Rather unsurprisingly, the Gathering was cancelled. It was Finchstar who bit the bullet and sent a messenger out to all the clans suggesting it might be for the best not to go ahead with it a few days prior to the full moon. All agreed. The risk of a fight breaking out again was just too high. Even Icestar decided it was for the best. He respected Starclan too much to break truce like that again.

Fernclan and Flaxclan had heard about the "bullying" of Tussockclan, and were getting even more aggressive on their borders. Markers over the line were now the norm. Icestar elected to tell the patrols to respond in kind. Every morning was like a tug-of-war with the border location. Flaxclan deliberately left a pile of feathers covered in their scent over on Gorseclan land. It didn't matter if the bird had been hunted on Gorseclan territory or not, the fact they were taunting them was enough. All it would take would be patrols on different sides seeing each other, and a battle would be on.

A fight was exactly what Dappledshade was waiting for. Icestar had requested all the warriors get in some battle practice between their regular duties. "Feels like being an apprentice again." Sedgetuft had complained, but Dappledshade was relishing it. She was a fine hunter, sure, and patrols had their elements of excitement in the monotony on occasion, but fighting… That was where her talent really was.

She had been out training regularly, practising battle moves she felt rusty on. Taking Kowhaifall's one lesson with her to heart, she included different environments all over the territory in her training. She would be ready to use the terrain, no matter where they ended up battling. Sometimes Sedgetuft joined her, sometimes she practised alone. Icestar had the elites train together as well. Practising with such experienced warriors was on a whole other level. She found herself on the back foot more often than she ever had. At first, that had frustrated her, but then, she decided to use that frustration constructively. It simply meant she had worthy opponents to learn from. As the days dragged on, with a fight feeling like it could happen any time, Dappledshade could feel that burn back in her blood; an anticipation.

That fire had also returned to the mood in camp too, after all the gloom since Rowanfall's departure and Kowhaifall's death. Only a few cats, such as Horsefoot and Wattleflower, remained downtrodden. Gorseclan as a whole though, was returning to its rowdy self. They worked hard; they were serious warriors, it was true, but they also played hard. Cats were back to talking loudly and laughing while sharing tongues, and play-fighting in camp over petty squabbles. Sedgetuft often said she took herself all too seriously; she was too uptight, but still… She enjoyed seeing life back in the camp. Boorish as Gorseclan tended to be, it was still home this way.

Her younger siblings were enjoying all the life back in camp too. Approaching their fifth moon now, their personalities really shined, and their wishes for the future were starting to emerge. Cavekit was more quiet than the other two, but Dappledshade could see a certain wit about him. He had commented to her he might wish to train as a herbalist, but Longfang still showed no indication of taking on an apprentice. Surely though, especially after his brush with death, the herbalist should be thinking about it.

The other two were more boisterous. Surgingkit was a brat, full of the kind of self-confidence only youth could bring, while Falconkit was stubborn and sassy (and Dappledshade quite liked her because of it). Shadefeather had commented she was a touch worried about them both becoming bullies, but Sedgetuft made sure to tell them aunt Mottledtail would eat them if they were naughty. For now, that at least made them hide it better. In another moon, Dappledshade wasn't so sure the large she-cat would scare them anymore. Though it should. The older she got the more Mottledtail scared her, if she were honest.

"Alright, show me how you pounce." Dappledshade said with a small laugh in her voice, drawing the kits attention back to her from dogpiling Cavekit. Her eyes narrowed with a slight mischief. "By getting your big brother Sedgetuft!"

"Hey-!" Sedgetuft's protest was cut short as Surgingkit collided with his chest, and Falconkit with his stomach; Caveat chomping down on his tail. He laughed alongside Dappledshade though; they were hardly big and strong enough yet to hurt him. He wrestled playfully with the three kits, rolling over onto his side in a dramatic flail and pretending to be pinned down.

"How was that?!" Surgingkit asked boldly, looking very proud of himself as he stood on Sedgetuft's head, pressing down his large ears.

"Very good. You'll be excellent Gorseclan warriors in no time." Dappledshade purred, only to become distracted as the kits continued to menace her brother. Waspsting's patrol had just returned. It was nothing to note, particularly, on an ordinary day. However, Waspsting had an even more grumpy look on his face than usual, and he crossed the camp with purpose towards Sorrelwind who was just leaving the herbalist den after checking in with Longfang.

She absent-mindedly played with Falconkit with one paw, all with her ears angled towards the conversation between the elite and deputy.

"... got away again." Waspsting was finishing his report. "We actually saw him this time, the brat ran off with a sparrow in his mouth. Crossed the border and scaled up the cliffs. It's too dangerous to chase him up there."

There was only one cat he could be talking about there. After seemingly leaving clan territory following his banishment, Rowanfall had suddenly been scented on a few patrols lately; even the odd glimpse caught of him. They had suspected he had been hunting on Gorseclan territory too, now it seemed there was proof. "The nerve…" Sorrelwind said in response, her tail twitching. "I'll have to inform Icestar about this. He's mocking us at this point."

Oh he was definitely mocking them, Dappledshade was certain of that. It was just the kind of petty stunt he would pull. Being seen was deliberate. Rowanfall wasn't stupid enough to be seen unless it was on purpose. He clearly thought Gorseclan wouldn't actually catch him. She had no idea if he had some kind of end game, or if it was just an act of spite. Both were probable by her estimation.

Heading up the cliffs and into the mountains outside of clan territory was smart, if exceedingly dangerous. The cliffs were sheer, covered in moss and prone to rockfall. If it rained they became slick as ice. Many a Gorseclan apprentice had killed themselves falling from those cliffs after a stupid dare over the generations. That was exactly what happened to Howlpaw and Riverpaw. They should have been warriors by now too. Riverpaw would have been a big brother to Boarkit. Instead they were dead at seven moons old over bravado. A waste. Dappledshade had told them not to do it. Sedgetuft hadn't the nerve, not that she would have let him go anyway. Rowanfall hadn't quite been an apprentice yet at the time. She wondered if he would have gone in on the dare, if he had been.

Recklessness he indeed seemed to have in abundance lately. Rowanfall was playing with fire in both directions with this. Icestar had already ordered that if he were caught, he was to be punished harshly for breaking banishment like this. Dappledshade was sure "punished harshly" translated to killed on the spot.