Dawn rolled around with a quickness. Sleep was quickly disturbed by a yowl.
"Fighters, Spies, wake up," called Chicorynose, her fawn figure nothing more than a dark silhouette in the den's entryway. It was time to go. Swiftcloud rose quickly from her nest giving herself a good shake to clear herself of bracken bits and nerves. Her shoulder ached terribly, but she did not say a word about it. It would be worse later no doubt, no use complaining now. Swiftcloud followed the line of warriors as they slipped out of the den, gathering just a tail-length from the entrance. Swiftcloud's gaze drifted through the crowd. At the very edge, she spotted the clan's apprentices, even the young ones. They were coming along? Swiftcloud felt more worried now than before. I hope they're ready for a fight.
"Spies, you will be first to cross the border. Stay downwind so no cat may scent you. Fighters, mark the new borders while the spies keep lookout. Apprentices, you'll be following behind the Fighters. Pansypaw, since you're the youngest, you'll be the one to run to camp in the case that we need reinforcements. Does everyone understand?" Chicorynose checked, head raised and body stiff. Her expression was serious, her muscles tightened beneath her fawn pelt. The deputy had an air about her which commanded respect, demanded cats listen as she spoke. No wonder why she'd been chosen as Whitestar's successor. She'd make a great leader some day.
Could Swiftcloud ever hope to be like her mentor? She knew she had her clan's respect now, especially after coming up with the idea that led to today's battle plans. But could she ever be on Chicorynose's level? Swiftcloud began to wonder if one day she could become deputy. Even though it made her nervous, she liked the idea of being able to help the clan, to plan patrols and to solve problems. To lead beside the leader and to keep Grassclan strong. Would Whitestar or Chicorystar even want to choose her as their deputy? A sick feeling suddenly came into Swiftcloud's stomach. The only way to get Chicorystar was for Whitestar to die. And the only way for Swiftcloud to become Whitestar's deputy was for Chicorynose to die. Swiftcloud didn't like the idea of either thing happening. She cared about Whitestar, and she loved Chicorynose like kin. Maybe it was for the best that she'd never become deputy. As long as both high ranked she-cats lived.
"Swiftcloud." A voice murmured into her ear, snapping the warrior suddenly from her thoughts. Swiftcloud blinked, looking beside her. It was Shadowfang, studying her with a concerned expression. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah. I'm fine," she stammered, "just a little nervous, I guess."
Shadowfang rested his tail over her good shoulder reassuringly. "It's gonna be fine. Just keep your eyes open and ears pricked. If trouble emerges you come find me, ok? Don't fight alone."
Swiftcloud gave a nod, moving to press her side into his. Shadowfang's warmth provided her comfort, calming her down enough that she could move forward without trembling.
Swiftcloud kept to her mate's side the entire march to the Forest Patch, a sense of loneliness filling her when she had to pull away and go on ahead to keep lookout. They'd always get into trouble like this together, it felt wrong to do so without him. But I'll be fighting by his side soon, she reminded herself. Insecurity seemed to be the mood for the day. Swiftcloud saw it reflected back at her on the expressions of her fellow Spies.
"What should we do now?" Bumblethroat asked Swiftcloud, voice barely above a whisper. Ladybugbite and Cowpatch looked to her as well. Had she been deemed leader of this team? Well, this was my idea, she reminded herself once more.
"We should...split up. Cover more ground. But, stay within earshot. When we get five bear-lengths into the Forest Patch, I'll send a signal. I'll make a chirp sound, and go back to tell the fighters the coast is clear. The rest of you stay put until you hear me chirp again."
"Could I do it?" Cowpatch requested. "Fetch the others, I mean. I'm the fastest cat out of all of us. And I'm a Collector too, after all. This is sort of part of my job description."
Swiftcloud gave a little noncommittal grunt. "That's fine. Does anyone else have something to add?" Bumblethroat and Ladybugbite shook their heads. "Good. Now, lets get moving."
