The large black pelt slowly rises an falls before Talon, outlines difficult to see. The snow has quickly turned into a snowstorm, the already sparse light in the back of the overturned dumpster now coming in less evenly, making it difficult for Talon's eyes to fully adapt. Venom keeps moving back and forth through the bootleg healer's den with the energy of a warrior on the battlefield, her paws not much less flecked with blood either, causing her to periodically stop and lick them clean, lest she bring one patient's misery into another as she keeps working on the abundance of wounds all around.

Eventually the dark mountain of fur, scars and fresh, glistening cobweb growls, eyes remaining closed and resting on his large paws.

„Again with the ogling… if you have things to say, Talon, speak. Though I'd not know what there would be to speak of. I said we won't give anything, you said you didn't expect anything, that should conclude things"

Talon flicks his tail and winds it around himself in his usual way, resting it on his paws, only the tips of his reinforcing claws poking forth from under the fuzz. The sudden motion causes Wrath to flick his ear and open one eye, his sharp emerald gaze immediately finding the grey leader.

„About our aid? I suppose it does. But must that be the only thing that we speak of?"

Wrath does not answer for a while before letting out a gruff huff, resigned in the fact that there won't be anything better to do for now anyway

„You wish to gossip, fine. Then riddle me this: a Bloodclan cat somehow manages to catch a forest clan by surprise, well enough so to make off with their supplies, clearly holding every advantage, and yet! He returns with dry claws!"

Wrath's voice growing louder, more agitated as his little speech goes on. He shifts in his slightly too small nest, raising his head to observe Talon through narrowed eyes.

„How? And more importantly, why? You had the chance to deal a blow of retribution, you had it in the palm of your paw, damn you! With some chance you may have even found this ´Firestar´ himself to drive your claws through, and you just don't!"

Talon returns Wrath's gaze, with every bit the same seriousness, if perhaps less agitation. Intriguingly, beside the ever smouldering anger, Talon believes to spot genuine curiosity. Wrath truly does not understand. The red eyed tom hums, trying to arrange his answer in his own head before speaking.

„A few things. First off, the reason we were able to catch them off guard was by being patient and observing them, as well as a bit of luck, I confess. The clans follow certain behaviours, which I have since come to understand better still. Knowledge hat could come in useful if we do strike at them for real at some point."

Wrath scoffs loudly

„Could… if… at some point. How can you care about this so very little? But do tell, what else?"

Choosing to ignore the first question for now, Talon nods and continues.

„Not all of them were in their camp, a large patrol was out and most that stayed were asleep that late in the evening. But as for why I gave the order not to kill, the answer, in part at least, is you. The thing you might not know, the merger between mine and Kestrel's factions happened afterwards, I had to still consider him a threat at my border, same with you, same with Granite. If we'd stayed and fought, we would have had many wounded, possibly several dead. You tell me that neither Kestrel, nor Granite would have scented a ripe opportunity in that. Or you for that matter, taking my territory would have set you up right next to the forest clans again… "

Wrath listens closely, some of the nearer wounded, as far as their condition allows them to focus, do as well. The green eyed leader seems to debate the points made in his head for a while

„Your territory would have suited me well in that. As it still will in time. And it's true, I would trust neither Kestrel nor Granite as far as I could throw them, less for sure. Then again, it means that you value your position over honouring the clan."

Talon's disbelieving dismay becomes plain to see on his face

„You mean to tell me you would risk your position, life and faction, not to mention the wellbeing of the cats therein, just to strike Firestar upside his head? I find that difficult to believe, even from you, Wrath"

Fury briefly blazes in Wrath's eyes, claws unsheathing and scraping against the ground, before a few moments later the massive warrior uncharacteristically calms down and shakes his head

„You do not understand. You CAN not understand. What might annoy me most is that I can not even fault you for that. You were carrying out Scourge's orders. You were not there…"

The sudden change in attitude surprises Talon greatly, he expected another standoff like in Wrath's den for a moment, but certainly not this. His curiosity arising, Talon tilts his head

„What do you mean, Wrath? The battle for the forest?"

Wrath slowly nods.

