As Daylight Ends [Sunfire]

The evening sun cast long shadows across Skyclan's camp as Wolfblossom ducked beneath the thorn tunnel, a single, scrawny squirrel in her jaws. Barely enough to feed such a large clan, but that was what their territory offered now. Wolfblossom dropped it onto the fresh kill pile, or what was attempting to pass as a pile, and retreated without taking anything for herself. There were cats who needed the food more, she could go without tonight.

Pausing to take note of who was in the clearing, Wolfblossom's gaze landed on her son's golden pelt. It was hardly even a decision as she padded toward him, a tired smile finding its' way to her expression. "Hey, Sunfire," She greeted, "How are you holding up?"

The day had proven another long, fruitless disappointment. Twice, again, he'd joined a patrol, and twice he'd returned emptyhanded. A few of the other warriors had been lucky, though, and thankfully there was still some semblance of a fresh-kill pile, though until he managed to put something in it, Sunfire refused to take from it. He was able bodied and young still, he could handle the gnawing hunger for longer... and this prey drought would have to end eventually, right?

It was dark, now, and the dappled tom was resting, near the apprentices' den. He would go out again soon, and hopefully the cover of darkness would lend its aid to his success. But for the moment, his sharp eyes were trained on the camp's entrance, watching each warrior and apprentice return one by one. A pitiful few of them carried prey, but his mother was one of them, and he tracked her across the clearing, up until the point where she turned and met his gaze, closing the distance between them in a few long strides.

Sunfire stretched his forelegs out before him, and then pushed up into a sitting position, ducking his head to bunt it against Wolfblossom's gently as she approached. He settled back and curled his tail around his paws, yellow gaze growing conflicted at her question. "Better than some," he said quietly, looking sidelong at the entrance of the apprentices' den with a short, quick sigh. "It hurts to see them hungry, though." His children were growing very close to warriorhood, and were far from kits, now, but still... "When's the last time you've eaten, mother? You look exhausted."

A soft purr rumbled in Wolfblossom's chest as she affectionately rasped her tongue across Sunfire's ears. His answer to her question was one she might've given, herself, and the deputy sighed, following her son's gaze toward the apprentice den. "I know." She agreed with a slight frown. Her grandkits would have to be strong, and she would have to find the clan food somehow.

When had she eaten last? "I-" The deputy paused and shook her head, "Don't worry about me. I'll eat later." When everyone else has. She was young enough that going without for a little while wouldn't hit too badly. The apprentices and elders needed the food more. The nursery was empty, and it brought Wolfblossom shame to admit that she was almost glad of that fact.

"...I suppose if I ask you that you'd have a similar answer?" Despite the situation, there was a wry hint of amusement in Wolfblossom's eye. She knew her kits, and they had inherited more from her than they might like, for better or worse. The amusement faded though, unable to last in the face of Skyclan's prey shortage. "We'll get through this leaf-fall one way or another." Perhaps venturing into the depths of twolegplace wouldn't be a bad idea, even if it wasn't clan territory. Or calling on those alliances with Riverclan and Thunderclan.

"How has Bearpaw's training been going?" Her grandkits had grown fast, and Wolfblossom was trying to keep an eye on how their training progressed. With the recent chaos she hadn't had the chance to check in with as many of her mentors as she'd like.

The deputy's answer couldn't have been more predictable unless he'd rehearsed it himself, and it earned Wolfblossom a chastising look from the yellow tom, but not one that he could justify nor sustain. Sunfire let out a low sigh, leaning his shoulder against hers as she posed a rhetorical in response. "I'll eat when I can provide," he said flatly, flicking his feathery tail and tilting his head back to look up at the sky. Silence fell between them for a moment, and Sunfire's brow furrowed as his racing mind flickered through a thousand different ways to say what he wanted to say, what he'd been thinking about for a moon now... what any warrior in his position should be duty bound to suggest...

But as he opened his mouth to speak, Wolfblossom asked him about Bearpaw's training, and for the moment, the tom fell silent. "Bearpaw's... doing well. He's sharp, and dedicated. He'll make a fine warrior. Not that I expected anything less."

Truth be told, Sunfire hadn't done as much training with Bearpaw as he wished. He'd taught his son the basics, of course, showed him the borders, taught him to hunt - even had that encounter with the hawk on one of their first outings... but everything had happened so quickly and in such a whirlwind... the fox attack, Bloodstrike's death, Trufflesnap's betrayal... and now this blasted prey shortage that had the entire forest in a stranglehold. Bearpaw was a natural warrior, hunter, and more importantly, a natural killer... which was exactly what SkyClan needed. If they were willing to use it.

He looked down for a moment, steeling himself, and then turned to face the deputy, voice low though not nearly a whisper. "Mother... I think it's time we start discussing more... forward solutions," he said, attempting to keep his tone diplomatic. "We're a large clan... a strong clan. We should be taking advantage of that strength, before this famine drains any more life from us. I know there are previous alliances to consider, but... WindClan? RiverClan? Did you notice how few warriors and apprentices are attending Gatherings, now? How faint some of the borders get before they're refreshed? They're weak, mother. They wouldn't be able to stand against us."