At once, the Spy warriors separated, disappearing into the forest's dense undergrowth. Swiftcloud dropped down into a crouch, creeping across the forest floor as quiet as an owl. She kept herself balanced, careful not to allow her belly to drag against the leaf litter beneath her. Being so light in color, the white and black patched molly kept to thicker cover, hiding beneath bushes and ferns. She'd pause momentarily beneath each to look upwards, searching the canopy for any signs of Treeclan warriors lurking about. Every now and then something flashed into her vision, but when she parted her jaws, Swiftcloud was relieved to scent what was usually a squirrel or a bird. But an uneasiness couldn't be prevented from forming deep inside of her. She didn't like being in such a crowded space, where a cat could hide and leap out at her at any given moment. Normally, Swiftcloud liked the cover of the Forest Patch, if only for hunting. However, now that she could potentially become prey, her feelings drastically changed. Already Swiftcloud longed to be back in the meadow with it's wide open space and sweet strong breezes. There she felt so strong, so confident. But here she felt small and vulnerable.
Swiftcloud felt like a kittypet again, venturing into the unknown; danger awaiting around the corner, excitement and anxiety flowing through her from claw to tail-tip. But today's venture brought greater risk than the one seasons ago. Today's advances would result in the injury of many cats, not just of one overly curious housecat. Swiftcloud stifled an anxious gulp, forcing herself to calm down lest her fearscent travel. Soon, she realized, it was time to stop. A quick sniff behind her revealed the spies had successfully managed to sneak into Treeclan territory five bear-lengths. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, Swiftcloud smiled. After giving a quick glance around, the white and black patched warrior stood up straight, lifting her head so her voice would carry clearly. Straining her vocal cords to constrict, Swiftcloud let out a bird like chatter, alerting the other spies of their position. After a silent heartbeat, Swiftcloud could just barely spot movement in the undergrowth to her right. The shaking of leaves revealed Cowpatch's path back to the border. Now, it was all a matter of waiting.
Around her, slowly, warriors began to appear. They all came along crouched to the forest floor, determined to complete their mission. When everyone was the same distance into the forest, Chicorynose called everyone together quietly. They spoke in the Silent Language for fear of being heard should they speak a word.
"Great job everyone. Now, let's see how much farther we can go."
"Is that safe?" Shadowfang expressed concern. "Wouldn't it be better if we marked the new boundary here, and waited another time to invade further?"
"We have already come this far. We could probably make it a couple more bear-lengths if we try."
Shadowfang lowered his ears a little, glancing towards his mate. Swiftcloud met his gaze, seeing the pain in the black tom's eyes. His injuries from yesterday must be hurting him a lot if he's trying to avoid a fight, she realized. Shadowfang hadn't been cleared for battle, but he had insisted upon coming today. Grassclan needed all of its Fighting warriors after all, and even if he hadn't wanted to come, Swiftcloud doubted Whitestar would let him sit out on such an important mission. But it was clear that Shadowfang shouldn't even be away from his nest. How many other warriors are hiding their pain? Swiftcloud wondered.
"Swiftcloud. Lead the spies another five bear-lengths ahead." Chicorynose ordered. Swiftcloud nodded, motioning for her team to follow. The four warriors disappeared back into the undergrowth, away from the hidden Fighting warriors.
Swiftcloud was alone again, and she felt every bit of that isolation. But I have to keep moving, she told herself. The undergrowth thinned out slightly another two bear-lengths ahead, leaving less places for the mostly white warrior to hide. Swiftcloud prayed to Starclan that she wouldn't be spotted. But when she took another few paces, it seemed like Starclan had ignored her.
In the nearby ferns, Swiftcloud spotted the movement of an enemy warrior. Though he hadn't seemed to have sensed her yet. Swiftcloud parted her jaws to taste the air. The unmistakable scent of mouse rushed over her scent glands. He must be hunting. Swiftcloud bristled, seeing a tiny gray creature skitter and stop a fox-length in front of her. In a few heartbeats the warrior was on it. As he crouched, focusing on the mouse, the cat's ears swiveled forward. Swiftcloud felt her heart climb into her throat. The ginger and white cat was staring right in her direction. A growl escaped the tom, sending the mouse running. But the Treeclan warrior did not pursue. In that moment Swiftcloud knew she'd been spotted.
