Talon sits atop his wall, observing the alley quietly as the sun-rays descend upon him, granting some much desired warmth amid the frosty leafbare air. Last night's sleep was thankfully tranquil, much needed after a day mostly spend nigh continuously on his paws and dealing with Wrath. Though worry once more infests the back of Talon's mind, waiting for the return of the scouting patrol. They are Bloodclan warriors, all. They can survive out there, they can defend themselves, and yet… so far no cat has died as a result of his orders, but twoleg-place is not known for being forgiving. They need the food. Letting his eyes descend to the entrance of the abandoned twoleg-den in which the food piles resides. Cats enter, clearly hungry, but not all come out carrying food. As much as the commitment of his cats to preserve what they have fort he good of their faction, to stretch their reserves, the slowly rising hunger concerns Talon deeply. He slowly rises his gaze to the sky, hardly a cloud out today. Some risks must be taken, to assure the faction, the clan, goes on, right, Scourge?

His ears perk up and his attention is drawn to the entrance of the alley as a little commotion sounds up. Red eyes shining in interest as relief eases the burden upon his shoulders, Talon sees the patrol at last return, headed towards his wall. Silently, Talon does a quick headcount, with satisfaction noting that all are back and none look any worse for wear. Kestrel and Frost striding at the front of the group, Frost's expression too neutral to read much into, but Kestrel's pleased smirk at least seems promising. The patrol at last stops before the wall, former and current second-in-command both giving a brief bow to Talon before sitting down. Talon returns a curt nod to the returning warriors

„You have returned. I trust this means good news?"

Kestrel's grin grows a little wider

„I dare say so. As expected, it may not be easy, nor free of risk, but we will get our paws on what we need for sure."

„Good. Join me in my den then. The rest of the patrol, you did well. You are dismissed, get some rest if you need it, then return to your duties. Patrols are set already, so go out and hunt as best you can for today"

The most of the patrol dibs their heads and disperse within moments, some faster than others. With a quiet huff of relief, Talon bounds down from the wall and to his den, the clacking of Kestrel and Frost's reinforcing claws on the asphalt behind him confirming that they are following. Once inside, safe from the cold breeze, Talon turns to face them

„Report, what have you learned. And perhaps more importantly, how may we get what we need. The number of warriors skipping meals is growing by the day."

Kestrel, after sitting down and drawing a few warming licks over the pads of one of his front paws, observes Frost a brief moment to see if he would speak first. When the white tom does not, Kestrel clears his throat quickly and gets to it

„First of, it seems my information has confirmed itself. A twoleg meat place, one of the windows pleasantly wide open. One of the twolegs sometimes rests by it, breathing it's smoky ember sticks before disappearing inside again from time to time. As expected, bigger issue will be the transport"

Frost nods with a thoughtful hum

„So it is. Simply taking the streets is… not plausible. I hate it, but fact is even with nothing we were very closely observed by rogues and strays all along the way. We try to get as much as a rat's tail past that way, we'll have to fight our way through odds I do not like. There are more of those flea pelts than I'd though, way more. If anything kept them busy, it has ended by now. Kestrel's idea for a solution is… daring. I wouldn't eve bother considering it, had I not seen the amount of rogues we'd likely face otherwise"

Talon flicks his tail, his gaze slowly wandering from Frost to Kestrel again

„That bad, hm? What ´daring´ path would you suggest then, Kestrel? We need the food. The longer we hold off on getting it, the weaker we become."

The brown and cream tom nods

„We should see to it that we get it soon, agreed. And though we usually shy away from it, I believe the answer lies in the sewers. There is an open sewer line close by the meat place. We find a decent access on our territory, we can get there and back and no rogues will know."

Talon's expression deepens in seriousness, his flicking tail ceasing motion immediately

„There are reasons we avoid the sewers, Kestrel. Year-round, but especially in leafbare. All of twoleg-place's rats nest there now to avoid the cold, their swarms are enormous and ravenous. Not to mention that it is some of the most treacherous terrain there is and our ignorance of anything else that could be down there. Or our inability to adequately navigate those tunnels."

