Leafclan: Beyond the Path of Frightful Nights

Ashenpaw trotted beside Scarletpool, waiting until the she-cat was done speaking to deliver her message. "I was told to warn you that the rogue that attacked Archheart and Crowsong is near. And, judging by the injuries, it's a force to be reckoned with," she said, her voice trembling a bit with the shock of the situation. She swallowed dryly , trying to regain her composure.

(Before I reply- which I honestly have already have set into motion- I'm just simply waiting on Morningdark's reply as well. '^^ Probably should have said that sooner- to be fair, I have been busy.. too busy with emergency room visits and other things..)

"Hmm? Silverrain, what is it?" The yellow eyes of the scruffy, fiery she-cat blinked with curiosity as she wondered what had the normally cool cat so worked up. Normally wasn't it switched? Him being calm and she the one excited? No matter... She shook the thought away and refocused her attention on the silvery tom only standing a feet pawsteps away at the mouth of the Warriors' den. Her ear flicked as she spun around to sit before the tom, interest piqued. "Well, go on young cat. I don't have all day, or has a mouse got your tongue?" She snickered playfully.

---

Oceanpaw sat back and watched carefully as the medicine cat spoke to her mentor, still ashamed of herself for hurting him more rather than helping. I'm sorry, Archheart. I'll become a better apprentice, I promise! I promise it on the Warrior Code... Her sapphire eyes twinkled with sorrow, but also newfound strength as she awaited the time where she could be of any use to the cats around her.

---

"So, snakes are about?" The smooth voice of Jewelpaw sounded as the handsome tom sat at the entrance of the Apprentices' den, his silvery eyes resting boredly on the scene within the camp's clearing as his denmate padded past him to enter the warm darkness. His ear twitched as he heard Poisonpaw settling down and the silver and white tom turned his head a bit to glance at the bigger tom behind him.

"Yeah," the crimson and black tom meowed with a sigh, tired from his work earlier. "That's what they've been saying." His violet eyes closed as he yawned before flicking back open and resting on his denmate. "What? You know anything about snakes?"

Jewelpaw shook his head lightly and closed his eyes, turning back to face the direction he had been previously. "Nah. Back at my housefolks' nest, we had a few garden snakes- nothing poisonous- but they often would sprinkle this bad smelling powder which i was supposed to keep out of. I think it was to kill them or something, but like I said, I don't really know. I hope those guys are alright though. Rogue cats seem like they might be the bigger threat right now."

"Yup," Poisonpaw meowed before settling his chin on his paws and closing his eyes, hoping to catch a short snooze before anything else happened in the clan.

---

The rest of the forms of the various warriors gathered out in the clearing to see what had happened. Redstalk pulled herself from the Warriors' den to avoid hearing whatever it was that the deputy and Silverrain were talking about and settled herself beside a chatting Firetips and Sharpleaf to groom herself in hopes of fully waking up. Bloodgirth had moved to get something to eat with Robinnest at the freshkill pile, picking a mink from the pile to share. Paintedtail and Wolfcrest sat a little further away from the others to share tongues as the large tom of grey gently licked the pelt of the slender tom donning white and colorful splotches as he spoke softly of simple pleasantries as he kept an eye on the scene just in case. At the base of their paws, Palekit and Petalkit stared in frozen fear, the to she-kits clearing keeping close to the senior warriors as their lack of fully understanding the situation at hand (Or paw) wasn't enough to keep them from fearing everything around them an their home at the current moment.

(Ack, so many cats... This'll probably fail, but here goes...)

Shadefur sighed softly. "Alright, let's go. Ashenpaw, tell me what happened."

Morningdark turned and looked the tom over. "I think... I should have what I need to treat this..."

"From what I gathered, Archheart and Crowsong were attacked by a powerful rogue, and Archheart is quite injured," Ashenpaw meowed quietly to Shadefur, searching camp for the two injured cats. She kneaded the ground with worry.

