The sound of fighting downs out almost all else. Talon tries to push on forward, clawing and tearing through the many cats in his way, all fighting with each other as if in an absolute frenzy. Growling, biting and clawing, slowly the dark grey tom makes progress. A twinge of pity remains in the back of his mind, it finds itself overshadowed by Talon's rage at their fierce resistance. He has to make it through, make it out the other side, that is all he knows and if they choose to obstruct him, then he has no choice. As claws fly, bodies fall and blood sprays, Talon manages to get the occasional glance at his destination past the ocean of moving, bloodied fur. A cat calmly sitting, so unbothered it even has it's back turned to the carnage going on. He has to reach this cat, he must, that he knows and so he fights on in the truest sense of the word. Claws tear through his fur, adding new scars on top the old, the screeching and hissing deafens the tom to all else as he feels the ache of his wounds and muscles. Letting his claws rip through flesh, opening throats and sides, blinding exes and shredding ears, his coat grows thick with blood. He feels pain as the wounds on him sting and gush his own blood over the floor. He feels fury at the cats in his way, their endless, pointless fighting. As he slowly gets closer to his target, he feels purpose. He has his target in his sight and is getting closer to it, nothing standing in his way for long. A cat bites down hard on his shoulder, teeth piercing deeply into him. He lets out a screech, before pushing against the attacker and leaning over, sinking his own teeth into it's throat, pulling viciously until the attacker relents it's grip. The pain is fierce, the taste of blood strong on his tongue, but he must move onward. Only a few more cats between him and the turned cat. Another assailant lunges at him, leaping highly upon him. This could crush him, but it leaves the cat wide open. Sidestepping just enough to avoid the cat's descending weight, he pulls his clawed paw up hard, ripping open the lower neck of his new attacker, leaving it to gasp in shock as it's lifeblood begins to drain from it. Panting, Talon moves on, caring not to watch the cat die, only seeking to get onward, to get to his destination. Finally, he can drag his tired, aching paws onward to the sitting cat. Beholding it for a moment, he tilts his head. He's… here, right? Shouldn't something happen? As he sits down, he hears the echo of his reinforced claws sound back and forth, as if in some empty twoleg storage building. Wait… he recognises this cat. How did he not earlier already? So close, Talon can smell the cat's scent and it is unmistakable. His eyes widen in realisation, as he turns around once more, at the cat that was previously turned away from him, now barely a whisker away. Ice cold blue eyes stare into Talon's, a familiar face moving it's maw to speak, but he can't quite hear the words the cat speaks before all fades away before him.

Talon gasps as he shoots up from his nest, nearly hitting his head on the low ceiling of his den. Panting, he looks around, tail lashing back and forth, claws extended, he scans his environment. This is his den, just his little den under the wall. Talon feels his pulse beating strongly in his chest, and he could swear he still feels a tingle where he thought wounds were a moment ago. A dream… again such a dream. He got further though it this time. He'd never actually fought his way through to the other side before. And the cat waiting there… there can be no mistake, any Bloodclan cat would recognise the small black tom immediately. Scourge. Could his dreams be a message from his former leader? He shakes his head slowly, trying his best to calm himself. The forrest cats believe in their ancestor's sending them messages, but most Bloodclan cats believe no such things. Wishing each other well with Scourge's name or invoking it for guidance is more of a relic kept from the leader's early days, when Bloodclan was still very young. When he wandered twoleg place, solving cat's problems, something they'd just said of respect for their unifier, that became habitual figures of speech later.

Talon slowly walks out of his den, the night having engulfed the alley once more. Next night would be the another gathering of the factions. His raid might impress some cats, which in turn will inevitably aggravate others.

The tom sits down and begins grooming down his fur, which remains partially spiked up from his dream and sudden awakening. So many questions are going through his head and it'll be rough to try and find any answers that are worth the bother. He could visit the river to try and clear his head of it, but he shakes his head as the thought comes up. The clans will have a lot of patrols out now for a whole while most likely. I'd be unwise to try going there so soon after the raid and with their gathering so close at hand he'd rather save his foolish actions for worse days. With a quiet frown, he walks the alley, waving his tail in greeting to tonight's sentry. It seems Frost designated one of the younger warriors to the task, Ferret waving her tail back, proudly sitting at her high perch to overlook the alley. Talon continues on his walk. The young she-cat has lived herself in quite well. Child to a kitty-pet mother, there was a chance she might return to life as a kitty-pet after tasting the often rough life in Bloodclan, but she is close to her father Gash and adapted admirably. Peaking into the healer's den on his way, Talon's muzzle is hit by the rich scent of the herbs now stored within. Beside Venom, only Clover remains in the den right now, the unseemingly feisty she-cat still recuperating from her injuries during the last border skirmish. Lantern was given permission to leave the healer's den's care earlier today by Venom, much to his displeasure only in time to greet the returning raiding party, not to partake in it.

Moving along slowly, Talon makes his way through the surrounding alleys and streets. Bloodclan is so vastly different from the forrest clans. Not all cats live in it's main alley itself, their dens and sleeping places spread over their territory. Of course, in times of imminent danger or during the day to be given tasks, many make their way into the alley, but every cat has the right to nest where they find a suitable spot. The lack of usable living space in any one singular alley would make it impossible to house all of a Bloodclan faction, let alone the whole clan, remains a big factor in this. The thought of living in a communal den like the forrest warriors never even occurred to Talon before seeing their camp...

„Awake again, Talon?"

