Private Thread Plot Thread They Come

"Go. I'll be here."

➽───────────────❥

Of the cats guarding the nursery, Finchpaw was the 2nd closest to the kittens. Hearing Weaselkit's question, the tomcat shrugged. "It's a huge murder of crows." the tom responded, answering the tomkit's questions. "It shouldn't be anything you need to worry about. I'm sure they're just hungry. This event is a bit weird but you'll be okay. I promise."

The apprentice swore on his life that he would but his life on the life for the cats of the nursery. No matter the risks. But he prayed that it wouldn't come to that. He couldn't imagine leaving his beloved sister without a littermate after all.

"You can try to go back to sleep if you want, Weaselkit. If the crows act up, we'll protect you."

Don’t compromise yourself - you’re all you have.

✦･ﾟ:* ☆ *:･ﾟ✦

Whilst Robinpaw had finished her herb prepping for when the warriors had returned, a sudden cawing sound had caught her attention. Her good ear pricked as she glanced out of the medicine den, only to see small clouds of black occupying the roofs of the dens and swiping up the prey from the pile of fresh kill.

"Uhm... Tigerrush..." Robinpaw murmured, fearing if she spoke louder than such something may go amiss, the crows attacking any clan cats would be the last thing that either her or Tigerrush needed today. But now, she couldn't help but stare, a little awestruck by the sheer amount of them in camp. It was... so weird, surely the sounds of cats on alert would put theses birds off no?

And it would have even been strange if it were a normal day, even in days of calm, the came was still full with chatter and play, which usually were to ward off things like this, something in these birds were braver than usual and that was a cause for concern to Robinpaw more than anything else.

Even a flame that burns softly can still bring warmth through the darkest nights.

⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆

At the shrill calls of the crows, Orchidflame's guard immediately rose with the instinct to protect her own. She curled tighter around her young, keeping them nearly engulfed in her fur. "No don't fret Weaselkit, you'll be fine if you stay in here." Orchidflame hummed gently, letting her tail warm the younger cats.

The chocolate calico gave Finchpaw an an appreciative nod, even if the attempt didn't end up being a successful comfort the effort was appreciated from the richly coated apprentice. 

However, the worry still ebbed at her, she wanted her kits to be safe, but she felt comforted by the fact that there were so many guarding the nursery, fierce cats like Wildcry, Gingerthrash and Rimepaw and more collected and confident cats like Finchpaw and Spidertongue.

With the sound of the pattering feet atop of the den, Orchidflame forced her fur flat, stopping the bristling to put a calm face for her kits. "What about a little story? You both love stories." She rumbled with an almost forced purr to cover the fear.

I’m surrounded by idiots...

⋅⋅✦⋅⋅ 𓆩✧𓆪 ⋅⋅✦⋅⋅

Gingerthrash's guard was quickly side tracked by the beating sound of black wings that flew into the game "What in StarClan's name..." He growled under his breath. There was no point in starting a fight with them when the clan wasn't prepared for this many birds, they were prepared for RiverClan, not a tiny flock of cawing theives.

He took a glance at his niece, Wildcry, and rose a brow for a moment, was she seeing what he was seeing? Never in his days of living had he seen anything like this, it let him at a loss for what to do. Especially since he's been... at least the slightest bit uncoordinated in recent moons. He let out a low rumble from his throat, but it was quieter than usual.

Lilac fur bristled along his spine as he watched the crows snatch up good prey. He unsheathed his claws, oh how he wished to rip each feather out of these thieves' bodies to decorate his nests with. But he didn't not until he heard some kind of signal from Kestrelswipe.

If a flower can flourish in the desert, you can flourish anywhere.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ ❀ ɞ˚‧｡⋆

Whilst standing sentry, Coyotebloom did her best to not whip her head to look at the commotion behind her, crows? in camp? What sort of practical joke was StarClan trying to play on them? She glanced towards Mistyleaf, her senior and sentry partner, was she glancing over to the crows? 

Coyotebloom wanted to rush over into the camp to help her clanmates from these crows, but RiverClan was still a threat and the patrols haven't returned from the battle yet. So her paws couldn't honorably leave her station. Not yet... anyway.

So she kept her paws rooted to the ground, hoping that the camp, devoid of loud mewing would be able to figure this out before the crows decided to steal anything from them... if they haven't already.

