[ti]Open[/ti]A Test Run to Escape the Rat Race

[Fireflake]

[Please don't reply, this thread didn't take off so it's been closed.]

Scorpio stood on the flat rock that the council made announcements from, no brambles or pebbles set around him this time. It wasn’t time for rituals, thank goodness. Kits would only have been a burden in the turmoil of the past few moons. The ginger tom took a deep breath, held his head high, and called out, “Cats of the Alliance!”

He'd done his best to find a time when all of the Alliance's members would be present, but the only time that seemed to be was when they came home to sleep. So, naturally, he'd chosen the earliest time in the morning to yowl loudly for them all.

Once the space in front of him was filling with ruffled pelts and murmurs, he nodded in satisfaction and began his announcement. "Thank you all for coming, and please, forgive my distractedness in recent times. Or don't, I don't care, but there is a good reason behind it. I've been investigating those rats, and I think I know where they came from before they reached the Twolegplace. I was going to plan a more organized patrol, but it's time to do something about them now."
Scorpio was visibly annoyed at the thought of the rodents. He'd found a few gnawing away a hole at the outside of the house yesterday, and had to stuff it with pebbles and moss to keep any others from finishing their work. That wasn't all that was on his mind, either.

"It appears, like most of our misfortunes, they originated in clan territory. The same territory as our recent escapee, I believe. I hope that finding where they're from will help us understand them and how to get rid of them. Anyone that wishes to join me on a patrol for information, past MothClan and MistClan into RootClan's land, meet me outside. Don't take too long."
The tom moved to step down from the stone, then swept around in a smooth motion and regained his former position. "And it should go without saying, but they're not just normal rats. They are diseased and something crawls in their fur. Do not bring them home as food for the Alliance. I don't care if you found them dead or killed them yourself, I don't want them in here."

His frustrated green stare raked the crowd for Vulture, but it seemed that the other tom hadn't bothered to come. Finally, he leapt down from the flat stone with a dismissive tail-flick and headed for the exit.

[edit:]

Scorpio flattened his ears, peering over his shoulder into the den. His instructions not to take too long had apparently not been taken very seriously. Either that, or nobody wanted to come at all, but the rogue didn't allow that thought much space in his mind. They were all there for a reason. Maybe they just didn't think that this mission lined up with that. Whatever the cause, nobody had come by the time Scorpio was itching to get moving, so he took off toward RootClan territory alone. If anybody changed their minds, they could follow his scent trail.

He was gone all day, and by the time he came back, his mood had worsened considerably. He'd found nothing noteworthy whatsoever. The rats had come from RootClan's tunnels, just as he had predicted, but they no longer seemed to pose any threat to the clan. They also seemed to have left on their own, so there was no clues as to how he could chase them out of the Twolegplace. Scorpio lashed his tail as he headed toward the Rotting Den, but soon switched course and began to walk around the block. At least he now knew that he could cross clan territory alone without being detected. That would be useful later.