warning - this is not a test [o]

[foggy]

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Her orders had been given less than five minutes ago, Hailstrike had decided to forego her evening meal and just try to break the record for reaching the Mistclan border from the Mothclan camp as quick as possible. She arrived, almost tripping over her large paws in her urgency, not sure how the Mistclanners would've responded to seeing a Mothclanner fall face-first over the border. She was out of breath, using the brief reprieve to try and regulate her rapidly beating heart, she could hear it beating, like when you felt a mouse you'd caught seconds before you gave it the killing bite.

The blue tabby didn't know whether anyone has decided to join her, though oddly she hoped someone had, Mistclan weren't the most threatening but the reason for her being here was something of a sensitive topic for her and having a clanmate with her, seemed comforting right now. Though, until another Mothclanner did appear beside her, the warrior sat tensely at the Mistclan border, looking slightly hyper-alert, with ears pricked and eyes constantly scanning for a patrol or anybody, even her claws were unsheathed, digging into the dirt as an instinctive reaction to her current state of mind.

Hailstrike had been doing just fine recently, but the mention of the rouges and, indirectly, a chance to finally destroy them and make them pay for the pain they put her family through sent her right back to when she first heard who was to blame for her mother's death. The sheer amount of rage and instability had been almost undefinable in their intensity. Luckily, she was dealing with it a little better than she had then, knowing from mistakes already made that she should trust her father and her clan to help her avenge Featherclaw. So if Mothstar said they'd have a better chance of ridding themselves from this scourge with the help of the other clans, she would follow through. Now was probably the best time to ask for help, seeing as the clans already had this unified viewpoint when it came to the new clan, surely they'd be willing to rid themselves of the extra danger.

Waiting was annoying, though, having to wait for Mistclan to patrol their borders and find her. At the very least, it did give her a chance to word her request, which was helpful. Hailstrike wasn't the most charismatic warrior, but she was honest and straight-forward. She'd ask for permission for her, and any companions who had joined her, to be escorted to their camp, a plea for aid and a declaration of war was probably something that needed to be heard by their deputy and leader first, before the clan, but Hailstrike would give the warriors who received her a little information, knowing they wouldn't be letting her anywhere near the camp without a good reason, if at all. Maybe she could even get them to side with her on the matter, pressure from the clan would give Bearstar little choice but to agree.

Maybe she was thinking too intensely into it. The young warrior shook off her thoughts for now, realsing they were no use until someone actually showed up so she could get a read on them, and just waited, still a little on edge, at the border for someone to encounter her.

[ladyspectral]

For the two faced she cat, this was an easy day. She had grown used to waking up early, tending to the elders and queens, going out to hunt only to crack ticks and groom hard to reach places until her body ached. Then she would eat and crawl into her nest. Repeat the next morning. Her joints ached, but not quite as severely as they had theday before. Maybe she needed a more laid back day, take a moment to slow down. Surely the clan would understand.

She finally caught up with Hailstrike, pausing a few paces away from the scarred she cat before going to her side. She had met the she cat when she was much younger, and she had become the closest thing to a friend the mutated she cat had. “So, how long you think until Mistclan shows up?” She meowed in her odd two toned voice. The apprentice had never interacted with another clan, an anxious energy stirring her pelt. I wonder if they'll be mean to me, She wondered. I suppose I do look rather unnerving at first, even some Mothclan cats are afraid of me.

"I heard they all smell like crowfood."

[Fireflake]

Pebbleshade of MistClan

---

Pebbleshade approached the MothClan cats unknowingly, leading his apprentice along the border straight toward them. He had brushed against almost every bush and tree they came to along the way, rubbing his scent on it, which by this point meant his pelt was covered in fragments. Perhaps it was the scent of these leaves and such that stopped him from noticing the cats at the border. Perhaps it was the angle they came from. Perhaps he was just busy with Flamepaw.

"Remember to leave your scent even when you're not on a border patrol. The stronger the markers, the less likely MothClan cats and rogues are to think they can get away with trespassing," he was telling the younger tom. "MothClan cats probably won't right now, since they have no need for anything over their border. Can you scent their markers on the other side?"
Pebbleshade cracked open his mouth and took a deep breath to taste the air. Confusion flickered across his face.

