ShadowClan Leader's Den

[Singing Jay]

@Undertaker @Rani @paradise @spade | Sorry for the wait |


~ Shadestorm

Shadestorm could clearly feel the dog's gaze burn into his side but wasn't planning on giving the dump thing the satisfaction of reacting. Grimhound had always been a little annoying, could have some dry humored jokes at others' expense but he had become a thorn in the Shadestorm's side ever since his promotion to deputy.

Neither of them seemed to have told Dawnstar about their... patrol argument. Shadestorm hadn't told her himself partly out of lack of time and partly just because he didn't really feel like telling the leader he already wasn't on perfect terms with that he had snapped. Of course Grimhound had been the one who was in the wrong to disobey him like that but still. Then again telling her before the dog did might be best, to avoid that she got the wrong idea about what had happened.


But as much as he disliked the dog... Redshrike might be even worse to be around. Not because the young cat was annoying like Grimhound... but because his and Shadestorm history... The deputy had never been super close with his family but his cousin was a completely different story. Their relationship was strained to say the least....


But that wasn't what they were here for. Dawnstar had called them in here for a different mater, foxes it seemed. The deputy staid quiet while she talked about the family hunt thing, something he highly doubted he'd be apart of. He wasn't a part of her so called family like his cousin and the dog were. But he did make a mental note to bring back some foxes if he manged to find one. His ears pricked however when his leader mentioned some plan Redshrike seemed to have.


While he listened the name Addersnow made his icy eyes narrow. Elmshadows report after the patrol with the two had been... concerning to say the least. The deputy had never liked rouges pouting his great clan and while he agreed that she seemed like a good fighter... in the report he had received it had been pointed out that her motivations were suspicious to quote Elmshadow directly. The rest of Redshrike's plan made the deputy grin a little to himself. As distant as he was with his cousin he had to admit the young cat was clever, not to mention his responses to Grimhound's annoying stuff were small nuggets of satisfaction to the deputy.


As his cousin finished Shadestorm nodded. "I like that plan. We could hold back for a while and let them get more focused on the "foxes" and then put on more stress to them once we do strike. Maybe let them go on a big patrol after a group of these foxes played by some stealthier of our warriors, letting all their strong fighters leave while the rest of our clan can attack the camp. Another thing we could try is taking some of their kits and hold them hostage. Im not sure who they would react and it might make the other clans too turn on us, but if it works out we could later exchange the kits for a piece of their land for example." It wasn't a perfect plan but it could be a start for something else.

"As for Addersnow. I agree that she seems like a good resource in a battle, and might even come in handy while planing. But a while back I sent her on a patrol." At least she hadn't began to complain like the dog. "It seemed to go fine, but the report I got after it came with the mention that she.. seemed to have her own motives. I don't know of anything that might have happened on the patrol, but I'm personally keeping an close eye on her for the time being." You just couldn't trust rouges now could you.

[Undertaker]

@Rani @Singing Jay [spade and paradise don't need mentioning]
Well, this was news to her. The she-cat's tattered ears shot to attention as Redshrike commented on Badgerscar. He seemed eager to dispose of him, Dawnstar couldn't blame him. Badgerscar was growing to be a disappointment, however, Dawnstar wasn't at the point where she wanted to be rid of him yet. He'd have his chance to get back in her good graces, if he was smart he'd tried to do the same with Redshrike. As much as she liked Badgerscar, Redshrike's brain beat Badgerscar's muscle. Her little bird was invaluable, Badgerscar could be replaced and would by his little apprentice if he wasn't careful.

She didn't bother giving Redshrike a comment on what they'd be doing with Badgerscar if he failed to prove his worth. She'd deal with it when the time came. His assessment of Addersnow was a little different from her own, but then again outside of her meeting, she hasn't spent much time with the former outsider. She was aware of the she-cat's enjoyment of fighting, she was bold if not a little brash, and she had an interesting fighting style. She could be calculative, she certainly was intelligent, but as for tactical or strategy, Dawnstar hadn't been shown either. Like Grimhound, she seemed to take a priority in fighting over anything else. Even so, Dawnstar would take Redshrike's bits of information and store them away or later.

