[ti]Open[/ti]Clan Rats VS The Pied Piper

[Fireflake]

[The Alliance are here to kidnap Snowy's Strikekit, a four-moon-old tom, and Gingersnapsdacat's Fatkit, a two-moon-old tom. This thread takes place at the same time as the Gathering, just before "You Can't Catch Me". Rogue NPCs are allowed.]

Scorpio crept towards MothClan's camp with light steps that had already left his injured hind leg aching. The moon shone high in the sky, as round as ever, and so far there had been no clouds, leaving the moonlight to illuminate the exact path he'd taken when investigating the rats. The rogue followed it for a while, then veered off course to head deeper into the territory. Scorpio kept his head down and fixed his eyes on the collection of bushes and rocks ahead, a lot fuller than he'd seen it after the fire, but unmistakably the same place. There was an almost mystical feeling about standing so close while the clan slept. It was the sort of thing he'd dreamed of as a younger cat, and now it felt like he was still dreaming.

As Scorpio slipped into the area with the densest scents, his ears flicked to the sides. He could go straight to the warrior den and kill the cats that had shattered his trust. He could find Patchfrost's nest and finish what he'd promised to do as a grieving young cat. But of course, he couldn't. This time, they had a specific den to visit and a specific mission to carry out. He glanced briefly toward the medicine cat's den too, but with no healer, there was no use stealing their medicine. Scorpio took a shallow breath and a short step toward the nursery, making himself as quiet and unseen as he possibly could. Maybe this was a sweeter revenge anyway.

[GnawingOnIce]

To say Tanglespring was lonely was a bit of an understatement. Mantisclaw had announced at the ceremonies that Tansystar had... disappeared. Just like that. No trace, no goodbye. In a way, he felt almost betrayed. This emptiness inside him was something he had felt before, but not in this life. Someplace else.

He lay with his eyes half-lidded and his ears drooping, mostly alone. He had chosen to stay at the camp, saying that someone had to hold down the place as an excuse. His amber eyes were nearly closed when he heard something; a rustle in the dead leafbare undergrowth.

His head shot up, ears swiveling back and forth. He crept toward the den’s entrance, peeking out. The reek of rouge hit his nose.

Tanglespring saw a cat, with spiked fur illuminated by the moonlight. He backed up into the den, frightened by the sight. There was a rouge! In the camp! What was he supposed to do? Tanglespring had never fought another cat legitimately before, at least, not here.

After some moments of racking his brain for some sort of solution all the while his heart raced, he decided he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. That wasn’t him. He sent a prayer to StarClan first, if you can hear me, guide my claws and words to help me ward this rouge away.

Tanglespring rose from the den’s shadows into the light in the clearing. He unsheathed his claws and let a low growl rumble in his chest.

The young tom felt a presence beside him as he growled, “You! Leave here, now,” then, a deeper, ragged voice took over his choice of words, ”and maybe I’ll spare you the wrath of my claws.”

His tail lashed back and forth, hoping that his words at least stopped the other tom in his tracks.

Tags;; Fireflake
Notes;; n/a

[Fireflake]

Scorpio was only a few tail-lengths from the nursery. A tingle in his fur told him that the weather might pick up a bit later, but for now the air was still and didn't carry his scent far. Or maybe he had misinterpreted that tingle, and it was in fact meant to warn him that he was being watched. Scorpio flattened his ears as a shape rose out of the darkness. The moon and the lack of cover from overhead gave him enough light to see a fully grown warrior, but not enough for the quick once-over he'd usually give strangers.

Though the implications of what he was seeing sparked in Scorpio's mind immediately, they didn't seem to hit him fully until he heard the sound of Tanglespring's voice. A litany of choice words ran through his head. He turned to face the clan cat silently. There was something different about this cat, he thought, something unnerving, but it was nothing more than an instinct. The instinct that a trained warrior may mean danger for a rogue caught in his camp didn't take a genius to recognize.

Scorpio fixed his stare onto this new enemy. The tabby wasn't scared of a fight. What he was was scared of was the noise that a fight could make, waking everyone else left in camp, however many that may be. He might not be able to escape that, let alone with any of the kits. Scorpio tensed his muscles, but his claws remained in their sheathes. "I'm not alone," he growled back in a low tone. "If you make this a battle, your clanmates will die."
He broke away his pale green gaze for a heartbeat and flicked it toward the nursery.

A chill struck inside of him. Scorpio himself didn't know if he ever could carry out that wordless threat. He looked back to the MothClan cat before he had any time to contemplate it. "Do you want to cause that?"

As far as Scorpio was concerned, this cat had been trained and brainwashed into serving his clan, but was a selfish being deep down. He didn't know if violence toward everyone else would be enough, so went on, "And how old are you? Not much older than the first warrior I killed, by my guess. Are you prepared to face the stars so young?"

GnawingOnIce

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglespring hesitated- just for a moment- as the rouge stated that he wasn’t alone, and told him that if he fought him, his Clanmates would die. He though of Tansystar, Bloompath, Rosefury, Softpaw... but they were all gone now.

He saw the cat’s gaze flicker to the nursery. Rage very quickly welled up inside him. This cat had to be another kind of sick if he thought he was ever going to lay his paws on those kits. Sure, all of his family may have left him, but those kits still had a life to live.

"Do you want to cause that?" the rouge asked.