Like a bolt of lightning, the enemy warrior shot from his place, yowling loudly and leaping onto her. Swiftcloud tried to wiggle from the cat's grasp, feeling her shoulder being bitten and her flanks being scratched. She let out a shriek of pain, but hoped none of her clanmates would come to her aid. We need to complete the mission. I..I can handle myself! With effort, Swiftcloud managed to throw the cat off of her. She stood on shaky legs, fluffing out her fur to make herself appear larger. The other cat mirrored her stance, and actually did manage to come across bigger. Even though this served to unnerve her, the white and black patched molly did not back down.
A few more tense moments went by, each cat waiting for the other to strike first. Swiftcloud wasn't eager to, wanting to buy her clanmates more time to advance into the Forest Patch. She guessed the other cat had a similar idea, probably waiting for backup to arrive. Some rustling in the trees above alerted Swiftcloud that the two of them now had company. Within a couple of moments, three Treeclan cats fell down from the trees. They landed perfectly on their paws, surrounding Swiftcloud on all sides. Swiftcloud whipped around in each direction, trying to identify each cat. There were four, counting the cat who'd attacked her. Shadeleaf, Bluefang, Magpietail, and Foxstrike. As she observed them, Swiftcloud realized these were not the usual cats who'd come to fight at border skirmishes. They're Hunting warriors. This must be a hunting patrol.
"Swiftcloud, what are you doing on Treeclan territory?" Magpietail hissed, her black tail wagging with hostility. On the outside, the she-cat appeared menacing. But looking into her eyes, Swiftcloud saw a twinge of regret. The two mollies were friends, Magpietail most likely did not want to fight. In fact, Swiftcloud doubted that she was a Fighter at all. Of course she knew how, as all warriors do, but it was likely not the Treeclan cat's career to regularly fight for her clan.
"I-uh..hadn't realized I'd wandered so far?" Swiftcloud quickly lied.
"You know where the scent markers are!" Spat Shadeleaf.
"I was too distracted with hunting," Swiftcloud defended, more confident in her words this time. "I mean no harm or disrespect. And I haven't caught anything so..I haven't truly done anything wrong. Your anger is unwarranted."
"We have every right to be angry, trespasser," Bluefang growled. "How can we know for sure that's what you were doing? I bet you're here as a Spy, not a Hunter!"
"Either way, we should tear up her hide to teach her a lesson on crossing the border. In a war no less!" Foxstrike chimed in, unsheathing his claws. Instinctively, Swiftcloud drew hers, crouching, ready to fight. As the ginger tom was about to strike her again, a blur of white and brown flashed from the undergrowth. It was Cowpatch, bodyslamming himself into Foxstrike and knocking him down.
"Reinforcements are on the way!" He told Swiftcloud as he started tussling with the Treeclan tom. Within a few heartbeats, the rest of Grassclan's Spies and Fighters had arrived. Swiftcloud decided to throw herself onto Magpietail before any other cat could, pinning the molly down, sheathing her claws. This close, Swiftcloud could make out the slight bulge in the molly's belly under her long white and black patched fur.
"Listen," she hissed quietly in Magpietail's ear, making motions as if she actually were fighting her. "I know what's been going on between you and Gingerstrike. And I know you're expecting. I don't want to hurt you, or for anyone else to, for that matter. Please, for the sake of your kits, run home."
Magpietail looked up at Swiftcloud with wide eyes. She kicked up her back legs, claws in, and halfheartedly threw Swiftcloud off of her. As she jumped her her paws, she mouthed a "thank you" to the other molly, before scaling a tree and disappearing from sight. Swiftcloud smiled, feeling good that she'd helped the expecting mother. Just because they were from rival clans didn't mean she had to be cruel. Even if the Warrior Code told her that in battle they were enemies. The Code also said not to harm kits, or to ignore any in need. Helping Magpietail escape was just as much about honoring the Code as it was breaking it. Besides, Swiftcloud knew if anything bad happened to Magpietail or her kits, Gingerstrike would be devastated. He'd lost enough recently with the death of his older sister.