Dawnstar was enticed by Redshrike's little plan, disguised as some foxes to catch some fish. It was rather cunning and ingenious, she approved of it immediately. It would be an exciting experiment and test, Dawnstar didn't really care if they were discovered or not, she was more involved in seeing how all of it played out. So long as they weren't caught in the act, it would be difficult to prove anything. ""Cat paws can be explained, but a lack of fox paws wouldn't. You'd need to be able to find a way to replicate fox prints in the area. Messy ones could work for where the fight took place, but where the foxes were waiting in ambush, the prints would need to be a clean set to be believable." Dawnstar told him thoughtfully thinking of ways to cover their asses while picking up one of her paws to unsheath her claws.

"Their claws are thicker, broader, and larger than our own as well. Using their skulls to leave the indents of fangs works for bites but you'd either have to mutilate the body beyond recognition to hide claws marks, not use your claws at all, or see if it's possible to declaw a fox." This sounded like a bit of work, still, it might be a good idea to get a fresh body, preferable a rogue, and practice on it to make sure that this actually looked believable. If they were going to do this, she didn't want them to be sloppy.

Noticing Grimhound leaving the den not long after Shadestorm walked in made her fur rise, but she left her mate be. Picking a fight with him would be a waste of her time. Shadestorm added his own input about the idea, but attached kit stealing into the mixing. Dawnstar wasn't above using kits for her own means, however, in an actual war she'd prefer leaving them out of it. Even so, it wasn't a bad idea, just not to Dawnstar's liking.

"Stealing kits is a little bit too low in war. Winning and losing isn't something I actually care for, making the clans recognize ShadowClan's strength is though. Resorting to kit steal to win a fight will make us look like we don't have the claw and tooth to back up our bark. It might be nice to reclaim that Lionsgrove, but do you want to tell our future generation that we held kits hostage to take it?" Dawnstar pointed out to Shadestorm with a twitch of her whiskers. The Lionsgrove was stolen from ShadowClan during her mother's reign when RiverClan pushed their borders up, similar to how Dawnstar and her clan stole the Skyglade from WindClan. Her mother never fought to reclaim that territory, it was a small chunk compared to what Shadowclan had now, and Dawnstar didn't really want nor need it, yet that didn't mean she wouldn't take it back if she could get it.

She acknowledged Shadestorm's concerns about Addersnow with a flicker of her ear but didn't voice anything right away. Addersnow wasn't here for politics or ShadowClan itself and their ways, she was more interested in the violence they stirred, and apparently the leader herself, or at least that how Addersnow made it seem. If she was tending to patrols halfheartedly or disregarding their way of life, she could see her cats' fur bristling and suspicions rising. It might be a good idea to make time and talk to the she-cat. Grimhound at least made an attempt to participate and act like he gave dung about the clan. She didn't need Addersnow causing trouble and making Dawnstar's warriors question her judgment. Addersnow didn't come off like an idiot, but there were small things that made Dawnstar question her intelligence.

"You don't like running things," she stated while locking her golden irises on her son, "I can have Slyfox, Brackenfire, and perhaps Ravenblaze make up your fox group. Ravenblaze has a stomach for carnage, although it might be a good idea to check up on their stealth skills. Brackenfire you trained yourself, and Slyfox won't question my orders and can move through the shadows nearly as well as you can. If you don't want to run the operation, tell Slyfox she's in charge." His reluctance to lead was her son's only downfall. Dawnstar wouldn't push Redshrike out of his comfort zone unless she felt it necessary to further her goals or strengthen her family or clan.

"Shadestorm, I've yet to decide on whether we're attacking or not, but I'll keep your ideas in mind. However, I want you to leave Addersnow alone, I'll speak with her...motives." She growled to the deputy, the former fish hasn't shown up, and considering the lack of sighting around the clan, she was going to assume Dewdrop had gone missing. It would appear the molly lost her only chance in ShadowClan. Pity, Dawnstar wanted to use her a bit more.

[Sunset]

¨DawnStar may I come in?¨ Sunset´kit asked

[Rani]

It was ever gratifying to know his intelligence was prized though his cousins lackluster addition irritated and amused him in turn. Redshrike hadnt known his uncle Sootstrike or even his mother Softstrike but perhaps the intelect ran through his fathers line given the poor planning the deputy displayed. Dawnstar had standards and shadowclan while could bennifit from stolen kits didnt need the effects that'd come from such an action. No if they wanted kits going after outsiders rogues and if they had to stoop low enough kittypets would be better. Messing with a clans kits was the fastest was to start a war with little real gain, besides Redshrike saw only few kits that'd be worth anything in shadowclan already, let them focus on their own stock. At least the deputy was trying though the tom acknowledged, that'd only lead him good places and though he wasnt refined in this skill it was far better then nothing and the monochrome tom approved of attempt for Dawnstars benefit at least.

