Deep in the forest, a gray tom waited in darkness at the edge of his territory. He knew there would be consequences if his clan knew who he was meeting, and those consequences would be severe if they knew the nature of the meeting. Had he not been looking in the right direction, there would have been no indication of the other cat arriving, as the brown and white tom made no sound and left no scent as he seemed to slip out of the shadows themselves.
The new arrival couldn't help but let his whiskers give the slightest twitch as he saw the gray tom perk up and happily pad over to him like an apprentice with a secret courtship. That's probably what this is, to him. Weakling…
"Ashfur," he mewed, nuzzling gray tom's shoulder as was done to him, playing the part, "is everything ready yet?"
"Yes," the gray tom nodded enthusiastically, "There's a fresh fox trap near the lake shore; none of the patrols have reported it yet."
The brown tom nodded, impressed. "Really?" he mewed, "Can you show me, so we know where it is?"
"Absolutely! Follow me,"
After walking a short distance, they came upon the trap. The brown tom inspected it with a genuine smile on his face. "Yes, this will do nicely. Do you remember the plan?" he asked Ashfur.
"Yes. I am to lure Firestar out here, and you'll make sure he gets caught in the trap,"
"That's right. And once he dies, that poor excuse for a she-cat will know what she's put you through,"
Ashfur purred and butted the other tom's shoulder, "Thanks, Hawkfrost, for everything,"
A small smile played across Hawkfrost's muzzle, and he decided to let Ashfur believe that it was one of content, rather than amusement.
"It's not a problem, Ashfur. I just can't stand to see a cat taken advantage of," he mewed, his smile growing slightly from the sheer irony of the lie that rolled off his tongue without hesitation. "I should be getting back to my clan before they start waking up. I'll meet you here at sunset tomorrow, right?"
"Right," the other tom mewed. "Take care, Hawkfrost."
"And you, as well," he mewed back as he left. Pathetic. That tom is so desperate, he'd probably mate with a tree if it could talk. He smirked slightly, All the easier to manipulate you. He might have proved useful further down the line, but Brambleclaw will probably have to kill him to tie up loose ends. The thought of his brother made him sigh sadly. Tomorrow will be a test for you, brother. Please, prove Tigerstar wrong. Show him you're strong enough to become a leader…I don't want him to make me kill you, too…
Before he slunk back into camp, Hawkfrost made sure to wade through the stream to rinse the scents of the ShadowClan and ThunderClan flora that he used to disguise his own, his sleek, RiverClan pelt drying almost instantly. As he curled up in his nest for at least a couple hours of sleep, he heard his father's voice in his ear.
"All according to plan, my son. If Brambleclaw won't kill Firestar tomorrow, kill them both, and take the forest for yourself."
The response was instinctual, by this point; the same response he had always given to his father's commands.
"Yes, Tigerstar…"