„We fought well that day, Talon. All was going well. Bone was an unfortunate loss, but we were making progress. We began the battle slightly outnumbered, by the end, there were almost two Bloodclan cats for each remaining forest warrior. We were so very close, the battle was all but decided."

Wrath looks at Talon, only slightly having to look up to do so, even though he is laying on the ground and Talon is sitting. It's as if Talon could see the past excitement and rage that were flowing through Wrath on that day in his gaze, each word mirrored in his green eyes as he goes on

„The greatest battle we ever fought, and victory was in our grasp. Talon, we could feel the outcome of the battle in our claws, we tasted their defeat in the blood on our tongues, we could smell our conquest in the very air…"

Wrath's eyes rapidly somber, like an older cat getting to the twist of a horror story that he's telling to some gathered young ones.

„And then it was over. The cry rose, every second cat that heard it repeated it, like some cursed chorus. ´Scourge is dead´… The battle was won, all we had to do was fight on, Scourge may have died, but we could still have won, Talon! All we had to do was stay and fight. Then the route began… First just a few, then more and more, the more of us ran the more they inspired to do the same. There was no choice… in the end, I left too. I don't know if I as the last on the battlefield, I don't think I'd have noticed anyway. I only remember howling my anger into the sky as we ran, leaving clawmarks on every tree along my path. Contrary to what some thing, I know my own temper quite well, Talon. But never in my life, before or since, did I feel such fury. I felt like I could tear the meat off my own bones and barely feel it."

A dangerous rumble enters Wrath's voice, his tail lashing behind him. His eyes no longer focused on Talon, but filling with anger… and despair.

„You can't understand, because you were not there. Strength and honour, we could have won, we should have won."

Talon observes the enormous fighter, mildly wary of his current state, not trusting himself to predict how Wrath might react to just about anything right now. Still after a few heartbeats of silence, his desire to understand drives Talon to speak once more

„But if we already fought well, if we were already stronger than them, how would more honour and strength have aided us?"

Wrath's eyes snap back to Talon, slamming one of his paws loudly against the ground, beside the loud thump his reinforcing claws clicking loudly

„Mousebrained fool, you still don't get it! THE FOREST CLANS NEVER DEFEATED US! IT WAS US!"

As Wrath's shout echoes through the dumpster, all eyes and ears by no have turned towards the conversation between the two leaders. Talon is taken aback, Wrath's shout nothing short of an actual gust of wind against his face, the loud, thundering voice ringing in his ears. Wrath's face remains contorted into a fierce snarl as he shakes his head

„It was us, the only thing that could defeat Bloodclan was Bloodclan! No matter how strong as warriors we were, as a clan we were weak! No matter how great we were individually, as clan we did not have the honour to make it count! We condemned Scourge, and all others who fell that day, to having died for nothing, because we did not have the strength and sense of honour to keep pushing, for THEIR sake, for Bloodclan's sake, to make it all mean something!"

Wrath's snarl slowly fades, his head lowered for a few moment, before he looks back at Talon, his characteristic glare having returned, his voice quieter, but infused with a deep rumble

„So… when you ask if I would risk my life and position for this, and yes, even a few lives along the way, my answer is yes. Why our dead must be avenged and the clan's honour not only restored, but reinforced. Otherwise we will prove that Bloodclan was never more than a pipe dream, held together entirely by just one cat. And that is a reality I refuse to acknowledge. Not as long as I still have breath left to draw will I allow such a conclusion. Never…"

Talon holds Wrath's gaze, but slowly slips into his own thoughts. He'd not seen it from this angle before, not like Wrath would have ever sat around to explain the way he sees things in more detail. To some dismay of Talon, Wrath makes a few points he can't just dismiss. What strikes the red eyed tom perhaps the most is Wrath's conclusion about what Bloodclan's route meant. Among other things, and an abundance of rage, Wrath feels guilt, guilt to have left Scourge, Bone, Fury and the rest to have died, their death denied of a purpose. Never would Talon have assumed that to be the one of Wrath's motivations. Moreover, what if his veiled prediction stands true? If Bloodclan were to face the same situation again, would things repeat themselves? Would the clan fracture yet again… or perhaps even cease to be entirely? Still, how could the clan grow strong enough to stand firm if the time comes, if they're willing to sacrifice their own too willingly to get there? A thoughtful hum escapes Talon

„You should have explained things more from the start, Wrath. I don't think the other leaders understand the way you see things. I know I didn't."

