Padding into his alley and towards his wall, cats are wandering about, the daily life already having begun to take it's usual course. Aside from a few relieved looks that his clanmates shoot Talon as he passes, nothing out of the ordinary yet. Greetings being spoken, cats speaking with each other, kits playing near the towering silver trash cans and many warriors slowly migrating towards the wall as with Talon's appearance today's orders and assignments are soon given. Raising his gaze, Talon gives an acknowledging nod to Soot, whom currently descends from the night guard's position overlooking the alley. The black pelted tom waves his tail in return as he descends the steps downwards. Once close to the wall, Talon readies himself for a leap up onto the dumpster, to then proceed from there the last bit up to the top of the wall, but notices a shadow padding up to his own, making him pause. He gives a small huff before turning around, instantly proven right on whom he expects it to be that approaches him.

„Greetings, Kestrel. Already something to report? The day has barely begun."

The second-in-command flicks his ear as he sits down, dipping his head in greeting shortly before looking at Talon. Kestrel's eyes show the same usual amount of thinking and conniving going on behind them, but his expression is neutral. Talon notes that the tom seems almost a bit sleep deprived, a certain tiredness surrounding the usually smug cat.

„And yet so busy was the night. It appears there was a battle at the border of Wrath and the twins. Not yet the big fight we worried over, but more substantial than the last. Some cats had to be dragged back afterwards, I hear. It's quite possible that Bloodclan cats have died before the sun rose today."

Talon's expression turns to one of absolute seriousness as whispers go through some of the close-by gathered warriors. Words of worry and words of fear are audible among the mutterings, as well as a few voices rising a bit louder, anger and defensiveness sounding as some cats pelts bristle and others ears lower.

„My den, now."

Talon's words sound with more anger than he'd hoped to let slip as he rapidly pads toward his den's entrance no more than a few taillengths away, Kestrel immediately on his heel. The red eyed tom, not stopping in his motion, looks towards Moon and Hornet, the two veteran warriors standing near-by and straightening up as they notice Talon's attention upon them.

„Guard the den, make sure we remain undisturbed."

The two she-cats nod and follow suit. As Talon and Kestrel slink into the den, they remain just outside, seated on either side of the den, ensuring the warriors gathered for their assignments do not step too close. Once inside, Talon turns towards Kestrel, the seriousness unmistakable upon his voice as his mind already runs wild, his stress increasing tangibly.

„What do we know so far? No detail left out, Kestrel"

The brown cat exhales audibly and shakes his head

„Sadly, not a lot more than I already said. It happened not long before first light. All I know is that Wrath's warriors ended up winning, but had to drag three of their own back afterwards. I don't know who exactly or if they are dead or just too injured to walk. Though without a healer, those two things might not be too far off from each other…"

Talon shakes his head, a hiss escaping him. His tail lashes back and forth. Bloodclan warriors engaged in battle, it's near certain that at least someone died. Question is who? His thoughts briefly turn towards Silver and his brother. The aged tom would be devastated if his kin died, in such a senseless way to boot. Keeping himself just narrowly from striking out in a mix of frustration and stress fuelled anger, Talon takes several deep breath, before looking at Kestrel, continuing in a slightly calmer voice.

„And what of Snake and Ice's side? We know anything more there? Wrath's warriors are some of our fiercest and you say they won. I'd guess the twins took losses then."

Kestrel grimaces slightly, his displeasure at the situation undisguised as his gaze lower

„No… Wrath's side is already hard to get much information on. The twins…you know how they are. Tyrannical pair of foxdungs. No-one willing to speak, not only because they are afraid to get caught speaking, but they're already afraid to even see or hear something. Even cats outside the clan…"

Talon tilts his head to the side

„Outside the clan?"

Kestrel sighs as raises his head again, looking at Talon with a sly little smile pushing the grimace aside

„Come now, did you think I could turn cats in each faction to be informants? If my informations are unlikely to come from our clanmates then they must be from… ?"

Talon thinks for a moment before the truth dawns on him, remembering the curious gazes he'd gotten just this morning on the fence, at the edge of Bloodclan territory. Could that really be it? He looks at the brown coated tom with some surprise. Kestrel chuckles, seeming able to tell from Talon's look that he figured it out before he even speaks

„The kitty-pets… you're using the kitty-pets to gather informations."

Kestrel flicks his tail, the tom seeming to revel in the revelation hitting Talon

„Bloodclan warriors don't pay them any mind, can sometimes walk right by them without even registering them, but they're everywhere, hear much, see much… Not a single cat in all of Bloodclan seems to suspect the one group of cats that are no physical threat to them at all."

Talon nods slowly. It's brilliant, yet so very simple. Bloodclan spends all it's attention of external threats and each other. The thought never crossed him to suspect the kitty-pets. A small uncomfortable chill runs up Talon's spine. If Kestrel has his spies among the kitty-pets… does he know of yesterday's little rescue action already? Will he learn of it later today? Which ones are with him and which ones are not? Looking at his second-in-command, Talon's pads are sweating. He must have known that he heads to the forest regularly for a long time. Kestrel could have ambushed him whenever he pleased while they were separate factions… or after uniting still too. He might know the route Talon takes to the edge of twoleg-place, from where he returns, roughly when he'd usually return. The fact that Kestrel didn't, along with his willing revelation on one side reassure Talon, the second-in-command seems determined to display his loyalty. But on the other side, some of Talon's neck fur stands up at the realisation that this cat, whom is no fighter at all, could have arranged his end at any time. He's been playing with higher stakes than he'd imagined, keeping up his little trips.

