Rowanmask & Griffonflight react to...
Hidden Prophices by Tainted Purification
Snow piled high on Rowanmasks paws. He huffed, and shook off the powdery stuff. "Was it really necissairy for Spottedstar and Duskstar to send us out in the middle of Leaf-bare?" The brown tom grumbled. Griffonflight looked up from a collection of pawprints in the soil, sniffing.
"They couldn't have known..." The pale tortoiseshell she-cat muttered, lifting her paw and flexing her frozen toes. "The mountains of our territory are always freezing."
Rowanmask rolled his eyes. "Hmph... Have you found anything yet?" He looked around, ear flicking. "Clan scent... Pawprints- oh, pawprints!"
"What an odd smell..." Griffonflight meowed softly.
"Don't be so picky! I haven't slept in a warm bed for a quarter moon." Rowanmask brushed past Griffonflight took the lead, tail swishing back and forth.
"Wait, Rowanmask!`` Griffonflight snapped, trotting after the tom. "The smells getting stronger..."
The two cats hissed in sync with eachother as a silver-and-grey tabby cat leaped out of the thicket and tackled Rowanmask, claws glinting with snow dappled across his paws. The two snarling cats rolled into a pile of freshly fallen snow, powdery snowflakes scattering over them.
"Who are you!" The tabby cat snapped, pinning Rowanmask with a strong grip.
"I am Griffonflight, and that's Rowanmask...`` Griffonflight mewed, observing them from where she sat. "Allow us to explain before you rip his fur out."
Rowanmasks jaws snapped for his attackers paws. The tom stepped off of him, keeping a narrowed and slitted gaze pinned over him. "Fine," he growled. "Speak before I change my mind on not killing the both of you."
"First of all, it's two against one here, and-" Griffonflight hissed, advancing. Rowanmask inturrupted her, standing before the unknown cat.
"We come from Clans much farther away from here; BlizzardClan and PeakClan. Our leaders have sent us on a mission to find something that will connect us to StarClan, after our former Moonpool was destroyed." He explained, gaze flitting up and down as he studied the tom.
"I am Mockingbirdheart. I suppose you've walked far to reach here... Maybe you can help us with something in return." He said in a solemn voice.
"Anything, we just need a piece of connection to our ancestors." Griffonflight mewed, stepping around her traveling mate. Mockingbirdheart nodded.
"Come." He turned, fluffy tail sweeping the powdery flakes of snow, plastered with pawprints. Griffonflight and Rowanmask followed, each taking a place at Mockingbirdhearts flank. He spoke as they trudged through the snow,
"Our leader, Vanillastar, has lost hope in... well, everything. Our former leader, Lavenderstar, was killed. She was his mate, so I can see his sorrow. We've also lost a kit and a queen in the same day... I fear the worst for our Clan, SapphireClan, as Vanillastar's has trusted the future leadership in an apprentice... Moonpaw."
Rowanmask and Griffonflight listened closely with pricked ears to Mockingbirdhearts words. After a long moment of silence after the tomcat finished, Rowanmask spoke up; "So... This Vanillastar, he's gone bonkers? I wouldn't keep a leader like that in charge. And I'd get the leadership idea out of Moonpaws head, she'll think way too highly of herself..."
The tom broke off as the three cats stopped at the entrance to a dazzlingly strange camp. A light grey apprentice stood atop a gem that resembled their own Tallrock, used for meetings, and shouted something that was unaudible to them.
"I see it's too late for that." Mockingbirdheart sighed.
"Who's there?" A bright orange tabby apprentice appeared at the mouth of camp from a bramble den, eyes a strange color. "Mockingbirdheart, who are these stupid outsiders?"
"I see friendliness isn't taught to your apprentices, now is it?" Griffonflight snorted. Her gaze flitted to a pale silver she-cat making her way calmly to the toms side.
"H-hello, welcome back, Mockingbirdheart..." She murmured. The bright-furred tom snarled at the smaller she-cat, claws sliding out into the soft earth.
"These are Moonpaws siblings, Lilypaw," Mockingbirdheart gestured to the orange tabby, "and Tranquilpaw. Lilypaw, Tranquilpaw, these are Griffonflight and Rowanmask, they're searching for a connection to StarClan."
"Don't mention my idiotic sister's name in my presence!" Lilypaw snarled icily, eyes narrowing on Griffonflight, showing distaste for her cheeky comment.