Speaking of Gingerstrike, the ruddy ginger tom came running towards Swiftcloud just as the last traces of his mate disappeared into the branches above.
"What happened to Magpietail?" He demanded to know.
"Lower your voice," Swiftcloud hissed, flaring her nostrils. She dropped her own tone so it was hardly above a whisper. "She's fine. I didn't actually attack her. I told her to go home so that she and the kits would be safe."
Gingerstrike blinked with surprise. "T..thank you," he mewed. "That means a lot to me. That she's safe."
"I know. C'mon, we can't keep standing around here, I smell a Treeclan battle party coming."
"Starclan willing, our battle party will be arriving soon as well."
As if his words had triggered their arrival, Treeclan cats came diving down from the canopy above. Swiftcloud jumped back, prompting the other warrior to run off and find his partner, just like she planned to do. The white and black patch molly dashed off into the crowd, searching the pelts of the battling cats surrounding her for Shadowfang. Is he safe? she wondered, whipping her head around.
By the sidelines, next to a shedding birch tree, Swiftcloud spotted the black tom on the floor. He was pinned, eyes narrowed up at the smoke black cat who was assaulting his underbelly. A knot formed in Swiftcloud's belly as she recognized the warrior. It was Thornberry, Treeclan's own deputy. Shadowfang was having his tail handed to him by the higher ranking enemy, yowling out in pain as his skin was torn into by powerful back legs. Swiftcloud pelted over in an instant, lowering her head and colliding it with Thornberry's flank. An airless gasp escaped the smoke tom as he fell off the Grassclan Fighter, the wind seeming to have been knocked out of him. Swiftcloud dropped beside Shadowfang, nudging him and urging him to his paws while they had a moment.
"Run home. You're not fit enough to fight."
"Swiftcloud-"
"Don't argue! You're bleeding, and hardly able to hold your own. I know you want to fight. I know you don't want to leave me alone. But you'll end up getting yourself killed at this rate. Please, Shadowfang."
Shadowfang hesitated, brow furrowing. "...Fine. But you better make it home in one piece."
Swiftcloud bumped her forehead against his gently. "I will. Now go!"
Shadowfang scrambled to his paws at his mate's command, sprinting off in the direction of home. Swiftcloud watched him go, her guard down long enough for Thornberry to get the jump on her.
"Oof!" Swiftcloud felt a hard blow against her side, her head whipping around to glare at the Treeclan deputy who now towered above her. A smug smirk was settled on his muzzle. Swiftcloud's lip curled up into a snarl at the sight, her paw raising instinctively to swipe at the tom's face. Thornberry let out a short yowl of pain when claws made contact with skin, making him take a pace back. This gave Swiftcloud the oppurtuniry to get back onto her feet. On all fours, she dropped into a hunter's crouch, narrowing her eyes at the tom who mirrored her stance. They seemed equally matched at this moment, though this did not bring Swiftcloud any assurance. She wouldn't allow herself get cocky in the face of a possible victory, for fear of turning it into a defeat. Her guard must stay up. She must win this fight.
Swiftcloud was the first to make a move, leaping at Thornberry who rolled to move out of her way. When she landed, Swiftcloud swung around in time to have her ear nearly clawed. Luckily she was fast enough to jerk her head away and save her good ear from injury. Hissing, Swiftcloud threw herself at the enemy again, bowling him over. The two cats wrestled on the ground for a while, Swiftcloud's hind legs kicking into Thornberry, and Thornberry's jaws making contact with Swiftcloud's forepaw. Swiftcloud let out a pained yelp and shook the deputy off of her. Thornberry stepped back, long fur bristled menacingly. His yellow eyes kept trained on the younger cat as she staggered to her paws again, ragged pants echoing through her chest and out her mouth.
