A couple of whole days had passed by before Spiderstrike returned from his mission. The camp had been alight with whispers about the whole thing. Dappledshade was sure Hailstorm was finding it entertaining. Icestar sure didn't; snapping at any cat he overheard making disparaging comments.
Dappledshade wisely kept her mouth completely shut on the topic, even when Mottledtail tried to draw her into it. She was honestly relieved when Spiderstrike came back, so the talk he had abandoned the clan would stop.
The slinky black tom had simply strolled in the camp entrance in the pink glow of dusk as if he hadn't been gone on a secret mission for days, but only out on an afternoon hunt. Complete with something hanging from his mouth.
Dappledshade had sat up and stared when she noted that detail. What were those? "Are those kits?" Rimuleaf's comment from nearby had her eyes widen. He was right; Spiderstrike was holding three little furry bundles of dusky black. One had a splash of ginger, marking a dark tortoiseshell.
Her eyes shifted at new movement in the entrance tunnel behind Spiderstrike, as the elite paused and looked back at the tunnel too, a flick of his ear a hurrying gesture. Coming in behind Spiderstrike was another cat. The stranger was a young tom, around Dappledshade's age. His pelt was a smokey tabby and white, though his most distinctive feature was a little stumpy tuft for a tail, like the one the Fernclan deputy Tinyfrost had. The young tom's orange eyes showed nerves through an air of attempted confidence.
His scent hit her nose, and it was immediately obvious he was part of the rogue band. All around her, the rest of the clan had also picked up on that fact, and they were on their feet with unsheathed claws and raising hackles. A dull hum of noise echoed through camp; low growls and whispered words.
Icestar had left his den, watching silently for a moment from the top of the High Stone. His eyes then found Sorrelwind. "Take the kits from Spiderstrike." He said to her, moving to descend from the stone as his deputy moved to do as asked. The two gently exchanged the kits, and for a moment, it seemed like Sorrelwind was going to take them straight towards the nursery, but then she hesitated. Icestar had approached down, and she looked to him, seeking permission. The leader nodded his head slightly, and the deputy slipped away, the soft hungry cries of the kits fading into the background.
"So Spiderstrike, what have you found for us?" Icestar turned his attention back to his warrior, who was impatiently flicking his tail at the young rogue to come closer.
"I found their camp." Spiderstrike announced, raising his voice loud enough for the curious clan to hear as a whole. "Well, something like one anyway. They've set up base up in the mountains. When I found the camp it was empty apart from this one." He jerked his head at the stranger. "He had been left to guard the kits while they were gone."
"What is your name, rogue?" Icestar's attention turned to the smoke tabby, his words brisk and harsh.
"Venom." When the young adult cat spoke, it didn't show any of the nerves he was obviously feeling being at the mercy of the clan cats. "In truth, while your cat has taken me prisoner, I am glad to be here." His words seemed to surprise even Icestar; his tail curled with slight curiosity. "I'm sick of living like that; as a rogue, as you put it. My mother and I joined them for protection when I was younger, but I want to have a choice… I've seen the strength of you clan cats." His eyes drifted over the entire clan, passing over Dappledshade as well before returning to Icestar. "This is how I'd rather live."
Dappledshade was taken aback, and she was sure everyone else was as well. A rogue, wanting to live in a clan? After all they'd done? Icestar's silence for several long breaths told her he also wasn't sure what to do, at first.
Eventually though, the white tom spoke, looking down at the rogue with suspicion, possibly even contempt, but undoubtedly there was a certain interest there too. "I will consider your request." He said finally, his tone guarded. "But for now, you will remain Gorseclan's prisoner." Venom did not reply, simply nodding his head. It seemed he was content enough with the answer.
After ordering Sheercrag to find a place for Venom to stay, Icestar then turned his attention back to Spiderstrike. The black tom offered his leader a rough estimate of the rogue group numbers. "There are around ten, maybe more. It's possible I didn't see them all." He had been watching them for the entirety of his absence after finding the camp. "My concern is how close this settlement of theirs is to Star Falls."
Dappledshade understood that concern, and by the murmurs through the clan and looks of worry, so did everyone else. Star Falls was a sacred place to clan cats; a place of communion with Starclan for herbalists and healers; the place where leaders went to get their nine lives. For many apprentices, it was a rite of passage to travel there. In Tussockclan, it was a requirement before they became warriors. To have these dangerous enemies so close was not good at all. To a more religious cat, it was no doubt downright blasphemous.
Dappledshade's only concern was the practical aspect. No clan cat would be safe travelling there now. The half-moon meeting where the herbalists and healers from the four clans all spoke with Starclan was in only a few days.
"This is deeply troubling…" Icestar murmured, seemingly sharing her thoughts. "Longfang!" He barked the herbalist's name, summoning him from where he had been lingering near the back of the crowd. After jumping half a foot in the air in a startle, Longfang scampered over. "You will need to visit the other herbalists in the other clans and warn them about this. The half-moon meeting is too dangerous for you to attend now."
Longfang seemed surprised at the order. "Even with, ah, all the border… erm, tensions, Icestar?"
"Of course." Icestar scoffed, lifting his head up slightly."Herbalists exist outside of inter-clan squabbles. Your safety is paramount."Most of the clan murmured agreements with his noble intentions, only the most hot-blooded such as Waspsting would disagree with not prioritising the safety of a herbalist, even one in another clan during war time.
"Weedfur!" Icestar called on the elite, senior warrior. "You will accompany Longfang for safety." Weedfur was a good choice as an escort; he was a talented warrior, but more importantly, level-headed and well-respected by the other clans. He should be able to convey their well-intentioned visit better than the stuttering, nervous Longfang, who hastily told Icestar and Weedfur he would like to leave immediately. The leader gave his permission, with Longfang quickly darting away to get both himself and Weedfur some travelling herbs.
The clan then broke off into their own groups to talk. Icestar moved off, presumably to check on their new prisoner, and the three kits. Spiderstrike went straight to the fresh-kill pile, which was pretty depleted since it was getting late in the day and most of the clan had already eaten. He was probably pretty hungry after being mission focused up in the mountains for days.
Dappledshade sat back down where she had been standing and staring the entire time, letting out a small huff. She didn't know about anyone else, but all this constant tension and dramatic events one after the other was getting tiring. She was starting to lose count of the amount of times she had jumped up with a rush of adrenaline ready to fight in camp in the last couple of moons. "You think the other clans are going to listen?" She asked the small group she had been sharing tongues with as she flopped back down.
"I would hope so." Blackbird commented between licking her front legs as something likely more stress relief than grooming. She also gave Horsefoot a quick like behind his ears for good measure, which he returned gently. He still wasn't talking much, and often disappeared for hours. Nobody knew where he was going; if it were any other cat than the kind, mourning Horsefoot, Dappledshade might have suspected him of something. "Surely the other clans don't despise us so much they'd turn our herbalist away."
"It's not like we would gain anything by lying about it." Dappledshade replied, only mildly distracted by watching Sheercrag talking with Icestar, too far away for her to catch their words. It seemed like they had decided to clear out an old isolation den for sick cats near Longfang's den to use for the rouge prisoner. Venom, for his part, was standing with them passively. It certainly seemed like he had no intention of running away.
"Exactly." Mottledtail nodded along. "If anything, were we pure evil, we would want them all to go, and then when they were alone we could kidnap all of them!" She cackled quietly, silenced by a sharp look from Thrushwing. Their father rarely shared tongues with them now they were older, preferring to give them space to form relationships with the rest of the clan, but when he did, it was quite nice to have someone to easily shut Mottledtail up.
