Returning from Patrol

[Saberclaw]

The sun had fallen behind the near-leafless trees and a good deal of cats were retiring to their camps including Thunderclan who had mostly taken to their dens. The fresh-kill pile was slightly lower than how it had been during sunhigh and silence had fallen across the camp. There was a chill in the air that made an old retired rogue's bones seem to groan in protest as the tom padded out of the leader's den. He stretched his limbs, unused muscles rippling beneath his unkempt patchy pelt as he made his way near the entrance, his forest green eye scanning the camp for any who wished to tell him otherwise. He sat down, scarred ears pricked as he gazed up into the darkened sky of clouds. If he slept outside, he'd be covered in frost by sunhigh! The fern entrance rustled, announcing the arrival of Sixstar, Hailpaw, and Rockpaw.

Sixstar led the way back into the quiet camp, ears pricked, his breath appearing in clouds as he padded back towards his entrance before he noticed his brother had moved outside of it. He twitched his ears in surprise as Saberclaw met his gaze, his chin high as if he were being defiant. What had he to be defiant about? The leader quickly brushed the thought off, merely nodding his head in greeting before returning to going to his den. It seemed fair enough to keep the silence unbroken.

The apprentice's tail was still held high and he couldn't seem to focus on any other thought save for that they were going to finally become warriors. He hadn't even noticed the fleabitten rogue had left his father's den, instead, he merely moved off to the old tree stump to dwell in his thoughts, he was too excited to sleep!

[Cloverleaf]

Rockpaw trotted in, thoughts buzzing in his mind like bees. He could hardly contain his excitement as he followed his brother. When his father nodded, the apprentice looked to his left and noticed that their uncle was resting beside the enterance. He flicked his tail in acknowledgement and kept going. He sprinted over to his brother and pounced, hoping to tackle him. He remembered the times they had done this when they first became apprentices, practicing their hunting and fighting skills on each other. Rockpaw would love for those days again, but he knew that it was time to move forward and look to their furtures.

[Saberclaw]

Hailpaw twitched his ear as he heard pawsteps rushing towards him. He froze, claws sliding out of their sheathes as he recalled the fight in their camp earlier this morning until he felt paws, not claws, hit him lightly from behind. He tumbled to the side, more relieved above all else, sheathing his claws and tackling his brother, amusement shining in his amber eyes. "Almost had me!" he said cheerily, the tip of his tail twitching in amusement.

Saberclaw's eye followed the apprentice as he sprinted towards his brother. He could easily recall how it felt to dart towards an enemy and bowl them over while lashing out claws. He needed to kill. It had been moons since he'd dug his claws into another cat's flesh! His gaze travelled to the entrance longingly, a sigh escaping him. He was like some sort of queen! They had to protect him because he had trouble fending for himself due to the loss of energy and old bones! What if I left all of it? What if I went out on my own as a loner and lived like that? he asked himself, excitement making his heart beat faster. Oh how he would like to run with the win, through the forest! He'd seen loners moons older than he! They never lasted long after meeting him, but he'd met them all the same!

[Cloverleaf]

Rockpaw skidded to a stop a few fox-lengths from his brother. His eyes sparkled in excitement and pride as he sat down, his tail twitching. "We're going to be warriors!" He breathed, his whiskers quivering. But then he thought about how kittish they were acting and composed himself, licking his chest fur flat. But the emotions of pure bliss remained in his stone gray eyes. "What do you think our names will be?" He asked, his voice, which had gotten deeper over the past few moons, echoing in the silent camp, but it was a soft echo, nothing that would cause heads to turn.

[Saberclaw]

The apprentice's whiskers twitched and his fur had nearly fluffed out completely with excitement. The thought of what his name andhis brother's name might be made his heart beat faster. He sat down on his paws, the fight this morning soon forgotten. "I hope we get something good like "claw" or "storm"," he said, his voice tinged with excitement. They were going to become the best warriors in the whole forest, why not have a memorable name to go with it?

Saberclaw glanced at the two, cocking his head to the side. He would enjoy chiming in that it wasn't necessarily possible they might get such names. Although he wasn't a clancat. He was a rogue. Now he was just some loner residing in the camp.

[Cloverleaf]

"Or 'fang' or 'heart.'" Rockpaw mewed excitedly. "Every cat in the forest will know and respect our names!" The apprentice hissed, his neck fur rising. His gaze traveled to Saberclaw. Lowering his voice to a mere whisper he said, "As soon as we get rid of him. That will be the first step to earning the respect of the other Clans."

ooc: Idea... maybe the two of them decide to take things into their own paws at the same time Talon and Falcon do. Then we could have an interesting plot twist....just an idea though.

[Saberclaw]

Hailpaw spared a glance towards the rogue, nodding his head only slightly. "I agree, maybe we should strain on learning more movesand becoming the best hunters as well," he muttered, his gaze focused on Rockpaw. "Tomorrow we could train with each other and afterwards hunt. The better we are, the easier it will be to get ridof any intruders," he said, emphasizing the word "intruders".

The rogue wasn't mouse-brained butobviously the two apprentices thought he was. He simply flicked his ear dismissively, his gaze fixed on the two as if he were made of stone.

Ooc: Do like! After all, they show signs of kinship already, and this could be an interesting little plot.

[Cloverleaf]

Rockpaw murmured his agreement. They harder they trained the better they would become. "Once we return, we should see if Sixstar has a date in mind for our assesment." He mewed, licking a particularly annoying tuft of fur from his shoulder. A thought occured to him in midlick. What if we made an example out Saberclaw? Of course that mangy daughter of his would be upset, but we could do away with her easily. The others would be in such shock that we could take advantage of it. "We could turn them into Clan cats." He whispered his gaze traveling beyond his brother. Our numbers are low as it is, and with their strength, no other Clan would stand a chance against us. But how to convince them?

[Saberclaw]

Hailpaw flicked his tail to show his agreement. The swifter they were warriors, the easier it was to get rid the rogue and his friends as well. After all, they were going to become the best warriors in the forest and the first step was to redeem Thunerclan for their father's actions. After that, they could work on patrolling the borders and gaining their father's trust. They needed more cats in Thunderclan as well.
The apprentice pricked his ears in surprise as his brother made his outrageous suggestion. He knew who he was regarding, but really? "And how are we going to do that?" he hissed in a low voice, s till shocked. "Theres a reason they are rogues!"

The old tom had changed his position, his paws tucked under his chest, his eye closed but he was not dozing. He was far from that, he was listening. The nightly sounds were welcoming but it wasn't that he focused on, it was Hailpaw and Rockpaw he listened to. He acted as though he weren't listening, keeping his breath slow and steady. He was old, but he wasn't deaf nor was he mouse-brained and he would make sure the apprentices would learn that swiftly. His daughter might even find interest in what he had to alert her of and he would be pleased of getting out of the camp.