"When do you think they were last there?" he asked. It was always good to test one's apprentice on scents... And to see if Flamepaw noticed the same fresh ones he did. The grey warrior ran his gaze along the border and his eyes widened. Am I blind? They're right there! Pebbleshade flicked his tail for Flamepaw to follow and strode up to them. They probably weren't going to attack if they hadn't already, right?

As he drew closer, Pebbleshade's steps slowed. His eyes locked onto the smaller of the cats there. He blinked a few times. Was he blind, or..? The tom's ears flattened in fright and he held out his furry tail to block Flamepaw. That cat was- it- what was that cat? After a few moments of solid staring at the disturbing creature in front of him, Pebbleshade remembered his apprentice's presence and straightened, tearing his gaze away to the MothClan warrior. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

---

foggy ladyspectral Miss Tactical

[Miss Tactical]

Flamepaw took in everything that his mentor explained to him about the boarders. He took in the scents around him noticing all the prey that was out and about. Flamepaw had picked up hunting rather fast and he was glad that Pebbleshade was also good at hunting like he was. He even got to show his dad an awesome hunting crouch. Soon his other siblings would be apprentices, next moon and the apprentices den, which was already over crowded would be full to the max. He enjoyed Sharing techniques and the other apprentices seemed to enjoy his company these days which was better than them hating him he supposed.

Soon they stopped and the flame colored tom got a mouthful of tail fur. He shook his head back and forth before peering around the corner to see two MothClan warriors. He noted one seemed to have a lot of muscles who he deemed to be a warrior, young at that, the other...his jaw dropped slowly, and his ears flattened against his head. What was that thing? Was this what MothClan was hiding in their camp walls? How did the MothClan apprentices sleep at night? He took a nervous breath before stepping To Pebbleshades side, puffing out his chest and fur to make him look bigger than he actually was.
This cat before him honestly looked like crow food and he wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Why are you so close to the border?" Was all the tom managed to stutter out. He had other comments running through his head, but decided that they were left unsaid. His mentor would be able to handle this surely since he was his senior. Right?

[foggy]

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Out of all those in Mothclan who she had particularly wanted to join her, it would've been Kit. Hailstrike had decided that the name Wormpaw was unfitting for her friend and would only call her by that when in the presence of the higher-ups. She was glad that the cinnamon tabby had been accepted into Mothclan, at least officially, but the blue tabby was still aggravated by how 'Wormpaw' was isolated by a lot of them. They were pretty much best friends in Hailstrike's eyes, Kit was the closest cat to her other than Stormwatcher, and now it felt like her sister was drifting away from her, creating a family that didn't include her as it once did. Yet, in a way, her family was increasing and with it her need to protect them also increased. "Mistclan aren't the best at patrolling their borders, I'd say we're in for a wait," The inquiry softened her thoughts a little, Kit tended to have that effect on her. "They do small, but not as bad as Ivyclan, I suppose," Hailstrike wasn't the biggest fan of Mistclan but she'd happily choose them over Ivyclan if she had to pick between them, and right now, the priority was for the rouges to be destroyed and nothing was getting in the way of that.

Her amber gaze flitted across the scenery again, this time falling upon the smaller ginger tom first, his bright pelt stood out against the mainly green background, though her eyes quickly noticed a larger moving figure next to him. Pebbleshade was much harder to distinguish with his grey and green speckled fur, so her focus tracked his movement rather than his colouring. They hadn't noticed them yet, and Hail decided to let the mentor and apprentice, she assumed, find them themselves. It wouldn't do them any favours having two Mothclanners walk over the border towards them, it could be taken as a threat, even with the slightly more relaxed nature towards each other recently. The warrior cast a exasperated glance towards her friend, rolling her eyes as if to say 'Mistclan, it's no wonder they don't get involved with fights, they're useless.'

However, it still took shorter than she expected for herself and kit to be noticed, suddenly finding herself confronted by the afore-mentioned larger tom cat. She allowed them to grow closer without making any sudden movements, expecting the usual 'name and business' reaction, but was left confused by the other warrior's body language… until she remembered about Kit.

