Mousestar climbed up pointed stones and overlooked the clan. His clanmates sat below, chattering among themselves. It had been a day since the fox attack, and two since they found the intruder on their territory, and it caused suspicion. His warriors and apprentices were getting injured left and right. Appledove was dead, Hazelpelt was in critical condition, and Coalpaw and Doepaw were in bad condition from the attacks.
The small tom sat down, curling his tail over his paws. His mate's blood still stained his fur and he hadn't washed it. He just sat by her all night and it began to show in his eyes. A howl rose from his chest, "everyone gather for a clan meeting." He looked over the clan with exhausted green eyes. They broke the chatter and looked up at him.
Coalpaw limped to the exit of the tunnel that dispersed into the dens. He leaned against the wall, looking up at his leader. Around him, Twigleg gathered at the base of the rock and Jumpwing sat next to her, looking expectantly at their leader.
Mousestar nodded, his eyes were warm and grateful, but inside he still felt slightly conflicted. He knew many of his warriors would still not see his reasoning. His ears pricked as Blackrose broke their conversation and turned away. His eyes narrowed as he searched the entrance.
The small tom dipped his head with a sigh as he turned his head to see his warrior approaching. "Thank you, Blackrose." He knew of the burden he had put on his clanmates, but he wanted nothing more than their safety. Putting their lives at risk wasn't something he would tolerate, not even for their freedom. "I just hope I'm not making a mistake."
Blackrose nodded her head thoughtfully at her leaders decision, it was wise. They had no need for more deaths nor injuries. She hoped her clan-mates wouldn't be to harsh on him, she could bare to understand the pressure they're leader takes to keep them safe. She was still grieving for her clan-mates death. Blackrose stood from where she was sitting and padded quietly up to her leader once the other two warriors had left. "Mousestar," she dipped her head, "your decision was wise, and although some of them may not support or understand it, it was the best decision you could have made," she tried to reassure the tom, her cream mottled tail wrapping around her paws, blue eyes sparkling with sympathy and respect.
"Are you kidding?" The purr still rumbled in her throat. "You did most of the talking, and the way you were able to change Mousestar's mind at all? That says something. He is stubborn, you know." Twigleg blinked at Gingersplash with round green eyes, admiration sparkling within them. "Oh, wait," she mewed, pulling away for a moment to let her eyes search the crowd of warriors sharing tongues. "Jumpwing, Milkwhisper! Mousestar wants to see you."
Gingersplash looked up at her and blushed a bit at the unexpected compliment. "I-oh, um, th-thank you!" She stammered, blushing harder. A purr began to rumble in her chest as she looked away from the beautiful she-cat. "I... er... don't know if I'd call it that however" She giggled. "More of just trying to get a point across. To be honest, I'm quite surprised I spoke up as much as I did. You were much more well spoken than I was"
Mousestar could sense some disappointment, but they came to an understanding finally. He hoped they knew this wouldn't last forever. They just needed to get to the bottom of what was happening out there. "Please send in Jumpwing and Milkwhisper on your way out."
Twigleg nodded before feeling the she-cat's tail beckon her. She turned and followed the she-cat into camp. As they reached the open camp, she looked at Gingersplash. "That was good negotiating skills," she purred. "If only you'd been trained as a captive guard, I bet you'd get some information out of those prisoners easily."
Gingersplash nodded agreeably. She didn't get quite where she wanted with her argument but thankfully she made some progress. "Thank you Mousestar. I understand." She nods and turns to leave, fluffing her tail around Twigles's chest, signaling for her to follow her out
"You may hunt, in numbers of three or more, but the borders of ReedClan and SunClan are off limits. And if you are going out only Lasting Falls, at least have a striker around. They don't need to be sticking to you like a shadow, but they should be within earshot." Mousestar glanced at the she-cat over his shoulder. "And for the love of StarClan, if you come across any threats, duck into the makeshift tunnels and hide your scent." Mousestar could feel the worry begin to rise in his chest, but he ignored it. He cared for each of his clanmates dearly, even if they didn't get along often."
(not at all! I guess most times are technically bad times considering I don't get a ton of off time xD I have a crazy kid and she looooves attention, but she should be going to bed soon hopefully. Plus I'll let you know if I have any days off)
(Hey ya kinda keep disappearing on me, is this a bad time for you?)
