Disclaimer: Great StarClan, I don't own Warriors? Oh, that's right. I don't own the Warriors! However, I'm pretty sure that I own the characters that were made up for this story. (I created them all, you know.) Please don't intentionally steal any of my characters! They are all very precious to me!
Chapter 8
Rowanwind took Crookedfern and Thornfur with him the next morning to go to the other Clans to ask for their aid in this attack. When the three reached the ShadowClan border, they stopped and waited for the dawn patrol to pass by. It wasn't long before Rowanwind saw Blackshadow, a long-furred black tom, leading his gray and silver apprentice, Driftpaw, and two ShadowClan warriors, a silver and gray she-cat named Mellowclaw and a ginger she-cat called Honeyshine, along the border.
"ThunderClan cats on the edge of our territory again?" Blackshadow meowed when he and the others stopped. "What in StarClan's name is going on now, Rowanwind?"
"We haven't the time to explain much. ThunderClan is attacking DarkClan's camp to try and rescue their imprisoned cats," Rowanwind said hurriedly. "Tell Crimsonstar if she wants to help us in this battle, she needs to have her warriors meet near the log bridge that leads to the island, just before sunhigh."
The ShadowClan warriors' eyes grew wide. Driftpaw's ears were pricked with astonishment.
"Your Clan is full of mouse-brains!" Driftpaw mewed. "Who ever heard of attacking DarkClan? We barely beat them when they attack us!"
"Be quiet!" Blackshadow hissed, cuffing his apprentice with a paw to the head. "You're too young to see their brilliance. An offensive attack has not been done yet, and it will surprise them for sure."
Mellowclaw and Honeyshine glanced at each other with anxiety in their eyes.
"We must hurry," Rowanwind said. "We have to tell the other Clans as well."
"Of course," Blackshadow said. "We'll go tell Crimsonstar right away."
The two groups went their separate ways, Rowanwind and his two companions going back through their territory to get to WindClan. When they got to the other border, Rowanwind decided there was no time to wait for a patrol. He led the way onto WindClan's territory, heading straight for the WindClan camp. They were halfway to the camp when there was a frightened yowl and a long-furred, gray she-cat with a white chest and white paws jumped in front of them.
"ThunderClan cats!" she said. "What are you doing on our territory?"
"We need to speak to the closest warrior, Whitepaw," Rowanwind told the she-cat. "It's very urgent."
Whitepaw's ears perked forward. "I'll fetch my mentor. She should be close by."
A few moments later, Whitepaw came back with Robinclaw, a black and white she-cat whose gray eyes were full of suspicion.
"What is the meaning of this?" Robinclaw demanded.
"No time to explain," Rowanwind said. "ThunderClan is attacking DarkClan's camp today." He told Robinclaw and Whitepaw where Angelstar should send her warriors if she was going to help. "We must continue going. We still need to speak to RiverClan."
Robinclaw nodded. "Good luck."
Rowanwind waved his tail good-bye to the two WindClan cats before leading Crookedfern and Thornfur toward RiverClan. They traveled swiftly along the lakeshore before reaching the swampy area of RiverClan territory. Like they had done in WindClan, they simply strolled through the territory, heading for the camp.
This time, they were stopped outside the camp by Boldstripe, Willowfoot, and their apprentices, Sunpaw and Scorchpaw.
"Rowanwind!" Boldstripe meowed. "What are you doing here? Has something happened in ThunderClan?"
"ThunderClan is attacking DarkClan's camp," Rowanwind replied. "If Featherstar wants to help, tell her that she must send her warriors to meet us near the log bridge that leads to the island, by no later than sunhigh."
"You're attacking DarkClan's camp?" Sunpaw screeched.
Scorchpaw's eyes were wide as his sister yowled.
"We must go. There are some things we need to take care of before the attack," Rowanwind told them, ignoring the frightened apprentices. He gave them a quick nod before leading Crookedfern and Thornfur away.
"That was fast," Thornfur said as they walked back to their own territory along the lakeshore.
"We don't have the luxury to waste time," Rowanwind replied.
"Lighten up a little, Rowanwind," Thornfur meowed. "You're too intense lately. It's no wonder you haven't noticed that Stormypelt likes you!"
Rowanwind stopped in his tracks. "What are you talking about?"
Thornfur and Crookedfern glanced at each other with knowing looks in their eyes. Obviously, the two of them knew something he didn't.
"Never mind," Crookedfern meowed. "It is not the right time to discuss such things. We have an attack to plan."
Rowanwind looked at the two of them suspiciously before beginning to walk again. What in the world did the two old toms know about Stormypelt that he didn't? Was Thornfur right? Did Stormypelt like him the way he liked her? He shook his head as their territory came into view. Crookedfern was right; now was not the time to think of such things. They had a battle to plan.
Rowanwind looked around at all of the cats gathered on the lakeshore beside the log bridge. Three of the Clans had sent at least eight warriors to fight. ShadowClan had only sent six, but Rowanwind was glad they had sent some at all. Gloom had showed up with Smutty, Coal, and Tiger. When Rowanwind had asked where Beauty and Pidgeon were, Gloom had told him the she-cats had stayed back with Beauty's kits.
"We're ready over here, Rowanwind," Thunderstripe called to him.
Rowanwind nodded to him and scrambled up onto the log bridge. He looked down at all the cats for a few moments before giving a loud yowl. When he'd had a majority of the cats' attention, he began to talk.
"I know this is a bit frightening, going off to attack our enemy in their own territory. But it's time we brought the battle to them, don't you think? They've attacked us on our own territories far too many times! It's time to go on the offensive," Rowanwind said. "Now, in order for each Clan to have an equal say in the matter, I'd like each Clan to pick a representative. If your deputies came, send them to me. We need to discuss the plan of attack."