Frost-kissed fur hides a fiery spirit
⋆｡°❅°｡⋆ ⭒ ──● ❄ ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°❅°｡⋆

Rimepaw's ears flattened at the sudden eruption of cawing, her fur lifting along her spine as another crow swept overhead. Like Gingerthrash, she stared upward with a mixture of disbelief and irritation. "Flea brained thieves!" She hissed up at the sky. Another mouse stolen.

A crow, emboldened, swooped toward the fresh-kill pile, talons reaching for another piece of prey. Rimepaw's head snapped toward it and acted without restraint. She launched herself before the bird could escape, hind paws driving off the ground as she sprang upward.

Her claws raked through the air just beneath its wings, close enough to send the crow veering sharply aside with an indignant caw. Rimepaw landed hard among the scattered prey. "Get out of here!" There was no caution in her actions, only steely certainty - she was guarding the nursery and these birds were a nuisance.

She wasn't about to stand around and let them feast on ThunderClan's food. While her head was turned, a pair of crow hoped down from the warrior's den, and moved over to Rimepaw's hind, before pecking sharply at her tail. An eruption of fury followed as the apprentice rounded on a bird, but both had backed up already, wings flapping rudely.

Bloodlines of strength ignite fierce souls
──●◎●──

Wildcry's single eye snapped toward the sudden eruption of feathers and fury as her lilac fur bristled. The moment she saw the crows harassing her daughter, something primal tightened through the old she-cat. The nuisance of the birds was one thing. Their sheer numbers were another. But stealing from their fresh prey AND pecking at her daughter?

Wildcry surged forward, claws unsheathed as she lunged, swinging a broad paw through the air toward the bird that had dared harass Rimepaw's tail. Another bird swooped toward them and Wildcry ducked beneath it and twisted, snapping her jaws upward with a furious hiss. Her teeth found purchase against a startled body and she tossed it to the ground as it flailed uselessly.

Wildcry steeled herself, every line of her aging body tense and ready. "Kill them as they come until they flee." A simple directive.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo emerged from the trees his cinnamon darkened pelt appearing between the trunks before the rest of his company followed. Other than missing Magdalen, whom he stablized before leaving for the Camp, Kosmo brought his full force.

The crows continued their raucous occupation of ThunderClan's camp and had made certain every cat inside knew that change was coming. When the Gorse Tunnel came into view Kosmo slowed, aknowledging the two sentries standing nearby. His mismatched eyes first settled on Coyotebloom. He studied her for a heartbeat longer than necessary, expression unreadable. He had watched from a distance... learning the shape of a daughter he had never approached.

His gaze shifted to Mistyleaf. Unlike his daughter, she knew him. Their secretive meetings were conducted in peace and had once met on the fringes of the Orchard... Oh, the irony. A shame she was ThunderClan... Kosmo, deciding to be merciful, kept the recognition from his face at his approach.

"A morning it is, and for some it is good. I've come baring bad news...for you." Only a faint smear of blood coated his muzzle, and his body smelled distinctively of Moosestar and death that overshadowed the lavender three fold. "Your patrols have fallen. Moosestar lays dead, all nine lives lost. And even now...your Camp is being held hostage by my...friends."

A faint smile pulled at one corner of his muzzle. From the branches behind him rushed a mass of black feathers that came from one particular raven, her feathered body more robust and much larger than a common crow. She perched on top of the tunnel, blinking her beady eyed stare across camp before she fixated on the puffed up tabby guarding the medicine cat den. Tigerrush was known to Kosmo too.

"And I have no desire to spill more blood unless you insist upon it." The cinnamon tom continued, eyes narrowing with warning. Cordelia's attention was focused on the two sentires, muscles wired to spring at the fight sign of a fight - and she hoped there would be one regardless seemingly evident on the smile on her face.

"You." Kosmo addressed the orange eyed sentry. "Bring Kestrelswipe to me so we can talk."

---

From inside all corners of Camp, the crows stirred, the sight of their fallen comrade enough to send them into a irate tizzy, harassing and cawing, pecking and swooping. Fresh kill stolen and scattered until nothing remained in the tidy pile.

No other protection is wanting,
provided you are under the guidance of prudence.

‹‹‹‹ ››››

Prudence followed gracefully in Kosmo's pawsteps. Each was careful, placed so to keep the bright red form on her withers from being jolted. The chaos around them made her eyes gleam with excitment, her tail twitching behind her.