"Of course Mousestar, just name them." Gingersplash replied quickly, then turned to meet Twigleg's gaze and smiled reassuringly at her. She looked back at Mousestar and nodding, egging him on for his request.
While he wanted to stop her from speaking further, he still listened. If he couldn't give them their freedom, he could at least give them his ears. It was apparent that the exhaustion could have been speaking for him, but above all, it was worry. "Maybe you don't understand what is happening here," he began, staring into the daring depths of Gingersplash's gaze. "I hear what you are saying. But did either of you see what happened yesterday? Two days ago? Did you see the fox, or the condition Hazelpelt was brought back in?" The tom realized his voice was beginning to raise against his warrior and he stopped to breathe, trying to calm himself. "I know that your freedom is important to you, but is it more important than our friends, or our families?"
The leader turned to return to his nest in the corner and he sat, facing the wall. His mate's side of the nest was left cold while she stayed in the medicine den. He wanted to stay with her, but the injuries were stacking up and they couldn't hold any more cats. "Doepaw and Hazelpelt were outside, both runners, both injured and both helpless. I'm afraid that numbers won't do much."
Twigleg stepped forward to join her denmate. She felt some pride bubbling in her chest for Gingersplash's words. She handled herself well, even if Mousestar was being stubborn. "There must be some way to let us leave," she urged, casting a glance to Gingersplash.
Mousestar focussed on the wall for a moment. "There is really nothing stopping you from going out, besides the fear of punishment," he went on. "If you are to go out, I'll ask few things of you. I would like for you to agree to them."
Her ears drew back a bit and swallowed nervously, then looked up at her leader. Mousestar, I assume you know what we are here to discuss, so I will just lay it out. "You must understand the uh, concern that everybody feels about these new and sudden changes." Gingersplash began "The restriction of freedom feels very binding and quite frankly, with all do respect, it's like you are becoming a control freak. I'm positive we all understand the reasons behind it but wouldn't it make more sense to send cats out in duos or more instead of what feels like "body guards". And even doing that is a bit of a stretch, it would make more sense to do so with apprentices than warriors." She gestured with her tail towards Twigleg then to the rest of the clan. "We are adults who can take care of ourselves and now we know there have been incidents we are much more careful. Besides, us runners would have a much harder time hunting with lumbering strikers right on our flanks constantly!" She stepped one paw forward and to inch slightly closer to her leader, meeting his intense gaze without flinching
The small tom's pelt prickled from the meeting that took place just a few minutes before, and as much as he wanted to send them away right then and there, he knew he had to hear his warriors. The tom nodded his tail and waved his tail, motioning for them to speak.
The digger glanced at her denmate. She knew they both felt strongly about this, but she was curious to see how the young warrior would do with confronting their leader. She gave the runner an encouraging nod.
Gingersplash trotted after her. Her head hung lower than normal and her eyes half followed the swish of the tabby's tail. Realizing what she was doing, she snapped out of her "trance" and raised her head more proudly. She inhaled the breeze and followed Twigleg into Mousestar's den, focusing her intense gaze onto her leader, then back to Twigleg, half expecting and half wondering if she was going to be the one to speak first.
Twigleg nodded in agreement. "Then we will try our best to persuade him." The warrior circled around before exiting the den mouth and padded down the tunnel that opened to the fresh air of the camp. She looked at the Pointed Stones as they neared it. "Mousestar, we're coming in," she called out before brushing inside. At this point, she wasn't going to stop and wait for an invitation.
"I agree. But honestly I think we should go by ourselves. Having a striker there would just make it seem petty. I feel like having two who are the most effected by the change would be more persuasive. And hopefully I can still go to the Lasting Falls. Like I said, I could really use the relaxation" Gingersplash meowed back to her, shuffling her paws a bit anxiously. She forced a smile to seem more positive but the look in her deep green eyes gave her away easily.
(oh no, Coalpaw is a striker, he doesn't care about any of this xD I can see how I made it confusing I'm sorry about that!)
Twigleg scuffled her paws as she leaned against the entrance. "I think he's just being irrational because of Appledove... He hasn't even discussed his her vigil yet and it's been a day." She looked slightly surprised by Gingersplash's words, but she understood. With all the things going on, it was getting really stressful. "I think we should talk to Mousestar. He won't want to hear it, but we need to tell him how we feel. Or at least, we should visit with a striker to convince him."
