[Fawn]

LIONSTAR

leader of treeclan

Blinded by the light of a new sun

The wildflower clearing wouldn't see new growth until spring. The fire had struck too close to leaf-fall, and there was no time for the prime hunting location to recover by leafbare. Lionstar surveyed the remains, raking a claw over a tuft of charred grass, watching the weakened, dead blades crumble under such a small motion.

Golden ears honed in on the sounds of Gorsetail's approach, and despite their surroundings, he greeted him warmly. "I thought you could use a break from Finchpaw," Lionstar flicked his tail by the deputy's ears, amused.

That little joke aside, the important matters took up the forefront of his thoughts. Though this was meant to be a discussion, Lionstar had already reconciled the planned hostile course of action with TreeClan's basic needs. His Clan would survive, it was nothing personal against NightClan (for once). Their similarities in territory made their shadowy neighbors a better choice than the wind-swept moorlands of LightningClan.

Besides... LightningClan had their own troubles.

"TreeClan needs more hunting ground. We've been on enough border patrols to know that the land on the other side of the deer path is decent." Golden eyes sought the tabby's expression, aware that the younger, more cerebral tom might have noticed something he had not. "I'm aware this means picking a fight with NightClan." He held the image of Honeysong, her belly swollen with their kits, in his heart.

She would want for nothing. Lionstar's demeanor changed, lapsing into a serious, strategic mien. "Attacking at sunhigh would be reasonable. Everyone knows NightClanners sleep most of the day away." Besides, it would give his warriors something to do other than rest on their laurels.

Greenleaf had passed. The sun was not their enemy anymore. Starvation - and going into leafbare unprepared - was.

Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem

300 words | Phoenix | notes

background image | So Alive | table by phoenix

[Phoenix]

Gorsetail

Deputy of TreeClan

i wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight

”Much appreciated,” Gorsetail mewed with equal warmth, a smile on his face. ”Though you know, it is your fault that I would need a break from him in the first place.” Not that the deputy would have it any other way. Vastly different though he was from Gorsetail, Finchpaw had nevertheless wormed his way into his mentor’s heart, and the older tom often found himself viewing his apprentice with a fond exasperation. Training was certainly never boring, especially on those rare days when they were joined by Lionstar and Thornpaw, and the realization that he would soon be losing Finchpaw’s company was bittersweet; he was proud, of course, that his apprentice had the markings of a good warrior, but he would admittedly miss the near-constant chatter that often accompanied them. Sometimes, even now, he found himself thinking that the silence was just a little too quiet. But that was a musing for a different time. Lionstar had asked him to meet him here for a reason, and the relative gravity of the atmosphere told him that this was clan business, not a social call.

The golden tom spoke, and somehow Gorsetail could not find it within him to be entirely surprised. While his heart grew heavy – he had never been a fan of violence when it could be avoided – he suspected that he must, on some level, had been expecting such a decision. Even a blind cat could have noticed the large expanse of TreeClan territory that had been rendered useless by the flames, and with the changing of the seasons, they were more pressed for prey than they had ever been. They needed more land, and with LightningClan similarly ruined, the obvious choice was NightClan.

”Pinestar will not be happy,” He mused, striped tail flicking as he considered his former mentor’s words. The brown she-cat had not been leader for long, but it did not take a genius to predict with any accuracy how she would react to this first challenge of her leadership. Retaliation would likely be swift and harsh, so limiting the bloodshed would be ideal. ”I agree,” Gorsetail said thoughtfully. ”Most of their warriors will likely be asleep at sunhigh. If we time this right, they might not even realize until later that we’ve taken the land.”

Worn away as it was by generations of hooves, the deer path was not a particularly fertile area, and the undergrowth was often nibbled away by the tawny creatures. Still, as long as there was some amount of prey, it would be better than what they currently had. ”How much land are you thinking of taking?”

Fawn

better days | background image

[Fawn]

LIONSTAR

leader of treeclan

Blinded by the light of a new sun

"No, she won't be." Lionstar agreed, and his paws left the scarred earth to grip onto a fallen log at the edge of the clearing. He walked along it's circumference, tail slightly raised for balance but it was unneeded; the tom's massive paws tended to allow for superior balance whenever he attempted things like this. "However, if TreeClan hesitated or let an opportunity pass by because we were afraid of upsetting a NightClan leader..."

Lionstar scoffed in the back of his throat. "We wouldn't have made it this far. At least not with as much prosperity as we've had." That wasn't the point of this conversation, however. Haunches folding, he sat, still as a statue, sitting sentinel over TreeClan's forests as if appointed guardianship by StarClan themselves.

In a way, he had.

"The deer path isn't much. Ideally, I want our warriors to push to cover the branch trail. There will be birds, even in leafbare." Lionstar was not well-versed in the territories of the other Clans, apart from what he had heard at Gatherings and gleaned as an apprentice. However, there were other members of the Clan who were. A conversation with Zephyrfang and Falconstorm both had shed some light on the shrouding mystery of NightClan's pine forest. Zephyrfang's loner days were beneficial to the Clan after all.

He understood the necessary impartiality of medicine cats. Irritating Pinestar was one thing, but making his own medicine cat uncomfortable by providing information that might hurt NightClan was something else entirely. Lionstar was preparing for war, but not at the cost of his own honor code, or anyone else's. Gaze befalling Gorsetail once more, he let his attention turn to the specifics; who to choose for this battle?