Upon noticing his prolonged staring, Hailstrike immediately mimicked his threatening gesture, or what she perceived as one, her long fur rising along her back and her ears flattening against her head. A low warning growl sounded from the large she-cat's throat. "I suggest you show a little more respect to my friend, crow-brain, you're not exactly the best looking specimen yourself." Hailstrike was well aware that she was meant to be asking for help of this clan, but she couldn't ignore the... rude reactions Kit had just received. She knew that the younger apprentice had also done his fair share of gawping but, Hailstrike was slightly more accepting of a younger cat's reaction compared to a fully grown warrior, most likely older than she was.

After she'd deemed her warning to be enough, the Mothclanner relaxed her stance a little, though her eyes burned with the promise of violence should they say anything she deemed even slightly unfavourable towards the smaller cinnamon tabby beside her. "My name's Hailstrike, I'm here to ask for Mistclan's help," Her voice was strong, a little on the raspy side, much calmer than her earlier tones but perhaps a little stronger than her sister would've liked her to be. Stormwatcher was good at persuasion, she tried to channel her sister as best she could. "As you know, the rouges have become a much bigger problem than we all anticipated. they have been the cause of a multitude of problems throughout the clans... apart from yours." She realised, a little irked that she hadn't thought of that. Technically, Mistclan wouldn't have a reason to get involved, but she hoped that these braniacs would be able to understand that they had only been lucky so far.

The white splashed tabby took a breath before continuing, wondering how Alderfall was doing over in Ivyclan, probably better than her, considering that Ivyclan had been directly impacted by the rouges. Great. "It's evident that they won't stop, they want to dismantle all the clans regardless of who they kill and maim in the process. They'll come for Mistclan eventually, and with this other clan on the horizon, we're already at risk. We can't face two threats at once, we need to do something." Perhaps Hailstrike was much better at motivational speaking than she had originally thought. Or at least it sounded like it to her, she was so focused on choosing her next words than gauging the two tom's reactions. "Mothclan have declared war on the rouges, with or without you, we will destroy this threat for all the clans, but Mistclan's help would not go unappreciated if you feel like helping to protect your home." Even she was feeling inspired now, but that wasn't hard when she imagined finally wiping out the plague than threatened them. Maybe they could sense that this was more personal than she was letting on.

Hailstrike looked back towards her friend, allowing her to have the chance to have her own say should the split-faced apprentice want to. She knew that Kit had never been directly impacted by the rouges but she had seen as her clan had suffered each loss, starting with Hailstrike's mother, though Hail also wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't feel the slightest bit passionate to avenge the clan who was only just starting to accept her. It may have been important to her, but Hail was very much in favour of Kit being safe, despite it being such a close issue to her own heart.

[ladyspectral]

Wormpaw hesitated, looking to Hailstrike in surprise. She hadn't expected such fire in the two Mistclan cats's voices, they hadn't even crossed the border. What she did expect was the shock at seeing her. After all, most Mothclan cats were at least unsettled by her appearance when they spotted her. It made sense for the other clans to react the same way. A small pair of frowns spread across her muzzles as she noticed the gray tom block the other apprentice with his tail. Like she was some sort of dangerous monster.

Her own posture remained friendly however, nodding along as her friend spoke. Or really, Hailstrike snarled at the two. She hesitated for a second as Hailstrike introduced herself before speaking,"My name's Wormpaw." She hated introducing herself, and it was audible in her tone, "They're only going to grow... They took one of our cats, even. And I heard they took kits from Ivyclan. They'll start taking Mistclan cats soon, I'm sure." She meowed, odd two toned voice still remaining friendly. She didn't want to end up fighting, she barely even knew how to fight.

[Fireflake]

Pebbleshade of MistClan

---

Pebbleshade's long fur continued to prickle at the sound of Hailstrike's growl and he nearly snapped back, but knew that would do no good. What exactly did MothClan think they would accomplish by sending this abrasive cat and her deformed friend to the MistClan border? Assuming they had been sent there, and hadn't decided to frighten MistClan for no reason.

The tom flicked his ear as she stated their purpose. So that's how MothClan cats ask for help. His ears pricked again at the mention of the rogues. This was a rare subject on which most clan cats seemed to see eye-to-eye. Begrudgingly, still throwing the two cats suspicious glances, he took a few steps back from the border and sat down.

Pebbleshade took an alarmed breath as Wormpaw began to speak. It has two voices?! He frowned as well, at his own thoughts. It? She. He shuffled to the side a bit. From that angle, out of the corner of his eye, he could pretend that the apprentice looked normal. He didn't want to avoid looking at her, but he didn't want to look at her either.

