Talon looks back at the cats gathered beside him, all ready for their raid to begin. Hidden behind a wooden fence in the backyard of one of the two-leg houses near the border to the forrest, he awaits word of the scouts he's send ahead. Surprisingly for himself, he is perfectly calm right now. He'd expected the stress to be enormous, but being here, ready to move into the frey, doing something to help the clan along his clanmates, it takes him back to how things used to be. To before there was fear and mistrust and chaos, back when there was reason, order… purpose. Flicking his ear, he hears his clanmates whispering amongst each other, their excitement tangible. Their studded collars and reinforced claws glitter softly in the pale light of the full moon as it hangs over them. Thankfully the shade of the forrest would ensure that they are less visible once they'd be on the move through the forrest, though it is going to be a race against time either way.
Eventually Talon looks up as the sound of claws digging into the wood sound from the other side of the fence, ascending upwards, his claws unsheathing just to be safe. As the heads of Rover and Silver pop up over the edge to look down at the gathered Bloodclan warriors, Talon nods at them, retracting his claws. The two scouts bound down and nod their heads to the dark grey tom, their eyes sparkling with promising joy as Talon speaks to them in a hushed voice
„How are things? Is the forest quiet and the clan retreated into their dens?"
„Better than that! There are barely any cats at all left in the forrest!"
Talon tilts his head, looking from Rover over to Silver
„What is that supposed to mean? We know for a fact that one of the clans lives in this territory."
The light grey cat nods, pleased confidence gleaming in his eyes
„Yes, but most of them left not long ago. They all made their way out along the edge of the lake. Maybe they had the same idea and are raiding another forrest clan? Either way, there must be barely any cats left in their camp"
Talon can hear excited muttering flaring up from the cats around him. This could indeed be a valuable opportunity, if this goes as fast as he hopes, there'll be almost no risk to his clan-mates… but they cannot know when the forrest clan cats would be back, and they would likely be ready to fight with their all if the two groups met like that. Tapping one of his reinforcing dogteeth against the ground, he ponders the situation. His cats are here already and waiting too long might end up making a choice for him, which he can not allow. Maybe Scourge favours todays undertaking.
„Very well…"
His voice slightly louder and directed at the surrounding Bloodclan warriors, whom's whispered talks end immediately and all eyes fall on Talon
„We have our opportunity now. We MUST take it while we can. Remember, no noise, no needless kills. We take everything they've got in their healer's den and get out. We move fast and they'll have no chance to react."
The warriors nod and shuffle in anticipation, but keep themselves from making too much noise. Talon looks over them, pride surging through him as he observes the raiding party, claws and collars glinting in the moonlight, eyes beaming with the need to move out and boldly prove themselves
„Bloodclan, onwards!"
He leaps up, digging his claws into the fence and climbing up, not a moment passing before her can hear all around him the other warriors doing the same. Once on top of the fence, he leaps off, shooting a brief look over his shoulder after landing to see the shadows of cats descending the picket fence like a dim wave, before beginning his dash across the open grassland between the Two-leg houses and the forrest. He can feel the presence of his warriors with him as they rush into the undergrowth of the forrest, slowing just a little to ensure they all remain together and no cat gets lost from the group. Like a single great shadow the move through the forrest, with the rare exception of a bush shaking in their wake nearly soundlessly making their way towards their destination. Scouts have been watching the border for days now, noting which exact way patrols would use back into the forrest after they were done patrolling to more or less figure out where the forrest clan's camp would need to be.
Some time later, slowly and silently stopping their rapid advance, the Bloodclan warriors come across the outer barrier of the camp. The scent of cats is strong and it comes just from the other side, this has to be it, no question. Talon motions with his tail for several warriors to make their way around it to find the entrance, Moon and Gravel leaving the group to do so immediately. As Talon waits along with the main force, he takes in the cool forrest night air. Having a moment to shift his focus away from just trying to be silent, he notices the pleasant scent of plants and soil, so much more nicer than the Twoleg place's air even at the best of places. Here there seems to be a tranquility that just not exists where they come from. To live in such a place, the boon it could be to Bloodclan… the boon it may still become some day when Bloodclan reunites.
His ear flicking towards a sound, Talon is ripped from his thoughts as he sees the two send cats return, motioning to follow them. The entrance has been found.
As the clan arrives by the entrance, they are surprised to find that no sentry is posted. Are those mousebrains so confident as to leave themselves unprotected? Scourge indeed must favour tonight's exploit. If there ever was doubt, it is gone now. Silently Talon creeps into the camp first, careful not to make a single noise as he looks around. Dens, partially dug into the ground, partially roofed with plants and branches and brambles. All laid out in a fairly orderly circle around the center clearing. He notes to himself how much more organised this seems from what they expected… but ordered is good! With a bit of luck it means they indeed just need to find the one correct den, empty it out and they will have what they came for.