(Gah....can' we get this thing rolling a bit? ^^')

(Yeah, I really want to, but I don't think I can do anything. Ideas?)

(Time skip to a patrol with our cats? I dunno...)

(Yeah, I'll make it work.)

Emeraldstar, after a moment of painful indecision, walked to the center of camp. "All able warriors, please meet in the center of camp!" he yowled, making an effort to stop his voice from shaking with worry. He watched as cats started melting towards him, taking note of any who were missing-presumably injured or busy tending to those who were.

Tigerfrost turned and, with a small sigh of annoyance, trotted quickly towards Emeraldstar. In the back of her mind, she knew it was selfish to be agitated, but she couldn't help it.

Holloweyes briefly wondered if she was considered able, but turned with a shrug towards the leader.

The fiery-colored tabby form of the deputy sat still alongside the leader, yellow eyes serious instead of the usual glow of sarcasm. Her russet tail curled neatly around her paws and she remained poised as she awaited the short meeting. Hotscent watched as the various forms of the clan arrived, noting that a few were indeed following the rule which all medicine cats bestow upon those ill or injured. Good. Archheart is still in the Medicine Cat's den. But Oceanpaw isn't out here...probably with her mentor then? And what of Poisonpaw? Probably asleep ater his long morning of training. What'd those three warriors put him through? She sighed softly and twitched an ear as she watched even the three sister kits, Petalkit, Palekit, and Newkit, hop over to join the ranks, although they kept closer to the Morningdusk's den due to Newkit not wanting to stray too far and her sisters wanting to stay close together.

"As you know by now," Emeraldstar started gravely, "Our warriors have been attacked by rogues. Though we can't let that intimidate us, we still have to take precaution. Until we are sure of the rogue's locations, we must have bigger patrols with absolutely no more than three apprentices at a time. Every patrol must have at least one senior warrior, and until further notice, no cat may hunt alone. On that note, I want Bloodgirth, Robinnest, Tigerfrost, Poisonpaw, and Ashenpaw to patrol the forest for any signs of these rogues. But I must warn you to be cautious." With that, the leader of the clan bowed his head and gave a dismissive tail flick. He turned to look at Hotscent. "If you would, assign a cat to keep watch over the entrance to make sure that no apprentices try to sneak out alone."

(If I called any that are currently unavailable, just substitute with a cat of your choice. I trust you.)

Hotscent nodded and tilted her head, opening her mouth to speak with the same serious expression. "Yes, but Emeraldstar...." She topped herself and grunted. "I shall guard it myself." She stamped one paw and padded towards the entrance. However, one her way there, she paused in the center of the camp, remembering that some cats would be out of commission until later. Clearing her throat, she called out,"Tigerfrost, Ashenpaw, Robinnest, Jewelpaw, and Firetips! Head out and patrol the southwestern board! Make sure to check the river for stragglers as that would be the place they would head. And if you run into any Yarrowclan cats on patrol, pass on the warning of the rogues."

The named cats trotted out from the crowd and started towards the entrance along with the deputy.

(Excuse my short post, but my brain is still trying to wrap around this Soul Eater bullshit...)

(It's fine, I'm still exhausted from marching yesterday, so I can't really do much.)

Tigerfrost held in her sigh, and dutifully trotted along with the other four cats. She couldn't, however, contain her chuckle when she saw the fear that crossed Ashenpaw's face.

"Do you think we'll have to fight?" Ashenpaw murmured to no one in particular, letting the question hang in the air as she swiftly glanced around to the older warriors. It was just her luck that she'd get picked for this patrol.

"It'll be all right, Ashenpaw," the calm voice of Firetips purred as the young warrior walked alongside the apprentice, his ears standing erect as usual, but not alert. He gave the smaller she-cat a soft chuckle before leaning closer and murmuring into her ear,"You know how I know? Not to be rude or anything, but they sent the kittypet apprentice without his mentor. They must think that everything will run smoothly." Pulling his head up, the striped tom shot Ashenpaw one more grin before trotting ahead to join Robinnest at the front of the patrol in order to assist with leading.