The warrior couldn't deny that their words were convincing. Even if the rogues hadn't harmed MistClan yet, they seemed like a credible threat. He hardly wanted other clans nearby. Violent groups just weren't tolerable. Pebbleshade glanced down to Flamepaw. He didn't want his apprentice to be taken. Surprise and doubt came together onto his face. Were MothClan enough to get rid of that group? Did MistClan need to get involved?

His eyes flicked to Flamepaw again to gauge the younger tom's reaction. Pebbleshade had only been with MistClan about as long as his apprentice had, and he was in no position to be making decisions for them. "What do you want us to do about it?" he asked, his voice still somewhat defensive while his eyes seemed to search for answers. "And why didn't Mothstar bring it up at the Gathering instead of sending apprentices to the border?"
He suddenly remembered Hailstrike's name from earlier. A warrior name. "Er, young cats, I meant," Pebbleshade quickly corrected.

---

foggy ladyspectral Miss Tactical

[Miss Tactical]

Flamepaw looked up at his mentor who seemed to be drowning in front of this MothCLan warrior. He looked to Hailstrike and Wormpaw. He had heard that MothClan had some rough looking cats never scared of a fight. The fiery colored apprentice wouldn't let anything happen to his mentor. His tail lashed carefully thinking of something to say to save the older tom. His head snapped however when Hailstrike said MistClan hadn't been effected. Perhaps it wasn't his place to say anything...to make his clan look weak, but he wouldn't let Hailstrike go back home thinking MistClan was all high and mighty that looked equally as bad.

"How do YOU Know we haven't had problems with the rogues. WE just keep our business to ourselves. We lost cats too, we had a huge source of our water poisoned and my aunt was one of the victims of that. So Mind your own before you come charging over here asking for help." He mewed in a fiery tone. That felt good! A huge rush of adrenaline ran through his veins as he defended his mentor. Clearly talking to others wasn't his strong suit but he could help with that! Even if he did overstep authority, Pebbleshade clearly needed help and that was okay.

He then turned his attention to Hailstrike and...Wormpaw..she certainly looked like one howevever Flamepaw kept that comment to himself. "There is a gathering in a quarter moon. I think the proper cat to talk to about this would be Sabletail. I'll let him know to expect you deal?" Flamepaw mewed. He puffed out his chest looking up at Pebblshade. Be confident Pebbleshade...others will think of you as weak... He thought to himself.

[foggy]

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Wormpaw definitely had more patience than her, though Hailstrike wasn't feeling too bad about her outburst. If they were going to act like that towards her friend and clanmate, obviously they were going to get a reaction, she'd felt calmer now, satisfied that they had received the message. She didn't hold grudges either, not really, as long as they weren't repeat offenders, and by the looks of it, Wormpaw wasn't going to hold a grudge either. Well, that was her choice but Hail was going to keep an eye on these two for her anyway, just in case. This didn't stop her from noting with a little satisfaction as the older tom flinched a little at her display. She wasn't surprised either. Hailstrike was rather large, not as large as her father but she reckoned she would be catching up to her mother's height around this age. Not to mention that neither of these two looked ready for a full-blown fight, just to sneer at her best friend like they were better.

However, as stated before, if they were willing to let bygones be bygones, so was she. When Pebbleshade sat down, on his side of the border, of course, she took it as his way of also lowering the tensions, and also sat down. Though she did keep a wary on him, if it they did come to blows, he would be her main target. the apprentice looked newish and a full warrior attacking an apprentice was a little unmoral in her mind. Pebbleshade still wasn't completely at ease, however, not that she could blame him and passed off his squirming as his unease at the whole situation, and instead let him work through the thoughts that were so clearly going through his head.

The blue tabby knew there would be questions, it would be strange if there weren't. At least they were talking civilly now, she sneered internally, not realising that the initial near-violent reaction had been partly her fault as well. She could be a bit of a hypocrite at times. "As said, Mothclan has declared war. To be sure we properly cleanse ourselves of this plague, we want as many cats on it as possible to ensure that, even if they come from outside Mothclan." She was sure she had already stated this, or alluded to it, but she had kind of just loaded a ton of information onto two unsuspecting cats at the border so sh-, "Oh, did you mean you two specifically? I assume you go back to your leader or deputy with this...? Whatever Mistclan's protocol on this." She shrugged, glancing back at her own apprentice companion, who wasn't her apprentice technically, but since they were the only two there, she'd taken responsibility for Wormpaw's safety should it come under threat.