Exhaustion struck Swiftcloud like a branch to the nose. How much fighting would she have to put up with before her body gave out? This was not what she'd asked for when she requested the jobs of Hunter and Spy before her warrior's ceremony. But she had promised to fight, regardless of the position she held. To protect and defend the clan was the sworn oath of a warrior. No matter the fatigue, no matter the pain, she must press on.
While Swiftcloud gave herself another mental pep-talk, Thornberry kept on her, anticipating another move, or waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But as much as Swiftcloud tried to encourage herself, she physically couldn't convince her limbs to move. She needed a rest, at least a small oppurtunity to catch her breath. But Swiftcloud knew she couldn't be granted such luxury.
Thornberry grew impatient of waiting. He growled deeply, wiggling his nubby tail before lunging to pounce on the young warrior again. Swiftcloud braced herself for the attack, squeezing her eyes shut and crouching to the ground. But when she peaked an eye open again, she was shocked to see Thornberry struggling. He was snarling, whirling around and shaking himself in an attempt to throw a cat off of his back. Tuilppaw had joined the fray, clinging to the enemy deputy while she kicked into his hide with her back paws. She looked over at her mentor with wide eyes which seemed to glow with exhilaration. Unlike Swiftcloud, it seemed Tulippaw found great thrill in a fight. She would make an excellent Fighting warrior someday, especially with being so bold as to attack Treeclan's deputy even at such a young age. Swiftcloud felt some pride from that, but knew that confidence and skill so far had mostly come from Ambereye. Swiftcloud wondered if the amber she-cat was watching their battle right now.
"Tulippaw!" Swiftcloud yowled, forcing herself to stand. "Bite into Thornberry's scruff and push all your weight onto him."
Tulippaw grinned at the command, following her mentor's directions exactly. Thornberry stopped whipping around as much, weighed down by the apprentice who seemed reluctant to quit. Swiftcloud readied herself to help the young molly, narrowing her eyes at the enemy cat. She bolted forward, swiping out her good forepaw to trip up Thornberry's front paws, causing him to lose some balance. Then she turned like a snake, kicking out her back legs to knock the tom's from under him. With a loud thump, Thornberry came crashing down to the forest floor. Tulippaw pulled back to caterwaule triumphantly before Swiftcloud shooed her away with a jerk of her head. Tuilppaw seemed unwilling to abandon her mentor however, choosing to grab hold of Thornberry's scruff once more to help hold him down. Swiftcloud took this chance to jump onto the deputy, pressing him to the floor. He tensed, glaring up at the enemy warrior with despise.
For a few moments, Swiftcloud was able to get a good look at Thornberry's face. The deputy's eyes seemed a bit foggy, the furry edges around his sclera looking puffy and covered in tiny particles of crust, like the tom had not slept or cleaned his face properly this morning. Fatigue also shone in his expression no matter how aggressive the tom tried to appear. No matter what, all three cats knew that the high ranking warrior was defeated. After another heartbeat, Thornberry allowed himself to go limp, glancing away from Swiftcloud in defeat. Swiftcloud squared her shoulders, lifting her head enough so cats around them could hear her as she spoke, but keeping it low enough that her words seemed to be directed at Thornberry.
"Get off our territory!" She snarled, lifting a paw to give the black smoke tom's shoulder a slash for good measure. Tulippaw released the deputy from her grip as Swiftcloud kicked him out from under her. Thornberry rolled a bit from the force of the blow, shakily rising to his paws. He yowled, calling to his cats to fall back and retreat. The black smoke tom did not waste time to see if his warriors were following, choosing to take off up the nearest tree and out of sight as quickly as possible. Swiftcloud yowled out in victory, quickly followed by her apprentice. She took Tuilppaw with her to mark the nearest tree, glancing around to see the rest of Grassclan following suit. Across the clearing about a bear-length away, Swiftcloud caught Chicorynose gazing in her direction. Pride seemed to shine on her fawn features as the pair locked eyes for a few heartbeats. As if telepathically the two mollies shared the same thought. This victory was because of me, Swiftcloud realized with pride, unable to contain her purring.