Ashenpaw smiled, suddenly reassured. She let out a soft chuckle and trotted forward with a little more confidence, even though worry still gnawed at the back of her mind. Even so, she opened her maw to breath in the scents of the forest, enjoying to rich smell of leaves and moist earth. She always thought that it was so beautiful out with the trees, even though it was dangerous and unknown.

The large, lynx-like tom chatted cheerily with the older warrior as they made their way through the forest, the air of the patrol feeling light and almost carefree despite the trouble in the territory. It almost felt as if nothing was wrong in the first place as the sun beat down hard and pierced the thick canopy with warm light like honey.

The lovely form of the leader's apprentice walked lightly on his paws with a calm and relaxed gate. However, Jewelpaw's head swiveled from side to side on occasion as he watched the area while walking. Despite being recently made a clan cat, he was still serous as his peers when it came to the safety of the clan. Silvery eyes gleaming, he glanced at Ashenpaw from out of the corner of his eyes as he noticed her tasting the air for scents. He gave a small smile and followed the example, closing his eyes in delight as one of the rays stabbing through the treetops met with his face and warmed his fur.

(Sorry for being on hiatus for so long guys. I've had so much happen.. listen- I'd hate to keep everyone waiting for me even longer than I have. And Mew- I appreciate the spot you've given me on here, really. The importance felt great to have but...

I think in order to keep everyone going and allow everyone to continue freely without having to wait for me.. I hate to say it but- I think I might need to drop out. I don't want to, but for the sake of everyone else I think that would only be fair...)

(...someone mind giving me a recap? Because I totally have no idea what to do...)

(Oh no Pickles...if needed, we can keep this on hold- (I really don't know what to do without you on here ;-;

Not much has happened, Ritsu. Tor and I just got bored and decided to rp a bit of a patrol Its been nothing so far.)

(Well, if I recall right, I was waiting on Pickles...coz I don't think my cats have much purpose without those cats...)

(Since you guys did a time skip, I'm not going to reply to HotScent, since the announcement has been made very clear about the snakes, we'll assume Silverain chatted with her about it. *nod*)

Silverain followed after Hotscent quietly after everything had been announced to the clan, eyes of curious cats were glued on him though they knew better than to approach. He had quite the reputation of being the most enigmatic mysterious cat around. Not exactly rude just... hasn't exactly had enough cat interaction to know what to do in a social situation.

It was sort of cute.

"Is there anything I can do to be of service?" The tom muttered the moment the other cats were out of sight creeping deeper and deeper into the forest where the rouges had been spotted. It was... a sort of honor to have him talking so much in one day-!

"Maybe... watch the entrance with you? I don't think one cat alone- no matter how powerful- could take on that rouge that we encountered..."

---

Archeart's tired eyes glanced at his twin brother beside Morningdark as the Medicine Cat spoke to himself, the tom could only guess making a checklist of supplies he would need to bring out of his den to take care of him, or a way to get him back into the den before...

The warrior shuddered at the thought... he didn't want to think about that right now. Many things didn't scare Archeart, joining Starclan however... was one of them, and bothered him greatly. He still had so many things to accomplish-!

"Crowsong... my brother, see... if you can take Oceanpaw under your paw... until I am able to move again... I would hate... for her training to halt... while I heal..." surprisingly, shockingly warm gray eyes fell on his apprentice. "Because... I'd love to see her.. become a Warrior... with the rest of the apprentices..." he flashed a small bloody smile before closing his eyes.

His next words were raspy... and spoken almost silently, but just loud enough for her to hear and her only;

"I expect you... to excel under my twin.... and grow strong... strong enough to fight along side me one day, Oceanpaw. Treat him... as if he was me, let him show you the ways of a true Warrior until I get better... then... we'll see if I can have you back- if.. you have yet to receive your Warrior name."