His gaze was intense as he continued. "I'm not talking about chasing them out, or... or even hurting anyone. But they have huge territories, and small clans, they can afford to share until things get better, and if they don't..." he trailed off, searching her expression for any sense of how she felt about the matter.

Wolfblossom let out a soft huff at Sunfire's response. "Don't be like me. You should eat." She muttered, gently flicking him with her tail. Her words lacked the weight of a true rebuff, however. Her son was a good warrior, but a good cat, too.

His reponse to the question about Bearpaw made her nod. "Ploverpaw is doing well, too. They're all growing strong." She was proud of her grandkits, when the time came they would be fine warriors.

Blue eyes narrowed at Sunfire as he changed the subject, speaking of the prey shortage. It was a viewpoint she was sure was shared by a few, and Wolfblossom agreed with it in part... But it was a view that could lead to trouble if they weren't careful. "It's one thing to use those alliances to gain temporary hunting rights - and we should, Riverclan probably spends more time fishing than hunting birds or squirrels - but if they say no - which is within their rights, though it would certainly fly in the face of our alliance... If they refuse, we have an answer of what will inevitably happen if we do hunt on their territory. They shouldn't, but if our own territory can hardly sustain us, we cannot expect that another clan's territory can sustain two clans." Wolfblossom sighed, "We are a strong clan. A large clan, yes. But fights cost blood, and that will cost herbs and time spent healing, should things come to claws. I think the lack of prey might help protect what herbs are still on the territory, but that won't matter when the cold begins to kill off what plants are there. There will be enough sickness in the moons ahead without counting injury and infection. And the hungry predators that will be noticing the prey shortage, too. This lack of food will not be our only problem, if last leafbare was anything to go by." She spoke, hoping that he would understand what she was trying to say, "There is more territory to hunt on than just clan territory. The thought of making my warriors venture so close to twolegs is a little sickening after last leafbare, but there is bound to be more to hunt without risking the clan relations Birdstar has built so carefully." Just yet, anyways. But Wolfblossom would put her clan's health above all, should the need arise.

Again, his mother's response was one he saw coming from a mile away, but that still didn't stop the disappointment from tugging the corners of his mouth downward. Sunfire's tail lashed once and then stilled, and he sucked in a long, frustrated breath. The tom understood, to some extent, where she was coming from - making enemies at the start of a harsh season was potentially foolish... but they were the strongest clan in the forest. SkyClan had nothing to fear... nothing except hunger.

"Mother... respectfully, while the alliances we have with RiverClan and ThunderClan have served us well so far, that isn't the case anymore. We are starving." He exhaled sharply, ears planing out to the sides. It was the first time he'd said those words out loud, but the truth of them wasn't exactly debatable. "And you're right... it's only going to get worse from here. Which is why we should act NOW, while we still CAN fight. The weather is still warm enough to find herbs. I'll help replenish the stock myself if I have to. But we can't just sit on our paws and wait for our warriors and apprentices to start starving to death before we take action."

Sunfire stood, taking a couple of steps away and then turning back to Wolfblossom, pacing back to her side but too restless now to be completely still. "I know that you are both an honorable cat, and one who would do anything for her clan. And I know those two things are probably at war right now because the right thing to do for SkyClan... it isn't honorable. I won't pretend it is." He sank his claws into the grass beneath them, shaking his head. "But our territory is not big enough to sustain us right now, and there's no way around that except finding more territory." He met her eyes. "Whatever that takes."

Wolfblossom listened to her son, a low sigh escaping her. He was not wrong, not entirely. But he was young and rash, even so.

"I've been meaning to speak to Birdstar and Smokepetal, if those alliances can be put to Skyclan's benefit, I would test that before resorting to claws. But you are right, there won't be much time to figure out the answer to that." And if they couldn't be, used for Skyclan's benefit any more, then there would be a reason to end them. That the alliance with Riverclan had lasted as long as it did was a miracle in and of itself, and the wondering of how long it would last was never far from Wolfblossom's mind. Thunderclan had held the fallen oak for as long as Wolfblossom had been alive, too. "Twolegplace has abandoned sections free of twolegs, though Birdstar and Beechfang are more familiar with them than I am. That might be enough to help supplement our territory, at least for now. If it's not..." The idea of skirmishing over territory and throwing Skyclan's weight around was not an appealing one, however necessary it might become. But her clan would come before anyone else.

"Honorable?" Wolfblossom let out a soft scoff. One alliance was held together on the thinnest of lies, and her clanmates were starving. "It serves a purpose, and it has served me well. But that purpose will only go so far, and it's not greenleaf anymore. Tell me, what use is honor worth if our clanmates are starving and our allies cannot help us? If we are left with no options?" Not a thought she would ever find pleasure in, but her clan would come first. They had to. The deputy eyed her son, judging his reaction. For her clan, Wolfblossom would be what they needed her to be. "Birdstar worked hard to drag Skyclan away from the perception of being warmongers. I would hate to see that work undone, but..." A huff escaped the deputy, her own ears flattening. "We'd best hope it doesn't have to come to that."