As the Bloodclan warriors silently pour into the camp, they look around. Not knowing where to go, they look to Talon for orders. After a short moment of thinking, he points towards Silver and Gash, before tipping his muzzle and motioning at the dens on the left side of the camp, hoping they'll understand what he means. It takes a short second before Silver has it figured out and he nods, moving out with Gash, carefully tasting the air by each den to figure out if it would be the one containing the herbs, Gash quickly catches on and does the same. Talon then motions for Rover to follow him as the two toms proceed the same way on the right side of the camp. Not only does it help to find out where their mark was, but Talon hopes to find out more about how the clans are organised. Surely finding out how they use and specialise their dens would give some insight into how they function, what they prioritise, things that may come in useful some later point.
At the very first den though, Talon freezes and motions Rover to move very carefully around the back of it. The tom does not seem to understand until he carefully takes in the scent and with a nervous smile complies. The scent of kits, milk and she-cats… this must be where young mothers are with their kits. If any cat in the camp would be awake at this hour, and willing to deliver on a fight, it would be a young mother.
Proceeding carefully, Talon does not need to venture very far. Right the next den beside the mothers's den smells of herbs, flowers and roots. This is what they are looking for. Steadying himself for a brief moment, he motions the brown furred warrior with him to stay as he goes on. The dark grey tom cautiously pokes his head into the den, giving his eyes a second to adapt to the nigh total darkness inside. The scent of herbs and berries is strong. As his vision adapts to the dark, he sees the den's inside increasingly clearly. The den is filled with nests, most of which empty, but one troublingly filled. Near the back of the den, Talon sees the gentle rising and falling of a sleeping cat's silhouette. He steps out and waves his tail to gather his warriors by him. Soon his warriors are assembled there, spread in a half-circle around the healer's den, awaiting Talon's command. Motioning at the entrance to the camp, he then points at two of his cats, Silver and Grail understanding their assignment immediately and hurry over to the entrance, posting themselves as sentries. Can't afford to be caught unaware by their returning raiding patrol. Looking over the remaining warriors at his side, Talon holds in for a moment. Now for the risky part, ensuring the cat inside doesn't raise the rest of the camp.
With a nod towards the den, Owl and Rover warriors rush inside. A brief tussle is heard, Talon swivelling his ears attentively, seeking for any and all responses from the rest of the camp. As the noise of struggle quickly subsides, the dark grey warrior keeps listening for a moment longer before doing anything further… all remains quiet. Letting out a deep breath and watching similar tension slowly fall off the remaining Bloodclan cats by his side, he nods and motions at the den, the other cats entering it in a single file, most soon emerging with a bunch of leaves, seeds, flowers and herbs between their jaws. All going well so far… He peeks into the den, over the rapidly moving line of warriors, the first ones send in still keeping the previously sleeping cat down, it's jaw pressed firmly into the ground, leaving no room for more noise than grunting. The cat, a young tom by what little sound he does manage to make, vainfully tries to thrash around and for his relatively meek frame he certainly seems very energetic in trying to struggle out from under the cats holding him down. Talon chuckles inwardly, a feisty one. Not that he can blame the forrest cat. Residing in this den, it is probably their healer, no wonder he'd be of less strong build than their warriors.
Looking on, the line continues under his surveilling gaze, until the last few exit, their muzzles however empty. Talon takes another look into the back of the healer's den, indeed, all has been cleared away. He sighs quietly. Not quite as much as he'd hoped… still it would last them a fair while, or get them through several fights at least, so it is nonetheless a success. As he emerges from the den, he is greeted by the proud eyes of his clanmates. Gash waves his tail, trying to get Talon's attention, which he promptly receives, the dark tom moving over to him. Gash points to a spot further down the line of dens, to a treestump fairly in the open. Intrigued, Talon makes his way over with him, before smelling what the warrior was on about. Food, this must be their food pile! Talon gives the brown tom a confirming nod, smirking in approval at his suggestion. Gash wastes no time, rounding up those who remain of their group without anything to carry yet and leads them over. The extra food will go a long way in securing their wellbeing through the approaching leafbare season. All is going well, the raid is a success, his cats will be both healthy and well fed for a good while thanks to this…
A mewling lets Talon's fur spike up and he turns his head, noting that his alerted surprise is shared by his clanmates. They all following his gaze to the point of origin of the noise. One could almost miss it if one weren't looking for it, but from the dark entrance of the mothers's den, a small pair of curious eyes is watching the Bloodclan cats with innocent wonder. Talon has barely time to register this, before gentle rustling sounds from within thee same den, the silhouette of a she-cat appearing, at first leaning down to pick the sleepless kit up, before unavoidably meeting the eyes of the frozen Bloodclan warriors. None of them need to see the features of her face to recognise her expression change, her eyes filling with fear.
„Retreat! All back to camp, now!"