Crowsong didn't give Oceanpaw a chance to react or say anything, gently he nuzzled her toward the Leader's den. Of course they were going to have to talk to Emeraldstar about this before the decision was made however... based on the circumstances, he could only hope that their leader would understand and allow this to happen.

After all, his twin understood how important his apprentice was to him, being entrusted with the responsibility of teaching a young kit the ways of a Warrior- it was huge. He had already trained his own apprentice into a warrior and.... even though Redstalk seemed to only pick up on his own unfortunate sternness to try and groom her into the best Warrior- she still was a very good one, and now he had a chance to try again... and maybe this time instill the values of kindness, even though Oceanpaw surprisingly didn't seem to need it.

"Come on Oceanpaw... we'll come check on Archeart later okay? I promise." And with that, he walked passed Morningdark, leaving it up to the medicine cat to take care of his brother;

"Please... don't let him go to Starclan just yet."

And with that, he made his way toward the Leader's Den, expecting Oceanpaw to follow in behind him, only stopping a few mere inches away from the opening.

"Emeraldstar?" He called almost hesitantly into the tom's den.

"I'd like to discuss Oceanpaw's training..."

---

Twilightfrost couldn't help but smile toward the little kit who had been brave enough to take care of her while the other warriors were more focused on Archeart. Yeah... maybe one day she'll be able to take the kit on as her very own apprentice as thanks for her being so dependable and... helpful, even as a kit.

She happily accepted the water only realizing then that the back of her throat felt dry and parched... the venom as taking a toll on her, and with Morningdark busy tending to Archeart she could only hope that Shadefur would be there soon to take over Newkit's trials to make her feel better or... that Newkit would use what she knew to tend to her wounds.

Such a brave little kitten, it almost made the she-cat long for her own.

(*does a little dance* FINALLY! < 3 I DID IT! And loved the way it came out eventually. Let's hope now with this feat under my belt my writer's block will fade away- and I can reply to EVERYTHING!

I'll wait for my little surprise with the next few posts... CATS- I hope you're ready! *smirk*)

(So many text blocks... XD Who was with who again? I really cannot remember. *fails*)

(OKAY so.... Silverain (Archeart and Crowsong's brother) is at the entrance of their home with Hotscent, just... talking to her strangely enough.

Because it was mentioned that Archeart was in the Medicine Cat Den during the clan meeting, I would assume that with the help of Shadefur and Scarletpool, Morningdark was able to drag Archeart back to his den to take care of him.

While all this is going on Newkit and Twilightfrost (suffering from snake bites) are already in the medicine cat den, Newkit is trying her best to take care of Twilightfrost until help arrives to take over for the poison.

So... eventually when they all get there and spot Twilightfrost, I'm sure Morningdark would be attending to Archeart while getting the other two (or one) to take care of Twilightfrost. Which would be where everyone would be at now.

The medicine cat's den! : D

On an unrelated note; Crowsong (Archeart's twin) took Oceanpaw (Archeart's apprentice) to Emeraldstar's den to discuss training and possibly becoming her mentor until Archeart is better. (Which, MUCH later Morningdark will have to FIGHT to keep that tom pinned in his den. Believe you me.)

That is what I was pretty much posting about, if that's what you were asking. *chuckles*)

(Wait... I thought Shadefur was going to where...the cat that didn't get to Morningdark's den was... I'm so lost. >.< I wouldn't think a med cat den'd be big enough to comfortably fit two injured cats and 2+ cats tending them...)

(And a patrol of five(?) cats is currently out. We can do the whole Oceanpaw/Crowsong part if you'd like, Pickles :3 Morningdark would, of course, have to rip her away from her mentor's side though- that's where you can come in and join the fun, Ara-chan ^^)