„Which is why we should spend as little time down there as possible, agreed. But! Think on it, Talon. If we can find our way, we can get enough to last us much of the rest of leafbare."

Talon observes Kestrel, thinking hard on the suggestion. Frost seems no more comfortable with the idea then the red eyed tom either, and yet… like many in Bloodclan, Frost enjoys battle. If he is concerned enough about their odds against the rogues to agree with Kestrel, it may be the only viable option. And they have to get that food, the option to decline no longer exists. Talon grinds his teeth before answering

„Do you have a plan on navigating the sewers then, Kestrel? This plan hinges nigh entirely on it in this case"

Pleased, the second-in-command nods, his tail wrapping around himself

„I chose some of our patrol's participants carefully. Sparrow may have a short fuse on his temperament, but his ability to orientate himself, I dare say, is second to none. He knows the distance and direction to our destination now, he'll be able to find us the right way in the sewers."

„Sparrow… I see. Can't say I know him that well, too easily agitated for me to have ever gotten to know him much. I prefer his sibling in that regard. But if he's the key to this, he will do us a major service. In your estimate, how many warriors will we need to bring back enough to get us through most of leafbare?"

Kestrel looks up, thinking for a moment. A moment Frost takes for himself

„My experience, we'd need at least ten to twelve cats for such an amount. Provided we can get there as undetected as we hope and not run into too much trouble in the sewers, we could bring more. But every cat with us isn't in the territory in the meantime to defend it, should we be attacked"

Kestrel slowly nods after a heartbeat longer of thinking

„Sounds about right, I'd second that opinion. That being said, I'm unsure on who'd attack us for now. Wrath remains… occupied and Granite, at least at the seems, has shifted his attention to Ice and Snake. There is of course Wraith, but she's not proven herself particularly expansion minded. And if she changed her mind, Wrath would still be the more tempting target right now, I'd think. I believe we have a golden opportunity, as long as we act soon"

Talon slowly taps one of his reinforcing claws against the ground. All Kestrel says makes sense. As long as the situation does not change, they may have a unique opening for their little venture. But it has to be soon, for more reasons than just that.

„The sooner we pull this off, the sooner we all have some much needed peace of mind… and slightly fuller bellies. Kestrel, do you think we can be ready by tomorrow to go for it?"

Kestrel nods deeply with a smirk

„By your order, we will be. It will be a remarkable adventure"

Talon rests his thick furred tail on his front paws

„You are aware that you will not be on this patrol, correct?"

Kestrel looks up in a moment of surprise

„How do you mean, Talon?"

Frost, slightly grinning looks at the second-in-command from the side

„You didn't think you'd steal our leader's glory of leading such an expedition, did you?"

The dark pelted leader flicks his ear, a quick look cast at Frost before settling his gaze on Kestrel anew

„Glory aside, I feel if I send our warriors into such dangers, I should at the very least be among them, lead from the front as they say. And you know that I don't…"

„Send leader and second-in-command into the same peril? Yes, I heard of that. Good that at least some lessons were learned from the fiasco in the forest. Though, I confess I did think to do this one myself"

The brown second-in-command tilts his head slightly to the side, expression more thoughtful than truly disappointed. Frost's grin makes way to a glare as he turns his head towards Kestrel

„You interrupt your leader and talk back, all in the same breath. You are pushing your luck, Kestrel"

Kestrel turns his head to return Frost's gaze. Talon finds himself slightly surprised to find, that while Kestrel's general expression remains neutral, his eyes hold very clear warning to Frost.

„I assure you, I meant Talon no disrespect, warrior… Nor do I defy an order given to me. If Talon says I stay, then I stay. I know where I stand in the hierarchy around here."