It had been... moons, since they had last clashed with NightClan. Were all of the same faces still there? Blackwolf, for one, was presumably still alive. He did not want inexperienced cats going up against some of NightClan's best. However, he could not shelter them forever. The difference between inexperienced and knowledgeable was (unsurprisingly) actual experience.


"Who would you recommend, for a battle patrol?" Lionstar was prepared to take Gorsetail's suggestions into consideration. After all, most of Lionstar's time went to training Thornpaw and tending to his mate, Honeysong. He had fallen a little out of touch with the rest - something he aimed to fix this season.

Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem

396 words | Phoenix Justice (Falconstorm mention!) | notes

background image | So Alive | table by phoenix

[Phoenix]

Gorsetail

Deputy of TreeClan

i wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight

Green eyes watched as the other tom leapt onto the fallen log and wandered along its length for balance, and Gorsetail found it rather poetic that Lionstar paced across the dead tree so carefully while reminding him of the hard decisions that leaders faced. Keeping peace with the neighbors while also knowing when to sacrifice said peace in order to take advantage of certain opportunities… It was a balancing act, and one that the leader of TreeClan seemed to perform as effortlessly as if he were walking across that log. The tabby tom envied his former mentor, for making such decisions with such decisiveness did not come naturally to him at all. He had always found himself more concerned for others than he was for himself, but that which had served him so well throughout his life might very well hinder him as a leader.

If anything, Frost had shown him that. Guilt and an irrational fear of losing his two closest friends still had him hesitating when it came to speaking with Sprucefur.

But sometimes hardening his heart felt like trying to make water freeze during green-leaf, so he acknowledged Lionstar’s unspoken lesson with a thoughtful nod. It was a conversation for another time. Finally ceasing his pacing, the leader folded his legs beneath him and sat, striking Gorsetail with the sudden image of a guardian surveying his land. By this point, the deputy’s neck was beginning to complain from spending an extended period of time at an odd angle, so the tabby tom jumped up, with slightly more difficulty, and joined the leader on his perch. Gazing out at the ruins of their forest home, he could see clearly the truth in Lionstar’s words and the wisdom in his decision; a significant portion of their land was little more than charred wood and ash, and in the face of the leaf-bare cold, they would surely starve. The problem was that he never liked taking. Stealing land from NightClan was taking on a whole different level. But then he thought of Pantherkit and Flamekit, just returned from RainClan, and of Feathercloud and Sprucefur and the family that they were surely going to start sometime soon. He wanted what was best for them, and what was best for them meant violence. Gorsetail sighed. It made sense, but that didn’t mean he had to be entirely happy with it.

Lionstar asked him for his opinion about a battle patrol, so he redirected his thoughts. ”Whiteclaw has shown himself to be a formidable opponent on the battlefield,” The deputy mused quietly, tail flicking as he thought aloud. ”Experienced too. Nightfury as well.” He looked at the other cat as he said this. ”Do you think she would be any more familiar with NightClan territory after her time with Grayowl?” Being a loner, even one in exile, likely allowed more flexibility when it came to crossing clan borders – as if the tom in question ever needed any more flexibility when it came to breaking rules anyway. ”If you don’t think it’ll be too dangerous, perhaps it might be a good idea to take some younger cats as well? It would give them a taste of actual battle. Amberpaw and Owlpaw have both shown impressive progress with their training…” Clear green eyes found gold. ”When are you planning to attack NightClan? I can give those involved a rest from patrolling.”

Fawn

better days | background image

[Fawn]

LIONSTAR

leader of treeclan

Blinded by the light of a new sun

It had been many seasons since the name Grayowl had been mentioned in his presence, by his deputy no less. That old hollow pit in his stomach of calcified anger and disgust was beginning to subside. In all likelihood, Grayowl was dead, or had moved on to ruin someone else's life. If he believed in luck, Lionstar would have hoped Grayowl had left the valley entirely.

It pleased him to know that he was not reminded constantly of his old foe every time Nightfury was seen or brought into the conversation. She had proven herself unique on her own, and had stepped out of her mentor's shadow with dedication and pure, hard work. "It's possible. Even without that knowledge, she is one of my first choices for a battle patrol." She might not take kindly to Gorsetail's plan to have the battle participants rest for a few days beforehand.

Lionstar couldn't picture her resting willingly. For cats like her (and him), there was always something to be done.

"We will push for the branch trail in four days." Golden eyes grew focused, clearly the mind behind them was going through Gorsetail's suggestions, weighing the best options while trying to keep his own biased nature from making the decisions for them. "You're right about Amberpaw and Owlpaw. I will make sure they are warriors before they participate," otherwise he was in agreement. They were skilled, and almost more importantly, they could keep calm in tense situations.

Provided their families were safe.

Lionstar's thoughts flashed back to when Amberpaw had come hurtling into camp, barely able to breathe without sobbing as she told them Moonfeather was trapped in the fire. That had been an extreme circumstance. Lionstar knew better in his experienced age to base a cat's resolve on their actions as an apprentice, and when family was concerned. That was his own weakness, as well. Kin. Friends. But they were a strength, also. "Maplebrook is young, and dependable. I want Whiteclaw to be standing by with a back-up patrol, though I do not anticipate NightClan waiting for us."

Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem

356 words | Phoenix | notes

background image | So Alive | table by phoenix