Closed Thread Heretical Harvest

Wrentalon walked along the Thunderclan border in relative silence. The warmth from the sunshine was welcome on his pelt, but he wasn't out for a leisurely stroll. He had caught the scent of a rogue a few days before, and though it had been faint, he would rather stay safe than sorry when it came to potential invaders. The only other warrior he'd gotten to come with him, however, was Sunstrike, and even though she was plenty capable herself, he still wished they had more claws at the ready. Preferably, more experienced, less uncertain claws.

He stopped to sniff at the roots of a tree, and refreshed the clan scent marks. "This is where Tigerrush says she comes to gather herbs on occasion," he muttered to Sunstrike, scanning the forest around him. "They cloud the scent, but I swear there was something off that last time I was here. Do you smell anything?" It was almost a test. He needed someone else to confirm he was correct. Two noses were better than one.

Sunstrike hesitated, and tested the air. The scent in this area.. she blinked. Wrentalon seemed so on edge, she wasn't sure if the tom was overreacting or actually had cause for concern.

"I don't smell any cats... but." She paused to sneeze. "I've patrolled along here before and I've never smelled herbs like this before. Or this strong anyways."

She padded ahead of him and hopped up on a half-fallen tree, trying to get a better vantage point.

"Maybe someone is messing with the plants?" She deferred to her senior as she scanned the area, her orange fur bright in the sunlight making her live up to her name. "Has Tigerrush made mention of anything out of place?"

Wrentalon huffed, examining the bushes of pale flowers around them. "She hasn't mentioned anything specific, but we're so close to the edge of our territory...I can't help but--aha!" Suddenly, he bounded over to a bush beside the fallen tree, leaning in to examine a few broken stems among the leaves. They weren't pulled out, or blown over. They'd been nipped away, deliberately. He opened his mouth, letting the delicious scent flood him. Catmint was a treat when one wasn't in pain, but there was something else. Not clan-scent, but definitely cat. A rogue, he thought with a low growl. How many of them are there? "Someone's been harvesting them. And recently. Look around!" He began searching his way in between the plants, attempting to follow the cat-scent among the overpowering flowers.

Sunstrike watched the tom go - he was very intent on securing the territory. She could respect that. "Is it a clan cat?" Her tail lashed at the thought.

Scanning the long grass from above proved more difficult that she thought and after a moment she joined Wrentalon on the ground. Her feet sunk into the loamy earth and for the first time she caught the scent of the tresspasser.

Guess that answers my question. Sunstrike thought and set off tracking. She hadn't dealt with a loner since... there was an anger in her chest she didn't know she carried as she stalked through the grass, not knowing how close she really was to her mark...

Wrentalon's fur spiked at the new voice. He turned, hackles raised, to see the tall tom completely drowned in catmint-scent. He let out a long, low growl, hearing the stranger's haughty, audacious remarks. The air of superiority with which he addressed the Thunderclan warrior in Thunderclan land was infuriating enough, but this cat seemed proud to have been caught while stealing. The arrogance!

Not bothering to respond, Wrentalon lunged at the stranger.

Sunstrike felt her fur actually stand on end, and she glowered at the loner. A snarl started in her chest, turning into a yowl as it left her tounge.

However, she still blinked in suprise as Wrentalon launched himself past her. The tom seemed non-hostile even with his threatening words and while she certainly wasn't in the mood to negotiate land use, at least she would have given him the option to walk away.

Seems the choice was made for her and she unsheathed her claws, taking a more aggressive stance and watching for an hole in his defenses. "You know this is Thunderclan territory. You should know well enough we defend our land with our lives." She spat, circling the loner.

"Mouse-dung!" Wrentalon spat. "You don't smell like a clan cat. Who are you, really? And why are you intruding on our territory?" Without taking his eyes off the odd loner, he crept closer to Sunstrike. The training sessions they had shared as apprentices came back through muscle memory. He stood, bristling, beside his clanmate as he glared at the stranger. He knew they should've taken more cats with them on patrol!

At the reminder of the code, Sunstrike sheathed her claws but didn't drop her circling stance.
"Ah - 'But paws of a Clan to their own land must stay, to keep borders secured and marked every day.' So don't quote the code at me 'medicine cat', if you don't have a clan to call your own."

She trusted Wrentalon to have her back - if nothing else. She paused for a moment to gauge the distance and slowly sauntered forward counting the distance - 5 fox lengths, 3 fox lengths... she paused when she was sure she could close the gap.