"Experimentation will have to be done that I acknowledge but I suppose that is a good test of the cats that may be worthy to attempt such a tactic. For the claws and paws it may be possible to chew off a fox's leg for them but if not..... Perhaps an ambush in an area the river will wash away the prints? It'd make sense to find the fish breaths by the water and would explain the lack of prints. As for covering the claw marks if the paw tactic fails I'd be happy to expend the effort to maul the bodies beyond identification, only a coward or soft heart would shy from such bloody tasks."
Oh he'd happily happily take care of making sure the bodies were beyond recognition oh so happy and fed~ The cannibal might even rope Brackenfire in to cover for him, the molly didnt know about his tastes but he was sure he could get her to turn an eye for her ex mentor...... A vicious grin had curled around his muzzle sharp as a fang and while the tom was perfectly still everywhere else his claws had started flexing clawing gouges in the ground.



The information that he was freed from the task of leading was something he was happy to learn and a please murmur emitted from him even as he dipped his head in apology, well aware Dawnstar wished him to take the lead more. "Brackenfire is more then capable of sneaking through the dark to be of use for this task, though I dont know if Ravenblaze is given they were trained by the loudest dog in the forest..... If you send us on an experimentation patrol to find some.... test subjects in the outskirts I'll make sure everyones skills are up to par. I'll explain everything to Slyfox if you wish so shes able to properly lead the patrol but we'll need a cover and excuse..... Cats ask too many questions they dont want answers too, perhaps your new deputy could run a competition or something to occupy the clan." Redshrike doubted the larger tom (larger then him, he should be that size it was infuriating) would have the stealth needed but he could still have a use. If the event was large enough to distract the fish as well somehow.... All the better. The more 'reasons' they had that 'foxes' would savage them the longer this ruse would be able to be sustained.

@Undertaker @Singing Jay

[Singing Jay]

~ Shadestorm | @Undertaker @Rani | Sorry for the long wait, I know things are already in motion but though I'd reply encase this is still going |

The large deputy was very gland the thorn in his side named Grimhound left. Not like the dog would have contributed to their plans anyway. As for the other things that came up in conversation Shadestorm didn't like Badgerscar all that much either, but Ivypaw had told him that he brown tom at least trained her, showing her new moves and such. He would happily give his daughter to someone more suitable, but for now Badgerscar wasn't the worst choice, and he would rather have Ivypaw being trained by someone like that than someone who couldn't or was scared to fight.

When Dawnstar commented on his idea he frowned ever so slightly. Kit-stealing was to low for war and pretending to be foxes to distract the fish-breaths wasn't? Besides, it was war, winning was what mattered, not what one did, if they won that was what mattered. What she said about his though was decently reasonable at least, but Shadestorm still thought it would be something interesting to try out, maybe something to get things going if the wars ever died out and things became too calm.

Dawnstar wanted to take care of Addersnow herself, and Shadestorm had done what he needed to by mentioning now untrustworthy she seemed, that was his job. But he still thought she had to be kept an closer eye on. He had never liked or trusted cats not born to Shadowclan, or who had intentionally left it. He had been born in Thunderclan but was still a pure-blooded Shadowclanner and had returned to his true clan dispute his parents betrayal, and he had respect for everyone who did the same, but cats not from Shadowclan? Could they really be trusted. Of course Dawnstar did a little test with them by at least talking to them before letting them in, but lying wasn't hard, and Shadestorm could easily see someone getting their way in without actually being good for the clan.

As for the foxplan and the paws he thought that could fixed, or at least helped by finding cats with more fox-like paws. Every cat was build different. Slyfox for example seemed like a good cat for sneaking around but she was rather small, and he had a hard time seeing her paws looking anything like fox-paws. Maybe he could host something to test cats suitable for being these fake-foxes sometime. His cousin had suggested some event to keep things busy. "Something to distract the fish as well..." He highly doubted he could convince anyone to learn swimming or anything along the lines, and fishing was also out of the question... He'd would have to think further on that later.