The curly furred she-cat joined the big tom as he made his order. She looked up and gave the raven a quiet series of bird-ish clicks in greeting. Then she turned her head a spoke quietly to the bird on her back.

Prudence was a thinker, not a fighter. She'd held herself in reserve for just this moment. When Kosmo's dear friends made their move.

"My return to glory is near."

─────────────────────

Like the rest, Aurelius followed Kosmo in closely, silently, the tom sitting down and licking his wounds over a few times without a care in the world. The tomcat was cold, apathetic to non-SkyClanners for the most part. As long as his home was safe and sound, that's what he cared about most.

As Kosmo spoke, the warrior kept his senses alert. He didn't feel like shedding more blood either. Hopes that ThunderClan would be cooperative.

"Go. I'll be here."

➽───────────────❥

Finchpaw strained his ears to listen to what was happening outside the nursery, but he could only pick up every other word.... Moosestar lost all his nine lives? But surely that wasn't actually possible. That only happened in kit stories to scare them, surely the rogues were bluffing.

But Finchpaw refused to move. Refused to leave the nursery vulnerable for even a heartbeat. Rogues could not be trusted after all.

Don’t stare a snake in the eyes if you aren’t prepared to face the fangs.

· · ─ ·𓆘· ─ · ·

Of the last to arrive, if not the last to show himself to the ThunderClan cats. The brown, bloodied corpse of what was once a leader, a flame that had been so quickly snuffed out. Nine lives forced to none, it brought of purr of from his throat. He dragged the mangled body of who he had come to identify as Moosestar to Prudence and Kosmo's side. 

It was his idea to bring the former king's body to greet the cats of his kingdom. A power move if anything but outwardly, t'was proof of their claims. He dropped the limp and wounded cat at the paws of the silver tortie she-cat guarding the camp that should soon be their own. But he could see the cats within and he was sure they could see him and more importantly the 'great' leader. 

"SkyClan is not a clan of bluff." The seal sepia bengal tom growled, twitching his sole ear. The message is sent and soon they would make truth to it. His aqua eyes glanced up at the raven and gave her a gentle nod before glancing at the orange eyed lilac she-cat. "As he says." he reiterated calmly. He was prepared to make do with his claws if the demands of SkyClan weren't met, he unsheathed them to make truth to this.

If a flower can flourish in the desert, you can flourish anywhere.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ ❀ ɞ˚‧｡⋆

The sickening thud of Moosestar's body hitting the ground made Coyotebloom puff up like a startled pigeon, her lilac fur bristled and standing on end. She knew that Moosestar had no particular liking to her based simply on her background alone, but in no way did he deserve this. Nine lives.. gone, it was almost unbelievable.

She almost didn't hear Kosmo's command as she lowered her ears, her brows furrowing. Now cat deserved something so gruesome, and her clanmates did not either. It was their fate if she didn't listen. Coyotebloom thanked Mistyleaf for offering her protection with a soft nuzzle to the nape of her neck before turning tail and racing down into the camp.

"Kestrelswipe!" She near wailed for the deputy, still puffed up like and unkempt thistle. "Moosestar is dead!" She knew that would bring him out fastest at least to start with. "Cats come with him, calling themself SkyClan." She murmured, gesturing the chocolate tom into the direction of Kosmo and his enterage.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo regarded Kestrelswipe for a long moment, his dumbfounded question amusing. "Indeed." He confirmed after his eyes flickered briefly towards the discarded body. There was no triumph in his expression now. No need for it. The proof of SkyClan's strength lay at their paws and filled their ears with feathered cries.

"You have a conundrum, Kestrelswipe...I do not envy you." He who would command the rest of ThunderClan by right now faced a greater challenge. An ear flicked towards the raven above. He sidestepped the corpse; conducting business should appear more cordial. "You're confused...I understand. You are wondering why this is happening...It is because of the cursed blood that courses through your veins." Kosmo wasn't one hundred percent that Kestrelswipe was related to the foul red tom, but without a doubt his bloodline was dominant here.

Kosmo's expression became almost solemn as his voice lowered towards the deputy so that the closest cats of his sentries couldn't quite hear. "I know your secret, Kestrelswipe...Coldstar does too." The kits he had sired beyond borders. Kestrelswipe had carried that secret while pretending a deputy's front to the rest of his Clan.