Shaking his head and ignoring the stressful knot in his stomach, Talon hums quietly as he observes the brown warrior. If nothing else, this little interlude served well enough to ease his more immediate anger at the situation between Wrath and the twins.

„So… we know very little in general of what goes on in the territory of Bone's sons, is what you're saying?"

Kestrel's pleased expression melts away into a slightly dismayed one

„Far less than I'd like, yes. It doesn't help that they give most of their orders, speeches, decisions and all else in an abandoned twoleg storage den. None dare get close enough to hear what goes on in there and I can't blame them. They'd be found out right away, and those two dung smears could not give a rat's tail about the truce between clan and kitty-pets. They'd kill them outright, did so a few times already. That's why the kitty-pets there are all frightened and keep to themselves. Bone would spin in his grave if he could see his kin… a traitor, two tyrants and a runaway. What a progeny."

It takes Kestrel a few heartbeats to notice the sour look on Talon as the former second-in-command of Bloodclan is mentioned, the red eyed tom looking out through the entrance of the den, towards the small bit of sky visible from down there.

„Or… does he see them? You speak with Scourge, not me. Is old Bone still there beside him?"

Talon nods and huffs slowly, a slightly pained smile forming on him

„You didn't think something as trivial as dying would keep him from standing at Scourge's side, did you?"

The dark furred leader shoots Kestrel a bitter-sweet look

„I'll tell you all I know about our dead sometime, if you tell me all else you've learned through your little lookouts. But we should focus on the trouble in front of us for now"

Nodding, Kestrel laps at his paw before pulling it over his ear several times before answering

„Deal. You'll find that much of it is more interesting than actually useful, sadly. Though you'd still be in for a few laughs I think. About the border fight though, what's our play? Can we make one right now?"

Talon sighs, the regret plain on his face as he lifts his right paw, inspecting his claws, real and reinforcing, un- and re-sheathing the former several times

„Not much we can do right now, I fear. You said you might find us ways to get more food. Our own supply to get through the season is currently less than certain. Unless we can be absolutely sure that we've got enough for ourselves, we cannot offer up much to help anyone else, even if they are clanmates..."

Kestrel nods and looks thoughtfully ahead, more through than at Talon as his mind is at work

„Perhaps… the twolegs are the key. But it'll be a risky gamble. As in very risky and not in the way we are used to. We might pull the attention of the twolegs onto us for a while if we do this. We'll need time to plan it"

Talon tilts his head, a hint of curiosity in his gaze

„You're saying there is a chance, that is already a decent start. What would be our target?"

Kestrel hums, seeming to snap back to reality, almost surprised to find Talon in the middle of his field of vision

„I can show you if you wish. It's a bit of a way out though. Considered going for it before we joined you a few times, but always ended choosing against it. And even after we get the food I suspect to be there, I have not yet found a way to safely bring it all back to Bloodclan territory without making us a tempting target for every rogue around"

Talon sighs deeply, but the prospect of being able to save his clanmates outweighs his trepidation of the rest of twoleg-place outside the clan's direct reach, but the idea sparks little joy all the same.

„So it's outside of the clan's borders… Well, this will be grand. We'll take a look, then we can still decide. But right now, I still need to see to it that the clan gets going for today. The longer they wait for orders, the more time to gather and hunt passes us by and for now at least we can't really afford that."

Kestrel steps away from the entrance, making ample room with a courteous flick of his tail

„Then lead on, Talon. I'll try to find out more about what happened and what we might be able to do in the meantime. Unless you need me here?"

„Do what you do best, Kestrel. If there is any achievable chance at all, we can't just let our clanmates die out there. Nor let our own starve… Come find me when you know more. We may prove Scourge wrong yet…"

Talon pads past his second-in-command, out of his den and past the two veteran warriors still dutifully guarding the den. With a sway of his tail, Talon dismisses them and leaps up against the wall, climbing to the top and sitting down before looking down at the crowd of warriors. As Kestrel walks out of the den and straight past the other cats, heading out of the alley, many asking gazes cling to him before returning up at Talon. Calming his nerves a bit with a few deep breaths as he waits for the chattering to die down a bit, Talon observes the warriors under him. The reception of the news has doubtlessly gotten a whole range of reactions, but one thing appears evident from looking into the eyes of the slowly quieting crowd. It sits well with none of them. After a few more heartbeats deciding to wait no further, Talon winds his tail around himself to rest on his paws. Time to begin giving today's orders. A lot to be done still. Kestrel's plan sounds hopeful, but it remains uncertain yet. His faction won't survive on maybes, food will still have to be gathered, borders must be defended. Time will tell if they can breathe up soon, but until then they cannot ease up. Not yet.