But something to busy the clan could certainly be fun. Maybe a clanwide things where everyone could train each other... "I do have an idea or something to make the clan busy. A whole day with separate tasks and events. Training and such for apprentices and willing kits. Everyone could train different things, like climbing, hunting and a fighting competition. We could send out extra hunting patrols and end the whole day with a feast. Everyone would be busy and a few cats slipping away to do something else wouldn't be at all suspicious, if even noticed." He could see it in front of him. Everyone would gather and apprentices and the kits who wanted would be pair with a warrior who wasn't their mentor and train. Then there could be a big competition, warriors with warriors, apprentices with apprentices, and kits with kits. Everyone could fight out one round, then the winners would fight it out the next, and so on until there would be a winner kit, apprentice and warrior. Then the hunting patrols would come back , and the winners could get the first pick of the prey before the feast started. "It's a big plan, but it could work both to get the clan going for leafbare and hiding any other activities going on.

[Madelaine]

-->Ebonyfang<--

The black tom padded up to Dawnstar's den. The snake skeleton he had gotten during the night was around his neck like a necklace. He had been debating on keeping it as an ornament for his neck, but it would just get in the way of things. Plus there was a cat he felt could use it a lot more. His cousin. Sure they were never really close, but he had a respect for her. Didn't mean he would completely go out of his way to please her he just wanted the sort of respect back.

"Lovely cousin of mine I have blessed you with a new gift. Thought you could use it around your den. Plus I heard around you were into that kind of thing.", Ebonyfang meowed. He lowered his head and let the skeleton fall gently. He wanted it to stay completely in tact. It would be a shame for it to fall apart. That would be kind of insulting. He looked on with his new scar was still glistening with dried blood. He'd deal with it later.

He stepped back to allow her to collect it. At the same time he kept his thoughts away to make sure he was ready in case of anything. Nothing really surprised him anymore. His kits had been a disappointment and he knew that. Maybe next time they won't be as much or he might have to leave his mate to find a stronger one.

// @Undertaker; \\

[Hopeless]

~ Owlfeather ~
@Undertaker (sorry for the short starter)

The large molly entered the camp and without even casting a glance at the freshkill pile or looking around to see if rainburst had gone with the kit to Bounceberry she emidetly headed for the leader's den, expecting her Dawnstar to be there. What had just happened was no doubt something Dawnstar would want to hear about, both the fox and the dump kit who had gone outside, alone, with foxes, twolegs and the whole leafbare being out there, when Dawnstar had forbidden even warriors to go outside alone. Lilykit. That was the name she had heard during the battle against the fox, so either was it the kit's name or someone close to them.

Stopping right at her leader's den she placed down the pelt and skull of the fox and dipped her head. Her skining work hadn't been prefect, but she had been in a hurry to get back. Her amber eyes gazed into the darkness inside. She was used to dimness in the forest, but her eyes had yet to get used to the darkness in the den. As she made out her leader she camly dipped her head. "Dawnstar? I have some news to report." The kit was right now with Rainburst and Bounceberry, but she had the fox pelt to maybe catch the leader's attention or intrest, or then her words would. She had yet to bring back the vole and lizard she had Rainburst caught, but this was more important. Though she made a mental note to get them right after this report.

[Undertaker]

Originally Posted by Rani

It was ever gratifying to know his intelligence was prized though his cousins lackluster addition irritated and amused him in turn. Redshrike hadnt known his uncle Sootstrike or even his mother Softstrike but perhaps the intelect ran through his fathers line given the poor planning the deputy displayed. Dawnstar had standards and shadowclan while could bennifit from stolen kits didnt need the effects that'd come from such an action. No if they wanted kits going after outsiders rogues and if they had to stoop low enough kittypets would be better. Messing with a clans kits was the fastest was to start a war with little real gain, besides Redshrike saw only few kits that'd be worth anything in shadowclan already, let them focus on their own stock. At least the deputy was trying though the tom acknowledged, that'd only lead him good places and though he wasnt refined in this skill it was far better then nothing and the monochrome tom approved of attempt for Dawnstars benefit at least.

"Experimentation will have to be done that I acknowledge but I suppose that is a good test of the cats that may be worthy to attempt such a tactic. For the claws and paws it may be possible to chew off a fox's leg for them but if not..... Perhaps an ambush in an area the river will wash away the prints? It'd make sense to find the fish breaths by the water and would explain the lack of prints. As for covering the claw marks if the paw tactic fails I'd be happy to expend the effort to maul the bodies beyond identification, only a coward or soft heart would shy from such bloody tasks."
Oh he'd happily happily take care of making sure the bodies were beyond recognition oh so happy and fed~ The cannibal might even rope Brackenfire in to cover for him, the molly didnt know about his tastes but he was sure he could get her to turn an eye for her ex mentor...... A vicious grin had curled around his muzzle sharp as a fang and while the tom was perfectly still everywhere else his claws had started flexing clawing gouges in the ground.