His voice lifted and their was conviction behind his words, with the precision of an adder. "Moons upon moons of the same blood. The same ruin dressed in different names....And you, Kestrelswipe, stand at the end of that inheritance." He inhaled a breath, a rare moment of relish as the ruddy toms mismatched eyes blinked calmly at him.

"So I offer you a choice..." His tail gave one slow flick. "Leave. Take your elderly...the youngest. Take the cats who want no part in this fight. Take anyone who will follow you. You may leave the forest without a single claw being raised against you." A faint nearly mournful smile touched his muzzle - and true to his word Kosmo's claws hadn't slid out. "But you must leave the forest."

With a sudden hardened expression and a half pendulum swing of his stunted tail, he continued his ultimatum. "But if you choose to remain...then you will learn whether ThunderClan's curse ends with Moosestar... or with all of you. Choose carefully...I am giving you the mercy your ancestors never gave themselves." So now Kestrelswipe had a choice to make - would he surrender Camp to the disapproval of his clanmates, or suffer the truth...to the disapproval of his clanmates?

I can't hear you, I don't fear you

₊˚ ⏾. ⋅

Jasper had entered camp not far ahead of Basilisk, unsure of what to do with himself. He sat and gazed around ThunderClan's camp, at the shuffling birds and the horrified ThunderClanners. Feelings of satisfaction, of sadness, of excitement, all half-ignored, lapped at the edges of his mind. Basilisk's low purr reached his ears, and he pushed them back. He caught Spidertongue snarling at them and could only stare back at him, a little bewildered, mildly disgusted by his open and ugly displays of emotion, and inexplicably, subtly hurt. This was just… war. Destiny, if one was of Kosmo's school of thought. It wasn't personal. Really. He almost wanted to say the words. 

Then Kosmo and Kestrelswipe's negotiations began and absorbed all his attention.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo's expression did not change for several moments as Kestrelswipe and him spoke. As expect, the deputy was defiant that was a necessary front for his Clan. A leader who surrendered without questioning the terms would hardly be worth addressing. The raven's eye did not pause even as the flutter of chaotic wingbeats occassionally tapped her shoulders as crows rushed passed.

She had eyes only for Tigerrush.

"StarClan has allowed some rather terrible things to happen, Kestrelswipe." Kosmo's voice was as smooth as claws through fresh prey. "But perhaps you should ask your medicine cat about that. Who among you would know StarClan better than the cat who shares tongues with them?" His head tilted slightly, as if Kosmo was already watching the small striped tabby without even looking at her.

"If StarClan warned her that this was coming... why did they do nothing to prevent it? And if they did not warn her...Why do you believe they care?" There was more than that...The Green Death...The Mad Rogue...All tribulation stacked against the Clans. "They watched Moosestar die...Nine times. And did nothing. They watched him divide your Clan and send your warriors off to die."

He perked up a bit at that, almost joviel beneath the air of stately confidence he held himself in. "StarClan has allowed all this to happen, so I'm offering you a way out. Where you can keep your pride and loyalty as a warrior intact." He had a Clan of his own 'warriors' and enough bodies in the air to blind every cat in Camp.

Kosmo teetered his head, a sharp click of his tongue puncuated by a series of guttoral calls. Once the directive had been heard, the crows pulled back, leaving the spilled fresh prey on top of dens where they had taken them, and leered down at the gathered cats, momenarily silent as they awaited the deputy's decision...

Bloodlines of strength ignite fierce souls
──●◎●──

Wildcry had watched the exchange from near the nursery, her single amber eye fixed upon the rogues beyond the gorse tunnel. Moosestar's body lay in the open and crows still invaded camp... and yet her son was talking to them.

Her jaw tightened until the old ache in her cracked tooth barely registered. Wildcry finally snapped with Kosmo invoked StarClan again and her voice cracked over the clearing like a whip. "Enough." Wildcry trotted forward, pushing past the cats nearest her without a second thought, fur standing along her spine. Her stare was furious and even Kestrelswipe wasn't spared from it.

"You waste your breath on rogues." She growled at him. Moosestar wasn't her favorite cat but she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to lose all nine lives in one fight."They murdered our leader and set birds loose among our nests to steal our prey and threaten our young ones. And now they tell us to abandon our home?!"