The second question was a bit of an indirect compliement, not that Pebbleshade would've meant it like that. Hailstrike had appeared on the border looking ruffled and likely out of breath due to leaving as soon as she had been issued, meaning that she wasn't looking her best. For Pebbleshade to assume that Mothclan were taking their time on this and had just decided that today was the day they'd ask Mistclan was either an indication of her not looking as bad as she thought she was, or that he assumed she looked like this usually. Hail decided to take it as the first one. "Mothstar declared war earlier today at our ceremonies, I've come straight after the meeting concluded, seeing as this is such an important issue." She elected to ignore his blunder, she had been made a warrior early but now she was twelve moons old, the age new warriors usually were so it was an honest mistake. With the tension from early lessening slightly, she wasn't about to bring it back over something so trivial. "This is an important thing for me, I am very passionate about these rouges being defeated so Mothstar knew that I would complete it." That didn't flow as smoothly as the rest of her speech had but it would clue them in to her seriousness on the topic.

It was soon after this that the young apprentice showed that he was as fiery as his pelt. Hailstrike's focus shifted down from the long-haired warrior to the short-furred youth, a little hint of a smile at the very corners of her maw. "My apologies. I should've anticipated that Mistclan would have holes in their façade. Surely this should make you both realise how critical this situation is, they have managed to worm their way into every clan's territory now and do significant damage while they were there." Oddly enough Flamepaw reminded her of herself when she was younger, specifically when she was given her first mentor and she was very vocal about her displeasure about it. It wasn't the same, of course, but it brought the memory to the fore-front of her mind nonetheless. "It also shows us that they aren't afraid of using backhanded tactics like poison or stealing our young." That may be where Ivyclan was at a disadvantage, with their strong belief in the code, they weren't likely to fight fire with fire. Would Mistclan?

Dwelling on the conundrum would have to wait, though, as Flamepaw once again spoke out. "Sabletail? Is Bearstar still ill? No matter, as long as we get an answer as soon as possible." She would be reporting Bearstar persistent illness back to Mothstar, not that it would be the most interesting of information right now, but it was always good to stay informed on the other clans. A quarter moon was a short time but it seemed so long, they could've formulated a whole battle plan by then. However, it looked like she wasn't going to get a better offer. Mistclan always needed time to think things over and she hated it, but asking them not too was like telling the wind not to blow. "If we don't get an answer at that gathering, I will be holding you two personally responsible. I will be at the gathering to make sure." Hailstrike was getting an answer either way, she would make sure of it. She may not know their names but would commit both of them to memory for later.

[Fireflake]

Pebbleshade of MistClan

---

Pebbleshade was somehow relieved and alarmed simultaneously as his apprentice spoke up. The poison, of course. In the heat of the moment, or what Pebbleshade perceived as the heat of the moment, he had completely forgotten about what the rogues had done to his clanmates. Trying not to focus on everything at once often had that effect. Here he was again, caught up in his thoughts.

It didn't take long for the warrior to wonder if Flamepaw should have given the MothClan cats that information. He didn't see any reason to expose their own loss when it was MothClan asking for help. Still, he seemed undecided, and Flamepaw did not. He straightened up and nodded as if he approved wholeheartedly of the younger tom's words.

Pebbleshade pricked an ear at Hailstrike's answer to his questions. Very passionate sounded like something personal. He decided not to think too much on it, especially as she carried on. The rogues certainly could do damage and, as far as he was concerned, the clans should do damage back. He barely suppressed a chill. Those rogues sounded like the definition of evil and dishonorable.

Amusement lingered somewhere beneath all his doubts and attempts to look serious. He would report this, but the threat of being held responsible by Hailstrike wasn't really a motivating factor. It occurred to Pebbleshade that the only response he'd given them to this new information was a nod a while back. "As Flamepaw said, we'll take this to Sabletail and have him decide when to bring it up to Bearstar."
He didn't want to make it sound like Bearstar was incapable of handling this, or like it wasn't an important matter. This was the best he could think of on short notice.

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foggy ladyspectral Miss Tactical
mewmehh LupTacco your characters would know about this