Leafbare's grip had began to descend upon the clans. The air's becoming iciness was present upon the thin sheets of frost coating the river, as well as the camp's grounds. Swirlstar's dense pelt was able to keep out the brunt of the cold, but even he couldn't suppress a shiver as his paws touched the icy coat on the grounds outside his den.
He longed to do nothing more than curl back up within the warm confines of his den, but it was already nearing sunhigh. Cats milled around the camp, whether it be through waking up, eating, or simply sharing tongues to warm themselves up. Goldtail sat outside the nursery, watching Lionkit and Poppykit wrestle each other not too far from the den.
The two were nearly six moons. They'd be apprenticed soon, and Swirlstar couldn't be more delighted. No apprentices meant no new warriors, and that meant the younger warriors would have to take on the duties that apprentices normally would perform. They would gripe and complain about it, but Swirlstar respected them still complying nonetheless. Searching for ticks on an elder's pelt wasn't the ideal way to spend your time as a warrior.
He nimbly leapt down from the cliff his den lay in, trotting over to where Brokensoul was organizing patrols. The sunhigh one would depart soon, and Swirlstar wanted to be there to check the borders with BlizzardClan. "Applefur, you can take a patrol with Blazingshade and Spidernose up to BlizzardClan border." The leader heard Brokensoul announce as he approached.
"Actually, I'd like to lead the patrol." Swirlstar interjected, dipping his head in greeting to the mottle of cats. Brokensoul lifted his ears, dipping his own dark colored head in greeting, obliging to his request.
"Right, then. Applefur, you can lead the patrol along the RainClan border. Take Frostshade and Tawnysplots." The deputy rearranged. Swirlstar raised his tail, meowing for his patrol to follow him, and was off through the camp barrier. Outside the barricaded walls, it felt even colder under the foliage of the forest. The brown marbled tabby suppressed a shiver as he stepped into a small puddle, foot plunged into icy waters. He wove through the trees and bushes at a brisk pace, the two toms behind him following his steps verbatim.
As they approached the border, the forest only became thicker, and darker. The scent ahead strongly smelled of SnowClan, but also the acrid, unpleasant scent of BlizzardClan. Upon reflex, he grimaced, fur prickling faintly. Halting at the border, he gazed across, searching for any cats, but found none. "Scope the border. Make sure there's no scent inside our own lines." He ordered the two warriors, both of which bolted off without another word. Swirlstar sprayed his scent, then marched up and down a small stretch of land, jaws slightly parted to take in anything.
"Swirlstar!" His head shot up, ears perking. A flicker of red and black caught his eyes from above, revealing itself to be Blazingshade as he dropped from the tree, shaking out his pelt. Swirlstar trotted over to where the warrior was, and halted instantly as the musty scent of BlizzardClan bathed his tongue. His lips curled slightly. "You smell it too, right? I tracked it all the way up the tree. Could smell blood on a branch, so it was obvious they made their kill on our land."
"What was it?" Swirlstar asked, forcing his fur to lie flat.
"Squirrel. They may have chased it over from their border." Blazingshade reported, and the SnowClan leader snorted, giving a curt lash of his tail.
"I had a feeling this would happen." He grumbled, turning away, beckoning for the red and black striped tom to follow him as he strode to where Spidernose was. He was disappointed in Oakstar, to say the least. He assumed that after Jaggedstar's death, BlizzardClan wouldn't be as… Tyrannical. Would be able to curb their bloodthirsty, rule-breaking ways. It didn't seem so, however. They hadn't made any truly disturbing or worrying advances, but with leafbare so near, every piece of prey taken from SnowClan was seen as a huge injustice in Swirlstar's eyes. Not only were they blatantly ignoring the warrior code, but it could cause big trouble for SnowClan if they were to go hungry.
No sooner had found Spidernose. The black and brown tom had nothing to report, leaving them to take their leave back to camp. Distraught, Swirlstar wasn't sure what to do. If he tried to talk to BlizzardClan about the incident, they would likely call them liars, and would be escorted off the territory. BlizzardClan cats thought with their claws, not their minds half of the time. It could cause a serious uproar. He slowed as they came into camp, casting a glance over at the medicine den.
Skypool could give him advice… That's part of the reason why she was there, afterall. However, he felt as if a medicine cat wouldn't quite know the answer to something more inter-clan related. They were mostly for spiritual references. He knew somebody, though, that could help him. He found his paws leading him towards a sheltered den in the back of the camp, only one cat stretched outside of it.
A she-cat lay stretched out, soaking up the little warmth there was from the frosty sunhigh air. Her pale yellow and white spotted pelt rustled as she rolled onto her back, stretching her legs out, before flopping over to her side once more. Nose twitching, she lifted her head, milky and sightless eyes focusing on Swirlstar as he approached. "Hello, Swirlstar." She purred out, curling and shifting once more so she was crouched down.