Her claws sank into the earth, ready for a fight as she squared off in front of the invaders. "We do not negotiate with rogues!" She spat. Wildcry was a cat who took pride in her ancestors and took another step forward." If you're so inclined to talk about blood...I'll be sure to spill yours." She knew exactly what her blood meant, but right now she needed to make sure that her son would be able to act and be able to look his own Clan in the eye.

Don’t stare a snake in the eyes if you aren’t prepared to face the fangs.

· · ─ ·𓆘· ─ · ·

Kestrelswipe seemed to be the most diplomatic out of the ThunderClan cats that have ever approached him. Wildcry was itching to kill him and Shadefrost had approached him to battle first. It made him think that very little of the cats in ThunderClan preferred diplomacy. He wasn’t sure if Kestrelswipe was a rarity or a common recourse. Either way, they’d be leaving. This camp belonged to SkyClan now.

It was when the lilac caramel elder came along, teeth bared that recognition perked his ear. He didn’t even have to speak of the devil for the devil to show her ugly face. "Diplomacy is preferable. To you. It’s the best option. Lilac devil." Basilisk pressed his paw onto Moosestar’s body. "You’ll find the cats that thought fighting SkyClan was a good idea. If you take the path to the Sandy Hollow."

His ear gave a twitch as another roundly lilac cat came rampaging forward. Toward them, claws unsheathed. Teeth bared and snarling at the group of cats. "So be it." He shrugged, bunching his muscles to brace for an attack.

I’m surrounded by idiots...

⋅⋅✦⋅⋅ 𓆩✧𓆪 ⋅⋅✦⋅⋅

When Wildcry made her stance known, Gingerthrash followed not so far behind. He pushed past Coyotebloom, who had blocked Wildcry’s path. Before she could block his own, he gave the pale warrior a hateful glare. "You’re no better than them. A rogue claiming to be a clan cat. Sounds familiar to me." He whispered to her before turning to Wildcry. "You’re right, Wildcry."

He purred before snarling at a rosetted tom with his paw pressed on the still fresh body of Moosestar and he couldn’t just stand around and let these cats make claims to take over their home. "As Wildcry says, if you seem so intent on talk of blood, I’d be happy to spill yours" he growled. Then pounced.

His claws met with Basilisk’s flank and his teeth sank into the rosetted ‘warrior’s’ shoulder. No cat was going to take ThunderClan’s camp on his watch. Even if he didn’t win the fight, he was getting old, this would be better than withering away curled up in a moss nest. Much better.

I can't hear you, I don't fear you

₊˚ ⏾. ⋅

Jasper, who had been watching the interaction between Gingerthrash, Basilisk, and Wildcry wearily, was almost- no, more than almost relieved when Gingerthrash finally made his move.

Jasper was nearest Basilisk, and more than a little eager for something to do, so he leapt to his feet and dived at Gingerthrash, ready as anything. A screech tore out of him, louder than any noise he would usually make. He ripped through the air and aimed for the lilac shape on Basilisk, intending to knock the ThunderClanner off. 

No other protection is wanting,
provided you are under the guidance of prudence.

‹‹‹‹ ››››

Prudence couldn't help but purr as Kosmo made his threats. She watched, golden eyes gleaming, as the brown tabby deputy came forward to treat. Kestrelswipe's proud defiance in the face of an impossible situation revealed why he'd been selected. Too bad for him that he'd made a terrible bargain while having hidden enemies to face.

"A territory is not given. It is held." Prudence kept her voice quiet, but she could not keep her own pleased purring out of it. The brilliant red feathers of the robin on her withers chirred in a laughing call. "You've heard the terms. Now choose."

There are heroes and then there are legends,
heroes get remembered but legends never die.

✻ ✻ ✻ ✻ ✻ ✻

Savagefox's head hung down as their mother challenged the odd-eyed rogue. SkyClan indeed.

They drooled, gagging quietly in the background after having gotten a mouthful of fur in the fight. Terrible-tasting fur. They'd slowly been feeling more and more foul. Swallowing had been quicker than trying to get the fur out of his mouth.

It had been a mistake. They were poisoned. They retched properly, failing to bring anything up.

Gingerthrash sided with Wildcry. Savagefox wanted to, but retched again instead of joining them.