The information that he was freed from the task of leading was something he was happy to learn and a please murmur emitted from him even as he dipped his head in apology, well aware Dawnstar wished him to take the lead more. "Brackenfire is more then capable of sneaking through the dark to be of use for this task, though I dont know if Ravenblaze is given they were trained by the loudest dog in the forest..... If you send us on an experimentation patrol to find some.... test subjects in the outskirts I'll make sure everyones skills are up to par. I'll explain everything to Slyfox if you wish so shes able to properly lead the patrol but we'll need a cover and excuse..... Cats ask too many questions they dont want answers too, perhaps your new deputy could run a competition or something to occupy the clan." Redshrike doubted the larger tom (larger then him, he should be that size it was infuriating) would have the stealth needed but he could still have a use. If the event was large enough to distract the fish as well somehow.... All the better. The more 'reasons' they had that 'foxes' would savage them the longer this ruse would be able to be sustained.

@Undertaker @Singing Jay

Originally Posted by Singing Jay

~ Shadestorm | @Undertaker @Rani | Sorry for the long wait, I know things are already in motion but though I'd reply encase this is still going |

The large deputy was very gland the thorn in his side named Grimhound left. Not like the dog would have contributed to their plans anyway. As for the other things that came up in conversation Shadestorm didn't like Badgerscar all that much either, but Ivypaw had told him that he brown tom at least trained her, showing her new moves and such. He would happily give his daughter to someone more suitable, but for now Badgerscar wasn't the worst choice, and he would rather have Ivypaw being trained by someone like that than someone who couldn't or was scared to fight.

When Dawnstar commented on his idea he frowned ever so slightly. Kit-stealing was to low for war and pretending to be foxes to distract the fish-breaths wasn't? Besides, it was war, winning was what mattered, not what one did, if they won that was what mattered. What she said about his though was decently reasonable at least, but Shadestorm still thought it would be something interesting to try out, maybe something to get things going if the wars ever died out and things became too calm.

Dawnstar wanted to take care of Addersnow herself, and Shadestorm had done what he needed to by mentioning now untrustworthy she seemed, that was his job. But he still thought she had to be kept an closer eye on. He had never liked or trusted cats not born to Shadowclan, or who had intentionally left it. He had been born in Thunderclan but was still a pure-blooded Shadowclanner and had returned to his true clan dispute his parents betrayal, and he had respect for everyone who did the same, but cats not from Shadowclan? Could they really be trusted. Of course Dawnstar did a little test with them by at least talking to them before letting them in, but lying wasn't hard, and Shadestorm could easily see someone getting their way in without actually being good for the clan.

As for the foxplan and the paws he thought that could fixed, or at least helped by finding cats with more fox-like paws. Every cat was build different. Slyfox for example seemed like a good cat for sneaking around but she was rather small, and he had a hard time seeing her paws looking anything like fox-paws. Maybe he could host something to test cats suitable for being these fake-foxes sometime. His cousin had suggested some event to keep things busy. "Something to distract the fish as well..." He highly doubted he could convince anyone to learn swimming or anything along the lines, and fishing was also out of the question... He'd would have to think further on that later.

But something to busy the clan could certainly be fun. Maybe a clanwide things where everyone could train each other... "I do have an idea or something to make the clan busy. A whole day with separate tasks and events. Training and such for apprentices and willing kits. Everyone could train different things, like climbing, hunting and a fighting competition. We could send out extra hunting patrols and end the whole day with a feast. Everyone would be busy and a few cats slipping away to do something else wouldn't be at all suspicious, if even noticed." He could see it in front of him. Everyone would gather and apprentices and the kits who wanted would be pair with a warrior who wasn't their mentor and train. Then there could be a big competition, warriors with warriors, apprentices with apprentices, and kits with kits. Everyone could fight out one round, then the winners would fight it out the next, and so on until there would be a winner kit, apprentice and warrior. Then the hunting patrols would come back , and the winners could get the first pick of the prey before the feast started. "It's a big plan, but it could work both to get the clan going for leafbare and hiding any other activities going on.