Gingersplash lets out a sigh and relaxes her tense shoulders and looked up at the senior apprentice. "It's just so frustrating! I don't know what to do, Mousestar won't even negotiate. I can understand the reasoning but this is just becoming ridiculous!" Gingersplash growled as she sat up and looked at him in the eyes. "Would it kill him to even let me go to the Lasting Falls? I could use the relaxation right about now. I've honestly been considering sneaking out"
Coalpaw rolled his eyes and flicked his tail dismissively towards Doepaw. "Go on with your medicine cat mate," he grunted before watching Gingersplash storm past him.
The senior digger peered around her shoulder as she saw her clanmate disappear into the tunnels. Twigleg stood to her paws and followed after Gingersplash. She could practically feel the air tense up in the entire camp. Nobody was happy about this, but the strikers got off easy. Twigleg followed the dark tunnel until reaching the den opening. "Gingersplash," she sighed, hearing her name bounce off the cold walls of the den. She didn't know exactly what to say, but she was equally as upset. "I know how this feels. Mousestar is taking our freedom away."
Gingersplash lashed her tail angrily but held her tongue. She hated the idea of being cooped up in camp. She yearned for the freedom, the smell of the fresh earth around her, the wind whipping through her fur, and the independence she felt as she would chase her prey through the thick undergrowth. She hated the idea of a striker chasing behind her, guarding her every step, shadowing her wherever she went. Despite all of it, she held her tongue and did nothing but flex her gleaming claws, take a deep breath, and calmed herself within an instant. She licked her relentlessly to fluff it up, then stood up and walked to the den to think.
Doepaw stuck her tongue at the Tom. “You know you couldn’t hate me if you tried.” She purred playfully as their leader dismissed them. She got to her paws whincing as she applied little pressure to her back leg. She pulled a face as she looked to the medicine den. “I’ve got to get herbs now.” She meowed dully. “See you later!” And with that she limped awkwardly away.
Coalpaw laughed at Doepaw quietly. "Like who, you?" While Coalpaw was glad he wasn't technically kept caged like the runners and diggers, he wasn't looking forward to having to leave the camp anytime they wanted to get out. He could see his clanmates becoming angry with their leader. He could hear cats begin to yowl in protest. "That isn't fair!" He heard a runner growl. "We don't want to be stuck in here! We have rights."
"I don't care what you want!" Mousestar snapped, lashing his tail. "Do you want to be the next body we find cold? I'm not losing any more warriors. The decision is final." With that, the tom turned away and hopped down the rocks before disappearing beneath them into his den.
Doepaw was unfazed by his decision. She wasn’t exactly leaving anytime soon and neither was her mentor. Doepaw looked to Coalpaw and nudged him. “Unlucky for you I guess you’ll probably get stuck with someone you hate.” She meowed cheekily. Despite her soreness the fawn she cat still had a twinkle in her eye and the mischief of a kit. She sat patiently waiting for her leader to dismiss them so she could get the Nasty herbs over and done with.
A sigh left Mousestar, and for a moment he held his tongue. There was no doubt in his mind that his clanmates would hate his decision, but he wouldn't risk any more lives than they already have. "I have called you today to speak about the events that have happened for the past couple days." He looked over his clanmates. "I have decided that from now on, no runners or diggers are to leave this camp without the assistance of strikers. We will set guards at the camp exit, and if any runner or digger tries to leave or is caught outside without a striker, there will be a punishment."
Twigleg's face twisted angrily. The digger stood up. "What?" It was more a demand than a question. "You can't do that!"
Coalpaw looked at his mother. He was surprised by Mousestar's decision, but then again, he could understand it. With everything going on, he didn't want anyone getting hurt, especially not his mother. The apprentice looked among his other clanmates, wondering about their reaction.
Doepaw looked to her leader. She shrugged and limped over beside Coalpaw. The herbs could wait, thankfully. She winced as she sat down, her side was in great pain but it still seemed like nothing from the throb in her left leg. Her ear twitched as she heard Hawkpaw sit nearby. ‘He mustn’t have gone far...’ she pondered quietly before returning her attention to her leader.