The dark grey cat looks over, his eyes landing on Silver. The white and grey veteran nods his head as he approaches, the many teeth on his collar gleaming in the pale light of the moon and the distant neon of the deeper twoleg place.

„I could ask the same. You did good work during the raid, would you not rather be resting?"

The veteran warrior sits down on the edge of the sidewalk, looking into the distance, to the many coloured lights of the twoleg place

„Can't. I am glad we now don't need to worry as much about simple cuts getting infected anymore, but I am uncertain how the other factions will respond to it."

Talon nods slowly and joins the slightly older tom at the sidewalk's edge

„So do I. Wrath may consider it a challenge, since taking the fight to the forrest is his entire rallying call"

„Or the fact that we raided them and killed none may be seen as weakness by him. He lets his namesake show more and more lately I hear. I think the other leaders are getting antsy, it may start sooner than we thought"

„You still talk with your sibling then, I take it?"

Talon looks at Silver from the side, remembering that Silver's littermate, Argent, remains among Wrath's veteran warriors. The seasoned warrior remaining calm, but his eyes betray a sting of sorrow as he stares off at the far away lights

„Does that make me a traitor?"

„It doesn't, Silver. Talking is still allowed, as you well know. Besides, you are both still siblings and you're both still Bloodclan. I have seen no indication of you betraying us in any way"

„…it might make him a traitor though"

His eyes finally pull away from the distance and return Talon's gaze

„According to Wrath at least. Apparently Kestrel and Granite's ploys made him a good bit more paranoid. If he finds out we still speak, even though my brother never told me anything that would compromise their faction, Argent will feel his leader's fury. If I asked Argent to join us instead and any of Wrath's cats would notice, I'd make things worse for him. The closer the day comes where we might battle, the less sleep I get because of it all"

Talon turns his head away, staring off into the distance

„I could try to catch him alone after tomorrow's gathering for you. But there is no guarantee, I fear"

The white furred veteran shakes his head slowly

„I appreciate it, Talon, but it'd just be a needless risk. Risking conflict with Wrath's faction before we are ready, that is not something I could ask for. Their warriors are too formidable. Besides, it seems you too are kept awake. Just the stress or…? If that's not too insolent a question"

Talon rolls his eyes at his veteran warrior

„I am not leader of Bloodclan yet, Silver"

„You might be soon enough"

The veteran warrior flicks his ear, observing Talon as the grey cat sighs quietly, considering for a moment if he should tell or not.

„… strange dreams keep me awake some nights. Scourge is in them. I can't quite make sense of it, but it seems to… progress as time passes. He is trying to say something, but the dream still ends before I can make out what. Am I going mad or is there meaning to this?"

The veteran hums, looking back into the distant lights, eyes revealing deep pondering

„Before the battle with the forrest, I would have said you should let Venom check your head . But… we all who were at the battle for the forrest saw dead cats rising to their paws that day. Spewing something about ancestors and leaders having multiple lives… It's not something many cats will speak of, but more cats than would care to admit questioned their belief after that, or their lack of"

„You believe Scourge would be trying to tell me something?"

The white and grey tom slowly rises to his feet

„I do not presume to know what Scourge could or would, Talon, alive or dead. All I know is what we all know, he was unique among cats. Bloodclan is young compared to the forrest clans, but perhaps the few ancestors we have care as well as theirs do? I would not know. I know my duty and that is sufficient for me."

Talon hums quietly, remaining seated, mulling over the veteran's words, the slow advance of leafbare's chill hazing his breath slightly

„One last thing though, if I'm allowed to be insolent already. At times you act more as our clanmate than our leader, Talon. If Scourge is really speaking to you, you will need to be a leader first and foremost. A clanmate alone will not bring the clan back together, nor defend us from cats like Wrath or the twins. Only a leader can"

With a final nod of his head, Silver pads away, leaving Talon to himself, soundlessly pondering the given advice. Is that the expectation of the veteran warriors, for him to lead more assertively? Is it the expectation of all his clanmates in his care? Flicking an ear, he lets out a deep breath, it forming a frosted mist before him before disappearing. Before long he may not have a choice in the matter anyway. He's made a move now with the raid, the other contenders will have to respond to it if they are not to fall behind, which none of them will permit themselves. And what of his dreams, what would Scourge be trying to tell him? Why would Scourge even choose to speak to him of all cats and… from where? A memory comes to Talon's mind, from his spot by the river. Did he not imagine icy blue eyes observing him from the depth? Perhaps Scourge has been watching him for a while. Is it a warning, a sign, an encouragement, or merely the former leader's curiosity of what is happening to his legacy? He hums and shakes his head, slowly rising to his feet. No cat in Bloodclan could do better than speculate, as far as he knows such a thing never happened before here. The only cats with experience in such strange things are the forrest clan cats, and he can hardly ask them for his dream's meaning. Slowly the dark tom rises to his paws, before fixing his whiskers. Right now he has more immediate things to worry about. He needs to anticipate the reactions of the other factions, find ways to navigate what will be a difficult time for all of Bloodclan. His clanmates need his protection, the other contenders need to be dissuaded from striking out at them. He can not be the first to leave tomorrow's gathering. He will need to be able to answer whatever they throw his way. His faction must appear strong before the others. There is no room for wavering. Talon begins the trip back to the alley. As the tom retreats home in the hope of catching some sleep at least, a pair of eyes that have been watching for a while disappear from atop one of the twoleg buildings.