[Short post due to lack of muse]
Yawning, the imposing leader gave a shake of her mighty head while listening to Redshrike add his thoughts to his plan. She acknowledge him with a flicker of her whiskers but didn't comment on much. Until the plan was put into action or they started experimenting, Dawnstar couldn't say what was the right way or wrong to approach the problem. So she'd leave it alone for now. There was such a thing as overthinking, and Dawnstar wasn't fond of the idea of obtaining a headache. After they got some dead foxes and had them skinned, Dawnstar could help work out a believable plan of action then. Merely speculating was going to get her nowhere.

Shadestorm's little festive idea drew the leader's interest. "That could work," Dawnstar grunted lifting a large paw to rub along an itch on her cheek. "We can spend the day competing and end it with a feast." Normally, the easily agitated leader would have scoffed at the idea of a feast. It rubbed her fur wrong knowing cats were just lazing around doing nothing, but ShadowClan needed a reminder that they were all in the same clan. There was a lack of unity here, and this could help fix it. "Explain." She wanted to know the details of what he was doing with each activity before approving anything.

"You can stay or go," Dawnstar told Redshrike with a glance. In all honesty, the tom had completely derailed what Dawnstar originally wanted to get at, but she supposed she could save that chat for another time. The fox plan and competition were more than enough for Shadowclan at the moment.

Originally Posted by Xmas Ang

-->Ebonyfang<--

The black tom padded up to Dawnstar's den. The snake skeleton he had gotten during the night was around his neck like a necklace. He had been debating on keeping it as an ornament for his neck, but it would just get in the way of things. Plus there was a cat he felt could use it a lot more. His cousin. Sure they were never really close, but he had a respect for her. Didn't mean he would completely go out of his way to please her he just wanted the sort of respect back.

"Lovely cousin of mine I have blessed you with a new gift. Thought you could use it around your den. Plus I heard around you were into that kind of thing.", Ebonyfang meowed. He lowered his head and let the skeleton fall gently. He wanted it to stay completely in tact. It would be a shame for it to fall apart. That would be kind of insulting. He looked on with his new scar was still glistening with dried blood. He'd deal with it later.

He stepped back to allow her to collect it. At the same time he kept his thoughts away to make sure he was ready in case of anything. Nothing really surprised him anymore. His kits had been a disappointment and he knew that. Maybe next time they won't be as much or he might have to leave his mate to find a stronger one.

// @Undertaker; \\

What an odd sound. Dawnstar lifted her head from where it had been resting on her tail and lifted her ears high. The muscular feline got out of her nest of pelts and stretched, rolling her broad shoulders, and then sat still while staring at the opening in her den. A pair of similar amber eyes peered back at her as the cat simply strolled on in. Her cousin had something wrapped around his neck, it looked rather strange.

Standing and yawning, Dawnstar casually closed the distances between them as he untangled himself from what she assumed had been making the strong sound. They were bones, not just any old bones, it was a full-on skeleton of a snake! Dawnstar's eyes lit up like the morning sun, full of almost kittenish wonder. The snake wasn't all that large, but the fact that Ebonyfang had managed to get her a full snake skeleton without losing a single piece was a treat.

"Thank you, Cousin," Dawnstar meowed after she raised a single claw to fiddle with the skull a bit. "I'm extremely impressed but mostly surprised that you managed to find a snake during leafbare." Snakes were harder to come by, same with frogs and lizards, during the cold weather. Although, she was supposed to consider the amount of time it would take to clean the bones that he could have caught it a bit ago. "This will go nicely with my pelts." She could totally line the outside of her nest with the bones. She'd have to take up snake hunting come newleaf, Dawnstar now wanted to acquire a variety of snake skeletons to ring around her nest.

"You've never brought me a gift before, what's the occasion?" She was used to her clanmates giving her things, normally in hopes of her paying attention to them or making her acknowledge their skills. Dawnstar had no problem admitting that she's wasn't all that fond of Ebonyfang, but she didn't outright hate him either. She was displeased with his contribution to the clan and the fact that he was wasting all that training her mother had given him, but she was mostly indifferent to him. So why come to her now?