"Why must you be so rude to the future leader of SapphireClan?" Tranquilpaw chided softly, looking at her brother with a warm gaze. She glanced back, then turned to Mockingbirdheart. "Mockingbirdheart, Moonpaw is better after the badger attack... I thiught you might want to check on her.'' The apprentice mewed. Mockingbirdheart turned to the two travelers and blinked apologetically, mewing before he walked away, "find Sunsetshine, he'll help you to Vanillastar."
Griffonflight and Rowanmask shared a look with eachother before brushing past a bristling Lilypaw and heading into camp. They made their way for the fresh-kill pile, where there was a small group of cats chatting amongst themselves.
"Um, ex-excuse me?" Griffonflight meowed as she approached the SapphireClan cats. The first of the four to notice them was a dark reddish-ginger tom, followed by another silverish tabby tom.
"Who might you two be?" The first tom hissed, raising threateningly. The second stepped up beside his Clanmate, hackles raised and bristling.
"We spoke to your Clanmate, Mockingbirdheart." Rowanmask explained, gaze flitting between the two. "We wish to speak with Sunsetshine. Would you direct us to him?" The silver toms tail-tip flicked, though her straightened and sheathed his claws.
"I am Gazingflight, and this is Braveheart. Sunsetshine should be across camp," he flicked his tail to the opposite end of the clearing. Without warning, a golden-furred and ginger tabby tom came dashing across the sand towards the fresh-kill pile. The four cats, including Gazingflight and Braveheart, started away, looking startled.
"Where are you-" Griffonflight hissed, glancing after them. "Hey!"
"Wait! I'm not trying to kill you!" The golden tom called loudly. Griffonflight looked around, expecting the whole camp to look up worriedly. No cat seemed to notice except for the four who had fled from the fresh-kill pile. They turned and trotted back, gathering around the tom.
"Sunsetshine, you startled us!" Gazingflight sighed. Sunsetshine turned a bright red, ears flattening with embarrassment. He looked up in a short moment, mewing,
"I'm sorry, it's just that Sparklefur was saying she scented RubyClan on our borders while patrolling with Talonclaw. I'm gathering warriors to teach the intruders a lesson."
The surrounding cats nodded, meowing to eachother. "We're in." A black tom said, eyes narrowed and paws working in the sand eagerly.
"Wait- wait, you're just going to attack meaninglessly? Not try to work it out or any-" Griffonflight stepped forward, but was cut off by Moonpaw as the grey-and-white apprentice stepped between the warriors and Sunsetshine.
"Wait!" She mewed, staring up at the tom. "We cannot just attack them, first we must speak to them!"
"Are you a mouse-brained fool you stupid apprentice?" Sunsetshine snapped, claws sliding out as he advanced on the smaller she-cat.
"Don't be rude, you stuck-up-!" Again, Griffonflight was inturrupted, this time by Sunsetshine. "The RubyClan cats will hurt us all!" He meowed.
"If you provoke them they'll only do more. At least try to speak to them before you fight. It is not like I don't approve of fighting, it's just that there may be a better way to resolve things!" Moonpaw pressed.
Sunsetshine narrowed his slitted gaze on the apprentice, studying her for a long moment. "Fine, have it your way. But if anything goes wrong..." he paused, claws flexing. "It will be your fault, you know."
"Don't speak to my sister that way!" Tranquilpaw mewed from behind Moonpaw. Griffonflight stepped aside to give the apprentice room. "You are a stupid mouse-brain, and Moonpaw is ten times smarter than you! She's kind, and-"
"Don't go over-reacting, now..." Rowanmask grumbled. Tranquilpaw glanced back, but continued anyway in a swift moment.
"She could be saving you all from bloody deaths." The medicine cat apprentice finished.
Sunsetshine stepped past Moonpaw and loomed over Tranquilpaw, a dark shadow passing over the she-cat. He glared down at her, hissing, "You are not the bosses of me or any of us, you filthy, stupid apprentices. We will attack, despite what either of you say." The tom looked up, facing his Clanmates. "Come, warriors of SapphireClan! We attack now!"
Without any consideration for where Rowanmask and Griffonflight stood, the battle patrol rushed past them, knocking Griffonflight aside and sending Rowanmask skidding after her.
"Mouse-brains..." The tom muttered as he helped his traveling companion up.
"This is totally unnecisairy!" Moonpaw agreed, paddig over to Rowanmask and Griffonflights sides. Rowanmask looked over and blinked at the she-cat. "Aren't you going?" He mewed.
"I do not know, it just... doesn't seem safe. Or logical." Moonpaw mewed, pausing to bid a farewell to Tranquilpaw, who was trotting back to the medicine cat den. She glanced at the two older warriors. "You should go and help."