Talon's voice thunders through the camp, alerting the posted sentries and the few whom had left for the food pile. The clan was going to be awoken now anyway, might as well take the initiative and get out before bloodshed becomes unavoidable. The food scavengers grab what they can and immediately dash for the camp entrance. The second the cats in the healer's den run out to join their clanmates, furious screaming along with a list of insults ,the kind of which surpass Talon's imagination, start coming from the until just now overpowered young healer. Growling, Talon stays more central in the camp for a moment, surveilling Bloodclan' retreat, determined to cover his clanmates as they get out of the hostile camp. He notices several shadows shoot forth from the largest den in camp, immediately racing to meet the intruders. The warriors are up. One fuzzy grey forrest cat flings himself at one of the retreating Bloodclan warriors, trying to crash with all his force into the Gash's side. With an enraged howl, Talon barrels into the thick furred warrior's side first, flinging him to the side. Another of them, a golden-brown tom goes straight for Talon, approaching rapidly and taking a swing at him, claws glistening in the moonlight. Sidestepping just in time to dodge the furious defender, Talon forces him to back up to avoid a flurry of no less rage filled swipes, plucking tufts of fur from the backpaddling warrior's chest. The golden-brown tom, who's eyes remained fierce at first, shine with another emotion as he barely dodges the last of Talons swipes, his gaze fixed on Talon's reinforced claws; worry. He recognises Bloodclan claws, a survivor of the battle for the forrest most likely… not that it matters now. Taking several steps back to ensure that his clanmates are gone, Talon sees that only a few remain, holding their ground at the entrance.
„Talon! Let's go"
Just as Talon nods and turns to race out the camp, the fluffy grey warrior is upon him, landing squarely on the dark grey tom. Unable to immediately find the tom's body through his thick pelt, Talon is knocked over, the grey forrest cat wasting little time in trying to pin Talon under frees one of his front paws, raising it above himself about to bring it down tearing through the enemy, his eyes instinctively locked on the defender's throat. No, no needless killing, they need to escape now without this battle becoming bloody enough for the forest cats to pursue them home… Gnashing his teeth, the red eyed warrior works around his instinct and instead lands a swipe against the forrest cat's right front leg, between his and the reinforcing claws leaving deep bleeding gashes. As the thick furred warrior flinches and hisses in pain, giving Talon the chance to kick him off with his hind legs. The second the weight is lifted from Talon, he immediately darts after his clanmates, in his peripheral vision seeing more cats appearing out of the dens.
„Back home, now!"
The cats guarding the entrance rush out along with their leader, as soon as they emerge on the other side commencing their run back to the alley
„No stopping, no slowing! We got what we came for"
Thundering though the forrest, they hear the commotion back at the Thunderclan camp soon be joined by even more noise. The forrest clan's raiding party seems to have returned, just barely too late to catch them… but still close enough to give chase if they slow down in any way. But it is done, the lifesaving herbs are theirs. The advantage may be a minor one, but every advantage will count in the end. At least now it's less likely that greencough will defeat them before their clanmates get the chance.
As they enter the alley, they are greeted by the few of their their clanmates that remained behind, eagerly awaiting the return of the raiding party. Seeing the warriors return, they run up to greet them. Viper and Edge embrace each other, Grail and Lantern exchange caring licks and Ferret comes forward to overwhelm her father Gash with questions, amazement and pride shining in the young warrior's eyes. Not least though, many look over at Talon as he steps through the mass of felines, mewling their thanks or simply nodding their heads in respect. Still out of breath from the long run home and having made sure that they were not followed, Talon steps forth towards Frost and Venom, whom are waiting for him by the healer's den. Slowly, one cat at a time, the spoils of their raid are being laid down beside Venom, whom looks over the new herbs with a hopeful shimmer in her eyes and a pleased smile, before looking back at Talon.
„You actually made it. This is more than our territory would yield over many moons. We'll be able to make do with this for a while"
She purrs contently, Frost nodding
„I wish I could have been part of it. A success like this is exactly what we needed. Herbs or not, you led these cats in a risky manoeuvre and succeeded, against the forrest clans no less. Even without bloodshed, this ought to impress the rest of the clan."
Talon huffs, sitting down as his breath slowly returns to him
„Leader and second-in-command should not fight in the same battle if possible. Our clan made that mistake once, we can not afford to make it again, Frost. But yes, I hope so. Although now the other contenders might see themselves forced to act as well. They won't stand by idly while one faction goes on daring escapades"
The white tom shakes his head, looking over the cats in the alley, loudly celebrating their victory, some digging into some of the captured food
„Perhaps… but no cat's loyalty is absolute. Many remain fairly torn in choosing which faction to be part of, some may still be on the fence about it and tonight our faction proved itself. If not before, these cats following you believe in you now."
Talon looks over his shoulder at the joyful scene, cats already gathering in circles to hear every detail of the raid from the freshly returned warriors.
„You may just be right with that, Frost. Still, we can not get lazy now, we have barely even begun. We still need to prepare for leafbare and we cannot forget that the battles in front of us will be against our clanmates. We prided ourselves that battling Bloodclan was a fearsome prospect, yet now we face it ourselves"
„True. In time we will have to battle the others. But Scourge must surely favour us after this."
Talon nods slowly, a quiet purr rumbling in his throat
„Scourge is with us tonight indeed…"