Originally Posted by Hopeless

~ Owlfeather ~
@Undertaker (sorry for the short starter)

The large molly entered the camp and without even casting a glance at the freshkill pile or looking around to see if rainburst had gone with the kit to Bounceberry she emidetly headed for the leader's den, expecting her Dawnstar to be there. What had just happened was no doubt something Dawnstar would want to hear about, both the fox and the dump kit who had gone outside, alone, with foxes, twolegs and the whole leafbare being out there, when Dawnstar had forbidden even warriors to go outside alone. Lilykit. That was the name she had heard during the battle against the fox, so either was it the kit's name or someone close to them.

Stopping right at her leader's den she placed down the pelt and skull of the fox and dipped her head. Her skining work hadn't been prefect, but she had been in a hurry to get back. Her amber eyes gazed into the darkness inside. She was used to dimness in the forest, but her eyes had yet to get used to the darkness in the den. As she made out her leader she camly dipped her head. "Dawnstar? I have some news to report." The kit was right now with Rainburst and Bounceberry, but she had the fox pelt to maybe catch the leader's attention or intrest, or then her words would. She had yet to bring back the vole and lizard she had Rainburst caught, but this was more important. Though she made a mental note to get them right after this report.

Drawing her tongue over her broad pad, Dawnstar swiped it down over her cheek where a fresh set of claw marks sat. Her fur bristled, but the spark of amusement in her eyes contrast her anger. She'd have to compliment Bunnystar, the she-cat had fought back better than the last time they had battled. Even though the skirmish had been short and Dawnstar had lost Batsy, in the end, it had been entertaining and a new scar to add to her already riveting collection. Lapping up the dry blood on her pad, her piercing amber eyes darted over to the entrance as the musky scent of fox and fresh blood caught her attention.

A growl built up in the back of her throat, settling only after Owlfeather set down what appeared to be a sloppily cleaned skull and pelt. If skinning was going to become a new ShadowClan skill, Dawnstar would have to teach her clanmates how to properly clean bones and kill their prey. Even in her dark den, Dawnstar could make out the ginger hue of a fox pelt and the long muzzle shape in the jaw of the skull. Owlfeather had gotten her a fox, interesting. The molly hadn't even been on Dawnstar's radar, but now she had the leader's attention.

"Speak," Commanded the hulking feline as she got up and hooked her claws into the pelt of the fox, dragging it closer to inspect it. Dawnstar's night vision was better than most of her clanmates, she had no problems in the dim lighting. Her gleaming gaze lifted from the pelt to inspect her warrior for wounds, Dawnstar knew that fighting a fox was quite the challenge, much much harder on your own compared to working alongside a patrol. Judging from the skull, the fox had been on the younger side.

[Rani]

Well the topic had shifted to boring leadership planning, not something Redshrike was interested in being a leader was a too viable too irritating task for those that were not him. He was out, besides he had planning to do. So with a bowing nod the tom exited the den to do some testing.

[Hopeless]

~ Owlfeather ~
@Undertaker

As her yellow amber eyes got used to the darkness she could pick up many things. First was the new scratch on her leader's cheek. She wasn't sure where it had come form, since no battles had happened recently enough, but she didn't dwell on it, it was very possible her leader would have sparred with someone with claws out. She also wasn't blind to Dawnstar's mild of her job with skinning wasn't perfect, but it had been a choice between cleaning her gifts more thurly, or letting Dawnstar wait.

Dipping her head at Dawnstar's command she began. "Rainburst and I were out hunting to fill up the fresh-kill pile a little more, and we manged to get a vole and a lizard and hide them to come and get them later when we were done, but Rainburst heard the sound of a fox, not only that, a kit as well, Lilykit if I remember correctly. I'm not sure if she tried to follow us or sneaked out by fault of her own stupidity, but the fox had found her before we did. The fox must have been weakened somehow, not notice wounds or anything, but it didn't kill the kit right away, for some reason. We got there in time to save her pitiful life," She nodded down at the pelt and skull. "And got the fox killed as well. Rainburst took the kit to Bunceberry, though I'm not quite sure if she'll survive."

She wasn't quite sure if the kit was even worth having around. A cat could be of use in many ways, but few were dump enough to go outside, after their leader had warned of both twolegs and foxes, and forbidden anyone, even warriors and apprentices to go out alone. Nettlepaw had also been not so bright as a kit, but even she had had the sensibility to listen to their leader when she spoke about dangerous like this.

She had yet to get the prey they had buried for later, since she had been busy reporting the events to Dawnstar, but she made a mental note to get them later, maybe bring her niece to show her about burring prey to save time.