Return of the Rebellion - Strong and Determined

[Meany]

Bronzepaw, a new apprentice of Darkclan, padded between the border of Dewclan and Darkclan with the rest of the battle patrol.
This would be his first battle ever, and he was nervous.

[Longstorm]

Sunmist and Gorseclaw padded side-by-side, unusually quiet. They were both thinking about the upcoming fight, only two days away.
For those who aren't in the know, the two here weren't mates, but brother and sister. They both cared about each other and were both praying that the other didn't meet their end.

Up near Redstar, Silverpaw stayed near her brothers. She'd been told that the younger apprentices would be there for minor help since they didn't know many battle moves.

OOC: This is Darkclan's song for this moment....

[Runfast]

Goldpaw, between his brother and sister, looked at the road ahead. The place between Darkclan and Dewclan was... strange.
While Dewclan was a great forest with leaves beginning to form on the trees, Darkclan had rough, dry brush and bare patches until you hit the forever-green forest, leading up into the mountains.
Goldpaw didn't even shiver as a cold wind came down from the mountains. He'd gotten used to living in freezing climates so it felt like nothing to his thick fur.

Redstar was doing the same as Goldpaw, looking straight ahead. They were taking the border route since it the road was most level here. Of course, if they traveled up the mountain it would subtract a day and a half from their journey, but large predators and sinkholes were along the way. The patrol was already traveling on half-empty and Redstar didn't want to put his cats through any unneeded trauma before battle.
Redstar stifled a sigh. He didn't need to put any of them on edge.

[Longstorm]

Sunmist mewed to Gorseclaw,
"This feels..."

Gorseclaw looked at her.

"Wrong, somehow," she finished. "Fighting our own clanmates..." She shook her head, a worried look in her eyes.

Gorseclaw nodded swiftly.
"Yeah, I feel the same. But," he gestured to the dark mountains, "It's for the towering mountains we call home. It's for our ancestors, and our Clan name. It's for the beautiful days and the mysterious nights that future kits may not see if we allow this to continue. For every cat." He smiled slightly. "That is what allows the right to overthrow 'wrong, somehow'."

Sunmist looked at her brother, stopped walking, and mewed quite seriously,
"Gorseclaw: you sound like a poetic nincompoop."

Gorseclaw stopped walking and gave his sister an incredulous look - then promptly burst out laughing, shaking his head. He rubbed against his sister and purred,
"Ah, sister. Life would be so boring without you!"

Sunmist nodded and mewed humbly,
"I know."

The two laughed, grins wider than a jay's wings.


Silverpaw, upon hearing the siblings' laughter, felt as though a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She smiled, feeling the tension, as tangible as the ground beneath her feet, fly away like leaves in the wind.
Silverpaw looked at her brothers and mewed with the utmost confidence,
"We're gonna succeed!"

[Runfast]

Goldpaw looked at his enthusiastic sister and rolled his eyes, a smile forming on his lips.
"Well, duh," he mewed good-humoredly, "Why wouldn't we? We're the best fighters in all of Darkclan!" He made a show of flipping in the air, unsheathed claws flailing as he did so - his landing was most unflattering.

Redstar looked at the apprentices and chuckled, his whiskers twitching in amusement.
Yes. It was going to be alright, as long as everyone had each other, here in Darkclan.
Redstar sighed, feeling better.
He turned and mewed,
"We'll reach Darkclan in about a day. We'll rest for the night. Then, tomorrow, we take back Darkclan."

Goldpaw, scrambling out of his awkward position, whooped in excitement.
"For Darkclan!"

[Guest]

Jaycall called with the apprentice,
"For Darkclan!"
Jaycall was nervous about seeing his father again. When Thornstar had taken ill, he'd spat at everyone, trusting no one. Not even his own son.
Well, he did trust Robinsong, Jaycall's sister. That, Jaycall couldn't understand, and it had hurt him deeply.
His father had always treated the two of them equally, but now he loved Robinsong more!
And, well, as much as Jaycall denied it, he resented his sister for it all.
Jaycall shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that, he scolded himself. He was a grown tom, a senior warrior (in the Rebellion's eyes) - he needed to be more mature, more refined... More like his father.
Jaycall looked around and mewed,
"I'll go hunting, if anyone wants to join me."


Skyecho, next to her ever-quiet brother, called,
"For Darkclan, for Darkclan," calling a second time for her big brother. She bumped her head against his and purred, "I really think it's going to be okay!"

Frostshine smiled at his sister,
"Your kits will be able to tell all of their friends what a great warrior they have for a mother."

Skyecho looked at her brother and mewed,
"I'm not already a great warrior?" She looked somewhat angry.

Frostshine's eyes widened, afraid that he'd hurt his sister - but Skyecho smiled.
"I'm joking, Frostshine," she purred, and he smiled again. Skyecho looked at Jaycall and mewed,
"I'll join you, Jaycall! Oh, it's been a while since I've hunted! I need to brush up on my skills and all, you know," she winked at her brother and joined the gray tom.

[Meany]

Bronzepaw joined the rally cry then went back to speaking to his siblings.
"Yeah - with Silverpaw at the lead, nothing can stop us," he said jokingly. He dodged a swipe and mewed to Jaycall,
"I'll come hunting!"

[Longstorm]

Silverpaw (who had swiped at her brother) rolled her eyes and mewed to Skyecho,
"This is gonna be in the nursery tales for sure!"

Sunmist nodded and mewed,
"The great tale of Darkclan and Darkclan, and how they were Darkclan as one, again!"

Gorseclaw nodded approvingly and mewed,
"Here, here. I'd listen to that any day."

Yes. It would be a great day, everyone knew, full of pride, trust, bravery, courage, strength... And well, everything else you'd expect from loyal warriors fighting for a great cause, but also what you would expect from a small patrol fighting their own Clan for the good of future generations.
There would be pain, bloodshed, and loss. But, in the end, it would all be worth it.

OOC: It's on Like Donkey Kong.
We can come back to the two or three missing days later - we're torturing everyone with the waiting...

[Sponsored content]