Talon had not seen Kestrel strike back as such before against Frost, though he can't deny it befits his position. The second-in-command should not be spoken to in this tone by a warrior, even a veteran warrior. Perhaps Talon is not the only one slowly evolving into the role he hold. Frost's glare grows into a snarl, his pelt spiking up. Kestrel may not flinch before Frost's remark, but in a fight between the two, it remains obvious he would not win. Talon rises to his paws, the words to interject already on his tongue as Frost turns, more like throws, his head the other way. An expression of displeasure remaining, his snarl does fade in a few heartbeats.

„May I be excused, Talon?"

Frost's voice remains heavy with seething, but slowly, amid deep breaths, some of the white warrior's pelt flattens again. Talon takes one deep breath himself, before nodding

„You're excused, Frost. Stay outside my den, I will have words with you when I'm done with Kestrel in a moment"

Frost briefly looks at Talon, before nodding, the last nod going deep down in a respectful bow, before he slinks out of the den with quick steps. A few heartbeats of silence pass inside the den, before Kestrel let's out a loud exhale

„If I did seem impertinent, I apologise. Not my intention."

Talon settles back down, shaking his head

„He may be right, if there were more cats to witness you interrupting me might send signals we don't need. But he still overstepped. I suppose your patrol did not endear you to each other much"

Kestrel lightly sways his head side to side

„Yes and no. We spoke, obviously. I think he gets minimally better that we need to at least coexist. I think that's what had him turn away before you got a chance to turn him away. But we're certainly not about to groom each other's pelts anytime soon."

„I don't need you to, the acknowledgement to coexist will do. Anyway… put some thought into whom we take on that patrol, before sundown I want you to give me fifteen names. The more we bring back, the better… you take care of things here while we're away."

Kestrel nods

„So it will be then. I have a few cats in mind already, several of the scouting patrol, as well as some others. I'll have something workable figured out before dusk."

Talon flicks his tail in dismissal

„Good. Not Moon or Rover, they are on a different assignment already. Beyond that, I have confidence you'll get done. Send Frost in. Without killing each other, preferably"

At that, Kestrel bows his head before stalking out of the den. Talon has but a moment to breath before Frost steps back before him. The amber eyed veteran warrior sits down, posture impeccably straight. Though the slightest shadow of trepidation resides in his eyes, he seem almost determined. A strength and purpose to his presence that seems out of place considering the situation. Talon ponders for a brief moment how to approach the issue.

„Frost, tell me, if anyone had dared to bare their fangs at Bone, what do you expect Scourge would have done?"

Frost does not seek to return Talon's gaze, instead stubbornly looking ahead. His answer is instantaneous

„That cat would have bled. Scourge would have ensured such disrespect did not occur twice"

A small hiss escapes Talon, agitation stinging up and down his spine

„If you know, why persist in this behaviour, Frost? I can accept that you dislike Kestrel personally, but he remains my second-in-command. The fact that I have more mercy in me than Scourge did is the only thing keeping your pelt on your back right now, do you not get that?"

Shaking his head, Talon paces back and forth before the unmoving veteran warrior. After a brief pause and an infuriating lack of defence from Frost, Talon continues with no veil before his anger

„In here it's bad enough, but if this happens out there, where the clan can see, I will have NO CHOICE, Frost. Do you understand this? Do NOT put me in that position. I know you care for the faction, for the clan, and that is why you need to pull yourself together on this. You were my second-in-command before Kestrel, how will it look if I have to punish you of all cats for insolence?"

Something seems to move in Frost, most of the speech gets little reaction out of him, an expression of almost disappointment plastered across his face that changes towards the end, his ears perk up in active attention, a glimmer shining in his eye as if an epiphany had just hit him.

„Yes… of course. I understand."

Frost's words seem mostly towards himself, before at last his gaze finds Talon's

„There will be no more trouble from me towards Kestrel. That I promise, Talon"

Talon observes Frost for a moment as the white tom lowers his head in a bow, mildly unnerved by his behaviour underneath the still churning anger that this was a conversation needing to happen in the first place.