Wrath shakes his head before resting it atop his paws again

„It would have done little good. Too late now either way, they all have their own visions, be it only of themselves standing at the top."

„I don't know, Wrath. I still do not agree with all you say, but perhaps I disagree a bit less on some points, now that I know. Perhaps they would have too. But you are probably right, too late now"

Wrath lets out a deep exhale, closing his eyes again, tail still tapping the ground

„You know we will still face each other sooner or later, right, Talon? You won't surrender easily and I certainly won't either."

Talon slowly rises up to his paws, padding away

„Probably, yes, if no-one else gets one of us first. I hope you survive no matter how that day will go. Bloodclan would miss a warrior of your caliber."

Wrath scoffs quietly, not much moving beyond that

„Go, take care of your own faction, fool. And don't you dare try to humiliate me by making it too easy when the time comes"

Talon gives a mildly amused scoff at that in return

„I'll do my very best, I promise you."

Talon believes to hear a brief chuckle from the injured leader, but by the time his ear swivels towards Wrath to confirm, the noise is gone. Talon stops near the entrance of the dumpster, Venom quietly huffing as she looks up from checking on Reborn.

„What you think, Venom? How should we do this? I presume you'll have to stay here a few days to try and stabilise some of them"

She nods, wiping her paws on the dark green plastic ground, leaving small, glistening trails of sweat behind

„Definitely, if we want them to recuperate. At least three, if not four of them need me around a few more days at least, or they will likely not make it, Wrath one of them. Sheer amount of wounds, someone with a nose for it needs to keep checking until they at least decently started closing, otherwise even a small infection can end up laying the big cat flat. Even so, I remain… unsure of Wicker's odds, sadly. If Arbrarc is willing to let me feed off their food pile, I can stay for a bit. I'll find my way back once things are done…"

She throws a near mournful look at the store of herbs she brought

„Chances are there won't be enough left of what we brought to warrant any other carriers either… you better make good on your plan to get more, Talon. Or we'll have very little to work with should anything happen"

„Right after we look into the food Kestrel claims to have found. Busy days ahead"

Reborn, tries to flick his left ear, visible distain quickly painted upon his face at the pain, discomfort and otherwise disagreeable sensation of the few shreds of fur and skin that remain hanging there where his ear was before. Still he looks up, with interest

„Getting more? You heading out to harass the forest clans a bit again, then?"

Talon looks down at Reborn, nodding

„Apparently. Not like you need it, you keep somehow skipping out of death's way at the last second and keep getting away with it. Seems nothing's changed there"

Reborn smirks

„What can I say? It's a gift. Now I just need to find away to not feel pain and I'll be invincible"

Talon rolls his eyes amused

„Sure, shall I tell Flame of your hypothesis. I'm sure he'll want to hear all about it"

Reborn chuckles, but soon halts, the wounds along his ribs seeming to not agree with it

„Heh, maybe we don't do that, yeah? Good luck anyway. Do try to get at least a swipe at one of them this time, yeah?"

„I did last time, matter of fact. Some grey fuzzball tried to pin me as we were pulling back."

Reborn nods, entertained, but settles his head down as Venom cautiously starts examining the remains of his ear again

„Good! What it's worth, hope you make it through all this. I want to hear that story sometime, yeah?"

Talon nods with a small grin as he begins padding away

„Deal. Now we just need to hope we don't all kill each other before then. As if anything could kill you anyway"

As Talon exits the dumpster, he goes to find the little group of his own cats, all three having gathered up right where he left Gravel and Gash earlier. They turn their heads at his approach

„Time to head home. Venom will stick around here for a few days."

Gash looks over to the overturned dumpster

„Sure we should leave her here? What if Wrath and his decide to keep her when she's done putting them back together?"

Talon looks over his shoulder, following Gash's gaze

„Not Wrath's way of doing things, underhanded stuff like that. She'll be fine. I'd be more worried if the twins try to storm the alley. Let's hope enough of them are up and about again before something like that can happen. Either way, we're heading back now. Plenty of work to be done for our own territory… "