Rowanwind jumped down and waited as the Clans whispered to each other. It was only a few moments before Graytail, WindClan's deputy, came padding over.
"I haven't seen Burrowgrass or Rapidriver anywhere," Graytail meowed.
"The other Clans must not have sent them," Rowanwind replied.
A few minutes later, Fogpelt of RiverClan and Harmonyfur of ShadowClan came walking over to them from their Clans.
"We're ready to discuss the plan of attack," Harmonyfur said, sitting down in front of the three toms.
"You all know how Gingerheart was kidnapped by DarkClan at one point in time," Rowanwind began. "Well, we are going to use her knowledge of DarkClan's camp to attack them."
Gingerheart and Thunderstripe walked over, Lionstorm not too far behind them.
"Look who's here, Rowanwind!" Gingerheart called. "Lionstorm can help us, as well. He remembers more than I do, I think."
"That's great," Rowanwind said. "What do you think is the best way to go about attacking them, Lionstorm? We want to have the best element of surprise we can manage."
"Well, we were allowed to walk around the camp with escorts sometimes," Lionstorm said. "Their weakest guarded area was on the east side of the camp. I'm pretty sure we could slip in through that side fairly easily. There are only three guards. One of them always sleeps whenever he gets the chance. If we can knock them out quickly enough where they don't sound the alarm, we could manage to get into the heart of the camp."
"What about a distraction?" Gingerheart said, her eyes widening as her mind plotted. "We could send a group to the southern side of the camp. There are about six guards there. When they send up the alarm, the rest of the groups can slip in through the east side while the DarkClan cats are all rushing to the southern side. Then, the rest of the groups could split into two groups. I can lead a group to where the imprisoned are usually kept, and the other group can go and help the others fight the rest of the Clan."
"That's brilliant!" Lionstorm said. "It would be quite an element of surprise. DarkClan think that they are the smartest cats around. They think nobody can outsmart them."
"Well, with a plan like that, we'll certainly show them!" Thunderstripe said. Rowanwind noticed his friend was looking a little edgy and that he kept glancing at Lionstorm. Was his friend still jealous of Lionstorm?
"It just might work," Rowanwind agreed. "Harmonyfur, would you have a problem having ShadowClan attack the northern side?"
"No problem, Rowanwind," Harmonyfur replied. "I see where you are going with this. If only ShadowClan cats attack them on the southern side, they will think that only ShadowClan cats are attacking them. They'll certainly be surprised when other Clans show up from inside their camp!"
Rowanwind nodded. "Exactly. ThunderClan, WindClan, and RiverClan can slip in through the eastern side. We'll have ThunderClan, with Gingerheart in the lead, go and free the imprisoned. I'll go with them, in case I need to use magick to release the imprisoned cats."
"Magick?" Harmonyfur spat. "Is that what it's called when those stupid cats become badgers and crows?"
Rowanwind forgot to breath for a moment as his brain wrapped around what Harmonyfur had just said.
"Rowanwind, what's wrong?" Thunderstripe demanding, seeing his friend floundering for breath.
Rowanwind finally took a deep breath, his mind going dizzy with excitement. "Harmonyfur, you're absolutely genius!"
"What did I say?" Harmonyfur asked quizzically.
"We have an ally in ThunderClan, a cat now named Duskpaw, who was once a DarkClan tom named Switch," Rowanwind explained.
"Switch!" Lionstorm gasped. "So he did take my advice! I told him to go seek out Gingerheart in ThunderClan after Featherstar refused to allow him into RiverClan!"
"That was a very good idea!" Gingerheart purred. She noticed the astonished faces of the other cats. "It's not what you think. Switch is a good cat!"
"He is!" Lionstorm added. "He saved Maplerose's kit, Secretkit, when she was kidnapped by DarkClan. Instead of killing her, Switch saved her and brought her back home! He is truly good; he's nothing like his old Clanmates in DarkClan."
"That's all very enlightening," Rowanwind said. "Duskpaw has been giving me lessons on magick. He told me that not all of the cats in DarkClan can use magick. A few use their magick to transform themselves and other cats who cannot use magick. What Harmonyfur just said about them turning into badgers and crows gave me an idea. I can do the same to our cats! I can turn our own allies into larger, more dangerous animals so they may fight against DarkClan!"
Gingerheart gasped and gave a little leap of excitement. "Yes! Yes! That's absolutely genius!"
"Of course, you wouldn't be able to change any of the ShadowClan cats," Thunderstripe meowed. "They would know immediately that you were around."
Rowanwind nodded. "Good thinking, Thunderstripe. I'll change a few of the RiverClan and WindClan cats before they go off to help the ShadowClan cats in battle."
"I want to go with the ThunderClan cats to free the imprisoned," Lionstorm said. He looked at Gingerheart. "I know exactly what they are going through. I want to be there when they realized that they are free at last."
Gingerheart nodded. "I think that's a good idea. Do you want to bring Cloudpool?"
Lionstorm looked over his shoulder at his white-furred mate, who was talking to her Clanmates, Timberpelt and Nightflower. "I would love to bring her. It will keep her out of any immediate danger."
This comment made Rowanwind think about Stormypelt, and how she was back at camp. He was quite sure that Stormypelt was grumbling because she hadn't been picked to come with them. Did she possibly know how glad he was she hadn't been chosen?
"It's time we told our Clans the plan," Fogpelt meowed. "The longer we decide what to do, the less time we will have until it gets dark to put the plan into action."
Rowanwind nodded. "Then let's get to it."
End of Chapter Eight
Author's Notes: I know this chapter is a little short, but what more can I do to have them get ready to go battle? The plan has been set, the cats are ready...so it's time for a battle!