„Make it so, Frost. Consider it an order if you must. We can not afford that kind of division among ourselves right now. If you need an outlet for something, go hunt. Until we return from the meat place, every bite of food on our pile counts"

More present minded now, Frost nods slowly before thoughtfully looking to the ground

„Perhaps there are some pigeons among the sky-pillars, near Scourge's territory. I will attempt it, Talon."

Talon sighs exasperatedly, some of his anger slowly fading.

„I will hold you to your promise, Frost. We are all trying to do what is best for the clan. Don't fail me in that, Frost."

The amber eyed warrior shakes his head

„My quarrel with Kestrel is one thing, but have I ever failed you since you became a leader? I won't pretend that I won't be difficult at times, but I will keep my promise. Just as I will keep the promise I made as your second, to help you unite the clan once more"

Talon looks the warrior into his eyes, looking for any hint of what's going through Frost's head. His words seem sincere, nothing in his amber gaze gives the slightest impression that he doesn't mean what he says. After a while Talon finds himself sighing and shaking his head

„You confuse me at times, Frost. But yes, you're not the type to fail and your word has always proven true. But tell me this then, why this insistence of antagonising Kestrel to begin with?"

Frost blinks, visibly a bit surprised

„I thought it remained obvious. I do not trust him. I know he has his uses, but I also know his loyalty is to himself before all else. I KNOW he schemes not only for you, but also against you. For every one thing he tells you, I bet my tail, there are two he does not"

Talon nods slowly

„In time, quite possibly, he might try to usurp me. But it won't be today, nor tomorrow. He's been… very open to me on the matter"

Frost's expression turns from surprise to active confusion, head cocked to the side as he tries to make sense of it

„So… he even admitted it?"

„He wishes to be leader, he's not made that much of a secret. But he wishes to keep Rain safe and he knows that on his own, he's more likely to end up the prey than the hunter. As long as serving me shields him from more risk than it exposes him to, he knows it remains in his best interest to stay on our side and boost me up. The higher I rise, the greater the prize he might claim in the end. And as you rightly figured, Kestrel primarily acts in his own interest. Thus, unless something major changes, his loyalty remains secure for now. And we do profit from that, do we not?"

Frost takes a small while, looking down, working through the words spoken to him before slowly raising his head again with a nod

„I see. So, we're using him as much as he's using us and both sides are aware of it. And in the end, there will at last come a moment where it'll be him or you."

Talon flicks his tail, letting his gaze wander to the exit of the den

„Not with certainty. He may in the end see that the surest way to get what he wants is to simply stay as a supportive second-in-command. It does already set him up to be leader after me, after all. But… it might come down to it, at some point. Not now though, not for a while."

Frost looks down, seeming to be think strongly for a bit. Silence fills the den, drawing into uncomfortable length before Talon clears his throat

„Was there anything else? If not, you are dismissed, Frost. And keep your promise in mind"

Frost dibs his head, still visibly in thoughts

„I will. Scourge guide your claws, Talon"

With that, the white veteran warrior steps out of the den, leaving Talon in his familiar gloom. After a while, Talon sighs deeply. Just three more days. Three days and he'll return to his spot. Drown the worries in the sight and sound of the calmly flowing water, let suspicions fade into the dark of the night sky… His tail lashes behind him. No, even at the river spot his duties pursue him by now… he'll want Ashfur's opinion on where the next raid goes to restock their exhausted herb supplies. But it will be good either way. It'll be interesting to see how the forest cat is shaping up, between Silver's lesson and the practice he's getting in the Dark Forest. Practice Talon too could do with as well… he'll probably be called there soon enough again himself. Perhaps Scourge will have new advice. Or new criticism. Likely both… but Talon might be able to see if the dead of Wrath managed to escape the Void yet. That would be a reason for joy at least.