Tanglespring didn’t answer. Deep down, he wasn’t sure if he still had anything to live for. Flames burned in his eyes as the tom continued on.

”And how old are you? Not much older than the first warrior I killed, by my guess. Are you prepared to face the stars so young?"

”I...” he hesitated, then, ”I was once old and frail, but now I am young again. I faced the Stars once, and I will gladly do it again if it means the kits will live.” it was no longer just Tanglespring speaking.

Truthfully, Tanglespring was absolutely terrified. He didn’t want to die at all! He had never faced the Stars. He faced a near endless torment, starving in a dark forest he had only seen in his dreams. What if he went there again? The other thing that was very unnerving to him was that this cat had actually killed before.

Despite all this, he still stood. He began to circle his way toward the nursery, slow and steady, to not face any sudden moves from the rouge. If he could put himself between the den and the tom, they had a better chance of surviving.

Tags;; Fireflake
Notes;; if this does descend into a fight, I don’t want Tanglespring to be killed by any means. I’m okay with him being injured.

[Fireflake]

Scorpio didn't move upon seeing the clan cat's hesitation. He kept his stare fixed steadily on the other cat instead, trying to read his expression as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. There was an atmosphere not unlike the moment when a hunter and his prey lock eyes. Scorpio wasn't certain exactly which one he was.

Then there was a shift. The stranger began to speak. Scorpio's ears flicked back, and he narrowed his eyes in confusion. Was once old and frail, had faced the stars before..? Was this tom their leader? Was that how it worked? No, he quickly reminded himself, their leader would be at the Gathering. So, was the clan cat just trying to distract him with this kitten's tale? That wasn't the sense he got.

Scorpio was still for a few moments longer, blinking as if his eyes would suddenly clear and a rational explanation would make itself apparent, but his mind crashed back down to his mission as the clan cat took a slow step toward the nursery. The rogue flashed him a warning look. He was closer. He was more experienced, as far as he could tell, despite the other tom's confounding words.

He took a long stride closer to the nursery and unsheathed his claws as he did so. "Then step away, warrior. Go away and go to sleep, and nobody gets hurt. I'm not here to kill anyone."

GnawingOnIce
[Same for Scorpio.]

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglespring continued to take slow, deliberate steps toward the nursery, not wanting to trigger the rogue to make a run for a kit. He saw the other tom’s eyes try to search for a reason why Tanglespring would be saying these strange things. His tail-tip twitched back and forth in anticipation.

Finally, the rogue spoke. "Then step away, warrior. Go away and go to sleep, and nobody gets hurt. I'm not here to kill anyone."

The cinnamon-colored tom didn’t believe a word he said. The fact that he even had a flicker of thought that he was actually going to let him take the kits without him doing anything about it infuriated him.

”You really think I’m just going to let you stroll into our camp and take our kits without doing anything about it?” he snarled, hackles raised.

Amber eyes blazing, Tanglespring lurched forward in familiar movements, almost as if someone was guiding him, as the tom took another stride toward the nursery. He reared back on his hind legs, using his tail for balance, and aimed to strike the rogue’s face.

Tags;; Fireflake
Notes;; feel free to have Scorpio trip Tangle, claw him or avoid him \o3o/

[Fireflake]

Scorpio sighed slightly. "No."
He didn't have time to say anything else before Tanglespring had reared up on his hind legs. Time seemed to slow as the rogue decided if he wanted to engage this slightly unnerving warrior in a fight. His muscles tensed in preparation to either turn on the other tom or rush away and grab one of the kits. He glanced back into the nursery for a heartbeat, but his split-second decision was to not shy away from the fight, and he instead launched into it wholeheartedly.

Baring his teeth, Scorpio pushed himself upwards as Tanglespring's claws raked across his cheek. His leg wouldn't hold his weight, but it didn't matter. He wasn't trying to balance. He threw himself immediately at Tanglespring, reaching out to shove his paw under the other cat's chin, his other paw aiming only coincidentally for his throat.

GnawingOnIce

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglespring felt a mere moment of victory as his claws raked the rogue’s cheek, but it vanished as he stroke back, aiming for his neck. He panicked and staggered out of the way, the cat’s claws catching his lip as he fell on his side. The young tom ran his tongue over his now injured jaw, tasting metallic blood.

Turning his attention back to Scorpio, he scrambled to his paws and faced him, fur on end. He growled, baring his teeth which were now bloodied from the scratch on his lip, and ran for Scorpio, still trying to put himself between the rogue and the kits in the nursery.

Tags;; Fireflake
Notes;; n/a

[Fireflake]

Scorpio knew that the smart choice was to make a dash for the nursery and snatch up one of the kits before Tanglespring had the chance to stop him, but he couldn't run from a fight with a MothClan warrior. That's what he'd done after his mother was killed, and he was never able to find that cat again. Stifling a growl, he stepped away from the nursery. Rather than a surrender, this was a tactical choice, to give himself more space to get away when he did make his move.

As he raised his paw for a swipe to pull Tanglespring into a proper fight, Scorpio was briefly distracted by the flash of a pelt behind him. His strength in fighting came primarily from his unrelenting focus, and he'd never been good at multitasking. As he saw the other cat head at a sprint toward the nursery, his strike missed monumentally and he stumbled forward, but the spark of victory hit him anyway when he recognized the scent from the running cat. That's one of ours.