"I understand that the clans might be appealing to a loner like yourself. But since you seem so well versed in our ways, you know we can never stand by and let another cat enter our land." Her own pelt bristled as much as Wrentalon's but she kept her words firm and quiet in contrast to his demands.

Wrentalon's gaze flicked to Sunstrike as they advanced on the loner. He knew if he attacked, she would too, and vice versa. There was just no speaking to this cat. There was no doubt in Wrentalon's mind that this tom was stark raving mad. "How dare you call yourself a Medicine Cat when you have no clan?" He hissed, digging his claws into the ground. "How dare you even invoke the name of Starclan? And how dare you steal herbs from our territory? Leave now, or face the consequences. If we ever catch your scent around here again, we will rip your fur off, and you'll see just how much you should beware Thunderclan!"

Sunstrike continued to close the distance, her ear flicking in irritation. She had had quite enough of this strange cat. "Don't wax omens at me. Leave."

Was this stupid? Probably. But no matter the consequences of her actions, she was bound to defend her clan. Whoever this was had greeted them with veiled threats, stolen herbs that they relied on and questioned her connection to her ancestors - and her brother. He acted like he knew something she didn't. Maybe he did.

But no one - not even Starclan - could judge her for following the code. And she intended to follow it to the letter.

Her claws remained sheathed as she made contact with the tom, but her teeth sunk into his shoulder and she used the full weight of her body to try and throw the tom off balance and let Wrentalon have a more advantageous position of attack. The loner was confident - that much was clear. How much of that was overconfidence was yet to be seen.

Wrentalon leaped the moment Suntrike did. He aimed for anything on the tom's pelt, anywhere he could leave a bloody mark, something for the stranger to remember them by. The blood was rushing in his ears as his anger peaked, and just as his claws were about to dig into the tom's flank, the bodies twisted.

The stranger had thrust Sunstrike into his path instead. He landed beside her with a hard thud, shifting his weight so he didn't knock her over. The cream tom dashed away, and Wrentalon wasted no time. He chased after him a few strides, clumps of grass shredding beneath his claws. When he stopped, he stood, tail lashing, at the edge of their territory. The cream tom was streaking away. Good riddance! Watching until he could no longer see the cat's body, he turned with a huff back to Sunstrike.

A few small flowers caught his eye. At least the stranger hadn't gotten away with everything. He scooped up the herbs in his mouth as he rejoined his partner. "Are you alright?" he asked around the flowers, a growl still in his throat. "If that tom hadn't been missing a tail, I'd have gotten him good! What kind of crow-food picks a fight like that?"

It had been a while since Sunstrike had felt physical pain. Usually it was just hunger, or emotional irritation. But the teeth of the tom digging into her neck was sharp, and brought her back to her apprentice days.

This is what being a warrior was all about.

Unfortunately she was thrown from her perch before she had the chance to reveal any weaknesses. The tom was strong and her opting to avoid Starclan's wrath left her at a disadvantage. As she landed, Wrentalon took off after the now fleeing loner and for a split second she was stuck in place, dreading - but he stopped at the edge of the territory, hissing and spitting. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Her face didn't change much at his comment - despite her amusement. "That was sloppy of me. He got the back of my neck..." She spun in place trying to look over her shoulder at the wound. She could smell blood, but moving her neck and legs didn't cause any additional pain or numbness. "I think it's fine."

After a moment of silence, Sunstrike spoke. "Did you hit him?" The concern in her voice was evident although the reason for the worry wasn't.

Wrentalon felt a small brush of relief as his clanmate said she was okay. Indeed, he couldn't see any deep wounds at a glance. "He ran off. I might have gotten in a small scratch, but..." He shook his head, rather preferring not to talk about how he'd missed his chance. "That rogue is gone," he said, still through a mouthful of herbs. "We should report this to Moosestar immediately. Do you need to see Tigerrush?"

Sunstrike headbutted his shoulder, knowing Wrentalon well enough to see that he was disappointed. "I wouldn't worry about not getting the chance to leave that loner with a few scars. I'm worried he knows more than he lets on - perhaps a ex-clan member or medicine cat?" She nudged a few of the remaining catmint buds into a pile with her paws, making them easier to carry. "And besides - its 'claws must never a Medicine Cat hit'. Maybe Starclan will give you better luck biting the rest of his tail off."

She started off at a light pace, her long legs making movement through the grass easy. "Moosestar should know about this as soon as possible. I'll stop by Tigerrush once we report."