly outnumbered- if this did turn to a fight, they would lose. Somehow, though, she doubted the medicine cat would bother paying their situation any attention. She certainly hadn't so far.

What worth was seeming united as a Clan if it meant allowing Burdockroot to do as she pleased, entirely unchecked?

"We arrived unexpected and uninvited. Wouldn't you have defended ShadowClan's territory from intruders when you were a warrior? That said, if they'll allow you to speak to their medicine cat, I have business of my own to discuss- that is, if you're not too busy? We didn't mean to interrupt your patrol, and it can certainly wait if it has to."

The last of her words were directed to Birdstar and Wolfblossom, trying to look polite and professional.

Namely, apologizing for my clanmates. Again.

Bloodstrike loomed in the trees above the Shadowclan medicine cat, and Wolfblossom suppressed a grin. She doubted the obtuse she-cat would notice him, but if she wanted to continue to make a nuisance of herself... They were not here to fight however, and she shook her head in a silent order to stay where he was.

Wolfblossom listened quietly, face impassive as the Shadowclan medicine cat spoke. The more she saw, the lower her opinion dipped. Leopardsun's admonishment of her own was appreciated, and Wolfblossom hoped for her sake that she could handle being the only diplomatic one within her clan without succumbing to insanity.

Sunpaw padded to her side, and Wolfblossom rested her tail over his shoulder for a moment. They would talk, but not in front of the Shadowclanners.

Birdstar spoke, and Wolfblossom was very grateful that she and her sister were on the same leaf more often than not. The medicine cat could have told them what she wanted to tell Plumleaf without issue, but finding the Skyclan medicine cat would be prudent. She would keep her opinion on Burdockroot to herself, simply nodding to her son instead. "Go on, I will catch up with you back at camp."

Leopardsun seemed to have something of her own to say to Birdstar and her, and Wolfblossom closed her eyes for a moment. "Nothing troubling, I hope?"

OOC: Since Bloodstrike is leaving anyway I'll go ahead and get this out of the way.

IC:

Bloodstrike quietly watched the Shadowclanners as well as Birdstar for any indication as to what she wanted him to do. It didn't take long for her to give him an order, and he nodded once. His eyes went to Sunpaw first, then looked up at Falconpaw in the trees.

"Let's go boys." He said calmly. He pushed passed the Shadowclanners and began to journey back to the camp with the apprentices in tow. Falconpaw followed in the trees, his branches becoming lower and lower to the ground but never really left them. It unnerved Bloodstrike.

Once they were somewhere between the camp and where they had left Birdstar and the Shadowclanners, Bloodstrike had finally had enough. He focused his gaze on the white and gold apprentice leaping through the branches with ease. His fur bristled.

"Falconpaw. Get out of the trees and walk next to me." The order was calm and simple enough. The apprentice however, kept doing what he was doing.

"I'm practicing." He argued back, though his tone wasn't at all harsh. A few more jumps... and he was in the next tree. Then the next and the next. Bloodstrike's movements were suddenly stiff. His lip twitched.

"You can practice later. Come to the ground where I can see you." He ordered again... his voice having a slight edge to it now. Falconpaw's ears flicked and his eyes narrowed. Who was this old as all heck tom to waltz into Skyclan and begin telling everyone what to do? Falconpaw, feeling a little rebellious, continued to jump through the limbs. As a matter of fact, if the old tom said one more thing, he might just go higher.

"I mean... I'm almost to c-" A flash of brown, black and russet moved through the trees after Falconpaw. The apprentice hadn't even seen the old tom move... much less expected any teeth in his scruff as a result. Bloodstrike had proven that he was just as much a Skyclan cat as Falconpaw... and he was very short-tempered.

Bloodstrike caught Falconpaw easily enough by the scruff of his neck, and bolted back down to the ground with him in tow. He dropped the apprentice roughly to the floor and put a massive paw on his back, claws sheathed.

"I said to get down and I meant it!" Bloodstrike growled, not even looking at Sunpaw for the moment. Falconpaw's rebelliousness from earlier had been knocked clean out of him. Now he just cringed, tense, and stared over his shoulder with a face full of mud and snow. Bloodstrike glowered at him for a few tense seconds, the rip in his lip making him look like he was snarling.

Once the tension was over, Bloodstrike lifted his paw off of the apprentice. Falconpaw wasn't hurt, but he was certainly shaken. The nub of Bloodstrike's tail twitched rapidly before eventually going still. "Do you want to be an owl's snack? Stay on the ground." The old tom growled, a deep rumbling sound from the pit of his gut. Falconpaw said nothing. He got to his feet and wiped the shock off of his face in a final attempt to recover his dignity. His face burned with embarrassment, having been pinned down and scolded in front of his brother.

Bloodstrike began to move forward again, his expression aggravated and pained.

What the heck is his problem? Falconpaw thought, now brave enough to glare daggers into the old tom's back as he followed... on the ground.

Bloodstrike would send the apprentices to bed, then inform Plumleaf that she was needed further into the territory. He'd escort her back if she wished.

Though he wilted visibly at being ordered back to camp, Sunpaw complied, slinking away from his mother with a less than pleased expression. Why couldn't they stay? Bloodstrike could handle himself just fine without them. He knew that they sent him and his brother home just in case something bad happened... but they were apprentices now. They could help.

It was unfair, and Sunpaw glowered the entire way back to camp... until Bloodstrike seemed to take offense at Falcon's expertise in the trees. Sunpaw's ears slicked back at the order to get down, and his eyes narrowed when the old tom got even more aggressive with his brother. He had opened his mouth to say something when suddenly there was no one to say it to. Bloodstrike had climbed upward faster than Sunpaw could blink, and quickly had Falconpaw by the scruff. Sunpaw stiffened and bristled, loping forward to meet the pair as they met the ground. His mentor had Falconpaw pinned, and Sunpaw could feel his heart rate picking up, his claws sliding into the grass in preparation. His lip quivered in anger, his tail lashed, but then it was over.

As soon as Bloodstrike turned away, Sunpaw looked over his brother. He didn't have any wounds, but he seemed rattled, and understandably so. The young tom pressed his shoulder against Falconpaw's, also glaring daggers at his mentor's retreating silhouette. "That wasn't fair," he said lowly - a simple thing, just to let his brother know Sunpaw was on his side.

They made it back to camp without further incident, and as the apprentices passed Bloodstrike on the way to the den, Sunpaw was sure to keep his brow furrowed, yellow eyes narrowed angrily at the hulking form of his mother's grandfather.