"Brightspots," He greeted, taking a seat a couple tail lengths in front of her. "It's… Quite cold out, isn't it?"
"A little." She admitted in a sigh of a breath, swiping a pink tongue over her even pinker nose. "But, we are built for the cold, so I don't mind. Now, I know you didn't come to talk about the weather with me. What is it?" Her voice had a teasing tone tinged to it, but betrayed, nonetheless, that she knew what was up. Swirlstar coughed slightly, trying to think of his wording.
"How's Sharpnose and Winglight?" He instead asked, beating around the bush. He felt a little remorseful, for lately he'd only come to Brightspots to talk about problems he was having leading the clan, or asking for suggestions. He didn't have one-on-one chats with her like he used to, back when he was a warrior, or deputy.
"Sleeping." Brightspots flicked her ears, and the leader almost thought she was going to dismiss him for being so dodgy. "Sharpnose has been complaining about aching bones. He refuses to see Skypool, though, insisting that he's fine."
"Have you tried convincing him?"
"Yes, believe me. He doesn't want to think he's getting old, which is amusing, seeing as how he is probably the eldest in the clan." The tom chuckled at her words, for even he could imagine the elder denying his age. Winglight was nearly up there with him, but Brightspots… She was young. She should be a warrior. Nearly a senior warrior. However, due to her being born blind, her destiny was already laid out in front of her. She couldn't be a medicine cat, due to there already being two. She had never taken on a mate, so had no reason to linger in the nursery. Most of her life, she'd lived as an elder.
It was a lonely life for the relatively young she-cat, but she had wisdom beyond her years that had helped Swirlstar through trials he wasn't sure how to tackle. "Hello? Mighty leader?" He snapped back to reality, giving a brief shake of his head to dash any other thoughts. Brightspots was staring at him, head tipped slightly to the side.
"Sorry." He apologized.
"Seriously, what's on your mind? You just totally zoned out on me." She pressed on, ears tail tip twitching from mild irritation.
"It's BlizzardClan. They're stealing prey, and I'm not sure what to do." He admitted, voice quiet as he stared at his paws. His ears grew faintly warm from embarrassment. He'd never straight up asked what to do, then again he'd always figure it out on his own. This time, though… He had limited options. "I can't take a patrol over to talk to them, so don't even mention it. They're going to deny all accusations, and things may get violent, knowing them." He interrupted, watching as Brightspots closed her jaws.
"Swirlstar, this is Oakstar we're talking about, not Jaggedstar."
"I know! But if he's already let his cats do it once, obviously old habits haven't broken yet." He puffed, scowling mildly. "I'm not going to attack them over one incident, but I know it will grow. I just… I don't know how to stop it before it does. If I attack, I'll look unjustified, but if I wait too long it will just become more problematic."
"Go talk to them." Brightspots insisted.
"I just said-"
"You came to me for my advice, and I'm giving it to you." She snapped, tail and fur twitching crossly. Her eyes narrowed, and she glanced away with a sigh to calm herself down. "Look… I'm not saying outright accuse Oakstar of sending cats over the border, but just talk about the evidence you found. Tell him you won't tolerate any more of it, and if you find more that there will be trouble." She meowed. "Oakstar may be arrogant, but he is no fool, Swirlstar. Despite their battle hungry past, I don't think he wants to go into battle right before leafbare. You're both rather new leaders, but he has more experience than you, so I'm sure that something will be worked out."
She sat back, a huff of a breath billowing out of her nostrils into the crisp sunhigh air. Swirlstar mulled over her input, tail slowly swishing across the ground. He knit his brow together briefly, thinking of any alternative routes, but… There was none, really. He could outright attack, show them once and for all he meant business, but at what cost? "What if he attacks us in his camp?" He put forth.
"He won't. He'll hold his pride."
"I don't think he'll feel very sorry attacking a leader and warriors." He responded dryly, thinking for another moment. "Would you come along? I'll bring you, Skypool, and another warrior. He'll know it wasn't an ambush, and with a medicine cat with me, he's bound to abide by the code. Also, with Skypool there, I'm sure he'd believe me. A medicine cat wouldn't stand by a let a lie be told if it was one. Even he knows that."
Brightspots looked highly hesitant, focusing down on her paws as she untucked them from beneath her chest. "I… If this will help the clan, then yes, I will go." She responded after a few moments of silent hesitance. Swirlstar let out a breath he'd unconsciously been holding, thanking her quietly.
"I'll go find someone else, and let Skypool know. Thank you, Brightspots." He meowed, rising to his paws. He bent forward, rasping his tongue across her ear, then turned and ambled towards the medicine den. He knew he had a lot to think about, what he was going to say to Oakstar, but he was just glad that Brightspots was there to help him through it.